I semi-frequently, if not more often, note that certain feature films play too much like television shows. It's an easy, dismissive comparison that I'm probably guilty of overusing. So I hope you'll forgive me for going back to the well one more time, because in the case of "Garden Party" this criticism couldn't be more applicable. Jason Freeland's second feature film really should have been imagined as a television series. I'm guessing it would have made a perfect addition to The CW's fall primetime lineup.（）
"Garden Party" is set in a supposedly sleazy (the press notes' description) part of Los Angeles where everyone happens to be fit and beautiful. It follows a seemingly disparate group of vaguely troubled characters as their worlds just happen to collide. April (Willa Holland) is a teenager in need of a job and a permanent residence. She finds the latter with her cousin and the former -- after a brief detour modeling for nude photos -- as an intern for Sally St. Clair (Vinessa Shaw), a real estate agent who offers clients not only property but marijuana. Tending to her, uhhh, plants is Sally's assistant Nathan (Alex Cendese), a young man from the Midwest struggling with ual identity issues. 20-something musician Sammy (Erik Scott Smith) is new to town, looking for a band to join and, like April, a place to live. A chance encounter with Nathan provides a roof over his head, and he becomes a hot item on the LA music scene when a motor-mouthed manager discovers him. Finally, Todd (Richard Gunn), a connoisseur of Internet pornography, leads a mundane existence in the huge house he inherited from his mother. But changes are afoot when Sally, a woman he's obsessed over for years, enters his life.
Many urban-set films have used the same multi-character, intersecting storylines structure employed here, but none have had lesser dramatic stakes than this one. Even at their worst, the characters' problems are of the mild variety and as the narrative floats amongst them all, it becomes evident that we'll only get to know these people on a surface level. Sammy's and April's struggles as fresh faced kids in the unfamiliar urban jungle, while unoriginal, are actually a bit comforting in their familiarity. On the other hand, Todd and Sally's interaction, right from their initial contrived encounter, seems to exist in some alternate universe.
The film is wrought with coincidental occurrences and behavior that's wholly artificial. As a portrait of LA's underbelly, it simply lacks authenticity, playing like a movie written and directed by a person whose only knowledge of the city comes from second hand sources. Because the movie's chief asset is storytelling economy, you wonder why Freeland devotes so much time to Sammy's musical performances. Although the film takes the stance that he's an artistic genius, Sammy's whiny brand of tired sensitive pop/rock is evidence to the contrary. Putting aside personal taste, these mini music video spots are in need of severe editing. The same goes for Nathan's "coming out" dance at a nightclub.
"Garden Party" contains more "am I supposed to take this seriously?" scenes than any film in recent memory, which certainly doesn mean it's attention challenging -- far from it, actually. Because you're never entirely sure how aware the director is of his film's abundance of ludicrous moments, it'd be false to deny there's genuine, perhaps unintended (or perhaps not), entertainment value here. It's just like watching a train maybe an episode of "Gossip Girl."
