this is the second film from writer/director Gary Burns,the first one being The Suburbanators,which i have yet to see.i liked it quite bit.it took me awhile to warm up to it,but once i got into it,i really enjoyed it.the characters and situations come across as pretty real.many people can probably relate to some of the characters and the situations.the acting is very good.the dialogue is often funny.the film reminded me style wise of Clerks by Kevin Smith,except it's much funnier and more clever,than Clerks was,i think.i loved the ending.it was perfect.overall,it's a pretty decent 81 minutes or so.for me,Kitchen Party is a 7/10
11 Reviews
Highschool party in repressed household
otis-316 September 1998
Intercuts between high school kids at one home, and typical wasp parents drinking at dinner party, which leads to a crisis for all concerned. The satire of white middle class life is old hat, and the teen life presented was done much better by same director in previous, debut effort - The Suburbanators. Skip this, and catch that one instead.
These kids are alright. Their parents are another story.
MBunge13 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Kitchen Party takes a smart, honest look at teenagers and a stupid, contrived look at adults and never manages to knit the two together. The result is a film that's sporadically amusing and endearingly awkward, yet persistently stumbles.
Scott (Scott Speedman) is a teenage dickhead who dresses like he's a big fan of the movie Swingers. His impossible parents are going out for the evening, leaving Scott at home with his basement-dwelling brother Steve (Jason Wiles). Scott decides to invite some other kids over for a party, but one that has to be confined to the kitchen because his parents will freak out if even one carpet fiber is disturbed in the living room. The party fills up with a collection of teen archetypes. There's Tim (A.J. Bond) the good kid and Wayne (Tygh Runyan) the tagalong and Cal (James McBurney) the nerd and Lester Dave (Dave Cox) the misfit. There's also a gaggle of girls including Marie (Joelle Thomas) the nerd bait and Crystal (Michelle Skalnik) the needy and Cynthia (Sarah Strange), who's both Wayne's girlfriend and den mother to this little clique. Tammy is the new girl to the group and is Scott's sort of/almost/but not quite girlfriend.
While the teens mill around fretting over beer, weed, Scott's mysterious brother and a handgun, Scott's parents (Kevin McNulty and Gillian Barber) get together with two other couples for a little pre-party dinner where they act like enormous jerks. Eventually, Tammy runs off with Scott's brother, Lester goes mental and it all climaxes in one of those neighborhood scandals where the cops get called but no one gets hurt.
Kitchen Party is one of those slice-of-life stories that prides itself on its lack of narrative. There are things that happen, but they are merely platforms upon which the characters can recline and radiate angst of both the teenaged and middle aged varieties. That sort of thing tends to leave me cold. In this case, however, I kind of liked it. The film generates a pretty realistic atmosphere of what it's like to be young and unable to see beyond yourself and your immediate environment. These young people are a stew of the obliviousness and self-doubt that simultaneously defines so many of us at that age.
Unfortunately, that easy naturalism does not extend to the portrayal of the adults in Kitchen Party. Except for a drug dealing neighbor (John Payne) who is actually the most responsible person in the whole story, the parents are nothing more than the dysfunctional source of their kids' dysfunctions. You're never supposed to look at them and think anything more than "Oh, that's why Scott is the way he is" or "Oh, that's why Lester is the way he is".
And while the individual teenage characters are well drawn and well acted, they don't make any sense as a group. They're clearly meant to be a circle of friends but they interact as though they barely know each other. There's no flow or logic to the group dynamic. There's no explanation for why these kids would ever be hanging out together.
That lack of logic is even worse when it comes to the parents. For example, one of the big issues in the film is that if Scott makes even the slightest screw up, his dad will prevent him going away to school and force him to stay at home and attend a local college. Yet, Scott's dad demonstrates such contempt for and lack of connection to his son, it is irrational for him to want to keep Scott around. He might not pay for him to go to college, but everything about his behavior says Scott's dad should be desperate to get both his kids out of the house. This glaring contradiction is never acknowledged or explained.
I enjoyed Kitchen Party for its affecting recreation of the ungraceful, yearning idiocy of teenhood. That nostalgic sensation is all it has to offer, though, so don't expect anything more if you watch this film.
Scott (Scott Speedman) is a teenage dickhead who dresses like he's a big fan of the movie Swingers. His impossible parents are going out for the evening, leaving Scott at home with his basement-dwelling brother Steve (Jason Wiles). Scott decides to invite some other kids over for a party, but one that has to be confined to the kitchen because his parents will freak out if even one carpet fiber is disturbed in the living room. The party fills up with a collection of teen archetypes. There's Tim (A.J. Bond) the good kid and Wayne (Tygh Runyan) the tagalong and Cal (James McBurney) the nerd and Lester Dave (Dave Cox) the misfit. There's also a gaggle of girls including Marie (Joelle Thomas) the nerd bait and Crystal (Michelle Skalnik) the needy and Cynthia (Sarah Strange), who's both Wayne's girlfriend and den mother to this little clique. Tammy is the new girl to the group and is Scott's sort of/almost/but not quite girlfriend.
While the teens mill around fretting over beer, weed, Scott's mysterious brother and a handgun, Scott's parents (Kevin McNulty and Gillian Barber) get together with two other couples for a little pre-party dinner where they act like enormous jerks. Eventually, Tammy runs off with Scott's brother, Lester goes mental and it all climaxes in one of those neighborhood scandals where the cops get called but no one gets hurt.
Kitchen Party is one of those slice-of-life stories that prides itself on its lack of narrative. There are things that happen, but they are merely platforms upon which the characters can recline and radiate angst of both the teenaged and middle aged varieties. That sort of thing tends to leave me cold. In this case, however, I kind of liked it. The film generates a pretty realistic atmosphere of what it's like to be young and unable to see beyond yourself and your immediate environment. These young people are a stew of the obliviousness and self-doubt that simultaneously defines so many of us at that age.
Unfortunately, that easy naturalism does not extend to the portrayal of the adults in Kitchen Party. Except for a drug dealing neighbor (John Payne) who is actually the most responsible person in the whole story, the parents are nothing more than the dysfunctional source of their kids' dysfunctions. You're never supposed to look at them and think anything more than "Oh, that's why Scott is the way he is" or "Oh, that's why Lester is the way he is".
And while the individual teenage characters are well drawn and well acted, they don't make any sense as a group. They're clearly meant to be a circle of friends but they interact as though they barely know each other. There's no flow or logic to the group dynamic. There's no explanation for why these kids would ever be hanging out together.
That lack of logic is even worse when it comes to the parents. For example, one of the big issues in the film is that if Scott makes even the slightest screw up, his dad will prevent him going away to school and force him to stay at home and attend a local college. Yet, Scott's dad demonstrates such contempt for and lack of connection to his son, it is irrational for him to want to keep Scott around. He might not pay for him to go to college, but everything about his behavior says Scott's dad should be desperate to get both his kids out of the house. This glaring contradiction is never acknowledged or explained.
I enjoyed Kitchen Party for its affecting recreation of the ungraceful, yearning idiocy of teenhood. That nostalgic sensation is all it has to offer, though, so don't expect anything more if you watch this film.
Dull And Pointless
socrates431 March 2019
KITCHEN PARTY is a film about, well, a house party. You could probably figure out the basic plot points based just on that, and to go into any further detail regarding that would be a waste of time and also I don't feel like it, frankly.
This movie offers nothing new. It's the same old garbage we've seen a bunch of times. There's absolutely nothing redeeming about it, nor much in the way of real entertainment even, save for a few halfway decent jokes that would have been used better if places in an actually good script. Do not recommend.
This movie offers nothing new. It's the same old garbage we've seen a bunch of times. There's absolutely nothing redeeming about it, nor much in the way of real entertainment even, save for a few halfway decent jokes that would have been used better if places in an actually good script. Do not recommend.
Take that, "Can't Hardly Wait!"
Lionrock21 August 1999
Probably one of the more subtle, original, realistic but no less funny flick about what happens when ultra-tight-ass parents go out to a dinner party and leave the son at home. As the title denotes, this film does involve a kitchen party, and the young actors in the film play it out with such deadpan realism that it could pass for a documentary. Accurate, timely and biting. A fine example of how to make a movie about teens alone in a house.
WOW!!!!!
kclark-78 September 2000
I saw this movie on Superchannel when there was absolutely nothing else on. The synopsis was something like "Teenagers have a party in the kitchen when their parents aren't home". I thought, "that sounds lame, kinda like 'Can't Hardly Wait'". I watched it anyway. During the first few minutes I thought it was a little slow, and prepared myself to be bored out of my mind. Then the movie got going.
Finally, a good Canadian movie!!! I had no idea it was Canadian, until about half-way through, when I realized that none of the cast had accents!
Anyway, on to the movie itself. Such a great little film. It completely brought me back to my high school/college days. The characters were REAL - they didn't seem like they were reading scripts or trying for laughs. I didn't feel like my emotions were being fooled around with. This is an HONEST movie.
The acting was really great (I thought). Each character was very well developed.
The ONE problem (very minor) I had with this movie, was the fact that the parents of Scott and Steve were so anal about keeping their carpets perfect, yet they did NOT seem like those type of people when they were out with their friends. That part just didn't gel for me.
But, aside from that very minor set-back, I really liked this movie. I can't say enough good things about it. It was so ON. A REAL movie that actually describes the feelings that go with being a teenager, old enough to move out of the house, but STILL living with your dreaded parents. I can't recommend this movie to enough people.
After seeing this movie, I've GOTTA go rent "Suburbanites".
Finally, a good Canadian movie!!! I had no idea it was Canadian, until about half-way through, when I realized that none of the cast had accents!
Anyway, on to the movie itself. Such a great little film. It completely brought me back to my high school/college days. The characters were REAL - they didn't seem like they were reading scripts or trying for laughs. I didn't feel like my emotions were being fooled around with. This is an HONEST movie.
The acting was really great (I thought). Each character was very well developed.
The ONE problem (very minor) I had with this movie, was the fact that the parents of Scott and Steve were so anal about keeping their carpets perfect, yet they did NOT seem like those type of people when they were out with their friends. That part just didn't gel for me.
But, aside from that very minor set-back, I really liked this movie. I can't say enough good things about it. It was so ON. A REAL movie that actually describes the feelings that go with being a teenager, old enough to move out of the house, but STILL living with your dreaded parents. I can't recommend this movie to enough people.
After seeing this movie, I've GOTTA go rent "Suburbanites".
Loved this one!
jaggm29 June 1999
Speaking as a 33 year old, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie about a group of highschool students having a party. This setting of a group of teens having a party at friend's house took me back to my highschool days. It was so incredibly real that it could have been any one of the parties I attended in my school days.
I also got a lot of laughs and thought the script was wonderfully interesting. Two thumbs up for a project well done! Anyone who has ever partied in their lives, should definitely see this one. And Scott Speedman! What a doll, if only I were 10 years younger!
I also got a lot of laughs and thought the script was wonderfully interesting. Two thumbs up for a project well done! Anyone who has ever partied in their lives, should definitely see this one. And Scott Speedman! What a doll, if only I were 10 years younger!
So are we really like that?
Ice-trap7 January 2000
This film about a group of teenager doing a little forbidden party. Mainly the movie is very interresting for it's way of it makes his character talk. We can easily find the major themes in the movies : generation problem, drugs and gun and perhaps family. The uncool kid is the very first character of his kind (never seen that way of thinking in any other film). He is like the teller of the story, doesn t do much, doesn t miss much neither. He is the morality of the film basically. If you like to see how it is like to be a teenager in our days I really recommand you this movie. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did for it's truth that he is saying.
Pretty Decent
TheNuttyIrishmen16 January 2009
Netflix recommended this to me after I'd added another Scott Speedman movie to my instant queue. I'd been dragging my feet so far as watching it is concerned, and what finally pushed me over the edge was the running time- I was tired, but confident I could handle 82 minutes in a sitting.
Starts slow, picks up a little and plays like a meaner 'Dazed and Confused'. Recognized Tammy from her eventual stint as Marie Warner on '24', and enjoyed the fact that Scott Speedman played a completely unlikable prick, through and through. I was pleased they didn't pull that punch, making him a totally self-absorbed douche.
Starts slow, picks up a little and plays like a meaner 'Dazed and Confused'. Recognized Tammy from her eventual stint as Marie Warner on '24', and enjoyed the fact that Scott Speedman played a completely unlikable prick, through and through. I was pleased they didn't pull that punch, making him a totally self-absorbed douche.
Different, the way I like movies.
LT-1020 July 2000
There isn't really a whole lot to say on this one.Other then the fact that it is unique. Teens(like me) probably would prefer Can't Hardly Wait, as it is what were used to, and its got a soundtrack and everything, but this one actually has characters that arn't just at a party they've all got stories. 8/10
Underrated
jason.fiorotto24 July 2001
I was as surprised by this gem of a movie as I was by its low rating on IMDb. It's great Canadian teen flick, with the style of a Kevin Smith film. A good, low-profile cast and a simple, real storyline deliver a quality movie experience.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
