Criticized for being voyeuristic, I ask what else is movie watching? I would've loved to go to this party. Especially when they... well I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say that the scene @ 1:02:40 is one of the best of the genre I've seen on film, and the music perfectly captures the ambiance of the moment. BTW it is Michael Penn's "Nothing Like Us." Well, I guess I better blab some more since this site requires ten lines of text to get a posting in and I can promise you I'll never post again because the last thing we need is more bland filler info in this world full of too much information. There 10!

I can't for the life of me understand why this movie is rated as highly as it is. Was it the worst movie I've ever seen? No. It was, however far from the best. I think this movie would be interesting to those who work in the film industry, an actor, director, etc. But to everyone else, this movie comes off as extremely pretentious and preachy. I felt like the basic message of the movie was "Hey, we actors lead really difficult lives, and you should feel bad for us." What this film forgets is that everyone has trials and tribulations, that's life. One of my favorite movies is "Lost in Translation", which also is about an actor unhappy with life. However the great thing about LIT is that the main character actually does other things besides moan and groan about how awful his life is. very funny, entertaining movie, unlike AP. Basically, my complaint about this movie is that there was an endless amount of unnecessary drama over problems in the character's lives, and the problems weren't even that bad in comparison to what some people go through. What's more, I found all the characters annoying and completely selfish. If you are able to relate to the characters, you may enjoy this movie, however I found it impossible. Not for me, I'm afraid.-Heidi

Written, produced and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming. Joe(Cumming)and Sally(Leigh)throw a party to celebrate the ending of a year apart and their 6th wedding anniversary; and currently going through the motions of wanting to start a family and a move to London. Some of their closest friends past and present plus their neighbors are invited to this gathering. One of those attending is an actress(Gwyneth Paltrow)starring in Joe's novel turned into a movie. Sally is an actress herself and struggling with emotional matters. Friend Cal(Kevin Kline) and his wife(Phoebe Cates)are among the invitees.The party really starts to lose control at the get-go. Jealousies, politically incorrectness and bickering neighbors make the party awkward. As the party moves out to the pool and the mood elevating drug Ecstacy is passed around, diverse personalities watch this get-together spiral into confusion.This drama is also a cruel comedy and some may find this movie not even worth watching for two hours. I really enjoyed Leigh, but thought Cumming annoying as hell. Not really being a Paltrow fan...I found her very interesting. The cast also features: Parker Posey, Jennifer Beals, Jane Adams, Denis O'Hare and John C. Reilly.

While enjoyable, and entertaining, I feel this movie relied too much on breadth so that one wonders what is happening in the movie because so much is. The narrative thread is the relationship of the lead couple. The work of Alan Cumming and JJ Leigh is interesting to watch. However it is a bit scattered. A bit too much true to life, ala my best friend Phoebe Cates, and the lines delivered - are they scripted or ad lib and does it matter? Yes, because the audience wants to know where you are taking us with this. Too many beautiful people with their poor, poor problems. They are nervous, lose their dogs, etc. All in all, it lacked something and I'm not sure what it is. But it's worth a look.