Jared Sprouse’s Party USA is the latest movie to turn the disaffection of the average worker into absurd comedy. This dark comedy is spiritually akin to Mike Judge’s classic Office Space, if instead of one guy being hit by a car, several people were murdered. And Law & Order: Organized Crime star Ainsley Seiger is committing crimes instead of solving them.
The base idea of a stunted Everyman (or in this case woman) pushed too far by monotony isn’t new; lots of films and TV shows have played with the contrast between a mundane day job and some kind of extreme predicament. But Party USA exemplifies what that kind of movie ought to be. The humor is sarcastic, the supporting characters are exaggerated, and writer-director Sprouse keeps making the situation more and more outlandish until it gets to the ending that the viewers knew all along was coming. There doesn’t need to be a plot twist or a whole lot of fanfare; the audience is there for Taylor Sproat’s inevitable downfall.
As Taylor, who transforms from put-open party store worker to murderer and then some, Seiger delivers exactly what the role needs. Anyone who loved her as Jet in Law & Order: Organized Crime should watch this just to see her in a totally different light. She nails the deadpan apathy of a young woman stuck in a dead-end job and a dead-end life. Yet in the movie’s few emotional moments—which are necessary to remind viewers that Taylor is a human being—she’s also convincing. The biggest question a movie like this has to answer is “Why didn’t the main character just take the obvious solution?” and Seiger’s performance answers it. Taylor is desperate and disconnected; by the end of the film, the audience almost feels sorry for her, even while still being conscious that her predicament is entirely of her own making.
The supporting characters, except for Taylor’s boyfriend Damien, are all a little bit cartoonish—and that’s where the Office Space comparisons come in. Taylor works at the small-town party supply store after which the movie is named, and Corporate America is represented by the amusingly named Christian Friday. He’s this movie’s version of Bill Lumbergh. And instead of the Bobs, Party USA has a pair of local detectives who don’t understand what anyone is saying either. The characters are supposed to be broader to emphasize the comedy, and Sprouse and his cast are successful in building a band of misfits to contrast against Taylor.
Plot-wise, there’s a bit of a fait accompli at work. The viewers know that everything is going to get worse—much, much worse. That’s where the humor comes from (see another absurd comedy: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle). The only questions are how much worse Sprouse wants to make things, and if he’ll allow Taylor to get out from under it at the end. But Sprouse escalates the stakes in ways that make just enough sense for the audience to go along with them. Damien acts as the voice of reason for both Taylor and the audience, regularly asking why so that there’s still some plausibility at work. Party USA isn’t just careening from one scene to another; there is an actual ending and while there will be no spoilers here, it’s meaningful to watch all the way through the credits.
There are a few beats that don’t land; one of them is when Taylor claims no one will miss her boss Irene. That brings to mind this Impractical Jokers bit, but it’s also obvious that immediately there will be someone looking for Irene. Another one is a series of jump cuts in one of the movie’s pivotal scenes; it’s clear why Sprouse shot it that way, but that visual flourish also isn’t necessary. But ultimately, the things that don’t work in Party USA are little things, and they’re more forgivable than they would be in a different movie because this whole film is supposed to be disjointed.
Party USA hits a sweet spot as a semi-workplace comedy. It’s a dark comedy, but it’s not too dark or too crass; the jokes don’t come out of shock value. Seiger gives a knockout performance, making Taylor someone that the whole audience can identify with, and then easily making her less and less relatable—but still sympathetic. The movie is funny, audacious and even a little bit painful. In a director’s statement provided to press, Sprouse talks about the exhaustion that comes from working in the hospitality industry, and he captures that. He simply exaggerates it for the big screen, and does so wonderfully.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the filmmakers.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
