Themes: Teen Angst, When the Parents Are Away, Party Film
Main Cast: Scott Speedman, Laura Harris, Gillian Barber, Kevin McNulty, Tygh Runyan
Release Year: 1997
Country: CA
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
In his first film, The Suburbanators, Canadian director Gary Burns took sharp comic aim at the meaningless, numb lives of a group of Canadian suburban teens. This sophomore effort focus on the same social group, offering a fast and funny take on upper-middle-class gatherings, comparing a teen beer-bash to it's adult counterpart, the dinner party. Because his parents are attending the latter fete, Scott decides to host his own soiree. Unfortunately, his mother is super-uptight about having a pristine home, and so he calls it a kitchen party. Kids from all social groups show up, including Scott's sweet girlfriend Tammy. Meanwhile, his anti-social brother Steve hides out in the basement and listens to loud rock music. The adult party across town goes swimmingly until everyone gets pie-eyed and they become involved in a series of minor accidents outside the local liquor store. Things turn ugly when Scott's father off-handedly suggests that another father's son is a homosexual. Back at Scott's house, things take a similarly downward turn when Tammy goes off with the mysterious Steve. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sarah Strange - Cynthia; Jason Wiles - Steve; Michelle Skalnik; A.J. Bond; Dave Cox; James McBurney; Jenafor Ryane; Joelle Thomas; Jerry Wasserman; Marie Stillin; Tom McBeath; Tamsin Kelsey; Marc Petey; Ryan Petey
Credit
Doug Hardwick - Art Director, Karen Powell - Associate Producer, Gary Burns - Director, Reginald Harkema - Editor, Mark Lemmon - Editor, James Head - Executive Producer, Scott Kennedy - Executive Producer, Schaun Tozer - Composer (Music Score), Robert Aschmann - Cinematographer, John Hazlett - Producer, Christine Haebler - Producer, Gary Burns - Screenwriter
In the bored suburban atmosphere of a Canadian city, Scott (Scott Speedman) decides to throw a celebratory get-together with friends in his parents' home. Unfortunately, there's a catch: Scott's parents happen to be particularly anal about the direction the carpet fibers lay and the distance from doily to table-edge. This means that the only part of the house that is safe, that is, the only part of the house with no carpeting and therefore no potential mess, is the tiled kitchen.
The festivities begin once the parents go off to a party of their own, leaving Scott and his buddy, Wayne (Tygh Runyan), with a house that would be entirely empty but for Scott's mysterious brother lurking in the basement.
Soon the girls are arriving, including Scott's girlfriend, Tammy (Laura Harris) — whom he plans on bedding before the night is over — and alcohol, drugs, music, more people, and everything else that characterizes a stereotypical house party follows. This includes calamity, as Scott quickly discovers just how much can go wrong in one night of kitchen partying.
Torino International Festival of Young Cinema (1997): Gary Burns won FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention for the film’s "incisive and ironic portrayal of middle class family life in Western society."
Torino International Festival of Young Cinema (1997): Gary Burns won a Special Mention.
Torino International Festival of Young Cinema (1997): Kitchen Party nominated in Best Film category for the Prize of the City of Torino.
