Party Girl

"He's not a dick, he's a patron," godmother-librarian Judy corrects her NYC party-hardy goddaughter Mary (Parker Posey), who has been hired as a library clerk. It's one of the funnier lines in an otherwise uneven film about a club-hopping deb-wannabe who tries to balance her chaotic personal life with the ordered world of Melvil Dewey. If you're going to make one frivolous purchase this year, this is a funnier and much more appealing portrait of the library world than the idiotic 1992 effort The Gun in Betty-Lou's Handbag. A strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--June 17, 2003--Columbia TriStar Home Video, 94 min., R, $24.95, avail. July 1-- Yes, Daisy von Scherler Mayer's (and, no, I'm not making that name up) Party Girl, which has a devoted following amongst younger members of the profession (and is head and shoulders above that other early '90s portrait of a librarian, 1992's idiotic The Gun in Betty-Lou's Handbag), is finally available on DVD. Unfortunately, it kind of bites: while the transfer is passable enough, the film is presented full screen rather than widescreen and the disc contains zippola extras (not even a text guide to the Dewey Decimal System!). Bottom line: even with the somewhat underwhelming presentation, this is still a strong optional purchase.]