2008
Americans will be pleased to know that the French are perfectly capable of making dumb comedies, too.
Case in point: "Vampire Party." Presumably, it's a spoof, but if the only movie you can poke fun at directly is "Titanic" "? a gag stale about 11 years ago "? you don't quite qualify.
In the film, a cast of reasonably attractive people (well, and a guy who looks like the French Adrien Brody) hanging out at a club in a castle find that there's more to the joint "? namely, a crowd of hungry vampires awaiting throughout its labyrinthian halls. Our humans have to dispatch the bloodsuckers in order to survive until morning, of course. The fact that one woman attempts to do so via exercise kicks should clue you in as to how high or low the comedy bar is set.
The script is rife with jokes involving farts, vibrators and just plain bad puns. When the fanged character discuss "Bloody Mary," but they're not talking about the tomato-juice-based drink, a pained groan is all you can muster. For once, the tagline equates to truth in advertising: "This party is going to suck."
In the hands of the Zucker brothers, this might have been something worth a few slapstick laughs, even mildly. Then again, with them at the helm, it wouldn't look nearly as good. Polish is one thing directors Stephen Cafiero and Vincent Lobelle have going for it, as the budget appears to have been significant, with no expense spared for effects. Another plus is an excellent alt-rock soundtrack, featuring cuts from The Magic Numbers and Goldfrapp. I'd suggest skipping the movie and going directly to the soundtrack CD, but there isn't one.
"?Rod Lott
