The Dinner Party
NR (yet), 114 minutes
Written by Miles Doleac and Michael Donovan Horn
Directed by Miles Doleac
Starring Bill Sage, Lindsay Anne Williams, Ritchie Montgomery, Miles Doleac, Sawandi Wilson, Alli Hart, Mike Mayhall, Sherri Eakin, and Jeremy London.
The Dinner Party is an American production, with Artist Vodka Films, in association with Historia Films, and distributed by Uncork’d Entertainment.
Synopsis: A budding playwright and his wife attend a dinner party hosted by wealthy, cultural elites, who have promised to bankroll the writer’s latest play to Broadway, but, in fact, have darker designs in mind for the couple.
Here’s what this review won’t have: food puns such as “delicious intrique,” or “the unfolding story will have you salivating for more.”
Lame. I hate that stuff.
To be honest, early on The Dinner Party was giving me Rosemary’s Baby vibes, like the whole thing was being orchestrated for the benefit of the husband (Mayhall) and his playwriting career, while the somewhat damaged and fragile wife (Hart) was simply an extraneous appendage to be sacrificed on the alter of personal advancement.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn, as the film developed, that was not the case.
But did I love everything the writers did with the story? Nope.
As you know, we hate to give spoilers here at VSMP, so I won’t tell you what those developments are or why I don’t like them, but what I will say…
…is that, overall, The Dinner Party is an enjoyable 2 hours, with some interesting characters (who deserve, perhaps, a bit more screen time and/or fleshing out), and a logical, if not entirely “Wow!” ending, for me at least.
It is entirely worth your time.
The Dinner Party will hit limited theaters, DVD, and digital outlets Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and sever cable TV providers on June 5.
Check it out.
My Grade: B