When the Partys Over

Plot

Frankie (Elizabeth Berridge), Amanda (Sandra Bullock), MJ (Rae Dawn Chong, and Banks (Kris Kamm) are housemates, who are fresh out of college.

Frankie is a social worker, who is dating Taylor, a lawyer (Brian McNamara).

Amanda, an artist, meets and falls in love with Alexander Midnight, a performance artist (Fisher Stevens). She is also trying to guide her younger brother, Willie (Michael Landes), with wisdom, patience, and compassion, after the death of their mother.

The third roommate, MJ, is a stockbroker, who is actually very promiscuous and has a pension for drinking. She even sleeps with Taylor, thus betraying Frankie.

The final housemate, Banks, is an actor who is gay, and who is also best friends with Amanda.

In short, this movie touches on a group of twentysomethings in California, circa the early 1990s, highlighting the social issues of that time period, like teenage drinking, homosexuality, rape, infidelity, and problems with trust, amongst many other themes.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for When the Party's Over was mostly positive, and Allmovie rated the film at three stars. The Los Angeles Times was more positive, writing that it "transcends the conventional plot and brings the characters alive in this engaging tale of struggling housemates."