Judging from the other reviews, there seems to be a psychological need to celebrate this film as the cult 80's teenage party epic.
Well for one thing, these are certainly not teenagers. They are not even pretending to be teenagers (real teenage talk being quite difficult for adults to replicate.) Three of the party-guests are police, allowed off-duty on New Year's Eve, owing to a rather unlikely ruling not to interfere with family celebrations. One of them is an attractive woman constable (Rebecca), who has already demonstrated her combat skills in the gym, and suddenly recognises a violent gatecrasher whom she recently arrested, and privately hankers after. Another (Terry) is a loser in love, who is just drowning his sorrows, not-too-convincingly either.
The unofficial host is Larry, who has not told his parents (away at a different party) that this event is happening at all. With a cast of 27, it's to be expected that one of them is a suspected gay, the desperately shy Toby, though we can't reveal the truly hilarious way in which he asserts his manhood and acquires his first girlfriend. Glamorous Brenda and under-confident Shirley are best mates, hunting as a pair, though Brenda's well-meant attempt (after too many drinks) to alter Shirley's costume, to make it a bit more low-cut, ends in disaster, with Shirley having to hide in the bath, where a drunk and incapable Terry collapses on top of her, and turns out to be not so incapable after all. Loveliest of the lot is Annabel Mednick, as I can testify, having relished close-up views of her in pub theatre in 1981-2, though she has bravely settled for bizarre make-up for the unlovely role she plays here.
The ending is perhaps the funniest part - also not to be revealed - with Larry's father and mother (Kate Williams, best known as Liz from Eastenders) arriving home to an unexpected welcome, with rather a speeded-up 'Auld Lang Syne' only slightly spoiling the effect.
Well for one thing, these are certainly not teenagers. They are not even pretending to be teenagers (real teenage talk being quite difficult for adults to replicate.) Three of the party-guests are police, allowed off-duty on New Year's Eve, owing to a rather unlikely ruling not to interfere with family celebrations. One of them is an attractive woman constable (Rebecca), who has already demonstrated her combat skills in the gym, and suddenly recognises a violent gatecrasher whom she recently arrested, and privately hankers after. Another (Terry) is a loser in love, who is just drowning his sorrows, not-too-convincingly either.
The unofficial host is Larry, who has not told his parents (away at a different party) that this event is happening at all. With a cast of 27, it's to be expected that one of them is a suspected gay, the desperately shy Toby, though we can't reveal the truly hilarious way in which he asserts his manhood and acquires his first girlfriend. Glamorous Brenda and under-confident Shirley are best mates, hunting as a pair, though Brenda's well-meant attempt (after too many drinks) to alter Shirley's costume, to make it a bit more low-cut, ends in disaster, with Shirley having to hide in the bath, where a drunk and incapable Terry collapses on top of her, and turns out to be not so incapable after all. Loveliest of the lot is Annabel Mednick, as I can testify, having relished close-up views of her in pub theatre in 1981-2, though she has bravely settled for bizarre make-up for the unlovely role she plays here.
The ending is perhaps the funniest part - also not to be revealed - with Larry's father and mother (Kate Williams, best known as Liz from Eastenders) arriving home to an unexpected welcome, with rather a speeded-up 'Auld Lang Syne' only slightly spoiling the effect.