I recently discovered that Jonathan
Kesselman (The Hebrew Hammer) is set to direct a remake of one of my favorite comedies, Blake Edwards' "The Party" for Godfather Entertainment.
The original film starred the brilliant Peter Sellers as Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian extra who is mistakenly invited to a swank Hollywood party. It was a great comedic set-up for an amazing performer, and Sellers managed to make Bakshi both hilarious and likable. A nice, simple guy in a very unfamiliar, pretentious setting.
Unfortunately, Godfather Entertainment, in their infinite comedic wisdom, is "tweaking" the concept – changing the Bakshi character into a blond Midwesterner (uh, that dude from 30Rock?) Note to Godfather Entertainment: Blake Edwards PWNS you.
There is no reason to do a remake. The original film is wonderful, but I'll confess, after seeing the Ali G Show (many, many years ago before Borat, etc.) I pitched a remake to a friend over at Miramax. I was convinced Sacha Baron Cohen was the second coming of Peter Sellers, and that his confrontational style of comedy was the perfect way to tackle a FRESH remake of "The Party."
The Pitch was the following. We take Ali G and turn it on it's head, Instead of bombastic and boorish, Cohen would recede into the polite, charming, but completely clueless Bakshi character. We use Harvey's connections to set up several super swank "Hollywood insider" parties in New York and Los Angeles. The parties would be brimming with invited guests; stars and execs, bimbos and B-Listers (and would of course be wired for filming.) At this point, we let Cohen loose to do his thing and film the results. After, we go back and do re-shoots (with extras) to tack on in the obligatory "emerging love story" narrative from the original film. I thought it'd be great. And then of course ... Boat came out, making zillions and totally blowing Cohen's anonymity.
I have since read that Cohen is a huge Sellers fan (not surprising) I think it would be an interesting challenge for him to play a kinder, gentler, more likable character like Bakshi. But would it still be funny? Is it a dated character that no longer works in today's society? I don't know, but I know he could pull it off. And I still believe it could be done with the proper makeup and lighting. If you haven't seen the film you mgiht want to rent it. It feels "dated" now, but Sellers is a joy to watch.
The original film starred the brilliant Peter Sellers as Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian extra who is mistakenly invited to a swank Hollywood party. It was a great comedic set-up for an amazing performer, and Sellers managed to make Bakshi both hilarious and likable. A nice, simple guy in a very unfamiliar, pretentious setting.
Unfortunately, Godfather Entertainment, in their infinite comedic wisdom, is "tweaking" the concept – changing the Bakshi character into a blond Midwesterner (uh, that dude from 30Rock?) Note to Godfather Entertainment: Blake Edwards PWNS you.
There is no reason to do a remake. The original film is wonderful, but I'll confess, after seeing the Ali G Show (many, many years ago before Borat, etc.) I pitched a remake to a friend over at Miramax. I was convinced Sacha Baron Cohen was the second coming of Peter Sellers, and that his confrontational style of comedy was the perfect way to tackle a FRESH remake of "The Party."
The Pitch was the following. We take Ali G and turn it on it's head, Instead of bombastic and boorish, Cohen would recede into the polite, charming, but completely clueless Bakshi character. We use Harvey's connections to set up several super swank "Hollywood insider" parties in New York and Los Angeles. The parties would be brimming with invited guests; stars and execs, bimbos and B-Listers (and would of course be wired for filming.) At this point, we let Cohen loose to do his thing and film the results. After, we go back and do re-shoots (with extras) to tack on in the obligatory "emerging love story" narrative from the original film. I thought it'd be great. And then of course ... Boat came out, making zillions and totally blowing Cohen's anonymity.
I have since read that Cohen is a huge Sellers fan (not surprising) I think it would be an interesting challenge for him to play a kinder, gentler, more likable character like Bakshi. But would it still be funny? Is it a dated character that no longer works in today's society? I don't know, but I know he could pull it off. And I still believe it could be done with the proper makeup and lighting. If you haven't seen the film you mgiht want to rent it. It feels "dated" now, but Sellers is a joy to watch.
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