Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party is another of the rare series of opportunities to listen to a master storyteller. Director, cameraman, and friend of Stephen's, Robert Brinkmann, knows that this will be a tough sell to distributors. Yet it shouldn't.
Imagine attending a party where there is one guy who's had such an unusual life and been thrown into amazing life situations (such as having a gun to his head in a 7-11 for close to an hour while SWAT teams gathered outside). Not only that, the guy can tell the story and move his body as if he's back there. You become privileged to be a listener. That's what happens in ST's Birthday Party. The most fun is when he tells about the list he faxed in to Buzz magazine to demonstrate why he is one of the 100 "coolest people," such as being honored by monks in Thailand by being beaten with sticks.
There are a few liberties taken with the party itself. It took several days to film. Some of the younger friends attending are Robert's, not Steven's friends. Several takes were filmed a few times, but the first take always was the one used. And, well, it wasn't actually Steven's birthday. But the stories are all true. And the dolphins that showed up while they filmed at the beach actually did show up then.
Unfortunately for me, there was one young blonde guest whom I could not take my eyes off. I guess that comes with the territory of being at a very good party. You won't want to miss this one.
