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6.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Cocktail Hour remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like your dramas with a side of 'what on earth are you doing?' then pull up a chair. If you need your protagonists to have a shred of common sense or a coherent moral compass, you might want to skip this one. It’s a bit of a relic, but it’s got a weird, frantic energy that kept me watching.
Cynthia starts the movie by declaring she’s done with the whole marriage thing. It’s supposed to be empowering, I guess? But then she immediately hops on a boat and falls for the first guy who smiles at her. It’s like watching someone try to swim by jumping directly into a whirlpool. 🌊
Paris in this movie feels like a stage set built out of cardboard and good intentions. When the 'Prince' shows up, I spent a good five minutes wondering if he was actually a royal or just a very dedicated theater kid. He’s attached to his mother at the hip, which makes for some genuinely awkward dinner table scenes.
There’s a moment where a man gets thrown out a window. It happens with the grace of a sack of flour being tossed out the back of a moving truck. Cynthia takes the blame, which is one of those 'movie logic' choices that makes you want to put your head in your hands.
Randolph Scott is in this, looking like he’s wondering if he left the stove on back home. He’s the 'steady' guy, and he brings a certain weight to the screen that the rest of the cast seems to be dodging. It’s strange to compare this to something like The Battle Cry of Peace—both are trying to say something about how people behave, but this one is clearly just here for the drama and the martinis.
Is it a classic? No. Is it worth the watch? Only if you like your movies to be slightly unhinged. Sometimes I think we try too hard to find depth in movies that just wanted to get us through a Friday night. 🍸
Anyway, the ending is a total shrug. It just kind of stops. I think the editor might have just run out of film, or maybe they just got bored of the characters. Honestly? I don't blame them.
