Society Fever: A messy dinner you probably shouldn't attend

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, you probably only want to watch Society Fever if you have a soft spot for these old-school, black-and-white family squabbles where everyone talks at a mile a minute. If you hate movies where the whole conflict is just "people being embarrassed by their relatives," steer clear. You’ll be bored to tears. But, if you like watching people try to hide their crazy uncles for two hours, you might find it weirdly relatable.

The whole movie hinges on the mom sweating bullets because her "screwball" family is about to meet the upper crust. It feels a bit like watching a slow-motion car crash, but with better hats. Sometimes the frantic energy works, other times it just feels like everyone is shouting over each other in a small room. Why is nobody sitting down?

I caught myself staring at the background furniture more than the actual dialogue during the dinner scene. There’s a vase in the corner that looks like it’s about to fall over for the entire duration of the main course. It never does, though. The tension of that vase was honestly higher than the tension between the characters.

The family dynamic

The family is, well, they are a lot. They feel like a bunch of characters from The Goose Hangs High got lost on the way to a different script. They aren't exactly lovable, but they aren't totally insufferable either. They just exist in this state of constant, low-level chaos that makes you wonder how they ever get anything done.

There is a moment where someone walks in with a ridiculous outfit, and the pause that follows lasts about five seconds too long. You can feel the actors waiting for a laugh that didn't quite land on the day they shot it. It’s that kind of movie. It’s got a bit of that Everything But the Truth energy where the lie is just way too big to keep track of.

• The dinner table set is way too small for that many people.
• Hedda Hopper is in this, which is always a trip.
• There’s a weird amount of door slamming. Like, an aggressive amount.

It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to fill an hour or so with people acting goofy in nice clothes. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times, it feels like it’s trying to be a frantic comedy but forgot to tell the punchlines. 🤷‍♂️

It’s fine. It’s perfectly, weirdly fine. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece of social satire. It’s a dinner party, not a revolution.