Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 4, 2022

Dance Party, USA (2006) is being released as part of Circle Collective's one-disc Two Films by Aaron Katz, which also includes Quiet City (2007) on the other layer of this BD-50.

Aaron Katz is one of the leading pioneers of the "mumblecore wave of films beginning in the mid-2000s along with Kentucker Audley, Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass brothers (Jay and Mark), Greta Gerwig, and Joe Swanberg. Katz's first feature Dance Party, USA was made on a budget between $2,500 and $3,000. In some of the new interviews in this package by Circle Collective, he talks about trying to go the route of independent films in the 1990s, which were made on average between $50,000 and $100,000. He says he couldn't take Kevin Smith's advice of maxing out his credit cards because he didn't have any, nor did he know any rich dentists. The picture was made in Katz's hometown of Portland and the title comes from the cable TV show which ran from 1986-1992, according to Neil Young's Film Lounge. The generic story centers on two unambitious teen friends, Lothario Gus (Cole Pennsinger) and Bill (Ryan White), who attend a Fourth of July party. While Bill tries to attract Christie (Sarah Bing), Gus hopes to win the heart of Jessica (Anna Kavan), Christie's friend. Jessica is also a friend of Gus's ex-girlfriend and she can see right through him. Gus decides to reveal a shocking secret to Jessica who attempts to put him on the straight and narrow.

An early scene of Gus bragging to Bill is based on a conversation Katz was privy to on a train. It's analogous to a teen version of Edward Zwick's About Last Night (1986) in which Danny (Rob Lowe) shares (more honestly) the romantic encounters he's had with Debbie (Demi Moore) to his good buddy, Bernie (Jim Belushi) on a bus. Cole Pensinger and Ryan White were younger and less experienced actors than Lowe and Belushi and they don't have the same chemistry. Gus lies and exaggerates to Bill but tells the truth to Jessica. The main issue I have with Dance Party, USA is the indifference Jessica shows after Gus tells her what he did. It's true that Jessica helps him to mature and confront a gross deed but I was waiting for her to show at least some reaction to the incident at some point. “Do you want to go somewhere?” she later queries Gus laconically. This isn't to imply that I hoped the film would segue into melodrama. While it tries to head in a direction where Gus can confront his dilemma, it doesn't travel to a place of substance.

Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Circle Collective presents Dance Party, USA in its original exhibition ratio of 1.85:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded Blu-ray. This 2004 production, which wasn't released until two years later, was filmed on a Panasonic AG-DVX100 at 24fps using the magnetic tape format. It purposely looks soft and hazy. There isn't any pixellation or oversharpening on this transfer. Scanning was carried out by Post Haste Digital. Circle Collective has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 28907 kbps.

Circle Collective delivers eight chapters for the 65-minute movie.

Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Circle Collective has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1051 kbps, 24-bit). There is indeed a good deal of mumbling so the dialogue falls on the low-end range of the pitch scale. There aren't any visual effects or action scenes so all sound ambiance is focalized along the front channels.

Fortunately, Circle Collective includes optional subtitles for the feature.

Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW So Much Sheer Will: A Conversation with Kris Rey, Aaron Katz and the Cast of DANCE PARTY, USA (17:23, 1080i) - Recorded in 2021, this four-square Zoom conversation is hosted by filmmaker Kris Rey, who's joined by actors Cole Pensinger and Anna Kavan, as well as Katz. The actors reflect on their cringe-worthy moments upon re-viewing the film fifteen years later. Katz remembers clearly when he first began working on his maiden feature and meeting Pensinger and Kavan. He also recounts how he modeled an early scene from a conversation he overheard on a train in Portland. Katz has a lot to say about how he looks at the film today versus while making it. He asks the actors to comment on viewing it in retrospect, which they do. Katz additionally grapples with the movie's point of view. He went back and watched the dailies (on mini-DV tapes) again and gives his contemporary impressions. Kavan's Internet connection buffers a few times but not many of her remarks are clipped. The four participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• NEW Trailer (2:09, 1080p) - an original trailer for Dance Party, USA presented in about 1.90:1 anamorphic widescren. The trailer was created after the picture was selected into festivals and contains critic and filmmaker quotations.

Dance Party, USA Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The well-respected film critic Amy Taubin continues to include Dance Party, USA in her pantheon of high school movies. I wouldn't put it in my canon, although it's a genre I rather enjoy. Several reviewers regard Jessica's lack of any reaction to Gus confiding to her a buried secret one of the movie's core strengths but I see it as a primary drawback. If you've seen Katz's later and most recent features, then you may want to check this out for auteurist curiosity.