Top 10 Movie Party Scenes

Out this weekend is the latest high-school party movie Product X, which combines raunchy R-rated antics and a found-footage style. The film focuses on what it claims is "the most epic party ever" (or something like that), but does it have enough "epicness" to outdo some of the greatest party scenes in all of film?

Here's our crack at the top 10 party scenes in movie history.



10. Gosford Park - The Dinner Party

Let's start this list with something may surprise you: Gosford Park. The whole movie is about a dinner party, which counts, as we look at both attendees and the downstairs servants in an English country in what is a character piece and commentary of class and society.



9. Titanic - Third Class Party

We all know Titanic is the highest-grossing movies of all time behind only Avatar. Like that film, James Cameron transported ius nto this world as the Titanic became a microcosm of society as Jack takes Rose away from stuffy fake upper class to the gritty and raw working class that's a hell of a lot more fun. There's fiddle music, dancing and drinking in this scene. It is a great place for love to bloom.



8. Old School - Frat Parties

Seeing that Project X is a Todd Phillips movie, we may as well include a previous effort from The Hangover director, so lets look at Old School. This movie sees three friends in their 30s attempting to become frat boys again, turning a house into frat house. One thing you can not deny about Phillips is he can deliver extraordinary party scenes.




7. American Pie and American Pie 2 - Stifler’s Parties

Many of us grew up with the American Pie movies, and they provided us with the classic story of horny teenage boys looking to screw, well — anything. Both American Pie and American Pie 2 have a party scene early on hosted by everyone’s favorite jackass, Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott). We get teens ogling his mum, drinking extraordinary amounts of alcohol, awkwardly attempting sex and there's Stifler, who suffers a number of unfortunate things himself. One of my favorite jokes is Stifler’s reaction to seeing Sherman the school dork attending his party.



6. The Social Network - House Party

According to The Social Network, as Facebook was developing as a website and becoming everyone’s go-to social media outlet, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), under the influence of Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), starts to party like mad, including going to various nightclubs and parties. One of the most famous is his house party in California resulting with the chimney collapsing.



5. Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring - Bilbo’s Birthday Party

After the prologue in “Fellowship of the Ring,” we get to know our characters through Bilbo’s party, which establishes that the Shire is a peaceful, quiet community where the worst thing to happen is some mischief from the younger hobbits. We do, however, see the early signs of the corrupting influence of the Ring. It is a stark contrast to the outside world.




4. City of God - Benny’s Farewell Party

City of God is a great and essential movie looking at poverty and crime in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. But it is not all doom and gloom as Benny, one of the smartest characters in the movie, is set to leave the favelas and hosts a party for all his friends. But this celebration is cut short because of the gang warfare, ruining this good-natured party.



3. (500) Days of Summer - Two Alternative Parties

I describe (500) Days of Summer as the rom-com for people who do not like rom-coms. It's about something most people have suffere: falling for someone who does not reciprocate. One of the key scenes shows Marc Webb’s stylish approach in how it plays out two versions of the same party, one the fantasy and one reality, at the same time. Both play like typical house parties.



2. The Godfather: Part I - The Wedding

The Wedding in The Godfather: Part I is one of the most famous opening sequences in movie history and there are great reasons why: it was the scene that set up the characters, the world and the period. It's a great way to introduce us to the movie.



1. The Godfather: Part II - Happy New Year

The New Year’s scene in The Godfather: Part II is one of my favorite movie scenes in general. New Year’s is the watershed moment within the movie, showing the mob should not invest in Cuba as the rebels overthrow the government, but more importantly Michael reveals to his brother he knows of his betrayal. Now that’s drama.