It’s Fat Tuesday, when the good people of New Orleans laissez les bon temps rouler. That’s French for “get blackout drunk and wake up in the street festooned with beads.” I think. I took German in college. Anyway, to celebrate the heartiest of party holidays, here are some of my favorite party movies.
House Party
If I wanted to save time, I could have just listed this. It is not only a shining example of a party movie, but also of the hi-top fade, one of the greatest haircuts of all time. Somebody needs to bring it back. I think I’m the man for the job.
Animal House
This is the movie that set the bar for all the other party movies that would follow. And it holds up pretty well.
Porky’s
This is another early entry in the party movie genre, and still one of my favorites.
Can’t Hardly Wait
Notable because most of the action of the movie is set at a single party.
Dazed and Confused
I want to party at the Moon Tower.
The Hangover
The Hangover brought the party movie into the late Aughts/early TwentyTeens, and raised the bar on depravity in the genre.
Bachelor Party
I recently watched Bachelor Party for the first time in a long time, and after movies like The Hangover, the party just doesn’t seem as raucous as it did when I first saw it.
Superbad
Every party would benefit from an a capella rendition of a Guess Who song.
Old School
I like the idea of reclaiming the party movie for guys in their 30s. And not just because I turned 30 last month.
Weird Science
Any movie featuring a party with a ballistic missile and a gang of interdimensional mutant bikers definitely belongs on this list.
Revenge of the Nerds
Like Weird Science, this one is kind of a role reversal party movie. Plus, it stars Goose.
Go
This movie often gets overlooked, but it was one of the better party movies of the 90s.
If you’re going out for Mardi Gras tonight, have fun and be safe.
