The less said about the film's plot the better. Like I said, it's only 65 minutes long so almost anything constitutes a spoiler alert. What I can tell you is that the film dwells in very familiar territory: the sensitive jerk, the cute girl who has to be won over, a high school keg party, et cetera. This is the stuff of the high school sex comedy. In a way, that is kind of the film Katz has made, except all the sex is only talked about and there isn't all that much comedy. Dance Party, USA has a lot of small pleasures to offer, many of which can be found in the film's empty spaces and silences. The characters may do a lot of talking, but the things they don't say are more powerful than the things they do. It's not a fun movie, per se. It's pretty sobering, in fact. It has a happy ending, I think, but not one made for the movies. It's the kind of happy ending you find in life where, after the credits roll, people still go on not saying what they really mean and generally screwing things up. It's all just one big awkward house party.

DVD NOTES

Dance Party, USA is available as part of an awesome two-disc set from Benten Films. The first disc is Katz's second feature, Quiet City, which I believe received very positive reviews, though I haven't gotten around to watching it myself yet. There are some nice special features - commentary tracks and all that jazz - and the packaging is really cool. Worth picking up if you're into that sort of thing.