Whit Stillman’s third and most indulgent installment of his autobiographical preppie/yuppie trilogy. Set in the early 80’s, during the hey day of disco, the film follows the romantic interludes of two Hampshire College graduates working as editorial assistants in New York City. Alice (Chloe Sevigny) is the repressed intellect of the duo, while Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) is the peppy pursuer of materialistic gratification. By day they grind away, trying to get ahead in their careers, but at night they are drawn to the pulsating club life of an immensely popular discotheque where they are wooed by a pool of unctuous Harvard grads (Robert Sean Leonard and Matthew Keeslar). Sevigny and Beckinsale, looking very Parker Posey-esque here, give solid performances, but it’s not enough to out weigh Stillman’s smugness. More engaging than “Barcelona” but not nearly as sincere or complete as “Metropolitan.”
