Review: The Great Gatsby

If you could attend any party hosted by a Hollywood director, you'd want it to be Baz Luhrmann's, wouldn't you? I reckon he just beats out J.J. Abrams' cosplay event in the fun stakes, and you'd certainly want to avoid the intimate get-together round Lars Von Trier's house (*shudder*). Luhrmann clearly knows how to pull out all the stops - as evidenced in the ridiculously extravagant Gatsby gatherings here. The problem with this film, however, is that once we've seen one magnificently ostentatious evening, everything after fails to live up to the spectacle. Luhrmann basically invites us to the world's greatest party, but it's one that slowly sours over the course of the following two hours. At least James Cameron's uncompromising pool party would be consistent.