Line #1 Film/PartyMom


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/91un_zgol_ri.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Jackie with a drink in her hand, so naturally she has a smile on her face]]
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4	''Party Mom'' is a 2018 LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek drama, written and directed by Michael Feifer.
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6	Brittany Thompson (Elise Luthman) is a teenage girl from the [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles San Fernando Valley]] (Lake Balboa, to be specific). While she's part of a tight-knit middle class family, she's recently become friends with Ashley Anderson (Amber Frank), a rich girl from Beverly Hills. Invited to attend a WildTeenParty at Ashley's house, she learns that it's actually Ashley's mom Jackie (Creator/KristaAllen) hosting the party, and Jackie is the wildest one of all. As Brittany continues to party with Ashley (and Jackie), she starts experiencing hangovers and becomes detached from her family, causing her parents Gary (Creator/BrianKrause) and Caroline (Creator/MeganWard) to worry about her, a worry that proves to be justified when one of Jackie's parties ends tragically.
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8	Creator/KristaAllen herself has described it as "what happens when ''[[Series/TheRealHousewives The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]]'' crash a Creator/{{Lifetime}} movie."
9
10	!!''Party Mom'' contains examples of:
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12	* AdultsDressedAsChildren: Jackie wears Music/ArianaGrande-like kitten ears at one of the parties [[spoiler:and keeps them on in jail after her arrest]].
13	* AlcoholicParent: Jackie pretty well retires the trophy for this. She's literally always drinking, and seems constantly wasted.
14	* BerserkButton: Do ''NOT'' tell Jackie to "calm down".
15	* BlackComedy: Creator/KristaAllen's portrayal of Jackie has this tone, which contrasts quite a bit with the fairly serious style of the rest of the movie.
16	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Travis gets quite a bit of screentime as a possible love interest for Brittany [[spoiler:then gets killed in the crash]].
17	* DrunkDriver: Brittany leaves the party at the Anderson house with hunky Travis, a girl named Sasha, and the obviously drunk Dillon at the wheel, who goes too fast and weaves all around the road. [[spoiler:He ends up getting in a head-on collision that puts Brittany in the hospital and kills everyone else]].
18	* FaceHeelTurn: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in almost a cruel way. It looks like [[spoiler:Gary, the film's most likable character, has turned vigilante and murdered Ashley in cold blood, but it's revealed to be the father of the other girl in the crash]].
19	* GenkiGirl: Brittany's ultra-exuberant 11-year-old sister Emma.
20	* GlamorousSingleMother: Jackie cleaned up on alimony in her divorce (70% of her ex's assets!) and lives in a big, lavish Beverly Hills house.
21	* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Jackie isn't a "girl" anymore, but takes every other part of the trope name up to eleven.
22	* InTheHood: The person who breaks into the Anderson house and [[spoiler:kills Ashley]] is wearing a dark hoodie.
23	* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: When Brittany and Sasha talk about Travis.
24	-->'''Sasha''': So, you gonna go all the way?
25	-->'''Brittany''': All the way?
26	-->'''Sasha''': Yeah, like, have sex.
27	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Caroline Thompson and her daughters Brittany and Emma [[HairOfGoldHeartofGold all have blonde hair]] and represent a well-adjusted, loving family, while Jackie Anderson and her daughter Ashley both have dark hair and represent a dysfunctional, hedonistic family.
28	* MrsRobinson: Never stated outright, but it's very obviously hinted that Jackie likes to hook up with the hot teen boys at her parties.
29	* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: It's never explicitly pointed out, but Brittany's younger sister is literally named Creator/EmmaThompson.
30	* PetTheDog: Jackie's one sympathetic moment is [[spoiler:when she cries over Ashley's death]].
31	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Ashley gives one to Jackie after [[spoiler:the fatal crash]], but Jackie couldn't care less.
32	-->'''Ashley''': I thought you were so awesome, Mom! You know, I thought you were the Cool Mom, the [[TitleDrop Party Mom]]. But you know what? You're the Self-Centered Mom!
33	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ashley gets murdered by Sasha's father]] in revenge for [[spoiler:her death in the crash]].
34	* ScareEmStraight: The second act plays out like a driver's ed film about the dangers of drunk driving.
35	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Jackie figures her wealth will protect her when she gets in trouble [[spoiler:and she's absolutely right]].
36	* SecondaryCharacterTitle: Jackie only appears in a couple of scenes in the first half of the film, and is still not the main character even when she appears more in the second half.
37	* ShockAndSwitchEnding: It sure feels like [[spoiler:a drunk Jackie is going to hit Gary's car and probably kill him]] at the end, but it doesn't happen.
38	* TheSociopath: Jackie is a {{Narcissist}} for sure, but is also highly callous, irresponsible and devoid of empathy.
39	* TitleDrop: No less than ''three''! Besides the one listed in TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, there's these:
40	-->'''Jackie''': I'm a party mom, right?
41	-->'''Ashley''': Everybody calls her the Party Mom.
42	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Brittany is coming home late from Jackie's parties, is hungover in the morning, and has started drinking coffee.
43	-->'''Emma''': Only adults drink coffee! You're a kid!
44	* UrbanSegregation: Actually a major theme, dealing with the tension in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles between posh Beverly Hills and the suburban San Fernando Valley. Brittany is even ashamed to tell Ashley's friends that she lives in Lake Balboa, just vaguely saying "the Valley", and leading them at first to assume it's a wealthy area like Hidden Hills or Calabasas. Jackie looks down on the Thompson family, even insulting Caroline's clothes in court.
45	-->'''Jackie''': Look at her! She looks like she shops at an outlet mall!
46	* VagueAge: Travis and Dillon, the two guys Brittany leaves the party with, seem a bit older, but it's not established how old exactly. Brittany and Travis even have a conversation about it, in which he gets ''very'' evasive. [[spoiler:However, the criminal charges against Jackie after the crash specify that they were both under 21.]]
47	-->'''Brittany''': How old are you?
48	-->'''Travis''': What difference does it make how old I am?
49	-->'''Brittany''': I mean, I'm only 15.
50	-->'''Travis''': Okay. So?
51	-->'''Brittany''': So you're probably a lot older than me. Like, [[JailbaitTaboo statutory rape older than me]].
52	-->'''Travis''': Uh, well, I feel like it depends a lot more of how you feel.
53	* ValleyGirl: Brittany is actually from the Valley, but isn't portrayed this way at all.
54	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: This appears to be a fictionalization of the stories of two middle-aged women who had similar incidents occur in 2009. One, in Florida, involved Diane Katz Santarelli, a woman who was notorious for hosting teen parties at her house. The other, in Missouri, involved a Halloween party for teens hosted by Sandra Triebel. In both cases [[spoiler:drunk teens who attended the parties caused a fatal car accident, and both women were charged with manslaughter for providing them alcohol. Santarelli was acquitted on the manslaughter charge, while a judge threw out Triebel's manslaughter charge, ruling that prosecutors lacked legal grounds for it. They still faced misdemeanor charges for providing alcohol to minors. Triebel pleaded guilty, while Santarelli went to trial and was convicted.]]
55	* VigilanteMan: After Jackie [[spoiler: gets acquitted on all charges, the father of the other girl in the crash kills Ashley in revenge, but at first it's made to seem like Gary is the killer]].

Context Film / PartyMom