YMMV / The Party

• Adorkable: Hrundi. He's clumsy, socially awkward and nothing seems to ever go right for him but that's what makes him such a sympathetic character.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Steve Franken, as the drunk waiter, is well-liked as the Plucky Comic Relief who keeps things going when the film cuts away from Sellers.
• Heartwarming Moment: Hrundi comforting Michele after Divot attempts to make advances on her in exchange for a screen test, along with him standing up to Divot and saying it's Michele's choice if she wants to stay.
• Memetic Mutation: "Birdie Num Num."
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: People in India seem to view Hrundi V. Bakshi as a harmlessly amusing caricature of their culture. His line "In India, we don't think who we are, we know who we are" gets quoted a lot (including, reportedly, by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself). Indeed, the film had an impact in India’s film industry; the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan cited Bakshi as an influence on his role as bumbling bellboy Arjun Singh in Namak Halaal, and Satyajit Ray liked the film so much he asked Sellers to star as a Marwari businessman in a film tentatively titled The Alien; unfortunately, his death led to the film getting cancelled.
• Parody Displacement: According to Hank Azaria, he based his portrayal of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on The Simpsons on Peter Sellers' portrayal of Hrundi V. Bakshi, which The Simpsons has since overshadowed.
• Unintentional Period Piece: From the architecture of the mansion, the color and look of the furniture, the then-brand-new luxury cars, to the clothing, hairstyles, the swinging Pink Panther-esque score and the producer's daughter being a ditzy hippie, this film is almost as '60s as it can get! The only thing missing is psychedelic trippy visuals.
• Values Dissonance: Bakshi meets a famous Western film star named Wyoming Bill Kelso who, upon Bakshi telling him he is from India, immediately draws fingers guns on him and calls him an Injun in a joking manner which Bakshi takes in gleeful stride. Charming and commonly accepted at the time, wildly racist and likely to get you punched today.

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