The Party is considered a classic comedic cult film.Edwards biographers Peter Lehman and William Luhr said, "The Party may very well be one of the most radically experimental films in Hollywood history; in fact it may be the single most radical film since D.W. Griffith's style came to dominate the American cinema."Film historian Saul Austerlitz wrote, "Despite the offensiveness of Sellers' brownface routine, The Party is one of his very best films... Taking a page from Tati, this is neorealist comedy, purposefully lacking a director's guiding eye: look here, look there. The screen is crammed full of activity, and the audience's eyes are left to wander where they may."
The film opens in the desert, and it is revealed that a film crew is filming an ambush scene for a costume epic similar to Gunga Din. Unknown Indian actor Hrundi V. Bakshi (Sellers) has a small role where he sounds a bugle to start the attack. Ignoring directions, he continues to play even after being shot dozens of times, and he doesn't stop even after the director (Herbert Ellis) yells cut. Bakshi continues to hamper the filming, until he accidentally blows up an enormous set, a fort rigged with explosives for an upcoming scene depicting its attack. The director fires Bakshi immediately and calls the studio head, General Fred Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley), about the mishap. Clutterbuck writes down Bakshi's name in order to blacklist him, but he inadvertently writes Bakshi's name on the guest list of his upcoming dinner party.
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