HE-HE-HELLO. And welcome to the most quotable and secretly queer film you’ve probably never seen. I say “secretly” because it’s ostensibly about Mary, the eponymous (and heterosexual) party girl of the title, discovering her true passion of being a librarian. And before you start reaching for the remote, it’s worth noting that this is an indie film from the ‘90s starring Parker Posey, which is basically a guarantee of its beyondness. 

Now for its queerness. Within the first moments of the film, you see drag legend Lady Bunny(!!) at one of Mary’s rent parties she throws to ensure she can stay in her New York downtown loft without y’know, actually having to get a job. All this illegal party throwing inevitably gets Mary thrown in the slammer, where she has to be bailed out by her librarian godmother. And so she gets put to work between the aisles of books, figuring out the Dewey Decimal System (Do libraries even still have this? Would any of you even know? Let’s not dwell…)

So far, so ‘90s indie whatevs. But let me tell you, Mary’s style is utterly flawless. Her wardrobe, which she mostly steals from rich people’s closets at parties with the help of her gay pals on lookout, is to die for. And her sweet but dumb Lebanese street-food vendor love interest will make you want to order a falafel with hot sauce, a side of baba ghanoush and a seltzer and EAT IT FROM HIM LIKE HE’S YOUR NAKED MAN-TABLE.

“This is an indie film from the ‘90s starring Parker Posey, which is basically a guarantee of its beyondness.”

Or maybe her ultra hip DJ roommate played by bona-fide queer hot-stuff Guillermo Díaz is more your cup of tea. In fact, this whole film is worth watching simply for the scene between him and Mary after she’s organized his entire record collection according to the Dewey Decimal System she’s so recently mastered at the library. He struggles to find his copy of Mighty Real by Sylvester and she simply replies, “It’s cross-listed under disco classics, and divas, male.” Of course it is.

Party Girl is a whirlwind ride through the mostly queer nightlife scene of pre-Guiliani New York, showing a lost time when it was just about possible to get by without a job as long as you were completely fabulous, and could sell your Gaultier clothes, throw parties, hold stimulating conversations with your roommate about ecstasy, Greek myths and house music. Actually, it sounds a lot like now.

However, it’s not all hedonism from start to end. Mary does find her way, and manages to grow up without giving up (too much) of her free-spirited nature. It’s a lesson for life. Just because last weekend you took a nice, powerful, mind-altering substance that would make your unborn children grow gills, doesn’t meant that next week you can’t be serious about graduate school.

• Catch Rachael at her night Les Poppeurs at Dalston Superstore on Saturday 22nd August where she could very possibly be dressed like Parker Posey circa 1995, playing Sylvester records in the basement.