"Party Mom" begins as if it were a comedy about social class and snobbery in Beverly Hills compared to the San Fernando Valley. But at the midpoint, the film switches gears from "Valley Girl" into a full-blown shattering tragedy. At the heart of film is the "party mom," Jackie Anderson, who is responsible for the deaths of three young people and, indirectly, for the death of her own daughter.

The performances were first-rate as the dichotomy was established between the family values of Brittany, her mom Caroline, her dad Gary, an her little sister Emma that are juxtaposed with the alcoholic Jackie, swimming in money and booze.

The first shocking moment of the film was the car crash that took the lives of three of the teenagers who became intoxicated at the party at Jackie's home. Brittany was thrown from the vehicle and survived. Perhaps just as shocking was the "not guilty" verdict rendered by a jury in Jackie's trial.

One of the most interesting characters in the film was Ashley Anderson, the practical and wise young woman who recognizes the gravity of her mother's illness but is helpless to do anything. The saddest moment in the film was the taking of Ashley's life by one of the distraught parents.

The filmmakers tried to walk a tightrope in cinematic styles. While the situations were over the top, the cast nonetheless deserves credit for searching for the truth in their characters and ultimately realizing an unforgettable tragedy in Beverly Hills.