Pleasantly tipsy social comedy about Manhattan preppies and debs, members of what one of them dubs the "UHB" (Urban Haute Bourgeoisie), who sleep all day, dress up in tuxedos and evening gowns, attend dinners and all-night soirees, and prattle on about matters over their heads. One of them, a self-proclaimed Fourier socialist who disapproves of the whole scene, and who is on the rebound from an unhappy romance, doesn't realize how attached he's becoming to a demure young lady who likes to read the classics. The movie keeps bringing up Mansfield Park in particular, as if to encourage us to see this social circle as somehow akin to one of Jane Austen's. It's not as remote as all that, nor of course as fully realized (maybe a little nearer to one of Ronald Firbank's). The pauperish budget and stylistic gracelessness prevent the movie from seeming completely at home there, which has its advantages as well as disadvantages. Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Christopher Eigeman, Taylor Nichols; written and directed by Whit Stillman. (1990) — Duncan Shepherd