Parker Posey: One Indie Queen to Another

“What are Parker Posey’s Top 10 Performances?” When news broke last week that Party Girl, Parker Posey, had fallen ill with Lyme disease, toppled with news of a new HBO series, we immediately said a prayer and began adding her films to our Netflix queue.

Because although Posey has headlined at least a dozen, unforgettable 90’s films, for the most part it is the supporting roles that best showcase her talent for dry, nasal humor. Parker Posey is most truly Parker Posey when contrasted with the uninspired blandness of Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton in “Tales from the City” or the nauseating earnestness of Cameron Diaz as, well, Cameron Diaz in “The Sweetest Thing.”

Posey’s oeuvre spans from the prickly record exec, Fiona, in Josie and the Pussycats, to the Dewy Decimal proselyte, Mary, in Party Girl, to Mary-effing-Boone in Basquiat, to her Golden Globe nominated performance as beauty banshee Mary Kay’s nemesis in Hell on Hells. But being indie-queen (a title she likely shares with Catherine Keener) doesn’t come easy.

In 2007, Dennis Lim quotes Parker Posey for the NY Times:

“Being an indie queen, people think I have all these choices. Like I’ve just been sitting around waiting for the best indie film that I deem acceptable. There are a lot of independent films I’ve wanted to do that I haven’t been cast in.”

Yet, despite the struggles of indie-queendom, Posey has influenced many an independent film queen. Here’s a taste of some (her career spans over 60+ films) of her best work to date. Ed Note: We left out Posey’s work on the stage (including her big Broadway debut in Elaine May’s Taller Than a Dwarf), as we are still too neophyte in that branch of the fine arts to have any sway. Though, between you, me, and the return key, Posey was brilliant.  Parker Posey’s Top 10 Performances to date:

---

10. Danica Talos in “Blade: Trinity”
While not the cinematic equivalent of “Nosferatu,” Posey sucks (in a good way) as the emasculating vampires, Danica. Also, she has teeth in her va-jay jay — Damn lesbians.

---

9. Becky St. Germaine in “Spring Break Down”
Amber Tamblin. Amy Poehler. Rachel Dratch. AND Parker Posey. AND a 30-something Spring Break redux? Done.

---

8. Rhonda in “Adam and Steve”
She plays a former fat girl turned stand up comedian who only tells fat jokes. Plus, Posey plays a fag hag who supports her gay through his eyeliner phase—‘nuff said.

---

7. Nora Wilder in “Broken English”
Channeling her inner Meryl Streep, Posey changes things up with a rare, but savory dramatic role in her friend Zoe Cassavetes’s film. She finally plays the leading lady who goes after her man instead of the supportive friend who waits around for him. Yeah feminism!

---

6. Dorleen (Jack’s boss) in “Will in Grace”
Coke-addict boss to Sean Hayes’s Jack, manages to upstage both Messing and McCormack in only two episodes. “If this window isn’t brill, I will go carnival-freak crazy on your ass. I’m serious. I will scratch your eyes out.” Why she wasn’t nominated for an Emmy for this role, we’ll never know.

---

5. Margaret Burre in “Clockwatchers”
As the jilted employee who stages the one-day walkout office temps only dream about, Posey makes us laugh even when she’s reminding us of how much work sucks.  Add Toni Collette, and we straight-up Rachel-Zoe die.

---

4. Meg Swan in “Best in Show”
While it’s true that Posey shines in just about every Christopher Guest movie, this one is our favorite. Feel free to substitute this spot with any other Guest film role, because she’s pretty much bananas in every one.

---

3. Darla Marks in “Dazed and Confused”
As the tyrannical senior in Richard Linklater’s stoner classic, the phrase, “Fry like bacon freshman piggies!” will live on in indie-infamy.

---

2. Mary in “Party Girl”
Only Posey, forever the indie-darling, could glamorize the life of a Dewey Decimal devotee. All those hipster-Librarians the Times editors are always writing about owe their careers to this singular film. That’s how important Parker Posey is people. She made librarians cool. Oh, and she’s a total existentialist.

---

1. ‘Jackie-O’ Pascal in “The House of Yes”
And finally our highly debated over first choice finds Posey as the incestuous Kennedy-obsessed ‘Jackie-O’ Pascal. One of the first of many roles where she plays bat-shit crazy (see carnival-freak crazy, above) also proves to be one of her strongest. Adapted from the stage, and starring a less talented albeit equally funny Tori Spelling, PP carries the film with her manic portrayal, blah, blah, blah.

---

Keep the DVR ready for “Bored to Death” on September 20 @ 9:30pm on HBO starring none other than Miss Parker Posey herself.

 Related posts:

1. The importance of Being Dorothy Parker according to Joel Derfner   From the hard drive of Lambda Award Nominee, author Joel Derfner. Five years ago, when I was thirty, I helped teach a musical theater...
2. Crowning Queen Miss Texas, Crystle Stewart, is no Heidi Klum The best part about my weekend, besides watching Audrey Tautou in Priceless (worth every cent), was the Miss USA Pageant. When I was a wee...
3. Drag Queen Meltdown @ Metro Honey, this is totally unlike us, “we’re not ones’ to gossip,” but we just heard that things got a little “too real” on Tuesday night...
4. The Queen of Pop? EVERYBODY DOES IT // In the wake of Michael Jackson’s death there’s been an abundance of specials, marathons, and shows devoted to his musical career....
5. Jackie Beat… Mario Diaz… Dirty Sanchez… Las Vegas… and ‘Adam & Steve’ A strange thing happened while we were watching LOGO staple, “Adam and Steve.” We call it a staple, because “Adam & Steve” is a...