Daisy von Scherler Mayer’s Party Girl captures the effervescence and grind of both parties and profession, and both halves of that equation are crucial. It’s clear that Parker Posey’s Mary can’t go on like this–that there is, inevitably, a point at which “youthful, free-spirited, and broke” becomes “adult, demoralized, and poor”–and her maturation will lead her to the traditional landmarks of a settled life: a steady job and a steady partner. But the movie is refreshingly nonjudgmental of Mary’s “old” life. She needs to get her shit together, not leave it behind completely.

This lack of moralizing pairs well with the film’s tart sense of humor. I love Mary’s request for some drugs to take her mind off her problems: “I would like a nice, powerful, mind-altering substance. Preferably one that will make my unborn children grow gills.” There’s some playful shock value to that last line, but it doesn’t feel like the movie is asking you to laugh at how awful or shortsighted she is. Instead, it illuminates her perverse daring, a character quality that works both for and against her: this isn’t the only time we see her willingness to go all-in on a moment’s passion. (Also, don’t do drugs, etc., but Party Girl‘s offhanded look at its characters’ casual drug use is also refreshing, showing that the film’s perspective is genuinely rooted in its particular milieu rather than the need to communicate something to its audience.)

The Party Girl conversation that best sums the movie up involves Mary listening to her gay friend, Derrick, unpack an encounter he had the night before:

Derrick: And he looked in my eyes and he said “I don’t understand you.” Isn’t that amazing, that he saw how complex I am?

Mary: Maybe he just didn’t understand you.

Derrick: What do you mean?

Mary: You said he didn’t understand English very well. Maybe he just … didn’t understand you.

You can have your moment of profundity, but it’s hard to know whether or not to take it seriously. But Party Girl doesn’t specialize in deflating its characters’ latent romanticism: Derrick does eventually run into this guy again, and what we see between them is funny, imperfect, and sweet. They like each other. They’re drawn to each other. And … Derrick had his name completely wrong. Whatever, Party Girl seems to say, they’ll probably figure it out.

Same with Mary and her courtship of falafel vendor Mustafa (Omar Townsend), a teacher from Lebanon who feels lonely and out-of-place in New York, or Mary and her mounting interest in library science, or Mary and her loving-but-disapproving godmother (Sasha von Scherler). Sometimes people misunderstand each other, or misunderstand their own epiphanies and the moments they’ve coded as significant, but, hey, that’s life. Scrape yourself up off the floor and go to work in the morning anyway. There’s a good party tonight, and everyone’s invited.

Party Girl is streaming on the Criterion Channel.