It's her party, and she'll cry if she wants to.

The Anniversary Party, which marks the directorial debut of Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, is a success. Leigh and Cumming, who wrote and directed, cast themselves as Joe and Sally, a successful Hollywood couple, he a Booker-Prize winning British novelist, she an acclaimed actress, who celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. Their marriage is tenuous at best - the sexually ambiguous Joe just recently returned to Sally after a long breakup. Invited to their tastefully decorated glass house for the occasion are their friends and neighbors, who are played by, well, Leigh and Cumming's friends and neighbors.

If you and I did this, we'd wind up with a mediocre movie at best, but Leigh and Cumming count Kevin Kline, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, John C. Reily, and Jane Adams to their inner circle, and the result is a hilarious and touching affair.

I had my reservations: the first scene of the film shows narcissistic Hollywood stars practicing yoga with their personal trainer, and one can't help but wonder if this hasn't been done to death by The Player and the like. Who really wants to watch the lifestyles of the rich and famous anymore?

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From the start, Leigh and Cummings skillfully hint at cracks in the sophisticated veneer, and although the film begins like Hurly Burly light, it turns a sudden corner when Paltrow's character hands out an envelope of Ecstasy pills. The smooth jazz on the soundtrack morphs into trippy rave grooves, and suddenly everybody's jumping into the pool naked and sucking on lollies. The drugs work as a clever plot device that allows the characters to take off their masks. Bit parts that seemed like stock comedy characters suddenly gain in depth. The ensuing soul-searching is both painful and fun. Layers of clothes are discarded along with long-held pretensions, and shaky Hollywood egos get cut back to size. Can Sally and Joe's fragile marriage survive the turbulent night?

I wish there were more movies like The Anniversary Party. Sure, watching drugged-out successful artists wallow in their insecurities might be considered self-indulgent, but what ultimately matters isn't Sally and Joe's profession or the size of their bank accounts - it's their relationship and their humanity. At 4am, the rich and famous look remarkably like you and me. If all the navel-gazing in Hollywood were this smart and touching, we'd all be much better off. Like the best parties, this one leaves you both worn out and refreshed, but there's no hangover.

The cinematography deserves a special mention: as perhaps the first film with an A-list Hollywood cast of this size, The Anniversary Party was shot entirely on digital video. John Bailey uses the cheap medium so well that you'd be hard-pressed to tell.

The Anniversary Party. Written and directed by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming; director of photography, John Bailey; edited by Carol Littleton and Suzanne Spangler; music by Michael Penn; produced by Joanne Sellar, Mr. Cumming and Ms. Leigh; released by Fine Line Features. Running time: 115 minutes. This film is rated R.

Cast: Alan Cumming (Joe Therrian), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Sally Therrian), John Benjamin Hickey (Jerry Adams), Parker Posey (Judy Adams), Phoebe Cates (Sophia Gold), Kevin Kline (Cal Gold), Owen Kline (Jack Gold), Greta Kline (Evie Gold), Mina Badie (Monica Rose), Jane Adams (Clair Forsyth), John C. Reilly (Mac Forsyth), Jennifer Beals (Gina Taylor), Gwyneth Paltrow (Skye Davidson), Denis O'Hare (Ryan Rose), Levi Panes (Michael Panes) and Karen Kilgariff (Karen).