Today is Mardi Gras, so in honor of New Orleans' finest excuse to imbibe, we at RT decided to pay tribute to some of the greatest movie parties ever. Cinematic shindigs often contain much lewd behavior and debauchery, but for those of us who would rather not have to worry about a designated driver or want to avoid incarceration after streaking through town, these flicks offer numerous vicarious pleasures.

PCU

Okay, so maybe PCU was a fairly transparent Animal House ripoff, and maybe its heavy-handed gags about political correctness haven't aged all that well. But as evidence of Chris Young's painfully brief career as a leading man, it's irreplaceable -- and it boasts early performances from David Spade and Jeremy Piven in the onscreen personae that made them famous (unctuous creep and salt-of-the-earth loudmouth, respectively), not to mention some typically fine work from Jessica "Lucille Bluth" Walter and a glimpse of a young Jon Favreau as the headbanging, Bluto-esque Gutter. And, of course, the film's climax centers around a righteous party -- one that manages to set itself apart from the others on this list thanks to the unlikely appearance of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic as the coolest house band ever.

Caligula

For fans of depravity and decadence, Caligula is a godsend. Fans of good taste and quality filmmaking, however, might want to think twice before delving into this two-and-a-half-hour art/porn extravaganza. Malcolm McDowell plays the horse-consulting, crazy-as-a-loon Roman emperor with plenty of gusto; Caligula's idea of a swingin' party includes watch people be executed by a proto-lawnmower and taking a ride on a ship that serves as a floating brothel. (He also proves to be a bit too, ahem, attentive to a bride on her wedding day.) Roger Ebert called Caligula "sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash," and if the movie isn't short on memorable parties, few (if any) can be said to look like much fun.