Cheering a Pair of Manic Expressives

The Scene: Tuesday’s premiere of Warner Bros.’ “Fathers’ Day” at the Chinese Theatre. The film revels in the comic phrasing of Billy Crystal and Robin Williams, which director Ivan Reitman distilled as, “Robin is explosive, Billy is stillness.” Williams described the combined style as “manic expressive.”

Who Was There: Williams and Crystal, Reitman, producer Joel Silver, plus 2,000 guests (500 at the party), including Cindy Crawford, Bobcat Goldthwait, David Paymer, Vincent Schiavelli, Carole Bayer Sager, Lou Pitt, Alan Schechter and studio execs Bob Daly, Terry Semel, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Chris Pula.

The Venue: The after-party was at the Mondrian, whose name is chronically preceded by the words “ultra hip.” The hotel’s white-on-white minimalist design was described as “a groovy summer camp for adults,” “ ‘Less than Zero’ meets ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ” “West Beach meets West Hollywood” and “It looks like it was done by a college student who read way too many Architectural Digests.”

Best Rant: The Mondrian has engendered a nightly, Studio 54-style wait to enter the outdoor “ultra hip” Sky Bar zone. One woman in her 20s cringes at “genuflecting” to the doorman to gain entry. “So what are the criteria?” she said. “Is my skirt not short enough? My boobs not big enough? Is it the pimple I didn’t cover? You’re waiting in line with all these beautiful people who got all dolled up to submit themselves to the humiliation of doorman politics so they can pay $24 for two martinis.”

Quoted: Williams said his father’s advice to him was, “If you’re going into acting, have a backup career--like welding.”

Dress Mode: Crawford (making her first public appearance with shoulder-length, lightly bleached hair) described the correct look for a premiere as “casual, yet pulled together.” The supermodel wore a slinky, Donna Karan leather skirt, tank top and “old” Prada shoes. She said that “in the language of models,” “old” translates as “not this season.”

Overheard: “I’m from the old school of hedonism,” said a young woman holding a double margarita and a cigarette. “Use a lot of Retin-A and have laser surgery when you’re 30.”