Party Monster (2003)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Directors:

Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato

Writers:

Fenton Bailey (written by)
Randy Barbato (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

good. evil. fun.

Plot:

This is the true story of Michael Alig, a Club Kid party organizer whose life was sent spiraling down when he bragged on television about killing his drug dealer and roommate.

Plot Keywords:

Drug | Party | New York | Drug Dealer | Friend

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Seth Green	...	James St. James
Macaulay Culkin	...	Michael Alig
Diana Scarwid	...	Elke
Chloë Sevigny	...	Gitsie
Marilyn Manson	...	Christina
Dylan McDermott	...	Peter Gatien
Mia Kirshner	...	Natasha
Wilmer Valderrama	...	Keoki
Daniel Franzese	...	The Rat / Dallas MC
Natasha Lyonne	...	Brooke
Elliot Kriss	...	Cabbie
Wilson Cruz	...	Angel
Janis Dardaris	...	TV Reporter
Dillon Woolley	...	Young James
Manny Perez	...	Johnny

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug use, language and some violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Spain:18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Brazil:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Czech Republic:15 | Germany:16 | Italy:VM18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Chateau Marmont, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

ContentFilm

Trivia:

Much of the drug use in the movie was toned down from Michael Alig and James St. James's actual habits for fear it would seem unbelievable.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the "party at the burger joint" scene, one club kid is seen dancing around with a bottle of Bacardi O in his hand. Bacardi O was not around in the 80s.

Quotes:

Peter Gatien: Does she speak?
Gitsie: Only when he wants me to.
Peter Gatien: My kind of girl.

Movie Connections:

References Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Soundtrack:

New York New York

Surprisingly Good.

When I started to watch this movie I wasn't at all aware what it was about. I just saw that MaCaulay Culkin and Seth Green were in it and thought, "Cool! Maybe this'll be good." A lot of people say this movie was bad, that it was horribly acted, but I think they just couldn't get past Culkin's shortcomings. I don't believe he was a bad actor, I simply believe he got stuck on the idea of how he had to humanize his character, and that was his ultimate downfall (in the special features he explained this was something he wanted to bring to the character).

Seth Green, as always, is adorable and can completely immerse himself into a character and really bring him to light. Marilyn Manson played Christina wonderfully, if only for a short time. Wilmer Valderrama was terrific as Keoki and it was a disappointment to see he was only in such a little portion of the film.

All in all, this movie was great. It had a great cast and a great script. The movie was meant to poke fun, not to make you think about any hidden meanings or to wonder why they were acting so strange. Club Kids were all about glamour, mocking celebrities, and, in the end, drugs. They didn't want to grow up, and they certainly didn't want to live a normal life.

Culkin had his moments where he pulled Alig off well, and in others, you could tell he was trying to stretch the character into places he wasn't meant to go. And if he was, Culkin certainly wasn't the actor to do it.

All in all, a "fabulous" film. Highly recommended if you're interested in how some of the 80's really played out.