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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Party Monster, May 20, 2009
Party MonsterThe most shocking part about "Party Monster" is that it is a true story. The story of murder and mayhem among the Club Kids of the late 1980's and early 1990's, in New York, starring Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig and Seth Green as James St. James, was based on James St. James' book "Disco Bloodbath". The book was rereleased as "Party Monster", after the movie was released. The story tells of Michael Alig's rise to fame as a party promoter in New York night clubs, and other improvised locations, funded by club owner Peter Gatien. Alig and his Club Kids wore wild costumes and makeup, and generally caused mayhem wherever they appeared. St. James was a drug addict, and soon Alig got heavily involved in drugs. Alig had a magazine for his Club Kids, called "Project X", also funded by Gatien. They appeared on television shows, most notably on Geraldo Rivera, doing nothing but looking fabulous and shouting about sex and drugs. However, this is a murder story, which is revealed at the very beginning, so this is no spoiler. I will not reveal the details, but suffice to say that Michael Alig and his accomplice, a costume designer called 'Freez', are both in jail to this day. It is a chilling story of what can happen when the party life, drugs, and inhibition lead to the extreme in behavior. It is so extreme that it is almost unbelievable - if it were not all so very true.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Movie- IF you know what to expect, September 10, 2009
If you expect to watch a plot driven movie,this is not for you. This film uses a murder to draw you into the time of the Club Kids, a time when it only mattered if you were seen.
I sat down to watch this out of boredom. I am not a fan of Macaulay Culkin and did not think I would last the entire film. Instead, after writing this review, I will be watching Party Monster again.
This film is almost as much about the time as it is about the people. Michael Alig and James St. James happened to be the people who took us to the late 80s, early 90's pre-Giuliani New York night club scene in this film. My exposure to the Club Kids prior to viewing this film was limited. I had managed to see them on Joan Rivers and thought what they were doing was a cool idea, just living to be seen, in a sense. The young men and women were existing for the next party, the next person to give them attention and the next high (both natural and chemically induced).
This movie transports you to a time and place that most of us will never experience, and it manages to do it quite well. The beginning and end did not fit in with the rest of the film and the attempt to bookend the film did not quite work out well, although the end did tie in reminder that Alig only cares for attention in case we had forgotten what his driving force is. I still found these scenes to be tacked on. They did help me travel from now back to the time period of the film and back again but it still seemed a bit disjointed.
Make no mistake, this film is low budget. This was especially obvious in a couple of scenes that take place outside the club on the street. I could almost see the tape for the roped off area, the lack of natural foot traffic was obvious. The two main actors (Seth Green and Culkin) both had several scenes where it was clear they had not had time to work on practicing their lines, and that rehearsals were needed (the beginning of the first scene in the fast food joint comes to mind).
I was surprised at the performances by Chloë Sevigny (yes, gay men can have friends that are girls), Dylan McDermott (who played an excellent role in Wonderland -- another low budget gem, around the same time) and Marilyn Manson as Christina.
This is a good movie to view if you want to leave the world you are in for a couple hours, but a better budget would have really helped this film.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
An extremely under-rated, entertaining movie w/ unexpectedly good acting, December 24, 2011
FIRST: Sorry this review is so terribly long, but bear with me if you can...
Years ago, when I was very young, I remembered seeing the "Club Kids" on all the talk shows my mom watched. Back then the hype was that the Club Kids would bring about the destruction of of down-home American traditions, morals, and values. Once I was in college, I was a frequent attendee of local raves and parties - which seemed to me to be the natural development and response to the manic energy and rebellion of the Club Kids in their heyday. I felt some kind of kinship to them. I watched this movie again tonight and was very pleasantly surprised: for me at least, it remains an entertaining if (somewhat? then how much?) stylized window into Michael Alig's world, and the world of the Club Kids, as described by John St. John's book "Disco Bloodbath". Disco BloodbathI can't say that the story is terribly uplifting, as it basically follows Michael Alig's downward spiral into multiple drug overdoses, increasingly bizarre behavior, and the eventual murder of his roommate/drug dealer, but it is in my opinion a very clever, fast-paced and colorful look into that one unique place and time in popular culture. At the same time, it often manages quite a bit of humor and wit, despite the tragedies the characters inflict on themselves and those around them, the film is often quite funny, with witty dialogue and some very outlandish circumstances. Macaulay Culkin's role as the emotionally damaged and increasingly drug-dependent Michael Alig continues to impress me - he has certain nuances of voice and expression that seem to completely capture the character of Michael Alig.
However, for me at least the really pleasant surprise is Seth Green as John St. John, the "Original Club Kid" and Alig's roommate. He is completely moving, walking, and talking as the character of John St. John. I think he's just brilliant in this role. Just for kicks, make sure you watch for Marylin Manson as Christina Superstar, Wilmer Valderrama as Superstar DJ Keoki, among others. This movie shown in limited release and generally received nehgative reviews...please don't let that stop you from at least trying to watch it. So many, many of our film cult classics got terrible reviews when released, but remain beloved for decades. So I'll take the bullet for this one. Give it a try...it won't hurt! ;-) And if you made it this far...YAY! :-)
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