Party Monster

Buy This Item Party Monster by 20th Century Fox  Available from Amazon  $9.98  on 9-23-2008     <I>Party Monster</I> is a curiosity: a fictional version of events already covered in documentary form (see <I>Party Monster: The Shockumentary</I>) by this film's co-directors, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, best known for <I>The Eyes of Tammy Faye</I>. <I>Party Monster</I>, theatrically released in 2003, also signals the return of Macaulay Culkin to films after a long absence. Culkin plays 1980s club kid-turned-killer Michael Alig, a small-town boy who arrives in New York in search of reinvention on the Ecstasy-fueled party scene. Alig ascends from rube to ringmaster, organizing Fabulous happenings and anointing, in Warhol-like fashion, various transvestites and studly naifs the era's new superstars. Seth Green plays Alig's arch but more reticent co-conspirator and roommate, James St. James. Green is more grounded in character than Culkin, though neither actor is convincing as a deluded drag queen. Despite interesting material, the directors never reveal what makes Alig a compelling figure in Manhattan's social history. <I>--Tom Keogh</I> Reader Reviews I'm no expert on Micheal Alig, James St. James, DJ Keoki, etc. so I can't really comment on how accurate of a portrayal this is of their lives. But I will say this... Having written electronic music since the age of 12, and working as a club and event promoter in Denver for the past year, I can say with certainty that there are thousands, even MILLIONS of people that frequent the "underground" worldwide whom live extremely comparable lives to the ones depicted in this movie. There are people just as eccentric and flamboyant, if not way more so. There is definitely just as much substance abuse. And if the only things that turn you off from this movie are seeing an ex-child star experiment with a controversial role, or flashing lights accompanied by pounding techno and extreme wardrobes, I hate to break it to you, but it's happening right under your nose, everywhere you go. The party scene and the club scene are something you have to just click with. I've loved electronic music since before I even knew there was anything "illicit" associated with it, and that shouldn't say I have bad taste... it should say that people will take anything and turn it into a self-destructive moral debauchery. Though the music, the substances, the clothes and the performances between rap, dance and rock are different, the people, their willingness to habituate, and their conformity have remained the same. This movie shouldn't have to hit close to home to be respected, or at least acknowledged as an accurate portrayal of youthful spontaneity, promiscuity and overall experimentation... and the sheer consequences that often result. Just a thought.

Party Monster Available from Amazon Price: $9.98 Updated on 9-23-2008.

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