Party Monster

The old saying is "truth is stranger than fiction," and you know what, it's true. In "Party Monster" we are taken on a very trippy and true little journey that allows us to see first-hand, the crazy club life of New York City in the 1980s. In particular, we get an up-close and personal biography of the "club kids." The "club kids" were a group of young party monsters that were actually paid by club owners to show up at their clubs. Mind you, these kids did not do any kind of performing at all, they simply showed up. However, when you see their outrageous costumes and attire, you see why people had their eye out for them. These kids were bizarre and odd and stoned and well, weird. Livng lives that were so out of balance, tragedy was inevitable. Green and Culkin portray the two most prominent members of this group and they are both good. However, it is Culkin that really steals the movie, breaking away from his stereotypical characters of the past and playing somebody that very few actors would be brave enough to take on. The reason I gave this movie 10 stars, is the look and sound. This movie is like watching an acid flashback from the 1980s. I mean, you are there, in the room with them as they strut in and snort up. The music is 1980s, the attitude is 1980s, it is hard to describe. Much of the film is dream-like. Moreover, Culkin is mesmerizing as a character too odd for words. No, the story and acting are not Oscar-worthy, but the look of the film, the feel of the film, wow! I predict that this film will become more popular as the years go by. It has the qualities of all those great midnight movies of the 1980s. I really recommend it for people craving something different and historical (in a weird sense).

this film is an amazing work of art and must be viewed as such. if you're looking to understand the storyline, you MUST read the book disco bloodbath (rereleased as party monster) by james st. james. it's also helpful to watch the director's commentary on the dvd with fenton bailey and randy barbato. so much is explained between these two sources that is taken for granted in the film (ie michael and james' sources of incomes, explanations of michael and peter's relationship, and a more logical timeline). the most important thing to realize and keep in mind throughout watching this film is that michael alig was (is?) incredibly insecure but at the same time incredibly loving. the most telling line in the movie is delivered by seth green, when speaking to macaulay culkin after the latter's feigned attempt at suicide: "There's not enough love in the whole wide world to satisfy you." party monster the film is incredibly intelligent, as is the book. the story and its retelling are hysterical and horrifying at the same time. this film acts as both a warning and a touching memoir - a must see for fans of realism and those who enjoy seeing human emotion and drama rather than special effects and airbrushed muscles.

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.

I know this film doesn't have that good of a rating, but actually I thought this was an interesting film. It had such an incredible story to it, it is set in the 80's and is about the club kids and how clubbing came to be so popular. To be different was so cool and the make up, the sex, the drugs were such a way of being released from the "normal" world. Where Alig was going into such high places, you guess it, it can only go downward.

Seth and Maculy are just so adorable in this film, I just loved their chemistry and how they played off each other. These were such risky roles, but they took them on and accepted them into their own. They also researched the film and I believe should get more credit for it. It's a new age Rocky Horror Picture Show, sit back and feel fabulous!

7/10

I often wondered why U.S. American movies involving young people who are into drugs are either pathetic (f.e. Drugstore Cowboy) or even downright ridiculous in their conservative portrayal of the dangers of drug use (f.e. Traffic, The Movie). Party Monster is very different. It's easy to see that the people who made this movie really informed themselves about what they tried to show. By doing this they achieved one of the best movies about adolescence i've seen in a long time. It's has a very sad and tender tone and though some scenes seem a little bit too stagy, the performances of the two leading actors are pure magic. It's pure joy just to watch them and as you got to see a lot of them there is plenty of fun. Nevertheless the movie leaves you with a very intense and ambivalent feeling towards it's characters who were indeed something very special. I even dreamed about this picture after seeing it! Thanks for the strange dream!