Party Monster

Party Monster
by Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

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DVD Reviews of Party Monster

DVD Review: So much better than I thought it was going to be!!!
Summary: 5 Stars

Macaulay Culkin got horrible reviews for his portrayal as Alig, but I seriously believe that anyone that gave him a bad review obviously is not familiar with the real story at all. I've seen countless interviews with Michael Alig and I think Mac nailed his personality dead-on. Alig had a larger-than-life persona, very fake, superficial, and selfish. He helped create a bizarre late 80's phenomenon called The Club Kids. The Club Kids were a group of twenty-somethings that dressed up in homemade costumes, plastered themselves with make-up (some of who looked like they stepped right out of Kabuki Theater by way of a major acid trip), and spent their nights clubbing. They became known on a national level when their frequent appearances on talk shows like Geraldo, Phil Donahue, and Sally Jessy Raphael became some of the highest rated episodes ever for those shows. The movie is based on the book "Disco Bloodbath" which was written by Alig's co-Club Kid James St. James (brilliantly portrayed by Seth Green in the movie).

The directors of the movie, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, directed a 1998 documentary about Michael Alig which was also called "Party Monster." Anyone that watches the movie should watch the documentary (which is also out on DVD) first. The movie also stars Chloe Sevigny, Wilson Cruz (from one of my all time favorite TV shows, "My So-Called Life"), Wilmer Valderrama, Natasha Lyonne, Diana Scarwid (from "Mommie Dearest"!!!), Dylan McDermott, and Marilyn Manson (whose part really is just a glorified cameo).

I guess the reason why I was so interested in this movie is because I was always completely glued to the TV whenever The Club Kids were on a talk show. They were this huge train wreck that was just SO entertaining to watch. Michael Alig wound up murdering, out of self defense, fellow Club Kid Angel over drug money. He chopped up Angel's body, stuck it all in a TV box, and dropped it in a river. There's even footage on the documentary where Michael admits to killing Angel before he was ever accused or arrested, not thinking that anyone would ever take him seriously. He was so zonked out on drugs, it was just impossible for him to think clearly.

The movie is by no means a GREAT movie, but it is good- and certainly doesn't deserve the horrible reviews that it received. I suppose that in order to be a great movie, it should be able to stand on its own. "Party Monster" probably won't do that for every single person that watches it. If you like the actors or are interested in and/or remember The Club Kids, you'll more than likely enjoy this dark movie. Like I said, you need to be familiar with the back story and the documentary to probably really appreciate it. It's also rather low budget, but I think they did a pretty good job with the set design and costumes. A lot of the original Club Kids are extras in the flick, so that adds a certain amount of authenticity.

Anyone that only thinks of "Home Alone" when they think of Macaulay Culkin will be surprised by his performance. I give his perfomance two big thumbs up.

Description of Party Monster