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PARTY MONSTER
The 2003 "docudrama" Party Monster is an up close look at a subculture of the New York club scene that I've never seen addressed before and after watching this, I can imagine why.
This film follows an outrageous group of freaks called the Club Kids, who during the late 1980's and early 1990's, were known for outrageous costumes and makeup that would put the Gay Pride parade to shame and a life of complete access, which included all the crack, heroine, and ecstasy they could get their hands on. The group came to fruition through a pair of flamboyant party boys named Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin) and James St. James (Seth Green).
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato based their screenplay St. James' book, the publication of which is the hook that opens the film, but the story springs into so many different directions that it's hard to accept that it all came from St. James' book, due to his limited screentime here. The film really seems to focus more on the Alig character and tries to ease our discomfort with the character's sexuality by letting us know right from the start that the character has committed a murder, taking a lot of the inspiration out of the viewer to stay tuned in.
The fact is that very few people involved in this often ugly story are nice people. The Michael Alig character redefines self-absorbed despite the "I just got off the bus" intro the character is provided here as he develops his friendship with St. James, using him as a tutor into the New York club scene and eventually betraying him in myriad ways. The only thing that makes watching Alig worthwhile is knowing that he's going to get what's coming to him, which I didn't know as I watched, but it made me feel a little better about what I had been subjected to. I was especially distressed watching him seduce a heterosexual male (Wilmer Valderamma) into a relationship with a couple of drink tickets...seriously?
Bailey and Barbarato's direction is a little better than their writing, but not much. I would like to give a shout out to Jeremy Simmons' editing, despite the film's grainy, indie look. They make this club life seem so glamorous, but when you strip away all the glitter and false eyelashes, what you have is Frankie and Annette on the beach. Macauley Culkin's performance is rather one-note, but Seth Green was absolutely brilliant as St James and almost made this hot mess of a movie worth sitting through...almost. This is just not viewer friendly material
The 2003 "docudrama" Party Monster is an up close look at a subculture of the New York club scene that I've never seen addressed before and after watching this, I can imagine why.
This film follows an outrageous group of freaks called the Club Kids, who during the late 1980's and early 1990's, were known for outrageous costumes and makeup that would put the Gay Pride parade to shame and a life of complete access, which included all the crack, heroine, and ecstasy they could get their hands on. The group came to fruition through a pair of flamboyant party boys named Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin) and James St. James (Seth Green).
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato based their screenplay St. James' book, the publication of which is the hook that opens the film, but the story springs into so many different directions that it's hard to accept that it all came from St. James' book, due to his limited screentime here. The film really seems to focus more on the Alig character and tries to ease our discomfort with the character's sexuality by letting us know right from the start that the character has committed a murder, taking a lot of the inspiration out of the viewer to stay tuned in.
The fact is that very few people involved in this often ugly story are nice people. The Michael Alig character redefines self-absorbed despite the "I just got off the bus" intro the character is provided here as he develops his friendship with St. James, using him as a tutor into the New York club scene and eventually betraying him in myriad ways. The only thing that makes watching Alig worthwhile is knowing that he's going to get what's coming to him, which I didn't know as I watched, but it made me feel a little better about what I had been subjected to. I was especially distressed watching him seduce a heterosexual male (Wilmer Valderamma) into a relationship with a couple of drink tickets...seriously?
Bailey and Barbarato's direction is a little better than their writing, but not much. I would like to give a shout out to Jeremy Simmons' editing, despite the film's grainy, indie look. They make this club life seem so glamorous, but when you strip away all the glitter and false eyelashes, what you have is Frankie and Annette on the beach. Macauley Culkin's performance is rather one-note, but Seth Green was absolutely brilliant as St James and almost made this hot mess of a movie worth sitting through...almost. This is just not viewer friendly material