It's My Party

Plot synopsis:
It's My Party chronicles a two-day party hosted by Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) a gay architect who, having been diagnosed with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, will fall into a state of mental lapse lasting for months until his death. He decides to host a party for his family and friends, at the end of which he will commit suicide by taking Seconal.
"You won't leave me, will you?" Nick asks his estranged lover, Brandon Theis (Gregory Harrison) a B movie director, shortly after revealing to him the results of his last blood test for HIV. "I don't want to die alone." In spite of Brandon's protestations, the two soon find the love they had shared for many years in ruins. One year after their breakup, Nick is confronted with a ravaged immune system and a CT Scan and lab values which, along with his worsening forgetfulness, clinches the diagnosis of Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) -- a condition he has seen claim his friends and one which he vows will not take him. Due to the aggressive nature of the disease, he has only a few days of conscious life remaining. His plan, he announces to family and "extended family," is to voluntarily end his life himself before the disease renders him unrecognizable to those he loves and he, in turn, is unable to recognize them. Uninvited to the farewell party, Brandon's presence is greeted with jeers from those who see him as having abandoned Nick in his time of greatest need.

Tags: queer

Review:
..well, almost.For me, the emotions start pouring over me when I empathize with all of Nick's loving friends, including his former lover Brandon, who are somewhat supportive of his decision, yet really not ready to let him go quite yet.As someone else mentioned, the wink that Nick gives Brandon, signalling his forgiveness of Brandon for his selfishness and lack of understanding, just does me in.
From that moment on, and up until the end, the tears keep running down my face.By the way, what a great cast for such a moving film!
Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison are exceptional, and they get great support from Lee Grant, Bronson Pinchot, Margaret Cho, Erich Segal, the late Roddy McDowell, and the rest.I think I'll watch this DVD whenever I'm feelig cynical and weary of the events taking place in this world of bigotry, hatred and war.
Eric Roberts gives an all out performance as a gay male who decides to end his own life after he realizes he is losing his battle against AIDS.
Brandon Theis (Gregory Harrison) and Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) have been lovers for years.
There's a huge cast in this movie--Margaret Cho (hilarious); Marlee Matlin (wasted); Olivia Newton-John (just great); Bronson Pinchot (overdoing the bitchiness a bit); Bruce Davison; Roddy McDowall.
This one was very touching and I found myself rooting for the characters to work things out.I would totally recommend this movie for anyone looking to see something a little out of the ordinary..
Please keep your Kleenex close!I think the part where my eyes started getting watery was when Brandon(Gregory Harrison) and Nick (Eric Roberts) kissed.
This was a terrific movie, there wasn't a dull moment, a lot of flashbacks were shown of the relationship Brandon and Nick shared and I think everyone can relate to that it is never easy to lose someone you love especially to death, but it also shows a side of reality that we all have to go sometime and we might as well make the most of life.
Gregory was great as Brandon, the emotions of seeing his loved one die slowly and yet still being strong about it for his sake even sitting by his bedside when he dies I think we all want that, to at least have a person by our side so we don't die alone..
I also found the situation believable based on the type of character played by Eric Roberts...the farewell party seemed to fit his personality.
Dealing with everything from relationships to parents to unfortunately, death, this movie is the best written, directed and casted movies i have seen in a very long time..
Excellent and touching drama about a man who has AIDS and finds out he has not that much longer to live, decided to throw a farewell party for himself and invites his family and friends.
Eric Roberts as Nick who is dying of AIDS, Lee Grant as his mother, Maragret Cho as a best friend, Olivia Newton John as a best friend, and Gregory Harrison as Nick's ex.
I think that Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, and Lee Grant derserved an oscar nomination for this movie.
IT'S MY PARTY Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: DTSIn the last few days before an AIDS-related brain tumor renders him insensible, a young LA designer (Eric Roberts) decides to end his own life, and throws a final joyous bash for family and loved ones.
However, the occasion is strained by the arrival of Roberts' former lover (Gregory Harrison), seeking reconciliation at the eleventh hour...Randal Kleiser's powerful film - inspired by actual events - feels more like a reunion of showbiz friends than a structured narrative, though the results are often deeply moving.
Kleiser's defiant screenplay gives short shrift to the suicide debate (Roddy McDowall's character acts as the Voice of Conscience), and he employs mordant humor to keep mawkishness at bay (at one point, Roberts and best friend Bronson Pinchot launch into a rousing rendition of "It's my party / And I'll DIE if I want to"!).
That he could get the cast he did, and get them all to accept scale is another point in his favor.For the record, It's My Party is a film-filtered version of actual events in Randal Kleiser's life (Kleiser corresponds to Brandon, Gregory Harrison's character), in much the same way that Kleiser's earlier film, Summer Lovers, is a film-filtered (and re-gendered, to be sure) version of an earlier period in Kleiser's life.
And yes, the party that the film centers on actually took place, though certainly (one hopes) not as melodramatically.I have to say, I agree that quite a few characters could have been left on the cutting-room floor without marring the film, but at the same time, many of those "superfluous" characters were played by actors who were working virtually for free because they wanted to be involved in the project.The black comedy in a couple of the scenes was a device that was used to lighten things (however inappropriately, though, is a matter of personal taste) before the heavier side of the film kicked in, more or less a structural device, evidenced by the fact that it didn't return later.The notion that this film is not an accurate representation of the sequence of events involved in PML is certainly valid, but how often does film or theater get terminal disease completely right?
Eric Roberts doesn't look sick enough for his condition, the relationship between the lovers is ill-defined, and just because the theme is honorable, or just TIMELY, doesn't mean the film is FAABULOUS!!.
Excellent movie about a man who discovers he's dying of AIDS and wants to throw a farewell party to his friends and family.
Actors including comedian Margaret Cho, former singing sensation Olivia Newton-John, Eric Roberts, Bronson Pinchot, Marlee Matlin, and others may not be "Top Dogs" in Hollywood, but, deliver compelling, heart felt performances that seem to come naturally to them.
Perfect casting, good direction, and spectacular performances make "It's My Party" a must see film that you will never forget.
Randal Kleiser's "It's My Party" was one of the first movies to focus on AIDS patients dying with dignity.
The cast includes Eric Roberts, Lee Grant, George Segal, Marlee Matlin, Margaret Cho, Roddy McDowall, Sally Kellerman, Bruce Davison, Olivia Newton-John and Cassandra Peterson (best known as Elvira)..
a man finds out he has tested positive for AIDS, and he only has so long to live,, he tells his partner,, who doesn't really take it that well, as time passes we see what slowly starts to happen to our main character,, played by Eric Roberts.
after that sombering news he decides to have a farewell party for his family and friends, he invites everyone that has touched his life,, and a few people show up uninvited also, which thickens the plot,, including his former lover who tries to make peace with Nick.
When an upwardly-mobile gay man in Southern California gets a dreaded HIV-positive diagnosis, it helps to end the relationship he had with his lover; one year later, the two men find themselves reunited after the infected one discovers he has lesions on his brain and decides to throw a farewell party for himself before committing suicide.
Movies centering on big, noisy parties rarely work, but Kleiser's accuracy in capturing this (not all gay) eclectic group of family and friends shows off a great deal of heart, sentiment, and a small bit of the requisite bitchy humor.
A wonderfully odd gathering of celebrities and character-actors pop up in cameo roles, however the leads (Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison) are the most surprising; with the help of astute editing, they are able to create a rapport that seems heartfelt and real, and Roberts in particular does some of his best work ever.
I borrowed 'It's My Party' from the library this weekend; a coincidentally timely moment to see this film as this weekend marked milestones in the discovery of AIDs, with MSN's homepage having stories this week on both the 25 years of AIDs in America as well as the struggles in Africa with the disease.This is a particularly sad film (although which one isn't?) about Nick Stark (Eric Roberts), a young West Coast architect who was diagnosed with HIV some time ago and learns from his doctor that he has reached a particularly debilitating stage of the disease known as PML.
The Party, in the title of this film, refers to the sort of substitution of a funeral for a party, one in which Nick, his friends, and family will gather around to enjoy the last few good times they might have together.
This is how he wants to say goodbye.Nick will be among many of his friends to have died from the disease, although this film relegates the disease solely to that of homosexual men, which I would caution in Hollywood because of the misconceptions that is a disease that only affects gay men.
The particularly sad thing is that you share among the assorted celebration (although not all of it is a particularly joyous occasion obviously because people are aware of Nick's plan to end his life) and in the end, the viewer may be fooled by their Hollywood conditioned expectations that somehow Nick will live in the end and everything will be okay.This is one film with a particularly familiar and good cast which join together in sort of an awareness project that reminds me of the Laramie Project made some time later.
I could put myself in so many shoes on this film ~ Gregory Harrison's thoughts, Lee Grant's feelings, Margaret Chou being a friend to Eric, etc.
Eric Roberts is so incredible in this movie and really I think it is his best performance ever.
I think What the character Nick does in this film is a hard choice to make..but one he made for himself and those he loved.
By the end of the film I felt I too had lost something......and that is the best part of the movie..it really does make you feel and everyone can relate to at least one of the characters ...this film is for everyone...with the possible exception of young children.
This is a true story and the characters were reflecting their real life counter parts, and this film could not show it any better than it did, what it is really like for someone saying farewell...or see you later.
Eric Roberts shows that Nick was such a good and forgiving person...who had laughter in his heart even until the end..who cared so much for his friends and his family that he gave them a party as well as gifts ..the party I don't believe was for him, but he did it for the one's he cared about.
Most of the actors, especially Olivia Newton John, Margaret Cho, Lee Grant, Gregory Harrison, and Marlee Matlin all turn in great performances as friends and family of the AIDS afflicted Nick (Eric Roberts).
There are many funny moments throughout the two day "party," which work well to temper the otherwise very sad business of coming to terms with Nick's impending death.
"It's My Party" is a very touching movie that benefits a lot from Eric Roberts great lead performance.
I am Eric Roberts' big fan and to my mind this movie shows once more that he's a very good dramatic actor and what he really needs is a good story and a good director because as an actor he can do everything.
Actually, I like the whole cast, especially Bronson Pinchot as Monty and Margaret Cho as Charlene.The music adds much to the atmosphere, too.It might be different approach to life and different believes, but the plot itself seems rather strange to me.
I think this situation would never happen in Russia, and here are three possible endings of a farewell party in Russian style: 1) Guests just didn't allow Nick to take his pills having persuaded him that he would be great and all these doctors are just waste of time and money.
3) Most probable: both Nick and his guests felt so involved into the party process that they kept celebrating this non stop for a week, until nobody could tell what they are celebrating, in fact.Please, be sure, I have no intention to offend anybody's feelings.I do like the movie, I do like the acting, the music, I think it's one of Eric Roberts' best movies.
i watched this film several times with several different people because i think it allows people to accept eric and brandon's relationship as a love relationship without the homosexual shroud of "lust" or "sin".
It's My Sanctimonious Party and I'll Die If I Want To. Admittedly it has been several years since I saw "It's My Party", but the thought of renting the video to refresh my memory causes me to shudder, so relying on faded impressions as my guide, I'll add my voice to the small chorus of commentors who warn you away from this movie."It's My Party" is about a gay man with an AIDS-related condition who knows he only has a few days before his brain goes.
He therefore throws himself a farewell/suicide party.The large number of attendees include family members, an ex-lover (Gregory Harrison), and friends both gay and straight.
I really do think this film is excellant and you anyone should try watching it sometime.
Eric Roberts best Film!.
Yes it's about two gay guys falling in love but it's the story that brings such heart and family together.
Eric Roberts has a last minute party and invites all of his family and friends.
It a touching story of friends and family getting together and helping someone they love very dearly.
Why does Hollywood feel that to discuss AIDS one has to make light of it?You have two truly bland actors playing the leads, Eric Roberts the dying man (who looks healthy as a horse, but plans to commit suicide "before" he starts to lose his functions), and Gregory Harrison the ex-lover, who now regrets not standing by his man when he came down with AIDS.
This overlong film is not really about AIDS or homosexuality, but about a man who wants death with dignity because he will die in a few days from a brain disease that will first turn him into a vegetable.
That should involve only a few close family members, but there were so many characters in this film I had a hard time sorting them out and wondered why some were invited to the party in the first place.The film focuses on the troubled relationship between the man in question, Eric Roberts, who gives an excellent low-keyed performance as the man in question, and his ex-lover, Gregory Harrison, who kicked him out once Roberts tested HIV positive.
1996's It's My Party is a smart, funny, and emotionally charged film that combines hot button issues with flawed, but richly drawn characters and had me riveted to the screen as well as fighting tears.This is the story of Nick (Eric Roberts), an architectural designer who is in a committed relationship with a film director named Brandon (Gregory Harrison), a relationship that ends shortly after Nick learns he has AIDS.
A year later, Nick learns he has contracted an AIDS-related disease that will soon be turning him into a vegetable and not wanting to live that way, decides to commit suicide by swallowing a bottle of pills and having a huge party the night before to say goodbye to his friends and family.This film sucked me in right from the beginning by establishing that this was first and foremost a love story...the relationship between Nick and Brandon rings true from the beginning and we are so happy when Brandon drops everything to be at the party when he learns about it, despite the initial tension his arrival causes, tension you can cut with a knife.Director and writer Randal Kleiser, who also directed Grease and The Blue Lagoon almost effortlessly ties together the tension of this situation with the bitchy gay sensibilities that would always be prevalent with these kind of characters, evidenced in the constant movie quotes offered by several characters, not to mention the handful guests at the party who are inevitably going to make what's going on all about them.
The scenes surrounding Brandon's initial arrival at the party and the scenes near the ends where Nick poses for final pictures with his family and friends perfectly display this fusion of humor and tension.Eric Roberts delivers a rich and layered performance as Nick and Harrison gives the performance of his career as Brandon, but what's more important here is the relationship that the two actors create on screen...it's completely believable and has us rooting for them from the beginning.
Christ how will I explain this in words, it was just so heartbreaking to think that Nick organised a two day party just to say goodbye to his friends and family because of the fact he was dying of AIDS.
I swear, I felt like shouting to Brandon!Anyway on the positive side, the good parts of this film were:*Margaret Cho and Olivia Newton-John: I was so excited to see these legends on this movie!Both looked stunning so they did!*Monty- guys, you better watch out for this guy cause he is hilarious!
At least Lee Remick has more to do as his mother, and oddly enough, the movie totally forgets about her and chooses instead to concentrate solely on the mechanics of the party, Nick's botched relationship with Brandon (Gregory Harrison) who left him when he learned of Nick's illness and has come to (maybe?) make amends, and scenes that spell Cute and Tender all the way.
I didn't buy it then, I still don't buy it now, and I certainly can't recommend a movie where a gay man decides that the best way to go is with a bang, even at the expense of family members and close friends.