Party Monster

Plot synopsis:
Based on the book Disco Bloodbath, by James St. James, the film opens with Michael Alig as a small-town outcast who lived with his mom before moving to New York. Michael learns the New York party scene from James St. James, who teaches him the "rules of fabulousness", which mostly revolve around attracting as much attention to oneself as possible.
Despite James' warning, Alig hosts a party at The Limelight, a local club owned by Peter Gatien. With Alig as its main attraction, The Limelight soon becomes the hottest club in New York. Alig is named "King of the Club Kids" and goes on a cross country journey in search of more club kids. Alig and James pick up Angel Melendez, Gitsie, and Brooke. Gitsie becomes Michael's latest sidekick although the movie implies the relationship was a little more than platonic. However, after Michael descends further into drug abuse, his life starts to spiral out of control, eventually culminating in his involvement in the murder of Angel. Gitsie and Michael decide to go to rehab but ultimately return to NY with the same drug problems as before causing Michael to lose his job and end up in a motel in New Jersey. James then begins to write his "Great American Novel" published as Disco Bloodbath and later as Party Monster.
"Michael Alig — nightlife legend, party monster, convicted murderer — was released from prison last week after 17 years. In the Nineties, Alig was ringleader of New York City's "Club Kids," and the majordomo for Peter Gatien's nightclub empire (which included Limelight, the Palladium, and the Tunnel). But in 1996, Alig and his friend Robert "Freeze" Riggs argued with a drug dealer named Angel Melendez, killed him and dismembered his body in gruesome fashion before disposing of the corpse in the Hudson River. (The events were dramatized in the 2003 film Party Monster, which starred Macaulay Culkin as Alig.) Post-prison, Alig has returned to New York City to find that the world had changed, but that he was still the subject of media attention and tabloid headlines."

Tags: cult, comedy, murder, romantic, flashback

Review:
Party Monster is based on the true story of 80s club kid and promoter, Michael Alig, infamous for his bizarre New York parties and, later, for the brutal murder of a drug dealer.It's adapted from Alig's friend James St James' book Disco Bloodbath by filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, whose earlier documentary about Alig actually inspired St James to write the book.
After a nine-year absence, Macauley Culkin returns to film as cherubic bisexual Alig, who persuades James St James (a camp Seth Green) to teach him the art of infamy.Famous for doing nothing long before reality TV, Alig becomes a manufacturer of celebrity and a promoter, serving up some wild parties, including a Halloween bloodbath, truck rave and kinky hospital party.
Wilson Cruz is enigmatic as wannabe and drug dealer Angel, and Wilmer Valderra is suitably objectified as Alig's beloved beefcake, DJ Keoki.Party Monster suffers from uneven performances and poor direction but despite this, it's fascinating.
Off screen for 9 years and making two excellent eye-popping returns (the sly wry and hilarious SAVED is the other) 23 year old Culkin is nothing more than front and center startling and compelling in this very clever club culture expose of the very real and very cruel pill bunny Michael Alig.
So the film looks good at least.Another issue: they changed so much for this movie from the actual story!
His misfortune (and ultimately opportunity) is meeting up with hick Michael Alig (Macaulay Culkin), just off the Big Dog from one of the square states, who will prove to be St. James' very own Eve Harrington.Imagine Bob Hope and Bing Crosby gone gay, their bitchy dynamics holding these buddies together as they prance and stumble down the Rave Road.
(Marilyn Manson as stoned drag queen Christina serves as 'driver' for one of the events, trying to maneuver a big rig in platform heels.) Along the way there are Alig's discarded or disengaged boyfriends (Wilmer Valderrama) and girlfriends (Chloe Sevigny), sexual preference always taking a back seat first to Ecstasy and K, then to crackpipes and snorted heroin.Party Monster derives from St. James' memoir Disco Bloodbath  as a result of his plunge into addiction, Alig ends up incarcerated for the murder of his dealer Angel (Wilson Cruz).
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.
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 accent didn't add anything to the character and by the end I was left wondering why everybody had loved Michael Alig.Seth Green on the other hand stole the film from right under Culkin's nose.
Marilyn Manson as Alig's first Superstar Christina was perfect, adding to a character not mentioned a lot in the book.All in all an absolutely fabulous film that deserves far far more credit than was given to it.
For the people who saw this film at the time of its release showed us that Macaulay Culkin is no longer a kid.
M.Culkin and Seth Green fit their characters (Michael Alig and James St. James) very well and I couldn't imagine anyone else doing a better job with it.
The Party Monster soundtrack is just as amazing as the film including songs like "Two of Hearts." "New York." and "Overdose." Though the film is hilarious near the end it takes an almost complete 180 and rather then laughing you're more concerned with Michael Aligs growing drug addition and the affect its having on James st James who is throughout the movie, writing his novel, which would later be called "Disco Blood Bath." Party Monster gets fairly gruesome without all of the blood, when it begins reflecting the true colors of the what seemed like a 'glamorous," life style the 'kings' of the club kids led.
Because Party Monster is a true story I think it takes someone who is really interested in the 80s club kid scene and the impact in had on pop culture to really enjoy this film.
I recommend seeing Party Monster the Shockumentry, and other real news clips of the actual events to completely understand the characters, their relationships, the impact they had on underground New York as well as the drugs that came with it.
There are no characters other than the club kids and [the Limelight boss] Gatien, except for an occasional bemused "drearie," and there is very little sense of the time and what else is going on in New York (AIDS, ACT UP, gay activism, erotic clubs, Ed Koch, OutWeek, Republicans in the White House, Musto at the Voice, coked-out Wall Streeters).The real Alig has a very subtle, slightly sardonic, dry and understated personality, which is what makes his flights into fantasy and lunacy so interesting.
Apparently, Mac felt that Alig's dry wit was less interesting than a more theatrical flamboyant queeniness would be, so Mr. Culkin degrades the movie by making Alig an evil faggot, overplaying the character, I guess, so that everybody would be sure that the once-married Mac was only "acting" and by no means gay himself.
no doubt taught you, there is no such thing as "gay" or "straight," only sexual, with the unfortunate majority being repressed away from normal bisexuality until temporarily liberated by mood drugs.]A more secure Mac would have played a more real Michael, and that would have helped the film immeasurably.
Seth Green does well portraying the 'fabulous' James St. James, the tutor of Michael Alig's party ways.
One can argue that the character of Michael Alig goes nowhere, but the script seems to differ.Half the fun of "Party Monster" is just watching the gaudy and out-of-this-world costumes.
The film still fails when capturing the essence of Michael Alig and the club kids.When Seth Green says the line "I'm not addicted to drugs, I'm addicted to glamour!", you should know what the entire movie is about.
Mr. Culkin goes to the big city and meets Green - they go to clubs, take drugs, and become famously fabulous.And, if you go breaking teapots, you know you're gonna fall The film's opening scenes, with Culkin and Green jockeying for position (meaning the film's lead actor position - expect no wrestling for top with these two) are nicely done.
"Party Monster" was Culkin's first film in several years, and this was considered a brave comeback role - but, see "Saved" (2004) for the real deal.***** Party Monster (1/18/03) Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato ~ Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Wilmer Valderrama, Wilson Cruz.
Everyone is believable, and there is real emotion to be seen.Its nearly shocking to see the lives of fabulous druggie Club Kids Michael Alig and James St. James.
I found Party Monster a compelling and accurate film portrayal of the New York club scene in the LATE 80's and early 90's (Mr_Vai's comment suggests that this film covers only the 80's, but the costume and music is reminiscent of 1990-93), although somewhat unsatisfying after reading Disco Bloodbath.
Both Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green give excellent performances, portraying the flamboyant, drugged up, and sexed out lives of Michael Alig and James St. James.
Indie film starlet Chloë Sevigny, whose movie career was the result of her being a Club Kid was an exceptional choice for Alig's faux girlfriend and lifelong love.
Macaulay Culkin stars as Michael Alig in this movie about fame, drugs and just being gorgeous!The story starts off "with a bang", as all good stories should, and immediately lets us know that someone is going to die.
When he finally arrives in New York with no cash and no idea he is lucky enough to meet James St. James (Seth Green), the original Club Kid. James shows him the ropes of being famous and fabulous and soon enough Michael is the host of the best parties in town.
Soon enough, Michael is the Party Monster.I really liked this film for its quirkiness, open sexuality and fantastic performances.
The all round style, look and feel of this movie makes you want to get dressed up as a giant green troll and join the Club Kids.
I'd recommend it to lovers of the weird, wacky, gay and drugged up movies.And now for some fantastic quotes from the film:Michael Alig: We don't do, we just are!
actually, i almost thought about knocking verbinski's "the mexican" from its perch as the #1 worst movie i had ever seen and replacing it with "party monster", but i felt so bad for seth green's attempt at salvaging this movie and his character that i placed this film at #2 out of pure pity.
Eventually he became hooked on drugs which led to his downfall and involved murder.There is only one good thing in this film--Seth Green's performance as James St. James, Michael's best friend.
i thought Culkin did a great job at times but there were a few scenes where the break of the spotlight really showed Seth did a wonderful job as well as Marilyn Manson as Christina (can you say accurate?) was that Natasha Lyonne or the real Brooke i couldn't tell!i also hate hate hate when they make a books into motion pictures how much they change things such as Freezes and Michaels scramble for the lost rock before angel comes in that happened to Freeze, James and Mavis NOT Michael and the donut shop scene?
If I had seen "Party Monster" without any context or without having previously seen the real Michael Alig, I'd have thought Macauley Culkin's performance was over the top and far too animated.
The characters and situations in which they find themselves are so exaggerated that you feel they can't bear any relation to real life but, what do you know, this is a true story so everything you see taking place on screen pretty much happened.PARTY MONSTER is a thorough exploration of the New York party scene in the 1990s, in which hedonism and excess were the order of the day.
Seth Green gets the big, showy role, but Macaulay Culkin is inevitably the focus of attention here, looking the same as in his kiddie films but contributing an intense and dark performance.
Michael Alig (Macaulay Culkin) is a kid from Indiana who befriends James St. James (Seth Green) in NYC and becomes a big party promoter for Peter Gatien (Dylan McDermott) and his wife (Mia Kirshner) during the 90s.
I didn't think I would enjoy this flick, but viewed it all the way through on streaming NETFLIX last night.I was entirely entertained from beginning to end and felt the movie was so good, perhaps it should be on stage.On the observation side, the two principal characters are gay and the entire flix is about the New York night life, post Andy Worhol New York of the eighties.It did do some things that were so out of place and discrimination directed towards gay people.
I found this film because i searched for Marilyn Manson stuff and i saw here on IMDb that he plays "Christina" in some party movie.
its not that close to the real story as you may think when you watch it but it really gives you a good entry in all the Club Kids Stuff.The music is so perfect for this movie and i really like this kind of music because it's the one you can party best on.End of Story: I bought the special edition, watched it like a 100 times and just fell in love with it, the documentary and the whole scene.Ps: Seth Greens acting is genius.
Party Monster is a movie that manages to both entice me towards the surreal world of the Club Kids and also repel me at the same time.
I borrowed this film on DVD knowing nothing about it except that I use the club scene in London, remembered Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone and am fascinated by New York City.
Macauley's acting was pretty bad, but at the same time I think he did a great job of capturing the essence of shallow, self-absorbed Michael Alig, and the dynamic between these characters was the glue that held the film together.
Party Monster is an enthralling tale of Michael Alig's rise and fall as the "king of the club kids".
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Macaulay Culkin, who never quite managed to securely grasp a hold of his character, Michael Alig.As someone who is familiar with the (real life) case that this movie is based on, I believe that the movie could have been much better.
Little time was spent developing the character of "Angel", the small-time drug dealer Alig murdered, and even less time was spent on the murder itself.Overall, the movies was disappointing, but Marilyn Manson put in a surprisingly good cameo as "Christina", and Wilmer Valderrama (that 70s Show) had a small but well-acted role as well..
For some silly reason, I was actually looking forward to this movie because of my love for "based on true story"s.This film made me wish I had not seen it ever.
I thought Seth Green as James St. James was a brilliant performance and Macauley Culkin's Michael Alig was breathtaking.
I think this is Mac's only great performance....seeing that he's not a little kid anymore, and I love Seth Green because it's so easy for him to take on any type of role.
I really liked the story telling, and  the way James St. James (Seth Green) keeps emphasizing that HE is, in fact, the star and Michael is just a wanna-be.On the 20/20 segment, they were really emphasizing that this was the 1st movie Macuaulay Culkin has made in about a decade...
not only that Macaulay Culkin is really good actor and i think a lot of people will say the movie is bad because of him.
I would never have predicted this to be the film in which Mr Culkin makes his return to 'acting' but im glad he chose to as he is great in this role of a gay/bisexual, drug addict.
Overall this film tells a great tale of Michel Alig and the Club Kids and with strong performances from all.
Seth Green as James St. James was delicious, and a more polished over-the-top than Culkin's performance.What makes the story especially great is that it is true.
But i was surprised on how interesting the movie was.Macaulay Culkin does a great job, he's totally weird and strangely funny at some times.
After reading the book Disco Bloodbath by James St. James I decided to watch the movie Party Monster and was surprised by how well the actors did in portraying Michael Alig.Macaulay Caulkin, though some say was annoying, was the best part of this movie.
It makes you grow to feel sorry for him and that he killed Angel Melendez.Seth Green does a wonderful job of playing James St. James, who was the original club kid who took Alig under his wing.
But while directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato start well, they immediately run into a major problem: for all the excitement he may have generated on the New York 1980s club scene, Michael Alig was a deliberately abrasive person--and ultimately PARTY MONSTER manages to contain all the abrasion without enough of the excitement.The cast is generally quite good, with Marilyn Manson, Diana Scarwid, Dylan McDermott, and a host of others scoring memorable turns; Seth Green is also truly remarkable as "Club Kid" James St. James (on whose book the film is based.) But ultimately it is with Macaulay Culkin, former child superstar of HOME ALONE, with which the film sinks or swims.
This movie is based on true events about Michael, a popular club kid in New York.
Michael and a friend end up killing this guy while all drugged up.Seth Green and Mac Culkin were very realistic as a couple of gay club kids.
The film centers around the shocking real life story of Michael Alig, a boy in search of a fabulous lifestyle in New York, he meets James st.
Party Monster is a Hip and a thrill ride from beginning to end with top 80's tunes and a great cast, the fabulous Macaulay Culkin in his movie comeback portrayed the role of Michael outstandingly with a real edge and Seth Green delivers an over the top camp portrayel of James St. James who gives the film comedy but an in-depth insight of what James was really like!
"Party Monster" tells the strange, colorful and tragic story of Michael Alig, the flamboyant, outrageous club kid.
Macauley Caulkin, as murdering Club Kid Guru Michael Alig, acts like a 4th grade retard in a 3rd grade production of Raisin in the Sun. Even the great `actors' in it fall flat in this abysmal sorry excuse of a `film'.
Seth Green is great and so true to character as original Club Kid James St. James the pock-marked aging author (Disco Bloodbath from which the film is based) and best friend of Michael Alig.
I have seen it a total of 22 times ...and i still can't get enough of it ....i would have watched it many more times ...but sadly i do not own the movie....the charters were wonderful ..and the best thing was ...it was mostly true since it was based on the documentary and James St. James's book ...every actor did exceptionally well.and I love the fact that  Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, and Marilyn Manson were in the movie they just added such a lovely sensation to an already FaBuLoUs Movie.