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October 18, 2003

PLGFF 2003 - Party Monster

Well, we're nearing the end of the Portland festival --- last night saw me reach break-even on the "half pass" I bought, so all the rest are "free"! ;-) The first one Friday night (my 11th) is Party Monster (IMDB). This movie is based on the true story of Michael Alig (played by Macaulay Culkin), a kid from the midwest who wants to follow in the footsteps of James St. James (played wonderfully by Seth Green), a major party organizer. Michael soon outstripped his mentor, but clawed his way up on the backs of friends and strangers alike, getting deeper and deeper into drugs, culminating with the murder of friend, roommate and drug dealer Angel (played by Wilson Cruz).

The movie is pretty funny for the first half or so, but as Michael's life starts to unwind, the movie necessarily gets darker and darker. It's very well done, with great performances from the cast (with one possible exception), but like Ordinary People and Boys Don't Cry (though this isn't nearly as intense as those), it's not a movie I will want to see again for some time.

The "possible exception" is Macaulay Culkin's performance: it was very much a "stage" performance. I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, as it's entirely conceivable that Michael acted as though he actually was on stage all the time, and gave a "stage performance" in real life, but contrasted with the rest of the cast, and especially Seth Green's performance, that's not the way it came off.

I recommend seeing it once, but having done that myself, you're on your own... 7 out of 10. Posted by abatie at October 18, 2003 02:07 AM

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