''Party Monster'' is a 2003 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who are also both producers with Jon Marcus and Christine Vachon. It stars Macaulay Culkin as the drug-addled "king of the Club Kids". The film tells the story of the rise and fall of the infamous New York City party promoter Michael Alig. This was Macaulay Culkin's first film in nearly nine years since his starring role in the 1994 film '' Richie Rich''. Based on ''

Disco Bloodbath ''Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland'' is a 1999 memoir written by James St. James about his life as a Manhattan celebutante and club kid. The book specifically chronicles his friend Michael Alig's rise to fame, and A ...

'', the memoir of

James St. James James St. James (born James Clark; August 1, 1966) is a television personality, author, celebutante, frequent collaborator with Mathu Andersen, and former "Club Kid", a member of the New York City club scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. St ...

which details his friendship with Alig, that later fell apart as Alig's drug addiction worsened, and ended after he murdered Andre "Angel" Melendez and went to prison, it was followed by a 1998 documentary on the murder, also called '' Party Monster: The Shockumentary'', in which certain elements of the film were used.

Plot

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 little more than platonic. However, after Michael descends further into

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, 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 where he is arrested and sent to prison after being ousted by James. James then begins to write his "

Great American Novel The Great American Novel (sometimes abbreviated as GAN) is a canonical novel that is thought to embody the essence of America, generally written by an American and dealing in some way with the question of America's national character. The ter ...

", published first as ''Disco Bloodbath'' and later as ''Party Monster''.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack peaked at number 21 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Dance/Electronic Albums.

Release

''Party Monster'' made its world premiere at the 2003

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

on January 18, 2003, and later played at the Cannes Film Festival in May of that year. On September 5, 2003, the film was put on

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

to different

art house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

theaters in major US cities.

Reception

The film received mainly negative reviews; it currently holds a 29% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 79 reviews; the consensus states "The lurid display of camp soon turns tedious." It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003

, however, and '' Chicago Sun-Times'' critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film three out of four stars, calling Culkin's performance "fearless", though he remarks that "the movie lacks insight and leaves us feeling sad and empty—sad for ourselves, not Alig—and maybe it had to be that way". The film was only given a

. According to Box Office Mojo, the film only grossed $742,898 domestically out of a budget of $5 million in its theatrical release.

Home media

The film was released on DVD in the United States and Canada in February 2004 through

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

; the DVD contained various cast interviews, an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, the film's original theatrical trailer, and a real interview with Michael Alig as bonus materials. In 2009, the DVD has been discontinued and is now largely unavailable for purchase at standard retail stores. It is available for renting through Netflix and instant viewing.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Party Monster (2003 Film) 2003 films 2003 biographical drama films 2003 crime drama films 2003 independent films 2003 LGBT-related films American biographical drama films American crime drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films Camcorder films Club Kids American docudrama films Films about drugs Films based on non-fiction books Films produced by Christine Vachon Films set in New York City Films set in the 1980s Films set in the 1990s Biographical films about LGBT people Killer Films films World of Wonder (company) films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films