Party Monster (2003)

28% of critics liked it
(76 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(35,706 ratings)

After profiling Monica Lewinsky, Billy Haynes, and Tammy Faye Bakker, documentarians Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato make their feature debut with this true-life tale of the rapid climb and lurid demise of a flamboyant young club promoter in late-'80s/early-'90s Manhattan. Based on James St. James'… More After profiling Monica Lewinsky, Billy Haynes, and Tammy Faye Bakker, documentarians Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato make their feature debut with this true-life tale of the rapid climb and lurid demise of a flamboyant young club promoter in late-'80s/early-'90s Manhattan. Based on James St. James' nonfiction account Disco Bloodbath as well as on the writer/directors' own 1998 documentary, Party Monster features former child star Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig, a Midwestern teen determined to forget his past amidst the bright lights and throbbing house music of New York City's nightlife. Introduced to the club scene by St. James (Seth Green), Alig quickly becomes an event promoter himself, dreaming up bizarrely themed dance parties in such unlikely venues as fast-food restaurants and subway cars. But this archetypical "club kid" orchestrates his own downfall when, stoned on designer drugs, he and accomplice Freez (Justin Hagan) brutally murder their small-time dealer friend Angel Menendez (Wilson Cruz). Party Monster had its world premiere in the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Written By: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 5, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Feb 10, 2004
Studio: Strand Releasing

Critic Reviews

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
It's the drunk-guy- at-the-party syndrome: The only one truly entertained by the clown with the lamp shade on his head is the clown with the lamp shade on his head -- or folks similarly inebriated.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
A mess.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
In the end, for all the vibrancy, there's not much there there. Maybe that's the point, but I doubt it.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
You haven't seen this many outrageous costumes since the Halloween parade on Cedar Springs.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
There are many ways of depicting an innocent's descent into hell, but the camp approach is surely the least advisable.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Gracelessly executed, it throws out mock documentary, fantasy sequences and rapid montages, but still drags on woefully, and looks like it was soaked in dirty water.
Matt Kelemen, Las Vegas CityLife
Rule No. 1: If you use black humor in a film about real-life characters and events, make sure you have a feel for it first.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Culkin se esforça, mas não convence como o bissexual Michael Alig. Em contrapartida, Seth Green rouba o filme com sua ótima performance.
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy
So awful, it's almost good.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Never has the Manhattan club scene ever looked so tedious; this film makes a powerful argument for staying home and renting a movie.
Todd Gilchrist, FilmStew.com
Perhaps Party Monster's limited distribution will keep this clunker from interrupting Seth Green's rise to the top of the Hollywood food chain.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Memo to Macaulay Culkin: When your latest cinematic 'comeback' attempt is a film like Party Monster, maybe remaining in career limbo wasn't such a bad idea.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
The look, like Culkin's self-consciously manic performance, is all surface -- which may be the point of profiling these empty lives, but not enough reason to make us watch.
James Rocchi, Netflix
Fact-based story of drugs and death in "clubland" is boring and banal, failing in its attempt to shock and scandalize.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
We begin the film not knowing what brought Michael and James together. We end, after a too-long 98 minutes, precisely the same way.
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"... equal parts freakish fashion show and tawdry melodrama of the rise and fall of a superficial celebrity."
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
As a human document 'Party Monster' is pretty much a disaster...shapeless and sloppy.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Like Alig, Party Monster is a colorful mess, all style and substances and little else.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Chris W

Based on the true life story of infamous "club kid" Micahel Alig, this film saw Macaulay Culkin return to films after a long absence, ready to put his child star image to rest. In that regard, this is a successful film, and his performance is quite good. The other… More
Based on the true life story of infamous "club kid" Micahel Alig, this film saw Macaulay Culkin return to films after a long absence, ready to put his child star image to rest. In that regard, this is a successful film, and his performance is quite good. The other performances aren't too shabby either, and the cast has lots of recognizables in it, including a small appearance by a delightfully nutty Marilyn Manson. As a bio pic, this is some fairly standard stuff, and not all that remarkable. The film has a nice visual style, and the costumes and makeup are pretty top notch. Had things not been quite so by the numbers, this would be a far better film. As it stands though, this is a decent, but largely unremarkable film, saved mostly by the performances, which is the primary reason you should give it a watch.
MisterYoda ?

When I started to watch this movie I wasn't at all aware what it was about. I just saw that MaCaulay Culkin and Seth Green were in it and thought, "Cool! Maybe this'll be good." A lot of people say this movie was bad, that it was horribly acted, but I think they… More
When I started to watch this movie I wasn't at all aware what it was about. I just saw that MaCaulay Culkin and Seth Green were in it and thought, "Cool! 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. I don't believe he was a bad actor, I simply believe he got stuck on the idea of how he had to humanize his character, and that was his ultimate downfall (in the special features he explained this was something he wanted to bring to the character). Seth Green, as always, is adorable and can completely immerse himself into a character and really bring him to light. Marilyn Manson played Christina wonderfully, if only for a short time. Wilmer Valderrama was terrific as Keoki and it was a disappointment to see he was only in such a little portion of the film. All in all, this movie was great. It had a great cast and a great script. The movie was meant to poke fun, not to make you think about any hidden meanings or to wonder why they were acting so strange. Club Kids were all about glamour, mocking celebrities, and, in the end, drugs. They didn't want to grow up, and they certainly didn't want to live a normal life. Culkin had his moments where he pulled Alig off well, and in others, you could tell he was trying to stretch the character into places he wasn't meant to go. And if he was, Culkin certainly wasn't the actor to do it. All in all, a "fabulous" film. Highly recommended if you're interested in how some of the 80's really played out.
Nicki M

Very over the top with the acting, but strangely compelling and a great cast. I loved all the outifts and make up too! Both Macaulay and Seth do a great job here.
Carlos M

Culkin is totally unconvincing as a popular glam bisexual club kid, and the story tries so hard to be campy and trash that it soon gets boring.
Cindy I

Macauley Culkin doesn't do TOO bad a job in this true story of party boy Michael Alig, who killed his drug dealer and than bragged about it to his friends. Seth Green plays Alig's best pal and confidante and holds his own pretty well too. Not a great film by any stretch of… More
Macauley Culkin doesn't do TOO bad a job in this true story of party boy Michael Alig, who killed his drug dealer and than bragged about it to his friends. Seth Green plays Alig's best pal and confidante and holds his own pretty well too. Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but held my attention more than I thought it would.
Bannan i

Seth Green and Macauly Culkin do so well in here! With Marilyn Manson and Dylan McDermott, Natasha Lyon and Chloe Sevingny as well, interesting to see this plot be played out on the silver screen after happening in real life. The life of Michael Alig and the New York Club Kids is… More
Seth Green and Macauly Culkin do so well in here! With Marilyn Manson and Dylan McDermott, Natasha Lyon and Chloe Sevingny as well, interesting to see this plot be played out on the silver screen after happening in real life. The life of Michael Alig and the New York Club Kids is certainly not boring.
Lafe F

Like a car wreck, it's hard to stop watching this freakish movie. Macaulay Culkin - like you've never seen him before. Great music! Seth Green is hilarious too. Great costumes! It shows the damage which drugs can do to the lives of the party-kids who use them. It's a… More
Like a car wreck, it's hard to stop watching this freakish movie. Macaulay Culkin - like you've never seen him before. Great music! Seth Green is hilarious too. Great costumes! It shows the damage which drugs can do to the lives of the party-kids who use them. It's a fun but wasted lifestyle. Stupidity has its consequences. There was much frivolous gaeity, but no acts of homosexuality are shown. Great stuff for a low-budget film! A classic on my list. Favorite Scene: When the Rat explains to Seth Green what really happened; accompanied by pounding techno music.
Burger S

Interesting story, but the cinematography is very low budget.
Yinalí R

Very weird movie.
Marcus W

It's Green and Culkin that carry this film and keep it moving. There are definite traces of Trainspotting, but sadly without Boyle's energy. And Marilyn Manson turns up for a few scenes and just seems to grin into the camera. That said, it is still worth a watch.
Lee K

For any male that is homophobic, I would definatly stay clear of this one, I liked it expecially the scenes with marilyn manson i thought his performance as a transvestite was hilarious! after seeing the shockumentary as they call it I had to re-watch the film. Lik i said guys,… More
For any male that is homophobic, I would definatly stay clear of this one, I liked it expecially the scenes with marilyn manson i thought his performance as a transvestite was hilarious! after seeing the shockumentary as they call it I had to re-watch the film. Lik i said guys, consider yourself warned!
Sunil J

Trippy and weird but an interesting return for Macaulay Culkin.
Sarah P

Tragic from beginning to end, interesting movie.
*Kimberly *

Um, well, it was certainly different, weird, and very wild.
Timothy O

I was in an insomniatic period, and this cured that. Get a life.
Leo L

Hilarious! A great movie.
Robert F

A quote from Macaulay Culkin: "I'd made enough money by the time I was 12 to never have to work again, so it's not about a big check with me. It's about finding unique, one-of-a-kind films that I would want to see myself. I think Party Monster is one of… More
A quote from Macaulay Culkin: "I'd made enough money by the time I was 12 to never have to work again, so it's not about a big check with me. It's about finding unique, one-of-a-kind films that I would want to see myself. I think Party Monster is one of those." Hmmm. Ok, 'Mac'. Well it was certainly unique. Your bad acting was unique. Perhaps too unique for me. The one star it gets from me is for Seth Green's 'fabulous' outfits.