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Party Monster (2003)

tomatometer

28

Average Rating: 4.4/10
Reviews Counted: 76
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 55

The lurid display of camp soon turns tedious.

21

Average Rating: 4.1/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 23

The lurid display of camp soon turns tedious.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 35,320

My Rating

Movie Info

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

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

,

Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

Feb 10, 2004

$0.3M

Strand Releasing

Cast

All Critics (82) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (55) | DVD (3)

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.

December 12, 2003 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A mess.

December 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comment
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In the end, for all the vibrancy, there's not much there there. Maybe that's the point, but I doubt it.

November 7, 2003 Full Review Source: Denver Post | Comment
Denver Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

You haven't seen this many outrageous costumes since the Halloween parade on Cedar Springs.

November 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | Comment
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There are many ways of depicting an innocent's descent into hell, but the camp approach is surely the least advisable.

October 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

October 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

March 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | Comment

Culkin se esforça, mas não convence como o bissexual Michael Alig. Em contrapartida, Seth Green rouba o filme com sua ótima performance.

February 2, 2004 Comment
Cinema em Cena

So awful, it's almost good.

January 22, 2004 Comment
Planet Sick-Boy

Never has the Manhattan club scene ever looked so tedious; this film makes a powerful argument for staying home and renting a movie.

January 22, 2004 Full Review | Comment
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Perhaps Party Monster's limited distribution will keep this clunker from interrupting Seth Green's rise to the top of the Hollywood food chain.

December 15, 2003 Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | Comment

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.

December 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | Comment
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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.

December 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | Comment
Salt Lake Tribune

Fact-based story of drugs and death in "clubland" is boring and banal, failing in its attempt to shock and scandalize.

November 20, 2003 Full Review Source: Netflix | Comment
Netflix

We begin the film not knowing what brought Michael and James together. We end, after a too-long 98 minutes, precisely the same way.

November 14, 2003 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

"... equal parts freakish fashion show and tawdry melodrama of the rise and fall of a superficial celebrity."

November 13, 2003 Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Comment
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

As a human document 'Party Monster' is pretty much a disaster...shapeless and sloppy.

November 10, 2003 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | Comment
One Guy's Opinion

Like Alig, Party Monster is a colorful mess, all style and substances and little else.

November 9, 2003 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Austin Chronicle
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Party Monster

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

August 18, 2011
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

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

May 15, 2010
MizturY0da
MisterYoda ?

Super Reviewer

    1. James St. James: I'm not addicted to drugs, I'm addicted to glamour.
    – Submitted by Carrie H (6 months ago)
    1. Christina: How do you like my UFO?
    – Submitted by Carrie H (6 months ago)
    1. Michael Alig: [singing] Greetings, citizens. We are living in the age where the pursuit of all values other than money, success, fame and glamour, has either been discredited or destroyed. Money, success, fame, glamour.
    – Submitted by Carrie H (6 months ago)
    1. Michael Alig: That's not a crack hole! That's a rat hole! Rats on crack attack!
    – Submitted by Carrie H (6 months ago)
    1. Michael Alig: Oh please, party in the truck!
    – Submitted by Carrie H (6 months ago)

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