ANGELL
08-13-2003, 10:00 PM
Documentary Program
Party Monster
Thursday, August 28, 9:30 PM, Metropolitan -- R828PM, 67 min. TRT
Tuesday, August 26, 6:00 PM, Metropolitan -- R826P1, 67 min. TRT
Party Monster
dir. Fenton Bailey and Randy 1998 USA 67 min. Video
On Staten Island, New York in 1996, a box containing the legless torso of Angel Melendez, one of the Club Kids, is found. So begins Party Monster, a vivid retelling of the rise and fall of Michael Alig, a notorious promoter whose parties through the early 90s strove for, and achieved, ever-higher levels of excess. In a dizzying, candy-colored whirl of deftly woven photos, video, reenactments and interviews, comes a captivating tale of decadence and depravity. Plunge into the world of Michael’s "Club Kids": where the costumes were beyond outrageous, the parties extreme to the point of becoming grotesque, and the personalities caught in Michael’s orbit various and bizarre. The motion picture, Party Monster starring Macaulay Culkin as Michael will be released this fall. It’s a rare chance to compare fact to fiction, even when the facts seem too absurd to be real. The directors were lucky: Michael Alig did them the favor of capturing most of his antics on camera. But from this treasure trove of self-indulgence they have captured a life lived with the intensity of a car crash, and it’s the kind of accident that remains burned on your retinas long after the event has passed by. – Brad Parks
Party Monster
Thursday, August 28, 9:30 PM, Metropolitan -- R828PM, 67 min. TRT
Tuesday, August 26, 6:00 PM, Metropolitan -- R826P1, 67 min. TRT
Party Monster
dir. Fenton Bailey and Randy 1998 USA 67 min. Video
On Staten Island, New York in 1996, a box containing the legless torso of Angel Melendez, one of the Club Kids, is found. So begins Party Monster, a vivid retelling of the rise and fall of Michael Alig, a notorious promoter whose parties through the early 90s strove for, and achieved, ever-higher levels of excess. In a dizzying, candy-colored whirl of deftly woven photos, video, reenactments and interviews, comes a captivating tale of decadence and depravity. Plunge into the world of Michael’s "Club Kids": where the costumes were beyond outrageous, the parties extreme to the point of becoming grotesque, and the personalities caught in Michael’s orbit various and bizarre. The motion picture, Party Monster starring Macaulay Culkin as Michael will be released this fall. It’s a rare chance to compare fact to fiction, even when the facts seem too absurd to be real. The directors were lucky: Michael Alig did them the favor of capturing most of his antics on camera. But from this treasure trove of self-indulgence they have captured a life lived with the intensity of a car crash, and it’s the kind of accident that remains burned on your retinas long after the event has passed by. – Brad Parks