Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.
The Monstrous: Party Monster
Not to be confused with the mediocre narrative feature of the same name, Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato‘s chilling 1998 documentary traces the rise and fall of New York nightlife icon Michael Alig. In the 1980s, Alig relocated from rural Indiana to New York City where he emerged as a party promoter and unofficial leader of the so-called Club Kids, a group of largely LGBTQ nightlife personalities which included James St. James, DJ Keoki, RuPaul and Amanda Lepore. The Club Kids earned attention for their outrageous dress and ridiculous drug use.
Go figure, then, that this story ends in tragedy. Party Monster documents Alig and the Club Kids’ emergence as media stars and party promoters, as well as Alig’s excessive drug use. That life of excess and substance abuse eventually led Alig to murder his friend and drug dealer Angel Melendez in March 1996. The film recounts the disturbing lead up to the crime, and the even more horrific aftermath in which Alig flaunted his own role in the killing.
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Like all of Bailey & Barbato’s work, Party Monster celebrates the LGBTQ and party elements of Alig’s story, as well as includes in-depth interviews with Alig, St. James, Keoki and the family of Melendez. It also plunges to unforeseen depths, laying bare the culture of New York’s underground. By far Bailey & Barbato’s darkest work–and one of their best–Party Monster is a must-see chapter in queer history, and one we pray never gets repeated.
Streams on World of Wonder Presents Plus.
Hdtex
There is NOTHING to be “celebrated” about Michael Alig. A murderous, dug-addled junkie who will NEVER have a place in society. The fact he walks freely amongst decent humanity is a travesty.
Cam
And he only killed 30% as many people as Kyle Rittenhouse.
Fname Optional Lname
“Party Monster celebrates the LGBTQ and party elements of Alig’s story”
what? did they really write this ? Alig killed someone for money, it wasn’t self defense and World of Wonder wants you to think there were LGBTQ aspects to the club kids and the murder of a person of color?
There is nothing to celebrate about Michael Alig and the club kids. They were a bunch of racist drug addicts who were given the key to the kingdom and instead of doing good during a time when the community needed everyone to come together they were selfish and as narcissistic as can be. They famously threw a tantrum at an AIDS event when they were asked to pay the entree fee which was going to an AIDS charity. They literally refused to pay! They were notorious for keeping people of color out of their “parties” at the Limelight and elsewhere. There is nothing LGBTQ about them.
So sorry, blowing smoke up Randy and Fenton’s butts will not impress anyone. The movie was atrocious and we are completely aware of the reality of what was really going on. Nothing to “celebrate” here , just a bunch of privileged gay kids who went too far and now want to leave a legacy for being awful people.
Chrisk
That’s a great point. That would’ve been in the middle of the Aids crisis. Yet the media focused on these shitheads because people like to look at freaks I guess. They were doing all the talk shows. Geraldo, Donahue, etc.
James st James was treated like a rock star. Never understood the appeal or interest. Just a bunch of sorry smug drug addicts.
BoylesqueBubble
He gets out with MULTIPLE violations on his record for drugs and other things. Yet, Leslie Van Houten who didn’t kill anyone in the 2nd night of the Manson murders (she stabbed a corpse post death) hasn’t had ONE infraction or violation on her prison record, has taken every class and holds a few degrees offered to her, makes quilts for homeless people, mentors young women in trouble….is still behind bars, has shown remorse for her crimes…Squeaky Fromme is walking the streets now, as is Michael and that frightens me more. Michael has already had run ins with the law, post parole…Watching this documentary years ago, he based his plea on wether or not he could have a TV in his cell. Prison kept him contained and kept him alive, that’s it. He didn’t learn anything. He’s a sociopath.
Tombear
Alig is a POS. End of story.