There is absolutely no doubt that Macaulay Culkin has left that cute kid with the bobble hat from Home Alone well and truly behind him. In his latest film, Party Monster, he plays Michael Alig, a man fond of Class A drugs, women`s dresses and generally being a selfish arsehole.

As a newbie homo straight off the Mid-West Greyhound, Michael meets James St. James (Seth Green), a well-established face of the Manhattan drag scene. His new best friend teaches him all he needs to know about drag. Tips for aspiring drag queens run along these lines: "Never be seen drinking anything but champagne", "Make sure your outfit works in black and white" and, "It doesn`t matter what you look like. If you have a hunchback, throw some glitter on it and go dancing!"

Based on James St. James`s factual book Disco Bloodbath, Party Monster retells the true story of the rise and fall of the early 1990s phenomenon The Club Kids. Headed by Alig, this group of outlandish hedonists took the New York club scene by storm with their outrageous clothes and drug-fuelled antics. But Alig`s indulgence is his own downfall when he murders his drug dealer and ex-boyfriend Angel (Wilson Cruz).

These characters could give Leigh Bowery a run for his money. Everyone is so off their tits it`s amazing that they ever got it together long enough to look as spectacular as they do. They prance around not doing anything very much except looking and being scandalous. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson`s exceptional outfits must have been in creative heaven.

Alig gets a name for himself quickly around Manhattan and graduates from a hanger-on to hosting club nights at The Limelight. Glamour and drugs are the only things that matter. Even in his hospital bed after overdosing he`s making plans for his next party and how to supply drugs in the ER. Alig isn`t a very likeable creature and his friends should be wary. His adoration for St. James doesn`t stop him publishing an article naming him as a slave trader of 12-year-old boys. Alig hates and despises those he loves the most.

Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato have extended their documentary version of Party Monster and given it a fictionalised working. It`s all pretty shocking, but there isn`t much the average gay man accustomed to the London club scene wouldn`t have witnessed on a Saturday night at Turnmills. In fact, the film would have benefited from less drug-induced stupor and a deeper insight into the workings of its characters.

Marilyn Manson pops up as Christina, a past-it drag queen who falls over a lot Naomi Campbell style, and Chlöe Sevigny ups the cool stakes as Alig`s girlfriend but ultimately, like the characters it portrays, Party Monster is a great spectacle with little substance.

Party Monster opens in the UK on 17 October 2003.

Read our interviews with the creators of Party Monster.

Buy the DVD of gay summer of love flick, Presque Rien online and save money.


Buy the DVD of Criminal Lovers, a film that plays with fluid sexuality, online and save money.