It's My Party Review
by James Berardinelli (berardin AT bc DOT cybernex DOT net)March 26th, 1996
IT'S MY PARTY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0
Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1996
U.S. Release Date: 3/22/96 (limited)
Running Length: 1:50
MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, mature themes)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, Lee Grant, George Segal,
Bronson Pinchot, Margaret Cho, Marlee Matlin, Olivia Newton-John Director: Randal Kleiser
Producer: Joel Thurm and Randal Kleiser
Screenplay: Randal Kleiser
Cinematography: Bernd Heinl
Music: Basil Poledouris
U.S. Distributor: United Artists
Despite the success of Jonathan Demme's PHILADELPHIA, the marketplace has not been flooded by copycat endeavors. Indeed, two years after Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for playing a dying lawyer, the mainstream motion picture industry has remained largely silent on the issue of AIDS. IT'S MY PARTY represents the first Hollywood-backed effort since PHILADELPHIA to deal in a straightforward manner with those who are given a death sentence by the HIV virus. And, while Randal Kleiser's film has its share of flaws, IT'S MY PARTY turns out to be effective, and affecting, melodrama.
The film introduces us to Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) and his lover, Brandon Theis (Gregory Harrison). Although the two have vastly different personalities -- Nick is the freespirit and Brandon is the anal retentive -- they are happy together, at least until Nick's HIV test comes back positive. After that devastating news, the couple tries to stay together, but the emotional pressures are too great. Eventually, Brandon asks Nick to leave their shared home. For the next year, they neither see nor speak to each other. Then, when AIDS complications prepare to take Nick's sanity and life, he decides to throw a huge going-away bash, which is to be followed by a fatal Seconal overdose. Almost all of Nick's friends and family show up, including a tortured Brandon, who feels that he must make peace with his former lover before it's too late.
Most of IT'S MY PARTY transpires during Nick's last forty-eight hours, although there are flashbacks to fill in past details. The script introduces a few too many extraneous subplots, and there are times when IT'S MY PARTY seems overburdened by characters, but all of the most important relationships work -- Nick and his sister, Daphne (Marlee Matlin), Nick and his mother (Lee Grant), and, most importantly, Nick and Brandon.
At the end, IT'S MY PARTY is a tearjerker, resorting to semi- skillful manipulation to bring a lump to the throat. Up to that point, however, the film avoids excessive sentimentality. Nick's last hours are strange, since he knows exactly when he's going to die, but he approaches the end with dignity -- he intends to go out on his own terms, before his mind and body are ravaged by disease. As a result, there are times when the film feels like a bittersweet countdown -- Nick's last morning, his last meal, his last sunset. There's no lecturing or sermonizing here; IT'S MY PARTY is a straightforward narrative that gets the message across through its drama.
Performance quality is variable. Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison are effective as the two-actor glue that holds the picture together. Lee Grant, Marlee Matlin, George Segal, and Bronson Pinchot are solid in supporting roles. Olivia Newton-John, who has long been absent from feature films, shows some rust (her most noteworthy contribution is the haunting ballad that plays over the end credits), but is, for the most part, adequate. On the other hand, Margaret Cho and Roddy McDowell both display an alarming lack of range.
While no one would confuse IT'S MY PARTY with the grim, hard- hitting SAVAGE NIGHTS, there's at least as much emotional honesty here as in PHILADELPHIA. Since there are so many wrong tracks that an AIDS drama can take, writer/director Kleiser deserves credit for steering this movie in the right direction. This is one party you won't want to leave early.
- James Berardinelli
e-mail: [email protected]
web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin (or) http://www2.cybernex.net/~berardin
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