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In his first feature film role since 1994's Richie Rich, Culkin plays Michael Alig, the New York party kid who killed his drug dealer Angel Menendez (played by Wilson Cruz) in April 1996 by bludgeoning him with a hammer, injecting him with drain cleaner, dismembering and dumping his body in a river.
Alig even bragged about the murder on TV but no one believed him until the body washed ashore.
After all, Michael Alig was the greatest creator of fantasy worlds and fantasy personas New York had known since Andy Warhol.
Alig's story is intriguing as filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato proved in their 1999 documentary Party Monster.
Their attempt to turn it into this current semi-fiction offering isn't nearly as effective because they offer no real insights into Alig other than he needed attention and adulation.
He got that and more when he came to New York, first to become part of the club-kids circuit and then to rule it.
His best friend and eventual biographer was James St. James (Seth Green), a rich kid who dabbled outrageously in drugs, gay sex and transvestism.
From his costumes and makeup to his lisping speech and mincing gestures, there's no denying the savage bravery of Culkin's performance.
It's mesmerizing until it becomes clear that's all Culkin is going to offer.
He doesn't let the facade down long enough to show how good an act this is for both Alig and himself.
Even in St. James' deepest drug hazes, Green manages to show the humanity beneath the makeup and the presence of some kind of life behind those glazed eyes.
The supporting performances are interesting, to say the least.
As the club owner who patronized and financed Alig, Dylan McDermott shows how diverse the moths were who were drawn to the young man's bizarre flame.
That '70s Show's Wilmer Valderrama shows the most depth of character as Keoki, who changed his sexuality for Alig only to be humiliated and discarded by him.
The androgyny of the '90s party scene comes off as being so cold and hollow. There had to have been more.
We just don't see it here because there's too much partying in Party Monster for it to offer insights as well as glitz.
(This film is rated 18-A)