Economy Size Geek

24 Hour Party People (2002)

This is a very odd film. It’s based on a book named after a song by Joy Division.(bonus points if you know what Joy Divsion means without resorting to Google - I didn’t before viewing the film)

So it is mostly true? The film starts off with a performance by the Sex Pistols in Manchester. The weird part is that when they zoom in on the Pistols they cut to actual footage - which is a little confusing. Then they go back to the “movie”. That happens a couple of times in the begining but by the end of the film they pretty much stay in the movie world.

Basically the movie tries to tell the story of the Manchester music scene - Joy Division, New Order, and the Happy Mondays figure prominently in the film.

A big part of liking this film is connected to how interested you are in those bands. The more you know and want to know the happier you’ll probably be with the film. Personally I’m only tangentally interested in them - which brings us to the second part of the film. The main character (Tony) is the guy who setup a record label and narrates the entire film.

At first he is a bit annoying. He’s pompous and over blown - but over the course of the film it actually becomes kind of endearing.

One of my favorite parts in the film is a scene where a big record label comes to buy out Tony and his record label. Then Tony has to explain that his entire goal of setting up a record label was to make sure that he would never be tempted to “Sell Out”. He guarantees this by making his contracts with the bands so loose that he acutally owns nothing - thus removing his opportunity to “Sell Out”. Maybe you have to be there.

Bottom Line: If you want an interesting romp through the musical past of Manchester - you’ve found your film. If that doesn’t sound like you bag I can’t blame you for finding something else in the movie racks.