24 Hour Party People (2002)

You would think that Hollywood and the music business would be very close, with the executives lunching together every day in the slick restaurant scene that only LA and New York City have to offer. But you would be wrong. The evidence is that on both sides (music execs trying to make movies and tone deaf Hollywood moguls)there has been a massive failure in joining the two art forms. The one big exception is the growing body of work by Scorcese. Which brings me to this film, one of the top music movies ever made. For those of us who have followed music since the birth of rock n roll, it is particularly amazing and satisfying that it took the British to make this masterpiece about the BUSINESS of rock. Since Edison, it is a combination of business and technology that has created the music industry and led to its massive melt down, and the complete hand over to Apple. But that is another story. This film does its best to sum up why and how it has been impossible for rock and roll artists to grow their art separate from a completely insane and out of control money system that sold it down the river. The setting of this film is in the brief but fascinating Manchester music scene and this is the perfect back drop for a goofy, chaotic, and ultimately tragic tale that just never stops moving. Steve Coogan is brilliant in a once in a life time role that must have been written just for him. How else can you explain this funny, hilarious, and absolutely true picture of a music money man gone mad. I am not exaggerating that when movies were invented, they were meant for just this; social and artistic commentary that is moving, funny and absolutely unforgettable. I have seen this movie more than once, and each time I am amazed, delighted and so sad that a artistic world once so promising came to this.

Tony Wilson was the man who put Manchester on the map as far as music is concerned with his innovative label Factory records and his Hazienda club. With total disregard for all commercial aspects Wilson followed his vision to enable bands to develop themselves by granting them total artistic freedom. Needless to say he went bankrupt. Unfortunately, Tony Wilson also came across as a pompous ass occasionally. I'm not sure if that judgement is fair: Wilson was a highly educated man who never seemed to fit into the music business life style. Steve Coogan , who is a brilliant comedian, does not really play him in this film. He delivers more of a parody of the man although to be fair he does give him some moments of dignity like when the Joy Division leadsinger kills himself or when he tells his punters to loot the offices when the Hacienda is closed down. I just feel there is more to Wilson then just the pompous wide eyed boy. From my perspective Wilson would be a very good subject for a docu-drama because he has the depth to be taken seriously and he deserves it. As a comedy drama 24 hour party people works quite well. The cast is great, Coogan is very funny (as always) although I find the idea that Steve Coogan in his Wilson persona actually comments on the film during the film a bit contrived. All in all it's hugely entertaining but I can't help feeling that after a very elaborate first half, the second half (when the really exciting things are happening) is a bit rushed. All in all the film is well worth watching but I feel that there still is a story about Tony Wilson and the Madchester movement that waits to be told.

I watched 24 hour party people for the first time today and all i can say is what a great film this is! It's so fantastic to see the cream of British talent merged into a film that not only details events leading up to the what-we-now-call the rave culture but it displays a thoroughly in-depth representation of lifestyle in the country with so much British humour pouring out of it. Not knowing much about the punk-rock culture that gripped the world at that time, i was unaware of what to expect and probably thought i'd be seeing another 'Human Traffic', but i couldn't have been more wrong. '24 Hour Party People' sends you on a journey through the life of TV presenter/founder of Factory Records Tony Wilson, a production company that put such world-famous bands on the map such as 'Happy Mondays' and 'Joy Division'. With so many characters bursting with charisma and energy along the way, it's so hard to believe that such a wide variety of British actors (John Simm, Paddy Considine, Peter Kay, Shirley Henderson and Rob Brydon to name but a few) can actually make a film like this work, but not even these so talented performers damage the pace and genuity of such a work of art.This film sometimes had me believing whether what i was watching was fact or fiction, with the film largely based on true events and shot in mockumentary for, i sometimes struggled to realize history from point-of-views, but this only heightened the originality and structure of the movie. At of everything great about this movie, Steve Coogan has to come out at best. Everything he does is so down-right hilarious yet meaningful, bringing all of the brilliant characters to the height of their game. He basically moulds the entirety of the film and never shows signs of stopping when all has failed. OK so i could see hints of Alan Partrige in him (most notably the first section of the film when he hang-glides) but this only jolted me into hysterics more. This is a quality actor who should never be overlooked as one of Britain's all-time performers.Overall, i don't really have anything particularly bad to say about this film, and that's usually not the case for me! So if your a British citizen, whether or not you want to explore the origins of a key culture in our society (even today) this film is for you! I don't really know how it will go down with the rest of the world as their could be many mixed reviews, this is all down to the distribution and making of the film, you don't know whether it could be mainstream cinema or British indie. But this shouldn't put you off at all, so to see the best British comedians and actors with more chemistry (and chemicals) than a science lab, go out and get 24 Hour Party People! You will not regret it!p.s. the only thing it was missing was Lee Evans! :P

This film recounts the birth of a record label in Manchester, and its journey to lift Manchester as the place to be for modern music.Initially I found "24 Hour Party People" quite boring. It was probably because I was not familiar with the music of Joy Division, New Order, or the Happy Mondays. Hence, the film becomes a quasi documentary of a businessman and his drug fuelled musicians who live hedonistic lives. As I do not know the background history, I find the plot not so interesting or captivating.The parties in ""24 Hour Party People" are not the sort of parties I had in mind when I watched this film. Maybe this led to the disappointment I felt.