(Manchester) Music Monday: 24 Hour Party People

While the film remains sarcastic, fun, and dedicated, it does sacrifice a little bit of that initial energy when it begins to zero in on two major events: the Ian Curtis/Joy Division tragedy and the rise of the Happy Mondays before club kids and their ecstasy habits. Party People has A LOT to say and clocks in at just under two hours, so it's easy to get lost in the references, accents and info onslaught. If you're game for keeping up, it is a treat to get all of these band signings and major music events in a greater context. (Speaking of context, we especially recommend this screening for fans of the spectacular, Tony-Wilson-co-produced film Control who might have missed this under-the-radar film that proves there is so much more than post-punk fave Joy Division and even provides a little look at how New Order emerged from that particular wreckage.)

The title and—as Alamo states—the tongue poster ("does kind of make it look like a Trainspotting knock off about ravers") are pretty misleading. Both incite images of Wilson's Hacienda club, which does get a bit of attention in an interesting segment as the film comes to a close (drug dealers apparently need to back the frak off the bar sales). But this is not the film. Tony Wilson's stories and dramatizations are about perfect concert venues, original/groundbreaking sounds, and record label missions signed in the blood of pure, holy, indulging music lovers.

Music Monday is, as always, $2. You will go.