This film has some great performances, especially by Seth Green, Marilyn Manson, and Dylan McDermott. Wilmer Valderrama is great too as DJ Keoki. Whether you like or hate his acting, Culkin is "interesting" to say the least and did hold my attention. I don't believe though as other users have suggested that he is the worst part of the film.
*MINOR SPOILERS*
I think the film has a few major problems; the biggest being that it is a gay movie trying so desperately hard to pretend it's actually straight. Either this was something Culkin had to have in order to do the film or whether it was the writers / directors hoping to reach out to a larger audience, it failed miserably. The problem is when we meet Gitsie it is so obvious she was inserted as a beard for Culkin / Michael; if she actually was part of his life then the way she is put into this film is atrocious. She seems extremely out of place and that her only purpose is to try and show some kind of ridiculous love affair when it's so clear Alig is a total homosexual. Sure, maybe he fooled around with some girls, but he falls in love with guys and acts totally gay for 99% of the film, his "heterosexual" scenes with Sevigny are totally unbelievable and against his established character and character traits.
My second major problem is Alig's and the other gay characters neutered lifestyle representation in the film. For instance, every time there is about to be an onscreen kiss between two guys, the film cuts away, especially at the most important time in the film between Culkin and Valderrama. Again, sounds like writers / Culkin trying to "straighten" out this totally gay film by cutting around the real gay actions that might have actually taken balls to act. Anyone can hold another guy's hand or put on a dress, but portraying a believable and in this case heartbreaking physical relationship on screen with another guy takes real mettle. I mean it's not like this film has a chance for a mainstream release as it's far too gay for a normal straight audience, so why not give the non-straight community a decent representation of how Alig actually lived, which was through his relationships with men, particularly Keoki.
A final complaint: poor Wilson Cruz has so little to work with here, I suspect because he's actually "gay" or should I say "out". It would have been interesting if we got to know more about him and his own life instead of just being the drug dealer.
Aside from these identify and representation travesties, Seth Green really does carry the film and provides probably the most honest character that seems the least altered for this film. If you're going to see it, see it for his performance and that of McDermott and Valderrama, together they provide some really cool characters that we like and want to get to know more. The film could have been improved a ton and remained much more honest or at least seemed that way if Gitsie's character was eliminated and the filmmakers or Culkin were not afraid to actually explore the physical and sexual nature of Alig's character instead of just a topical overview. If you're trying to write a bisexual character, you have to do it that way from the start, otherwise it almost always seems like a beard and really hurts what could otherwise be an interesting character, as is the case with Alig. However, if you're trying to write a full on gay character as a bisexual character to straighten a film out, you're doing a huge disservice and not only hurting but insulting audiences on both sides.
*MINOR SPOILERS*
I think the film has a few major problems; the biggest being that it is a gay movie trying so desperately hard to pretend it's actually straight. Either this was something Culkin had to have in order to do the film or whether it was the writers / directors hoping to reach out to a larger audience, it failed miserably. The problem is when we meet Gitsie it is so obvious she was inserted as a beard for Culkin / Michael; if she actually was part of his life then the way she is put into this film is atrocious. She seems extremely out of place and that her only purpose is to try and show some kind of ridiculous love affair when it's so clear Alig is a total homosexual. Sure, maybe he fooled around with some girls, but he falls in love with guys and acts totally gay for 99% of the film, his "heterosexual" scenes with Sevigny are totally unbelievable and against his established character and character traits.
My second major problem is Alig's and the other gay characters neutered lifestyle representation in the film. For instance, every time there is about to be an onscreen kiss between two guys, the film cuts away, especially at the most important time in the film between Culkin and Valderrama. Again, sounds like writers / Culkin trying to "straighten" out this totally gay film by cutting around the real gay actions that might have actually taken balls to act. Anyone can hold another guy's hand or put on a dress, but portraying a believable and in this case heartbreaking physical relationship on screen with another guy takes real mettle. I mean it's not like this film has a chance for a mainstream release as it's far too gay for a normal straight audience, so why not give the non-straight community a decent representation of how Alig actually lived, which was through his relationships with men, particularly Keoki.
A final complaint: poor Wilson Cruz has so little to work with here, I suspect because he's actually "gay" or should I say "out". It would have been interesting if we got to know more about him and his own life instead of just being the drug dealer.
Aside from these identify and representation travesties, Seth Green really does carry the film and provides probably the most honest character that seems the least altered for this film. If you're going to see it, see it for his performance and that of McDermott and Valderrama, together they provide some really cool characters that we like and want to get to know more. The film could have been improved a ton and remained much more honest or at least seemed that way if Gitsie's character was eliminated and the filmmakers or Culkin were not afraid to actually explore the physical and sexual nature of Alig's character instead of just a topical overview. If you're trying to write a bisexual character, you have to do it that way from the start, otherwise it almost always seems like a beard and really hurts what could otherwise be an interesting character, as is the case with Alig. However, if you're trying to write a full on gay character as a bisexual character to straighten a film out, you're doing a huge disservice and not only hurting but insulting audiences on both sides.