Old Ass Reviews: 24 Hour Party People

When we moved to the new house, we got a good offer on the cable that included a DVR. I’ve never had one, so I’ve probably gone a little overboard by recording tons of things I could probably do without. In particular, I’ll often find myself recording movies off of IFC, Ovation, or other such networks. They’ll often be flicks of which I’ve never heard, but the title or one-sentence description sounds cool to me. Of course, this also means I have a backlog of about 15 movies to watch, but so be it.

Recently, I got around to watching the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People. It follows the Manchester music scene through the 1980’s and 1990’s by following the story of Tony Wilson, a small-time British TV personality who became the founder of Factory Records.

I really enjoyed this movie for 3 distinct reasons. First of all, the subject is cool as hell. That Manchester scene was at the center of two music explosions during my high school & college years. First, there was the whole post-Punk, college radio, underground British music scene. Joy Division, Stone Roses, James, Happy Mondays, The Smiths … they all came out of that scene, and most of them were part, at some point, of Factory Records. You know the song Blue Monday by New Order?


Well, that was the greatest selling single in the history of the UK (and since no one releases singles any more, that title is probably safe). As you saw, that was also known as FAC 73, Factory Record’s goofy way of numbering everything from posters to dance clubs to a cat.

As a mea culpa, I’ll admit I was not nearly that musically nuanced as a high school kid. I didn't get hooked on that genre until college, when Chris (The Official College Roommate of The Jim) gave me the 411. I remember listening to a Best of New Order tape in my old Chevy Caprice for about 2 months straight, and one of the first CD’s I ever bought was Technique.

Of slightly lesser interest to me was that Manchester also served as one of the epicenters for the whole rave movement in the 1990’s. Not exactly my thing, but I can enjoy it sparingly.

My point is that this one city in Britain helped usher in the concept of “the DJ is a star”, where now some of these guys are famous enough to start getting with celebrity starlets. More importantly, though, it helped usher in the second British Invasion of music. Bands like Keane, Coldplay, and Oasis all owe a debt to that period which revitalized a completely bland music scene in that country.

I also love the style of this movie. It’s told very metafictional and tongue-in-cheek. The guy playing Tony Wilson regularly breaks the 4th Wall. Actual participants show up in cameos to tell the audience that the script isn't accurate. The film is grainy like an old 70’s home video. The story occasionally glosses over parts about Wilson’s life, and then the character tells you that this is by design, as the real story is the music. It combines the style of an arthouse film with the comedic, relaxed feel of Monty Python.

That neat style really helps, because there’s SO much here that I didn’t understand. The movie assumes you not only understand British slang and references, but that you really know who all these people and bands are supposed to be. It would be easy to get lost in it all; however, it’s so well made that I was perfectly willing to go along for the ride.

That, by the way, was the third reason I liked this thing. So often, I watch these historical movies or biographies pretty much knowing the story, or at least having a solid understanding of the context and backdrop. In this case, though, I was CLUELESS! I had no idea how important Manchester was an epicenter to some of my favorite music genres. I had never heard of Factory Records, or The Hacienda, or any of it. After watching this thing, I’m really interested in learning more. There’s a new biopic about Ian Curtis from Joy Division that I’ll go out and rent soon. I’d love to find a detailed book or documentary about these people as well. I’m really intrigued by the whole thing.

Anyway, that’s it. If you like music, England, or drug-fueled hallucinations of God, than go out and find 24 Hour Party People. Unless you’re my main man Chris, you probably won’t get it all, but it’s still worth it!

Until next time,
The Jim