The star-studded gay AIDS drama "It's my Party" is released on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time in two decades
As a director, Randal Kleiser had a knack for blockbusters. His biggest hit, the film musical "Grease", turned John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John into global stars and a screen dream couple.
In 1995, the then 49-year-old dared to do something completely different: completely self-financed, with a small budget and without a major film studio behind him, he filmed "It's my Party", a story that was both personal and controversial. The film has now been released on DVD and Blu-ray.
Separation in just a few minutes of film
"You're not going to leave me, are you?" Nick, who has just been diagnosed with Aids, only asks his partner this question rhetorically. But just a few minutes into the film, Brandon has already thrown his sick partner out of their home.
Randal Kleiser only needs a few short scenes to show the couple's estrangement until their separation. Is it the fear of infection or of perhaps soon having to look after a dying man that turns Brandon (played by Gregory Harrison) into a pretty callous bastard? Or was the relationship close to ending anyway?
The last party
One year later: Nick's AIDS has led to a brain tumour. His vision is already impaired. Another week or two and he will no longer be in control of his senses. But Nick doesn't want to live to see that, instead - as long as he is still in his right mind - he wants to end his life himself. And celebrate his farewell.
Kleiser shot the two-day farewell party in his own villa, complete with luxury pool. The guests: Hollywood stars with close professional and friendship ties to the director. They included Oscar winners such as Lee Grant and Marlene Matli, George Segal and, of course, Olivia Newton-John. Leading actor Eric Roberts (the brother of actress Julia) even provided his own horse for the filming.
It must have been a strange shoot. Because most of the guests were at the party that is being re-enacted here just a few years earlier. Behind the character of Nick is Randal Kleiser's partner Harry Stein, who ended his life after a farewell party.
Not a flawless masterpiece
To start with: "It's my Party" is not a flawless masterpiece. There are simply too many characters and therefore too many aspects and stories of queer life introduced into the plot for the characters to really gain a profile and the conflicts to gain depth.
Nevertheless, it is a shame that "It's my Party" has largely disappeared from the consciousness after a comparatively disappointing cinema release in the USA and Europe.
"Philadelphia" has undoubtedly moved more viewers to tears and has therefore burned itself into the collective memory as one of the central AIDS films.
But "It's my Party" is more authentic in its own way, and yes: also more disturbing.
What is particularly remarkable about "It's my Party" is how openly Kleiser deals with the topic of active and passive assisted suicide in times of Aids. Not that Kleiser has debated it intensively, but he sheds light on the topic from a wide variety of perspectives.
There is Nick's young nephew, for example, who wishes he had only found out about his uncle's planned suicide after the execution. Or a friend of Nick's who, as a devout Catholic, is conflicted by the news and believes he has to stop him from committing the offence.
In short flashbacks, it also becomes clear what the suicide of the seriously ill also means: namely to retain sovereignty over one's own body and the unstoppable decay and thus to shorten one's own suffering. However, Kleiser also shows that not every suicide is successful - and that friends have to bring the matter to an end. These are decisions that plunge everyone involved into an almost unsolvable moral dilemma and were by no means a singular event at the height of the AIDS crisis. Within the HIV/Aids community, however, this was hardly ever discussed, not least for legal reasons. It is therefore all the more remarkable that Randal Kleiser has placed precisely this at the centre of his film - even at the risk of not achieving a box office success like "Philadelphia".
Win now! We're giving away "It's my party"
You want a DVD or Blu-ray of "It's my Party"? We're giving away one copy of each.
Send us an e-mail with the keyword "It's my Party" and the information whether you would rather have a DVD or a Blu-ray to win@www.iwwit.de
Closing date: 30 June 2019, 11:59 pm
"It's my party". USA 1996
Directed by Randal Kleiser. With Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, Olivia Newton-John, Margaret Cho, Bronson Pinchot, George Segal, Lee Grant, Marlee Matlin, a.o., 110 min.
DVD/Blu-ray published by Vocomo Movies
Original trailer from 1996 (in the original English version)
German trailer
