24 Hour Party People

An utterly unique, if uneven, British comedy directed by Michael Winterbottom, 24 Hour Party People follows the Manchester-based exploits of real-life TV personality/Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, portrayed with mischievous nonchalance by Steve Coogan. While Wilson and his wry fourth-wall-breaking observations are ever-present, the first part of the film reels along in the aftermath of punk, and benefits from the intense presence of Joy Division, one of the first groups on the Factory label. The movie's latter half, however, wastes considerable time on Wilson's bewildering support of the Happy Mondays, who come across (fairly accurately, many would agree) as little more than drug-fueled idiots who stumbled onto success during the rave-crazed early ‘90s. Clouded by its haze of hedonism, Party People goes too far off the rails in its final stretch, but is somewhat redeemed by a wonderfully ridiculous final scene that finds a sky-high Wilson conversing with God. ("It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths, but you were right about Mick Hucknall. His music's rubbish.") Dotted with appearances by UK music and film luminaries (Look, Mark E. Smith! Hey, it's Simon Pegg!) 24 Hour Party People isn't terribly coherent (Winterbottom fans will notice that this is rather intentional), but it does have its roguish charm, and serves as essential viewing for fans of British post-punk.