Sound Opinions Takes The Train To Manchester For 24 Hour Party People
By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 17, 2012 10:00PM
24 Hour Party People, Michael Winterbottom's 2002 document of the Manchester music scene from the late 70s to mid 90s, doesn't quite know whether it's a send-up, spoof, people's history, biopic, or tragedy.
This is a good thing. What better way could there be to portray the making-it-up-as-they-went-along attitude of a local DIY musical scene that defied all odds to produce music heard around the world — from Joy Division and New Order to the Happy Mondays and eventually Oasis? A round trip to "Madchester" can be had this Thursday night, as Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot bring Sound Opinions at the Movies back to the Music Box.
You don't have to care about the music to enjoy the movie. Mancunian star Steve Coogan's depiction of Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson is alone worth the price of admission. Like a laconic Evel Kenieval leaping every fourth wall in sight, Coogan is part tour guide through the history of the scene's evolution from a handful of Sex Pistols-inspired acts to world-infamous exporters of ecstasy-fueled dance music, part court jester, pointing out the unsustainability of the enterprise at every turn. In his portrayal, Wilson puffs himself up with grandiose ambition on the one hand while sticking in the deflationary needle with his other.
If you do enjoy the music, there's plenty to love from the heavy hitters in the Factory catalog, with especially memorable depictions of Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Monday's Shaun Rider. Cameos from actual participants in the scene, from Howard Devoto to Mark E. Smith, reward the attentive fan's attentiveness. For a more thorough, by the numbers look at the music scene itself, we would recommend Madchester - The Sound of the North, and personally we would be as interested in seeing the more unusual cul-de-sacs of the Factory neighborhood, but Winterbottom's rollicking ride is too much fun to resist.
24 Hour Party People screens 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 at The Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. Tickets are $9 in advance, $10 at the door.