IT'S MY PARTY
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
This is one party to which you may wish to bring along Kleenex. It's about AIDS and about someone who is about to die as the fatal day approaches. Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) is an architect, handsome, healthy-looking, personable and with a great sense of humor. Unlike most cases where the AIDS virus has withered the ill person with lost weight, pain, etc., Nick's has attacked his brain. His doctor has told him that in two days his vision, already beginning to blur, will disappear and he will go into a coma until he dies.
But Nick is not one to succumb that easily. He does not want tears and heartbreak to surround his last days. Instead he wants to die with dignity and arranges for that day with his friend, Tony (Paul Regina) that in two days he is to administer the pills that will put him to "sleep" forever. Meanwhile, he invites friends and family to a sort of going away party. He wants it to be uplifting, without tears ... but of course, those who have been invited know that tomorrow is his last afternoon, that the next day he will be dead. Not exactly a party but that is what Nick has opted for. Dignity above all.
Some of those who attend are his mother (Lee Grant) and the father (George Segal) who is divorced from the mother and who has never been close to Nick and is now confronted by a loving, dying son. There is his devoted sister, Daphne, (Marlee Matlin), a friend, Charlene (Magaret Cho). and Nick's ex-lover, Monty (Bronson Pinchot) who had deserted Nick when he learned he had AIDS.
Sad? Yes. Heartwarming? Also yes. This is a different aspect of the devastation of AIDS and how some people handle their final moments. A film not to be missed.
4 Bytes
Written and Directed by Randal Kleiser
4 Bytes = Superb 3 Bytes = Not to be missed 2 Bytes = So so 1 Byte = Don't both 1 Byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews