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24 Hour Party People
MGM / UA


7.8

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MUSIC:

24 Hour Party People OST

MPAA RATING: R for strong language, drug use and sexuality

Starring Steve Coogan, Keith Allen, Rob Brydon, Enzo Cilenti, Ron Cook, Chris Coghill, Paddy Considine, and Danny Cunningham

Spanning from the late 1970's to the early 1990's, this is the story of the Manchester music scene, as seen by the founders of the legendary Factory Records label.

GENRE(S):	Musical
WRITTEN BY:	Frank Cottrell Boyce
DIRECTED BY:	Michael Winterbottom
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 21, 2003 Video: January 21, 2003 Theatrical: August 9, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	115 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Extravagant and funny it is, and also quite dark at times.

100

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

One of the sharpest and funniest movies about the music business ever made.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Shines with a kind of inspired madness.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

Funny, riveting look at the music scene that ruled Manchester, England, from 1976 to 1992.

100

The New York Times A.O. Scott

"Print the legend," Mr. Wilson says at one point, both quoting John Ford and laying the foundation for his own often fact-free fabulous fabulism. And this movie is just that -- fabulous.

100

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Like the music, the film is outspoken, roaringly funny, defiantly sexual and relentlessly in your face. I couldn't have liked it more.

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

The film is a whirlwind blur, a kinetic thrill ride through the industrial backwater that was one of punk and post-punk's most fertile Promised Lands: Manchester.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Amazing, rich in authentic period atmosphere and detail, an ever-changing cyclorama of a movie.

LA Weekly Brendan Bernhard

The movie's a rave and a half.

Salon.com Jeff Stark

This dizzying saga of the '80s Manchester music scene is garish, reckless, endlessly self-indulgent and totally untrustworthy. What a blast!

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Loud, hilarious, and enormously entertaining, 24 Hour Party People makes you want to toss current FM radio out on its pre-fab, corporate-sponsored backside. And not a moment too soon.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Ray Conlogue

So energized by the subject that it overflows with inventiveness.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Hopped-up and electrifying. The soundtrack is wall-to-wall and propulsive.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Just don't expect the truth. An extremely bent, highly amusing form of the truth, maybe, but not the truth. 24 Hour Party People shares with the current Robert Evans documentary ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' an awareness that a good anecdote often trumps the facts, but here the cheats are cheekily laid bare.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

What makes this movie an up is that even when its characters are crying for help, they're also crying for Help!

New York Post Megan Lehmann

This wonderful party of a movie, as totally original as its hero, stamps on a smiley face that will linger for hours.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Wilson's account is enormously self-serving and self-aggrandizing, but the film makes his ego a virtue and a running joke.

Film Threat Tim Merrill

Simply a two-hour rave, an acidic, ecstatic trip through the not-too-distant past in a world called Manchester.

Washington Post David Segal

The film has a wry, postmodern verisimilitude.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

A funny, unexpectedly inspiring story of excess, poor choices, and unwavering high-mindedness, all tied to that quintessential bit of rock wisdom: Icarus did fall, but first he flew.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Also featured are countless cameos from local superstars ranging from the Fall's Mark E. Smith to Mani of the Stone Roses, making the film an absolute thrill for fans of the Manchester scene.

Miami Herald Evelyn McDonnell

A strange art-house film, a must-see for punks and nightclubbers, a puzzle for the merely curious.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Jam-packed mishmash of wall-to-wall music, trenchant character study, slick sociology and sly witty-Brit comedy.

Variety Derek Elley

A rough, gritty, often scabrously humorous tribute.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Coogan delivers a winning comic performance as the pompous impresario, but his story has little dramatic momentum of its own; he functions mostly as a pedantic narrator, imposing some cultural significance on the endless party and pointing out more intriguing personalities.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

The manic swirl of characters (most speaking in thick Northern accents that are sometimes muffled and incomprehensible) may leave you exhausted and confused.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

As a historical document, 24 Hour Party People may be most meaningful to fans whose epiphanies were experienced at least one remove away -- at a different place or time.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

At times, the self-congratulatory tone makes for smug viewing and slow going. In spots, the pace is so all-exclusive that not every viewer will be able to get up and dance to it.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

An insider nostalgia trip for graying art punks. It could have been called ''When We Were Cool,'' and it's finally so cool that it freezes you out.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Personally, I'd rather have my brain invaded by flesh-eating beetles than listen to 10 seconds of the Sex Pistols -- Truth is, I've rarely had a worse time watching a good movie.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nazarai A. gave it a10:
Great look at the early punk scene in Manchester. I do agree with some of the user critics that the first half of the film is kind of slow but that critique is probably due to it's psuedo-documentary style (I found it compelling enough as a teen viewer however). Halfway through the running time of the film is when things start to pick up and the punk transforms from new wave and into the early rave scene. Loving electronica and being born in 86' and missing out on the early scene it was a great 'ear' opener albeit knowing all the artists featured. Steve Coogan's performance is truly original, one of the best i've seen lately in modern cinema. Don't see this if you're just looking for a comedy; If you're a fan of music, and can appreciate some oddball humor you won't be disappointed.

Ashleigh W gave it a10:
Great Movie!

Justin H. gave it a0:
I saw this piece in the theater and fell asleep. Not only was this movie boring and unfunny to the extreme (what parts I actually heard), I could barely hear or understand the characters' mumbling dialog. Perhaps there were some funny bits to this film, but they were either mumbled or in the film's second half, during which I was sleeping. Also, the film was dingy. I was straining to see what was going on. I thought maybe the film and sound quality was due to the theater's reel, but a friend who saw it in another theater had the same gripes. But even with all the sound and lighting aggravations aside, the plot was largely uninteresting and boring. The cast of characters was virtually undistinguishable from one another and seemed to have no purpose. Unless you have a real interest in music scenes, don't bother seeing this. The critic and user score is pretty misleading, as well as the title.

J. Ryan G. gave it a9:
This is a brilliant film. Steve Coogan gives one of the finest comedic performances in the cinema. You don't have to be obsessed with the type of bands featured in this film to truly get it. Is it possible for such a perfect film to fly under the radar and disappear into history without much buzz? MOST perfect films do this, until one point thirty or forty years in the future when they are suddenly "remembered." Don't miss your chance; check out this surprisingly brilliant movie!

Bella gave it a9:
Fantastic take on the Madchester scene! Steve Coogan is hilarious as Tony Wilson. I would have given it a 10 if it didn't try and cover so much in such short a time. The film skims too lightly over Ian Curtis & Joy Division, and I fear a casual fan or those unfamiliar with the history doesn't receive proper information.

Flick A. gave it a 10:
The movie brilliant. don't get it? thats ok, but maybe you should read more.

Peter B. gave it a 0:
This was supposed to funny? I never comment on movies but this one deserves something and it is not the accolades heaped upon by critics. I watched it for an hour, went to the bathroom and decided surfing 57 channels with nothing on was more entertaining than this dog. My dog is more entertaining. A total waste of money.

24 Hour Party People MGM / UA

24 Hour Party People
MGM / UA