Writer-director Randal Kleiser does fine, fluid work here with this moving hybrid of "The Boys in the Band" and "'Night, Mother". When an upwardly-mobile gay man in Southern California gets a dreaded HIV-positive diagnosis, it helps to end the relationship he had with his lover; one year later, the two men find themselves reunited after the infected one discovers he has lesions on his brain and decides to throw a farewell party for himself before committing suicide. Movies centering on big, noisy parties rarely work, but Kleiser's accuracy in capturing this (not all gay) eclectic group of family and friends shows off a great deal of heart, sentiment, and a small bit of the requisite bitchy humor. A wonderfully odd gathering of celebrities and character-actors pop up in cameo roles, however the leads (Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison) are the most surprising; with the help of astute editing, they are able to create a rapport that seems heartfelt and real, and Roberts in particular does some of his best work ever. Kleiser wanted this to be a celebration of life, not the mourning of a death, and he pulls it off with aplomb. **1/2 from ****

I watched this movie on TV after having read some pretty good reviews, but I was soon disgusted, even on the verge of getting angry.Really hate to say so, but I think this movie is a most pretentious mistake considering the serious issue it's dealing with. It is filled with a tremendous amount of bad clichés, it appears false, and it's overly schmaltzy: a really hokey movie. Frankly, I can't understand how anyone living a real life could be deeply moved by this truly bad "imitation of life".Even if this originally was a low-budget production with the best of intentions - it turns out to be "Hollywood" at its worst.

I borrowed 'It's My Party' from the library this weekend; a coincidentally timely moment to see this film as this weekend marked milestones in the discovery of AIDs, with MSN's homepage having stories this week on both the 25 years of AIDs in America as well as the struggles in Africa with the disease.This is a particularly sad film (although which one isn't?) about Nick Stark (Eric Roberts), a young West Coast architect who was diagnosed with HIV some time ago and learns from his doctor that he has reached a particularly debilitating stage of the disease known as PML. Not wanting to live life in any sort of semi-conscious state, he decides to commit suicide in a rather dignified way before the stages of disease advance any further. The Party, in the title of this film, refers to the sort of substitution of a funeral for a party, one in which Nick, his friends, and family will gather around to enjoy the last few good times they might have together. He wants no sorrow and no tears and certainly no funeral or wake. This is how he wants to say goodbye.Nick will be among many of his friends to have died from the disease, although this film relegates the disease solely to that of homosexual men, which I would caution in Hollywood because of the misconceptions that is a disease that only affects gay men. But nonetheless, this is the story of a gay man who has seen many of his friends die to the disease. The particularly sad thing is that you share among the assorted celebration (although not all of it is a particularly joyous occasion obviously because people are aware of Nick's plan to end his life) and in the end, the viewer may be fooled by their Hollywood conditioned expectations that somehow Nick will live in the end and everything will be okay.This is one film with a particularly familiar and good cast which join together in sort of an awareness project that reminds me of the Laramie Project made some time later. This, at least according to the trivia, is based on actual events that occurred in the early 90s.

I am a gay male, age 42, who in my years of being openly gay, since 18, have lost scores of friends to AIDS. This is probably to me one of the best representations of a person holding on to their dignity until the end. And when it comes down to it, that's all one has in the end, their dignity. Watching someone you love more than life itself slip away from you and grow old before your eyes is something I would not wish on my worst enemy. Eric Robert's character has obviously celebrated his life to the fullest and now he is celebrating the ending of it in a manner which to me is sincere, humorous, and given to appreciate those around him who have made his life special. This is one of his best performances I've seen and I am someone who enjoys his movies. Maybe because this is a departure from his usual roles is what makes it good. He's very gracious in this role.