Taglines: A gathering of friends. A gift of love. A celebration of life.
It’s My Party movie storyline. “You won’t leave me, will you?” Nick asks Brandon shortly after revealing to him the results of his last blood test for HIV. “I don’t want to die alone.” In spite of Brandon’s protestations, the two soon find the love they had shared for many years in ruins.
One year after their breakup, Nick is confronted with a ravaged immune system and a CT Scan and lab values which, along with his worsening forgetfulness, clenches the diagnosis of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) — a condition he has seen claim his friends and one which he vows will not take him. Due to the aggressive nature of the disease, he has only a few days of conscious life remaining.
His plan, he announces to family and “extended family,” is to voluntarily end his life himself before the disease renders him unrecognizable to those he loves and he, in turn, is unable to recognize them. Uninvited to the farewell party, Brandon’s presence is greeted with jeers from those who see him as having abandoned Nick is his time of greatest need.
It’s My Party is a 1996 American drama film written and directed by Randal Kleiser, it was one of the first feature films to address the topic of AIDS patients dying with dignity. The film is based on the true events of the death of Harry Stein, accomplished architect and designer, who was actually director Kleiser’s ex-lover. Stein’s actual farewell party was held in 1992.
The cast includes Olivia Newton-John, Margaret Cho, Bronson Pinchot, Devon Gummersall, George Segal, Lee Grant, Marlee Matlin, Roddy McDowall, Steve Antin, Bruce Davison, Sally Kellerman, Lou Liberatore, Nina Foch, Eric Roberts as Nick Stark and Gregory Harrison as Brandon, Stark’s estranged lover who returns to attend the party and say goodbye. Kleiser directed Newton-John in Grease almost 20 years earlier.
It’s My Party (1996)
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Eric Roberts, Margaret Cho, Lee Grant, Gregory Harrison, Olivia Newton-John, Marlee Matlin, Bronson Pinchot, George Segal, Steve Antin, Christopher Atkins
Screenplay by: Randal Kleiser
Production Design by: Clark Hunter
Cinematography by: Bernd Heinl
Film Editing by: Ila von Hasperg
Costume Design by: Danielle King
Set Decoration by: Traci Kirshbaum
Music by: Basil Poledouris
MPAA Rating: R for language and brief nudity.
Distributed by: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release Date: March 22, 1996
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