Whenever I get a chance to see one of my 1984 films on the big screen, I am going to take it. Last week the Alamo Drafthouse had a Movie Party Screening of “Ghostbusters”. The Movie Party screenings include a theme hosted introduction with a contest for a prize, and props are distributed as you enter the theater. In the past, some of the props are clever, but not useful for the interactions of the Party Atmosphere. This event however did include some props that made the screening feel like a party. We were given two foot long glowstick streamers that allowed us to join in on the ghost hunts when the proton packs came out.
Everyone in the half full theater would wave their proton streams whenever the Ghostbusters did. It was quite a sight. I did not record during the screening, that would still be a no no by Alamo standards, but you can imagine the effect by looking at the video above.
No one used the slime in a jar during the movie, but I did see several people eat their marshmallow at the end of the film when the Stay Puft Man makes his appearance.
I am always happy to revisit a film that I love in a theater. Getting to do so with other fans is one of the things that makes movie going special for me. Oh, by the way, I wone the ring toss Slimer game and got two passes for an Alamo Screening. Not to shabby for a 41 year old movie and an even older fan.
There are plenty of posts about the movie Jaws on this site, and I’m going to be writing more in the near future because I’m seeing the film again at least twice this summer. So I’m going to digress a little bit on this post and just talk about the experience rather than the movie itself.
The screening was at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Mueller location on the east side of Austin . We have been to this theater several times before and frankly it’s not our favorite. It requires that we park in a structure that requires us to login and pay in an online app. We do get validation for the time we’re at the theater, so it’s not the fact that we have to pay that is the problem, it’s just the technical process that is a little annoying.
The theater is located about 30 miles from our house, and we left a good hour and a half early because we want to be at the theater well before the movie starts to take in the pre-show videos and trailers that Alamo curates for us. Also we usually order dinner so we want to get there so that our meal arrives before the movie actually starts. All of those plans went to hell when we got on the highway and the rain started coming down. We had a torrential downpour of biblical proportions, and it was complicated by high winds and hailstones that were usually golf ball sized but sometimes even bigger. I had to slow down on the drive, put on my hazard lights and struggled to see the cars in front of me on the road. We finally got a break in the rain and we got to the parking garage just in time for an even stronger deluge of hail, and rain that was mostly blowing sideways. We stood in the parking garage for about 15 minutes waiting for a break. When the hail stopped we made a run for it but we’re careful not to run on the ice because it would have been easy to slip and fall. However that care meant that we were in the rain long enough to be completely soaked when we got into the theater.
The theater complex has individual bathrooms that are gender neutral and then sinks outside of the toilets that are available for everybody to use. They didn’t have the hand blowers that would have been helpful in drying off our clothes before we went into the theater. I had to run a couple of paper towels through my hair to dry it enough to feel like I wasn’t still swimming in the ocean.
This was a movie party, and as you’ve probably seen before the movie parties at Alamo include some props. We got a shark fin foam hat, we got a bath bomb in the shape of the Orca, and we got a small inflatable life preserver with a simulated bite taken out of it, maybe I can use it to float a drink in the pool. I also participated in a game before the show where two people competed for the prize shark head popcorn bucket. Unfortunately for me, the game consisted of a contest to draw on a chalkboard a shark. I need a ruler and a compass to draw a straight line or a circle, so I knew I wasn’t going to be winning right from the beginning. I had fun anyway.
As usual the movie was great, and as I said before I’ll write about it again a couple times this summer. I can say that when I’m looking for details that I didn’t always pay attention to in my previous 137 screenings, I noticed that the kids on the beach at the start of the film did in fact have some crab legs that they were gnawing on.
Although I didn’t win the shark head bucket, the hostess for the show did say that it was available for purchase at the concession or concierge stand. So when the movie was done we thought we would be able to finally get this prized addition to our popcorn bucket collection. Imagine our frustration however when the concierge station was closed and we looked at the buckets that were sitting across the counter on a Shelf and we’re unable to purchase one. Another frustrating experience on this excursion.
2 days later we did make a trip down to the Lakeline Alamo, and Amanda dashed in in the hopes that she would be able to get one of those popcorn buckets. Lo and behold we scored.
The Glorious version of Pride and Prejudice from director Joe Wright celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. There have been many screenings and the film well a success in its original release, has become quite a cult phenomena with a strong following and a very strong reputation. We last saw it on the big screen 3 years ago had an Alamo brunch screening. We didn’t have the foresight those 3 years ago to include the brunch as part of our activity, an oversight that I regret to these days. This year’s screening was also at the Alamo, and it was a movie watch party. The fans of the film came out in large numbers, there was not an empty seat in the house.
One of the things that happens at the movie watch parties is that there are props provided as we go in. We were given a handkerchief with an embroidered patch for Alamo, so that we could drop it in front of the troops as they marched by, and hopefully one of the handsome soldiers would pick it up and return it to us. We also had a small stuffed object in the form of a potato, with a face, and the phrase what excellent boiled potatoes embroidered on it. It was good for a laugh but not very practical. As I said everybody at the screening was just in a mood to share the experience and enjoy the romance.
When I wrote about this film last time I do think I focused on the creative direction of Joe Wright. The camera follows the actions of the characters in a way that is both organic and interesting, without drawing attention to itself. That is particularly notable in the dance scenes, but as I watch the film this time it was clear that this creativity was followed throughout the film and it certainly made the story flow very smoothly. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy do dance throughout the film in very different ways. Lizzy is at first enthusiastic and forceful, and then demure and indifferent. Mr. Darcy, is imperious and condescending, but he also eyes her at different times suggesting potential intimacy that he would never reveal in more obvious manner. The main characters are well serviced by the story.
I thought this time I would spend a little bit more energy on the supporting characters of the story. Mr. Bingham, played by Simon Wood, the original object of affection by the Bennett sisters, is at times doe eyed, and oblivious. His delightful awkwardness is accentuated by the actor’s facial expressions and vocal cadence, which frequently ends up in a series of malaprops, stutters, and apologies. His friend Mr. Darcy must have been incredibly embarrassed by his befuddlement. The butt of most of the humor in the film, is the obtuse Mr. Collins, Tom Hollander, who while seeking a wife amongst the Bennett sisters, comes off as an officious prude, in spite of his attempts at being socially adept. It is clear that he is a climber of the social strata’s, and the way he drops the name of his benefactor, makes him feel even more clumsy. He is a sincere man, with generally good intentions, but he is in over his head and never seems to notice. That he ends up married to Lizzie’s close friend Charlotte, might be seen as a tragedy by some, but the actress playing Charlotte, Claudie Blakley, conveys a resolute cheerfulness about her new circumstances, and never once comes across as regretful. The two actors playing these parts were perfectly cast and performed.
I believe I may have said before, I think Donald Sutherland is the hero of the story as Elizabeth’s father. He takes her side against her mother in Sutherlands delivery of the eloquent line where he says you will lose the affection of one of your parents if you decide either not to marry Mr. Collins or to marry Mr. Collins. Sutherlands final scenes as Mr. Bennett discussing with Lizzie the potential marriage to Mr. Darcy is warm and embracing, characteristics that have not usually been attributed to Donald Sutherland in other roles that here, he enthusiastically embodies a doting father, regretting the loss of his daughters to husbands. Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennett, provides the other comic relief in the film , as her conniving plotting to bring her oldest daughter and Mr. Bingham together plays out. Blevins is both sly and obvious and the balance between those is the credit she deserves for her performance.
Judy Dench comes in in the last Acts as Mr. Collins benefactor, Lady Catherine de Bourg, and she does her customary job of excellently portraying a cold impersonal harridan. She certainly stands out as a character, but it is not much of a stretch from some of the other parts that she has played.
We will continue to return to this delightful version of Pride and Prejudice whenever we get the opportunity. It is an incredibly well directed film, with perfect casting, and excellent performance is by the leads. We are also incredibly lucky to get the terrific secondary cast, to fill out the parts that make this a more complete world. Oh and by the way, the boiled potatoes were excellent.
Kirkham A Movie A Day 