Let the cinetrix live vicariously plan your weekend.
FRIDAY. Rooftop Films, Brooklyn.
ST. NICK
THE SHOW GOES ON RAIN OR SHINE!
FREE SANGRIA FOLLOWING THE FILM
David Lowery’s debut feature is a pre-teen Badlands, a lush and visceral young American drifter tragedy. 
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Directions: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union Ave.
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music by Cameron Hull presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
11:00PM–12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi sangria
Tickets: $9-$25 at the door or online
SATURDAY. The Brattle Theatre, Cambridge.
What about prom, Blane? [A line that always struck a false note with me, but then I was raised in a culture that attaches definite article "the" to every noun, as though it were the only one of whatever it was.]
(Tickets $12; $10 Students/Brattle members. Doors open at 9:30 PM.)
Let's face it, the 80s ruled for dance music. What ruled even more were
80s proms... well, at least the way they were portrayed in movies of
the decade, anyway. Unfortunately, not all of us got to come of age
during the teased hair and shoulder pad glory that was the 1980s and,
even if you did, you probably didn't enjoy it that much at the time --
unless of course you got to grow up in some John Hughes-style awesome
teen fantasy world. Oh, we bet they didn't sell BEER at your senior
prom, either.
Not
to worry, The Brattle and The Action Pack are here to give you a chance
to re-live (or live for the first time) the magic of the 80s prom with
a brand new sing-along show featuring all the best music from the era,
as well as paying special tribute to the musical moments from the films
of dearly departed director John Hughes. And just what do we mean by
sing-along? Well, it's like the best video mix tape you could hope for
with subtitles on screen to help you sing and shout out all the lyrics.
We'll also have props on hand to help enhance those key moments and to
make a mess that they never would have allowed in your high school
gymnasium. And, to make things authentic, we'll be crowning our very
own king and queen.
Formal prom attire is very much
encouraged. Ladies, lots of hair spray and taffeta, please. Gentlemen,
strong hold gel is a must, and Converse All-stars with a tuxedo never
goes out of style.
SUNDAY. Check local listings.
See one of my favorite films of the year. On the fence? The note I scribbled in April, describing single-named actress You, who plays Chinami: "sis Japanese version of J. Horrocks."
MONDAY. 87 Lafayette Street, New York.
Screening at 8:00pm with a post film discussion led by Miriam Bale (arrive anytime after 7:30)
The most underestimated commercial movie of 1987—treated as a debacle at the time, partially as payback for Warren Beatty’s highhanded treatment of the press—may not be quite as good as Elaine May’s previous features, but it’s still a very funny work by one of this country’s greatest comic talents. Dustin Hoffman and Beatty, both flagrantly cast against type, play inept songwriting friends who get a limited club date in North Africa and who accidentally get caught up in various international intrigues. Misleadingly typed as an imitation Road to Morocco, the film can be more profitably read as a light comic variation on May’s masterpiece Mikey and Nicky and an affectionate yet brutal send-up of American idiocy in the third world. Among the highlights: Charles Grodin’s impersonation of a CIA operative, a blind camel, Isabelle Adjani, Jack Weston, Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography, and a delightful series of deliberately awful songs from the songwriting duo, most of them by Paul Williams. 107 min. [Jonathan Rosenbaum]
