Ok, thus far in the Ain't It a Cool Movie Review section I have stuck to upcoming films. It has been my intention to do reviews for all the revival films I see at theaters. Tonight is what I call "One Helluva Cool Night"!!! How? What could I do to possibly top the FACE/OFF fix I had a couple of nights ago? Well I'll tell ya.
At 7:30 I went to the Paramount Theater (a gorgeous theater) to see BYE BYE BIRDIE and JAILHOUSE ROCK. I had not seen either film. It was surely a goofy double feature I thought. But hey if I haven't seen it, it's on my must see list!
BYE BYE BIRDIE was first. My father hates GREASE and says this film is why. He has been telling me for YEARS that this film was what GREASE was attempting. Wellllll, I don't buy it. Give me good ol Olivia Newton John in that black spandex number as the 'evil' Sandy any day of the week. Though I'd have to say that Ann Margaret was INCREDIBLY CUTE in Bye Bye Birdie. You see I had to judge this film at a strickly hormonal level. When I was a wee little one, my parents took me to the drive in about 3 times a week. There was a period in that time (the duration of which lasted about 1 month) where GREASE & SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER was constantly on the screen we went to not see. In other words, my parents would be watching Gandhi, and I was in love with Olivia Newton John. In fact I sat front row center at her PHYSICAL tour. Yes, I do realize how pathetic this makes me out to be. I have the GREASE cd and the XANADU cd as well. Oh hell, I'm suppose to be talking about BYE BYE. Hmm. Ok, well Ed Sullivan was quite cool, but Dick Van Dyke was far superior in MARY POPPINS and BEDNOBS & BROOMSTICKS in my opinion. I hated Janet Leigh's wig in the film. But overall, it had such a cool retro-ness about it, that I had ALOT of fun with it. The "Telephone" song had me gasping for air. It was quite funny.
After this film there was about a 20 minute intermission before JAILHOUSE ROCK. Yes the ELVIS movie. This would be the first time I had ever scene Elvis on the BIG screen. Generally I'm not an Elvis man, I'm a Beatles guy. But seeing Elvis up there on that screen sort of made me understand how he became who he became. There really was a raw attractive energy that radiated from him. You could feel his influence in the audience. The film itself was slowly paced, it had a run of the mill plot (HARD DAY'S NIGHT is a vastly superior film). Love Me Tender is my fave Elvis flick, though for sheer sado- masochistic joy, it's hard to beat Kissing Cousins or Clambake. Put it on and squirm my friends, squirmmmmmmmm. I felt myself wondering what Elvis would have been like in the Vince Vega role in Pulp Fiction. Can't you just hear him doing the food dialogue. Coooool. I left this film, sort of thinking hmmmmm, so that was Elvis. I'm familiar with his music, and have heard his Christmas Album a billion times. It would have been interesting to see Elvis develop into more of an actor ala Frank Sinatra, who is really cool on screen. Check out SUDDENLY you Sinatra fans, oh ok, Manchurian Candidate too. Sheesh. The film let out about 10 minutes to midnight, and I was still fired up to see another film in a theater. Soooooo.....
It was off to see SUPERFLY at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. You see for a $6 dollar ticket they gave you a ticket and a 40oz Schlitz Malt Liquor ya know with the Blue Bull? This place is a "superfly" joint to see a flick like this in. This is a theatrical dinner theater place so you have tables in front of you.
We arrive at the theater and lo and behold a line. Not just some rinky dink one either but a Looooooooooong line. Reminiscient of Star Wars length. For SUPERFLY!!! This is all the evidence one needs to see and/or hear to realize just how cool Austin is! 3-400 people lined up for a 25 year old blaxpoitation flick. Of course this genre has some of the purest rock hard cool feels to them. Ages ran from my sister (16) to one fella who had to be in his sixties. The mass of the audience was within 5 to 10 years of me. (me am 25 whole years old) Everyone at our place in line had serious doubts that we would be able to get in. But miracle of miracles we got in. By the way in the course of seeing this film, no less than 6 readers of my page approached me to shake my hand and thank me for the page. Now this demonstrates how cool yall are. I mean surely all of you would have been there if ya could. Right? Yeah, I thought so. We get our tickets and liquor. And take to our seats.
Everyone has gigantic bottles of beer. It was completely unreal looking. Tiny girls to gigantic fellas like me clutching and chugging down that mystical brew. No usually I'm a Guinness Stout man, but this beer felt soo right for this movie. Heh heh, this was gonna be fun. The audience did include some of those from the Hiroshima Stare B&R screening, the FACE/OFF greatness and Men In Black. Martin, Corey see ya at the next film!!!
Finally at 12:20am the room darkened. The crowd cheered, they were fired up and ready for this. They were ALL in the proper mindset for this film. We as a collective were not prepared for the theatrical trailer for BLACK BELT JONES. Now, as I'm sure you'll all agree, JIM KELLY star of BLACK BELT JONES and co-star of ENTER THE DRAGON is one of the coolest beings to kickass on this earth of ours. And here he was in his full afro glory. Whupping severe butt with his black belt self. The crowd got riled up real hard by this trailer. Cheering, whistling and the glugging of Malt Liquor was at full speed.
Then SUPERFLY began. From the first notes of the impossibly cool soundtrack by CURTIS MAYFIELD we were in the groove. A film like this makes you feel cool to be a human. The ability to swing your arms as you walk, to hear that funky beat and put it in your steps. The look of the world of seventies black film is fantastic. Every bit as startling as Victorian England, but for completely different reasons. The feel for the film is authentic, because well it is authentic. Superfly's outfits rock, as do his hair and sideburns. Oh yeah, and the car. What a cool car? As neat as the Batmobile is, it just doesn't hold a candle to a Superfly-mobile!!! Everything related to Superfly reeks of fun and cool. I know I am overusing that word. But you see I'm under the influence of that 40oz Malt Liquor! The bathtub love scene rocks, it was sensual, but not inhuman like most Hollywood sex scenes. These weren't automotons greased for lovemaking, these were two cool cats in a tub of bubbly bath water. And they had Curtis Mayfield assisting with his cool themes. Then there is the startlingly cool still frame montage to the tune of PUSHERMAN, which is one of the coolest Blaxpoitation theme songs. And then you have the dialogue. Well if you thought Quentin Tarantino overused the word "nigger" then you will not want to see this film. The political incorrectness was fantastic. I hate the posturing that so many films take in today's world. The sanitizing of film. Yuck.
Now for your party. The one you want to go over well, and you want a theme. Well find a video of SUPERFLY, FOXY BROWN, SHAFT, and RAGE IN HARLEM or THE MACK. Stock up on some sort of cheap funky beer, my suggestion is these big damn bottles of Schlitz Malt Liquor with the blue bull, I wonder if Paul Bunyon has anything to do with this? Invite at least 9 friends over. Kick back and have fun. Shirk your 90's sensibilities and get into the flicks. Don't invite overly sensitive types over. Around Halloween have everyone come in 70's attire. Well, this was the most fun I've had in a theater since the Quentin Tarantino fest he through last summer. In August I believe, the Alamo Drafthouse will be doing THE MACK!!! and yes that does come with a magic beverage of yesteryear!!! A packed theater of people gathered around for the sheer joy of film. This is what film going is about. On a technical level, this film may not be great, but it has transcended it's limitations and has become something so much cooler. I WANNA SEE BLACK BELT JONES!!!!! RIGHT NOW!!!! It would also be a good idea to check this genre out, since this is what is heavily influencing Tarantino on the filming of JACKIE BROWN.
Well, that's it. Tomorrow night, it's a 3-D presentation of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE in a swimming pool!!! I'll be writing this one up for the local newspaper, THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE!!!
