Hey folks, Harry here... There's a great misperception about 5-25-77, a date that is burned into the collective conscious as being the date that STAR WARS birthed out onto the screen like the second coming. But while that might, in fact, be the title of this film, it is about a lot more than just STAR WARS. I'll get into that more in my review. Here's Augustus with his...
Every great performance requires an encore. Just a couple of weeks ago, I said my goodbyes to the 'Original' Alamo Drafthouse with Quentin Tarantino's triple-feature screenings. There are other 'big' events planned as the last reels spin, but I had thought the nights with Quentin would be the best way to see the old girl off. But tonight I found myself in the front row for one last last hurrah, and it really gave me the shivers. This night, it felt like the whole family was there, Harry, Father Geek, Massawyrm and Missuswyrm, and many others who might be misfits in the 'real' world, but who are like a giant extended family in the geekverse. And tonight, we were watching a film that manages to capture and celebrate the part of us that doesn't fit in anywhere else. I wouldn't tell you to go see 5-25-77 if you weren't reading it here. It's not the mainstream big box office big-budget extravaganza of marketing hype that seems to be the requirement to break into the cineplex these days. For the average movie-goer, I might describe it as a little bit "That 70's Show" meets "Freaks and Geeks" (Then I'd have to explain what Freaks and Geeks is) What this film is, to me, is a love-letter to all the geeks out there, a biopic that each one of us can relate to as the events so similar to those of our own lives unfold on the screen. Patrick Read Johnson has condensed a decade of teen geek angst into a couple months of his character's life and then into a couple of hours of very solid film. GO SEE THIS FILM. Because you ARE reading this here, and I think it will touch you. The previews (and the title) may mislead you into thinking this is a movie about Star Wars, or a kid who wants to make Star Wars. There seem to be enough Star Wars fans over at IMDB who think this is so, but it's not. It's about a kid who can't connect with the people around him, because he's not on the same plane of existence. He has the misfortune of being raised in the wrong place, and he can never be happy until he can get to where he BELONGS. The cast is solid. I don't know how much John francis Daley looks like a teenage Patrick Read Johnson, but he's got the acting chops to carry the lead. He has a sort of wide-eyed, innocent look that perfectly fits the part of Pat. Steve Coulter, as his best friend Bill, was a strong supporter. My compliments to makeup for turning a hunk like Justin Mentell into such a scary thug in the part of Tony. I'd wondered what happened to him since leaving Boston Legal, but I didn't recognize him in this role. My favorite, though, was Austin Pendleton as magazine editor Herb Lightman. Pendleton is one of my favorite character actors who manages at the same time to be charming but annoyed, sophisticated but world-weary, wise, but a little nutty. I could go on about the technical details, but I'm not qualified in that area, and it was a rough-cut, almost-director's-edition. Johnson has my deepest respect. I think he's a bigger geek than most of us. When I saw Star Wars, I wanted to be a Jedi, fly an X-Wing, swing a lightsabre. But when he saw Star Wars, he wanted to MAKE people fly X-Wings. More impressive, he kept at it, making a career in the world's most competetive industry. Now, tonight, he was presenting his work to an enthusiastic audience, a sort of jury of his peers. At the end, I was right there, in the front row just a few feet from "The first kid ever to see Star Wars", a guy who has been making movies in his backyard since before I was born, but I couldn't think of a thing to ask or say to him. Really, I needed more time to digest the experience. 'Thank You' were the only words that would come to mind, and they didn't seem to be enough. If I were back there now, I would say "Thank You for sharing this with us on this special day, and I understand where you're coming from. This is a movie I can relate to, and I know how you feel. Thank You" I'm not a filmmaker, not even an amateur one. I'm a film glutton. I watch all that I can, and when I get the chance I'm an amateur critic, writing my thoughts as quickly as I can after a show so I don't forget them hoping that someone else cares about my opinion. For me, tonight, I can only say it was the right movie, in the right time, at the right place. 06-06-2007 -Augustus Gloop
