Monday, January 18, 2010

Three stories, no waiting

So today I'm going to tell another story about my friend Bill, and that story will lead into a story about something Wendi Aarons wrote about HATING Kevin Costner and then that story will lead into a story about the first time that I witnessed a riot in a movie theatre.

Ready?

My friend Bill is somewhat of a film buff. Not snobby mind you, but he'll watch something with subtitles and enjoy it. Me? I like films, but I'll happily sit through a sappy sports movie where you have to suspend just enough disbelief to allow the underdogs to win the big football or baseball game like in The Replacements or Major League.

Well, this one day Bill and I were talking about Notorious which is an old black and white movie with Claude Rains and Ingrid Bergman. I was discussing the fact that I had a hard time with the idea of Claude Rains as a love interest for Ingrid Bergman and Bill was discussing the merits of the plot. We went back and forth like that for a bit and then Bill took out his notebook and gave me a couple of suggestions for other movies that he thought that I might like. [and yes, Bill is a has a tiny notebook in his pocket at all times kind of guy] We chatted about some other things and then he paused and said with a smile something along the lines of he'd looked at my blogger bio and was really surprised at one of my choices of favorite movies. I did the eyebrow lift thing and said which one? And he said Field of Dreams…..and ….well, we were off and running…..

See, I really like Field of Dreams…..and I KNOW IT'S NOT ART…..so you don't have to tell me in the comment thread that it's NOT ART…..I know it's not art…..and that it's not even a great movie…..but it strikes a chord in me. There's just something about all that hokeyness that works for me. Plus I get to see Burt Lancaster in a driving cap. That's a treat all by itself, and James Earl Jones chasing Costner around with a baseball bat? And then later giggling? I mean flat out giggling? Darth Vader giggling? Oh man. That just stinking kills me. And Ray Liotta smoldering in his Yankee uniform isn't tough to watch either. Oh hey, I think I might just have figured out what I actually like about the movie…..

But it's not necessarily Kevin Costner…who Wendy Aarons apparently HATES with a passion because…

The other day Wendi Aarons who is freaking hilarious by the way and if you've never read her you should go back in time and fix that right now, or just start reading her as soon as you're done reading this, whichever way works for you……said that she saw Field of Dreams on cable tv and she wondered out loud to her husband why the channel had cut out all of the language. He said that there wasn't any language to be cut out and asked her what she was talking about…..

Well, according to her…and she may very well have been stretching the truth here a bit….she had seen the movie in the dollar theatre and some of the people in the theatre had embellished the lines in such a way that she had always had another version of the tag line "If you build it he will come" in her head…..

And although I laughed and laughed at her story and her subsequent Kevin Costner hate fest I didn't comment yet because it made me remember seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Midnight movies in the early eighties and I wanted to share that story here first….THEN I'll go comment…..

So…..

One night I went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the midnight movies. There were a LOT of people in line. And it was quite an eclectic mix ....a lot of Rocky Horror regulars who were dressed for the event, some folks like me and my date who were virgin to the movie and some really stinking drunk high school football players who were harassing the crowd and being generally obnoxious.

After a long delay at the end of which the manager came out and explained that they were having some technical difficulties, we finally got in, the movie started, people were reciting the lines with the actors, there was the usual rain during the rain scenes, popcorn throwing, using the Plain Dealer as a head cover, dancing in the aisles….in short, GREAT street theatre for someone like me who loves to people watch.

But part way through the movie the film broke.

And then….basically? All hell broke loose. Screaming, fighting, mayhem ….culminating in the crescendo of the inebriated football players actually WRENCHING A COUPLE OF THE SEATS out of the floor and throwing them at the screen. [which makes an AWESOME ripping sound btw] So those of us with sense and who were already standing near the exits departed at that point to sit in our cars in the McDonald's nearby and watch the cops come screaming in, sirens and lights and probably night sticks and then handcuffs at the ready.

The funny thing is I never saw the whole movie until about 2003. And then yes, I found that it's bizarre and strange and was probably shocking at the time of its release….but seeing it in on dvd in the privacy of my living room just didn't live up to the first time I saw it.

Just goes to show…..you can never go home again….

16 comments:

Marisa Birns said...

No you can't go home again. Thomas Wolfe agrees with you. You don't want death threats or menacing letters, right?

Never seen Rocky Horror Show which was playing forever in my local indie movie theater in Greenwich Village, NYC. All those people waiting in line looking like...well, anyway.

Drunken high school football players. Ugh. What a cliche.

And, yes, Field of Dreams is not art. But I can always go to a gallery if I'm desperate for that.

Karen from Mentor said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Marisa,

I was going to title it "Three stories, no waiting... at the end of which I wrap it all up in a nice neat little bow by ending with a literary reference"

But that was just too long of a title....

:0)

Laura Eno said...

It's not art...
Okay, I got that out of my system.
Marisa - You HAVE to see Rocky Horror at least once in your life! Half the fun is the cult followers in the audience.
You're right, Karen. You can never go home again. That gives me an idea for a (horror) story...

Karen from Mentor said...

Anton will be so pissed that you said it first Laura. But that's what he gets for lolling around in bed when we're awake....

[but he is cute in his striped pajamas and his were rabbit bunny slippers...I just wish he'd move that book on his bookshelf a LITTLE to the left so that I could get a wider angle and maybe dust the camera lens once in a while...sheesh....oh wait...it's a hidden camera so he probabl..... nevermind...disregard everything I just said]

Can't wait to read your [horror] story...

:0)

Wendi said...

I just saw "The Young Victoria," which could have used a few drunken audience members to shake it up some.

Thanks so much for linking to me! I love your story.

Karen from Mentor said...

I googled "The Young Victoria" and was gleefully delighted when I saw the words "spoiler alert" ...um....after I saw the movie was about "the life of a young Queen Victoria"...there wasn't much that the synopsis was going to spoil for me that hadn't already been spoiled [or should I say imparted to me] in 10th grade history class. hee hee hee

I'm glad you enjoyed my story told in three part harmony....I went back and read your comments on Field of Bad Dreams just now and I have decided that your minions are almost, ALMOST mind you, as funny as mine are.....
we have been blessed with great minions Wendi....

[takes a moment to bask in the glow of the caliber of the wit of her commenters]

Thanks for stopping in and for jarring loose the RHPS story from my brain.

Karen :0)

AJ Campos said...

I declare "Field of Dreams" art. Why wouldn't it be? I've seen paintings sold for thousands of dollars that I would never pay a penny for, but it was supposeldy art.

I also declare "Major League" best baseball movie, ever!

And since I'm on this 'declaring' kick, I declare this blog my own. That's right, Karen you now write for me! Muhahaha

Karen from Mentor said...

Sorry AJ, you'll have to share me....unless there's a LOT of money changing hands....or maybe some cookies...I could really go for a cookie right now....

And speaking of baseball movies...I will also sit through "A League of Their Own" just to watch Tom Hanks say "there's no crying in baseball"..... ah the humiliating things that I feel compelled to impart....

But Wendi started it...

:0)

Sulci Collective said...

The one useful piece of advice my father ever gave me (and he was a lawyer who ended up in Court on charges himself so I think we know the moral compass he's operating from), was never hang around to watch a fight, you'll only get sucked into it. So your evasive action was well taken.

I am a Brit who loves and pretty much understands all the rules of baseball, although obviously I didn't grow up with it in the marrow of my bones like you guys. I'm told the Ty Cobb movie is pretty good, but there again what a subject in character he provides... Field of Dreams? Meh, maybe I'm just too European for that mixture of folklore hokum mixed with aspirational striving. I did write a 5000 word short on a DH waiting to go into bat and his insecurities since he was coming to the end of his career. Some American friends told me they couldn't tell it hadn't been written by an American so I was pretty pleased with that.In the first draft however, I forgot to spell centre field and straight away centre as center, so that was a bit of a giveaway...

Okay, head above the parapet time - I'm a Phillies fan and no I'm not a recent glory hunter - I've followed them since Schmidt & Luzinski & Lefty Carlton in 1978.

Thanks for a great read

marc nash

Alan W. Davidson said...

The Rocky Horror theatres seem to be universal. I recall going with a couple of school friends in 1980 (we've really dated ourselves with this) to the 2am showing in a nasty little cinema that apparently didn't mind the throwing of the toast and rice. The lighters didn't phase them either...mind you, if you tried that in a multi-screened cineplex today you'd have a squadron of uniformed ushers running in and spraying your butt with a fire extinguisher.

Anton in striped pajamas and bunny slippers? Back in the day, he slept in the buff...or so I heard (he said, clearing his throut, slinking away quietly...)

Karen from Mentor said...

Oh Alan did I forget to mention that I was six at the time of this story?

And Anton wasn't sleeping, he was just lolling around in his bed reading the newspaper to his gerbils.

[and doing the voices....he does quite a marvelous Schwarzenegger]

Karen from Mentor said...

Marc you're welcome for the entertainment. Thanks for stopping in....I'm in artsy baseball mood now so I had to go snag a small piece of an oldie but a goodie from the web....


Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

Ah.... humorous baseball poetry...an artform unto itself. And despite what Tom Hanks has said on screen...in poetry sometimes there IS crying in baseball.

:0)

Kris said...

I like Field of Dreams, but I have to admit in general Costner doesn't do much for me. His speech just sounds so stilted - almost like he's reading his lines. He's had some good characters though...

Ah, Rocky Horror! I saw it as a freshman in college, and one of my friends was one of the "cult followers". It's ironic to think that now he's a very successful VP in the business world! LOL! (But he's still very ... unique!)

Karen from Mentor said...

VP's name please....strictly for educational purposes....not so I can go find his facebook page or anything....


Since you're back online does this mean that you got all the milk out of your laptop Kris? Or are you breaking in a new beast?

[missed you]
:0)

judy said...

This is a hell of a post! Sorry so late getting here. I hate when the real world does not respect my virtual world time. (I'm beginning to wonder which is real...)

That is the best Rocky Horror Picture Show story I've ever heard.

Karen from Mentor said...

I love it when you come to visit Judy regardless of the timeframe.

Now I'll have to send you an email and ask you just how many RHPS stories you've heard...

[just to see if you grade on a curve]