March 10th 2016. Pick of the Day.
New York City's premiere resource for classic film screenings in the metropolitan area. Offering reviews, recommendations, venues and a host of links keeping classic film and the silver screens alive.
Continuing series this day include Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90 at MoMA, the Jean Eustache hot-stone massage at the newly-christened Metrograph, and the Nitehawk Cinema's monthly trib to Times Square's glory grindhouse past, The Deuce. The projected prepostery be thus;
Film Forum
LATE SPRING (1949) Dir; Yasujiro Ozu
MoMA
Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90
THE LADIES MAN (1961) Dir; Jerry Lewis
LIVING IT UP (1954) Dir; Norman Taurog
Metrograph
THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE (1973) Dir; Jean Eustache
MY LITLE LOVES (1974) Dir; Jean Eustache
Syndicated
FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1987) Dir; John Hughes
Nitehawk Cinema
MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973) Dirs; Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz
Today's Pick? There's a whole damn lot on the rep film slate today, which is both testament to its growth and burden to a guy like me who's made it his lot to actually have to make a decision about these sorta things. Huyck & Katz's early Z-Film drive-in entry, something of a precursor to their legacy-entry HOWARD THE DUCK, unspools as part of the Nitehawk's always awesome monthly Deuce series. Ozu's masterpiece screens its last, barring a reprieve, but it was my Pick as recently as yesterday. Which is pretty damn recent. And MoMa's Jerry Lewis trib snagged my Pick just two days ago. Which is also pretty damn recent. But as resistant as I am to the double-dip, I'm calling one of my rare The-Hell-With-It's! One of my all-time heroes is closing in on the near-century mark, and the consideration regarding the amount of wear and tear he endured, self-inflicted or otherwise, on or off-screen, is a helluva point of demarcation. His legacy consists of comic gems bearing a multitude of definite articles: THE BELLBOY, THE PATSY, THE ERRAND BOY, THE DELICATE DELINQUENT, THE GEISHA BOY, THE SAD SACK, and, of course, his masterpiece, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. What might actually be his most interesting work as auteur, however, a haywire meld of slapstick, surrealsim, and dare I say a nod to both horror and erotic cinema, remains amongst his most ambitious works, his most successful efforts, and might just be my fave. It's imperfect, its flaws are readily apparent, but as an example of A-budget improv cinema there may be no better comparison than the earlier greats like Chaplin, Keaton & Lloyd, and the latter classics like ANIMAL HOUSE and CADDYSHACK. Sophmore humor leavened by sophisticated sensibilities. Hate Jerry Lewis all you want. Eventually, you'll wonder why you're in the minority.
Jerry Lewis' THE LADIES MAN unspools in 35mm as part of MoMA's extensive trib, Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90! Let the Da Hoiben ring. Let it ring loudly. Da Hoiben. Forever.
For more info on these and all NYC's rep film screenings in March '16 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. For reviews of contemporary cinema and my streaming habits (keep it clean!) check out my Letterboxd page. And be sure to follow me on both Facebook, where I provide further info and esoterica on the rep film circuit and star birthdays, and Twitter, where I provide a daily feed for the day's screenings and other blathery. Back soon with new Picks 'n perks, til then safe, sound, make sure the next knucklehead is too!
P. S. Winter's icy grip seems to have loosened on our fair metropolis, but milder weather aside some of our fellow NY'ers have still yet to be made whole in the wake of the 2012 storm. Should you be feeling charitable please visit the folks at OccupySandy.net, follow their hammer-in-hand efforts to restore people's lives, and donate/volunteer if you have the inclination and availability. Be a collective mensch, Stockahz!
