Mad But Not THAT Crazy

Even though I have spent outrageous sums of interweb dollars after one more glass of Mondavi merlot than I should have had on really bad but obscure movies (anyone wanna say Skidoo?), I am resisting the temptation of buying one of my favorite movies of the early 1970s that is listing at $70 and up on the interwebs. It featured Frank Langella (when he was incredibly sexy and not a man of his current but much more boring gravitas), the amazing Carrie Snodgress, Richard Benjamin (early, obsessive pre-teen crush), Alice Cooper (seriously) and Peter Boyle (definitely very pre-Everybody Does Raymond). This is definitely up there with Play It As It Lays as seminal (without the semen) movies of the 1970s that need to be released on mainstream DVDs and makes me really mourn the absence of Pauline Kael. Back in the late 1970s to early 1980s I had fantasies of entering an upscale vegan market and running into Carrie (whom I often mis-named as Carrie SnodGRASS) and Neil Young as I dreamed they would say, "Oh , you must join us for dinner -- you bring the Zinfandel, we'll provide the tahini and tabouli."

Chalk and Cheese at the Roxie

As far as X-rated musicals with Milton Berle, George Jessel, Stubby Kaye and Joan (Mrs. Anthony Newley at the time) Collins go, Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? is one of the better ones. Here, after a Busby Berkleyesque zodiac number, Joan (playing Polyester Poontang) proves that it was a crime that she didn't go on to do more musicals as she sings to a naked Newley. It screens at the Roxie Wednesday at 9:15 p.m.

The Mission Bells Ring for Me

Thanks to Gavin Elster (no, I don't think that he's really that Gavin Elster) of Sequoia Sempervirens for the heads up about the festivities in October at San Juan Bautista marking the 50th anniversary of the filming (it was actually released the following year) of Vertigo. This looks like too cool of an event to miss. I am already fairly certain I'll attend, making it at least my fourth trip there. When I am forced to take visitors to Monterrey/Carmel, I always demand that I be rewarded by a trip to San Juan Bautista and the outlet shops in Gilroy.

If you've never been over the Sequoia Sempervirens, it's worth the trip. Gavin must have the most amazing culture obscura gopher sense for YouTube and other strange corners of pop culture. A recent post of a Finnish version of YMCA is not to be missed.