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Last Updated:
Friday, August 29, 2008
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The Free Beach Screenings Return: SoBe Style
Crissa-Jean Chappell
Review of Beachstock
Miami Film Festival
Last winter, over 5,000 sunburned cinema-lovers camped on the beach like a wandering tribe. They brought blankets and
lined up for blocks, waiting to catch a free outdoor screening of the glam-infused showstopper, Moulin Rouge. This season, the Miami Film Festival has joined forces with the posh
nightspot, Nikki Beach Club, to launch Beachstock—a series of musically-themed movies, classic or campy, to flicker amongst the teepees in
swank, Euro-hip surroundings.
“We started screenings on the beach last year,” says Todd Simmons, the festival director, “and they were so well received all across Miami…we had to bring them
back.” Nikki Beach Club, the beloved den of perma-tanned models and limelighting celebrities, seats seven-hundred people, which is larger than most movie theaters. Simmons says, “If they
don’t mind a little bit of sand in the sushi, it ought to be a lot of fun.”
Feb. 20: Viva Las Vegas (1964)
In this candy-colored fantasy, Elvis plays Lucky Jackson, another rebel loner with a heart of gold. He’s a hot-rod racer who dreams of winning the Vegas Grand Prix and leaving his romantic
rival, Elmo Cancini (Cesare Danova) in the dust. Meanwhile, he waits tables in a hotel casino, catching the eye of sex-kitten Ann-Margaret, the elusive swim coach. Despite the disposable
plot, this formulaic film sizzles, thanks to Technicolor numbers like “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You” and “The Lady Loves Me.” Not to mention the army of chorus girls.
Feb. 24: Stop Making Sense (1984) This stripped-down, elegant concert film of the Talking Heads’ tour is considered a cultural milestone. The movie was filmed by Jonathan Demme over
the course of three nights in December 1983, at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. When lead singer, David Byrne, hops on stage, decked out in his infamous “big suit,” Kabuki costumes come
to mind. He stumbles around, mumbling about psycho killers and naïve melodies, reminding us that rock and roll isn’t merely spectacle. It’s the bare lightbulb hanging in your kitchen, a
miracle of the everyday.
Feb. 25 Grease (25th anniversary) All the plastic charm of 1950s nostalgia was rehashed in the ‘70s: greaser guys in acres of black leather, chicks in fuzzy gang sweaters, belting
out catchy songs about summer love. Olivia Newton-John is Sandy, the goody-two-shoes who falls for tough-guy Danny (a trimmer, swivel-hipped John Travolta) and Frankie Avalon pops up as
Teen Angel in the movie's campiest ditty, ``Beauty School Dropout.” Stockard Channing steals the show as Rizzo, the gum-smacking bad girl. Who cares if you can spot the guide wires during
"Greased Lightning.”
Feb. 26 Hairspray (1988) The
cult favorite, directed by schlockmeister John Waters, paints the ‘60s in cartoon shades of ick. His kitsch-mongering cast includes va-va-voom transvestite Divine, Sonny Bono, ex-Blondie
Debbie Harry, and the demented Dr. Frederickson (Waters himself), a psychoanalyst who wields a fluorescent cattle prod. “It’s the times,” explains Edna Turnblad, the polyester-clad
housewife. “They are a-changing. Something’s blowin’ in the wind. Fetch me my diet pills, would you, Hon?”
Feb. 27 Victor/Victoria (1982)
The gender-bending remake of the 1933 German film oozes style and pizzazz. Set in
Paris, Victoria (Julie Andrews) is a starving singer
with a voice that shatters glass. All looks gloomy until she meets a gay cabaret singer, Toddy, (Robert Preston), who hatches a ridiculous scheme. He suggests that Victoria pretend
to be his lover, Count Victor Grezhinski, a female impersonator. She becomes the toast of the town in a bat-winged gown, belting out "Le Jazz Hot.” Enter a
big-time Chicago nightclub owner named King Marchand, played by James Garner, the only one who suspects that
"he" is actually a "she."
March 6 Casablanca (1942) One of America’s biggest crowd-pleasers has generated a slew of quotes. The
best-known line, “Play it again, Sam,” isn’t even in the movie. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is on the run from sinister Nazis. She arrives at
Rick’s Café in Casablanca only to find that the owner is her ex-boyfriend Bogart. The doomed lovers exchange glances. The music swells as they reminisce about happier times in Paris. But
Ilsa isn’t alone.
March 13 High Society (1956) This underrated gem of MGM musical is based on the 1940 screwball comedy, The Philadelphia
Story. Instead of Cary Grant and Kate Hepburn dueling with words, we have Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly hoofing it on the dance floor. The socialite marriage of our proud heroine, the
"cold goddess" to a boring businessman has gone amuck, thanks to the arrival of her former husband, the "jukebox hero" and
Frank Sinatra’s smirky battalion of tabloid reporters. Louis Armstrong makes a cameo,
crooning calypso numbers like the title song. Unlike the high-gloss production numbers of many golden musicals,
High Society seems relatively low-key, letting the performances speak for themselves.
Pick up free Beachstock screening tickets at Ticket Outlet locations
and at:
Pink Palm Company, Merrick Place, Coral Gables
Books and Books, 265 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables
Books and Books, 933 Lincoln Road, South Beach
Email:
info@miamifilmfestival.com
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