Singin' In The Rain, often cited as the greatest musical ever made, has many highlights other than its famed Gene Kelly title number, and as an unabashed movie musical maven, I'd seen the film many times—on television, video and DVD—but I'd never managed to see a revival house screening. So when the City of Chicago's Outdoor Film Festival was announced five years ago, my little showtune queen heart starting beating furiously. Singin' In The Rain was on the bill.
I've been watching movies avidly for 40 years and can probably relate in detail every film experience that has Meant Something to me. Nothing really unusual in that—everyone who loves movies has their own list. For me, the majority of these have been communal encounters—those rare times when a group of strangers sitting in the dark has the same elevated movie experience (Fahrenheit 9/11 was a recent example).
But I've noticed as I've grown older and seen a lot more movies than the average Joe and Joanne filmgoer, that my tastes have often diverged wildly from the popular mainstream. I've liked a lot of stuff that a lot of people have hated or ignored or maybe just thought was old hat. Stuff like The Band Wagon and The Red Shoes and Singin' In The Rain.
Sitting down on the blanket my friends and I spread out on the grass five years ago, I felt a little anxiety beneath the shared food and laughter. Looking around Butler Field in Grant Park I saw every age, race and gender represented and wondered how Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor would tap dance their way into the hearts of all these crude, uncultured urbanites. At the film's end I was stunned to find every one of my fears and prejudices wiped away, like so much rain under Kelly's soft shoes.
This long preamble is merely to highlight the intensity of that evening. The pert, dazzling Singin' In The Rain projected on a 50-foot screen aside, the weather was perfect, the view, breathtaking—to the north and west, our city's gorgeous skyline, to the east beyond a clump of trees, the pulsing Lake Shore Drive traffic with the lake just beyond. And all around, perhaps 30,000 people or more, sang along with EVERY SONG, laughed uproariously (especially when Kathleen Freeman as the affected diction coach coached obnoxious silent star Jean Hagen with the phrase, 'And I Cawwwn't stand him' and Hagen, with her nails on the chalkboard voice, piped back, 'An I kent stan im'), and were silent as the grave when things got tense between Kelly and Reynolds toward the end of the movie.
Even better—walking back to the parking garage I saw the same assortment of races and genders discussing their favorite parts of the movie, laughing and carrying on, as delighted as any group walking out after a bracing Showtune Night at Sidetrack. One group of 20-somethings even sang snatches of "Make 'Em Laugh" as we waited in line at the pre-pay self-park. Amazing!
Since that movie night that Meant Something, I've returned to the Grant Park series each year hoping to have it repeated—and it has to some degree (particularly for Meet Me In St. Louis) but—and here comes the warning—as the popularity of the series has grown, so have the crowds. And now, not all of them are coming for the movies. The festival at times has seemed like a latter day Lover's Lane—and a loud one to boot. Also, the blanket-vs.-chair-hey-you're-blocking-my-view-I-was-here-first debate continues to rage and the City has never officially addressed the problem other than to suggest 'courtesy toward your fellow movie goers' which is a decided drawback.
But then again, on a night when the Movie Gods are smiling ….
This year's festival kicked off last night with His Girl Friday and continues each Tuesday evening at sunset. The schedule:
July 20—The Birds (The last great Hitchcock film, a terrific choice.)
July 27—Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (Capra's dialogue-heavy political tract saved by James Stewart and the master comedienne, Jean Arthur.)
August 3—Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (Tracy-Hepburn-Portier talk and talk and talk and talk in this very dated mixed marriage comedy-drama. With Hepburn's niece Katherine Houghton—who resided at Chicago's 3-Arts Club for a while.)
August 10—Invasion of the Body Snatchers (The paranoid sci-fi classic—this year's best selection.)
August 17—Roman Holiday (Audrey Hepburn-Gregory Peck in Billy Wilder's film that rightfully made Hepburn an international sensation.)
August 24—Guys and Dolls (This inflated musical, now sadly pertinent with Brando's passing, is going to make for a very long evening.)
Check www.cityofchicago.org for further information on Grant Park and other city park screenings. Along the same lines, the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) presents a Puerto Rican film series each Saturday evening outside Humboldt Park's gorgeously restored Boat House. Phone IPRAC at 773-486-8345 for additional information.
Local Screenings:
Bola DiNieve was the stage name of the gay Afro-Cuban singer/wild pianist Ignacio Villa, who died in 1971. It's also the title of this little seen and fascinating documentary glimpse into Villa's life and art. Highly recommended. At the Gene Siskel Film Center Thursday, July 15. 312-846-2600 for information.
Bulgarian Lovers, a Spanish theatrical entry from TLA releasing, the story of a middle-aged man drawn into the wild life of a young Bulgarian he picks up at a bar, screens at The International Latino Cinematheque at 62nd and Western. 773-476-4949 for info.
From Canada comes festival prize-winner The Corporation, a documentary that focuses on the persistent presence of Big Business in daily life. This is one I've eagerly awaited and my full review will appear next week. Opens July 16 at Landmark Century Centre Cinemas. 773-509-4949. www.landmarktheaters.com/
