Limited runs and special events:
— Adler Planetarium – (312) 322-0548: SonicVision – Open-ended run
— Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, (773) 293-1447: Generation X-Saddam – Apr. 3; Uncovered – Apr. 9 & 11; The Hunger - Apr. 10; A Beautiful Virus Inside the Machine: Animation Works by Lillian Schwartz, 1970-1978 – Apr. 17; Missing Allen & Papa – Apr. 21; Pretend – Apr. 23 & 24; Chicago's Own: New Films by Michele Smith – May 1
— Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, (312) 846-2800: Maestro - Josell Ramos's documentary about 'the roots of the underground dance/music culture, centered in New York from 1960s through the 1980s' features footage of and interviews with Francis Grasso, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso and others, as well as location shots of clubs such as Paradise Garage, The Loft and The Gallery. – Mar. 31 and Apr. 1; Gender at the Edge: Three Films by Michele Mahoney 1995-2003 – Midwestern Hospitality, Acrobats And Sword-Swallowers, and The Undergrad – Apr. 22
— Horticultural Hall (Lake Geneva) – (262) 740-BPFF: Black Point Film Festival - Apr. 21-25
— Leather Archives and Museum, 6418 N. Greenview, (773) 761-9200: Dominatrix Waitrix – Edith Edit's 'sci-fi queer sex romp.' – Apr. 9 & 10
— Music Box, 3733 N. Southport, (773) 871-6604: Midnight movies: Pink Flamingos – Apr. 2 & 3; Die, Mommie, Die! – Apr. 9, 10, 17, 16; Hedwig and the Angry Inch – Apr. 30
— Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, (312) 595-5MAX (5629): Nascar: The IMAX Experience 3D – now playing; Ocean Wonderland 3D – opens Apr. 16
In theaters:
The Ladykillers (Touchstone) – For their remake of the classic 1955 British caper comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen revisit some of their own territory. Recalling both the exaggerated comedy of Raising Arizona and The Hudsucker Proxy and the gospel-inflected Mississippi setting of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers essentially pay homage to themselves, as well as the material. God-fearing, bible-thumping widow Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall in a movie-stealing performance) lives with her cat Pickles in a house near a riverboat casino. A group of bumbling thieves, led by Professor G. H. Dorr (Tom Hanks, in a characterization that quickly becomes annoying), and including casino employee Gawain (Marlon Wayans), detonation expert Garth (J. K. Simmons), tunneling specialist The General (Tzi Ma) and human battering ram Lump (Ryan Hurst), arrange to use her root cellar under the guise of being musicians in need of a rehearsal space. In reality they are digging a tunnel to the casino's safe, which they plan to relieve of its financial burden. Of course, very little goes as planned and as limbs are lost, tensions rise, and the body count begins to add up, Ms. Munson appears to be more resilient than anyone had imagined. While not a total setback, The Ladykillers is nothing more than a minor Coen brothers diversion. (B-)
The Prince & Me (Paramount/Lions Gate) - With her latest directorial effort, Martha Coolidge, who directed the '1972' segment of the Showtime lesbian feature If These Walls Could Talk 2, has crafted a modern-day fairy tale which echoes '50s Hollywood. Studious Paige (Julia Stiles) is a University of Wisconsin undergrad with plans to attend medical school at Johns Hopkins. Edvard (Luke Mably) is a self-centered Danish prince who thinks that all women in college behave like those in Girls Gone Wild videos and enrolls at the same university where Paige is studying. As lab partners, the chemistry between the two is combustible, but Eddie, who is keeping his status a secret, eventually endears himself to Paige, and before you can say royal wedding, the two are in love. However, when a pair of tabloid photographers catches the young lovers swapping spit in the stacks at the library, Eddie's cover is blown and Paige feels betrayed. After coming to her senses, Paige follows Eddie to Copenhagen and the duo is reunited. But as with any fairy tale, there is much conflict—Eddie's mother Queen Rosalind (a severe Miranda Richardson) doesn't approve of their romance —and, of course, a happy ending. (C+)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (Universal): The de-dyking of Velma (Linda Cardellini), the frumpy, brainy and bespectacled member of the crime-solving group Mystery, Inc. continues in this sequel to the live action, big-screen adaptation of the popular '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Coolsonian Museum curator Patrick (Seth Green) is the object of her affections (and suspicions), and when she isn't distracted by trying to track down the array of monsters and ghosts that are taking over Coolsville, Velma finds the time to slip into a noisy red leather jumpsuit for the purposes of seduction. Adding insult to injury is blatant product placement (from the tarnished crown of Burger King) and a scene in which the computer-generated dog Scooby Doo and his 'human' counterpart Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) are huffing a can of whipped cream, making this 'monstrosity' inappropriate for discriminating children and adults. (D-)
On DVD:
Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Series 5 (BBC/Warner Brothers) - What better way to close out Women's History Month than with Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Jennifer Saunders) of Absolutely Fabulous? After a pair of less than absolutely fabulous feature-length productions (Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout and Absolutely Fabulous In New York), AbFab returns to form in series five. Eddy's daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) returns pregnant from Africa where she has been employed as a humanitarian aid worker (although Eddy thought she was there as a 'human shield'). At first, Eddy is appalled and begins to have nightmares about the baby. Patsy and Saffy's animosity-laced relationship is at a fever-pitch, with the two women slinging barbed insults at each other. Even Eddy's daffy assistant Bubble (the amazing Jane Horrocks) gets into the fray with her own razor-edged comments, most of which are aimed at Eddy and Patsy. However, when it is revealed that the father of the baby is from Africa, and that Eddy will be the grandmother of a bi-racial baby (the ultimate fashion accessory, according to Eddy), then she begins to sing a different tune. In addition to the usually hilarious cast of characters, including June Whitfield as 'Gran/Mother' and Mo Gaffney as Bo, the current wife of one of Eddy's ex-husbands, as well as Christopher Malcolm as Saffy's gay dad Justin, series five is packed with guest appearances by Emma Bunton (as one of Eddy's clients and a former school mate of Saffy's), Kristin Scott Thomas (as Plum, a spa-addicted member of Eddy's book club), Minnie Driver (as a client of Patsy's boss Jeremy), and Elton John, among others. Even the Beatles get dragged in for a laugh or two. Absolutely Fabulous is absolutely outrageous. (A-)
On TV:
here! Pay-Per-View – showing in Mar.: Luster; Coming Out Party; Happy Birthday.
here! Pay-Per-View – showing in Apr.: The Trip; Under One Roof; Coming Out Party.
Sundance Channel (check local listings for times) – Karmen Gei – Mar. 31; 'Anatomy of a Scene: The United States of Leland' – Apr. 20, 23-26, 28; Chain Camera – Apr. 20; Look Out Haskell, It's Real: The Making of Medium Cool – Apr. 20, 26 & 30; 'Anatomy of a Scene: Saved' – Apr. 20, 23-26, 28; VH1 (check local listings for times) – 'VH1 Goes Inside: Queer As Folk' – Apr. 8
