Well geeks, when it comes to FREE preview screenings it never rains... it pours. Tonight Father Geek had the pick of 3, anyone of which as it turns out could be alot of fun. My choices were the phantastic NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (check out this week's poll on the site), the thriller BLAIR WITCH 2: BOOK OF SHADOWS, and the surprizingly funderful CHARLIE'S ANGELS.
First off I haven't slept since 11am Wednesday morning and its now 11pm Thursday. I took Harry to the airport about 5:30 am this morning to put him on a plane for LA where he was taping an appearance on the Ben Stein TV Show to be followed by a tour of Hollywood Halloween parties this weekend.
The ANGELS preview was being shown at a multiplex in a once sleepy little farm town a few miles North of Austin off to the East of that concrete ribbon that connects Mexico City and Chicago. I had decided on this screening because I saw and enjoyed BW2 last week, and while there is NO doubt that NIGHTMARE is a far superior motion picture to either of these other flicks, I have seen it on the big screen at least a dozen times and will PAY to see it again during this current release. So to avoid the tense techie traffic fleeing their workplaces for their safe little bedroom community to our North I pulled away from Geek World Headquarters around 4pm.
I had decided to chow-down at one of the "mom & pop" eateries that can still be found in these out-of-the-way places. Well guess what? That's fast becoming just another urban myth. Taco Bells, Burger Kings, MacDonalds, Taco Cabanas littered the once farm-to-market road into small town America. Father Geek was bummed-out. Then I spotted CHARLIE'S, a barn red building in the style of a 1920's farmhouse, except NO windows, none. I parked among the dozen pickups and headed in. The room was about 20' X 50' with a 25' Bar taking up most of the space. There were 15 people inside, all males 12 wearing ball caps the other 3 cowboy hats, NO facial hair, and no one was eating, just drinking. "GAME DAY!!!" someone screams out. I sit in the corner, my back to the wall. A cel phone rings..."GAME DAY!!!" the person yells into the receiver. Over the Bar is one of those old "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service" signs, right between the broken Lone Star Beer sign and the Pearl Beer calendar. The phone on the bar rings... "GAME DAY!!!" the bartender hollers into it. This place has style to be sure. A goodlooking blonde in a t-shirt and skintight black pants comes out of the kitchen and takes my order, a burning cigerette hanging in her lips. Another patron enters... "GAME DAY!!!", a twenty-something construction worker screams. The girl brings me my salad, nothing fancy, lots of crackers and a damn thick blue cheese dressing. Another cel phone goes off... and "GAME DAY!!!" is the answer it receives. I overhear "Willie Nelson", and "Oklahoma", and "Fuckin' Cornhuskers", and "Willie Nelson" again. The waitress reappears with my 18oz medium rare Ribeye and large baked spud. She's weathered, but very pretty. I'd say about 28 going on 40, another cig hung from the corner of her mouth. She does a little jig to no music as she heads back to the stoves, a wipe rag flying in her left hand. The steak is falling apart tender and my tater is perfect, my iced tea never got empty. I still had time to kill before the movie so I decided on the Peach cobbler that's smell had been driving me crazy since I entered the place an hour before. CHARLIE'S was just what I was looking for. As I was leaving I spotted some 8X10 photos hanging over the jukebox (it never played) one says "CHARLIE'S 1930", the other is labeled "CHARLIE'S 1942." I open the door and someone behind me screams out..."GAME DAY!!!"
I get to the theater, one of those cavernous 17 screen national chains. Souless, with little or no style. Not at all like CHARLIE'S. Suddenly it hit me... CHARLIE'S... CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Coooool! The "Line-People" had turned out in force for this flick, all the regulars were there. I've been standing in lines with many of these same people for 10 years now. We talked about the films we had each seen since last we met and I was quizzed repeatedly about BLAIR WITCH 2 and CROUCHING TIGER. Everyone seemed to agree that LADIES MAN stunk up the theater and that LUCKY NUMBERS disappointed. BAGGER VANCE got mixed reviews. They thought THE CONTENDER was good, but many couldn't handle the politics of it. Finally we move into the screening room. I'm sitting with Quint and El Cosmico who had met me at the theater.
Well ol' Father Geek has written alot, but not about the flick. Damn! Well, I liked it. It was good old fashioned mindless action comedy fun. No great storyline, no GREAT performances, but some how it really worked for me, I had a good time and that is all this movie sets out to do. Sure the fight scenes are not the best, sure some of the CGI looks like CGI, sure there are some plotholes, but I didn't care and neither did most of the people there. I had more fun with this than MI2. Maybe it was seeing Cameron Diaz dance to nothing like my waitress had done earlier, I don't know, but CHARLIE'S ANGELS did what it was susposed to for me... to me. I won't mind one bit going to see it again with Harry when he gets back in town Monday. And you know what? I bet I enjoy it even better the second time. Going into this remember where it came from. The original series was NO work of genius. It was just fun. Those original girls were NO Emmy Award winning actresses and they were NO better looking than these girls. The original series was fun escapest fare and this film fits that bill perfectly. Go see this with an open mind and a good attitude and you WILL have a great time. Alot better time than several other current release flicks offer up for sure.
