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8/1/2020

FILM REVIEW: PEE-WEE's Big Adventure

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Keil Shults - Film Reviewer - Letterboxd.com
...Link to review letterboxd.com/pee-wees-big-adventure
Rewatched Mar 08, 2020

I may have seen this film more times than any other film in my life -- certainly in my adult life. But on Sunday, March 8, 2020, I was lucky enough to see it at the Majestic Theater in Dallas for a 35th anniversary screening. Paul Reubens was in attendance, and did an hour-long presentation afterward. A pleasant surprise was discovering that Mark Holton (who played Francis Buxton) was in the sold-out crowd, and it seemed like it might simply be because he lives in the area (but I can't say for certain).

Anyway, this was not my first time seeing the film in a theater -- I saw it at an Alamo Drafthouse in Austin back in 2001 or 2002(?). However, this was a much different -- and utterly transcendent -- experience. While I spent much of my formative years at the movies, I had forgotten over the past two decades what it felt like to watch a film with a packed crowd that is completely loving everything happening on screen. I'm not saying I haven't had some memorable/rapturous film going experiences since the Nineties, but they've been few and far between (and that's not really counting events like screenings of The Room). I have always considered this movie a masterpiece, and easily one of my favorite and most enjoyable movies of all time. Along with Ed Wood, I think it's one of Tim Burton's two best films. I also think it topped my Best Films of 1985 list, with all due respect to runners-up like Blood Simple and Back to the Future.

PWBA is just a completely pleasurable cabinet of curiosities -- a visually engaging carnival of wonders that manages to weave a fun adventure story into a bonkers movie that both spoofs a variety of Hollywood tropes and genres, while also paying loving homage to them. And the script -- so wacky and bursting with memorable lines! It was almost impossible to not sit there in the audience and recite the entire thing (when I wasn't also stifling desires to hum along with Danny Elfman's masterful score). I won't go long in this review about what I think the film's underlying themes or messages are (I may have done some of that in my other review), but I just had to share my unbridled giddiness derived from this most recent screening. It may have been my 40th viewing, but it almost felt like the first. I didn't think I could possibly love the film more than I already did, but I was wrong.

...Link to review letterboxd.com/pee-wees-big-adventure

Thanks Keil!

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Tickets to our Pee-Wee's Big Adventure screening - CLICK HERE

5/30/2019

Event Recap: TRUE STORIES (1986)/Stephen Tobolowsky Q&A @ The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana 4/24/19

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The line to meet Stephen Tobolowsky.

It crept up on us, but Los Angeles Arts Society's June 7th screening of Shin Godzilla at The Frida Cinema is now barely a week away! As such, we've been busy with organizing and promoting it before that Friday comes rolling around, but I've still made time to reflect on True Stories, the subject of our last event.

The first and only feature-length film to be directed by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, it's about as different from Shin Godzilla as you can get. With quirky narration, gentle humor, and a rocking soundtrack, it was screaming for the LA Arts Society treatment, and as part of that treatment, we were able to get an amazing guest to talk about it. No less than Stephen Tobolowsky, the film's screenwriter and a veteran actor best known as Ned "Needle Nose" Ryerson from Groundhog Day, came on out to talk about the film as well as sign copies of his new book My Adventures with God and merchandise afterwards. It was exciting enough that we scored such a high-profile guest, but it was downright thrilling when it turned out that our excitement percolated over to our guests as well!

We ended up with around 70 people for the event, which, while maybe not exactly The Beatles playing Shea Stadium (or Talking Heads playing Pantages Theatre, to stay more on message), is pretty impressive for a Wednesday night. Going in, my partner Alex and I were a bit worried when Stephen first asked for that specific date, as we figured most people wouldn’t be inclined to come out on a weeknight for a film as unconventional as True Stories. But it turned out to be a risk well worth taking, as we brought in what had to be the biggest crowd at the Frida on a Wednesday in some time.

Given several guests’ comments that watching it was a staple of their childhood, it’s safe to say that we underestimated the cult appeal of True Stories. While roughly half the crowd was made up of veteran Talking Heads fans who were pretty familiar with both the movie and David Byrne, the other half was curious, younger people ready to learn about the film and the eccentric musician who directed it. This neat mix of the initiated and the uninitiated was perfectly illustrated by two of our guests, a son who heard about our event and invited his Talking Heads-loving dad to join him. One might say that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring different kinds of people together!

In contrast to Godzilla, I actually got to see a decent chunk of what we were playing. I stepped in to see the intro and had to tear myself away before I ended up watching the whole film. I had already seen the movie twice, but there was simply no way that could prepare me for seeing and hearing the combination of Byrne’s voice, Meredith Monk’s “Road Song”, and the intro’s stock footage on the big screen. I was also lucky enough to catch the “Hey Now” scene, which remained just as enigmatically endearing as when I first saw it. The audience’s reaction - or lack thereof, rather - added to the beauty of the moment, with their rapt silence as the song and scene came and went underscoring the singular wonder it evoked.

As far as prints go, the DCP we used looked superb. The video had a very crisp appearance and the colors popped where they needed to. Lest anyone question my objectivity on the matter, I wasn’t the only one who was impressed by the quality of the print: when Stephen first entered the theater to check the movie out, he came out saying that it looked better than the print he saw at a recent screening in San Francisco. By remarkable coincidence, Ed Godziszewski (one of our guests at our Godzilla screening) made a similar remark about the print we used for that film, making this the second time a guest has favorably compared the quality of our movie prints to those they had seen at other events.

Speaking of Stephen, he and his wife Ann arrived a bit after the film started, but this turned out to be for the best. With our 70-strong crowd already inside the theater, it gave our guests time to set up and get situated in peace. Stephen was positively awe-struck by the Frida, taking off to admire the wall mural and explore. What surprised me most however was how much he enjoyed the movie, with him disappearing inside the theater to watch it throughout the night. I kind of just figured that he had watched and been asked about it so many times that he never wanted to see it again. Instead, he was completely captivated by it, explaining that watching it again took him back to all the places and memories he got to see and experience while working on it.

Stephen sharing a story with me and the audience after the movie.

This enthusiasm carried right over into the Q&A, and thank goodness too! Even though I prepared my questions in advance, I was still nervous about the prospect of interviewing “Needle Nose” Ned himself before a live audience. Thankfully though, he went right into the story of how he met David Byrne when I asked him how he got involved with True Stories, which led into the story of how the song “Radiohead” was inspired by him telling Byrne of his past experiences hearing “tones” (that is, psychic vibrations that he claimed would reveal information about people he met.)

It was at this point that I realized it was going to be an easy Q&A session for me: Stephen was a seasoned storyteller and more than capable of keeping the show rolling. Like I did with Manny Pacheco at our Forgotten Hollywood event, I could simply throw a question out when Stephen (rarely, mind you) ran out of steam and it would send him chugging right along again. I even ended up ceding moderating duties for a good chunk of the program, allowing him to call on people since he seemed to be able to spot them faster than I could.

His other projects like Californication, Memento, and yes, Groundhog Day all came up, but people were especially interested in hearing about the tones. One guest asked if he ever read tones for David Byrne, Bill Murray, and Christopher Nolan, to which he replied no and added that he was afraid to imagine what Byrne’s tones would say. Interestingly, the band's bassist Tina Weymouth once claimed that psychic friends of hers used to say that they couldn’t read Byrne due to a “firewall” around him. Perhaps we can put them in touch with Stephen and then they can exchange notes about the mystery that is the mind of David Byrne.

The signing was a quick but happy affair. Although I was excited about getting the chance to have Stephen sign my copy of his first book, The Dangerous Animals Club, I found myself worrying again that the crowd might not share my excitement since his books and other merchandise weren’t directly related to True Stories. Yet, once again, these worries turned out to be unfounded since the crowd assembled themselves into a line as they exited the theater and eagerly awaited their turn with our guest of honor. People bought books, DVDs of his live performances, and even took selfies with him. What really stood out to me however was the sheer joy that our guests exuded as they met and chatted with Stephen, a sentiment that he reciprocated heartily and honestly.

Our True Stories family: Stephen and Ann with us and the volunteers that made it happen.

I wouldn't call it an intimate event like Forgotten Hollywood (indeed, it would be hard to with as many people as we had), but there was an overall warmth that made it a very memorable night. The film's strangely sentimental weirdness, Stephen's frank but funny storytelling, and the crowd's enthusiastic appreciation for both made it feel like we were one big happy family enjoying an evening together.

On that note, I would like to thank the members of our True Stories family: everyone who came out for this event, all the volunteers who made it happen, and Alex for helping coordinate and direct it. Additionally, I would like to extend a very special thanks to Stephen and Ann for spending the night with us as well as the Frida for once again providing us with an excellent space for these kind of programs. With Shin Godzilla coming right up, LA Arts Society is sure to be in for another wild, wild night like this one!

Photos by Alex Martinez, Reggie Peralta, and Cecilia Peralta

The views expressed in this recap are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. For more recaps, reviews, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page

REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director, Los Angeles Arts society

Reggie is a writer and podcaster with an eclectic range of interests. Whether it’s movies, books, theatre, or music, chances are he has something to say about it and as Creative Director of LA Arts Society, he’s in a place to bring them all together. He has written for such sites and outlets as The Frida Cinema, Orange County’s 1888 Center, FilmBook, and HonorSociety.org, and he currently works as an audio engineer for the podcasts Love University and Ordinary Grace. With his experience and a passion for written and spoken word alike, Reggie is excited to flex his creative muscles and help others flex theirs.

5/8/2019

FILM REVIEW: SUSPIRIA (2018)

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REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society

Please be advised that the following review contains spoilers.

When I heard that Suspiria was not only being remade but that it was to be directed by Luca Guadagnino, my gut reaction was tepid at best. I had seen the original by Dario Argento, and while I enjoyed it (enough to see it three times, for what it’s worth) I didn’t find myself enchanted by it the way many of my friends who had seen it were. As for Guadagnino, my knowledge of his work was limited to Call Me By Your Name, a movie that all the very serious people with all the correct opinions about everything told me I was supposed to adore but did not. Thus, it came as a welcome surprise that I found as much of value in Guadagnino’s take on the goofy giallo as I did.

The original Suspiria, as weird as it is, is a simple story about a girl who finds herself wrapped up in a coven of witches. Guadagnino’s Suspiria, on the other hand, is a sprawling story that touches on factional intrigue between said witches, psychiatrist Dr. Klemperer’s efforts to get to the bottom of his patient Patricia’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) disappearance, and newcomer Susie’s (Dakota Johnson) own mysterious role in all this. This makes it hard to determine what’s important and what’s not at first, but if you stay focused as time goes on it all gels together. The expanding on the film’s original set-up is also welcome, with the idea that dances are actually the vehicle through which the witches realize their dark arts justifying the story’s being set in a dance academy.

Another major improvement over the original is that the remake is actually unsettling. This is accomplished in large part by the effective use of camerawork, as seen in the scenes where the girls dance and people die. The attack on Olga (Elena Fokina) is especially brutal, with her being twisted horrifically out of shape as Susie, none the wiser, performs the incredibly difficult dance that cripples her. The cutting between the one and the other really captures the violence of the scene and reminds us just how much physicality goes into dancing. Then there is an extreme close-up that completely focuses on an instructor’s face, obscuring everything else in the shot. It’s an intrusive effect that is further amplified by the inexplicably creepy expression on her face.

The cast is good all around (the fact that the actors are actually speaking the lines coming out of their mouths does wonders for the film’s quality), but there is no doubt who the movie’s all about. Tilda Swinton commands attention throughout the film, bringing Mme. Blanc to life in a way that the original didn’t. She’s the main witch in charge, but she has qualms about how her sisters practice their craft and struggles to find a balance between their wicked ways and her desire to establish a kinder, gentler coven. Blanc also has to juggle her institutional responsibilities with her fondness for Susie, with Swinton really selling the character as a mother figure in a way that Joan Bennett never attempted to in the original.

The only other character who comes close to being as interesting is Dr. Klemperer, who is also played by Tilda Swinton! Through the judicious use of prosthetics, Swinton is transformed from her usual graceful self into the elderly psychoanalyst, a cosmetic feat that stands out all the more in an age of computer-generated effects. Wracked with guilt over pooh-poohing Patricia’s warnings about the witches as well as abandoning his wife during the war, Klemperer spends the movie trying to make amends and, as such, is the closest thing the story has to a morally sound character. As one of the few characters who is not a witch, this also makes him a suitable person for the audience to identify with.

Swinton also dons prosthetics to play Helena Markos, the ancient witch who wants the coven to become totally corrupt. Whereas both Blanc and Klemperer are fully rounded characters, Markos hews to a similar track as her depiction in the original film and gets little in the way of character development. We don’t even get to see much of Swinton in this role, but perhaps it’s for the best as the shock value of the Markos make-up (as grotesque as the Klemperer prosthetics are convincing) would almost certainly have worn-off if she spent more time on-screen in this role. Interestingly, Swinton’s portrayal of Markos along with her two other roles means that she forms a sort of moral spectrum. While Klemperer, with his regrets and resolve, is the high or humane end of it, the irredeemably evil Markos is the base, low end. This leaves Mme. Blanc as the center or neutral ground of said spectrum, a placement that reflects her conflicting obligations and morally gray approach to the affairs of the academy.

Just as it did in the 70’s-era Europe it's set in, the specter of left-wing terrorism looms over Suspiria. Indeed, the very first words spoken in the film are “Free Baader! Free Meinhof,” referring to the leaders of the radical Red Army Faction. Graffiti pledging allegiance to various Marxist groups and solidarity with the Palestinians adorns walls and buildings. Over the course of the movie, we are updated in bits and pieces as to the status of the infamous hijacking of the German airliner Lufthansa Flight 181, finally culminating in archival news footage that shows the aftermath of the authorities storming the plane and rescuing all the hostages.

What’s the significance of all this? Why does Guadagnino allocate so much time and space to these subversive happenings that have little bearing on the plot and were not so much as alluded to in Argento’s original? The answer, it would appear, is to draw parallels between the revolutionary violence of these extremists and the malefic violence of the witches. It’s a nebulous relationship that’s not developed nearly as much as it should have been, but it’s an intriguing one nevertheless that, if you look closely, you can see hints of throughout the film.

When the students go to sleep, the instructors and staff convene and bicker about the direction of their coven, perhaps mirroring the clandestine cells that members of the RAF and other far-left groups met in (to say nothing of the in-fighting that such organizations were notorious for.) Similarly, the decision to devote a whole scene to the liberation of Lufthansa 181 is bewildering if taken solely at face value. But, if taken as a hint at the comeuppance that awaits Markos and her loyalists, the sequence is then embedded with new narrative significance. On top of that, the identification of the plane hijackers with the antagonists tells us where they fall into the film’s moral universe and, thus, how we are to receive them and their politics.

Another clue that supports this reading of the film is the fact that the hooks the witches use on Olga and others resemble sickles. The sickle, of course, is one half of the international symbol of communism, representing solidarity and utopia to its adherents and misery and mass murder to most everyone else. When you look at it this way, it makes sense why Guadagnino (who, it should be noted, grew up as the leftist Red Brigades carried out similar acts of revolutionary terror across his native Italy) might have seen similarities between the scheming sorceresses of his movie and the scheming socialists of the real world.

In this context, it makes sense to compare Suspiria not to the original (or Argento’s other films, for that matter) but rather to Olivier Assayas’ Carlos. Set around the same time as the French miniseries, one gets a feel for the era from both productions even as they take different tacks towards it. Whereas Carlos finds much of interest and (arguably) beauty in its insurrection-minded protagonists (as seen in the way it lovingly bathes them in bright lights and a fuller color palette, to say nothing of its dangerously hip soundtrack) and their antics, Suspiria handles the background noise of its revolutionaries with the same drab lighting, dull colors, and melancholic music (composed and produced by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, of all people) that it accords most everything else. The resulting impression is one of jaded realism, underlining the futility of the terrorists’ actions and highlighting the gulf between the high-minded goals and rhetoric they espoused and the bloodshed and havoc they wrought in both the movie and reality.

It doesn’t flesh out its themes and villains as fully as it could have, but even so the movie is able to say a bit of import. As dilettantish social commentary and radical chic seep their way into today’s movies, Guadagnino offers an admirably measured approach to his story and its political subtext. More ambitious and more astute than the production that inspired it, the remake also proves to be more disturbing thanks to its inventive expansion of Argento’s original ideas and set-up. True, many may prefer the camp aesthetics of the original, but Guadagnino’s Suspiria achieves so much more through its efforts to make viewers think as much as it makes them feel.

The views expressed in this review are those of the author and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of this review in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page.

3/31/2019

Event Recap: FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD’s Manny Pacheco Q&A/Book Signing @ Makara Center for the Arts, Santa Ana 2/27/19

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Manny Pacheco speaking to an enraptured audience

REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society

There have been two things that I’ve wanted to do as long as I’ve been with Los Angeles Arts Society: one was to host an event at the Makara Center for the Arts in downtown Santa Ana, and the other was to work with my broadcasting instructor and mentor Manny Pacheco on something for Forgotten Hollywood, his award-winning film history book series. Although LA Arts can proudly say it has several successful events under its belt, our emphasis has mostly been on film screenings. We did hold a book signing with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski for their book Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa, but that was part of our December screening of Godzilla. For this reason, my partner Alex and I decided to try something new - an oral presentation followed by a Q&A and book signing - and after getting in touch with both Manny and the Makara’s director Marytza, we were able to arrange the whole thing just like that!

Compared to our last program, this event was simple and straightforward. While we had to do a lot of running around and coordinating to ensure that Godzilla ran smoothly, Forgotten Hollywood was much more contained and thus much easier to manage. It probably helps that the Makara is a smaller venue than the Frida Cinema, meaning that everything we needed to handle was in the same space and also that we had less guests to contend with. Such an intimate spot comes with an appeal all its own, with the books and artwork on display giving it the inviting, creative atmosphere that you’d expect from a library. Although in hindsight I enjoyed the natural high that came with the adrenaline rush of running Godzilla, I also appreciated the painless pleasure that came with hosting Forgotten Hollywood.

Though I was the host for the night, I actually ended up having to do very little hosting as Manny carried the show exceptionally well by himself. The most I spoke was when I introduced him, cataloguing his various vocations and fondly recalled my time at Fullerton College with him. When I finished, he quipped that I was making him blush, a classic Manny way of returning my praise that set a humorously warm tone for the night. From that point on, it was his show, and, aside from a few moments where he asked me to chime in, all I really had to was sit back and listen. And listen I did, because he spoke solo for a good 50 minutes or so, regaling our guests and I with animated retellings of stories from his books.

Manny made clever use of a good amount of tricks and techniques to immerse us all in his stories. Affecting a creepy Middle-European voice to conjure The Maltese Falcon’s Peter Lorre and pulling up a chair to stand in (or sit in, rather) for the one Lee Harvey Oswald was found in when he was apprehended by the Dallas police, his larger-than-life delivery of the material reflected his broadcasting background. It also gave the event the vibe of a one-man show rather than an academic presentation, making the facts and trivia he shared both accessible and real to us.

By the time our star finished his talk, I almost felt silly opening it up to the audience. He had covered so much territory that I couldn’t imagine there were any stones left for us to unturn, and apparently they thought so too because the room fell silent when I asked if anyone had any questions. This is always a possibility with Q&A sessions, so luckily I had the foresight to bring some questions of my own, asking Manny about why, as he wrote in the preface to Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History, he “had to write it” and what made him “glad [he] did.” Without so much as a second thought, he cited his grandmother as his inspiration, explaining that she instilled an appreciation for old movies in him when he was a kid. It was funny to me that he should have said that because I have a similar relationship with my grandma (who, incidentally, was kind enough to join us for the evening) in that she supported and encouraged my interest in the arts and culture early on.

Manny signing books and chatting with guests

At any rate, I guess that my pick-up questions inspired the audience because the next thing I knew they were asking all about the books as well as the movies and stars covered in them. Everything from which movies were Manny’s favorites (Casablanca and Whiplash, to name a couple) and whether Drew Barrymore is related to Lionel Barrymore or not (she is) to which movie featured Mickey Rooney in yellowface (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) was on the table, and all of which he was more than eager to answer. Quite the change in attitude on the part of our guests, but it was a welcome one as it meant they were at least as excited about Manny’s material as I was.

You might have assumed our guest of honor brought it down a notch when the Q&A wrapped up and the book signing started. Not at all: he just kept going and going and chatted and bantered with each and every guest who came to meet him at his table. It was a cool little table too, holding a clapboard prop and covered with a beautiful table cloth decorated with scenes from The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. He enthusiastically and proudly pitched his books to his guests, making one of them burst into laughter when he praised the chapter titles in one of them as if they were written by someone else. Everyone received his self-promotion in good humor though; they viewed it as part of the carnival barker charm that he so earnestly cultivated.

The show had to end eventually, but Manny made sure we enjoyed every second until it did. I have to thank him for, on top of being a brilliant teacher and a true friend, joining us and making the evening as entertaining as it turned out to be for everyone. I also would like to thank my friend Thomas for lending his impressive services to us and capturing the whole program on video (footage of which will be coming down the road), and, of course, Alex for being open to this experiment of mine and facilitating it. And lastly, but hardly least, I’d like to thank Marytza and Greg from the Makara for allowing our event to be held in such a cool and unique space and for being such gracious and accommodating hosts. I like to think that the night whetted everybody there’s appetite for more like it and also that, with any luck, LA Arts Society will spend many more evenings with Manny for more fascinating stories of Forgotten Hollywood.

The team that made it happen: Reggie (far left), Alex (center right), and Thomas (far right) with Manny

Photos by Alex Martinez and Reggie Peralta

The views expressed in this recap are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of this recap in the comments section below. For more recaps, reviews, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page.

3/17/2019

Event Review: Long Beach Comic Expo @ Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach 2/16/19

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Where else can you spot Spidey taking a selfie with Cinderella?! Long Beach Comic Expo 2019!

REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society

I didn’t grow up on comic books, but, like many of my generation, I grew up on shows based on comics. Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman: The Animated Series, and even that goofy Mask spin-off were all regular viewing during my childhood and, to this day, remain some of my earliest TV memories. Even today at the ripe old age of twenty-something, there’s a primitive part of my brain that still lights up at the thought of costumed heroes and villains duking it out for the fate of the world, humanity, or what have you. Fortunately, it turns out that I’m not the only one, as my LA Arts’ partner Alex and I’s visit to the Long Beach Comic Expo this past February made very clear.

The first thing I saw when I got there was a fleet of cars modified to look like ones central to nerd culture. Among the autos was a DeLorean decked out like the one in Back to the Future (but thankfully not plutonium-powered like in the movie), a hearse made to look like the Ecto-1 from the 2016 Ghostbusters, retro and modern Bumblebee-esque Camaros filled with Transformers memorabilia, and a Jurassic Park jeep and SUV blaring John Williams’ iconic theme. I’m not really a car guy but the geek in me internally squeed and thought it was an awesome way to pump guests up and get them in touch with their inner kid before they even set foot inside the convention itself.

Fleet of awesome cars lined the entry-way into the convention.

The security people checking members of the press (they had a separate line for journalists, a nifty little perk) as they entered the center were noticeably polite, treating me comfortably as they scanned me and telling me to enjoy the expo when they finished. This pleasant disposition was shared by the staff inside as well, with the guard who directed me to the restroom even wishing me a good day when I came out and headed back onto the vendors’ floor. I shouldn’t be so surprised since my interactions with staff at Long Beach Convention Center have always been pleasant as far as I can remember, but it stands out to me because people working such events aren’t always so agreeable. Just making the extra effort to treat guests in a civil manner goes a long way in making them feel like, well, guests, which is exactly how I felt.

The exhibitors were similarly friendly for the most part, though there were a few exceptions. One booth selling Godzilla t-shirts caught my eye but the guy running it had little interest in conversation, answering my questions with flat “yeah”s and preoccupying himself with other business while I tried to engage him. I thought it strange that a vendor selling merch of something as niche as Godzilla would begrudge potentially interested customers trying to engage them about the focus of their product, but hey, what do I know about customer service.

Most of the other exhibitors, however, were more than happy to talk about whatever they had to offer. Writer Preston Poulter, for instance, was eager to discuss his comic series’ White Lily and Guinevere and the Divinity Factory, explaining the unique historical background of the former and the intriguing philosophical undertones of the latter. Not only was he excited to elaborate on his comics, he was also receptive to my thoughts on them, agreeing when I said Guinevere’s themes of individualism versus collectivism were “very Randian” and acknowledging the influence of the Fountainhead author on his work.

Also agreeable was comic illustrator Agnes Garbowska, who Alex and I regrettably didn’t get to talk to for long. A particularly persistent fan swamped her with commissions right then and there, so she had her hands full with pencils and paper the whole time we were at her booth. But, she took the time to take a break from the commissions when her friend Miki (who was exceptionally friendly in her own right) let her know I just wanted a signature for the My Little Pony postcard that I bought for my nieces, kindly thanking me for my purchase and, perhaps, my patience as well.

Alex / Captain Planet-Pool (@skapool) / Reggie

But it wasn’t just comic authors and artists hawking their larger-than-life wares. We were pleasantly surprised to meet and chat up Jackie Dallas, the actress who played the girlfriend of the teacher in Stranger Things, as well as get selfies with a bountiful bevy of cosplayers. From Darth Vader and the forces of the Galactic Empire to the Original Series and Deep Space Nine iterations of Starfleet, and from Tony Stark to Princess Mononoke, it’s safe to say that almost all provinces of nerdom were represented at the event, and with such pride too! Looking at all the costumes, one couldn’t help being blown away by the time and effort that their owners must have put into making them. Meeting superheroes like Batman and Captain Planet or even villains like The Riddler and, say, Lego Lord Voldemort may be the stuff of dreams, but through the craftsmanship of the cosplayers we met, we were able to briefly enjoy such childhood fantasies as if they were real life.

Further compounding the childish sense of nostalgia were the assorted other vendors selling and displaying art, toys, and similar goodies. Miles Toys and Treasures had an impressive selection of vintage action figures from media as disparate as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a collection made all the more grand by the fact that almost all the figures were still in their original packaging. Another booth offered a charming combination of custom Lego mini-figures and dummy weapons (life-size, not Lego-size). Other groups like the Sci-Fi Coalition and Star Trek The Fleet offered guests civic-minded venues for exploring their media interests as well as participating in community service with other fans.

Having catalogued all these sights and wonders, it kills me to say that I wasn’t able to go both days, leaving Alex to fend for himself on day two. And as if this wasn’t bad enough, that day he bumped into none other than Rachel Hollon, our very own Elvira for our House on Haunted Hill Halloween party this past October. As it turned out, she had been there for both days, but somehow she slipped past us with her killer-diller, gender-bender Han Solo cosplay the day I went. I suppose I can only let this be a lesson to make the necessary arrangements to attend both days when next year’s expo rolls around.

Rachel Hollon (@facesbyrachie) & Alex

Speaking of which, I’m not sure if I can wait for next year! I like to think I keep up with pop culture happenings and going-ons, but I haven’t felt the way I did after attending LBCE in a long time. The cosplays, the conversations, and the quality of service by those working all made for a magical experience that brought out the kid in me and whetted my appetite for more conventions. WonderCon is around the corner and Comic-Con is coming up in the summer, but Long Beach Comic Expo is the high, memorable bar by which I will judge all others.

Photos by Alex Martinez and Reggie Peralta

The views expressed in this review are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page.

2/25/2019

Book Review: LOST IN THE FUNHOUSE: THE LIFE AND MIND OF ANDY KAUFMAN by Bill Zehme

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REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society

Like many angsty, alienated teens, I spent a good deal of high school finding solace and inspiration in stand-up comedy. I eagerly devoured the material and philosophy of the obvious greats like George Carlin and Bill Hicks, but it was the madcap antics of Andy Kaufman, prodigious in their planning and calculated in their cringeworthiness, that spoke most immediately to me. So in thrall to the mad genius of the reluctant Taxi star and self-proclaimed Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World was I that I kept a picture of him taped to the inside of my binder, a little touch that earned me a compliment from a substitute teacher on one occasion. Having established all this, it gives me a certain nostalgic pleasure to have read Bill Zehme’s Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman. I’d been meaning to get to it for some time, all the while asking myself, “How did anybody write a run-of-the-mill, ink-on-paper biography about someone as strange and full of life as Andy Kaufman?” The answer, as Funhouse demonstrates, is they didn’t.

Zehme adopts an unconventional narrative voice that, rather than clinically recounting and commenting on the moments and happenings that made up his subject’s life, reflects the childlike whimsy that Kaufman himself embodied. The first few pages of the book, for instance, refer to his parents Janice and Stanley Kaufman simply as “Mommy” and “Daddy”, while his maternal grandparents Cy and Pearl Bernstein are “Papu Cy” and “Grandma Pearl” respectively. Although this voice becomes less pronounced as Andy grows older (“Mommy” and “Daddy” give way to “Janice” and “Stanley" early on, for example), the book retains an experimental and emotional quality that adds a strong sense of drama to the material and further invests the reader in it.

Another unusual technique that the author makes superb use of is two motifs repeated over the course of the book. The first is his bookending of certain sentences with variants of “and that was, um, fine”, a phrase that captures the awkwardly-amusing ambiguity that Kaufman’s work provoked in audiences. The second motif, used to chillingly great effect, is his seemingly random interjecting of passages describing a cough that the comedian was just never quite able to shake, ominously hinting at his eventual succumbing to cancer. These recurring elements not only heighten the aforementioned sense of drama but give it a certain musicality as well, something that Kaufman, an avowed “song and dance man”, would likely have appreciated.

Regarding the research that Zehme conducted for Funhouse, it’s almost staggering to learn that he spent six years conducting interviews and gathering material. At a little over 350 pages long, one might find this hard to believe but, nevertheless, should respect that so much time and thought went into it. Indeed, Zehme’s studies of his subject (including stints as a producer for a Taxi retrospective and A Comedy Salute for Andy Kaufman) bore considerable fruit in the form of interviews with key figures from Kaufman’s life as well as observers and admirers of his work. The presence of the main players like Kaufman’s parents and siblings, his manager George Shapiro, and comedy partner Bob Zmuda are all givens, but Zehme also includes comments and stories by such notable others as Dustin Hoffman, Chevy Chase, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rodney Dangerfield, and Carl Reiner (who is shown to have had the distinction of introducing Shapiro to Kaufman.)
One appearance that might take readers particularly by surprise is John Gray, who, before taking the self-help world by storm with Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, acted as a counselor to Kaufman and his loved ones after his fatal diagnosis. Some might be also surprised by how little Kaufman’s partner Lynne Marguiles (memorably portrayed by Courtney Love in the Jim Carrey-starring biopic Man on the Moon) figures into the story, but in hindsight it shouldn’t be since they were only together a year before his death (a fact that the movie plays loose with.) Still, as his significant other, she undoubtedly had a unique view of the funhouse that very few others probably got to see, so it’s not unreasonable to wish more attention had been devoted to Marguiles and her memories of Andy.

In this terribly hip age of Adult Swim humor and contrived quirkiness, it’s both startling and satisfying to see that Andy was, at least as Funhouse tells it, a genuinely strange person. The skeptical may assume that his off-stage weirdness was just another put-on by the master prankster, but the evidence from his childhood suggests that he was out there from the very beginning. His habit of happily gibbering to himself in class, his penchant for staring off into space with those big blue eyes of his, and a twin brother visible only to himself indicate an experience and understanding of reality that was possibly situated somewhere on the autistic spectrum, leading one to wonder how differently Kaufman’s life and craft might have turned out had a diagnosis for autism existed then.

One might take it as a criticism of the book that the picture it draws of its subject is murky and vague, but it shouldn’t be construed as such since Kaufman was himself murky and vague. We get significant glimmers of insight into what was going on in his mind or what he was trying for like when we read the abrasive voice he used for Tony Clifton sounded suspiciously like his father’s when he got mad or that the Uncle Andy’s Funhouse production crew felt he acted and sounded just a little too heartfelt during his talk with Howdy Doody, but there is no moment where the reader suddenly goes “bingo!” and understands Kaufman on a fundamental level. Of course, it’s hard to imagine any explanation given for Kaufman’s behavior and personality (or, perhaps more aptly, personalities) being satisfying in any meaningful sense, so perhaps that question is one we’re better off leaving, like many others surrounding him, unanswered.

But chances are anyone reading an Andy Kaufman biography isn’t expecting answers to such “who, what, why” questions. The real metric for such an endeavor is how much of Andy’s spirit the title is able to capture and replicate on each page. Judging by this standard, Lost in the Funhouse, with its well-executed eccentricities and its unexpected tenderness, is an astonishing success that is unlikely to be equaled any time soon.

The views expressed in this review are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page.

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FILM REVIEW: PEE-WEE's Big Adventure

Event Recap: TRUE STORIES (1986)/Stephen Tobolowsky Q&A @ The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana 4/24/19

REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director, Los Angeles Arts society

FILM REVIEW: SUSPIRIA (2018)

Event Recap: FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD’s Manny Pacheco Q&A/Book Signing @ Makara Center for the Arts, Santa Ana 2/27/19

Event Review: Long Beach Comic Expo @ Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach 2/16/19

Book Review: LOST IN THE FUNHOUSE: THE LIFE AND MIND OF ANDY KAUFMAN by Bill Zehme

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FILM REVIEW: PEE-WEE's Big Adventure

Event Recap: TRUE STORIES (1986)/Stephen Tobolowsky Q&A @ The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana 4/24/19

​REGGIE PERALTACreative Director, Los Angeles Arts society

FILM REVIEW: SUSPIRIA (2018)

Event Recap: FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD’s Manny Pacheco Q&A/Book Signing @ Makara Center for the Arts, Santa Ana 2/27/19

Event Review: Long Beach Comic Expo @ Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach 2/16/19

Book Review: LOST IN THE FUNHOUSE: THE LIFE AND MIND OF ANDY KAUFMAN by Bill Zehme

Archives

Categories

REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director, Los Angeles Arts society