AP Film Studies: Reel Junk

Bad Movie Nite is your childhood sleepover all grown up.

By AP KRYZA

Film nerd Scott Hammond spent his early years bathing in the glow of late-night TV. Watered-down sex, violence and schlock bombarded his young brain while Mom, sleeping nearby, remained oblivious to such basic-cable titillation.
Now 32 and perfectly capable of renting films like Chopping Mall and Frankenhooker without getting grounded, Hammond dedicates himself to re-creating his best sleepover memories at Bad Movie Nite, a monthly event in Columbus, Ohio, that will visit the Clinton Street for a screening of…well, that’s a surprise. (We’re betting it’s Pay It Forward.)

During the program, which sounds like a mishmash of the Hollywood's Hecklevision and Grindhouse series, viewers are invited to jabber at a nostalgic barrage of terrible fare, including old-school commercials and shorts.

"It's a selfish way to re-create that sleepover feeling for myself," Hammond says. "You're up way past bedtime. Maybe your parents wouldn't want you to watch this stuff. It's a little sleazy, a little cheesy. You're not watching a heady art movie. You're just watching heads explode, or lasers and all sorts of insanity."

Essentially, Bad Movie Nite is a resurrection of the classic, Rhonda Shear-hosted show USA Up All Night, which dominated '90s boys' sleepovers with its jiggling bodies and explosions. To anyone who struggled to be the only one awake at the end of TerrorVision, this might be the coolest thing to hit the Clinton in a while. Just don't tell Mom. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm, Friday, Aug. 15.


Also Showing: 

  1. Comedian Dax Jordan is the opening act for a screening of Mike Myers’ horribly bad—but oddly beloved—So I Married an Axe Murderer. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Wednesday, Aug. 13.
  1. KBOO takes over the Clinton with Jazz on a Summer Day, a 1959 doc about the Newport Jazz Festival, featuring Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk and some young punk named Chuck Berry. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Thursday, Aug. 14.
  1. Top Down presents 1971’s Vanishing Point, a contender for the best car-chase movie ever made. Hotel deLuxe. 8 pm Thursday, Aug. 14.
  1. Big is Tom Hanks’ most endearing performance, even if it’s kinda icky when you think about a grown woman unknowingly going to pound town with a tween. Academy Theater. Aug. 15-21.
  1. A triumph of lowbrow brilliance, John Waters’ Pink Flamingos spotlights drag legend Divine’s gag-worthy quest to be named “Filthiest Person Alive.” Naturally, she eats shit. Real shit. Hollywood Theatre. Opens Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. Speaking of terrible movies, The Room is back. Cinema 21. 10:45 pm Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. Jurassic Park as it was meant to be seen: on a big, outdoor screen surrounded by awestruck kids. Pioneer Courthouse Square. Dusk Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. Australian flick Bad Boy Bubby is a sick, often brilliant and hallucinogenic barrage of incest, violence and psychosis. So…date night! 5th Avenue Cinema. 9 pm Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. The Wizard of Oz returns to theaters for the 907th time, thankfully with zero James Franco. Kiggins Theatre. Opens Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Matthew Broderick plays a manipulative liar with endless charisma who dupes a city into rallying behind him so he can go fuck around for a day. If he were real, he’d be president by now, and I’d be cool with it. Kiggins Theatre. Opens Friday, Aug. 15.
  1. The Wes Anderson retrospective gets around to the oft-maligned Darjeeling Limited, paired with Jean Renoir’s Ganges-set The River. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium. Aug. 15-16.
  1. Two indie theaters roll out the epic, 224-minute director’s cut of Woodstock for the fest’s 45th anniversary. The film captured all the peace, love and music while also providing Martin Scorsese with his first gig behind the camera (as an assistant director). 5th Avenue Cinema: 7 pm Friday-Saturday, 3 pm Sunday, Aug. 15-17. Clinton Street Theater. 6:30 pm Monday, Aug. 18.
  1. Thankfully, we live in a city where Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo screens on a semi-regular basis. This time it’s at Hecklevision, so be careful what you say around Ice-T. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Saturday, Aug. 16.
  1. Reuniting Jack Nicholson and Five Easy Pieces director Bob Rafelson, 1972’s little-seen The King of Marvin Gardens is a quiet crime drama featuring an atypically not-crazy turn by Jack. Whitsell Auditorium. 7 pm Sunday, Aug. 17.
  1. Before he corralled The Avengers, Joss Whedon captured the hearts of nerds everywhere with flicks like 2005’s Serenity and 2008’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Expect some lovingly nerdy chatter at this double feature. Clinton Street Theater. 2:30 and 7 pm Saturday, Aug. 16.
  1. The Portland Geek Council screens the underrated 1988 fantasy Willow, a rollicking yarn featuring Warwick Davis’ first starring role not as an Ewok, and Val Kilmer as kind of a medieval Han Solo. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Monday, Aug. 18. 

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