Mood:
flirtyNow Playing: Mrs. Henderson Presents
Topic: Cinema
Why do my weekends so rarely go as I plan? Today my intention was to work on the graphics and script tweaks I've been asked to make on the Starship Exeter project, and slip in lunch with John-O Sugden-meister. As it happened, only the latter occurred, because my friend Patrick called me early in the morning and said he'd had a fight with his boyfriend and needed a place to stay for a few nights. Soooo, I had to get ready for a houseguest and then be moral support for him. So much for Exeter!
Patrick arrived, then John arrived, and after a nice brunch at the Clement Street Bar & Grill we decided to see a movie. I was confident it would work, because John -- who's notorious for falling asleep during film -- had just been fortified with coffee. There was hope!
Since John's fiance wants to see "Brokeback Mountain", we couldn't go see that. There was much speculation about the inevitable porn knockoff "Bareback Mountain". Maybe this put us in a bawdy mood, but whilst purusing the film listings we hit on "Mrs. Henderson Presents", a film based on true events about a wealthy British widow who opened a theater before World War II and ultimately put naked girls in the performances. This may not sound promising, but it's actually a quite delightful little film about an eccentric who loves making waves. The titular (no pun intended) Mrs. Henderson is played delightfully by Dame Judy Dench, and the man she hires to run the shows is one Vivian Van Dam, played by Bob Hoskins. The film's R rating is based entirely on seeing naked women posing in ridiculous tableau (the local official deems it can be compared to "art" if the girls don't move), and one funny bit where the girls will only disrobe for the first time if all the men in the theater do likewise. The way it's done is not at all exploitive, as it's part and parcel of the story events. The film is really about Mrs. Henderson and her love-hate relationship with Van Dam. I enjoyed it a lot.
After the flickeroo, John dropped Patrick and I in the Castro, where we went for a few beers and then dinner. In the first place we went -- Harveys -- I saw a handsome guy and smiled at him as I was walking to the bathroom. As I stood in line, suddenly, there he was. We chatted briefly, then he looked me directly in the eye and said, "Can I kiss you?" Well, I thought he was pretty damned cute, so I said, "Sure." Good kisser. And I have a phone number to call tomorrow.
Not bad for a Sunday.
Posted by molyneaux
at 12:01 AM PST
Updated: Tuesday, 19 May 2009 11:19 PM PDT
