Greetings and salutations,* my pretties ...
Since it’s Indy Thursday here at Hooker’s Reel, Poppa H thinks it wise to spend a white hot minute suggesting you spend the weekend in a galaxy far away from the Movieplex where (currently) the stories are limp, the superheroes are flabby and the buttered popcorn? Merely lukewarm …
If you’re not into Spidey Stew and Shrek 2, I mean, ahem, Shrek THREE, then don’t be coerced into dropping hard-earned duckets on a Blockbustin’ Bronco from CGI hell. We’re all adults, right…right? Well then, why not slap on your wire rim glasses and try a Hal Hartley double feature on for size: Fay Grim, starting tomorrow at the Embarcadero Cinema and Henry Fool on DVD.
photography courtesy of halhartley.com
Henry Fool “Blows A Hole Through the World’s Idea of Itself”
Henry Fool is a beat-inspired literary gem about a meek garbage collector named Simon Grim (James Urbaniak) who encounters a Faustian drifter (Thomas Jay Ryan) who prods him into putting pencil to his unexpressed thoughts while concurrently boasting of having (himself) written a revolutionary masterpiece that will "blow a hole right through the world's idea of itself.”
Henry’s Magnum Opus, his “Confession … is a philosophy … a poetics, a politics, if you will,” says Fool. “It’s a literature of protest, a novel of ideas. A pornographic magazine of truly comic-book proportions." A bombastically sage wanker, Henry’s passion turns a seismic switch in Simon to breath life into his own epic masterpiece of revolutionary poetry.
Through the magic of the Internet, Simon’s epic poem becomes a media fueled global phenomenon with seemingly transcendent powers: We see right-wing zealots morph into beatniks, a mute neighborhood girl reads a line and bursts into song and, when the local School Board proclaims Simon's poem is scatological, Simon and Henry shake hands …
"Your poem brought on my period a week and a half early so just shut up!" Parker Posey, as Simon’s sister, carps after transcribing his masterpiece. Henry Fool is about a lot of things: the tenuous line between “winners” and “losers,” the impact of art on society … fate, fame and the price of loyalty. You can’t find a more profoundly entertaining segue into the Ironic World of Hal Hartley … so do yourself a favor and check the Fool out.
If you’re like me, you’ll absorb it like a modern parable then bolt inspired from your apartment into the night, smiling triumphant, sprinting through the streets below … or not.
Until next week, be bad and get into trouble, baby.*
“Hip Happenings” Round Town
• Away from Her (2007), Dir. Polley – Embarcadero
• Black Book (2007), Dir. Verhoeven – Lumiere
• Year of the Dog (2007), Dir. White – Embarcadero
• The Namesake (2007), Dir. Nair – Embarcadero
• Naked Lunch(1991), Dir. Cronenberg – Clay (Midnight Show!)
DVD Picks to Click
• Trust (1990), Dir. Hartley – Underrated Gen X love story about a rebel (Martin Donovan), a preggers teenager (Adrienne Shelley, R.I.P.) and a hand grenade.
• Best in Show (2000), Dir. Guest – Riotously funny take on Show Dog Competitions. Parker Posey’s frantic search for a Busy Bee is the stuff of legends.
• Dazed and Confused (1993), Dir. Linklater – Parker Posey (as Darla Marks) has never been hotter onscreen, “Air Raid you little freshman bitches!”
Volume 10 Footnotes
• “Greetings and salutations.” – Heathers (1991): Christian Slater (channeling Jack Nicholson) to Winona Ryder.
• “Let’s get into trouble, baby.” – Tapeheads (1988): Soul Train host Don Cornelius (as Hollywood Producer Mo Fuzz) to upstart filmmakers Tim Robbins and John Cusack.
- Wine Country
- Holiday Gift Guide
- Holiday Recipes
- Events + Openings
- Workouts + Wellness
- Culinary Road Trip
- Community + Activism
- Cooking Videos
- COVID-19
- LGBTQ Pride
- Art + Design
- popular
- Test
- San Francisco
- East Bay
- Oakland
- Marin
- Silicon Valley
- Tahoe
- Secret Recipe
- Foodie Agenda
- Drink Here Now
- The Big Eat
- Play
- Tech
- Weddings
- Top Stories
- From Our Partners
- Property Porn
- Apartment Porn
- Brunch Topics
- Cannabis Insider
- Weekend Guide
- Monthly Agenda
- The Sunday Read
- Neighborhood Guide
- Best of San Francisco
- Most Popular
- Travel
- Dining + Restaurants
- Style Council 2016
- Cannabis
- 7x7 Hot 20
- 7x7 Cannabis Guide
- Bay Area Wellness Guide
- Shop Talk
- Music + Concerts
- Bay Area News
- News + Politics
- Restaurant Review
- Made in the Bay Area
- Style Council 2017
- Humor
- Manually populated
- Right Rail Most Read
- Sports
By
Related Articles