Oddball Films and guest curator Christine Kwon present Love
Lunatic: Or, How to Be Loved When You're a Psycho, a delightful selection of films that
speak on the eternally incomprehensible theme of love. The night kicks off with
the original bumbling lover, Buster Keaton, as he proves what women really want
isn't money, but someone to risk his life in a pistol duel in She's Oil
Mine. From there, The Magic Tree transports us to the Congo with a story
about a son who risks everything for mommy dearest, followed by Love Me,
Love Me, Love Me, a
“moral tale” about a man whose only friend is a stuffed alligator, and what he
does to be loved by dogs, horses and even children. The oddity continues with Wo*dy
Wo*dpecker in Solid Ivory as the cheeky fowl reminds us the perils of male/female
relations go well beyond human condition, but includes dressing up as a rooster
and stealing a chicken's eggs so you can play pool. The centerpiece of the
night features landmark lesbian film, Desert Hearts, a rare, if earnest, depiction of
romantic love between two women against the moody backdrop of Reno, Nevada.
Additional films round out a showcase that prove the art of seduction, the
delights of puppy love, and the lengths in which a man, woman, or chicken will
go to be with their object of affection truly defies all logic and
reason.
Date: Thursday, May 24th, 2012
at 8:00pm
Venue:
Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or (415)
558-8117
Featuring:
She's Oil Mine, Buster Keaton, (1941, B+W)
Fleeing a top-hatted suitor, a rich heiress ends up
trapped in the literal tube of two plumbers, Waters and Piper, played by Buster
Keaton and Monte Collins. The heiress finds comfort in Keaton's welcome arms,
but first he must earn his woman's love in a dangerous pistol duel to the
death! She's Oil Mine is
the last short film Keaton made for Columbia Pictures, boasting the actor's
inimitable knack for slaptick, physical comedy and accidental manliness.
The Magic Tree, (1970, Color)
Award-winning children's author Gerald McDermott tells an
animated folktale from the Congo about a despised son who hits the jackpot when
he finds a magic tree. Life and love are transformed for the once ugly
duckling, but will his befuddling devotion to his mother ruin everything?
Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, (1962, Color)
This strangest of
moral tales features Thermus Fortitude, the most unloved of men, whose only
solace is found in a doting stuffed alligator named Charlie. When Thermus
changes himself to be loved by all, what happens to Charlie? He gets stepped on
and deflated of course. Proving once and for all, when it comes to love no one
really has it good. Especially stuffed alligators named Charlie.
Wo*dy Wo*dpecker: Solid Ivory (1957, Color)
Woody Woodpecker engages in a violent battle of sexes when
he tries to retrieve his cue ball from a chicken's nest. After several failed
attempts, Wo*dy finally finds his ultimate weapon of trickery: seduction.
Desert Hearts, (1987, Color)
This landmark film tells the story of Vivian and Cay as
they meet and fall in love in Reno, Nevada. Directed by San Francisco native
Donna Deitch, Desert Hearts transformed the landscape of queer films and was a breakout hit
at the Sundance, Toronto and Telluride film festivals. At once fun, sexy, and
over-acted, it provided a groundbreaking depiction of lesbian relationships,
and was one of the first lesbian films to be picked up for worldwide
distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company.
Curator’s Biography
Christine Kwon is the
Managing Director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film
Festival, where she is a senior film curator. She is also producing a
feature-length documentary on community leader Eddy Zheng, and is the
creator/writer of the comedy series Nice Girls Crew.
