Oddball Films and guest
curator Kat Shuchter bring you Guy Trouble, a program of vintage films designed to shed light on
the tough lot of that underprivileged minority, Men. Some troubles start at
birth, like Craig in He’s Mentally Retarded (1975). Whereas from mere boys, guys are bombarded by threats of
predators as seen in Boys Beware (1973) where we are taught that the homosexuality is a
"sickness of the mind." They are subject to the horrible onslaught of
puberty and all the awkward terror it encompasses, as actor Ken Howard and
three young men he picked up for a camping trip, learn in Facts for Boys (1981). In High School the downtrodden
gender must also face the pressures of measuring up and the belligerent side
effects, as we discover in Benny and the 'Roids (1988). As men grow
up, they are still not immune from everyday pressures or from threats of
syphilis as the army teaches us in Sex Hygiene (1941), or from the often deadly
after-effects of fun, like The Hangover (1978). With plenty of man-centric commercials
and trailers, this is one testosterone filled night to start Pride weekend off
balls deep!
Date: Thursday, June 21 at 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 - Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.
Highlights:
Facts for
Boys (Color, 1981)
“Changing from a boy to a man is a one way
trip. I’m Ken Howard and I’ve been
through it all and I’d like to share the experience with you.” Actor Ken Howard, in the middle of his
stint as the White Shadow, decided to take three young boys, Li’l Billy Warner,
Shane Hankins and Kade Lyons on an unsupervised camping trip to shoot the shit
about wet dreams and unwanted pregnancies over wiener roasting and s’mores. With a dynamite soundtrack that
includes hits by Rod Stewart, Blondie, The Eagles and Willie Nelson.
He’s Mentally
Retarded (Color, 1975)
Sometimes men face challenges from the womb. In picturesque suburbia, there’s a new
boy on the block, Craig. Craig is a special boy, but his unsympathetic neighbor
thinks “there’s something wrong with him.” Will he learn the error of his ways and grow to accept, and
possibly even love Craig? Do you
know anyone like Craig?
Boys Beware (Color, 1973)
Lieutenant Williams recounts a few tales of boys
caught unawares by the likes of predatory homosexuals. Ralph takes an interest in young boy
Jimmy Barnes, drives him fishing and shows him nudie pictures, sounds like the
perfect friendship. “What Jimmy didn’t know was that Ralph was sick, a sickness
that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous or contagious. A sickness of the mind. You see, Ralph was a homosexual.” Will Jimmy get out alive? Will you know what to do when you
encounter a dangerous homosexual?
Benny and the
‘Roids (Color, 1988)
Benny has got it all; a great looking girlfriend,
a best bud and the High School cred. of being on the football team. But his teammates pick on his puniness
and even as he self-indulgently videotapes himself working out, the progress
just isn’t fast enough. The next
logical step, ask the beefiest, sketchiest looking guy at the gym where to
score some steroids. How long can
Benny keep his perfect life with his dirty little secret, and will it end up
being worth it? As it is a Disney
production, I’m sure you can guess it won’t be, but you’ll still enjoy your
front row ticket to the RAGE!
Sex Hygiene (B&W, 1941)
“Most men know less about their own bodies than
they do about automobiles” admonishes the doctor that’s about to take one army
base of whore-mongering recruits and teach them the disgusting truth of what
awaits them after trifling with “contaminated women.” This classic VD film was produced in WWII by the War
Department in collaboration with the Surgeon General and through epic, Star
Wars-length written prologues, and graphic footage of chancres and blisters, it
sought to keep our troops in fighting shape, with lessons we can still stand to
learn today.
The Hangover (Color, 1978)
This is no hilarious Buddy comedy. Bill has a problem, a problem a lot of
us are facing right now, he had too much fun last night, and now he’s got to
face the day. Face the shakiness
of his hands, face the “nag nag nag” of his wife, Bess, face the morning
commute. And that’s just before he
has to go operate heavy machinery at work. I hope it was worth it, Bill.
With enough Macho
Trailers and Commercials to grow a few extra hairs on your chest!
Curator’s BiographyKat
Shuchter is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Film Studies. She is a filmmaker, artist and esoteric
film hoarder. She has helped
program shows at the PFA, The Nuart and Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater
and was crowned “Found Footage Queen” of Los Angeles, 2009.
He’s Mentally
Retarded (Color, 1975)
With enough Macho
Trailers and Commercials to grow a few extra hairs on your chest!