S'Up Muh DAB? - Vintage Flicks

 

Here's the first part of a review of my 2025, which involves muh DABs (Die Alone Buddies).

It seems March was heavily populated with visits to revival movie theaters and catching a bunch of old movies!  This activity sits well with me, as it's cheaper than the newer, not so great movies and it gives me a chance to appreciate things about movies I couldn't when I was younger. Watching some of these movies with no life experience and judging them by things I didn't understand just ain't right!

In March we caught, THE GOOD GIRL at Vidiots, introduced by director Mike White,

With a nice Q & A with cast members Zooey Deschanel and John C. Reilly.

Let me tell you, after this viewing I realized how much more Jennifer Aniston's character was an awful person than I had realized on the first viewing, so many years ago.

We went to the New Beverly Cinema to see a double feature of SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES and FOUL PLAY

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES held up really well (except for a few lines that read REALLY racist now) and made me laugh just as much from my original viewings.  FOUL PLAY didn't hold up as well, but Goldie is such a treat!  Speaking of Goldie...

Was the artist watching Family Ties while whipping up this poster and accidentally put Tina Yothers' face on Goldie's body?

We also caught THE LAST SEDUCTION at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Other old movie adventures include

STREETS OF FIRE

AMERICAN GIGOLO

MOMMIE DEAREST at Vidiots, on Mother's Day, no less!

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

FOOTLOOSE (Vidiots)

and most recently CHOPPING MALL at Killer Fitness in Burbank

(This place is really my kind of joint: Aerobics & Pilates in the daytime and horror & sci-fi movies at night!)

As you can see, I have a pretty good roster of DABs, but if you don't and you love old movies, GO!! You just might meet & pick up a few DABs of your own!  Either way, if you're alone, it's still worth giving a movie a second chance!

Gay Of A Certain Age - Olivia Newton Gone

 Ew, I totally turned those smiles upside down.

You know that saying, "You don't miss your water, 'til the well runs dry"? 

(Maybe that's just a cool song on the MARRIED TO THE MOB soundtrack)

I had an incident... it all starts with, what I thought was, an affinity for the movie XANADU.

A good portion of my closest friends have bonded over multiple viewings of the very flawed, but completely delicious movie.  After a few in-home viewings, we were all excited that Outfest, the yearly LGBTQ film festival, listed XANADU as their sing-a-long feature back in 2002.

As you can see, there was a huge group of us ready to sing-a-long to all of those great songs on the soundtrack! (not many of us were ready to match the very high vocals of Jeff Lynne and most chose to sit those songs out... not me!  My apologies, still to those who sat around me that night).

We were so excited, Muh Dab, Dennis Hensley, had t-shirts made!

We're XanaDUDES!

Five years later, Douglas Carter Beane had the nerve to take this movie and make it a stage show. I'm glad he did, it was very lovingly hilarious and I built a Broadway visit around seeing the show.

I was also excited to git muh picture made with star, Cheyenne Jackson!

(Look, he's TOUCHING me!)

Two years after that, I got to share the joy with my friends as we traveled all the way to Orange County to catch the Tour of XANADU THE MUSICAL!

We were so excited, we took another shot with me as Sonny and Dennis as Kira, 
but I looked cutest in this shot.

I'm sure there were a few more in-home viewings, 

but in 2015, we jumped at the chance to see it again

in the Sunnyside Cemetery, in Long Beach.

I'm not a fan of cemetery viewings, 

because I find them very uncomfortable

and difficult to enjoy;

it was not an issue this time around.

Also, before the screening, 

there was an awesome cover band 

This guy was ready to match Jeff Lynne...

Then, August 8, 2022

Olivia Newton-John died.
I thought, "Awwww, that's sad." and moved on with my day.

It hit Dennis pretty hard.
While I understood his reaction, 

I just didn't feel the same way...
She was a celebrity, among many we lost this year.

On September 9, luckily my Friday off,

I joined Dennis & former DAB, Brett Freedman

for a farewell to Olivia screening of 
XANADU

at the New Beverly Cinema.

It was well attended for a 2 pm screening.

...And, we ran into friends

Tom Ford and

John Cantwell, whom I love love love as

Love Connie.

During the movie,
I was having a lovely time,

feeling a little sad for our loss.

Then, this scene, at the big opening of the club at the end happened.

Suddenly, at the moment caught in this pic,

 I was holding back a torrent of tears!
Just seeing her sing her number with such a joyful ease,

I realized she was gone.
She had always been a delight when I'd seen her perform

on variety shows, talk show guest spots and even crappy movies.

She was such a sweet ball of sunshine

that I hadn't registered had tanned much of my growing up.

I feel like I can remember the very first time

I heard Have You Ever Been Mellow as a mere child...

Of course, I can't actually, 

but I remember that song and how it made me feel,

how it STILL makes me feel. 

Her indelible performance in GREASE

(which I watched on a loop on Showtime and many more times since)

touches me, still.

There was a huge bubble on my heart

 filled with ONJ

that I had no idea was there

and it just burst right in that moment.

(I'm still getting a little misty eyed while writing this)

She was a sneaky one, that Olivia...

So, now I really get Dennis' reaction,

he was just more in tune with his love for her

than I.

Now, I understand that for many,

we not only lost a

greatly talented, sweet and lovely woman,

but also a chunk of what made us who we are;

we feel as if we've lost bit of our childhood,

a sweet & loving bit.

Farewell Olivia,

and if possible from where you are,

Keep me suspended in time with you

Don't let this moment die...