(Nora Ephron, US 1994, 97 min., 35mm)
Nora Ephron’s dark humor (as evidenced in the novel and screenplay for Heartburn) comes out full-force in this comedy set at a suicide prevention hotline on Christmas Eve. The staff of “Lifesavers” needs almost as much help as their clients. Philip (Steve Martin) is being evicted and discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him. Catherine (Rita Wilson) has a crush on Philip, and Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Khan) gets stuck in an elevator. Into their lives come ex-con Felix (Anthony LaPaglia) and his girlfriend Gracie (Juliette Lewis), starting an avalanche of comedic adventure including a concussion, an overdose, a dead body, and roller bladers carrying Christmas trees. Also featuring Robert Klein, Rob Reiner, Adam Sandler, Liev Schreiber, Garry Shandling, Parker Posey, and Jon Stewart, Ephron puts this all-star cast through the ringer over a very memorable slapstick holiday.
35mm print from Sony Pictures.
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Film Screenings | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (DCP)
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Film Screenings, Member Events | Matinee: Miracle on 34th Street (35mm) - Free for Members!
Holidays Released in the summer of 1947, Miracle on 34th Street has nonetheless grown into a perennial favorite, bridging the season from Thanksgiving to Christmas. When the Santa Clause hired for the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade turns up drunk, a jolly, bearded man named Kris (Edmund Gwenn) volunteers for the job.
Film Screenings | Miracle on 34th Street (35mm)
Holidays Released in the summer of 1947, Miracle on 34th Street has nonetheless grown into a perennial favorite, bridging the season from Thanksgiving to Christmas. When the Santa Clause hired for the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade turns up drunk, a jolly, bearded man named Kris (Edmund Gwenn) volunteers for the job.