last night at the movies

i'm sitting for four hours in the austin airport (there's a guy that's trying to overpower my ipod with his guitar here at an airport eatery. has "the live music capital of the world" taken it too far?) becasue i missed my flight to washington. so, i have a few moments to reflect on the movie i saw last night at the alamo draft house.

i've been to the drive-in, i've been to the $2 second-run theater, and i have been to the plush "home of the sing-along-sound of music" prince edward cinema in leicester square, london. but i have never had a movie experience quite like the alamo draft house. besides the fact that i can order pitchers or buckets of beer as well as typical bar food fare (the server even comes to me while i'm in my theatre seat!), the evening's entertainment itself is eerily relevant. at least, it is when you go see a show called thank you for smoking. before the movie began, i sat watching vintage ads, reels and trailers, laughing at the quirky taglines and absurd ad campaigns. then i realized that i was watching a well-crafted mix of old anti-smoking public service reels juxtaposed against feel-good ads for the likes of kool and virginia slims. not to mention a trailer for cheech and chong's nice dreams.

that's typically the style of the theater. whether the film is new, popular, camp, or kitsch, the programming is well thought out and relevent, often with a dash of quirky wit.

incidentally, thank you for smoking is a well-played satire that targets every side of modern political culture, from the lead character's profession as a "spin doctor" to federal lawmakers and beaurocrats who aim to please public opinion. based on a novel by christopher buckley, the screenplay by writer jason reitman managed to bring together a thoughtful, funny, well-written story. and i liked it.