HIT
THE LIGHTS
AT THE MOVIES WITH THE 'SCREENING PARTY' By Kim McNabb
Staff writer
"It's pretty hard to be in a scene with two black
women and be the one with the bad Afro, but Barbra pulls
it off," says Lauren, in "Screening Party," humor
writer Dennis Hensley's funny new book about watching movies.
Yes, she's talking about the Barbra. Specifically, Barbra
Streisand in "A Star is Born."
There's more: "Then it's off to the Arizona desert,
where the newlyweds bulldoze away on their pueblo-style
dream house," Hensley writes. "If you build it,
she will come," he says. "This is like 'Little
Jew on the Prairie,'" says Marcus, as Barbra and Kris
pretend to do manual labor.
And so it goes, movie after movie,
as Hensley and his friends provide a hilarious, interactive,
sports-like commentary
play by play of the movies the "Screening Party" is
watching. Some of the movies subject to this special scrutiny
are "Jaws," "Taxi Driver," "Pretty
Woman," "9 1/2 Weeks," "The Sound of
Music," "Flashdance," "The Bodyguard," "Basic
Instinct," "Saturday Night Fever," "Cruising" and "Glitter."
"Screening Party" is an
irreverent and oddly charming book that is on the surface
about movies, while
its heart and soul is about something deeper-friendship
and following your dreams.
Given an assignment by British Premier
magazine to write something about the 25th anniversary
of "Jaws," Hensley
had the idea of gathering his witty friends together to
watch it and write about their responses. "I've tried
to populate my world with people who like to say things
about what they see on television-people who ask questions,
make observations, offer fashion commentary and occasionally
crack wise," Hensley writes of bringing his posse
together. (The group includes a handful of gay men, two
straight women and one straight man, though there are no
lesbians.) The result is a book that feels like a familiar
sitcom-"Seinfeld," "Friends," Will & Grace"-set
in Los Angeles with a cast of goofy, hip characters trying
to find success and love in the city of dreams.
What seems at first look to be a shallow and frivolous
riff on movies subtly becomes a sweet and touching story
of friendship and bonding. As they watch, they talk about
their personal memories of seeing the movies for the first
time and what it meant in the context of their lives. People
reveal things about their childhoods, relationships, careers
and desires-and they become characters beyond their ability
to deliver funny lines.
Also contributing to the affable nature of the book is
the obvious fact that the group loves these movies, even
though they have a fabulous time making fun of them. All
of the chapters are funny, even if you haven't seen the
movies, which is a tribute to Hensley's sharp comedy writing
talents. Some movies are better suited for this style of
group critique, but all the entries entertain.
Entertaining is just what Hensley hopes to do. He has
always been an entertainer, he says. He grew up in a small
town in Arizona, with only one movie theater, and attended
Arizona State University, where he was into singing, acting
and dancing. After a musical theater workshop in Los Angeles,
he stayed in the city and for five years he worked on a
cruise ship, where his job was to entertain people.
"We were assistant cruise directors. We had to do
ping pong, shuffleboard, bingo and the shows at night," Hensley
says. "It was hard work. They ran us ragged. But I
saw a lot of the world and that was great."
Hensley's writing career started
after he auditioned as a dancer for Madonna's Blonde
Ambition tour and wrote an
article about the funny experience he had. He received "a
bunch of rejection letters," but Edward Margulies
at Movieline magazine "saw something in it and bought
it," Hensley recalls. "He basically started my
writing career." This led to more entertainment journalism,
which included the "Jaws" assignment from British
Premier, which led to more screening party columns, which
led to collecting them for the book.
Hensley's mostly satisfied with
the movies that made it into "Screening Party," but he would've liked
to screen "Fatal Attraction," "The Big Chill" and "Forrest
Gump," which he doesn't think is "aging well."
Of all the entries published in
British Premiere, "The
Sound of Music" piece generated the most response,
Hensley says.
"We got hate mail for what we did with the 'Sound
of Music,'" he says. Naturally, "The Sound of
Music" piece is one of the best in the book. The movie
lends itself easily to mocking, yet it remains beloved
by many people, including the gang at the screening party.
Hensley adds that he "still gets misty when Maria
stands up to Christopher Plummer for the first time, telling
him off for not knowing his own children."
"Screening Party" closes with a look at diva
Mariah Carey's movie "Glitter," released just
after the attacks of Sept. 11. The gang went to the theater
to see the movie Sept. 21, hoping to forget reality for
awhile. The entry elegantly shows how the experience of
seeing a movie can be as important as the movie itself.
"
I have to say that tonight feels like the first time in
months that I've gone out with the express purpose of having
a good time. It's a very strange sensation, and I'm not
sure it'll take," he writes of the decision to go
to see the movie. "Still, if there's anything in this
world that can put a smile on my face, a zing in my step,
and a song in my heart, it's these six words: "now
showing, "Glitter," starring Mariah Carey.'"
The gang held their screening party
in the theater, holding nothing back, though they were
in public. And they were
surprised and overjoyed when the strangers in the audience
joined in the fun, shouting out comments at the screen
and having a gay old time. It was a uniting experience,
Hensley writes. "We're spent, it seems, sated, apprehensive
about the future but grateful that a good time like tonight
can still be had," he writes, after the movie.
To put it another way, "If we refuse to make fun
of 'Glitter,' then the terrorists have won," Hensley
says. Or Barbra. "If we can't make fun of Barbra Streisand,
then what's the point of living in America?" Hensley
asks. "It's my God-given right as an American.
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