When the couple’s wedding rings, which take the ingenious form of film strips, arrived late to the night, they filled the time by instinctively breaking out into the whimsical dance number previously performed onscreen by Laurel and Hardy. It was such a joyous occasion that I couldn’t resist screaming out “Two Thumbs Up!” to the couple during the reception held in the Music Box Lounge afterwards.
One of the pleasures of attending a blessed event in the film critic community is the opportunity it provides me to learn more about my fellow colleagues. One interesting tidbit I learned was that the distinguished CFCA member Dann Gire has a son-in-law with the same name, except with only one “n” for Dan; and because of his son-in-law’s European upbringing, the last name is pronounced the French way as “Gear” rather than “Gyre.” And yes, that means that his daughter never had to change her last name, unless she wanted to be known as Morgan Gire Gire.
We had to vacate the main hall of the Music Box so that they could show the film “Sorcerer” by the recently deceased great filmmaker, William Friedkin. And we learned that it was being shown to a sold-out house. RogerEbert.com Managing Editor Brian Tallerico told me that when they showed that film at their first film festival, Friedkin was able to use a print that Martin Scorsese happened to have in his basement.
Also among the clips viewed onscreen during the wedding pre-show was an excerpt from the 1993 comedy, “Matinee,” directed by Joe Dante, whom Collin recently interviewed for RogerEbert.com. “Matinee” is one of Collin’s favorite films, and it pays beautiful tribute to the singular communal experience provided by movie theaters. Not only can you connect with strangers through your shared laughter and tears, the person sitting next to you—as evidenced by this euphoric union—could turn out to be your soulmate.