We are not that group.
Meet the Classic Movie Group. (It's not a clever name.) We're on our sixth year of this tradition. About every other week, between four and 10 of us meet at somebody's house to watch an old movie and eat some food. Six years. I've counted - we've done 116 movies to date, if my memory and record keeping are accurate. Six years, people.
I joined the group five years ago when I moved back to Kansas City. My best friend (Amy) had been telling me about this group of people who decided to, I guess, add to their culture by watching old movies. Amy knew this was exactly the sort of thing I'd dig. I'm a certified movie nerd. I know things. Unnecessary things. Random things.
Things like where the midgets are in "Casablanca."
Things like where have we seen that guy before? (Celeste Holm, fyi)
The "Hey It's That Guy" moments are my favorite parts. The old movies are great for finding stars in really minor roles, which is always entertaining. But more than that, I like the web of connections we're weaving every time we connect those dots. All these actors and roles exist in our collective minds, each jostling about backstage. Sometimes That Guy bumps into himself in another role, tying wildly disparate movies together in your head.
(I find this happens all the time on current TV. There seems to be a group of actors who guest star on all the major shows, and as soon as I've seen a guy twice, I start to recognize him, and then I have to scratch that IMDB itch to remind myself that the guy playing Det. Esposito on Castle played a Marine on NCIS and that's where I recognize him.)
Happily, the movie group folks don't mind that I'm compelled to share this unnecessary knowledge with them - during the movie, even.
We are hecklers. We are disrespectful. We talk during the show and miss important stuff and have to rewind. We take lengthy dessert breaks. We don't always like a beloved classic. We don't always choose classics in the first place. (I'm looking at Moonrunners, Randy.)
I love this group.
Other friends have told me they want to join this group by proxy because they can't be there in person. So, here's the proxy - recaps, reviews, recipes and totally unnecessary movie trivia.
