Whatever Will I Wear?

In today's Night & Day section, you'll find my preview of the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, taking place this Friday and Saturday. While the event is centered around two nights of short films screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, the gathering itself is all about the fashionistas it hopes to draw.

My interest in fashion falls under two essential categories -- comfort and cost. And my wardrobe reflects that. So the thought of actually attending the festival didn't even cross my mind. That is, until the festival's director, Fred Sweet, simply insisted that I find something funky to throw on and be a part of the festivities. What can I say? He's very convincing.

But I wasn't going to go without some support, so I reached out to my two fashionable friends (at least they are compared to me) and invited each to be my plus one for the festival's two night run. If they can't help to elevate my look, then at the very least I'll be with people who looks like they belong there.

Meanwhile, I'll be enjoying the scenery as I'm sure there will be plenty of quality people watching. Isn't that what fashion is all about -- getting people to look at you?

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Celebrity Crush: Chris Evans as Captain America

Here's what I didn't say in my 3-star review of "Captain America: The First Avenger."

Hubba-hubba.

I know. It's a dorky, old-fashioned way to ogle a member of the opposite sex (or same sex, if that works better for you). But it seems entirely appropriate for a movie that takes place in an era when words like "dame" and "gams" are being thrown about.

It's also a reflection of how articulate I felt when I first saw Chris Evans emerge from the experimental sarcophagus as Captain America. OK, OK, he's shirtless in the scene, which is entirely designed to make the women in the audience (and in the scene) swoon, and the men re-up their gym memberships.

But as the film marches on and Evans remains clothed and presumably virginal, he only gets more breathtaking. Or maybe I just like a man in uniform (not the one that involves tights, though he carries that off pretty well too).

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"Ghost World" 10th Anniversary Screening (God, we're all old)

It wasn't that long ago that the San Diego Film Critics Society (proud member here) began talking about putting together a 10th anniversary screening of the movie "Ghost World" during Comic-Con.

At first I thought the idea was preposterous. Not because it seemed impossible that we could pull it off so quickly--and during the craziest week that San Diego sees all year (although that did cross my mind). But because it seemed simply out of the question that this fantastic little movie could possibly be a decade old.

But it's true. We pulled off the screening (it's this Saturday night) AND we got Thora Birch to show up in person!

Unfortunately, it's also true that we're ten years older. But at least we can take some comfort in knowing that Scarlett Johansson has inched that much closer to 30 (only 3+ years to go!) -- and her boyfriends have crossed the half-century mark.  
But Thora Birch hasn't aged a day. And of course I'm not saying that just because she agreed to attend our 35mm screening of the Terry Zwigoff-directed film this Saturday night.

Thora Birch with her award at SDFCS' banquet in 2002.
(Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes also attended.)

If you've seen this highly quotable movie, which was based on Daniel Clowes' comic book, then it's probably time you saw it again and rejoiced in its originality (still far too rare an occurrence, especially in the context of Comic-Con).

If you haven't seen it, then it's about damn time. There's a reason SDFCS showered it with awards in 2001, including Best Director (Zwigoff), Best Adapted Screenplay (Zwigoff and Clowes) and Best Actress (Birch).

Even if you're not a Comi-Con passholder or a comic book geek (of which I am neither), you're guaranteed to love the movie, or no money back (hey, it's only $5).

"Ghost World" 10th Anniversary Screening, with Thora Birch in Person!

Presented by the San Diego Film Critics Society
in conjunction with Reading Cinemas & Fantagraphics Books

Saturday, July 23 @ 9pm

Reading Gaslamp Cinemas

701 Fifth Avenue, Downtown San Diego

Only $5 - Buy tickets here

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Time Traveling with Larry Sanders

I moved a few weeks ago and have been unpacking bit by bit, taking time to think through how my life's going to flow in this new space --  my workspace, media set-up, acquiring of grown-up furniture, pet management and setting up a kitchen that I promised myself I'd actually use this time.

While I putz around the apartment moving things here and there, I play something from Netflix Instant on my computer-- usually a TV show that's light, doesn't require focused attention and offers a big chunk of continuous episodes, since this seems to be taking forever. I settled on The Larry Sanders Show.

I was in college when Larry Sanders was on HBO and, while I heard plenty of praise for the series about a fictional late night talk show, I was too busy and too broke to watch cable TV. If you're familiar with the show, then you can imagine how much fun I'm having watching it for the first time -- in five-hour chunks no less. It's not only helped pass the time, it's helped lift me out of the post-break-up blues on more than one occasion.

But I think I'm getting more out of the Larry Sanders in 2011 than I would've in 1992. Namely, nostalgia. Though the show itself is timeless (until the dinosaur late night talk show format becomes extinct, anyway), the references aren't: jokes about a philandering Bill Clinton, celebrity guests like Richard Simmons, Mimi Rogers, John Forsythe, Dana Delaney, a pipsqueak David Spade, my hero Carol Burnett, a scrappy, dearly departed Peter Falk. Plus the "up-and-coming" show regulars like a goth Janeane Garfalo and a perennially douche-baggy Jeremy Piven (but in a good way). And let's not forget the fashion, which looks more 80s than what I choose to remember.

It's so authentic, I almost feel 20 again while I'm watching it. But maybe that's just because I still can't afford cable.

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