DigBoston film critic Jake Mulligan is back at the Coolidge Corner Theatre this month to lead two seminars as part of their ongoing “Love on the Run” repertory program. Jake will be speaking tomorrow night, February 15, before a screening of Something Wild (1986), and then again next Wednesday, February 22, before a screening of It Happened One Night (1934). Both events will begin with a seminar at 6:15PM, followed by a 35mm screening at 7PM.
Per Jake and the Coolidge, tomorrow’s Something Wild seminar “will lead participants through clips that illustrate the importance of driving scenes and roadway images throughout American cinema.” Expanding on that preview, Jake added the following:
“Jonathan Demme’s films are a subject I’m very passionate about, especially since I researched his period with Roger Corman as part of a Coolidge program in 2020. This seminar about Something Wild will allow me to share a lot of the rare clips and information I’ve discovered since then—and will also let me get deeper into my ideas about what makes Demme’s movies so rich with meaning, life, and mystery.”
The notes for next week’s It Happened One Night screening mention that “participants will break down the film’s countless scenes of lighthearted fun, games, and flirting to better understand the importance of playfulness in romantic comedies and cinema in general.” Speaking about this second event, Jake added that:
“Screwball comedy has been my recurring subject at the Coolidge, and you can’t talk about screwball without talking about It Happened One Night. Taking a lead from the road games played by Gable and Colbert, this seminar will let us think about the crucial role played by ‘fun and games’ in romantic comedies, throughout movie history, and even within the filmmaking process.”
Tickets for both the Something Wild and It Happened One Night seminars are now available at coolidge.org. Tickets for each 6:15pm seminar ($27.50) also include admission for the 7pm film screening (which is $15.50 on its own).
Jake Mulligan’s previous seminars at the Coolidge included lectures on Jackie Brown (1997) and The Big Lebowski (1998) last year, following longer programs “Defining Screwball Comedy” in 2019 and “Roger Corman, Producer” in 2020.
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
