SUMMERFEST '22: BNAT Fave Double Features VII - Fighting Fascists Double

One of these movies caused an international incident and was pulled from most theaters. The other played a month after the 2016 election, when America had just elected its own fascist.

The Interview (2014) (rewatch)

Played at BNAT 16 (2014)

Trailers: American Ultra, Team America: World Police

Haters gonna hate. And ainters gonna ain’t. We saw this at BNAT riiiiiight before the shit hit the fan – three days before all the theaters started pulling the movie. So this turned out to be one of the more infamous screenings of the event, although there’s not much in the film that is actually infamous. The plot revolves around a celebrity talk show host who gets the opportunity to interview North Korean president Kim Jong-un; meanwhile, the CIA sees this as a chance to "take him out." Some aspects of this movie aren’t as funny now as they were eight years ago (not in an offensive way, just a bit stale), but it mines its pop culture references better than most comedies. The skewering of “celebrity news” is as sharp as ever, though. It also brought the term “honey-dick” into all of our lives, and for that I am grateful. And on a personal note, because of this fanfic, I laughed way harder at “you just got f***ed by Robocop” than anyone else.

#theyhateuscuztheyaintus

'Pimpernel' Smith (1941) (rewatch)

Played at BNAT 18 (the last, 2016)

Trailers: The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Great Dictator

BNAT 18 was about a month after the 2016 election and some feared it would be the last BNAT – which would turn out to be true, but not for the reason suspected. In any case, after living through that election and facing at least four years in which America’s worst person was going to be in charge, this movie was something I needed very much. Directed by Leslie Howard, who also stars, this movie takes the character of the Scarlet Pimpernel (which Howard also played previously) and places him (or rather a Cambridge professor facsimile) in WW2, where he surreptitiously helps artists, scientists and other notable figures escape Nazi Germany. There's a romantic element that I loved, particularly as Smith seems to have a lot in common with Pygmalion (Howard also previously played GB Shaw's version of *that* character -- better known as Henry Higgins). The final scene is incredible, particularly the “You are doomed” speech. Howard’s practiced aloofness makes the movie funnier than you might expect, given the subject matter. And his character is practically porn for sapiosexuals like myself.