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November 17, 2006 - Image 5

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The Michigan Daily, 2006-11-17

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T he Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, November 17, 2006 - 5A

Ann Arbor film fest
rallies for rights

ByKRISTIN MACDONALD
DailyFilm Editor
Organizers of The Ann Arbor
Film Festival aggressively defended
their first amend-
mentrightsduring AAFF
an ACLU-spon- Fundraiser
sored fundraiser At The
at The Michigan Michigan
Theater Wednes- Theater
day night. Pairing Wednesday
a movie-memo-
rabilia silent auction with a screen-
ing of "This Film Is Not Yet Rated,"
the acclaimed documentary on the
inner workings of the MPAA rat-
ings board, the event sought to both
promote artistic free speech and
defend the AAFF's ability to remain
a prominent showcase for avant-
garde independent cinema.
TheAAFF fundraiserwas explic-
itly put together in response to the
state's recent funding cut for the
festival, a decision made on the
grounds that some of the AAFF's
entries breached content guidelines
developed by the Michigan Council
for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Those
guidelines forbid desecration of
the flag, depictions of sex acts and
human waste on religious symbols.
MCACA specifically accused the
AAFF of violating its sex-depic-
tion ban, and submitted a list of the
offending films implicitly charged
as pornography.
After a short reception of hors
d'oeurves and Bell's beer, AAFF
director Christen McArdle spoke
briefly to chide Michigan lawmak-
ers for their inflexibility toward
the arts. McArdle notably didn't
attempt to defend the public screen-
ing of pornography, instead demon-
stratingthat the AAFF films weren't
pornographic. A quick screening of
two of the MCACA's named pieces
followed her talk, each accompa-
nied by a word from their director.
The first short, "Boobie Girl," an
animation in the style of kindergar-
ten stick figures, tells the story of a
little girl who had always wanted
an ample chest and finally ended up
getting far more than she ever bar-
gained for. It becomes difficult to
move. She receives alotofunwanted

attention. Other kids start making
fun of her: "I think she swallowed
Dolly Parton," one little girl sniffs.
Having played at more than 8
festivals, "Boobie Girl" is a certified
veteranofthe filmcircuit, and direc-
tor Brooke Keesling laughed off its
new pornography label. Keesling
had received a breast reduction her-
self, and considers the piece more
a whimsical autobiography than
anything 'else. She observed that
audiences seemed to relate to its be-
careful-what-you-wish-for theme
and notjust its bustline focus.
The second piece, titled "Chests,"
features two shirtless men chest-
pumping one another in the man-
ner of a touchdown dance for two
straight minutes. While director
Defending and
celebrating free
speech.
Dolores Wilbur admitted the little
film carries a sexual undertone, she
clarified that the nudity and physi-
cality themselves weren't enough
for the label of pornography. "It's
what you see when you watch wres-
tling," she pointed out.
Wilbur's pop-culture reference
proved apt. When the latest sex-
charged Fergie video can openly
storm Internet and airwaves alike,
how relevant is it to target an indie
film forum for indecency?
And the AAFF is at the top of its
class. McArdle touted the AAFF's
international reputation as a fearless
festival, and listed the various film-
makers and institutions (including
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences) who offered grants
in the wake of the funding cut. The
benefit's silent auction donations
came from such cinema notables as
director Sam Raimi and documen-
tary filmmaker Ken Burns. Stand-
ing before an applauding theater,
McArdle reiterated the importance
of keeping the AAFF a safe haven for
the avant-garde: "It's a place for film
and art you can't see anywhere else."

i
i

Nightgowns and joints? Priceless

Let the 'Madness' begin
'LEAFY GREEN ASSASSIN OF YOUTH' CONTAMINATES BASEMENT ARTS

By WHITNEY DIBO speare and dancing at the five and dime, the
Daily Arts Writer next he is driving stoned and crashing into old
people with a stolen car. It's not long before
Beware the dangers of reefer, kids. Getting Jimmy leaves his moral relationship with Mary
high will only land you in a green garden of Lane and opts for the fast-pace love of Mary

evil, ridden with sexual pro-
miscuity, felony charges and Reefer
(gasp!) atheism. Madness
Based on a real public Tonight at 7
service announcement from and 11 tm.
the late 1930s, this week- Saturday
end's Basement Arts musi- at 7 p.m.
cal "Reefer Madness" has At the Walgreen
acquired a cult following Drama Center
since its off-Broadway debut Free
in 2000.
Dripping with cheesy propaganda, the
show's musical numbers feature everyone from
Jesus Christ to Uncle Sam, all whom send the
same message to the troubled youth of America:
If you smoke reefer, you will end up selling your
babies for drug money.
The show follows the tragic story of two all-
American kids, Mary Lane and Jimmy Harper,
who get corrupted by this "leafy green assassin
of youth." One day, Jimmy is reading Shake-

Jane.
A highlight of the show is Jimmy's first puff
of the forbidden stuff. He has accidentally
stumbled into a typical drug house (complete
with a crying baby and a passed-out whore)
when a smooth-talking reefer dealer convinces
him to take a drag. As the lights swirl, the stage
is instantly transformed into a jungle of naked
marijuana smokers, and the kite-high Jimmy
is stripped down to only a weed-decorated
thong. Everyone knows that's how the first time
always goes.
Shortly before intermission, Jesus Christ and
his band out angels descend from the heavens
to give a gospel rendition of why Jimmy should
fill his lungs with God instead of weed. ("Thou
shall not smoke marijuana" is apparently com-
mandment No. 11.) But Jimmy talks smack right
to Jesus's holy face, saying he has new god now
- in the shape of a thickly rolled joint.
In the way only a tacky musical can, each

time Jimmy falls deeper into the clutches of
the drug culture, an offstage chorus sings the
words "reefer madness" in a foreboding, omi-
nous tune. As he continues his downward spi-
ral, cast members walk across stage with signs
reading "reefer will make you a pathological
liar" and "reefer will get you raped."
The show does not opt for subtly, to say the
least.
After Jimmy falls off the deep end, the show
takes a turn for the weird. Reminiscent of
Christopher Durang's absurdist comedy, "Reef-
er Madness" holds nothing back - the corrupt-
ed kids are killing each other with garden hoes,
eating human flesh and being hauled off to the
electric chair by the end of the play.
Didn't you know? That's what you get when
you smoke the reefer.
The musical numbers are catchy (the show
won the Drama Desk for best lyrics in 2002)
and features a chorus of Music School students
who can sing and dance with the best of them.
This offbeat spoof on the "green scare" is pure
musical theatre fun - so put out that noxious
reefer stick and head up to North Campus for
some not-so-wholesome entertainment.

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