Love Lunatic: Or, How to Be Loved When You're a Psycho - Thurs. May 24 - 8PM

Oddball Films Media • May 21, 2012

Oddball Films and guest curator Christine Kwon present Love Lunatic: Or, How to Be Loved When You're a Psycho, a delightful selection of films that speak on the eternally incomprehensible theme of love. The night kicks off with the original bumbling lover, Buster Keaton, as he proves what women really want isn't money, but someone to risk his life in a pistol duel in She's Oil Mine. From there, The Magic Tree transports us to the Congo with a story about a son who risks everything for mommy dearest, followed by Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, a “moral tale” about a man whose only friend is a stuffed alligator, and what he does to be loved by dogs, horses and even children. The oddity continues with Wo*dy Wo*dpecker in Solid Ivory as the cheeky fowl reminds us the perils of male/female relations go well beyond human condition, but includes dressing up as a rooster and stealing a chicken's eggs so you can play pool. The centerpiece of the night features landmark lesbian film, Desert Hearts, a rare, if earnest, depiction of romantic love between two women against the moody backdrop of Reno, Nevada. Additional films round out a showcase that prove the art of seduction, the delights of puppy love, and the lengths in which a man, woman, or chicken will go to be with their object of affection truly defies all logic and reason.

Date: Thursday, May 24th, 2012 at 8:00pm
Venue:Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or (415) 558-8117

Featuring:

She's Oil Mine, Buster Keaton, (1941, B+W)

Fleeing a top-hatted suitor, a rich heiress ends up trapped in the literal tube of two plumbers, Waters and Piper, played by Buster Keaton and Monte Collins. The heiress finds comfort in Keaton's welcome arms, but first he must earn his woman's love in a dangerous pistol duel to the death! She's Oil Mine is the last short film Keaton made for Columbia Pictures, boasting the actor's inimitable knack for slaptick, physical comedy and accidental manliness.

The Magic Tree, (1970, Color)

Award-winning children's author Gerald McDermott tells an animated folktale from the Congo about a despised son who hits the jackpot when he finds a magic tree. Life and love are transformed for the once ugly duckling, but will his befuddling devotion to his mother ruin everything?

Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, (1962, Color)

This strangest of moral tales features Thermus Fortitude, the most unloved of men, whose only solace is found in a doting stuffed alligator named Charlie. When Thermus changes himself to be loved by all, what happens to Charlie? He gets stepped on and deflated of course. Proving once and for all, when it comes to love no one really has it good. Especially stuffed alligators named Charlie.

Wo*dy Wo*dpecker: Solid Ivory (1957, Color)

Woody Woodpecker engages in a violent battle of sexes when he tries to retrieve his cue ball from a chicken's nest. After several failed attempts, Wo*dy finally finds his ultimate weapon of trickery: seduction.

Desert Hearts, (1987, Color)

This landmark film tells the story of Vivian and Cay as they meet and fall in love in Reno, Nevada. Directed by San Francisco native Donna Deitch, Desert Hearts transformed the landscape of queer films and was a breakout hit at the Sundance, Toronto and Telluride film festivals. At once fun, sexy, and over-acted, it provided a groundbreaking depiction of lesbian relationships, and was one of the first lesbian films to be picked up for worldwide distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company.

Curator’s BiographyChristine Kwon is the Managing Director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, where she is a senior film curator. She is also producing a feature-length documentary on community leader Eddy Zheng, and is the creator/writer of the comedy series Nice Girls Crew.