IFFBoston

I attended opening night of the Independent Film Festival Boston on Wednesday April 21st, at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square. Holding themselves accountable for keeping our 2nd annual tradition alive - our good friends Marc and Lisa got us tickets to see the premiere of The Extra Man an eccentric comedy starting Kevin Kline, Paul Dano and Katie Holmes. While we waited in line outside the theater, much to our delight some of the event sponsors handed out munchies. Utz makes some of the best potato chips out there (thank you Adam for introducing me.) I scored a bag of their Salt-n-Vinegar flavor. These chips are potent with an extreme zing factor that will leave your taste buds tingling.

I washed the Utzs down with an Honest Ade. There were a plethora of flavors handed out including Green Tea, Half-n-Half and Pomegranate. I happened to get the Orange Mango. An organic thirst quencher, that is just a tad sweet, the natural flavors prevailed. I would definitely purchase Honest Ade in the future. The 8th Annual IFFB festival runs through April 28th, showcasing a variety of innovative feature length films, as well as documentaries and shorts, all made outside of mainstream Hollywood Studio. In addition to the Somerville Theater venue, films are shown at The Brattle Theater in Harvard Square, The Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline and at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) on the South Boston Waterfront.

Before the movie premiered we were entertained by a talented fellow playing a Theremin. The Extra Man was a hoot. It was pretty over the top, generating lots of laughs. The plot revolves around Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline) who makes a living escorting wealthy widows to posh NYC events. Henry rents out a room in his tiny Manhattan apartment to Louis Ives (Paul Dano) an aspiring playwright, who among other "issues", has a crush on his engaged coworker Mary Powell (Katie Holmes). Paul Dano - if you can't place him, is the actor I best associate with the crazy preacher man in There Will Be Blood. If you didn't catch that 2007 academy award winner, I can't help you. Kevin Kline along with the Director, Robert Pulcini, held a Q&A session on stage after the movie.

Apologies for the extremely blurry shot. It was tough to capture from the balcony section. There were some big Kevin Kline fans in the house (Not admitting I didn't know who he was oops I just did.) His true to life dry witty sense of humor radiated throughout the session.

I adore the Somerville Theater. (Despite my best efforts, I failed to capture its charms in decent photos.) Similar to The Brattle (visited earlier this year) the theater is an older building with a vintage flare; serving beer, wine, candy and popcorn. The Somerville Theater is much larger in size than The Brattle and has a larger selection of beer on tap!

I drank a Belgian white ale - though I don't recall if the chalkboard even listed what company makes this?! It was golden in color, crisp and slightly sweet. I enjoyed this pint and then regretted it once I had to get up and use the bathroom.

The historic essence preserved in the theater provides a charm your regular chain movie theaters can not. (Man's head accurately portrays my view throughout the evening.)

I highly encourage checking out the theater for a movie or a show, especially during IFFB. If you are interested, the movie schedule and film buzz can be found here. There are some really talented artists showcasing inspiring and inventive films. I appreciate the opportunity to support these Independent films and every year I'm always hoping to see more as the week progresses. My weekend is pretty packed, but I wouldn't be opposed to checking out another movie if an opportunity presented, perhaps sometime next week. We ended our night in Davis Square at The Burren a large Irish pub with a plentiful selection of beer on tap and a lively atmosphere.
I drank a couple of Anchor Steams and listened to the live band with friends and fellow movie go-ers before Adam and I called it a night and headed back to the North End via the good old Red Line.