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Overheard in D.C.: Careful What You Wish For
It seems like just a few weeks ago we were heralding the Washington Psychotronic Film Society's return to the District. Wait, that actually was just a few weeks ago. After a scant six week run at The Meeting Place downtown, it seems that the film society has been given the boot by the bar.
WPFS posted an understandably miffed missive online regarding their ouster:
The people at the bar complained to the owner and he was afraid that his regulars were going to boycott his club. There was one church lady who approached me one night and said, "You the movie man? Last week ya'll showed an R rated movie. I mean a real R rated movie." and then she shook her head. She may have been talking about the scene from the movie: 'Isle of the Damned' where the cannibals have their way anally with the villain...The owner told me, "My regulars are afraid of movie night"...We'd only been there for a month and a half and the WPFS crew outnumbered the bar regulars 20 to 7. For our Russ Meyer appreciation night, there was standing room only...The WPFS has always considered itself a cash cow - the club keeps all the profits from the tables that we fill, we keep only the donations. So it's always been a win/win situation for the club. I don't see the logic in our dismissal.Of course, it's The Meeting Place's prerogative to run their business as they see fit, but it's a shame that the decision had to come at WPFS' expense, since they were enjoying some of their best attended films in years now that they were so readily accessible to Metro and to larger numbers of people downtown. Also, we have to question the judgement of the complainers. After all, the anal rape in Isle of the Damned is of the villain, not of the good guys; this sends a wholly appropriate message that wrongdoers will be punished, a sentiment we figure the moral majority can really get behind.
Be that as it may, WPFS is looking for a new home, and wants your suggestions! If you know of a good divey bar whose regular patrons might be a little more accepting of cannibalistic islanders, radioactive monsters, nymphmaniacal nuns, or whatever other choice bits of camp cinema WPFS can dig out of the vaults, give them a shout. In the meantime, you have one more chance to get your trash on before the forced hiatus, tomorrow night at The Meeting Place, when they'll screen MegaForce, a one-stop-shop for everything that is most horribly and wonderfully wrong about bad 80s sci-fi action flicks.
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They should totally move to Recessions! They will play anything on their tvs, and they didn't even throw me out when I threw a beer at another patron on election night! Seriously though, Kazi might be game.
Christ. Friggin churchies again? The ironic thing is that she probably went back to midnight mass after "Isle of the Damned" and indulged in ritual cannibalism, albeit via the wine and eucharist, which is totally cool.
I've never even heard of the Meeting Place. Maybe they should look at one of those big Adams Morgan bars that are fairly empty during the week (unless they have kickball).
The Meeting Place is a real dive on L St. between CT and 17th. I like going to the place for lunch every once in a while and have converted others to it . . .charms. I think they've been known to host a Goth Night now and then which is really funny if you've ever been to the place.
The Meeting Place hosts a goth night called "Midnight" every Saturday and they have for years. It's pretty damn hilarious (in an unintentional way), and they serve sheet cake every weekend. I know this because I used to date a former goth with a penchant for Hot Topic and bad baked goods. Embarrassing, I know.
They also have a jazz scene. It's very old-school.
Wow, was coming here to suggest "Recessions" and see I wuz beatened on the first comment. They have room, they're cheap and dive-y, they have a big TV, and they're pretty non-discriminating (they even let ME drink there!)
Red Derby is a bit out of the way (more or less halfway between the Columbia Heights and Petworth metro stops), but it would be a great fit for this. Or maybe the Raven, although they only have the one regular-sized TV.
Crap move on the part of Meeting Place. I was at the Isle of the Damned showing, and remarked to a friend just this week how great it was that the (7 or 8) bar patrons really seemed to get into the show (attended by 2 dozen or more cinephiles). I'd urge a boycott of the place, but I don't know anyone who goes there otherwise.
Someone tell me why they don't show movies at the Lincoln Theater? I mean, here's a place that taxpayers have spent millions to refurbish, that costs hundreds of thousands to maintain, and it's the most little used theater in town. Howard homecoming week shows, gay film festival, that's it. The joint is empty and dark most of the year. But you still get to pay for it! There's a friggin Metro RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! It's in the middle of everything, yet management has its head so far up it's a$$ they've got corn in their earwax.
If you think you're going to get anything different out of the Howard Theater restoration, you're insane. And I know whereof I speak. I voted for Larouche.
It's not quite as bad as all that. They have their schedule up for the next 6 months at the moment, and there's something going on in there nearly half the time.
But point well taken; I saw the Patti Smith documentary that screened for FilmFest DC there last year, and it's a good space to watch movies. They do have good chunks of time where they could program things in between what is scheduled...
The Lincoln has consistently been a money loser for the District's taxpayers. And this was during the boom years. They've been in serious need of more agressive management since the day they opened. Hell, isn't Jim Graham still on the board of directors? WTF isn't he pushing for more shows? If I recall correctly, it's because the rest of the board had to be dragged kicking and screaming to accept the gay and lesbian film festival. Now it's one of their most popular events.
There's no reason why they can't have local dance troups, acting companies, and film festivals year-round. You're already paying for this. They should be giving back to the community with free or heavily subsidized productions. Free and cheap shows bring people out of their caves and downtown to SPEND MORE MONEY for dinner, drinks, and satin transgender film festival tour jackets.
What about Wonderland? It's not downtown, but it's Metro accessible (via 2 lines, Yellow and Green), a dive, and it has a room upstairs perfect for this sort of thing. Plus, I guarantee there will be no church folks there to complain.
While it sucks WPFS has to look for another home, I really don't mind them moving away from The Meeting Place. I saw Dolemite there and it was a pretty bad experience. The other patrons were load and distracting, you couldn't hear unless you were right near the TV and a projector really helps things.
The Meeting Place is falling under the ABC board-Jim Graham-Chief Lanier curse since that shooting last year. Meaning that they are on probation stemming from that incident. That's not even including the fights that have broken out there. It's their new regular crowd that's the problem. A very rowdy bunch. That's what killed the Ibex and the Killamanjaro club. The thug culture. The new owner has only been there for 3 years and he's btwn a crack rock and a hard place.
Wonderland has the right vibe, but the wrong location. I actually like the Adams Morgan idea. How about Hell (dive-ish bar at the bottom of Heaven and Hell)?