Romance Askew

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 11, 2005 2:30PM

While there’s been little in the way of snow over the last couple of weeks, the winter doldrums continue at the movies this weekend.

While Hitch with Will Smith doesn’t look too bad, Chicagoist gets the feeling we’ve seen all the good jokes in the previews (mostly because it’s the same five in every spot you see). On the other hand, it might give all the young dudes some last-minute V-Day inspiration. Still, we’ll probably be avoiding the googleplex this weekend and hitting one of the "alternative" film offerings instead like the Jane Austen-meets-Bollywood-romance Bride and Prejudice is in limited release at Piper's Alley.

A little farther off the beaten path is the 6th Annual Around the Coyote Arts Festival. In addition to the many theatrical productions tonight and tomorrow, the Coyote will show a series of film shorts at Rodan that were culled from various festival screenings. These offerings are referred to as their “nice” set, which will be followed by their (wait for it) “naughty” set, which is intended to “inspire a debate about censorship and pornography in America.” We’re going to go out on a limb and say the debate is going to go something like this:

Moderator: Censorship?
Audience: Boo!
Moderator: Pornography?
Audience: Yay!
Moderator: Sounds good. Who wants cake?

Speaking of porn, there’s a screening of Inside Deep Throat playing at the Landmark--another option for people looking find ways to spice up Valentine's Day.

A little farther north, the Chicago Filmmakers get into the V-Day spirit with When Night Is Falling. Night tells that classic story of Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Girl Who’s In A Traveling Circus, Girl Has Her Repression And Her Top Lifted By Girl, Boy Acts Fussy Because His Name Is Martin, and Girl Drinks A Half Bottle Of Brandy And Passes Out After Burying Her Dog. Seriously, it’s romantic. Plus, it’s only $7 and is sponsored by the fine people at dykediva.com in support of the Lesbian Community Cancer Project’s Coming Out Against Cancer Ball.

And don't forget that Nina Simone movie we mentioned earlier this week.