What if Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez had a baby?
The answer to that question isn’t just the premise of what could be the worst movie ever made — it’s the idea behind a talk featuring zine authors and comedians who will discuss the lessons, the loathing, and the humor that only exists in the realm of cinematic snafus.
“In a lot of cases, it’s a lot more fun to read or talk about a movie than actually watch it,” said Matt Carman, who co-authors the zine “I Love Bad Movies.”
To that end, Carman will discuss the ultimate flop, the one movie that proved that, sometimes, star power just doesn’t cut it.
He’s speaking about “Gigli,” of course.
“It’s an example of how a group of incredibly talented people can fail miserably,” explained Carman. “It’s proof that talent, money, and luck aren’t enough — sometimes, good people do bad things.”
Carman’s patner and fellow zine author Kseniya Yarosh will focus on a peculiar trope within films, rather than a particular movie — the dying girl.
The dying girl genre, which debuted in the 1970s and then died out before seeing a resurgence sometime in the mid-1990s, are stories about women who suffer from a terminal illness, who try their best not to fall in love with some hunk, and which usually star in fall-themed titles, such as “Autumn in New York,” and “Sweet November.”
“It’s all, she meets a guy, she tries to convince him to not fall in love with her, but will not say why, and it turns out, big surprise, she’s dying,” Carman said. “It’s this incredible trope that keeps getting made.”
The zine authors won’t be alone — the comedians behind the Flop House, a podcast about bad movies, will entertain the crowd while attendees enjoy free Asahi beer for the first half hour, and a full bar for the remainder of the night.
“Bad movies and the people who love them” at Public Assembly [70 N. Sixth Street betw. Kent and Wythe avenues in Williamsburg, (718) 384–4586, publicassemblynyc.com]. Sept. 19, 9 pm. Free.
Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.
