It started a few weeks ago. A bunch of us from work were driving back to the office from lunch when our Office PA (who totally kicks ass and is pretty much a coordinator in everything he does except his title) was talking about going down to Comic Con in San Diego that weekend.
ME: Oh! Are you going to try to see the Snakes On A Plane footage?
Office PA: I hope so!
I then related a story on NPR about the net phenomenon about the movie, and how fan trailers, songs and posters have been made for it. We all laughed about it and then went to talk about work. I come to my desk the following Monday with this poster sitting for me at my desk. This helped spark the Snakes on a Plane rage at our office.
The ante was upped one morning when the main office manager overheard us talking about the movie, and he showed me this. A website where you can have Samuel L. Jackson send a personalized message to friends and family by either e-mail or phone? I was so there. I sent out messages to work buddies, Tom, friends, and had them given back to me in return. This went on for a while.
And then, yesterday -- premiere day. We in Post on Urban Basic Cable Competition Show were all a flutter about seeing Snakes on a Plane. Tattooed Story Editor was adamant about seeing it tonight, as it is the day before his bachelor party and he wanted to specifically wanted to see it (a) drunk and (b) with the most obnoxious crowd at any movie theater in Los Angeles. So naturally, he wanted to see it at The Grove. For the uninitiated, the Grove is a cramped-yet-trendy shopping center in LA right next to the venerable Farmer's Market. There is a multiplex there, and the crowds? Not my favorite. There have been a couple other instances to back up this reputation. But for this piece of cinematic genius, it seems like just the place.
We ended up being in a group of 20. Yes, you read that right: twenty. 2-0. There were about 15 of us from work and then 5 other friends and family showed up. We took up two half-rows in the front section of the theater. GM, Hermione and I saved our seats as other Snakes-enthusiasts were coming in. This one girl in short blonde hair and wearing two tank-tops walked by us.
TANK-TOP GIRL: Oh, you guys are saving seats for a large group too?
ME: Yes.
TANK-TOP GIRL: That's awesome!
Tattooed Story Editor showed up with the rest of the crew, and they were pretty plastered. Hermione had brought in a small bottle of Jack Daniels to add to her Coke. Are you guys getting the vibe of this?
I honestly have not seen a movie audience that hyped and excited since the re-release of Star Wars in 1997. I mean, it was crazy... and therefore, it was pretty awesome. As the lights dimmed, Tank-Top Girl's crew started it all off.
TANK-TOP GIRL'S BFF: Gimme an S!
THEIR GROUP: S!
TANK-TOP GIRL'S BFF: Gimme an S!
THEIR GROUP: S!
TANK-TOP GIRL'S BFF: Gimme an S!
THEIR GROUP: S!
TANK-TOP GIRL'S BFF: What does that spell?
THEIR GROUP: [LOUD SNAKE-LIKE HISSING]
And the rebuttal from our group was instant.
TATTOED STORY EDITOR: Gimme a 'GAY'!
The evening rolled like that. During the trailers, the crowd would alternately hiss like snakes, shout at the screen for the lack of snakes or just shout "Snakes on a Plane! Whooooo!" The movie started and the crowd loudly cheered Samuel L. Jackson's name in the credits and the title. And once he appeared on screen after the first 10 minutes of set up of the plot (as it were), the crowd cheered, whooped and hollered. Once the passengers started assembling to go on the plane, the crowd started loudly saying who would make it and who didn't. Bimbo with dog? Guy in Crowd: "Dead". Stuffy British Guy? Guy in Crowd: "So Dead." Older Stewardess? "Very Dead."
As the film continued, the hissing would happen at random times, usually when it was quiet. When Samuel L. Jackson would tell someone off, someone from the crowd would end the sentence with a loud "Bitch!" At one point while a couple of the stewardesses were having a quiet moment, Tattooed Story Editor started making very loud fart noises, and that completely had me rolling. He then capped it all when Samuel L. Jackson was flirting with one of the stewardesses:
TATTOOED STORY EDITOR: How about a black mamba in your pooossssaaaayyyyyy!
It was unbelievable. Oh... how was the movie? Snakes on a Plane, as a film, is very entertaining. It knows exactly what it is, and it delivers. It's a cliched action film that knows it's a cliched action film and doesn't try to be ironic about it. It embraces pretty much every action movie trope you can think of, and relishes it. It's ridiculous, scary, and quite funny. There is a lot of snake carnage on display here, and a lot of people (and body parts) get bitten.
Snakes on a Plane, if it can maintain this kind of campy audience energy, could easily become the next Rocky Horror. It's definitely fun enough. So, we'll see. The capper to the movie is the campy music video they play over the end credits. The song? "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)". The band? Cobra Starship, of course. Enjoy!
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