Balls Out

Today, HBO is a venerable cable institution--a go-to for quality, almost literate programming that has somehow managed to vault TV into cultural and intellectual realms where books and art films once reigned supreme. But in the early days of cable television, HBO was the channel that played Porky's and Caddyshack all day, every day. While they did carve out time for the occasional showing of Fraggle Rock, the channel was mostly a repository for movies featuring Kenny Loggins soundtracks, nudity and lots of "F-words." In other words, it was the No. 1 television destination for the latchkey set, resulting in a confused generation of kiddos that got an explicit dose of sex education from a movie that also featured a very appealing, Muppet-like gopher. I think there has to be more than one dissertation out there about the deviant sexual behavior that developed as a result of HBO's relentless repeats of the 1980 Harold Ramis classic. Relive the first time you caught a glimpse of boobies (while promising your parents that you were watching reruns of CHiPS) when the Inwood Theatre, 5458 W. Lovers Lane, shows the Chevy Chase/Rodney Dangerfield comedy as part of the Midnight Madness series. The film will screen at midnight on Friday and Saturday. Visit landmarktheatres.com.
Fri., April 17; Sat., April 18, 2009