“Brian De Palma at his most extreme… a satire of media obsession and radicalism-as-fashion [that] toys with sitcom hyperbole, on-the-street journalism and bracingly committed satire.” –Willamette Week

Before he became New Hollywood’s self-conscious heir to Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma got his start making a series of freewheeling political comedies satirizing the counterculture. De Palma’s Greetings became the first American film to earn an “X” rating, and while its quasi-sequel Hi, Mom! was able to avoid the dreaded “X” with a few trims of genitalia, it is an even more radical work. A fresh-faced Robert De Niro stars as Vietnam vet Jon Rubin, who moves to NYC after being discharged from the Army to become a porn director. While he starts out getting his Hitch on by voyeuristically filming the residents of the apartment across the street, he soon falls in with a group of militant black activists who rope him into a bizarre guerrilla theater exercise called “Be Black, Baby” which aims to simulate the African-American experience for guilty white liberals. Filmed verité-style with handheld cameras, the “Be Black, Baby” sequence, one of the most discomfiting and shockingly funny pieces of racial satire in American cinema, is worth the price of admission on its own. But the rest of the film is no less packed with biting satire, bawdy erotica, and ballsy politics. De Palma may have made more expertly crafted movies in his career, but he never made one as pure and liberated as Hi, Mom!

This screening will be introduced by Pomp & Circumstance co-director Adrian Anderson, who will talk about the influence of De Palma’s early comedies on his own work. Pomp & Circumstance plays immediately before Hi, Mom! for just $5!

This film is screening as part of Arkadin’s September-long series ENVELOPE PUSHERS, spotlighting extreme cinema, convention-flouting surrealism and radical comedies that push the boundaries of content, narrative and sometimes good taste.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens one hour prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events when the theater will open at the event’s start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.