In Defense Of...
Who says critics and audiences get it right every time!?
Revisit some of cinema’s most polarizing films, selected and presented by members of our staff!

The Cable Guy
- Mon, Feb 24
The Frida Cinema's seating is first-come, first-serve. For our Midnight Screenings, please plan on arriving by 11:30pm to ensure ample time for parking, picking up concessions, and securing optimal seats. Screening will begin promptly at midnight.
Director: Ben Stiller Run Time: 96 min. Rating: PG-13 Release Year: 1996
Starring: George Segal, Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Leslie Mann, Matthew Broderick
Our In Defense Of... series continues with Ben Stiller's 1996 black comedy The Cable Guy, our Film Club Manager Bobby Thornson's pick! The film follows Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick), a mild-mannered architect who moves into a new apartment after a breakup. Hoping to set up his cable TV, he encounters Chip Douglas (Jim Carrey), an eccentric and overly friendly cable installer who quickly insinuates himself into Steven's life. Initially amused by Chip's antics, Steven soon realizes that Chip's desire for friendship comes with increasingly invasive and dangerous consequences. As Chip's behavior escalates, Steven finds himself caught in a web of manipulation and chaos.

Cool World
The Frida Cinema's seating is first-come, first-serve. For our Midnight Screenings, please plan on arriving by 11:30pm to ensure ample time for parking, picking up concessions, and securing optimal seats. Screening will begin promptly at midnight.
Director: Ralph Bakshi Run Time: 102 min. Release Year: 1992
Starring: Brad Pitt, Deirdre O'Connell, Gabriel Byrne, Kim Basinger, Michele Abrams
The Frida Cinema's In Defense Of... series for March circles all the way back to our Executive Director, Logan Crow, as he selects the 1992 Brad Pitt live action/cartoon hybrid Cool World! A bizarre accident lands Frank Harris in Cool World, a realm of cartoons. Years later, cartoonist Jack Deebs, who's been drawing Cool World, crosses over as well. He sets his lustful sights on animated femme fatale Holli Would, but she's got plans of her own to become real, and it's up to Frank to stop her. Directed by legendary animator Ralph Bakshi, the film's poor reception, coupled with its confusing narrative and mismatched tone, contributed to it being a major dud in the box office. While it has since gained a cult following (Logan included), general audiences still continue to reject it...until now!