Monday Night Moon-vie

Since moving to New York, I've been disturbed by how much everything costs. There is so much to do here, but having any kind of social life basically means kissing all of your money goodbye. I've heard tales of cheap and free things to do around town, and I'm finally realizing that these aren't just urban myths. They do exist. Perhaps because it's summer there are more of these events to go around but, whatever the reason, I'm all for it. Tonight, I took in my first free movie at Bryant Park.

For those of you who've never been, Bryant Park is a lovely little area in the heart of Midtown Manhattan that boats a gorgeous lawn, surrounded by flowers and trees. It's a favorite lunch spot for workers in the area, and I'm now lucky enough to be working a mere four blocks from there. Every year, the park hosts the HBO Summer Film Festival and will be screening such classic movies as The Sting, Casablanca and Psycho this year. I went tonight with some friends to see the Ryan & Tatum O'Neal grifter flick, Paper Moon. It's one of those movies that I've always wanted to see, and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. I can certainly understand why little Tatum won an Academy Award for her performance, as she effortlessly walked the line between vulnerable little girl and tough mini-adult. Tatum actually showed up to introduce the movie - a reminder to anyone distracted by the serene garden setting that we were still in the Big Apple.

For anyone who's seen Paper Moon and Better Off Dead...did the writers of the latter draw inspiration from Tatum O'Neal's character, Addie, in creating the character of the paperboy? The paperboy's angry demands for the $2 that Lane owes him seem very similar to Addie's for the $200 that Moze owes her. The characters' snarling expressions are even frighteningly similar!

Prior to the movie, the old bumper that was used to intro HBO feature presentations was played and about 80% of the crowd went nuts. Everyone was jumping and dancing around, much to my amusement and confusion. My friend, Stephanie, explained that it was some kind of Bryant Park tradition to dance to the intro music. I'm not sure why that is, but that didn't stop me from joining in. I hadn't seen that intro since I was a kid, so it was pretty cool to be reminded of it. It took me back to the days of furtively watching movies that I really wasn't allowed to watch. And without HBO back then, I might have never been introduced to the greatest Michael Keaton movie, ever.