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Of All The Things at Stranger Than Fiction

By Karina Longworth posted 1 year ago

Standing in front of a packed crowd at the IFC Center last night before the SXSW-presented New York City premiere of his doc Of All The Things, Jody Lambert contemplated his good fortune. “To have Janet Pierson introduce the movie, to be part of Stranger Than Fiction, to have John Pierson send you an email…it’s kind of like Bonertown, USA.”

To say that there were boners all around might be an exaggeration, but Lambert’s goofy, feel-good film definitely pleased the crowd. Jody’s father Dennis Lambert is the songwriter and/or producer of dozens of mainstream pop-rock hits, from “Baby Come Back” (after the screening, Lambert noted that its use in Swiffer commercials has been “very lucrative”) to “Ain’t No Woman” to (my personal favorite) “Do The Freddie.” After spending twenty-plus years writing hits for other artists, eventually Lambert moved down to Boca Raton to start a new life with a new wife and daughter, and a new career as a real estate agent. But “Bags and Things”, the solo album that Lambert released in the early 70s which flopped in the States, is a huge hit in the Phillippines, and Things follows Lambert as he embarks on a tour of that country performing the songs from that album which have apparently become the standard soundtrack for Filipinos in love.

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Indies

Movie Stuff Going on in NY, 10/13/08

By Karina Longworth posted 1 year ago

A sampling of the many special film events happening around the city this week:

Tonight Anthology Film Archives will host the premiere of Flaherty NYC, a new monthly series of works taken from the lineup of the Flaherty Film Seminar held earlier this summer. Tonight’s program focuses on a number of shorts by Oliver Husain, including Q, which is described as “a fantasy of globalization set in a multicultural consumer space that fulfills its shoppers’ and viewers’ every desire and need.” More info here.
Jody Lambert’s Of All the Things, a documentary about his songwriter/performer father Dennis Lambert and his unlikely “comeback” concert in the Philippines, screens at Stranger Than Fiction at the IFC Center tomorrow night. Father and son will be at the screening for a Q & A; the following night, Dennis Lambert will perform a showcase at Joe’s Pub. More info at the Stranger Than Fiction Facebook page.
The Hamptons Film Festival begins on Wednesday, and it’s opening and closing with two gems that I first saw in Toronto. The opening night film is Valentino: The Last Emperor, Matt Tynauer’sseverely underrated doc on the the designer, his long-time business partner/boyfriend, and The End of Couture As We Know It. The closing night film is Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York, which I’ve now seen twice and still can’t quite figure out how to write about. I might try for round three this weekend. It’s depressing as hell, but I think it might be my favorite American film of the year. See the trailer above.