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Friday, May 22, 2009

SIFF "Mumble mumble arse extraordinary mumble wanker mumble tosser mumble mumble mumble bloody mumble..."

Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Fri, May 22, 2009 at 8:16 AM

Anyone else have an impossible time hearing the dialogue in SIFF's opening-night film, the British political comedy In the Loop, at the Paramount last night? And wasn't the dialogue the whole point? What was wrong with the sound? Am I the only one who longed for subtitles? I didn't make it all the way through the movie—couldn't hear a damn thing, wished the whole time the opening-night film was Lynn Shelton's Humpday, was so hungry my stomach was digesting itself. (There was at least an hour of introductions and sponsor-thanking, some of it entertaining, some of it exhausting, before the film started.) So I stepped out, paid for a bunch of food at Dragonfish across the street, and came back to the party to find tons and tons of delicious food, better food than any SIFF opening in memory, and rave reviews of the movie. (Sean Nelson, erstwhile Stranger film editor: "Fantastic!") I fucked up. Lindy—what'd you think?

Comments (28) RSS

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You sound like a woman.

Posted by Mr. Poe on May 22, 2009 at 8:31 AM

Seems to be a theme lately with the Paramount. I saw Ben Folds last week and the sound was lousy. Also this article ran in the Seattle Times the week before "Flight of the Conchords is funny, but Paramount sound is crummy" (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mu…).

Posted by I Got Nuthin' on May 22, 2009 at 8:33 AM

I could hear it fine, but when people were laughing it was hard to hear/understand what had just been said. However, being practically raised only watching British comedy, I was able to understand what they were saying, even at mumble level.

I thought the food in the VIP area was mostly inedible.

And BOAT totally sounded like Modest Mouse. I believe I walked in and they were doing a cover of Float On (or something that sounded pretty damn close). I was, wtf? Modest Mouse it here??!!

But BOAT did do a good job. The DJ in the bubble room eventually brought out some cuts to dance to. And the Rat City Roller girls were super fun to dance with.

Posted by Original Monique

on May 22, 2009 at 8:34 AM

Also, the DonQ rum drinks were gross. It's not that hard to make a good drink with rum, even for bartenders at an event. Bad choices DonQ, soooo bad.

Posted by Original Monique

on May 22, 2009 at 8:43 AM

OK, time for some Red Carpet Gossip (RCG), dish it out - Who was GLAM and who was GLUM?

Posted by CommonKnowledge on May 22, 2009 at 8:48 AM

I think part of the mumble-mumble problem was the timing of the jokes and the variance in audience response. Part of the audience would hear the laughter-inducing line immediately and, well, laugh. Another part would take a moment to process the words through the mumble, get it, then laugh. And yet another part would ask their friends, "What did he say?" Then laugh. Meanwhile, you missed the next 30 seconds of dialogue, which just happened to move the plot along significantly.
(The sound could also have been louder and crisper. I wouldn't have liked subtitles 'cause I enjoy the way my brain rearranges itself to understand different accents. And maybe the punch lines could have been not nestled quite so close to plot development, though it cannot be helped that Americans think that "wanker" is a punch line.)

In spite of missing many bits, I quite enjoyed it, Anna Chumskly in particular (where has she been since dazzling my childhood with those lips in My Girl?).

And the seafood paella from the restaurant whose name the head of the festival fumbled (Taberna del Alabarder) was fucking fabulous. Did you see that papasan-sized frying pan?

Posted by Jesse Vernon on May 22, 2009 at 8:49 AM

Frizzelle, you definitely missed out by having the attention span of a gnat. I thought the film was great and definitely worth watching through to the end.

I thought the food was good. Mojito was too sweet. The White Lion or whatever was good. In general, the party and movie was much better than last year. Good work, SIFF!

Posted by Abby on May 22, 2009 at 8:51 AM

Good to hear the party was better. I had to teach last night, and missed it. Last year's party laid an egg.

I feel less bad about missing the film though. I'm also someone who has trouble processing dialogue when the sound is poor, but with the great reviews, I'll catch it in a theatre with good sound. I remember last year's film, the execrable Battle in Seattle, was made worse with sound that was way too loud and harsh.

Posted by Steven Bradford

on May 22, 2009 at 8:59 AM

film was good fun, but yeah the sound was awful in the balcony. street party was too crowded and cold for my taste, we left for warmer climes. can't complain too much, but i'm glad my tix were free.

Posted by spoiler alert on May 22, 2009 at 9:01 AM

I liked it - the sounds was reasonably good from the cheap seats. As a movie it lacked a bit of punch at the end, seemed to kind of trail off, but overall entertaining, with some great lines.

The party was too long and not wide enough, physically. After jostling forward for 10 minutes towards an uncertain destination, we left for table service elsewhere.

Posted by Anthony Hecht on May 22, 2009 at 9:12 AM

Sound was crap, screen too small...but I did catch this gem: "In England we have a saying: It's Difficult, Difficult, ...Lemon, Difficult." Loved Tom Hollander

Posted by jonah on May 22, 2009 at 9:12 AM

Sound was crap, screen too small...but I did catch this gem: "In England we have a saying: It's Difficult, Difficult, ...Lemon, Difficult." Loved Tom Hollander

Posted by jonah on May 22, 2009 at 9:12 AM

And this was a surprise?

At least it sounds better than listening to Son of Rambow at McCaw Hall.

The opening night really has nothing to do with watching a movie so I don't know why people complain about the sound/projection experience.

Posted by stinkbug on May 22, 2009 at 9:17 AM

@5: Adrian Ryan looked fabulous. He was an absolute dream. The other stranger staffers looked darling as well, some more dressed up than others.

The actors from the movie that showed up looked pretty good, but all around, a lot of people there were in JEANS. It was a typical Seattle 'dressing nice' event. Which is why those stupid red carpet clubs in Pioneer square don't make sense. The dress code in Seattle, no matter the occasion, is jeans and a nice shirt. Sorry, we just aren't SF or LA.

Posted by Original Monique

on May 22, 2009 at 9:22 AM

"sitting on a wall like some kind of egg cunt"

Posted by hilarious movie quote on May 22, 2009 at 10:11 AM

the sound was atrocious. ianucci comedy is 98% verbal, and most of the people had thick and varied British accents. It was hard to hear. But if your ear was able to tune in, totally worth it. The Paramount should only show silent movies.

Posted by Sean Nelson, Emeritus on May 22, 2009 at 10:17 AM

BOAT was asked to turn down so much that they decided to leave.

I thought they were great while it lasted!

Posted by robby on May 22, 2009 at 10:45 AM

The fundraising film sucked balls.

Posted by Erin J. on May 22, 2009 at 11:44 AM

Zach Woods (who played the very tall wonkish boy, Chad) charmingly played the crowd last night. "In the Loop" should be a big hit with all of the young kids who are now working in the Obama administration.

http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com/performers…

As usual the crowd was so Seattle, and one yearned for some of the rude behavior displayed in the film. Note to people who insist on eating their fodder tableside: get your hay and move away from the serving area to permit others of the starving herd access to the soup bowl and salt block.

Posted by Rhett Oracle on May 22, 2009 at 11:47 AM

I had no problem watching the movie, and loved the Scottish stereotypes in it.

There is no truth to the rumor that people of our ancestry will cheerfully get in a scrap and rip your head off.

Now excuse me while I throw a tarp over this .. um ... human-shaped plot of earth.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 22, 2009 at 11:51 AM

oh and Original Monique and Abby were dressed to the nines - great outfits!

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 22, 2009 at 11:51 AM

as to the food, I liked my two mojitos and the best food was the Ezell's spicy chicken and some other stuff in the cheaper non-VIP area - at the far end.

The lines and crowds freaked out Carolyn so she bailed - only tall guys could push thru the scrum for a while.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 22, 2009 at 11:55 AM

You didn't miss much, except for one terrible gay bashing reference after another. . .what was up with all the cock and ball jokes in that flick?
While I love cock and balls, i felt embarrassed.

Free flowing champagne in the Bubble Lounge made up for it though. . . .

Posted by pt00 on May 22, 2009 at 12:01 PM

Boat sounded great last night. It's a shame they couldn't have played longer. Did the booker even listen to them first? Why would you ask them to play knowing you wanted something quieter. I felt terrible for them having wasted their time. I heard that one of the event staff told them that they were the only ones having fun. Uhh...whatever. There's nothing more fun than playing for a group of people who apparently don't want you there and threaten to cut you off. To quote the band..."Next year...smooth jazz"

Posted by Al on May 22, 2009 at 3:40 PM

9 times out of ten (for the last 30 years) I've had some kind of major complaint regarding my movie going experience. When everything is perfect, including the film being kick-ass, there's nothing to compare. But now I'm to the point where I'm spending the money and making the effort to make my home movie viewing experience as good as it can be.

And I usually always watch even American films with subtitles, since I like to understand every word. What really sucks is when the subtitles are wrong.

Posted by wallydanger

on May 25, 2009 at 6:26 AM

Agreed, the sound was quite poor, and the food in the tent was inedible...I grateful for the don Q rum drinks...

Posted by flchick on May 25, 2009 at 11:33 AM

rum is to get very durnk about with puke, stagger and your pants un zxipped
and who complains about rum quality after number four?
rum doews mix well with urine and gives th party new fun at 2 am

Posted by RUMMY is the party on May 26, 2009 at 12:18 PM