Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Charlie Chaplin and a Rack of Ribs

I was at a Grill/Bar of questionable respectability on Sunday evening. I enjoy frequenting such places because I can usually get a good drink as well as indulge in some people watching. This Grill/Bar features waitresses in themed attire, that evening it was Patriots themed, a full bar, booths and other dining tables, poker tables and a variety of flat screen televisions showcasing different cable channels on mute. After some socializing, a so-so appetizer and a fantastic personal sized pitcher of grapefruit sangria, we headed out when I spotted something. Above the bar there are 8 flat screen televisions, 4 on either side of the partition. One one side I saw 4 screens, 2 showing Sunday night's football game, one showing a music video and another showing a Charlie Chaplin movie. Charlie Chaplin?! I looked over on the other side and saw another screen showing the exact Chaplin movie! Wha?! At first I thought it was a clip of a movie that was being shown on some television program. So I stood there a little while watching. Nope they were playing the film. Then I thought, it might be TCM's Silent Sundays. TCM is a cable channel, perhaps they flipped the channels to the wrong one and left it on by mistake. The next day I looked up TCM's schedule for the previous evening. Not only was TCM not featuring a Silent Sundays line-up there was no Charlie Chaplin film on the schedule either. So then I looked up the local PBS station to see if they had shown a Chaplin film during prime time. Nope. I couldn't figure it out. Why would this Grill/Bar show a Chaplin movie?

This is what I have seen at this bar:

  • a DJ playing 80s/90s dance hits
  • a bartender in a hot pink outfit that barely covered her body which made me do a double take
  • a man dunking his head into a vat of whipped cream while he fished for gum balls in the name of charity
  • a random couple groping each other in front of the men's bathroom
  • a cartoon of a woman holding up a plate of ribs while men check out her "rack"

What I don't expect to see at this bar... A Charlie Chaplin movie! For one thing, a silent film is perfect for a bar. Especially a funny one. All the TVs are on mute anyways and you don't need to hear dialogue when watching a silent movie like you would a TV show. You can guzzle your beer, nosh on your greasy hamburger AND laugh hysterically at Chaplin's hijinks. Plus plus plus.

Where is the strangest place you have seen a classic film movie or a classic film poster?

While you chew on that thought, let me leave you with a clip of the famous Chaplin dinner roll dance scene. Enjoy!



7 comments:

  1. This cracks me up! I can imagine you sitting there in this so-called "questionable" bar just taking it all in and then suddenly your jaw drops! Hehe. Love it!

    And I Love love love Charlie Chaplin! I used to watch his old films with my grandpa when I went to visit. He's passed away since then, but even seeing that short clip brings things back. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is super-funny, actually! Haha!

    I think the strangest place *I* ever saw a classic film being shown was in Sierra Leone. I was at this hotel (very nice in SL, condemned by the board of health here! ;-D) eating dinner and look over at the TV they had in the "bar" (an old beat-up, cracked TV) and TCM WAS PLAYING!

    I was so shocked. They were SOMEHOW getting TCM there (which is odd considering there isn't even any electricity in the entire country, it's all run off of generators)! It was right before Easter and one of those "epics" that probably starred Charlton Heston was on the screen. I'll never forget it!

    Great post! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mother (I have a feeling she's going to come up every time I make a comment here) was telling my husband and me about this the other night (not your bar, the Chaplin on TCM). It was "The Gold Rush", wasn't it?

    My dad used to laugh himself sick over the scene with the shoelaces.

    Sounds like a fun place to me!

    Kat

    ReplyDelete
  4. Danielle - Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad that you liked the clip. It's nice having a connection like that with a loved one, even if they are no longer here.

    Millie - !!!! Have you posted that story? That's an awesome post. You must post. POST POST POST

    Kat - I'm kind of confused. Your mother was telling your husband about Chaplin being on TCM?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Umm, Quelle, are you sure this bar and grill isn't located in The Twilight Zone...

    The strangest thing I think I ever saw was an Englishman in bowler and suit at our local WalMart--that's the last place I'd expect a John Steed lookalike!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe not quite "classic" in the sense of most of the movies on this blog, but there is a bar not far from my house which, every single time I go there, has on the 1978 kung fu classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. I've been there enough times that I think I've seen the whole movie at this point, although never in one go . . .

    It's actually pretty good, and this coming from someone who isn't much for martial arts films. I might have to actually sit down and watch the whole thing one day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How awesome is *that*! If you ever go back for another visit, be sure to let us know if they're still screening silents. SUCH a great idea for a bar/lounge, you're right. (If someone ever opened a silent-film themed lounge I would have to MOVE IN there.)

    A buddy of mine recently got married and at her reception, she had It Happened One Night projected on the main wall during cocktails. Not a silent film, but the projection didn't have a soundtrack and the results, with all the dim twinkly lighting, was just magical!

    -Carley :)

    ReplyDelete

Leave me a comment! If it is a long one, make sure you save a draft of it elsewhere just in case Google gobbles it up and spits it out.

Popular Posts

 Twitter   Instagram   Facebook