January 25th Premiere of “Catch and Release” sells out at Boulder Theater

Boulder Loves Hollywood…As Long As We Still Get To Bed By Ten

By Mollie Fager, 1-31-07

I love it.  The invitation to the pre-party event to the premiere of Boulder’s very own “Catch and Release” movie starring Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Tim Oliphant (Deadwood) and directed by Susannah Grant (screenplay for Erin Brokovich) clearly stated the dress code as cocktail attire.  And try as we may, Boulderites just couldn’t get it together for our moment of fame.  Yes—there were some cute, strappy black dresses and the occasional trendy men’s jackets but overall the masses of attendees were wearing Boulder business casual or full on jeans, Patagonia jacket and sensible Dansko clogs.  I tried to break the mold with my short black skirt complete with sexy knee boots and a red knit sleeveless turtleneck.  However I must confess that I fell far short of red carpet material.  But who cares?  Boulder sold the house and we packed the Boulder Theater, all to cheer on our hometown.

It was the most fun community event I’ve been to in a long time.  The movie—which had a few charming moments—was pretty ho hum.  What was downright hilarious and a wonderful collective audience experience was the enthusiastic cheerleaders we all became in a single night for this thing called “Boulder”.  The crowd burst with applause and raucous cries for images of the Hill, Pearl Street Mall, Celestial Seasonings, The Daily Camera, neighborhood homes, the Flatirons, CU Campus & Boulder creek.  A whole small city got to be the star of a major release movie and we ate it up.  Especially telling though was the talk-back session with the director of the picture, Susannah Grant.  Ms. Grant has some real star clout.  She was nominated for an academy award for the Erin Brokovich screenplay, wrote Ever After for Drew Barrymore and has a trove of other Hollywood successes.  But do you think that gave Boulder pause when the credits began to roll and the clock turned towards 10pm?  Not in the least.  After a generous round of applause Boulderites emptied the house quicker than you can say “I’ve got to make my sunrise Yoga class tomorrow.” At first I didn’t quite know what to think about our abrupt exodus from the theater.  Was this a commentary on the lack luster performance of this film? or was this simply Boulder and you can’t take it personally?

I like to think that the majority of us headed home because at the end of the day Boulder audiences are highly intelligent, understand fame and fortune (even if some have neither) and we place our values on many things that are decidedly un-Hollywood.  The aspiring filmmakers stayed for the talk back but the rest of us left.  Face it—Boulder is just not a place where people are going to trip over themselves for the stars.  It’s probably something we should market to all those stars desperately trying to avoid the Paparazzi.  Come to Boulder, we’ll treat you like everybody else….meaning we expect you to be over educated, read the New York Times and the Camera, have heard the Dalai Lama speak, can do a practiced sun salute, have traveled extensively in third world countries, hold strong opinions on most political issues particularly Iraq and prairie dogs, make the Farmer’s Market a weekly ritual, and plan your week around when you can exercise.  And in fact we will publicly decry and protest the inhumane treatment by the Paparazzi should they flash so much as one unwanted bulb.  We could be a haven for all of Hollywood seeking respite from the limelight. 

As for myself, I say bring on Brad and Angelina, J-Lo and the rest.  All I really care about is that they don’t hold up the line at Vic’s when I’m ordering my latte.

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