Although Hal Ashby’s 1971 film regularly joins Rocky Horror, Pink Flamingoes and Spinal Tap on lists of the top cult films of all time, it’s a little different: Embracing black comedy, it also offers a life-affirming message (embrace your differences, live in the moment, the Vietnam War is bad) that would be glib and cheesy if it weren’t so straightforward and touching. Harold (Bud Cort) is a 19-year-old who stages elaborate fake suicides for the discomfort of his uptight, upper-crust mother. He gets a chance to embrace life — not death — when he meets 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral (in classic screwball style, she steals his car). Harold and Maude’s themes will be familiar to most viewers from generations of Wes Anderson-style “quirky outsider learns to be normal in his own way” films; but in 1971 this was fresh filmic territory. A classic soundtrack by Cat Stevens completes the experience.
Sat., Jan. 23, midnight; Sun., Jan. 24, midnight, 2010
