Malco theaters reopen with blast from past

 

The Malco Razorback and Rogers Towne cinemas reopen Friday with a slate of classics and newish movies at reduced prices to welcome back movie goers after a three-month hiatus.

The coronavirus shut theaters down locally and across the nation the week of March 20 because the highly infectious nature of the virus.

Despite Northwest Arkansas being in the throes of a three-week escalation of infections, Malco is forging forward with new safety protocols in place.

Patrons will be asked to wear masks into the theater, and temperatures will be checked as they enter. Customers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will be denied admittance into the theater. Social distancing will be encouraged.

Employees will be outfitted in masks and gloves, and all areas of the theater will be cleaned and sanitized throughout the day with deep cleaning at night, according to company protocols.

Malco theaters in Springdale and at Pinnacle Point in Rogers are expected to reopen by the middle of July as is the competing AMC Fiesta Square 16 in Fayetteville, based on press releases by the companies.

The 112 Drive In has been successfully up and running for a month. Last Friday, its double feature of “Jaws” and “Jurassic Park” sold out an hour before the start of the show.

In case you missed those movies last week, Malco has them playing at both locations this week along with other classics “Back to the Future,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “The Goonies.”

The Malco Razorback is also showing “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Madagascar,” and “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” with the aforementioned classics and the recent Christian-based “I Still Believe.”

Both theaters are also playing newish releases “Irresistible,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The High Note,” “The Hunt,” “Trolls World Tour,” and “The Invisible Man,” some of which played in theaters prior to the pandemic, and all of which are now available on video on demand (VOD).

All seats for all showings are $6 for the time being, which is less than matinee and children’s ticket prices before the pandemic. Expect those ticket prices to return to normal, at least for new releases when they begin to trickle into theaters in July and August.

Irresistible

Focus Features

When you consider the talent associated with “Irresistible,” the new political dramedy that opens Friday at the Malco Razorback and Rogers Towne theaters and is also available on various VOD platforms, it should be a slam-dunk winner.

Unfortunately this dunk attempt jams on the lip of the rim and the ball bounds back to half court.

It’s written and directed by former late-night talk-show host Jon Stewart, who had an impressive directorial debut with the drama “Rosewater.” It stars the comically reliable Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as high-level rival political strategists who comically square of in a Midwestern mayoral race following the 2016 election where Carell’s Gary Zimmer took it on the chin as Hilary Clinton’s chief campaign advisor.

The movie also features the durable Chris Cooper as Col. Jack Hasting, a retired Marine who now farms, that made waves by championing the rights of local immigrants in Deerlaken, Wisc., in a supporting role. Zimmer thinks he sniffs a contender he can groom into winner with Hastings, a heartland conservative who has the soul of a liberal.

Wary of Zimmer, the Republicans send in hot-shot handler Faith Brewster (Byrne) to back Mayor Braun’s campaign (Brent Sexton) and submarine Zimmer’s plans.

The setup is like a Preston Sturges or Frank Capra classic from the 1940s, and unfortunately in our post-pandemic world where race relations have rightly burst to the forefront, the movie seems about as contemporary.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Sturges and Capra, but sadly as stunningly strong and as surgical as Stewart’s commentary generally is, he’s not in their class in offering social satire in the form of a story, yet. Or, at least, not with this project.

The film’s not bad; it’s just a bit off to the right, and maybe a couple of years too late. There is some fun in watching Carrell and Byrne spar, but it doesn’t have the magic you’d expect.

The movie also features a twist that on one level is clever, but on another undercuts much of where the film seemed to be going.

(R) 1 hr. 41 min.
Grade: C