The Neil Gaiman short story adapted film had a raucous premiere at the Lower East Side’s bastion to cinema, the Metrograph with director John Cameron Mitchell and star Alex Sharp saying a few words before the screening.
Neil Gaiman has always had a penchant for writing bizarre and otherworldly stories. He finds pleasure in the unorthodox and alien, having written some of the best in science fiction in the last 40 years. From American Gods to The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman has made quite a name for himself in the literary world, showcasing a unique brand of eccentricity and yet laudable depth and intrigue. It’s no surprise that many of his works have found their way onto screens, both big and small. And with the imminent release of How to Talk to Girls at Parties, it seems that the adaptations are not going to stop any time soon.
Telling the story of Enn (Alex Sharp), How to Talk to Girls at Parties follows the young punk and his two equally rogue friends as they party around England in the 1970s. After looking in vain for an afterparty, Enn and his two friends stumble upon what they believe is their destination, only to find a bizarre group of individuals who they initially mistake for cult members. But what they believe to be suicidal cultists are actually aliens visiting Earth in a bizarre ritual that will hopefully bear them the children that they desperately need to continue life on their foreign planet. Enn soon begins to fall for Zan (Elle Fanning) as she shows him a world of curiosity. She too begins to fall deeply in love with the free-wheeling, confident, and sensitive Enn who shows her just what makes Earth and its oblivious inhabitants so endearing and beautiful.
The A24 produced film had what director John Cameron Mitchell admitted was its seventh or eighth premiere. The unabashedly candid director beamed with pride as he explained the rigor and time it took to adapt the work, having brought on Tony Award-winning actor Alex Sharp for his first feature film. The youngest Tony-winner was also in attendance as he shyly took the microphone to thank everyone for coming and express his gratitude for working with Mitchell and the rest of the team. As Mitchell made the spectators laugh and whoop with excitement and support before the film’s start, Sharp stood in the corner, smiling at the crowd’s endearing shouts of encouragement. The film’s eccentric and idiosyncratic cinematic presentation was accented by the afterparty, which was hosted at the equally wayward and burlesque-led nightclub The Box in the Lower East Side. Thankfully, no one seemed to lose their way to that afterparty.
How to Talk To Girls At Parties premieres Friday, May 25.
