Commercials Meet the Cinema

The Egyptian screens the strangest ads from, well, everywhere.

People go to the movies for a multitude of reasons -- #17 likely being the pleasure of pouring a whole bag of M&Ms into a bucket of popcorn -- but one of the longstanding reasons is likely this: Two or so hours of straight-up movie, sans ads.

But what if the whole night spent at the cinema was all about the ads? The quirkiest, strangest, liveliest commercials from around the world, thematically packaged and presented large? There's nothing not to like there, especially when advertisements can often outpace films for sheer genius and weirdness.

Enter The Night of the Ad Eaters. The traveling program, which has been around for well over three decades, rounds up the best and oddest commercials from all corners of the planet and screens them large. The madcap ad aficionados are set to do so again, for one night only, at The Egyptian on Friday, May 31.

Tickets are $15.

What will you see? Movie stars in ads will be a big part of the night; look for Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, and Pierce Brosnan in spots you can only see overseas (and at The Egyptian). British commercials and ads inspired by "Star Wars" are two themes, too.

There is an intermission in the middle, which we like, and hey, couldn't intermissions come back for other longer cinema events? Just a thought. It's a big night, just north of 200 minutes, which means you'll see dozens and dozens of mini films, all centered around particular services and products.

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