Recall, if you will, the sorts of movies you used to watch in school as a tot.
There was the often ponderous narrator -- "observe the chipmunk in its native habitat" -- and the scratchy film frames and the choppy part in the middle that seems as if it was spliced in from another nature short. You sat on your knees and drank from a juice box and enjoyed the fun of watching a movie at school.
Now imagine returning to school, for a night, to see a longer film, not about chipmunks or copper mining or how boat rudders work but rather the pains and joys of school itself.
Yep, we are indeed referring to "Mortified," the long-running share/cringe/chortle/blush stage show. You know it, yes? Adults stand at the mic and read from spiral notebook diaries, recalling just what it was like to be 12 with an unrequited crush on the boy or girl two houses down.
Now "Mortified" has gotten over its blush stage and has become full-on documentary called "Mortified Nation." And it'll screen at Lincoln Middle School on Saturday, Nov. 16. Not just screening; it's the Los Angeles premiere of the film. "(F)un surprises" are promised, as well as a filmmaker chitchat.
Question #1: How do you get people to open up in such frank and sometimes frankly embarrassing ways?
An advance ticket is fifteen bucks. And note: While this is indeed showing at a school, and it is about school days, it leans adult in theme, meaning the topics and language are appropriate for the grown-up set.
