A Salute to Drunks - The Lost Iron Man Weekend
"I'm not a drinker, I'm a drunk," shouts Ray Milan's Don Birnam, raising the booze flag and shaking it hard. Sadly, this was one of the best lines in this film. Even though this film was made in 1945, the anti-alcohol propaganda theme is so overwhelming and out-of-whack, I felt I needed to double-check my dates. I asked myself if there was such a strong anti-alcohol sentiment the year the war ended (doubtful) or was the current studio head at Paramount Pictures a teetotaler? This film was directed by the great Billy Wilder, but has the same tone as another film which came out in 1936. Fear the evils of the bottle. Beware the devil's weed.
The Lost Weekend ended with Don going to write a book about his bender and stop drinking. Frankly, it put a bit of a damper on our evening. The end of a Marijuana Movie Night should be stoned and happy, not sober and writing a book. For a contrasting, modern day context and some color, we decided to put on the first Iron Man movie. Tony Stark saved our evening. And for the record, if I am going to be a fucking superhero, he is the kind of boozer I want to be: rich, arrogant, successful, genius, arms manufacturer with a heart of scotch. God bless America!
