Project X Diner
By Steve Herte
With my quartet, The Majestics, having a reunion on a Friday, I fore-went my usual movie and dinner night. We had a six-hour rehearsal two days later for a Monday evening performance of a
mixed quartet (two men and two women) called Seventh Heaven that I agreed to
sub as the tenor when they discovered their regular tenor couldn't make the
gig. I had just enough time on Saturday to watch a movie on TV. The mixed
quartet found themselves at a diner after rehearsal, so I thought, "OK,
this will work."
Project X (20th Century Fox, 1987) Director:
Jonathan Kaplan. Starring Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, William Sadler,
Jonathan Stark, & Willie. 108 min.
This
movie suckered me into watching it with a title that whispered “possibly a good
sci-fi.” It isn’t. But it got a star for the title. Here we have Matthew
Broderick as Jimmy Garrett, an incredibly young airman who only wants to fly
planes and jets, and because he takes his girlfriend up for a ride, is
reassigned to Project X.
From
there the scene changes to a very young Helen Hunt who plays Teri, a scientist
who has been given a grant to teach chimpanzees sign language. She succeeds
beyond her imagination with Virgil (played by Willie) when funding is cut off
and Virgil must be transferred to a zoo. She’s heartbroken but eventually
concedes. However, Virgil never gets to the zoo. He winds up, as did Goofy,
Goliath, Bluebeard, Ginger, Winston, Spike, Razzberry, and Ethel at Project X.
Project
X trains chimpanzees to fly planes using customized simulators. When they prove
to be proficient at flying they are transferred to a sealed room where they are
seated in another simulator and are subjected to ionized radiation (from which
they usually do not survive).
Airman
Garrett realizes that Virgil knows sign language and learns to communicate with
him. At the same time Garrett also bonds with him. He learns about Teri’s
project and against all regulations calls her, but doesn’t tell her where he
is. She finds out where Project X is located and they meet, much to his
surprise. He learns about the final stage of the project and wants to save
Virgil from extermination. At one point, Virgil tricks him and gets away into
the complex. He eventually sees what happens to chimps that “graduate” the
program and, upon returning to the holding area, uses chimpanzee screams to
inform the other caged animals.
The
rest is almost predictable. All the chimpanzees have to be set free of this
cruel experiment and the chimps themselves try their best, but they need Teri
and Jimmy. Just when it looks like they will succeed by swiping a plane the
guards surround them and force Teri and Jimmy to leave the plane. But we know
that Virgil is an expert flyer. He starts the plane and there is a merry chase
until he takes off with all his fellow chimps (the scene is quite comical)
while making the signs for “I’m flying!” Eventually they land in a bayou and
all the chimps escape. Jimmy and Teri look into the tangled branches and sees
Virgil and Ethel. Teri makes the signs for “you’re free” and the movie ends.
This
has to be the first movie I’ve ever seen (well, maybe the second) where the
apes out-acted the people. They were cute, threatening, charismatic and in some
cases downright cuddly. The concept of the film is a good one but the
screenplay was lame, even for 1987. It was interesting to see the early efforts
of Broderick and Hunt but the movie is not worth a second viewing.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Viand Café
2130 Broadway (75th Street), New York City
New
York City has several restaurants that classify as diners and this one is no
exception. They don’t have the characteristic rotating dessert carousel with
elephantine confections but they do have a glass-enclosed shelving in the back
to display them. The angular corner of Broadway and 75th Street
makes for an unusual-shaped space, but they managed to fit the booths, tables
and counter one would expect in a stereotypical diner. Otherwise there was
nothing to set the décor off as unique. The lighting was ample – again, as
expected.
As
soon as we sat down we were served glasses of water. The interesting thing is
two glasses had ice and two did not – just the way we would have ordered it. I
tasted the water but when I could smell the dishwasher on the plastic tumbler I
eschewed the remainder.
The
“pleather” (plastic leather) covered menu is not the usual multi-paged
confusing tome of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, kiddie foods and desserts but
is organized neatly enough to make a decision before your hunger subsides.
There are Italian specialties and Greek specialties highlighted separately from
the burgers and sandwiches and standard entrees. Though classified as a Greek
Diner, Viand is known for their omelets and burgers, neither of which I was in
the mood for. I wanted Greek food. But my brakes went on when I saw Chicken Souvlaki
(blasphemy!), a dish that should be made with lamb. Immediately the Greek
dishes became suspicious to me.
I
turned to the Italian Specialties because I love lasagna, but nowhere in the
description was “ground meat” mentioned, just a passing blurb about Bolognese
sauce – granted, meat is a good part of it, but it wasn’t what I wanted. OK,
time to get dangerous and order the Mousaka, which was exactly what it should
be: eggplant, potatoes and chopped meat topped with a creamy (and delicious, I
might add) béchamel sauce (a simple white sauce made with flour, milk and
butter, flavored with slat and nutmeg). Add to that the immense size of the
portion and I was impressed. This came with either soup or salad and I chose
the Minestrone over the Matzah Ball (even though I was told it was good) and
the vegetable soups.
The
soup was definitely soupy and not like any I’ve had in Italian restaurants.
There were several vegetables in it and some pasta but everything was kind of
limp and less than flavorful.
Two
of my friends at my table ordered the Mama’s meatloaf which came sliced, dark
in color and speckled with bright bits of carrot looking like confetti – way
too strange for me. The fourth person ordered the spinach pie, which appeared
quite appetizing, and my friend assured me it was excellent.
Dessert
time at a diner is always the OMG moment. When I heard they had Peanut Butter
Pie I was hooked. The chocolate chips and bits of caramel on top made it even
more decadent than the creamy filling and the graham cracker crust. The only
other dessert ordered was the Lemon Coconut Cake that was absolutely beautiful.
It consisted of layers of fluffy white cake and pale yellow lemon custard and
iced both in the middle and outside with snowy white coconut cream. Another winner.
The coffee was unusually good, as were the prices.
Viand
Café is a great place to duck into in a pinch (like when you need food now and
have no reservations anywhere else). It also really attracts me as a breakfast
place, in particular the Herbs de
Provence Omelet with goat cheese, shiitake mushrooms and asparagus.
So, if I find myself on the Upper West Side in the morning, I’ll return to
Viand Café.
For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.
For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment