On a bitterly cold winter night, how does a heartwarming comedy preceded by some engaging live music and refreshments—with some of the proceeds from the event going to help victims of the LA fires—sound to you? That’s exactly what’s on offer February 18 when Boondocks Film Society presents a screening of Punch Drunk Love at Assembly with cocktails, food, and a pre-movie performance by local songstress Al Olender.
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Punch Drunk Love is a highly adored absurdist romcom released in 2002. The film tells the uproarious story of Barry Egan, an unmarried entrepreneur with social anxiety played by Sandler, and his love interest, Lena Leonard, played by Watson. The movie bombed at the box office upon its debut but has since become a cult classic and has been included on lists of the greatest movies of the 2000s and the 21st century.
Kingston-based singer-songwriter Al Olender entered the local music scene as part of the band Upstate, before setting out on her own. Recent tours have her opening for big-name acts like Shovels n Rope and Gypsy Kings.
Boondocks Film Society organized the event at Assembly in Kingston on February 18 at 6:30pm to benefit victims of the wildfires that struck Los Angeles last month. The pre-film happy hour “soundtrack-inspired” live music by Olender, film-inspired food by Hotel Kinsley, movie-themed craft cocktails by Assembly, locally brewed beer by West Kill Brewing, free locally made popcorn by BjornQorn, and more. Tickets are $26.75 and are available through the Boondocks Film Society website.
This article appears in February 2025.
