Denver: See Cherry 2000 tonight (with director Q&A) as part of our Science Friction film series

Howdy. Senior Writer Jason Heller here. The A.V. Club’s Science Friction film series—curated and hosted by yours truly, as well as Denver Comic Con cofounder Frank Romero—continues tonight at 7:30 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Denver with the 1987 cult classic Cherry 2000.

The movie is set in the dim, futurist mists of the year 2017 (imagine!), after a collapse of the U.S. economy has led to, in essence, two Americas: one civilized and technological, the other looking like some Mad Max version of the Old West. When a love android belonging to an upwardly mobile young man named Sam breaks down, he’s forced to enlist the aid of a cantankerous, Tank Girl-like frontierswoman named E. (Melanie Griffith) in order to find a replacement. Call her a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, go ahead, we dare you. Sure enough, a little something about real love is learned along the way—which makes Cherry 2000 the perfect tonic for everyone’s post-Valentine’s hangover. And did I mention that it boasts a cameo by a young “Larry” Fishburne? Because it does.

Cherry 2000 went straight to video before surfacing often on cable, a situation that we’ll discuss tonight with director Steve De Jarnatt, who will participate in a big-screen Skype Q&A before the feature which is being recorded as a special feature for the upcoming Cherry 2000 Blu-ray. Then we’ll open with De Jarnatt’s 1972 short film Tarzana. Oh, and tonight’s giveaway will be a brand-new copy of Star Wars Art: A Poster Collection, courtesy of Abrams Books. (Fun fact: De Jarnatt is also known for his other ’80s cult classic, Miracle Mile, a nervy yet poignant nuclear-apocalypse thriller that Alamo Denver’s General Manager Walter Chaw wrote an entire book about. No, Walter did not pay me to say that. [It’s not too late, though, Walter.])

One last thing: On April 2, Frank and I will be launching a second monthly film series at Alamo Denver. It will be called Fantastique, and it will be devoted to fantasy films, and it will also be sponsored by The A.V. Club, and we are so stupid crazy excited that we might just wet ourselves, especially since we’re kicking things off with Highlander. In 35mm. More details to come!

Tickets for Cherry 2000 are available right here.

Science Friction schedule

February 18: Cherry 2000 (with Tarzana plus Skype Q&A with director Steve De Jarnatt)

March 18: The Fly (1986)

April 15: Damnation Alley

May 20: Zardoz

June 17: 12 Monkeys (with La Jetée)

Fantastique schedule

April 2: Highlander (in 35mm)

May 7: Wizards

June 4: Time Bandits