Saturday night, students cuddled up on couches and mouthed the words to their favorite childhood movies on the second floor of the University Center. Canes Night Live, an event that had been planned as an outdoor movie screening, was moved indoors because of rain and cold weather.
“It would have been a lot better outside,” said freshman Christopher Nolte. “But at least the movies they picked were good.”
It would have been a dream come true for any kid who grew up in the 1980s to be able to watch the Princess Bride and the Breakfast Club drive-in style on the commencement green. But the event, sponsored by Hurricane Productions and the Office of the President, fell short of its promise thanks to wet grass and chilly weather.
Instead, the event was moved to the upstairs at the UC, and Canes Night Live did not prove to be a total disappointment after all. The UC’s comfortable couches, giant movie screen and booming sound system provided the perfect movie atmosphere so students could come to in their pajamas. As they curled up on the couches with blankets, they were provided free popcorn, chips and soda.
“It was pretty fun,” said freshman Krysty Rego. “It reminded me of a slumber party.”
An event that could have proven to be a total disaster was saved not by comfy couches or a killer sound system, but by the actual movies that were played. In other words, these movies could have been played on an 18-inch TV in a classroom, and the event still would have been good.
The Princess Bride is the classic tale of a princess and her true love. Throw in pirates, comedy and Fred Savage, and you have a definite crowd-pleaser. The second movie shown was Brat Pack classic The Breakfast Club, the story of five high school students representing different social groups all sentenced to a Saturday in detention. Though they hardly ever leave the library, they learn valuable lessons about themselves and each other. As students walked away dragging their blankets with Simple Minds’ Don’t you forget about me ringing in their heads, one thing was obvious. In the simplest terms and most convenient definitions: Molly Ringwald saved the day.