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Remember those high school seminars wholly revolving around horrifying stories meant to deter us from naughty behavior? You know, tales of prom queens and future NBA stars maimed and ruined by the likes of sex, booze and drugs – all inexplicably summed up at the end by strong men ripping up phone books in some half-baked attempt at a metaphor for inner strength. Well, this is nothing new. Back in the late 1930s, some concerned church folk threw together a cautionary tale, Tell Your Children, about the evils of the ganja weed and how smoking it will make you go absolutely bat-shit insane. We speculate that they didn't bother researching (or trying it out) prior to scripting the induced horrors. When the pot-enthusiasts of the ’70s got a hold of this gem, it instantly became a cult classic and the title changed to Reefer Madness. It will soon be getting the full treatment from Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, who will provide commentary on a live broadcast of the film to be played nationwide on Thursday, with encore presentation Tuesday. The event is brought to us by Rifftrax, the brainchild of the MST3K, the TV show known for its priceless overdubbed commentary of B-movie flicks and other cinematic and television fare. Bay area filmgoers can catch this live comedic take on the dangers of cannabis from Rifftrax’s at 8 p.m. on Thurs., Aug. 19, and Tues., Aug. 24, at Park Place Stadium 16, 7200 U.S. 19 N, Pinellas Park; Citrus Stadium Park Mall 20, 8021 Citrus Park Town Center, just off Gunn Highway, Tampa; AMC Woodlands 20, 3128 Tampa Road
Oldsmar; and AMC Regency 20, 2496 W Brandon Blvd., Brandon. Tickets are available at box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
—Shannon Bennett
