#StayHome Movie Recommendations – Classic Comedies

New Orleans is silent. There’s not one horn blowing in the French Quarter. Like most of the country, we’re staying home to help prevent the spread of the corona virus. Since there are no festivals happening, no free concerts or Pelicans games, etc., I have no events to blog about. Like many, we hunkered down for a weekend of “Netflix and chill.”

My industry is shut down. There’s no traffic in L.A. But our movies will help get the world through this. I decided to share a list of some of the movies that have shaped me as an actor/filmmaker and as a person – starting with comedies. I’m starting here because these movies were always there for me when I needed a laugh and some relief from my worries.

Krewe du Vieux & Krewedelusion

Though we’ve already attended Chewbacchus and Krewe Boheme, it doesn’t really feel like parade season until the satirical  Krewe du Vieux rolls followed for over a decade by Krewedelusion. For over 30 years, Krewe du Vieux has tackled local, national and global issues with bawdy humor and lots of phalluses. And their many brass bands are among the city’s best.

The theme was Erection 2020 and topics included climate change, the electoral college, foreign interference in our elections, caucusing, and even Commander’s Palace. For locals, both parades had to open with the Hard Rock Hotel collapse

Krewe of Orpheus Parade

The Krewe of Orpheus parade is one of my favorites. The first all-inclusive Krewe (male, female, all races, etc.), Orpheus celebrates performing artists with glorious Kern Studios floral floats dripping with giant pearls. A Super Krewe of 1,300 riders, everything about the parade is grand. The parade opened with the Marines playing a sexy, bluesy version of House of the Rising Sun as waves of gas-lamp twirling flambeaux lit the way for giant school bands. The Simpson’s, Harry Shearer and Mayor Mitch Landrieu rode the first float followed by Castle‘s Nathan Fillion on the Monarch Float we rode in with Quentin Tarantino in 2014. Local-born parade co-founder Harry Connick Jr. waved from the next float.

Why I Won’t Be Writing About Katrina

When I was a kid, another teenager in my family was murdered. I learned a long time ago the cost of talking about it. Even if you could handle the pain of reliving it, people couldn’t tolerate knowing things that awful happen in their world. I’d end up having to comfort the person I told rather than getting their comfort for my pain (and anger, confusion, grief, fear, loss, sadness, despair). Sometimes, people would distance themselves from me to avoid thinking about it. It even became an identity. My best friend from high school recently admitted it was the first thing anyone ever told her about me when she transferred to our school. But every once in awhile, I still try to talk about it.

A Very Big Easy Birthday Party

New Orleans is known for being a good time and a great place to party. There may be no bigger party in the nation then the marathon of Mardi Gras – especially when we are taking a “break” from Carnival in the middle to have a week of Super Bowl festivities! That said, the only topper would be to celebrate your birthday during this party-palooza. A friend of mine did just that last weekend and it was as good as it gets.

Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion (R-rated)

Though much of the humor is the local insider sort, Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion are far and away the bawdiest sanctioned parades to roll through the French Quarter. Mardi Gras hasn’t officially started but the brass bands and costumes and throws have already begun. Saturday morning, I heard a band coming down the street and ran out to find DancingMan504 leading the second line honoring the recently departed Poppa Neutrino.