Still don’t think January is a ball of fun? Just have a peek at Teeth, a vagina-dentata-themed film premiering at MoMA (one of its stars, Jess Weixler, won the Special Jury Prize for Acting at Sundance). Director Mitchell Lichtenstein explained the movie is about “a young innocent girl who discovers that she’s the living embodiment of this ancient myth. It’s a dark comedy, a coming-of-age movie and a bit of a horror movie. It’s got a few fun gross-out shots. … The phrase was coined by Freud, but it’s an ancient myth in many cultures. Certainly it’s about men’s fear of women’s sexuality, or the mystery of women in general, and I thought if you kind of address it head on, it’s immediately clear that it only says something about men and not much about women. … The MPAA gave us an R rating, but they were really behind the movie; they saw it as a cautionary tale. They thought parents should take their teenage boys to see it.” Right, good luck with that! Actually, Mr. Lichtenstein, are you free Friday?
[Premiere of Teeth, Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, 8:30 p.m.]
