Nina Metz

On the heels of his wildly successful film/improv hybrid known as "The Neutrino Project," director Fuzzy Gerdes is back at it again, this time experimenting with an idea inspired by Woody Allen's "What's Up, Tiger Lilly?" Nothing beats a B-movie when it comes to good old-fashioned stupid entertainment, so why not mute the sound and see what a group of improv performers can invent instead? That's exactly what Gerdes does, positioning his seven-member cast, mics in hand, on stools along the back wall of the Playground Theater, where they provide all the dialogue and sound effects--ad-libbed and often quite funny--for the movie on screen. It's loose and casual, and the vibe is very "Mystery Science Theater" without the robot puppets mouthing off in the front row. Each week Gerdes and crew tackle a different film; on opening night, they screened the action flick "Laser Mission" starring Brandon Lee and Ernest Borgnine. The diamond-heist plot morphed into a goofy adventure about a chef assigned to the most dangerous gig imaginable: A vegan Bar Mitzvah. Musicians Ben Taylor and Todd Leibov provide the all-important cheesy film score. Upcoming movie genres include Mexican horror, Western, vintage action with kung-fu flavor, seventies sex drama, sci-fi and a nineties one-hit-wonder sellout.

"Cinema 2.0" runs Sundays at 8pm at The Playground, 3341 North Lincoln, (773)871-3793, through May 4.

(2003-03-19)

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