By Daily Press staff
The Dick and Jane books showed how to be obedient and ordinary, but this Dick and Jane are anything but.
To honor philanthropist Max Palevsky and benefit a local organization dedicated to preserving Santa Monica’s heritage, there will be a special screening of the original 1977 film “Fun With Dick and Jane” on Monday, July 17. Illustrating many of Palevsky’s favorite themes, “Fun With Dick and Jane” is a satiric take on an upwardly mobile couple who are suddenly thrust down the financial drain when Dick is fired from an Enron-esque corporation whose director has been lining his pockets with money intended for loyal employees and gullible stockholders. To exact some sweet revenge, Dick and Jane go on a comic crime spree that raises the hopes of whoever has been wronged by the power elite. Dick and Jane stick it to the man and become local heroes.
After screening the film at 7 p.m., the audience is invited to join actors Jane Fonda, George Segal and Ed McMahon in a question and answer session hosted by the editor of Variety, Peter Bart who served as executive producer of the film with Palevsky. A champagne reception will follow.
A man well ahead of his time, Palevsky — computer visionary, film producer, art collector, political activist and major philanthropist — is to be honored at the Max Palevsky Theatre at the Aero, 1328 Montana Ave.
He was executive producer of several films including Academy Award-winning “Marjoe;” the Hemingway adaptation “Islands in the Stream;”“Fun with Dick and Jane” (the original and remake); Marcel Ophuls’ “The Memory of Justice” and Costa-Gavras’s “State of Siege.”
“Movies are important cultural documents equal to novels or poetry,” Palevsky has said.“There should be a place where people can always go to experience them onscreen.”
In commitment to that cause, Palevsky’s donation of $500,000 underwrote the renovation of the 1940 Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
Jane Fonda said of the film: “‘Fun with Dick and Jane’ is a whacky comedy, rooted in reality. Even at its funniest, it takes a long overdue look at a situation in which many Americans have found themselves. We all know couples like Dick and Jane, living beyond their means, juggling bills, getting by on credit cards and time payments.”
The Santa Monica Conservancy will be hosting the event and receiving the proceeds. The Santa Monica Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the architectural, cultural and historical heritage of Santa Monica.
Tickets are $30 for Santa Monica Conservancy members, $35 for non-members, or $45 for the screening and a discounted new Conservancy membership. Tickets will be sold online until July 14 at www.smconservancy.org, or by mail with check payable to Santa Monica Conservancy, P.O. Box 653, Santa Monica, CA 90406. Prepaid tickets will be held at the door. Tickets will be sold at the Aero only on July 17, if available.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 30, 2006. Read the original PDF.