BY JACK CAMERON for WEEKLY VOLCANO 4/24/26 |
This week begins the Blue Mouse’s “Bride or Die” Wedding Bestie series with the Julia Roberts romantic comedy classic, 1994’s My Best Friend’s Wedding. This amusing romp has great comedic performances by Cameron Diaz and Dermot Mulroney, as well as Roberts at the top of her game. She handpicked Diaz and Mulroney for the roles, and given the chemistry between them in the movie, it’s understandable why.
There will be beer and wine available for these showings. My Best Friend’s Wedding is showing at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24; Saturday, April 25; and Sunday, April 26. Your last chance to catch it on the big screen at the Blue Mouse is Monday night, April 27.
Call your bestie and tell them you’ve got plans. Bride or Die has begun.
For those of you night owls who are more adventurous, Saturday, April 25, at 11:30 p.m., you can join Tacoma’s most animated crowd at The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Participation is encouraged.
On April 28 at 7:00 p.m., the Blue Mouse is hosting a special screening of the first episode of the docuseries Balance: A Perimenopause Journey. When two women monk filmmakers learn their low hormone levels are caused by perimenopause, they seek to restore balance in their lives and in themselves while suffering symptoms ranging from mood swings to sleeplessness to anxiety.
This journey into a topic that is not often talked about is illuminating, educational, and vital in a time when myths, misinformation, and inequality are still rampant in our society. Catch it while you can. For more information, go to balancedocuseries.com.
Over at the Grand Tacoma Cinema, the 253 Short Film Competition begins. If you’re an emerging or established filmmaker, this 72-hour competition gives you a chance to show off your creative abilities. Register at the Grand (there can only be 33 teams), and at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, meet at the Grand to receive this year’s four required elements and the green light to begin filming. Teams will then have 72 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film no longer than 253 seconds. All submitted films will be screened at the next 253 Short Film Party on May 8, 2026. Top prize is a Jury Award and $500, plus bragging rights.
The Grand is also where you’ll find Smoking Causes Coughing. Remember the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers? Do you ever wish to see it as a movie in French where their adventures have a tobacco motif, but it’s much more disgusting and kind of has an Itchy and Scratchy vibe? Of course you do. Who doesn’t? Writer-director Quentin Dupieux (Mandibles) offers a quirky comedy unlike anything else playing on screen in Tacoma. Smoking Causes Coughing starts showing Friday, April 24.
If you’re looking for a live event to attend, A People’s History of North American Music is happening at the Grand Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. Blending archival film, sound clips, and live spoken word, Eric Isaacson, founder and store owner of Mississippi Records, takes 90 minutes to unearth personal and secret stories, going from Puritan settlers to Spotify and artificial intelligence. All these elements coalesce into A People’s History of North American Music. Eric will be selling records before and after the screening.
Beginning Tuesday, April 28, you’ll be able to catch what’s sure to become one of the all-time great concert films, You’ve Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine. This film, mostly shot in October 2022 at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium, isn’t just a bunch of covers of Prine classics, but a remembrance and celebration of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 20th century.
And in the Grand’s “You Haven’t Seen…?!” series is its latest offering. “You Haven’t Seen…?!” showcases weird, quirky, cult classics that are so bad they’re fun to watch and make fun of, which, of course, is what happens. This time it’s The House on Tombstone Hill. The 1989 directorial debut of James Riffel, The House on Tombstone Hill is schlock at its schlockiest. Fun fact: it was later repackaged and retitled Dead Dudes in the House. I can guarantee you this is your only chance ever anywhere to see this movie on the big screen. Your lone chance to see this rightly overlooked film is at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.
Next week, the Blue Mouse continues their Bride or Die Wedding Bestie series with the hilarious and raunchy Bridesmaids. And coming soon from the Grand Tacoma Cinema, Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.
