Sour Widows and 4 Star Present:

Cherish Music Video
+
Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke!
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

6:00 PM - DJ Three6Sasha
7:30 PM - Movie

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.

The daughter of an Imperial scientist joins the Rebel Alliance in a risky move to steal the Death Star plans.

It ain’t easy bein’ green – especially if you’re a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot – a wisecracking donkey.

All Popcorn palace tickets come with a child’s popcorn and a small soda!

Shrek has rescued Princess Fiona, got married, and now is time to meet the parents. Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father. But not everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. It's not just the family who are unhappy. Prince Charming returns from a failed attempt at rescuing Fiona, and works alongside his mother, the Fairy Godmother, to try and find a way to get Shrek away from Fiona.

The Coalition to Keep Live Music Tolerable proudly presents...

Hour of Power!!! Gig Vol. 3

Unity
Spa
Wifey (Cher solo!)

Doors at 7:00pm, Music at 7:30pm, Over by 8:30pm!

Three Bands, One Hour!!!

Mickey Newball 7:30pm (in Tunnel Records)
Joe Kaplow 8:30pm
Kelly McFarling 10:00pm

Doors at 7:00 PM
Music at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $15

FRIDAY, MAY 10TH

Magic Fig (Album Release)
magicfig.bandcamp.com

Now
nowww.bandcamp.com

Joel Robinow
instagram.com/joelrobinow

$12 ADV / $14 DOOR
Doors 7:00 PM / Music 8:00 PM

A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.

All popcorn palace tickets come with a small soda and a child’s popcorn!

Comedy at the 4Star Kicks-off the Comedy Summer Series starting Saturday May 11th. 

Headliner: Ben Feldman

"With a dry wit that was praised by Robin Williams himself, Feldman brings a cool East Coast charm to Bay Area stages. From a sarcastic rant to a subtle pun, his act is clever, playful, and delightfully provocative." - SF Weekly's Best Comic to Watch

"Feldman is an excellent writer whose sly and dry wit is delivered deadpan but kicks up a lively response." - East Bay Express

Ben Feldman is an established standup comedian whose acerbic wit is provocative yet playful, delivered with glints of absurdity as he teeters back and forth along the thick line between aggression and charm. Ben features regularly at the San Francisco Punch Line, Cobb's Comedy Club, Sacramento Punch Line, San Jose Improv, Seattle Comedy Underground, Rooster T Feathers and has worked with Norm MacDonald, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Todd Barry, Kyle Dunnigan, Dana Gould, Mike Birbiglia, Jake Johannsen, Chris Kattan, Tom Rhodes, Chris Porter, Robert Hawkins, Kirk Fox, Adam Ferrara, Jeremy Hotz, Scott Capurro, Chad Daniels, Ali Wong, TJ Miller, Jeff Dye, Dan Cummins, Henry Phillips, Rick Shapiro, Rick Overton, Dan Mintz, Brad Williams, and Bobby Slayton to name a few.

Ben was a finalist in a Simpson's writing competition with over 20,000 entrants. He performs regularly at SF Sketchfest and has appeared on the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival, KOFY TV20, NewsTalk 910 AM, KGO 810 AM, HGTV, Amazon Audible, and was a contributing writer for Rooftop Comedy, Joan Rivers Show, MSNBC, and eBaum's World.

Ben is a producer of Comedy Oakland, winner of 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021 "Best Place for Comedy '' by the East Bay Express. He also is a showrunner for the world-famous San Francisco Punch Line Sunday showcase.

Featuring

Jide Okonkwu

Jide Okonkwo is a Bay Area-based Comedian, Actor & Writer. Living through laughter.

With an international background, Jide brings a worldly (and sometimes otherworldly) perspective to the stage. Although based in the Bay Area, Jide has performed on many stages around the world, including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A lover of laughter and mangoes, his sweet tooth is the perfect foil for his sharp tongue. Catch him light up the stage with his smooth & cheeky style.

Shivaan Nadan 

Shivaan Nadan shares his background of being Indian  but born and raised in Fiji until the age of 10. Then his family immigrated to Daly City. A story as unique as his comedic voice. The newest member of the #HellaFunny comedy group, Shivaan is a hilarious rising star in the SF comedy scene , a regular at the Hella Funny shows,Cobb's Comedy Club and opened for Hannibal Burress at the Palace of Fine Arts. A comedian and a visual artist check out his art on stage with comedy and his art off stage with his drawings. 

Shining 

Shining is a bay area based comedian with beauty and brains to match. But don’t let her engaging smile fool you , her comedy comes with an edge as sharp as her wit. She has appeared at Punchline SF, Cobb's Comedy Club, and anywhere comedy is performed. You can also check out the podcasts ``Not Your Asian Woman” and “Criminal Race Theory” 

Cj Koepp

CJ Koepp is a Wisconsin-raised & San Francisco-based stand-up comedian, improviser, and climate activist. She has performed at Oakland Pride, Cobb's Comedy Club, and Crockett Comedy Festival. In 2024, she received the 2024 New Voices in Comedy Writing Fellowship at Killing My Lobster SF.

Hosted by Celeste Winter 

Celeste Winter is a Sacramento based comedian performing all throughout Northern California. Her comedy is unapologetically feminine with a balanced mixture of dry humor bordering on absurdist. Her material touches on the pitfalls of being a young woman, peppered with methodically calculated passive aggressive interactions with audience members. Audiences laugh, feel uncomfortable, laugh, feel true fear, and the cycle of abuse (nirvana) repeats itself. Sitting in the splash zone is highly advised!

A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.

All popcorn palace tickets come with a small soda and a child’s popcorn!

Celebrate Mother’s Day with us by watching Santa Sangre!

A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".

Annie Rose Malamet is an internationally recognized lesbian vampire expert, freelance film writer, and perverted aesthete. She is the creator of the popular podcast Girls, Guts, & Giallo, where she examines controversial and subversive cinema through the lens of queer leather and sex work history and sensibilities. Annie has lectured and presented work at festivals and colleges in both the United States and Europe. She has appeared as a cultural expert in the Shudder documentary Queer for Fear and on the PBS show Historian’s Take. Her essays and reviews have been in various publications over the last decade. She has published essays and audio commentary for special editions released through Second Sight, Severin Films, and Vinegar Syndrome. 

PLAYING AS A PART OF CAUGHT ON TAPE

In a "live" broadcast on Halloween night, a BBC team investigate a reported poltergeist in an ordinary London home. During and following its first and only UK television broadcast, the film attracted a considerable furor, resulting in an estimated 1,000,000 phone call enquiries to the BBC switchboard on the night of broadcast.

Co-presented by Unnamed Footage Festival

VHS preshow curated by The Basement

Tape for screening provided by Digital Revolution

Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP) is celebrating its 25th birthday with a prom-themed event, featuring a must-see live recording of the “Outside Lands San Francisco'' podcast with drag legend Peaches Christ and award-winning SFGATE reporter Amanda Bartlett! We hope you’ll party with us like it’s 1999 at the Richmond District’s beloved 4 Star Theatre on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Peaches Christ (the alter-ego of Joshua Grannell) first presented the infamous Midnight Mass programs – a late-night movie series and drag spectacle – while working at the Bridge Theatre on Geary Boulevard in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Peaches has since appeared in many films and television shows over the course of her career, and currently co-hosts the cult movie podcast “Midnight Mass.” Amanda Bartlett, a senior reporter for SFGATE who recently published an article on the history of Midnight Mass, will co-host alongside Executive Director Nicole Meldahl; together they’ll chat with Peaches about her time in the Richmond District, the history of the Bridge Theatre, and the enduring legacy of Midnight Mass.

The doors of the 4 Star will open at 7:00pm. Once inside, you’ll get to mingle, browse an incredible selection of goods at Tunnel Records, and enjoy savory small bites or sweet treats available for purchase from the concession stand. The main program starts at 7:30pm and includes time for Q&A. All guests are encouraged (but not required) to wear prom attire for the evening, which will also feature a WNP birthday cake, decorations, fun prizes, and prom photos, so you can remember this night forever!

General Admission tickets are $75. VIP tickets are $125 and include the above plus:

• Early access to the theater at 6:00pm to secure your favorite seats

• A meet-and-greet with Peaches Christ and Amanda Bartlett

• Complimentary beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages

Don’t miss this chance to celebrate WNP with a Peaches Christ-homage to prom! And, thank you in advance for supporting our nonprofit history work. All proceeds from the event enable us to keep our lights on and our history fresh with fun community programming like this.

Double Helix Peace Treaty
Julip
Arts and Crafts

Doors at 7:00pm
Music at 8:00pm

In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers and send young agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information.

After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.

Little Oil's Tape Release Show

with

Eli Utne
Crop Top

Doors at 7 pm, Show at 7:30 pm!
$15 at Door
$12 Adv

MEDIA MELTDOWN MOVIE MADHOUSE

The maniacal minds behind Media Meltdown (Piranha Psychotronica and Kafka X) bring you a new experience in cinematic depravity… Media Meltdown Movie Madhouse! Following their long running cult film series at the Balboa and 4 Star, Media Meltdown shines a light on an even stranger side of cinema. Prepare yourself to enter into a world of face-flaying forgotten and forsaken films… Made-for-TV, Direct-to-Video, VCR games, and more wiley weirdness than your minds can handle! So come to the 4 Star Theatre every 3rd Sunday and commit yourself to… MEDIA MELTDOWN MOVIE MADHOUSE! 

Recommended for Adults Only

With the Immortal Universe heating up over at AMC+, what a perfect time to revisit one of the earliest Anne Rice film adaptations, Exit to Eden (1994)! Starring Rosie O’Donnell and Dan Akroyd as bumbling cops with a penchant for going undercover who need to infiltrate a BDSM sex island to take down diamond-smuggling criminal Iman, Exit to Eden is lightyears away from its source material but manages to be an extremely fascinating movie thanks to its wild premise. You’ll see butts and boobs galore, along with Akryoyd and O’Donnell in a variety of fetish gear! This screening marks Media Meltdown’s five year anniversary and we’ll be playing erotic games, performing sensuous readings, and having local drag icons dom our audience so head on out and be prepared to submit at May's Movie Madhouse!

A director tries to film a group of junkies in Leach's room while they are waiting for Cowboy to bring their heroin connection.

PLAYING AS A PART OF CAUGHT ON TAPE

Newspaper editor Arthur Sherwood is on a hunting trip when he accidentally stumbles upon a nudist camp in the woods. He is very much shocked by this and decides to send reporter Stacy Taylor to the camp so she can write an expose on the camp and have it shut down. An early film by Doris Wishman, one of the most prolific and iconic exploitation filmmakers of the 20th century.

Adults only screening. Anyone under 18 will not be allowed in.

VHS preshow curated by The Basement

The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

A disgraced political journalist placed in the soccer section, Miss Pove is asked to follow the presidential campaign in progress. The front-runner is a fifty-year-old heir to a powerful French family and a political novice. Troubled by this candidate, whom she has known to be less smooth in the past, Miss Pove embarks on an investigation that is as surprising as it is jubilant.

Tickets can only be bought through Eventbrite!

MOViES FOR MANiACS presents: A Genuine Tribute to William Lustig IN PERSON: ViGiLANTE (1983) + MANiAC (1980)

Director William Lustig will be IN PERSON to celebrate the 40th anniversary 4K restoration of his ruthlessly reverent riff on the DEATH WiSH-genre: ViGLANTE (1983) along with a gorgeous 4K restoration of his psychological horror masterpiece MANiAC (1980). Presented by MOViES FOR MANiACS and hosted by Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, a very special Q&A will occur between the double bill.

7:00pm - ViGiLANTE (1983)
Quentin Tarantino has spoken at great lengths about Robert Forster's performance in ViGiLANTE being a major inspiration for casting him as the lead in JACKiE BROWN (1997). Here, Forster plays a working-class New York City man who is forced to confront the dirt and slime of the garbage-ridden 1980s NYC streets. His casual intensity culminates in "the performance of a lifetime" and should be taught to every genre actor in the business.

This purely profound blue-collar ballbuster, reaches even grittier depths than most films made since. Shot in glorious Widescreen 2.35, look for Blaxploitation superstar Fred Williamson and the pioneering character actor Woody Strode (of John Ford's Westerns), whose performances should help inspire some wonderfully riotous post-film debates. Not to forget an amazing synth score by Jay Chattaway as well as some priceless Latin Salsa songs by the almighty Willie Colón, who also co-stars.

Widescreen 4K DCP courtesy of Grindhouse Pictures.

9:30pm - MANiAC (1980)
Close to 45 years since its sensational release, this surreally disturbing stalker masterpiece has not only accumulated one of the most devoted of cult following in exploitation cinema history, this nasty wonder deserves to be reevaluated along the lines of Abel Ferrara's feminist manifesto MS. 45 (1980) and William Friedkin's infamous queer time-capsule CRUiSiNG (1980).

Joe Spinell's personal and deeply sensitive character study combined with the psychotic grit of Tom Savini's relentless and jaw-dropping special effects, sets this film apart from pretty much every movie of the era. Showcasing Jay Chattaway's legendary synth score, this 4K restoration of the unrated 88 minute Director's Cut (complete with the entire hotel room sequence) will be presented from a gorgeous DCP, courtesy of Grindhouse Pictures.

Comedy Summer Series at The 4Star Theater - May 25th lineup

Headliner: Jerry Law

Jerry Law is a comedian based out of Oakland, CA that performs all over the United States. Jerry Law can be seen at numerous comedy clubs and festivals around the nation, and has been feature on CBS “Let’s Make A Deal” and many other platforms. He has a special titled “From the Cage to the Stage” where he displays his experiences and versatility as a performer. Jerry is very energetic on stage and his stories about being a first time father after spending over a decade in prison are real life situations, yet hysterical! He also tackles relationships and what life is like after finding his purpose.

Featuring
Miss K Kidd

Oakland native Miss K Kidd is a well known bay area comedian hailing from Oakland, CA. She touched stages from Cali to New York in her tenure so far. Opening for notable comidians such as Tacarra Williams, Damon Williams, Ray Grady among others. She has also been seen in movies on Tubi as well as HBO+. She also produces her own shows around the Bay Area. Definitely one of the hardest women female comedians out of the Bay Area. Keep an eye out for Miss K Kidd

Dan Guan 

Dan Guan is a San Francisco based comedian originally from Boston, Massachusetts. With his wit, he draws his humor from his own growing up experience as one of the few American-Born Chinese kids in his New England town with his immigrant family. Dan performs at venues locally and across the country, such as the Punch Line San Francisco, Cobb’s Comedy Club, and Don’t Tell Comedy. He has also appeared at the Oakland Comedy Festival 2022 and the North Carolina Comedy Festival 2022. 

Alisha Dillon

Alisha Dhillon is an up and coming stand up comedian based in the Bay Area, California. She’s known for her fun, yet blunt style on stage and ability to make people laugh at difficult topics.

Alisha is the current Roast Battle Champion of San Francisco. Her recent credits include JFL Vancouver, a 30 minute Comedy Invasion special, multiple appearances in SF Sketchfest, and opening for Akaash Singh and Julie Kim.

Nate Schwartz 

Nate is a rising Bay Area comedian and 4 Star regular who’s performed at the San Jose Improv, Alameda Comedy Club, as well as Rooster T Feathers. His unfiltered takes on life will either leave you laughing or mortified… hopefully laughing.

Hosted By Karen Braswell

Rising San Francisco based comedian. Originally from New York, Karen left Wall Street to pursue a career in anything else, and now performs comedy on every stage, sidewalk and dive bar. With a fresh take on things like dating, dogs and growing up as a teacher’s pet, Karen turns expectations on their head with her irreverent style.

An orphaned brontosaurus teams up with other young dinosaurs in order to reunite with their families in a valley.

All Popcorn Palace tickets come with a small soda and a child’s popcorn!

A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.

An improvisational music project featuring Miles Lassi, Zekarias Thompson, and Skyway Man.

DJ Sets by Andy Cabic (Vetiver)

DJ at 8:00 PM
Shorts at 8:30 with an intermission between sets!

PLAYING AS A PART OF CAUGHT ON TAPE

Since 1981, Condit’s videos have created heroines whose lives swing between beauty and the grotesque, innocence and cruelty, youth and fragility. Her work puts a subversive spin on the traditional mythology of women in film and the psychology of sexuality and violence. Exploring the dark side of female subjectivity, her “feminist fairy tales” focus on friendships, age, and the natural world.

BENEATH THE SKIN (1981), 12 minutes
NOT A JEALOUS BONE (1987), 11 minutes
POSSIBLY IN MICHIGAN (1983), 12 minutes
SUBURBS OF EDEN (1996), 16 minutes
OH, RAPUNZEL! (1996), 24 minutes

VHS preshow curated by The Basement

Every film but Oh, Rapunzel is provided by LUNCHMEAT. Oh, Rapunzel is provided by Digital Revolution.

A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who’s working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.

MOViES FOR MANiACS presents: 25th Anniversary of SLC PUNK! (1998) + AMERiKANA (2001) Double Bill w/ James Duval IN PERSON

Actor James Duval will be IN PERSON and writer/director James Merendino will be live via Facetime to celebrate the 25th anniversary 4K restoration of James Merendino's SLC PUNK! (1998) along with a very rare screening of their phenomenal follow-up feature: AMERiKANA (2001), which was the 13th Entry of Dogme 95. Presented by MOViES FOR MANiACS and hosted by Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, a very special Q&A will occur between the double bill.

7:00pm - SLC PUNK! (1998) - 25th Anniversary 4K Restoration
Based on the writer/director James Merendino's mid-1980s experience growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, the film explores the hyper-kinetic daily life of a punk named Stevo (perfectly encompassed by Matthew Lillard), his best friend, "Heroin" Bob and a myriad of SLC tribes such as Rednecks, Heavy Metal guys, New Wavers, Neo-nazis, Punks and Mods.

Actors Michael A. Goorjian, Jason Segal, Annabeth Gish and James Duval are all quite memorable in their respective roles making this quintessential 1990s film -- about the 1980s -- a fascinating amalgamated time-capsule that has been begging for a cinematic re-evaluation.  James Duval, who plays Frank the Bunny Rabbit in DONNiE DARKO will be IN PERSON, and writer/director James Merendino will be live via Facetime to celebrate this 25th Anniversary 4K screening! Rated R. 98 minutes. 4K DCP courtesy of Sony.

9:30pm - AMERiKANA (2001)
This extremely rare screening of writer/director James Merendino's follow-up to SLC PUNK! pits James Duval and Michael A. Goorjian as a pair of best friends who take an EASY RiDER-esque road trip across the plains from South Dakota to Los Angeles in a vespa.

The film is a hilarious yet devastatingly honest look at friendship, which makes perfect sense when realizing it was the thirteenth official Dogme 95 release. This often breath-taking and profoundly moving flick has been underrated and overlooked for far too long. James Duval, will be IN PERSON along with writer/director James Merendino who will be live via Facetime to discuss this lost mini-masterpiece. Unrated. 95 minutes.