Exclusive Screening of Indie Film Coming to The Colonial Theatre

What makes going to the movies great?

Sure, the popcorn is delicious and incredibly difficult to replicate at home. You get to see sneak peeks of upcoming movies in the previews and one up your friends with that knowledge. And then there’s the sharing of a community experience.

When you’re packed into a theater with a few friends and a bunch of strangers, you shriek together at the scary parts, inch to the edge of seats during suspenseful scenes and laugh together when it’s funny.

That last reason is what drew Rachel Zimmermann to an indie flick called “The Best and the Brightest.” She saw it previewed at the Philadelphia Film Festival in October and loved it.

“There was something about seeing it with this huge group of people,” Zimmermann said. “It was this community experience of watching it together. And the movie was hilarious, too.”

She became a fast fan of the movie and followed its progress online. Then, a button popped up saying fans could request a screening of “The Best and the Brightest” right in their areas.

Zimmermann clicked it, way back in February. She e-mailed the director, telling him about a fabulous old theater in Phoenixville called . The remainder of February passed, and then March.

A week and a half ago, Zimmermann heard news that the film would be screened at The Colonial Theatre. However, she’d only have a short time to get the word out. The movie will be shown April 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Using Facebook, Zimmermann enlisted friends to set out on the town, passing out posters and placing stacks of postcards in local businesses. The Colonial sweetened the deal, and anyone who brings in a postcard will receive two tickets for the price of one.

When you glance at the other names of the cities on the screenings list, Phoenixville sticks out a bit. As of Friday morning, it’s only one of 10 others in the country showing the film over the next few months. Screenings were already held in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and other cities include Houston, Washington, D.C. and Dubuque, Iowa (one of the actresses is from Dubuque).

To boot, one of the film’s producers, Declan Baldwin, will be on hand at The Colonial Theatre Friday night for a Q&A session at the screening. Zimmermann is trying to get as many people as possible to come out to enjoy the movie in a group setting.

The cast and crew aren’t just sitting back and letting her do all the work, though.

“They’ve been very much involved,” Zimmermann said. “Their main goal is trying to get people to see the film and hopefully enjoy it.”

Don’t be fooled by the “indie” in the film’s description. It stars a number of Hollywood favorites like Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Sedaris, Kate Mulgrew, Bridget Regan and John Hodgman (of I’m a PC and “Daily Show” fame).

The film focuses on a couple trying to get their daughter into an exclusive private school. Zimmermann went to a private girls-only Catholic school, so it hit home for her.

“I could really relate to it,” she said.

If she has one regret, it’s that she didn’t get a bit more time to promote the film screening in Phoenixville. Those behind the film might change up the process a bit in the future to give folks more notice.

“This whole process has sort of been a learning experience for them,” Zimmermann said.

If you’d like to go, the film will be shown tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. Pick up postcards at a local business and bring them in for two-for-one ticket prices. You can find the postcards at Heidi Sue Variety, Ellie's Choice, Artisan's Café, Strawberry Fields and P.J. Ryan’s, as well as the theater itself.

To find out more about “The Best and the Brightest,” visit the film’s website.