I had never seen this film because I was living in Madrid Spain under the Franco dictatorship. It was a treat to see San Francisco in 1972, the hairstyles, clothes, makeup, the crushed velvet, the VW bugs, it was just a blast! So funny. Ruth Gordon was marvelous. I didn’t realize how much the music of Cat Stevens was incorporated into the soundtrack or that Ruth Gordon would sing “If you want to sing out, sing out.”

As the event began, the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were acknowledged as they were part of the entertainment community.

Yusuf performed the classic Don’t Be Shy, now covered by Eddie Vedder and heard over the credits of Michael Moore’s “Sicko”. Then he played “Miles From Nowhere” which can be heard in the movie out now, “The Brothers Bloom”. Finally someobody provided him with a stool to sit on and he sang a song Cameron Crowe had requested, “Trouble”, which he said he doesn’t play much but hoped he remembered the words to. He was given a standing ovation.

Hal Ashby was inspired by the music of Cat Stevens while making this movie, as many of us were in our lives when we were young….

Ruth Gordon stole the show of course. Bud Cort’s appearance was a treat and I though it was poignant when he said he and Cat Stevens became great friends (and then you disappeared - and I missed you - and Ringo Starr wants to know what happened to that drum solo he recorded for you in Denmark).

We were lucky to be in that audience last night and I look forward to seeing the other films in the series, especially Coming Home and Being There.