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Recently I was the moderator for the panel for the opening premiere of “Welcome the Men’s Group“. I love the movie, and it reflects so many of the themes we talk about on The Good Men Project, so it was an honor to be a part of the opening.
The panel included people from organizations and institutions central to a discussion about men in today’s world: Mary Jane Wagle of Planned Parenthood, Terry Norton-Wright from Movember, Robert Bruce from the LA Men’s Center, Alexandra Katehakis PhD. of the Center for Healthy Sex, Steve Harper from The Mankind Project, and Rabbi Carla Howard from the Jewish Healing & Hospice Center
“I’ve seen this movie four times now, and every time I see it I think “What a great movie!” It’s like I’m seeing it for the first time, every time. And I can give you all the usual reasons why I think it’s great: It’s superbly produced–such attention to detail. The writing is funny and insightful, great direction, great acting. The characters themselves are so relatable. Even the ones I didn’t like as much as others I could totally relate to..yeah, I’ve been there. But what really stayed with me was the relationships between those characters. How they evolved and changed and developed into something deep and meaningful and profound. I tried to think of another movie that explored relationships like that with a group of men, and I couldn’t think of one.
But the first time I was the movie was two years ago. Remember life that far back? Doesn’t that seem like an extraordinarily long time ago?
–2 years ago was before we had the current President.
–2 years ago was before #MeToo and TimesUp had their own hashtag
–Before our institutions seemed under attack—Planned Parenthood was always under attack, but it didn’t seem like all our institutions all the time were.
–It was a time when MEN didn’t feel like they were always under attack.
–And finally, two years ago—the word “incels” wasn’t even a word. (For those of you who don’t know the word ‘incels’ it means “involuntarily celibate”. You know, kind of the opposite of Joseph’s character, who, in the movie, was “involuntarily NOT celibate”.)
And the path forward, is to talk about these issues…men with both men and woman alike…to talk about these issues with compassion, trust, openness and empathy…just as the movie shows us to do.
The “Welcome to the Men’s Group” movie is such a great catalyst for conversation and. I think, points to a way forward. If we don’t solve the problems that men have being fully actualized people, we’re not going to solve anything.
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We’re pleased to announce that we The Good Men Project is going to be hosting another panel for “Welcome to the Men’s Group” movie. For those in the Los Angeles area, please join us!
Tuesday, May 22, after the 4:45 pm show.
Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills
GET TICKETS NOW: https://www.laemmle.com/films/43873
The panel will include:
Melissa Drake – Partnership Director for The Good Men Project
Evan Stein – Co-Founder Experience Music Group and Good Men Project Contributor/Social Interest Group Partner
Kyle Lipton – Founder Embodied Truth LLC, helping leaders live their legacy
Adam Shell – Where #MeToo and Stay at Home Dads converge
Joseph Culp – director-writer/producer, Welcome to the Men’s Group
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Here is more information about the film itself:
WELCOME TO THE MEN’S GROUP – A film about the Inner Life of Men
An all-male support group descends into chaos when longstanding conflicts threaten to destroy the trust between the men. This groundbreaking new comedy/drama delves frankly into issues of male identity, competition, vulnerability and grief.
WATCH TRAILER HERE: https://youtu.be/49r51S_jcxU
Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Stephen Tobolowsky, Terence Rotolo, Mackenzie Astin, Joseph Culp, Ali Saam, Phil Abrams, David Clennon
Directed by Joseph Culp
Written and produced by Scott Ben-Yashar and Joseph Culp
Opens May 18 – 24 shows daily 12:00, 4:45
BUY TICKETS NOW
WHERE:
Laemmle’s Music Hall
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT WELCOME TO THE MEN’S GROUP
“Hilarious…Irreverent…Poignant.” – The Mankind Project
“Startling…Cathartic…Insightful.” – New Times
“Cutting edge…This is a film that changes the rules” – Agenda Magazine
“A strong cast making the most of some sharp moments exposing the underside of male privilege and domination..showing that the sincere soul-searching of the 60’s never entirely vanished.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“The story dances through deep questions about spirituality and fatherhood, material wealth and sexual attraction, mental illness and homelessness, and on into ridiculousness and hilarity.” The Good Men Project
The post Welcome to the Men’s Group: A Timely Movie for Turbulent Times appeared first on The Good Men Project.