7
Dec/10

SAINT MISBEHAVIN’: THE WAVY GRAVY MOVIE

7
Dec/10

Wavy Gravy will be at the IFC Center for screenings of remarkable documentary on Wednesday and Thursday nights

IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
December 8-14
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
www.saintmisbehavin.com

The true message of the sixties never ended for village poet, inspired fool, pied piper, and self-described intuitive clown Hugh Romney, better known as Wavy Gravy. The remarkable life of the longtime peace activist and environmentalist is documented in Michelle Esrick’s wonderful SAINT MISBEHAVIN’: THE WAVY GRAVY MOVIE, which follows Wavy from Greenwich Village to Woodstock to Berkeley to the Third World. From his days performing at the Gaslight, sharing a room with Bob Dylan, participating in the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and the Further bus tour, and running the free kitchen at Woodstock to developing the Hog Farm commune, teaching children about peace, love, and understanding at Camp Winnarainbow, and traveling the globe helping restore sight for millions of blind people, Wavy’s life takes him all over the place, but the film never gets lost along the way. Wavy, who has his own Ben & Jerry’s flavor (caramel cashew Brazil nut ice cream with chocolate hazelnut fudge swirl and roasted almonds), spreads humor and compassion everywhere he goes. “Wavy was always trying to take the ordinary and make it into something funny and magical,” explains his wife, Jahanara, who has been by his side for this entire long, strange trip. Among those who share stories about the irrepressible Wavy are Ram Dass and Dr. Larry Brilliant, the two men who cofounded the international health organization SEVA with him, as well as Odetta, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. Patch Adams, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, who together paint a colorful portrait of a humble, sweet, bigger-than-life bodhisattva who is just doing what comes naturally, believing that we all have the power to change the world, one small act at a time, reaching for that “carrot of divine life.” Wavy (a doppelganger for the great British actor Peter Ustinov) and Esrick will be at the IFC Center for the 6:25 and 8:30 shows on Wednesday, December 8, and Thursday, December 9, and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield will personally deliver free ice cream at the 8:30 Wednesday screening.