TAKE MY BREATH AWAY // A REVIEW OF "THE USUAL REJECTS: TOP GUN"

BY MATEO MORENO

Each month, in a small Long Island City theatre named "The Chain," a New York based comedy group showcases their love of movies and, more importantly, their love of making fun of movies, and brings it to you. They present a staged reading, complete with costumes and props, of a different movie each month. There are prizes. There is trivia. Audience participation. Cheap Beers. And drinking games for both you and the crew on stage. It's like a college party without all the dickheads. "The Usual Rejects" are comprised of many, but each month they pick five members and between the five they read every role in the film (along with help from selected audience members). Recently, they took on such cinema treasures as Terminator 2 Judgement Day, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Jurassic Park, Speed, and everyone's favorite Patrick Swayze flick Road House. Mixing ridiculousness with cleverness, they have the sold out audiences in stitches with chaotic line readings, hilarious props, and lots of drinking. This month's pick held up to their previous success with the Bro-tastic TAKE MY BREATH AWAY: TOP GUN.

Performing this go around was Kyle Kirkpatrick playing our "Dangerous" hero Maverick, aka Tom Cruise. Then there's Deven Anderson taking up Val Kilmer’s Iceman, Sean Curry as Slider, David Rey as Viper (Tom Skerritt), Lenny Thomas as Jester/Sundown, Stacey Price as the girl who's not Meg Ryan (she's Kelly McGillis, aka Charlie) and Kirk Gostkowski as Dr. Mark Greene... I mean Goose, originally played by Anthony Edwards. One very funny added bonus is before the show begins, an auction is held to who in the audience would like to play "God." Whoever makes the highest bid gets five chances throughout the course of the evening to command one actor on stage to chug a beer, no matter what (one actor this month had to chug a beer while being held up in the air). It's silly, ridiculous fun, and the cast is 100% on point. Standouts are different each month and taking the cake this go around are Deven Anderson's spot on Val Kilmer (shout out to his frosted tips), Stacey Price's hilariously lifeless line delivery of Kelly McGillis's lifeless line delivery and Kyle Kirkpatrick's "dangerous" Maverick. I don't want to spoil too many jokes in this month's entry because, unlike previous months, you still have a chance to see them perform Top Gun on Sat Aug 29th. Do yourself a favor and get out to "The Chain," bring a friend and have some ridiculous fun. Each ticket comes with two beers and additional beers are only $4.00. There's no other comic troupe in NY doing what they do, and that a rare thing to say in this city. Buy your tickets early though, as they tend to sell out. You can thank me later.

MATEO'S GRADE: A

Created by: The Usual Rejects Starring (this month): Deven Anderson, Sean Curry, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Stacey Price, David Rey, Lenny Thomas and Kirk Gostkowski. For Tickets to TAKE MY BREATH AWAY: TOP GUN on Saturday August 29th: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10028904 For future show and More Information: https://www.facebook.com/UsualRejects/

MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconscious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.