From the Refreshment Stand:

To truly explore all the facets of Cube Gleaming, we came up with some food and drinks to go along with this week's showing of Gleaming the Cube.

Since most of the movies shown at the Alamo Basement are ones I haven't seen, it can be a challenge to find appropriate food references basing yourself solely on the trailer. I, for one, had not picked up on the fact that the movie was seemingly sponsored by Pizza Hut and Coke.

I decided to focus on the fact that this movie is totally rad and from the 80's. And while my concept of the 80's might be technically incorrect, I think we got the right feel from the food. We made Hot Dog Surprise. And the surprise? It tastes good. You wouldn't think it from the look of it when you're about half way through the recipe but it does not disappoint.

These doggies were "sold out" before the Asian roommate brother was dead.

As for the drink- this was a harder task if only because I can't mix a drink with more than 2 ingredients (Need a rum and coke? I've got you covered!). To explore the rad flavors and bogus colors of the 80's I got hooked on using Watermelon Vodka- surely the most ridiculous of vodka flavors. We tossed around the idea of rimming the glasses in Pop Rocks or Pixy Stix but after finally located them (when did grocery stores stop selling this kind of stuff??) neither of these candies would stick. And cleaning stuck Pop Rocks off a plate is a little dangerous... I also wanted to include Kool aid somehow- hopefully in crazy colors and flavors. And then it hit me: flavor-gleaming-ice-cubes!

We made Hawaiian punch flavored ice cubes and then followed the instructions on the grape and strawberry Kool Aid packet to make "Sour Ice Cubes". As they melted in the drink, the sour cubes did provide that extra punch I was hoping to get from the candy rimming but they were hell-a sticky and just never seemed totally frozen. Probably too much sugar...

Some of our awesome viewers rounded out our selection of refreshments with some tubular treats: Fruit by the Foot, Gushers, Fruit Roll-ups and Capri Sun.

It was a sugar fueled event

Recipes after the jump.

18 Possible Definitions of "Gleaming The Cube"

1.       Skating around an active airport tarmac.

2.       Hanging out with Tony Hawk.

"Gleaming the Cube" (1989)

“The title is skateboarding jargon for reaching the ultimate—which this movie never does.” – Leonard Maltin wagering a guess and sneaking in a burn in The Leonard Maltin Movie Guide.

This week’s movie is Gleaming the Cube the world’s only crime thriller centered around skateboarding. Christian Slater and his frosted blonde hair star as a rebellious young skater who becomes embroiled in a smuggling ring after the mysterious death of his adopted brother.

The film is directed by Australian Graeme Clifford, who worked with Robert Altman on a few movies and directed an episode of “Twin Peaks,” and written by Michael Tolkin, who wrote The Player (hey!), but also Deep Impact and Nine (aww).
 

It’s difficult to tell what to expect from Gleaming the Cube, considering that press on the movie is pretty much limited to a single contemporary Washington Post review. It isn't even available on Netflix. The Post review calls it “ridiculous, but good,” adding that it looks more like an after school special than an actual movie.

The trailer makes it seem like one of a rash of movies from the late 80's that tried to capitalize on a hot new trend, but didn't bother getting bogged down with minor details like "research" or "understanding the culture." Kind of like if The Wizard, but with skateboards instead of power gloves. I suspect that the film is darker than that, though, likely taking itself way more seriously than any movie featuring a young Tony Hawk as a supporting player ever should.

The film opens with a scene that features Slater and his crew radding it up on an active airport tarmac, so if one thing is for certain, Gleaming the Cube should prove to be a ridiculous piece of culture-vomit.

“Gleaming the cube,” by the way, is a term coined by pro skater Garry Davis in a Thrasher magazine interview.

It doesn’t mean anything.

- Kris