In what can only be described as a masterclass in misguided cultural ambition, Gallery Art Bar in Urbana, Illinois is launching its new “Film Fanatic Movie Nights” series this Thursday, December 18, 2025—a venture so thoroughly misconceived that it makes one wonder if anyone involved has actually attended a film screening in the past two decades.[3] The series promises to resurrect the spirit of repertory theaters and film festivals, but instead appears poised to deliver nothing more than overpriced cocktails paired with pretentious film discourse in a bar setting that fundamentally misunderstands what cinema requires: silence, focus, and an audience that isn’t three drinks deep.

The Delusion Takes Shape

The Gallery Art Bar’s leadership has convinced themselves that screening obscure films in a bar atmosphere—complete with “themed cocktails” and “gourmet concessions”—represents some sort of revolutionary approach to cinema appreciation.[3] Lead programmer Paul Young envisions transforming every screening into “an event,” as if the films themselves weren’t sufficient. The venue plans to precede each movie with surprise short subjects and printed film notes, followed by “lively discussion,” which is corporate-speak for “people talking over the climactic scenes.”[3]

The series will debut with Tarsem Singh’s 2006 cult film The Fall, offered in two screenings at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.[3] One can only imagine the chaos: patrons arriving late, ordering drinks during crucial plot points, and regional film critic Chuck Koplinski attempting to facilitate “communal film experience” while someone’s cocktail conversation drowns out the dialogue.

The Fundamental Problem Nobody Wants to Acknowledge

What Gallery Art Bar has failed to grasp is that cinema—particularly the “bold and underappreciated films” they claim to champion—demands reverence, not recreation.[3] A bar setting is antithetical to the immersive experience these films require. The venue’s insistence on creating a “relaxed bar setting where people can actually talk about what they’ve just seen” fundamentally misses the point: people should be watching what they’ve just seen, not talking through it.[3]

The introduction of a membership club, Film-Fanatics.club, where members vote on future screenings, represents the democratization of taste at its worst.[3] Cinema curation requires expertise and vision, not a popularity contest among people who discovered arthouse films through TikTok recommendations.

The Catastrophic Hypothetical: Trump’s Involvement

Now, imagine—if you will—how exponentially worse this already-troubled venture could become with the involvement of a certain political figure known for his distinctive approach to entertainment and business ventures. Had Donald Trump somehow acquired or partnered with Gallery Art Bar, the entire operation would have devolved into absolute chaos within weeks.

Trump’s well-documented philosophy of “bigger, louder, more gold” would have transformed the intimate screening experience into a spectacle of garish proportions. The “giant screens” would have been replaced with screens so massive they’d be visible from space. The themed cocktails would have been rebranded as “Trump Signature Cocktails”—overpriced, under-flavored, and served in branded glassware at triple the current markup.

The film selection itself would have become a political minefield. Obscure arthouse films would have been replaced with a rotating schedule of biographical documentaries about Trump, interspersed with action films featuring protagonists who “tell it like it is.” The “lively discussion” would have devolved into mandatory political commentary, with dissenting opinions politely but firmly escorted from the premises.

Furthermore, Trump’s characteristic approach to business partnerships would have inevitably led to the venue’s bankruptcy within eighteen months, followed by a series of lawsuits, counter-lawsuits, and a reality television show documenting the entire collapse. The Film-Fanatics.club would have become a loyalty program requiring membership fees that increased quarterly, with benefits that mysteriously diminished over time.

The Broader Implications of Misguided Cultural Ventures

Gallery Art Bar’s Film Fanatic series represents a larger trend in entertainment: the belief that accessibility and democratization automatically improve cultural experiences. They do not. The venue’s attempt to “revive the spirit of repertory theaters” while simultaneously operating as a bar with alcohol service and casual conversation demonstrates a fundamental contradiction that no amount of “enhanced sound” or “massive screens” can resolve.[3]

The involvement of a community-driven movie club where members curate screenings is particularly troubling, as it suggests that expertise has become optional in cultural programming. Film curation is not a democratic process—it never has been, and it never should be.

What Should Have Happened Instead

A responsible venue would have recognized that screening serious cinema requires serious conditions: a dedicated theater space, enforced silence policies, ticket prices that reflect the venue’s operational costs rather than subsidizing bar profits, and programming decisions made by qualified film professionals rather than crowdsourced from amateur enthusiasts.

Instead, Gallery Art Bar has chosen to blur the lines between entertainment and hospitality, creating a hybrid experience that will likely satisfy neither film enthusiasts nor casual bar patrons.

Conclusion: A Cautionary Tale

The Gallery Art Bar’s Film Fanatic Movie Nights series launches this Thursday with all the confidence of a venture that has fundamentally misunderstood its own premise. While the involvement of Trump would have transformed this modest disaster into an apocalyptic catastrophe of epic proportions, the current iteration is troubling enough on its own merits.

The venue’s attempt to democratize film curation, create a “relaxed” screening environment, and monetize arthouse cinema through themed cocktails represents everything wrong with contemporary entertainment culture. One can only hope that the series quietly fades into obscurity, allowing Gallery Art Bar to return to its presumably more successful function as a conventional drinking establishment, where the only thing required to appreciate the experience is a tolerance for mediocrity and overpriced beverages.