Welcome to August, cheapskates. If this week is any indication, it bodes a fine month for we tightwads, particularly the cinema and comedy lovers among us. Double features, horror shorts and Lebowski debauchery add some color to the standard family films on the Esplanade this week, and star-crossed nudes fish for laughs in Central Square while the Bard holds court on the Common. Plus, read on for free Ben & Jerry’s.
Monday, August 1
The Repertory Series at Harvard’s Brattle Theatre serves up a duo of tasty double features today. Hitchcockians rejoice at the pairing of Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959) at 3 PM followed by Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958) at 5:30 PM. The more contemporary-minded and ironically-inclined cinemasseur might stick around for a grindhouse double: Hobo With a Shotgun (2011) rolls at 8 PM followed by Machete (2010) at 10 PM. A mere $7.75 gets you in to either film coupling — choose wisely.
Dude-in-Chief Jeff Bridges (along with co-stars Goodman, Moore, Hoffman, Buscemi, ad infinitum) shuffles grudgingly onto the screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for its annual screening of The Big Lebowski (1998). The aquatic marmots, coffee ground urns and nihilism begins at 7 PM ($6 for students), with trivia, bowling, costume contests and general Lebowski revelry before the show. Come as you are, man… but maybe throw on a bathrobe.
Tuesday, August 2
Monday’s Hitchcock double feature repeats at the Brattle today: North by Northwest (1959) takes the screen at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM, intercut with Vertigo (1958) at 5 and 10.
[Cheapskate readers, hark! The Tuesday curse be vanquished!]
Wednesday, August 3
The all-free-all-the-time Boston Landmarks Orchestra presents Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Verdi selections in collaboration with the Boston Lyric Opera tonight at the Esplanade Hatch Shell at 7 PM. Each week the Landmarks Orchestra features world-renowned guest musicians in addition to the core populist instrumentalists performing al naturale.
Relatedly, ImprovBoston in Central Square takes awk-com to new levels the first Wednesday of every month with its Naked Comedy Showcase. An 18+ ID plus a Lincoln gets you standup in the buff.
The nude-squeamish but gore-friendly might wander to the Somerville Theatre for The Best of All Things Horror, a curated collection of short horror films. Before the mini-fest starts at 8 PM ($5 admission), head to the theatre basement to peruse the Museum of Bad Art installation.
Thursday, August 4
Finally, a good use for all that excess blood you have pooling in your legs: a pint or so at the Museum of Science Red Cross Blood Drive not only gets you a free standard admission pass to the Exhibit Hall, but also a Shark Week t-shirt and that warm woozy feeling of surrendering vital fluids for those who need them more.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opens its doors to the unwashed and unpaying masses from 5 to 8 PM this evening. Museum staff warns that queues can get longish on free nights, as the Gardner has limited capacity.
Improv Asylum graduates Awkward Compliment present Thursday Night Comedy at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. A mere $5 gets you into the 8 PM show featuring standup, scripted and improvised comedy from across Boston.
Friday, August 5
Sure, a BU ID will get you into the Institute of Contemporary Art any day. But the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays no-admission day at the ICA is just as good a time as any to catch the last of vinyl-heavy exhibition The Record (on view through August) or any of the other installations at the waterfront gallery.
SoWa Artists Guild First Fridays opens the workshops and art spaces of the SoWa community to the public from 5 to 9 PM. Roam through 15 galleries and 50 studios of a range of Boston artists, from painters to sculptures to photographers. The Guild is located at 450 Harrison Avenue — take the Silver Line to E. Berkeley.
Free Friday Flicks at the Esplanade Hatch Shell continues at sundown with Tangled (2010).
Saturday, August 6
By now you’ve probably seen and/or prodded vestiges of the Boston-wide Hubway bike-share that launched last Thursday with over 600 sets of wheels at 60+ kiosks. Newbury outfitters Patagonia teams up with the new system with a Hubway Scavenger Hunt from 10 AM to 4 PM. Teams of up to three register at Patagonia then zoom around the city on futurist cycles for a stab at Patagonia gear, Hubway passes and more bike prizes while getting a crash course in all things Hubway.
City Hall Plaza hosts the Boston Urban Music Fest featuring Goapele, Mac Miller and Moufy (plus Boston MC Moe Pope) for free from 5 to 8 PM.
Pru’s Family Film Festival brings Toy Story 3 (2010) to the South Garden at sundown.
Sunday, August 7
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy hosts an outdoor screening of Toy Story 3 (2010) in all its toy-hoarding teariness at Jamaica Pond at 7 PM.
Keyboardist, composer and Berklee grad Tuffus Zimbabwe performs free at Highland Park in his native Roxbury. Tuffus is currently a member of the SNL Band, so this is as close as most of you will ever get to Samberg.
A couple of general notes of cheapskatery by way of closing. If you haven’t caught the Chihuly exhibit at MFA, better hustle — it’s only around until August 8 (although the famous Icicle Tower could stay if you find it in your hearts and wallets to drop some bucks as you pass). Similarly, the 16th season of Shakespeare on the Common (All’s Well that Ends Well) is certified fresh, but expires August 14, you codpiece. Finally, the cheap and Twitter-promiscuous might want to stalk @BenJerrysTruck to score free Cherry Garcia et al around Boston throughout August.
