Edward Burns, My New BFF

It must have been the luck of the Irish that put dreamy Edward Burns at the same movie theater as me this weekend in the East Village.

Michael and I had just had our weekly fix of pierogies and kielbasa at Veselka when he noticed the new Ed Burns film, "The Groomsmen," was showing down the street. After buying tickets, we were waiting inside the lobby when we sensed a palpaple buzz in the air before we overheard someone say that Ed was inside the auditorium doing a Q&A for the showing before ours. We had no idea if he'd be back for another one after our time, so when we were finally allowed to come in, I decided I'd better have a look around. Out the side door I went and there he was -- my favorite Brother McMullen -- even dreamier than I imagined he'd be. He was sweet and posed for this photo, and by the time I got back inside the theater I was so giddy I could barely sit still for the movie. (I kept thinking to myself what question I would ask him and wondered if "Why did you marry Christy Turlington instead of me?" would be inappropriate, especially after how nice he'd been outside. As it turned out, I was lucky to have tracked him down when I did -- Ed was long gone when the movie let out.)

Covering the Greg Kihn Band's best song

Incidentally, "The Groomsmen" is a sweet little film with a good story, sharp dialogue and excellent performances (oh, and a gay subplot). While it's not likely to win over many new fans (it tackles familiar Burnsian themes -- a Catholic guy's pursuit of love and happiness on Long Island), it's by far the best thing he's done since his 1995 debut brought him into the limelight.

If you want to read more about the film, this review sums it up nicely. I, for one, will just sit here and relive the moment when I asked Ed for a photo and he smiled and said "sure" -- and then put his arm around me to pull me closer to him ...

Previously: Sunday Worship: Edward Burns

Filed under: Sightings in the (212)