Whoa. Guys.
Moonie and I just saw the most AMAZING film.

OK, I’ll back up. This week is the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), where hundreds of indie films are shown around our tiny state in just a few days. “Flickers,” as the festival is known, is in its 19th year, but this was Moonie’s first time attending. Even better, he was invited to attend the RIIFF premiere of “Honeyglue”, which features “Off the Trail,” our favorite song by local rootsy rockers The ‘Mericans, on its soundtrack.

We arrived at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, where Moonie immediately fell in love with all the beautiful lights.

When I finally coaxed him away from the lights and inside, Moonie got a special surprise. Chris Daltry and Michael Moore of The ‘Mericans treated the “Honeyglue” audience – which included its director, James Bird, and its star, Adriana Mather – to a live performance of their fantastic song “Off the Trail” just before the movie started playing.

In fact, Moonie even shot a video of the performance and loaded it to “The You Tube.”

It was time for the film! Here’s the official synopsis of “Honeyglue”:

After learning she only has three months to live, Morgan flips her conservative, protected life upside-down. This is where she meets Jordan, a purse-snatching ex-junkie crossdresser, who gives her a glimpse of a new life. Together they set out on a bucket list of adventures and show us how precious life is, and how just three months can be an entire lifetime if you are with the one you love.

Moonie and I won’t reveal details, but although as you can tell from the description the movie has some heavy parts, it has many, many lovable parts. I can’t say enough how good it was; you just need to see for yourselves how two doomed-until-they-find-each-other characters manage to celebrate every possible aspect of life and love, during which the film weaves an artistic little story combining past origins and future discoveries. Moonie is already asking when he can see it again (rumor says it will screen again this Saturday night in Rhode Island, but we’d sure love to see a distributor bring “Honeyglue” to theaters nationwide for an official run).

At least no one complained audibly about Moonie’s spiky pink hair blocking the screen from his second-row seat. When you’re three inches tall, you take any boost you can get, so he alternated between standing on my shoulder and on the seat in front of him. Apologies to anyone that his rock-star locks may have bothered during the screening.

Moonie asked to stay until the very end so he could see the credits for “Off the Trail,” so we did.

He also got to meet the talented James Bird and Adriana Mather, which caused him to get a little shy and hang back in my pocket – which was probably a wiser choice than how I gushed to each about the bee tattoo scene and how I have a bee tattoo myself in homage to the years I spent keeping them. James and Adriana were both really nice. Adriana, it turns out, is a bee lover herself, aiding tired and thirsty bees she discovers on L.A. sidewalks.

Before we headed out, she and James even gave Moonie his very own “Honeyglue” pen.

He pulled it out as soon as we got home and started scribbling. He has decided his own screenplay, “Cookiehugs,” will describe his boundless love for both cookies and hugs, but he’s having a bit of trouble transferring that love into a visual tale.

Let’s just say he’s better suited to enjoying others’ films than creating his own – and to eating cookies rather than casting them.