Can you believe it's been 20 years since John Cusack stood with a boom box over his head playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" for Ione Sky? It's true. And to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film - and its release on Blu-Ray and DVD - tons of wanna-be Doblers are taking over New York City today, flash mob style.
How can you get involved? It's simple: grab your trenchcoat and your boom box, and gather with the other like-minded Doblers at various iconic Manhattan spots. The event starts at 10AM in Penn Station, then the "Moblers" are moving on to Washington Square Park at noon. Following that, it's Union Square at 2:30PM.
The flash mob event then takes over Times Square at 4PM, where - at 4:30PM - participants will be invited to hang in the bleachers to catch a live performance by - who else? - the Lloyd Dobler Effect. And what will they be playing? "In Your Eyes," of course. (And if you register on their website, you can get free music downloads.)
Of course, flash mobs have been popping up all over the place over the last six years... and while this one will undoubtedly be our favorite, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention some of the other classics.
For example, there were countless Michael Jackson-related flash mobs across the country after the King of Pop passed on, but one of the great ones took place in Seattle ... and wouldn't you know, there's video! You can easily find hundreds of examples of MJ mobs online.
Meanwhile back in 2006 and 2007, zombie flash mobs invaded San Francisco, and made being undead look like a ton of fun. Unfortunately, not everyone was down with the flash mob action. In fact, earlier this year the city sought to crack down on flash mob action thanks to a Valentine's Day pillow fight flash mob that left a big mess for the city to clean up.
And then there was the silent disco flash mobs in London. At various subway stations at a predetermined time, people gathered with their iPods and whatnot, and just started dancing. One station had over 4,000 people take part in the event.
So when you see hundreds of Lloyd Doblers combing the Manhattan streets, make sure you give them some love - not a pen.
