Goin’ to the Movies

I love to go to the movies. Always have, as far back as I can remember. There’s just something about sitting in a comfortable seat in the dark theater blanketing every possible distraction (not always) listening to stereo sound. It is a joy to load up a big bucket of popcorn, a Coke that burns your throat going down and even sometimes a pack of chocolate chip cookie dough candy.

I sometimes don’t think of moviegoing as a social activity, perhaps because you get in the theater and just watch. But still, some great memories have happened theaters.

I went with some friends to see Lethal Weapon 2 and my friend Ronnie bought a bag of popcorn. We went in and sat down and he asked me if I wanted some popcorn and handed me the bag. I chowed down for a good 2-3 minutes before I noticed him eating from another bag. “What is that?” “The bag of popcorn I bought!” “Well, what am I eating?” “It was in the seat when I got in here!”

I’ll never forget the opening night of Titanic. Who would have thought at 3 hours in, the story was still going? My friend was miserable with a bladder full of Diet Coke. We were stuck in the middle of the row, my favorite seats, but not a good one for navigating in and out. He told me “I’ll have to meet yall back in the lobby” and then kept sitting there, afraid he’d miss something. When Jack is in the water and Kate is holding his hand, the film broke. It was after midnight in the theater. My friend sprang up, bolted to the restroom and when he returned, the movie started back. It broke again and they gave us full refunds. But I never again had the desire to spend 3 hours and 15 minutes to find out what happens in the final ten. Did they sell the diamond?

I don’t really appreciate hearing people talk in a theater unless it’s a scary movie and the talk is accompanied by a scream or two. The last scary movie I saw, a woman sitting in front of us screamed bloody murder and slipped down under her seat when the killer appeared. It was kinda like a human puppet show. When some friends and I went to see the remake of When a Stranger Calls, the row behind us filled in with 13 year-old girls, chatting it up about boys and iPods and cell phones. I was miserable…until the movie started. Their screams were better than Dolby stereo surround! It was hilarious.

At the opening of Star Wars Episode I, a big group of us were waiting to be seated. It was packed and the ticket taker, who was seated, yelled out instructions. One of my friends yelled back “if you’d stand up, maybe we could hear you better!” Of course they were in a wheelchair.