Aside from my kids, family, yada yada, the obvious answers, there is very little that thrills me more than going to the movies. It is unparalled joy to me. It hasn't always been that way. I've always enjoyed the movies, but not as much as now. As a child I went very rarely, but I liked going. In fact my very first memory of a movie was as a child of maybe 6 or 7. My parents took us to Peter Pan while they went Christmas shopping. Isn't that hilarious? It just makes me laugh because back then movies were baby sitters and it was no big deal, but now we would NEVER think of doing this! My next memory was of seeing my first "PG" movie (that my parents were aware of). It was Star Wars and my parents took me for my 8th graduation (in Montana you go to grade school until 8th grade, then straight to high school). Now I'm going to digress from straight movie talk, to the events surrounding my first "R" rated movie, also in 8th grade. It occurred during one night of evil doings. Sorry Mom, this will be a shock to you. I had a friend move down the street and she had extremely permissive parents with no rules or curfew, I however, had the opposite. One night she had a slumber party with a few friends. I was at that critical age where you are an amazing person if you have the courage to stand up to your peers. I was semi-weak, never breaking major rules, but going along with the crowd on minor ones. Her older sister was 14 and could drive (scary, the age is 14 in montana) so we snuck out of the house, pushed the car down the street, then started it and took off. We went to the movies to see a movie called It's Alive. I recall very little about the movie except it was about a monster baby who cried like a demented male cat fighting over a female cat. I'm sure you've all hear that cry, it's creepy. The freak baby had long fangs and ate everyone. We met some boys who got in the car with us. We went to Kmart, where, while I looked at the lipgloss, my friends all shoplifed. I knew they shoplifted regularly, but had never participated, but not trying to stop them either. I always graciously volunteered to be the "paying one" to draw attention away from them. They came out with records (remember those, kids?), beer (how do you shop lift a six pack of beer?), etc. I came out with my paid Dr. Pepper lip smackers lip gloss. Then we drove around. i didn't drink, how I got out of that one, I'll never know. Then they went around stealing street signs for their bedrooms. It was the most exciting scary night of my sheltered mormon life. And one of my most guilt ridden. Arent you glad we moved Mom? Montana aint no place to raise child, seriously. they drink, smoke etc way to early.
Back to the movies. As I got older and life got more stressful, the movies became an escape. That, in a nutshell is what I love about movies, the escape-ism of them. It's a time to completely forget whats happening in your life. You can forget about the laundry pile on your dining room table that's beginning to mutate into a living creature, forget about your callings, all the things you need to do etc. It's magical. I have rarely left a movie without feeling somehow refreshed with a renewed optimism of what I want to accomplish. I leave thinking, I can do it! Whatever "it" happens to be. I am going to re-decorate my house, i'm going to get a high paying career (yeah right), I'm going to become more confident, I'm going to fight aliens and go on car chases. I'm going to take off and go on a trip, I'm going to get out of my comfort zone and just do SOMETHING!
Going to the movies requires rituals. First, seating, very important. I've always preferred the back row for a couple of reasons. First, I am far enough away from the screen to not get car sick, second, before stadium seating I always stressed about Tom's enormous cranium and how the people behind us couldn't see over his fat head. He would refuse to slouch down. I always wanted the center seat in the row so that I was right in the middle. Now, my favorite and required spot is the last seat on the row next to the aisle., second to last row. I don't know why I wanted the center spot, being such a frequent pee-er I would have to climb over the row to go potty. Now I have to have the end of the row so as not to feel trapped. Also, I can't stand having people on both sides of me, I feel claustrophobic, plus I worry that my fat is oozing on to other people. Also, being the last on the row allows me a place to put my popcorn and stuff to get at it easily - the stair next to me. Now the treats. If I had to go to the movies and NOT have popcorn and diet coke, I honestly think I'd have to pass on the movie. I am incapable of watching without eating. Popcorn is VERY important. It must be fresh. Sometimes when you go to the movies early, they will make it in advance and it's old and gross and I will make them replace it. Next the butter. The best part of the popcorn. If I had to eat it without butter, again I would have to rethink even going. I have to have the butter half way through then on top and I must have control over the butter distribution. I always go to the smaller satelite concession stands so that I can use the self service butter. It drives me nuts when I ask for extra butter and that means one tiny extra squirt. Proper butter distribution is key to perfect popcorn. If I soaks throught bottom of the barrel, I'm good. I don't care about the candy, but sometimes I like milk duds. I put them on top of my popcorn and they mix with the butter and popcorn and you eat them with the popcorn and its like eating carmel corn. YUM. I used to be embarrassed about my over buttering, but now, so what? It's not like someone isn't going to look and me and say, oh my gosh, that fat lady is putting too much butter on her popcorn, SHOCKING! No, they just think, yeah, she's fat, it's expected. Movie pet peaves: People who don't take out their kids/babies when they cry. That will send me through the roof. Especially when they stand on the main level in the hall and think you can't hear their kid crying. HELLO! You're still here! Just because we can't see you we can still hear you! Another pet peave is people who bring their young kids to inappropriate movies. It bothers me and it's not right. Tom and I went to Bourne Supremacy and some lady had her 3 or 4 year old little girl with her. Why? The other thing that sends me through the room is rotten tweenagers who act obnoxious during the movie, laughing too loud, making stupid comments etc. I saw Harry Potter last weekend and some turd headed tween kept using a laser pointer on the screen. I was so distracted trying to find the little fart so I could do some serious skull cracking, that I missed a lot of the movie. If it wasn't frowned upon, I would love to find these obnoxious tweens when they act annoying and smack them on the top of the head and say, do it again and you're dead, got it? but then there's that whole assault thing. sigh. laws.
My last movie point is that I love movies enough to go by myself. Yes, by myself. I sounds pathetic but it's not, its joyful. I get to choose the movie, eat all the popcorn myself, have both arm rests and no one talks to me or anything. It's heavenly. I used to be so embarrassed to go by myself. I would go through this elaborate ruse just to make sure NO one suspected I actually chose to go by myself. One time Tom was on business and I went to the movies during the day killing time. I make this big production of telling the ticket taker that I was waiting for someone and that I would go in ahead and if he saw a tall, pointy headed man, he was to tell him I went in. When I went in the theater I would make this pretense of looking like I was "saving" a seat for someone. I even went so far as to leave in the middle of the movie to ask the ticket guy if my husband had come yet. Holy crap isn't that stupid? NO ONE CARES! I am so happy that at this stage of my life I can go the movie by myself with and be perfectly content. One last thought, my favorite movie time of year is thanksgiving/christmas. It's so wonderful going to the christmas movies. I just love it. I am so glad that the movie industry got its act together and started making lots more family appropriate movies and not so many R rated ones. I'm also glad I've groomed a future movie obsessor, cayden, he's just as thrilled about them as me and I love it!
