Now some of you may not have the luxury that I do of a cheap night at the local theatre, where one can purchase a ticket to any showing for the low price of $5, but I am glad to say that I do. This makes movies easily affordable to attend. Why am I saying this? Well because people often question why and how I go to the movies so often and I figured that price would be a good place to start.
So to the point of this blog. As I just mentioned I am often questioned about my movie watching and the reasons for it. Granted a lot of the questions/criticism I get for my hobby are due to the movie selections that I take part in viewing. I must admit when it comes to movies I will watch almost anything in theatres. For example one of my latest movies: "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past". I have even seen movies the likes of "The Devil Wears Prada", "The Lake House", "Doogle" (by far my least favorite movie ever), and even "The Notebook". That’s not to say that those are the only movies I watch. I see everything in theatres. Whether it be some action packed blockbuster, a random Indie film, a good old fashioned comedy or yes even the afore mentioned "chick flick" I will watch them all. Thus the questions of why would I watch a movie that, even before stepping into the cinema, I feel is going to be terrible. The answer is very simple. No matter the movie, good or bad, it’s going to be a fun experience.
This is where so many people have lost it these days. Sure it’s great to go see a movie that instantly becomes your favorite movie of all time (Elizabethtown for me), but that can't happen every time. The question is does this matter and the answer is a resounding no! To explain I shall use the movie "Doogle". For those who don't know, and I hope that’s a lot of you because boy was it bad, "Doogle" is an animated movie starring a bunch of animal characters. Another one of those classic scenario little kid movies and all. Or so I thought going into it. 45 minutes after sitting down I found myself sitting in my seat begging for even the slightest punch line at which I would be able to muster even the slightest of chuckles. Then another 45 minutes had passed, the credits were rolling and the occasion still had not arisen. Instead I was left with the heart-sinking knowledge that I had just witnessed not only the least funny animated movie of all time but also possible the worst overall movie I had ever paid to see.
At first glance that experience should have been terrible. I should have walked out of the viewing room, demanded my money back and gone home grumbling about the hour and a half of my life that I had just wasted and would never get back. What I have yet to mention however, is that I was not alone in the viewing of this atrocity. Joining me in the witnessing of mans' worst creation since the clothing styles of the 80's were my brother and a friend. Together we watched in horror as animated movies everywhere screamed in agony. Then we got up, went outside, looked at each other and started laughing hysterically at what we had just bared witness to. We spent the next three hours reliving the movie piece by piece in all of its horrendous glory and enjoying every minute of that 180 minute recap of a movie that only ran about 120 minutes. Still to this day we talk about it and laugh together. This movie, this terrible piece of garbage that one can only assume was found lying abandoned in a trash can somewhere, led to hours of joy and bonding
So, now that I have rambled on for far too long, my point in a nutshell. Some of the best times can be found in experiencing terrible things. While my viewing of "Doogle" will always remain as the worst movie I have ever seen it will also be an experience that I am glad to have. Going to the movies is not about what movie you see. It's not about witnessing a masterpiece. It's about getting out of the house, spending time with friends and loved ones. It's about getting a chance to escape from reality for an hour rather than sitting at home and worrying about your bills, grades, job or whatever might be going on in ones life. The cinema is about the opportunity and experience, the setting and the overly buttered popcorn. The content of the movie itself is just an added plus (or in the case of "Doogle", an added brightly colored screen to stare at). And anyone not willing to pay $5 for this or failure to understand how I am willing to do so has yet to see movies in this way. So next time you have a chance to go see a movie, do it. But this time instead of simply going and sitting there judging it on how funny, scary, sad etc. that it is focus instead on the experience. Make a night of it. Get dinner, go shopping or even just grab a coffee after. Talk about the movie. Enjoy the fact that instead of sitting at home watching re-runs of Seinfeld for three hours you are out with friends, experiencing something together that you will be able to relive over and over.
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