A Super Bowl tradition restored
Many years ago, my friend Mark Fawcett, who worked for me at Face the Music in Winona, and I decided one Sunday afternoon to take in a movie. We drove down to La Crosse and saw...something. All I really remember about the film was that it starred Molly Ringwald and that she got pregnant; the opening credits of the film, in fact, showed spermazoa swimming through the fluid to do their duty. It struck us as odd at the time that we were the only two people in the theatre -- until we realized at some point that it was in fact Super Bowl Sunday, a fact that neither of us had taken into account, not being football fans. We had a good time, and Mark was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of doing somersaults down the movie theatre aisle. What can I say? He was young.
This led me to establish a tradition that I followed for many years: of going to the movies on Super Bowl Sunday. This tradition served me in good stead, especially when I had roommates (K, and later, Bro) who watched the game and often had people over to watch with them. I remember once when K and I lived together, returning home just as the game's final play was underway and asking what I'd missed. In recent years, I kind of abandoned the tradition. I like going to matinees (what can I tell you, I'm cheap), and the Super Bowl seemed to start later and later in the day. And I lived alone, so there was no danger of a TV blasting out the game that I wasn't going to watch anyway.
Today, however, for whatever reason, I did go to see a movie during the Super Bowl (or at least the first half of it). I saw Freedom Writers. I wouldn't highly recommend it, though it wasn't bad, just typical for the genre: young, idealistic teacher encounters a group of unmotivated, troublesome high school students who everyone else expects to fail. She perseveres, and somehow -- in this case, by getting them to write about their lives -- the kids manage to succeed. Based on a true story, sure, but we've seen it all before. The best part for me was Hilary Swank's costume choices.
There were a few other people in the theatre this afternoon, four in total, besides myself. The movie I saw last Friday afternoon after school, The Pursuit of Happyness, didn't attract much of a crowd; I was the only person at that show.
This led me to establish a tradition that I followed for many years: of going to the movies on Super Bowl Sunday. This tradition served me in good stead, especially when I had roommates (K, and later, Bro) who watched the game and often had people over to watch with them. I remember once when K and I lived together, returning home just as the game's final play was underway and asking what I'd missed. In recent years, I kind of abandoned the tradition. I like going to matinees (what can I tell you, I'm cheap), and the Super Bowl seemed to start later and later in the day. And I lived alone, so there was no danger of a TV blasting out the game that I wasn't going to watch anyway.
Today, however, for whatever reason, I did go to see a movie during the Super Bowl (or at least the first half of it). I saw Freedom Writers. I wouldn't highly recommend it, though it wasn't bad, just typical for the genre: young, idealistic teacher encounters a group of unmotivated, troublesome high school students who everyone else expects to fail. She perseveres, and somehow -- in this case, by getting them to write about their lives -- the kids manage to succeed. Based on a true story, sure, but we've seen it all before. The best part for me was Hilary Swank's costume choices.
There were a few other people in the theatre this afternoon, four in total, besides myself. The movie I saw last Friday afternoon after school, The Pursuit of Happyness, didn't attract much of a crowd; I was the only person at that show.
posted by Kootch | 7:34 PM
3 Comments:
I can't remember the last time I was the only person (or the only couple) at a movie. Seems like I never have the satisfaction of a near-empty theatre any more.
Sounds like your Super Bowl tradition is a little saner than that family in northern Minnesota ... in which a family member runs around the block at half time without shoes. The senior in high school student who went for the run ended up with severe frostbite on his feet. It equated with something like 2nd degree burns on his feet. Much?
P.D.M.
Actually, I've been the only person in the theatre a number of times out here. The local theatre just did a major shift in showtimes, too. Instead of the traditional 7 and 9 o'clock shows, they added a daily matinee show around 4:30 or 5, and dropped the late show completely. The seven o'clock show is now the "late show" I guess. They'll be rolling up the sidewalks at 9:00, I suppose.
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