Wednesday, November 13, 2002
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Wednesday, November 13, 2002 |
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Much ado about movies . . . By
BILLY MURPHY Maybe I am the only one who has noticed this, but it seems that movie ticket prices are pretty darn expensive. I know why they are high though. They make the tickets so costly just to lessen the blow of the concession stand prices. I have a feeling it won't be long before they start charging you for popcorn by the kernel. I love the movies but I particularly love movie theaters. I have been in the biggest and the best from New York to Dallas to Detroit to Los Angeles. But no matter where I go, they all have one thing in common: that sticky, dank movie theater floor. You may not know this, but it tastes like root beer. My personal theory on how they make Goobers is they take a peanut at the top of the movie theater and let it go. By the time it rolls to the bottom, it's a Goober. My favorite local movie house is Carmike in Newnan. Lines move fast, and the movies always start promptly with few difficulties. There is one thing that I really love about the Carmike theater, though. I love it when they go through the concession-stand, sales-pitch upgrades. Here is a typical scene. "I would like ...." (Concession person interrupting) "Would you like to try our combo?" I reply, "Uh, no, I will take a medium Coke." (Concession person interrupting) "For a quarter more you can get a large!" I reply, "No, that is OK. I will take a medium Coke, a small popcorn ...." (Concession person interrupting) "For 45 cents more you can get a medium popcorn!" I reply, "Um, OK, I will take a medium Coke, a medium popcorn ...." (Concession person interrupting) "For 60 cents more you can get a large popcorn!" And so it goes. Some people might find this irritating, but a quarter is a fair price to pay, going from a 64-ounce drink to a full 96 ounces. You could irrigate a small farm in Uganda with that size. (It's only after I walk way that I realize I could have save an additional 50 cents by ordering the combo). I am probably the only person in the world who has MovieFone on speed dial at home and voice dial on my cell. To really show I have movies on the brain, I will close with a story made totally from movie titles. As Autumn Leaves begin to fall Who'll Stop The Rain? As I have The Hunger, I long for Breakfast at Tiffany's or Lunch in the Park or My Dinner with André. Of course, Dinner and a Movie would be nice, I have a Titanic appetite. If I didn't have to work 9 to 5 after a Hard Day's Night, I would see even more movies. I even Dream a Little Dream about movies sometimes. Last night, it had Shakespeare in Love with an American Beauty as he Dances with Wolves. Once I dreamed Forrest Gump riding on Chariots of Fire Out of Africa had a Braveheart, making Shindler's List of Ordinary People. It was Driving Miss Daisy Nuts. Somewhere in Time, In the Heat of the Night, On the Waterfront, A Man For All Seasons goes to the movies too. This Midnight Cowboy makes a Gentleman's Agreement to save me some Popcorn, yet leaves me Looking for Mr. Goodbar. And remembering one of Burt Reynolds' finest, The End.
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