Adieu Good Friend

Thankfully, I am not referring to a real friend. At least, not a real HUMAN friend. However, I am saying a heartfelt goodbye the the movie theater that I have come to love and cherish.

12 years ago I worked for a great company. The people were awesome, the pay was alright but the perks... that was what made this job so desirable. FREE MOVIES!!! Anytime we wanted, we could go see a movie AND bring friends. How awesome is that?!

That company has now been bought out, sold, gone under. Not entirely sure since I haven't done any research but I do know that our local theater has been changed over and the theater I worked at is closing down. It is a sad day.

What makes this even sadder is that for about as long as I can recall, we have been visiting one Showcase Cinemas or another. Savannah didn't have one but I enjoyed going back to Ohio and visiting my former employer. Showcase/National Amusements was the envy of all other movie theaters.

Today I realized that no one can compare... at least not Rave Motion Pictures. Don't get me wrong here. I am not going to bash them or say don't go there. I am just a bit disappointed in our experience this evening. An experience that prompted my husband to say, "This never would have happened if this was a Showcase Cinemas."

You see... just recently our Showcase Cinemas was bought out by a company called Rave Motion Pictures. During the transition they cut the frequent customer program which allowed card holders to receive points every time they visited and at one point they could only accept cash due to a system change. They changed the entire pricing for their concessions and they even changed the military pricing for their 3D movies.

While all that is a bit disappointing, there is nothing that can be done about it. It is the only theater in town and heck, I like me some buttery movie theater popcorn straight from the concession stand. None of that is going to stop me from going. And still, nothing is going to stop me. I might as well get to the point of this story before you all stop reading.

Tonight we made a trip out to Rave Motion Pictures to see Toy Story 3 with the kids. We opted to go with the 2D instead of the 3D since we were already there and didn't want to wait around with the kids. Besides that, I hate the 3D movies, I had a headache and the kids never keep their glasses on anyway so basically it's a waste of money. Tuesdays are only $6 for all movies, all ages and even the 3D shows so taking 5 kids on a Tuesday saves us $10 (more if we weren't military and more if it's a 3D showing).

We get our tickets, find enough seats for all 12 of us that went together (the theater was packed for a weeknight) and waited for our movie to start. When we first sat down they were showing some commercial with Toy Story characters in it and then moved right into the previews. We saw previews for movies like Life As We Know It and Morning Glory which were not exactly kid friendly. I enjoyed the previews but we saw Rachael McAdams in lacy undergarments and heard Christina Applegate talking about dry humping. Yes, all that with a bunch of kids in the theater.

I was getting a bit concerned but remembered seeing the Toy Story commercial when we first came in and figured they were marketing movies for the older crowd. You know the ones I am talking about. All the teens and 20-somethings that have waited, what, 10 years for a Toy Story 3. So ok, I get it. Then it happened. The movie started and it was NOT a kid friendly movie. There she was strutting her stuff across the screen... Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City 2. Big OOPS!

Myself and another movie-goer ran out of the theater to track down an employee. They immediately came in to check it out and got in touch with the projector room to get it sorted out. It took forever and not before a few choice words were blurted out on screen and a bird was flipped. Nothing my kids haven't encountered but I am sure there were some parents that would not be taking this as lightly as I am.

We didn't get to start watching our 7 o'clock movie until 8 but we were offered the opportunity to switch to a new theater (to see the 3D showing) and then were all given passes to come back another time. We waited it out and even when it was showing the right movie it still was not completely fixed. Some how the alignment got thrown off and there was about a foot of black on the bottom of the screen and a foot of projected movie above the screen. It didn't hurt the movie any and no one seemed to complain... we were just ready to get on with our movie.

The movie itself was great. Very funny. The kids loved it, the parents loved it, the teens loved it and I will definitely be first in line when this comes out on Blu Ray. The cast of voices were all the same and all the new characters were great. If you haven't read about the hidden things in this movie, keep your eyes peeled and see if you can spot them. *HINT* Check out the garbage man's teeshirt :)