“Have you seen the movie…”
“No,” I answer before the question is even finished.
“Avatar?” the person finished.
“No,” I said. “You can pretty much count on me not seeing any movie that’s been out since, oh, forever.”
The person gave me a strange look, prompting me to offer some sort of explanation, albeit a weak one.
“I’m not a movie person,’ I replied.
This is an understatement. For some reason, I’ve never found a lot of interest in watching movies.
I’ve never seen “Star Wars” or “ET” or “Titanic.” I realize this is strange and it certainly means I’m out of the loop on most movie-related pop culture references, but that’s OK.
My aversion to movie-going doesn’t really have much to do with the topic being shown but rather the lack of desire to sit for three hours while a story unfolds. Maybe I’ve become too conditioned to the 30-minute sitcom world we live in and therefore can’t devote hours to a single form of entertainment.
And then there’s the cost involved. I’m all for paying to do something if it’s fun, but just can’t bring myself to pay $7-$8 to get into the door only to pay $7 for a Diet Coke and $8 for M&Ms. A single trip to the movie for one person adds up to way more than $20 and that’s more than I want to spend for something that I’ve heard is great only to discover 30 minutes into the show the critics were wrong.
That seems to be a trend, too. One of the last movies I saw was an animated feature that critics described as “groundbreaking” and “amazingly funny.” I found it to be neither, though I must say the cool theater and the boring film led to a truly spectacular nap. It’s more than a little annoying, however, to wake up and realize you’ve just paid $20 for a nap and ended up spilling your M&Ms on the floor.
I realize we have more movie options in today’s modern world. There are movies on demand at home and countless television channels. You can watch any movie you want all from the comfort of your sofa.
That hasn’t solved my problem though and maybe that’s for the best. I have plenty to do without watching movies. I think I will keep the Diet Coke and M&Ms, however. No point in throwing the baby out with the bath water.