Big Screen Memories

Do you remember the first movie you ever saw? For me, movie memories are similar to songs - who was I when I saw this movie?

One special movie memory is from 1967, when I was ten years old. Gone With the Wind was re-released and our mother took my sisters and me to see it in a big city - Des Moines? The theater had a curtain that closed at intermission. Mom cried during the opening credits - she'd seen this show before. The saddest parts of the movie to me, even then, were when Scarlet rode the horse to death. And when Rhett shoots the pony.

I have many more wonderful memories of "going to the movies". My movie love affair started even before age ten. Our school and the local theater had a summer movie deal. We could buy a sheet of summer movie matinee tickets - giving our parents (moms really) a break from the kids during the endless school break. We saw movies like Frances the Talking Mule and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (Don Knotts Y'all).

The tickets were valued at something like $.25 each. The real money for the Atlantic Theater came from concessions. Popcorn and candy! Back then, soda pop came from a machine in the lobby - a thin dime for a small cup that would shoot out, be filled with some crushed ice and Coca-Cola. It was fun just to watch the machine make the magical mixture! But wait...there's more! If you got the "lucky cup" you got to go to a movie FREE.

Face it, in small town Iowa, there aren't a lot of options when it comes to activities. So we went to "the show" a lot. It was exciting to see the movie marquis - to see what we could go to next. One theater in the whole town of 7,000 people. Comedies, RomComs, Horror - we went to them all. I went with girlfriends. In junior high, I met my boyfriend Mike Carlson there. We held hands. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be. My hand got hot and cramped. I wanted to move it, but was scared to....that boy/girl stuff was hard. In the balcony at the theater there were actually twin seats - with no arm in between. Sweet! My high school boyfriend, Mike McCauley and I went to Funny Car Summer - a movie about drag racing. Hmmm, must have been teen love - that movie sounds horrible to me now.

I saw a few more movies with my mother that were important in my life. I was in high school when the movie Summer of 42 came out. It was rated R so I needed an adult to take me. Sally's mom Anna Day and Mom took Sally and me to that show - a coming of age story about a teen and an older woman who loses her husband to the war. Mom and I cruised over to Omaha to see the movie Jaws. She left to go use the restroom and didn't appear until much later - after I began to get worried about her. She said she ended up sitting down in the back - because she didn't want to miss the action. I also saw John Travolta's Staying Alive with her. She became a huge BeeGees fan after that movie. These memories of Mom make me smile.

Okay - when I said there was only one theater. That is true. But in the summer there was one other movie option. The Drive-Inn! I don't remember our family going there. As a teen - you can bet my friends and I went. With beer! We saw all sorts of crazy movies - like Death Race and Blazing Saddles. It was easier for me to go to horror movies at the drive-in - I could distract myself there - not as scary. Wednesday night was Buck Night - we'd all pile in one car. Lots of good Drive-Inn memories.

College was another great movie memory time. There were some classics from that era. My college pals, Sally, Vicki, and Jane loved Rocky so much. We listened to the soundtrack endlessly. We had the poster. Adrian! One Saturday, after a long week, we attended a sobfest The Other Side of the Mountain - the Jill Kinmont Story". It's about a skier who becomes paralyzed. Then we went to a party and drank beer. Oh, college. Ghostbusters, Animal House, Halloween, Monte Python, High Anxiety, Kramer vs. Kramer, Grease, Heaven Can Wait, Goodbye Girl. I could go on...Halloween scarred me for life against horror movies.

We've come a long way from buying sheets of movie tickets for summer school break. Paul and I went to the new "A Star is Born" Friday night. I loved it. Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) was perfect in her role, as was Bradley Cooper. Lady Gaga's voice has it all. I really appreciated a chance to see her without all the glamour of makeup. It was her first acting gig and she nailed it.

We live right by a huge theater complex. We used to look up movie times, arrive at the theater and buy tix. No more. There's a new way to buy movie tickets - it's complicated! I miss the days of real people. Yesterday I got online to buy tix on the Cinemax website. I needed to login with a new password and select the time and seats. Then I needed a password for Visa. Sure it may be less complex next time I get tix. If I remember my password. And my seat did recline - even better than those twin seats at the Atlantic theater!

Paul and I like to re-watch some movies - sometimes over and over again. We especially like comedies. I tease Paul about his go-to movies. Gladiator, Twister, Shawshank Redemption. He just can't seem to flip by those on the TV Guide without watching. We must watch Animal House, Caddyshack, Vacation and Ghostbusters every few years.

Paul and I don't to nearly as many movies as we used to. We have Netflix. There aren't as many that we wish to see. Movies are expensive (and tix are complicated). But I'm glad they still keep making them. Movies are important in our culture and as stated in this blog, they help make up the framework of our lives.

Movie Night - August in Osage County

I talked Pablo into going to the newest Meryl Streep movie last night. He's not a huge Julia Roberts fan so that wasn't a draw for him. He wants to see American Hustle - so I guess I'll need to go to that now that we saw my pick this weekend. There seem to be a lot of good movies out right now.

The movie was good - but not great. I read today that the screenplay was written from a successful play - and that was what it seemed like - a play. The acting, especially by Streep, was so good that it was almost too painful to watch. She plays a mean mother of three grown daughters. She is suffering from mouth cancer and is addicted to pills - any kind. Painkillers and downers seem to be her favorites. She's married to a washed-up alcoholic poet.

Only one of the sisters lives in Oklahoma near the parents. But the other two (including Pretty Woman, Julia) arrive when tragedy occurs. The interaction between the family members is so realistic. And ugly, and sad. Meryl chain smoked through the whole movie. F-bombs were dropped constantly. While some of the conversations were funny - in a sad way, the movie doesn't contain much humor.

If you want to see a "pick me up" movie - this isn't it. If you'd like to see Meryl act her ass off - go see this movie. There are some other good acting performances in this movie as well. I thought Julia was good - but I don't believe she has a great deal of range as an actress.

So far we have recently seen 3 movies. Nebraska, Saving Mr. Banks and this one. I would rank them in that order. Paul liked Mr. Banks the best - the one with Tom Hanks. It was about Walt Disney and the story behind the purchase of the rights from author P.L. Travers to make the movie Mary Poppins.

I did enjoy that movie. Emma Thompson was great as was Tom. I loved the back story of Emma's character - P.L.'s childhood. When I got home from the movie I had to look up more on the story. And watching that movie made me recall attending the Mary Poppins movie as a child. It came out in 1964 and we got dressed up and saw this in a big city theater I believe. I probably wore white bobbie socks with my dress - cute!

Nebraska

Enough of the "Dear Diary" posts. I like to do those - kind of a report for those family and friends who are not with me - and are interested. I know they're not the most interesting to many of my tens of readers...on to another type of Blog:

Have you heard of the movie "Nebraska"? I first did whilst watching the CBS Sunday Morning show earlier this fall. Bruce Dern was featured. Paul and I have wanted to attend a movie for quite some time - but we haven't been able to work it in. There are several out we'd like to see.

I surprised Paul though when, after perusing the movie schedule yesterday, I told him I wanted to see the limited run movie, "Nebraska". He'd never heard of it. He'd been hunting when I'd seen the piece on it that Sunday morning. Give it up to the guy though. He didn't argue. That's why we have stayed happily married for 31+ years. I know when to give in and he wasn't dying to see any of those other movies. So he went along with it.

The movie was playing at the Varsity Theater - in the Drake neighborhood, just off University at 25th. I was also feeling a bit tired of Jordan Creek Mall - another reason to go that route. We attended 4:30 p.m. Mass and headed to the Drake area Jethro's for some BBQ. Their wings are our favorite. The waitress was very good and we split a meal for one.

The Varsity is a chain of one - locally owned. Tickets are $7.50 and between those, popcorn and a soda, we paid $20 - half the price of the same stuff at the big chain places. For this particular film, most of the audience was - well, older. The theater itself is narrow but large. There was music playing, but we weren't tortured with any commercials or admonishments to turn off our cell phones. Or even any trailers for coming films. The movie started promptly at 7:30 p.m.

The movie is filmed in black and white. The premise is that Nebraska native Bruce Dern (Woody) lives in Billings, Montana. He's a drinker, a Korean war vet and is around 80 years old. He's received one of those sweepstakes letters saying "You've Won!". And he believes it. He thinks he needs to get to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his prize of $1 Million. He starts walking because he doesn't have a license. He's relentless.

His son Davey, played by Will Forte, of Saturday Night Live fame, bumbles into driving him to Lincoln - to the dismay of wife/mother and older brother. On the way, they end up getting sidetracked to Woody's small-town Nebraska hometown. Mom takes the bus in. They all stay with Woody's brother and they have a family gathering with more family members - a stoic bunch to say the least. Woody lets it leak at the local bar that he's soon to come into a small fortune. Of course this travels like wildfire around the town - which if you've ever spent time in a small town, you'll recognize.
Loved this character: newspaper lady

The mom, played by June Squibb, should get an Oscar in my view - she was deliciously evil and real. What a mouth she had on her - Paul told me there would be a "hunting trip" in store for me if I became that woman. One I wouldn't come home from. I think he was kidding.

The cemetery scene is cutting and then hilarious. Brother Robbie shows up and the whole family visits Woody's homestead - a decrepit house on a farm. Paul could relate to some of the farm scenes. But just when you start feeling a little melancholy - the directory/screenplay adds some hi-jinx, or a comment from the mom or a cousin that makes you laugh.

Nebraska - it's not going to be a popular hit. I kinda dragged Paul there kicking and silently screaming. (and bribed him with Jethro's wings) But we ended up discussing that film more than we have any others we've seen in recent memory. And the ending is perfect!

We came home and watched football. Kansas State kicked Michigan's butts. Big 12! Good night.