Snakes on a plane

A lot of you won't understand this. But I went and saw Snakes On A Plane. On opening weekend. And I had a blast.

And to make it even more dramatic, I think it is the only movie I've seen in the movie theater this year. No wait, my work took me to see Mission Impossible 3. And I think I saw one other movie in the theater. Everything else I've watched at home on cable, DVD, or TV.

I am a victim of Snakes On A Plane grass roots marketing. If you haven't seen any of the fan sites for SoaP, you need to do check them out. There's a bunch listed here. When you're done with that, you have to check out this page of SoaP sequel ideas (warning: language). Viewing those pages alone got me laughing so hard that I felt I had to see the movie. And even though I might not have admitted it, when my wife brought it up as a possibility for something to do, I wasn't about to say no.

The reviews of this movie are all wrong. They are actually pretty favorable towards it. The movie itself was horrible. The plot was thinner than plastic wrap. But as an event, opening weekend at SoaP was a blast. Throughout the movie, the entire crowd would hiss, yell, cheer, scream, and make fun of the movie. It's the most fun I've had at a movie in a long time.

The theater industry is not doing well. There are many theories as to why, but a prevelant one seems to be that watching a movie at home has become more economical than watching a movie in the theater. With $10 per ticket, $5-$10 for parking, $20 (or much more) for pre-show food or drinks, $??? for a babysitter if you have a kid, it defiintely makes a $4 DVD rental seem pretty sweet.

But maybe SoaP has hit onto something. For a long time, being social at the movie theater was frowned upon. Movie theaters were supposed to be silent. But maybe that's not what movies need. Maybe movie theaters need to be a social gathering. Some movie theaters, such as The Parkway in Oakland are setup more like a pub, with beer and pizza, and bench seats, which tend to promote a more social atmosphere. It might not be appropriate for your oscar-winning-tear-jerkers, but for a large percentage of the movies that hollywood produces, it's probably a better environment than your regular AMC or Century theater.

There's still a bunch of movies that are in the theater that I keep meaning to go see. But SoaP seems to be the only one that actually got me out the door so far.