My idea of the perfect movie theater is one with a handful of auditoriums and cold air. By the time the lights dim, and the film starts, you feel warm, perhaps because the movie you are about to see is worth your time.
When I was young, going to see a movie felt like an event - in part because back in the 1980s, blockbuster movies were not released on 1,000-plus-screens on opening weekend. That number was usually in the low hundreds, and, at some places, you actually had to wait in lines that stretched around the block.
The true movie-going experience ended for me when the General Cinema Northpark 1 & 2 Theater closed in the 1990s. Back then, those two screens were the largest in the Dallas area, next to the United Artists Galaxy 9 in Garland.Since then, I have been going to see movies at a multiplex in Mesquite.
What irritates me most about this theater is seeing security guards in orange jackets patrolling the movie theater parking lot during the day.
I expect to see this kind of police presence on college campuses and shopping malls.
I have never expected it to be like this in Mesquite. At least it wasn't when I first moved here 26 years ago.
I now think I may have found the perfect movie theater – at the AMC Firewheel in Garland.
No, it is not like the Northpark 1 & 2 but these days, what movie theater is?
I
won't deny that Firewheel has some quirks.
When I saw “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (2010), I noticed they didn't have the film, or the times listed at the box office. I began to worry I was at the wrong theater.
Then there was the $8 admission price at Firewheel. At the Mesquite theater, I pay $7.50 for a matinee. I didn't bother questioning the higher admission price. I wasn't going to let an additional 50-cent increase ruin my day.
Upon getting my ticket and walking into the lobby, I noticed how courteous the two ushers were who took my ticket and my drink order at the counter. The usher even kindly told me that when I go to Theater 14, I will notice the sign doesn't say "Wall Street" but is still the correct auditorium.I was taken by complete surprise at the front counter when the server didn't fill up my drink. Instead, he just handed me the large plastic cup and told me to go to the self-serve vending machines to get it. He even said if I need any assistance figuring out how to use the vending machine to let him know.
I don't think I have ever gotten this kind of service in Mesquite.
I thought to myself, this person, or the theater management are literally breaking their backs to make us patrons welcome here.
Before I went to Firewheel, I had always believed these multi-screen movie theaters merely showed films on large television screens. I felt that way as I walked down that brief hallway inside Theater 14. On entering the auditorium, I felt like I was reenacting that scene in “Clerks” (1994) where Randall, the rude independent video store clerk, drops to his knees in awe, thinking he is in Heaven after stepping into a corporate-owned video store resembling Blockbuster Video.
The screen in Theater 14, though not quite as huge as Garland's Galaxy 9, was acceptable, and the seats were actually comfortable. Despite being attached together in rows, I was able to lean as far back as I wanted, and the entire place literally spelled the word "cleanliness."
I was so impressed by how clean the theater was that for the first time in my life since going to the movies, I picked up my trash and actually threw it out instead of leaving it on the seat or on the floor for the ushers to clean up after the film was over.
And as I walked out the door, the usher kindly said, "Have a good day, sir."
What I know now is that if I am going to be blowing anywhere from $8 to $30 to see a movie, I am going to make sure I get my money's worth. Screw this idea of going to the closest theater simply because it's convenient.
Today, I want quality!
©11/10/10
