Sunday, March 14, 2010

Monday Movie Meme - Date Night


This week's Monday Movie Meme topic from the Bumbles is our personal musings on date night movies. Date night means many different things to many different people. If you are young, it means an opportunity to make out. Who really knows what drivel you are actually watching? To old married fogies like us, it means watching a (hopefully) quality movie that you can discuss after the fact. As long as one of you doesn't fall asleep. Which does tend to happen, especially if you are home in your comfy chairs and stretched out sweats and drinking wine.

It has been some time since I've been out on an official movie "date". If my husband and I have the rare privilege of going out without the kids, it is usually for fine dining or some type of event. Almost never a movie. We do that at home compliments of Netflix. So I have to crank the brain back to my high school and college days, and even after pondering the topic over a glass of wine, I'm not doing a good job of remembering squat.

In high school, despite my multitude of dates that I am sure included movies, I can only remember one. And that was my steady boyfriend Tom and I going to see Risky Business. I'm pretty sure we liked it, and I can't imagine I wasn't horrified by that sex scene on the train, but no specifics come to mind. A guy friend of mine took me to the movies once when I'd been dumped, but remember bitching to him about all my troubles, and don't think I saw more than ten minutes of the movie, and have no idea what movie it was, except that I'd seen it before.

Most of my movie escapades in high school were with my girlfriends. Ad nauseum, we saw An Officer and a Gentleman, Footloose, St. Elmo's Fire, all the slasher films, and Twilight Zone the movie. No guys crashed our party. I did see a slasher film (a 3D one...Halloween? Friday the 13th? Is there such a thing?) with a group of friends, and my friend Danny's hand got in the way of a fingernail of mine when I got scared and flailed around, and scarred him for awhile (at least through his senior pictures, which gave me a permanent reminder).

My best friend dated one of my ex-boyfriends for awhile. I think the goal was for the ex to make me jealous, and for the BFF to just see if he was all that. She went to see a Star Wars flick with him, then putt putt. I could have cared less.

Fast-forward to when I met my husband, about a year out of college. We had debts coming out of all cracks and crevices. So we cooked for each other at home with our mad culinary skillz, played tennis, went for walks dreaming about having two dimes to rub together, and watched some HBO. Once in awhile a dinner out at the local Chinese joint, where I learned to use chopsticks. I know we did frequent the dollar theater, but only can remember specifically seeing the movie Parenthood. We got in a huge debate on the name of one of the actresses. I swore on my future children's lives that it was Mia Farrow. It was not. Anytime I insist I am right, my husband only has to say two words...Mia Farrow.

So there you go. It makes me wonder if I am slowly losing my faculties. I mean, I remember where I was and what I was doing when I hear certain songs! Why have all memories about movies slipped out my right ear and into the stratosphere? My theory is that I had more important things on my mind at the time. It's just a theory.



16 comments:

Penelope said...

I am now officially incorporating "Mia Farrow" into my vocabulary for when I insist but I am wrong!

Matty said...

I remember a lot about the movies I've seen, and I don't know why. My first date ever was to go see a movie. I go to the movies often with my grown single daughter, but otherwise it's Netflix at home now.

Kathleen said...

I definitely remember music more too! But I do have a memory of waiting in line for about 2 hours to see E.T with my old boyfriend Jesse.

rhapsodyinbooks said...

We just watch netflix at home too, but I consider that a date! :--)

Heidenkind said...

I'm actually not a big movie person, believe it or not--well, I don't mind watching movies, but watching them in the theater where I can't read and have to sit there for 2 hours? Unless the movie's really good, I end up getting pretty bored and restless.

My point being, I don't like to go to movies on dates, although I have gone on some.

bermudaonion said...

When we were first married we frequented the dollar theater, too. It'd be the two of us and a bunch of little kids - very romantic. LOL We don't see movies together that much these days because our taste in movies is so different - we each just go with friends. Ah, the joys of married life!

Susan said...

Haha! Your Mia Farrow story sounds just like our William Smith story! When the mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man" was on, the evil character whose name I can't remember was played by William Smith. I insisted that there was NO actor named such a mundane name and Hubs was wrong! Dead wrong! Well, of course, I was the dead wrong one and he didn't let me forget it for years and years...because it was the only time it ever happened. ;) Hmmmm, he hasn't brought that up in a while, do you think he still loves me? lol

Trisha said...

Love the Mia Farrow story. It is those tiny little nuances of a relationship that make it beautiful. On a side note, my hubby likes movies but hates the theatre, so date night movies are at home on the couch. :)

Zibilee said...

I don't remember many of the movies I've seen on dates, though I know there weren't a lot of them. My husband and I will occasionally go out for a movie for just the two of us, but even now, the movies slip my mind. Mostly I remember the movie trips with the kids, as they are usually so hyped up before, during, and after, that I have a hard time forgetting!

Cathy said...

Super entertaining post! When I first saw Tom Cruise's dance in Risky Business, my jaw dropped. He was hot! (Now when I watch it, he looks pretty boyish.)

The Bumbles said...

I would have been bright red in that dark theater during the subway scene - brave girl!

I think you recall more the date and going out part than the subject viewed in front of you. You just separate the film and the occassion of its viewing in your mind. I do the same. I had to aske Andy what movie it was that we went to see on our date. He remembers those kinds of things.

But we are constantly squabbling over who this or that actor is or what they were in, etc. I'm always the one to say Mia Farrow to him ;0)

Alice said...

Hi Sandy, I'm not much of a movie-and-date person, but I do like watching movies. I just couldn't seem to find the right partner to consider for a movie date...

Ana S. said...

lol! The Mia Farrow story really made me smile :)

Unknown said...

I seem to end up with guys who don't really care for movies much. C.J. usually can't stand them. He almost walked out on Brokeback Mountain because there's almost no dialogue in the first 20 minutes. We did enjoy Milk, but it's pretty rare that I can get him to sit through a full movie.

Before we met, I did have two significant dates at the movies, one for Orlando and the other for Bell de'Jour. When I say significant dates, I mean last ones. ;-(

kayerj said...

fun story :)

Literary Feline said...

I remember more in regards to certain songs too, now that you mention it. LOL

I do remember my first movie date. It was one of the Batman movies. The guy was all hands. Ugh. Didn't last long.

My husband and I often went to the movies when we were in college and have kept it up, although we go to fewer films now than we used to.