all by myself

Last night, at about 9:30 I had the bright idea of going to see “Raising Helen.” Some friends had already seen it and since I had no work the next day I could handle to the late night showing at 9:55. So, I hopped in the car and raced to the West End to the stadium seats. It was me, and three couples. Wonderful, nothing like smug couples on a Thursday night date. Whatever. I took my own row, settled in and put my feet up. I love the movies.

I started going to movies alone about 5 years ago when in college an impossibly popular co-worker divulged her love of going to movies on her own. I was appalled and shocked. Why would a 20 year-old, blond, size 2, charming, and smart girl ever go to the movies by herself? She explained that her mother did it and that she liked it. She would often be shopping and find a movie on and just go. I thought she was brave.

It took me a good year before I braved the movies alone. It must have been uneventful, as I don’t even remember the movie that ended my solo movie going career. Now, I don’t even think twice about it and yet I think I’m still a bit of a rebel in the venture. I don’t think my friends do this. I even have a friend who doesn’t like to rent movies alone. Movie watching is a solitary act anyway, unless, of course, you are at home snuggled up on a couch. So, if a movie is out that I want to see and no one else does, or I’m near a movie theatre and see something interesting, or I’m bored at home and need to do something other than stare at myself, I’ll go to a movie, alone. No big deal, it just happens. So, last night was “Raising Helen.”

Sad bit of a movie if you ask me. The plot was weak and lame and not well thought out. There were scenes were I literally wanted to rewind and rewrite and then there were the ever present continuity issues where the clothes in one scene are the same in the next scene although it’s a different day. This movie overall has bad writing, bad editing, and not really great acting although I still adore Kate Hudson, John Corbett, and Joan Cusak. What were they thinking? Anyway, good premise, just not well done. And, I’m beginning to rethink things about my friends who said it was “so cute.”

And then, because I could, I went Wal-marting at midnight. I stepped into the Wal-mart at 12:15am and spent the next 45 minutes shopping the supper center. It was fabulous and surreal. Tons of people were about, mostly Wal-mart workers restocking the shelves and a few customers. There were boxes everywhere, which you had to navigate around. The restockers would sometimes give me weird glances like it was crazy that I was bargain shopping in the middle of the night on a Thursday. Please, like it’s not weird that you are working at Wal-mart in the middle of the night. Yarn was had because well, the kitting has not stopped. And then, because I could, I got some fresh produce and checked out at 1am. Wonder if that is what Sam Walton envisioned for his supper store?