Ryan McNeil
Recently, The Kid In The Front Row put out a call for post. The theme was “One Night At The Movies Long Ago“. The Kid wanted to hear our tales of memorable times spent at the movies…a subject I applaud since it serves to remind us why we actively go out to the movies, instead of waiting at home for the dvd/on demand/torrented version.
Thinking through my vast memories of film fan geekery, I found myself with a lot to choose from. In the end, I settled on an experience that won’t likely be repeated…since it feels like it’s a thing of the past in today’s movie market. After the jump, please read about my experience seeing INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE on opening night.
The plan was for four friends and I to meet at the Runnymede Theatre at 6:30 and catch the 7:00 show. I must pause here to point out that The Runnymede is the theatre you see in the photo above, and still stands as my all-time favorite place to see a movie. Sadly, ten years ago it closed its doors, only to be turned into a big box bookstore.
As is my nature, I showed up five minutes early, and came around the corner to see a line for tickets that stretched down the block. The sight of a ticket line is something I dearly miss. It was a feeling of community, a sign of a film’s quality, and often a slight source of tension (“Are we gonna get in, or will it sell out by the time we get to the window??”). I thought I’d do the smart thing and get into line…that way when my friends arrived, our wait wouldn’t be so long.
After five minutes, around the time I’d passed three storefronts and was now standing in front of a health food shop, one of the four found me. This was 1994, well before the age of cellphones. “Where R U?” texts weren’t an option yet. My friend Diana jumped into line with me, thinking as I did that the rest of our friends would eventually catch up. They didn’t, but we got closer and closer to the ticket window waiting for them, until the moment of truth finally arrived:
“Two for INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE please?”
Unfortunately for Diana and I, this question was answered with a question: “Are you 18?”. See INTERVIEW was rated R, and in Canada that means no admittance for minors. Even though we tried to bluff a “Yeah we’re 18”, a request for ID put the brakes on our fib in a big hurry. We walked away, dejected juveniles.
But hope was not lost, because as we walked back down the line, Diana noticed some of her sister’s friends in the line…some of her older sister’s friends. They offered to buy our tickets, so the plan was back on. No board of movie sensors would keep us from this gothic bit of homoeroticism!
At this point, 7pm was fast approaching, so we decided our other friends would have to fend for themselves. Tickets in hand, we headed into the theatre, only to notice that we had to pass another checkpoint – the usher. He tore tickets at the door as patron after patron filed in ahead of us, but when Diana got to him he looked at her ticket and asked “Are you 18?”. She gave a confident “Yes” and that was that. My turn. Usher-man looks at my ticket and once again inquires “Are you 18?”. At this point, the cockiness of my sixteen year old psyche had kicked in and I came back with a “How else could I have bought the ticket?”.
Such moments of deception are the other thing I miss about moviegoing. This was the last time I’d ever have to put in an effort to beat a film’s rating…and it seems like nowadays, such problems don’t even exist. Not only can you buy the tickets without facing an overzealous, ID-needin’ cashier…but most ushers out there are too ambivilent to deny you entry with ill-acquired tickets even if they know for a fact you’re too young. But back to the caper at hand…
Usher-man gave me a look of disapproval, but tore my ticket anyway and mumbled something about me enjoying the show. We took two seats on the aisle of a very full house and settled in…except that I couldn’t settle in. I was convinced that we would be busted. That a ticket seller had seen the couple she’d turned away walk unimpeded through the door. Or that usher-man would grab his flashlight of justice and come down the aisle to make us do the walk of shame back outside.
I fidgeted, I took my coat and sweatshirt off to change my look, I slouched, I pulled my cap low…my leg was bouncing at a breakneck rate. The fuzz was coming at any moment, I was sure of it. Right on cue, I felt a hand on my shoulder and a stern “Excuse me…”
*gasp!*
“…Are those seats down there taken?”. I look up to see a regular schmoe…like me, but old enough not to have to connive his way into an R-rated flick. Feeling my blood pressure drop back down I smiled and said that they weren’t, but that we’d actually move in so that he could have the aisle. My thought on this, was that if there indeed was a recon mission for the two underage hooligans who’d snuck in, being dead in the middle of the packed theatre would make pulling us out much harder.
I dug the movie, unsurprising being the heavy Anne Rice and Tom Cruise fan that I was. We never did get busted so score one for cinematic juvenile delinquency. Oh, and our friends weren’t all that amused when they caught us coming out. Seems as though they weren’t able to get in at all and were very suspicious about how we’d made our way in.
Rumours of Diana and I’s relationship would persist for a few weeks.
Ah, great story. I'm sad to say when it comes to tales of going to the theater as a kid I don't have any interesting stories. Didn't have my first date until I was 20, and the only dangerous thing I ever did was sneak my sister and her friends in to see Saw 3. But only because we had a busy body pestering me about who I'm buying the tickets for. Beyond that all my stories are very mundane desires to see horrible films because they commercial looked cool.
Thats pretty funny! My godfather smuggled me into Jurassic Park when it first came out and I was 10 and you had to be 12 and the ushers asked him but he was confident enough to say that, of course, I was 12. The film really scared me at the time though…so maybe those ratings aren't the worst idea…
Why do you miss lines in front of the cinema? I stood in line for like 15 minuets just last night thinking we would miss the movie…its not that much fun…
This was a very enjoyable story! Hooray for nostalgia…
You're right about teenagers being able to buy tickets into R-rated films now. I do it all the time and no one ever bothers to check. (And I technically look like a sophomore in high school.)
And I agree with Vanessa–lines aren't all that great. There are still a large portion of people who don't pre-order their tickets online.
Nice post! I'd have a hard time picking, really, because I love love love going to the theatre. I guess the few that stand out in my mind most were seeing the Karate Kid with my dad and brother, because when (spoiler alert) Daniel crane-kicks Johnny in the head to win the tourney, the entire theatre burst into standing applause, as though we were there, too. I still remember the goosebumps.
Star Wars, of course…I was 5, though, and it was a matinee…and all I really remember are robots in the desert. Not so much about any space battle at the end, so I'm thinking I took a little nappy-nap in the dark.
And Return of the Jedi…I was 12, and was old enough to be excited as sh!t, but young enough to not care about whether expressing my excitement was cool or not. That's about when my obsession with the franchise really kicked in, too, I think. No falling asleep THAT time!
An interesting branch to this topic would maybe be to include DRIVE-IN movies…oooohhhh how THAT gets the memory cogs turning! 😉
– Suzie
Gothic homoeroticism… No two words ever described that film so well.
While I was nine when Interview With A Vampire came out, I do have a similar story about going to see Hannibal.
great post!!!!!
A juvenile story that was similar to this for me was going to see Terminator 2 with my parents. I was only ten but I'd seen the first a million times at night while my mom worked and Dad let me stay up and watch it, and after watching the promos all spring and seeing Arnie on Arsenio Hall telling us that it would be the "Biiiiiggest Movie of the Summa!" I had rarely been so excited about cinema. So when the ushers let us in they gave my Dad a glare that clearly said "She shouldn't be going to an "R" rated movie, but nobody challenged him, and as we sat down in the over-air conditioned theatre and froze to death, I enjoyed what is still one of my favorite films of all time.
Parodn me while I catch up on responses…
@ Univarn… You still have time to build up some great movie-goin' stories. And hey – who said that was a date??
@ Vanessa… There's a slight camaraderie that occurs in a movie line, especially when the line is outside on a city block. It's actually one of my favorite things about The Toronto International Film Festival (the chatter that happens in the Lines).
@ Marcy… (Cool avatar btw). That's what I'm saying. If that same sort of night were to happen now, there's no way we'd have to be as cunning as we were. Kids today have it so easy.
@ Suzie… Thems some pretty cool sounding moments! I think you need to do a post about at least one of 'em.
@ Blake… Glad my mad vocab skills can amuse and punctuate. I do believe a post on Bitchin' is in order re. HANNIBAL. Go to.
@ The Kid… Thanks! The question is – is it worthy to get a mention on your blog??
@ Heather… That's awesome that your dad took you! My parents never took me to such violence…but they did spring for all of us to see TWISTER one year on my birthday. That's gotta count for something…right?
On reading this I immediately looked up Interview with the Vampire as I was sure it only had a fifteen certificate in the UK, wrong it was eighteen here too! I had no such problems getting in to see it as (showing my age) I was 19 by the time it came out in 1995 (we got it several months after you!). I don’t have any similar stories about sneaking in, as a child of the video age I actually didn’t go to the cinema much as a kid, I have been making up for lost time over the last 15 years.
@ fandango… There's a strange thrill to sneaking in. The closest I ever get to it anymore is when I go to the multiplex, pay for one movie a theatre-jump to give myself a double feature.
Y'know, as I think back…I wonder what it was that landed it such a harsh rating?
I can’t speak for the Canadian rating but it was the norm for the BBFC back then. It was only just over ten years after the Director of Public Prosecutions’ "Video nasty" list that ludicrously included classics like The Evil Dead and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. There was also a horrific case in 1993 (not sure if it made international news) where two ten year old boys kidnapped and killed a two year old. A copy of Child's Play 3 was found in the home of one of the boys and it was believed that one or both of them may have seen the film therefore it was considered a contributing factor (in the press if not in law) in the murder. It was at this time that Reservoir Dogs couldn’t get a video release. A hell of a lot of films that should have been 15 got 18 certificates this includes your “gothic bit of homoeroticism”. Things have really lightened up in that last ten years.
As for screen hopping never needed to do it, as I have mentioned on my blog I pay £13.50 (about 23 Canadian dollars according to today’s exchange rate) for a pass to see as many films as I want.
@ Fandango… Fascinating. The only thing we ever had happen like that around here was in the wake of the killing spree at Columbine high school, North American censors got a bit overprotective about what violent films kids should see for a few years.
Like you said though, things relaxed after a while.
I dearly wish we had that sort of theatre pass. Lord knows it'd save me a lot of loot – might even encourage people to see more movies!
Sigh. This was just lovely. I miss the ‘old days.’