Wok with me

Aug 22, 2023

Tuesdays is ‘date night’ for my wife and I. Being in the restaurant business all these years, I will do anything to avoid the weekend crowds; since most folks are off work then, they would flood the restaurants or theatres for some relaxation and entertainments. Tuesdays are usually less busy and works out great for us; plus, the theatre offers a $5 Special on Tuesdays, that all tickets are $5, even cheaper than with senior discounts. So, two tickets with a large drink and popcorn, the total costs $20. What a deal for the evening! Though I grumble under my breath after paying $10 just for the drink and popcorn combo, knowing how much they really cost. But after realizing that they must pay for the utilities, marketing, the employees, operating licenses, plus rental for the movies; I smile and go enjoy the movies.

Before summer started, we saw the promotions of the upcoming blockbusters – Barbie and Oppenheimer. The latter is about the story of the father of the atomic bomb, which is a rather serious production. And Barbie, oh well, is a movie made after Mattel’s famous doll with the same name. We saw the preview earlier, and when my wife asked me if I wanted to go see it with her, I gave her an ‘over my dead body’ look, and that was it. We both agreed to watch Oppenheimer on our date night, and so we did. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the theatre, the parking lot was already full. And that had never happened since we frequented the theatre after we moved up here. Then we noticed that there were two long lines for purchasing tickets and snacks. Another surprise came after we ordered our usual combo package, the cashier told us that they were out of popcorn! We had to wait five minutes before the new batch was ready. Not wanting to miss the previews, we left with just the soda. I was happy for the theatre owner, knowing how they had suffered financially during the COVID seasons. And I was happier as I just saved $6!

Watching the clienteles that were waiting in line, I noticed that they were clearly an age difference. The younger group, obviously going to watch Barbie, were from 4 to 16 years old. The younger ones were with their parents, and the older ones were in groups, giggling and laughing the whole time. I was surprised to see that there were some male genders in the group; but it makes no difference, everybody loves Barbie. And then there were the more mature audience watching Oppenheimer. The usually empty cinema was three quarter filled when we walked in. Thank goodness there were couple of the handicapped seats still available. I guess most of the younger audience could relate to the Barbie that they grew up with; and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still strike haunting memories with us elderlies. While one movie is light-hearted comedy fantasy, the other one is a historic drama. So, guess what the general audience prefer? Well, I read that in the first three days after opening, Barbie raked in over $120 million statewide, while Oppenheimer barely passed $60 million. Maybe the younger generation has more money to dispose? I do believe that they really do, after seeing that they deplete the popcorn inventory at the snack bar.

Oppenheimer is a three-hour movie, filled with lots of lengthy conversations; I did not quite understand the dialogues or how Oppenheimer was involved in creating the bomb; but it was rather disturbing watching the aftermath of the explosions after the bombs were dropped, and how that it would affect the future generations for years to come; also, how Oppenheimer himself was put to trial, being accused of being a traitor to his country. After watching what was happening on TV these days, I shook my head, remembering something the tourist guide said while we were on a river cruise. He was showing us the pictures of the remains of the bombed cathedral during WWII, and that the war in Ukraine was still raging – “Oh, when will they ever learn!” Yes, when will we ever learn?

Maybe I should go watch Barbie with my wife after all, and we will go earlier before they run out of popcorn.

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