Moviegoing is not what it once was, but I still love being in a darkened theater filled with strangers as we share the emotions of a story unfolding on a screen larger than I can watch at home.
Although it does seem that exhibitors and some of the other patrons are conspiring to drive me away.
And I'm not the only one who feels that way.
A few months ago, a column on another subject had a paragraph toward the end that reflected my love of moviegoing, just an offhand, throwaway remark.
And that's what a lot of readers seized on to vent about disruptive latecomers, noisy eaters, cellphones (lights and rings), auditoriums that no longer seem dark enough, people who can't keep quiet, people behind you kicking your seat, high-priced admissions (including surcharge fees for buying tickets online and for 3-D and IMAX showings), high-priced concessions and, in some cases, high-priced parking.
Oh, yes, and lousy movies.
In this little unexpected, impromptu poll, however, the No. 1 complaint was commercial advertisements. For some reason, people feel that shelling out for movie tickets, overprized sodas and sometimes parking (not to mention baby-sitting and gasoline), should give them a commercial-free environment for movie watching. Go figure.
And apparently, having decades to adjust to ads in the movies has not made them any more endearing. Especially as they seem to be growing in number and frequency.
Many theaters now run both local and national commercials on video monitors in the lobby, on the screen before the auditorium lights dim and after the lights go down, just before the trailers begin. And just lately, some theaters have also begun showing them after the trailers, just before the feature.
How long will it be before we see the movie stop halfway through the action for yet another string of commercials? Or maybe they'll run Pepsi or Ford pop-up ads on the bottom of the screen during the movie.
Then there's the little pitch to the audience urging that electronic devices be turned off and put away.
I have a 30-something son who purposely patronizes the Cinemarks over the Megaplexes because he likes the harsher Cinemark anti-cellphone ad. It actually contains a threat to those who light up their phones, saying they could be ejected from the auditorium. Not that he's seen it happen yet.
Meanwhile, Megaplex has just started a new one sponsored by Cricket. It's more specific than those they've shown in the past, a bit nicer and gentler reminder than Cinemark's, which is fine. But because it's sponsored, it's also one more ad!
Actually, I wouldn't mind even the sponsored turn-off-your-cellphone reminders if they worked.
My wife and I go to the movies every week, and every week we see that little blue light go on somewhere in the theater before the movie is over. And often a bevy of them.
Is our collective attention span really so short that we can't go two hours without checking our texts?
Of course, this also happens at every non-movie event we attend, from middle-school dance performances to funerals. Yes, funerals!
I have another 30-something son who has become so disgusted by cellphone abuse, seat kicking and chatterboxes that he has completely sworn off attending movies in theaters. He's happy to wait for a video release.
Young people — who are, after all, the sought-after demographic for movies — don't seem to care as much about all this as older filmgoers.
But does the motion-picture industry really want to chase away the mature audience? Does it really want people to stop going to movies as they get older so that it becomes a youth-exclusive experience?
Ads are no doubt here to stay, as are climbing prices. But for rude patrons, maybe the industry should consider going back to having ushers patrol/monitor auditoriums.
Anyone else remember the flashlight-carrying theater employee in a uniform who wasn't afraid to shush incessant talkers?
Where's that guy now that we really need him?
EMAIL: hicks@desnews.com