It’s not spelunking. It’s not photography. It’s not collecting Dove chocolate wrappers…it’s Movie Talking.
This new hobby may prove dangerous to my health. Some people greatly resent any vocalized disturbance which breaks the trance of suspended belief in a make-believe world. But honestly, if you’re going to a movie with another writer, or worse, an editor, the temptation is…titanic.
I went to see Clash of the Titans with my plot-savvy mother and thoroughly enjoyed identifying and analyzing the plot devices. (Which in this movie were obvious given the absurd premise.)
So, if you’re in a theater and you hear…..”Ok, all his friends are going to die here, so he’ll have to be alone for the final battle.”…two rows back. It’s probably me and mom.
Or not…
One instance of Movie Talking comes to mind when I was annoyee rather than annoyer, during the classic Count of Monte Cristo no less. The lead villain could have borrowed this woman’s manaical laugh to deepen his chill factor.
In retrospect, it was fun for one time, but I will defer to my fellow theater goers and restrict my new hobby to a good ole DVD rental. Some poor writer poured blood, sweat, and self-doubting fears, into creating an engaging story, transporting people into an imaginary world on an extraordinary adventure, and I feel like a hypocrite in defeating that purpose with a whispers of, “Well, he’s got to have somebody to love because his dad made such a point of that in the beginning,” and, “Aha, he’s reconciled his inner struggle!” and, ”What’s the point of that owl statue anyway?” (I was disappointed it didn’t turn into some kind of helpful brain washing tool.)
Hmmm. What do you think? Are there some movies where it’s more appropriate to talk? Dramas, comedies, action flicks? Never in a theater?
