The Matinee Club
by Stacey
There are a lot of good ideas in the world and The Matinee Club is one of them.
A few years ago, when I began to have large chunks of time on my own when the girls were in the school I tried to go to the movies. I would scour the schedules to find a matinee that would end in time for me to make it to pick up. And I couldn’t find anything.
And then, this year, I learned about The Matinee Club. Two women in a nearby town must have shared my frustration and they did something about the situation. Now, once a month, between October and May, I am going to the movies. My friends and I are able to choose between two first run movies that are shown at 11:30 giving us plenty of time to sit still, enjoy the show and get to pick up on time.
While the concept itself is just fun, there is something else fun happening. For various reasons, I have attended my second choice movie in both October and November and I’ve loved both films. It’s been like when you dread a book club book and then discover that it is a great read.
In October I watched Rush whose summary reads, “A re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.” And in November I saw Ender’s Game whose summary reads, “Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formecs, a genocidal alien race which nearly annihilated the human race in a previous invasion.”
I never would have chosen to see either of these movies but given the circumstances, I did and I am so glad. I can’t wait to see what my choices are next month.
What a great idea!
I just love, LOVE, this idea! And I’m totally stealing it!! 🙂 I always have said I’m not a “movie” person, but I’ve realized that it’s actually I am not a movie person A) when I should be doing something else and B) when it’s a packed theater (hate crowds). But this? This I could get on board with because I won’t have those two issues, and always, without doubt, I never end up regretting seeing a movie once I’ve gone (even bad ones have their merit for gossiping purposes, right?). Thanks for sharing this idea!
Every once in a while (like 1-2 times a year) I take off an afternoon of work and leave my kids in daycare, so I can do something fun like this with my friends!
I’d never have chosen either of those movies … I love when that happens – with a book, movie, television show. The Matinee Club is a splendid idea. I can’t wait to see what your choices are next month either! Speaking of movies/books I never thought I’d like, we’re seeing Catching Fire Friday night. I had a lot of issues with the books, but overall I liked them enough to read all three and watch the movies when they’re released.
What a cool idea! Also a good name for a novel, don’t you think? I so know what you mean about that dreaded book club book that ends up being such a great read.