Go premium at the movies Posted on July 4th
I have started going to the movies again, just in time for the summer blockbuster season. I stopped going right around the time humankind lost all respect for public civility. I couldn’t take the gum-popping, cellophane-rustling, feet-sticking nightmare that most movie theaters had become. There was always the inevitable turf war over theater seats. People were always saving seats, and not just for one or two designated concession stand runners. They would save entire rows of seats. I would demand that my family sit down and then I was a man alone battling with both my family and other theatergoers.
I must admit that I also get a little freaked out by the grease stains on the backs of the so-called luxurious captain’s chairs found in most theaters these days. I don’t want to sit in someone else’s hair gel. I am using product on my hair too, but just a little for sheen and to keep my bangs out of my face. I have seen vermin scurry across the floor in movie theaters and even found a cockroach in my popcorn. Ever since the cockroach incident, I have been overwhelmed with the feeling that something was crawling on me somewhere. As you can imagine, that takes away from the moviegoing experience.
With the advent of home theater, I found myself getting about six or seven months behind the curve, and watching everything at home (sans vermin). With pay-per-view, a plentiful supply of DVDs, movies on iTunes and surround sound, I hardly ever found myself having to wait more than a month to see movies that are either still in or have just left the theaters. With Comcast’s On Demand service, I can literally see movies that are still in the theaters. It’s like going to a hotel and watching the in-room movies. Well, most of the in-room movies, if you know what I mean.
Then something strange and unusual happened. Muvico (9701 Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont; 847-447-1030) added premium (VIP) seating to 6 of its 18 new theaters. The extra-wide, super-comfortable seats are reserved and the theaters are immaculate. I just go online, click on the show I want to see and the Web site takes me right to an interactive seating chart. It’s like reserving a seat on an airplane.
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