Scribblings › Viewtopia

There may come a time when our grandchildren have zero recall of movie seats without cupholders in the arms. They will not be able to fathom the long ago epoch when, while our eyes were glued to the screen, our feet were glued to the floor by a viscous blend of spilt Coke syrup and "Golden Flavor" popcorn topping, the primordial ooze from which the movie theaters of the third millennium are now beginning to evolve.

Digital sound, wall-to-wall screens, telephone ticketing, and auditoriums cleaned with storm trooper vigilance...these are a few of my favorite things. (I tremble with glee thinking about the debut 21st century rerelease of The Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews' full-bore yodeling delivered in cavity-rattling THX splendor).

Today's comfort-driven multiplex renaissance is setting a high standard for the future of movie going. And to those cynics who grumble that the new frills are just an excuse to raise ticket prices fifty cents, I say B.S. And I think B.S.S.—Before Stadium Seating.

It was a cruel, crude era. During my tenth birthday party, I was humiliated in front of the four friends who'd accompanied me to a matinee at the neighborhood cinema. Overwhelmed with enthusiasm, I jackhammered up and down in my seat as Rocky Balboa summoned his inner strength to deliver a series of monster blows to Apollo Creed. But as the Stallion landed his punches, a huge palm landed on top of my head and squashed me down hard into my rickety seat.

"Kid," drawled a thick Southern accent, "I can see you're having a good time, but if you can't control yourself, I'm gonna call the manager."

The new, high-tiered rows of cushioned stadium seats give each moviegoer a little private space within the public arena. You get to feel the excitement of the crowd around you without having it block your view. You can bounce around with the enthusiasm of your ten-year-old inner child when Jackie Chan kicks butt and have a blissfully unobstructed adult perspective when Nicole Kidman reveals it.

It's an in-your-face experience, in all the right ways.