How many movie-goers do we have out there? My husband and I rarely go—the film has to be one we really want to see in order to shell out nearly $10 a ticket. The first movie I took my daughter Nikki to was The Little Mermaid. The year was 1989 and she’d just turned four. That was the year a tradition was born. It was the perfect excuse for me to see the new Disney releases, which happened to fall around Thanksgiving and Nikki’s birthday.
These days, Nikki and I are not on the same page when it comes to movies. She may disagree with this, but I don’t think she’s nearly as selective (or frugal) as I am. And when I saw that Cats was coming out Christmas week, I knew she’d want to see it. I was prepared and agreed to take her when she came up from Louisiana for Christmas. Our husbands would rather hang from their toes in the freezing cold, and even though I didn’t love the idea, I do love my daughter.
“You know that got, like an 18 out of 100 rating,” my son Christopher informed me when he found out we were going. Christopher is big on reviews. As a screenwriter, director and producer of edgy films, he pays attention to those things.
“It doesn’t matter,” I told him. “Your sister wants to see it.”
I may offend more than a few people when I write this, but I really don’t get Cats. Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of the animal to begin with. It might have to do with the fact that being in the same room with them causes my eyes to itch and swell while I sneeze uncontrollably. Not pretty. And (this may really get me in hot water) I don’t like the song Memories. It’s grating. It doesn’t matter that award-winning Jennifer Hudson belted it out, emotions making her voice quiver while bodily fluids ran down her face.
Nikki sobbed (in several scenes) while I merely tolerated the film. Does this mean I’m emotionally dead? I don’t think so. I still remember the scene at the end of The Little Mermaid when Ariel is on the deck of her charming prince’s ship telling her father good-bye. When she said, “I love you Daddy,” I cried. And have you ever seen My Dog Skip? There is a scene when Willie is sure Skip is going to die, and it’s partly his fault. He’s begging Skip to stay alive as the poor Jack Russell Terrier lay death-like on the vet’s table. I literally sobbed (alongside Nikki) during that scene.
The movie I really wanted to see was the new Little Women. My husband agreed to accompany me if I didn’t tell his friends but later gave me permission to write this. We went on New Year’s day at the 12:15 showing and I was shocked to find the theater packed. Much to my husband’s relief, there were quite a few men in attendance. And (spoiler alert) even though I knew Beth was going to die, I cried.
A couple days later, I talked to my son. I was hesitant to tell him we saw Little Women because I was sure I’d get some good-natured ribbing.
“Oh awesome,” he said, instead. “It got a 95 out of 100.” This from a kid who loves Quentin Tarantino films and who laughed at me when I cried at My Dog Skip. Then again, he was an emotional basket case when Mr. Jingles (a mouse) was killed in The Green Mile and When Harry Met Sally is still one of his faves. My children never fail to surprise me.
So, here’s my one sentence movie review: Cats wasn’t worth the $10 while I would have paid double to see Little Women. But, time with my sweet daughter was priceless.
