Oscar

The buzz is in the air as we approach the big event for cinematic junkies. Yes, it is time for the Academy Awards, complete with the red carpet and glitzy dresses needing to be analyzed just as much as the movies. I wish I could say that I was a movie expert and could share with you thoughtful position statements on the movies and actors that I think deserve the awards. Alas, I am but a movie novice. It’s not that I do not like movies. On the contrary. I enjoy movies but I just don’t take the time to watch them. I’m also a bit of a Goldilocks movie watcher. Not too grisly. Not too sentimental. Not too long. I need movies somewhere in between and just right.

Finding the right time to watch a movie is the first challenge. Watching movies in the evening means that my husband and I cannot drift off during the same parts of the movie so that we can piece together the plot and the ending by the time the movie is over. This rarely happens, so we often have to abandon ship and make a vow to try again another evening when we are more alert (also, rarely happens). Going out to a movie involves planning and coordination. A movie has to be agreed upon, a theater selected, a departure time established and tickets purchased. Seems like a lot of effort when I can click the remote and play movie roulette for the evening, letting the cable machine decide for me.

The next movie challenge is my lack of motion picture heritage. My family didn’t have a television until I was well into school and the few snowy stations we received were not always conducive to the movie experience. Add to that the number of family members who needed to agree upon any given programming. Subtract the mom and dad factor that made sure most movies were censored. Divide the number of available movies on limited stations and the sum total was very few movies.

I also had limited movie experiences in school or the community. Our little town theater ran movies on an intermittent basis. Attending a motion picture meant that the planets needed to align with a ride into town, sufficient funding and the approval of my parents. I think I went to a total of three movies. School movies were just about as scarce. It was an event tantamount to the moon landing when our teachers set up a film projector with the reels flippety flapping their way through a production of Old Yeller or Heidi.  We were enthralled with the opportunity to slip into another world away from our spelling and arithmetic assignments. But, as soon as the movie ended, it was back to the books for another year or two before the movie machine might be dusted off again.

Despite my lack of movie proficiency, I am still on the hunt for a good movie. The Goldilocks in me keeps me from being more adventuresome. So, perhaps, I need to be a little more Red Riding Hoodish and head out into the woods with a basket full of popcorn, ready to experience the mystery of wolves, grandmothers and flashy capes.

Enjoy the show!