Last week, I was talking with Payton (of Top Five Records fame) about the Dark Knight premier and what our plans for seeing it were. He casually suggested "We should have made a weekend out of it" which immediately set my brain in motion. Neither of us had any pressing engagements over the weekend, so the next day I jumped in my car and drove the 9 bleak hours to Houston.
Being the incredible nerds that we are, Payton and I arrived at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight at about 9:30 (we were by no means the first people in line). I asked one of the employees how many people they were expecting to show up, and she told me that based on presale there would be at least 3000 people. As it got closer to midnight, none of us doubted that estimate. People wearing Joker-style facepaint, batman masks, or just a t-shirt emblazoned with the Bat-logo were swarming all over the enormous theater. I've been to a lot of midnight showings, but that buzzing energy we all felt while we were waiting for the lights to dim was something new and unique. Say what you will about the movie-going experience, complain about ticket or food prices, tell your stories about that one time with that one kid who wouldn't shut up, but I honestly believe that that experience is one of the greatest that our culture has to offer. Sitting in a dark room with six or seven hundred strangers and watching something you've all waited years for is simply incredible. You might think I'm being a bit melodramatic here, but I will truly miss this shared experience if and when the living room is the sole domain of film.
Regardless of whether it was a cultural touchstone or just another night at the movies, seeing The Dark Knight was a great way to kick off a fun and relaxing weekend with Payton and his friends. After a boring 2 months in searcy and a stressful 2 weeks with family, it was great to just go with the flow and hang out with some people my own age. I also really enjoyed Houston itself. The city just seems...inviting. Besides, who could complain about a city that has an amazing Mexican restaurant on every corner?
See? Doesn't it look inviting?
This is NOT the theater where we saw Batman
The highway was closed to clear a wreck, so I took a detour. Cue the banjo music.
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