I've seen my share of movies this summer. I've seen Bernie, Magic Mike, Spiderman...it was when I went in to see Spiderman that I was knocked over the head. You see I had my ticket in my hand and I opened the glass doors and was hit with that blast of cold air that feels so good in a Texas July. The lobby is full of sensory stimulation. The carpet is psychedelic the neon lights are overpowering and the smell of popcorn and that stuff they call butter permeates the building. I was ready to see the new version of Spiderman when I looked up and there was a ten foot poster hanging from the ceiling against the side wall of the lobby that caught my eye. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but I was pulled forward by an unseen force. I started walking slowly towards it, looking up....I could hear my children saying "mom"? I couldn't speak, I just kept walking towards this giant poster, I stopped at the foot of the poster and without further words my daughters had caught up to me and they were staring too.
Then a great big smile broke out over my face, because the very movie theater we were standing in was going to have a Special Event, and they were going to put my favorite movie of all time on the
BIG SCREEN.
Did we attend? YES
Was it everything we had hoped for? YES
I am sharing one of my many favorite dance sequences with you from Singin' in the Rain. The athleticism, the stamina, the pure muscle control...well, it gets my heart pounding just watching.
Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly
Before the actual movie began, they showed an interview with Debbie Reynolds. She was delightful and she said they did 40 takes of the Good Mornin' routine, then Gene (who also co-directed the movie) put the first take in the movie. I got the sense she wasn't too fond of Gene Kelly. He was rather a perfectionist and of course, was much older than she. I had a feeling that in the words of Lena Lamont, she cain't staind 'em. However, she adored Donald O'Connor, and who wouldn't.
It's been several days now and I still have the music and dancing in my head. It is definitely an outing with my girls that I will never forget!