Movies The Way They Oughta Be

A summer holiday weekend is usually the cue to head off to an air conditioned movie theater.  I mean, the July 4th holiday is always the time where the really good pictures come out, right?

Wrong. 

The major release last week was some dreck called "Tammy" and it starred that great film comedienne Melissa McCarthy.  PS, if you went to see this, please remove me from your Christmas card list. 

So, what's a movie fan to do when your major option is some unfunny garbage with that annoying and obese McCarthy?  Well, if you're in Los Angeles, you've got the American Cinematheque and their wonderful venue in Santa Monica, a restored gem called the Aero Theater.

Okay, the marquee above lists some of the fare during the Christmas holiday week but you get the idea.  Classic films shown on a big screen.  And enjoyed with a group of people that appreciate them.  More and more, I opt to venture out to a classic film more than seeing whatever crap Hollywood has just pooped out.  And the Aero is the ideal place to remember what it's like to "go to the movies."

For me, it's almost sensory perception.  I remember the days when I was a youngster in Mount Vernon, New York.  I've written about those special Fridays here before.  My mom picking me up after school.  Walking down to the Fourth Avenue business district.  Stopping first at the Bee Hive.  I'd usually have  a BLT sandwich and a chocolate shake.  Then, we'd walk the block over to either RKO Proctor's or Loews (always pronounced Low-ees) for a double feature.

Right across from the Aero on Montana Avenue is a diner-like restaurant called Blue Plate.  You can't get a chocolate shake.  But the BLTs they conjure up are delicious.  You grab a freshly baked cookie to go and it's off to the picture house.  

If I close my eyes, I'm with my mom in the crosswalk.  Watching both ways to make sure there are no cars coming.  

You get to the Aero on a weekend night and there's usually a line down the block.  A-ha.  You're not the only one in the world who appreciates this.  Most often, the nightly screening starts fifteen or twenty minutes late as the crowd gobbles up every available seat.

Last Saturday night, the feature presentation was "Jaws." 

 Oh, sure, you've probably seen the DVD a thousand times in the...gasp...39 years since the movie was first released.   But it's a film meant to see on the big screen.   With an audience flinching at all the scary parts, whether they know they're coming or not.  There's blood, guts, fear, and, save for a mechanical shark, not a wisp of computer graphic special effects.   Take that, X-Men and anything starring Tom Cruise.

I wanted more and got it the very next night.

What smart holiday weekend programming by the Aero.  My #2 all-time favorite movie. Perhaps the greatest screen comedy ever made.  Not a Melissa McCarthy in sight.  Another night where the Aero is packed to the walls. Kids are in the audience.  Parents and grandparents showing the moppets what a funny movie is all about.  I laughed hysterically as if I seeing it for the first time.  Note that I've probably seen it 100 times.  Not bad for a movie that was first released...gasp...55 years ago.  At the Aero on Sunday, it was new again.

You realize what movie going is all about when you go the Aero Theater.  Or frankly any classic film theater that caters to the more appreciative fan.  Oh, sure, the Film Forum does it in New York but those screening rooms are smaller than the box your new sneakers came in.  I'm sure there are others across the country.

But, at the Aero Theater, so close to Hollywood, it's the best.  Movies the way they oughta be.

With a BLT sandwich right across the street.

Dinner last night:  Smoked beef sausage, corn, and salad.