Talkin’ ’bout ‘Freedom’
Go see “Freedom Writers.” Seriously, that’s all I have to say today. I cried through half the movie and ended up in the ladies’ room, chatting with the gal who sat next to me in the theater about how fucking fantastic it was.
I almost didn’t get to see it. I put in a few hours at work but then stuff started going wonky, so I gave up after I finished my immediate task and took off to my local megaplex. But the two 16-year-old brats at the box office pissed me off to the point of no return — literally.
There were two windows open, and I normally use the ticket machine and bypass human idiocy, but I felt like paying cash because all my bills are clearing and I don’t want to bounce them. Each worker was with someone when I got there, so I stood in the middle, waiting to go to the next available ticket monkey. The boy’s line opened up first, and he looked directly at me and slapped on his “closed” sign and continued to sit there. Prick. I moved into the girl’s line.
The girl served her customer and proceeded to ignore me when her person left. She and the boy started whispering and giggling and looking at me. I know I wasn’t wearing makeup, but jeez, I’m no freak of nature. The couple behind me in the matching burnt-orange sweaters, now they were scary, but me? Fairly normal in comparison to the pumpkin patch. (The woman was wearing GREEN PANTS, y’all. Stem-side down!)
Finally, the girl said, “Yeah, what movie?” And I was so horrified I said, “Not if I have to go through you to see it,” and I walked away. Which is what she wanted, I’m sure, but if we raised the minimum wage for her, it wasn’t worth it.
I jumped in the car and sped off to another theater across town and had the best experience there. Workers opened doors and asked how I was and were just impeccable in their service. The theater was a little less upscale than the other, but I got a matinee price (my theater doesn’t charge less than $10 at any time of day — the $7.50 I paid at the other theater offset the parking cost and it all came out the same in my book). Good service is worth the extra aggravation, in my estimation.
Anyway, LOVED the movie. I’m not a fan of Hillary Swank but seeing Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey in high-def — even if it was in a petulant, emasculating role — was worth the ticket price alone. I needed a good-guys-win-sometimes story today, and this completely fit the bill. The ’80s hip-hop score didn’t hurt matters, either. 😉 And the “Freedom Writers Diary” is on my must-buy list, just as soon as I get that soundtrack. …