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Sometimes movie theaters DO have their act together
It’s funny that I just ran a post about the best theaters to see a movie. As I predicted, a number of people said they preferred to stay at home. However, I had an experience Sunday at a movie theater in Columbus that reminded me just how satisfying it is when a theater does care about its patrons.
I visited the Studio 35 movie theater in Columbus, where I caught Inglourious Basterds a second time. It’s a large, single screen theater (itself a rarity these days), and toward the back there was a group of rather rowdy moviegoers who cheered “YEEEAAHHHH” and made other, um - boisterous responses whenever a Nazi bit it - and that happens quite frequently in Basterds.
Now, these folks may have been members of the Columbus branch of the He-Man Nazi (pronounced gnat-zee) Haters Club, but I think it was more likely they were OD-ing on the booze the theater serves. Mind you, I’m all for Nazi-bashing, but not to the point of annoying other people in a movie theater.
At any rate, by the fiery end of the movie in which a great many Nazis burn to a crisp, I noticed the he-men were not making noise anymore, most likely because they got the boot. Even better, as my best friend and I left the theater, the manager apologized to us and handed us free admission passes.
And you know what? The manager did that WITHOUT being asked. In fact, I wasn’t even going to say anything because the troublemakers were taken care of, but that’s truly going above and beyond with customer service. Color me impressed!
And on top of all that, this was a movie theater that was cool enough to show A Hard Day’s Night and to play the Beatles Rock Band game on the big screen. Even the DVD projection quality for A Hard Day’s Night was excellent.
Why can’t more movie theaters be like that? And have you got any similar happy movie theater experiences of your own to share?
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Comments
By Mary
September 15, 2009 12:45 PM | Link to this
Before I moved to Dayton I lived in Columbus for a few years, and had an apartment just up the street from Studio 35. It was where I first saw “O Brother Where Art Thou.” I loved the style of Studio 35, the fact that I could walk to the theater, and the fact that people stood outside afterward and talked about the films, and didn’t just immediately disperse into a parking lot. Theaters like this add a lot to a neighborhood, and I’m glad to hear that Studio 35 is still going strong!By Chuck
September 14, 2009 1:28 PM | Link to this
That is exactly why I do not go to the movies anymore, between the talkers and cell phones and children running up and down the aisle,this rude inconsiderate behavior makes the experience not worth the price of admission.