One of the rockin things about being a parent -especially this time of year- is I can go and see all the kids' movies without having to borrow someone else's bratty kid or without going alone and looking like a nutjob. My kids are 7 and 9, which is the perfect age to take to the movies. They are young enough to appreciate the movies as a treat, and old enough not to need mountains of childcare products in order to keep them clean and quiet for a couple of hours.
I had a whole list of films I had planned to see this holiday season: "Enchanted" was on the top of the list. We saw it yesterday and I really enjoyed it. Except for Susan Sarandon's shoes. When she comes to Manhattan from Andalasia, she is wearing clunky plastic-looking platform boots that no self-respecting evil queen stepmother would be caught dead in. Mona May is credited for the costume design. Maybe she had a bad day, or was running out of budget. But come ON. This is Susan Sarandon we're talking about here! Susan Sarandon as an Evil Queen! It's all about the shoes on so many levels.
Second on my "must see" list for this season is was "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium". Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and a magic toystore. What's not to love? Well, that's where I hit my first movie-going snag in several years. OK it's my first non-R-rated movie-going snag, but I have pretty much given up expecting to see adult movies in the cinema. One must make sacrifices for the sake of motherhood... So yeah. "Mr. Magorium...": My son has announced that at the grand old are of nine, he is "too old" to go and see this movie, which -in his considered and unchangeable opinion- is better suited for a kid of seven or eight.
So what to do? I could fob him off on one of his friends moms while I take my daughter to see the movie. But what if the friend wants to see it too? Then I will feel bad. If he were older, I could take a few kids to a multiplex, and have the boys go and watch something with more testosterone -say "Fred Claus" while my daughter and I watch "...Magorium..." in the theatre next door. But colour me overprotective, I couldn't allow a 9 and 10 year old to sit in a movie theatre alone like that. What if something happened?
And there is even the bigger issue (for my son) surrounding keeping an open mind. I'm sure if he swallowed his nine-year-old pride and prejudices, and went to see the damn movie, he would actually enjoy the stupid thing. Nine years old is way too young to be limiting your horizons. Hell, 99 years old old is too young to be doing that shit. But how can I explain that concept to a somewhat rigid kid who is only concerned with being 'big" without being geeky?
That's the true curse of aging. The gradual loss of possibilities.
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