Good morning! I hope the world is being good to you and you’re being good to it.

Grab your coffee or beverage of choice and share a thought with me!

There was a time in my life where I primarily went to movies by myself. I was new to town, and, even after really getting to know some people, preferred the peace and freedom of solo attendance. I didn’t need to wait on anyone else if the opportunity arose to see a film, and then it didn’t matter if someone else wanted to see it too; I could just go. I suppose at some age, there was a stigma around going to movies alone, same as going to a restaurant or concert solo, but by not doing that, there’s risk of letting enjoyable experiences pass by. I don’t know if that stigma still exists, maybe not, but I wouldn’t really care at this point anyway.

Since those times and up to roughly a year-and-a-half ago, I seldom ventured to a movie without my wife. We made a point of making the time to see movies together and inherently do not have different enough tastes to not go to a movie the other wants to see. Since the birth of our daughter, however, seeing a movie together in a theater is typically more challenging than it’s worth. We need to have a babysitter and have the energy to get to the theater and stay awake; the stars seldom align. Enter, the day movie.

Connoisseurs will know these morning and afternoon showtimes as matinees, but I’m not putting on airs. Those there are day movies. While they allow me to once again see movies in the theater, for which I am thankful, they are not a perfect solution. First, I’m typically rolling solo. Going to a day movie is not a given; the variables still need to align, but they will only ever align for me. Given our current jobs, my wife will never be able to catch a weekday day movie, so I’m back to being a cinophilic bachelor. If she has any desire to see a particular movie, I’m going to hold off.

Two, it’s not guaranteed my local theater has any day movies scheduled or that they are early enough. Since the theater needs to have demand to offer a day movie, they are only scheduled during the summer when school is out. The occasional fall and winter day movie appears, but that makes attending more complex. It has to be for the right movie, and I have to be able to catch the brief period for when the day movie is offered or running in theaters (something that always seems to be shortening).

And three, I have to be willing to give up a large chunk of my day. Yesterday, I went to The Odyssey, which, by the time I got home, had been a 4-hour odyssey itself. (It’s really, really good, by the way. I 100% recommend.) While The Odyssey is a film worthy of a long runtime, I would love to see films consistently get back to 90 or 105-minute runtimes. Give me something shorter than 2-hours. This allows me to see what can still be an epic adventure without blowing a sizable portion of the day. Horror movies and comedies typically do this, but why can’t a summer blockbuster land in that range as well? Be efficient with building characters and telling the story, so I don’t have to worry about using the bathroom halfway through because I dared get something to drink.

While I listed three day movie negatives, there are some significant positives. Besides being able to once again see a film in the theater, the biggest benefit is smaller crowds. I’m making an observation and not trying to have a “get off my lawn” moment when I say a lot of movie-going audiences have done away with normalized decorum. Phones are out and being used, whispering seems to be a foreign concept, and I’ve even had a stranger sitting next to me start watching YouTube, volume on. The smaller day movie audiences typically keep things more well-behaved. Then, despite losing several hours in the heart of the day, it’s nice to be able to leave the theater and still have day left. Aside from being flash-banged by the sun upon stepping outside, I still have the energy and ambition to make something of the daylight rather than going to bed upon returning home. Lastly, day movie tickets are also cheaper. This is not as big a deal since I would still be willing to pay full price if I had the opportunity to go in the evening, but saving on the ticket to slightly offset the concession pilfering is a nice benefit.

I am a big fan of the day movie. I love my daughter, but I missed being able to see good films in the theater. The day movie has returned this to the realm of possibility, but it’s something I have to use sparingly. While I have no problem going by myself, I miss my movie-going partner and the shared experience. I know, however, this is not a permanent situation. We will one day return to the land of the night movie.