Knowing When to Walk Away

From a "bad" movie!

This is “Woof of the Week”, the newsletter about the smallest thing that made me say “Woof” the longest that week!

Dog Juno and her Oscar ballot

Welcome to Woof of the Week!

The Oscars! Hollywood’s biggest night! And what a night it was, with Anora taking home the top prize of Best Picture, and Sean Baker matching the record for most Oscars won in one night, and setting a NEW record for the most Oscars won in one night for the same film! Anora, the little movie that could, some might say.

I’m looking forward to a lot movies this year - and seeing the success of Anora, I’m curious what it will pave the way for in coming years. Could we see smaller and smaller films take home more awards? Or will studios recognize the power in funding these projects, and start working with directors on a smaller level to get more films with clear direction made?

One can only dream - and for now that dream will be for me, as I am a day late but finally getting this ready to go VERY late Monday night.

---

Thanks for reading! You can subscribe to the newsletter to get it sent directly to your email inbox by hitting the button below! (And feel free to hit the “like” button or leave a comment.)

---

When You Don’t Like What You Want

I love going to the movies. There’s no better feeling than setting my phone to Do Not Disturb for 90 to 120 minutes at a time (or more if I’m lucky!) and losing myself in the world presented by the screen. Truthfully it’s become a part of my routine, as I go to the theaters at least once a week on average.

I recognize the privilege I have by saying this. Of course, I live in Los Angeles and work in entertainment to a degree, so it is part of the job. But the fact that I have both the time and money to do so is certainly something I feel fortunate and grateful for, as I recognize it’s not a widely shared luxury. According to Statista, in 2024, the average movie ticket price to an AMC Theater in the U.S was $12.22. And with the prices of concessions rising to offset a potential increase in ticket costs, a night at the movies can kind of break the bank, not to mention if you need to hire childcare. Even with subscription programs like AMC A-List that allow customers to see three, soon to be four, movies a week for a flat monthly fee - it can be hard to commit the time and money to going to the theaters, especially if you hear that a movie is “bad” or if you’re simply trying to get popcorn and a drink.

Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood. Via Discover Universal Blog

I write all this to give context as to what happened this past week when I finally watched the movie I skipped last weekend - Parthenope. I booked a ticket via AMC A-List to a screening during what I’ve been referring to in my head as the “twilight hour” of movie start times - you know the ones that start in the middle of the afternoon, that when you scroll through available showings and see a start time of 3:20 PM you think to yourself “I wonder who goes to those?”

The answer this past week? Me! I was lucky to even find a screening in the first place; after missing its initial opening window - the only theater that I could get to that was still showing it was the AMC at Universal City Walk.

If you’re unfamiliar, Universal City Walk is the area outside of Universal Studios Hollywood that contains shops, restaurants, and a giant blue king kong. And since it’s connected to the theme park, you’ll have to queue up with park guests to pay for parking which can cost $35 - UNLESS you’re there to see a movie, in which you’ll only need to pay $5. Still - rubbing elbows with people who are about to have a better day time than you AND paying for parking is never fun. And if given the choice, I avoid City Walk, unless it’s for IMAX showings (City Walk houses one of the rare theaters that can do “true IMAX”) - but sometimes you must do what the movie asks of you.

As I took my seat after an embarrassing attempt to try another digital soda flavor, I passed a middle aged man and woman that were READY for this movie. With blankets and plenty of snacks, they looked so pleased to be able to attend a movie at four in the afternoon and spoke in hushed Spanish to each other. For a second, I wondered why this couple was watching this hip Italian film. Were they big fans of director Paolo Sorrentino? Were they actually fluent in Italian? Or were they, like me, just here to see what I had been calling “the movie about the woman who is SO hot” after the trailer seemed to indicate that’s what it would be about. I realized their motives were none of my business and I went back to ignoring movie trailers.

As a few more people trickled in, I could tell the older couple was excited. They whispered excitedly to each other, still in Spanish, and loudly kissed. Multiple times. I definitely did not expect to sit next to and/or hear old people PDA!

At first I found it sweet - it was nice that this couple was in love - and that this afternoon seemed like a special one. But as the whispering and kissing grew louder I shot them a glance - and that’s when I saw that the kissing sounds were not (always) because the couple were kissing, but in fact it was because the woman was also kissing a stuffed pig! The size of a one year old, she also had it wrapped up in a little blanket. I was flabbergasted. I’ve tried a few times to make some type of joke here while writing this Woof but all you need to know is that it is 100% true that this middle aged woman had brought a baby sized stuffed pig to a movie at 4PM in the afternoon on a weekday. Stranger things have certainly happened but I was witnessing one of the top ten of my life in real time, that’s for sure. All I knew is that it seemed now more than ever that I knew this couple was ready for a great afternoon.

Parthenope opened with the birth of the titular character in a gorgeous bay off the coast of Naples. I was in awe of the visuals but was having trouble keeping up with the film’s subtitles - as the panicked arrival of an extravagant gift for the new child, coupled with her birth led to a lot of chatter and crosstalk. And even though I was confused, I felt bad for the couple - as I could hear them getting restless, whispering to each other as the words flew across the screen.

As the chatter and the rustling of snacks grew more fervent, it became clear to me that this couple was not having a great time. I wasn’t sure about the pig, but I set his thoughts aside for a moment because I was about to strap in. I’ve had a handful of bad movie theater experiences, especially with chatty couples, and as much as I love losing myself in movies, I love not getting yelled at by annoying movie patrons more. I wondered if this afternoon would be a bust - would this movie trip turn out to be more of a waste of time? Had I invested poorly in trying to watch this film?

But then, after a mere 20 minutes into the movie, the couple got up and left with their pig, snacks, and blankets - never to be seen again.

I felt bad for them. As I wrote above, going to the movies is expensive, especially at Universal City Walk - one of the pricier AMCs and movie going experiences in general. This couple took time out of their afternoon to watch Parthenope. And while I don’t know where they were coming from or going to, you had to guess that they didn’t choose to watch this on a whim. They had blankets! And a pig! But I do wonder how much they had planned on this film being what it was - this weird modern Italian art house film that was more interested in telling a whirlwind Challengers-esque story between Parthenope, her brother, and his best friend - than being accessible to a general movie going audience.

Going to the movies should be a treat - and it sucks when that treat doesn’t taste good. And while I enjoyed Parthenope on the whole - I’ve certainly sat through movies that tested my patience. Elvis, Argylle, Kraven the Hunter - I paid for and slogged through all three of those. And yes, while they were covered by AMC A-List, I still paid for those terrible movies with my time, a cost that I’ll never get back.

That’s why I admire the couple for walking out of Parthenope. They knew that it wasn’t working for them and they walked away. They didn’t debate whether or not they should stay because of all the prep that they had brought with them. And they certainly didn’t consult the pig! They realized “This isn’t working, we should leave.”

I don’t know why I’m unable to bring myself to do the same. I’ve never walked out of a movie. Maybe it’s the guilt of having invested my time and money into picking one, that I need to see it out. Maybe it’s out of stubbornness - that I want to be able to tell everyone I completed watching the latest “bad” movie. I sat through it, I have a take, and I’d love to share! Or maybe it’s simply the fact that very much like air & water - I need it. I need them. Movies, and by extension theaters, are and have been constant fixtures in my life - they’re vital to my functionality as a human being, just like work and like sleep - and that no matter how bad it is, how bad the other patrons get, that I’ll still go, once a week, and see the movie through till the end.

Anyways Parthenope was fine.

---

Quote of the Week

This week’s quote is from 2023:

That f*ckers gonna sit in the middle

Not what it was said about but that’s the perfect description of me booking my AMC A-list seat in an empty theater :)

---

That’s all folks!

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Woof of the Week! Leave a comment because I’d love to hear your thoughts! Some questions I have for you -

• What’s the last movie you saw in theaters?

• What’s the next movie you’ll be seeing in theaters?

• What movie do you wish you could see in theaters, again or for the first time?

See you on the next one!

Submit Your Woof!

Got a Woof you want to share? Click below to submit your Woof.

Woofs can be submitted anonymously so even your most secret Woofs are safe to send. And if you’d just like to submit dog pictures you can send those too!

2025 Template Send Counter: 0