Yesterday
We went to the Spielberg movie
The Fabelmans
on the Upper West Side
and there were seven
people in the daytime
audience. All with friends.
They were a happy talkative
seven people we could hear them
discussing where they would eat afterwards
Spielberg yes or no
the state of Broadway theater.
Half an hour went by. No trailers.
No movie. An outraged man
announced to us all that he
would fix it. With authority
(probably a lawyer) he walked
out and returned saying It’s OK.
A few minutes later a movie
started playing: Empire of Light
with Olivia Coleman. We watched
about ten minutes and the seven
people got as rowdy as possible
given their probable professions.
It’s not The Fabelmans one woman
yelled out and her companion
who had earlier
loudly declared her preference
for Italian food over French
shouted She’s Right and the lawerly
man stood up, doubly outraged,
then returned and at last, about
40 minutes late, The Fabelmans
started playing. After
the movie, a woman working in the theater
stood outside and said
We Are So Sorry
You Can Have a Free Pass
Because of Today
and we got our free pass and decided
we’d see Empire of Light which looked better
than The Fablemans.
Discombobulation because of a theater fuck-up is no fun. I saw the Fabelmans at Cinema Arts in Fairfax, Va. Great sister theater to Huntington, NY.,
The Fabelmans is a joy, especially but not only the end. Some choice middle parts. Good writing & acting.