Hope Springs

Cody and I watched Hope Springs at the theater this past weekend. It's a movie about an older couple (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones) who have lost the magic in their marriage. They visit a therapist (Steve Carrell) in a town called Hope Springs to try to find their way back to the way they were at the beginning of their lives together. At first, I didn't think much of our night at the movie. Cody wasn't too terribly interested in watching a movie about "old people", but he was a good sport nonetheless. By the end of our evening, Cody and I were both happy we had spent a couple of hours watching a movie in a theater that the average age had to be at least 70 years old. The more Cody and I talked about our night, the more we realized how our night at the movies was really a scientific study on the generational differences of people. Allow me to explain...

Cody and I got to the theater about 15 minutes before the movie was about to start. We never thought we would need to be there early, but were surprised at the number of people already in the theater. I should have known the oldsters would be early, seeing as they were already out way past their bedtime. I also heard numerous people remark on the price of "going to the show" these days. I am certain older people feel like our world is pretty much an alien planet in a lot of ways. An $8 movie ticket really is proposterous.

Once we sat down, I couldn't help but notice the woman behind me sucking on her teeth. I tried not to get too annoyed by it. It was definitely interesting background noise for the evening. Once the movie started, Cody and I were surprised at the incessant cell phones that rang throughout the entire night. We kept looking around with each ringing phone. No one even seemed remotely phased by the noise. I assume none of the moviegoers could actually hear the ringtones, or maybe old people have just accepted that phones ring everywhere these days. I don't think most old people even know how to put a phone on vibrate. My own parents insist on simply turning their phone completely off when they need it to be silent. It is exhausting.

Now, don't get me wrong. The ringing phones, teeth sucking, and "when I was young" talk certainly didn't dampen my movie night. I really enjoyed the movie and appreciated the overall message of the love story. I also had a lot of fun with the ever-ready laugh that the older movie watchers displayed throughout the night. It was like watching a movie with kids. Every line in the movie that was even remotely funny resulted in the entire theater in stitches. It was fun. It was how people should be when they get to spend a night at the movie. Older people just seem to be more appreciative of their life. It's something I wish I had more of.

As we were exiting the movie (very slowly by the way), I noticed that everyone seemed a little more at ease. There was no rushing to get out of the theater and there were lots of couples holding hands. As we walked toward the door, I overheard the woman in front of me tell the woman she had been sitting with that she wished "Jerry could have seen that show." I don't know why but I assumed Jerry was her husband. And naturally Jerry must have passed away recently. I guessed that maybe the woman was seeing a movie for the first time since her husband died. The friend with the woman didn't respond to the older woman's mention of Jerry. She simply took her hand in her own as they slowly walked down the steps of the theater.

So, what I assumed was a routine night at the movies ended up being quite the experience. As we drove home Saturday night, I realized that sometimes it's nice to be reminded to laugh a little easier and to hold hands with people you love and to have a little patience with people who have walked before you and to always put your phone on vibrate.