Walking into the Scotiabank Theatre on the rainy Monday evening of the Victoria Day long weekend is akin to waiting for the bus at Terminal Station: you want to get where you’re going, but getting there – let alone getting on the bus – can be testing to even the most patient.
The crowd hanging outside the theatre alone is daunting, and the room is packed to the doors with people standing in line-ups, and pushing toward the escalator that conveys the humming throngs to their place of destination: Angels & Demons, Star Trek, X-Men. It is loud and it reeks of that yellow stuff they put on your popcorn and call butter. There’s no turning back now, onwards and upwards toward the box office.
A chaotic cue of people fills the room, a stoned pair of lovers grip eachother tightly, pushing their way to the back of the line. They glare with glazed eyes as a father, speaking Russian to his son, pushes his way in front of them.
The hubbub of the room bounces back and forth between groups of people as they watch the lit up listings board for their movie times. Anticipation grows as times disappear of the board: first 6:30, then 7:00pm. A pair of tickets cost $25, and the young couple looks dubiously at eachother as they purchase two tickets to the 7:20pm showing of Angels and Demons, and head up the escalator to begin the second phase of the adventure: finding a seat.
A chorus of “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” sounds out in the theater, as –still 40 minutes prior to the film – the room is all ready bustling with movie goers. Jackets are thrown haphazardly across chairs as people mark their territory and head back out to the concession. Advertisements and movie trivia plays as the couple settles into their seats, armed with a small popcorn and vitamin water that added another $10 onto their trip. The low hum of their conversation is perforated with bursts of laughter as they tease and quiz eachother about the trivia on screen.
Having reached their point of destination, the atmosphere of the theatre becomes considerably more comfortable as the masses get cozy and munch away at their snacks. The lights dim, and the buzz subsides as everyone, relieved that their journey is over, prepares for the advent of the long weekend movie.
