Don't get me wrong. We have watched a lot of movies since then. But not one of them has been in the theater, and only a handful of them have been geared to anyone over the age of 7. It happens to the best of us when we have kids. When you have kids and live in California, seeing a movie becomes very expensive. When you have to pay a sitter, it is just ridiculous. At the going rate of $20 an hour for the sitter (avg. 3 hours necessary to see a movie), ticket prices (around $10 per adult) and a snack from the concession ($15 on average for popcorn and 2 waters), we have just spent over $90 to get to the movies. Seems a bit excessive and you can imagine why we just never did it.
So, we had to Netflix our movies for awhile, and sometimes we would stream one on the computer. B would catch up on fairly recent releases on his flights around the country. And mostly, we would just say that we really should go to the theater, darned the cost, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it. Until last night. And what a way to be reintroduced to the theater experience.
Our good friends, A and G, invited us to see Amanecer (Breaking Dawn, Part One). I am a closet Twilight freak (guess not so closet anymore) and I couldn't resist. B has indulged my weakness and when I bought all three of the first movies, he patiently sat on the couch next to me and watched them...consecutively. So, at least I didn't have to beg and plead to get him to come with us. But I digress...
This post isn't really about the movie itself but the wonderful, top notch movie theater experience here in Santiago. Seriously, I have either been really out of the loop and this is just the norm now, or Hoyts is just a step above. Sure, they have their regular theater. You pay for your ticket, you get your seat, and it's pretty much the same as anywhere else in the world (although, even in their regular theaters, you get assigned seating - more on that later). But then there is Hoyts Premium Class.
We are greeted by what looks like the front desk at a waiting lounge in a large airport. Movie times are scrolling on the big screen t.v.'s and there is a concierge there to answer any questions you may have. Since we were a bit early for our movie, they told us to wait. So we did. In here...
It looks and feels like the waiting area in a very upscale restaurant. Large leather seats, low coffee tables, couches for creating intimate areas. There is a menu of teas, juices and sodas, which seems pretty standard, but they also have Sushi, burgers, sandwiches and the usual fare of popcorn and candy. (Though if you order the popcorn beware, they don't eat it with salt here, they eat it with sugar). So we ordered some drinks, but we had just finished dinner, so we decided to put off the snacks until movie time.
After relaxing for about 20 minutes, we headed in to get our seats since the movie was scheduled to start in a couple of minutes. And it was so nice to not have to rush to make sure we got a great seat, or at least one we could live with. I mentioned above that you have assigned seating. And I. Love. This. When you get your tickets (whether online or in person) they will ask you to choose a seat. They show you a chart of the sala (room) you will be in and let you know what seats are available. I think this is one of my favorite things about the whole experience. There is no having to get to the theater an hour ahead so that you can all sit together. You don't have to worry about if you are going to be too close to the screen - or too far- depending on your preference. It takes a lot of stress out of going to see a popular movie that just opened.
And finally, you are in the theater. You don't simply have a seat, you have a personal leather lounger, complete with table tray, drink holder and movable armrest between two seats so you can turn it into a sofa. It is heaven. We instantly flipped up the armrest, tucked our feet up and got cozy. The only thing missing was a blanket and I would have felt like I was on my couch back home. Come to think of it, next time I should bring the blanket.And you have personal waiters walking the aisles serving the same menu they had out in the lounge area. No need to run out if you want popcorn halfway through the movie (which the boys did), you have them bring it to you. If you want to have dinner and a movie, why not just have dinner AT the movie. A bit hard to see in the dark, but still a very appealing option. And you have space. So much space. Kind of ironic when you think about the lack of respect for personal space here in Chile, but it was a nice surprise.
An even nicer surprice - it didn't cost a fortune. Tickets are a bit pricier here in the Premium Class but overall tickets are about the same as they are in the U.S. At least in California. An average ticket for a Saturday night screening is 4800 CLP (about $9.00). Premium class will run you 7000 CLP (about $13). Not cheap, not ridiculous. And when you stop to consider that I don't have to pay the babysitter and the concessions in Chile are much cheaper than the U.S., the total for the night would only run about $30-$35.
It was a great experience and one B and I are sure to repeat many times while we are here and are afforded the luxury of having a built in babysitter at home. We can get back to doing one of the things we love to do together and now we can do it in style. I could get used to this!
P.S. The movie was good - but I think the final one will be better. Like my friend A said - they had too much material for one movie but not quite enough for two. This is the chick flick of the two - the next will be fighting all around (at least that is what I am telling B so he will come with me again).
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