Going to the Movies in Barbados is Not Without Risk
Greg and I thought we’d take in a movie last Sunday. The Social Network was playing; I was impressed it had reached Barbados just 2 weeks after its opening in the States.
We arrived at the movie theater precisely at 3:15, the scheduled start time. By the time we bought popcorn and sodas, we thought previews would be playing … but, no, the screen was as empty as a rum closet after the painters had left*.
We munched popcorn and chatted with friends who had the same idea of a nice Sunday afternoon matinee.
At 3:35, the movie still hadn’t come on. So Greg got up and went to find an employee and find out what was up. He returned and reported to all of us hopeful (I almost wrote “pathetic” but we didn’t know yet that we were) movie-goers that there was a “technical problem” but that he’d been told the movie should be starting soon. He said he also asked them to turn on the air-conditioning.
AC went on. A small “yay” from the crowd. Back to popcorn and socializing.
At 3:55 the big white movie screen was still glowing ominously .. and blankly. I glanced up at it. As empty as a whore’s heart, that big ol’ screen was.
Then, just as we were wiping the last bit of salt from our fingertips, the AC went off.
Greg, who’d become the de facto leader of the audience, left again on his third reconnaissance mission (where oh where does my sweet husband find the patience?).
He returned a few minutes later.
The technical glitch was still going on, he reported to all of us, but at least now he knew what it was: The projectionist hadn’t shown up for work.
Ahhhhhhhh …. I never could have imagined that going to a matinee could pose this (or any) risk. Now I know better.
Lesson Learned: In Barbados, don’t go to the matinee showing of a movie.
Nice seeing friends, though!
P.S. Can’t help but wonder if the employees of the theater ever would have come in to let us know or, it it had been up to them to inform us, we’d all still be sitting there in the empty, silent, hot theater ….
P.P.S. Yes, our money was refunded.
P.P.P.S. “Cheerfully,” you ask? Ha!
* Thx to Mark Twain for allowing me to riff on his simile.
4 Responses to “Going to the Movies in Barbados is Not Without Risk”
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We had the same problem recently, but the projectionist did finally turn up. That’s probably why they’re advertising for one. On the plus side, it’s almost dirt cheap to go to the cinema here compared to the US and the UK. Coke and popcorn as well as the tickets are half the price of those countries. We do have a wonderful drive-in which is even cheaper. Once Holetown is on in December we’ll have something like twelve screens for such a small population. It’s not prefect (by far) but it’s better than any other 285,000 population island (probably!)PS Always go early for coke and popcorn as it takes 15 minutes with queues and we all need to see the trailers so we know what to miss. Now that should leave the matter open for comment…
Good story! Sounds like an adventure. When you do get around to seeing the movie I think you will enjoy it.
Cheers!
Hilarious! You had me laughing out loud – this must have been SO frustrating! But if the audience needed representation, I’m glad it was Greg.
I hope you get to see the movie eventually. It really is very good!
Thanks, everyone! Greg and I saw The Social Network yesterday – the projectionist deigned to show up – and, you are so right, Rebecca, it was worth waiting for. A fabulous movie.
You’re right, Stephen, to see a movie in Barbados is less expensive than in the States; our tickets were $10US apiece for Saturday’s evening showing. Personally, I’d rather pay more and be certain I would be seeing a movie than pay less and spend a whole lot of time sitting in frustration and then standing in a 30-minute line to get our money back.
One thing: the movie theater seats in Barbados are really comfortable!
You’re right, Stephen, the drive-in theater in Barbados rocks! It’s so much fun to take a picnic and watch a movie on the big outdoor screen.
Thx for your comments! xox