As we barrel forward toward Thanksgiving, a holiday that hasn't exactly inspired a lot of seasonal films, many of you will return home for a much deserved break-others will remain in Madison. No matter what your plans are, college Thanksgivings are notorious holidays that leave you with an inevitable chunk of free time. Friends are busy and you might already be sick of your family.
This might be the opportunity you've been waiting for to see a particular film before it leaves theaters. If you haven't seen Uma Thurman slashing it up in \Kill Bill"" or you're still wondering what could be so spectacular about Bill Murray in ""Lost in Translation,"" then your time is running out.
""But Will,"" you say to me meekly. ""But Will-everyone's too busy! I can't find anyone to go with!""
Well, my friend, it's about time you learned a lesson about going to the movies. This may sound like a line out of a self-appreciation guide, a piece of advice that has no basis in reality-but it's not. It's true.
It's OK to go to a movie ALONE.
You may feel apprehensive and self-conscious at first. I know the paranoid feeling of going up to a ticket booth and asking for ""One, please,"" knowing full well that the person is laughing an evil laugh at me on the inside. You shouldn't. No one is judging you, no matter how convinced you are that the group two rows down is snickering. If I had never started reviewing movies, I may never have tried the solo experience. The thing is, after a few times it proves so superior that you'll find yourself choosing to watch many movies alone.
Sometimes, seeing a bad movie with a big group of your best friends can turn a mediocre film into a great one. But inevitably, you'll see something a little more serious. As the film unreels, your opinion of it starts to coalesce-and just when you're starting to think you really, really dig this movie...
""Dude, this movie blows.""
Even if your friends are kind enough to abstain from chatter in the theater, you face a car ride where every single person's two cents will be thrown in. The damage will be done.
Sometimes, seeing a great movie alone allows you the time to mull over the themes brought up and the methods the filmmakers used to illustrate them. Sometimes, it's better to allow yourself to come to opinions and conclusions without having to listen to the action-freak or the romantic-comedy-sap that you might otherwise drag along.
Of course, the greatest benefit is secrecy. No one ever has to know that you had the bad taste to see, say, ""Gigli."" Instead of taking flak from your buddies that you dragged along, you can instead take those types of dirty secrets with you to the grave.
