Movie Night

It’s time to grab a bag of popcorn, your favorite soda, a cuddly pillow, and your besties for National Movie Night. The second Friday of June is the day that encourages everyone to start, or restart a tradition of watching movies with family and friends.

Movies have been around for over 100 years. Think about the first movie you ever saw, and then think about how far film technology has come. Whether it was silent pictures with live piano or organ accompaniment, reel-to-reel home movies, VCRs, DVDs, drive-in movies, IMAX, in a theater with Dolby Sound or streaming on your tablet, phone, or Smart TV, we’ve all watched and loved the stories, the stars, and the entertainment. Nowadays it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s on huge or tiny screens.

National Movie Night was the brainchild of the mother-daughter team of Jennifer and Jayda Borget. These ladies are fluent in movie quotes and wanted to celebrate new and old movies and make them into family viewing traditions. On their website, Movie Night Journal, there are tons of ideas to start your own family movie tradition.

I’m a huge fan of the Oscars. You know how football fans get all squirrely about The Super Bowl with their food, garb, and parties? Well, I’m the same way on Oscars night. When my mother was still alive it was a special time for just her and me to watch together. We would both dress up in evening gowns and jewels and have our predictions ready prior to the ceremony. In my mother’s final years, I treasure Oscar nights as sweet remembrances of her. She loved movies and made sure her daughter did too.

I’ve always made it a goal to see all of the movies nominated for Best Picture before the awards are presented. Since we’ve lived outside the United States for the past 7 years, that has been difficult. But now, with streaming online it can be done. This past year Capt’n Clean met one of his childhood friends in Mexico City for a guys’ weekend. It just happened to take place on the days leading up to Oscar night. So, in the tradition of my sweet Mama, I had a little pre-Oscar party-of-one celebration of my own. I watched ten of the eleven movies nominated for Best Picture in two days. (Avatar: The Way of Water was not available online.) I laughed, I cried, I cringed and I almost fell asleep during some of them. It was wonderful, and yes, I created new memories of brilliant flicks that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Here is how I rated each movie (5 Wimpy Girls is the highest rating)

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

“Avatar: The Way of Water”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Elvis”

“Everything Everywhere All at Once”

“The Fabelmans”

“Tár”

“Top Gun: Maverick”

“Triangle of Sadness”

“Women Talking”

So there.

Whether you watch with your family or a group of friends, or have your own party of one, celebrate National Movie Night by catching a movie tonight.

What will you be watching?