I had planned to go see Across the Universe today. I’d been looking forward to seeing this movie for some time but it took forever for it to open in a theater near me.
I got up this morning and checked the show times and headed to my local Regal theater to see Across the Universe. As I usually do, I checked the marque to make sure that I had the right time. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that the newspaper said one time and the marque said something completely different.
The outside marque said that the movie was playing on screen 7. My ticket said that the movie was playing on screen 7. The inside marque said that the movie was playing on screen 7. The sign over screen 7 said that Across the Universe was playing in that theater.
I was joined by about 20 other people as we sat and watched the previews. Then the movie started. There was just one problem…it wasn’t Across the Universe.
No, instead of Across the Universe we were subjected to The Comebacks.
At first no one in the theater could figure out if this was another preview or if the movie had actually started. Then it went on for too long and people started to get up and leave. When I got up to leave a bunch of people came back in and said that the manager had said that they would stop The Comebacks and start up Across the Universe.
They didn’t.
The Comebacks continued for another painfully long time and people started to leave again. As we were leaving, a manager came in and explained the problem. The theater was hosting a Christian Movie Festival and had rearranged all of the movies in the theater. They just didn’t bother to change anything else. We were told that the movie we wanted to watch was on a different screen and we could go watch it there.
I had to ask, though, “Had Across the Universe already started?”
The answer, of course. Matter of fact, it had started 30 minutes ago.
I told the manager that I would rather have my money back than to walk into the film 30+ minutes in and she said of course. At that point, everyone in the theater headed out and to the customer relations desk to get our money back.
The theater was kind enough to give each person 2 readmission tickets that can be used for any movie and at any time.
Let me warn you all, if you are thinking about going to see The Comebacks…DON’T! In the 30 minutes of the movie I was forced to watch I saw one stupid joke about a sports movie after another. Hell, that’s all that the movie involved except a few equally assinine jokes about You Tube and a white girl dating a black football player.
I enjoy a good parody but this wasn’t good. Someone forgot to tell the makers of this trash that a parody is more than a string a stupid jokes connected by painfully obvious setups.
