The WAL

I’m an emotional sap.

Most men are, but we try not to prove it in public or while anyone else might be watching. Society also teaches men that we’re allowed only a limited range of emotional response and feeling. Bullshit, of course, but still more or less part of the code.

A few days ago, I was up a little later than I should have been, lying in bed channel surfing. My biological weapon delivery systems children have given me a cold. When I’m sick, I tend to have an easier time staying asleep but a harder time getting there in the first place. But I digress.

While channel surfing in bed, I came across “Armageddon” as they were about to board the shuttles. I hadn’t planned to watch the rest of the movie, just flash back for a couple of funny bits and Bruce Willis’ death scene. I like Bruce Willis, mostly, but always enjoy it when a big name buys it, even if it’s at the end. I feel the same way about Emilio Estevez – not that he’s a big name any more – biting it in the first couple of minutes of the original Mission Impossible movie. Of course, that’s where I stop watching in that case. Tom Cruise annoys me.

Again, I hadn’t planned to watch the rest of the movie, but I did. Lack of anything else on? Partly. Cold medicine induced laziness? Well, laziness anyway since I hadn’t actually taken any cold medicine. At any rate, near the end of the movie, Liv Tyler and Bruce Willis are saying their final farewells before (spoiler alert) he presses the button and dies a fiery nuclear death saving the world. I start to tear up. Really.

And it went on for a while, right up until the final brilliant explosion. I never actually cried - certainly not allowed unless an object has been driven through part of your body or someone close to you has just died - but I was gripped in the emotions of the moment. And no, there was no eye moisture for the homecoming or the wedding scene, although I distinctly remember a sappy smile at the latter.

I do wonder if it’s something to do with fatherhood. I remember seeing this movie in the theatre way back when and wasn’t particularly moved. It had some entertaining moments and a few fun action sequences, but the movie didn’t stand out for me. My oldest child hadn’t been born yet, although he was at the theatre in utero.

Things didn’t get to me back then, but I react to a lot more now. While the society that built me said that men don’t cry, it was certainly okay to wipe away a manly tear in extreme circumstances. Extreme just isn’t what it used to be. Any time I can suspend my disbelief long enough to put myself in the shoes of a father in an emotional situation, a manly tear or two may result.

And that’s okay.

And I still check my kids each night to see if they’re breathing, too. It’s a dad thing.

But so totally believable. I’m glad that it’s possible to make a movie exploring possibilities like this even if some administrations south of the border have a strong preference for shutting people up and banning things that they don’t want you to see.

If you’re going to see a movie on Christmas Eve, I highly recommend doing it as a matinee.  Not too highly since I don’t want the theatre full if I try to do it next year, but definitely worth a thought.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been the guy who does most of his shopping on Christmas Eve - too much stress - although I think we finished on solistice this year.

My son’s birthday isn’t too long before Christmas.  Part of his gift this year was a “coupon” good for one trip to the movies with me.  His choice, Eragon as soon as possible.  Today was my next day off and since we were done shopping anyway, no one really objected to a trip to the theatre (the girls got to see Charlotte’s Web with Mommy so they were happy and didn’t feel left out over their brother claiming his present).

We shared Eragon with 5 other people.  Charlotte’s Web was similarly populated.  No line up for tickets or the concession stand and a choice of any seat we could possibly want as only one of those five people arrived before us.

The movie itself was surprisingly good, though I got the feeling that large swaths of plot had been excised - it is based on a 750 page novel, after all - to make things fit into an hour forty.  It definitely felt compressed but the acting was decent and the film visually impressive for both scenery and F/X, particularly the dragon.  I don’t hold out a lot of hope for anything in the theatre in recent years so when I do manage to see a good movie (and it’s really hard to get my money for something I think is only going to be ok), it stands out.  Eragon was worth the $6 I paid for each of us to see it.  I probably would have been less satisfied had the tickets been $12, but for half that it was a great film.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.