It's midnight. The walkways are crowded with Batman-thirsty fans, anticipating the release of the new comic book hit. Place yourself and breathe in the crisp air of the scattered Friday night, casting occasional glances at your trusty cell phone, as the minutes tick by. There are three things you're sure of. One, Batman could possibly be one of the only superhero stories you can cling to without feeling like a washed-up Star Wars fanatic. Two, if you actually find the urge to resort to the bathroom after sitting there for so long, exactly how will you escape the angry mob after you grace the screen with your shadow when you stand up to leave, covering about 2 feet of the huge screen for a milisecond of the premire. Three, who the hell are all these people?
Well, well, well, most of us know the crazy anticipation that bursts inside our normally contained composures when we find out a movie we're dying to see is hitting the theatres within only a few brief days. Midnight showings can seem like the only plausible way to fulfill this frantic need to see the movie the second it comes out. (After all, who wants to wait until the normal daily hours to see the new film like some chump? Instead of basking in the glory of staring at a screen for two and a half hours into the wee hours of the morning seems like the appropriate choice for most of us.) Each group of people that go to these premieres find some way to entertain themselves as they wait in a line, just to grab those perfect viewing seats. Some may play cards, some may quietly mock the 'weirdos' who got there several hours ahead of time (when really the mockers are just jealous they don't get first pick when the crowd's released into the theatre). Others? Others may dress up like Spiderman.
Oh yes, it's true. As a frequent movie-goer myself, I witnessed a dude in a Spiderman suit..did I happen to mention the movie I was seeing was Batman. Crazy how that works...
Not only did I get to see a lovely canvas of comic book creatures (including serveral Batman-clad people and a few painted-faced Joker's..which considering the movie made a little more sense then our neighborhood Spiderman) waiting outside in line for The Dark Knight, I also saw something that I must say creeped me out in a way I can't even put into words. This creeper can only be decribed as a Marilyn Manson impersonator...but worse (if that's possible?).
The black (Batman-color-friendly) boots were a mix between those crazy tall bulky shoes the cooky Spice Girls used to wear and an angry punk-rocker lady trying to pull of her own style of "high heels". Adding to this beautiful spectacle was a pale-white face seen through coal-black makeup-ed eyes with a black cape & pants and barely visible white dress shirt underneath. I'm sorry, but I was unaware that midnight showings were another chance at Halloween. Man, I guess I wasted so many nights dressing in my boring, normal clothing.
After the night winds down, and you're driving home, the best part of the evening arrives at last. Silence paired with deserted streets. I'll admit that after watching a movie splotted with very scary moments, all I want to do is drive home with almost no one around and every convenience store (and place of safety) closed. How comforting it felt to know I was alone. But all things considered, at least I saw Christian Bale bare his amazing body, even though it was almost completely covered in a suit, (oh, his acting was good too..). That's what really counts...right?
