A Martian at The Martian

MartianI haven’t had movie theater popcorn for a few months now, a true travesty, so I was super excited to go see The Martian last week at the Hi-Pointe Theater (best butter in St. Louis).

The movie actually started off with great–yet terrifying–customer service. Keep in mind that I’m a pretty high introvert who does not like being in the public spotlight.

I asked for a Cherry Coke at concession, but after the concession guy filled the cup, he told me that they were running low and that he’d give me another if I came back in a few minutes. I waved him off, saying I’m sure it was fine. After I tasted it, I confirmed that it was fine–a little more carbonation and a little less sugar than usual, but that’s not a bad thing.

Cut to about a minute before the movie started. The theater is pretty packed–it’s opening weekend. I’m sitting in my seat, happily chatting with my friends, when I see the concession guy enter the theater holding a drink in his hand while looking around. “Cherry Coke guy?” he yells. “I’m looking for the guy who got the bad Cherry Coke!”

“Isn’t that you?” one of my friends asked.

No joke, I froze like a deer in headlights. I legitimately considered not raising my hand at all–to me, that was better than being singled out in front of 200+ strangers.

The only thing that kept me from doing that was my empathy for the concession guy. I wanted to spare him from walking up and down the aisle yelling for Cherry Coke guy. He had gone out of his way for truly wonderful customer service.

But it was a really close call. Fear vs. empathy. Very close.

So I stuck up my hand and the Coke was passed across the theater to me. I managed to not die from mortification in the process.

Oh, and the movie was really, really good. Nearly perfect. For some reason it hasn’t lingered in my thoughts since watching it, but that’s okay. Not every movie has to be thought provoking. It was absolutely worth watching on the big screen, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

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