Carl loves watching movies. No, he LOVES watching movies. I, on the other hand, find them to be a waste of time and money. Each time we watch a movie, we end up spending at least $50 with admission and food. I might as well go to the Keg and enjoy a nice piece of prime rib and watch a movie at home in my sweats.
For months on end, we drove by a VIP Cinema, Carl would wonder out loud, ‘I wonder when they open, we should go.” And being the wonderful girlfriend that I strive to be, I suppress my annoyance and ignored him.
But I then stumbled upon a review on Yelp about the VIP Cinemas at Don Mills while my friends mentioned that the Imitation Game was a good movie. I am also quite fond of Benedict Cumberbach’s odd charm in Sherlock Holmes so I decided to give Carl a late Christmas surprise (it was 3 weeks late).
I pre-ordered the tickets on the Cineplex website (pricing – Tuesdays $14.99, Mondays & Wednesdays – Thursdays $19.99, Fridays – Sundays $24.99) and found that it’s a pretty small theatre no more than 60 seats. When we arrived, we found that the seats were huge lazy boy type recliners that were quite comfortable. While others raved about the service, I found them to be okay. The wait staff was just hanging out chatting while we waited (which is understandable, we’ve all worked in the service industry in our teenage years!). We waved down one of the waiters and ordered a chipotle club wrap with a caesar salad and chicken fingers with a upgraded poutine, then menu and the prices were reasonable pub pricing.
The next issue surprised me. While slouched comfortably in the leather seats, I struggled to eat. And to eat in the dark was a new challenge for me. While I am usually pretty coordinated, the little tables combined with my massive jacket behind me was in my way. I also did not have a place to put my purse. I began to feed my chicken wrap to my cheek and the fries to my lap. I also chewed quietly in case my neighbour heard me. I quickly ate my meal so I could finally enjoy the movie (my review of the movie is a different story…).
Overall we give this experience a B. The quality of food was better than what I expected and the seats were very comfortable. But still, I am not a fan of clumsily eating in the dark? Would I go again? Maybe. But only on Tuesdays.//
Life Outside the Inbox 