Do you like watching movies alone?
SINGLES by Karenina Yaptinchay
Manila Standard, p. 24B, 12 April 2000

The good thing about being single is that you can go see any movie any day and anytime you please. Alone, if you will.

My roommate and her boyfriend went to see a movie, a love story. I stubbornly refused to go. Aside from the fact that I was dead tired, I could not stand another love story with a potential "lived happily ever after" ending nor hang out with couples that night. The particularly movie, I believe will be more appreciated by couples and since I am not a couple, I didn't feel like seeing it.

I want to see movies when I am in the right frame of mind so as not to ruin the whole feeling the films intend to elicit. I remember seeing what was supposedly one of the best love stories on screen when I was not in my movie mood and I just ended up nauseated.

But there are times in my aloneness that I find solace in movies about undying love. Tragic love stories have a tinge of reality, don't you think? "Romeo and Juliet" is a classic. "Love Story" is another favorite. After breaking all societal rules, rich preppy boy marries poor but intelligent girl. However, she dies. It can never be perfect. I believe there is a bit (if not a whole lot) of tragedy in reality. Tragedies are inspiring, makes one want to experience the truest and ultimate test of love. Of course, once you are in that situation, you immediately want to bail out and change your mind.

I would want to see the movie my roommate and her boyfriend saw but because I did not feel like seeing it with them, I blew the chance of ever seeing it on the big screen unless I decide to see it alone or unless I find a someone not too busy to watch another feel-good movie. Since I have no VCR, my only hope is to see the movie on HBO, which is about two years from now. At least I have something to look forward to in 2002.

I have seen only one movie, Dead Poet's Society, alone. I was supposed to meet my friend but he figured I already went inside so he got himself a ticket and went on inside. After waiting outside for some time, I decided to go on in myself. I couldn’t find him because it was dark (duh?) and there were no cellphones back then. So I ended up watching the movie alone.

I was willing to go in alone for Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream because no one I knew wanted to or had the time. But the screening hour was way off my preferred schedule, so I just passed.

But I do know some people who go to movies alone, most of them single. Whether it is a preference or lack of choice, I do not know. It's not so bad, based on my one-time experience. At least you can still have a chance to watch. Some of my friends can't see certain movies with me because they have to see them with their husbands.

When you are single, even the most basic pastime of going to the movies becomes an issue. Since most of your friends are probably involved, they are bound to go with whoever they are going out with (or married with) and they end up seeing almost everything. Going to movies is, besides, the cheapest and the most relaxing form of a date. As you grow older and more and more of your friends become attached, it becomes difficult to find a movie partner who can be dragged to the movie house anytime.

I used to have a movie partner but both of us got caught up in our own worlds and got too busy to call each other up for a date. I guess it's time to rekindle this partnership. There are just too many movies to pass up. However, since my friend is married scheduling becomes an issue. We definitely cannot watch the last main feature. Also, we are limited to seeing movies her husband does not want to watch. I watch with them sometimes but I really don’t want to make it a habit.

It was different when I was younger. It was a lot easier to just go, since everybody else had nothing better to do, too. A few days back, a friend from work offered me tickets to a movie premiere. I snickered and so did she. For the life of me, I couldn't think of anyone to go out with. I think it has something to do with age and of course, being single.

The good thing about being single is that you can go see a movie any day and anytime you please. Alone, if you will. The sad thing about it is not being able to find someone to watch it with you, especially when you don’t feel like being alone.