May 21 2001
Saturday matinee
On Saturday, we went to see “The Mummy Returns” at the Metro Theater on Union Street. It was a nice walk there and perfect Suzy weather (sunny and warm, but with a breeze). Perfect Suzy weather means: not over 75 degrees and no sweating, but there has to be sun. The Metro is a beautiful neighborhood theater and one of the few left to us. We used to have the utterly charming Alhambra, which looked like a little mosque complete with mosaics and towers, with the Moorish theme carrying on inside, and the Royal, less picturesque but still a reminder of the long ago movie palace days. Both are closed now, although the poor Alhambra is, I’m sorry to say, being converted to a gym. Sacrilege.
The Metro has been entertaining San Francisco residents since 1924, and was recently restored to its Deco glory. So it was the ideal place to see a movie set in the 1930’s. We both loved “The Mummy”, and in spite of the bad reviews of the sequel, enjoyed it tremendously. I am beginning to think I must have bad taste in movies, since I nearly always seem to like the ones the critics trash. This was just a fun adventure with witty dialogue which looked spectacular, from the London sets to the desert. There were perhaps a few more fight scenes than I needed personally, but I do tend to find them boring and just want them to be over so the story can go on. I feel the same way about chase scenes. Also sex scenes.
On the way out, we had a chat with the manager, who has worked there for 10 years without a vacation (so he’s going to Hollywood for his birthday this year, just like Rufus and I did). He told us that the ticket prices just covered renting the movies, and it’s really the concession stands that help them pay their rent. That’s why the little, independent theaters are being eaten up by the huge multi-plexes. The Metro still has two years left on its lease, but then, who knows? It would be very sad if a theater that has served the public for 75 years has to close. So support your local theaters and boycott the multi-plexes!
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