This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

It’s Oscar season, and Judy is on her annual “let’s see all the movies nominated for best picture” kick, which I’m usually more than happy to tag along for. Friday night, she saw Million Dollar Baby at the Oriental; Saturday, we made plans to see The Aviator at Mayfair. We had a bit of shopping to do, so we arranged to meet some friends outside the theatre before showtime (4:00). We were a little early, so we bought tickets, and waited for a few minutes. It was decided that maybe one of us should go and grab 4 good seats, and the other would wait for Maureen & Christopher. I volunteered to hold the seats.

Now, please refer to Exhibit A: The Ticket. Compare that to Exhibit B, in which I have highlighted to important pieces of information. You’ll see the number “18″ at the top of the ticket, and “2″ above the barcode at the bottom. Now, from this view, it seems fairly obvious that Aviator is playing in Auditorium 2.

Now I’d like to present Exhibit C. I believe that this is the manner in which most individuals would hold a movie ticket stub in their hand as they walk down a hallway. Please note that my thumb has obscured the words “Auditorium 2″ from view.

After giving my ticket to the usher, he directed me to the hallway to my right. It just so happened that numbers ran from 6 down to 1, and were then followed by 17 and 18. So I went into #18. It was a lovely theatre - leather seats, wood-grain trays attached to the seat backs, and a side table between every other seat. I was one of the first to arrive, and picked out some prime seats in the middle.

At right around 4:00, the commercials began playing. Our movie companions that day aren’t always the most prompt people, so I didn’t give it too much thought. There were quite a few previews, which ran until almost 4:25 or so. I was starting to get a little antsy at that point, but waited until the movie credits began to roll.

It was at the very moment the words “Phantom Of The Opera” burned their way into the screen that I realized my mistake.

I grabbed the coats and ran out of the theatre. When I ducked into #2, it was a very crowded scene, and I didn’t see Judy, Maureen, or Christoper anywhere. As I was walking back out, Maureen caught me, and directed me to our seats in the front row.

In all, I only missed a few scenes. What I did see was great. A little too much bare-assed Leonardo for my tastes. A very interesting story - we were all a little curious how much of it was taken from actual fact, and how much was dramatized.