The 4 Awesome Perks of Seeing a Movie Alone

Have you ever been to a movie by yourself? Recently I wanted to see “Oppenheimer,” but no one was available, so I went alone, something I haven’t done in ages. There, I re-discovered four wonderful things about experiencing “cinema solo.”

You can eat all the junk food you want with no witnesses—M& M’s (peanut or regular), and a small, buttered popcorn. Yum. Except the other day I ordered a small popcorn and was handed a bag, big enough to feed a small town. At my quizzical look, the man behind the counter said, “A medium costs the same, might as well take it.” I looked around. If I were with friends, I would’ve traded it in for something smaller. But I was alone. Slinking away, hoping I wouldn’t run iinto anyone I knew; I took this embarrassingly huge container into the theater.

You can pick the exact seat you want—I’ve gotten fussy about movie seats as I’ve grown older. My husband Randy likes to sit too close for my taste, so the movie is almost on top of us. I have friends who like to sit smack in the middle of the row, which can be tricky when it comes to restroom breaks. My kids used to like sitting in the very last row so as we were hiking to the top, I felt like I needed a sherpa. Me? I like to sit on the aisle, as close to the exit as possible, not only to use the Ladies room, if necessary, but for another important reason (more on that later).

You can time yourself to avoid the previews—Is it me, or have previews turned into a cruel social experiment where you’re forced to sit and endure painfully loud movie promos? Most are filled with guns, explosions, and uber-macho guys grunting threats to each other. I keep reaching for the mute button on my remote, forgetting I’m not at home. Instead, I’m forced to sit there and take it. I now arrive 15 minutes later than listed time. Since I’ve already reserved that aisle seat, I can slip right in as previews are wrapping up. They even have lighter fare at the end, so instead of Sylvester Stallone, I now have Woody from “Toy Story 7.” I’ll take it.

You can leave early if you want—I did this when I saw “Oppenheimer.” Halfway through, I looked around and sighed. There was still an hour and a half to go. By now, I’d run out of popcorn and peanut M&M’s. There was only so much quantum physics I could take, written in tiny numbers on 1940’s chalkboards, not to mention loud, jarring explosions that rattled my eardrums. I’ll stream the rest at home, I figured. Being alone and on that aisle, it felt good to slip out, walking into the afternoon sun, a free woman. I can see my husband’s look of horror now at such scandalous behavior.

So that’s it. I’ve always loved seeing movies with family and friends. But sometimes, that urge is there, and no one is around to go with. That’s when I start fantasizing about aisle seats and embarrassingly large bags of popcorn.

Have you been to a movie by yourself? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here. Thank you!