by Brendan Ahern

I love going to the movies, but the prices will give you a nose-bleed! Between the tickets and concessions, you can wind-up paying over 20 dollars. And that’s just for one person. It’s easy to understand why families are finding it harder and harder to go to the movies. I mean, seriously, why pay that much when you can watch almost anything on your TV or laptop? More and more people are staying home, and the magic of big screen cinema is something that people are forgetting.

That’s a sad state of affairs that Mike and Maureen Ross of AAM Financial decided to change. Last December, Mike and Maureen invited AA Munro clients and their families to the Cineplex in Dartmouth Crossing. Nearly 200 people were given free tickets for a film and concessions. “It’s just a way for us to give back to the people that we work with.”

Before the lights dimmed, Mike asked the audience if they were ready to start the film. The answer was an enthusiastic “yes!”

A lot of the youngsters bubbled with excitement, and you could hear whispered reminders about theater etiquette coming from the more experienced movie-goers. “Some of the kids here today might be in the theater for the first time,” said Mike. We all had to learn at some point, right?

Sitting in the audience, I remembered the things I love about going to the movies. The images larger than life. Comfy seats. Relaxed chatter. The smell of hot-buttered pop-corn in an atmosphere charged with anticipation of the up-coming show. But more than anything else, the theater is a communal space where friends, family and even strangers come together in public to share the highs and lows of a well-told story.

And that’s something that you just can’t get at home. 

 

Jason, Mike and Maureen in Dartmouth Crossing Cinema
Jason, Mike and Maureen in Dartmouth Crossing