OyChicago blog

It is a rare occasion for my husband and me to find a movie that we both want to see. I drift toward the art house films and romantic comedies, while David prefers movies that highlight blood and battle, gangsters and gore (I am biased…I know). Our DVD collection looks like a classic case of opposites attract – do any other household owns the Godfather trilogy and all seven seasons of the Gilmore Girls?

On the rare occasion when a movie comes out that sparks both of our interest, we face our other great obstacle: scheduling. I work full-time, David is in school full-time, and while we have been married for two-and-a-half years, we (luckily) have not fallen into the pattern of spending all of our time with each other and other “coupled” friends.

David does boys night with the guys, I have my Saturday night book club group (read: pot luck dinners and bar hopping with a side of book), and basically, life gets in the way of scheduling a movie date.

A few weeks ago, we were on a mission to have a low key dinner and a movie kind of night. I knew it would be a tough negotiation, and I was hoping David’s lack of knowledge of my film of choice, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, would help me out in winning this war. The conversation went like this:

Me: David, you’d love it – it’s a murder mystery and there is a really pretty foreign girl in it.
David: (after Google-ing): Oh, the plot line does seem kind of cool. Oh wait, it’s 2 hours and 32 minutes? And in Swedish with subtitles?!? Hell no – not happening.

Whereas, David’s suggestion went a little bit like this:

David: I’d rather see Clash of the Titans – now that is going to be a great movie. It’s based on lore from Greek mythology and filled with intense special effects.
Me: And how will this be any different from 300, Gladiator, Troy, or any other movie you’ve ever dragged me to. No thank you.

Finally, we settled on a flick we could both enjoy – Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carell. It seemed funny enough, if not a bit far fetched, and got decent reviews. But then our plans changed, and we ended up spending our Saturday night out to dinner with friends and bar hopping downtown. Goodbye date night to see Date Night.

What did happen the next day was interesting. Our discussion about going to see Date Night led us to our own discussion about having a regular date night – not to see a movie necessarily but to have a designated time for us to relax, catch up and have a few hours that are reserved strictly for each other. No homework, no house cleaning, no cell phones or other distractions. Just us, whether we make dinner together at home or go out and try a new restaurant.

Three weeks ago was the pilot program for Friedman Sunday night date night, and it was a success. We’ve now tried three new restaurants and have yet to actually step inside a movie theater. We have both realized that movies are not necessarily good dates for us – I’m happier going to see movies I want to see with my girlfriends, and David ends of catching most of his flicks on demand at home.

Perhaps sometime soon, our date night will venture to Cinemark to see Date Night. Until then, I’ll happily settle for $20 All-You-Can-Eat sushi at Siam Paragon or venturing into Rogers Park to try Taste of Peru.