When Food Meets Film

Last night I was watching "Wonder Boys" with my boyfriend (who will be referred to as J from now on since I'm already tired of writing "my boyfriend") and also eating a donut.  Okay, donuts.  I was thinking about how much I love to eat when watching movies and how I hadn't even realized that I always grab a snack of some kind before hitting play.  My brother would say, the movie just happens to be a coincidence, I'm actually just always eating.  He's probably right.  But, I think food and film have always been connected.  Think back to the old drive-in ads we used to see, or get to keep seeing if you go to the Hi-Pointe (super hipster!), and the entire song and dance numbers devoted to encouraging us to get off our butts and get a hot dog before the movie begins.  Don't mind if I do!  

The most common thing being talked about in terms of food and the movies has to do with complaints over the price of popcorn and other concessions.  But have you really seen fewer people with their giant tubs filing into the theater- often after the movie starts which tells me they're even more adamant about their food than seeing the opening of the film?  I think just the aroma of the buttery goodness we're overwhelmed with when opening those front doors to the theater is often good enough for me.  I'll never forget the fact I'm in a movie theater.  I can't think of anywhere else I go that has such a strong aroma memory that comes back every time my ancient microwave struggles to pop every last kernel.  

But why have we limited ourselves to popcorn, soda, and giant boxes of candy?  A few years ago J and I went to SXSW in Austin over spring break.  Obviously, it was one of the best times of my life, being immersed in film in a way I'd never known before.  But on top of that, the theater we spent the most time in served a full menu during the film.  Alamo Drafthouse Theater is actually a chain of theaters throughout Texas and one in Virginia (?) that serves a full menu from appetizer to desert.  During the movie, waiters dressed in black scurry back and forth in a shallow aisle in front of your seat and underneath the long table that runs in front of them.  You write down something like, chocolate chip cookies, and low and behold in the middle of the film you smell something delicious.  That something delicious is four hot, gooey cookies sitting right in front of you.  For someone who gets antsy by just seeing someone lean over and talk to a person sitting next to them during a movie, I thought this would drive me crazy.  But the employees of the theater literally have this down to a science that only enhances the theater experience, without ever taking away from it.  God bless America.

So now that theaters are branching out with food, why shouldn't we think this through at home?  Is there anything better than slamming a couple beers while watching "Animal House"?  Or downing a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs during "The Godfather: Part II"?  I think someone should write an entire cookbook dedicated to great DVD and dinner pairings.  Oh wait, somebody already did.  

http://www.amazon.com/Movie-Menus-Recipes-Perfect-Favorite/dp/0812969928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243289573&sr=1-1

Geeze, and it even has movie trivia!  

Okay, but how about Netflix?  I bet if local Chinese and Pizza places paid for ads and coupons on the inside of that flap we all throw away (has anyone even tried the 1 free download ad that appears every month?) they would triple their business.  And that would just be from my apartment.