An all-too-common kind of
movie theater. The
classic movie theaters usually included only
one screen in an
ornately decorated building -- the
setting you watched the movie in was often just as big a
spectacle as the
movie you went to see. But they were
expensive, and they could only show one
film at a time, so the multiplex was born. Instead of one screen, the multiplex includes many screens -- sometimes three or four, sometimes a dozen or more. To accomodate so many screens in one building, the individual screening rooms are reduced in
size and most
decorative frills are removed.
The good thing about multiplexes is that you have all those movies in one place. You can, in theory, show up for the first
showing of the day and watch different movies all day long. The bad thing about multiplexes is that many of them are
dull,
joyless places, given over to zero-
frills and
slavery to the
bottom line. Who wants to watch movies in a featureless
box? On the bright side, more and more multiplexes are being built that try to put some of the spectacle back into going to the movies, with a lot more
gilt and
glitz (some of 'em even have
curtains in front of the screen that part right before the film starts! Dude! Just like in the
Old Days!), as well as better
material comforts, like
stadium seating, rocking seats,
cupholders in the
armrests, and
meals,
appetizers, and
alcoholic beverages served during the movie. So maybe things aren't so bad after all...