(Sigh)

Last night was supposed to be the preview of "The Help."  I say "supposed" because it was not to be.

Mom and I drove to the theater that the preview was being screened, about half an hour away for both of us.  We met for a great dinner at Panera (she introduced me to their fabulous steak salads) and then headed to the theater.  At first things we a bit confusing.  But we found the line for the "sneak peek" and joined about a million other people, all holding their pink free vouchers.  Mom said "I wonder if I have time to go to the ladies' room before the movie starts" and I said I'd hold our place in line.

Well, it turns out that she had plenty of time.  She wasn't gone two minutes when an announcement came over the loudspeaker, saying that the preview was full and there was only one screening, so the rest of us were out of luck.  So much for "winning tickets!"    Oh, and that we could buy tickets to other movies if we wanted, but the production company for "The Help" had only arranged for the one screening.  The whole thing was a publicity stunt, to make sure that the theater was full.    No "sorry," no nothing.  A collective groan passed over the crowd of about a hundred women, and then the griping started.  Mom and I took it in stride.  Yes, we were irritated, but what good would complaining do?  We did decide that NO, we would not be purchasing tickets to something else.  Instead, we went to Christmas Tree Shops and poked around.  It was still an evening of just me and Mom, so I was happy. 

This morning, I logged onto Facebook and was surprised to see that the magazine that I had "won" the tickets from had posted something about last night's showing.  They issued an apology, saying that they honestly thought that the tickets were genuine and that they felt bad for their awesome readers.  I felt better instantly.  Other people had replied that it wasn't the magazine's fault, and it wasn't.  After reading all the comments, it turns out that they were handing out these vouchers everywhere.  One woman even posted that they were available in a pile to anybody at a local library!  All in all, it's estimated that there were over a thousand vouchers for one movie theater screening.  Wow, they were looking to generate some buzz for the theater, and they certainly did!

One interesting thing that someone posted is that most of us who didn't get to go are moms, and we're used to plans changing on the fly.  This is true.  I'm just glad it wasn't a premiere for some kids' movie that we had stood in line for with the boys for hours!  Talk about not understanding why you're getting back in the car instead of going to see a movie that your parents took you to and talked up on the way!

So I guess I have another summer movie that I want to see.  C'mon August 12th!