View from the back row

Is it the year 9999 already?

(See this post if you want to get that reference.)

I went to see Force of Nature: The Dry 2 after work on Thursday -- and yes, what is with that reversal of the normal sequence of words in the title? -- and managed to squeeze out of work a few early in order to catch a 3:50 show downstairs, which meant I didn't really need to be down there until about 4:05. 

I'd expected to go about the third row on the side of the center seating area, which is my usual spot, and also the spot I had technically picked when they swiveled the screen my way. I have a theory, which I've probably discussed here before, that it's ideal when the screen fills up most of your field of vision.

But then I stopped and lingered in the back row, which was empty.

Now, I never sit in the back row. Some people apparently find this an ideal location, but for me, it's kind of like being in the back row for live theater. Who wants the action to be so far away? You don't there, why should you here?

But today I was tempted by the fact that this back row only has seats that recline. 

I may have noticed this at some point in the past, but I never gave it a second thought because again -- who wants to sit in the back row? 

Today, I gave it a second thought, and I didn't get to the third because by that point I was already sitting down.

I haven't been looking forward to The Dry 2 as some visual masterpiece I needed to see in the theater, from an optimum seat. I enjoyed The Dry quite a bit -- it was ranked about 40th that year -- but a sequel to an Australian movie? Australia doesn't do sequels.

So it was the perfect opportunity to exchange an optimal viewing spot for optimal comfort.

You see, I've been a bit gimpy this week. I had a bit of a fall off a ladder on a pier on Saturday, and though I don't need to get into those details, suffice it say that I twisted or strained something that is causing discomfort in my left leg from the buttock on down to the knee, and even a bit in the ankle, which I think may be a result of overcompensation from the limping. 

It's been hard for me to get comfortable in any position since then, and especially not when sitting at a desk for work all day. Trying to cram that leg through the open space between the empty seats in the row in front of me, which is another bit of standard operating procedure for me, wasn't going to cut it today.

And because I've been, shall we say, fragile this week, the moment I reclined that seat back to its fullest capacity, I was practically asleep.

Now, I did use a Pepsi Max and some mini peanut butter cups to keep me awake. And I got enough into the movie that I didn't really need that anymore, which is good because it was all gone by about 35 minutes in. But the mere fact that I was in a seated position that would have allowed me to easily slip into unconsciousness, if I'd wanted to, was just brilliant. (I haven't been sleeping very well this week either.)

The truly great thing about it was that the recliner was comfortable enough that really any position I chose to shift to was like a different flavor of comfort, rather than a different flavor of discomfort that would only sustain me for a couple minutes before I had to shift again. I shift a lot even when I'm comfortable, but during this particular viewing, it was like shifting for the sake of variety, like sampling from a buffet of comfort.

And what was the trade off with sitting in the back of about 12 rows?

I tell you it wasn't bad at all. Maybe I wouldn't want to see Dune 2 from this vantage point, but The Dry 2 was just fine.

I didn't even tell you one of the other benefits of being in the back row, and this back row in particular. These eight or so reclining seats are separated from the seats below them by a bit of a low wall, meaning I couldn't even see anybody until about three rows away from me. There was no one behind me either, of course. So ensconced in this bit of relative privacy, I got myself yet more comfortable by one level, removing my shoes. (You thought I was going to say I removed my pants. I did not remove my pants. The belt might have been nice though, if I'd thought of it.)

Gee, Vance, what a revelation. Reclining theater seats are comfortable.

No, that's not what I'm saying, though I did enjoy talking about my level of comfort, just because I've been in so much discomfort. I'm really saying that the back row is not as bad as I thought it was, especially not when I kicked back and forgot about a gimpy leg for two hours.