Every Week is Plagued by Something Dark.
Once a week, we have Family Movie Night.
This started when I realized that, after having kids, Bill and I no longer enjoyed our Friday nights eating pizza and relaxing, as we’d done previously. So we reclaimed the tradition, and it’s stuck for many years.
Now that the kids are old enough, everyone gets to choose what we watch. We alternate weeks, with each person choosing a movie appropriate for the whole family. Unfortunately, now that Shane is 13, this means that the entire PG and PG-13 world is available to us all.
Being the only female in this new movie world is tough. Here is a sample of what can happen:
Week 1 – Bill’s choice: War Games
Week 2 – Kirsten’s choice: Freaky Friday
Week 3 – Dylan’s choice: The Bye Bye Man
Week 4 – Shane’s choice: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Week 5 – Bill’s choice: Austin Powers
Week 6 – Kirsten’s choice: The Princess Diaries
Week 7 – Dylan’s choice: The Dark Knight
Week 8 – Shane’s choice: Poltergeist
Note that every week is plagued by something dark, except mine. There is either suspense or dark humor, or downright horror. The Bye Bye Man was particularly awful, but somehow it still kept me up at night for a long time.
Last week, Shane’s choice was Killer Clowns From Outer Space. Does it get any darker than that?
It’s gotten to the point where I’m actually considering forcing the children to watch the Disney movies again, except Bambi which I cannot handle, so that I don’t have to resort to things like Lassie Come Home and Sounder. I’ve actually reached the point where I – briefly – considered Sounder.
Instead, I am slogging forth. This week, it’s my turn and I am deciding between Queen of Katwe and Lion. I always look forward to my week.
But I’m not sure the boys do.