Dinner and a Movie

Last Thursday, Cooper and I went out on a little date, to the movies and dinner.

A Red Robin just opened up around the corner from us - just your standard burger-type place - and we thought we'd try it. But first, we went to see National Treasure. It was a toss-up between NT and The Incredibles. We chose poorly.

Not that National Treasure was a bad movie, exactly. It was pretty entertaining (despite, or perhaps because of, liberally borrowing from the DaVinci Code). But unbeknownst to us, the movie is not adult fare.

It's marketed like an adult's movie. But all of the previews (except for the one for Ocean's Twelve) were for kids' movies. We thought, well, it's just that it's a Disney movie. We were wrong.

National Treasure would be my favorite movie in the world, if only I were in fifth grade. It's entertaining and has a solid and entertaining plot. The actors don't get in the way of the story. But it certainly isn't sophisticated.

So what does that say about the marketing? All the cross-promotions with Visa, McDonald's and every other big brand out there (Warner Bros. practically has the Treasury on their payroll, what with the dollar bill's involvement in their ads)...these are all aimed at an adult audience. Has movie production gotten to the muddy and expensive point where it's necessary to market to the entire population just to ensure a profit?

I don't know what I'd have done differently with the NT marketing campaign, and I don't doubt that the movie will do pretty well. But I, for one, walked away feeling a little taken. Like I'd been fooled.

And on top of that, Red Robin was less than fantastic. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't any better than Bateman's, our local burger place. And I'll patronize a locally owned restaurant or shop over a chain any day. Plus, it was more expensive than Bateman's.

Needless to say, our big date was a little disappointing. At least the company was good.