Ah, is there anything more decadent than going to the movies in the middle of a weekday afternoon? Sure, I work from home, and my projects are winding down now that the baby is so close to being here, but still! I love the illicit, playing-hooky feeling of slinking into a darkened theater with a gigantic soda and a small popcorn (plain, which is how I like it, but never get it, because Tim likes buttered).

So what did I see? Well, I sorta surprised myself, but I went to see A.I. And you know what? I liked it! I’m still a little shocked actually. You see, I’m not a Stanley Kubrick fan (yeah, yeah, I know it was a Spielberg film, but it was Kubrick’s idea). In fact, I wanted to throw things at the screen during Eyes Wide Shut. I still do not get 2001, even though Tim has tried to explain it to me since he’s read the books. The Shining is O.K. And I think that’s all the Kubrick I’ve seen. Not a wide sample, to be sure, but after EWS, I had little hope for A.I.

So why did I even go and see it? First of all, there really wasn’t anything else I wanted to see (Legally Blonde? No thank you!). Second of all, Tim got me hooked on this unbelieveable web game that is loosely related to the movie (for an exhaustive, enthusiastic introduction to this, see Jason’s ravings about it.) Third, it got pretty good reviews, but no one I know has actually seen the thing.

So why did I like it? I may be a little emotionally vulnerable at this point, but the story of a little boy robot who only wants to be loved by his mother got me right here. I thought the story was interesting and unpredictable, the conflicts truly troubling (forgive my alliteration). I mean, you get a robot boy because your own son has died (and subsequently cryogenically frozen), but then your son is returned to life through the miracle of science. What do you do then? Your real son is jealous of the fake son, and probably a little creeped out that you tried to replace him. Your fake son doesn’t understand that he is any less “real” than the other. Can the two co-exist? Wow.

But the rest of the story was a little weak after that was “resolved.” And the ending totally blew. It just felt fake.

Overall, though, it was a very enjoyable afternoon of playing hooky at the movies. The best part was walking out into the parking lot, blinking at the sunshine glaring off of the windshields.