Gold Class

So, last night, Ruth and I decide to go see the movie “Duel: Frost/Nixon” (yes, they added the word “duel” to the title – I have no idea why). At this point, it’s only playing at one cinema in Prague – at one time. We go to the cinema, and ask for tickets. Now, its worth mentioning that I noticed, on the board of “now-playing” movies, that there was a “GC” next to the time for our movie, and only our movie. At the time I didn’t think anything of it. Oops.

We order tickets. They end up costing the equivalent of $16. For a movie ticket?! That’s crazy. Usually, a ticket costs half that amount! The guy at the counter tells us the movie is expensive because its “gold class”. We have no idea what this means, but we figure we’ve come this far, we might as well just watch the damn thing. He asks us where we want to sit, and shows us a screen with a theater layout. The theater has three columns of seat pairs that are each four rows deep. That’s 24 seats. Small theater, right? That’s what I think. We select two seats on the right side of the theater. After handing us our tickets, the ticket guy tells us not to buy food at the concession stand, but rather to buy it “upstairs”. Ok…

Our theater is not listed on the regular directory. Instead, a separate sign points the way. “Gold Class: This Way” We go up a separate escalator and wind up in a very upscale bar. The ticket-taker woman rips our tickets, and then hands us a menu. What do you want? Cocktail? Ice-cream? Cake? Sushi? An entire meal? These can be yours. Hang your coat up in the coat-closet, the movie’s about to start.

The woman leads us to our seats in the theater. The theater, by the way, is not small at all. It’s a regular sized theater – only, it has 24 seats. It’s the seats that are large. They’re gigantic recliners. In between each pair of seats is a table. This is where you would put your sushi, had you ordered some. “I wonder if these seats recline…” I feel around for a… there it is – a switch. And, yes, they recline. And, yes, there’s a leg rest that comes up if you recline far enough. This is comfy…

The movie: good, but not earth shattering. The seats: amazing. Was it worth $16? Yes.