At a cinema near you.

It was  Mrs N’s birthday yesterday, and seeing as she absolutely loves Les Miserables which was being shown at the local cinema, we went to see it.

“ Bloody hell, how much !” I exclaimed, as the girl at the ticket office told us the price, and was just about to point out the irony of the film being about the oppressed poor and all that, when a glowering look from the birthday girl persuaded me to keep quiet.

The film was to last 158 minutes and being of a certain age, I thought it wise to pay a ‘visit’ before we went to our seats. On entering the Gents, I nearly broke my neck tripping over a step stupidly situated just behind the entrance door. It’s quite an old cinema, and I wondered how many countless people over the years must have used those very same expletives.

Taking our seats early, I passed the time before the film started telepathically guiding late-comers to seats well away from us, and muttering about punctuality. There was only one near miss when an old lady hovered for a breathtaking moment looking at the seats directly in front, until a shout of “Barbara, we’re over here love”, thankfully had her heading off in another direction.

Eventually it started and at first I was quite impressed, but not being one for  films soon descended into apathy and nodded off for a while as it did drag on a bit. Mercifully, after 98 minutes precisely, the interval came and I paid another ‘visit’ just in case, only to trip over that  step again! Well, 98 minutes is a long time at my age you know, both mentally and urologically.

The second half was much better and whilst managing to stay awake long enough, witnessed some very moving moments, songs and performances. It’s a pity they felt the need to rely on some big names whose singing abilities left a lot to be desired. She of Mama Mia fame as lovely as she is, trilled away like a canary on acid, and Russell Crowe should really stick to disemboweling other gladiators.

All in all though it was very good or should I say c'est magnifique, and as we munched our way through a bag of Raspberry Ruffles and Chocolate Eclairs, my eyes did water a couple of times. Once when I accidentally bit my lip, and the other when I tried crossing my legs, and nearly did myself a mischief . Well that’s what I told Mrs N, when she saw me wiping my eyes.