Why We Pick Particular Movies To See

This is a riff on a discussion in the comments two posts below, where there was a mini-debate over who decides what movie that a couple is going to see, the man or the woman.

The wife and I see maybe 2 movies a month, and we tend to see more big stuff than obscure stuff. So we saw Superman Returns, and Dead Man's Chest, and X-Men 3, and Mission Impossible 3. Yeah, we're pretty much sequel whores. Oh, and we saw Cars. And the Da Vinci Code.

Because of work and writing demands, I rarely go out and see movies on my own any more, unless I really want to see it and she refuses to. She passed on The Lady in the Water, because she doesn't like scary movies (turns out it isn't scary, but she doesn't like bad movies either, so I guess it evened out) and I saw it on my own opening day while she was at work.

But generally we see what we both want to see, though we're lucky in that we have similar tastes, and I don't mind going out to see what are thought of as "chick flicks". Generally I just ask her to rate movies from 1-10 on whether she wants to see them, and whatever she rates highly that I want to see, we see.

Still, it's that elusive "want to see" that Hollywood is always chasing.

And that's why so many movies are made for kids and teens. Because they see more, so the movies that only rate a 5 on their "want to see" list will still get play.

This weekend, for instance, we'll probably see something, but it's an odd group of movies. The wife has no interest in seeing Talladega Nights, so that's out. Barnyard looks like it skews young, while the review in today's LA Times is dire.

The Night Listener looks interesting, but I haven't seen a single trailer or commercial for it, so I'm not even sure what it's about, other than that it has Robin Williams in it. Say what you will about Robin Williams, but his non-comedies tend to be better than his comedies -- but they just aren't doing a very good job of selling me this movie. The Descent is supposed to be pretty good, but again the wife won't see scary.

So it's back to the holdovers. So far, there's nothing about Miami Vice that makes me want to see it in a theater. John Tucker Must Die is too teen, Ant Bully looks too young, the wife wasn't enthused about Monster House. My Super-Ex Girlfriend, You, Me and Dupree and Little Man have the see on cable/avoid completely feel about them. Little Miss Sunshine hasn't hit my neighborhood yet. Scoop doesn't look good enough.

What's left? Clerks II, which my wife wants to see, and which could be dumb fun. And The Devil Wears Prada, which I guess I should see, given that it has made $110 million.

And that's how somehow, despite some 30-odd movies in theaters, those are our two main choices.

And completely different versions of this same debate are going on in tens of millions of households.

And that's Hollywood. Figuring out how their movie can be the one that rises to the top of the most what-shall-we-see discussions that takes place in families, and couples, and in your own head.

And that's why we get sequels, and Miami Vice, and other safe fallback choices.

What is the movie you are most likely to see this weekend?