Carmike 7 suffered from these shortcomings and now it’s gone baby gone.
“The House that Bruce Rebuilt” rejects the faceless corporate cash-grab practice and worships at the altar of customer service, cheap prices, enjoyable film-viewing experience, and film-buff orientated atmosphere. Employees smile and say howdy and appear to actually give a hoot (and strangely it rarely seems forced). Commercials of various cancer-causing body sprays are non-existent. Ushers sit in on weekend night showings to take food orders and swing the hammer of Thor if Jokin’ Jerry decides to do his standup during United 93. Indie films-that only came to Iowa in the past if there was some massive mix up at UPS-hold a regular auditorium at Collins Road. Midnight showings of films from the last 30 years screen every weekend for us movie geeks and free family films hit the projectors weekly during summer. As an added benefit to mankind, before the kiddy-packed showings, Mr. Taylor engages the children in games that teach theater etiquette (if only he would do the same for adult audiences too).
This has assembled a loyal fan base, and it’s why despite slightly higher ticket prices, folk like me always chose Collins Road over Carmike 7 when given the option.
Now, some say 3-D is the savior of movie theaters. Ha! I say if corporate theater chains sailed with half the style of Collins Road or any of the other customer friendly Ma and Pa theaters across the country (most notably the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas) then problem solved. Smart people want to see movies in the theater. Just a lot of us don’t enjoy it as much as we use to, and that is quite reversible.
While sitting in the auditorium with Mr. Taylor, part of me wondered if he was undertaking some victory lap around the theater he partially hung the closed-for-good sign on. As it turned out after a few minutes of chatter before and after the movie, he was there simply because he hadn’t caught the film when it played at his place, and he honestly felt bad about Carmike 7 going out of business and the loss of jobs that would entail. It’s that genuine caring attitude towards people that encompasses Collins Road Theatres and is lacking in so many cineplexes across the nation.
On some level Mr. Taylor has to be relieved and maybe even feel vindicated that his customer-first business model won out. It’s a rarity days these for Ma and Pa to weather the corporate giant. Standing in the blackened parking lot after the film, I did some simple car counting. It’s likely Mr. Taylor bought the last ticket Carmike 7 ever sold. I can’t think of a more ironic and fitting end for the theater of my childhood.
