Movie Mayhem: I was That Dude

We received this reader submission from Danny. Apparently, he's been on the other side of the movie date coin. See?

I've been reading these stories of bad movie dates and laughing until I remembered that I've been that dude. There was this one time in high school when I asked a girl to the movies and she, surprisingly, said yes. Years later, I learned it was a pity date; a mutual friend convinced her to go with me. [Ed. note: Insert "awww!" here.]

My mom drove. We picked her up and found out she'd be bringing a mutual friend along for support. Strike one: this date wouldn't be going smoothly. We got dropped off at the theater and I hadn't planned well--or, at all really--so I picked whatever movie started the soonest. I paid for her ticket thinking I was being gentlemanly, but she offered to pay me back. Strike two.

We walked into The Scorpion King five minutes late. I didn't even buy popcorn and we sat in the second row in front of her ex-boyfriend. My "date" leaned over towards her friend the whole time. Strike three. It was the worst movie I've ever seen and that says a lot because I think The Rock is a generally likeable guy.

The friend's mom drove us home. There was an awkward, and probably unwarranted, hug in the backseat when I got dropped off. We hung out after because we had the same friends, but we never talked about that date again. On the happier side, I ended up dating the mutual friend later and did bring her to the movies without it going terribly awkward.

Oh man, that does sound truly torturous, although I'm pretty sure this all has happened in a Saved By The Bell episode. I'm pleased to hear that you've bounced back. I'm sure now you pick out a certain movie, coordinate the time, and even buy her popcorn. The more you know!