Dude-A-Thon

So a few weeks ago we went to something called a “Dude-A-Thon” at Studio 35, a 1-screen old-fashioned movie theater in town. The movie was The Big Lebowski and events centered around the movie. There were door prizes, Wii bowling and a Bells beer tasting distributed by servers wearing bathrobes.

Prior to that Sunday, the sum total of information I had about The Big Lebowski was that Jeff Bridges was in it and bowling was involved. Turns out he’s a scruffy-looking slacker who calls himself “Dude” and drinks White Russians and hangs out in his bathrobe a lot. There’s a thin plot involving a kidnapping and he and John Goodman get into all sorts of trouble chasing the money. It’s also sort of a cultish movie where people actually shout out the dialogue before the actor says the line, sort of like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Which would be cool…if I was about half my age and I could hear a little better. Yikes, when did I get so old?!

That’s pretty much all I could think about while the movie was running. People were walking up and down the aisle (heading to the restrooms after all that beer), popcorn was being thrown, and inconsiderate jerks were talking so loud that no one could really hear the movie. Maybe the movie wasn’t really the point, I don’t know. Or maybe I should’ve watched the movie prior to attending something called a Dude-A-Thon so I could be “in” on it. Or, perhaps I’ve just moved beyond such events and there truly is an expiration date on activities a person can enjoy depending on the age of said person.

When I was a college student at Ohio State, we loved drinking beer at 10 o’clock in the morning and then heading over to the stadium to watch the Buckeyes kick some football booty. Looking back on it, I guess I didn’t really pay too much attention to the games – mostly because we spent so much time in the restrooms. Last November Vince and I went to the Ohio State vs. Iowa game and didn’t drink a single beer all day. Not that I don’t mind a good beer once in a while, but it was sure nice not having to get up once to hit the Ladies’ Room!

So there we were at the Dude-A-Thon and when the movie ended, the house lights came back up, and the place emptied out, I looked around and all I could think about was how much work it was going to take to clean up the place! And, frankly, I was extremely grateful it wasn’t my responsibility.

I guess we all have to grow up sometime, huh? Maybe it just takes guys who call themselves “Dude” a little longer...