Each Saturday evening hordes of Pepperdine students flock to the movies. But which theater in this area is best? The Graphic took to the streets to find out.
By Peter Celauro
Assistant A&E Editor
As the sun sets over Malibu on a weekend evening, a peculiar weekly ritual begins.
Students being set loose from their late classes or waking up from their afternoon naps begin to formulate plans for the evening. But options are limited for those under 21, particularly in a town that shuts down almost before dark.
By 9:30, would-be partiers begin to realize that there’s not much going on around here and there’s not much time to go anywhere else. By 10, many exasperated students throw up their arms and settle for the ever-present backup plan: going to a movie.
Ironically enough, this is when the confusion really begins. Pepperdine lies nestled in the middle of a myriad of movie theaters, each of which prompts a host of questions of its own.
Will the movie I want be showing there? Is it faster to drive to Santa Monica or through the canyon? Will I pay an arm and a leg to get in? The mental gymnastics alone are enough to make some moviegoers give up and stay home.
Until now. As Pepperdine’s Los Angeles entertainment resource, the Graphic has taken the time to do the research and get answers regarding all the perplexing issues a moviegoer could ever hope to ponder.
And yes, you will pay an arm and a leg.
The New Malibu Theater gives Pepperdine’s population a break: their $6.50 student discount is the lowest price a student can find within 20 miles of campus. Those living in Calabasas can get off reasonably well, as the Edwards Cinema “Grand Palace” charges $7. One place to avoid, however, is the Mann Criterion Theatre on 3rd Street. At $9.50 a ticket, it’s a wonder the place can pay to keep its giant light-up sign illuminated.
The Mann doesn’t stop the swindle there. Its $5.75 large bucket of popcorn is more expensive than that of any theater surveyed, and its $4 large soda ties with the Calabasas theater.
Those nay-sayers who cry “but movie theater food is always expensive!” will be pleasantly surprised to hear that’s not always the case. 3rd Street’s AMC 7 charges only $2.75 for a large soft drink, and its hot dogs are warm and fresh. However, getting your hands on one is no small task; AMC 7’s food counter is small and prone to customer congestion during busy hours. Hungry viewers are advised to arrive at the theater at least 20 minutes early to allow for unforeseen traffic jams.
One place students won’t mind getting to 20 minutes early is the Edwards Cinema’s “Grand Palace.” The six-screen multiplex is beautifully decorated inside, with marble designs on the floor and hand-painted murals on the walls. The gorgeous foyer also has tables and chairs where patrons can sit and absorb the ambiance of the room and the screams of noisy kids.
Ambiance isn’t everything, however, especially for someone looking for an obscure title. For that, discriminating students will want to visit the Broadway Theater on 3rd Street. The four-screener is dingy inside and fairly expensive, but it screens obscure movies (such as Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedian”) and films that viewers may have missed the first time around. For the less-mainstream taste, Broadway is the most likely to satisfy.
Students who just need a two-hour study break or a quick movie fix, however, will find there’s no place like home. It may not have 16 screens (like the AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills) or videogames (like those theaters in Santa Monica), but the New Malibu Theater is the least damaging to the gas tank or the pocketbook. And besides all that, where else can you watch a movie with the actor who starred in it?
February 13, 2003