Certain businesses are meant for certain times of day.
There’s a reason — besides its name — that a nightclub doesn’t open at 10 a.m.
But that doesn’t mean a movie theater can’t.
The premise of the Morning Movie Club is simple: Plenty of people — particularly moms — can’t see films in the afternoon or evening. Plenty of theaters sit empty for large chunks of the day.
Kerry Anderson has a solution. People buy memberships ($110 for 8 months). She rents an entire theater. Once a month from October through May, promptly at 10 a.m., club members have their choice of any film being shown on that theater’s screens.
Michelle Howe and Kerry Anderson, co-founders of the Morning Movie Club.
Locally, the club uses the Bowtie in Norwalk — just over the border on Route 1.
It’s a great venue. There are 6 screens; seats are very comfortable, and there’s a full concession stand. (Also a bar — though bars, like nightclubs, are not really a 10 a.m. business.)
There are no previews; you’re in and out. As the credits roll you head back to carpooling, the office or your other daily responsibilities.
Two years ago, “06880” profiled the Morning Movie Club. Membership boomed. Each month, movie-goers gathered for a first-run film. Friendships formed. After the final credits, small groups sometimes headed off for a quick lunch.
Six months later — just after the March films — COVID struck. Schools, businesses — and movie theaters — closed.
Film studios held their releases, too. The Morning Movie Club hit the pause button.
Finally, theaters reopened. Anderson waited until recently, however, to solicit members for 2021-22. She wanted to be sure there were enough quality films to see.
There are. On Wednesday, the Morning Movie Club met for the first time since 2020. That date, and another on October 20, are makeups, for movies missed in spring 2020. The “regular” season starts October 6.
The first meeting in a year and a half felt like the premiere of a blockbuster. Energy was high. People were thrilled to see moviegoing friends — and be back, live, watching a big screen.
They chatted. They enjoyed 5 of the 6 movies. (“Paw Patrol,” unsurprisingly, had no takers.) They went out to lunch, then back to carpooling, the office or wherever.
For innovative ideas, execution and all-around entertainment value, the Morning Movie Club gets 5 stars.
(For more information on the Morning Movie Club, click here.)\
Back at the Bowtie!
