Was it the Big Hunk or the cartoons and movies that attracted me to the Oaks Theatre every pre-adolescent Saturday afternoon? Or maybe the Big Hunk (candy bar, not good looking dude) and the cartoons, or was it just a chance for my mother to drop me off and do what she wanted to do without me. Don’t answer.
But I loved, and still love, to go to the movies. I get transported easily, lose myself totally in the film, munch away merrily, and rarely remember much of the movie or who played what part, except, of course, for my favorite actors.
I used to go to the movies in Paris, supposedly to learn French faster, and constantly got distracted by locals in the row behind me who first opened their cellophane bags of candy, then one-by-one twisted the paper wrappers on the individually-wrapped candies, slowly, ever so slowly, one end at a time, staring at the action on the screen. It was like hearing someone crunch celery in my ear, pulling the fibrous strings out between his or her teeth. Charming!
Movie watching is a new non-calorie-burning national pastime, a sport during which we take in much more than we put out.
Food is often associated with going to movie theatres, if you can call it food these days. Even movie rental joints, chain and local, sell cellophane-wrapped junk food of the worst kind, just to help us imitate what we think should be the movie experience.
In fact, movie theatres make much more money, meaning higher profits (at least 85 percent) that they don’t have to share with the movie studios, selling us yummy crud than they do on admission tickets. Once we take our seats at chain theatres, assuming we arrive a few minutes early, we watch commercials for overpriced maxi-sized fattening carbs and sugars sold right there at the concession stand, just in case we forgot to stop on our way in.
Movies have grown to stimulate several senses -- all marketing stuff to feed our eyes, ears, stomachs, and even sexual appetites. How many moviegoers can actually walk by the smell of (hopefully) just-popped popcorn, mongo-sized boxes of Milk Duds, Snickers, huge bucket-sized sugar-water drinks and licorice whips?
Lots of us still think that when we watch a movie channel or DVD on our own tiny televisions or home theatre plasma screens we have to munch on popcorn. This is one place where we can actually pull out the celery and carrot sticks, and who cares! A glass of wine, a pizza, dessert, and who can stay awake for the whole movie anyway!
Besides, I always thought that when our various kids said they were watching a movie with girlfriends and boyfriends that lots more was actually going on anyway, and I don’t mean eating popcorn.
Some local theatres have the good sense to offer what approaches good food to moviegoers. By this I mean food that tastes good and is every-so-slightly more healthy and sophisticated, but not necessarily good for you.
The Rialto in Santa Rosa and the Sequoia in Mill Valley sell giant slices of locally-made cakes and cheesecake, along with good coffees. The cinema at Smith Ranch Road off Highway 101 opposite Lucas Valley has kosher hot dogs, Orville Redenbacher popcorn with real butter, Starbucks coffee and decent ice cream.
Some people still go to an early movie and out to dinner, but if the movie is your main outing, why not be able to combine it with some decent food. We have lots of friends who make popcorn their dinner on movie nights.
Everywhere we go to movies, I suggest that they sell some “real” food, but hardly anyone cares or gets it.
Speakeasy Theaters’ Cerrito Theater on San Pablo Avenue in El gets it and has taken good food and movies to a new extreme. The Cerrito serves appetizers of celery with blue cheese dip, quesadillas with tomatoes, grilled chicken and sun-dried tomato aioli, nachos, babaganoush, assorted veggies and dip, and a Mediterranean plate, all $8.50 and under.
They also offer several salads, pizza choices, sandwiches, desserts, wines by the glass, coffee and espresso drinks. They also offer a crying room for babies, just in case Skeezix gets slightly rambunctious, and yes, he or she is welcome in this family-friendly theater.
Just a healthy sandwich or two, guys, would be wonderful.
The debate about movie theater food isn’t really about real butter vs. canola oil vs. so-called “vegetable” oil. It’s about who else will get innovative to lure movie lovers back into the theaters. Try good food and see what happens. Or we can stay home and eat our own food at our own screens.

Personal message to Nancy and John Lasseter: Now that you are at Disney, please bring the old cartoons back to the big screen. A few minutes of Mickey and Minnie, Daisy and Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey & Louie and Goofy before each big movie would tickle funny bones of all ages.

Check out “The Kathleen Hill Show” Mondays 4-5 p.m. on KSVY-91.3 Sonoma or ksvy.org. Send tidbits to khill@sonomasun•com

Read Kathleen's Epicurious column in this week's Sun>