What's Your Escape from Reality?

Mara here:

So after last weeks rather weighty article, I thought this week we would lighten the mood and focus on what gives us pleasure.

What do you do to do for fun? What do you enjoy that allows you to escape the everyday world?

There are a lot of things I enjoy doing, like jogging or reading, but I don't consider them escapes. Jogging is usually a time for me to sort through some of the thoughts that get clogged up in my brain and, while I love reading, I don't usually get completely lost in my experience because I'm easily distracted by my surroundings.

For me, the most reliable way for me to escape for a couple hours is to go to movies. And it has to be going to movies at the movie theater. I love watching movies at home, but it's not the same. For me, there's something magical about sitting in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and we all go on an adventure together for a couple of hours. The screen is big and the volume is loud; all thoughts of whatever is going on outside the theater disappear, and you just get to sit back and enjoy the show.

I'm a fidgety person, so if given the chance, I tend to get easily distracted. Watching movies at home, I get up and get drinks or go to the bathroom a lot. But in the theater, I'm trapped into sitting and letting go of what my immediate wants are and allowing the experience to happen.

And going to the movies still feels like a treat to me. After over 30 years of movie-going, it still feels special to go to the movie theater, buy some popcorn and sit in the big theater and get engulfed by the story.

And while I love all types of movies, for just pure escape and fun I usually like action films, like the Marvel superhero ones. I also really like action/adventure movies like the Jurassic Park franchise. And I always love a good comedy. Some scary movies fall under the escape category for me, but if they're too gory then I find them too stressful to watch.

And while I do appreciate movies that tackle complicated subjects or that are masterpieces of filmmaking, I don't always consider them an escape. I've watched a lot of movies that were considered "good" movies, but they weren't "fun" to watch. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is an example of that kind of movie. It was a great movie. And it was very well made—the acting and directing were outstanding. But it was a weighty subject and coming out of the theater, I felt mentally worn out watching it. Schindler's List is another example. It's probably one of my favorite movies, but I can't say it was an escape to go see.

For fun, I want a story I can just simply enjoy without my anxious mind getting weighted down with worries.

Some movies that come to mind for me that provided that perfect escape as I watched them were: Elf, Wonder Woman, Oceans 11 (the Steven Soderburgh version), Trainwreck, Anchorman, Bridesmaids, the Harry Potter franchise, Edge of Seventeen, Mission Impossible (any of the ones with Tom Cruise), The Conjuring, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey, Jr., and most recently, Hereditary.

So you can see that a pretty wide variety of movies fall under my escape and fun category. It's not as much about the genre but it's the feeling I have when I walk out of the movie. If I can walk out of the movie and feel happier than when I walked in, then it was escape.

And again, it's not about what my "favorite" movies are. A lot of my favorites were movies that were very thought provoking or sad. And while those movies are experiences that I think are important, they aren't escape.

Toni here: 

Because I'm mostly housebound, I escape with movies that I watch on TV (I used to love going to the movies!) and I escape with one particular audiobook series.

One favorite "escape" was watching a great romantic comedy, but they don't seem to make ones I like anymore. It feels as if they find two attractive stars and think that's all they need for good box-office sales, and so they don't bother with finding a good script; so mostly I find them dumb to watch. 

Here are some oldie but goodie romantic comedies that I'm always willing to escape with: French Kiss, Groundhog Day, You've Got Mail, Green Card, Sense and Sensibility. I also love the "mockumentaries" (as they're called) made by Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration. 

And there are some Woody Allen movies (not all of which are comedies...and not of which are the critic's favorites) that I've probably watched a dozen times each over the years. I'm willing to escape from my day-to-day troubles with these movies anytime: Radio Days, Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Bullets Over Broadway, Hannah and Her Sisters, Small Time Crooks, Scoop, Blue Jazmine, Match Point, Midnight in Paris. And that's just a partial list. Finally, I like to escape with some silly thrillers, such as What Lies Beneath and even some serious movies such as Remains of the Day (which I could watch once a week).

My other escape from reality is listening to the audiobooks by Alexander McCall-Smith in his series called 44 Scotland Street set in Edinburgh. Each book was put together after originally appearing in serialized form in The Scotsman. (I like his other two series's too: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series set in Botswana, and the Sunday Philosophy Club series set in Edinburgh). 

But 44 Scotland Street is my favorite. It has a rich cast of characters, some of whom live in the boarding house at that address. How I'd like to have a word or two with the insufferable Irene, mother of poor little six-year old Bertie. Bertie wants to play like other kids his age, but instead he must always be furthering Irene's "Bertie project." She does things like paint his room pink so that he won't fall into boy-girl stereotypes, and she makes him wear crushed strawberry overalls when all he wants is a pair of jeans. And she keeps him busy all the time, taking him to yoga, the flotarium, saxophone lessons, Italian lessons, and worst-of-all for him unnecessary psychotherapy with the dense Dr. Fairburn. (I'm guessing at the spelling of names because I only listen to the books). Please, Alexander McCall Smith, save our Bertie! 

The books in the series follow the same cast of characters. I feel as if they're old friends: the anthropologist Dominica; the portrait painter Angus (and his dog Cyril of course); the narcissistic Bruce; the coffee-bar owner Big Lou...and many more. He tells their stories with humor and insight—and also puts that humor and insight to work as he reflects on all of our human foibles. Finally, the books have a great narrator—Ian MacKenzie. He has a distinctive voice for each character. I could listen to him all day! 

I think most people consider McCall-Smith to be light reading, but I think he's a great humorist in the Mark Twain tradition.

So that's escapism for me: movies on TV and an audiobook series with a cast of unforgettable characters in a city I've never been to!

What about you? What do you do that allows you to completely escape from the world for a while?