Every year I grow older as I watch my sons do the same from afar. They go to school, make friends, develop inside jokes, and generally live their lives without the daily influence and attention from their dad. I can't control many things, but seeing these MCU movies together has grown to be quite a family tradition. So when Endgame was released close to Ray's birthday, I knew I had to make a move.
With Ray in a theater production during the opening weekends, I was faced with waiting 2-3 weeks for us all to see it, and likely have it spoiled. This didn't seem right, so I got with Eliz and we hatched the plan. We roll up to T-town and surprise him during one of his showings, then steal them for a few hours to see the movie. After some mild convincing, she was on board, and I bought the tickets.
Day of, we left rather early and made the multi hour trip up. We stopped at a combination Long John Silver / KFC. If you're into salt, this is really a nice pairing. I got the hot chicken, she ate the pickles, and she got a fish platter and we feasted. The drive up was easy, low-traffic, and we made it in plenty of time to get flowers and wonder a bit.
25 extra minutes for flower hunting turned into a waste of time as we couldn't find an open flower shop or grocery store near enough. This left just enough time to sprint to the bathroom, and make it into the auditorium on time. Ray's plays have been at the Collingwood Arts Center, a converted cathedral chock full of Hogwarts old world design and super progressive artsy people. Fun fun place. We got to say hi to Sam before the play, and shared the plan with him; he seemed quite pleased.
The play started, and immediately it became apparent that the writing and acting levels were a step above his previous plays. Ray did so well! He's always been one to pour his effort into it, memorize all of his lines when it wasn't necessary and do all he can. This effort was now coupled with a level of comfort and nature in his delivery. It was really sweet to see him perform so well because I know he loves it so much. I am so very proud of him, we all were.
After the play, Ray and I teared up as he noticed we showed up to surprise him. His mood was so bright and his happiness was contagious. We got a few pictures together, and then showed him the tickets. He got really excited, and we hung out by the stage for a bit before he got changed and we headed to the movie theater. It was funny seeing him in his street clothes but still with all the make-up on his face lol.
Our collective moods went from happy to stoked the closer we got to Fallen Timbers. Marvel conversation and dad-puns littered the air along our journey. I parked my car as far away from the theater as I could, and we went in to pee and get snacks. Peeing was important as the movie was 3hrs and we were not about to take bathroom breaks for the finale of the Avengers saga lol.
We settled into our seats and began working on slushies and popcorn as the trailers passed the time. The Rise of Skywalker trailer was particularly epic on the big screen. Then without much ado, the opening scene of Hawkeye's family ranch set the mood for what was to come. The next three hours was chock full of fist pumping, contained excitement, shaking the shit out of my sons, laughing, crying, just the full range.
The credits had hardly settled as we started our family chat about the movie, breaking it all down, our favorite parts, what worked, what didn't. I typically reserve my judgement for a movie for 6 months to a year as they have a way of gaining or losing charm with multiple viewings. And I understand I am about to lose an amount of credibility with movie connoisseurs, but I care not. Shawshank Redemption has long stood as the movie I enjoyed the most overall since I saw it. I enjoyed Endgame more. It did more. It made me laugh, hard. It made me angry. It made me cry several times. The visuals were insane. The use of color and contrast. And it made me want to punch a hole in the sky from sheer elation. Say what you will, this movie pushed my boundaries of what I thought possible on film, and I've never enjoyed any other form of entertainment quite as much as I did this one.
That should have signaled the end of Ray's birthday surprise, but I couldn't let it. Like the great night out with friends when you stay up til sunrise because the company and times are just too good to sleep on. We walked through the outdoor mall talking about the movie. We went to Red Robin and smashed burgers and shakes so we could talk about the movie. All of us were all smiles and just enjoying one of the better days our foursome has ever spent together. Appropriately so, for the last Avengers movie.
In 2012 when we were fairly new, cramped in the condo, Smom as a new idea, the Avengers became a thing we could all get behind and enjoy together. We hunted down all the action figures. We all claimed our heroes. We got all the dress-up toys. As the years went on we got themed Halloween family outfits (we actually trick or treated as the Avengers in our current neighborhood before we even lived there). Instead of a unity candle at our wedding, we all placed our Avengers' Lego hero on a scene together. It's just a thing.
Sam: Iron Man. Cool, calculating, smart as hell and uses his brain to gain advantages over his adversaries.
Ray: Hulk. Smash, just tear shit up. But also super endearing, smart as hell, and has a great heart.
Smom: Black Widow. Dressed in black, aesthetic. A badass, but get to know her and is a total softy.
Dad: Captain America. Team leader, but a real dork and gets made fun of. Looks good in a white t-shirt.
Jules: Spider-man. Late addition, but really spunky and fun to be around.
Remy: Thor. A 5lb chihuahua in a Thor outfit, nuff said.
I'm 37 years old. I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. It takes something decently special to grab my attention. I am seriously so thankful to the MCU and the Russo brothers, for taking such good care of this series. I've seen so many bad finales, or series that just drop the damn ball at some point. But Infinity War and Endgame were such a beautiful and energetic end to something that defined the childhoods of my oldest boys, as I got to experience it: one weekend at a time.
I love you guys. I hope we stay as great a team as we've always been. Avengers Assemble. 'nuff said.
