Movie Memories

    If you live long enough, you see a lot of things change. This can include an evolving urban landscape, where businesses come and go with the times. Among them are movie theaters, part of my favorite trifecta of establishments, along with bookstores and restaurants. In my hometown of Champaign, Illinois, several movie theaters have come and gone during my lifetime -- the Co-Ed Theater that used to be in the heart of campus town. Market Place Cinemas that used to be out by, well, Market Place Mall. Country Fair Theater that used to be a part of the then-bustling Country Fair strip mall. And, of course, the lovely Art Theater, which closed in late 2019 after a century of showing films.

The most recent casualty is the Savoy 16. Like most movie theaters, the Savoy closed for the pandemic back in March. This wasn't long after its parent company, Goodrich Quality Theaters (GQT) filed for bankruptcy. Well, GQT has navigated the pandemic waters and is re-opening most of its theaters, but they have cut the Savoy 16 loose. It was announced about a month ago that GQT couldn't come to an agreement with the Savoy's landlord, and so it would no longer be part of their portfolio. Now, the building sits empty, perhaps for good, and I find myself saddened in an unexpected way.

The Savoy 16 is a hulking multiplex, a bastion 1990s over-indulgence in the movie-going experience, the bane of small, locally-owned, single-screen film houses everywhere, but particularly here. Its closing shouldn't feel like a punch to the gut - that particular sensation should've been reserved for when the Art Theater shut down. And yet, here I am, rather deeply mourning the loss of a multiplex I'd grown fond of over its nearly 30-year run in the south part of our community, nestled amongst a car dealership, a Dairy Queen, and a Buffalo Wild Wings.

The Savoy 16 opened in late 1990, though the first movie I remember seeing there was Jurassic Park, in 1993. That was one of perhaps two or three films whose special effects blew my mind at the time. I clearly remember watching it there, amazed while sitting in the darkened auditorium with an audience who no doubt felt the same. Six years later I had a similar experience while watching The Matrix, also at the Savoy 16. That same year, 1999, again at the Savoy, I stood in line at midnight with a lot of other Star Wars fans while we anxiously waited to be let inside so we could watch The Phantom Menace.

I saw several movies at the Savoy with my friend Jeromy (for whom I had a massive crush for many years). These included Star Trek Generations in 1994, Se7en in 1995, Star Trek First Contact in 1996, Men In Black in 1997, and Jurassic Park III in 2001, among others. I saw A Perfect Murder there in 1998. It starred Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow, and was a remake of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. I saw it with a guy I knew from C-Street. His name was also Matt, and he was gorgeous. Tall, blond, lanky -  to this day, I am unsure if we were on a date, or not (probably not). Speaking of dates, I definitely went on two of those in 1997, with a guy whose name escapes me. He was nice, but we weren't right for each other. The fact that we saw Batman & Robin, and Speed 2 together (at the Savoy) should've been a clue.

2000 was a banner year for me at the Savoy 16. I went to alone to a midnight screening of Final Destination. There was also a movie playing there that starred DMX and, for a few moments, I'd worried I'd stumbled into the auditorium for the DMX movie. The crowd... well... the crowd seemed as though they might appreciate the musical harmonies that Mr. DMX could provide. As it was, I was in the right place, and it ended up being one of the most fun movie-going experiences I've ever had. The audience was really into the film! Later in 2000, the Savoy 16 is where Ashley & I saw our first two films together in Champaign (Meet the Parents, and What Lies Beneath).

I watched all the Star Wars prequels - and sequel trilogy - at the Savoy 16. It's where I saw Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015, which was the first movie that Ashley & I enjoyed together with our friends Garret and Benny, who have been frequent guests on our film review podcast. In fact, it's where we watched a lot of movies at with friends, and would then either retire to the nearby BW3, or go back to our house, to converse about the movie we'd just seen. Friendships were forged and maintained within those multiplex walls. Cinema, good and bad, was consumed there. And knowledge was gained, such as when a local group hosted a panel discussion in one of their party rooms, after a screening of 2018's Black Panther.

And now, the Savoy 16 is no more. It may be bought by another company and re-opened but, in the current climate of an economy strained under the weight of a pandemic, and with movie theater health and safety not being totally assured, I am doubtful. It is yet another reminder of the impermanence of pretty much every facet of life. When you're young(er), you believe that everything and everyone will last forever. Then, little by little (or perhaps suddenly), things are not as they once were. And it continues, until you only have memories to look back on.

But what great memories they are.