Sound Cinema: Edmonds Theater
Marquee at The Edmonds Theater
The Evergreen Echo
In the heyday of movie theater construction, the Union Theater was born in the city of Edmonds. It ran under that name until it was purchased five years later in 1921 and renamed The Princess. As the movies got bigger, so too did The Princess as its owners decided in 1923 to build a much bigger auditorium across the street. It took decades of changing owners, demographics, and films for the theater to finally become the Edmonds Theater in 1979. The theater-going experience at the Edmonds has evolved from an art house, to second-run theater, and finally to what it is today—a first-run theater for major releases. It is one of the last of the original single screen movie theaters in Washington.
The theater is nestled in bustling downtown Edmonds. It’s at the hub of life and still a vital part of the community, as the theater was surprisingly full for a Tuesday evening showing I attended. You cannot really tell what you will find in the lobby as you open the outside doors. What you're greeted with immediately is the ticket taker. To the left and up a small flight of stairs is the concession stand. The theater is on the left and up a long flight of stairs is the restroom.
The auditorium is on a gentle slope with aisles on either side and the majority of seats in the middle. The seats are classic movie theater style with a bit of rocking to them so that you can see the screen above everyone else's heads. There is ample leg room, but as the seats are classic, some of the stuffing has gone out and they can creak rather uncomfortably. Choose wisely.
On this particular summer Tuesday at the Edmonds I saw the latest from Pixar, Toy Story 5. As with all franchises that have made it into their third decade, this one has quite a few diminishing returns. This feels like a rehash of Toy Story 2, mixed with the identity crises of Toy Story, and the dread of being left behind from Toy Story 3. The irony of it being a film about the relationship humans have with our devices is that more than a few times during the screening a phone would glow as a person needed their fix of dopamine, completely missing the message. That message is a bit too soft and does not go too deep (Disney has to sell its apps after all), but there’s a spark of the intriguing relationships humans have with each other through technology. The heart-breaking scenes of how it makes us feel safe to be cruel, and how it makes us feel the need for approval are some of the best. The conclusion also saves much of the sameness throughout the film. Overall it is a well animated, sometimes fun film.
The Edmonds Theater screening room
The Evergreen Echo
This is the kind of movie that this season has had over the last 50 years or so. After the smash of Jaws in the summer of 1975, studios realized the startling power of summer vacation and the need to find entertainment. Most of our summer films now are legacy sequels, or franchise pieces, with few original concepts or adaptations. In spite of this, summer at the movies has remained a part of our culture. We get a pleasant mix of air conditioning, a couple hours of quiet, and the pure cinema spectacle. More studios have expanded beyond this dump of blockbusters in a tiny 4-month window, but the draw of it is often too powerful to resist not making a splash.
Theaters like the Edmonds can bring in big business from the seasonal tourists or members of the community who need a fun activity for their kids. From its upcoming slate of movies, it’s obvious that the Edmonds knows its audience. The next two films after Toy Story 5 will also come from Disney, with showings of the live-action remake of the animated hit Moana and the first Marvel film in over a year, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Yet, the Edmonds also recognizes the power of the new push for old movies on the big screen. As reported in many outlets, including the New York Times, over the last couple of years, retro, anniversary, restoration, and nostalgia screenings have meant more people in movie theater seats than a whole slate of new releases. This trend is shooting upwards, and while the Edmonds' series has been around for a while, it is likely they will see a bump for their next Throwback Thursday on July 16, E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial.
Movies in the summer, whether blockbuster, art house, comedy, or melodrama, just hit us differently. We feel less of the pressures of life because the weather is nice more often than not. We feel more geared to wanting to go out and experience a new piece of culture everyone else will be talking about. There is a want of spectacle in these summer months and places like the Edmonds Theater supply it in healthy and joyful doses.
