Initially, the Wife wanted to see

The Skin I Live In (or:  La piel que habito, if you will.)  And I am interested in seeing that, for sure, but I also worried a bit, that perhaps Renee might not like the film, as it is very arty, very weird, spooky, long, and was foreign.

(Renee def likes foreign films, though, not so much at home, where it is a pain for her to read the subtitles.)

And this was planned for our Date Night, last Sunday, a couple of days ago, before we would have dinner at A16.  (Ho ho ho, Renee's Da laughed, You guys are married now, you do not get to go on dates anymore.)

(I went on a first date w/ someone in Austin, a million years ago, and we saw Barton Fink! Ugh! And once, before that date, I went on a first date w/ someone in Austin, a million years ago, and we saw Blue Velvet! Eek! Needless to say, those relationships did not really take off, if you will, though I am still long-distance friends w/ one of the someones.)

I told the Wife my misgivings and asked her to think about it.

So, late Saturday night, Renee has another suggestion:  Playing at the same theater (the Landmark Embarcadero, our fave art-house cinema), Renee now wants to see ... wait for it ... Melancholia, dir by Lars von Trier.  Hoo-boy.

I am agreeing w/ her Saturday night but am desperate Sunday morning to see if anything else is out there.  Drive is showing in The City, but at only one theater, at one time, nine twenty PM. So, that is a no-go.  I do notice that Midnight in Paris is still playing in The City, and tell the Wife that Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's highest grossing film of all-time, Can you believe that? The Wife says it is just b/c Owen Wilson is in it.  We both loved the film but we do not want to see it again on our Date Night.  Things are looking grim.  I am preparing myself for Kirsten Dunst, rogue planets named after Freudian terms, Kiefer, and crazy depressing Lars.

(For what it is worth, my buddy, Nick C, went and saw Melancholia w/ his Special Lady Friend, and they both loved it.)

But I am saved! Hooray! Also at the Landmark Opera theater (where Midnight in Paris is playing) is what sounds like a delightful, heart-warming French film, The Women on the 6th Floor.

Renee is reluctant, still.  I read her Mick LaSalle's glowing review.  She remains wary.  I remind her how much she hated Charlotte Gainsbourg in The Cement Garden.  She does not remember seeing The Cement Garden.  I emphasize to her,how it would be better to see an uplifting movie on our Date Night, and she finally caves.  We move the reservation at A16 back a half-hour, and we are set.

************

The Women on the 6th Floor is delightful.  Renee loves the movie (especially the cool, early 60s period brocaded, textured gowns -- Renee is really in to costumes and Art Design now in regard to films) and so do I.  It is a little sappy at the end, they hold the last shot waaaaay too long, but it is the perfect apertif for our dinner at A16.  (And yeah, I know I am talking about a French film -- about Spanish maids -- and an Italian restaurant.  So sue me.)

It was a splendid Date Night, certainly.

(And I had a cracked egg on my pizza for the first time, evah.)

Mwah, ...

I got a haircut.

Love you alls.