The Time I Watched A Movie In Hawaii
Two years ago this week I caught a connecting flight in San Francisco bound for The Big Island of Hawaii to visit my friends Becky and Eric. They lived in Kona in a little house they were renting up a gentle hill (out of the Tsunami Evacuation Area) from which you could see the Pacific in all its glory. But I got in rather late. I couldn’t see the ocean, or anything else for that matter. So we caught up for a bit, I went to bed and awoke the next morning to discover that, of course, it was raining.
The Islands, I suspect, are a place a great many of us wish to travel, and when we think of them we think of them in postcards and computer screen savers and so forth. I thought of them in the stock footage of palm trees swaying in the wind and surfers catching a wave set to slack-key guitar that was shown going to and coming out of commercials every Christmas Eve during the Aloha Bowl (which is what I still call it even though it’s not called the Aloha Bowl anymore). The Hawaii I experienced was not exactly the same. Oh, sure, there were palm trees and there was surf and there was much time spent at the beach but the volcano that hovers over Kona results in daily Vog (i.e. volcanic haze) and so I only experienced one sunset my entire time in Hawaii. And yet, in the context of my personality, one sunset was perfect, because it made it that much more memorable and cherishable.
It’s why I wasn’t all that upset when I awoke to the steady pitter patter of rain on the metal awning over the patio where I drank my Kona coffee. In a strange way, I found it comforting. I even took a picture to commemorate it!
Rain In Hawaii
That afternoon, the rain still falling, we turned to the Wii Becky and Eric had just purchased and perused the on demand movie selections. For reasons I can’t recall we all settled on Mike Myers’ 1993 comedy So I Married An Axe Murderer in a matter of moments. It was a drizzly day, I suppose we wanted something cheerfully light. And so Becky and Eric’s friend came over, we drank Diet Dr. Pepper & rum and watched Mike Myers play two parts – Charlie McKenzie and Charlie McKenzie’s father (“We’ve got a piper down”) – and we tried to determine just how Charlie McKenzie made a living (does spoken poetry pay that well?) and we laughed and laughed and debated our favorite character (I’m partial to Alan Arkin’s too-nice police captain) and favorite lines (“Excuse me, miss? There seems to be a mistake. I believe I ordered the LARGE cappuccino”).
The next day the rain dissipated and the sun came out (for awhile) and the rest of my time there was warm and sunny (mostly). There is a lot I remember fondly of that trip. A Kentucky Derby party on the side of a volcano and a Moco Loco and nearly wiping out on Becky’s Vespa the first time I tried to ride it. And, of course, as much as anything, as much as the one sunset or any beach or any bit of ocean or even the comely server at Lava Java with the nose ring, I fondly remember watching So I Married An Axe Murderer indoors on a rainy Friday.
The Descendants worked to show how paradise is not all that different from anywhere else, and this is true. You can even have transcendent movie-watching experiences there.
Have you been to Hawaii? Are you dreaming to?
11 Comments
I’ve recently been to Hawaii for my Honeymoon last August and it is in fact the paradise! Apart from the beach, sun, hikes, surfing, we didn’t really opened the TV to watch movies… However, We were starting watching the series Lost just a while after our trip and we recognized many trails and the superb settings!
Nice post! The location of a movie watching experience gives another dimension to the movie you are watching.
We’re going to Hawaii late this Summer, I can’t wait! I’ve only been there once when I was 13 w/ my family. Did you go to Kauai? That’s where we’ll be staying. Btw, seeing The Descendants REALLY made me want to go visit this paradise.
I did not make it to Kauai. Ironically, though, I had two friends that were at Kauai and Oahu at the same time I was on the Big Island on their honeymoon. They said it was quite gorgeous. Have a good time when you go! I’m sure you will.
A large, half-decaf, 6-pump white mocha, 2-pump raspberry, dry but no-foam, extra-hot 190 degrees, half-Soy, half-whole milk Cappuccino with whip and cinnamon powder on top?
Hold the cinnamon powder.
I would like to go to Hawaii. Especially after watching The Descendants although I’m glad Payne made it look more realistic than what we usually see in other films set in Hawaii.
I was in the island back in… 2005? Visiting a cousin that was living there, so I got to visit the not-so-touristy side of it… though, I wouldn’t mind seeing that side in the future~ xD
I did watch a film there, we rented a flick in Blockbuster… the one with Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss… Suspect Zero? Not so good, I barely remember what it was about… LOL
I felt The Descendants was a bit of a boring flick, but it does paint a less glossy side of Hawaii than most films, though not for much. According to my cousin, she says Lilo & Stitch is the best example of Hawaii there is — you know, sans the aliens, and all that Hula dancing numbers. But she said it’s pretty much that for Hawaiian families… broken families and the whole “family never gets left behind” business. Though, she also said Whale Rider was a close look at Polynesian culture… so in a sense it’s very Hawaiian, even though it’s New Zealand’s xD
Lilo & Stitch? Really? That’s interesting. I might have to check that out now.
Yeah, think about it. Lilo & Stitch is about a middle-low income family of two sisters. I’m sure there’s a lot more relatable to Hawaii there for families, than… a pretty rich man with marital and daughters problems in The Descendants. xD
Really enjoyed reading this Nick and I particularly like your comment about The Descendants and its depiction of “paradise”. Hawaii is possibly the furthest location away from me before an onward journey would begin the long journey home around the other half of the world so I’d hope for some sun after such travelling. But great trips are made up of loads of memories and the best ones rarely have anything to do with whether the sun was out or not.
“But great trips are made up of loads of memories and the best ones rarely have anything to do with whether the sun was out or not.”
Well said. Very well said.
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