Spidey

Sunday afternoon, I went off to see "Spiderman II" at Tinsel Town. Surprisingly there were no lines. Which may be because there were multiple showings from 10:30 am on.

I bought a ticket for the 2 o'clock show. But when I handed the ticket to the taker, he said that screen was not ready for seating. I then realized I was an hour ahead of myself. He said I could exchange the ticket, which I did for the 1:30 show.

For about ten minutes, I bopped around in the halls and read all the posters of upcoming movies. Then I entered screen #1 and trotted up a long flight of steps. Since only a few people were there, I had no trouble finding a good seat.

After a few minutes, I began to feel uncomfortable - not so much physically as emotionally. And after another few minutes, I realized I was having a panic attack. (Another one of the constellation of emotional states that assail me.) I wanted to run for the nearest exit, race home, lock the doors and hide under the bed.

I managed to stay for the movie, but for thirty minutes or so I felt disconnected from it. Nonetheless, it is a superb movie. Peter Parker feels himself a failure, nothing seems to work in his favor. And for a period, he ceases to be Spiderman. But he comes back to fight the seemingly invincible Doc Ock.

One scene overwhelmed me emotionally, and I was almost in tears. Doc Ock has sent an elevated train spinning down the tracks. Spidey sticks to the outside front of the lead car and shoots webs to the buildings on either side in an attempt to slow the speed. By now, the passengers are huddled directly behind him in the interior of the car. At last, he succeeds, but then he almost collapses. The people inside the car grab him then move him over their heads on their outstretched arms to the back of the car.

In the midst of his efforts, he loses his mask. So when he is at last placed on the floor, the passengers can see his face. One man says, "He's only a kid. He's not much older than my son." There was something about the scene that I found immensely moving.

But there was also a strong element of eroticism. It may be because it is the only time there you see a complete view of the skintight Spidey outfit. I'd read that the suit was made from a skintight body mold of Tobey. In most scenes, Spidey is in action, so you never have a good view of the suit.

In an earlier scene, Hal Sparks, of QAF, gets on an elevator, and there is Spiderman. Hal glaces over at Spidey and say something about the cool outfit. Spidey replies thanks. There's a pause, then Spidey says, "It rides up in the crotch sometimes."

If you watch QAF, there is no way you can not think of Sparks as Michael, which give the scene a funny twist. However, if you don't, the scene might not have the same meaning.