Sorry, Trekkies, But Your Movie Has Been Co-opted by Regular Folk

Filed under there's a difference between films and movies

I’ve never seen a single episode of “Star Trek” in my life, so I was a little reticent about paying $20.50 to see the new movie on IMAX. But twelve of my co-workers were going, and I’m nothing if not a sucker for peer pressure, so I paid my monies, and I joined everyone at the Lincoln Center theatre on Saturday afternoon. The theatre was ginormous, but Jack and Dean spotted me from the very top row as soon as I walked in the lower doors, and after spending $13 on concessions and having one of my bra straps pop off, I settled in for a totally exhilarating, way-less-nerdy-than-expected movie.

I didn’t get all of the jokes, and all of the time flexibility stuff would’ve freaked me out had I not been dating a physicist for a couple of years now, but overall, I thought it was pretty rad. My friend Emily grew up on “Star Trek” and informed me that actually wasn’t nearly as geeky as I had presumed, but I think she just forgot what it really used to be like when faced with a new ship full of hot, young actors with the incredible ability of pulling themselves up off of cliffs with one hand repeatedly. And I don’t blame her, really, because:

And you? Trekkie, newbie-who’s-interested-in-seeing-the-movie, or still bewildered by all of the good reviews?

33 Comments

  1. Laurasaurus says:

    I am going to see it again tomorrow. I loved it. I am not a Trekkie. I just thought it was really funny and well written. And my best friend who dressed up as Captain Kirk to go to the 7:00pm showing with me… thinks it’s the best Star Trek movie ever.

    • I thought it was funny and well-written, too. And there were times when I got chills from being so happy for all of the characters. And how awesome were the opening credits?!

      I really love that you have a friend with a costume already in hand.

  2. Kelly says:

    It should come as no surprise to you that I am a Trekkie of the highest order. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that; I don’t speak Klingon, after all, so most hardcore Trekkies would consider me a poseur.

    Frankly, I’m shocked I haven’t seen it yet. None of my Shreveport friends are really into it, though, and I’d prefer to have someone to geek out WITH if I’m to pay twenty-plus dollars to see it in the theatre. Besides, I’m totally gonna wear my costume.

    Yeah. Spock is wicked hot, right?

    • Movies are $20 in your neck of the woods, too?! The whole time, I was thinking that I could’ve bought an entire ticket in Ohio with what I paid just for the upgrade from regular theatre to IMAX.

      I’m actually surprised you’re a Trekkie. I mean, I GET that you’re a super-dork, but seriously, your supreme girliness really throws me off.

      I think it’s the people speaking Klingon that gives “Star Trek” a bad rap, so you’re probably better off being a so-called poseur.

      • Kelly says:

        When I was a freshman in college, I heard about the campus Star Trek club. I made up my mind to join, so I put on my pink trench coat (this was pre-Columbine, and it was still popular for nerds to wear trench coats) and went to the meeting.

        (My sorority sisters thought it was a little weird, but as long as it didn’t interfere with mixers, they were more or less supportive.)

        To say it did not go well is a gross understatement. I was the only girl, which you’d think would be a good thing, but as soon as they heard I was a Next Generation (as opposed to an original series) fan, couldn’t speak a word of Klingon and hadn’t read the Star Trek physics book, they practically kicked me out of the meeting. It didn’t matter to them at all that I had been to a convention AND that I had the most authentic uniform my mother’s hands could create. I was humiliated. Truthfully, I’m still not over it.

        • I love that you actually admitted to your sorority sisters that you were going to a “Star Trek”-related meeting and didn’t just throw on a hoodie and try to escape out the front door unnoticed.

          I’m terribly sorry about the trouble with the club, but I guess I can see where they’re coming from. When you’ve been excluded from absolutely every other social activity, you probably get a big kick out of making yours super-exclusive, huh?

  3. Tracey says:

    I was going to leave you a comment that just consisted of the word “SYLAR” in all caps and with an exclamation mark, but then I remembered that you don’t watch “Heroes”.

    • But I totally get it!, because I pored through his IMDB listing today. He was also apparently on an episode of “Lizzie McGuire”. Which makes me cry inside.

      Also, Jack is very mad at you for giving away the time travel aspect of “Lost” to me.

  4. thickcrust says:

    Did anybody tell Jack that he could order just popcorn, and that the bra strap popping off was something they threw in especially for you?

    • The funny part is that I was actually ordering the popcorn for Jack in an attempt to give him something for messing around with my blog for hours last week. I guess bra straps just spontaneously burst off in his presence.

  5. Sandy says:

    I’ve seen it three times, the first of which was with a friend who is beyond shocked that I’d see it again. And again. She’s trying to find me some Zachary Quinto porn, since he’s my only reason for seeing it thrice.

    • Dang, lady. Were you a Trekkie to begin with or just a huge Quinto fan?

      It was great fun seeing it in IMAX, because there were times when I was like, “Whoa, put some makeup on that boy.” Intense pores at extreme close-up, let me tell you.

  6. natalie says:

    the bra strap is hilarious…i’d have to go home if that happened.

    we went and saw the movie too–ant is a HUGE star trek fan and i admit to digging TOS (the original series for all you not-in-the-know types. haha)

    the movie was great–i loved the pacing and story line. kirk was seriously hot! hubba hubba. (does anyone say that anymore?)

    for die-hard fans, there were plenty of abominations…but it’s just a MOVIE and it thoroughly entertained me for 2 hours and 6 minutes. i especially liked the beastie boys in the soundtrack. :)

    • For some reason, this bra basically stays up on its own without any straps, so the loss of the strap wasn’t such a big deal. I kept pulling it out of my shirt and whipping it around in all of its hot-pinkness, though, which is probably a little trashy in retrospect.

      I love “hubba hubba” but hate “hub” and “hubby”. Doesn’t make sense.

      I loved the Beastie Boys, too! They were so perfect for that scene and really amped it up. I have no idea what TOS stands for even after thinking about it for a minute, which I guess makes me really not in-the-know.

  7. Smail says:

    Glad to hear you actually saw it on a real IMAX screen and not one of the trendy, new IMAX Lite screens: http://bit.ly/1kWhg

    • OMG, I had no idea this sort of treachery was going on right here in my city! If I’m thinking of the right Empire, though, it’s in Times Square, and anyone watching their movies there really deserves what they get.

  8. kylie says:

    i’m somewhere between trekkie and intrigued newbie, i guess! i’m more familiar with the next generation and voyager than with the original kirk/spock series, and i’m certainly no expert on either of those series, so i didn’t really know what the movie was going to be about. however, having seen the trailer i figured i had to go, plus y’know movie tickets here are cheap as hell.

    like everyone else i’ve spoken to about it, i’m now enamored with zachary quinto, but only as spock. and upon reading your above description of extreme-pore-closeups, i’m considering going to see it again at an IMAX theatre. ps, i found that zachary quinto porn that above commenter requested:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhQkV5bLkKA
    boy, he is a terrible actor not as spock. but what do i care? he’s cute!

    • It must be so amazing to not have to choose between two hours of entertainment and two week’s worth of cold cuts.

      Is that naked and emotional men beside him in the sauna the young Willem Dafoe or what? I agree with your only-as-Spock observation. I watching something like this and think, “Meh.”

      • Sandy says:

        I loved him as Sass on Notorious! That was actually a good show! I wish they’d release it on DVD.

      • kylie says:

        it sure is!

        not quite as hot as willem dafoe, but i see the resemblance! i think “eww” when i see not-as-spock pix of zq. no thank you.