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| The El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. |
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| At the El Cap entrance and ready for a good day! |
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| One of Steve Carell's movie outfits on display in the lobby. |
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| The gorgeous interior of the theatre. |
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| El Cap organist Rob Richards at the Wurlitzer. |
On a beautiful Saturday (the first weekend that finally felt like fall here in SoCal), my husband and son and I headed to Hollywood for the El Capitan Theatre to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Seeing a movie at the El Cap is always an exciting experience, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to explore. I love Netflix, but this is well worth taking the time to get off the couch and deal with the Hollywood traffic. And now, the El Cap is offering daily tours--don't miss this chance to go behind-the-scenes at a legendary, historic venue. (I love the El Capitan so much that I included it in my book, From the Corner of Hollywood and diVine: Your Guide to 30 Old Hollywood-Inspired Spots.
In the lobby, we checked out props and costumes from Alexander, grabbed a souvenir bucket of popcorn, and then headed into the theatre. I always love to come early and hear award-winning organist Rob Richards on the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ, which instantly transports me back to the glory days of Old Hollywood. This time, he played "Circle Of Life," "You've Got A Friend In Me ("From Toy Story!" screamed my four-year-old.), "When You Wish Upon A Star," "Beauty And The Beast," "Zippity-Doo-Dah," and "Be Our Guest" before riding the organ down through the floor and underneath the stage.
I absolutely loved the movie. Alexander is turning twelve, and for him...every day is a bad day. As he watches the rest of his family (including Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner as his mom and dad) have one success after another, he makes a birthday wish that they would all know what it is like to have a terrible day, too. His wish seems to come true, as one mishap after another occurs, from a ginormous forehead zit popping up on prom day to alarms not going off in the morning to a lost pacifier (if you're a parent, you will def understand that last one).
Alexander is a great example of what Disney does so well, which is getting right to the heart of the matter; in this case, it is all about family. This is one of those movies that had me laughing one minute, and then tearing up the next, either because something was painfully true about being a parent or just genuinely sweet. I hope that you never experience a day that goes wrong to the extent the Cooper family does in the movie, but if you do, you will have some wisdom from a wise twelve-year-old to keep in mind: "Sometimes, you gotta have the bad days so you can love the good days even more."
