I'm Proof a Movie Isn't the Worst Idea for a First Date

In my work, I wind up reading a lot of articles about dating, and time and time again, I see them assert that you absolutely should not, under any circumstances, take someone to a movie on a first date.

(via Shutterstock)

While it's certainly true that some people might not have the best time on a movie date with a new person, the assumption that the experience is universal gets under my skin. That's because I happened to have had an excellent first date at the movies, and I hate that this golden rule of dating might deprive someone of a similar experience. Let me explain:

A long, long time ago, I would work at the same luxury department store every summer and winter break from school. It was a great way to get out of the house and earn a little bit of money along the way—and it helped that one winter I developed a big crush on a guy at work. Unfortunately, he had a girlfriend, and when it came to talking to him, I was so shy I could barely utter a few words around him—let alone fess up about my feelings.

Because I worked seasonally, when I left to go back to school each time, I never knew if I'd see any of my coworkers again, and that included this big crush. I was thankful that when I returned in the summer, fresh off a semester abroad and armed with a brand new perspective, that he was still working there. Even better yet, he'd now been single for a while.

Even now, I was slightly terrified of talking to him, and I was always grateful when he put in a real effort to chat with me and try to get me out of my timid shell. We'd chat during work and occasionally grab lunch together, but I was completely oblivious to the fact that I was striking up anything more than a friendship.

So when he invited me out to see a movie, I was caught slightly off-guard, but obviously thrilled. It wasn't going to be a matinee, or a group movie outing, but a movie at night—just the two of us. And when the time came, we both had an amazing time. We saw Horrible Bosses, which isn't Oscar-worthy by any means, but we found that we were both laughing at the same jokes and groaning at others, and the experience brought us closer together. And, seeing as it was just a first date, there wasn't any pressure for anyone to make any kind of move. It was just fun and simple, and once we'd walked out of the movie, we had a great time talking about the stuff we enjoyed and didn't enjoy about it.

(via Shutterstock)

In fact, we had such a good time that he suggested we see a second movie. No—not on a different night. We hopped into his car, drove to the local dollar theater, and decided to also check out Thor, which neither of us had seen yet. Again, not the greatest movie either of us had ever seen, but it was a good time, and it became even better with good company and even better conversation about it to wrap up the night.

Maybe a movie date is unoriginal and pricey, and doesn't give you any opportunities to chat during the movie, but if you're creative and you really like movies, none of that stuff really matters. If you're anything like me, the conversations you can have after a movie are often way more meaningful than the experience of seeing the film itself—and they can last longer, too.

(via Shutterstock)

If seeing a movie on a first date is a relationship faux pas, that we broke it not once, but twice—and the fact that we're still together more than eight years later is proof it won't doom your date.

Want to impress your horror-loving date? Click HERE for a list of our favorite not-so-scary scary movies to watch with your crush.