Cruella and the DeVil-ish Pandemic Movie Experience

As I nestled into my leather seat at the new dine-in theater in Philadelphia, I began accepting my fate: “Hey, so it cost you $50 to see a movie by yourself,” I bargained in my head as a sipped my soda and consumed 30 minutes of ads. “At least you can name your article, ‘I Paid $50 to See a Movie in a Pandemic so You Don’t Have To.'”

But within minutes of the introduction to “Cruella,” my regrets melted like butter on movie theater popcorn (yes, I’m a lactose-intolerant vegan — movie theater popcorn and Werther’s caramels are my vices, so sue me).

“Cruella” was worth every single penny. The storyline was as intricately woven as the fashion throughout the film, the acting was absolutely incredible, the cinematography was great, and don’t even get me STARTED on that soundtrack.

Yet, the true cherry on top wasn’t necessarily a product of the film itself.