How to survive a 23-hour ‘Star Wars’ movie marathon
The dedicated flocked to Showcase Cinema at Legacy Place to watch the nine movies of the Skywalker saga in a row
DEDhAm — may the fourth be with them: As the clock neared 8 a.m. Saturday at Showcase cinema de lux at legacy place, the tired soldiers trudged out of their theaters to fuel up on breakfast, pound cups of coffee, and even participate in yoga to stretch their limbs, all in an effort to prepare for the final push and finish the job.
that job? Stay awake for four more “Star Wars” movies, the final
nd leg of a 23-hour marathon.
this past weekend, Showcase cinemas rang in the holy day among “Star Wars” fans by hosting a nine-movie marathon, from
1999’s “the phantom menace,” the first prequel episode, all the way through 2019’s “the rise of Skywalker.” it was a rigorous battle, but thanks to the devotion of the “Star Wars” faithful, there was no shortage of people soldiering through to the finish line.
“‘Star Wars’ is the lifeblood of many people,” said Drew Shadrawy, a therapist and social worker from Newton. “Even though it’s considered geeky, it’s certainly grown into American mythology and part of world culture.”
for the dedicated, binging every movie is a journey worth taking — and the idea is not only to see the full story, but to experience it with other members of their community.
“there’s something almost indescribable about that sort of shared experience,” said Jay Griffin, a Swansea resident who works in finance, “and probably a little bit of delirium by the end of that much movie-watching.”
for some, part of the draw is getting to see the old classics on the big screen for the first time.
“it’s not something that you get often with older movies, being able to watch them as they were intended to be broadcast,” said Stefen lewis, an it specialist from Dracut, who deadpanned, “to quote Nicole kidman: ‘Dazzling images on a huge silver screen; sound that i can feel.’”
paris pratico, an 8-year-old from Worcester, has been a huge fan since she started watching the “Star Wars” movies in kindergarten with her dad, but she’d never seen them on the big screen.
“it’s more exciting here because you don’t have a concession stand at your house and it’s a bigger tV,” she said. “there are lots of people, more chairs, and our chairs don’t move at the house,” she noted, referring to the reclining seating in her theater.
her father, John, a psychologist and professor at Anna maria college, said paris is the one who pushed the two of them to come. While they didn’t stay through episodes 2-4, they woke up bright and early to catch the 5:50 a.m. screening of “the Empire Strikes back.”
“Some people say, like, ‘oh, that sounds like that’ll be a really fun father-daughter bonding experience,’” he said, “and then i’ve had others say, like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine, i don’t need to see all nine of them in a row.’”
Doing anything for 23 hours is no easy task, and when it came to discussing strategies for staying awake and attentive, a few tips kept popping up. caffeine is a big helper, though marathoners had different philosophies about when and how much to consume. other tactics: getting up to walk around, planning when to briefly rest your eyes, and taking advantage of hygienic supplies. Showcase provided everything from toothbrushes and toothpaste to chapstick and hair ties.
And then there’s perhaps the biggest motivator of all: fomo.
“it’s easier to do these movie marathons because you don’t want to sleep during your favorite scene,” said Jenny Garcia, a social worker from New london, conn. “You know who the father is, you know what the outcome is going to be, so i feel like you stay up more for that nostalgic feeling of seeing it on the big screen.”
though she’s a huge “Star Wars” fan, Garcia said she generally likes to push herself to accomplish unorthodox feats. in the coming months, she’s hoping to participate in a 3k mud run and to drive to florida to visit Disney World’s four theme parks in one day.
When someone asks what she did over any given weekend, “i don’t want to just say i just stayed home and cleaned,” she said. “i like having stories.”
others are there simply for the movies. bruce mendelsohn, a city of Worcester employee from millbury, wore a shirt boasting that he sat through an approximately 59-hour, 22-movie marvel marathon Showcase hosted in 2019 at the former revere location. (he joked that this marathon was “more like a 10k.”)
Even as a movie-marathon veteran, the joy is less about whether or not he stays awake than it is about the films themselves and the community they represent.
“‘Star Wars’ is intergenerational. it transcends race, it transcends gender, it transcends class,” he said. “that, to me, is fascinating. ‘Star Wars’ is a people’s story.”