5:30 would have been ideal

If I had arrived for a 5:30 screening of the movie, I would have been on time for the 84th anniversary of the events as they unfolded in the movie.

As it stood, I was four hours too early.

The final planning stage for D-Day, 1944, began when Captain James Stagg of the Royal Air Force arrived to meet with General Eisenhower to discuss the weather forecast.

Stagg was almost 44 years old, with more than 15 years of experience as a meteorologist for the English coast.

Even though Eisenhower had his own American meteorologist, Colonel Irving P. Krick, who he had worked with many times, but had called in Stagg as the specialist for that region of the world.

The movie, "Pressure", dealt with the rivalry between the two weather men over what the forecast might be for 5:30 AM on June 5, 1944, 72 hours after Stagg's arrival.

I caught the difference in demeanor of the two men.

The American was everybody's friend and the charmer of all women; the Brit was a married man expecting his first child any minute.

The American was determined to provide a rosy forecast that would line up with what the General wanted for the invasion; the Brit was even more determined to supply a realistic approach based on the truth of the storms in the North Atlantic.

Which man would win the ear of Eisenhower?

Of course, all of us in the screening room already knew that answer.

We all knew that D-Day was actually on June 6 of 1944, one day later than originally planned, but we did not know "the rest of the story", as Paul Harvey would have said.

I really liked Brendan Fraser in the role of the future POTUS; like Eisenhower during that time frame in history, he is in his mid-fifties, adding some makeup-free gravitas to the role.

Afterward, I saw an absolute bit of frivolity!

Remember, this is Tina Tuesday, and I hadn't known what to expect for "Pressure" or how it might affect me.

In case it bummed me out, I wanted something that would liven the mood!

(If I had known it was based on a play, that might have made a difference.

All I knew of "Pressure" is that it was a piece of war history.) 

So the bottom game of this double header was "The Breadwinner", featuring Nate Bargatze (who also co-authored the script).

To be honest, I prefer "Mr. Mom", the 1983 movie with Michael Keaton - in his first role! - as the stay-at-home dad for three children.

Keaton just has so much more charm, right?

I've watched the TV show Bargatze hosts, "The Greatest Average American", a couple of times, but it just hasn't grabbed me.

That said, the movie is a lot of fun for those new to the dad-at-home genre, especially with the 'pony' that runs amok.

As for those two empty slots on my A*List dance card, they may very well stay that way.

Nothing at AMC is drawing me in, not this week.

I guess I'll have to wait and see.

(smile!)