Phnom Penh acquired the super-fancy shopping and entertainment center known as Aeon Mall in 2014. It apparently came with great fanfare as finally the wealthier Cambodians had a place to throw their money around.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted the bright neon lights of the mall. It looked massive and super modern, and walking inside, I wasn’t disappointed. Unlike US malls, the food court was basically when you walk in and all kinds of cuisines and foods were represented. There was a ton of open space for random promotional activities, and on the 2nd floor there’s a damn mini train to take you around! I wasn’t much in the mood for shopping, but I knew I would have to make my way back there for a proper shopping trip.
The movie theatre lobby was awash in burgundy tones, complete with red plush chairs, chandeliers, and even a damn fancy Toyota show car. Our tickets were $4.50 each (remember those prices?!), and the theatre itself had a huge screen and the auditorium slope was a lot lower than what I usually find in the climb-up-the-hill theaters I’m used to. And to boot, we watched Pitch Perfect in the basic theatre—for the plebs.
There are actually two other kinds of “experiences” you can have—VIP and 4DX. The latter is where the chairs move with the action on screen…so if there is a car chase scene, you swerve with car, or feel different kinds of impact. Bestie didn’t care for the experience, and I wasn’t so keen to go either. For Black Panther, we opted for the VIP experience.
VIP will set you back $12 per person, which includes a drink (wine, coffee, or water) and a snack. We had to present ourselves 45 minutes before the start of the movie to guarantee our seats, and since we opted for the first screening of the day, we were there at 9:30am. With the VIP ticket comes access to the VIP lounge where you can hang out with your party and order drinks or desserts. We opted for the free-with-ticket coffee and a very fancy cake. We chatted for a while with a friend of Bestie’s and a castmate of mine who’d decided to tag along with us.
Once inside the theatre, we found our booths. They are set up in pairs, and each “ultra” chair is fully reclinable, USB charger-ready, and comes with a pillow and blanket that were inexplicably (but blessedly) warm when we sat down. It was easy to forget that we were not alone. Bestie whispered his commentary, but I’m sure no one would have heard him if he’d spoken a tad louder. We’re both loud laughers as well, and it was strange to feel so alone in the theatre, especially for this movie. Both of us mused that we missed out on the theatre-going experience with a Black audience, i.e., tons of audience participation (and in the case of this movie, the fashion show), but we got to enjoy a pretty unique and relaxed way to watch movies, and it was definitely worth it!
