Everyone knows that going to the movies can be pretty pricey. One time I went to the movies, I spent well over $50 on just the food alone. During my senior year of high school, I complained to my friend about this, and he then told me about MoviePass. At first I thought this was some scam, this promise of a flat fee to see a movie a day, but let me tell you that this was more than just a subscription service. This was the most dysfunctional yet amazing relationship I’ve ever had in my life.

MoviePass and I were together for about nine months from November 2017 till July 2018. The first few months together was a dream. My first time using it, I got nervous, similar to going on a first date, because this was something new. After that first experience, I fell in love instantly. Every week I would go to the movies right after school. Most of the time it would be by myself, but some days a few of my friends who also had the pass went as well and we would talk about the movie the next day at lunch period. These first few months was “The Honeymoon” phase as it felt like we were meant for each other.

Like many relationships, the problems started to arise. After a few months of enjoying this subscription service, we ran into our first issue. MoviePass announced that it would be raising its price from $10 a month to $15. Now it may not seem like a huge increase, but as a new incoming freshman to college, I didn’t have the income for it. I felt cheated on, like you just reeled me in and now you just throw this at me? It was ridiculous. Since my love for the service was stronger than any of my previous relationships, I cancelled my subscription to Amazon Prime. Ending that service was like having my girlfriend telling me that I can’t hang out with my boys only her.

After that whole fiasco you would think that it was all clear skies, fresh buttered popcorn, and great movies. Unfortunately, it got worse. One day I was to going see “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” and as I was about to purchase my ticket, the app crashed. At first I thought maybe it was just a glitch. As I tried to purchase it, the app crashed yet again. After multiple attempts to get the ticket, I ended up giving up and bought a regular ticket.

MoviePass wasn’t there for me when I needed her the most.

Fast forward a few days and I ran into another problem; this was the one that ended our relationship. One night me and a friend wanted to go watch a movie; my friend didn’t have MoviePass so I told her that I would pay for her ticket. As I was attempting to purchase my ticket, the app told me that it couldn’t because of the theater location or something similar to that. I was confused because this wasn’t an issue before, so after attempting to get the tickets at the second-closest theater, the app had shut down. After trying to figure out the situation and slowly becoming annoyed, my friend told me to forget about it and just stay at home and watch Netflix together.

During that night, I was thinking about my whole relationship with MoviePass and how amazing it was in the beginning. But over time, she started to show her true colors. So the next day I broke things up with her by ending my subscription. I knew that it was only a matter of time before MoviePass was going to end, or at best, be very restrictive. Over the course of its life cycle, you can see how it was slowly dying out. As more people joined, more problems were created.

MoviePass announced that it is officially shutting down its service on Sept. 14. The news was announced on Sept. 13 via emails to their subscribers as well as a press release that was issued by the parent company, Helios and Matheson. The reason for the closure was “because its efforts to recapitalize MoviePass have not been successful to date.”

After ending my relationship with MoviePass, I searched far and wide to find something that would fill in that empty space. I tried to get into the streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, but it just wasn’t the same. I missed going to the theater and seeing all the employees who worked there welcoming me back with a free box of popcorn. For the most part I couldn’t find anything, until recently.

Regal Unlimited is Regal Cinema’s new monthly subscription service. The basics are the same as MoviePass as you can watch as many movies as you want and as many times as you want. However, there are a few tweaks to this service as there are various plans to choose from.

It’s no MoviePass, but it is a close second. I enjoyed the time spent with MoviePass. Like most couples, we had our ups and downs, but for the most part it was great. She made me the man I am today, and I will never forget the memories we had together. We saw over 40 movies within the span of nine months for only about $90. We laughed together, cried together, and argued together. I will cherish the moments we had together and wish a fond farewell to MoviePass as it ends its service.