Movie Candy

I recently learned that my best friend Debra, who grew up in Utah and still lives there so it is kind of understandable that she is out of the loop culturally, never heard of Chuckles! How is that possible? Even worse, she has three grown kids who probably never heard of them either, although perhaps they are more sophisticated than their mother, especially the one who left Utah for greener pastures. Anyway, a 5-pack of Chuckles was my hands-down favorite movie candy, and I still love them even though I never eat them anymore, knowing that they are poison.

What's not to love about a Chuckle? First, the very name implies happiness and laughter and good times. Then there is the fact that there are five separate candies in one package, each a delightfully different color and flavor, making the whole experience an early lesson in decision-making and retirement planning. 

Other movie candy seemed boring by comparison, since they were all a box of just one thing: Junior Mints, Whoppers, Malted Milk Balls--all yummy, but the same thing over and over, whereas each Chuckle was a new experience! I never could settle on a favorite: cherry, lemon, spearmint, orange or licorice. I've always leaned towards the licorice, but then those green ones are pretty special too. And of course the red...well, the red, now there's a crowd-pleaser.

If for some bizarre reason there were no Chuckles on the premises, my second choice was Raisinets, which had the added benefit of pleasing my mother because they were so "healthy." On the down side, they were awfully noisy coming out of the box, requiring you to wait for a big laugh in the theater to get some.  I always wondered about those Jordan Almonds kids; they were so grown-up at such a young age.