Good Movie Manners Cost Nothing

[Manic Monday]

Just because it's a cartoon, doesn't mean it's for kids!

[Mugsy]

The term "screeching fuck trophies" in that graph link made me laugh, and I hate profanity (and rarely use it, until now, I guess).

I went with two teens to see He's Just Not That Into You at a nearby small town theatre. Most small town theatres are long gone, so I feel lucky that we have this one so close to home, and it's only $5 to see a recent release. Except that this particular town is really tacky and lowbrow, and the audience at many movies reflects that. I mean, groaning aloud about a character's actions? Clapping and cheering when Affleck's character proposes? Geez, they're not real people. Get a grip. Plus a family came in with two boys, around 10. Is HJNTIY really the kind of movie school-age boys want to see? Really? If it's family movie night and they can't afford to drive to the ciniplex in the city, why not rent something? Plus, between the parents and the two kids, they must have exited the theatre 12 times during the show for snacks, drinks, bathroom breaks, whatever. Annoying.

[ratscabies]

We took MissP to the movies exactly once. It was a Karaoke showing of Mama Mia. We figured it was gonna be full of noisy, tacky folks singing along, so it would be OK. Except, Traffic and her theatre buddies were the only ones singing. About 2/3 of the way through, MissP lost interest and got fussy. I had her out in the hall in seconds. I mean, that's my job as a parent, right? To remove my screeching fuck trophy from the movie forthwith? Mission accomplished. I would only take her back if it was an afternoon matinee that was deserted. And not to a movie that was wildly inappropriate.


ETA: Screeching, not screaming....

[Shanmac]

my screeching fuck trophy

I am laughing so hard I have tears running down my face. And you're so sentimental!

[batmom]

Mar 14, 2009 21:49:19 GMT -4 ElleCee said:

I think when you take a child to the movies you should be aware of their actions and not play stupid. I understand children don't always realize the results of their actions so I think it's the parents who should monitor their behavior. Which is why I always address the parent not the child when something like this happens.

I get better results by addressing the child. "Please don't kick my seat" seems to have more effect (worked like a charm on Wednesday at the theatre. Now of only the little muffin two seats over wasn't sitting on a squeaky seat. He wasn't being OTT fidgeting, but man his seat was loud). If nothing else, they are often stunned into silence.

I went to the theatre (live, not movie) Tuesday night and had whisperers to my left and front left. I get that the play had some interesting parallels to your life and maybe explained why Grandma was the way she was, but could it not have waited until intermission? Whispering bothers me even more at live theatre. Maybe because it requires more effort to immerse yourself in the production or because I know that I can't just rent it later to pick up what I missed.

[DaisyNukem]

Sometimes addressing the child just gets you in trouble. I was sitting next to my brother-in-law who very politely asked the little girl behind him to stop kicking his seat. He didn't raise his voice and said "please" twice in one sentence. The kid's Mom started yelling and acting like a moron. He hasn't been to the theater since.

[batmom]

Interesting. I've never had a problem. Maybe that level of crazy hasn't reached Vancouver yet.

[sardonictart]

I've only ever had a problem with a kid once - probably because I rarely go to movies that aren't rated "R" (although as we've seen that doesn't stop people.) A kid was kicking the back of my chair during the film (somewhat in the beginning.) I waited to see if it would stop; it did not. I simply and sternly said, "Stop kicking my chair." I didn't even bother to turn around. The kid stopped immediately, and it never happened again during the film. No harm, no foul - the kid had some nervous energy, and I basically told him to direct it elsewhere. No parental freakout either - my guess is that the parent didn't even notice what the kid was doing.

ETA: The Screeching Fuck Trophies is my new fake-band name.

[RabbitEars]

Mar 17, 2009 21:38:21 GMT -4 SweetOblivion said:

Mar 17, 2009 16:59:50 GMT -4 Ripley said:

I think this graph explains much.

Many years ago, a friend scored passes to the press screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut. Before the movie we were sitting in the auditorium chatting, when a man comes in followed by about 10 kids, around 8-10 years old. The whole audience got quiet as we watched the guy and kids sit down. My friends and I made bets on how long after the movie started they would walk out. Sure enough, about five seconds into "Uncle Fucker", he made a huge commotion marching all those kids out double time. People were cat-calling and hooting at him.

Ah ha ha ha! I wonder how many parents he had to apologize to. Idiot.

[Neurochick]

That's funny about South Park. I went to see that movie on the first day (wow, almost 10 years ago). They were carding EVERYBODY, even if you looked over 21. So this guy comes in with his son who looked about 9 and you guessed it, as soon as the "Uncle Fucka" song started, he marched the kid out of the theater. What an asshole.

I really don't get why people bring fucking infants to a movie theater, especially to a late night showing or to an R rated movie. Today many people have HD TV's (the only kind they sell) and movies come out on DVD sometimes three months after they've been in theaters, not to mention that if you go to the library, you see the movies for FREE. So it's possible to have the whole big screen experience right in your home. No reason for people to bring babies into a movie theater.