Good Movie Manners Cost Nothing

[proper stranger]

With regards to "kids at R-rated movies"... My parents took my sister and me to some R-rated movies when we were young and we grew into (OK, fairly) normal people. We were brought up to observe good movie manners; we never would have been allowed to talk incessantly or run around the theatre while the movie was playing (flashback of behavior I witnessed while seeing The Hulk).

I really think it depends on the parent (what do you feel comfortable allowing your child to see) and the child (what content can they handle watching/can they sit quietly and watch the movie).

[Deleted]

Worst experience so far for me was during intermission, waiting for the film to start, some young men had words. One group of them then walked out and a little while later, they came back armed with baseball bats and started swinging them at the other group of young men. They then started chasing them around the inside of the theater we were in. This went on for several minutes til someone told an usher who I guess called the cops. They eventually all ran out. I don't know how they got the baseball bats in the theatre!

The second worst was me and my husband went to see The Three Kings and some sick girl, a kid wrapped in a blanket, threw up all over my husbands lap. What the hell the parents were doing bringing a sick kid to the theatre is beyond me. My husband has NEVER gone back to the movie theatre after that.

[kostgard]

During the previews before Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith, there was the trailer for the Jamie / Jessica / Josh Top Gun wannabe Stealth. After it finished, some guy yelled out, "RENTAL!!" and the entire audience laughed.

Heh. I think I love that guy. In my book, people can screw around during the previews, but they better shut up once the movie starts.

I've been fairly lucky and have dealt with very few obnoxious people. The one story I have is when my friend and I got bored and went to go see Pocahontas (this was in college when we'd pretty much do anything to avoid studying) and when the big song moment came on (the one Vanessa Williams sang) this woman in the front row started singing along - very loudly. We all hoped that she was "special," otherwise - wow.

The best story I have not actually a movie, but at the theater. My friend and I went with her father, and we got seated next to a couple of teenage girls who would not shut up. After they talked and giggled throughout the entire first act, my friend's dad rolled up his program, leaned over us, popped the nearest girl on the head (lightly) and growled, "Stop it." They didn't make a peep after that.

[cyclonevkc]

mr. cyclone and I went to Star Wars on opening day, 10:00 pm show. The kids waiting in line ahead of us had those new light sabers (which are really cool!) and Revenge of the Sith t-shirts on... one of them had a Darth Vader mask. I wanted to sit with them, they were fun! Anyway that part is just to underline how excited people were about this movie, as if you all didn't know. The theater was packed, of course, and everyone was quite well-behaved... except for the girl sitting next to me (naturally). She had one of those blue, blinky f-ing phones and checked what I assume were text messages about every 10 minutes. Are you serious? It wouldn't have been bad, but the blinking, man, the blinking! At the end, during the big light saber scenes, she pulled it out for about the 15th time. I had finally had enough. I looked right at her and said, "You've GOT to be kidding me". Normally I am a nice person who lets these things slide, but Star Wars? The last episode? On opening night? Come on.


Edited to add: Sexlexia, you definitely beat me! That sucks!

[sexlexia]

Last Wednesday, Hubby and I went to an 8pm showing of Revenge of the Sith. The theatre was by no means full and it was pretty quiet overall though a few people did clap &/or cheer at certain parts...

... except for someone two rows in front of us was talking, to himself or to his buddy, like through the entire movie. I could not hear anything said only that mummer of voice below everything on the screen. Annoying but far anough away to not bother me too much.

Right near the middle of the movie, I think it was after... well, I don't want to spoiler something here just incase you are trying to avoid all mention of the movie until you get to see it but it was a really quiet spot near the middle with Deep Thinking going on by various main characters, the theatre is dead silent and Mumble guy sneezes -

Ah.... Choo!
::3 seconds of silence, then a very deliberate::

AHHH!!! CHOOOOO!!!

The guy in front of us had had enough by now and leaned forward and loudly whispers "Shut. Up." Of course all hell broke loose at this point. The guy in front of us was with 3 other people while Mumbles was just him and his buddy. The two Talkers get into a "No! You shut up!" argument and the lady in front of me stands up to leave but never moves - just blocks our view of the entire screen. One of the 4 goes for the usher while the threats back and forth get more vicious and louder. Finally an usher shows (with backup coming along a few seconds later) and Mumble Guy is staken out not to return. His buddy waits and follows his friend after realizing the guy is not coming back.

It was the worse movie going experience I have had in a long time. Sigh.

[monsterzero]

Ugh, welcome to my life, Monster Zero.

No kidding! You know what made this worse? This isn't a theater we were watching in, this room had those silly chair/desk combos that make vicious noise when you move them. Between that and the shuffling it was damn lucky I was able to keep my attention through the movie. And honestly, I liked it, I don't know what everybody else's problem is. Shit, if you're a freaking telecom major, you should have become aware to the fact that you're not just going to sit your ass down and watch all these big blockbusters. The history behind that is going to bore the shit out of people. Melies' films are to be watched in a historical manner along with Eisenstein but damned if people can't keep their fucking eyes open to see something that they just might like. Christ! This attitude also goes for even fairly recent stuff like the '60s and the '70s. Gah!!

What I think is disgusting is that people with kiddies are let in to R-rated movies at all. I mean yeah, it is dumb and selfish of parents to bring their children to them, but it's just as dumb for the employees to let them in. Somebody should stop the parents at the theatre door and say, "Sorry, sir/ma'am, this movie is rated R and you can't take a toddler inside." What's the point of rating movies if nobody is going to enforce the ratings?

I agree. I should be one to talk--when you're over 18 movie ratings don't matter worth a shit--but with all these violations and stuff plus that most of the ushers at a theater aren't going to risk their lives for a $6 an hour job with awful hours much less argue with a bunch of obnoxious people, it's just silly. Movies are fake, period. Anybody that doesn't realize that or what they're paying $10 to watch deserve what they get.

Children are allowed into R-rated movies as long as they're with their parents. The employees can't bar them. That's the difference between R and NC17. Nobody under 17 can go into an NC17 movie, period.

Plus that NC17 is more of a political move than a freaking rating. The only difference between the two is that NC17 shows what an R should nowadays and avoids all those nasty boycotts by complete idiots who honestly believe nobody goes through life without seeing the other gender in their glory.

I really think it depends on the parent (what do you feel comfortable allowing your child to see) and the child (what content can they handle watching/can they sit quietly and watch the movie).

I'm starting to think that children should be banned outright from movie theaters. Yeah, some big Disney pic might be showing but why not limit the times children can be in the theater and then have the nights rightfully to the actual adults who wish to view the movie in peace?

[january]

tinyshoes said:

I went to see Hitchhiker's Guide and wound up sitting behind a family of coughing bastards who got louder as the movie progressed, and we finally had to move. I can understand the occasional cough (hey, throats tickle-- it's allergy season), but if you're really that sick, stay the hell home and take your pathogens with you. Grrrr. . .

Your post reminded me of the most bizarre theater experience I've had. It wasn't a movie; it was a play in NYC, and I was there with my mom. It was a Saturday night show, so everyone was dressed up and it was a very formal affair. At intermission, the guy sitting next to me stood up and loudly declared that everyone coughing was ruining his experience and "it's like a hospital in here." (For the record, we hadn't noticed any coughing at all and didn't know what he was talking about.) Everyone just kind of stared at him, and then he pointed at the young woman sitting behind us and said (exact quote), "I'm serious, bitch, and you're the worst offender." Well, she started crying, and her boyfriend/husband stood up and started yelling at the guy and it escalated until the ushers were called in to remove both of them. The boyfriend came back, but the other guy didn't.

Not that excessive coughing/sneezing in a theater isn't annoying (I agree, it totally is, and sharing sick germs is bad) but in this case it was like the guy was imagining things. Everyone was just baffled. It was a very strange experience, I assure you...

[indygirl]

January said:

and then he pointed at the young woman sitting behind us and said (exact quote), "I'm serious, bitch, and you're the worst offender."

Good grief. Who are these people?

[Alexis Machine]

I saw Star Wars III today, witnessed one sad and one funny moment. The sad: A dad and his teenage son were sitting two rows ahead of me. The boy had casts on his right arm and left foot, and was having problems moving around. They sat at one end of an empty aisle, with the dad in the aisle seat. About an hour into the movie, the boy had to go to the bathroom. Dad whispered somthing to him, to which the boy responded," I need help." Dad shook hi head, and the boy struggled to his feet. When he tried to move past his dad, his dad said," Uh-unh. I'm not moving. Go the other way," and pointed to the other end of the aisle (which was empty). A man behind me helped the poor boy to and from the bathroom.
2) A dad and his four boys (17, 15, 13, 6) were sitting in the front of the theater. Twenty minutes into the movie, Dad leans over and whispers somthing to the 17-year-old, who gets up and leaves the theater. Five minutes later, Dad is twisting in his seat and looking at the door. He leans over and whispers something to the 15-year-old, who leaves the theater, and comes back twenty minutes later with a bunch of bags. dad angrily hisses something at him, and the 13-year-old leaves the theater. He comes back a few minutes later with a handful of straws. Dad says," Damnit, I'll just do it myself!" He leaves and comes back with a soda for the six-year-old. when the movie ended, Dad quickly herded the kids out of the theater. When I left the mall, they were getting in a cab; apparently the 17-year-old took the car and didn't come back.

[monsterzero]

Good grief. Who are these people?

1) The insane.
2) The same people who will always claim the customer is right and will attest to this apparently hidden section of the Bill of Rights whenever they want to get something for free when there are 33 people behind them in line, somehow giving into a messiah complex that they're the 'little guy' who is fighting 'the man' in which 'the man' is a store which couldn't give a fuck.
3) Loud people that will die alone because they can't make any friends outside of a computer dating service.
4) Another reason to give more money to the asylums so they can lock these people up in a drug-induced haze instead of having us deal with their insanity.

And many many more (but my hands are hurting from typing this many!).

Dad shook hi head, and the boy struggled to his feet. When he tried to move past his dad, his dad said," Uh-unh. I'm not moving. Go the other way," and pointed to the other end of the aisle (which was empty). A man behind me helped the poor boy to and from the bathroom.

Oh, great Dad. You just know he'll be the one in the nursing home with the unchanged diaper later on in life.

When I left the mall, they were getting in a cab; apparently the 17-year-old took the car and didn't come back.

Ha! This is better when I saw a very loud and outraged old woman storm out of 'Me, Myself, and Irene' and fall ass over teakettle down the stairs only to start screaming 'I'm gonna sue because I just shat myself!'