Good Movie Manners Cost Nothing

[divasahm]

The Thanksgiving that Bram Stoker's Dracula came out, my brothers, SIL, a friend, and I went to a 9:30pm showing near our house. The entire back row of the theater was taken up by a similar family group--except that there were more women than men and more children (all under 6 years of age and several infants) than there were adults in the theater. The screams of terror started around the time Gary Oldman hit the screen. Thankfully, management was on top of it, and made them take the noisy ones out--but the rest of them stayed until another kid freaked out, and then it would start over. By the time the movie was over (and it was a loooong movie), all the men in the group were walking out of the theater and all the women were waiting in the lobby with exhausted, frightened children. I just wanted to kick them all.

[azaleaqueen]

Taking a child to see any movie at that time of night is ridiculous, but something sure to cause nightmares (in the theater) is idiotic.

Taking a newborn to a movie is risky, but a very young baby will probably get fussy beause of hunger, which can be easily rectified. Older babies and toddlers are a different story. They can't be expected to sit still and be quiet for the length of a movie.

[Deleted]

I can never understand the "we just had to get out of the house" excuse parents give for taking young children to non-kid-friendly movies. When my husband and I just have to get out, we take the wee bairn to the park, on a hike, to IKEA, or somewhere else she can run around and shriek and we can stretch our legs and maybe talk to another adult. At home, we sit and watch tv. Why would we pay huge prices to go out and sit and watch another screen, with the added fun of wrangling a fussing baby? It's as bizarre as taking a baby on an airplane for kicks.

I'll never forget the sad sight of two little kids, like 4 and 5, who were sitting a couple of rows behind me at "Terminator 2". Their parents were the leather, mullets, and tattoos types who probably figured their boys were tough and the movie would be like playing GI Joes. Lord, no. By the time the robots were crushing human skulls underfoot, the poor little tykes were cringing and whimpering. When I left, the youngest was still burying his face in his mom's shoulder, eyes all puffy from crying. I saw the same sort of thing when I worked at a video store back in the day. Tough guy dads would rent war and gore films for their little boys and just laugh off our warnings. One time, a mom came back in waving the movie in her hand demanding their money back. Dad was all sheepish behind her. She said to me "I know it's not your fault. It's not your fault this dummy thought Friday the 13th was okay for a four year old." I think she'd have beat him with that videotape if I wasn't there.

[ElleCee]

We went to see Snow White and the Huntsman. This guy came in with his date/girlfriend whatever. First she got all pissy because she had to move past us to get to their seats and then, honest to god I cannot believe what happened next. I don't know if she'd never been to a movie before or if she was playing to her date or what but every time anything remotely startling happened on screen her feet were up on her seat and her face was buried in his shoulder like it was the Exorcist. One of the dwarfs died and she sobbed her heart out. Action sequence, she's grabbing onto the seat in front of her. Lather, rinse, repeat. This chick was one seat over from me and I wanted to stab her in the eye.

Sit the fuck down and watch the movie like an adult please. I don't need to experience your every fucking emotion, drama queen. My friends on the other side even got distracted by the diva and kept sliding me looks and laughing because they could read me. We had a great bitch session about it after the mediocre movie.

[SweetOblivion]

Someday, you guys are going to hear about me on the news because some asshole behind me will have kicked my seat one time too many, and I'll have lost it and beaten the shit out of him.

[tszuj]

I went to the cinema by myself the other day, and it was fairly empty. About 20 minutes before the end, at the most climatic moment, a guy who'd been sitting across the aisle went out and then came back in about 20 seconds later and sat down next to me. And then turned to me and said, "Hi, what's your name?" in a normal conversational tone, like we were in a bar or something. WTF, who does that? Is it appropriate to shush movie-talkers when they're talking in order to hit on you?

[Auroranorth]

I belive that it is appropriate to shush movie talkers unless they are actively dying.

[Sunnyhorse]

"My name is I'M TRYING TO WATCH THIS FUCKING MOVIE, YOU NUMBSKULL!"

[azaleaqueen]

I heard of someone turning to the talker and saying, "Excuse me, would you mind speaking up? I can still hear part of the movie.".

[SweetOblivion]

That must have been so annoying, and I second Sunnyhorse's suggestion, but Jayzuz I am dying laughing over here thinking of that guy going outside to work up the nerve to talk to you. DURING THE MOVIE.