Forget about "seat-kicking" and this vid explains my theatrical experience... (1 Viewer)

[Jerome Grate]

That kid had no courage, he was a rude, disrepectful little snot, and you can only wish that you had just one minute of his time to straighten him out. Remind me of a situation when Close Encounters was in theaters and I had to deal with these, at the time, younger kids. Every time when the police walked around in the film with their keys jingling the kids would pull out their keys and jingle it (obviously it was not their first time seeing the movie). Well I threatened them, had the backing of two other movie goers and it straightened them out. But it was more disruptive to threaten them within an inch of there life than to simply watch the movie. Camera phones are another form of virtual annoyances when watching movies and unfortunately facing what Holadem faced in his situation there's not much you can do about it unless you report it to staff and usually they can be the same age as some of the annoying kids that cause us grief.

 

[Sam Favate]

When watching Juno recently, we were surrounded by teenagers. They were everywhere in the theater, and they talked through the whole movie. "That's a cute shirt;" "What an ugly couch," "What did he say?" and so on. I shushed the girls sitting behind us a few times, and each time, they'd be quiet for about a minute before chatting again. Near the end of the movie, there were teenagers chatting in back of us, in front of us, on the sides of us. So I said "EVERYONE! SHUT UP!"

And in back of me, I heard a whisper: "Hey, that guy is mad."

Grrrrrrr.

 

[TravisR]

I have to laugh at all the age discrimination in this thread. Age is absolutely meaningless when it comes to being rude. I've dealt with rude young people and I've dealt with rude old people. I saw There Will Be Blood and listened to a guy who was at least 70 years old talk to his wife for 2 and a half hours (many insightful comments like "I didn't think that would happen" and "This movie is long."). He wasn't rude because he was an old man, he was rude because he is an asshole.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I don't mean to assign any real positive qualities to him, because I hate little shits like that.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Co-signed. I go to a lot of movies in the theater, and while it's the twentysomethings that tend to check their email in the theater, it tends to be middle-aged-and-older folks that talk, by and large.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Back when I was young those kids would have had courage, because Holadem could have beaten them within an inch of their lives and then handed them off to their parents, who would have finished the job, and no one would have said a word. Nowadays the only thing they have is indulgent parents who don't want to hurt their self-esteem. Oh, and lawyers on speed dial.

And before anyone gets their ageist panties in a bunch, I've had to yell at many a senior citizen for giving a play-by-play of the movie, complete with color commentary, to an obviously (to everyone but them) hearing impaired companion. Even handed them a hearing-impaired headset once. I'm an equal opportunity offendee.

One thing though, I usually get the cellphone thing out of the way early. Anyone who's chatting excessively during the pre-show gets asked "You ARE going to put that away, right?" The only one who ever gave me grief got told "Then you better give it to me now, cause if I hear it during the movie I'm taking it and chucking it out in the hall." Worked like a charm and I'm not near as big as H (not many are).

 

[ThomasC]

Anyone who watches a PTA movie and talks at all shouldn't be watching the movie.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I have to admit, at some point we all may have been annoying little dorks at movie theaters. Either to impress our friends, occasionally get a good laugh out of the people at the theater, or just simply so cocky we disregarded the right movie goers have to enjoy the movie with out extra dialogue. Case in point I went to see the Empire Strikes Back in NYC and my first comment was reading out loud the opening story line and some guy said shush, I can read and I looked at him like I was going to kick his butt. Didn't learn but during the scene when Luke went to the Dagobah system I immediately said look Central Park out loud and the theater roared with laughter. Glad I grew out of that real fast, because I was just trying to impress my friends. Now look at me, an old guy who actually want to watch the film with out audience participation. It takes a brave soul to come clean, Hi, my name is Jerome Grate (Hi Jerome) and I was a movie theater disrupter.

 

[Tony J Case]

I saw three movies a week or two ago, Diary of the Dead, 1/4 of the one with that hawtie from Pirates of the Caribean and Rambo. For *EVERY* single movie, people would not shut the fuck up. I sushed the couple all the time during Diary, and Rambo was so damn loud it drowned out everyone in the theater (and since I had snuck in, I wasnt about to make waves), and I was only killing time in the one with the Hawtie, so they could blather on all they wanted.

But man, the ones in the Hawtie one were loud, like normal conversational volume. If I had paid to get in, I would have been pissed beyond words. And it was a stupid conversation, too - like when you watch a DVD commentary and all the director does is tell you what is happening on screen. That's what these basterds were doing.

So, aside from Indy this year, I'm done watching movies in the theaters. That's all folks - I'll buy the damn DVD and tell my guests to shut the hell up.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Every so often someone has a bad experience in a theater and swears off attending movies. Now I have occasionally seen bad behavior and things that distract me in a theater, but that also happens at home.

The phone rings, a worker (or peddler) buzzes at the front gate, a friend drops by, a cat wants in, another wants out, my wife asks a question (to which she expects an answer) and on and on. Neither of my TVs is in an isolated environment that is separate from the world. So I find theaters much more isolated (and isolating) than my home environment.

True enough movie theaters are not perfect and neither are their patrons. So too is my home imperfect insofar as distractions.

 

[TonyD]

pet peeve, starting a topic and then disappearing, even worse when the title doesn't make any sense.

kyle, were'd ya go.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I feel like the amount of disruptions I've experienced at theaters in the past five years or so has grown, but as a result of that, I'm more aware of disturbances in general, which means that I'm probably noticing things that I might not have before in addition to the added rudeness. I try to be tolerant and I am to a reasonable degree. I understand that occasionally someone will need to check a text message, or if they missed a line, ask their friend what the character just said. If someone whispers "Pass me the popcorn" and I overhear it from a row away, it's not the end of the world. But with each passing year, it seems to keep growing beyond that.

I really feel that this is by and large a result of this overwhelming sense of entitlement that people seem to have.

Consider this example: last summer I went with my brother to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in IMAX 3-D. I had already seen the film in a regular theater but was really excited about seeing the climactic battle in 3-D, and I don't think my brother had seen the movie before. Now, as we're all getting seated preshow, I notice a mother walking in with her baby. Not a toddler, not a four year old, but a baby. I didn't say anything; I didn't feel it was my place. And the kid was perfectly silent all through the first two-thirds of the film. However, as soon as the film switched to 3-D, the baby started wailing. The mother wasn't even doing anything about it. I figured after a second that she'd get up and take the kid out of the theater, but nope. I wanted to get up and get an usher or security guard, but I was in the middle of my row which was in the middle of the theater, and I would have had to have climbed over at least twenty people (and blocked the view momentarily for even more) and that seemed to be even worse, so I sat there and did nothing. The baby kept wailing, and I started getting really pissed, I mean, I paid $15 a ticket to see this movie in IMAX, pretty much for the sole reason of seeing this 3D segment, and the kid's wailing. Finally, after a few minutes of this, I couldn't help myself. I didn't really scream, but at a loud enough volume for this woman to hear me, I said as sarcastically as I could:

"Thank you so much for bringing your crying baby to the movie. Really, we all paid $15 each to listen to your baby, that's so much better than anything that's going on in the movie right now. Really, thank you, it's making it a better film."

Pretty much everyone in earshot of me started roaring with laughter, the woman finally got up to take out the baby, and there was a small round of applause as well. It solved the problem, but I wish I hadn't have had to say anything in the first place.

So back to the entitlement thing: this woman clearly felt that she was entitled to see this movie above all else. Nevermind that it was a PG-13 movie, clearly inappropriate for a baby, and that the baby is a disruption to the rest of the people there. She was entitled to see the movie, and her sense of entitlement was greater than her consideration for the couple hundred other people that just wanted to watch the movie in peace. At no point in this woman's thought process did she consider the impact of her decision to bring the baby on everyone else. It was a giant "fuck you" to everyone there. Now, when I was a baby, my parents never brought me to a movie, and I was a very well behaved baby from what they tell me. Just as it never occurred to this woman that what she was doing was unbelievably rude and inconsiderate, it never would have occurred to my parents that bringing a baby to a movie (especially something that wasn't meant for small kids) would be OK. Just never would have happened.

I don't like to complain about things being terrible all the time when they're not, so I should point out that my local theater here (the Somerville theater in Boston), doesn't allow small children in the theater after 6pm I believe, and never for "R" rated movies. That definitely helps, although small kids are far from being the only problem.

I saw "No Country For Old Men" a few weeks ago, and it was a packed house...and the couple sitting next to me, in their 50s if I had to guess, would just not shut up the entire time. They weren't having a conversation, but they were commenting on literally everything that happened on screen. From "that's a really beautiful shot" to "I used to have that car" to "Run!" and "Shoot him!", these people literally could not stay quiet for more than thirty seconds at a time. I tried to politely ask them to be quiet, but they were either completely oblivious to how much noise they were making, or felt that it was their right to be disruptive to everyone else around them.

I hate to become "that person", but when these situations get out of control (particularly in such a way where I felt the theater manager or ushers could have intervened and solved the problem), I ask for a refund afterwards. Not a free pass, but a cash refund. (The baby crying falls into that category.) If enough people did that where it affected their bottom line, they'd start to do something about it. I understand that theaters are in the business of making money, but things like the baby incident end up costing in the long run, I think. How many of us don't go to the movies anymore, or go significantly less often, because of experiences like that happening over and over? Was the $10 they got from the mother worth the $50 or $100 less they'll be getting from me over the course of the year because I'm far less inclined to go? One of the reasons I go to the Somerville Theater more than other ones, even if it's not a movie I'm dying to see, is because I know I'm not going to have to deal with that stuff. On the other hand, at some theaters I've had the "baby" experience way more often, so even if I'm dying to see a movie, if it's only playing there I'll seriously think twice about whether it's worth going or if I should just wait for the movie to expand to somewhere else. Would it really be so difficult to just turn away people with babies from PG-13 and R rated movies, particularly at nighttime? Or to occasionally keep an eye on the theaters and if someone's talking on a cell phone, kick them out?

I try to be understanding, I really do. But there's a difference between your cell phone going off accidentally because you forgot to turn the ringer off, and actually picking up the phone and having a conversation during the movie. The first one I can easily overlook.

So that's my rant.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Josh,
I had the same "woman with a screaming baby" thing happen during a showing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". After the third outburst of hysterical crying, I stood up and said "I want to compliment you on having such a smart child. I have never seen an infant who could read subtitles before. But maybe you should forego bringing her again until she stops having to read out loud." The woman gave me a dirty look and said "Oh, so I should put my life on hold because I have a child?" My answer - "Yes, it's called being a parent."

 

[Greg_S_H]

My guess is that he was trying to respond within an existing topic and accidentally hit New Thread.

 

[TonyD]

he still had to type a topic header and that was the "this vid explains ....."

still doesnt make sense.

 

[TravisR]

I just assumed he forgot to post the link to a video.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It's not surprising, but it's unbelievable that some people are like that. And it totally demonstrates my point before about some people just having this overwhelming sense of entitlement that trumps everything else, I just can't believe she was so upfront about it.

I don't have kids (one day, but not today..or tomorrow), but there's simply no way that I would bring a baby to a movie theater. I know some theaters now offer early screenings that are meant for parents with small kids, and maybe I'd consider that if I thought the movie was appropriate, but to a PG-13 or R rated film? Not a chance. It's common sense that you wouldn't bring a baby with you on a roller coaster, or skydiving, or bungee jumping. I don't know how the same common sense doesn't seem to apply to movies.

I strongly encourage anyone who's had an experience like this to politely ask to speak to the manager after the film (if not during) and ask for a cash refund. People should have enough common sense and courtesy to know better than to bring babies to movie theaters, especially for non-family oriented films, but in those instances where that's lacking, theaters should have enough respect for their paying patrons (who indeed support their livelihood) to turn them away. I'm not saying we all need to be as rude to these people as they are to us, but there's no reason to sit back and accept it either.

Everyone thinks it's so funny when they show that PSA before the films joking that your chair is an ejector seat and you'll be catapulted towards the screen for picking up your cell phone or being rude to everyone else, but then everyone behaves like that anyway. The complete and utter lack of common sense, courtesy, and decency is astounding in these situations.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

(this is dedicated to the couple sitting next to me during "No Country For Old Men")

Dear Theater Patrons,

Please stop telling the characters on the screen what to do. They can't hear you, and they won't respond to you. They also don't care that you don't like their hair, or that you used to drive the same car.

Sincerely,
Josh Steinberg

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

When I went to see There Will Be Blood, some kids walked in that would have been 13 or 14 at the oldst (Here in NZ, the film is R13, so they were allowed to be there). I saw them and knew that they were problably there because they saw the title and the classification warning about "violence" and thought it was a big violent action film rather than what it was.

Sure enough, they didn't appreciate it. So all the way through the film, they'd start talking, I'd turn glare at them, they'd notice, shut up for ten minutes, then start again. They were really bad in the final scene - so much so that I spent my time so focused on trying not to kill these kids that I missed the point of the "I drink your milkshake" line. The worst point came halfway through the film when they decided it would be fun for a couple of them to run down to the empty seats at the front of the cinema, hide behind the seats, and then pop their heads up suddenly looking back at their friend. it was the most bizarre behaviour I have ever seen. They weren't even pretending to watch the film. I can't understand that - if you don't like the film, leave, go ask for a refund or something, but don't make the rest of us miserable.

 

[Shad R]

I like the commercial with Martin Scorsese.
A mom is tucking her child in when the phone rings, and the little girl answers the phone, then Scorsese walks in and starts telling the kid that she should call him "Frank" instead of dad because they are detached, and then tells the mom she should have a bottle of booze in her hands. Then the message comes up that says something like "we don't disturb your phone calls, please don't disturb our movies" It's really funny.
I've dealt with bad patrons. I saw Jumper and a whole row of jr high kids started talking and texting, so I went to grab an usher. The kids knew where I was going, because I had asked them once to quit. When I returned, the whole row was gone, then they returned shortly after, then they all scattered throughout the theater so the usher would have to find them individually. None of them got kicked out, but at least they couldn't talk to each other anymore.
I've heard a baby or two cry as well. What makes it worse is when mom starts trying to calm her kid down! "shhhh...shhhh....sshhhhh....it's ok....shhhhh....lalala, ladadada....shhhh....shhhh" I hated that woman.
The only time I didn't really mind someone else talking on their cellphone was during "The Villiage" because honestly the phone conversation was more entertaining than the movie.