You thought REAL crying babies in the theater were bad? (1 Viewer)

[Ricardo C]

Too bad we can't create theaters for just people like us. If you're an idiot, can't control your children, are an annoying teen, a crazy child, a smelly and/or noisy person, you aren't allowed in. No annowing snack packages allowed either. And we'd have a sign quoting Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump: "get down, SHUT UP!"

The HTF Mondoplex? That's a nice dream

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

David Ruiz=Funniest person on HTF bar none. I've never laughed out loud at a post before, let alone 2 posts.

 

[Malcolm R]

David, are all these experiences at the same theater? Or is this just the way it is for movie-going in Fresno, regardless of the theater you attend?

 

[Brian Kleinke]

This is the real reason we all own home theaters
Brian

 

[Ron-P]

You got that right Brian.
I'm already dreading going to the theater to see SW: AofC this Saturday.
Peace Out~

 

[Jorossy]

Here is a possible solution for the babies. Charge the same admission price for children as the adults. If mommy knew that she would have to pay eight to nine dollars each for her screaming brats, she would probably consider a babysitter.

Here is my revenge story. Guy sat in front of me took of his shoes and socks (yes, his socks) and put his bio-hazard feet on the seat in front of him. The place started to smell like burnt nachos. People were waving their hands in front of their faces. Others were pointing to him and mumbling. Wanna know what I did?

Since I knew that I would miss a good portion of the movie due to me trying not to puke. I went to the concession stand and bought some nachos with lots of cheese, chili and peppers. I went back to my seat and I dumped it all on his stank head. Before he could say anything I said, "Since you want to smell like nachos, you should look the part. F&$@ you and your daddy for not using a condom 9 months before you were hatched!! DO SOMETHING!!" He grabbed his shoes and socks and left out of the front exit door. I received a small standing ovation.

For a nominal fee, my services are available. Allow me to go with you to the movies for an enjoyable evening out.

 

[Scott Leopold]

While I can sypathize with all the terrible stories here (my own to follow shortly), I have to say that an infant at a theater does not instantly mean bad experience or irresponsible parent. Our nearly-6-month-old has been to the movies 4 times now and has never caused a problem. My parents took her to Snow Dogs when they took my son, and she slept through most of it. While she was awake, she watched the movie and didn't make noise. Based on that, we took her with us when we went to see Spider-Man. She slept for 20-30 minutes in the middle, and laughed once or twice, but otherwise watched the movie intently, then laughed and danced during the closing trailers when the classic Spidey theme hit. She even got her picture taken with Spidey after the show. She's now been to AOTC twice, and she's enjoyed it for the most part. The first time, the Jango/Obi fight scared her. She got that "I'm about to cry" look on her face, so I put her on my shoulder to calm her. She did let out a couple quiet cries (we've been blessed with a very even-tempered, quiet little girl), but that was it. I gave her some bottle afterwards, and she slept until the final battle. When she laughed and tried talking to the beasts at the end, I put my finger in her mouth to calm her. Her talking was not loud enough to be heard over the final battle, but I know that if the beasts didn't do as she said, she'd have yelled at them. As it was, she did very good, then laughed and danced through the final credits. The second time, I knew she'd be scared by the Jango fight scene, so right before it hit I took her down to the entryway and walked her around a bit. She fell asleep while we were down there and didn't wake up until the movie was over. When it ended, we found out that there was another infant in the row behind us. This little girl hadn't made a peep, either. While we would generally take her to the grandparents' house when we go out, she is extremely well-behaved at the movies. I'm sure this won't last, mainly because I've been through it before, and we'll be back to only going to kids movies and the occasional treat for us; however, not only are there children who know how to behave, but there are some responsible parents out there who know how to handle their kids at a movie.

That being said, the mother at our second viewing of AOTC, up in the thir row, four seats in, was not one of those people. Her 4-year old was so bad, my parents thought he was actually a group of autistic children. He started yelling as soon as the lights went down, and clapped once every 3-4 seconds from there on out. Twice the ushers were called, and each time the mother would put her hand on the boy's wrist until he settled down. As soon as the ushers were gone, he was right back at it. Finally, the lady in front of the kid had had enough. She screamed at the mother and child and told her to shut the kid up or leave. That's when a lady about half a row down started screaming at the first screamer that she was there to watch a movie, not listen to idiots scream. I fully expected a fight to break out. The mother surprisingly grabbed her son by the wrist and walked to the entryway I had been at not twenty minutes earlier (it should be noted that the father never reacted to any of this throughout the movie--he simply stared at the screen, oblivious to his surroundings). Instead of calming her son, though, she let the little monster run free and make more noise. This angered everyone around me, since we were right above the entryway. One guy offered to dump his drink on the two, while another offered to urinate on them. Sadly, neither followed through. This was one of the worst showings of any movie I've been to in a while--even worse than the AOTC opening day 10:00 am showing where 1-2 dozen people had cell phones, all of which rang, and many of which were answered.

By the way, once my daughter reaches that age when she's not able to keep her self-control during a movie, or her ill feelings about the movie to herself (I'm figuring around age 5, which is when it happened to my son--from 2-3 we'll probably not go to the movies very often if she's like most 2-3 year olds), I'll handle it just like I did with my son. We were at Pocohantas, and about 20 minutes in he loudly says "This is boring! I'm ready to go!" I leaned over and informed him that we paid good money to get in, and we weren't leaving until it was over. I explained that he would sit there quietly and keep a smile on his face, even if he wasn't enjoying the movie; otherwise, he'd not be going to another movie again. He sat there with a smile on his face until the movie ended, at which point he turned to me and whispered "that sucked!" Just a couple weeks earilier I had solved the mystery of child behavior at the grocery store when he decided to throw a tantrum over not getting a Star Wars figure he wanted (he was getting one, but wanted two). I emptied out the cart and said "let's go!" He told my I couldn't do that, but when we pulled away he finally realized I could. I never had a problem with him at any type of store with him after that.

 

[Malcolm R]

Bravo, Scott! If all parents were so considerate, raised their children properly and enforced necessary discipline, I wouldn't mind being surrounded by children. Well-behaved children are a joy.

Unfortunately, parents like you seem to be few and far between. Most let their kids run the show and would have left in the middle of "Pocahontas" or just bought the second SW figure. Sigh.

 

[matt bee]

An interesting story, fortunately I was not around for this event. A good friend of mine went with her family, which included her 19 year old daughter, son inlaw, and their infant child, to see Harry Potter. About half way through the movie, the infant began to smell foul. Obviously, she needed changing. After several ignored requests to the father of the child to take the baby out and change her, he proceeded to change the dirty diaper. RIGHT THERE IN THE DAMN THEATER!
Needless to say, my friend was pissed at her daughter/son inlaw. Had I been there, I would have been infuriated. As it was I chewed them out the next time I saw them anyway. If it isn't obvious, these two aren't the most responsible people in the world. (Hence the child) I just can't imagine what would possess anybody to think that it would be okay to change a shitty diaper in a theater.
~Matt

 

[Ted Todorov]

I must have the world's best movie theater karma. Sure I've had bad experiences, but very few and far between.
It must be because of my very, very bad subway karma. I'd tell you the stories, but it is definitely off topic.
For the New Yorkers posting in this thread, go to the Walter Reade Theater (at Lincoln Center). Guaranteed no babies, dirty feet or pampers. First class projection, too. Granted you're not likely to see Rat Race or Jason X there, but that's a plus too.
Ted

 

[Taylor R]

As a parent of 4 boys, identical twins age 5.5, boy age 4, boy age 18 months, I would like to add something to this post. I whole heartily agree with the posts that slam parents taking misbehaving children to the movies. But that is the catch - the children are undisciplined by the parents. My wife and I have taken all 4 boys to the movies several times, and have ALWAYS been complimented on my boys behavior. The boys know that when the lights go out, it is time to be quiet and enjoy the show. If you don't have control over the children, THEN DON'T GO. But this also applies to adults. I have seen just as many adults being "bad" at the movies - talking during the movie, cell phone/beeper usage, laughing, laser pens, etc - that I feel part of the problem is with them. If the adults can't set a good example in the theater, how are the children to learn good behavior? Another factor here is the movie content. Why would a parent bring a child to see Jason X? This shows where the mentality of the parent is. If the movie is a violent slasher/horror show, of course the child will be scared out of his mind. Shame on the parents, not the scared child. And before I get bashed for being soft on children, I want everyone to know that if my child needs to be taken out, I will be the first person to do it. I don't need anyone to tell me that my son is acting up or being loud, because such behavior bothers me also. But this is also why I have a home theater. It allows the family to enjoy the movies in a similar environment as a movie theater, with much of the same tactile feelings, and I can stop the movie for bathroom breaks or the spilled Coke. I guess what set me off is the one comment made in this thread by someone saying that a parent that brings an infant to the movies is a moron. If you don't expose your child to real world environments, how do you teach them to behave there later? Train them while their young and they will be ok later, hopefully.

I hope I didn't come off sounding like a parenting shrink. I just felt that us parents weren't getting the fair shake.

Taylor

 

[StephenA]

My mom has always been good with me and my sister in regards to us in the theater. I don't think I ever acted up in the theater, because my mom would have told me. Her and my dad used to have me go with them to drive-ins when the drive-ins were still around here, because I'd fall asleep from the car ride and would sleep through most of the movie. As for the theaters, I remember going as far back as 3 years of age, and remember I always loved movies and always was a quiet kid and watched the movies in amazement. I guess I've always been a movie fan.

My sister on the other hand, was difficult in movie theaters. She used to get restless and would cry, moan, yell, climb the seats, complain, throw her snacks, etc if she didn't like the movie and/or was upset or bored. We would always leave though, as not to upset others. It was hard to find a movie that my sister would be calm and quiet during, so we hardly went with her when she was a toddler to about age 6. Now at age 11, she's great. She's starting to become a huge movie fan like me.

 

[MatthewA]

My dear God, these are some real horror stories. I've never had anything like this happen while I was in a movie theatre, and since I'm going to them less than before, it won't likely happen to me.

 

[Nate Nelson]

Working at a movie theater (well my last day is next friday) I've learned how much better HT is. The screens at my theater are crap, the food is "ok" (however overpriced and employees don't get discounts), and the sound sucks compared to my HT system (which ain't anything big either)

There are only two reason I still go to movies (1)big screen definitly adds to the movies effect (2)if you're with a good crowd, it can really add to the movie. Example, when I was watching TPM at the 12:01 showing the crowd was awsome. Peeps shut up immediatly when the 20th century fox logo started, people laughed at funny parts and clapped at the end. It really added to the movie--I only wish my AOTC experience was this well. The second time I went there was this kid that would not shut up. He just kept saying "Star Wars!" I knew he was young and excited but the parents should have talked to him about not talking during the film. I talked to my 6 year old sis about it and she didn't say a peep, I was surprised.

 

[Phil Florian]

Only because the ticket prices are usually much higher than those at the movies. Otherwise, I'm sure we'd see more problems with children at performances.

This is only partially true. I wanted to start a mean-ass posting on this because this to me is more upsetting than worrying about OAR (that is an issue to me, but seeing the movie on the big screen is still the first and best experience in movies).

My wife has been in the stage theatre biz for over a decade and while each theatre I assume varies, this still would be problem. A baby or toddler costs the same as any adult, regardless of if they are sitting on their lap. So, it is true, at $50/pop half of that would be enough for a good babysitter for one kid and it would be crazy to consider more.

Also they do post that no children under 3 will be admitted. They don't always keep to this (because, it is money...just like the movie theatres) but unlike most movie theatres, there are tons of Ushers who will ask people to leave and there is NO refund...maybe rescheduling another show sans child, but no money back. Needless to say, in all my years of watching plays, I have never had one incident with a child in an adult play (I mean, c'mon, at Nutcracker, you WANT kids there).

I think if movie theatre's staffed each movie theatre with at least one usher who was trained to handle people and get rid of people who make noise (like, I hate to say it, the old days) moving-going would be so much the better.

My bigger concern (as a parent of a two year old) is the effect this would have on a child. The noise, the violence, and the language are so intense that the health and wellbeing of a child can be considered at risk. Sure, they won't necessarily grow up evil or anything, but it is really bordering abusive/neglectful.

I would LOVE to get some children's advocacy agency on this. I think there are more and more stories of people being disrupted in theatres that even a minor campaign at a local theatre might reduce the problem. All you have to do is get some agency or media outlet (news, paper, etc.) to use the word "endanger" and "risk" and "children" in the same sentence and policies can change. Anyone know of a successful change along these lines?

I know it isn't serious to some people (which is why people don't talk with their money and leave demanding refunds...that would work, but I doubt some geeks like me who waited a couple hours in line for a good spot opening day would move from the Star Wars theatre) but it is worth pursing to make movie experiences what they ought to be for nearly $10 a ticket.

Phil (wahhhh)

 

[Rob P S]

Wow! I've never had anything like this happen to me at the movies. Of course, I usually go on weekday afternoons, when the kids are in school. There was the couple who sat next to me at "Changing Lanes" who had a running commentary going, so I waited to see if they would stop. They didn't, I got up and moved, and I couldn't care less what they thought. Other than that my experiences have been problem-free.

 

[Jenna]

I usually go on weekday afternoons, when the kids are in school.

I will ONLY go to a theater on weekday afternoons - but there are usually a couple of kids/teens attending who are apparently more interested in skipping school and seeing movies. Inevitably, they ALWAYS have their cell phones on, and always talk loudly when they get a call. I mean, I can hear them 10-15 aisles away!
My worst movie "peeve"....when you go to an empty matinee, pick out a great seat, and some idiot ALWAYS manages to sit right in front of you - despite the other hundred empty seats.
God! Who raised these people?!?!

 

[John Thomas]

I think if movie theatre's staffed each movie theatre with at least one usher who was trained to handle people and get rid of people who make noise (like, I hate to say it, the old days) moving-going would be so much the better.

Unfortunately, cutting costs factors into this. Around here, we only have two theaters that are owned by the same group, Ajay. They are notoriously cheap, not keeping up the place, having too few people staffed and all. Anyhow, what needs to be done is any time that someone has a problem with someone talking/being a general nuisance, they need to ask the person to be quiet. If that doesn't work, go get the manager/staff and tell them about the person. If they don't do something about it, ask for a refund and not return. Of course, that would be difficult on the movie-going crowd here due to the monopoly.
Sorry about the stream of consciousness rambling here but I get on a roll about this...

 

[Scott Bourden]

LotR: The Day I Snapped
Stood in line hours for tickets to opening night. Stood in line for hours to make sure I got the perfect seat. Rushed in, sat down with my girlfriend. Everything was perfect, the movie I had waited for since I was a kid reading the books.
And four 16-17 year old girls sit behind us.
So, they start talking, and I politely ask them to stop. They go quiet for a little while, and start up again. I more rudely state "Be quiet or leave"... They stop for a while and then, at the scene where Gimli is crying in the Mines of Moria over his lost relative
they began to crack up over the sound of his voice, and one says to the screen very loudly "Oh shut up dumb short guy"..
Well, I snapped. I stood up, screaming "Shut up you stupid wh***s, god d**n pieces of trash, I hope you die in the parking lot, and nobody will miss you!"
Well, the entire place went dead quiet, they looked like they were going to cry, and some guy down front shouted "Right on!".... And the rest of the movie was perfect, not a peep from anybody, but I did get a lecture from my girlfriend, once home, on how I embarrass her when I do these things.... But I would and will do it again

 

[Jason Whyte]

"Shut up you stupid wh***s, god d**n pieces of trash, I hope you die in the parking lot, and nobody will miss you!"

Now I must change my sig file again. That's priceless!
Jason