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Movie Theatre Etiquette
This came up today as my Wife, daughter and myself went to see "Happy Feet"...
We arrived a half-hour early to insure we got good seats.
We were first in to the theatre and took center seats right above the handicap area. This insures no ones head will be in your way. It's not much of an issue as the theatre in Danbury CT has gone to seating that is almost as steep as IMAX seating.
At near movie time a couple we know (with kids in tow) showed up and they asked us to move down several seats so their group of five could sit together.
Now, we had choice seats and had been in the theatre for half an hour already. This family showed up just before show time (well, show time is 20 minutes after stated show time) and asked us to move out of our choice seats so they could have them.
There were three of us and two seats on my left were open and three on our right. That makes five seats. There were also five seat sections available of "less choice" seats.
My wife said we should move over but I said no. I would have moved over one seat but not two. Two seats would have pushed us from direct center to "off to the left" which would have entailed some neck twisting AND there would have been seats in front of us.
So, was I being a dick for not moving or should I have moved?
Remember, this is opening weekend for this movie and each showing had been sold out. We were planning to hit the earlier showing but it was sold out so we bought tickets for the next show and left for a while.
We arrived a half-hour early to insure we got good seats.
We were first in to the theatre and took center seats right above the handicap area. This insures no ones head will be in your way. It's not much of an issue as the theatre in Danbury CT has gone to seating that is almost as steep as IMAX seating.
At near movie time a couple we know (with kids in tow) showed up and they asked us to move down several seats so their group of five could sit together.
Now, we had choice seats and had been in the theatre for half an hour already. This family showed up just before show time (well, show time is 20 minutes after stated show time) and asked us to move out of our choice seats so they could have them.
There were three of us and two seats on my left were open and three on our right. That makes five seats. There were also five seat sections available of "less choice" seats.
My wife said we should move over but I said no. I would have moved over one seat but not two. Two seats would have pushed us from direct center to "off to the left" which would have entailed some neck twisting AND there would have been seats in front of us.
So, was I being a dick for not moving or should I have moved?
Remember, this is opening weekend for this movie and each showing had been sold out. We were planning to hit the earlier showing but it was sold out so we bought tickets for the next show and left for a while.
Comments
I was sitting in this art house cinema during a weekday, in the end there were about 6 people in the cinema in total. I was on my own went in, found my seat and waited for the movie to start. A few minutes later a group of three women come in and sit BEHIND me, then proceed to start bitching about the fact that there is someone sitting in front of them! They didn't ask me to move but they discussed how rude it was for someone on their own to sit in front of their group. Seriously! Come in after me, sit behind me, then bitch about be sitting in front of you!
Anyway, how was the movie, I'm kind of over penguins.
Last year, when we went to see the Incredibles a similar thing happened.
I sent my wife in ahead to get us good seats while the kid and I got snacks. when we got into the theatre my wife decided to sit next to her "friend" rather than get us good seats.
Her friend had good seats, as did the friend's kids... The rest of us were stuck sitting against the wall!
Once again we had arrived early and I trusted my wife to go into the theatre and secure for us some good seats. She was one of the first ten people in the door and she failed us.
My neck hurt like hell after that movie and the kid had a horrible time as she was stuck behind tall people and next to me against the wall.
One thing I learned while in the Army is that you have to have a "battle buddy" that looks out for you just as you look out for them. There is nothing "gay" about having a co-pilot feed you fries, drink, burger what-ever while you drive. Unfortunately something went wrong with my chosen co-pilot...
In a lot of ways my wife does compliment me. She makes up for things that I lack and that's good. She just has zero co-piloting skills. I don't understand why...
If I arrive late then I just try to find the best seat I can out of what's left.
When we saw "Flushed Away" two weeks ago we sat on the far left but up high. It was not the best seating experience but we arrived late and that was the only block of three seats together.
When I go to the movies I'm dropping a good $50 between tickets and snacks. I want my moneys worth!
Another thing, I've sat in bad seats in theaters before. When I sit down, I go, "Oh man, these are bad seats." When it comes time to watch the movie, I don't really notice anymore. My vision focuses and the screen, from any angle, takes up the entirety of my vision. As long as nothing takes me out of the movie, I won't notice even if I'm sitting in the front row. Also, what theater are you going to that is so crowded? I haven't been to a crowded theater in years. I didn't think they still existed.
I'm with Scott on the snacks. You can't see these movies anywhere but the theater (for a few months at least), so there is some value to the $8 ticket. However, there is no value added with the snacks. I do compulsively eat and drink while watching TV, but I refuse to do so at the theater, partly because of the cost, but mostly the hassle--I sure can't drink a 40 oz soda without needing to leave the theater later on. If they were willing to bring the stuff to your seat for $7 per popcorn bag, then maybe it'd be worth it.
Also, Happy Feet isn't preachy, unless you're some sort of penguin activist. It's a kids' movie; they've all got to have a happy, love-and-peace ending. I'm just glad someone's making animated movies other than Pixar.
Seriously. Hitler hit the wrong group; he should've targeted asshat movie-goers.
As an aside, how was Happy Feet? It looked a bit dumb to me, but if it's halfway decent, I might give it a go.
I liked Happy Feet. Sure, I went to see it with my 7-year-old niece, but it's the kind of universally enjoyable movie that hasn't been made since before Pixar fermented, drank itself, got drunk on itself, then died and forgot to stop making movies.
It's just eclectic enough to stave off the aversion to the inevitably child-pleasing elements of such movies. If you're into music in any way (and if you understand the phrase "into music" as more than a generic catch-all) you'll definately appreciate the soundtrack. Also, it occasionally uses the medium of CG in powerful ways that transcend the family-movie genre and make it worth seeing of its own merits.
Plus, if you like Robin Williams, you've gotta admit that almost every live-action movie he's been in for a decade has flopped, but he's a damn funny guy who does great voiceover work.
The movie you see in the trailers is not the movie you will see on the big screen. The production company has already come forward and admitted they did a bait and switch in regards to the trailers.
There are far more reviews on-line that paint the movie the way I see it than you can shake a stick at.
Just do a Google search...
Edit: I thought it deserved it's own thread.
Someone posted a link to a review of the movie and the article was framed as "look at the nut who saw boogie men in a kids movie!" Later on one of the navigators (mods) had to put a long piece in front of the entry pointing out how a vast majority of movie critics agreed with this "nut" and that the movie did have a huge political overtone added to it. Plus the whole "bait and switch" thing...