Movie theaters: Rants and raves

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

My manager had to throw some guy out who was jerking off during FIRST WIVES CLUB. Everytime the guy tried coming back, my manager walked towards the door with a bat. Guy only tried coming back twice after that. About the searching, my manager found out since it was a privatly owned theater we could search as long as we had signs, and he made sure we had plenty at the enterance way.

 

[alkeiper]

My manager had to throw some guy out who was jerking off during FIRST WIVES CLUB. Everytime the guy tried coming back, my manager walked towards the door with a bat. Guy only tried coming back twice after that. About the searching, my manager found out since it was a privatly owned theater we could search as long as we had signs, and he made sure we had plenty at the enterance way.

He's probably the only guy who found enjoyment out of that movie. Good for him.

 

[mellow]

How many people ever bring in the same kind of food that the theater sells, anyway?

I couldn't tell you how many microwave popcorn bags and empty soda cans I had to throw away as an usher.

Also, Bob- can't you just eat at Wendy's if you want a grilled bacon whatever so badly? You just like breaking the rules, don't you? I'll be you get off on it.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

When I saw FORREST GUMP when it first came out, it was a 10am show. My mom made bagels and put them in a shoe box to sneak them in. And this was before it cost $20 for popcorn.

 

[Gary]

I like to imagine bob smuggled said Wendy's meal as if it were cocaine.

 

[Jingus]

I couldn't tell you how many microwave popcorn bags and empty soda cans I had to throw away as an usher.

Me too, but far more often it was McDonalds wrappers or something similar.

I like to imagine bob smuggled said Wendy's meal as if it were cocaine.

Stuffed it in an airtight plastic bag, swallowed it, went into the theater, puked it up, and then unwrapped it and ate it again?

 

[wnyxmcneal]

I just try to avoid eating in movie theatres in general. You're going to be there for about two hours. Is your need to snack really so great that you simply must sneak in food and drink to duck the concession prices?

Yes. Concession food is overpriced, not filling and very unhealthy. Wendy's fits the bill

Hey Bob, what do you order from Wendy's that doesn't smell?

I get a plain hamburger and fries. No smell

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I still like to buy popcorn at the movie theater. I know it's highway robbery but there's something about that butter like substance that no microwavable popcorn can really replicate.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

That being said, having them search you for food is absolute bullshit, and I'm pretty sure it's actually illegal for them to do so. You work at a paper, right Bob? You guys gotta have a lawyer on staff, ask them about it, I seriously think it would count as unconstitutional search and seizure.

I think it's legal, since as al said, they're a private business. I'm not taking any money away from them, since I wouldn't eat at the concession anyway. And I know someone who buys concessions is probably worth more, but I go there 2-3 times a week, almost 8-10 times a month. They should be nice to someone who gives them so much business.

If it were, I think someone would've raised a stink about being patted down at Yankee Stadium.

We get it, al. You don't like New York. Move on.

Also Bob, don't you pay for 1 movie and then see 2 or 3? I doubt they care about your business if you aren't buying food.

I don't sneak in at that theatre. It's too hard.

I'll gladly purchase food or drink the very occasional time I even need one. Normally, I don't feel the need to smuggle anything in other than maybe a candy bar that the theater doesn't have.

This isn't some mom and pop theatre, it's National Amusements. They can afford it

Also, Bob- can't you just eat at Wendy's if you want a grilled bacon whatever so badly? You just like breaking the rules, don't you? I'll be you get off on it.

I like to have something to eat and drink during the movie.

I like to imagine bob smuggled said Wendy's meal as if it were cocaine.

I put it in my backpack or put it in my lower shorts pockets

 

[Mattdotcom]

All this talk about sneaking stuff in jogged my memory back to a very bizarre story. Back in my hometown, we didn't have a movie theater until the second Pirates of the Caribbean, but we'd had a drive-in since 1997. So one summer night a few years ago, a few friends and I decided to go to the movies just to have something to do. Since there was only one screen, we wound up seeing Shrek 2. Now my friend Dee had no cash, just rolls of coins, so that's how he paid his way in (this is important later). So we park and get some chairs out of the trunk so we can sit outside the car, and Dee pulls out a shotgun. As a joke, nothing serious. It was enough to make me uncomfortable, especially when I saw several employees approaching our group. The woman from the ticket counter goes up to Dee, still brandishing the shotgun, and says...






"You gave me a roll of nickels instead of dimes."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Dee says as he hands the shotgun to someone else. "Here you go."

Yes, I live in Alabama.

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

I like to imagine bob smuggled said Wendy's meal as if it were cocaine.

I put it in my backpack or put it in my lower shorts pockets

They're search you hard if you have a backpack to make sure you're not sneaking in a video camera to try to bootleg the movie.

 

[the max]

We usually sneak in dollar store candy. The wife has a messenger bag purse that she ripped at the bottom liner and put a zipper on it. It's been searched quite a few times. We usually just buy drinks and that ends up being like, nine dollars for two drinks.

We have only seen a few movies opening week, and never opening weekend. "Twilight" she managed to wait until the following wednesday night for us to go see and "The Dark Knight" we saw on a tuesday night with six people in the theatre. We have been the only ones in the theatre a few times, once for Clerks 2 two weeks after it came out. We saw the first showing on a sunday morning when everyone else in this stupid town was at church.

And yes, an empty theatre and a bad movie usually leads to blowjobs. A girl I dated a long time ago taught me that a light dinner and buying her a ticket to a crappy movie got my knob swallowed.

 

[alkeiper]

We get it, al. You don't like New York. Move on.

Geez, sensitive much? I didn't complain loudly about it, just accepted it and went in. It's the only public place I've been patted down to enter, so yes that tends to be my shared experience. I'm suspicious about any place who uses the "no outside food or drink" policy, and they tend to hide behind league rules. A few places like Oriole Park actually openly allow you to bring in food and beverages.

 

[daileyxplanet]

Any former usher have the pleasure of trashing liquor bottles? The odd thing is I've never dealt with an adult behavioral issue.

 

[Dobbs3K]

Speaking of bootleg movies, my in-laws apparently had the chance to see a bootleg copy of a movie. Which title was in question?

"The Passion of the Christ," of course. I guess someone from one of the local churches taped it on their camcorder. The said it was hilarious, as you could see people milling about in front of the screen and stuff. They live way up in northern Wisconsin, which makes it even funnier to me.

 

[Mattdotcom]

I hope you told them it was a sin and they made Movie Star Baby Jesus cry

 

[Black Lushus]

I tell you what, around the time Boyz n the Hood and Menace 2 Society came out, I was perfectly fine with theater employees doing searches. Guy got shot in the parking lot after the Menace showing I went to.

 

[Edwin]

Also, I've said it before but I'll happily say it again: if you've got a problem with people talking during the movie, don't just angrily storm out and draft the first employee you see. Go get the manager, someone with power to actually do something. Do not grab the scared 16-year-old ticket-taker and demand that he go force that big group of thug-lookin' homies to shut up.

That would work if you didn't actually have an interest in watching the movie. I think the assumption, regardless of the nature of the problem, is, "I'll tell this employee, he'll resolve it whether or not it involves a manager, and I can get back to watching the movie."

The only thing that ever really bothers me at movie theaters is sound. Probably 1 of 3 times I notice audio only coming out of the theater's front speakers, or being set at a very low level. Whenever I tell someone, it's usually resolved in a minute or two. Having never worked at a theater, I'm not really in the know here; has someone just forgotten to press a button after the pre-trailer commercials, or do theaters actively set audio lower than optimal for a particular reason?

 

[Incandenza]

I've noticed that, too. Does turning down the volume save on electricity or something? I can't imagine what purpose is being served by having the volume so low during the main presentation when they're more than happy to assault your eardrums during the coming attractions.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

I like to imagine bob smuggled said Wendy's meal as if it were cocaine.

I put it in my backpack or put it in my lower shorts pockets

They're search you hard if you have a backpack to make sure you're not sneaking in a video camera to try to bootleg the movie.

One time they checked my backpack for that purpose when I saw Street Kings, but the guy didn't care about my food. When I saw Confessions..., they were def searching to bust me for food.

It's the only public place I've been patted down to enter, so yes that tends to be my shared experience.

A lot of places pat you down, it's not unique to Yankee Stadium. They do it at ROH shows sometimes.

I'm suspicious about any place who uses the "no outside food or drink" policy

That's not uncommon

 

[Dandy]

In

I tell you what, around the time Boyz n the Hood and Menace 2 Society came out, I was perfectly fine with theater employees doing searches. Guy got shot in the parking lot after the Menace showing I went to.

In Nebraska?

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

It is a business. I find the No Outside Food restriction to be completely reasonable. It would be like walking into McDonald's with a bag of takeout from Burger King and sitting down at their tables to eat. Not that I buy their overpriced crap (I have no problem eating beforehand or waiting until afterwards), but I certainly understand it.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

It is a business. I find the No Outside Food restriction to be completely reasonable. It would be like walking into McDonald's with a bag of takeout from Burger King and sitting down at their tables to eat. Not that I buy their overpriced crap (I have no problem eating beforehand or waiting until afterwards), but I certainly understand it.

No it's not, because you are still paying for something at the movies.

 

[Damaramu]

I have no problem with theaters having a no outside food or drink rule. At the same time I have no problem with Bob sneaking it in there either. I've snuck plenty of candy or soda's into a movie before.
I had a friend one time walk in holding his XL Burger King drink and cheeseburger and nobody said anything or else they didn't notice.

I remember this time I wanted to see Air Force One for my b-day. It was rated R and I was only like 13 or 14. So my dad took me and my friends to the theater and bought us tickets. He wasn't going to watch it. Well that didn't fly. They wouldn't let us watch it because my dad had to be there. That was understandable, until they told us that he didn't actually have to be in that movie with us! He could watch another movie if he wanted, he just had to physically be in the building! That didn't make a whole lot of sense. If he's not in the actual movie with us what's the difference between him being in there and being at home?

 

[NoCalMike]

I have no problem with theaters having a no outside food or drink rule. At the same time I have no problem with Bob sneaking it in there either. I've snuck plenty of candy or soda's into a movie before.
I had a friend one time walk in holding his XL Burger King drink and cheeseburger and nobody said anything or else they didn't notice.

I remember this time I wanted to see Air Force One for my b-day. It was rated R and I was only like 13 or 14. So my dad took me and my friends to the theater and bought us tickets. He wasn't going to watch it. Well that didn't fly. They wouldn't let us watch it because my dad had to be there. That was understandable, until they told us that he didn't actually have to be in that movie with us! He could watch another movie if he wanted, he just had to physically be in the building! That didn't make a whole lot of sense. If he's not in the actual movie with us what's the difference between him being in there and being at home?

I remember about 2001, My wife her brother, his girlfriend and myself went to see a rated R movie. We were all of age except said brother's girlfriend. When I went to buy the tickets I was told "sorry you have to be 25 to buy someone under 17 a ticket" Umm....WTF is THAT?

Also, the big REGAL theater in my neighborhood is in a shopping center surrounded by at least 10 different eateries, so pretty much everyone I know will basically schedule lunch or dinner to coincide with going to the movies, because for the price of a large popcorn and drink, you could be actually eating a meal somewhere else.

 

[AntiLeaf33]

A few weeks ago I decided to go see Crank 2 on a whim. It was a 3:00 PM showing on a Saturday. The theater was pretty empty, so that wasn't too bad. Then, a pack of about 5 teenage teeny boppers came in, sat behind me, and then wouldn't stop yapping the entire time. I said the hell with that, and moved a couple of rows down before the trailers were over. Then, as the movie was starting, another bunch of 10-12 teenagers came into the theater and decided to speak very loud, and very french (odds are they were French, but I think the non stop yapping in a foreign language made it even worse). They would shut up every so often, but once something that would warrant a chuckle, or some type of reaction, would happen, they would see which one could make the loudest reaction.....fucking annoying.

 

[Jingus]

I think the assumption, regardless of the nature of the problem, is, "I'll tell this employee, he'll resolve it whether or not it involves a manager, and I can get back to watching the movie."

This was a dozen years ago so my memory's not terribly clear, but I'm pretty sure that the guy didn't want me to get a manager. He wanted me to go take care of it right there and then. Which was even more ironic since this was an enormous man, tall and obese with a scary lumberjack beard, and he would've been way more intimidating telling someone to shut the fuck up than I could've possibly been.

I remember this time I wanted to see Air Force One for my b-day. It was rated R and I was only like 13 or 14. So my dad took me and my friends to the theater and bought us tickets. He wasn't going to watch it. Well that didn't fly. They wouldn't let us watch it because my dad had to be there. That was understandable, until they told us that he didn't actually have to be in that movie with us! He could watch another movie if he wanted, he just had to physically be in the building! That didn't make a whole lot of sense. If he's not in the actual movie with us what's the difference between him being in there and being at home?

I remember about 2001, My wife her brother, his girlfriend and myself went to see a rated R movie. We were all of age except said brother's girlfriend. When I went to buy the tickets I was told "sorry you have to be 25 to buy someone under 17 a ticket" Umm....WTF is THAT?

In both cases, it's to make sure that teens aren't all watching an R-rated movie without supervision. The "you have to stay with them" rule is to make sure you don't have a gaggle of middle-schoolers in the theater with nobody watching them, and the "you have to be 25" rule is so that all the underage folks couldn't just show up with their only 18-year-old friend and buy a dozen tickets.

 

[Mattdotcom]

I was 16 when Jackass came out and, as mentioned earlier, had no theater in my hometown. So my mom drove me and some friends to the theater. Having just turned 16, my admittedly strict parents didn't want me driving a car full of my friends so far away. They made her buy a ticket and watch it, something she didn't want to do at all. I think she passed a kidney stone later that week.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

My brother got promoted to assistant manager of the movie theater here so now I only go when he's working and if someone won't shut the fuck up I go and get him to deal with it. It's much better than what I used to do which is get in a yelling fight or bottle it all up.

 

[NoCalMike]

I remember about 2001, My wife her brother, his girlfriend and myself went to see a rated R movie. We were all of age except said brother's girlfriend. When I went to buy the tickets I was told "sorry you have to be 25 to buy someone under 17 a ticket" Umm....WTF is THAT?

In both cases, it's to make sure that teens aren't all watching an R-rated movie without supervision. The "you have to stay with them" rule is to make sure you don't have a gaggle of middle-schoolers in the theater with nobody watching them, and the "you have to be 25" rule is so that all the underage folks couldn't just show up with their only 18-year-old friend and buy a dozen tickets.
[/quote]

Yeah, I understand, but at least they could lower it to "21" or something reasonable. Plus, I WAS going to "stay with them" because the four of us were there to see the same movie as a group. I wasn't trying to buy a dozen tickets, just four for the obvious group of four I was in. I can see why some of these rules are in place, but I also think each situation should be treated with some common sense.