Why Going to the Movies Sucks....

"Going to the movie theatre reminds me of all the reasons why I don't go to the movie theatre". 

World War Z

The movie World War Z made us leave the relative comfort and safety of our home to brave the chaos and ignorance of the local movie theatre. It's been over a year since the last time we made the same mistake. I guess we forgot how terrible it is. Sort of like forgetting how much childbirth sucks...  

We planned ahead, got to the movieplex in the right amount of time (movie starts at 7:30), got snacks and headed into the theatre 30 minutes before the Zombies. Seating was awesome, and we had the perfect buffer of empty seats around us as the theatre was only about 1/3 full. We thought we were rock stars.

Problems begin when a mother and her irritating teenage son sit down RIGHT BESIDE us. I look at the mother and say "Really, in a theatre this empty, you need to sit RIGHT BESIDE us? The son giggles. The mother looks embarrassed. We move down one seat to restore the buffer.

People continue to trickle into the theatre, but our buffer is preserved. Down to one seat on either side of us. We think we've succeeded. A sad couple ask about seats, we politely say no. They move away to look elsewhere. It's 7:35 - home free.... until another couple roll in. They ask about the seats on either side of us. We say they are free, and they are free to sit in them. And then they ask us to move. I say "You roll in at 7:30 and expect to get awesome seats? We've been here for half an hour. Cheap seats are down at the front".

Needless to say, we ended up having to move, thus rewarding slackers and poor planners (who ended up smelling like they'd just run a half marathon).

:-( 

The movie itself was good, once you got past the people giggling, shuffling, coughing and being generally irritating. Unfortunately, the ignorance and irritation wasn't worth the $60 we spent for the movie and snacks. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the general public should NOT be allowed out in public.

We have discussed the possibility of buying 4 tickets next time, to ensure the buffer is preserved.  Friends have suggested that VIP service is the way to go... unfortunately --- we aren't close to a VIP Theatre, as awesome as it sounds.  And it DOES sound awesome. For an extra $5/seat, we get rid of most of the irritation --- Hmmm......

Lesson learned, at least for another year.