Last night, Jason and I had a nice date night. We went to dinner at Olive Garden (that 500 calorie apricot chicken is GOOD) then we caught the 9:00 show of 2012.
We got their early to get good seats (I like to sit pretty much in the middle of the theater). Or course, right before the movie starts (theater around 2/3 full) a tall kid with a hoodie sits right in front of me.
Then, the talking. Three little clusters of talking people, to my left on the aisle, in front of me and beind me and to the right. Not whispering, just talking. Flat out talking. I shushed to no avail. Several people actually answered their cell phones in the movie and then had conversations as they walked up the aisle to talk outside of the theater (any credit they get for taking their call outside is negated by the fact they answered the phone in the first place!).
Then, a kid 3-4 rows ahead on the left pulls out a cell and starts texting. The bright cell phone screen was a very distracting light in the bottom half of my vision.
A little background: I adore movies and I love watching movies in a theater (big screen, awesome sound system, etc). I used to go to a movie every weekend. I love knowing what everyone is talking about and being able to participate in the conversation, I hate dodging spoilers (I think of all the movies I saw on opening weekend that might have been wrecked by waiting too long - like the Sixth Sense!) I especially love movie trailers and I'm always disappointed if I don't get at least 5! Planning what was coming out, getting excited about new movies, a very big part of my life for at least 15 years.
After last night's experience, I don't see why I should pay 20+ dollars to listen to other people yammer. I think VCRs and DVD players have destroyed people's ability to sit quietly through a movie. It's like they're on their couch, talking to their friends and family, offering commentary and feedback. And I've also noticed that a lot of people in theaters are just plain dumb, they keep asking their friends What happened? Who was that? If you can't follow a basic Hollywood movie plot, catch it on DVD so you can REWIND it as much as you need to (this is based on a horrendous experience at the movie Crash where an old couple behind us kept going What? Who? What? Who? for 2 hours).
If you are a movie talker - STOP. If you go to the movies with friends who talk, tell them to STOP. And everyone, turn off the damn cell phone. You seriously can't go 2.5 hours without calling/texting, really?? (mothers staying in contact with babysitters discreetly, excepted).
We have a pretty nice TV and after last night we talked about (sometime in the future) setting up a projector TV with a nice sound system and watching movies at home. I'll miss the darkened theater, the smell of popcorn, all the exciting trailers, and the thrill of watching a movie on opening weekend, but it will be so much better for my blood pressure.