AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!
Brett and I just got back from seeing Live Free or Die Hard. As with any Die Hard movie, there was the typical yelling, screaming, and occasional outburst.
Unfortunately, it didn’t all come from the movie.
Not one, but TWO, idiotic, moronic, common-sense-needing parents brought babies, BABIES, to see Live Free or Die Hard. LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD!!!
What parent in their right mind thinks it is okay to bring a baby to watch an R-rated, action packed, adrenaline pumping movie? Huh? What kind of parent?
I mean, it certainly can’t be good for the baby, right? I mean, it has to be an assault on a newborn baby’s delicate senses, right?
And I KNOW it wasn’t good for our fellow moviegoers, all of whom turned around at one point or another to glare in the general direction of a baby’s persistent cry.
And those babies DID cry.
But did the mothers take them out into the hallway? NO, they did not! They stayed in the theater, occasionally standing up to rock their babies by the side of the theater wall, but stayed IN the theater.
This is not your Mommy Group, people!
AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
Not only was it distracting (and it was) but it created tension in the theater. All of us were anxious we would miss something at any moment when a baby just MIGHT let out a wail.
After the movie, several of us clumped down the stairs, feeling the loss of our $8.50 for a less-than-stellar movie going experience.
We went to the manager and explained the situation. She apologized and explained they can’t really stop inconsiderate, rude, obnoxious parents from bring babies in to see WHATEVER movie they want.
WHY NOT? HUH? Why risk ticking off the other 98% of people in the theater smart and considerate enough to leave any BABIES at home?
I mean, maybe (and ONLY maybe) if it had been a cartoon, we might have understood a little more. But Live Free or Die Hard? That’s just bad parenting.
My ovaries might be broken, but I am starting to believe people should have to pass some kind of common-sense training to be allowed to be parents.
Geesh, I mean, REALLY?!! Give me a break.
Thankfully, the manager was sympathetic and gave us free movie passes for next time. We were the first people in the line from our theater, so I don’t know if she had to refund money to the ten couples behind us whose dates had also been ruined.
I like babies. Well, sort of. I know it might sound like I don’t. But it’s just that there are some places that simply aren’t appropriate for babies. Ever.
Like a Live Free or Die Hard movie.
Yippee-ki-yay, indeed.
10 comments:
How a baby's cry could ruin the noise already present in an R-rated movie I don't know.
It's highly possible that parents take babies to movies because they think: He'll never remember it.
And it's quite likely that they feel safer taking them to the theatre than risking leaving them with someone else.
It's also possible that after forking over $8.50 there's nothing left to pay a babysitter.
Then too...maybe they're so used to hearing babies that they don't hear them anymore.
Keep in mind that this is a country that can't keep people out when it's illegal to come in... and you hoped that they would keep babies out based on "common sense"?
I'm glad you got the frustration out =) And, for the record, I have only taken a baby to one movie: Curious George. Because I can't afford movies and babysitters just for fun. I only afford babysitters when I'm actually out earning money to pay them. Etc. Etc.
I'm sorry the movie was ruined for you. =(
Hugs
You're a sweetheart, Tob, and I know I've beaten this topic to death. It just angers me so much - maybe it's MY "illegal immigration."
I guess my thoughts would be that the "noise" isn't constant throughout the movie, and I paid $8.50 to hear the movie "noise," not the noise from someone's child. And I guess I would say that if someone only had $8.50 and no babysitter, maybe they should stay home and rent a new release on DVD.
Also, are you able to go out and have fun while your husband watches the kids? If so, how about a short drive to Illinois?! I'd love to hang out!
illegal immigration? Lets not go there!! Sounds like a blogging topic.
I have to agree with October on this one. There are various reasons that a parent would take their child to a movie. Maybe they had a babysitter, but he/she got sick and couldn't watch the baby at the last minute, and they had bought their tickets ahead of time and because they paid the same 8.50 that you did, they felt obligated to go anyway.
I do agree that even as a parent, it would be annoying and I probably would have complained all the way home, "Why didn't that mother leave her kid at home, how annoying," So I do understand where you are coming from as well.
When the rare occasion occurs that we do go to movies, it has to be something that I really really really want to see and have to be willing to fork over that precious cash to a babysitter (thankfuly we do have family that does watch our children for no charge on occasion).
That is why I rent mine from Blockbuster because I have a week to see them and I can hold my baby and not offend anyone and if I missed a part, I can see it again. ;-)
Yeah, yeah, I know. I SHOULD be more understanding and kind-hearted and coo and chuckle and say "Awww! Isn't he/she cute?"
But I work hard for my money, too. It's not my fault a babysitter might get sick. And I really don't feel like I should pay for it. Them's the breaks, folks.
I really do like children. Really I do. It's the parents that drive me nuts!
Hee! Hee!
But, I do see your point, and NOW I'm wondering if God is testing me ON PURPOSE to see how I react.
P.S. - I don't understand the whole babysitter thing either, since I also grew up with babysitters who were family and either free or cheap.
Also, my friend Angie's husband watches the kids when we go on our movie nights, so she rarely has to hire a sitter. I imagine it would be a tough thing to fork over money for - never really thought about it beofre.
You guys are so good for me - even when you gang up! Ha! Ha!
Maybe this is the place I am right now- but, Ann-Marie- I totally agree with you!! I only skimmed the other comments- time is running out! I get very fed up with selfish parents. If they couldn't get a babysitter or something, then they need to change the plans! Seeing a movie is totally a leisure thing. It is not like going to the dr. or grocery store. You choose to make sacrifices when you choose to be parents. If that means you have to wait to see a movie until another time... It is horrible to subject small kids to such an adult movie. Just the sheer volume could damage their little ears!! We wonder why kids today have no manners- where are the parents' manners?!!
Of course, what could I possibly have been thinking... when I chose to be a parent I chose to opt out on all leisure activities and forever consider the non-parent before myself... just as the non-parent always considers me and my children and the damage that a parent who never enjoys leisure might be causing to the children in the home....
Food for thought. I guess God knew I could do without those little perks in life and that's why I have four kids =) Or maybe it was poor planning on my part =(
It kind of goes hand in hand with the "well we're the same age and we have the same interests but we can never hang out... I have kids. Sorry" And that happens all over the part of America that I live in and at least some parts of Wisconsin.
Not rolling my eyes, but you KNOW that I have to comment on this one.
I have taken each one of my children as YOUNG infants to movies (and probably R rated ones). I don't see any problem with a baby going to a movie. Again, I have a problem with careless rude parents who don't take their children OUT when they cry.
If I didn't take my babies with me to the theater I would have not gone to a movie the entire first year of their lives. (Which covers much of my recent life!) As nursing (And needy) babies I rarely left them and definately not at bed time which is prime movie going time.
Also about affording sitters... It is EXPENSIVE! and if we get to go to dinner and a movie it is a huge treat but their isn't much for a sitter. We are blessed to have my parents here to watch our kids now, but in our previous homes we didn't have that luxury. Even now, we have to get a sitter every once in a while and it breaks the bank!
I agree that babies shouldn't be crying in a theater. I realize that your $8.50 ticket cost the same amount as mine which I know is precious. However, if I take my non-crying infant into any movie I want too, it shouldn't matter to you or anyone else.
Okay - Tance - I will give you this.
The more I thought about it, the more I think it was the parent/guardian's rudeness of NOT taking the shrieking baby out of the theater that really got to me.
If the baby had been quiet, or promptly taken out when he/she was crying, the fact that he/she was THERE probably wouldn't have bothered me a lick.
So, yes, it is a parent's right to take their child to any movie the parent feels appropriate. I see what you're saying.
I suppose it was the rudeness and distracting noise that truly got under my skin.
Parents have rights too. To paraphrase that old saying - "You may do as you please unless it infringes on the rights of others."
Boy, am I getting bold in my days as a single mom of four, 'cuz here goes! I just must respond to the sourcastic remarks left by October. In all fairness, in your comments to my post you have no way of knowing I am the mom of four whose husband has just walked out on all of us for another woman. My whole life right now is dealing with the pure selfishness of adults who happen to be parents as well but somehow think their own needs come before the needs of the kids'. I am watching my children struggle with things like daddy choosing to skip one of their birthday parties because he was given box seats to a Red Sox game on the same night. It is not very often you get such great seats at a coveted sporting event, but is it at the expense of your kids? I have a daughter with a blown out eardrum, so I think of things like the impact the volume of an action movie may have on a child's sensitive ears. I have not been to a movie in over six months and that one was Charlotte's web that we saw as a family. Do parents need leisure time? You are asking that to a single mom of four under the age of seven!! Leisure time can be so much more than going out... a candle light bubble bath after all is quiet, a great cup of cappichino, renting your favorite movie, the list goes on- all done after kids are snug in bed for the night. Food for thought!
J - Let me tell you. My little frustrations pale in comparison to what you are going through right now. I can't imagine. I also can't believe R chose a baseball game over his kids. Aarghh! How frustrating that must be! And I'm sorry to hear about the eardrum - ouch! You helped put life back in perspective for me in your post. Thanks - we LOVE you!
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