Why To This Day I Can’t Watch Gravity!

Fore warning this post isn’t so much about the film itself as it is about my absolute disdain for public movie theaters and the extremely inconsiderate movie goers that are ever present there.

So in 2013 I remember going to the theater on a random afternoon to see this movie since I love space and sci-fi films, though even before that day I generally avoided going to see movies in the theater because without fail I would have a bad experience with the other patrons, whether it be people making noise, talking amongst themselves or on their phones, kicking the back of my seat, or all of the above, taking me out of the movie experience and ruining the whole thing for me.

I was pretty stoked about this time though because once the previews were done and the film started I looked around and there were only maybe two or three other couples in the theater, all middle aged or older and sitting a good distance from me, so I assumed this was going to be a great immersive experience with no distractions.

Then, maybe 15 minutes into the film I start hearing an extremely annoying sound from behind me, kind of like a cross between trimming fingernails and a clicking tongue noise. I turn around and can’t figure out what the heck it is but I know it’s coming from the middle aged couple a few rows back from me. It continued off and on for several minutes and then they start talking, not just a few words but constant like an MST3K commentary riff track or something.

I finally tried to politely “shhh” them before I was about to explode in anger, but they ignored that of course and actually deliberately talked louder and made more noise at that point. So now I basically had two choices at this point, either do something that would lead to my arrest or walk out of the theater. I chose to walk out. Last thing I remember I think Sandra Bullock was hallucinating George Clooney or something.

I stopped at the concession area and asked for my money back and got it, although the employee didn’t care one bit about why I wanted my money back or that there were disruptive people in the theater. I walked around the outside strip mall near the theater until the film was over since I was there with my significant other who chose to finish the movie despite the distractions. She even confronted the couple outside as they were exiting and said that was really rude to which the old redneck dip$hit of the couple replied it wasn’t his problem.

Seriously, WTF is wrong with people that think nothing of acting that way in a public theater with other people there trying to enjoy a movie? Why are there so many that act that way? I don’t get it. All I know is I was so torqued off and traumatized by that last straw of an experience that it was many many years before I set foot in a movie theater again, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been to a theater since then. And I STILL cannot bring myself to watch the rest of Gravity on cable or streaming because just thinking about it brings up the anger and contempt I felt that day. Maybe this rant will be cathartic enough that I can fathom watching the film again someday, guess I’ll see how I feel next time Gravity is playing on TV or pops up as a recommendation on streaming.

Honestly I’m glad COVID has driven the theater industry to the brink of destruction and sped up the evolution toward releasing films on streaming at the same time as the theater. Screw em!

FYI this has been my experience as an American cinema goer, maybe other countries have citizens that show some respect when in public theaters. If so then good for them.