Really Rotton or a cool theater to visit??

[Axxon]

Missouri theater turns away kids. (http://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2003/07/06/nokids/index.html)

I don't think all theaters should do it but it does sound like a cool place to catch a flick. If they did that out here, I'd certainly go.

[GrantDawg]

Nothing like going to the 10:30 showing of "Training Day" and having a woman with three kids (something like 7,5, and 2) sitting behind you. I would love if more theatres (not all, but more) would do this, and if no theatre would allow kids under say 9 in a R-rated movie whether with a parent or not.

[Bee]

I wish they'd do that here. I would totally support it.

[Fritz]

I think this is outstanding.

[KWhit]

Excellent idea. I would love a theatre like that around here.

[Ksyrup]

If the theater is truly only showing PG-13 movies and up, what movie(s) were these people trying to take their 3 and 4 year olds to? I don't think Finding Nemo was playing there.

Of course, I remember seeing, in disbelief, a number of 3-7 year olds at the theater to watch South Park, so I shouldn't be too surprised.

[JeeberD]

I'm not sure how I feel about that. People can't always find babysitters when they want to go out, or they might think thier kids might enjoy a certain movie.

Of course, this is an individual theater, and there are plenty of other theaters out there that will let kids in. I guess that I feel that they needed to make it better known that they were starting this policy. It sucks to make plans to go to a certain movie at a certain time at a certain theater and not be able to go...

[PilotMan]

Seeing a 6yr old come out of LOTR2 was very disturbing. I can't imagine the nightmares my 8yr old would have from that.

[cuervo72]

http://www.moviefone.com/showtimes/theater.adp?theaterid=3301&date=20030707

2 Fast 2 Furious (PG-13, 100 min.)
12:10pm | 2:45pm | 5:15pm | 7:45pm | 10:15pm

28 Days Later (R, 112 min.)
1:15pm | 3:55pm | 7:10pm | 9:45pm

Alex & Emma (PG-13, 96 min.)
12:40pm | 3:05pm | 5:25pm | 7:40pm | 10:05pm

Bruce Almighty (PG-13, 94 min.)
12:20pm | 1:25pm | 3:00pm | 5:30pm | 7:15pm | 8:05pm | 10:30pm

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (PG-13, 103 min.)
12:05pm | 1:20pm | 2:50pm | 3:50pm | 5:20pm | 7:05pm | 7:50pm | 9:40pm | 10:35pm

Hollywood Homicide (PG-13, 116 min.)
1:10pm | 4:25pm | 7:20pm | 10:00pm

The Hulk (PG-13, 138 min.)
12:10pm | 1:00pm | 3:30pm | 4:15pm | 7:00pm | 7:30pm | 10:00pm | 10:30pm

The Italian Job (PG-13, 104 min.)
11:55am | 2:40pm | 4:00pm | 5:15pm | 7:50pm | 9:50pm | 10:25pm

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (PG-13, 95 min.)
12:00pm | 2:20pm | 4:40pm | 7:05pm | 9:30pm

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (R, 110 min.)
12:05pm | 1:00pm | 1:20pm | 2:45pm | 4:00pm | 4:00pm | 5:15pm | 7:00pm | 7:10pm | 7:50pm | 9:50pm | 10:00pm | 10:25pm

I dunno....The Hulk maybe (though I can't imagine taking my 3-year old to a 138 min movie). Sounds like mom might have wanted to see a movie and didn't know what to do with Junior.

Gigi Lanear of Kansas City and her 4-year-old son Darion were among those turned away.

"I think it's stupid," she said. "If you're going to have PG-13 movies, it's not the little kids that will fuss; it's the teenagers."


Sit down and be quiet for 2 hours...mommy needs to pay attention to the movie! (Gigi? People actually go by Gigi?)

[Bee]

I think they were going to see 28 days later.

[Ksyrup]

The Hulk probably makes the most sense from that list...although as a parent, I would want to make sure I knew about the movie before I took my kid to see "some comic strip/TV show made into a movie," which is probably what most people think. However, if you've read the reviews, you know that it isn't a kid movie, notwithstanding the cross-merchandizing you can find in the cereal aisle and fast food chains.

Hell, we took our 3 year old to see Finding Nemo, and even that was really an adult movie dressed up as a kid's cartoon. I had read the reviews and knew what to expect, so before the movie, I explained to my daughter what was going to happen at the beginning and why (Nemo's mother and 399 siblings are eaten, setting the stage for the plot). The entire plot of that movie, though, was aimed at me - it was a lesson about letting your kids go as they grow up. No kid really understood that from watching the movie. And, there were several entertaining (for me) but frightening (for her) shark/underwater monster scenes throughout, and I had to keep telling her that Nemo's dad was going to make it to the end to see Nemo. But she wasn't buying it, not until she saw it for herself.

[Daimyo]

I think its great... capitalism at its finest. All other things being equal I'd definately go to a theater like that. Heck I wish there was one around here that wouldn't allow in high schoolers...

[tucker342]

At first I thought it was bad, but now that I think about it, I think that it's a good thing.

[Fidatelo]

I'd like to go to a theatre that only allowed people over 20 to attend. I went to see The Hulk last night and this group of 5 or 6 teenage kids next to us spent the whole movie talking and making noise, kicking chairs, and constantly leaving and re-entering the theatre. Although admittedly the movie wasn't that great, these kids totally ruined any chance I had of enjoying it. I seriously contemplated cornering them after the show and telling them they couldn't leave until they payed me the $8.50 they stole from me.

[Craptacular]

I'm all for parental responsibility and letting them choose what their kids should see, but I have no problem with a business choosing to do this. Anytime a story like this appears, I always think of when "Saving Private Ryan" came out. Parents were complaining about how they had to take their kids and leave the theater after 10 or 15 minutes because of the initial scene. What exactly were they expecting?

[Airhog]

We went and saw X-men 2 on opening day. It was a good movie, but some lady had her 1 year old kid in the theater, luckily the two times it started bawling were only brief. But people should have more respect for others.

[dawgfan]

I think this is a fantastic idea and a great example of capitalism in action. No one is telling these parents they can't see a movie with their 6 or younger children - they just can't do it at this theater.

If there is sufficient demand for multiplexes to allow these children to see PG-13 or R movies then they will exist.

If there is sufficient demand for adults to be able to see PG-13 and R movies without having to deal with noisy, fussy chidren then they will exist.

If I had more money, I'd start a movie theater chain that did the same thing, only I'd also include a baby-sitting/daycare facility on the premises.

[CAsterling]

Originally posted by dawgfan
If I had more money, I'd start a movie theater chain that did the same thing, only I'd also include a baby-sitting/daycare facility on the premises.

Now thats a winning idea - entertainment for the adults and child care services as well - seems like a winner to me :)

[ice4277]

Awesome idea; there need to be more of these.

[Blackadar]

I like the idea.

However, not every kid is a nuisance or too young. I took my son to see Nemo and then The Hulk a couple of weeks ago. He loved both. He loves Lord of the Rings and the Matrix, too. I just make sure he can't watch the really scary parts.

[kcchief19]

This story has been pretty big here, obviously. The theater announced it two weeks ago, so it isn't really a shock except to people from out of town. Nevertheless, I think it's a great idea. I do understand that not every kid is a nuisance, but there are a ton of other theaters for kids to go to. And the theater is only booking PG-13 and R movies. If you are taking a child under 6 to a PG-13 or R movie, I think you need to seriously take a closer look at your performance as a parent.

The theater went this route because of so many problems -- rowdy kids in theaters, loitering outside and such. The Plaza is also a premiere shopping area, and they were having trouble with parents who would dump their 6-year-old at the movie by themselves and go shopping.

Until we can outlaw being a dumbass, this is a great start. Nancy and I want to go see a movie there now just as a show of support. :)

[cuervo72]

Funny timing, 'Don & Mike' yesterday were talking about witnessing a father trying to explain to a young child why someone was being tortured in a movie and why Drew Barrymore needed to kick one of the bad guys in the head or something to that effect. I guess that just proves parental stupidity is pretty much universal.

[CamEdwards]

Originally posted by dawgfan


If I had more money, I'd start a movie theater chain that did the same thing, only I'd also include a baby-sitting/daycare facility on the premises.

A theater being built here in Oklahoma City will have on site child care that cost less than the price of a child's ticket.

[Mustang]

Originally posted by Blackadar
I like the idea.

However, not every kid is a nuisance or too young. I took my son to see Nemo and then The Hulk a couple of weeks ago. He loved both. He loves Lord of the Rings and the Matrix, too. I just make sure he can't watch the really scary parts.



96 out of 100 kids are good sitting through and watching a movie.

Unfortunately, the 4 out of 100 that aren't always sit to the left, right, front and behind me.

[Celeval]

I agree that there are some situations where a child can see movies that they normally wouldn't... but I don't see any situation under the age of 6 where that would apply. I brought two cousins (10 and 8 for the first, 11 and 9 for the second) to see the two Lord of the Rings movies, and both loved them. Of course, both had read at least some of the books; and had been looking at all the previews and whatnot, so they were prepared.

Compared to a midnight showing of the Blair Witch project with at least three kids of near 3 years. I just don't get that.

Kevin

[dawgfan]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
A theater being built here in Oklahoma City will have on site child care that cost less than the price of a child's ticket.

Damn, I'm too late...

I'm surprised this idea hasn't taken off sooner. It seems like such a natural progression - parents like to see movies, parents usually don't want their young children to see the adult-themed movies they would prefer to see, parents often have trouble finding baby-sitters.

I would be curious what the requirements are of the child care workers - what's their training, how much are they paid, etc. I would guess that would be the biggest drawback to the idea. What happens when something happens to someone's child while in the care of the theater's baby-sitters? How expensive is it to insure that aspect of the business?

Still, I hope this is an idea that works...