Movie Walk Out!

[retsuko]

There's an interesting essay over on The Onion's A.V. Club page about whether you should be able to ask for a refund from a theater if you don't like the movie. I've never, ever walked out of a movie, although I have received refunds and free tickets from a theater when there were projector problems (in the case of one of the "The Mummy" films, the movie was so bad anyway that the projector breaking down didn't really bother me; in the case of "Doubt", I did notice a strange shadow on the screen throughout the whole film, and was pleased that the manager of the theater was waiting at the exit, freebie tickets in hand and apology at the ready.)

There have certainly been movies that I wanted to walk out of, but didn't do so because I was with someone else. For example, "Event Horizon" was awful and gross, but I was with a friend who didn't seem bothered by the content, so I just waited for it to be over. (After the movie, a guy in front of us was going on and on about how great it had been, and my friend and I walked to our car, silent. After a long while, she said, "I wish I could have seen the movie he saw, because it sounded really cool.") "Mortal Combat 2" was so laughably terrible that I couldn't take seriously at all; it also helped that the theater was filled with drunken frat boys who kept screaming "MORTAL COMBAAAAATTTT!!!" at every conceivable opportunity. The film itself was horrifically stupid, but the viewing atmosphere was fabulous. And the part of me that doesn't like hyper-violence wishes I had walked out of "Kill Bill, Part 1", because, well, I just can't un-see things.

But, in general, I feel like asking for a refund from the theater itself is counter-productive. The staff didn't make the film; they're just showing it to you. You're paying for the opportunity to sit in the theater and watch a movie, not comment on its content. If you want to vote with your dollars, shouldn't you have already done so before walking into a movie? There are plenty of reviews out there that will tell you if the film is your cup of tea, and even though I think the ratings system is deeply flawed, at least it gives you some indication of what you're about to see. But perhaps I am overthinking it. I know that some people just walk into a movie, judging it by its poster and crossing their fingers. Do they get a refund if they don't like the content?

[Poll #1761434]

I try to come up with a straight answer to this and keep going around in circles. Say there was a scene in the movie that you were utterly unprepared for, even after doing research and reading reviews; would that warrant a refund demand? And how soon is said refund demand appropriate--10 minutes into the movie? 20? The end? There's a detail of the social contract here that I'm definitely confused about.

In all honesty, there are other matters that I feel far more inclined to complain about at the theater, most notably the exceedingly overpriced popcorn and candy. And, then, of course, there are the movies that I WISH I could have walked out of, because they were unpleasant ("American Beauty"--how I despise that film) or boring ("Meet Joe Black" = UGH). Anyway, given how rarely I get to theaters now, I hope never to walk out of a movie and plan to do my review-reading homework as diligently as possible.

Comments

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

generally speaking i would not expect a refund. the sole exception i can come up with is if the rating and trailers were deeply flawed, "tricking" me into seeing a movie that triggered pshychological issues, AND the film had been out long enough that i could expect the theater to be aware of this, because that would make them complicit.

i have no examples, but think this most likely to happen with one of the modern "kids movies"

[goddessvicky.livejournal.com]

I'm of the feeling that if you just walk into a movie without doing any research into what it's about doesn't mean the theater should be forced to compensate you for your lack of foresight.

There have been some movies where I went "Why am I watching this?" and I'm definitely left the theater thinking "I just wasted 8 dollars and 2 hours of my life" but it's not the theater's fault. If anything, it's the person who made the movie and the person who advertised the movie. And myself, for thinking I'd enjoy it.

I'm trying to think of an example that would correlate, but I'm having trouble finding something comparable.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I see movies in the theater so rarely that if I've actually bothered to get to a movie theater, it's usually for something that I'm committed to seeing. (I did consider walking out of "The Ghost Writer" when I remembered during the opening credits that it was directed by Roman Polanski, but since I wasn't prepared to demand a refund from the theater on the grounds that I'd accidentally paid to see a movie by someone I had decided not to give more of my money to, I figured I was stuck for it and might as well stay to see the film.)

Generally, I wouldn't ask for a refund if I walked out of a movie, because, as you say, the theater isn't responsible for the content. On the other hand, it is in the interests of the theater to try to make sure that their customers have a good experience - if refunding the price of an occasional movie ticket makes customers more likely to take the risk of seeing more films at that theater, then it probably works out to that theater's benefit.

The only circumstance in which I can really imagine asking for a refund is if I took some children to see a movie, and it was obvious very early on that the movie wasn't appropriate for them. At the very least, I'd want the theater to know that some of their customers had a problem with the film despite doing research via reviews and trailers.

[blencathra.livejournal.com]

I would have walked out of Titanic if I had been able to. As it was I was trapped in the middle of a row in a crowded cinema & unable to move.

Titanic is still up there as the worst movie I've ever seen, but has been joined recently by Twilight. Though at least the latter was a borrowed DVD so I hadn't forked out any money.

But I have to say I wouldn't have dreamed of asking for my money back. I think it's my problem if I didn't like it. Obviously many, many people loved both those films! However, i would ask for my money back if there were technical problems.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

Unless there's a technical fault, my opinion with films is that you pays yer money, you takes yer chances, so to speak. If it's a crappy film, well, blame the studio (and yourself for probably ignoring all the critical reviews that said it was a crappy film).

I don't offer to pay them extra if I loved the movie, so why ask for a refund if it was crappy?

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

I remember walking out of movies when I was young and my mom realized I was bored by whatever it was we were seeing. Song of the South and White Fang were movies I seem to remember walking out on. I'm fairly sure my mom didn't ask for a refund.

As an adult I've never walked out on a movie because I was with someone who I thought was enjoying it. The horrible American version of Godzilla, Mission Impossible II (though I later found out everyone else in my group wanted to walk out on it as well), Transformers 2 (NEVER seeing another Michael Bay film again!). Actually with Transformers I went and hung out in the bathroom because I couldn't stand to watch another minute of it but my husband was enjoying it so much.

The only times we got free tickets to another show was during Independence Day when someone in the audience had a grand mal seizure and they had to stop the movie to get him the medical care he needed and they gave the rest of us tickets to a later showing. And when we saw one of the Lord of the Rings movies, the audience was SO horrible that we were complaining about them amongst our group as we were leaving the theater and the manager heard us and gave us free tickets to whatever we wanted to see. We weren't expecting it, and we certainly weren't going to ask for it, but we sure as hell weren't turning them down!

It's not like you can return a movie you see in the theater...or get 2 hours of your life back. And since I've never seen a movie alone, there's also a I'm-spending-time-with-people-I-love element that a bad movie can't detract from, and good or bad, I'm going to have something to discuss with whomever I've seen it with after it's over!

[jtaylor2.livejournal.com]

I am very picky about what movies I choose to pay full price to see. I tend to read reviews and ask friends about their opinions before buying a ticket.

I see a fair amount of movies at the second-run theater, so for $2.00 or something, I can't complain if it doesn't live up to any expectations I had.

And then there are the movies I've forced myself to sit through because it was a "family outing". I couldn't just walk out on family...

[jtaylor2.livejournal.com]

btw, so glad that you hated American Beauty. I could not stand that film!

Sadly, cheap films are like $4 here in Portland. I used to be able to see the second-run ones for like $1.50 in Eugene - now it's like $2 or $2.25, something redonk.

My parents see pretty much anything that's remotely catering to their sensibilities. Rom coms of all shades of bad, in particular. They don't tend to watch any of the more 'quality' films that hit the theater, Oscar-contenders included. It can be seriously annoying.

[kyrielle]

I am most likely to walk out of kids' films, apparently. Shrek and I think maybe Cars. I left my husband watching both times. I read a book outside. I didn't feel the theater owed me anything, but I really dislike a lot of what they think is "funny". No way would I sit through that if I didn't have to (some day I may if I am the only adult escort and Drew is enjoying it, but he doesn't get to go to movies yet).

But it's not the theater's problem. I will write an irate review if I feel so moved, but. ;)