If movie theater owners forced to close their doors have spent any time wondering about the lack of patrons, they need only look at the audiences they do manage to attract.
At the last dozen shows to which I’ve treated myself and my family, the selfish attitudes of the other patrons have been nothing short of appalling.
At only the most recent shows we attended: A gang of drunken frat boys mocked the Chinese language spoken in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and laughed uproariously at themselves while the Chinese couple seated behind me silently wept from the beauty of the director’s vision.
An older woman on a respirator seated herself next to us and rhythmically choked, wheezed and coughed through the entire showing of “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” Then her friends harassed me when I asked her to stop singing along with the movie’s magnificent soundtrack.
An infant child started howling and wasn’t removed from the 9 p.m. showing of “Cast Away.” Did those parents really think the baby wouldn’t stir upon hearing a plane crash?
Did I even mention the inconsistent operation of the projectors and sound systems?
There isn’t a movie-house standing that will ever again sell me a ticket.
