The events of today’s comic actually happened to us in real-life when Cami and I saw The Last Kiss a few weeks ago. There were maybe three or four teenage girls sitting behind us and they would NOT SHUT UP. Cami told me that one of them even placed a call outside of the theater with her cell phone at one point.
I think it’s understandable if you unexpectedly get a phone call when you’re in a movie theater. Sure, it’s distracting. But usually the person fumbles around for a second before switching it off. It’s slightly more rude if that person takes the call and starts gabbing away. But you’re in a completely different realm of inconsiderate behavior when you proactively take out your phone and CALL SOMEONE ELSE while other people are trying to watch the movie.
Whenever we’re at the movies and someone is talking, I tend not to notice it. Mostly because I’m so engrossed in the film, but partly because I don’t hear very well due to years of overexposure to THX sound systems. Just kidding. It’s just that I don’t notice.
In this case, however, these girls were really distracting. Every few minutes Cami would turn and look at me and then roll her eyes. Eventually – like I did in the comic – I asked her if she wanted me to do somehing about it. And – just like in the comic – she said no. She feared being embarassed by me calling these girls out on their lack of consideration.
I thought it over for a little bit and decided to ignore her protest. During a quiet part of the movie when most everyone could hear them talking loudly, I threw my arm over my chair and said, "HEY! SHUT UP!"
It worked like a charm. They didn’t make a peep the rest of the movie.
I’m not boasting. I also know exactly what that feels like. There have been times in movie theaters where strangers have told me to shut up. This was mostly during the time when I was a teenager and was really into Mystery Science Theater 3000. It’s moritifying to be publicly scolded like that. But I’ll tell you what – it really makes you think twice before acting up again.
I think that encounters like these are becoming more and more frequent. With the advent of DVD technology, larger televisions and more powerful home theater systems, people seem to be confusing the confines of their living rooms with public movie screens more and more these days. I didn’t take any great pleasure from telling these girls to shut their pie holes. Well, okay. Maybe a little. But just like in the comic, it was very rewarding when Cami acknowledged how I stood up to them – her earlier protests having since evaporated
