1. Get to the theater at the last minute so no one is likely to come in after you and take the seats behind you.
I don't like to get anywhere at the last minute so this one's a no go for me. Plus you might end up with really bad seats.
2. Get to the theater early enough to get seats in the very back.
This is my personal favorite. I'm usually willing to pay an extra 10-15 minutes so that I don't have to deal with annoying people or I don't have to engage in #3.
3. First, find seats no one is sitting behind. Second, make people think sitting behind you might be a bad idea.
I'll often rest my hands on top of my head and shift awkwardly in my seat. Nothing too blatant. On a related note, to incentivize people away from sitting in front of you, you can always rest your feet against the seat in front of you. (On the other hand, they may choose to sit in behind you as an alternative. And putting your feet *on* the seat in front of you comes off as rude if there's some possibility that someone would want to sit there.) Of course, interfering with someones experience once they've sat down is unacceptable.
4. If all of these have failed, you can always move to more attractive seats once the movie has started.
The only problem with this solution is that you may not have very good options to move to.
If you're wondering, I went to see Two Days in Paris this weekend. It didn't meet my expectations based on its high (89%) tomatometer score. It wasn't funny enough to make its cynicism bearable. Plus it was weird because the story was told from Julie Delpy's character's perspective while the conflict was centered around her costar's character. Strange choice although maybe not surprising since she was also the director.
7 comments:
Coase? Myerson-Satterthwaite aside, why not pay the people behind you to move?
If there's an element of social unacceptance in this, maybe you could go to theaters that assign seats to tickers and also buy the seats behind you.
Throwing money at problems works!
I imagine if I offered to pay the people behind me to move, they'd move to get away from the weirdo in front of them :) But I would be willing to pay a premium for seats in the back. (Paying double for the extra seat would probably be too much.)
I've noticed some theaters are better than others. Shop around.
Also, some nights are better than others. I have good luck on Tuesday nights when tickets are cheaper. You're stuck watching older movies but it seems my fellow cheap bastards are more interested in watching the movie than gabbing. This may be an effect of the cheap tickets but more likely its an effect of the movie having been out for a while.
I wouldn't expect this film to live up to Before Sunset, after all. It would be very hard to find a film that does.
As for rude behavior in theaters....Brenden Theater in Vacaville, sends an employee in before each movie and gives you the "Rules" of the theater. The first time it happened I was annoyed because I felt it was rude to lecture adults and treat us like children.
The next visit I wasn't so annoyed after reading your blog, I guess some adults do need to be lectured on common courtesy.
You're not considering option 5)
Start prepping for the theater visit days in advance by eating copious amounts of raw garlic and neglecting your personal hygiene.
If you start 3 days prior, you should have zero problems emptying the seats immediately around you;)
I inadvertently tried that last night at a soccer game! Seriously, I had a slice of pizza that was COVERED with garlic. But then I was embarassed so *I* moved away from the guy sitting next to me!
I guess Matthew's method doesn't work if you have a conscience.
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