What are Dopers’ attitudes to walking out on dud movies?
I want to hear whether you’ve done it and, if you have, what were the offending movie(s). Also, what movies should you have walked out of but didn’t?
I walked out of Short Cuts, but probably only cos I was with my then girlfriend who wanted to leave. In fairness, that is a very long movie. I’ve since rented it several times and I really like it. Plus, I like Altman’s films generally.
I’m pretty sure I walked out of Orlando, which I went to alone. That film was total crud to me. I can’t quite remember whether I walked out or just thought about it (for most of the movie).
I’d also put Bad Lieutenant in the “films I should’ve walked out of” category.
Only once: Michael Snow’s absolutely unbearable **‘Rameau’s Nephew’ by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen**. The film (at 270 minutes) was as pretentious, self-important, long-winded, and empty-headed as the title, and I felt no pangs of guilt over leaving at the intermission. 2 hours was too much as it is…
I have a great story about Bad Lieutenant. I was visiting a friend in Dallas one time and we went to see that in a one screen theater that normally screened art-house movies and such. (The Inwood Theater, for those of you who are familiar with it).
So we settled down and started watching. There is a rather graphic scene where Harvey Keitel pulls over these two girls and basically forces them to show him their asses and make dick sucking faces while he stands in ths street and masturbates. The scene pulls no punches.
Anyway, after that scene ended, an elderly woman sitting near the front stood up, addressed the theater and said “How can you all just sit here watching this crap!!! It’s HORRIBLE!!! HOOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIBLE!!!” Then she stormed out while the audience tried to muffle their snickering.
You just know she saw every new movie they showed, not knowing anything about it. Poor choice this time.
The only movie I’ve every left is the Talking Heads concert movie, Stop Making Sense.
I actually don’t know much about it. I was drinking, I didn’t want to go, everybody in the theater got up to dance and run around, including the people who had talked me into going.
So I sat there and people running by would tap my shoulder and say “Get up and dance” and I finally got so pissed off, I left.
The People Under the Stairs.
It was shown on campus when I was an undergrad - you could get in for $2. My roommate and I were the only two in the auditorium where they showed it…when we left partway through, we knocked on the projection door to tell them we were leaving.
I wanted to walk out of Operation Kid Brother starring Sean Connery’s brother Neil. My friend and I had escaped the rain by going in. He refused to leave because he “wanted his money’s worth”. We sat and listened to a radio while the movie played.
I wanted to walk out on Prizzi’s Honour but thought my date was enjoying it so I stayed. She wanted to walk out but thought I was enjoying it. One time I would have approved of talking during the movie.
I was so bored one overcast summer day about 7-10 years ago that I decided to see “Airheads”. I made it through the first 30 minutes before I took off.
Also, I was highly tempted to pull the plug on “Death Becomes Her”, but I stuck it out to the bitter end. Bad decision.
When I really don’ t think I’m going to like a movie, but I want to see it anyway (Like with Troy- I knew they would butcher the myth, and I knew they cut out my favorite character), I’ll wait 'til it comes out on DVD then I can yell at the screen.
I walked out of the remake of “The Postman Always Rings Twice”. Thought it was terribly dull. And I got in free - I thought it sucked that bad. lol
VCNJ~
I left during Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now because it was a really bad movie per se, but just too creepy for me. I get the willies just thinking about it.
I also really wanted to leave during Anchorman, but my friend wouldn’t let me. So i just gave up and took a nap. I still don’t understand what people see in that movie.