# Jerks in a Theater **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 19, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319 "2006-08-19T05:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/41 "2006-08-21T17:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I can’t imagine wanting to see this movie in an empty theatre. If I had thought the crowds would take it seriously, I would have stayed home. [/QUOTE] I agree. I hate large crowds, and paying $8 to see a movie (esp a bad one) but I wish I’d have gone to see it at night instead of at a matinee. There were only six people there besides my group and while the three of us got in some good riffs it just wasn’t the same. To the OP: I also hate those motherfuckin’ jerks but this is the kind of movie that is made for riffing. You should have known that in advance. At least they didn’t have cell phones! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/42 "2006-08-21T18:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Okay, color me stupid, but I just have to ask, why was everyone waiting for what has been called “The Line”? There’s obviously some joke I’m not catching. I mean, I’ve seen Jackson in several movies, but not every one. Is “The Line” a takeoff from some other film? [/QUOTE] It sounds like something Samuel L. Jackson would say in a movie (he shouts a lot, he swears a lot). > [@Rigamarole](#): > > There’s a thought. They should make Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style movies… I actually saw a ad a couple of days ago for a direct-to-DVD animated movie officially licensed by Chooseco using the Choose Your Own Adventure® mark based on the book _The Abominable Snowman_ by company founder and CYOA creator R.A. Montgomery. But the idea of interactive movies dates back to 1995 and the release of _Mr. Payback_, which [Roger Ebert](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950217/REVIEWS/502170304/1023) (get well soon!) can tell you more about. One of my favorite Ebert quotes of all time involves this movie: > [@Roger Ebert](#): > > In the film intro to “Mr. Payback,” the announcer encourages audience members to “shout, scream, whistle, offer advice, and in general act like you were born in a barn.” There comes a time in everyone’s life when he begins to believe that civilization as we know it is going to hell. Call me a cockeyed optimist, but that moment didn’t come for me until I heard this announcement. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with talking back with _Snakes on a Plane_. After all, people there don’t in general act like they were born in a barn, but act in general like there are motherfucking snakes on a motherfucking plane. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/43 "2006-08-21T19:14:12Z")
The problem we have here is the simple fact that 90% of people are not funny. Mystery Science Theatre or the Cheap Seats guys on ESPN were brought in specifically because they had demonstrated humor and cleverness. Mystery Science Theatre seems to have convinced every nerdy kid that they are a font of riotous humor and that everyone must think that their jokes are hilarious. They aren’t. Going to an amatuer night at a comedy club can be the most excrutiating experience, but a movie with a self-appointed group of “commentators” must be even worse. Rocky Horror had the benefit of appealing to a fringe group that was largely made up of artsy, creative types, whose collective wit is a couple of orders of magnitude higher than the general public, not to mention adolescent science fiction fans. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/44 "2006-08-21T20:23:17Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] There’s a thought. They should make Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style movies… [/QUOTE] “If you want Calculon to race to the laser gun battle in his hover-Ferarri, press 1. If you want Calculon to double-check his paperwork, press 2. Enter now.” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/45 "2006-08-21T20:32:07Z")
I haven’t seen it yet, what’s it about? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/46 "2006-08-22T05:38:50Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] **jhinman** , did they give you your money back? If not, they should be boycotted. [/QUOTE] Yes they did. ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319/47 "2006-08-22T05:46:15Z")
[QUOTE=davenportavenger] To the OP: I also hate those motherfuckin’ jerks but this is the kind of movie that is made for riffing. You should have known that in advance. At least they didn’t have cell phones! [/QUOTE] Riffing I could understand. Repeatedly screaming “Nerd” at the other members of the audience I cannot or “This movie would be better on mushroms” or “I wish I had downloaded this instead of paying”. Understand these were not the wit remarks they made the movie for some of you, these where just obnoucous jerks try to make sure they where the only ones in the theater to enjoy there evening. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-in-a-theater/369319.md?page=2)