Deftones

Harkins theaters in AZ has started putting child care centers in movie theaters. I think it's costs like $6 per kid per movie. YOu can dump the kids off there and pick them up when you are done. That's a great compromise because I don't have to hear them.

It also has to do with the movie, though. I went and saw Finding Nemo on a weekend afternoon. I fully expected there to be kids there and understood that there were. I raised my tolerance for them and was able to enjoy the movie. When I see small children at an R movie on a Saturday night around 11:00 I get pissed. I purposely go to late flicks to avoid children and there they still are. Not to mention, that is also very poor parenting.

Seeker

stevek - good summary - I'm also a KC resident, and have been to the Cinemark Palace a lot.

It is indeed not a "residential" area, but in an upscale, adult-oriented shopping/restaurant area.

The "racist" charges are due to the fact that there is a higher percentage of African-American population in the area, but there are also "rich whites" in the area where their kids would "suffer" from not being able to attend.

If it is discriminatory, it is "age discrimination" against kids.

Personally? I like the idea of going to a theater like this, I just wish there were a way to filter out the adult boors who talk during a movie.

LBPound

Giantrobo

I agree and this post could not have been posted sooner.

When I saw Hulk last Saturday some parents with their bored kid who wanted to make noises was sitting in the front of the theater. They did NOTHING to quiet him even with people "Shhh-ing" them.

I guess they were immune to him.

Giantrobo

and if anyone thinks this idea is new then they haven't heard of "adult-only"(non-nudist) beaches on resorts.

RyoHazuki

When I saw Terminator 3 on Thursday there was an elderly couple behind me and they were talking at several points during the movie. I propose that we ban everyone 55 and older from now on. If they can afford a bucket of popcorn and a soda, they can afford to placed in a home.

devilshalo

No... they can afford a dvd player and premium cable channels.

I'm all about equality. STFU works for the young and old.

Jason

Great idea. I'm sure a lot of people who want to take children to movies are more comfortable if they know they're not being disruptive. Calling it "baby friendly" is just a nice way of saying "monster friendly".

On the other hand, though, having screenings geared towards noisy kids just reinforces that it's okay to be a heathen in public.

wordtoyamotha

Funny you should say that. I saw Road to Perdition at 11:30pm on a weeknight and some couple brought their kid who couldn't have been more than 3 years old. Needless to say the kid ruined the enitre movie for eveyone in the theater. I mean, Road to Perdition! At 11:30pm! On a weeknight! What are you thinking?

moocher

The problem here is how many lousy parents think:

Babysitter = 3 hrs x $7/hr = $21
Child's ticket to R rated film = $5.50
Good Parenting = $0 (worthless or who cares how my child turns out if I can save a buck)

This theater has a good solution. Keep bored children who will disrupt other paying customers out of the theater. They are smart enough to know that if the parent is lousy enough to bring their <6 year old to a PG-13 or R rated film then they will not bother to shut them up when they start acting up due to lack of interest in the movie.

Mourn

Kids aren't a problem most of the time when i go to a movie. Only once in recent memory has a kid started crying (Matrix Reloaded i believe...wtf) and the entire theater growling in rage shut that kid up fast.

Teenagers and rude adults are the real disruptions at the films I attend and there really isn't any way to prevent that. That's why unless a movie looks exceptional to me or my friends drag me I rarely go to the theaters.

Not A N00b

Excellent. Now all that needs to happen is take the battery off of peoples cell phones before they are allowed to enter the theater. People who do not know how to act at a movie annoy me to no end.

calhoun07

That's interesting, since the white trash idiot brats of Kansas City do their part and more to make movie going as unenjoyable as it can be as well. (I am from KC as well)

This also reminded me of something a lady at work told me (and she is black as well, so it wasn't like coming from her in a racist way) but she was talking about how Raytown used to have this really nice theater but black teenagers started to hang around there, yell during the movies, rip things up in the theater, and all this bad stuff that eventually caused the theater to close down. Of course, I don't blame race for it, because as I mentioned, there are plenty of white trash that act just as moronicly in a theater. Of course, there are always those that see racism in anything and everything, even when that's not the case. If they were letting little white children into the theater, then they would have a good case on their hands, but from the sound of it, ALL children are not allowed in the theater. No case at all!

wendersfan

Where I see most of my movies, the theater is shielded somehow so cellphones won't work. Saves me from remembering to turn mine to silent (which I always do anyway, thank you very much.)

B.A.

At the Kerasotes-owned theater I frequent, before starting a film, an usher asks that everyone w/ a phone/pager turn it off or turn it to silent and if they need to answer it to do it in the hall. Honestly, since they started doing this last year, the phone-problem in the theater has decreased by 95%. It's very rarely a problem now. I for one am happy it has worked out so well. I wish the same could be said for people bringing their little ones to films that have no business doing so - I have noticed an annoying increase in this over the last several months. It's been driving me nuts.

DonnachaOne

"Thank you for turning off your cellphones and children before the start of the feature."

Buck Turgidson

Does this remind anyone else of the Adult Dentist episode of Seinfeld?

Gcomeau

Cell phones go off at least onece every time i go to see a movie. Anyway i saw Charlie's Angels on Friday and some couple decided to bring their baby(dunno how old maybe a year old?) and all i kept thinking is this can't be good for the kid's ears- even i got headache it was so loud!?! What are people thinking?!?

matome

Excellent idea. Please bring it to New York.

joefrog91

I would love to go to a theater like this one. Hell, I'd be happy if the theaters in my town had the "Cry Baby Matinees" like ones in Dallas. I can't stand to see a child at a R-rated movie at night. That's just poor parenting.

Otto

I am in full approval of this. Esp. since the theater is taking the stance of not showing anything that would be geared specifically for kids anyway.

If you can't afford a babysitter, you can't afford the movie either. Or you can go to the kid friendly theater down the street. Free market, hey?

I wish they had one like this around here. I'd probably go to more movies, especially if I could buy a beer there.

Bechman 2000

Now that would be a nightmare for someone that didn't have a kid or realize that it was the babies turn for a movie. A couple kids is bad enough without a designated time for themt to cry the place silly... oh the horror.

As far as the original article, I'm loving it. Someone posted that not every kid screams and makes a scene, but how do the people selling tickets know that?

Ticket seller: "Sir, does your child scream during movies?"
Ticker buyer: "No, never has."
Ticket seller: "Here's your ticket"

**next person**

Ticket seller: "Sir, does your child scream during movies?"
Ticket buyer: "Every single time."
Ticket seller: "I'm sorry you can't bring your kid in then."

If you just make a generic rule that covers all the bases then it's cool. I love the rule, and hope that it catches on to theaters near me. It's one of the three reasons that I rarely ever go to the theaters.

Draven

Excellent idea. I would go to this theater.

There were at least 10 children under the age of 5 in the matinee showing of "Terminator 3" I saw on Sunday.

Unbelievable. Thankfully, only 3 or 4 of them made any noise. I'm sure the rest were enjoying all the explosions.

We are seeing as many movies as possible between now and when my wife has our first child this winter, simply because we know that a movie outing is going to be very rare for us for a long time.

Groucho

Well, I think the idea is that these are well advertised and at "off-times" so that the chances of this happening are minimal.

xpac

Great idea, it would have been perfect for me this past weekend. Imagine watching T3 with a SCREAMING INFANT behind you the WHOLE F*N MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What kind of a f**king MORON brings an infant to the most VIOLENT movie of the summer??? Jeez does anyone in this country have a friggin BRAIN ANYMORE???