And what about the teens that are film geeks? Do they have to sit with the peanut gallery as well?

The only theaters around here that I have seen enforce the policy are the Regal Entertainment Group (Regal Cinemas/United Artists), but they have been spotty a few times (they didn't card my friend and I for Intermission while we've been carded for every other R rated film).

Thank God I can see R rated movies legally now.

Looks like it - sucks to be them, I guess. But hey - teens have to pay 3 times a much for car insurance too. It sucks to be young.

its strange they'd card you for the matrix movies, since those are tame R movies.

I agree with the first part, but I must point out that different theaters have dfferent attitudes.

On Sunday, I had to kick TWENTY children out of The Punisher and The Girl Next Door. I didn't mind that they'd be watching the movies, but if they're really stupid about it (like when three boys and an old man showed up, he bought THREE tickets for Punisher...), then I'll kick them out.

I'll always try to get it out of the way before the movie starts though. It sucks disrupting a movie to throw kids out.

Yes, there are a lot of kids who are annoying during a movie, but let's try not to generalize. I've had movies ruined by old people talking too, should all of them be banned as well?
Having worked at a few theatres for a 10-year period, I think the rating system is a joke. All it does is make a movie seem more appealing to someone if they're not old enough to see it- that was what originally attracted me to porn when I was under 18. I mean you weren't allowed to see it even if your parents did say it was OK- how could you NOT wanna see that?? (Added: this was back in the days when they still showed actual porno movies on film in theaters, which you had to be 18 to get into period- not the direct-to-video crap that's out today.)

aka The Matrix "Trilogy".

This is the opposite direction theaters should be going. I think they should be more responsible and card under 30 like the convenience store does for cigarettes... if the person has no id or is under 18 and it is past 8:30pm, they can't get a ticket because they will be out past the city mandated curfew (assuming the city has one) once the movie lets out. They should also not allow children under the age of 13 in the movies at all after 10pm... no crying babies or diapers. Also - no smelly people or people who fart alot. They should also not allow people in who look like they would kick the seat in front of them or talk loudly during the film. Eh - screw it, I'll just watch stuff when it comes out on DVD.

Are you one of those older folks who talks really, really loudly and inconsiderately when I see a movie because you assume age gives your opinions more credibility than mine? I hope not, but either way, I've run into as many obnoxious adults as kids.

But you know that's not going to happen. Those people under 30 are the ones who are bringing all the cash to the theaters, not the people over 30.

On the other hand, I've never had as bad an experience as you guys say. Or perhaps I'm just more tolerant. I mean, I've had times where someone gets a cell phone call, or there was a baby...but quite frankly if it's that annoying, I'll just tell them to stfu myself.

Regarding the R card...it's pretty stupid.

wait? people still see movies in theaters? thats why when isee movies its on a monday or tuesday any where between 3 and 7. good chance of no teens. just losers like me, that have no life

I agree with you. I've told as many people who were older than me to shut the f&@# up as people who were younger than me. Rudeness has no age discriminant. But I still think that this card is a bad idea. The reason why some kids are so rude and out of control is because of a lack of parental supervision. Parents should have to sit in the theater with their kids to keep the smartass ones under control.

We had a drive-in (small AZ town) that would do the same thing. Of course, I would write the note At the time I thought I must've done a great job on the note.. but in hindsight, maybe they didn't care and just wanted the money.

I have never seen people get kicked out of the theater except for two times.

1. Early 2002, I saw 40 Days and 40 Nights with a friend. This was before I turned 17, so my mom bought the tickets for us and we walked in. Around 20 minutes into the film, an usher came into the theater and escorted a whole bunch of middle school kids sitting in the front row out. The kids were behaving the entire time (I didn't hear a peep from them the entire time), but I guess they snuck into the flick, so out they went.

2. Spider-man, opening day. I was in the back with a few friends and all the way up in the front (in a huge, sold-out, 500+ seat theater) a mid-30s guy answers his cell phone during the movie and begins to talk loudly. People tell him politely to "shut the **** up," but he doesn't. Seconds later, an usher and a cop come in and escort him out. He starts to fight the cop, but the cop puts him in handcuffs and walks him out of the theater. People cheer.

I guess people just don't care in Vegas.

In all honesty, out of the hundreds of times I've been to the theaters in the past three years, the problems don't usually lie with kids (the exception to this rule is when I saw Finding Nemo and The Prince & Me, but both were G and PG rated family films)... they usually lie with adults.

Whenever I have seen a person answer a cell phone in the theater, it's someone in their twenties, not their teens.

Whenever I have heard a person talking during a film, it's usually been an older person and not a kid (again, exception to the rule is when I see G and PG rated family films).

If you all want to ban the teenagers from seeing R-rated movies then I want to ban those senior citizens from going to the theater. Whenever I see a senior citizen couple at the movies, they usually ask their partner, "Hey, what is that?" "Hey, what did they say?" "Hey, what is going on?" If you're going to ask questions, either stay at home and rent the DVD or get a headset (most theaters near me have them available at the box office).

The problem doesn't lie with teenagers, it lies with everybody. Mostly people who are completely lacking and are devoid of common sense.

Well said, Matthew. Well said.

I think that if you talk in the middle of a movie, you should be taken out back and shot...ok not really, but honestly I think so many kids have ruined some really great movies. For instance, I saw ROTK on opening day and there was a group of elementary school kids on a FIELD TRIP!! None of them could have been a day over 13, but still they were allowed to congest the theatre and ruin the movie. Instead of cheering or crying or whatever your response to the ending was, I heard about a thousand variants of "That's so gay." I blame Suburban Parents. Well, that's enough ranting for today...