Hope this hasn't been posted before.

http://www.gkctheatres.com/rcard.htm

Some movie theatres are now giving children ID cards that allow them to see R-rated movies.

I have seen too many movies ruined by kids 12-15. American Beauty was completely ruined by a pack of this age. Do we really need another way for these kids to get into R-rated movies?


I'm going to boycott any theatres who start taking these.

Yeah, that's pretty stupid. Pretty much negates the whole purpose of having a rating system to begin with (active parental involvement).

I can already predict kids trying to use these at Loews... what a joke. I'll throw it right back at them. What a sick, stupid, pathetic idea.

Yet another way for parents to get out of being parents. You know someone will get their kid this card, then raise a fuss when the kid sees some extremely graphic film like The Passion or Kill Bill. Just look at how out of date their "Current R Films" are. If I was a parent, I'd like to know what my children are viewing, and if they want to see an R movie, I'll research it and take them myself if I feel its not that bad.

More reason to keep me at the Saturday morning shows.

Ugh. I could see this for maybe 15 and 16, but not 12-14. Junior high kids are the most annoying moviegoers ever, ESPECIALLY in an R rated movie. You invariably have one of these types in the group:

The Comedian: This kid is trying his damndest to impress his group (especially the girls) by making lame jokes about EVERY DAMN THING that appears in a commerical, trailer, and even the movie. Even worse, 75% of his comments are just random stupidity lacking a punchline. Stuff so bad his friends don't even laugh. But this doesn't discourage him.

The Cell Girl: "Ohmigod!" She's busy smacking her gum while flapping her gums, having a deep conversation about something someone did at school. She also leaves her ringer on, which has an annoying musical dialtone of 'Milkshake' or 'Hey Ya'.

The Socializer: He's a real player... he knows packs of girls throughout the theater, and he travels around during the movie to lay his mack down during the movie, eliciting giggles from the dim-witted chicks.

While I hate having a pack of kids in there ruining my movie, chances are if they're old enough to get to the movie theater by themselves it's not really gonna matter. There's nothing in any R rated movies out there that a 13 year old hasn't already seen. If their parents want to give thier blessing to see the movie, that's their right, IMO. We need less regulation of our lives, not more.

Where I have a much bigger issue is stupid parents who bring thier 2 year olds to something like Gothika, and of course when stuff starts blowing up and the music gets loud the kid freaks out. Or even worse, a serious dialogue driven drama, where the kids get bored. This was a serious problem when I lived in Houston, I basically stopped going to the movies on the weekends because of it.

My own humor has gone over my head?

...I wish I had this in high school. Although we didn't get carded all the time, my friends and I did get rejected on occassion. When we did get in, though, we actually watched the movie. *gasp*

Well by the logic, You'll be at the saturday morning shows to pick up

I thought so.

Friday nights are MUCH better for that.

I meant Saturday morning, cause unless it's a Disney flick, the theater is usually DEAD empty; so I get to sit where I want and enjoy peace. There's also no crowds in the lobby, no lines at the stand so I can get my cream cheese pretzel, etc.. plus the place near me has Early Bird Special.. $4 for the first showing of any movie.

way up. I wish more parents had this kind of attitude. While I'm not necessarily for more regulation, with the kind of dimwitted shallow pooled parents that there are there needs to be regulation.

I suspect the MPAA doesn't know about this yet. If they do, then the rating system is an even bigger joke than it is now.

I remember back in my small hometown theater you could go see an R movie with written permission from a parent. I guess this changed overtime, but the big exception to that rule was Basic Instinct, which the theater made a point of not accepting notes for and actually treated an R movie the way it's supposed to be treated.

On the upside, if this comes to pass, studios might once again start making more R action and sci-fi movies. If the teen demographic is guaranteed in ticket sales, they really could care less about how much we get annoyed.

In terms of the characters you see in a group of 12-15 year olds, you forgot to mention the Information Man. This is the guy who is not a player per se, but has the lowdown on who's seeing who and who is cheating on who and where they meet. Never make the mistake of sitting next to or around him, as teenage girls, guys, and what not will be asking him for the low down all through the movie.

Ehh, I don't think this is a bad idea. I was able to see pretty much whatever I wanted by the time I reached middle school. I remember having to have somebody's mom actually go to the movies with us every weekend. They were all fine with all of us going to see Scream, but the theater not only made one adult buy the tickets, but actually go into that movie and sit through the whole thing. Now they would always sit somewhere else, not with the kids. So really it was just a waste of a night for them. I think that if the parent says their son or daughter is allowed to see an R rated film, then the theater should let them. I think this is a good idea, and I know I would have had one of these cards if they existed when I was a kid. I saw all the R rated movies anyway, this card would have just allowed my parents to go see the movie they wanted to or perhaps go out to eat while I was at the movie.

if i was still 15 i would love this. i've been turned away at so many damn movies. one time, i hid in the emergency staircase for 20 minutes to see south park. sadly, me and a buddy were caught

Agreed, I just beat them up or tell them to wait for me at the exit after the film is over. That usually shuts them up.

i had to do that with my mom for the 3rd scream movie. she wanted to see tallented mr ripply i think, but the theater wouldn't let her, lets just say she was very miserable.

I for one think this is a good idea. If anyone actually makes the effort to get this for their kids, then they are taking an active interest in their kids' choices. I've been a movie geek all my life, and my parents wanted to encourage that when I was still a kid. Unfortunately, neither of them wanted to sit through a movie particularly often, so I missed out on a lot of great moviegoing experiences. I'm twenty now and I just got carded last week to see Kill Bill - the ratings system is an absurd joke that ignores context in favor of lumping together very different films (Amelie and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) so that parents don't have to take the five minutes to go online and research the content of a film themselves.

I'm so old . . .

I've been able to get into R rated films since I was 15. Either by:

A. Not getting carded and getting the ticket sold to me directly.
B. Getting a parent to buy the tickets.
C. Sneaking in.

Honestly, ever since I turned 17, I've only been carded a few times (only for the Matrix sequels, Dreamcatcher, The Girl Next Door, and some others). Before and after that, I've hardly been carded.

The MPAA is a joke. Theaters don't enforce shit. Kids will see any movie they want, and they'll have more of an interest to see a movie if they're rejected.

To be fair, some theaters do enforce the policy. But I won't contest that if a kid wants to get into that new R-rated flick, he or she definitely will.

How about designating certain times for "Adults only. Children under 17 not admitted at all even with a parent present." That way the teenie boppers can use their "Cool Card" at one showing and people who actually want to see and enjoy a movie can do so in a nice and quiet theater with fellow film geeks.