Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Have you ever walked out of a movie?

Just wondering. Explain yourself!

69 comments:

par3182 said...

gladiator - because life's too short

elgringo said...

Nope. Never.

Anonymous said...

It was 1995 and I was 7. My babysitter took my two sisters and me to a midday showing of Waterworld at a cheap theater out of town. The sitter had to remove me halfway through because I was laughing so inappropriately loud. I think the specific moment was when Kevin Costner just chopped the girl's hair off,- I found it quite amusing. But, in general, I think I was enough of a movie snob at the time to also release a giggle at the film's utter ridiculous-ness. I'm told I didn't miss much.

Anonymous said...

Nope. Came pretty close during Narnia 2 though, but toughed it out.

El Gigante said...

Never, NEVER. Not during Date Movie, not during Boys and Girls. Not during Irreversible (even though people were leaving in waves). Never. It will never happen. Not ever.

Joe Reid said...

Never have. Came close a couple times. Once during Master and Commander because I was feeling sick. And once just a few weeks ago during Hellboy II because it was so effing boring.

Anonymous said...

Ali and Once.

Not because they were bad, but because of emergencies.

Recently, I really wanted to walk out during Mamma Mia, but I stayed in it for a friend. I'm glad I did, it ended up being ok.

J.D. said...

Only one that I can recall: Rent. Not because I wanted to, but because my friend (who dragged me there in the first place) didn't realize IT WAS A MUSICAL?! So like 5 minutes in we left, and snuck into - wait for it - Yours, Mine & Ours.

I still hate him for that.

Anonymous said...

Not but I just tried to watch Valley of the Dolls on DVD and I couldn't take it. It was so bad, and it wasn't even campy bad. Just dreadful.

Anonymous said...

I hate to say it but I walked out of the mummy because the person I was with was scared. And I really hate to say I walked out of Sin City because it was really awkward watching it with my mom and my aunt in theaters.

Anonymous said...

I forgot to say in SIn City I walked out at the party when Mickey Rourke's character started squeazing the guys head to the point of exploding.

Ironically I felt like walking out on Blade Runner when rutger hauer kissed his created on the lips and then starting squeezing the guys head to the exploding point.

blakecgriffin said...

'Talladega Nights.' I thought that movie was horrible. I walked out of 'Across the Universe' as well, but I gave it two hours, so it's not like I didn't give it a chance.

Sean Knight said...

I have only ever walked out of one film and that was A Knight's Tale because I was with a bunch of people who hated it. Now I'm kinda sad about it because I cant picture myself ever walking out of a Heath Ledger film... even though he's made some crappy ones. But there are a few films I really thought about walking out of. The most recent was Mamma Mia. What a terrible fucking movie. I love musicals and I couldnt wait for everyone to shut the hell up. Other films I thought about walking out of but didnt -

Miami Vice
Across the Universe
Prince Caspian
Pirates of the Caribbean (I've grown to like the first one a little more)
The Mummy Returns
Funny Games

Sean Knight said...

I have only ever walked out of one film and that was A Knight's Tale because I was with a bunch of people who hated it. Now I'm kinda sad about it because I cant picture myself ever walking out of a Heath Ledger film... even though he's made some crappy ones. But there are a few films I really thought about walking out of. The most recent was Mamma Mia. What a terrible fucking movie. I love musicals and I couldnt wait for everyone to shut the hell up. Other films I thought about walking out of but didnt -

Miami Vice
Across the Universe
Prince Caspian
Pirates of the Caribbean (I've grown to like the first one a little more)
The Mummy Returns
Funny Games

Anonymous said...

never. never. I've sat through the worst movies ever.

Anonymous said...

Never. Not even Hannibal, which is the closest I came. I've even remained behind when friends walked out of screenings.

Anonymous said...

Jim Finn's INTERKOSMOS
I was too tired, too drunk and the lights went out, I didn't want to wait for it to begin again...

Anonymous said...

Came close while watching that ghastly Cheaper by the dozen sequel. Only reason I went to see it was bcoz it seemed like the only thing I could watch with my mum and granny at the time.

FYI: Vince Vaughn walked out of The English Patient.

ryan said...

The Dark Night - I realized it was better to just leave the theater than to terrorize Nat. I also remember walking out of Riding In Cars with Boys (Nat walked out of that one with me). And the list of movies i wish I'd walked out on goes on and on...

Chad said...

Closer and Kung Fu Hustle

Joel said...

Never here, but the closet I came was during Béla Tarr's The Man From London... 92 people obviously didn't have my will power though, because thats how many walkouts there were.

Saia Smith said...

i walked out of Scoop because the entire ordeal was unbearable.

Anonymous said...

I haven't thus far. The closest I have been to walking out was 'bedazzled'. Liz Hurley and Brendan Fraser. Need I say more...

Anonymous said...

I haven't, but I never used to go to the theater often - and when I do go, I make sure it's something I really want to see. I won't sit in a dark room for two hours unless there's a damn good reason.

My fiancé walked out of Moulin Rouge, though. (He was with a girl - and yes, she left too. Although she would have deserved it if he'd left her there.)

Anonymous said...

1.) Mamma Mia (as soon as they started dancing in those flippers I was gone)

2.) The Good German (because I had no idea what was going on and I'm not sure Steven Sodeburgh did either)

3.) The Holiday (because it was painful to see Kate Winslet behave like she was in an Ashton Kutcher comedy)

Anonymous said...

hollywood ending. i had to pee. and it didn't seem worth the effort to go back in.

k, also kk, also kara, also kristina said...

I really wanted to walk out of Rollerball, the one with the guy from American Pie. I was even high, and I couldn't even get some humor out of it.

I fell asleep during Battlefield Earth because it was just so, so terrible.

I can't believe I finished Batman and Robin. That's probably the worst movie I've ever seen.

The last two were even watched with RiffTrax,
and that didn't help at all. Had I paid to see them, I'd have left.

Anonymous said...

I walked out of Mulholland Drive. It really was not very good and the scary lady in the car park, well, scared me!

I should have walked out of ...
- 4 of the 10 movies I saw at the Melbourne Film Festival including Otto by Bruce La Bruce (although if I had I wouldn't have got to see a gay zombie f&^%ing a gash in another gay zombie's stomach - how can you live without that!
- Unforgiven (I was 14)
- Miami Vice.

The people who walked out of Mamma Mia have no soul. Meryl singing the winner takes it all is something not to be missed!!

Michael Parsons said...

I stuck it out for 75% of the movie, but in the end I decided not to waste anymore of my life watching the drivel that was "A Beautiful Mind" leaving my boy friend in the cinema. Still very happy with the decision.

The Jaded Armchair Reviewer said...

Almost walked out on "National Treasure" but the movie had drained all my energy for me to even be able to get out of my chair.

Anonymous said...

I would NEVER walk out of a movie b/c of its quality - only in case of an unrelated emergency.

That said...I've seen some pretty crappy movies in theaters. The closest I came to leaving was probably Bewitched - mostly b/c my contacts were excruciatingly uncomfortable for some reason, but also maybe a little b/c it was a god awful film.

Came close to leaving The Happening, but it was too entertainingly dreadful to not stick it out to the end. I probably lost a few IQ points for said decision, but it's in the past.

Drew said...

Kicking and Screaming - the Will Ferrell one. That is the single least funny comedy I've EVER seen. I'm not entirely sure how I even ended up in the theater. I fear it involves rohypnol.

Vance said...

Nope but I should have walked out of Stealing Beauty.

And I should have NEVER rented (for FREE from the library, damnit, how easily I can be fooled) Scooby Doo and Star Wars Parts 1 and 2. Why I actually watched the WHOLE thing I'm not sure either.

Anonymous said...

Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9

c.p. iñor said...

Just once.... MUNICH...

but because the theather was on fire so I have like no choice...

but actually I wasn't really enjoying the film so...

Anonymous said...

nope... I'll sit through practically anything ;o)

although it helps that I'm very discerning about the movies I choose to see! :p

Can't believe you haven't seen Mamma Mia! yet Nathaniel!!! I went yesterday (just out in Spain), and WOW!!! Ok, so it's not great cinema, some of them can't sing so well (Brosnan, ouch!). But it's just pure, unadultered FUN!!! Like we haven't seen on the big screen in ages!!! And the music... holy shit it was like reliving my childhood all over (when others were getting into Madonna and Michael Jackson, I was a big ABBA fan, blame my parents :p )

I got home and all I wanted to do was head back out again and go partying or something... adrenaline rushing through the veins!

Anonymous said...

Never. If the movie is boring I take a nap, if it's so bad it gets on your nerves, there's nothing better than staying through the whole thing so that you can rant about it later on ;)

I've walked out of a theatre play, though. It was probably the worst acting, directing, just everything I've ever seen. It was just so painful seeing a bunch of people trying to act... that the intermission just came as salvation for me. I guess that's one the reasons movies have no intermissions any longer.

Iggy

Janice said...

Not yet, but I came pretty close during The Man Who Wasn't There. I can't fault the acting, and I love the Coen Bros when they're good, but when they are bad (read: self-indulgent and pointless)...my friend and I had seen Amelie in the same cinema a week earlier and it was still playing, so occasionally I could hear the music from it coming through the walls. I so wanted to bolt and watch Amelie a second time. I don't know why I didn't. Maybe I hoped the film would get better.

Film I didn't leave but nearly fell asleep during - Vanity Fair (the Mira Nair remake with Reese Witherspoon. Thank God for Jim Broadbent's occasionally scenery chewing to keep me awake, but barely.)

Of course I'm really picky in what I go to (I have to be - I'm broke most of the time) and The Man Who Wasn't There was my friend's idea. I know that turning off a film at home doesn't count - it's too easy to do, and so it doesn't have the same sense of drama. My sweetie and I finally decided 2/3 of the way through to turn off Star Wars Episode One - and we have made it through Satyricon (and without the help of any illicit substances) and some weird indie stuff but this was just too mind-numbing to bear.

Glenn Dunks said...

I went to get a drink during The Patriot cause I was bored and then ran into a friend and just didn't go back until 30 minutes later and by that time I had no idea what was going on (doesn't help that I know absolutely nada about whatever war that movie was about... American civil? meh)

I think I was at the same screening as Joel for The Man from London. Boy did I wanna get up and leave during that one, but I kept thinking something had to happen eventually. Like, anything. Alas, I was wrong.

I also wanted to walk out of 881 the other day because I saw it on impulse at the Melbourne film fest after a 9hr shift at work and I was dead tired, but I stayed because I had a session of My Winnipeg after it and had nothing better to do while I waited. I ended up being wide awake for Winnipeg so it wasn't just my tiredness getting the best of me.

NATHANIEL R said...

I've walked out of a few at festivals (after days of 3 other movies or what have you) if they weren't grabbing me.

the thing i'm most embarrassed about is i almost walked out of 9 and 1/2 weeks because I was offended (!?!) but in my defence, i was way too young for it. now i look back on pieces of it fondly on account of Mickey Rourke when he was sexy and Kim Basinger when she was naked.

i did walk out of RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS and i wish i had walked out of 10,000 BC which may have been the silliest thing I've seen in a decade or so. And not silly in the good way.

Anonymous said...

Grandview USA w/ Jamie Lee Curtis. I went to it because the movie i wanted to see was sold out. totally unwatchable. i would have left during "Mama Mia" - but i took my 12-year old daugther who thought it was GREAT!

Billy D said...

The Libertine and Gone in 60 Seconds are the only ones :-)

StinkyLulu said...

two:

In the summer of 1985, I left Return of the Living Dead because the friend I went with was, unbeknownst to me at the time, "crashing" from a chemical bender and the something about zombies in a park just proved too much for him.

In the summer of 2003, I only made it through the first 40 minutes or so of From Justin to Kelly. I was alone. In the theater. The air conditioning wasn't working. And I had no idea what was going on. So I left and theatre-surfed to something else, I fergit what.

ski said...

The only time was Casino. When they put the guys head in a vice, I ceased to be entertained.

On video, the wife and I also have never made it through Clockwork Orange, The Last Emporer or Being John Malkovich. Just not our cup(s) of tea.

Anonymous said...

I know I've walked out on a few, especially when I'm by myself or with 1 other friend (I can't count the times I've wanted to walk out of films but was with a group of friends). But the one I will always clearly remember is walking out of Pauly Shore's In the Army Now. One of the best decisions of my life.

Cinesnatch said...

Kids
Analyze This!

One had to drive its point a little too hard. One was too unfunny

Rob said...

I didn't actually walk out, but I actively chose to go to sleep (or at least shut my eyes) during "Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem," and I wasn't even tired.

Walter L. Hollmann said...

a few times, actually.

Eragon, because I have my whole life ahead of me.

Meet the Fockers, because after 45 minutes, I had yet to laugh or smile.

Epic Movie, because HOLY CRAP WHY DID I GO SEE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE -- exchanged my ticket for Letters from Iwo Jima.

Barton Fink, because I just didn't care. I didn't. It was a free screening at my school, so it wasn't like I was wasting money. People tell me the ending is what makes the movie, but I honestly don't care enough to find out.

I know a lot of people believe in toughing it out, but sometimes the experience is too unbearable.

Anonymous said...

Never ever walked out of a movie theater. Ever. However, it took all the strength I had not to walk out of Miami Vice. My dad had scored tickets to a promotional screening so I figured why not. It was one of few times that I saw a movie without reading any reviews. Now I know why I read them. Holy cow. I wanted to die as I sat there and it only got worse.

I have to admit I have stopped watching DVDs in the middle on three occasions:
- Say It Isn't So. When Chris Klein stuck pubes to his face, I was done.
- Napoleon Dynamite: I was just bored.
- The Brothers Grimm: I stopped once I realized I truly did not care how the film ends.

H. Alan Scott said...

when i was a kid my family had a bunch of movies night, we loved em. one night my family thought it was a fantastic idea to go see "boogie nights." things were fine through out most of the film. it was only when julianne moore's character says to mark whalberg, "just take it out and cum on my tits," is when i leaned into my mom and whispered, "i think we should go!" defiantly she said, "NO, we paid for this, we are getting our money's worth. how much worse could it get?"

fast forward to the end of the film when mark whalberg reveals his moneymaker, that was when my mom leaned into me and whispered, "i guess it could get worse."

she was able to derive a lesson out of the experience though. she said to my brothers and myself, "boys, look at it this way, having a large penis only leads to a life in pornography and drug use, you should be proud of your small penis's."

so no, i have never walked out on a movie. you commit!

Anonymous said...

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being". Sitting through one movie cliche after another, watching characters that are supposed to be loveable and charming and sexy, but are mostly just pretentious idiots. Then the onscreen couple got a puppy. I said, "That's it. If the dog dies, I'm out of here". Then the dog died, and I left.

Adam said...

Loads of times!

The Libertine
The Grudge
Napoleon Dynamite
The Forbidden Kingdom
Twin Dragons
In Bruges
Spirited Away (sorry)
Hostel
Los Debutantes
Johnny English
Bloody Sunday (about 2 minutes from the end: couldn't tolerate it when they started reading out the names of the "plucky innocent Irish victims")

Once you've done it a few times you realise it is quite empowering and it becomes easy. In truth I;ve sat through worse films than some of these listed but for one reason or another I just realised I'd rather be doing something else - indeed anything else than wasting another 60 minutes on something I wasn't enjoying at all.

Anonymous said...

Tried to walk out of "The Holiday" but my friends (who have a terrible taste in films) were loving it and made me stay.

"Leatherheads" was one of the boringest films I've ever seen and I should have left, but again, my friends liked it...

And I rented "10,000 BC" the other week and really want my money back!!!

Beau said...

three times:
1) Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever in high school. A few buddies of mine and I went along because hey, it's an action film. Can't be that bad, right?
>:I
After forty minutes, I knew I would rather lose eight bucks and gain one hour of my life back before committing to this piece of shit.
2) Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Friend said she'd meet me there. Never showed up. I tried to make the best of it. Then Lohan did Monroe. Then I walked out.
3) Yes - aged 18, sitting in a movie theater, knowing that I loved the concept but could not grasp it. Had to acknowledge that at this juncture, the film was far too cerebral for me. Bought it a year later, still waiting to sit down and give it another shot. It'll be easier now since Ive seen Orlando, and fell head over heels for that.

Emma said...

Nope. Would like to though!

Anonymous said...

I had the unfortunate experience of watching Alexander. The worst experience of my life.

Anonymous said...

Walked out of Jury Duty.

Walked out of half a viewing of Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.

Walked out in the middle of The Bourne Supremacy because I couldn't take the ridiculously shaky handheld shots, but returned just to see how it ended.

Anonymous said...

walked out on spiderman 2..dreadful movie!

verninino said...

I've never walked out on anything, but rare is the Hollywood blockbuster that I wouldn't've minded walking out during the last 10-15 minutes and re-imagining my own ending.

pikajew said...

Starship Troopers. I ended up going back in but only 'cause my ride was still inside watching it and stupid me forgot to bring a book.

Cluster Funk said...

Strictly Business. I was 12 and with my friend and his mom. (Although, let's face it, it was no big loss.)

Anonymous said...

I couldn't finish Hostle(sp?) Not because it frightened me, but because the way that poor person screamed when the torturer cut his calves into (er whatever he did) It made me be sick. I could've handled the blood, but the screams over did it for me.

Alsoooo... I'm pretty sure I will walk out on Twilight once it comes out. I can't even finish the commercials. Ugh! They slaughtered it. Robert Pattinson was bad enough, but all the scenes are screwed up.

Glenn Dunks said...

Anon, I believe the words you're looking for are "Achilles tendon"

NATHANIEL R said...

vern reimagining your own ending as opposed to ANY of the endings they provided? (if you ask me multiple endings are the #1 curse of big movies. BLARRRRGGGH. just Choose One!)

Anonymous said...

I walked out of the latest Halloween movie after young Mike Myers bludgeoned another kid to death with a club.

Anonymous said...

Wanted SO MUCH to walk out of the second new "Star Wars" movie. If only I hadn't brought a friend who was totally enthralled with the film. It sucked. A lot.
ESPECIALLY the scene where Hayden Christensen tells Natalie Portman of his deep and abiding love. : P

My sister and I sat there and debated how/when to leave, but then I decided we shouldn't leave my friend to get the bus home. So we kicked back and enjoyed the high technical achievement and beauty of the explosions and firefights. Good work, CGI team.

Anonymous said...

Once, Any Which Way You Can. I was dumbstruck that anybody thought it would be a good idea to have Eastwood deck an orangutan with a right cross. I sat there in shock for a couple of minutes - was even more sickened by the number of people in the audience laughing - and finally just walked out slightly dazed.

chris said...

CLOSER. Fake cybersex scene that went on for what seemed like forever. "This is the new artful Hollywood?" I questioned to myself. It was a free screening at the student union.

Literature Crazy said...

Something's Gotta Give... I tried it for two hours and the story still wasn't cleaning its act up, so I gave up.