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X-E’s ’08 Summer Megaparty: Movie Madness.

In 1989, my mother chaperoned a trip for my friends and I go to see No Holds Barred. No Holds Barred starred Hulk Hogan, who essentially played himself, fighting for freedom against the twin terrors of corporate soullessness and a giant, dark-skinned monster named "Zeus." It was all very Shakespearean.

I'm very conscious of the fact that No Holds Barred is one of the worst movies ever made, featuring everything from shady Cadillac drivers shitting themselves to Rob Lowe's sidekick from Wayne's World somehow managing to electrocute himself in protest of a wrestling match's outcome. Still, No Holds Barred was spirited if nothing else, and as a ten-year-old with a bucket of popcorn and a bunch of fellow wrestling nuts, I had a great time.

Only thing is, I made my mother sit like ten rows behind us, by herself. My crew wanted to maintain the illusion that we went to the theater on our own. I guess the cool kids were doing it.

That must rank among the top ten cruelest things I've ever done. It's bad enough that I roped my mother into seeing No Holds Barred, but to force her to pretend that she went to see it by herself? Beyond cruel. I probably extended my purgatory sentence by a good seven years on that afternoon alone.

This is your random survey of the night: Discuss some of your weirdest movie theater experiences. I have plenty of them, and will post a few in the comments once I zzz zzz zzz myself back to full health.

Posted by Matt on 07/21/2008. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 226 comments

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Probably seeing Garbage Pail Kids The Movie with my friend and his mother when i was 6. I don’t think i need a sotry to go with this one.

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 07/21/2008 11:39 PM


So close.

I think I saw Gremlins while eating a Scooby Doo oversized lolly pop.

Chestnuts roasted by ATD @ 07/21/2008 11:43 PM


Bicentinnial Man nuff’ said

Chestnuts roasted by Anonymous @ 07/21/2008 11:48 PM


Hmm a good question.

I saw both The Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat movies in the theater, that’s something.

Seeing the Simpsons Movie last year at it’s midnight show goes down as probably my favorite movie going experience ever. First, it was in a large theater filled to the brim with simpsons fans. People (including myself) wearing Simpsons shirts, and a girl shouting to a guy in the front who was a dead ringer for Comic Book Guy that they were wearing the same shirt.

Then there was the Transformers movie last year where someone showed up in an Optimus Prime costume made from cardboard. He sat through the entire movie in it, which showed some dedication.

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 07/21/2008 11:50 PM


When we went to see Wall E a VERY large woman kept laughing obnoxiously loudly whenever the fat humans came into frame. She was totally disregarding the social message, not to mention the irony of her laughing at the movie in the first place…

Chestnuts roasted by drew do @ 07/21/2008 11:50 PM


Going to a midnight showing of Jaws with a group of people dressed in character, even as the shark.

Chestnuts roasted by Dan @ 07/21/2008 11:51 PM


Batman and Robin with the family.
WHAT!? I was like, ten!

Chestnuts roasted by Denise @ 07/21/2008 11:53 PM


Heckling The Ninth Gate in the theatre on opening weekend. Having the whole audience laugh along with us- We were all roped into seeing a terrible movie,might as well amuse ourseves at its expense.

Chestnuts roasted by kittymao @ 07/21/2008 11:56 PM


Worst movie experiance? Envy staring Jack Black and that no talent hack Ben Stiller…yes I am still bitter and yes, I want Ben to personally refund my $1o.

Best movie experiance, funny as it sounds, Titanic…didn’t want the movie though. Won’t kiss and tell here.

Chestnuts roasted by tigerfan @ 07/21/2008 11:56 PM


Seeing Empire Strikes Back at a drive-in when I was about 3. I cried for the remainder of the day as visions of Yoda kept dancing in my head. One of my earliest memories… and yet I am a true Star Wars geek today.

Chestnuts roasted by Bradd @ 07/21/2008 11:58 PM


I farted about halfway through Night at the Roxbury during a quiet part. The theater erupted in laughter and just as it started to quiet down i said “excuse me” and everyone started up again. I got more laughs than the movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Anonymous @ 07/22/2008 12:01 AM


Pretty much any Pixar/CGI movie I’ve seen in the theater. ALWAYS seem to have a crowd full of young kids who laugh at inappropriate times and can be annoying with all their chit-chat. This year alone I’ve had that experience with Horton Hears a Who, Kung Fu Panda, and Wall-E. Oh yeah, Bee Movie wasn’t much better and even a couple years ago when I saw Robots, another annoying young crowd. I think I need to stop seeing CGI animated movies in the theaters.

Oh yeah, two more bad experiences: War of the Worlds, FULL theater, lot of talking, laughing at lines that weren’t even half funny, and cheering towards the end when I was hoping the aliens would blow the whole planet to smithereens. Then I can’t forget Star Wars Episode II in the scene where Yoda kicks ass at the end. That scene to me wasn’t even believeable but everyone’s cheering yelling, “Yeah, Yoda’s kicking ass!” Whatever. Actually, the more I write this, the more incidents I can think that annoy me in the theaters. I better stop.

Chestnuts roasted by BJ @ 07/22/2008 12:03 AM


^That is hilarious, I must do that some time.

Chestnuts roasted by sonny @ 07/22/2008 12:03 AM


Some guy was caught with a video camera filming the movie. I don’t remember what it was. When he was caught they shut off the movie, turned on the lights and the manager gave us a lecture on the evils of movie downloading/bootlegging. Then they turned the movie back on. The weird thing is they didn’t kick the guy out, but he did put the camera away.

Another time the film broke about halfway through one of the Harry Potter films. They offered everyone either a refund or to see the movie later for free. We chose the latter.

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 07/22/2008 12:08 AM


I remember going to see Pinocchio when it was re-released when I was about 3 or 4 and I got stuck in the seat. The theater had the normal stadium-style seats that folded up and apparently I was such a small kid that my weight didn’t keep the seat down. I couldn’t get out and we had to get help when the movie was over. I was traumatized.

Chestnuts roasted by Mecca @ 07/22/2008 12:08 AM


When I went to see “Hook”, my little sister (who was about 4) got really upset by Hook. There’s a scene when Hook has Peter’s kids in some kind of trouble, and my sister screamed out
“Fly Pan! Fly!” ….the whole audience cracked up..it was actually pretty cute.

Chestnuts roasted by jules @ 07/22/2008 12:09 AM


I still have lots o’ love for “No Holds Barred”! I saw it the moment it came out on video at my house with several fellow wrestling fans of mine!! Good stuff! Definitely enjoyed Zeus GOING THROUGH THE RING!!!! :D

Chestnuts roasted by Loneman1 @ 07/22/2008 12:10 AM


Oh yeah, just remmebered the time I went to see Batman Begins and the power went out in the theater. We weren’t able to see the rest of the film but they offered to let us get into another show whenever the power went back on. I was so upset, I just walked out. Never saw the ending until four months later when it came out on DVD.

Chestnuts roasted by BJ @ 07/22/2008 12:12 AM


Me, the Colonel, and another friend of ours went to see Batman Forever. It was in a mostly empty theatre. We sat in the front row and our parents and siblings sat in the back. We didn’t tell them to do that, though. We acted pretty stupid, and had a ton of food. Might have had some of those glow things like you have at Halloween parties and raves, too.

Good thing we had a good time goofing off, cuz that movie certainly wasn’t.

Chestnuts roasted by Neg @ 07/22/2008 12:13 AM


March madness is the time when high school and college basketball tournaments take place all around the country. Planting

Chestnuts roasted by Planting @ 07/22/2008 12:13 AM


I saw a late-night show of The Incredibles one time and I was the ONLY one in the theater! CAn’t tell you how many times I wish I had an experience like that again!

Chestnuts roasted by BJ @ 07/22/2008 12:18 AM


Anybody remember that movie Bushwhacked? With Daniel Stern? No? Nobody? From around 1995 or so? We were walking past the screen room it was playing in (they had the doors open for some unknown reason), and there was one guy in there. And he was snoring. Classic. I’ve seen completely empty screen rooms with the film rolling, but this was somehow infinitely better.

Chestnuts roasted by Justin @ 07/22/2008 12:19 AM


Spilled my popcorn watching Jurassic Park. Dad got mad at me. Went on to do palaeontology in grad school.
Great movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Jordan @ 07/22/2008 12:20 AM


Went to see E.T., I started crying when E.T. was sick at the end and then couldn’t stop crying, even though there was a happy ending. I must’ve looked pretty cool on my exit, bawling my eyes out with my mom and sister going “It’s OK!! He didn’t die!”

Chestnuts roasted by Teejay @ 07/22/2008 12:23 AM


When my parents took me to Mortal Kombat in theaters, they said I could sit on my own, I didn’t have to sit with them. This was the first time I could really do that. So I went down and found an empty seat, very excited to see the movie. Then I look over down the row and there was a group of 17 year old girls sitting on the other end and they all looked at me and started laughing all at once. I quietly sat back up and went back to sit with my parents.

In truth, I had much more of a right to sit in the front rows than probably any one else in that theater. At that young age, I was the source many older kids came to get move and fatality commands.

Chestnuts roasted by doho in the summer @ 07/22/2008 12:24 AM


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