Why do I always get stuck next to "that guy" at a movie or show?

[samiwas]

Actually, I think it's my wife that brings out the karma, but it seems that we ALWAYS get stuck next to "that guy" whenever we go to a concert, movie, comedy show...pretty much anything. You know the guy (or girl) I'm talking about...the one who talks non-stop, makes loud noises, or is otherwise just generally unpleasant...

Tonight, for example, we went to a comedy show with about 4000 people in the audience. Of course, people were laughing a lot and shouting every now and then to the comedian, but we had to sit next to this dude who just kept making that drunk "ahhhhhh...HA HAaaaaaaaaaa" laugh, consistently repeated the last three words out of the comedians mouth in a loud, slurred voice, or otherwise mumbled incoherent crap...and his wife was just as bad. He was asked on numerous occasions by people around him to be quiet, but he just told everyone who asked him to f-off. When security came down to check him out, he happened to be quiet so they couldn't do anything.

On another occasion at a Broadway theater tour, we sat next to this absolutely wretched-smelling woman who constantly stood up and screamed "YEAH! YEAH! HOLLLLAA!!" anytime someone hit a big note.

Then there are the people always making noise at the movies, talking throughout concerts, etc. Obviously, I'm not talking about little quips here and there, as we all do that...I'm talking about people who just cannot be quiet. Argh.

It seems to be becoming worse and worse lately. It honestly seems like we just can't go anywhere any more without someone being a major distraction. We've stopped going to movies altogether except the first weekday matinee. Is it just us, or do others notice this problem becoming more and more widespread in recent years. Or are we just less tolerant of this activity?

 

[Abstract]

I sat beside a person like that once on an airplane. It was a 20 hour flight. Around 5 hours into it, I finally told her, "Mom, can you just leave me alone?"

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

It's not just you. The missus and I have noticed it too. There seems to be a significant decline of people with manners and/or home training. They're obviously not being taught at home, and certainly the television and other kids aren't going to do it.

 

[chrmjenkins]

On another occasion at a Broadway theater tour, we sat next to this absolutely wretched-smelling woman who constantly stood up and screamed "YEAH! YEAH! HOLLLLAA!!" anytime someone hit a big note.

At a broadway show? I figured those attracted people who were a little more sophisticated.

 

[Melrose]

One time I wound up sitting directly behind this young couple who were very very affectionate.. hands up/down pants/shirts, heavy breathing, etc. The Movie wasn't that good anyway.

 

[Mr. lax]

In all fairness, its probably teenagers. I am one and i know how annoying people can be when they don't shut up while i'm watching a movie

 

[Xfujinon]

there's this guy in my class. Has to have the most annoying laugh on Earth. A loud, unmistakeable, shrieking and drawn out guffawing thunderous bellowing crappy roar.

And, worst of all, he laughs at EVERY SINGLE THING the instructor says.

INSTRUCTOR: "So yesterday, I got the oil changed on my car."

BASTARD: "GUFF'HA-AWWWWW AWWW HAWW HAWW *sharp inhalation* AHAHAHEEWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAAWAAA *knee slap* AAAAWAAAAAAAHAHAAHAHA

I hate it. I might even hate him. He's one of those doofy, knob-ish people who always has their mouth open and a dull stare.

I'm in medical school, he'll be a doctor someday. God help his patients.

 

[leekohler]

I'm lucky in that I have an old, small movie theater in my neighborhood. New movies are all $5. It's mostly just the neighborhood people who go, so it's pretty quiet and respectful. Oh- and there are also a lot of college students too. They're completely silent. If I go to a bigger, newer cinema, that's when I notice the annoying people.

 

[it5five]

I'm lucky in that I have an old, small movie theater in my neighborhood. New movies are all $5. It's mostly just the neighborhood people who go, so it's pretty quiet and respectful. Oh- and there are also a lot of college students too. They're completely silent. If I go to a bigger, newer cinema, that's when I notice the annoying people.

Yep.

When I go see movies I mostly go to the theatre that shows foreign or independent films. The audience is always much better. I've never had any problems with anyone being annoying.

 

[63dot]

It seems to be becoming worse and worse lately. It honestly seems like we just can't go anywhere any more without someone being a major distraction. We've stopped going to movies altogether except the first weekday matinee. Is it just us, or do others notice this problem becoming more and more widespread in recent years. Or are we just less tolerant of this activity?

Dude, that is providence.

Film these people secretly, make a TV show.

 

[samiwas]

One time I wound up sitting directly behind this young couple who were very very affectionate.. hands up/down pants/shirts, heavy breathing, etc. The Movie wasn't that good anyway.

Ha...this reminds me of a few years ago when I was the lighting console operator on a theater tour. We were in a large theater, but not many seats sold, so the back half of the seating area was empty. So these two girls (twins) and a guy, who couldn't have been over 15, come and plop down right in front of me and go at it for the second half of the show...and I mean really taking care of this guy. Hearing them talk afterwards, they met him DURING intermission! I just couldn't believe they did it right in front of me in a theater. He made sure to get their number.

 

[0098386]

I'm lucky in that I have an old, small movie theater in my neighborhood. New movies are all $5. It's mostly just the neighborhood people who go, so it's pretty quiet and respectful. Oh- and there are also a lot of college students too. They're completely silent. If I go to a bigger, newer cinema, that's when I notice the annoying people.

Oh my yes. We used to have a small cinema in my town, heavenly place to go! Wasn't too big, just 6 screens but the people were behaved. They knocked that down so the nearest place now is the 20+ screen giant uberplex in the next town over. It's in the middle of nowhere yet its still full of unsupervised kids who ruin it.

 

[BlackSnow]

It seems to be becoming worse and worse lately. It honestly seems like we just can't go anywhere any more without someone being a major distraction. We've stopped going to movies altogether except the first weekday matinee. Is it just us, or do others notice this problem becoming more and more widespread in recent years. Or are we just less tolerant of this activity?

Your not alone, I notice and it's everywhere. Most of the younger people today don't know when to be quiet or they just don't care. And I doubt the next generation will be any different.

 

[samiwas]

Your not alone, I notice and it's everywhere. Most of the younger people today don't know when to be quiet or they just don't care. And I doubt the next generation will be any different.

It's not even just younger people. The guy who was making all the noise that led to this thread was probably in his 40's at least. I see it just as much in the 40's and younger. I'm 34, so it's not like I'm some old crotchety person hating on all the youth! Well, I am crotchety, but not old.

 

[ikermalli]

there's this guy in my class. Has to have the most annoying laugh on Earth. A loud, unmistakeable, shrieking and drawn out guffawing thunderous bellowing crappy roar.

And, worst of all, he laughs at EVERY SINGLE THING the instructor says.

INSTRUCTOR: "So yesterday, I got the oil changed on my car."

BASTARD: "GUFF'HA-AWWWWW AWWW HAWW HAWW *sharp inhalation* AHAHAHEEWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAAWAAA *knee slap* AAAAWAAAAAAAHAHAAHAHA

I hate it. I might even hate him. He's one of those doofy, knob-ish people who always has their mouth open and a dull stare.

I'm in medical school, he'll be a doctor someday. God help his patients.

You're going to love this guy then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls0ZlaiefXY

 

[SilvorX]

For movies in a theatre, it's always been fine. However at concerts, if it's a concert with standing (general admission), I always get stuck standing right behind someone who is 6'5" or taller, I'm not even near that tall (but not short). It starts with me standing around where I plan to stand for most of the concert, then a bunch of people start standing infront of me, they invite their friends, and their friends, who are always taller, end up right infront me.

I hate the roudy people at a concert (especially drunk). I've been trampled over at a concert because of roudy people, it's not fun

 

[Ivan P]

My family goes to see the Hopman Cup (this tennis tournament in Perth, Australia) almost every year. Anyway, this year we paid for my parents, myself and my sister. On the day, my sister was ill and couldn’t come, and we had no one to use the seat. At the event, the three of us sat together with the extra seat to my left, with another two seats next to that heading into the aisle. This lady and her husband had the tickets for those two remaining seats. Anyway, she didn’t realize that we had actually paid for that spare seat so she dumps all her stuff on it. Throughout the whole tennis match she couldn’t figure out who she was going for, and whenever ANYONE scored all you’d hear was this high pitched “YES! YES! YES!” coming from her. It was really quite annoying.

My dad got really fed up with her and was more annoyed when he realized she was using the seat we paid $80 for.
So when she and her husband went out for a break, he asked me to sit in his seat. Alright, I will, even though that’s odd...then I realized he was moving the lady’s stuff back onto her own seat, and proceeded to sit down in the seat that we paid for. Well, when she returned she gave him the stare of death so bad he’d have been killed ten times over. She didn’t cheer at all for the rest of the night while he was sitting there—it was really quite funny, dad got up and went out to stretch his legs and the moment he was out of sight she started yelling and cheering again, and even turned around and yelled across the stand at another guy saying “YEAH! THAT’S RIGHT! YOU CHEER AS LOUD AS YOU WANT!”, before smugly looking across at me and mum as if it was some sort of competition. Needless to say, she shut up the moment dad returned.

I just thought it was really quite immature. I know people can say that “so what, it was an empty seat”. That’s not the point. We still paid for that seat so it’s downright rude for someone to think that just because it’s empty that they can put their stuff on it. Yeah, wow, they put some stuff on it, blah blah blah...but still, once again we paid for it so she doesn't have the right to do anything with it. And the thing is, she knew it was ours all along because she didn’t even bother asking to see dad’s ticket, which clearly had that seat number stamped on it. If you want a seat to dump your stuff on, pay for it yourself. Don’t expect other people to pay $80 for your convenience.

Another one is when me and my partner went to see Quantum of Solace a few months ago, this older (40 or so) guy and two friends, out of a cinema that wasn't even half full yet, decided to be a prick and ask us to move over a single seat each so that he and his friends could sit down, despite there was clearly more then three seats together on the other side of us AND on the other side of the aisle. He had a coffee as well (who drinks coffee at a cinema?) and kept sipping it loudly for the first half hour or so, then he and his friends kept whispering loudly amongst each other and all you could smell was their coffee breath going everywhere. It was really quite disturbing, especially when taking into account their age.

 

[Cromulent]

The number one thing that ruins the cinema experience is stupid cinemas who think turning the volume up on the film to stupid levels actually makes it better. I've stopped going to films because they are so loud it actually hurts my ears.

 

[garybUK]

I got stuck on a aeroplane next to a little kid (american) who found every single thing funny on the film / tv programme that she was watching, well annoying!! for 8 hours back from NY to Amsterdam she was kicking the seat in front and laughing out loud and screaming at the scary parts of films.

What annoys me most in Cinemas is the guy behind kicking your seat or putting his feet up on the back.... grrr!!

 

[Melrose]

Ha...this reminds me of a few years ago when I was the lighting console operator on a theater tour. We were in a large theater, but not many seats sold, so the back half of the seating area was empty. So these two girls (twins) and a guy, who couldn't have been over 15, come and plop down right in front of me and go at it for the second half of the show...and I mean really taking care of this guy. Hearing them talk afterwards, they met him DURING intermission! I just couldn't believe they did it right in front of me in a theater. He made sure to get their number.

I don't understand why people do stuff like that in public. Darkened theatre or not, it's still public. I mean, a quick smooch is one thing, but for Pete's sake don't start getting it on with people around. That's what drive-ins are for..

 

[brad.c]

The worst experience I had was at a movie theatre several years ago, with a guy who sat in the seat behind me, at the end of a row. People kept coming up to talk to him before the movie started, then during the movie he would kick the seat every time he laughed, and repeat the line to his date, who was sitting behind my wife.

The two positive things of that experience was (1) his date was Nicole Kidman, and (2) since I am pretty tall, I was able to sit up straight on occasion and block Tom Cruise's view.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Anytime I go to the city there are always loud people in the movie theaters, cell phones going off, and kids running around unattended. In my small town movie theater the kids would be getting dragged out of the theater and have their asses whooped by the parents.

 

[andiwm2003]

yep, i was flying in a crowded plane london to boston. not much space in economy anyway. the moron in front of me had no space for his carry on luggage and consequently put it under HIS seat which happens to my space for my feet. can be an oversight so no big problem. i told him extremely politely if he would move it because it's a 7hr flight and i need that space. he was the opinion it was his seat and his space. had to ask the stewardess to tell him because it's against federal law to beat the sh*% out of this dumbass.

in general there is a trend to less politeness, less self restraint and less respect for others. it's not age dependend IMHO. it's more a reflection of the me society, individualism, express yourself attitude, just do it life style. just watch some commercials and you see.....