Is it any wonder that people don’t go to movies anymore?

Last night I went to see Syriana. It was opening night and that normally means a packed theatre of restless screaming children, text-messaging teenager, and other inconsiderate moviegoers. For these reasons, I would normally steer clear of any movie on opening night. However, due to the nature of the movie, and the fact that Narnia was opening on three screens in the theatre, I figured I was in the clear.

Upon entering the theatre, I was pleasantly surprised. It was only about a third full and they looked like a considerate older group. Only a few minutes to go to show-time, it was looking good. But wait, my luck is not nearly this good.

In walked a family with 3 kids. They appeared to be about 5, 7, and 15 years old. Then another family entered. This family had a baby and a 3 year old. Here is some advice for all those parents out there: If your 3 year old child comes to you and demands to see a political drama about oil in the Middle East, maybe you are letting them watch a little too much Fox News Channel.

Anyway… where was I? As if on cue during the opening of the movie, the 3 year old began throw a tantrum. The mother spent a minute trying to calm her down, and finally had to remove her from the theatre. She returned minutes later only to have the tantrum start up again (a pattern that continued throughout the movie). Meanwhile, the 5 year old has begun bounding up and down the aisle talking to various members of her family until her dad finally removed her from the theatre. Unfortunately, this only freed up the 7 year old to do the same.

Now I cannot blame the kids. They had to be incredibly bored. The movie had a slow pace and was laced with subtlety – not to mention subtitles. I’ve got to ask… just how selfish are these parents to subject their children to this?

Oh, and if you wanted a review… it was good. Similar in style to Traffic, but good.