Did I handle this correctly?

Kids shouldn't be allowed in public places full stop. They have a perfectly adequate place for their recreational needs and it's called their room. Or under the stairs.

You should have found the child's mother and had sex with her. Even if she were dead.

I'm pretty sure this is the best way to handle terrible people at the movie theater.

The McElroys did a MBMBAM bit on this issue pretty recently, though there was no kid involved. I think Travis came up with the best idea, which is just to slowly raise a middle finger pointing at them and leave it there for the rest of the movie. Five minutes in, they'll be like, "Okay, I get it, we'll shut up." Twenty minutes in, they'll be like "What do I do? We stopped talking, he's still flipping us off!" An hour in, you are Daniel Craig.

@DarthOrange said:

You shouldn't feel bad for what you did but I can't shake the feeling there was a better way to handle it if a kid was present. How old was the kid? Did he look scared when you cursed out his dad? Also, as stated before me, you shouldn't have let him get the last word. After he called you a "jerk off" you should have called him a "punk bitch" so that he knows who is in charge.

Edit:
Seems like you have finally found your balls though. How goes it with the ladies?

Haha, it's going a lot better. I was on a date actually.

@salad10203 said:

How hard did you hit him?

I didn't hit him, I said that I felt like hitting him.

@MB said:

About ten years ago I got in a full on fistfight with two guys in a movie theatre who wouldn't stop talking and kicking the back of my girlfriend's seat. So, just be aware that if you ever say something like you did to a stranger, you should be prepared to get your ass kicked or worse. Since then, being the young hothead that I was, I've learned that if it's not worth dying over, then it's not worth fighting over, and therefore probably not worth mouthing off about.

If you're not prepared for such a response from someone you tell to shut the fuck up, keep quiet and advise theatre staff of the situation and they will handle it...which is probably what you should have done. You never know who you're dealing with or what they're capable of, take that as general advice for life and don't put yourself in situations that you don't know how to get out of should someone have a violent reaction to one of your outbursts.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I felt comfortable since he was a forty year old man. If it was the cast from Sons of Anarchy behind me, trust me I'd keep my mouth shut.

nah that's good. if you had talked any more it would've just escalated and nobody really wants that.

consider yourself lucky it didnt and move on

I like how everyone is mentioning that you cursed in front of the kid and that is some societal no-no when he is attending a movie with graphic depictions of violence, sex, and cursing. All things that can corrupt children in some peoples eyes. I find it even funnier that "curse words" still have leverage in society. Words, people they are just words. Teach them their uses and what they mean and don't be so afraid of them.

Also @Wolverine: I live in Central Jersey myself and the rudeness and general lack of humanity by those who identify themselves as being from North Jersey, New York, and fans of the Jersey Shore in any incarnation, be it show or locale, is overwhelming.

Also many of you have never been to the movies in Philly where people from the first row will talk to people in the last row during the movie. I shit you not.

And no reference to the Simpsons yet... I guess I'll do it.

@Azteris said:

Nah, you kind of acted like just as much of an asshole as the guy who was talking, if not more. Not that I agree with people talking during a movie, I'm just not going to pat you on the back for shouting obscenities to someone in front of their kid.

Maybe cussing was taking it too far but sometimes people need to realize that there are other people in the movie theater and none of them paid good money to hear your director's commentary. The dad should have known better.

thats why i bring a realistic looking but fake baby with me always. and when people piss me off i brutally destroy that fake baby that everyone thinks is real. they then shut up.

i think at a certain point it's acceptable to get angry, although not to the extent that you got up too.

the way i would have handled it, i would never give the turn around thing, it never gets the job done. From the very beginning politely ask them to be quiet (shut the hell up) and if they respond the way this guy did then you can retaliate (in an intelectual way and not a psycho way like you did) but it got the job done.

again as others have said i do prefer watching movies at home, movie theaters are uncomfortable, noisy, cell phone lights on, and people constantly getting up to leave or something

I think what you said is just fine, but the fact that you lost your temper and blew up on him probably isn't something you'd want to make a habit of. What if he was some kind of psyco?

@HistoryInRust said:

No. You should've murdered the child with your bare hands in front of him.

Yeah, this would have been the best course of action.

don't feel bad for cussing in front of a kid he probably cusses when his parents aren't around. yes you did the right thing.

@Wolverine: was this what happened?

Sometimes you gotta be a bigger asshole to make dumb assholes realise how much of an asshole they have been

Because they are assholes

@Azteris said:

Nah, you kind of acted like just as much of an asshole as the guy who was talking, if not more. Not that I agree with people talking during a movie, I'm just not going to pat you on the back for shouting obscenities to someone in front of their kid.

You did the right thing man, I would've done the same.

@IAmNotBatman said:

@Azteris said:

Nah, you kind of acted like just as much of an asshole as the guy who was talking, if not more. Not that I agree with people talking during a movie, I'm just not going to pat you on the back for shouting obscenities to someone in front of their kid.

After politely asking to lower the tone, if it were me I would threat calling the room supervisor, and would have call it if it were necessary.

This could've been handled better (preferably with less swearing), but he really did need to shut up

Situation's like yours OP are precisely one of the reasons I always have reservations going to see a film at the cinema. At the end of the day you got the desired result, they stopped talking, so I wouldn't sweat too much over how you handled the situation.

I just came back from seeing Skyfall tonight as well and thankfully had no disruption from the other movie-goers.

You did it wrong. Next time be more polite. Furthermore, he told you to jerk off, I don't understand why you didn't take that opportunity. Just kidding, but really, that's a really bad way to say "shut up" or "get away".

I don't think you did anything wrong. Sometimes people just piss you off to the point that you go Super Saiyan. As someone else mentioned there is no problem as long as it isn't they way you always deal with things.

Yes you handled it just right. If the guy didn't want his kid seeing something "violent" or cursing maybe he shouldn't have taken him to a 007 movie. I had the same reaction when a couple of old people behind me kept kicking my seat and chatting throughout The Grey. First time I turned around and asked them to stop kicking my seat. They continued about 10 minutes later. So I turned around and asked them in a very angry tone "So you gonna keep talking and kicking my chair or are you going to fucking watch the movie?". Stopped them from chatting. It doesn't matter if their 14 or in their 60s or 70s, they should know by now what movie theater etiquette is.

Had the sane situation last night while watching Skyfall. Some know it all nerd kept talking about the actors in the movie and all of his shitty trivia throughout the whole film. I didn't say anything but I wish I did. I'm also a Hispanic in suburban Georgia so I was worried that I'd be insulted by a mostly white southern audience. I'm glad that you told them to shut up.

Nah, you kind of acted like just as much of an asshole as the guy who was talking, if not more. Not that I agree with people talking during a movie, I'm just not going to pat you on the back for shouting obscenities to someone in front of their kid.

Be firm, you have the right to tell him to shut up, but I'm glad you didn't exact revenge on the kid at all. It's the dad's fault, the kid doesn't know any better. Although if I have kids I'm going to brief them on how not to act before they see their first film, the first time we go to a restaurant, etc.

But I agree with one of the posters above that this is why I don't go to the cinema very often, there was an idiot in front last night when we saw Skyfall who had his phone out and was checking it during the entire climax of the film and it took away from the experience. I don't know why you would go to the movies and not pay any attention.

I'm of the belief that directly requesting them to stop first is the right action. Getting angry and/or offensive after that is not.

If someone doesn't respond to a "People are trying to appreciate the movie, I know you are too, but could you please quiet down" appropriately, then rather then try and escalate it, just go flag a manager down to escort them from the film. Anger, especially infront of a kid, isn't really necessary.

From what I've seen in both Florida and Kansas, if you are removed from a film for being a disturbance, you are not entitled to a refund. If enough people lose their money for disturbing the rest of the audience, they'll stop disturbing the rest of the audience.

Edit: That being said, if the theater doesn't have a zero-tolerance policy on disturbances, then find another theater, if possible.

@tunaburn said:

thats why i bring a realistic looking but fake baby with me always. and when people piss me off i brutally destroy that fake baby that everyone thinks is real. they then shut up.

This made me laugh way too hard. Christ, I'm laughing again!

I wouldn't say it was the most appropriate thing to do, but I understand why you did it. I don't know if I would've done that, heck I don't know if I had the guts to do so, but in situations like this I always hope someone would have the balls to do it.

How crowded was the theater? I feel like that is the most important question in this scenario.

How old was the kid? I'd say that twelve is old enough to be told to shut the fuck up by a stranger.

I could see this escalating had the situation been different. But still, fuck that guy, you did what everyone else around you was thinking.

didn't matter what you said in front of the kid. it was too late for him to learn any common decency with a father like that.

@EVO said:

Congratulations on saying what everyone was thinking, but didn't have the balls to.

Yup, pretty much.