Into the theater....

One of the most enjoyable holiday tradtions for many New Yorkers is to go to the movies in the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve. There were many choices and after thinking about it for about half a minute, we decided that "Into the Woods" would be a good choice.  My daughter and I had seen a revival of it on Broadway with Vanessa Williams a couple of seasons back, and we thought it might be nice to do a compare and contrast of her performance and that of Meryl Streep who is the witch in the movie version.
We were not disappointed.  It is an excellent adaptation. Streep, Christine Baranski and Johnny Depp were magical. But the behvior of some of the local theater goers left a lot to be desired, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
I do wish parents would read both the reviews and the age recommendations attached to films.  This is afterall, not the Rogers and Hammerstein Broadway version of "Cinderella", it is, for G-d's sake, Stephen Sondheim....a bit more sophisticated and much darker. Don't bring your 5 year old or your toddler to this one.  You will only guarantee yourself a sleepless night as the kiddoes will wake up from nighmares of giants stepping on people and princes falling into thorn patches.
If you want to get to the second row, don't climb over the first one leaving dusty footprinits on the seats.  The UA Theater has designed the seating so there are several breaks with stairs that can be used to walk to the next row...and, by the way...when you accidently kick the person you are climbing over; it is considered good form to apologize.
Also, please do not let your seven and eight year olds run back and forth in the entry aisle.  Their boredom with the film only confirms the fact that this movie is beyond their comprehension, and perhaps you should have hired a sitter and come with your spouse. And if they start screaming because they want more popcorn,please think about taking them into the lobby for your parential disipline speech. We've heard it all before, and would rather not be privy to it this time around.
And finally, we know the movie is just about ended, but there is still about ten minutes left to wrap up the storyline.  Please don't leave the theater discussing the ending as you leave.  Your car will still be in the lot if you could just wait for the credits to begin rolling....and oh, I like to read the credits, so if you are leaving...do it in a timely fashion and waith for your pals ourside, not in the center of the darkened theater.  Besides blocking my reading the credits, you are a safety hazard for those who are exiting in a proper manner.

So, go, enjoy the film, just understand that there are some folks who need to take "Movie Viewing 101".  Try not to let them bother you.