I’m super excited to see Toy Story 3 this weekend.  I love the first two so much, and Pixar knows how to make good movies, so I trust them with a sequel.  There’s one thing I’m not excited about, though.  Seeing Toy Story 3.  But wait, Patty, didn’t you just say you were excited for that?  Yeah, but to see Toy Story 3, it means I have to actually go to the movies.  In New York City.  Aside from the annoyance of costing a ridiculous amount of money, there are so many other factors that can ruin your (my) movie-going experience.

In 2010, there’s always the ever popular cell phone.  Look, it happens; it happened to me once.  At the theatre even, not the movies.  I had just gotten my new phone, and it’s like shutting down a computer.  You have to choose “Power Off” and then click on “OK.”  Well, I mustn’t have finished that last step because my phone rang.  I turned it off super fast with my cat-like reflexes, so it was a very short disturbance.  I was, however, mortified and now have to take the battery out of my phone when I go see shows.  So, fine.  I get that your phone might go off.  But for the love of all that is decent, DO NOT ANSWER IT!  I mean, are you kidding me?!  And don’t think you can get away with texting.  Wherever that light is coming from, my eye will be drawn to it.  Check the time, fine, but make it quick.  If you keep opening up your phone and texting, and you’re within whispering range of me, I will ask you to put it away.  Probably just once because I, as a good theatre patron, don’t want to start something and then disrupt those around us even more.

The other prevalent annoyance I come across in NYC theatres is children in attendance at inappropriate movies or inappropriate times.  I had to suck it up one day, when I was annoyed by the number of children at the movies, when I realized I was seeing How to Train Your Dragon in the middle of the day in the middle of the week.  I’m not used to seeing movies at that time, so I had to pause and realize the circumstances I was in.  Okay.  These kids are all here with their West Indian nannies.  That’s cool.  That’s when they’re supposed to go to the movies.  It was not cool, however, when I was seeing a 10:30pm showing of Kick Ass and there were two kids of about seven and ten there.  Are you kidding me?!  Not only is it 10:30 at night, but this is an extremely violent movie.  I mean, the kids probably shouldn’t be hearing the language, but really, I encourage teaching the meanings and usage of those words.  It might be a little more difficult explaining the purposely outlandish violence in regard to its commentary on society.  Especially when it’s about five hours past their bedtime by the time the nightmares begin.

So, I plan on seeing Toy Story 3 this weekend, at a time when most children should be in bed.  Hopefully, any parents in attendance will have found a sitter and turned off their phones.  I know mine will be in my purse with the battery removed.