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Have you ever walked out of a cinema/theatre half way through a show?

(260 Posts)
grandmajet Tue 16-Feb-21 08:12:04

I’ve done it twice. The first time was David Bowies’s film, The Man Who Fell to Earth. What a load of tosh! More recently we left Ben Elton’s stand up show at half time. I was disappointed as I used to like him and loved his books but he seemed to have turned into a bitter, unpleasant person and it was not fun to listen to him.
Anyone else done this, and why?

Sara1954 Tue 16-Feb-21 08:22:20

Last Tango in Paris, didn’t really get it.

Calendargirl Tue 16-Feb-21 08:23:02

No, too mean. Would sit it out to the bitter end.

GagaJo Tue 16-Feb-21 08:32:50

I walked out of Watership Down with a friend as a teenager. I would have stayed, but she wanted to go. Also Moulin Rouge, with Nicole Kidman. Visually stunning, but I really disliked the film.

BlueBelle Tue 16-Feb-21 08:36:16

Twice I came so close but hung on
First time because I went with friends and didn’t want to be an embarrassment and that was to ‘Mr Turner’ I was bored to the point of longing to nod off, when we got outside afterwards it appears all four of us wanted to walk out and everyone stayed on for the others ?
Second time I was on my own and that was to the ‘Greatest Showman’, I disliked every minute of it but kept thinking it had to improve ...in my eyes it didn’t
Totally blanked out in Cats on stage as I found that totally boring and dull and just not meaningful to me but I was with the grandkids having a big treat going to the theatre so I did the ‘big pretend’

grandmajet Tue 16-Feb-21 08:39:16

Oh I loved both of those GagaJo! Although Watership Down makes me cry.
Just shows how different we all are.
I know what you mean Calendargirl - but sometimes .....
I do wonder if films/programmes we give up on on tv would actually prove to be good if we’d paid for them and felt we should stick it out longer. I nearly gave up on The Serpent, glad I didn’t.

fatgran57 Tue 16-Feb-21 08:41:05

Yes - Phantom of the Opera in the West End in London and Les Miserables in Hobart Tasmania - found them both tedious and left at half time.

Beauregard Tue 16-Feb-21 08:41:25

I wish we'd walked out after ten minutes of Evita with Madonna, but we stuck it out to the bitter end. Two hours of our lives we'll never get back.

grandmajet Tue 16-Feb-21 08:41:35

Bluebelle, I thought it was just us who disliked Cats! We stayed because it was so expensive. I felt it was a bit like The King’s New Clothes, no one dared say they hated it!
I did actually fall asleep in Skyfall.

Eviebeanz Tue 16-Feb-21 08:42:30

I loved The Serpent. Left the cinema very early on during the showing of Ali.

M0nica Tue 16-Feb-21 08:50:21

I have but cannot remember what or why. It was a long time ago and I rarely go to the cinema.

Grandma70s Tue 16-Feb-21 08:51:26

I’ve occasionally booked for a ballet triple bill where I was really only interested in the first item, so have left at the interval. I think I’ve done that at concerts, too, but rarely. It’s always been planned, not leaving in a huff.

eazybee Tue 16-Feb-21 08:55:09

Yes: The Robe. I was eight, and my teacher told us all about this wonderful film that everyone ought to see. Always keen to please, I badgered my father into taking me despite his misgivings, because Miss said so, and I lasted as far as the Crucifixion, in about the first ten minutes of the film.
I have seen it since, and it is a good film, but not suitable for eight year olds.

jusnoneed Tue 16-Feb-21 08:55:59

Myself, my then hubby and my aunt and uncle went to see Papillon (Steve McQueen) back in the 70's. We watched about half an hour, all looked at each other and decided enough was enough. So we crept out as quietly as we could and went to the pub instead.

TerriBull Tue 16-Feb-21 09:06:09

The film about Abraham Lincoln and "There will be Blood" both starring Daniel Day Lewis who I think is a superb actor, one of the best, but I found both films well boring. I think I drifted off in Lincoln, which is a shame because there was so much about him that had the potential to make interesting subject matter for a film or play. I think I was expecting more than just a load of dialogue.

I agree with others about "The Serpent" it was a slow burner you had to stick with it but doing so was worth it.

TerriBull Tue 16-Feb-21 09:07:18

I didn't walk out though, not sure I've ever done that.

Charleygirl5 Tue 16-Feb-21 09:12:48

fatgran I was the only person who thought Phantom and Les Mis were long and tedious. I enjoyed the singing but both were far too long for me.

Charleygirl5 Tue 16-Feb-21 09:14:58

Two friends and I received free seats for a tedious play at the west end. We had seats in the front row and I fell asleep.

DillytheGardener Tue 16-Feb-21 09:19:54

I like Sara1954 did not care for Last Tango in Paris, and similarly walked out of Base Moi, which I mistakenly thought was a French detective caper and turned out to have an disgraceful opening scene with brutal violence against woman. I read the synopsis for films very carefully now.

BlueBelle Tue 16-Feb-21 09:23:22

Oh just thought of another I didn’t walk out but was bored out of my head with The Mousetrap

blossom14 Tue 16-Feb-21 09:28:15

A few days after an earthquake in Hong Kong I persuaded my DH to walk out of a cinema. Not because of the film but as I could feel the seats shaking. When we got outside we realised the cause was the pounding of a pile driver on the next door site.

Ellianne Tue 16-Feb-21 09:31:41

Aida at the Royal Opera House.
I would be deaf now if I hadn't walked out.

Peasblossom Tue 16-Feb-21 09:32:39

I as at Book of Mormon when two whole rows in the stalls got up and walked out 15 minutes in.

Not what they were expecting, obviously.
?

Marmight Tue 16-Feb-21 09:36:58

We walked out of an opera at the Edinburgh Festival about 40 years ago. It was so dreadful I can’t remember which one, only that Thomas Allen was in it. I was 6 months pregnant and decided a cup of tea at home with my feet up was preferable to a discordant ear bashing

PamelaJ1 Tue 16-Feb-21 09:40:07

Twice,
The first time was at Funny girls- a trans show in Blackpool.
We had been once before and it was excellent. My mum has wanted to go so off we went again.
Unfortunately the ‘girls’ were at some award ceremony in London so they put on the stand ins. We were given the opportunity to rebook but we are from down south so it would have been difficult. It was awful, the comedian was just filthy and was quite aggressive towards the small audience. So we went. It was a very obvious exit and the comedian was not impressed.
The second time was a pantomime, someone I know, who has a DGS the same age as mine asked if they could come with us.
The boys were enjoying it, so was I but in the interval she moaned and groaned so much that we left. She didn’t ‘get’ it.
Do you have to be British to get pantos? Anyway I thought she was very selfish and I’m not inviting her to anything else!