Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Seal Needs To Learn The Art Of Movie Snack Smuggling


One of the greatest gifts you can pass along to your children is the art of sneaking in snacks to the movies. I remember the days when my mom would load me into the mini-van for a trip to the movies. Although she would always buy popcorn, the rest of the food we ate at the movies came straight from her ginormous purse. Mixed in with a little purse fuzz were bacon sandwiches, boxes of candy, and cokes. I remember one time when she even tried to bring in nachos. The chips were fine, but the cheese container exploded inside her purse so that idea was never tried again.

Seal was at the movies yesterday and tried to bring in some Pinkberry. If you don't have Pinkberry where you are, it is frozen yogurt. Really good frozen yogurt, but it isn't ice cream. Anyway, Seal tried to bring it in and the manager wouldn't let him and Seal started arguing with the manager and pulled a "don't you know who I am" thing. The manager didn't back down. Seal then stood in the lobby finishing his yogurt before the manager would let him in.

An open container of ice cream is tough to bring in. They spill and melt so I like sticking to your basic bars and boxes of candy. Buckets of KFC are also difficult. However, fried chicken in a ziploc bag works just fine. Thanks mom.

33 comments:

lutefisk said...

I still bring in my own snacks. It is cheaper & healthier. However, I never tried frozen yogurt--I go with the dry snacks hidden in a tote bag.
I am sorry to hear he pulled the celebrity act. He should have done what everyone else does---apologize for not knowing it wasn't allowed, & finish it in the lobby.

palealebrew10 said...

"Seal then stood in the lobby finishing his yogurt before the manager would let him in."

I'm just imagining Seal standing there with his cup of pinkberry and plastic spoon finishing his frozen yogurt angrily and staring people down. And the manager is lingering hesitantly making sure he doesn't try to pull some move and sneak through. God, made me LOL.

There's a grocery store next door to my local century theater so I always hit them up for the candy and soda, and throw it in my big purse. No way I'm paying $4 for a bag of skittles and another $4 for a bottle of soda. Ridiculous.

A few years ago my friend and I got really high before going to see Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants and we brought in salami and carrot juice(I know, oddest cravings). the carrot juice was in a huge bottle and she had a big purse, so we were able to get through. Big purses are key.

New Life and Attitude said...

Yep big purses have always been great for sneaking food/drinks into the theater. We would always do a loud cough as we were opening our cans of sodas (or beer) if we didn't bring in the bottles.

Cupcake Cutie said...

WTF is up with Seal's nails..?? WTF MAN WTF???
Let him take whatever he wants as long as I don't have to look at that crap for a prolonged period of time!

Linnea said...

OH. My.God

This just reminded me how me and my friends used to sneak fully loaded bags of ice cream into the cinema.

We would all get cold stone, wait until the lights went low, and then go for it and hope that bag wasnt too messed up!

Anonymous said...

Cupcake Cutie - you beat me to it. Are those acrylic nails I see?

lmnop123 said...

I always bring my own popcorn, pop(in a water bottle), and any other snack I might want with me to the theater. Thank God for the fashionable tote bag.

Seal thought that he was entitled to bring in an exposed container of yogurt into the theater.

So happy he got checked!

MISCH said...

I ALWAYS BRING MINE...SOMETIMES A SANDWICH, JUICE AND SNACKS...PINKBERRY ? HAVEN'T TRIED THAT YET, BUT I MIGHT JUST...

palealebrew10 said...

he should've gotten a take-out lid for the pinkberry.

Ahari said...

I've heard he has a form of the Lupus, hence the scarring on his face. It's an autoimmune disease that can affect the connective tissues, they often have discolored and thick nails also.

amazonblue said...

Years ago during an opening weekend screening and a packed theatre of Legends of the Fall, my friends and I sat a few rows behind an older couple. Somehow the woman was able to bring in a good sized thermal lunch box. During the previews she started to bring out multiple containers of what smelled like middle eastern dishes. She portioned out a plate for her and her husband and they sat back and had a full on dinner in the theatre. The smell was a little annoying, but it didn't last too long.

That was the most extreme instance of food smuggling I've seen.

I regularly smuggle in water bottles and sometimes a snack.

Anonymous said...

I like big purses. My nieces would make fun of my purses because of how big they are. Now they understand the purpose LOL. I sneak in candies and water/sodas when I want to. My husband likes the idea lol. A bottle of water 4.00.

Too expense to splurge on snacks.

califblondy said...

I once watched a woman put hot dogs on buns, added the condiments, and handed them out one by one to the family.

Have you ever dropped your beer bottle or can on the floor in the movies or had your pop top pop open just a little too loudly and everyone turns around to stare? I always turned around too like I'm helping find the guy.

Linnea said...

o h i have TOTALLY done that!!!

we decided to be smart one time and brought some home made drinks in a plastic bottle - the only problem was, we got separeted in the theatre and one of our friends ended up with almost 2 liters of vodka tonics - and at the end of the movie, she was WASTED and the rest of us had to carry her back to the car...

Carrie L. said...

I worked for a movie theater chain as staff, manager, & eventually marketing director, so I have to say this. First, the movie theaters make very little money off the films; for example, when Star Wars came out, the company I worked for got less than 1% of gross receipts for the first month. Most films you get 5-10%, and the really sucky ones you can get 20%, but in reality you get very little $$$ from films - you get it from concessions. Yes, that large bucket of popcorn with extra butter costs $0.50 and you pay $5, but that's how the staff get paid, the projectors, sound systems, screens & building keep maintained, etc. So I understand why people bring in their own food, but I also understand why the theaters have to charge so much. I've been out of the business for 13 years & I've heard it's just gotten worse in terms of what the film studios are sharing with the theaters. I won't even get into the other games that are played and how used/abused they are.

Second, there is nothing more upsetting than someone bringing in stuff like ice cream, cotton candy, etc. and then usually trashing the seats and floor with it. For some reason those two things go hand in hand. It's hard enough to clean those theaters between sets, but when people bring their "special items" and then eat like pigs and somehow manage to get their food everywhere and not do anything to clean up after themselves, it's disgusting & frustrating. The same goes for liquor bottles that are then knocked over & spilled, with broken glass everywhere, etc. And of course you have to love the person who gets totally drunk in the theater and then throws up everywhere (lost count on that # of times that happened). The chain I worked for cared a lot about providing a great experience & a clean facility, so stuff like this actually did matter. All it takes is one kid to accidentally spill their ice cream on their seat & floor in a dark theater where it's hard to see, and guess who has to clean it up? Hint: It's not the parent or the kid. And sometimes the damage is bad enough where you have to replace the chair. (oh the stories I could share...)

Sorry, I just had to vent. I am always tempted to bring my own food like candy into theaters when I see a show these days, but I just can't force myself too. Especially the little local, non-chain theaters - they need the most support!

RocketQueen said...

I'm not a big snacker in the theatre but my bf has a serious problem with any kind of what I call "carnie food".

Any movie theatre, live sports game, amusement park or ANYTHING we go to, he insists on spending almost all his cash on carnie food, usually until he eats himself sick. He just loves it. Why smuggle in food (which would be my choice) when he can get a hot dog with all the fixings, tacos, popcorn, mini donuts, candy and french fries for $50? Argh, drives me crazy.

Angie said...

hahha @palebrew!

the 1 time I brought beer to a movie theater, the bottle fell out of my hands and rolled from almost the back row to the front row....which also was 1 of my most embarrassing moments ever.

I've brought terriyaki SPAM with rice..don't gag...it's good.

RocketQueen said...

@Carrie L - that sucks, I totally get how that would be frustrating. Luckily for the theatres, there are people like my bf. He's all yours :)

selenakyle said...

I love Seal...

But those fingernails just creeped me the hell out.

Reminds me of Louis Cyphre in Angel Heart (one of my all time favorite movies).

I really hope he just let one of the kids play manicurist.

selenakyle said...

Oh gosh...I just read Ahari's comment up there and now I feel terrible having cracked on Seal's scary-looking nails.

My bad.

figgy said...

I don't bring in food to small or artsy theaters for the reasons @Carrie L said.

But for big chain theaters? Absolutely! The coup was the time we brought Chinese food.

The worst was when I tried to open a big bag of smuggle peanut m&ms and somehow it popped open and the m&ms sprayed like a fountain, pelting everyone around me. Whoops. I just smiled sheepishly.

wenx said...

Ditto what Figgy said re: the small chains v/s the huge theater chains. I also stock up only for the big guys--the little guys are absolutely worth supporting. When I go to my local artsy theater, I always try to buy a snack while I'm there :)

As far as sneaking snacks--I can get the same darn big boxes of most candy for $1 at my local Dollar Tree, pop them into the big purse, and save at least $3. Considering the price of movie tickets these days, every little bit helps. (I regularly buy my movie buddy friend Hot Tamales for when we go...he loves them!)

One local big-chain theater near me is in a mall next to a food court. They let us bring in Coldstone Creamery ice cream from that food court, as long as it has a lid on the container. They get repeat business from me because of it :)

Linnea said...

oh my gosh wenx, i would totally go to that theatre too! :)

Cupcake Cutie said...

<<~~ doesn't feel bad for the nail crack.. those things are scary and growing out like he needs a fill.. thats not a disease.. thats self inflicted.

Anonymous said...

I'm torn between guilt and laughter. Love the guy, though.

HannahPalindrome said...

Fried chicken in a ziploc bag...MUHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Robert said...

If you live in the northeast (Salem/Plaistow, NH, Haverhill, MA) there is a chain of cinemas called Chunky's that will show a movie while allowing you to order dinner and drinks--alcoholic drinks. That's an unusual experience.

chestnut-red said...

@ Carrie L - I totally sympathize.

To my husband and I, the whole movie-going experience isn't complete without buying our popcorn and sodas at the theater concessions. We feel that bringing in food/drink from outside is dishonest, too.

Just like making sure waitstaff & bartenders get a good tip (having been a waitress & bartender and knowing what bad hourly wages they get), I feel buying my food at the concession stand is important. Our art house-type theater closed a few years ago because they didn't make enough money. I don't want that to happen to the other two theaters in town too.

lmnop123 said...

If it's a local theater usually they have specials on the popcorn/pop and the tickets are cheaper so yes it's cost effective to purchase from their concession stand and no need to bring your own.

mooshki said...

The Mall of America movie theater serves booze now. It almost makes me willing to go there to see a movie. Almost.

My friend was at a theater and she almost stepped on a cheeseburger smeared on the floor. She went out and told an usher. His response: "We don't sell cheeseburgers." Huh?!

Mango said...

I live in Florida and we used to have a lot of what we called "Drafthouses", but not so much anymore. They showed movies (mostly second runs) and served beer, wine, pizza, hot dogs, nachos and popcorn.

With those gone, I do smuggle in snacks. I just can't see paying $11.00 for a box of raisonettes and a soft drink. Why, those are Disney prices!

Leah said...

m&ms sprayed like a fountain, pelting everyone around me.

BUSTED A GUT LAUGHING AT THAT.
Awesome!

Leah said...

To Dicknose- Bugger off and go troll someone else's board. You're posts are unoriginal and boring to read.

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