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I was discussing Trains, Planes & Automobiles with my mate today and how it's a pretty good movie with the threat of manly tears at the end.

We both agreed that is was a pretty funny film and that the end is fairly poignant but heartwarming.

He then went on to tell me about how one of the guys from his course sat through the entire thing not smiling or even laughing and when the final sad revalation came he laughed.

Naturally I was a bit perplexed by this, but I tried to think of any movies that I've had a weird reaction to.

The only one I can think of for myself is feeling sorry for Commodus in Gladiator throughout the film, rather than despising him. I'm not sure if that's a weird reaction though or just the intent of the film?




Naturally I choose a scene when he's not firing in to his sister, as this is the first scene where you really get to know him. He is snubbed by his father and seems to be held in quiet contempt by others for no other reason than his upbringing. Even though he slides into depravity I can't help but feel sorry for him, even when he dies.

I still can't believe he didn't get an Oscar for his performance in Gladiator.

Can you think of any particularly strange reactions you've had personally, or have witnessed, to a film or other story telling media?

I did not cry when Mufasa died in Lion King. I don't know anybody, personally, who can say the same. My karate instructor balled his eyes out. I teased him for it and was subjected to many push-ups.

I did cry at the end of Marley and Me though. That gak was sad!!

My buddy and I pretty much died laughing at the end of this one (in the middle of a packed movie theater no less).

Similarly, I know someone who did the same during the part of Titanic where everyone is falling off the ship as it sinks and the band is still playing, etc.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
I did not cry when Mufasa died in Lion King. I don't know anybody, personally, who can say the same. My karate instructor balled his eyes out. I teased him for it and was subjected to many push-ups.

Not crying isn't really an odd reaction, as I didn't either, but I think laughing at it such as the example given in OP would do that.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
I did cry at the end of Marley and Me though. That gak was sad!!

You should watch Old Yeller to cleanse your pallet.


The only really unusual reaction I can think of was when we saw The 40 Year Old Virgin at the theater and near the end the woman Steve Carrel's character was seeing says that they will have great sex because they love each other I laughed because I thought it was a joke, but apparently everyone else thought it was a romantic moment.

My wife got left at the theater during Memoirs of a Geisha because after the end of the movie she noted that the man fell in love with the girl when she was a child and had been grooming her from the background for years until she was older and she pointedly asked if that just meant he was a pedophile with patience and the others, through their tears, apparently didn't want to consider that and left in a huff.

My mother laughed when she went to see Nightmare on Elm street when it first came out. I've never really done anything odd though

I like David Lynch's Dune, does that count?

I was watching Moluin Rouge and I started laughing at the ending.

Especially what happens to one of the characters. Sorry It was just so poorly executed.

I was also watching Breaking Dawn Part 2. (Yeah Yeah, But once you seen the movie you will see what I am talking about.) As bad as the twilight films were, this one had such a stupidly awesome and overtop fight scene. I just LOVED it, this one guy punched into the ground and lava came out, It was pretty epic but then! It turns out it was all a dream in this one guys head. I have never, EVER reacted as the way I did. I Was angry, I started booing the movie, and quite a few other people in the theater were as well. It was just oh my gosh. I have never been that mad before, and the entire theater was as well. That was so bullgaky that I couldn't believe it. It could of been awesome if they left it at the fight scene.

Another movie I remember very clearly is The Fellowship of the Ring. Its Lurtz vs Aragon. And Aragon strikes the killing blow! And, me and almost everyone in the theater cheers and stands up and starts clapping. We fething loved it!

Maybe thats just me but I usually have funny experiences at theaters, because I actually bring a bunch of people in with me. Which reminds me I saw the Host with a group of guys. We hated it and we carried on like the group from Science Theater 3000, laughing at the stupidity of the movie.

I don't believe Commodus has any redeeming qualities at all - he's a whiny, self-entitled pervert who lets his jealousy and massive sense of entitlement destroy him. Good on Russell Crowe for taking his fething soul!

 Manchu wrote:
I like David Lynch's Dune, does that count?

I actually greatly liked the full edition of that film. It's far better than the theatrical release which butchered the film in editing (note, it's still not a very good film, I just like the universe).

I also forced corpsesarefun, purplefood, vitruvian, soladrin and avatar720 to watch it. Repeatedly. Does that make me a monster?

A relative of mine was the chair of the Anthropology department at a college. I asked him his opinion on Apocalypto, since he knew a thing or two about the period and location it was set in. I was suprised to learn that he refused to see it, or any other project involving Mel Gibson. O_o

My uncle is a lifetime civil war history buff. He refused to see Gettysburg, the movie, due to Ted Turner not paying us reenactors for our help with the big battle scenes.

I don't watch movies, because I get really anxious and start subconsciously translating things into Japanese, like reverse subtitles.

I watched Zero Dark Thirty on a thirteen hour plane ride, and the only thing I could concentrate on was identifying obscure DEVGRU pieces of equipment and uniforms and of course, every time an HK416 came on screen, my heart flew up into my throat a little

I know American Psycho is a black comedy, but I can't think of a scene that I didn't laugh in that movie. I laughed especially hard when she's running out of the apartment and opens the closet full of mutilated corpses hanging from the coatrack. The part where Patrick and his girlfriend are in the restaurant, and he's going through convulsions while she yaps about nothing has to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

chaos0xomega wrote:

Similarly, I know someone who did the same during the part of Titanic where everyone is falling off the ship as it sinks and the band is still playing, etc.

I did, too. That scene is hilarious!

I can watch scenes full of human death, but I cry every time over a stupid volleyball!




Is that just me or is Tom Hanks good at acting?

 Manchu wrote:
I like David Lynch's Dune, does that count?

Love that show. It spawned many quotes for my group.

My friend and I who both disliked the casting of Haldir in LotR cheered and laughed when he died. It was an unpopular reaction in the theater.

When they hanged the Indian in the remake of True Grit, a friend of mine busted out laughing and was asked to leave the theater.

We had to watch American History X in one of my classes once upon a time. When we got to the end, and everyone was oohing and aahing at how deep it was, I was unable to keep from exclaiming, "are you f--king kidding me?!" when the credits started rolling. I cannot fathom how anyone likes this movie.

The wife and I almost died laughing when the chick gets smacked by a bus in The Devil's Rejects. Four old ladies left the theatre in disgust. Really, what did they think they were in for, given the name of the movie?

Same gut-busting laughter from a friend and I in House of 1,000 Corpses on the prolonged overhead scene when Otis finally pulls the trigger.

When I saw Iron Man 3 my reaction was to make fun of everything in the film the entire time. Absolutely hated it. I couldn't help but laugh constantly at The Conjuring. It was good, but extremely generic. Anyone who has seen a ghost/demon possession film before can tell you exactly what is going to happen at any given moment. Watching it hit all the genre tropes was funny for me. Same was true for Dog Soldiers.

Laughing a lot when i saw 2 girls and a cup for the first time
Reactions to 2 girls and a cup

There was a woman who laughed all the way through Twelve Years a Slave (in particular the cringie bits) when I watched it in the cinema...

Actually in the same cinema a bunch of kids laughed quite a bit during the Lake-Town fight sequence in The Desolation of Smaug. I mean the bits where the Orcs are having their heads lopped off. ...It was weird.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
There was a woman who laughed all the way through Twelve Years a Slave (in particular the cringie bits) when I watched it in the cinema...

Actually in the same cinema a bunch of kids laughed quite a bit during the Lake-Town fight sequence in The Desolation of Smaug. I mean the bits where the Orcs are having their heads lopped off. ...It was weird.

I don't find that weird at all. Both of the Hobbit films have been incredibly corny.

When we saw Twilight at the cinema, I buried my head in my hands, my friend just stared brokenly, and my partner and her brother spent the whole time making 'little Timmy' jokes about the cameraman. >>

Apparently, this was not the correct reaction to the movie, although people were awkwardly unable to complain about my wheelchair-bound partner making disabled jokes.

You guys are the reason watching movies in theaters can be a very lame, very annoying experience!

 Captain Fantastic wrote:

I know American Psycho is a black comedy, but I can't think of a scene that I didn't laugh in that movie. I laughed especially hard when she's running out of the apartment and opens the closet full of mutilated corpses hanging from the coatrack. The part where Patrick and his girlfriend are in the restaurant, and he's going through convulsions while she yaps about nothing has to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Yeah, I had pretty much the same reaction. The book did the same for me, actually. It's hilarious!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Wyrmalla wrote:
There was a woman who laughed all the way through Twelve Years a Slave (in particular the cringie bits) when I watched it in the cinema...

I laughed at certain bits of that film, but it was more because I had taken a date to see it, expecting it to be like 'The Help'. In most of the worst bits I sort of wryly laughed and said 'I'm really sorry... I didn't know it was going to be like this! We should have gone to see Anchorman 2...'

Good film, though.

 Ahtman wrote:

 timetowaste85 wrote:
I did not cry when Mufasa died in Lion King. I don't know anybody, personally, who can say the same. My karate instructor balled his eyes out. I teased him for it and was subjected to many push-ups.

Not crying isn't really an odd reaction, as I didn't either, but I think laughing at it such as the example given in OP would do that.

Wait we were supposed to cry? I was thinking he'd make an excellent rug.

A friend of mine laughed out loud in the cinema at the Omaha Beach scene in Saving Private Ryan.

To be fair he was a squaddie so I attributed it to a certain gallows humour that must come with Army life.

 Captain Fantastic wrote:

I watched Zero Dark Thirty on a thirteen hour plane ride, and the only thing I could concentrate on was identifying obscure DEVGRU pieces of equipment and uniforms and of course, every time an HK416 came on screen, my heart flew up into my throat a little

You are a strange, strange man...

 Medium of Death wrote:

He then went on to tell me about how one of the guys from his course sat through the entire thing not smiling or even laughing and when the final sad revalation came he laughed.

I'm not a doctor, but that's not a guy I'd ever trust with a knife.

Many years ago I had the chance to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen. It was epic and a good example of how older movies can't really be appreciated on television.

However, there was a bunch of guys behind us giggling throughout. As in through the most serene, static shots in the movie. Of course, they were obviously stoned. Still, it was bizarre.

Back in our history class we got shown the Pianist, there's a scene where a man in a wheelchair is pitched out over a third floor balcony by nazis and half the class burst out in laughter