Terror in the Dark

Recently, I had the misfortune of attending a Tuesday matinee showing of “Rain Man” at a local theater.

For the first 20 minutes of the picture I was convinced that the print had a flawed sound track. I then realized that the noise was crunching and munching around me. It seems the public is unable to sit still for 10 minutes without stuffing its collective face.

And this was not merely a few patrons but a nearly full house of munchers, each chomping away at his/her informal buffet.

And if this auditory nightmare wasn’t enough, I also found my sight impaired by a towering mound of hair in front of me. By this time, it was too late to move and I sat throughout the picture looking at Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman through this old thing’s antiquated beehive, which tilted from side to side unpredictably throughout the film.

Having worked as an usher in a movie theater, I understand that theater chains make their profit on concessions. Nevertheless, would it be too much to ask each movie theater to have a designated “No eating, no-big-hair showing” each day to eliminate all that gum smacking and those Eva Gabor wigs?

GREGORY FARMER

Brea