The Hangover hangup

Lori and I went to see The Hangover last night at the 8:10 show. Funny, albeit totally over the top, movie.

Walking out of the theater, both of us were flabbergasted to see a mother and her three kids walking out. Two boys, probably twelve and nine, and a girl who was maybe seven or eight.

I've witnessed children in movies that I thought were inappropriate for them before. Most of the time, it's infants in action flicks. My reaction is mainly that I think it has to be scary for a 10 month-old to hear the explosions and loud music. It usually results in that baby bursting into crying fits and the rest of the theater rubbernecking and silently cursing the parents for waiting so long before taking the baby out.

I've also witnessed plenty of teenagers sneaking into R-rated slasher films during my days working in movie theaters. You laugh it off as a rite of pubescent passage. In fact, I saw three probably 14 year-old boys skulking into The Hangover last night. You would've thought they were robbing a bank with all their feints and nervous cackling.

But to have kids of seven or eight years in The Hangover?! Are you kidding me?! And the youngest a girl? Maybe because I have two daughters, that shocks me even more. But if anyone who's seen that movie thinks it's appropriate for a seven year-old girl, I question your moral center (and/or your eyesight.)

So, let's try and give the mother the benefit of the doubt. Let's say the oldest kid was trying to pull a fast one and sold the movie off as something other than what it was. Or let's say they came to see Harry Potter only to find it sold out and she needed a quick backup plan...unwittingly going into The Hangover. Or let's say their house was tormented by poltergeists and they needed safe haven. No matter what scenario I concoct to rationalize those kids being there, they all fail to hold water. By the third f-bomb or reference to whores, bodily orifices, or any sex act you could imagine (most were in the movie), you'd think any decent mother would take their kids out. Not this woman.

By all visible standards, she looked like a nice enough lady. Well-dressed. Kids didn't look like trailer trash. No flies buzzing around them as they marveled at electricity or running water. Just normal, appropriate looking kids in a totally inappropriate movie.

We've all had moments in our lives when we've witnessed the questionable parenting skills of others. We've seen mothers being too rough with their bawling toddlers in the grocery store. We've seen fathers chewing out their sons too harshly at baseball practice. We've seen parents letting their kids run rampant in restaurants, breaking things and acting like little tyrants.

Personally, Lori and I have never been the kind to insert ourselves into these situations. Most people are the same way. You figure as long as the kids aren't in imminent danger or about to suffer bodily harm, it's better to turn the other cheek. But last night pushed us both to the brink.

I'm sure our aghast comments were clearly heard by the mother. The oldest son looked back at us as Lori and I uttered our dumbfounded remarks. Did I see guilt or embarrassment on his face? Maybe a little. I would've much preferred to see it on his mother's.