Theater chains aren’t above the occasional wacky promotion to help fill seats. From costume contests to discounted rates for regular attendees, not a whole lot is out of bounds. If evidence is needed of that, look no further than a theater in New York City that is trying to coax parents in to see Nymphomaniac by promising to let all babies in free.
The theater in question is a Landmark in NYC, and the baby thing is part of a larger promotion cutely dubbed "Rattle & Reel" . On Wednesdays, the branch picks an afternoon showing and caters it specifically to caregivers. Because it’s the Landmark and more famous for showing films that are a little more outside the box, the chosen entries aren’t always ones you would inherently think to pair with newborn children, but to this point, none of them have received the same doubletake response that this one has been getting.
You can check out the advertisement for the event below…
Nymphomaniac is a two-part drama about a woman’s sexual history. It’s directed by Lars Von Trier and stars a treasure trove of Hollywood’s top talent. Christian Slater, Shia LaBeouf, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell and the brilliant Stellan Skarsgard all play prominent roles. Thus far, early reviews have been pretty kind to the extremely graphic film, praising it for its vision and take no prisoners attitude.
In theory, it doesn’t really matter whether you take a baby to a movie like Nymphomaniac or a movie like Wall-E. Until they reach a certain age, they’re really not absorbing what they’re seeing on screen. They won’t remember any of it, and it won’t affect their upbringing in the slightest. That being said, I’m not sure how watching people have hardcore sex while an infant is hanging out could possibly seem like an enjoyable way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. I don’t have children, though; so, it’s entirely possible I will feel differently at some point down the line.
For a reminder of what you’ll get yourself into if you go see Nymphomaniac with or without your baby, you can check out the film’s trailer below, which is VERY VERY NSFW…
