April 8, 2012

Big Fat Popcorn Lawsuit...


I love movies, and love love popcorn, so popcorn at the movies is always a treat. A big fat eighteen-dollar unhealthy fat-laden gooey barrel-sized treat.

Every so often I read about how bad movie popcorn is for us, even versus the relatively healthy air-popped stuff we make at home. I read that a large tub of movie popcorn has 1,200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium, and 60 grams of saturated fat... but hey I usually skip the butter-flavoured goop topping, so it's pretty much like having a medium-sized apple, isn't it?


Now there is a new mini-scandal in the world of theatre popcorn, and I for one would like to raise a glass of butter topping to Joshua Thompson for this righteous if frivolous lawsuit: he has sued AMC theaters for overcharging on concessions!

On December 26, Thompson paid $8 for a Coke and a pack of Goobers at a Detroit theatre, nearly triple the $2.73 he paid for the same items at a nearby drug store, and the suit accuses AMC theaters of violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act by charging grossly excessive prices for snacks. The suit seeks refunds for customers who were overcharged, a civil penalty against the theatre chain and any other relief the judge might grant. My first question... only eight bucks for Goobers AND a Coke? That would be like $12 here!

Of course movie snacks are a ripoff, and we all know it, and yes sometimes people smuggle in food under their coats (no names, people); but this lawsuit is total silliness, as no one put a gun to his head and forced him to buy the treats at that price (yes, I am assuming there was no gun involved).

And let's face it, in the movie theatre business, concessions are where the profit is... making $2.8 billion on Avatar just doesn't cut it, they also need to charge you nineteen bucks for a soda and extra-large popcorn.

My beef with the concession stand isn't the prices, it's the crappy service... you people are making like 98% profit on my diet Coke, and paying those kids behind the counter minimum wage, couldn't you at least schedule more of them so I don't have to wait in a long twisty line to be ripped off?

We go to the movies far less than we used to, yes partially because of the huge cost of tickets and treats, and partially because of the rude crowds and sticky floors, but mostly because so many movies suck... enough with the Twilight and New Year's Eve crap, people, bring on some good flicks!