Robert Redford, You Have Broken My Heart

[DonRedwood]

I cannot believe that Robert Redford's new movie is advertising on the website for film critic Jeffrey Wells.

Let me tell you what a low-life puffy baboon's ass of a person is our dear Mr. Wells.

Mr Well's current film critique is not a critique. It is a horrendous assault on a family that dared to take their child to a movie. This child has down syndrome and Jeffrey Wells is incensed that the child made a noise "every few minutes" and this completely ruined his movie. And the theater refused to throw the kid out when Jeffrey Wells demanded they be thrown out.

Here...let me let him speak for himself. From his website:

A few nights ago some “mentally-challenged” guy ruined (or came close to ruining) a screening of Gravity for the parents of a guy I know. It happened during a sold-out showing at the Cinemark/Rave theater in Manchester, Connecticut. The guy was making spastic noises all through the film. Audible to many but nobody squawked except for my friend’s dad. When he confronted theater management “they didn’t want to hear any of it” and said “we can’t not allow someone in because they have a disability.” The discussion continued and they finally offered him two free tickets. The bottom line is that the Manchester theatre manager felt it was preferable to put his customers through a major annoyance than risk being seen as bigoted toward handicapped people.
...
I went to a Real-D 3-D showing of Gravity last night — along with at least 500 other patrons at your Manchester, CT theater — and unfortunately, an inconsiderate adult brought her three children along, one of whom clearly suffered from an intense form of Down Syndrome.

“Unfortunately, your management decided to sell a ticket to a family who rudely chose to bring their Down Syndrome child to the film. He appeared to be significantly impaired in that he would yell out loud every few minutes, thus distracting everyone else in the theater. This is no more different than someone chatting on their cell phone, or texting with a bright LED light, or a group of teenagers showing up to do everything but watch the film at hand. I don’t blame the disabled child in the slightest. That is his unfortunate condition. I believe his parent was an insensitive moron for bringing him to the film so that she could see the film.

Ok, that's enough of him speaking.

I deal with prejudice against disabilities almost every single day. So I'm not surprised at what a horrible, nasty scumball like Jeffrey Wells has to say. I've seen his feelings on people's faces before.

But it breaks my heart to see Robert Redford's newest film taking up almost all of Jeffrey Well's ad space. Robert Redford is paying the bills so that Mr. Wells can spread his poison and hate. Mr Redford, I'm afraid I'm not going to see your new film. I've decided to boycott it unless you come out against Mr Wells' hate filed rant. It is fair to judge people by the company they keep and you are hanging out with a pretty nasty person.

Here's the website, though I HATE to give this man any further web traffic.
http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2013/10/if-you-cant-control-yourself-youre-gone/

Please spread the word so that more people hear about this. I'd like to see the ads pulled and I'd like Jeffrey Wells to learn that some people have burdens in their life. His is obviously his personality.

Please go to Robert Redford's facebook and ask him to pull the ads. https://www.facebook.com/theredfordcenter

I believe that we can make a difference.

[elehhhhna]

1. What an ass.

I do think that it's best to take young kids and other people who can't control their audible impulses to a matinee - they always seem like a looser atmosphere. BUT FFS he should get a grip. He sounds like the guy who slapped a baby on a plane.

[DonRedwood]

2. He does not sound like a nice person and this just makes other families afraid

to try going to the movies, or to a park, or anywhere.

[Demo_Chris]

3. He might be an ass, but the incident he reported would have been infuriating...

The parents of that child should have been asked to leave.

[pitbullgirl1965]

4. Agree.

One person or group shouldn't be allowed to ruin it for everyone else and that includes restaurants.

[geek tragedy]

5. Jeff Wells has been a professional asshole for decades. It's his only skill--being obnoxious nt

[SheilaT]

6. Since I wasn't there, I can't know how disruptive that child was.

But one question to ask is, had the child not had Downs, would the theater management have asked the parents of an otherwise equally disruptive child to leave?

It has nothing to do with disability, but everything to do with being curteous to the other theater-goers.

Why my kids were little and likely to be less than perfectly behaved movie-goers, we rented movies, or only went to kiddie movies. Actually, even now that my sons are grown, I like going to movies aimed at little kids both because I enjoy those movies and I enjoy the enthusiasm of the kids around me.