'Medium' soda may cause 'extra large' agita

MalibuStacy Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 11:13 PM EST

As the hilarious Billy Connolly once said about the same issue: You shouldn't eat anything that comes in a bucket. Buckets are the eating utensils of the farm.

RedAngel Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 01:41 PM EST

I know, Lilly, but I'm a veteran conspiracy theorist. Sue me :)

Lilly Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 01:02 PM EST

To RedAngel: You're giving too much credit, I don't think theater owners are that smart.

RedAngel Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:30 PM EST

Maybe it's a ruse to get you to come back and pay to see the movie more than once...if you drink all of that bucket o' Diet Coke, then you'd probably have to visit the can at least two or three times during the movie. Taking the idea further, if everyone ELSE did the same, the lineups would be a nightmare. Before you know it, you've missed half the freakin' film along with some key plot points, and you're so confused that you end up having to come back again. Ah, well played, theatre chains! Well played. To be fair though, most films nowadays aren't that intelligent and it doesn't matter if you miss half the film anyhow.

SlezakFan Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:20 AM EST

Hey Mack - If you're not interested in the great Micheal Slezak - why are you seeking out all his blog entries? - I search for the Slezak because I miss him in the non-Idol seasons - You must too!

adri Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 09:52 AM EST

Mack, you are a mean homophobic pig, go get a life and don`t mess with Slekaz!

Alex Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 09:44 AM EST

What's wrong with this is when you get one and then try and make it through all 2 and a half hours of the Dark Knight without a bathroom break.

Kevin Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 08:12 AM EST

Sure, the cup is huge, but they fill those cups to the TOP with ice (at least they do at my theater). My girlfriend and I split a medium at TDK and it was gone by the end of the trailers...I'd be surprised if there was 12 oz. of soda in that cup. The ice, however, lasted us the rest of the movie.

BW Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 03:58 AM EST

I'll tell you what's wrong with that picture... the vodka bottle isn't empty!

Mack Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:47 AM EST

Dear Sleaze-suck, so who's your husband? Jason Castro? Sanjaya? Gay Aiken? :D

Matt Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:37 AM EST

I'm surprised you didn't ask what small looked like.

Think dixie cup, and go smaller.

Snarf Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 10:55 PM EST

And that dear people is why 60% of Americans are overweight or obese (obese being defined as 20 lbs or more over your optimum weight)

nic Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 10:05 PM EST

Slezak- I didn't know you were married. I feel a little betrayed right now. I imagined you watching tv all day and night by yourself. How else could you be the master of pop culture that you are?

coco Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 09:11 PM EST

That's messed up!!! I stopped going to the movie theaters a while ago because between the tickets, the popcorn, soda and snacks it was too much $$$$$.
Now I sit in front of my big as$ TV, eat what I want, drink what I want, and pause the movie when I need a break!

mark Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 05:58 PM EST

The size of the container is so big because it is so watered down, that really only a medium sized cup of SODA is actually IN there.

Raven_Moon Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 05:52 PM EST

That's ginormous! No wonder concessions cost so much. You should get a small next time...or maybe the child size? Craziness.

Crystal Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 05:17 PM EST

Saw TDK yesterday, got a medium soda and finished not EVEN half. And I was hung over and really needed the liquid refreshment. Thank you for this.

Pamela Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 04:21 PM EST

Slezak, at least there was one small mercy: you got a "Diet" soda. Not one equal to eating your way through sixteen spoonfuls of sugar.

I'm with you Anna. I always take in my own smallish bottle of (much cheaper than at the movies) water. No calories, no extra expense,and no getting out of my seat three times during a 120 minute movie for a bathroom break.

Let's start turning down the "Medium" etc drinks, shall we? The revolution can start with us, people!

Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 03:17 PM EST

Not only is this why people are so fat, it's also incredibly wasteful! I NEVER finish these tanks of soda at the movies, and end up throwing over half of it away afterwards, wasting $$ and cola. It's disgusting. I have started to bring in my own sodas and candy to the theater. I do buy the popcorn, though--it's just so much better at the movies than from a microwave!

Anna Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 03:06 PM EST

I always smuggle in a water bottle. Oh the joys of being female... you don't need to make an excuse for carrying a large purse!

whaden Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 02:53 PM EST

Put the one on the left in the one in the middle and give the one on the right to the cat.

Ashleigh Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 02:29 PM EST

Slezak, I cannot believe you just posted this!! Last weekend, a few friends and I went to see Batman and I being the nice person (read: gullible sap) I offered to go get the drinks. Here I am, carrying two "medium" Coke Zero's and a water bottle back to the theater which now seems like it's 15 miles away..spilling the soda all over my shirt because the kid at the concession stand had to fill the soda to the top, and then beyond.

Well, thanks to the cups the size of my head, and my one friend's insanely small bladder, I had to move from my seat at least 3 times during the movie. Next time-I'm smuggling my own water bottle in and my "friends" can fend for themselves!

Cranky Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 01:55 PM EST

Amen, Slezak. That right there is why we are a nation of fat a$$es. All the big corporations--fast food, grocery stores, movies, etc--are so concerned about making a buck that they have convinced all of us that these giant sizes are normal. I ordered a 'kids' meal for my daughter at a restaurant last night and it was enough food to feed a grown man. Maybe next time you should bring your own reasonably sized cup and say, "How much to fill up this baby?" What can they do, throw you out? Start a revolution, Slezak!!

aramis Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 01:30 PM EST

UHM....considering the PRICES you pay for concession stand items at the theater (our theater here in Meridian, Miss. sells a medium drink about the same size at $4.75), I'm really surprised you're complaining about the size of the drink. At that price I'd expect to receive a whole six pack of 20oz bottles!

Frances Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:46 PM EST

Slezak, I'm with you. When I went to see Hellboy 2, I ordered a small pink lemonade. What I got might as well had been a large. It was HUGE! I couldn't even finish it all. In an attempt to get my money's worth, I tried to sneak it into a Barnes and Noble by hiding it in my bag. Needless to say, I had pink lemonade all over my wallet...

Dominique Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:45 PM EST

Oh my God! Slezak adressed me personally! My day is made :)

(Pathetic? I hope not.)

Still, my brain is refusing this data my eyes are providing as correct. Thank God is was Diet. Otherwise, I think there's enough liquid to burn a hole in your stomach. I can't believe I'm actually moving TO the U.S. in two weeks...

eliot schrefer Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:39 PM EST

Alternative photo caption: The Three Meals of a Bachelor

Arsenio Billingham Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:19 PM EST

It's all about pulling in more cash. Movie theaters get very little money from the actual movies, so they have to charge an arm and leg for refreshments. Soda costs something like a few pennies per gallon, so they can sell the large medium, charge $5 for it (hey, you're getting alot, so you should pay alot) and thus make about $4.75 in profit on each medium they sell.

Oh my god, I just realized what a tool I am for even writing this.

TsuKata Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:16 PM EST

I figure if they're going to charge me $5-6 for what I could bring with me for under a buck, they better give me a gallon's worth. I want a 14kt gold straw, too!

donner Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:15 PM EST

please tell me you didn't drink the whole thing...

Slezak Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:13 PM EST

Dominique...I promise that photo is not altered in any way. And to answer the other question...the Clementine flavor is quite pleasing!

Gretchen Weiners Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:09 PM EST

God bless America!

Dominique Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:04 PM EST

I refuse to believe that photograph isn't doctored.

Minutiae Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:58 AM EST

Ha! Wasn't this a segment on Seinfeld with Elaine in a theater?

GOB Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:44 AM EST

So how many free refills did you get?

Jayel Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:43 AM EST

Isn't that nuts? When you can't carry your soda to your seat in one hand, you've got too much.

Are there people who require this much liquid during a 2-hour movie? And are those not the people who are stepping on my feet on the way to the toilet every ten minutes? Do we really want to encourage them?

I'm with you, Brother Slezak - something is terribly wrong.

Holly Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:39 AM EST

THIS IS WHY ITS LIKE $7 FOR A MEDIUM SODA....

Elizabeth Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:37 AM EST

The medium's at Wendy's are a little gigundous too these days.
What did you name the baby then?

Annie B. Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:37 AM EST

Clementine? Of course.

aa Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:37 AM EST

i just want to know how the clementine svedka tastes.

Winona Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:30 AM EST

I enjoyed one of those yesterday while seeing The Dark Knight with my husband. While of course the size is the main problem, the "larger" (pun intended) problem is the fact that I was charged $4 for that soda, when I can get the same thing at McDonald's for 1/4 the price.

RayT Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:19 AM EST

Isn't being an American great?! I can't wait until we eat popcorn out of a trough built into the seat in front of us.

Wojo Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM EST

What's wrong with the picture is that it's missing Kahlua? Mmmmmmm...white russians!