Pop Culture Happy Hour – Mailbag: The Movies We Walked Out Of
Episode Date: December 14, 2025
Hosts: Aisha Harris & Stephen Thompson
Overview
In this special bonus mailbag episode, hosts Aisha Harris and Stephen Thompson respond to a listener question: Have you ever walked out on a movie? They candidly share their personal philosophies about abandoning movies, their rare walk-out stories, and reflections on what drives them to stick with—or give up on—a film. Along the way, they contrast their tolerance for questionable cinema, ponder auteur fatigue, and poke gentle fun at themselves for being completists.
Tone: Conversational, confessional, and laced with affectionate pop-culture snark.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Defining the "Dead-Ender" Mentality
[01:49 - 03:11]
- Stephen declares he is a "dead ender" – someone who almost never leaves a movie, especially for work.
- Quote: “If I'm seeing something for work, I'm a dead ender. Maybe, like, once the credits start rolling, I'm like, I'm not staying to see if there's a closing scene.” – Stephen, [01:49]
- He admits even in non-work scenarios, he’s generally unlikely to leave early: “It takes an emergency for me to even get up and go to the bathroom…” ([02:18])
2. The Movies Stephen (Almost) Walked Out Of
Slumdog Millionaire (Almost)
[03:13 - 03:42]
- Stephen and his companion debated leaving due to unexpectedly traumatic content, specifically, the child exploitation scenes in the first 45 minutes.
- Quote: “And the person I was with at the theater and I were like, should we leave? This is excruciating.” – Stephen, [03:39]
- He stuck it out, ultimately understanding the movie’s acclaim, but those initial scenes nearly drove him away.
A Clockwork Orange (Walked Out)
[03:43 - 05:48]
- At age 18 or 19, attending a campus screening, Stephen walked out during the early crime spree and sexual assault.
- Quote: “Very early in that movie, there is a giant crime spree which includes a brutal sexual assault and my date and I did not want to watch that and walked out on the movie.” – Stephen, [04:47]
- He feels some cinephile guilt, noting its enduring influence, but insists he wouldn't admit it were it not for transparency with listeners.
3. Aisha’s Stories: Endurance, Exceptions, and the “4DX Mistake”
Dead-Ender Vibes, Too
[08:21 - 08:53]
- Aisha mirrors the dead-ender philosophy: “If it's the first time I'm seeing a movie, I will—no matter how bad my stomach might be kicking me, I will sit there.”
Avatar: The Way of Water (Walked Out)
[09:15 - 10:14]
- On a whim, Aisha and her partner attended a 4DX screening on Christmas Day, drinks in hand—without realizing 4DX meant shaking seats.
- The viewing was physically uncomfortable and the movie boring; about an hour in, they left. “I wanna spend my Christmas doing anything but this. So we left, and it was great. We got some Indian food afterward. It was lovely.” – Aisha, [09:39]
- She later finished the movie for work, due to Pop Culture Happy Hour’s “Best Picture” policy.
At-Home Endurance and “Near Misses”
[10:14 - 12:39]
- Even at home, Aisha makes a point of finishing movies.
- Came close to walking out of:
- mother! (2017, Aronofsky): “45 minutes in, we both looked at each other, and we're like, oh, my God, what are we doing? But we stayed through the whole thing.” – Aisha, [11:07]
- Tree of Life (2011, Malick): “I almost walked out of. I hate that movie.” — Aisha, [11:53]
- Both films are cited for either being chaotic (mother!) or glacially slow (Tree of Life/Malick era).
4. Auteur Fatigue & Sunk Cost Fallacy
[13:34 - 14:57]
- Both hosts notice their walk-out/near-walk-out movies are from lauded “auteur” directors (Kubrick, Boyle, Cameron, Aronofsky, Malick).
- Aisha critiques these often “inscrutable, boring, and slow” movies hyped by film bros, especially when they run over two hours.
- Quote: “I just have a lower tolerance for, like, directors who are...auteurs, who film bros especially love to salivate over, and who, to me, make things that are either completely inscrutable and—or are just really kind of boring and slow.” – Aisha, [13:34]
- Both mention the “sunk cost” factor: having invested time and money, it feels wasteful to leave.
- Quote: “With movies...if I got up and, like, parked and, like, cleared the time in my schedule...I think I'm pretty big into the whole sunk cost thing.” – Stephen, [14:57]
5. Movies vs. TV: Different Rules
[12:11 - 12:46]
- Aisha is more forgiving with TV—quicker to give up a show that drags; Stephen agrees: “I will drop out of a TV show at the slightest provocation.” ([12:39])
- They both distinguish professional obligations from personal watching.
6. The Power of Finishing: “Can I Judge If I Didn’t Finish?”
[14:53 - 16:07]
- Aisha feels finishing a movie is necessary to legitimately critique it: “If I want to say that this movie is bad for whatever reason, then I feel like I have to have seen it all the way through and seen how it ends.” – Aisha, [15:44]
- Stephen agrees, humorously referencing Cats: “I don't want somebody to be like, ‘the last 10 minutes of Cats are amazing.'” ([16:08])
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the trauma of acclaimed movies:
- “I would love to be able to say I walked out of Cats. That movie stunk. But I stayed, arms folded and didn't miss a thing.” – Stephen, [02:49]
-
On 4DX and beverage choices:
- “Did not think about the consequences of having a drink while sitting in seats that move. And it was like, the most miserable experience. Plus, the movie was boring.” – Aisha, [09:18]
-
On auteur fatigue:
- “I really should have known going into Mother at least that that was just not gonna be my... joke. Cause I have never been an Aronofsky person. Like, Black Swan is fine.” – Aisha, [14:05]
-
On sunk costs:
- “There's an element of sunk costs... if I got up and, like, parked and, like, cleared the time in my schedule...” – Stephen, [14:53]
-
On judging movies:
- “If I want to say that this movie is bad for whatever reason, then I feel like I have to have seen it all the way through and seen how it ends and how the director carried it through.” – Aisha, [15:44]
- “If it's a bad movie, I want to be able to talk smack about it.” – Stephen, [16:04]
-
On finishing movies:
- “In the words of Aerosmith, you don't want to miss a thing.” – Aisha, [16:15]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- [01:49] Stephen on his "dead ender" philosophy
- [03:13] Stephen almost walks out of Slumdog Millionaire
- [03:43] Stephen walks out of A Clockwork Orange
- [08:21] Aisha on bathroom breaks and endurance
- [09:15] Aisha walks out of Avatar: The Way of Water (4DX mishap)
- [10:51] Aisha’s at-home “almost” walkouts (mother!, Tree of Life, other Malick films)
- [12:39] Movies vs. TV: Different rules for bailing
- [13:34] Discussion of “auteur” fatigue and movie length
- [14:53] Sunk cost theory and why they rarely leave
- [15:44] Needing to finish movies to judge them fairly
- [16:15] “Don’t want to miss a thing”—ending reflections
Final Thoughts
Stephen and Aisha’s confessions reveal that, contrary to the “critic as quitter” stereotype, many critics see it through to the end unless the experience is truly intolerable—physically, emotionally, or otherwise. Their willingness to air embarrassing exits and critique storied directors results in a candid, funny, and deeply relatable conversation for any film lover who’s ever faced the sinking feeling of wanting to bolt—but stuck it out just for the right to talk smack later.
Contact: Got burning questions for the team? Email: pchh@npr.org