Free 'Nympho' Tix for Baby Caregivers Upsets Media

NEW YORK—A supposed controversy flared up last week when it emerged that a Landmark movie theater in New York City called the Sunshine Cinema included Lars Von Trier's Nymphomania: Vol. 1in its Rattle & Reel series, which provides special screenings for caregivers and their babies at which "Adults pay normal admission prices but all babies are FREE!" Within a New York minute, the prospect of babies being allowed in to the sexually explicit movie was making the media rounds under headlines blaring parental "outrage!" Not surprisingly, however, the "parents" turned out to be one person found by the Daily News, "Marcy Dermansky, 44, a New Jersey mom who has brought her then-7-month-old daughter to a prior 'Rattle & Reel' screening." Dermansky apparently did not decide to take in Nymphomania, telling the paper, "That’s a little appalling to include it in the series,” and saying of her previous outing to the Sunshine, "My child slept halfway through the movie, but the babies don’t sleep through all of it. Even if the kid doesn’t really process it ... as a parent, having that much violence or nudity on with her in the room just doesn’t really work for me.” Her choice, of course, but the idea that babies are influenced by such fare is lunacy to anyone who's raised one (as this writer has). At best, a baby may at the sight of unclothed breasts on a large screen have fleeting thoughts about being fed, but beyond that they're not digging the subtext. But far be it for the American media to react rationally to this story. One source after another ridiculed the decision by the theater, and even HuffPo, that bastion of progressive journalism, posted a headline that misleadingly declared, "Moms Outraged That Theater Offers Free ‘Nymphomaniac' Tickets For Babies." Really? Moms, plural? The Sunshine, which regularly screens fare that others theaters wouldn't touch with a 10-foot dick, is holding its ground with Rattle & Reel and Nymphomania, saying in a statement, “Landmark’s Rattle and Reel program has been one of our most successful customer service initiatives. Offering these particular screenings to parents with infants gives them an opportunity to see new films in the marketplace. Our policy is to offer all films to our patrons regardless of subject matter or rating.” That response is sure to tick off the Daily News, whose movie reviewer gave Nymphomania: Vol. 1 zero stars, and which commented, "Babies may beg to differ, but adults have certainly been appalled by Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1." That despite Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 78 percent positive rating from reviewers, and 79 percent from audiences, for the first volume of the movie. For any New York caregivers who still want to see Nymphomania at the Sunshine Cinema's Rattle & Reel series, the screening is Wednesday, March 26, at noon. Tickets are available the day of the screening only at the theater, which is located at 143 East Houston St. on the Lower East Side, between 1st and 2nd avenues. Call (212) 260-7289 for more information or visit here.