This Boyfriend Ruined His GF’s Favorite Childhood Movie With His Snark, So She Hit the Power Button and Ended the Night

Movie night is supposed to be the great equalizer of relationships. It is the sacred compromise where you sit through his pretentious sci-fi epic one week, and he sits through your nostalgic comfort watch the next. It is a simple social contract. You shut up, you eat your popcorn, and you pretend to enjoy it even if you are bored out of your skull. But for one woman on Reddit, that contract was shredded by a boyfriend who seemingly thinks he is the next Roger Ebert, and his review style is “relentless mockery.”

Our narrator has a boyfriend named Wyatt. They have a system where they trade off picking movies. She holds up her end of the bargain like a champion. She sat through The Fountain—a movie that is famously divisive and confusing—without uttering a single complaint. She didn’t get it, she was bored, but she kept her mouth shut because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. That is what love looks like. It looks like suffering through Hugh Jackman floating in a bubble in space because your partner likes it.

Wyatt, however, does not return the favor. When it is her turn to pick, he transforms into a cinema snob. He points out “plot holes.” He talks down about the film. He sighs loudly. And if she asks him to stop, he punishes her by pulling out his phone and disengaging completely. It is rude, it is disrespectful, and it turns what should be a bonding activity into a stress test for her patience.

The situation reached a boiling point yesterday when she picked a movie that wasn’t just entertainment, but a piece of her history. It was a childhood favorite, a movie that makes her cry every time. She explicitly told him it was special to her. She made herself vulnerable. And how did Wyatt handle this delicate information? He didn’t even give it ten minutes.

Before the opening credits were barely cold, Wyatt was calling it “boring and childish.” Our narrator knew exactly what was coming. The emotional climax of the film was approaching, and she knew, deep in her bones, that he was going to ruin it. He was going to scoff or make a snarky comment right when she was tearing up. So she made a split-second executive decision to protect her peace. She stood up and turned the TV off.

Wyatt was stunned. When she explained that she didn’t want the movie ruined, he called her a “baby” and demanded she turn it back on. She refused and told him to pick something else. Instead of realizing he had been a jerk, Wyatt threw a tantrum that would rival a toddler. He told her that if she was going to be “dramatic,” he didn’t want to watch anything with her. He stormed off to the bedroom and slammed the door.

Now comes the manipulation phase. He has been giving her the cold shoulder for days. When she finally asked why, he said he wants an apology for “making him feel like dirt.” Excuse me? He spent the entire movie night treating her interests like dirt, calling her choices childish, and ignoring her feelings. But the second she sets a boundary and stops the abuse, suddenly he is the victim?

Let’s be real here. This isn’t about a movie. This is about respect. He thinks his taste is superior and hers is worthy of mockery. He feels entitled to belittle the things she loves while expecting her to sit in reverent silence for the things he loves. Shutting off that TV wasn’t being a “baby.” It was a power move. It was her saying that her nostalgia is worth more than his commentary.

So, is she the ahole? Absolutely not. N-T-A. Do not apologize to this man. He owes you an apology for being a wet blanket and for lacking the basic empathy required to sit through a kids’ movie for ninety minutes without making it about his own superior intellect. If he feels like dirt, maybe it is because he was acting like it.