When You Gotta Go...

You ever see an idea someone came up with that's so brilliant and yet so obvious that you are both impressed and jealous you didn't think of it first?

That's how I felt when I found RunPee.com, a Web site designed to help moviegoers know when it's OK to go and... well, go during a movie.

This is an important topic to me since I once risked serious bladder damage just to sit through to the end of “Face/Off.” This would not have been worth it since “Face/Off” is not a very good movie, unless you like films where the good guy kills innocent people just like the villain or you're a fan of slow-motion gunfights with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as the soundtrack.

Anyway, I was pretty tired of this film by the time we got into what I thought was the home stretch. I didn't like it, but I figured, well, I've come this far. It can't be long now.

It was.

After countless Mexican standoffs between John Travolta, Nicolas Cage and anybody else with a gun who wandered onto the screen, the movie finally ended, with an even more unsatisfying finale than I had imagined. I quickly stumbled to the restroom.

If RunPee.com had been around then (and if I'd had Internet access in the mid-90s), I might have at least been able to find a proper time to duck out and return to be disappointed in comfort.

The site has user-generated content, a la Wikipedia. People who have seen new releases submit their suggested RunPee times, along with a cue of when to leave, so you're not looking at your watch constantly, and how much time you have to do your thing.

(The site's FAQs note that you can use this time to get snacks or whatever else you want to do, but I assume they focused on the bathroom because “RunPee” is a lot funnier and more memorable than “RunSnack.”)

Perusing their listing for many current and recent releases, I have to say I disagree with some of the suggested departure moments. However, they usually give multiple options for each film. In a way, it's still guesswork, but they've narrowed your choices.

In addition, there is a synopsis of what happens during the designated bathroom break, so you can find out what you missed. You could also do this beforehand, but my position on spoilers is well-documented. That's why I appreciate the way the synopses are distorted so you can't read them unless you click on them.

According to the site, they're also working on an iPhone app to make the site even more helpful. Just be sure to have your phone on silent.