I felt like Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, returning to the card table after being pulled away to handle a bothersome emergency. He’s so effortlessly slick as he slides back into his chair with tuxedo in perfect place, picking up right where he’d left off, as if he’d never been away. RunPee is a free mobile app that helps you smoothly take a bathroom break in a movie theatre. It’s an app I’ve recommended before based on its idea and design, but haven’t had a real-world emergency to use it with until this weekend. Now I’m a true believer. This is essential kit for movie lovers, a “secret to being cool”, that works so brilliantly that, frankly, it deserves a better name, something a little more “Bond”.

Every movie has slow moments, scenes that aren’t very important to the plot, but help cool down the pacing. RunPee knows them all and can tell you when they appear (at the 37 mins., 62 mins., or 79 mins. marks for example), what’s being said on the screen (Simon says “I have to get you some place safe”) and just how much time you’ll have (3 mins., 4 mins., 6 mins.). There’s no spoilers, so you’re free to look up and memorize the information before the movie starts, but even if you have to check the screen RunPee uses a dark menu system so there’s little light to disturb others.

Once you excuse yourself you can start a built-in timer (iPhone version) to keep track of the passing minutes and after you’ve relieved yourself and washed your hands, it gives you a quick summary of what you’ve missed to read as you head back to the theatre. If you’re not fond of sitting through the credits, it will even let you know if there are any surprises at the end of not, so you can leave quickly if need be.

I’m a hard core movie lover, a ceniphile and cineaste. I rarely miss an opening or end credits sequence let alone actually get up to leave, even for a second, but Mother Nature eventually makes a call on us all and this weekend she called on me during a screening of Predators. I waited until there was a quiet moment, when all the characters find a safe place to hide from the monsters, and slipped out. Sure enough it was a scene on RunPee’s list. With my emergency taken care of, the app’s summary of what past married perfectly with my own imagination. I could see the character’s faces and hear their voices saying the lines, and their movements. The timing of it was so perfect, that as my imagination and RunPee’s text ended and I walked back into the theatre, the movie on the screen picked up and continued from it perfectly. It was if I had never left.

RunPee was originally created for those with tricky bladders, people who avoid the popular 7pm and 9pm showtimes because it lowers their chances for an aisle seat, who can’t quite focus on a movie because they’re searching for the best moment to leave, who feel left out of post-movie discussions because they missed out on a key point and are too embarrassed to ask for a recap. Some people suffer such an anxiety about it all, about they perceived burden they feel they can represent, they only watch movies at home. RunPee is a smooth answer to all those concerns. Whether it’s a sudden attack of sneezes, an itchy cough, or any number of unplanned emergencies, we’re all going to face that uncomfortable exit from a movie theatre at some time, having RunPee on your cell phone will simply make everything all right when the time comes.

RunPee is available as a website, iPhone app, Android app, and mobile site for BlackBerry at m.RunPee.com (a proper app is still in the works). The iPhone app, with its built-in timer and faster access to new releases, is by far the slickest solution, but they all take do the trick very well.