misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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Why do you say that? I didn't see anything awkward about that clip you just showed.
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manderstoke, I think your comments and observations about Odd Man Out are exceptionally thoughtful and insightful. I enjoyed reading them, and I wish that more people here were interested in viewing films like this. (I suspect that many posters skipped it because it wasn't an American film, but I could be unfairly judging them, maybe I'm mistaken...)
Anyway, thanks for your interesting and intelligent posts about the film.
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cigarjoe, I respect you, but - don't we already have a thread about this?
How come we need a second one?
I hate it when there are two threads at the same time about the same thing.
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I don't know who Patsy Gallant is, but the disco diva from Canada that I was thinking of was France Joli.
I can't believe you wouldn't know this:
Why I bothered to post this, I don't know, since I don't even like the song that much.
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LOL
Yeah MissW, how Vautrin got FROM spending relaxing days at his sun-kissed beach while listening to Bing Crosby croon that little ditty about teddy bears, and TO that Hitchcock flick, specifically that part in it where Nazi Walter Slezak(btw Vautrin...I don't think Walter's character could rightly be called an "Ubermensch"...well, at least not in the classic Yiddish sense, anyway) talks the feverish Bill Bendix into goin' to see his Rosie in Davy Jones' locker, is beyond me too!
(...maybe our friend Vautrin has been spendin' TOO much time out there in the hot sun lately, eh?!)
Well I figured it would likely be unpopular, though it was partly made in
jest. Ubermensch is a German word and Willi was an ersatz one because
he relied on pep pills and drinking his own sweat (yuck). The mild mannered
Rittenhouse really lost his cool when he kept hitting Willi on the noggin
with Gus's shoe. Ouch.
Well, gentlemen, I have seen LifeBoat, more than once. But I must confess that the eloquent Vautrin's allusion to that film escaped me. I kept scrolling back to see if there were some post he was responding to that I'd missed.
I took a "beginner's" German course once, really enjoyed it, and can't remember a thing about it.
Nicht ein Wort.
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I have to admit that I was not completely disappointed when Willi, the
pill popping ersatz Ubermensch, persuaded curly locked dancing
queen Gus to exit starboard from the lifeboat to go in search of
an underwater Roseland and his dancing partner Rosie, and all
those jive talking dancing hepcats. Billy's lachrymose reminiscences
were getting to be a bit much, especially in that confined environment.
I'll bet if he could have known, Al Magarulian would have given Fritz
a discreet thumbs up.
What the frig ?......
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Sun, sea, and sand. Yeah, baby. I love the beach. And while out in the
ocean, why not do an abbreviated version of Mister Roberts? I don't
recall hearing the Teddy Bears' Picnic as a child. The first two verses
do sound a bit on the spooky side.
I didn't have a teddy bear, but I became obsessed with a little wooden
necklace with two small green stones as eyes. I carried that darn thing
everywhere
Sounds kind of voodoo-ish to me.
Maybe someone could stage an all teddy bear production of Mr. Roberts. Teddy Ruxpin could be the Cagney character, Jack Lemmon one of speedracer's Care Bears, and so on. And at the end, the audience could throw 'em all into the sea.
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When I was little, one of my favorite cartoons was The Adventures of the Gummi Bears. This combines two of your least favorite things-- gummy bears and teddy bears! Lol. It had a great theme song.
Gak !
Wow, you and Vautrin are torturing me, with your combinations of teddy bears, beaches, and candy. All rolled into one sweet experience ! Yikes !
Actually, I don't like to give Vautrin the satisfaction, but I do like the song "Teddy Bears' Picnic".
One version:
Catchy, eh?
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There's nothing I like better than to spend a full day at the beach
with not a cloud in the sky, listening to The Teddy Bears' Picnic.
Gak !
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It's the feel good music video of ten years ago. ....
Ten years ago or today...Feel-good music is timeless.
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I just thought of another unpopular opinion to add to my list. I really dislike the movie Mr. Roberts.
But don't take it up with me here....there's a whole thread about it, elsewhere on this forum.
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While I know that much of the humour of Mr. Roberts is broad (John Ford was not a director known for much subtlety when it came to comedy), I find it difficult to resist any film with such an impressive quartet of male stars.
There's an easy chemistry in the scenes shared by Henry Fonda, William Powell and the young and ever-so-eager Ensign Pulver played by Jack Lemmon. It's touching to see Lemmon's admiration bordering on hero worship of wise veteran Fonda's Mr. Roberts. And Powell brings a grace and dignity to his playing of wise Doc that makes this a fine curtain call for the veteran star.
Ah. I'd forgotten that John Ford directed it, maybe because I usually only pay attention to who directed a film if I like the film.
Anyway, that explains it. John Ford had an absolutely terrible sense of humour, at least when it came to attempting to bring comedy into his films. (Can't say what he was like in real life, in that department.)
Every time John Ford tries to be funny in his movies, he fails miserably. It's in the so-called "funny" bits of his films that I tend to roll my eyes. It's not even that his humour was "broad" - sometimes I like "broad" humour. But it has to be funny, it has to actually make me laugh. John Ford did not know how to be funny. And boy, does it ever show in Mr. Roberts.
I've suffered through this entire film twice now, and am still puzzled as to its relatively high status with movie fans. Nothing any of you have said here in its defence has convinced me it isn't tedious and tiresome. I mean, there's nothing more tedious than something trying to be funny, and just falling flat on its face.
And yes, as I said, I do very much like all the lead players in the movie ( sorry, I left out mention of William Powell in my earlier post. And I like Mr.Powell.) But just because a film features a lot of actors I admire in an ensemble production doesn't mean I'll automatically like the production.
I'm sorry guys, but I still think Mr. Roberts is boring and tiresome. I can only imagine how wretched it would be if it didn't have all those likable actors in it.
Why am I bothering to post all this negative stuff about it? A lot of people subscribe to the "if you don't have something nice to say about it, don't say anything at all." philosophy. I disagree with that. Life wouldn't be as interesting if everybody just went around "being nice" all the time. And there's a way to say you don't like something without being nasty. I mean, I'm not insulting those of you who do enjoy this movie. I'm just knocking the movie, not its fans.
But the main reason why I'm taking the trouble to post again explaining the things about the film that I don't like is that everyone else seems to like it. If I didn't think Mr. Roberts was hugely over-rated, I'd probably leave it alone. I generally only write "negative" posts about a film if I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't like it. It's not as though poor old Mr. Roberts doesn't have many fans and many defenders - as this thread demonstrates.
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Patsy Gallant.
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One of my favourite bands of all time is The Velvet Underground. I love them, just about everything they did gives me a certain feeling. To me there's something so mysterious and New York about them, something kind of dangerous and joyous at the same time. Here be one of my favourites by them; it's no longer morning, but it's still Sunday.
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Vautrin, that's what I call a feel-good video. I wonder if all those people were friends of the Chili Peppers, or just hopefuls auditioning to be in a Red Hot Chili Peppers video? Either way, they all look as though they were having a great time.
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One of my favorites from this early 70's group. This song is so stylistically McCartney-esque in every possible way Paul should be getting royalties to this day.
It's the little psychedelic flourish that finishes the track that most works for me.
Yes, it's very "McCartney-esque", especially the piano chords.
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....I'm curious as to your dislike of teddy bears. It seems so random. My "teddy bear" is a 1984 Care Bear-- Cheer Bear to be exact. She used to be pink with a rainbow on her tummy; now she's grey with a rainbow on her tummy.
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Speedy, I'm kind of uncomfortable explaining why I dislike teddy bears, since so many people - and hey, you're one of them - love them. I don't want to be offensive about it.
I never liked them, even as a kid. In fact, I don't like and never did, any type of stuffed animal toy. But teddy bears were the worst. I also dislike the "Winnie the Pooh" stories - and I love children's books ! You may remember, Winnie the Pooh was a teddy bear.
I dunno, there's just something so inane about them to me. Sentimental. Or maybe it's just that I never had a teddy bear as a child myself, so I can't relate to the kind of nostalgic/ sentimental feeling many people have for them. And I never missed them, I never wanted a teddy bear.
Also - and this might really offend a lot of people, and if it offends you, I'm genuinely sorry, because I consider you a friend here. But the thing about teddy bears that I dislike the most is how people buy them and put them on the site where some poor murdered kid lived, in some futile attempt to demonstrate that they feel sad for the kid's family. I hate that - teddy bears, dolls, "stuff", being dumped on the front lawn of the poor family's home because people who never even knew the kid somehow think they have to "do something" to show they feel bad for the family. It's like people want to experience emotion, that kind of grief, vicariously. To me there's something creepy about it.
Obviously this is not to say that I do not feel terrible when I hear these tragic stories. But to me there's something cheap and silly about dumping a teddy bear where the kid lived to show your sympathy for the family. It just seems sentimental and dumb.
I have little doubt that what I just said will make some people here, including some I consider my friends, think I am nasty and heartless. Not to mention disrespectful of the teddy bear contributers. But that's what I feel about it.
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Changing topic a little...two short lists of things I dislike, that most people seem to favour:
Movies:
I hate epics ! I hate movies that span decades in time, and that usually last at least 8 hours ( or so it feels - most of them are actually about 3 hours long, but that's one hour too many.)
I cannot connect to characters and events that keep changing every 10 minutes. And they take themselves so seriously, these long "important" films.
some examples:
Gone With the Wind (yup)
Lawrence of Arabia
Dr.Zhivago ( David Lean, what happened to you?)
All those Bible epics
And now a list of things I really dislike that most people seem to adore:
Teddy bears
Sunny days ( ok, I don't mind days of sun and cloud; it's the clear blue sky sunny days I don't like; they're harsh....and Dargo, I would not be happy in Sedona, where I have the impression the sun shines all day, every day...I need rain)
Candy - like jelly beans and gummi bears - just sticky coloured sugar. Now, chocolate is something different altogether. Chocolate, I love.
Beyonce. also Kenye West. also Katy Perry. not my idea of music
John Ford movies ( with a few exceptions, like The Informer and The Grapes of Wrath and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.)
Steak. I can't be bothered to do all that cutting.
Beaches - - too much sun, and no trees.
There's more, but that's enough crochety-ness for one post.
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My unpopular opinion:
She was a brilliant comedienne, and a fine all-around actress.
But "Bombshell" Jean Harlow isn't the timeless beauty that many attest her to be.
She was very much a product of a look and style that was in vogue at the time, and her own magnificent ability to pull the act off. (She like Bette Davis, was such a great actress that she could convince the audience she was far more beautiful than she actually was.)
Now, I know "beauty" doesn't come strictly from the physical form. But for the sake of my argument, I use a purely aesthetic barometer, one that doesn't factor in character, mind and personality. And Jean Harlow just doesn't do it for me in that metric.
I agree, Winslow. Jean Harlow was many good things, but classically beautiful wasn't one of them.
Her style of looks was "cute", rather than "pretty" or "beautiful".
And, as you acknowledge, there was something very likable about her that made the audience side with her. I've heard she was a really sweet person in real life.
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Yes.
That you missed it is surprising - it's a running gag that was referenced many, many times comedically.
The philosophy behind it is that Jerry - whose apartment is central to all - is the ever-generous and tolerant success for his struggling friends to mooch off.
Comedies like Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond have the same unrealistic "flaw" to them that makes all the stories happen - the central characters don't have sense enough to simply lock the door. Friends and family are continually bursting in and problems ensue. So many unpleasant happenings for Jerry and Deborah and Raymond would be eliminated just by locking the door.
That issue is addressed in the episode called "The Keys". Jerry gets fed up with Kramer bursting in on him any time of day or night, not to mention Jerry entering his own apartment to find Kramer there, eating or having a bath or entertaining a lady friend.
Of course, the problem isn't really solved, it just leads up to the very funny ensuing episodes in which Kramer, hurt by Jerry's seizing the K man's key to his apartment ( not to mention his penchant for "yearning") takes off for L. A.
But I'm with you, and I"m surprised our friend Tom is bothered by the food thing. It IS a running joke - they even ( especially Kramer) have the nerve to complain when Jerry doesn't have a certain kind of cereal , or a special brand of chips, or whatever. I've always thought it was funny, in some way even charming, that one of the first things Kramer, George, and Elaine tend to do when they enter Jerry's apartment is open the fridge.
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Not talking about anyone here - but I had two buddies who would always make a face whenever I'd tell either of them about a Seinfeld episode I'd just watched.
Every time - they made it clear that they didn't want to hear it. Wouldn't laugh at the descriptions I told. Switched the conversation to something else as fast as they could.
That they were both rather anti-Jew probably had nothing at all to do with it, I'm sure.
Right. I don't know about that last, but I have a very good friend, who in every other way I respect.
But she never liked Seinfeld ! We just "agreed to disagree" - I just don't talk about it with her.
In every other way she has excellent taste.
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I love 'The Gum'. Cracks me right up.
Old Costanza rival Lloyd Braun has had a nervous breakdown and Kramer wants everyone to be very careful about hurting his feelings by mentioning it. Lloyd has become quite lovable since the breakdown and offers everyone a piece of Chinese gum. Jerry gets into a position where he has to wear glasses that make him blind so as not to hurt Lloyd's feelings and because he can't see what he's looking at gives Lloyd a 50 dollar bill to buy some gum - Lloyd comes back with a ****load of gum and asks "am I crazy or is that a lot of gum?"; Elaine loses a button from her blouse so as not to sit with Lloyd in the movies and ends up titillating not just Lloyd but the whole neighborhood with her cleavage exposure; Kramer eats a hot dog that's 20 years old because the snack bar attendant asks Lloyd if he's crazy for ordering it; Elaine complains about a storekeeper using a hose to wash the sidewalk instead of sweeping, and sure enough Kramer pukes in front of the store because of biting into the 20 year-old hot dog - and on and on it goes.
An absolute comedy classic.
There are dozens of episodes like this.
db, you left out the funniest part of all. I mean, every single "bit" from that episode is hilarious, and I agree with everything you said about it.
But unless I'm mistaken ( and I might be, I haven't got to that season yet in my re-watchings) in the same episode, George encounters a woman who thinks he's mentally ill.. (And arguably, he is. Although I always loved George.) Every time he convinces her he's sane, something happens to make him look totally crazy ! Which for some reason this woman always witnesses.
I remember, I just couldn't stop laughing at that episode's final scene, in which George, in order to help promote the old movie theatre, dresses up as King Henry VIII and marches up the street to the theatre. And of course, the woman who suspected he was a "nutter" sees him.
What makes it so deliciously funny is, that's such a cliche about insane people - - they think they're Henry VIII, or Napoleon, or somebody.
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The first few shows of "Mama's Family" were OK, but without Carol's "Eunice" it lacked it's full vibe.
The most APT description of any TV show was the one they always gave SEINFELD----
"A show about nothing". Sho 'nuff!
Nothing funny...
Nothing worth the time.....
Nothing to see THERE.
Sepiatone
Ok, I've been diligently reading this thread from its beginning, resisting the urge to reply to a number of opinions I disagree with. (I have this idea that I should read all of a thread before commenting on it.)
But this is too much !
Seinfeld is the funniest sit-com ever. I own the entire series on DVD, and I just started re-watching it a little while ago. It's still hilarious.
And, contrary to its tag-line, it is NOT "about nothing".It's about people, human nature - it's about how funny human beings can be.
In fact, I would say that Seinfeld is about something more than most sit-coms.
And even if it weren't, why does a comedy show have to be "about something"? Comedy shows should be about making us laugh, which Seinfeld does completely and wonderfully. It's not "dumb", it's the opposite - one of the smartest sit-coms of all time.
Some of its episodes I've seen several times, and each one still makes me laugh out loud.
I've never understood the poe-faces who don't like it.
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Well, sometimes I like "dumb" comedies with lots of slapstick. Airplane and The Naked Gun movies come to mind.
But they're genuinely funny. And in addition to all the physical and downright silly humour ( which I enjoy in those films), they've also got a fair bit of wordplay. There's no such cleverness with words, no verbal humour, in Mr. Roberts.
In other words, I like a "dumb" comedy as much as anyone, and have nothing against "parking my brain" for a couple of hours of shameless silliness. But it has to actually be funny, too.
TOXIC OSCAR SHOCK FLOP! MOONLIT BEATS TRALALA LAND!
in General Discussions
Posted
Oh, ok....I thought the poster was referring to the actual speech the woman who won gave (must admit, I've never heard of her.)
As for Robert Duvall laughing as he reads Shelly Winters' name, I did think that was rude and lacking in class. I'm surprised a quality guy like Duvall did that.