...And don't call me Shirley
There is something about silly movies that I really like. I’m not sure if it is the blatant disregard for physics, continuity or plausibility but I can watch movies like the Naked Gun and Blazing Saddles over and over again. The other night Bibliowife and I setteled in front of the TV; she reading a textbook and I flipping through the massive amount of crap that is labeled entertainment these days when I stumbled upon Hot Shots! Part Duex. I was physically incapable of changing the channel and was transfixed by the hypnotic lunacy that was presented to me.
After a while, my schoolgirl-ish giggling was distracting enough to end Bibliowife’s study session, even though I think she was just using that as an excuse. She exchanged the philosophical musings of Plato for the brilliance of Topper Harley and Ramada Hayman. This wasn’t a great comedy or cutting edge action film, it was just silly. Where else can you see a chicken launched from a bow in slow motion only to be impaled into a soldier’s chest ending with the expected egg being laid onto the now dead soldier’s stomach? At that point Bibliowife had had enough.
“This is stupid.” She proclaimed. To which I replied “Yep.” 10 minutes later she repeated her statement, followed by me repeating “Yep,” Apparently I wasn’t getting the hint. “Why are we watching this?” she asked. To which I couldn’t find an answer.
I don’t really know why I enjoy the blatantly silly movies so much, but I can’t get enough of Monty Python, Strange Brew, Naked Gun and the like. There is something appealing to the movies that are set in the normal universe but with ridiculous characters; Tropic Thunder and Three Amigos come to mind (“Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas?”). I am even partial to the single idiot/oblivious character in a serious (semi) role although this one has been done to death recently and get old quick; Beverly Hills Ninja, Talladega Nights, Dumb and Dumber and the classic The Jerk.
Maybe it’s the quick witted responses that are delivered one after another during dialog or the subtle references that are easy to miss and the triumphant feeling that I get after recognizing them. Maybe it’s the thinking that is involved in some of the obscure jokes and the feeling of superiority that washes over me when I get it. Maybe it is the gratuitous crotch shots that are abundant in these types of films. Either way, I knows what I like and I like what I knows.
~Bibliotender
After a while, my schoolgirl-ish giggling was distracting enough to end Bibliowife’s study session, even though I think she was just using that as an excuse. She exchanged the philosophical musings of Plato for the brilliance of Topper Harley and Ramada Hayman. This wasn’t a great comedy or cutting edge action film, it was just silly. Where else can you see a chicken launched from a bow in slow motion only to be impaled into a soldier’s chest ending with the expected egg being laid onto the now dead soldier’s stomach? At that point Bibliowife had had enough.
“This is stupid.” She proclaimed. To which I replied “Yep.” 10 minutes later she repeated her statement, followed by me repeating “Yep,” Apparently I wasn’t getting the hint. “Why are we watching this?” she asked. To which I couldn’t find an answer.
I don’t really know why I enjoy the blatantly silly movies so much, but I can’t get enough of Monty Python, Strange Brew, Naked Gun and the like. There is something appealing to the movies that are set in the normal universe but with ridiculous characters; Tropic Thunder and Three Amigos come to mind (“Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas?”). I am even partial to the single idiot/oblivious character in a serious (semi) role although this one has been done to death recently and get old quick; Beverly Hills Ninja, Talladega Nights, Dumb and Dumber and the classic The Jerk.
Maybe it’s the quick witted responses that are delivered one after another during dialog or the subtle references that are easy to miss and the triumphant feeling that I get after recognizing them. Maybe it’s the thinking that is involved in some of the obscure jokes and the feeling of superiority that washes over me when I get it. Maybe it is the gratuitous crotch shots that are abundant in these types of films. Either way, I knows what I like and I like what I knows.
[as they jump out of an airplane one by one]
Harbinger: Geronimo!
Rabinowitz: Geronimo!
Geronimo: Me!
~Bibliotender
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