# Embarrassing epiphanies about movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966 "2006-02-04T05:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/21 "2006-02-04T20:50:33Z")
Second “Language” :smack: …It does show. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/22 "2006-02-04T20:54:34Z")
In addition to **The Sonoran Lizard King** and **Askia** ’s points on the _Pulp Fiction_ hijack, I’d add that after the shooting has all gone down, Jules addresses him by name several times, trying to get him to snap out of his shock. The following exchange occurs (from **Askia** ’s link): > [@](#): > > VINCENT > (pointing to Marvin) > Friend of yours? > > JULES > Yeah, Marvin-Vincent-Vincent-Marvin. And, of course, after the incredibly poor marksman comes out of the bathroom guns a-blazing and gets whacked, Vincent walks over to Marvin and says, “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us about that guy in the bathroom? Slip your mind? Forget he was in there with a goddamn hand cannon?” This suggests that Marvin was their inside man at the apartment. Sorry to continue the hijack; _Pulp Fiction_ tends to engender long discussions of minute plot points. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/23 "2006-02-04T21:36:56Z")
Well, it wasn’t until I saw Peter Jackson’s LotR moives that I realized Sam and Frodo were gay. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/24 "2006-02-04T21:42:09Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > After watching **The Usual Suspects** , I kept asking why no one figured out something was wrong with Verbal’s story after we see Kobayashi as a caucasian with a Pakistani accent and a Japanese surname. Wouldn’t someone at the FBI have picked up on that? Anyone at all? > > A fellow fan of the movie finally had to explain gently that: > > Kobayashi existed in this form only within Verbal’s mind. There might have really been a Kobayashi, but he certainly would not have looked or sounded like that. Not really.But we did see Kobayashi outside of Kint’s story – when he picks him up after he leaves the police stationThe better solution is that Kobayashi wasn’t his real name. After all, Kint wasn’t his real name, either. As for the pronunciation of “knight,” it’s partly right. The original pronunciation was k-nit – with the representing a velar fricative, much like the German “Ach.” ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/25 "2006-02-04T21:46:23Z")
I completely missed the rape in _A Streetcar Named Desire_…when I read the play, then saw the movie…still didn’t get it until my high-school English teacher mentioned it…and I was just shocked! ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/26 "2006-02-04T21:56:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not really.But we did see Kobayashi outside of Kint’s story – when he picks him up after he leaves the police stationThe better solution is that Kobayashi wasn’t his real name. After all, > > Kint wasn’t his real name, either. That’s my point: [spoiler]We saw _someone_ pick up Verbal/Soze, and it might have even been Kobayashi, but we have no way of knowing. Remember, Verbal’s story was pretty much nine parts bullshit to one part truth. The movie doesn’t allow us to determine who was who. Pete Postlethwait might have been Kobayashi, Soze’s chauffeur, or even a friend of Kint. He might not even have known that he was driving Keyser Soze. The only reason I think Kobayashi might have existed at all is because Jack Baer, the FBI agent played by Giancarlo Esposito, mentions the name before Kujan starts interrogating Kint/Soze.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/27 "2006-02-04T23:03:06Z")
I didn’t realize that Tony Shalhoub’s character in Galaxy Quest was supposed to be a pothead until a friend pointed this out. After that, the character’s behavior made a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/28 "2006-02-05T02:54:14Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > … after the incredibly poor marksman comes out of the bathroom guns a-blazing and gets whacked… That was divine intervention, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/29 "2006-02-05T03:42:26Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > That’s my point: I disagree. Kint’s story is supposed to be accurate; all the phony details he throws in are outside the story, and in the tale framing the flashbacks. Further: The name “Kobyashi” is taken from the manufacturer of the cup Kint is drinking from (I think – it clearly came from one of the objects during the interrogation). Kint is making up the name “Kobyashi,” but “Kobyashi” – whatever his real name, clearly exists, and I don’t think there’s anything in any of Kint’s flashbacks that is not portraying actual events. He hides his real identity, of course, but the movie makes no sense at all if the flashbacks are all phony. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/30 "2006-02-05T03:52:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I disagree. Kint’s story is supposed to be accurate; all the phony details he throws in are outside the story, and in the tale framing the flashbacks. Further: > > The name “Kobyashi” is taken from the manufacturer of the cup Kint is drinking from (I think – it clearly came from one of the objects during the interrogation). Kint is making up the name “Kobyashi,” but “Kobyashi” – whatever his real name, clearly exists, and I don’t think there’s anything in any of Kint’s flashbacks that is not portraying actual events. He hides his real identity, of course, but the movie makes no sense at all if the flashbacks are all phony. But then how do you explain the fact that Jack Baer knew Kobayashi’s name before Kint told it to Kujan? The name did appear on the coffee mug Kugan was holding throught the interrogation. Either this was just a continuity error or Kint saw the cup before. I don’t think the flashbacks are all phony (except for those which involve Kint hiding out and watching Soze kill Keaton), but I think there are definite distortions. I believe there was a middle man who spoke with the group, but I sort of doubt he had a Pakistani accent _and_ looked caucasian _and_ had a Japanese surname. Personally, I believe Postlethwait’s appearance was meant to be somewhat surreal in order to give the audience the idea that something was badly wrong with the whole scenario as Kint portrayed it. Was Postlethwait’s character the actual middle man? We’ll never know, and that’s part of the whole mystique of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/31 "2006-02-05T03:57:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I disagree. Kint’s story is supposed to be accurate Is it? The man’s a liar, we know that much. Some of the faked details (like the name “Kobayashi”) do drip over into the narrative. How are we to know if anything in his story is true or not? Some events are independently verified, others aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/32 "2006-02-05T05:29:26Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > Aside from “cannigit” in _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ (which you’ll find is a pretty common one)… > > …I completely missed the penis joke that is the title of the movie _South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut_. :smack: Don’t feel silly- I didn’t get that until just now. Well, it took me quite a few years to realize that _The Lion King_ is just _Hamlet_ with musical numbers. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/33 "2006-02-05T06:54:47Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > That was divine intervention, my friend. Ridiculous. Look, I was watching that show “COPS” one time, and this cop said he was in a gunfight in a hallway once… ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/34 "2006-02-05T07:06:44Z")
Pretty much all of the innuendo in Grease. It came out in Ireland in 79/80 and we all used to sing along to some of the songs on the bus to Fairview. I had no idea…summer loving indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/35 "2006-02-05T10:26:36Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I didn’t realize that Tony Shalhoub’s character in Galaxy Quest was supposed to be a pothead until a friend pointed this out. After that, the character’s behavior made a lot more sense. That was still the best “stoned” performance in the history of cinema: the scene where the crew are beamed aboard the alien ship and arrive shocked and trembling, with the exception of Tony Shalhoub, who’s nodding, smiling beatifically and eating a yoghurt is priceless. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/36 "2006-02-05T14:46:35Z")
Are you sure Shaloub’s character was supposed to be stoned? I think he was just supposed to be so laid-back nothing ever phased him. It’s a Tony Shaloub thing. Besides, he was on the ship for quite a while without having any “smoking” breaks. Of course, maybe he was one of those potheads who’s been on it for so long they’re perma-stoned. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/37 "2006-02-05T15:31:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I disagree. Kint’s story is supposed to be accurate; all the phony details he throws in are outside the story, and in the tale framing the flashbacks. I disagree with that interpretation. One of the best things about the Usual Suspects is that we end the movie not really knowing what happened at all, aside from the few details that are confirmed by the cops. Some things may have been true, but we have no way of knowing. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/38 "2006-02-05T15:59:03Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Their arguments fell on deaf ears. So, they came up with the idea of a dick joke as part of the title. When they proposed “Bigger, Longer and Uncut” as the new title, the ratings board was satisfied, thinking thy’s cleaned up the title… when in fact, they’d gotten a much WORSE title. This is actually true of the entire movie. Trey and Parker are quite vocal about their disapproval of the MPAA system and of the arbitrary and unfair nature of it. You’d get a totally different rating depending on which particular people were selected to the board at a given time. So they submitted their movie, got NC17. They then decided to edit it and _put in every more obscene content_, sent it in again, got an NC17, added more obscenity until eventually one of them got an R, and that was the release version. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/39 "2006-02-05T16:02:32Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Well, it took me quite a few years to realize that _The Lion King_ is just _Hamlet_ with musical numbers. Does that count? I used to think so, too, but I realised that it isn’t, in a lot of ways. I mean, sure, it has the basic uncle-kills-father beginning, but they differ in some significant ways. 1. Claudius didn’t try to convince Hamlet that his father’s death was his fault. 2. Rosencratz and Gildenstern (loosely Timone and Pumba?) didn’t raise Hamlet outside of Denmark. 3. There was no Laertes figure in _The Lion King_. 4. Come to think of it, there wasn’t really an Ophelia one, either. At least, she didn’t go insane and drown herself. 5. No Horatio figure. 6. No elaborate ploy to prove that Scar murdered Mufasa. 7. Claudius didn’t invite the Danes’ enemies to aid him in ruling Denmark. 8. No Fortibras character. 9. Most of the cast survives the movie, where most die in _Hamlet_. There’re a couple other, but I think that proves my point :D. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966/40 "2006-02-05T17:53:17Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Are you sure Shaloub’s character was supposed to be stoned? I think he was just supposed to be so laid-back nothing ever phased him. It’s a Tony Shaloub thing. Kind of like Monk. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassing-epiphanies-about-movies/342966.md?page=3)