# Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178 "2004-02-14T06:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/101 "2004-04-06T23:30:33Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I think the most haunting part of this movie are the memories that Joel lost that have nothing to do with Clementine. Specifically, we see in one of the memories that one of his favorite things as a child was his Deputy Dog stuffed animal, yet in the opening scene he has absolutely no knoweledge of DD. Plus, all those other memories where he was trying to hide Clem were all erased as well. ☹ > > What an absolutely fantastic film. Small nitpick. It was actually Huckleberry Hound. BTW, I didn’t consider the presence of Elijah Wood to be a “twist,” just that thanks to casting him, I was able to conjecture what would happen next. I would have been significantly more in the dark, had Patrick been played by an unknown, and would have hence enjoyed the film more. Just my $0.02. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/102 "2004-04-07T02:02:02Z")
I just saw it tonight. I liked it. I don’t think I was as blown away as a lot of people. I think it is definitely a top-shelf film. And Jim Carrey was at his acting best. It’s possible that I felt it hit a little close to home. I saw myself and a past relationship in a lot of the bullshit. Maybe that’s why I’m hesitant to gush over it. Or maybe that’s the thing that makes this a great film. Idunno. Anyone else find themselves identifying with a character or a quirk and start to feel uncomfortable about something or another in yourself? Or am I just hopelessly neurotic? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/103 "2004-04-07T02:43:37Z")
No way, **Jack Batty** , you’re not hopelessly neurotic. I think that’s why so many people hated some of the characters. I’m not going to point any fingers at myself but every time Clem said something along the lines of “I’m so pissed that you just said that,” I started coughing. For the first 3/4 of the movie I was going through stages of denial about Clem. First I had the stage of “I hate movies because guys always fall in love with some pissy chick and we’re all supposed to understand why he loves her because of the boobs and what about people like me who aren’t hypnotized by boobs, what of us?” Then I had the stage of hatin on Clem. I really was hating her. Then the stage of coughing and looking around uncomfortably when Clem says “You can’t just say something like that and then say you don’t want to talk about it!” Finally, when Clem was playing her tape and it was all about how she felt like she was always pissy around him and she hated who she’d turned into I went into a weird state of hating the whole movie. Like I say, I’m not going to point any fingers. But I thought it was a very realistic and I didn’t really want to identify with anyone but I did. I felt like the tape really redeemed Clem. Clem wasn’t an asshole. Joel used the power of his warped boyfriend perspective to turn her into one. The first half of the movie he is hating her and thinking of what a rotten drunken bigmouthed slut she is. But that’s how it goes. When you love someone, you want them to see you the way you see yourself. But I don’t want to see inside the mind of a boyfriend. It is an evil place of unflattering perceptions. Egad if only there was a spoiler box for my mind. I’m not like Clem! Neither is Clem. She got a bad rap I say! ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/104 "2004-09-23T22:39:31Z")
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I just saw the ad for the upcoming DVD release. While I did really like the movie, the quote from [Rolling Stone on the cover](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002G2B2M.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg) is completely wrong: > [@](#): > > A smart, sexy, and seriously funny comedy!" Peter Travers, Rolling Stone I would never have thought about classifying that movie even close to the comedy genre. I remember leaving the movie feeling emotionally exhausted and a bit meloncholy. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/105 "2004-09-24T06:24:57Z")
Yeah, I hate when promotions for a movie deliberately misrepresent it that way. It almost guarantees that a large percentage of the viewers **won’t** like it, only because it will vary so much from what they thought they were buying or renting. So are there any special features? I might just have to go buy this, but not if they’re waiting for to release the “Special Edition” a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/106 "2004-09-24T13:32:35Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > I would never have thought about classifying that movie even close to the comedy genre. I remember leaving the movie feeling emotionally exhausted and a bit meloncholy. ☹ But it stars Jim Carrey! How can it NOT be a comedy? :rolleyes: Yup, I hate that too. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/107 "2004-09-24T18:41:27Z")
Actually, I think they may be promoting it as a comedy so it’s accepted into the Musical/Comedy category for the Golden Globes, where it has a much better shot at a Picture, Actor, and Actress nomination than if it had to go up against a number of heavy-hitting dramas scheduled for release later this year. With a few GG nods, and hopefully some heavy placement in the year end critics lists, it will have increased visibility going into the Oscar season. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/108 "2004-09-25T05:36:26Z")
Interesting theory. Do the DVD box promotional blurbs really affect how it can be entered in the Golden Globes? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/109 "2004-10-11T14:25:10Z")
Thread resurrection. Saw it this weekend. I’ve looked for it a couple times since it’s been out, but I go to a small video store and thems the breaks. Super movie. I saw both “Malkovich” and “Adaptation” in the theater and wish I’d seen this one. I realy don’t know why I didn’t. They’re all so good and interesting. For seemingly being such a schlub, I think Kaufman has a great take on being in love and being in a relationship. You couple that with his desire to make a movie that keeps you into it because of the structure and they’re all just so enjoyable. Carrey bugged me for about 10 minutes, but then I found his character believable. I think he’s a real funny guy and it seems like when he “acts” all he’s really doing is “being dull”. But I forgot all about that here, and really believed Joel. As far as I’m concerned, another great Kaufman movie (I’ve never seen Human Nature). ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/110 "2004-10-21T12:38:04Z")
I just saw it this weekend, too. What an amazing film! But I saw way too much of myself in Clementine, and that’s not good. I immediately ran in to Mr. singular and apologized for all the annoying things I do! I can’t wait to watch it with him this weekend and see what he thinks. Thank Og for Netflix - I’m gonna keep this one for a few weeks and watch it with the commentaries next. I can’t wait to hear their comments on my favorite scenes - and explain what the hell was going on in the scene where he falls to the ground and slits her throat while Clementine keeps walking around and ignoring him. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/111 "2004-10-21T15:45:51Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > what the hell was going on in the scene where he falls to the ground and slits her throat while Clementine keeps walking around and ignoring him. 😕 I believe you mean _his_ throat, right? I think he was just trying to play a prank on her. She walks in, finds her boyfriend with his neck slit poen, screams, then he pops up and says gotcha! But apparantly he either tries to do this a lot, she didn’t notice, or immediatly knew he was playing a prank, so she just decided to ignore him and not play along. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/112 "2004-10-21T17:01:52Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > what the hell was going on in the scene where he falls to the ground and slits her throat while Clementine keeps walking around and ignoring him. 😕 That was definitely a WTF moment, but I think that Joel knew she was in a shitty mood, so he tried to do a cute, funny little stunt to get her to crack a smile and get her to laugh, but it failed miserably. I do think they could’ve showed the ketchup packet a little better, since most people in the audience gasped in horror, apparently thinking he just offed himself. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/113 "2004-10-21T19:22:08Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > That was definitely a WTF moment, but I think that Joel knew she was in a shitty mood, so he tried to do a cute, funny little stunt to get her to crack a smile and get her to laugh, but it failed miserably. I do think they could’ve showed the ketchup packet a little better, since most people in the audience gasped in horror, apparently thinking he just offed himself. Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured, too, but it was odd that we didn’t see him just get up afterwards. That’s why I want to hear the commentary. And I did mean “his” throat. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/114 "2004-10-21T21:44:18Z")
I just saw it Monday and wanted to add a “me too”. Since I knew from the previews that he’d get his memory erased, I _knew_ that the opening sequence was post-erasure when we saw the missing diary pages which took any hope of suspense away. I gotta say that I _cringed_ when I saw how Kevin(?), Pat and Mary were acting in Carrey’s apartment and I’ll join in the crowd in saying I didn’t like _anyone_. She’s a skanky drunk who’s flakey for the sake of being flakey, and who says horribly castrating things _and_ can’t let things go. _He’s_ a whiney-passive agressive loser who, she’s right, _does_ say horribly crippling things and then refuses to talk about them or resolve them. The saddest part is that they’re doomed. They’ll make each other’s lives a living hell and will break up again, but it’ll be worse this time. I base that in part on the fact that Jim Carrey’s character won’t admit to himself deep down, who Clementine is. Look at his memory of her. Outside of the memories of real events of her, he sees her as smart, witty, resourceful, nurturing (the “real” Clem–not Joel’s memory of Clem) would _never_ have been smart enough to think of hiding in an unrelated memory–hell, she’d have felt the stress and gotten drunk or done something else flaky. She also would have said something cutting to L’il Joel when he was reliving his childhood trauma. Since he didn’t once imagine her as she _is_, I can’t see a chance for growth. That said, wow–mostly great direction except for the telegraphed spoiler in the first part, fantastic acting (it’s harder to do loathesome characters and still make them interesting and not completly repellant than it is to do “nice”.) and solid story. Also legit SF as it not only plays with new techology, the director/writer actually took a few minutes to explore the social ramifications of it. Overall, I really liked it. This guy did _Being John Malkovic_ too, didn’t he? Is it worth watching? ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/115 "2004-10-21T22:57:32Z")
_Being John Malkovich_ is one of the best movies made in the last decade. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/116 "2004-10-21T23:23:34Z")
Fenris, I disagree with your synopsis for the sole reason that [spoiler]many of Joel’s of the memories that Joel tries to hide Clem in were deleted. These memories were repressed, traumatic episodes that probably contributed heavily to his social anxiety. I took this to mean that, inadvertently, during the treatment, Joel had erased the parts of himself that were preventing him from being open and accepting of Clem.[/spoiler] Now, that may be a very Blame Man-centric view, but the bulk of the movie, as you said, portrays Clem as Joel sees her, not as she actually is. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/117 "2004-10-22T00:06:30Z")
Fenris: > [@](#): > > This guy did Being John Malkovic too, didn’t he? Is it worth watching? Very much so, but be prepared for EXTREME weirdness. And for the sight of Cameron Diaz looking like a bag lady. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/118 "2004-10-22T01:33:44Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Overall, I really liked it. This guy did _Being John Malkovic_ too, didn’t he? Is it worth watching? By “this guy”, you mean Charlie Kaufman the screenwriter and not Michel Gondry the director, right? Because Spike Jonze directed _BJM_, written by Kaufman. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/119 "2004-10-22T05:46:34Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > …The saddest part is that they’re doomed. They’ll make each other’s lives a living hell and will break up again, but it’ll be worse this time?.. First, forgive me, but I am doing away with the spoilers. The movie (and this thread) are months old. That being said, I sort of disagree with this point. Or, perhaps I don’t disagree but somehow find the fact that they are trying again to have a bittersweet yet hopeful quality to it. I like to believe (in the way that a man should believe some things, even if they are not true) that the fight that Jim Carry’s character went through to preserve the memory of Clementine was somehow Transformative and that it taught him something about what was important to him. I think that there was also an element of destiny or fate to their reconciliation. It is tempting to see the film as somehow bleak. That we are doomed to repeat the same patterns over and over again, yet I somehow felt uplifted and hopeful about it. Funny. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178/120 "2004-10-22T14:50:19Z")
Just to round off the recommendations of Kauffman, I also suggest Adapatation which was written by him. Amazing screen writer, and he seems to be able to get good directors to do his movies too. I agree with **Binarydrone** ’s take on it too. I felt like they were starting over, but this time with the full knowledge that things aren’t going to be perfect like they seemed the first time they dated. In a way, it’s like they’ve done the hardest part of dating, but get to keep the lessons from it for the best part. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/229178.md?page=7)