# I saw "O' Brother Where Art Thou" for the first time - Wow! What a great movie! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717 "2009-09-27T03:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/61 "2009-09-28T14:58:57Z")
I love this movie as well, it really never gets old. I can sit and enjoy it any time I need a good movie to watch. We quote it often as well. My husband refers to hair gel as Fop. And he never knows where it is, so I hear “Where’s my goddamn Fop!” All the time. Also good in many situations are: **Ulysses Everett McGill:** Damnit, I am the paterfamilias! and: \*\*Delmar: \*\*It was a whole… gopher… village… And when the room goes silent: “Baptism!” ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/62 "2009-09-28T15:23:46Z")
The thing I love about the movie is that it has such a whimsical, almost fairy-tale feel to it that I was just about ready to believe that they had been turned into toads. Very very delicate job of creating mood and atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/63 "2009-09-28T15:35:42Z")
He’s a suitor! Hell, they ain’t even old timey! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/64 "2009-09-28T16:10:36Z")
Love, love this movie. Easily my favorite Coen brothers comedy, which is high praise given their filmography. I have both the DVD and soundtrack, which get regular play. I love when Big Dan Teague smashes Clooney upside the head with the tree branch and corn spits out of his mouth like so many broken teeth. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/65 "2009-09-28T16:23:27Z")
I love the conversation between the blind radio station manager and the guy who comes looking for the Soggy Bottom Boys: How can I lay a hold of them Soggy Bottom Boys? Soggy Bottom. I don’t precisely recollect them. They cut a record a few days ago, an old-timey harmony thing, with a guitar accomp… accomp… Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember them. Coloured fellas, I believe. Yes, sir, they a fine bunch of boys. They sang into yonder can, then skedaddled. Well, that record is just goin’ through the goddam roof. They playin’ it far away as Mobile. No. Whole damn state’s goin’ apey. Well, it was a powerful air. Hot damn, we gotta find them boys and sign 'em to a fat contract. Hell’s bells, Mr Lund, if we don’t, the goddam competition will. Oh, mercy, yes, we got to beat that competition. - Yes, sir. - Yes, sir. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/66 "2009-09-28T17:26:07Z")
You can’t really use Homer’s \*Odyssey \*as a reference in any kind of cite war on this subject; the Coens admitted never having read it. \*OBWAT \*is not based on the _Odyssey_; it’s jokingly based on the bits of flotsam and detritus that the \*\*Odyssey \*\*has shed into the general culture over the centuries. Unless the Coens were fibbing about that too. 😉 I wrote the capsule review on this movie for the _[Scarecrow Video Movie Guide](http://www.amazon.com/Scarecrow-Video-Movie-Guide/dp/1570614156/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254158624&sr=1-1)_. You can read it, if you’ve a mind to, by searching the movie title within the book. [Here](http://mobile.rogerebert.com/rogerebert/db_9583/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=E710E4FBCDCE69B6CB63F69753A9E50B?contentguid=IoUnOvZh)’s an exchange between me and Roger Ebert on the subject of the film’s relationship to Sturges’s _Sullivan’s Travels_; he didn’t see the connection where I thought it was plain. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/67 "2009-09-28T17:39:57Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > You can’t really use Homer’s \*Odyssey \*as a reference in any kind of cite war on this subject; the Coens admitted never having read it. \*OBWAT \*is not based on the _Odyssey_; it’s jokingly based on the bits of flotsam and detritus that the \*\*Odyssey \*\*has shed into the general culture over the centuries. > > Unless the Coens were fibbing about that too. 😉 Fib or no, they did earn an Oscar nod for “Adapted Screenplay” that year. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sulamith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@sulamith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulamith)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/68 "2009-09-28T18:08:23Z")
Where’s your Mama? She’s at the Woolworth’s…buyin’ niiiipples. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/69 "2009-09-28T19:02:45Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > They cut a record a few days ago, an old-timey harmony thing, with a guitar accomp… accomp… It’s hilarious how NO ONE can pronounced “accompanist.” > [@teela\_brown](#): > > Whole damn state’s goin’ apey. Goin apey is a phrase good for so many occasions! [QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Fib or no, they did earn an Oscar nod for “Adapted Screenplay” that year. [/QUOTE] I laughed and laughed when I realized what category they had been nominated in. It was well-known by then that the Coens claimed not to have read Odyssey, but the writers put them in Adapted anyway. The Writers’ Branch of the Academy weren’t stupid or uninformed. They did it on purpose, going along with the original joke. **lissener** bringing up Ebert (who doesn’t tend to like Coen Comedies) reminded me that Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly [gave O Brother an F](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,92894,00.html). _ **AN F!** _ HA! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/70 "2009-09-28T19:07:12Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > **lissener** bringing up Ebert (who doesn’t tend to like Coen Comedies) reminded me that Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly [gave O Brother an F](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,92894,00.html). _ **AN F!** _ HA! Oh, it was also #1 on Glieberman’s [Worst Movies of 2000](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20043886,00.html). **Battlefield Earth** was #2. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/71 "2009-09-28T20:40:16Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > They also managed to include several references to the _Wizard of Oz_. Great, an excuse to watch it – again. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/72 "2009-09-28T21:04:28Z")
I added the movie’s version of “In the Jailhouse Now” to Three Dog’s playlist in Fallout 3. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/73 "2009-09-28T21:37:22Z")
Gotta give a shout out to [Chris Thomas King](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Thomas_King), son of Louisana Bluesman Tabby Thomas, who played the Tommy Johnson/Devil Deal role. Glad he got that role, as he’s a fine musician. The Tommy Johnson/Robert Johnson sell yer soul thing…It all comes from African folklore, so it’s a moot point of who said it in what decade. [Here’s a good link for that mojo](http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html). From that link: [quote] In Africa, almost every cultural group has its own version of the crossroads god. Legba, Ellegua, Elegbara, Eshu, Exu, Nbumba Nzila, and Pomba Gira are African and African-diaspora names (in several languages) for the spirit who opens the way, guards the crossroads, and teaches wisdom. The crossroads is the point that one decides to find their own wisdom/soul. In the scope of the OP, it adds to the Homeric story of “O Brother…” ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/74 "2009-09-28T21:45:47Z")
Gotta give a shout out to [Chris Thomas King](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Thomas_King), son of Louisana Bluesman Tabby Thomas, who played the Tommy Johnson/Devil Deal role. Glad he got that role, as he’s a fine musician. The Tommy Johnson/Robert Johnson sell yer soul thing…It all comes from African folklore, so it’s a moot point of who said it in what decade. [Here’s a good link for that mojo](http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html). From that link: [quote] In Africa, almost every cultural group has its own version of the crossroads god. Legba, Ellegua, Elegbara, Eshu, Exu, Nbumba Nzila, and Pomba Gira are African and African-diaspora names (in several languages) for the spirit who opens the way, guards the crossroads, and teaches wisdom. The crossroads is the point that one decides to find their own wisdom/soul. In the scope of the OP, it adds to the Homeric story of “O Brother…” ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/75 "2009-09-29T02:13:18Z")
This was one of the most boring movies I’ve ever sat through. The Coen brothers are very hit or miss with me. I loved Fargo and No Country for Old Men, and Barton Fink was ok, but the rest of their films are just boring. ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sealemon2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/76 "2009-09-29T09:05:31Z")
“Delmar O’Donnell: Okay… I’m with you fellas.” That line kills me every time I hear it in the movie. I’m smiling right now just reading it. That and “We thought you were a toad.” That movie is awesome. I have seen it numerous times (not common with me), and can watch it over and over. Great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/77 "2009-09-29T11:27:08Z")
I enjoyed _O Brother…_ and got quite a few laughs out of it, but it didn’t grab me the way _Fargo_ or _The Big Lebowski_ did. The soundtrack was excellent, though! ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/78 "2009-09-29T13:53:15Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I enjoyed _O Brother…_ and got quite a few laughs out of it, but it didn’t grab me the way _Fargo_ or _The Big Lebowski_ did. The soundtrack was excellent, though! AHA! The light is becoming brighter now. I absolutely hated Fargo and The Big Lebowski so if O Brother falls in the same category, I totally get it! ---
**Author:** ![Kingspades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@Kingspades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingspades)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/79 "2009-09-29T13:58:47Z")
_Every_ time a charity solication from the Fraternal Order of Police shows up in the mail it’s greeted in my household with a cry of, “I don’t want Fop!” ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717/80 "2009-09-29T15:08:46Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > AHA! The light is becoming brighter now. I absolutely hated Fargo and The Big Lebowski so if O Brother falls in the same category, I totally get it! Nah, it’s all a matter of taste. I’m lukewarm on Fargo, thoroughly annoyed by Big Lebowski (except for a few of the Walter scenes), and think O Brother is absolutely brilliant. Who knows why people like the movies they do? Netflix is offering a million dollars if you can answer that question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-o-brother-where-art-thou-for-the-first-time-wow-what-a-great-movie/511717.md?page=5)