There have been many discussions (and even whole websites) devoted to misunderstood lyrics. But this thread is devoted to all the obscure references and garbled lines of dialogue in films and TV shows that you’ve always wondered about. Ask your fellow knowledgable Dopers what X meant when s/he said Y, and, hopefully, ye shall receive the enlightenment that has eluded you all these years!
I’ll go first. My sister and I have debated one single word in a line of dialogue in “About Last Night” for fifteen years. Demi Moore’s character (Debbie) has just returned home to Dan (Rob Lowe), who is clearly ready to break up with her. After delivering a horrific clanger of a line, Debbie gets angry and starts breaking down into tears. He says he wants to see other people, and finally, fed up, Debbie sobs something to the effect of:
Now my sweet, innocent sister believes that Deb is saying, “in whatever office you want to do it in.” I have always maintained that she’s saying “in whatever orifice you want to do it in.” Mainly 'cause I can’t fathom what “in whatever office” would mean!*
So please, help me find the answer, O Dopers, and maybe I can return the favor!
You wouldn’t think something this minor would be a bone of contention between two loving siblings, but … hey, we agree politically, ethically and musically. What else have we got?
In Little Boy Blue (1997) the main character ( Ryan Phillippe) and his father (John Savage) are having an argument, and I’ll put the rest in a box since it’s a big spoiler
John Savage blurts out something to him that lets him, and us, know for the first time that Phillippe’s “little brothers” are actually his sons. Does anyone know what exactly it is that he says? Something with the word “father” in it, and I’ve never been able to make out the rest of the line.
One of my all-time fave movies, I’ve seen it countless times. I have always heard the word in that line as ‘orifice’ but I’ll concede that it’s not that clear. Which is fair enough, I can’t say I’m the most articulate person when I’m blubbing my eyes out…
The central theme of the film and the play that it was based on is singles, dating and sex. The scene we are referring to is about Dan wanting out because he feels ‘tied down’. The script is exploring a typical phase that many couples go through where one partner gets cold feet at the thought of giving up the possibility of ever sleeping with other people. Debbie is well aware that this is what’s going through Dan’s mind (she spotted him canoodling with another girl at the NYE party) but on the other hand she is ready for deeper committment, so she lashes out in a hurt, wounded manner. She is basically saying well, off you go, screw whoever you want (with a bit of ‘well if you think you can do better than me elsewhere, you go look for it’). She’s effectively accusing him of being shallow and looking to indulge his promiscuous sexual desires and the use of the word ‘orifice’ seems to add a sordid disdain to her attack. It could also mean that there were stumbling blocks in their sexual relationship and that some of her own orifices were off-limits and he was now free to seek partners with more liberal sexual habits than hers.
There’s a scene in Barton Fink where John Goodman’s character is chasing Fink down a burning hallway while brandishing a shotgun and screaming repeatedly (if I remember correctly) “I’ll show you the life of a mind!”
I couldn’t make out what he was saying at the time and, assuming it was the key to understanding an otherwise perplexing movie, checked it later in a copy of the screenplay.
Still doesn’t make sense to me. Is it supposed to?
My sister and I have debated one single word in a line of dialogue in “About Last Night” for fifteen years. Demi Moore’s character (Debbie) has just returned home to Dan (Rob Lowe), who is clearly ready to break up with her. After delivering a horrific clanger of a line, Debbie gets angry and starts breaking down into tears. He says he wants to see other people, and finally, fed up, Debbie sobs something to the effect of:
