(Rather than bump an old thread (10 years +) I decided to start a new one)
I re-watched Things To Do In Denver When Your Dead recently. I had fond memories of it from when I first watched it in the late 90’s. Now… I’m not prudish or overly woke, but I must say I was bit shocked at the language. I get that they loved playing with “dangerous” topics like disability, pedophilia, murder, and death. But why did the the characters need to bash gays so much? The racism was a bit over the top, too. “Mudflaps” for blacks, really!?
Anyway, Andy Garcia was at his smoothest and twisty-ish plot was good enough - though not without issues ($50,000 to rough someone up?) - but I don’t think it could be made to without a major dialog re-write.
Thoughts? Any other movies that might not be able to be made these days?
I watched Murder by Death last night. I know Peter Sellers is mocking/parodying the classic Charlie Chan portrayal but would anyone under 40 have a clue? I don’t think his portrayal would fly today.
Not to mention, the ‘hero’ nerd straight-up raping the rival frat guy’s girlfriend by wearing the same costume he was wearing at a party and letting her think he was her boyfriend. Fortunately for him, he was apparently so good at sex she was not only fine with it, but fell in love with him. Yeah, sure. Even for the time, I don’t know how anybody involved in the movie thought that was ok.
Lewis Skolnick dressed as Darth Vader had sex with Betty Childs because she thought it was her boyfriend Stan Gable. When she fiends out she was tricked she’s cool with it because it turns out he has a massive dick.
Even as a 12 year old, I thought this film was too juvenile for me. And Porky’s was straight up sex crime extravaganza.
Like the homophobia in “Things to do in Denver” example…its not that “you couldn’t make that today!” That makes it sound like the problematic elements are integral. Of course you could make it today…you just wouldn’t make it EXACTLY the same. You wouldn’t have your protagonists say or act that way now. Homophobia can of course be portrayed but your heroes aren’t heroes if they act or talk like that.
Monster Squad has horrendous kid talk homphobia… you could absolutely make it today. You just don’t have your main character call a teacher a “f**.”
You couldn’t make Birth of a Nation today… because decent people WOULDN’T make that movie today. You can’t divorce that movie from racism its THE integral part of it.
Wonder Bar Despite having a decent cast and Busby Berkeley as the choreographer, is rarely seen on TV because of the jaw-dropping racism. The final number, “Going to Heaven on a Mule,” is in blackface, but that’s the least offensive thing about it. It hits every “happy slave” cliche possible.
Watching it makes you feel like the audience after the “Springtime for Hitler” opening number in The Producers.
I loved Revenge of the Nerds in my younger days (ie, high school in the early 90s). And I still have a lot of residual fondness for it.
The rape and revenge porn is disqualifyingly horrible. That said, I think it’s actually pretty sympathetic towards the Mus, Lamar (the gay character), etc. The characters make fun of them and say mean things about them, to some extent… “the Mus are a bunch of cows”, and they are clearly viewed as less desirable/valuable than the Pis. And similarly, Booger makes fun of Lamar (“yeah, but that’s with a guy”). But, at the end, all the nerds clearly love and value Lamar, and (to a somewhat lesser extent because they are not main characters) the Mus.
The main message of the movie is not to judge people by their superficial label (nerd, fag, fatty, whatever), and that there are more people who fit into one or more of those labels than there are “beautiful people”.
Again, a movie I will never show to my child, but not because of its on-the-surface-insensitive treatment of the Mus.
