# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 50
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/981 "2011-04-05T16:50:20Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Or that’s Don LaFontaine not getting the joke, either. Trailers aren’t usually produced “in house”. An agency does them and hires Don to do the voice over, which he used to to cold and in very few takes. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > From the standpoint of fighting ignorance, I feel the need to point out in response to your repeated use of the present tense that Don LaFontaine died in 2008. > > If you already knew this, please disregard. Well, he can still do them cold. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/982 "2011-04-05T17:18:25Z")
I’ve been reading Washington Irving’s _The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon_ – a classic work, containing the well-known stories _Rip Van Winkle_, _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow_, and a bunch of other stories I’ll bet most Dopers haven’t even heard of. (His pieces in the book on Christmas are supposed to have inspired Dickens’ _a Christmas Carol_) It’s been many years since I read _Sleepy Hollow_ (AKA _The Headless Horseman_), and I caught something I never noticed before. On the surface, it’s a ghost story about Ichabof Crane meeting the spectre of a hHessian soldier whose head was carried away. Beneath that is the story of hoe Brom Bones scared the heck out of his rival for the hand of Katrina van Tassel, taking advantage of his well-known taste for (and fear of) ghost stories. I’d always imagined that Brom and his cohorts, acting like Gaston and his followers in the Disney version of _Beauty and the Beast_, elaborately pranked the schoolmaster and thus scared away a rival. But, on reading the story again and more carefully, I note that, after the party that precedes the ride, Crane went to Katrina for a one-on-one talk, and emerges too soon, rapidly, and visibly crestfallen. Brom didn’t _need_ to scare Ichabod away – Katrina had already renounced him, and was encouraging him (Irving suggests) only to light a fire under Brom. At which point Brom’s spooking Ichabod looks like it isn’t just an idea of Brom and his pals – Katrina might have been involved too. It wasn’t an effort to break up a possible romance – it was just a way of disposing of an inconvenient and unwanted suitor. Sneaky gal, that Katrina. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/983 "2011-04-05T17:49:33Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > It always seemed to me that the joke was that you were supposed to pronounce it as “Duh” (as in stupid), not like a French “2”. More evidence that this isn’t necessarily the case: at least one poster tagline was “Just Deux It,” which would make more sense with an exaggerated French pronunciation versus your “Duh” idea. What might help resolve this is for someone to watch the film again–apparently towards the end of the credits someone says “\*Hot Shots! Part Deux \*was filmed in front of a live studio audience.” One would assume that that line would have the intended pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/984 "2011-04-05T18:17:50Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Well, he can still do them cold. Well played, sir. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/985 "2011-04-05T21:25:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Well, he can still do them cold. I was going to go with him being the “Voice of GOD”. Anyway, go with my revised entry, which I now realize is correct. It’s a double entendre meant to be _understood_ as “DUH”. If you pronounce it that way, you lose the double entendre. But now it’s obvious that people didn’t get the joke. Did no one wonder why it was in French to begin with? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/986 "2011-04-05T21:51:34Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > But now it’s obvious that people didn’t get the joke. Did no one wonder why it was in French to begin with? Same reason the sequels to Naked Gun were “2 1/2” and “33 1/3”? ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/987 "2011-04-05T22:07:19Z")
“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/988 "2011-04-05T22:44:39Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Anyway, go with my revised entry, which I now realize is correct. It’s a double entendre meant to be _understood_ as “DUH”. If you pronounce it that way, you lose the double entendre. But now it’s obvious that people didn’t get the joke. Maybe because it isn’t much of a joke, if any such joke were intended. “Deux” doesn’t look like it should be pronounced “Duh”, and there’s nothing particularly funny about naming a sequel “Part Duh”. > [@](#): > > Did no one wonder why it was in French to begin with? French films are perceived as classy/sophisticated/serious/pretentious by many Americans, so the use of French is amusingly incongruous when used for a wacky American comedy. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/989 "2011-04-06T00:05:19Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Maybe because it isn’t much of a joke, if any such joke were intended. “Deux” doesn’t look like it should be pronounced “Duh”, and there’s nothing particularly funny about naming a sequel “Part Duh”. > French films are perceived as classy/sophisticated/serious/pretentious by many Americans, so the use of French is amusingly incongruous when used for a wacky American comedy. Do you remember the poster? It was Charlie Sheen dressed as Rambo shooting a rather panic-stricken chicken as an arrow. It ain’t Noel Coward. It was a Jim Abrahams comedy How funny are you expecting the title to be when pointed out like this. It’s a PUN based upon a near homophone in the pronunciation of the French “deux” and the English “Duh”. It’s not rocket science. All that bit about the pretentiousness of the use of French makes the joke that much more “meta”. Its actually makes the joke funnier using the incongruity of using a “sophisticated” language for a pun on “Duh.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/990 "2011-04-06T00:07:53Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Do you remember the poster? It was Charlie Sheen dressed as Rambo shooting a rather panic-stricken chicken as an arrow. It ain’t Noel Coward. It was a Jim Abrahams comedy How funny are you expecting the title to be when pointed out like this. It’s a PUN based upon a near homophone in the pronunciation of the French “deux” and the English “Duh”. It’s not rocket science. All that bit about the pretentiousness of the use of French makes the joke that much more “meta”. Its actually makes the joke funnier using the incongruity of using a “sophisticated” language for a pun on “Duh.” Wow. It’s great that you want to look deeper into the movies you watch, but there is absolutely nothing supporting your theory besides your own opinions. And yet, those of us that are telling you you’re wrong are the stupid ones… ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/991 "2011-04-06T00:11:55Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Do you remember the poster? It was Charlie Sheen dressed as Rambo shooting a rather panic-stricken chicken as an arrow. It ain’t Noel Coward. It was a Jim Abrahams comedy How funny are you expecting the title to be when pointed out like this. It’s a PUN based upon a near homophone in the pronunciation of the French “deux” and the English “Duh”. It’s not rocket science. All that bit about the pretentiousness of the use of French makes the joke that much more “meta”. Its actually makes the joke funnier using the incongruity of using a “sophisticated” language for a pun on “Duh.” [Here’s the poster.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Hot_Shots_part_deux.jpg) Read the tagline at the top of said poster. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/992 "2011-04-06T00:26:46Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Wow. It’s great that you want to look deeper into the movies you watch, but there is absolutely nothing supporting your theory besides your own opinions. And yet, those of us that are telling you you’re wrong are the stupid ones… Looking deeper? It’s a PUN, for chrissake, and a rather stupid one at that. Have you seen the movie? Why do you think they would be above a stupid pun? I honestly didn’t expect the push back here. Is it a joke so simple we are embarrassed to have missed it? > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > [Here’s the poster.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Hot_Shots_part_deux.jpg) Read the tagline at the top of said poster. And? There’s nothing preventing them from using it as a homophone for other puns. If anything, it proves my point. There’s nothing faux-sophisticate about that usage. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/993 "2011-04-06T00:34:49Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Looking deeper? It’s a PUN, for chrissake, and a rather stupid one at that. Have you seen the movie? Why do you think they would be above a stupid pun? Of course I’ve seen it. I was 12 when it came out. Saddam Hussein melding with his poodle as if he were a T-1000? That’s comedy gold baby! And it’s not a pun, it’s “French words sound funny.” This is comedy 101 man. > [@](#): > > I honestly didn’t expect the push back here. Is it a joke so simple we are embarrassed to have missed it? Sometimes the only sane man is actually… well, not. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/994 "2011-04-06T00:57:14Z")
“Just deux it!” = Just do it! “Part Deux” = Part Duh Two uses of a near homophone into unsophisticated multilingual puns. Is it really that hard to admit that on some level it is there? I hear Charlie Sheen has a Q&A at his show. I’ll tell him I have money on it and he might relate and actually answer it. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/995 "2011-04-06T01:39:33Z")
I just tweeted him. I’ll see if I get an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/996 "2011-04-06T14:58:29Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > I honestly didn’t expect the push back here. Is it a joke so simple we are embarrassed to have missed it? Are you so invested in this massive stretch that you’re embarassed to admit you may have simply come up with something unintended? We all see what you’re saying, and while it’s a remote possibility, there’s _nothing else_ other than your conception to indicate that it was intended, and there’s a whole \*slew \*of evidence (tagline, the way it’s pronounced in the trailer, etc.) to prove that “duh” was \*not \*the intended pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/997 "2011-04-06T16:36:47Z")
What **SFG** said. I’m generally really good with subtle humor and at picking up on clever wordplay, and I’m just totally not seeing this one at all. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/998 "2011-04-06T17:12:07Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > And? There’s nothing preventing them from using it as a homophone for other puns. If anything, it proves my point. There’s nothing **faux-sophisticate** about that usage. I tried reading this as “fuh-sophisticate” and I don’t get the pun. Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/999 "2011-04-06T17:36:34Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Are you so invested in this massive stretch that you’re embarassed to admit you may have simply come up with something unintended? > > We all see what you’re saying, and while it’s a remote possibility, there’s _nothing else_ other than your conception to indicate that it was intended, and there’s a whole \*slew \*of evidence (tagline, the way it’s pronounced in the trailer, etc.) to prove that “duh” was \*not \*the intended pronunciation. Wait a minute. I backed off the pronunciation. The tagline is actually evidence _for_ my point. “Part Deux” is an otherwise incongruous use of a French word in the title. The tagline shows that it is being used as it is using the French near homophone to make a cheap bilingual pun. I fail to see how this is a massive stretch. All you have is the concept that it is a random bit of silliness. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I tried reading this as “fuh-sophisticate” and I don’t get the pun. Please explain. Because I wasn’t making a pun. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1000 "2011-04-06T18:13:19Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Wait a minute. I backed off the pronunciation. The tagline is actually evidence _for_ my point. What? The tagline uses one pronunciation in order to make a bilingual pun. You are proposing that the same word used on the same page is supposed to also be pronounced in a different manner to make a totally different bilingual pun? That doesn’t make much sense at all. Why would they come up with “Just Deux it” if they didn’t intend the word to be pronounced that way? How would it have the connection to the title of the movie? You are the one that is stretching and not making sense. > [@](#): > > Because I wasn’t making a pun. Did you hear the sound as that went by overhead? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=51)