Ok, I’m a few weeks late, but this has been bugging me:
Why is Ralphie bald? What’s the significance?
Help… this is driving me nuts.
Ok, I’m a few weeks late, but this has been bugging me:
Why is Ralphie bald? What’s the significance?
Help… this is driving me nuts.
I think it was supposed to be a joke. Chris and Tony were acting really confused and it came off to be humourous. Imagine stuffing someone’s head in a bowling ball bag and his hair falls off.
But it happened when Christopher was about to chop his head off, and Tony acted like he knew.
Taken on it’s own, it’s funny. But I sat there and tried to figure out why Ralphie was completely bald (was he sick?), did it have something to do with his closeted homosexuality (I can’t imagine what)?
Why did Tony act like he knew?
Maybe he just shaved his head so a wig would fit easier. Maybe you’re thinking too hard
Or maybe, you’re on to something. I don’t know. All I can say is to search the HBO discussion board, or other Sopranos web sites.
Over on Television without Pity, they had a pretty well documented theory that the writers were including tributes to Joe Pantoliano’s earlier movies throught the series. You can check there for more details but IIRC, the wig thing was a tribute to The Goonies.
Joe Pantoliano is bald. In real life. Like he was losing his hair and decided to embrace it kind of thing.
But The Sopranos folks weren’t down with the whole follically-challenged look for Ralphie, so they went with the rug.
At the very end, when Ralphie goes to the big Bada-Bing-in-the-sky, I think the writers went for the ‘wouldn’t it be funny if’ thing, a la Splanky’s explanation.
Why did Tony act like he knew? Have you ever met someone with a rug in real life? Often it’s pretty obvious. Tony would probably have known. Also, Tony had just figured out that Christopher is whacked out on H again, so it’s another excuse to fire another ‘What are you, ignorant?’ type line at him.
Joey Pants is going to be on Broadway in a few days; he’s taking over the Stanley Tucci part in FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE, with Rosie Perez taking over the Edie Falco role. Yes, it’s true. Caught them in November. Extensive nude scenes but they’re very matter of fact, and the play is much more focused on the emotional nudity. Edie has
a nice body, nothing artificial, trim but rounded. She’s 39 IRL and works out but looks totally natural. Tucci is a little toned for his character of a fry cook but looks pretty good, and kept his balding head natural too.
Anyway, I got a flyer for the new show and Joey looks poignant, loving–and totally bald.
I thought the rug was a kind of commentary on Ralphie’s propensity for embellishing the truth and covering his ass, like deliberately planting the story that it was Janice who wanted to sodomize him in bed, and that he’d never been fucked as long and as hard as with Valentina. Tony was aware of the truth behind all that, and after his session with Melfi tried to get Ralphie to talk about his mother, with whom Ralphie obviously had tons of therapy-worthy issues with. Add that to lying about making the fat joke about Ginny Sac, and most of this season lends creedence to the toupee as metaphor.
Or am I just thinking too much?
Tony and Ralphie grew up together from childhood. He would have known that Ralphi went from starting to go bald to wearing a rug. If it was an expensive rug (and it would have been since those guys only wear the best) it would be difficult to tell.
Haj