# Stupid stupid stuff in an otherwise okay movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2000, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279 "2000-08-22T07:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/161 "2001-08-14T16:36:46Z")
Couple of nitpicks: > [@](#): > > **(Doghouse Reilly)** why else would Maximus be shouting to the crowd in the final version that “I am not an entertainer”! The quote is actually “Are you not entertained?” But yeah, I agree it makes more sense with the ten-second setup where Proximo tells him to entertain the crowd. Gotta save that ten seconds, don’tcha know. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > **(Scupper)** _ **Singin’ in the Rain** _ The entire “Broadway Rhythm” bit where Gene Kelly keeps blasting out “Gotta Dance!” What the hell is that even doing in the movie, much less taking up a good fifth of it? Trivia about _Singin’ in the Rain_ – The producers had a selection of songs from the studio library, and wanted to build a show around them. As far as I know, not a single song was actually composed for the movie (I might be wrong about this, but at most one song is original). The screenwriters, therefore, had to mix-n-match and shuffle everything around until they had managed to create a more or less logical sequence. Given that constraint, it’s amazing the movie works as well as it does; complaining about a single “out of place” number just illustrates how well everything else was integrated into an after-the-fact storyline. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/162 "2001-08-14T17:21:09Z")
Malcolm X was a great movie with a strong performance by Mr Washington. The it ends with Nelson Mendella (okayy) and a buch of kids jumping up and yelling “I am Malcom X” sorry but that is lame. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/163 "2001-08-14T19:36:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dasceder \* > **The part in “showgirls” when she barfs by the side of the car.** This thread is about stupid stuff in otherwise okay movies. So you think that absurd hunka crap _Showgirls_ is an otherwise okay movie?!?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/164 "2001-08-14T21:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ranger \* > \*\*I don’t feel like thumbing through all my Callanhan Tales books, but some character in them mentioned that if Charles Foster Kane died alone, who was there to hear him say “Rosebud” as his final words. I haven’t seen it in too many years myself, so I don’t remember that scene very well. \*\* [hijack]Wow, that’s creepy, **Ranger** …I just read this book yesterday. It’s The Callahan Touch, where they open up the new bar, Mary’s Place. The claricaune tells story that he saw the director and Brando while at Cannes and asks them who was there to hear Kane’s last words since supposedly he died alone, and the two men left the table and refused to speak to him again. I thought it was pretty funny. And creepy that you mentioned it since I just read it. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/165 "2001-08-15T06:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > No one seems to have mentioned Aliens. This is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I think it’s nigh-perfect, but there’s one scene that always bugs me. It’s the scene when the Colonial Marines are talking about their adventures having sex with alien beings. It’s a strange scene and adds nothing and I think detracts from the whole “alien” nature of the “Aliens”. No way! That’s just one part of the constant pre-mission banter between the marines and, like the rest, it gives us a glimpse into who they are. That whole segment from wakeup to drop is, in my mind, the most important part of the movie, as we get a feel for the characters as individual people and not just nameless, faceless soldiers. As for detracting from their interaction with the buggies, not hardly. It really helps set the stage for what happens, and explains why they break down so thoroughly. Non-human life is apparently nothing new to them, as they’d been there and done that before. As Hudson said, “Will this be a standup fight, sir, or another bug-hunt?”. They were confident they were going to go in, clobber some mindless animals that the dumbass colonists couldn’t take care of, and be done with it in time for dinner. The real thrill of the movie, is that the buggies AREN’T mindless animals, and the marines are caught totally off-guard by it. That’s what keeps it from just being an action shooter movie, and turns it into a human story, as our now-familiar characters struggle to adapt to this disastrous “first contact”, each in their own way. It’s just a shame the movie’s so short. There’s so much more that could have been done with it, but then the pacing might not have been so superbly handled. Can you tell I love this movie? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/166 "2001-08-15T06:22:53Z")
I have to agree with Mekhazzio on the **Aliens** dialog; it seems strange that so many people complain about the lack of characterization in modern movies, and who then turn around and complain about the efforts made to develop rounded characters. The scene made sense to me. And not just because I have a massive secret crush on Mekhazzio, either. You know what didn’t make sense to me? The soundtrack to **Ladyhawke**. I got the DVD a while ago. Still the same, solid, fun fantasy film. Still the same insanely intrusive soundtrack. I remember seeing that in a movie theatre when it came out, and thinking the soundtrack already sounded dated. Alan Parsons or not, it didn’t belong in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/167 "2001-08-15T06:41:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > \*\*Speaking of _Stand by Me_, I’d like to add the scene where the boy tells a story about the fat kid participating in a pie eating contest only to throw up all over the place as a means of revenge. It’s an incredibly stupid story to begin with, it drags the film to a screeching halt, and to top it all off it has nothing whatsoever to do with any other part of the film. Reiner should have edited it out. > > Better yet, he shouldn’t have filmed it to begin with. \*\* It’s in the book, and it gives an example of how the main character was into telling stories from early on (he’s an author as an adult). I felt it made the characters a bit more real, and didn’t feel it detracted from the movie at all. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/168 "2001-08-15T07:43:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rmat \* > \*\*Field of Dreams and Goodfellas are both fine films, the latter especially so, and it would take a lot to ruin either, but that’s damn near what happened in both: > > … > > 1. The courtroom scene toward the end in which Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) steps out of character to describe what’s going on. Not that there’s anything wrong with the acting in his case. It’s the writing. The flow and rhythm of the entire film is irretrievably disrupted. Horribly, horribly jarring. \*\* It’s supposed to be jarring! It’s the end of The Life for Henry, and the end of the story. He doesn’t step out of character, he steps out of the scene and into the present. Of course the entire film is irretrievably disrupted; it’s over! After this, Henry is wearing a terry robe and lives in the suburbs and has to live the rest of his life like a schnook. The part I’ve never liked (and this is my favorite movie ever) is the last shot, of Joe Pesci firing a gun at the camera. It seems gratuitous and tacked on to punch up the ending. Just my take, and if there’s more to it that I don’t get, I’d love to know it. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/169 "2001-08-15T13:17:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mekhazzio \* > **No way! That’s just one part of the constant pre-mission banter between the marines and, like the rest, it gives us a glimpse into who they are. That whole segment from wakeup to drop is, in my mind, the most important part of the movie, as we get a feel for the characters as individual people and not just nameless, faceless soldiers.** I’m not talking about the whole scene, just the parts that deal specifically with having sex with other alien races. To me, that hurts the movie because the movie is called “Aliens”. The whole idea is that their enemy is Alien. It’s something these people are not prepared for. I like that they banter, I like that they are more fully developed than grunts usually are, but when they’re talking about having sex with alien beings of indeterminate gender, to me it compromises the whole otherworldlyness of the aliens. It’s also kind of goofy. In the “Alien” universe it’s never established what non-Earth beings Earthlings are familiar with. But finding out the extent of human interaction with alien species with that dialogue was kind of jarring to me. ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/170 "2001-08-15T14:17:31Z")
I am surprised that no-one has picked up and run with this classic example of Stupid Stupid Stuff In An Otherwise Okay Movie: The Liquid Nitrogen Tanker in Terminator 2. I have only ever seen ONE liquid nitrogen tanker on the road in all my years as a travelling sales rep. And this tanker was coming out of a warehouse where chemicals (including, i’m assuming, liquid nitrogen) are stored. T1000 was more likely to run into a tanker full of elephant semen than a tanker full of liquid nitrogen. ---
**Author:** ![nerv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@nerv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nerv)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/171 "2001-08-15T15:25:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > \*\*I am surprised that no-one has picked up and run with this classic example of Stupid Stupid Stuff In An Otherwise Okay Movie: The Liquid Nitrogen Tanker in Terminator 2. > > I have only ever seen ONE liquid nitrogen tanker on the road in all my years as a travelling sales rep. And this tanker was coming out of a warehouse where chemicals (including, i’m assuming, liquid nitrogen) are stored. > > T1000 was more likely to run into a tanker full of elephant semen than a tanker full of liquid nitrogen. \*\* Hey, you should have had a spoiler warning there! You’ve just given away the ending to T3! ---
**Author:** ![Outrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@Outrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outrider)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/172 "2001-08-15T17:38:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nerv \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > > \*\*T1000 was more likely to run into a tanker full of elephant semen than a tanker full of liquid nitrogen. \*\* > > Hey, you should have had a spoiler warning there! You’ve just given away the ending to T3! \*\* It’s true. Forget using humans as an energy source. In the future, machines will tap the energy potential of elephant semen! John Connor: “Oh shit, it’s the T-9000. Did you come from the future to try to kill me?” T-9000: “What? Hell no, just tell me where I can buy two large buckets and show me how to get to the zoo” ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/173 "2001-08-15T18:35:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by initech \* > \*\* > > The part I’ve never liked (and this is my favorite movie ever) is the last shot, of Joe Pesci firing a gun at the camera. It seems gratuitous and tacked on to punch up the ending. Just my take, and if there’s more to it that I don’t get, I’d love to know it. \*\* This is a tribute to the very first heist movie, _The Great Train Robbery_, which ends with one of the bandits turning to the camera and firing at it. It seems tame now, but at the time it really freaked out the audience, many of whom had never seen any movie before. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/174 "2001-08-15T21:14:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\*This is a tribute to the very first heist movie, _The Great Train Robbery_, which ends with one of the bandits turning to the camera and firing at it. It seems tame now, but at the time it really freaked out the audience, many of whom had never seen any movie before. \*\* There are stories (perhaps apocryphal) of movie patrons being so startled that they drew their own weapons and fired back at the screen. ---
**Author:** ![dasceder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3d9bf3/32.png) [@dasceder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasceder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/175 "2001-08-15T21:43:40Z")
Originally posted by jab1 Originally posted by dasceder “The part in “showgirls” when she barfs by the side of the car.” ``` "This thread is about stupid stuff in otherwise okay movies. So you think that absurd hunka crap"Showgirls" is an otherwise okay movie?!?!?" ``` Erm, no jab1. Never much cared for “Showgirls.” Though I still maintain that, aside from “Dead Man on Campus” and the upcoming Lark Voorhees vehicle, “Showgirls” is my favorite “Saved By the Bell” alumnus flick. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/176 "2001-08-16T03:06:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by initech \* > > \*\* > > > > The part I’ve never liked (and this is my favorite movie ever) is the last shot, of Joe Pesci firing a gun at the camera. It seems gratuitous and tacked on to punch up the ending. Just my take, and if there’s more to it that I don’t get, I’d love to know it. \*\* > > This is a tribute to the very first heist movie, _The Great Train Robbery_, which ends with one of the bandits turning to the camera and firing at it. It seems tame now, but at the time it really freaked out the audience, many of whom had never seen any movie before. \*\* Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/177 "2001-08-16T07:48:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by obfusciatrist \* > **Lux Fiat** : The article was written for _New York_ magazine, but I can’t give you the date (the book I read doesn’t give the information). However, you can read the article in a book titled _[The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1557834067/)_. The essay is titled “The Emperor’s New Fatigues (and Other Stories)” and is on page 245 of the hardcover edition. > (The archives at [http://www.nymag.com](http://www.nymag.com) may have this article but they were unavailable when I just tried it) Cool. I’ll look around for it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/178 "2001-08-16T08:14:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > \*\*I am surprised that no-one has picked up and run with this classic example of Stupid Stupid Stuff In An Otherwise Okay Movie: The Liquid Nitrogen Tanker in Terminator 2. > > I have only ever seen ONE liquid nitrogen tanker on the road in all my years as a travelling sales rep. And this tanker was coming out of a warehouse where chemicals (including, i’m assuming, liquid nitrogen) are stored. > > T1000 was more likely to run into a tanker full of elephant semen than a tanker full of liquid nitrogen. \*\* I saw one last week in Dallas, TX. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/179 "2001-08-16T08:18:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > > \*\*I am surprised that no-one has picked up and run with this classic example of Stupid Stupid Stuff In An Otherwise Okay Movie: The Liquid Nitrogen Tanker in Terminator 2. > > > > I have only ever seen ONE liquid nitrogen tanker on the road in all my years as a travelling sales rep. And this tanker was coming out of a warehouse where chemicals (including, i’m assuming, liquid nitrogen) are stored. > > > > T1000 was more likely to run into a tanker full of elephant semen than a tanker full of liquid nitrogen. \*\* > > I saw one last week in Dallas, TX. \*\* Who in Dallas needs that much elephant semen? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279/180 "2001-08-16T17:53:52Z")
> [@](#): > > The stupid stupid idea of putting Keanu Reeves in “Much Ado About Nothing”. I could not agree more, although I nearly peed my pants when he turned to Denzell Washington and said: “My most excellent Lord” He sounded just like he did in the Bill & Ted movies. God awful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-stupid-stuff-in-an-otherwise-okay-movie/30279.md?page=10)