I’m listening to the soundtrack to “Blues Borthers 2000” right now and it reminded me of one of the things that really reduced the flicks quality. I was totally put off by the scenes in the strip club. Having the “dancers” in the film was about as necessary as wheels on a tomato. All the story that took place in the club could just as easily happened in a blues club or even a regular ol’ bar for that matter. That way, the music would be the dominant part of the musical scene.
Of course, just about every part of that movie was ruined by the producers need to go waaaay overboard and exceed the limits of the first flick. This led to gratuitous cameos like all the musicians who were there just to provide a single verse in a song. They’d have done better to have fewer musicians with more face time each. Also, the huge police car pile-up that went on way too long. Served absolutely no purpose other than providing a pee-break for the audience.
So what totally unnecessary crap ruined your film-viewing experience?
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a reasonably watchable film, except there’s this bit where Steve Martin turns on a check-in clerk at the airport and delivers a rant, every second word of which consists of fuck (and variants thereof). It just doesn’t work for me; the rest of the movie contains some very nice comic moments and some great character observation, but that particular scene is just gratuitous.
I have to disagree. That scene (which I found funny) was necessary because Martin’s uptight character had been subjected to one frustrating and infuriating incident after another courtesy of the transportation carriers of the U.S., mother nature, and John Candy. The rental car fiasco was the topper. Martin’s character was ready to vent and when the annoying chirpy clerk at the check-in counter kept ignoring him for her inane phone conversation, he exploded with a barrage of f-bombs.
Also, I think a lot of us have been in Martin’s situation at some point. Even if you don’t like his profanity, you can identify with his rage.
Well, the nudity in Sin City was pretty much gratuitous for me. It doesn’t add anything, and not having them doesn’t detract anything from the experience.
Hypno-Toad
As you point out it was a bad movie. I really enjoyed the movie strictly for the music and listen to the soundtrack all the time but the movie was not really funny.
Blues Brothers is one of the funniest movies ever with a great Sound Track.
BB2k only has a great sound track. Its jam at the end was incredible and the credits music was great.
You are correct about the go-go dancers being gratuitous.
Mangetout
The scene in question is the pivotal moment of the movie and generally the most quoted portion. It may have been offensive to many but it was not gratuitous.
Star Trek IV which I loved, added some gratuitous cursing just to get their PG rating. I think the ratings board should give a PG out at request to avoid these embarrassing moves. If movie is a G but director/producer want PG, give them PG.
The nudity was in the comics originally, and the movie was a perfect shot-for-shot, panel-for-panel adaptation of the comics. Frank Miller’s point was to create a hyper-masculine noir pastiche, borrowing and expanding upon every cliche about hard-boiled antiheroes, brutes with hearts of gold, sexy strippers who could kick ass, and so on. As a result, a little female nudity made sense in his testosterone-and-bourbon-soaked fantasy world, and it might have seemed a little weird WITHOUT it.
First, any scene with Carla Gugino naked adds to the movie in which it occurs, as it is Carla Gugino and she is naked.
Second, the movie was taken almost frame-by-frame from the comic books, which also include the nudity.
Third, the casual nudity is in keeping with the utter amorality of Basin City.
Fourth–did I mention Carla Gugino? Also they were wise enough not to show Brittany Murphy naked, something we should be spared until she has consumed a few dozen hamburgers.
Now, you want pointless, irritating nudity, and I’ll point you to Fantastic Four and Sue’s what-purpose-did-that-serve striptease on the bridge.
I agree that’s the tone of the comics, and the movie did capture the tone of the comic. But, I didn’t read the comics (Yes, you heard that…right. Yeah, I didn’t read the comics…), so maybe this is a perceptive from another point of view…
May I remind you that the name of the comics (and movie) is Sin City?
What was really gratuitous in that movie was the clothed (albeit scantily so) Jessica Alba playing a stripper. She should have had the artistic integrity to show us her goodies or abandon the role in favour of an actress who would. Truly, art was done a grave disservice here
Romy and Michele - after they get into the convertible on the way to their reunion, there’s a shot of Romy putting on her seatbelt. It’s just a close-up of her thighs and practically her crotch. Why? If we only had a long-shot of her buckling up, it’s not like we’d be saying, oh my gosh, I wonder what a seatbelt looks like up close!
Gotta go with Under Siege. Seagal has just escaped from the kitchen after killing a dozen or so bad guys, and comes across the mess hall, where suddenly Erika Eleniak pops out of a cake and does a sexy dance, naked.
Not only was it the only nudity in the movie, but we are meant to believe that she just sat there writhing with her eyes closed, not noticing that the room was empty, totally oblivious to all that happened before, like the gunshots, murder and general mayhem during the taking over of the ship. Plus, she must’ve been in there for a good hour or so - didn’t it occur to her that something was amiss? “I’ll just wait in this cake until the music plays…were those gunshots?”
If we can include gratuitous product placement, I’ll link to my previous rant about Rene Russo drinking the Pepsi One in The Thomas Crown Affair
You’re all missing one basic point. For some films, it is necessary to throw in nudity or foul language to ward off a G rating. The “kiddie” rating is a death sentence for movies. Directors will throw in tits and ass or “motherfucker” just to avoid it.
