MovieChat Forums > Alfie (1966) Discussion > don't get it, not funny, pretty sad + pa...

don't get it, not funny, pretty sad + pathetic


I heard about the old Alfie, but since I wasn't born when it came out...I saw it for the first time last night and it was NOT what I expeced...comedy? (no)classic study of 60s manners" (no)"charming womanizer" (no)!! Not about the sexual revolution either...the sexual revolution came a BIT later with the introduction of the birth control pill, which freed people from the fear of pregnancy. Alfie obviously was unfamiliar with the concept of birth control.
---Spoilers-----
Alfie was a boorish control freak. The first woman he knocked up, Gilda, (after coyly telling us she was not to bright), who worked in a brewery, was left to fend for herself, and even though Alfie showed some interest in his son, there was not indication that he helped out financially or emotionally.
---Major Spoiler-----
I thought that there was supposed to be some redemption here, but with all the opportunities to turn around, Alfie never "got it". First Gilda marries some poor bus driver, who takes over the parental role for Alfie's son, then Alfie has a brush with mortality (tuberculosis) then Alfie AGAIN knocks up the wife of his roommate from the tuberculosis sanitarium and arranges an illegal abortion, then (here is where it gets truly, disgustingly pathetic) he waxes poetic over the tiny fetus left in his bed after the abortion.

How is this by any stretch of the imagination a form of *comedic* entertainment?? It makes a statement, all right, but it is not COMEDY!



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As I see it, the intent of this film is to depict how a life of sexual self-indulgence is damaging and, ultimately, unsatisfying. Perhaps it hammers it in a bit too much, but then, at the time it was made (1966) nonmarital sex was increasing and the push was underway to legalize abortion in the U.S. as a way of dealing with unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. I see this film as an urgent and extreme warning for the times that the sugar-candy philosophy of hedonistic enjoyment was unrealistic and would lead to unforeseen pain.

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I saw it that night for the first time, too. No, not a comedy. A dark comedy, maybe. Very depressing. However, I disagree with you on one point:

then (here is where it gets truly, disgustingly pathetic) he waxes poetic over the tiny fetus left in his bed after the abortion.


No, this is not pathetic. This is the crux of the film. We FINALLY see a moral side to his character. I mean, my heart was ripped when he finally was like "I murdered it." What an accurate picture of the toll abortion has on all involved. That whole sequence, him leaving her alone to handle it, going out and watching the christening of another child, then coming back and actually seeing a dead baby - dead human - and realizing that he killed this child because of his own indiscretions finally showed a small *beep* in his machismo armor.

Sadly, at the end, his attitude is almost completely back to where it was. All about personal satisfaction and "peace of mind" - which obviously is just a euphamism for "guilt-free conscience.

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perhaps is described as comedy strictly in literary terms? A comedy doesn't always have to be funny, people forget that...

AH toit toit toit toit toit!
[img]http://www.websmileys.com/sm/violent/sterb051.gif[/img]

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I don't find this movie to be funny or even good. However this movie has something that no movie will ever have, the abortion and Alfie's comment on it. Those will never be topped or repeated. Just look at the new Alfie.

I think most find the movie sad and pathetic, because Alfie was sad and pathetic. It's not a romantic comedy. This is no "Two Weeks Notice".

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I don't understand how anyone can watch this thinking it's a comedy. Its just a portrait of a certain type of person. I think it's a pretty decent film, but a bit sad and depressing.

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"don't get it, not funny, pretty sad + pathetic"



If this is how you feel fair enough but at the same time maybe you missed the point of the film.

Alfie classic of cinema!!!!

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Nobody cares what you think

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Do you mean me or the orig poster?

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i agree that when he talks about the abortion to his friend that it is disgusting, and that no, he doesn't get it. the way he talks about it...it seemed pretty clear to me that yes he was trying to understand it but that he clearly didn't.

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And I suppose you think folks hang breathlessly on your every word. Nobody really cares what any of us think! But we should be able to state it without attack. We question and we seek answers here. We also say whether or not and how the film moved us. We aren't seeking your validation for what we think or feel.

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If the original poster of this diatribe wasn't even born when the film came out the how can he/she possibly comment on the morals of a past decade in history? Reading books on the subject doesn't learn you anything about how things really were. I'm just amazed that you don't "get" the point of the film. Any besides, why do you think films are always trying to make a point? Can't you watch a film and just go along with the story? Perhaps you're too used to modern films, with their mamby pamby left-wing liberal politically correct view of how things should be. The modern version of Alfie was pointless because society has changed. Though the abortion rate as skyrocketed from what it was in the '60s, so this generation has nothing to crow about when comparing modern morals to that of people in the past. No doubt the answer to this would be talk of a womans right to choose, etc. Of course the rights of the unborn child will never be heard. All I can say of those who believe in abortion: what a pity your mothers didn't.

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First of all, the original poster isn't making a comment on the morals of a past decade, she's making a comment on the film itself. And, yes, anyone is entitled to comment on the morals of a past decade - though reading about the 60s isn't the same as being there, having lived through the 60s doesn't make you part of some exclusive club in that only you are entitled to discuss them. We're perfectly able to discuss periods of history outside of living memory.

Actually, this film *is* trying to make a point (which the original poster, sadly, didn't get) - and that is quite a liberal and politically correct point. Treat women with respect, as equals, otherwise your treatment of them could come back to bite you. Not just in the abortion scene - Alfie suffers in many ways.

Actually, your entire post is pretty much irrelivant to both the film and the original posting, and sounds like a typical bit of intolerant right-wing spleen-venting. Shame your parents hadn't heard of contraception.

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Pathetic. The OP could have easily elaborated on/defended his/her own post, what are you their parent? Also, just because the the poster has views that differs from yours, he's an intolerant right-winger who didn't deserve to be born? Some "open-minded progressive" you are.
And yea, I'm also kind of speaking on behalf of the poster you responded to, but that's because over a year later, they never did, and I'm also not being as detailed and overwhelmingly indignant about it as you were for the OP.

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All I can say of those who believe in abortion: what a pity your mothers didn't.

Perhaps our mothers did. Hence we know we're wanted children. Quite a good position to be in. A shame not everyone can say the same.

The authorial voce in "Alfie" is not necessarily against abortion. However it's definitely against the sort of illegal back street abortion shown in the film, which is what millions of women would inevitably resort to should the 'pro-life' crowd get their way.

I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

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I thought that there was supposed to be some redemption here, but with all the opportunities to turn around, Alfie never "got it".

Alfie did get it at the end as he tells the audience about being unsure of the meaning of his lifestyle. But it indicates Alfie will carry on in his ways because he knows no better, which in a way makes Alfie a tragic figure.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".

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[deleted]

it`s not meant to be funny ha-ha, more ironic and funny in a way that such sad character traits exist in us all, both of the male and women characters. Alfie`s abound even nowadays...and women are always falling for the `wrong` types, just as they do in the film. I like the way Alfie talks to you(the camera) as if you`re a confidante.. really well done.. and yes, funny in its own way..

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The things you're complaining about are the entire point of the film.

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