MovieChat Forums > Deliverance (1972) Discussion > I finally got the movie's joke!

I finally got the movie's joke!


After watching it at least 4 times before, I finally got the intended irony:
Lewis might lose his leg, certainly has permanent damage to it and to his machomania.
Ed got a hole in his back and belly from an arrow, and had PTSD for having to kill a man.
Drew plain died.
Bobby gets fucked in the ass, but comes out of it unscathed otherwise, almost like a hero.

The joke is: having to pick one of these horrible destinies (getting killed, losing a leg, hole in the back and mental trauma - or getting fucked in the ass), every straight man watching this would rather get anything BUT Bobby's.

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Herbert "Cowboy" Coward passed away.

https://wcyb.com/news/nation-world/cowboy-coward-of-deliverance-fame-killed-in-crash-haywood-county-clyde-canton-squirrel-bertha-brooks

He was a friend of Burt Reynolds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGtp2Ujb2lM

Ned Beatty had a good career as a character actor after this film. He was a very good actor.

I imagine he was asked more than once why he accepted the role in Deliverance.

Per your post- lol. Maybe so.

RIP toothless man.

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Come on Callahan...make my day!
Which would you pick out of those four destinies?

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Probably Ed. His injuries would heal. He also managed to steady his nerves, overcome his doubt, and shoot toothless through the neck with an arrow. He did what he had to do and that saved his life.

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Yeah, me too.

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BTW, you posted about Beatty, but what about this Coward guy that just died?
Him (and his little ass rapist role friend), why the hell did HE accept this role in Deliverance?
They should make a SNL skit about the casting session for those two roles:
"let me see how would you fuck a guy in the ass at gunpoint naked in the woods. Aaaand...action!"

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It was a disturbing scene.

Well, they weren't A-List actors. Maybe they couldn't be as picky at choosing roles as an established movie star. Yikes!

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