...is when the Woody Allen character decides to convert to Catholicism from Judaism. He comes home from shopping and pulls out of the bag: books on Catholicism, a holy picture, a jar of mayonnaise and a loaf of white bread. I laugh every time I see that bit. As a former Catholic who converted to Judaism, I find that wickedly funny.
shareWhy?
shareThis might not be such a common cultural reference nowadays, but in the 1960s and 70s when I was a kid, there were common jokes about white bread and mayonaise as examples of bland, Middle American food. Older clips from 50s TV and movies from still earlier decades often show Jewish comedians making jokes about the same things.
shareBecause Jewish people tend to make sandwiches with rye bread and brown mustard, food items with texture and taste. Gentiles (according to the stereotype, at least)use white bread -- and wonder bread is the worst of the white breads, has no discernable taste or texture -- and mayo; having the character think the bland food was as essential to his conversion as the crucifix and picture of Jesus is quite a funny sight gag (although having to explain any joke always ruins it.)
shareI didn't like how he placed the mayo and bread on top of the books and framed picture.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Yeah, I can see how one would be offended by that, but I figured that it was intended to emphasize how much he really didn't care. He first places the crucifix down on the table with an apparent hint of respect for what it represents, and then he places the picture on top of it, which seems a bit careless, but still rather harmless. Once he places the books on top, it becomes obvious that he doesn't really care too much, which is proven when he stacks the bread and mayo on as well.
"Why do you find it so hard to believe?"
"Why do you find it so easy?"
"It's never BEEN easy!"
/Yeah, I can see how one would be offended by that, but I figured that it was intended to emphasize how much he really didn't care. He first places the crucifix down on the table with an apparent hint of respect for what it represents, and then he places the picture on top of it, which seems a bit careless, but still rather harmless. Once he places the books on top, it becomes obvious that he doesn't really care too much, which is proven when he stacks the bread and mayo on as well./
That's the way I'll look at that scene, thanks.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
The white bread and mayo are part of his conversion to a goy (non-Jewish). The ultimate rejection of his Jewish heritage. Allen has used this joke before in Annie Hall when he is in the delicatessen he just shrugs in hopelessness when she orders a very goy sandwich with white bread and mayo.
Larry David did an episode on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I thought he had been born goy but adopted into his Jewish. He immediately started to take on a goy life style doing things such as back yard barbecuing.
Oh wow. This is really genuinely interesting. I don't know much about Jewish stereotypes. This seems like the type of joke I'd find really amusing, had I not been so uninformed.
shareJews are eating the wrong type of mayo then.
shareyeah im curious myself. why is that so funny? im mean it was ok, nothing too lol.
shareThat is an extremely funny scene...I remember the first time I saw it, I thought I would die laughing when he pulled out the Wonder Bread and the mayonnaise.
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It is funny because he is shopping for a religion just like he is shopping for bread and mayo. One is as good as another.
shareActually, no -- it's because the food items are considered WASP. For another take on this, watch "Undercover Brother".
shareMy mistake. I forgot that Eddie Griffith was one of the best commentators on Woody Allen.
shareI just watched this for a second time, and that scene was really funny to me. I'm not Catholic, but I love Jesus, and even seeing him pull a crucifix and a framed picture of Jesus out of a bag was funny. Then the bread and mayonnaise...I wouldn't have dreamed that that wouldn't make someone laugh. jdoan, I definitely agree with your assessment of why it's funny. These other commenters' thoughts are surprising to me.
Then there was the large photo of the good-looking model on the cross whose eyes open and close depending on your viewpoint. I can only imagine what's happening in Mickey's mind. I've had struggles with my faith lately, and I was able to relate to him on some surreal level.
My biggest laugh came in the flashback when Mickey and Hannah talk to their friends about artificial insemination. Norman, thinking it over, says, "I gave blood before, and, uh...clothing to the poor." (I just found the script at http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/hannah.html) For those of you who don't get it, it's funny because he's equating giving blood and clothing with fathering someone else's child by artificial insemination. Oh, never mind.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening."
Just because Eddie Griffin referenced a stereotype doesn't mean it's not a stereotype that Woody Allen might also reference. (Admittedly, I wouldn't say the reference to mayonnaise in Undercover Brother was the perfect example, because it was a reference to the tastes of white people in general, not Catholics specifically - and for the record, WASPs aren't Catholic.)
The main joke in that sight gag isn't that Mickey was shopping for a religion the same way he was shopping for groceries. That may very well be part of it, but there's more going on there. There's no way it was a coincidence that when Allen chose two food products to use in that scene, he chose two foods (not just bread, but white bread, and mayonnaise), that Jews might associate with gentiles. It sounds like the association was probably stronger 20+ years ago than it is now, but it still exists.
It's the same sort of joke as a character who's just converted to Judaism buying a copy of the Torah, a menorah, and some Chinese takeout. (There's a stereotype about Jews loving Chinese food...although I probably didn't need to explain that to anyone on a Woody Allen message board.)
Very funny scene, alled did a great job writing that part.
shareI was wondering about the bread and mayo the first time I saw the movie too, and didn´t get the point of that scene. Just another example of Woody Allen films improving a lot the more times you watch them. I´ve seen Annie Hall and Play it again Sam about 8 times and they get better each time. Think I´ll watch Hannah again soon because it deserves it
shareI was expecting a bottle of wine after the bread, rather than the mayo.
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You aren't looking at this right. Think about why this would be funny to a Jewish man, that when he converts to Christianity he would have to start eating wonderbread and Mayo. It's not that it's bland: it's that it's very Gentile. That's the humor of it.
The Jesus Poster was a statement on tacky consumerism in Catholicism, not a statement that tacky consumerism = Catholicism. Why do you get upset that he represents this in film, not that this sort of trivialization of the Faith actually goes on? If I were a Catholic, I would be more offended by say a film like "Constantine," an action film which takes my personal system of beliefs and converts it into a mindless 90 minute money-maker, rather than "Hannah and Her Sisters." There are better outlets for your anger.
As for him being a Hack, where do you get this?
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Haha. My bad, I'll try harder next time.
"you're m0ther 1s t3h wh0r3" -- is that better?
Very well said. I loved that scene.
shareThe fact that it's Hellman's Mayonnaise makes it even funnier.
shareWhen I read the subject line about "best-ever sight gags" I knew exactly what you were referring to, so I signed up with IMDb just to make sure I was right. I remember the first time I saw this film in the theater, that scene got an enormous laugh and I was laughing as much as everyone else. At the time, I don't think I could have explained it, but I was raised Catholic, and there is something so bland and middle class and no offense, Catholic, about white bread and mayonnaise, and like the other poster said, the fact that it was Hellman's mayo made it funnier for some reason, and also the fact that it was "Wonder " bread had the same effect.
Last night was the first time I've seen this film in 20 years and I thoroughly enjoyed it . i think if you like Allen's films, this one stands out as one of the best. I like it better than Manhattan, because of the sensitive protrayal of relationships mixed with Allen's search for meaning. The ending just floored me totally. With Manhattan, it was hard to suspend my disbelief about the Allen character dating a 17 year old girl, and the fact that he was able to somehow still make such a powerful and moving film, really amazes me.
I watched the movie last night, and I thought the joke was funny even though I didn't pick up the whole bland/gentile reference.
I thought the joke was that he was buying these important religious symbols to convert to Catholicism, but he also picked up a couple of items while he was out.
As someone else said, I knew what this had to be about before reading it.
I saw it last night with a large crowd, in a neighborhood (Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA) that's quite Jewish. The Wonder Bread coming out was the single biggest laugh of the movie.
Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.share