Very Good Movie but One thing Baffled Me - Passion Fish (1992) Discussion

[–] nicolettacat 20 years ago

If you don't think that that whole monologue was hilarious, I don't know what to think. The whole situation, having that one line, being the line it was, building character, the sense memory part...the list goes on and on. It really has nothing to do with an anal probe, that's just the icing on the cake.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] My_Name_Is_Lydia 19 years ago

I didn't ask for the anal probe.

" I didn't ask for the anal probe."

"I didn't ASK for the anal probe."

"I didn't ask for the ANAL probe."

GENIUS!

...and that's all I have to say about that.

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[–] tmo1909 19 years ago

That scene cracked me up. That same actress played the giggling blonde hooker in Crocodile Dundee and she was hilarious!

Another thing about Passion Fish: Give me some Sugar!

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[–] rfkildea-1 18 years ago

That same actress is married to Richard Schiff aka Toby Ziegler in West Wing and she was Michael and Elliot's co-worker in thirtysomething.

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[–] meredithchandler1973 18 years ago

Actually, the actress married to Richard Shiff isn't the one with the lines about the anal probe, but she is part of that scene.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] BitterTurnsToSugar 15 years ago

I love that scene!

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[–] marxandcola 18 years ago

Exactly.

This is a superior film in every way and in no way is it a 'chick flick' just because women are the central characters. Jeez.

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[–] Helena727 9 years ago

in no way is it a 'chick flick' just because women are the central characters. Jeez.

THANK you. Sheesh.

What, only women have feelings and thoughts and worries?

Not to mention that that's a lame and offensive term. Women aren't "chicks," and we run the gamut from NASCAR drivers to Renee Fleming fans -- no such thing as a one-size-fits-all-women movie.

Calling this a "chick flick" is like calling EIGHT MEN OUT a sports show.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

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[–] MadamFleur 18 years ago

Seriously, you are the only person I've heard of who didn't like that scene! I try to get everyone I know to watch the film 'cause I was born 'n raised right close by that area in LA. Love it love it love it. The 2 women, Ti-Marie and Precious are DEAD-ON; awesome performances thru-out this special flick. Kudos to J. Sayles (again!)...

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[–] kingpause 18 years ago

Somebody back me up, because nobody believes me, and there is no reference to it on this site: this scene is a reference to the movie "Communion", yes? With Christopher Walken? I've only seen that movie once (when it came out), but I distinctly remember a scene near the end where Strieber goes to some alien abductee group counseling session, and at one point a woman appears on camera, says that one line, "I didn't ask for the anal probe!", before promptly disappearing again. The first time I saw "Passion Fish" and saw this hilarious scene, I got the reference instantly. Or I thought I did. Now I'm starting to believe I may have imagined the whole thing...

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[–] larpine 17 years ago

I took something different from the scene. The actress playing the role, Nancy Mette, who also had the funniest line in Terms of Endearment,("Patsy tells us you have cancer"), is quite an incredible actress in her own rite. I saw her on stage in Atlanta in a production of Blue Windows. I loved her.

Back to the line in the film, It was her first acting job and as incredibly stupid as the line was be build a role, still, She was good. You see how incredibly over qualifed as an actress she was to play such a worthless role, yet she did it anyway.

The scene gives an understanding of the life that May Alice left behind in New York. Along with the Nina's monologue, you learn these women dreams, the skills and talents they developed to succeed, their compromises, and what they ultimately settled for in order to make a buck.

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[–] IcySpoon 10 years ago

Great Answer-Spot on. Hilarious scene. This actress never fails to make an impression-even in a small role.

"Gentlemen you can't fight in here!" "This is the war room!" Dr. Strangelove

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[–] dvlaries 18 years ago

The whole point, I believe, was to remind themselves, this gathered group of actresses ( expect Woodard's character, a therapist ) where they had come from and their humble beginnings. Even May-Alice notes and appreciates "I didn't ask for the anal probe" is "not much to build a character on." It also points up that her actress colleagues can be just as flighty as the friends she left behind in Louisiana. At this same time, Woodward and Angela Bassett have a nice scene alone inside the house, that feels ( to me ) like veteran passing the torch to newcomer: Bassett was only six months away from her starring breakthrough in "What's Love Got To Do With It."

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[–] efh1737-1 17 years ago

I agree that the scene is not as out of context as it first appears. Comic value aside, these women remind May Alice that the New York acting world was just as unreal as the world she is now living in. (May Alice and Shantell agree while sitting on the couch that "this is not the real world") If her actress friends had not come and the producer-guy had arrived to make her the offer to return to daytime, she might have considered it a bit more.

I actually thought the anal probe chick was one of the better supporting parts in the film. Angela Basset was pretty warm but what was with the "fecund" chick? She was way over the top. And, although they may have been "spot on" in the portrayal of superficial and vain Southern women, those parts really verged on a cartoonish buffoonery that I thought was a rough transition rather than comic relief.

And the Sound editing sucked! Music was loud and voices too quiet. The whole series of scenes in the Rehab hospital in the beginning were punctuated by these painful blasts of guitar riff that were just over the top in pounding home the point that May Alice is a bit bitter about her injury.

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[–] crazywizard13 18 years ago

That was probably the most hilarious scene of the movie! It was Great!

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] tim-2030 17 years ago

Neckert, I have often used this screenplay as an example of screenwriting in which every piece of dialogue moves the story forward or helps illumniate a character's actions. This scene accomplishes two things simultaneously: (1) It offers the audience a glimpse into the darker, more mundane aspects of the acting profession (which May Alice has left behind). This scene echoes later when May Alice is offered a chance to return to the soap opera where she had been working, but turns it down; and (2) the scene provides enormous necessary comic relief, a breath in an otherwise tragic story of a suffering woman.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Leave_it_to_Weaver 17 years ago

My friend and I quote dialogue from movies all the time and this is one of our favorites (I didnt ask for the anal probe). Of course, we get strange stares when we say it in the supermarket checkout line.

may alice: i cant have sex that i can feel, unless i really get into
blowjobs. (pause) Sorry, you're probably some big christian
and i just put my foot in my mouth.

Chantell: Its none of my business what you put in your mouth miss cohain.

Love it! The performances are perfect and like many overlooked actors over the years, Alfre Woodard was robbed of a supporting actress nomination.

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[–] jfd0210 17 years ago

I agree about Ms. Woodard!
Amazing to see how she was treated the one season she was on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. I don't watch the program (although was tempted when I saw she was going to be on it). The publicity alone showed how she was being treated (and I mean as an actress, not as a character). Rarely was she photographed with the rest of the cast, nominal mention was made of her being on the program, etc.
Then her character was axed after the one year.
And people act shocked to read about racism in the U.S.????

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[–] larpine 16 years ago

Truth is, Ms. Woodard character wasn't a supporting role. Who was she supporting? I think it was decided that if both actresses were promoted for the lead nomination, neither would received the award.

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[–] sohmflooring 15 years ago

I would not read too much into the publicity that an actor receives when working a job; lots of reasons why an actor appears with others and sometimes not. It has much to do with contractural arrangements and agreements that we may not have knowledge of. Just the fact that Ms. Woodard seems to be absent from some publicity shots of a TV program doesn't necessarilly mean that it is in any way indicative of racism.

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[–] pwgabachito 15 years ago

I respectfully disagree. She was robbed of a starring actress nomination, she was not supporting here, she was co-starring. Both roles were equally important to the story.

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[–] dvlaries 10 years ago

I heartily agree. If Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger belonged in the same lead category in the same movie, if MacLaine and Anne Bancroft did ("Turning Point), if MacLaine and Meryl Streep did ("Postcards From The Edge", if Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis did, if Bette Davis and Anne Baxter did, so did McDonnell and Woodard.

- -
Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies every problem.

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[–] Helena727 9 years ago

Tim-2030: Superb, insightful, and succinct post. Thanks!

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

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[–] TemporaryOne-1 16 years ago

The point of the scene, besides comic relief -

The actress invested all her time and energy and skills into crafting a perfect performance for a degrading, humiliating line in a waste-of-time film that she felt forced to do for money and boost her career, just like May-Alice wasted the best years of her life, time, energy, and skills acting in a meaningless, unfulfilling soap opera that represented everything she detested about people she grew up admist.

Both women compromised whatever their original life passions were, that scene was a remainder of how short life is and how time should not be wasted.

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[–] Tyger-Flynn 15 years ago

Every scene in this film was perfection IMO - and this one no less. Its a stand-out that I always wait for when I see the film. We watch entire scenes take place without one cut-away. This particular scene has the camera focused on this actress for over 10 minutes or more and I for one was mesmerized. An outstanding delivery of a hilarious monologue that cries many "messages" - one being making the best of whatever hand/role one is dealt - and May-Alice has been dealt a hard one. The two lead female characters are struggling finding meaning and fulfillment in perceived limiting circumstances.

By any measure one of the great films. Never tire of watching the performances. All are gems. Remy! :-)

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[–] larpine 15 years ago

I'm sort of surprise that no one here has brought up the scene with May Alice, Ti Marie and Precious. I know it's not the scene that the post originator questions, but it's comic and tragic brilliance. It's giving a line I've used many a times..."It's a joke, Precious".

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[–] Tyger-Flynn 15 years ago

I agree - its excellent. Someone does mention it here and there are some posts about it. Its an outstanding screenplay, for sure informed by superlative acting.

A favorite scene of mine is at the dock when May-Alice has an extended conversation with Remy (Renny?). Another long, totally absorbing monologue - with near nary a cut-away - by the actor playing Remy: "ah, she took religion between the second and third babies."

My other favorite scene (I love the whole film!) is the arrival of May-Alice's uncle. These characters are so beautifully realized. Its one of those rare films where every performance is a gem.

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[–] svmanos 14 years ago

I ue that line all the time also!

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] fentress 12 years ago

I would agree insofar as the scene was just a little bit pretentious. John Sayles is a wonderful screenwriter and director and I'm a fan. Nevertheless I think sometimes he overwrites. In other words, his dialogue is good, but sometimes you can feel that it is constructed to sound like Good Writing. Still, as other posters have chimed in, this is a very funny scene.

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[–] skontch 11 years ago

it's not possible to disagree with you more! that was one of the greatest scenes in any movie, ever. i agree with the person that mentioned sound editing. it was awful. all in all, that was a great movie..

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