MovieChat Forums > Simple Men (1992) Discussion > What? No threads? here....

What? No threads? here....

posted 18 years ago by movieLoader
17 replies | jump to latest

Im surprised I thought there'd be at least a retarded thread- you know the ones that say "worst movie ever made" or something.

SM is fun to watch. The combination of awesome script, actors who deliver, and the way its shot..... I re-discovered it recently, late, bit smoking J. It matches or even surpases Trust in the polished poetry it is.... told with sublime honesty in what reminds me a little of a dream... the atmosphere of a dream where characters are deliberate and intense, minimal sets.

Some favourite lines from SM:

"What the hell you doing to that machine?"
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"I gotta go, no, I get to emotional when I drink, have another beer, i gotta get up early, no you don't, sit down, I get too emotional when I drink, sit down, have another beer, I can't, I gotta get up in the morning, no you don't, sit down...."
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"Fucl< you I wanna play pool"
"You don't play pool, you shoot pool."
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"I'm a friend of Neds." -- cracks me up that one- when dennis says this to the nun.
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"Yep. Mysterious. Thoughtful. Deep. But modest. ...... And then Im gonna FUCl< her!"

[–] peja123_10 18 years ago

"Where did you come from?"
"New York City."
"Big deal."

Yes, I am also suprised no one is writing about "worst dialogue ever." But I am also thankful.

I love this film. It is understated, funny and well-crafted. The Sonic Youth dance number is so well placed.

"I can't stand the quiet!"

I wasn't smoking the 1st time I saw Simple Men, but when they began dancing I said to my girlfriend, "this may be a perfect movie." She agreed. It certainly suited our taste.

"Hot F-n Tuna"

Glad to see that at least 1 other person enjoyed it. Cheers.

"There is nothing but trouble and desire."

[–] Libermeus 18 years ago

I caught this movie on IFC a few years back.

Made me a Hal Hartley devotee :).

[–] tanajoy 18 years ago

This is my favorite movie! It's wonderful! So many people don't know of it at all. Even if they did, I'm pretty sure much of the subtlety would go right over their heads.

Oh, yeah, and the whole conversation about Madonna and if she's being objectified or not...........I frickin' love that!

"What about the audience?"
"What about them?"

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] pablohoneyJLC 18 years ago

Yeah, not only did I THINK of Band Of Outsiders during that scene, I was a little pissed off that it was obviously stolen directly from my favorite movie, and that so many people would think that it was so cool and original. Sorry, but it was done like a million years ago.

I mean, I'm sure Hartley did it as an homage; I'm sure he expected people would know that he meant it to reference Band Of Outsiders (like a less-literal reference than the Louvre scene in "The Dreamers"). And I know that Godard was all about homages - his films are full of them. So I'm not sure why it upset me. Maybe because it seemed almost like the only saving grace in the entire movie. The song was a good choice though - my personal favorite SY song.

[–] Libermeus 18 years ago

"Yeah, not only did I THINK of Band Of Outsiders during that scene, I was a little pissed off that it was obviously stolen directly from my favorite movie, and that so many people would think that it was so cool and original. Sorry, but it was done like a million years ago."

You know, that is a particularly ridiculous critique of this movie just based on your statement that "so many people would think it was so cool and original." But let me add my own critique to yours.

Point One: "so many people" Have you checked how many people have voted on this film, let alone commented?

Point Two: "cool and original" Well, these are subjective qualifiers, aren't they?

Point Three: "a million years ago" I know you used this as hyperbole, but it really doesn't help your argument.

Conclusion: Your "pissed off" attitude and accusations of "obviously stolen from my favorite movie" just lead myself, and perhaps others, to the belief that you have a severe case of "sour grapes," however misplaced.

Cheers.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] pablohoneyJLC 18 years ago

I wrote a couple responses to the last post, before I realized it's pointless. It's a waste of time to try to respond to someone who critiques the grammar and word choice of someone's opinion rather than responding to the content of the opinion itself.

Since you picked up on the hyperbole, and the obvious sarcastic use of "cool", I figured people would understand that I was magnifying the disappointment I had that the dance scene was getting praised without mention of its roots in Godard into a caricature of every film student I ever took a class with.

Now I see what I really felt was jealous that I, unlike the previous poster who mentioned Band a Part, didn't allow myself to enjoy being a rare person who "got" the reference, and appreciate its clever placement and updated location, song, and dance. I'm sure Hartley didn't expect everyone to "get it", so I should feel privileged to be in on it with him. This is what Godard did so often, after all...

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] walsh90210 18 years ago

I just saw this a couple weeks ago. Many main stream "movie fans" would not get Hal Hartley and would no doubt turn off many of his movies within the first few minutes. I've always been into philosophy and psychology so I can really get into these types of movies. The first movie I saw of his was Henry Fool and a lot of those characters reminded me of me. I said "i gotta see more from this guy".

My favs are Book of Life and Henry Fool but I really liked Simple Men. As pointed out lots of good quotes. Again if one is into this type of thing they won't get them and how it applies to everyday life. My favs of those were (I'm always bad at exact quotes):

"There's no such thing as adventure and romance. There's only trouble and desire."

"You weren't in love. You were just thinking with your pr--k"
"There's a difference?"

"Dad went after the government. What I do is fu--ing with the law....The government doesn't have to obey the law... Who wants a government that follows the law?"

[–] Frengers 17 years ago

My favourite Hal Hartley movie is Exotica, but I loved Simple Men too. My favourite scene is when they all start dancing to Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing". And I was actually surprised at how touching I found the end: "Don't move".

[–] ishotnixon 17 years ago

Exotica isn't a Hal Hartley movie. it's by Atom Egoyan.

www.monkeysmightpuke.com

[–] Frengers 17 years ago

Arghhhh, lol... I meant AMATEUR, not Exotica. Amateur and Exotica are my two favourite films of 1994, and I always get the titles mixed up probably because they're both one-word titles with seven letters each. And I was just after posting on the Exotica board and that title was stuck in my brain. But yeah, Amateur is my favourite Hal Hartley movie.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Frengers 17 years ago

Oh yeah, Exotica rocks. I love Elias Koteas.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] timmy_501 14 years ago

Excellent film, not as good as Trust though.

Dear Mom, I put a couple of people in Hell today...