MovieChat Forums > Deconstructing Harry (1998) Discussion > what's aluminum siding?

what's aluminum siding?

posted 15 years ago by jackfrusciante80
10 replies | jump to latest

anyone wants to explain that to me ? I have no idea :P

For those who can't remember, one of the people in hell is there for inventing it.

[–] The_White_Hotel 15 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_siding#Pros_and_cons_of_metals_v ersus_other_siding_materials

Here's what it is, but I have to say I'm a little unclear on why Allen thought the man who invented it should be in hell.

"Reality is the new fiction they say, truth is truer these days, truth is man-made"

[–] jackfrusciante80 14 years ago

thanks, I actually found that article too, but couldn't figure out the choice of words here...

he could't ve gone with a thousands things, from "call centers", to "your call is very important to us"

[–] Eli_Zardo 14 years ago

There are actually a 3 angles to the Aluminum Siding crack-

1) Representative of suburbia

2) Annoying commercials over the past 50 years (and aggressive marketing tactics)

3) The siding industry has been traditionally unscrupulous

There was actually a movie about Aluminum Siding salesmen from 1987 called Tin Men...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094155/

[–] jackfrusciante80 14 years ago

thanks for explaining,

it makes more sense with Nr 1 :P

I have tivo-ed Tin Men, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet. I wanna see it just because it's Levison's movie.

[–] Eli_Zardo 14 years ago

Tin Men is definitely worth seeing but bear in mind it's a bit erratic. It tries to juggle too many issues that don't quite fit together (farce, feud, love story, political allegory, etc...)

What ultimately holds it all together is the evocation of a time & place. And Devito is excellent here (Dreyfuss unfortunately tends to get hammy).

Overall I do recommend it though, I love the burglary scene with the eggs.

[–] sillyhat 14 years ago

That, and it's just a cheap-quality building material. It's easier to put on than brick or stone, so it's commonly used, but has a lot less character.

[–] hodie 14 years ago

Aluminum siding comes in sheets that are used to cover the outside of a house (it goes on over shingles, for example). It makes the outside of a house look neater and newer because, unlike wood or stone, it doesn't have to be regularly painted, weatherproofed or otherwise repaired. So it's easier to take care of than natural materials.

But it tends to make houses look alike. They lose their individual charm, and sometimes it covers up beautiful craftsmanship for the sake of convenience and economy.

It's kinda soulless.

Honour thy parents. They were hip to the groove too once you know.

[–] bradford-1 13 years ago

After his first brush (and failure) with show biz, Rodney Dangerfield worked as a siding salesman. So did Joe Ancis, the Brooklyn spritzmeister said to be a big influence on Lenny Bruce.

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] lastmidnite2 12 years ago

I can't tell you the number of old, beautiful homes I've seen totally ruined by aluminum siding.

[–] eelb 11 years ago

Aluminum siding existed in the time between traditional wood siding and the invention of vinyl siding. It was marketed as maintenance free, but in truth needed to be painted every few years, and was subject to denting. Usually from hail storms or errant baseballs, or even the accidental lawnmower.

It was typical in the 1960's to install aluminum siding on older homes. But vinyl siding made it obsolete.

It was often more difficult to maintain than the original wood siding, and generally now is thought of as a rip-off and a bad invention.

I think Woody was referring to the inventor, rather than the salesmen. As most salesmen of home improvement products tend to be thought of as shady. Not just those who sold aluminum siding.

I'm surprised Woody came up with that reference, as this would be something known only in small town middle america, or lower middle class suburbia. Something Woody has little experience it.