MovieChat Forums > The House of Yes (1997) Discussion > Second viewing leads to reevaluation

Second viewing leads to reevaluation

posted 16 years ago by mlraymond
9 replies | jump to latest

I still don't really " get" this movie, but I found there was a lot to appreciate. There were a few parts that were actually funny, though most of the dialogue was witty, rather than humorous as such.

Parker Posey and Genevieve Bujold both give remarkable performances. I thought Tori Spelling wasn't bad, either.

I never expected to feel this way, but there was a moment when I actually felt moved by Jackie-O's pain,and saw her for the first time as a tragic figure, and not just a strange, spoiled girl. For a moment, the mask slipped and I saw a broken heart beneath all the sarcastic repartee and bitchy mannerisms.

I still don't understand all that was going on between Anthony and Lesly. I found his character far more puzzling in the long run than anyone else's. I'm not sure what he expected to happen with his brother's intended, or why.

This film is definitely worth more than one look, but there's no getting away from the fact that it is one strange story.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mlraymond 16 years ago

Is it really established beyond doubt that Anthony is the child of Marty and Jackie? There is a line that some viewers have felt strongly suggests that possibility.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] missworldk 16 years ago

What is the line? I never even considered this, as Anthony looks too close to Marty and Jackie's age for this to be possible.

when you tell me that you hate me
won't you look me in the eyes?

[–] criscodisco 16 years ago

I just finished watching it (again). I never thought about the possibility of Marty and Jackie being Anthony's parents, but there is something interesting.

Anthony says he's never been in a hurricane, and asks Marty and Jackie if they have. They both quickly answer "once, before you were born". Later, when Jackie is freaking out about the ice, she states that during the last hurricane, they had ice for their rum & Pepsi's.

So, even if they weren't old enough to be (legally) drinking, they were most likely at least old enough to breed.

It could explain why they're both so intelligent, and he's a bit slow.

They also refer to him as "our little Anthony", but that's probably a term of (mock) endearment.

[–] mokienatrix 11 years ago

The twins reminisce about their parents drinking rum and Pepsi from styrofoam cups, not themselves. Jackie's objection is that they can't recreate their parents' hurricane moment: "Mama and Daddy had a bucket of ice and a cooler down the hall. We just marched down the hall whenever we had a yen for ice."

More importantly, the date on the video tour is March 1971; Jackie says they'd just turned 14 before the Ides of March party that she's clearly dressed up for. That puts them at around 26 years old in 1983, which matches their mother's statement that the twins have had each other for 20-odd years, and makes the pair too young to be Anthony's parents, as he has to be at least 17 to have gone to and dropped out of college at this point.

[–] mecassid 11 years ago

I took the mother's line to mean that they'd been "having each other" for 20 odd years, meaning that's how long they've been sleeping together, not how long they've been alive.

[–] cgraves04 10 years ago

Jackie Kennedy's White House tour was filmed in 1962 not 1971. She had already been married to Aristotle Onassis for 3 years by 1971. Plus, JFK was assassinated in 1963.

As someone else said, I assumed that the mother meant the twins had been having sex for 20-odd years, not that they'd been alive for 20-odd years. If they turned 14 the year JFK was assassinated, they would have been old enough to reproduce and Anthony could conceivably be that child since he'd be about 20 in 1983. Actually, the fact that Jackie scoffed at Leslie's mention of babies with webbed feet led me to believe that she'd had a child or children by her brother.

[–] lethalblonde 10 years ago

No, the date on the video tour by Jackie-O (Parker Posey's character) was 1971. I would buy the idea that the line about them "having each other" is a double entendre, but I don't believe they were older than 14 or 15 when filming that video (in 1971), not when Kennedy was actually assassinated. So that does put them in their mid-20s, making it pretty much impossible for them to be Anthony's parents, though I do think we're supposed to wonder about that.

Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flamethrower.