The characters in this film sound just like the gilmore girls or sex in the city characters.
Why does every piece of dialouge in this film have to just roll of the actors tounges so sharp and quick like people even talk like this in real life?
if they do they're usually just smart alecs that nobody likes anyways.
You made your first mistake when you assumed this was supposed to be like "real life".
Juno's worse. who the *beep* vomits witty hipster garbage at the drop of a hat?
shareWow. I could not agree more. Witty banter in movies can be very entertaining, but sometimes the line gets crossed into overkill, and it becomes irritating. I couldn't stand Juno, but since I bought a ticket to see it in a theatre, I stuck it out. I turned off Kiss Kiss Bang Bang after the first ten minutes because the ultra smart and referencial, yet cringe-inducing dialogue forced me to watch something else, instead. Don't get me wrong, the other end of the spectrum is just as bad. I guess it's about finding some area in the middle that fits the rest of the movie.
shareI think Igby was that pefect middle. Although some bits here and there he takes it too far I reckon. Like when he says Olie studies neo-fascism, is then corrected by his brother who says economics, then Igby responds with semantics. Or when Igby says if there was a god he would've acted a lot sooner. Too much of a cliche. Juno I couldn't stand, merely watched it cause of all the hype but watched after seeing it once I got no plans to see it again.
LOL I liked the semantics line!
Interestingly though I really liked this film when I was about 16 and I liked a lot of the lines, though some I thought were over the top, or went over my head! I haven't seen it since but was jsut thinking about re-watching it to see if I still like it...I watched the trailer and it wasn't as funny as before and some of the lines I thought were too witty indeed.
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I think the dialogue is one of the main reasons for watching this again. The point of the majority of scripts is not to mirror real life but to help create the world in which the movie exists. The dialogue in the films of Tarantino or any of Cary Grant's screwball comedies are nothing like the way most people talk, yet it's the dialogue which helps set those films apart.
shareWell said, drumwan. Well said.
"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."
I disagree, I see no reason for watching this again ever. Saying that, it sounds as if you are implying that Igby Goes Down is not supposed to take place in the real world, which it clearly is. Do not confuse taking place in the real world with being a non-fiction movie.
I don't think Tarantino's dialogue is that outlandish at all. I admit, it's not common the way they speak in the slang they use and the conversations do feel a little bit off, but they're not exactly saying stuff you don't understand instantly. Of course, they are killers and thiefs so I would assume they'd be a little out of the ordinary.
Their conversation topics are pretty normal, popular music, stories, girls, culture and whatever. And at no point do they ever seem to whip out some incomprhensibly witty line in a monotone voice like these other movies. I haven't seen any Cary Grant comedies unfortunately so I can't comment on that.
Haters on the left, admirers on the right. This is a film that will never be admired across the board. Too many people will see it and say, no action, not much of a plot, and no totally likable characters. However I'm over there on the right as a decided admirer.
I'm shocked, quite frankly, at the people who criticize this film for being "too witty." Seriously? Evelyn Waugh, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, and too many to mention...I can get lost in their wit. This weekend a film website criticized "Whiteout" for leaving you less intelligent after watching it than before. This film does not.
Perhaps it is that you get caught between the juxapositioning of the modern reality of this film and Igby's old fashioned wit. I would only criticize his wit if it was out of place or artificial. But it is always perfectly reflective of both who Igby is and how he sees the world.
"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."
Saying that, it sounds as if you are implying that Igby Goes Down is not supposed to take place in the real world, which it clearly is.
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Agreed. It isn't that far out of reality but I mean.. they kill their mother. Not really something I or anyone I've ever met really does. A lot of it is metaphorical like the whole spoon theme. The upper class versus lower class dynamic. It's very rigid in it's delivery but in my opinion not overdone in dialogue or story. Though this was my favorite movie so I may be biased. But it is a favorite for the story and dialogue ;)
shareI'm very happy to hear that this is your favorite movie. I hesitate to say that about any movie because there are so many films that I greatly admire and to which I have formed an almost emotional attachment. However, I will say that it is one that I have collected in my DVD collection so that I can pop it in and re-watch at will. It is certainly one of my favorites.
This film, IMO, is a mixture of reality, symbolism, and bizarre fantasy. The reality is the life of the East Coast super rich. It is a culture that endures past actual riches. The film takes that reality and runs with it, creating what has often been remarked as a modern version of "Catcher in the Rye." You've already spoken about the symbolism of the silver spoon. Ollie's symbolism is based upon the juxtapostion of his father and himself. We see through Ollie how Jason, Ollie's father, probably started out and through Jason where Ollie will probably end up. And there's a darkly bizarre fantasy in Mimi's assisted suicide since Mimi is based on Burr Steer's mother and she is still alive...or was when this film was made.
Can we believe that people such as D.H. and Mimi really exist? I do. If you can not, I could tell you stories. Their type certainly does exist. Could Igby be real? Since it's based on Burr Steers himself, I'd have to say yes. Does Ollie's cold hearted egotism seem real? Sadly, yes, the most real of all IMO. And I think I've met Sookie more than once in my life so she is definitely real.
"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."
i agree with noagenda. the first time i watched this i watched it with someone else (a film student actually) and she made me turn it off after 20 minutes because the dialogue "hurt her head".
6 months on i've finally watched the film and found it thoroughly enjoyable. this is satire people. these people are caricatures. oliver's description of DH pretty much sums it up, saying that he merely created himself to be what he thought he should be.
we're looking in on another world. yes it's not set on the moon or in the year 3000 but it certainly is not meant to be "real life". it's a dark comedy. a pretty damn good one at that.
I like my films "too witty". That's a good problem.
I'm a rare combination of French film buff and thug.
I wouldn't have minded if it was actually funny, but the majority of their "witty" comments came off as so forced.
Bing, bing, bing! Bong, bong, bong! Effervescent eaves!
I agree. These characters thought they were being terribly clever when they really weren't.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, or doesn't.