...Gary's face-off against the giant "lamp" was brilliant.. He really nails what it means to a part of this human race.
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
I thought that was the worst part of the film. It was neither clever nor funny. I don't know how many times movies were made around the ideas Gary gives the lamp. I was waiting for some kind of punch line, but none came. Then the lamp simply being "convinced"? That's just really unimpressive.
Okay, the scene Could've been lame if not from the work of great actors like them. I remember enjoying the conversation with the lamp. It was well acted, funny and deep too. I laughed when gary said "to err is human, so, uh.''
shareI agree. It seemed like a take-off on one of many Captain Kirk speeches on the human spirit.
shareIt wasn't only Gary that convinced them to pull out of Earth. Andy gets them to admit in the same conversation that they had to replace almost everyone in Newton Haven and that their other towns weren't faring much better. The conversation with Gary was just the tipping point, as they finally decided give up any hope of "civilizing" the planet.
I loved that scene, especially more after I watched some of the extra features on the DVD. They wanted to portray Gary as the invincible drunk--the guy who gets trashed and can jump fences and win barfights and not feel anything, and this kind of falls in that persona--you can't win arguments with a drunk, and the Network gives up because they can't (and therefore, can't win Earth).
In either case I think the premise in the end is cliche and superficial. I very much agree with what someone above said. It's like many episodes where either Captain Kirk or captain Picard lecture some authoritarian aliens and either defeat them or convince them as if only humanity had te grasp of philosophy and morality and whomever they talk to, aliens or robots, just don't get it until some humans explain life and existence to them.
I have no problem with any of the actors themselves. They're all gold. What would have been funny is if Gary or any of them were in the middle of all this philosophical ranting, and either Gary or some of his friends just destroyed the aliens with shotguns to their analogy of a face, or maybe if they just said "well, *beep* you anyway!" That would have been more fun.
The funniest bit was when the Network said it was pointless arguing with Gary.
shareMaybe I'm over thinking it but I've always thought of this scene as mocking the whole 'epic speech' cliché, not following it. Usually when the good guys do this in a sci-fi film it follows the same pattern- pause while the antagonist considers what to do and the audience wonders if what was said got through to them, and then the bad guy chooses to ignore it and attacks anyway. The fact that the speech is never successful and always leads to an attack is the cliché, not the speech itself.
This time the speech did work, and that's the joke, firstly to show just how anti-climatic that would actually be, and second that the only way to win the 'epic speech' cliché is to be drunk and so annoying that the antagonist becomes exasperated and just gives up. It's basically demonstrating how completely pointless the whole heartfelt speech thing really is.
Even Gary questions how his drunk ramblings were successful. Both him and the audience were expecting that last epic battle that should have followed. The fact that it didn't happen and ended up being lame is the whole point.
great explanation. makes me sad that the forums are ending...
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astrolupine: even with makeup, you can't make an actor's face look like a chair
I really loved that scene and the alien's reaction towards the end.
If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now.-Loki (Marvel's Avengers)
I agree, drew.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.