David on 18/3/2009 at 23:13
Doesn't work in the UK.
I understand that it's supposed to be a deep drama about the racial tensions and stereotypes in the american midwest.
In the UK it's just fucking hilarious. This is
exactly how it would have turned out if
I had written it. The difference is I would have meant it to be funny.
It's like some sort of terrible Little Britain episode (lol there's a good one, dave?).
Here I demonstrate the BASIC program that could have written the script for this film.
Code:
10 CHARACTER_SAY_LINE
20 EASTWOOD_RESPOND_WITH_RACIAL_SLUR
30 GOTO 10
That would have made up about 80% of the script.
And then they had to end it with Eastwood fucking singing. Jesus.
I enjoyed it, but for utterly different reasons than those intended by the writer & director.
Does it work anywhere?
Fafhrd on 18/3/2009 at 23:16
It didn't work in the States, either. I never bothered to see it, but everything I heard was that it was the best comedy of the year.
Scots Taffer on 18/3/2009 at 23:31
Someone at work said it was hilarious. Who knew Eastwood would settle into a Brooks faze late in life?
suliman on 18/3/2009 at 23:40
Well, I thought it was pretty awesome. It's like someone decided to write another regular suburb drama, only with Harry Callahan as the main character.
The "guns can solve ANYTHING" motif and exaggerated characters(hey grandpa, can i like have your couch after you die) tell me it's not supposed to be taken all that seriously, but I can see why some people still don't like it.
june gloom on 19/3/2009 at 00:39
Anybody who thinks this movie isn't supposed to be funny has no sense of humour.
One thing I noticed when we went to see it was that the majority of the audience was black and they were laughing right along with the movie. Not sure what that signifies.
Anyway Eastwood's character is pretty much a clone of my grandfather (though about 20-30 years younger). I don't mean that in a negative way- look beyond the racial slurs and look for the guy's values- he puts emphasis on the importance of hard work and earning your keep. The thing about tools is dead-on like my grandfather, who gives me brand new tools every Christmas and very often some of his old ones- I am the only grandson he entrusts with them.
TBE on 19/3/2009 at 00:56
I see a lot of this character in some of the older people I work with. People were different back then and weren't exposed to as many different experiences and cultures as younger generations are currently being exposed to. I went to school with mostly whites and blacks. There were about a hand-full of asian kids at my high school with a class of about 500 graduates. I never got to know any asian culture growing up, as those weren't the people in my town where I grew up.
When I joined the Army and got exposed to every culture under the sun practically, I found I bonded with "minorities" more than average white guys.
The girl in the movie who befriends Eastwood sees that he's an old coot without a lot of tact, but she accepts him for who he is, and Eastwood accepts the Korean family more than his own. He even says in the movie that he has more in common with the Korean family than his own and is almost ticked off by the fact.
When the kid comes to his door at the beginning of the movie asking for jumper cables, that part is classic. You almost remember episodes of All in the Family (Archie Bunker), and how he was a racist bastard everyone learned to love, because he didn't act on his prejudices outwardly. He just cringed when dealing with people of other colors/religions.
heretic on 19/3/2009 at 02:07
For the record, they weren't Korean, they were Hmong.
Grand Torino was ace in my book, and hilarious to boot...intentional or not.
june gloom on 19/3/2009 at 03:38
For the initiate, Hmong are from Vietnam.
twisty on 19/3/2009 at 05:48
Not exactly. Whilst most Hmong today reside in the northern parts of Vietnam they originally came from China, and some still do live around the border areas there and in other parts of Asia such as Thailand.
Angel Dust on 19/3/2009 at 06:09
I thought it was quite good and much better than I expected it to be. Certainly flawed, the ending doesn't have anywhere near the punch it thinks it does and some of the Hmong actors are pretty ropey, but it's very funny and Eastwood gives a good performance. I have no idea how someone could not see that the humour was intentional. It was obviously done that way to make such a bastard of a character somewhat sympathetic, not too dissimilar from Nicholson's character in 'As Good As it Gets'.
