Election (1999)

so what if he's a shit, alfred? the whole conceit of the movie is the redemption of a once-decent guy who's turned/been turned into an asshole by the unpleasant business of his life. why would you honestly begrudge his elevation at the end of the film? his return to humanity from asshole crotchetyhood?

and why would you suggest it is patronizing?

nobody has said you have to like the character: it's hard to do so, because he's such an ornery old grump, but he is relatable to an awful lot of people (n1) and that – surely – makes a better film than him sitting in the cold, alone, wallowing in self-pity at the end of the film.

(n1) i'd say 'most', but i'm anticipating a high-and-lofty response from somebody who 'can't' relate)

(please forgive my terribly quick writing, i am switching between two documents @ work)

(i'm totally kidding, i think the whole highbrow/middlebrow/lowbrow distinction is wicked retarded)

It was perhaps once useful, but it's pretty much obsolescent nowadays.

how else could you rationalize watching all those 'quality' TV shows on DVD?

(n1) i'd say 'most', but i'm anticipating a high-and-lofty response from somebody who 'can't' relate)

You can call Shakey by name.

shut the fuck up dr morbius

eat shit Three Six Mafia lamo

are you really turning your nose up at all television?

no, just The OC

Morbs, I was going to say something about how TV does certain things differently than film and there are therefore reasons why one might want to watch a TV show instead of a film (which is not to say either medium is "better"), but I think Ethan expressed my sentiment better.

lol you guys (and what, Dr Morbius) know you're a sitcom, right?

I don't think I've ever said anything about The OC being a "quality" show!

true story: i got in an argument with josh schwartz (at a bar mitzvah, none the less) when we were in high school in RI, but i doubt he remembers.

I don't think Payne hates the characters in Election, but I remember About Schmidt striking me as way more jaundiced and just using its characters as caricatures.

and that – surely – makes a better film than him sitting in the cold, alone, wallowing in self-pity at the end of the film

granted I've only seen this movie once and it was a long time ago but I could've sworn this IS how it ended...?

eat shit Three Six Mafia lamo

bring back changeable usernames

Schmidt opens a surprise letter from Tanzania. It is written by a nun who cares for Ndugu, and she writes briefly but warmly that Ndugu is illiterate but enjoys Schmidt's letters and financial aid very much. With the financial aid, Ngudu was able to receive much needed medical care. The little boy's hand-drawn picture is enclosed, showing two smiling stick figures, one large and one small, holding hands in the blazing sun.

yeah but he's still sitting in his room alone and miserable...? I thought that whole ending was just to show how that letter brought him no satisfaction and didn't change his life one bit.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/projection-tv-front-projection.jpg
shakey mo watching a movie^^^

surprised no-one here has weighed in on 'chuck and larry' yet.

shakey mo, you interpret that scene utterly the opposite way i do

that's the one we don't talk about (xp)

btw ethan I am not a lonely old man

The full Wikipedia excerpt:

When he returns home to Omaha, his narrative to the orphan Ndugu questions what he has ever accomplished in his life. A pile of mail is waiting for him inside the empty house. Schmidt opens a surprise letter from Tanzania. It is written by a nun who cares for Ndugu, and she writes briefly but warmly that Ndugu is illiterate but enjoys Schmidt's letters and financial aid very much. With the financial aid, Ngudu was able to receive much needed medical care. The little boy's hand-drawn picture is enclosed, showing two smiling stick figures, one large and one small, holding hands in the blazing sun. Schmidt weeps with emotion and the film ends.

Clearly the emotion being expressed is revulsion and self-loathing at being empty and worthless, not being overwhelmed that he did actually have a massively positive impact on someone else's life.

xpost shakey, you've fooled everyone on ilx

um people cry for lots of reasons

some weirdos even get upset when people die

like forgotten MST3K actors

shed a lot of tears over Anna Nicole, eh ethan

i need to rent this movie again

"About Schmidt" or "Election"?

i'm thinking both. little double feature action.

i seem to remember about schmidt ending on a pretty low note.

jurassic park 3 was good.

The first and fourth seasons of the O.C. are pretty quality.

some weirdos even get upset when people die

-- and what, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:04 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

like forgotten MST3K actors

-- Dr Morbius, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:05 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

nice scale of human worth there

what in hell did Payne have to do with JP3, one draft of the script? and why would anyone know?

he wrote it, it was pretty well publicized actually.

dr morbius shut the fuck up

it originally ended with a raptor alone in his room crying.

which is fine but what does this guy even mean by 'what happened to it?'?

i think brooks was lamenting the death of the 1950s middlebrow -- meaning mostly i think white men with ivy league degrees on network tv explaining classical music and modern art to the masses.

i don't think the distinction has disappeared, but it's changed. if anything the pop/postmodern interbreeding of high and low brow has left middlebrow kind of out there on its own, to be mocked on all those "lol npr" threads.

I find that imagining Ethan as Ed Helms' character from "The Office" interacting with Morbs as Neil Patrick Harris' character from "How I Met Your Mother" with Shakey lurking on the edges as Jon Cryer's character from "Two and a Half Men" makes these threads that much more entertaining.

I guess the fact that Nicholson's character is returning home after failing to connect with his daughter (or stop her wedding) and is still alone and miserable led me to interpret his crying at the letter as a sign of complete and total defeat (as opposed to weeping with joy or redemption).

x-post

who am i?? xp

why haven't you ppl who've read 'ethan's' posts for years had him killed, again?

I thought Shakey was more the Jim Belushi character from According to Jim.

with Shakey lurking on the edges as Jon Cryer's character from "Two and a Half Men"

...

honestly I have no idea what this means

Jim Belushi!?! okay now that's going TOO FAR

Honestly, s1ocki? Chandler Bing.

(don't hurt me)

Dan with the quality-sitcom refs going over our heads

Honestly, s1ocki? Chandler Bing.

(don't hurt me)

-- HI DERE, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:16 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

you're such a monica.

Does that mean we're fucking???????????

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO