MovieChat Forums > Duck Soup (1933) Discussion > Question about a joke:

Question about a joke:

posted 14 years ago by Jordan2184
15 replies | jump to latest

"I can see you now, bending over a hot stove.......only I can't see the stove...."

-- This line has always made me laugh, but I was never quite sure why. It's not exactly clear what Rufus means by it, and as I think about it, there could be several different possible interpretations:

1) It's implied in the film that Rufus doesn't have a lot of money. The joke could be meaning that because he's so poor, he can't imagine them even owning a stove, and instead she's merely bending over where the stove might be.

2) Rufus also makes several jokes throughout the film about Mrs. Teasdale being fat. The joke could mean that she's so fat that she's blocking the stove from view in his imagination.

3) It could also be a cheeky comment, implying he's got other things on his mind; it could be that he "can't see the stove" because he doesn't want to -- he only wants to imagine her bending over, as it were.

So I'm not really sure what to make of this joke. Was there one particular interpretation they intended when delivering the line, or was the joke meant to be taken on many different levels?

What do you think?

*There is no spoon*

[–] glasses9 14 years ago

"Rufus also makes several jokes throughout the film about Mrs. Teasdale being fat. The joke could mean that she's so fat that she's blocking the stove from view in his imagination."
Bingo. Her ass is so big she is physically blocking the stove.

[–] FedoraDave 14 years ago

Throughout the Marx Brothers' film career, Groucho's character makes references to Margaret Dumont's character's size. This would appear to be another in the same vein.

[–] nocomputer1962 13 years ago

I also vote for theory 2, but it took me several years and viewings to get the joke, as well.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dyahrmarkt 13 years ago

#2

Please nest your IMDB page, so you respond to the correct person.

[–] human37 13 years ago

Yo Mamma.

Yo Mamma so fat, when she bends over the stove, the stove disappears!

"Save me Jebus!", Homer Simpson

[–] novastar_6 13 years ago

I thought it was his subtle way of saying he'd be too busy staring at her butt to notice the stove.

[–] Henry J Sosenite 13 years ago

I interpret it as #2. But like so many of their jokes, you just never know...

I'm the smartest guy around: http://meonvarioustopics.blogspot.com

[–] porfle 12 years ago

It's like in "The Cocoanuts" when he tells her to wear a necktie so he can tell her apart from the moon.

hkfilmnews.blogspot.com
porfle.blogspot.com

[–] aciolino 10 years ago

You've got to be kidding.

[–] Jordan2184 10 years ago

Not at all. I honestly just always felt the joke worked on multiple levels. Apparently, most people didn't see it that way. *shrugs*

[–] pgFiSheYe 10 years ago

I thought the joke was meant to reference that Mrs Teasdale couldn't cook