I personally thought there was no need for them to have Steve Martin's character cuss up and down to the rental agency clerk, if it wasn't for that scene this movie would've gotten a PG/PG-13 rating and I think this movie was more meant to be a PG/PG-13 rating film than an R rating film.
I do love this movie but I didn't think the F-bomb scene was necessary
I thought that it was perfectly fine for the f bombs... if I would have been in his situation I would have used 19 f bombs. makes the movie more realistic,, what was he sposed to say,, o crap
are you going to bark all day little doggie,, or are you going to bite
I thought that it was perfectly fine for the f bombs... if I would have been in his situation I would have used 19 f bombs. makes the movie more realistic,, what was he sposed to say,, o crap
are you going to bark all day little doggie,, or are you going to bite
I agree. Neal was stressed out and furious, but the F-bomb was unnecessary. Especially when it was used so much.
shareHuh, I never really thought this scene would be such a turn off. It was actually the very first scene I saw when my Dad came across PT&A on cable one evening. Just out of context it had me laughing so hard.
I honestly do not find anything offensive or out of hand with the scene. I find it very genuine as the frustration has come to a boiling point with Neal. Out of that real life anger comes the humour. Obviously Neal was not laughing at that moment but I am sure in retrospect even he would find the humour in the situation.
Dalton and Craig! Accept NO substitutes!
You have to take the scene into context. Neil is a family man and a professional who probably hasn't seen much adversity in his life(this is pure speculation on my part, I know). Then comes his days from hell. Trying to make it home for Thanksgiving, he encounters one pratfall after another and to make things worse, he's in company with a guy who is a total antithesis of himself. Del is an obnoxious, ill mannered, but somewhat likable guy so Neil doesn't mind his company. They finally reach a destination where Neil can split from Del, rent a car, and probably be home in a few hours. He thinks he's home free and as much as I can tell, when they show him on the shuttle, it's probably the first time in a long while he can finally relax. He gets dropped off and then discovers that the car he's just rented is not where it's supposed to be. This is the proverbial rug being pulled out from under him. To further exacerbate the situation, upon his discovery of the missing car, the shuttle leaves before he can re-board to go back to the desk. In his frustration he tosses his rental agreement(bad move but not fatal as we come to find out but they made it fatal for comedic reasons).
Now, leaving aside that all he had to do was wait a few minutes(these shuttles run on a schedule and one would have been alone in probably 30 minutes at the latest), he decides to walk back to the terminal. Now, I've been to Lambert. This walk is no hop, skip, and jump and he has to cross(IIRC) I-70 on foot to do so. Of course he falls and has a heck of a time walking back and when he gets to the rental desk, the woman played brilliantly by Edie McClurg, is chatting on the phone about Thanksgiving dinner and then she tells Neil, the customer, to wait for her and then becomes the target of Neil's built up frustrations. I can tell you that I've been there done that and had a similar(and I'm embarrassed to admit) tirade at a place called Miami Subs in Raleigh, NC where I had called ahead to order a couple of subs only to arrive at the store and couldn't get anyone to help get my order so I can pay to leave and this included 2 managers who blew me off. I just lost it. I didn't go on an F-bomb laden tirade but I went on about poor customer service and how this establishment had the worse customer service I've ever encountered(at the time I was employed by American Airlines as a reservations agent so I knew a thing or 2 about proper customer service). But I digress.
Neil didn't present to me the kind of person who drops F-bombs often but he was, as Jules Winfield so eloquently put it in Pulp Fiction, Neil was a mushroom cloud layin MFer, MFer. He probably thought he was speaking in tongues. But to that point it was all he can stands and he can't stands no more and simply went off. It was understandable. However, he wasn't as screwed as the clerk put it because even in 1987 there were sophisticated, working computers and she could have easily looked him up by name or CC number but since she didn't appreciate his tirade she chose to inform him that he was ass out as it may.
I believe Steve Martin's character says the word *beep* 18 times in the space of one minute. An amount of *beep* is perfectly fine, but *beep* can be overdone. 18 times, for *beep*'s sake! If you're going to *beep* then you should *beep* with some *beep* discretion, I feel. In this case, *beep* *beep* 15 *beep* times *beep* *beep* *beep* more *beep* reasonable, *beep*.
I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken.
If we follow your logic, the scene about playing with his balls was not necessary. The comment about those not being pillows was not necessary. Where would you draw the line? Just at the place you would draw it. Why not take out everything that might offend someone?
If the film had been "meant" to be a PG/PG-13 rating, the fimmakers would have changed the F word to something else. That they did not means they did not mean it to be anything other than it was.
Honestly the edited version if funnier. Martin vents his frustrations just as well and you're not left with the uncomfortable feeling that he has just verbally abused somebody who is just doing their job.
Proud member of the Pro-film Anti-digital Society (PFADS).
you're not left with the uncomfortable feeling that he has just verbally abused somebody who is just doing their job.Wellll.... she had a long line and was chatting on the phone so technically she wasn't doing her job. I agree it was unecessary though to reem her out to that degree. share
i think the last straw was when he wiped out walking by the bridge and the truck ran over his favourite hat lol...after that i don't think it mattered,it could of been the biggest,nastiest meanist looking mofo working behind the counter,Neil was gonna go into an f-bomb laced tirade!!
shareyou're not left with the uncomfortable feeling that he has just verbally abused somebody who is just doing their job.
That's why 80s comedies had more balls, if it's a funny scene, they will use it and will not be afraid of some R rating...
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