In a scene at the start of the movie, Alice comes into the kitchen, says good morning to Mr. and Mrs. Brady, hands Mr. Brady the newspaper and says "don't bend over". I really didn't get the "joke", other than to assume they were taking a stab at Robert Reed's sexuality. Just wanted to see how others interpreted the line, as maybe I just missed the joke.
shareYes, that line was definitely a gay joke. I also believe Carol saying "You're the best player on our team!" was intended as sarcasm in regard to Reed's sexuality. Not sure though...
shareJust a minute earlier, Alice bent over outside the house and got hit on the butt with the newspaper thrown by the paperboy. It was just a simple joke and had nothing to do with Reed's sexuality. Don't overthink it.
I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time.
It was obviously a gay joke. Why else would Alice specifically tell Mike not to bend over? Carol and Cindy were there too, yet she tells the character who everyone knows was played by a gay man.
shareAs is customary, the maid will get the mail and/or newspaper.
In this instance, Alice is the maid and retrieved the mail, dropped it, and upon picking it up, is now hit in the butt by the newspaper.
As is further customary, the maid, unless otherwise instructed, will deliver the newspaper to the man of the house, in this instance, Mr. Brady, and the mail to the man of the house or the lady of the house, in this instance, Mrs. Brady.
The maid will NOT hand these items to any of the kids, so she would not have told Jan, Cindy or Bobby, "don't bend over," after handing any of them the newspaper. She wouldn't have handed them the paper to begin with.
Tho in this instance, had one of the kids, boys as well as girls, asked for the paper to see an article, for instance, Alice still would have delivered the corny pun to the recipient and not to Mr. Brady.
The line was actually a play on the bad puns Alice always had on the show, such as Betsy Wetsy making the cookie batter soggy woggy, the noseboy, newsboy, oh boy line upon seeing Marcia's swollen nose and so on.
From the first time I watched this movie, I knew the line was on Alice's cornball lines from the show, nothing else, but upon watching it today, this was the first time I interpreted it in a sexual manner.
Even still, unless anyone is remotely aware of Robert Reed's position during sex, I don't see how it can be aimed at him.
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shareNo, it was that she had bent over and got hit in the ass by the paper. She figured that it wasn't a good idea to do that because it'll keep happening.
shareYes, it was a joke about Robert Reed's sexuality. The scene with Alice getting hit in the butt by the newspaper was just a setup for the joke.
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I'm just a patsy!
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It was both a shot at Alice's bad puns and Reed's sexual orientation... Made funnier to me when taken into account that Ann B Davis happens to be a lesbian....
shareWho ever said Ann B. Davis was gay? I must have missed that...or you're just wrong.
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Sir Ian McKellen? That dude must be knee-deep in boob.
The scene with Alice getting hit in the butt by the newspaper was just a setup for the joke.
Everytime I have watched this movie, I always knew the line was a play on Alice's corny lines from the tv show, the bad puns she used to always have and pretty much delivered here, such as the Betsy Wetsy Soggy Woggy bit immediately after and the noseboy, newsboy, oh boy line upon seeing Marcia's nose after the football.
Just now, upon watching the movie, I got the sexual insinuation, but I don't see why it would be there or deliberate.
Greg Brady had written his book by this time, Growing Up Brady, and spoke about dating Florence Henderson, but none of that made its way into the movie.
As a gay homosexual, I never considered that the line was possible a dig at Robert Reid. I always thought, and will continue to think, that it was just one of Alice's lame jokes.
Cause of parents death?
They got in my way....
"As a gay homosexual"
Um, whats the alternative? A straight homosexual? A heterosexual homosexual?
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I'm also a gay homosexual. That's how we say it. Didn't you get the memo?
In any case, here's my problem with the sexual interpretation of the line. If it's meant to reference Reed's sexuality, why would Alice be telling him to avoid bending over? Unless Reed was exclusively a top, of course.
"Bag the spook. Go to the little girl."
Also, what's the danger of being hit in the ass with the paper when it has already been delivered and is IN THEIR POSSESSION?
I'm gay but I'd never say I was a gay homosexual. Of course, I didn't get a memo, and I have also missed all the gay agenda meetings.
But yeah, I never even considered this to be a dig at Robert Reed. Perhaps it was intended to be. But I just considered it to be a lame Alice joke, myself.
I always thought it was just a stupid Alice joke...nothing more.
That guy came to us for help, and we lit him on fire!
Move, and I'll sock ya one!
while it COULD have had a double meaning about reeds sexuality, it was definitely referring to alice getting hit in the butt with the paper just minutes earlier.
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How can people NOT get the gay joke? That's the first joke straight guys throw around when they meet a gay guy. "Hey, Don't bend over". Alice getting hit in the ass with the paper was the set-up, then telling Mike "Don't bend over" was the punchline.
Yes, she should have been telling it to someone standing next to mike. But the point was not necessarily the situation or context, the point was just to make the comment.
I didn't interpret the scene like that and, even for the grunge era, that would have been uncalled for if it was attempted. (I'm surprised nothing like that is attempted these days, given the dregs of "reality shows".)
The grunge thugs belted a paper at Alice and hit her in the behind while she was bent over.
And RuPaul was in it as well... Or maybe RuPaul didn't see the scene in question...
I never read any subtext about actors' personal lives in the movie as played out by the actors... (the sequel would, since they had played out the Marcia/Greg pseudo-incest routine...)
The "don't bend over" is too subtle compared to her being hit by the punks to really be equated as a jibe. The movie was typically anything but subtle when swiping at various scenes and characters...