So I've seen this movie more than a dozen times, and thought about that line a lot, because I have no clue what that means or why its supposed to be funny. The only thing I can think of is they break eggs at IHOP, implying that stopping there would have meant she should have an abortion...which isn't really that funny. So what the hell does this mean??...or is that right and its not funny?
shareI've been watching this movie for years and I can't figure it out either!
Anyone have a clue?
www.myspace.com/i_confess_im_messed_up
the idea is that the sign as to what religion the kid should be is "consumerist" specifically eating at IHOP. He is making fun of the idea of following signs.
shareSo it just wasn't funny then...I see...thanks for replying, that "joke" had been bugging me for years.
sharehes being sarcastic about the randomness of her stop and her taking it as burning bush/cosmic event about what the baby will be. Great it'll be catholic and not an 8 pound stack of pancakes.
Or at least that's how the scene played to me. The joke does seem to get less and less funny with each word....
Annoying, isnt that the 8th deadly sin?
the actual reason for that line is because of her comment that she had stopped in front of a church (St Viviana's) so the baby had to be Catholic.
MP then stated '... it's a good thing you weren't stopped in front of an IHOP' - meaning that his religion would have been a pancake or such...
and yes - it was a really funny line when taken in context.
yeah it isn't very funny but im thinking she stopped in front of a house of god, good thing it wasn't a house of pancakes? idk
shareIn my experience, anytime you have to explain a joke to someone it's too late for that person to ever think it's funny.
share[deleted]
When I heard it, it took me a few seconds, but I assumed it meant that if she had been stopped in front of I-Hop, the kid would have been born with one leg. Therefore, he would have to "hop".
I didn't take it as a reference to a certain religion.
Haha! Just my opinion, though.
OK so i just saw this movie with my girlfriend. Its one of the better romantic comedies out there I suppose although my girlfriend loves it. But yeah the IHOP just went over my head but she thought it was so funny. We enjoyed reading all ya'lls messages. Interesting ideas. Either way, I guess some just get it, some don't.
"GIVE ME SOME SUGAR, BABY !" - BRUCE CAMPBELL AS "ASH" IN ARMY OF DARKNESS
Greeting from 2014!
Increible, we are nearing the 20th anniversary of this movie!
Anyways, to answer. I thought it was funny. He was mocking the absurdity of making a decision based solely on the random spot where she stopped. I did not see it as a joke related to religion or choice there of, but more at the absurd. When he replies with that line we are left to our imagination exactly what choice, or lack of choice, she would have made if she had stopped at the iHop.
I think that even when she made her remark she already saw the ridiculousness of her argument for the baby to be Catholic, so she threw out what "ammunition" she had left.
Definitely enjoyed the movie.
What's funny is that I too used to not get the joke...but because of a completely different reason...I didn't know what an IHOP was.
I was young (like 10) when I first saw this and I grew up in New Orleans where there were no IHOPs (or at least I had never been to one because if we did have one we probably had only ONE and it was most likely located in Metairie, LA which is a suburb of N.O.)
In general, in N.O., you don't eat at non-fast food chains for the most part. For example, I had only ever been to Waffle House on road trips (didn't have those either) and we never went to Outback or Olive Garden or Red Lobster...places like that are a waste of time if you live in someplace like New Orleans where there are so many good hole in the walls with food that is so good it'll make your knees quiver.
Sure, we went to fast food chains like McDonald's and Pizza Hut but those dinner and breakfast chains are a pretty common "no-no" in the Big Easy.
Now, I live in Tennessee and while we have some good food it's just not the same.
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Sir Ian McKellen? That dude must be knee-deep in boob.