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AlmostAGhost

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Posts posted by AlmostAGhost

  2. Posted

    29 minutes ago, WatchOutForSnakes said:

    Query - is there something to be said about the protagonists all being white, and critiquing/appropriating a burgeoning Black style of music? Or am I looking too much into 50's fluff? 

    Hm.  Not at all, in the history of rock, it's definitely a fair point.  I don't know if this movie approaches this very much though, especially because the protagonists are pretty much not dealing with rock music (Fats and the other guy were dealing with Julie London!).  I guess you could argue Fats' "Rock Yard" nonsense hit song does it, but it's so dumb, that I think it probably didn't appropriate enough haha.

    There were a couple of black performers, Little Richard and Abbey Lincoln, though I honestly thought they were the two best performances in the film.

    I was looking at a timeline.  1955 saw "Rock Around The Clock". 1956 had a Rock Around The Clock movie.  Elvis broke big in 1956.  Little Richard's big hits were around this time too, and same with Chuck Berry.  This movie came out in December 1956.  ("Jailhouse Rock" song and film came out in 1957!)  So this movie was right on the cusp, where I fully believe that they didn't know what was happening re: the culture shift/popularity that the music was causing.  They just knew it was popular, is all.

    • Like 7

  5. Posted

    This was in a post on reddit:

    The Girl Can't Help It seems to exist in a philosophical paradox. It attempts to spoof rock music as a degradation of culture while simultaneously celebrating its spirit of youthful anarchy. This internal ambiguity was perhaps driven by 20th Century Fox's desire to create a film that would appeal to both hip teenagers and their un-hip parents - to bridge the impossible chasm of the "generation gap". The selection of musical performers in the film suggests that this was a conscious design. It mixes genuine Rock N' Roll heavyweights like Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters, Gene Vincent, and Eddie Cochran with vanguards of square "establishment" music like Ray Anthony and Julie London - and throws in oddball acts that are neither fish nor foul (like The Chuckles, a "rock" group fronted by an accordion player) for good measure.

     

    • Like 4

  6. Posted

    I'll see what else I can find, but this article talks a little about the director: he was admired by foreign directors for his commentary on America.  Also

    "And while Tashlin presents rock as little more than a novelty, the screaming manifestation of a screaming, plastic age, he shoots the acts—Little Richard, the terrific and forgotten Treniers, Abbey Lincoln, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, the Platters and others—with unalloyed pleasure."

    https://observer.com/2006/08/the-girl-cant-help-it-jayne-mansfields-allure/

    • Like 3

  7. Posted

    I'm sure the marketing realized who they should market it to right quick, so put their names on the poster! 

    But yea I don't know, that utter lack of self-awareness does explain a lot to me about this movie haha.  The director/producer seems to be mostly known for directing Looney Tunes cartoons, Jerry Lewis movies, and being a writer for people like Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.  He was certainly not hip to the rock music.

     

    • Like 4

  8. Posted

    Yea that's the point.  It was intended to mock rock, but ended up showing how awesome it was.  Here's the lead quote from wiki, calling it satirical and 'unintended':

    . The movie was originally intended as a vehicle for the American sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, with a satirical subplot involving teenagers and rock 'n' rollmusic. The unintended result has been called the "most potent" celebration of rock music ever captured on film.

    • Like 5

  9. Posted

    Yea so apparently, according to Wiki, I think I read after, they were supposedly MOCKING rock music.  Thus, the dumb "rock on a rock pile" song or whatever.  Of course, they are including some famous rock greats like Little Richard so it couldn't have been all mocking.  But that explains a lot about who the film was for.  Old guys who are like "pfff give me Julie London instead of that rock and or roll."  (I actually adore Julie, but she's old-fashioned pre-rock.)

    Also the best part was the way they had Jayne say 'bouillon' over and over

    • Like 5

  12. Posted

    So then I guess the question becomes, is lack of depth a benefit to this movie?  Or is it not as superficial as I think?  What makes it stand out above other superficial, fun movies?  Why is this on the list and not, like, Fast And The Furious or something? 

    (That sounds like a silly question, and hate myself for writing it, but I think it's still my question.)

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    I liked the episode to be honest, though it wasn't my favorite guest segment.  But I think, honestly, Paul & Amy match my interest in Raiders.  Like it's really fun, and I've always liked it, but what else is there really to say.  Snakes' points are good, but they did bring them up, and I'm not sure how much more in depth they could or should have gone?  I liked the focus on the fun, or the 'child-like' angle of the movie.  Is the movie flawed, sure it is, but let's talk about how fun it is and why and how. That's why the movie is on the list.

    I do not think Paul & Amy were in any way encouraging of the underage relationship, nor praising Melania, and I feel safe in speaking for them on that.

     

    • Like 4

  18. Posted

    1 minute ago, ad-jak said:

    It's definitely not pants, that much I can tell. I just brought the movie up again and it almost sounds like cock .. something. There's definitely two words there, but I can't for the life of me figure it out

    I don't remember the line, I was just going by the poetry haha.

    You're right though, they'd probably not go with the appropriate rhyme there and instead some other random word.

  19. Posted

    7 minutes ago, ad-jak said:

    I think my favorite line the MC says is "make way for the latecomers, it's never too late to cum!" I absolutely lost it at that line.

    Also, does anyone know what the MC says at the end of his 10 cents a dance line? I hear "and for 10 cents a dance, you can paw, you can claw, you can stick your fingers in their..." and I just can't quite hear what comes next. I'm not entirely sure I want to know, but I'm curious so I was just wondering if anyone was able to make it out.

    Pants, probably

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cam Bert said:

    Edit:

    Just relistened to the end again and Amy calls the Sam and Lila moments puttering about and just packing peanuts. Then later says that half the movie could not exist and it would be fine. I was getting mixed up with Paul's comments on Platoon a little. Still I think calling half this movie filler and not needed is highly dismissive of a lot of great stuff.

    Yea I just relistened to the end too.  You're right, Amy is more questioning of the second half part.  It's definitely an interesting conversation though about the structure of the film I think that they maybe should've gone into a little more. 

    I am struck by what Paul said about just checking a box to be like 'yes to Psycho' was something I absolutely considered too, and maybe even try to wrestle with every week on these movies. I saw a lot of Letterboxd ratings of this beforehand, everyone has it 5 stars, and I hadn't seen it in over years.  Is it my inclination to be like 'yes like it too' or do I really?  I'm trying my best to step back when I think of these movies.  Do I like it because I should, or because I do? (I came out on this one that I do.)

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    Don't take it personally, I imagine most of us here also remember these parts.  I just mean in general, culture-wise.  There's a few scenes from Psycho that are imprinted on the culture though, and her romance isn't one of them.  

    For example, I just typed "psycho" into the twitter gif search.  These are the scenes that come up:

    200w_d.gif?cid=e826c9fc5bbf6d486564354e7

    200w_d.gif?cid=e826c9fc5bbf6d486564354e7

    200w_d.gif?cid=e826c9fc5bbf6d486564354e7

    200w_d.gif?cid=e826c9fc5bbf6d486564354e7

    200w_d.gif?cid=e826c9fc5bbf6d486564354e7

    basically it's a bunch from the shower scene, Janet driving, and the creepier Norman scenes. I definitely think the view of this film over time has been distorted by the prevalence (and power!) of these particular images/scenes.

    • Like 2

  23. Posted

    Well, as Paul said, they weren't having an affair!  But I think that emphasizes my point: the impactful 'meme' scenes we remember certainly swamp the patient build-ups.  I mean, those build-ups are what create tension and make the movie so much better, but that's not what makes an impact on the culture.  I mean, Janet Leigh in a bra on a bed isn't the part we all remember, it's the shower scene, right?  We remember Norman dressed as the mother, but nobody knows the actress who played the sister that led up to that.  The guest made a documentary about the shower scene, not the sister. Why is that?  *shrug* 

    I think the memes of this movie definitely distort the view of what it actually is (and maybe even hurt its rep - and maybe Amy's comments seem to signify that).

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    Maybe I missed a moment or two in the pod, but I think you guys are misinterpreting the second half comments.  I took them as just a comment that the main 'memes' of the film are the ones that stick in our minds: the shower, Janet Leigh, Norman/mother.  We don't remember the sister.  Or the private inspector.  They are not in our cultural memory very much at all.  I think that's quite true.  They may be in film geek's memories, but not the greater cultural one, really, at all.  I don't think Paul & Amy were dismissing the whole second half by noting this.

    • Like 1
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