Seven movie characters who might have benefited from things my dad likes to say.
By Burbanked on Jun 14, 2008 in Blogging, Movies | 1,132 views |
Absolutely go visit the Dads in Media Blog-a-thon going on throughout the weekend over at RC’s terrific Strange Culture site. Plenty of fatherly advice, classic cinematic dad remembrances and more to be found there!
It’s impossible to separate the practice of fatherhood from the frequent and consistent dispensing of advice. Every day I make a suggestion or helpful comment to my boys that, as it circles around inside my head trying to find a way out, seems innocent enough. But then I start to speak and I realize that I’m not just telling him how cars work or why it’s a bad idea to throw that thing at his brother’s head; in fact I’m trying to convey a much deeper Big Truth Of Life.
And in those moments, I often surprisingly discover that what I’m saying sounds a lot like my father’s voice coming out of my mouth.
Like many pops, mine has a regular go-to list of insights, sayings and platitudes for any given situation - but which of our favorite movie characters might have learned a thing or two from the fatherly wisdom of my dear old dad?
| Fatherly Wisdom | Movie Character Who Wishes They’d Been Told That |
|---|---|
| Inspiration: the topic of aging gracefully Dad says: “Growing old isn’t so great, unless you consider the alternative.” The lesson is: Our limited time on this planet suggests that we should be happy with what we get rather than dreaming of immortality. |
Louis de Pointe du Lac, Interview with the Vampire |
| Inspiration: my possible career choices Dad says: “It’s okay to be a garbage man - just be the very best garbage man there is.” The lesson is: Apply hard work and an honest effort and you can determine your destiny’s happy and successful vocation. |
Anakin Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith |
| Inspiration: every single waitress who has ever said “Hi, my name is so-and-so and I’ll be serving you today.” Dad says: “Hi, my name is Tom and I’ll be eating!” The lesson is: extending kindness and humor to a waitress is a good way to treat another person with dignity and respect - and it might very well brighten up the rest of their day! |
Sarah Connor, The Terminator |
| Inspiration: my brief - and in jest - pre-college comment that I was planning to join the Marines Dad says: “Well, that’s fine. When you’re ready to sign up, I’ll sit you down and tell you all the stories I could never say in front of your mother.” The lesson is: Marine bootcamp might not be quite as fun and exciting as the advertising would have you believe. What else I learned: Wait, there are stories he can’t tell in front of mom? Cool. |
Private Pyle, Full Metal Jacket |
| Inspiration: any lengthy or uncomfortable silence Dad says: “Well…what’s it all mean?” The lesson is: the truths of life are as elusive as shadows at dawn; always question the reality of what you see, hear and think you know. |
U.S. Customs Agent Dave Kujan, The Usual Suspects |
| Inspiration: whenever I would sing little songs as a young child Dad says: “Sing near the window and I’ll help you out!” The lesson is: however impressed I may be by my own talents, they might not necessarily be apparent to everyone else around me who knows the truth but is too kind to tell it to me. |
All characters ever played by Keira Knightley |
| Inspiration: the moment when silence settles in roughly 42 seconds after food is put down on the table. Dad says: “It’s good to eat.” The lesson is: let us never forget how grateful we should be for having food to eat, family to share it with and a peaceful, pleasant dinnertime. |
Gluttony, Se7en |
And a Happy Father’s Day weekend to all you lucky dads out there. Take your kid to a movie today!
Dedicated screenwriting 101 here: From an interview with Harrison Ford on the MTV Movies Blog in which the inevitability of another Indiana Jones movie is mentioned:
How do I get out of this? I love going to the movies with my boys, opening up their minds to the great pleasures of cinema and all that, but this is a hard one. Please help me: do I suck it up and just go, or can anyone out there provide me with a plausible, kind-hearted, permanent way out? (
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Megan | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Happy Father’s Day, Alan!
Ray | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Cool article, although I think I am even more enamored of the HTML work you did here just to produce that snazzy diagram.
Enjoy the day with your boys, my friend!!!!
Too too Badeenie | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
I just started reading your site, but I like it. I notice you have three boys so Happy Father’s Day. Keep up the good work.
Burbanked | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Thanks a bunch, Too too! Great name.
Norm S. | Jun 15, 2008 | Reply
Alan-
What a great idea. But if you want to talk about attempting to control destiny, I have to suggest the greatest victim of destiny, Michael Corleone.
But, hey Anakin too. Both the products of their fathers’ paths.
Norm S. — Meet In the Lobby
Craig Kennedy | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
I’m late as usual, but that was terrific.
I loved how you blended an affectionate (and pretty universal) appreciation of your father with your own dad-hood and then tied the whole thing to the movies. Nicely done.
Also, happy day after Father’s Day.
Burbanked | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Norm: Excellent suggestion! Michael so desperately wants to take the straight and narrow - “That’s my family, Kate, it’s not me.” - but what’s so terrific about those movies is how inevitable all of the events of the stories are. I wonder if that means that my kids are all destined to get into marketing - and if so, which bus out of town I should take.
Craig: Thanks so much for your kind words and good wishes. I like to poke gentle fun at my own dad, but - like I just said above - it’s pretty much inevitable that I see him in much of what I do and say each day.
I still like to think that I’m slightly cooler and that my jokes are slightly better.
Piper | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Great post.
My Dad also says the ” My name is blank and I’ll be eating” part to every waitress as well.
My Dad also always said things like “a little bit of (blank) goes a long way.”
Also when washing yourself always remember “balls, butt and face. But not in that order.”
But my favorite has to be “it’s good to eat.” That’s a frickin classic. That’s one of the great benefits of living summed up perfectly.
Sulu at the Helm | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Shouldn’t there be a comment or two in there about the facts of life? And I’m not referring to your father warning you away from fat chicks who live in boarding schools.
Burbanked | Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Piper: I’m not sure I ever got washing advice, and looking back it might have come in handy to know the proper order. I like “a little bit goes a long way” to which I’d add my mother’s fave “when it’s gone, it’s gone!”
Sulu: Yeah, we might have to save those pearls of wisdom for another time. Like 32 years after pop has crossed into the great beyond.
Liz | Jun 18, 2008 | Reply
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for Lestat. The whole “live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse…THAT LIVES FOREVER” usually ends in pain. Lots and lots of tiny Kirsten Dunst inflicted pain.