October 4, 2007

"Life is NOT a malfunction."

The answer to the question raised yesterday is: "Short Circuit." Here are the "memorable quotes" from the movie that Clarence Thomas found so hilarious in 1986, when he was 38 years old. Today's question is: Which line made Clarence Thomas laugh the most and why? Remember, he was with the woman he would ultimately marry, and what she found funny was that he was laughing so much.

24 comments:

knox said...

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Justin said...

Number 5: Hey Laserlips. Your mama was a snowblower.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Where's Trooper York when you need him.

rumtumtugger said...

choice in art is a really bad way of judging people (hitler liked wagner, otherwise intelligent people like 'south park'). having said that, it's a hard to think that an adult who likes 'short circuit' doesn't have some quite severe psychological deformity. maybe in thomas' case the deformity is the result of the collision of his race, religion and anxiety about the causes of his status. or maybe he's just a tool.

davidc. said...

What people find as funny is varied and can change. I am ashamed to admit that I once laughed at Barbara Streisand movies. Now that I look back, I must have been sick.

KLDAVIS said...

I'd second Justin...

Maybe, "Number 5 stupid name...want to be Kevin or Dave!" or "Ooooo... Still lumpy!"

-kd

Maxine Weiss said...

It's amazing that after 5 years of blogging, Althouse still can't determine what readers want when they want it. ---The right post at the right time...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59261151@N00/1469980310/?addedcomment=1#comment72157602264535335

Joe said...

At the time, it was a humorous movie, especially considering the other drek that was out at the time.

MadisonMan said...

I'll repeat what I said in the other thread: the truly weird thing is that someone who was almost 40 considered this a date movie! I guess it was a successful gambit, since they married. Maybe I'm misremembering the Speck-dreckiness of the movie. I try to picture someone almost my age saying "Hey, I hear the latest Ally Sheedy/Steve Guttenberg movie is good ... let's go see it". I fail.

Maybe movie choices #1-8 that night were sold out because the choice to watch a movie was a last minute thing. Yeah, that's the ticket.

My question for Mrs. Thomas: Was he laughing because it was funny, or to cover up his embarrassment for being there.

titus22 said...

Fascinating. I went to that movie when I was 11 and thought it was lame.

A 40 year old went on a date to Short Circuit.

That's like someone today who is 40 going to see Norbit.

I do tend to believe Anita Hill though. As Andrew Sullivan said I tend to believe the accuser in the case of sexual harassment. I also believe all of the women that accused Bill Clinton.

former law student said...

I am sporting a tremendous woody.

titus22 said...

At the party I went to last night they had viagra. I almost took one but I was scared.

titus22 said...

"sporting a woody" is a fascinating term.

The Pretentious Ignoramus said...

I cannot respect a man whose favorite movie lines are neither from Caddyshack or the Godfather trilogy.

Very distressing indeed, this Justice Thomas. I am learning more about him than I had wished to know.

The Pretentious Ignoramus said...

And to think he could have been watching Youngblood instead in 1986. This is truly a very sad day.

Synova said...

Um, 1986 means that I was 22.

It was a great movie. Now it would be entirely outdated in every way possible.

I don't even remember how it ended. I just remember I liked it and that all the guys I knew in college were in love with Ally Sheedy.

I think the first quote is the funniest. She's a virgin, or at least used to be.

MadisonMan said...

I don't even remember how it ended.

They all lived happily ever after.

rcocean said...

"choice in art is a really bad way of judging people (hitler liked wagner, otherwise intelligent people like 'south park'). having said that, it's a hard to think that an adult who likes 'short circuit' doesn't have some quite severe psychological deformity. maybe in thomas' case the deformity is the result of the collision of his race, religion and anxiety about the causes of his status. or maybe he's just a tool."

How silly. If Breyer and Souter liked the movie would that prove they also were "severely psychologically deformed"?

Some with high IQ's (Sullivan) have no sense of humor, others like low-brow comedy.

I know High IQ medical researchers who like the 3 stooges. Some even like crap like "Friends", Rosanne Barr, and Tim Allen.

Woody Allen, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, are only liked by a small minority. Most People would rather watch "Porkey II" or some bland family comedy.

Justice Thomas probably just likes bland family comedies.

Trooper York said...

Ben Jabituya: With excitement like this, who is needing enemas?
(Short Ciruit)
Sorry mcg, I am clearing the decks to get ready for Yankee's-Indians at 6 pm.

blake said...

I quoted the virgin thing yesterday. It's the only line from the movie I remember, plus the look on Steve Gutenberg's face when Fisher Stevens delivers it--inexplicably in the middle of a high-speed chase, if memory serves--is priceless.

It's a cute movie and Badham is a competent director. The whole thing teeters between bland and over-cute--certainly, it's lame, as Titus points out--but it's not boring.

Wargames, Blue Thunder, The Hard Way, etc., all sort of enjoyable time-wasters.

I think Badham's breakthrough series was "The Night Gallery", which Serling complained the studio was trying to turn into "Mannix with a shroud". I have to wonder how much of that was Badham: Lotta car-chases/action scenes in his flicks.

Trooper York said...

Rod Serling: Good evening, and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collectors' item in its own way - not because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a canvas, and suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare.
(Night Gallery 1970)

Ralph L said...

"sporting a woody" is a fascinating term.

At Oxford, "sporting your oak" once meant you'd closed the outer door to your rooms. I doubt that wanking or sex was implied, but gentlemen were very discreet 80 years ago.

EnigmatiCore said...

"I know High IQ medical researchers who like the 3 stooges"

A statement akin to saying I know rich people who have lots of money.