Crank might be more offensive due to its lack of focus to a specific group, but when it comes to pegging only a few minorities as the scum of the Earth,
GRAN TURINO IS THE MOST OVER-THE-TOP RACIST MIND-FUCK.
And not to sound like I am pro-bigotry, but it is awesome in the most hilarious way. Seriously, this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen for a number of reasons outside of it hating on every ethnic group east of India and south of Russia (acting, dialogue, premise, pacing, etc.), and I laughed my ass off. I assume the premise is known to you guys, but just in case: a disgruntled war vet widower refuses to leave the house he's owned for so many years despite his neighborhood's decent into an asian (mostly hmong) ghetto. His hate is so close to being pure, and is only (and slowly) abated by the two children of his neighbors.
But lets cut to the chase - "how ridiculous can this movie be?" you ask. I reply with two golden gems of dialogue.
Item 1.
After drinking approximately 12 beers at a house party he 1.) knows no one at 2.) is the oldest person by far and 3.) whose hosts he hates for their race, Walt (Eastwood) goes into the basement where the kids are having their own little party and proceeds to berate Thao. Its kind of a long dialogue, but the gist of it is expressed in the following lines:
Walt: You're wrong, eggroll. I know exactly what I'm talking about... But you, you know, you're letting Click-Clack, ding-Dong, and Charlie Chan just walk out with Miss [Yum Yum]. She likes you, you know? Though I don't know why.
Thao: Who?
Walt: Yum Yum... She's been looking at you all day, stupid!
Thao: You mean Youa?
Walt: Yeah... Yum Yum... nice girl... But you just let her walk right out with the 3 Stooges. And you know why? 'Cause you're a big fat pussy. Well, I gotta go. Good day, pussycake.
And who can forget this classic joke that Walt tells his friends:
"A Mexican, a Jew, and a coloured guy walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, 'Get the fuck out!'"
In conclusion, Clint Eastwood is wicked racist in this movie, for no real reason other than that he's an old man who can't/won't change, and people hate him for it... people who can't act better than an 8th grade theater kid. So grab your lady-friend, book a restaurant, and get ready for the ultimate comedy/date movie of the year, Gran Turino.
man this movie was fucking sweet. dialogue/acting was definitely absurd, and indeed hillarious at times. but the scene you mentioned is benign compared to the "white man overcoming negroes" scene, where three corner boys try to assault the girl and clint shows up "with his big gun."
ReplyDeletebut i actually really liked the movie. i kinda dug the weird, lazy pacing, and i dug the big fuck you to the bland, materialistic white family. funny though that the message of the movie was, "racists would feel more at home living with the hmong."
Yeah, its a movie that's really thrown me for a loop, because I did like it, but it was awful - and not in an "I like bad movies because they're bad" kind of way, although that does factor in somewhat.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope that I can leer like Clint Eastwood leers when I'm his age.
I really liked it as well. Virtually every other Walt line in this movie was solid gold. But Peter, I don't think the message was "racists would feel more at home living with the hmong" rather, that the old school always feels more at home with old school, which is what Eastwood and the Hmong really were.
ReplyDeleteyeah no i was just bein wry. i was thinking about this updike line, where he claimed that the "point" of king lear was that old men shouldn't retire early.
ReplyDeleteso... gran torino = birth of a nation?
ReplyDelete