Would the Coen brothers even have careers if you issued a judicial order prohibiting them from making fun of people who talk funny?
Sorry, but it's just that I've recently decided I kind of hate these guys. Part of it stems from trying a couple weeks ago to watch one of theirs I'd never got around to seeing: Raising Arizona.
You know, I used to work for Maricopa County. And you could get way, way, way out in the farthest reaches of it, the parts where people really do try to live in the desert in tin trailers because they can't afford anything better, and yet never hear a single person speak the way people speak in that movie.
Hell, I'm not entirely convinced you can find people in West Texas who speak the way people speak in that movie, though I suppose you might could . . . .
And call me nitpicky, but the Valley of the Sun is not exactly known for having "twisters" (which people there would call "tornadoes," anyway). Dear heaven, no wonder some folks up north hated Fargo, 'cause you just know for months after that movie came out tourists were begging the natives, "say 'Yah sure, you betcha!' for us!" just one more &%#$ time.
Today, I think, is "To Hell with Elitism" day around here. I'm going to celebrate it by being extra nice to people with low-rent accents. And when I say "nice," I mean genuinely, honestly nice, not "condescending to the poor slobs who don't know what an embarrassment their very existences are, who don't realize that they are infecting the neighborhood with their trashiness, who don't realize how lucky they are to share the planet with marvelous, sophisticated, erudite me."
And if you come near me with a bottle of vintage wine, I'm going to club you over the head with a bottle of the champagne of beers. And as the blood and beer run down your cheeks, I'll lean in real close and whisper, "Got quite a boo-kay on 'er, don't she?" I might even say it in a Raising Arizona accent.
It's just the kind of mood I'm in today.
Posted by Ilyka at August 9, 2004 11:16 PM in triviaI turned off that movie after about half an hour. I found it completely unfunny, plus, it stars Nicholas Cage, whom I loathe.
Posted by: Meryl Yourish at August 10, 2004 06:18 AMAll Coen brothers movies are too long but I did like Fargo and bits and pieces of Oh Brother. Raising Arizona was a waste of my time. I should have turned it off, too.
Posted by: Rob at August 10, 2004 12:23 PMI couldn't watch Raising Arizona, partly because I can't stand Nicholas Cage and partly because of the accents. Making fun of and/or imitating accents doesn't bother me at all (I get a lot of crap because of mine), what bothers me is when it isn't done well. I also couldn't watch A Beautiful Mind because Russell Crowe didn't get the accent right. I grew up there, I know what it sounds like, I have that exact accent, and he really screwed it up.
Posted by: kathy at August 11, 2004 04:09 PMwhat bothers me is when it isn't done well
Yeah, it was the part where they got the accent so totally wrong that bugged me. Considering how many California transplants there are in the Phoenix area, I'm not even sure you can say most people there have much of an accent, other than the occasional San Fernando valley one ("Omigawd!"). When I run into someone from Maricopa County I never know it by the accent.
Nash was supposed to be from, uh, where again? West Virginia, Kentucky, what? You couldn't make it out from that total pretend accent Crowe affected. It was like Meryl Streep in Out of Africa.
Posted by: ilyka at August 11, 2004 08:56 PMHe's from Bluefield, WV. And, honestly, I don't expect accent perfection from Hollywood anymore, but at least try to get something close to it. Russell Crowe's Australian hick just doesn't cut it.
Posted by: kathy at August 12, 2004 02:16 AMNicolas Cage is so dull, he cannot act at all, he plays every role in the same boring, wooden manner. God he is so dull
Posted by: tired and bored at April 7, 2005 07:45 AMRasing Arizona is a freakin' classic. I've never seen so many people in one place "not getting it." If you think accurate accents are the point in a quasi-fantasy film, or even accurate geography, then I'll bet there's a lot of other things in life y'all don't get. (YEAH, I said "y'all") ARIZONA takes place in its own universe, much like a Wes Anderson film. Just like FARGO and O BROTHER. All these movies are g***amned modern American classics.
Posted by: Malus at August 14, 2005 12:48 PM