Just so, profane entertainments will attract individuals and couples, but more wholesome fare (well written and performed, and all that– Stardust comes to mind as one such film not so long ago) attracts parties of four or six or more at a crack.

Profanity is to language as the lottery is to maths.

Scribbler on March 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM

Nice. So, profanity is language for people who have no vocabulary.

I suspect the reason profanity makes so much difference in how much money a film makes is because profanity really adds nothing to a film. As one famous Hollywood mogul once said (Mayer?), it’s better to sell four tickets than two. That is, a family film will get parents and children buying tickets, so a film not suitable for children will automatically sell fewer tickets.

And profanity makes people forget that Hell is a place, and that God is the wonderful, righteous, loving Lord of all, and that Jesus died for sins like profanity.

jgapinoy on March 13, 2008 at 10:14 PM

“Well spoken, sir.”

Am not being sarcastic. You’ve made this point before in these threads and it’s absolutely true – thanks for reminding us.

Also, there is a matching Princess Bride line for every possible situation in life. The converse is also true: every line in the film can be lifted and applied somewhere in daily situations. Can’t think of any other film of which this is true.

This IMO is what partly explains the film’s huge popularity. Also, it’s just one hilarious, clean, engaging flick.

hicsuget at 12:48PM

I’m not saying that just because it’s offensive it has to be stopped. It’s because profanity is offensive and does absolutely no good. And profanity makes people forget that Hell is a place, and that God is the wonderful, righteous, loving Lord of all, and that Jesus died for sins like profanity.

Nicely done — weaving together the two ongoing themes of this thread; profanity and The Princess Bride.

ncc770 on March 13, 2008 at 3:00 PM

I did that on purpose. I don’t have to miss.

(Best match I could think of :-p)

OneGyT on March 13, 2008 at 3:41 PM

Possible – Pig
you warthog faced buffoon

(Best match I could think of :-p)

OneGyT on March 13, 2008 at 3:41 PM

Quite good. I think you’re very clever. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

No No No Let’s not start down that road!

Nicely done — weaving together the two ongoing themes of this thread; profanity and The Princess Bride.

ncc770 on March 13, 2008 at 3:00 PM

I did that on purpose. I don’t have to miss.

(Best match I could think of :-p)

My personal favorite:
“Have fun storming the castle!”
I say that now instead of “good-bye”.
;-)
Pachyderm on March 13, 2008 at 10:15 AM

Every morning in unison from my kids as I walk out the door.

“I don’t think they exist.” Absolutely perfect delivery there, too.

OneGyT on March 13, 2008 at 2:52 PM

Nicely done — weaving together the two ongoing themes of this thread; profanity and The Princess Bride.

Profanity is to language as the lottery is to maths.

Scribbler on March 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM

That’s pretty philosophical, but let me put it this way. You ever heard of Aristotle? Socrates? Morons.

What’s a “movie”?

landlines on March 13, 2008 at 12:19 PM

I take it when you were our age television was called books.

Every day use of profanity makes you sound like an ignorant clod. If you don’t mind sounding that way then cuss away. Now if you are brave enough to use it, say, as a verbal attack then go ahead fuck face.

easy on March 13, 2008 at 1:34 PM

There, I fixed it for you.

In other words, parents take kids to movies portraying a story that is appropriate for younger children. Those stories don’t lend themselves to the use of profanity the way stories geared for older kids and adults might.

The amount of cussing in the movie is simply a side effect of the type of story being told, its not the root cause of parents choosing one movie over another.

But if Hollywood thinks that’s a good incentive to use fewer swear words, I have no problem with it.

Pixar is indeed a great studio. I’d add Finding Nemo to your list. DreamWorks I’m not so enthusiastic about. Shrek was funny and imaginative but they also released a lot of dead wood and had to be bought up by Paramount because they were going bankrupt.

Profanity is to language as the lottery is to maths.

Scribbler on March 13, 2008 at 12:53 PM

Wow – that’s a good one!

“The lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.”
=
“[Habitual] profanity is a demonstration that people are bad at (deficient in) vocabulary.”

What’s wrong with profanity?
1) it bothers millions of people–that’s reason enough to avoid it
jgapinoy on March 13, 2008 at 10:00 AM

Cats bother millions of people with asthma. Give ‘em up! Cigarettes bother millions of people with sensitive nostrils. Give ‘em up! And, of course, criticizing Islam bothers millions of people.

Isn’t your argument the same one we hear every time some Dutch filmmaker goes to release a movie–that freedom of speech does not trump freedom to live insularly in the iron age?

What’s a “movie”?

Uh, sorry… It’s those moving picture stories they used to put on a big bright screen when there were talented writers, directors, and real actors. On television, today’s crop are perverted hacks with “actors” fished out of modelling schools. They teach the poor things to read and the set is acting school. I blame corporatism for some of this; the likes of your typical cable channel thinks that’s good for the battum lannn.

“It’s too late — we’ve already reached the cliffs of insanity.”

InconCEIVable that a movie could have that many memorable lines.

If you haven’t seen any try: The Incredibles, Monster’s Inc, Over the Hedge, or Cars.

Maybe now we can start working on Bratz dolls…

BTW, you don’t need to use profanity in order to offend people.

My collie says:

Any idea how many people you’ve offended with your talking Ann Coulter doll?

A lot.