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Films you see differently as an adult...

674 replies

LoveShitJokes · 19/11/2022 18:45

I presume this has been done before but fuck it, it's Saturday night and I'm bored. So I'll start...

Mrs Doubtfire. As a child I saw Miranda as a boring, stuck up cow. As an adult I see her as a successful, independent woman exasperated with her man child husband who gives me The Ultimate Ick. And then some. I'm gobsmacked she ever married him. Stuart was a capable, equal partner not the villain I once thought him to be. Anyone else?

OP posts:
Stopsnowing · 20/11/2022 11:50

It is not ok in itself but is perfectly in keeping with his character.

kerstina · 20/11/2022 12:31

Not a film but a mini series . I loved the thorn birds and still view it in a romantic way but am sure others would not agree .

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 20/11/2022 12:54

I was also watching mr bean and thinking it was hilarious as always but I thought how it would not be allowed today as it is obviously about a man with special needs.

Again, not a film, but I also find this with Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em. I found it hilarious, but they always 'explained' it away that it was like a man who hasn't ever grown up properly and still acts like a child - but how that presents would obviously also be very similar to how a person with learning difficulties would come across - especially when you see how beautifully empathetic he is with baby Jessica. You're supposed to laugh at and get exasperated by this 'pathetic' man, but he's actually very vulnerable and it's all quite sad, really.

Clockwise has some concerning themes, if you look back at it now. The actress who played Laura was 25 at the time, but the character was portrayed as being significantly younger - and she was given quite 'mature' responsibilities and unfairly blamed when things went wrong.

Phineyj · 20/11/2022 13:02

God I hated 'Clockise'! It was like one of those awful anxiety dreams.

BiscuitLover3678 · 20/11/2022 13:12

Onthecuspofabreakthrough · 20/11/2022 11:33

I think there's more than one thing going on here.
One is that when we revisit a movie from years ago, our life experience has changed and so too has our perspective - from identifying with the teen to the mother, etc.
The other is that some people seem to think any plot line in a film that shows people being morally flawed or doing something wrong means the film should be cancelled, wouldn't be made these days etc. We need a bit of nuance here! A sad film can have some hilarious moments, doesn't mean we are laughing at the character.
I know times have moved on but I'm not convinced that teens now are growing up in a better world than I did in the 80s. We had less of an acknowledgement around issues of consent, but we didn't have date rape drugs and internet porn and every mistake you made videoed and put on Snapchat.

The consent issue was a pretty big one! And the fact grooming teen girls was seen as less of an issue. Things today are far from perfect I agree and in some way things have gone back. As a general rule teen girls are a lot more empowered though.

Floogal · 20/11/2022 14:12

Some of the Sean Connery James Bonds.

Grandpa Joe on Willy Winka. Selfish lazy lech who stops being bedridden as soon as Charlie invited him along

I know Jenny had emotional problems, but she did kind of use Forrest and string him along.

The nasty boyfriend on Uncle Buck (as well as the toothpick guy- think that's who Quagmire is based on.

On the Devil wears Prada. I hate that Andi and the Audience is supposed to feel bad about her taking the Paris job. All her colleagues would betray her in a heartbeat

ToffeeNotCoffee · 20/11/2022 15:24

@petermaddog

dirty dancing baby was 18

So why did she look the wrong side of 40 ? Why was her name Baby, anyway. Some sort of in-joke. Baby is having a baby. Might have been in poor taste to name her abortion I suppose which is pretty much what the whole film is from start to finish.

JennyNotFromTheBlock · 20/11/2022 15:29

LoveShitJokes · 19/11/2022 18:45

I presume this has been done before but fuck it, it's Saturday night and I'm bored. So I'll start...

Mrs Doubtfire. As a child I saw Miranda as a boring, stuck up cow. As an adult I see her as a successful, independent woman exasperated with her man child husband who gives me The Ultimate Ick. And then some. I'm gobsmacked she ever married him. Stuart was a capable, equal partner not the villain I once thought him to be. Anyone else?

I disagree strongly. You can see Daniel as a 'man child', while at the same time think Miranda went way too far. They are not mutually exclusive. What Miranda did to Daniel, even going so far as supervised visitation, when there has never been a hint that he was abusive to his children before, was beyond spiteful and cruel. And Stuart calling Daniel a 'loser' when he had never even met Daniel proves he IS a villain, a small-minded arrogant arsehole who thinks he is all that.

meringue33 · 20/11/2022 15:30

In Carla’s Song, a very right on Ken Loach film, Robert Carlyle finds Carla in the bath having attempted suicide… he lifts her gently out of the bath and then starts having sex with her… at no point is explicit consent sought or given, he’s supposed to be a lovely person but it’s just so awful.

JennyNotFromTheBlock · 20/11/2022 15:31

ToffeeNotCoffee · 20/11/2022 15:24

@petermaddog

dirty dancing baby was 18

So why did she look the wrong side of 40 ? Why was her name Baby, anyway. Some sort of in-joke. Baby is having a baby. Might have been in poor taste to name her abortion I suppose which is pretty much what the whole film is from start to finish.

Baby was not the one who had an abortion, @ToffeeNotCoffee . That was Penny, the professional dancer.

Vigneau · 20/11/2022 15:45

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Basically a horny cock-lodger finds a woman who is house proud. He shacks up with her then she finds out he has six brothers who are wasters. They go into town and spot six women who are going to get married, beat the grooms up, kidnap the women and prevent their families from finding them in the mountains. Cock-lodger gets the women pregnant then leaves her over winter to go hunting. Meanwhile the six brothers get the women pregnant and effectively arrange a forced marriage in the Spring. This is in America not ISIS.

Floogal · 20/11/2022 15:54

JennyNotFromTheBlock · 20/11/2022 15:29

I disagree strongly. You can see Daniel as a 'man child', while at the same time think Miranda went way too far. They are not mutually exclusive. What Miranda did to Daniel, even going so far as supervised visitation, when there has never been a hint that he was abusive to his children before, was beyond spiteful and cruel. And Stuart calling Daniel a 'loser' when he had never even met Daniel proves he IS a villain, a small-minded arrogant arsehole who thinks he is all that.

Show quote history

Also she expected Mrs Doubtfire to just drop everything and be a spare part at the dinner.

Also, too real! The character uses humour and silliness to deflect from his problems. How funny Robin Williams was, but how much unhappiness he was concealing

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 20/11/2022 17:26

tried to watch Twins with my kids recently. I remembered seeing it in the cinema as a kind of family film, Danny Devito and Arnie camping it up, all good fun.

fuck me

  1. it's really, really bad. just bad
  2. there's loads of sex, smoking etc

the definition of 'family movie' has very much moved on.

SanchezAndSmith · 20/11/2022 17:51

JennyNotFromTheBlock · 20/11/2022 15:29

I disagree strongly. You can see Daniel as a 'man child', while at the same time think Miranda went way too far. They are not mutually exclusive. What Miranda did to Daniel, even going so far as supervised visitation, when there has never been a hint that he was abusive to his children before, was beyond spiteful and cruel. And Stuart calling Daniel a 'loser' when he had never even met Daniel proves he IS a villain, a small-minded arrogant arsehole who thinks he is all that.

Show quote history

And Miranda doesn't really show great judgement about her children's best interests, playing happy families with Stuart after they've been dating for about 5 seconds. It's not exactly great parenting having a stanger getting hands on with your children especially whilst they're in their swimming costumes.

Somersetgirl1 · 20/11/2022 18:02

The Anthony Hopkins film Mgic. When I watched as a young person I thought that the ventriloquists dummy was alive. Watching it as an older person you see it is linked to his mental illness

Somersetgirl1 · 20/11/2022 18:03
  • Magic
JudgeJ · 20/11/2022 18:14

Longtime · 19/11/2022 22:49

I went out with someone in their mid twenties when I'd just turned 18. I never felt he was too old for me so have never seen the issue with Dirty Dancing age gap. Loved it when I first watched it and still do (though the Penny storyline is a tough one to watch[.

Totally agree it was set at a time when 16 year olds were far more mature than the infantalized 16 year old today. In the film it's Johnny who behaves well, he looks after others and as far as the sex is concerned who went to whose cabin late at night and was lying to her parents about what she was doing? The creep in the restaurant seems to get a free pass on MN, the one who got Penny pregnant.

anonacfr · 20/11/2022 18:14

Devil Wears Prada- in the book her boyfriend is a teacher and he works in a school full of disadvantaged kids, which kinda of explains (a little) why he finds her job in the fashion industry shallow and unimportant.
In the film, he's a bloody chef. Not exactly Great Thunberg.
He's so judgemental.

Tiggee2001 · 20/11/2022 18:22

Dirty dancing has so many issues!!

When I was a teen and baby said - "No one puts baby in the corner" I was like YEA, no one !!

Now I think baby is a brat, who's breaking rules sneaking around and she basically needs to be put in the corner for a time out

In my opinion her dad is just disciplining her and she totally needs it!!! Halo

Hmm1234 · 20/11/2022 18:24

All of the Disney films tbh

CuppaAndABiccie · 20/11/2022 18:27

100% Saturday Night Fever - when I watched this (numerous times!) as a teenager, I actually thought Stephanie WAS smart and sophisticated compared to Tony. But then watching it now, it’s obvious that she was pretentious….and social climbing through her relationship with that older man 🤔

flowersWB · 20/11/2022 18:35

ET. I remember being distraught for Elliot (and Gertie) and wishing ET could stay. Now I think that little alien needs to be with his mummy!

surreygirl1987 · 20/11/2022 18:39

Definitely Grease. Danny treats Sandy appallingly and the happy ending is that she changes everything about herself to please him. Oh and Rizzo sings a song about how the worst thing you can do is flirt with a man then not give him sex 🙄

Exactly!

anonacfr · 20/11/2022 18:40

Grease is awful on so many levels.

DD I'm sure it has been said but Baby is 16 and Johnny 27.
I feel her dad had the holidays from hell.

Completelydonechick · 20/11/2022 18:49

the Original by Hans Christian Anderson is more painful than this, the little mermaid had the pain of knives as she walked and danced for him! For him to then reject her and she became foam of the sea. It is a great theme for a Disney movie!