wednes: (Default)
wednes ([personal profile] wednes) wrote2004-05-25 09:55 pm

Not to mention how he treated "Chico"...

Went to the video store today to take advantage of yet another sale. Got a Japanses horror thingy called Tomie, and I finally bought Swimming Pool--the unrated edition. I really liked that movie. Since I had a bit of extra scratch, I also bought Weird Science to placate my jones for Anthony Michael Hall. Season 2 of Dead Zone comes out on DVD AFTER the new season starts. That is pretty POS if you ask me.

On to more serious business, I was watching a bit of Willy Wonka on TV. I have come to the conclusion that Jack "Grampa Joe" Albertson has given us a piss-poor model of a grandfather. First off, the story opens with 4 grandparents who have been bedridden, and therefore cannot work, for the past 20 years. Yet, this asshole continues to smoke a pipe of tobacco every single day in a family where a young boy has to work all week to buy a loaf of bread. Jackass.

Then what does he do? He squanders still more money on chocolate bars in the hopes of winning a contest to win, that's right, more chocolate. This is basically the candy-based equivalent to squandering money on lottery tickets. How ghetto can ya get?

So then Charlie wins the ticket and there's a chance for some real fun. So does Charlie invite his hard working mother to tour the facotry with him? No, it seems that "Grampa Joe" is suddenly well enough to get out of bed and dance around. Pity, none of that energy was spent looking for work, the feeble old coot!

Once inside the factory, he advises Charlie to sign a contract that can't even be read. He calls a girl a nitwit for "not listening to Wonka". Then, in the very next scene, he encourages Charile to steal fizzy lifting drinks against the expressed wishes of Wonka, and flouting any common-sense thought for safety.

Finally, when Wonka calls Charlie out for stealing the drinks and scuffing up the ceiling, "Grampa" gets all lippy like Wonka is a bad guy. He then immediately begins to conspire with Charlie to break his promise and give the gobstopper to Slugworth. This does not fly with Charlie, who knows his behavior was inexcusable. But seriously, what a prick!

Now I'm off to watch The Eye, as H has just purchased it.
Wheee!

[identity profile] everythingtold.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. You have totally shed new light on Grandpa Joe. Damn. You're right, he is an asshole.

My fave character was Violet, I'm not sure why. Either that or Agustus' dad; I thought it was cool as hell when he took a bite out of the microphone.

[identity profile] wednes.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Ha. I like Mike TV's Mom.

[identity profile] skryche.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Holy sweet par-baked moses! Joe is a real asshat! I can't believe I've been fooled by his "kindly old man" demeanor* for so long!

* - Or, should I say, misdemeanor. Ha!

[identity profile] wednes.livejournal.com 2004-05-25 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Ha! indeed!

[identity profile] fflo.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
This is hilarious! I, too, can't believe I didn't see through the old fart. Is this anything like when the U.S. was charmed by Reagan??

[identity profile] nate101000.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
I would say more like the way 'W' is charming the U.S. now. 'I'm just a simple red neck, I would never fool you.'

Reagan at least had principals of a sort.

[identity profile] fflo.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 10:31 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, true! I was just talking to a friend the other night about how Reagan looks so good in comparison. Scary.

[identity profile] nate101000.livejournal.com 2004-05-27 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Exactly, Reagans lines may have been self serving idiocy, but it stayed the same every time he said it.

[identity profile] wednes.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
The US is pretty easily charmed by old white men for some reason...

[identity profile] nate101000.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 09:48 am (UTC)(link)
I like to tell people that I think the Christian God is a 'dead beat dad'. He gets mary pregnant, and then disappears during the child's entire up bringing. Appears later and tells the kid he's the savior of all mankind. It would have been nice to give him some warning of some kind, maybe stop in at a few birthday parties and show some effort. We never really know much about Joseph, the man who raised Jesus to become the person that he was.

Boy I tell ya'. Christians get hella-pissed when you explain it to them like that.

[identity profile] wednes.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, its like the whole Jesus/Lazarus as a zombie thing.

They HATE that shit!

[identity profile] bethie8888.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 10:26 am (UTC)(link)
That cracked me up!

[identity profile] the-hellcat.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 12:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm curious to see how the story will look from Tim Burton's point of view...
xoxo

[identity profile] wednes.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree, and following the actual book instead of the Disney "sanitized for families" version.