Rule 32: Enjoy the Little Things

[Schweedie]

I was watching The Full Monty and ended up stopping, rewinding and pausing to watch a tiny moment again: the men are rehearsing their striptease dance when a security guard walks in on them. A couple of them flee, but one of the guys just stops dead still looking scandalised, with one hand covering his right nipple. It's just a tiny moment, but that 2-second shot gave me one of the the biggest laughs of the film.

So I thought I'd ask, do you have any small moments in films that stand out to you? Something that's funny, touching, scary? A joke, a movement, even just a facial expression?

One of my other favourite things is the wandering mole on Prince John's face in Men in Tights. From scene to scene it's in different places, and I love how no attention is drawn to that except for once towards the end of the film, because up until then I was just sitting there like, "Wait, has his mole -- moved?" And then in the next scene, "Okay, I KNOW it's moved this time!"

[Zola]

It's been awhile since I last watched the three Lord of the Rings films, but I recall one very small but significant scene near the end of "Fellowship of the Ring." where Legolas explains to the Council of Elrond who "Strider" really is. The expression on Frodo's face is priceless, as it dawns on him he has been travelling in the company of Gondor's king-in-waiting!

[Spartan Girl]

One little thing I loved in Amadeus was in the scene where Mozart mouths "I love you" to Constanze after she deciphers his backwards proclamation.  A sincere moment after he spent the better part of the scene doing juvenile backwards dirty talk.

[Zola]

Another telling scene is the monologue by one of the main characters at the very end of "No County for Old Men" (I won't mention the character's name here). But it is clear from his speech that he is now clearly out of his depth in this "new violent sadistic world", and the look of vacant helplessness on his tired old face before the screen turns to black, is quite telling - a picture and a thousand words etc.

[AimingforYoko]

I posted this in the 10 Cloverfield Lane thread:

On 3/13/2016 at 9:59 AM, AimingforYoko said:

Oh, one other thing, my Rule 32 for this movie was that the neighbor who was trying to get in the bunker set the alarm on her car. Yes car theft is a big concern in the middle of nowhere during an alien invasion. (I know, I know, it was probably just a reflex action. But the alarm going off just tickled me.)

[methodwriter85]

Warm Bodies has two little moments I really loved...

When Julie thinks she's about to be eaten by Zombie R, she focuses on a little snowglobe that is sitting on a counter in the science lab. Like she's preparing herself to die by making sure the last thing she sees is a pretty little snowglobe.

When they give R his makeover, Nora plays something on her IPod, and you can see that the screen was cracked. That was a lovely nod to realism, given they were living in a post-apocalypse society and it had to be a pretty old Ipod.

[Schweedie]

10 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

I posted this in the 10 Cloverfield Lane thread:

Yes! That's exactly the kind of little thing I tend to notice and enjoy, too.

Another favourite of mine is at the end of Wreck-It Ralph, during the wedding scene, when they cut to all the guys from Calhoun's game pointing their guns at the ceiling? On the other side of the isle you can see the bad guy Zangief sitting there (wearing only his red thong, of course) and he's wiping away a tear. Always makes me giggle.

[andromeda331]

In Ever After, after Henry calls off his wedding to the Spanish princess and she runs happily into the arms of her love. I love the reaction of her parents. They immediately start arguing with each other. It is so funny and so unexpected.

[Spartan Girl]

The new Beauty and the Beast had lots of little  nuances to appreciate in Dan Stevens' Beast.  One of them was when him and Belle and standing outside post-dance and he's trying to work up the nerve to tell her how he feels, and he starts out trying to sound formal and nonchalant with, "It's foolish to think a creature like myself could ever hope to earn your affections."

Belle: "I don't know."

Caught by surprise, he drops the bravado and goes "Really?" in this hopeful little-boy kind of voice with those blue eyes getting real big.

It was so cute, and I like that he used the term "earn your affections."  Not win, earn.  

[methodwriter85]

Richard Linklater is kind of known for the "enjoy the little things" moments in his movies.

One thing I noticed in a recent rewatch of Dazed and Confused is that the feminist girl Kay (the one who goes on about how Gilligan's Island is a sexist male fantasy) just silently walks away in disgust when Jodi brings Sabrina to Tony to propose in the hazing scene. She's a pretty minor character but I love how even then she managed to have this little moment that conveyed who she was perfectly. I think that's what makes that movie work so well- even the minor characters feel so fleshed out and real.

[Spartan Girl]

A little touch I liked in the "Lovely Ladies" part of Les Miserables was how the madam was always around Fantine, so that every time she started to waver about selling her hair and teeth, she had a good reminder of what her alternative was. It really emphasized how desperately she wanted to avoid it and later how broken she was to finally do it.

Another little thing that killed me was how she tried to assert what little control she had left with her first "customer" by turning around so that she at least wouldn't have to look at him. And of course she couldn't even have that.

[methodwriter85]

Everybody Wants Some...I kind of love the moment where Plummer is moshing at the punk show and he gets shoved back into a wall and he quickly tries to play it off. He's a short little guy and I thought that was pretty realistic, LOL. I also loved the moment where Finnegan is talking up two girls and one of the guys messed with him by licking frosting off his finger, and he immediately gets pissed off and drops his "I'm so enlightened" act that he does through most of the movie. He turns into what he really is- a 22-year old dude just trying to get himself laid. I knew that guy. Hell, there were times where I WAS that guy who watched the college antics with bemusement and like I was above it all even though I was doing the same things.

[Shannon L.]

In Thor: Ragnarok, there is a moment when Thor is telling Bruce and Valkyrie about a practical joke Loki played on him as a kid.  Loki is sitting near them and near the end of Thor's story, they show him and he gives a small smile and looks away.  I have no idea if Tom Hiddleston was trying not to laugh or if it was Loki recalling a fun memory, but I'd love to know because whether spontaneous or an acting choice, it was a great, real, human reaction. 

In BlackkKlansman, when Ron Stalworth calls David Duke for the first time, I love the responses of his coworkers.  One laughs, the other has a "wtf" look on his face and Adam Driver very slowly turns his chair towards Ron's desk and keeps a blank look on his face, like he's not sure he's really hearing the conversation right.  It's a little thing, it's not even that funny compared to the rest of the humor, but for some reason, I get a kick out of it. 

[Spartan Girl]

Because I hate Marcia Gay Harden's character in Mystic River, I do tend to enjoy the icy "well, what did you expect" look that Laura Linney gives her at the end of the movie.

[Shannon L.]

One moment in Bohemian Rhapsody that I can't shake is the when the agent was trashing the song Bohemian Rhapsody as nonsense with made up words.  He practically spat out the word "bismillah"* (mispronouncing it) in a voice that said "how stupid".  They showed Freddie looking out the window during this moment, then he quietly corrected him with simply "bismillah".  The pain came through loud and clear with only that one word and the look on his face.  It's that moment that sold me on Rami Malek as a great actor.

*For anyone that doesn't know, bismillah is a phrase in Arabic meaning "In the name of God"

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

One moment in Bohemian Rhapsody that I can't shake is the when the agent was trashing the song Bohemian Rhapsody as nonsense with made up words.  He practically spat out the word "bismillah"* (mispronouncing it) in a voice that said "how stupid".  They showed Freddie looking out the window during this moment, then he quietly corrected him with simply "bismillah".  The pain came through loud and clear with only that one word and the look on his face.  It's that moment that sold me on Rami Malek as a great actor.

*For anyone that doesn't know, bismillah is a phrase in Arabic meaning "In the name of God"

That has a good double meaning too, because Freddie definitely was playing down his Arabic heritage and seemed to be trying to "pass" as white in terms of his rock persona, but he lets one thing slip though and it's dismissed as a "nonsense" word. I thought that was a pretty nuanced moment in racial microaggressions as well as the whole politics of passing.

[Spartan Girl]

That was such a great moment. You could tell how pissed Freddie was even when he was trying to keep cool.

[Spartan Girl]

Disney's Robin Hood had a lot of little random acts of kindness among the supporting characters that viewers might overlook in favor of the grand gesture of Robin stealing from the rich to feed the poor:

• The mother rabbit, who despite being broke and her son's birthday being ruined still put her own troubles aside to take pity on a blind beggar who just got fleeced by the Sheriff too...which makes it even more heartwarming when the beggar turns out to be Robin and gives the son his hat and a bow and arrow (as well as a bag of gold).
• The imprisoned creatures trying to take care of the more ailing prisoners (that broke my heart when I was a kid and still breaks my heart now)
• Friar Tuck and his mice playing the church organ even though nobody was coming so that might bring comfort to the nearby prisoners.
• The mice giving their only farthing to the church's poor box.

Is it dusty in here? Damn you, Disney!

[topanga]

In While You Were Sleeping, my absolute favorite rom com, Sandra Bullock's character is panicking and trying to pull an unconscious man off the El tracks. She's kneeling beside him and leans in to yell, "Hello? Sir?" then whispers, "God, you smell good." I love the way Sandra Bullock was able to switch tones so quickly, and she made the 'you smell good' line subtle, not over the top.

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 9:11 PM, methodwriter85 said:

That has a good double meaning too, because Freddie definitely was playing down his Arabic heritage and seemed to be trying to "pass" as white in terms of his rock persona, but he lets one thing slip though and it's dismissed as a "nonsense" word. I thought that was a pretty nuanced moment in racial microaggressions as well as the whole politics of passing.

Freddie Mercury's heritage was Indian Parsi, not Arabic.  The Parsis migrated to India from Persia, so ethnically are Persian.

[methodwriter85]

In Jumanji 2, Bethany teaches Martha how to flirt by telling her to play with her hair. In an earlier scene, we see her standing behind Alex while he's showing everyone his diggs and playing with her hair. That was a nice little piece of character continuity.

[Spartan Girl]

I always liked how in the first Toy Story Buzz opts to fly himself and Woody to Andy's car instead of back to the moving truck with the toys. After what they'd been through, they both deserved to get upgraded to first-class, so to speak. And because I'm a petty brat, I loved that they inadvertently chucked RC into Potato-Head and knocked his parts off. He kind of had that coming. 

I actually would have loved to see the toys try to apologize for turning on Woody and throwing him out of the moving fan after they met up with them at the new house -- no, Rex whining about how he has guilt doesn't count. Again, I'm a petty brat, so I kind of hope they spent the rest of the move thinking that Buzz and Woody got blown up by the rocket and it was their fault.

Edited June 23, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

I love how in My Cousin Vinny, Vinny and Lisa may bicker and aren't above being shrill and tactless with one another, but whenever we see them sleeping in bed, they're always cuddled super close. That is real love, and you can tell how truly devoted they are to each other. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I love how in My Cousin Vinny, Vinny and Lisa may bicker and aren't above being shrill and tactless with one another, but whenever we see them sleeping in bed, they're always cuddled super close. That is real love, and you can tell how truly devoted they are to each other. 

Or how they made up when Lisa refused to testify, but changed her mind after she saw the pictures of the actual getaway car, I think.😂😄😄

[Spartan Girl]

Two moments from the original Lion King that both involve Sarabi:

Her marching in through the crowd of hyenas when Scar bellows for her with her head held high and a perfect sideye of disdain at the hyena snapping at her. 

Then later, after Simba forces Scar to confess to Mufasa's murder, it cuts briefly to a shot of Nala and Sarabi. Nala immediately leaps snarling into the fight, while Sarabi has this look of pure rage before going after her: "You killed my husband, let me think my son was dead, destroyed the pridelands, and messed with my son's head so that he'd run away and I missed him growing up?! I will fucking end you."

[Zola]

"Blood Simple" - There's a couple of very small and insignificant scenes that have always captivated me with this wonderful film. 

One - where Ray has driven his car in the middle of a field to do his dastardly deed. The following morning he turns the engine over and the car splutters into life, with the film's score playing in the background. But then the engine cuts out and the music also stops. He tries turning the engine over until eventually it kicks in, as does the score once again.

Two - A scene in Marty's pub where the camera dollies across the surface of the bar, and then jumps over a sleeping drunk sprawled across it before coming to rest with the tiniest of bumps and continuing on the other side of him.

[Spartan Girl]

One thing I love about Who Framed Roger Rabbit is how Jessica Rabbit subverts female character tropes. Everyone assumes, based solely on her looks, that she's an evil tramp who is just using Roger because why would a woman like her be with a dopey rabbit. But as it turned out, she was actually a pretty awesome wife. She genuinely and sincerely loved Roger. He made her laugh -- and he probably was the only guy who never treated her like a piece of ass.

[Blergh]

Interesting points re Disney's Robin Hood, Spartan Girl! 

For me, I always thought it was hilarious that Maid Marian's lady-in-waiting and bestie is a nervous hen called Lady Kluck! I mean, Maid Marion and the title character are foxes so no surprise the hen would be nervous- yet while Robin especially is a rogue, at no point do either of them ever consider EATING said hen! LOL. Oh, and this is the only cartoon I can think of in which foxes are considered heroes- even by hens and rabbits! 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Blergh
O

[Spartan Girl]

In the first transformation scene in The Mask, his strutting down the hallway matches the musical score perfectly. I can't be the only one that noticed:

[scarynikki12]

On 7/30/2019 at 5:20 AM, Spartan Girl said:

One thing I love about Who Framed Roger Rabbit is how Jessica Rabbit subverts female character tropes. Everyone assumes, based solely on her looks, that she's an evil tramp who is just using Roger because why would a woman like her be with a dopey rabbit. But as it turned out, she was actually a pretty awesome wife. She genuinely and sincerely loved Roger. He made her laugh -- and he probably was the only guy who never treated her like a piece of ass.

I love that the big scandal of Jessica playing Patty-Cake with that one guy is...them playing the kids game of Patty-Cake.

[Spartan Girl]

Discussion over Heath Ledger's iconic Joker in The Dark Knight has reminded me of all the little things to appreciate in his performance. One of my favorites was his fake "oh-this-is-awkward" greeting to Harvey Dent when he visits him in the hospital: "Hiiiiiiiii..."

[scarynikki12]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Discussion over Heath Ledger's iconic Joker in The Dark Knight has reminded me of all the little things to appreciate in his performance. One of my favorites was his fake "oh-this-is-awkward" greeting to Harvey Dent when he visits him in the hospital: "Hiiiiiiiii..."

He was also wearing a Harvey Dent campaign button.

[AimingforYoko]

My Joker-related Rule 32 was that they actually used the goof when the pyrotechnics failed (at first) and Heath's reaction to said goof.

[methodwriter85]

Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls finally wears hoop earrings at the end of the movie, because she's now serving a different queen bee so she's not bound to Regina George's rules.

That is such a fantastic little detail.

Edited September 14, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Shannon L.]

Back to Bohemian Rhapsody, there are two moments from Joseph Mazzello that I love.  The first is when he's fighting back the tears after Freddie tells the group that he has AIDS and the other is the look on his face during the audience participation moment at Live Aid.  They are both subtle, but effective and based on what I've read about John Deacon and his relationship with Freddie (apparently, he took it the hardest when Freddie died), it seems like how John may have actually reacted to both moments in real life. 

[Spartan Girl]

On September 13, 2019 at 9:45 PM, AimingforYoko said:

My Joker-related Rule 32 was that they actually used the goof when the pyrotechnics failed (at first) and Heath's reaction to said goof.

I didn't know that! That's awesome! I also loved his ad-lib of clapping along with the cops when Gordon was made commissioner.

[Shannon L.]

In When Harry Met Sally, this always makes me giggle:

Sally, sobbing: "And I'm going to be 40!"

Harry:  "When?"

Sally:  "Someday!"

Her delivery on "someday" was fantastic. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

In When Harry Met Sally, this always makes me giggle:

Sally, sobbing: "And I'm going to be 40!"

Harry:  "When?"

Sally:  "Someday!"

Her delivery on "someday" was fantastic. 

That exchange was comedy gold. Also:

Sally: And it's not the same for men! Charlie Chaplin had babies when he was 73!

Harry: Yeah, but by then he couldn't pick 'em up!

(Sally laughs briefly, but then dissolves back into sobs)

[Spartan Girl]

I rewatched Carrie the other day, and I noticed how when Carrie and Tommy were entering the prom with Tommy's nice friends, George and Frida, Norma and those other bitches were quick to point and laugh at her. But then Frida very quickly tries to distract her by complimenting her dress and asking where she got it, etc. 

I also kind had to appreciate how Tommy interacted with Carrie, once he saw how nervous she was and how difficult putting herself out there was for her. He does everything to put her at ease: making her laugh, teasing her about hugging Miss Collins, taking her out of her comfort zone and his gentle "Yes, you can" response to every time Carrie says she can't do anything. And when he tells her she's beautiful and the way her face just glows because that's the first and sadly only time shell ever hear that....

Damn Chris, Billy, and Norma to the seventh circle of hell.

[Shannon L.]

Rocketman has a bunch of them, but these two stand out to me:

1.  Right after he loses his virginity, the man Elton is with is cuddled up to him and the look on Elton's face is one of pure joy and love and contentment.  There was such a sweetness to it that warmed my heart (I didn't know what was coming later on). 

2.  In the Rocket Man sequence, the dead inside look on Elton's face during the attempted suicide and rescue scene, followed, in a split second, by a believable "I love my life and I'm so happy to be here with all of my fans!" look as he walks onto stage just two days later, was amazing.

The more I see the movie, the more impressed I am with how Taron nailed every emotion he needed to portray.  If there's any justice in Hollywood, he'll be nominated for every award available (but I'm resigned to Joaquin probably taking them all). 

[Spartan Girl]

I love the way Caesar and the other apes ride their horses in the Planet of the Apes movies, straight-backed with such swagger.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I love the scene in The Incredibles where Elastigirl is racing through Syndrome's lair, then gets a look of herself in the mirror, sees how her butt looks in her new uniform (middle-age and 3 kids don't exactly improve the derriere), sighs wistfully... then resumes her mission.

That's it! No whining, no midlife crisis, no resenting her daughter and her youth, no blubbering over wine about getting old, she just has one human moment of vulnerability, then gets back to business, and why? Because Helen Parr is awesome and doesn't have time for that self-pitying bullshit! Good for her! As someone who will be 40 in less than 3 years, a character from a Disney/Pixar flick is my role model for handling aging the right way (eat that, Sex and the City bitches!).

[Blergh]

In Twins, after Arnold Schwartzenegger and Danny DeVito's characters  after beat up on some thugs in a honky-tonk line dance bar, the other thugs just lay in the middle of the dance floor while all the other dance bar patrons cheer then line dance all around them. I don't know why but that cracked me up! 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Blergh

[Shannon L.]

I love the look and little laugh Tom Holland,  as Spiderman, gives when he's trying to pretend that something's not true. "You're Spiderman " Funny look and laugh "What? No..".  Also, in Far From Home, the look on his face when he saw what the texts between Ned and Ned's girlfriend said. 

[Spartan Girl]

The Little Mermaid: I love how Max, that lovely dog and good boy, interrupts the wedding kiss to give his "welcome to the family" slobber to Ariel.

[Wiendish Fitch]

After the Lion has joined Dorothy and her pals in The Wizard of Oz and they all sing "We're Off to See the Wizard", it's revealed the Wicked Witch is spying on them with her crystal ball. If you look at the crystal ball, you can see that Dorothy and her friends are soon just walking and casually chatting away. I love that little detail because it's such a normal bonding moment amidst all the musical whimsy. The Wizard of Oz is still one of the greatest movies about friendship ever.

And if you must make a "friend of Dorothy" crack, do it now or forever hold your peace.

[Spartan Girl]

As much as I love the big musical numbers in Moulin Rouge, the little moment I love the most is when Christian and Satine are making out during the rehearsals and making plans to see each other that night, and Christian smiles so wide and goofy with the lipstick smeared all over him. It's so damn adorable.

[scarynikki12]

So in The Irishman they do to this thing throughout the movie where, when a new character is getting introduced, they list when and how that person died. It's typically along the lines of: Character X, shot in the head, 1980. I'm putting this next bit under a spoiler tag just to be safe:

Spoiler

When we first meet a character...whose name I now realize I've forgotten though I think the first name is Tony, we get the same short write up to how he died like with the other mobsters throughout the movie. This time, though, we learn that: Tony, well liked, died of natural causes, 2001. The whole theater erupted with laughter when that happened.

When you guys watch the movie keep an eye out for that gem.

[Blergh]

Not that these things made any real difference to the plot but I loved in Little Women (2019)

1. Hannah the family retainer ate WITH the Marches at the very same table! I know in all versions, she was a de facto member of the family . However; even as recently as the 1970's the Brady Bunch's Alice never had her dinners at the very same table as the Bradys even though they took her  with them on vacations and she was in the iconic tic-tac-toe ! So for an 1860's servant to be able to do this showed that the Marches weren't just giving lip service to social justice re the outside world but not in their own household. 

2.  The scene at the beach and the scene with Jo and Laurie having their fateful talk with the background of the New England rolling hills each seemed like 19th century impressionistic paintings and I hope the cinematographers get Oscar nods if not win for their beautiful work in these and so many  other scenes.

3. Liked how the movie showed how dependent folks were on candles for ANY type of artificial light and how with every single candle illuminating the darkness to try to capture one's thoughts on paper, one was risking the paper itself if not one's person and house re the risk of fire destroying it all.  The only alternative to candles was gaslight but that was far from risk free (as San Francisco would discover via the Big One in 1906) and Concord seemed too rural to have had that option. 

4. LOVED seeing how Jo's manuscript came to light from Jo's actual writing dipping pen into an inkwell and putting it to paper to the type being set by hand, the pages being pressed, then the assembled pages being beautifully bound! In this age of the 'Net being able to instantly spread the first thing that pops in folks' heads to a worldwide audience, it's not only educational but also somewhat satisfying to see just how much thought and work went into every single step of this process that would capture Jo's thoughts and words forever. I think today's audiences need to see just how much passion on every step of the process was NEEDED for this to have happened not just to this work but countless other works of literature, biographies, educational works,etc. for centuries.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Blergh

[Spartan Girl]

Diana's reaction to Steve's death in Wonder Woman was very well done.  Gal Gadot managed to make the "Noooo!" gutwrenching without coming off as corny, and her sobbing as she twists and finally breaks free of the restrains and screaming in rage as she decimates all those soldiers.  And another nice was how big her eyes bug out in pure fury when Ares taunts her about Steve, right before she starts pummeling him.