Awful Message
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eddysl12 — 13 years ago(February 10, 2013 02:40 AM)
Well, work should serve the individual / family not the individual / family work. His family should have been more understanding of his need to spend more time at work than they would have liked. He was busting his butt so that they could live comfortably. At that time he was putting in long hours for them, not for himself.
In Japan, everyone understands that the husband usually has to spend virtually all of his time at work. That is why fathers are called "Sunday Friends" by their kids. That is the only time the kids really see their fathers.
Michael ceased working to support his family and instead worked just to satisfy his own ambition. It wasn't so much what he was doing but why he was doing it. I think that is what drove his family away from him. Work is important, but it is not as important as your family or your health. -
parisel — 12 years ago(November 06, 2013 12:55 PM)
chinstrapjack,
I agree with your thoughts. I have a very close relative who is an architect, solo practice. He works all the time, sometimes at home, which means he may as well not be there at those times. Would we all like to see more of him? Of course. But choices were made a long time ago between him and his wife. They felt it more important for her to be a stay at home mother, be there all the time. And it was a sacrifice for her as well, not to be out in the world, pursuing her career. I really hate the stereotype of the lazy housewife. It's a full time job, meaning 24/7, with no bonuses, no awards.
So many kids have two working parents, and frequently both of them are either exhausted or preoccupied. There is no perfect way.
The situation was exaggerated for comedy effect, but every family has to find what works best for them
I guess it's like looking at clouds. You see one thing and I see another. Peace. -
d_henderson1810 — 10 years ago(April 23, 2015 04:44 PM)
But look who he works for.
His boss rides him hard and took credit for his idea, so getting a promotion, which didn't happen for 18 months after the deal, isn't easy.
Michael's boss was a prick. So when you are working for someone like that, you should be able to rely on your wife to at least support you, and not act like a shrew. -
novastar_6 — 10 years ago(April 25, 2015 10:09 PM)
Michael's boss was a prick. So when you are working for someone like that, you should be able to rely on your wife to at least support you, and not act like a shrew.
Or go work for someone else maybe? It's architecture, it's not like if he was flipping burgers at McDonald's that any idiot off the street could do his job, I'm just guessing since new buildings are always being constructed that there IS something of a demand for architects. -
Impenneteri — 12 years ago(September 06, 2013 11:46 AM)
Just like Jim Carrey's line on Bruce Almighty,
I'm not happy with this mediocre life
. The thing is we get to lose the important things in life and we sometimes forgot that time is the most important thing. After all, we only live once.
As much as you want to provide a good lifestlye for your family. One should never forget that you created your family because of love and that it means sacrifice as well. Adam Sandler's character have prioritized more on providing and care less for the importance of being there with your family. -
d_henderson1810 — 10 years ago(July 08, 2015 04:53 PM)
Yes, but sacrifice by BOTH parents, not just one.
The wife in this doesn't work, so she should then offer more understanding, and be less demanding to the SOLE breadwinner of the family, or else she can start working as well.
You know, back in the day, fathers were the sole breadwinners, and they were treated with reverence, since it was thought that "without them, we don't eat". Women didn't work, but kept house, but these roles were generally accepted. It was only with the feminist movement, and women working has become a new thing, and now there are more demands on both partners, and less understanding and respect for each partner's role. -
novastar_6 — 10 years ago(July 10, 2015 04:33 PM)
or else she can start working as well.
And then NOBODY will be there for the kids. They weren't starving, they weren't about to be thrown in the street, Michael thought THINGS would give his kids a better childhood than he had, he was wrong. -
d_henderson1810 — 10 years ago(July 12, 2015 08:33 PM)
Guess what, that happens a lot.
How old are the kids again? Maybe they should after-school activities or a stay at a child-minding centre.
I am not saying that the wife has to work, but then she can't just whine about how hard the husband has to work as well, considering that she wasn't complaining about the nice roof it put over their heads, or the nice food it put on the table, or the nice clothes it allowed her to buy. -
xix_azn_luv_xix — 12 years ago(March 17, 2014 03:16 PM)
My parents own their own business and work every day for the past 42 years never closing except MAYBE on Christmas. I wish they would once in a while take a day off and spend time with us My dad is already almost 70 but shows no signs of wanting to slow down.
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toychaser2005 — 11 years ago(April 05, 2014 09:43 PM)
I disagree with your point of view of the message. I don't think they were trying to Paint his character as a bad guy. I think the point of the movie was - he had a good life, but he believed that in order to be a good Dad and a good husband, that he needed to attain a grand amount of financial success. He was spending so much time working for the sole purpose of becoming Partner, not to just go to work and pay the bills.
He thought finances meant a better life for his children and his wife, he was not simply trying to sustain his middle class life - he thought that was "sh!t". What he learns is that all those finances did not make him a better Father nor a better husband and that his life was just fine the way it was, he did not need to become partner or advance his career.
Walken's character touches upon this when he tells Sandler about the lucky charm character always chasing the pot of Gold, and when he reaches it finding out it's just cornflakes. -
clownbaby866 — 11 years ago(April 09, 2014 10:46 PM)
Let's call it what it is: a contemporary comedic version of It's a Wonderful Life. Obviously it's not even in the same realm as It's a Wonderful Life, but I think it's a good dramatic turn for Sandler.
As for the message, I think it's a good one. If you get too boggled down with finicky details like how the wife doesn't work and he has to work more to support his family, then yeah sure, it's a bad message. But the message is simple; don't let work get in the way of your family life. You can work hard and still spend time with your family. I know real life isn't so cut and dry and you do have to make sacrifices and will disappoint your family, butthis is a movie. This isn't real life. It's an imitation of life. You can probably point out flaws in every single movie ever made. Why didn't this character do that? Why didn't they think of this? Why does it have to be that way? Well, because it's a movie. No one wants to watch a movie about a guy working crazy hours and coming home to an understanding wife and not experiencing any problems whatsover, then going back to work the next day, and so on and so on.
In conclusion, the OP seems pretty bitter. I feel sorry for you. Maybe you should watch lighter comedies so you wont get so down.
"Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time." -
d_henderson1810 — 10 years ago(January 05, 2016 11:59 AM)
But what about professions like being a doctor or someone who is "on call".
People get sick at any time, houses catch fire at any time, and other things happen when it is most inconvienient.
I think that if you marry someone in a busy job, you know what you signed up for. Don't take the fruits of the other person's labor and then complain about him or her doing that labor.
The real reason the wife bosses him around is because she was a controlling shrew. In fact, Sandler's character is getting it on all sides, and should stand up for himself more, and lay down the law, once and for all, even if it costs him everything. If she really loves him, she will take his standing up for himself on board, and they will try to work through things. If not, then the marriage wasn't based on much anyway. -
TheFatDruidofNacyl — 11 years ago(January 16, 2015 12:18 AM)
We was not a bad man but in his pursuit of trying to give his family nice things he was missing out on his family. It is like would you rather have a father that could buy you expensive toys and fast food all the time, or a father that could spend time with you. Teach you how to throw and catch a baseball.
His boss gave him an opportunity with a client. When working on the project would clash with his plans with his family the boss didn't have a problem finding someone else to do the job because he already had plans. It wasn't like he would lose his job. You even see that even with him willing to work all the time and kiss ass that he wasn't getting the promotions quickly. So he is actually better off balancing between work and family.
I doubt he was going to risk his kids going hungry or them becoming homeless for it. They just wouldn't be able to afford all the nice expensive things the neighbors had.
Even Walken's character said that he was a good guy that just needed a break. This was the whole reason he was going through the journey.
Come visit my
http://theblackrosecastle.com -
MonoEnojado — 11 years ago(February 14, 2015 10:18 PM)
"Yet how was he repaid? His wife ran off with the swimming coach (and I bet she cleaned Sandler's character out in the divorce and he was paying her alimony) and his kids were ungrateful little brats. If he turned into a distant, uncommunicative old man, maybe it's because he was sick of being taken for granted. "
I'm going to write a short reply, because I've had a couple of beers. I think you're forgetting something important about how the remote works. With the remote, Michael could skip things he didn't enjoy (mostly routine). At first he skip moments, then days, then months and later even years. Morty explains Michael that when he skips moments, his body is there but not his mind, i.e. he's on autopilot.
That's an important reason why he got distant with his family. They sometimes looked at him and he was just standing there without caring about anything, just
being
.
