Joe Bologna - Creepy dad too….
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Blame It on Rio
rockmail — 16 years ago(October 13, 2009 12:06 PM)
Okay, Michael Caine portrays a father with less than stellar decision making skills when it comes to young woman, and boinking the children of friends, but why does no one mention the over the edge of pedophilia aspects of Joe Bologna's character?
He acts like the personal bodyguard of his daughter's vagina, not just her well being.
He has a "pact" with her that she will call him just before she actually has sex for the first time? He is asked, but never answers what good that would do. Is he going to sit there and pleasure himself after he hangs up the phone, or alternatively, does he expect to run over to her, and pull the guy out in defense of "daddy's vagina"?
Creepy either way.
And after finding out she DID have sex without telling him, he actually plans bodily harm to what he imagines is a young man of her own age - to the point where the knowledge of her becoming sexually active is "ruining his life".
He beats up innocent bystander/suspects and is generally WAY OBSESSIVE about his daughter's lil poontang.
Yikes! What a psycho!
I get that it's a fantasy movie, and Joes' role is to add energy/comedy and be an overly dramatic foil to the other characters, but it creeps me out as much or more than M. Caine's role. Folks, you set up your kids with good decision making skills, information, morals, and actual supplies when necessary, but ultimately you have to let them go already.
Here's a shocker for all you parents out there, if you have a 17 year old daughter, it's a 50-50 chance she's had sex already. The best way to worry less about the consequences is to PREPARE them, not go spaz after the fact. -
gvytui — 16 years ago(November 16, 2009 11:33 PM)
There's nothing "creepy" about his character in the movie. Many fathers are protective of their daughters lives, and that includes their sex lives. This spreads across all cultures through all history - your daughters are supposed to be pure and virgins upon marriage. We may disagree with this view now, but there is more than enough literature out there about this if you are unaware.
Joe Bologna's character is an old school guy - men are allowed to go out and play but women (least those in their lives) are expected to remain innocent and untouched. Hypocritical? Yes. But it's the way it was.
Joe gets defensive about his daughter's dating life and wants her to let him know when she's about to "become a woman" so to speak - so that he can maybe talk her out of it and make sure she's doing the right thing. A lot of modern mother/daughter tandems have pacts like this, and while I haven't heard of a father/daughter pact of this nature, it doesn't surprise me that his character would insist on it to hopefully get one last word in before she has sex to maybe convince her otherwise.
Again, he's not really creepy so much as he is over-protective. Like you said, if your daughter is 17, chances are she has experimented sexually already. But for his character, her age doesn't matter - she could be 30 and he'd still be protective over her.
Additionally, he beats up the lounge singer because he feels he is the "older man" who has taken his daughter's innocence. If she simply had sex with some guy her age it might be one thing, but the feeling is she was taken advantage of (she was in tears telling him about it) and manipulated by a perverted older man. Rare is the father that DOESN'T want to beat up the suspect older man in that situation.
Just my 2 cents. -
rockmail — 16 years ago(December 17, 2009 03:21 PM)
EVERYTHING you describe is CREEPY and inappropriate in this modern, more intelligent, less superstitious world. You're simply repeating the point of view of the old-school, creepy, over-protective parents.
The whole stupid fascination with "virginity" by definition is literally focused on the actual vagina of the daughter. THAT is creepy, as one's body parts are one's own concern, no anyone elses. Parents should promote health, but "virginity" is a silly construct that serves no good purpose for anyone.
You should become sexual when and if it is appropriate for you and your own personal situation. Whether at 17, or 65.
So that is my point, the entire point of view is ancient, outdated, and not healthy for the parent or the child. Yes, you should be protective of their safety, give them guidance on their health, and educate them about their sexuality, but to demand to know the exact moment they are experiencing sex is really old-school, over-religious, over-protective and creepy/wrong.
Hypocritical actions as you recognize them, need to be REMOVED. They are inappropriate by definition, and should not be tolerated as "But it's the way it was."
Of course there is tons of "literature" out there, parents have been raising children both appropriately and unfortunately inappropriately for years. America in the 50's was a morass of old wives' tales, and misinformation which thankfully we are leaving behind us. So just because something happened and it was recorded for history does not make it right.
The ONLY reason an "old-school" parent (mother or father) would want to know exactly when their child experiences sex for the first time, would be to "talk them out of it", as you said. That is pointless, and too little too late. Only really naive parents think they can control their children like radio-controlled robots, then they get upset when they find out they can't.
You shouldn't be trying AT ALL to "get one last word in", to "talk them out of it". That is inappropriate as well - at that point you should have done your job and given the child tools to make the decision themselves. If they are TOO young, then they should be removed from the situation entirely, but we're talking about 17 year old people here, which is pretty much the main age that most people start becoming sexually active with others in our society.
The appropriate action is to educate, outline repercussions for their actions, and even get them the appropriate birth control if they are of an age where they are "at risk" of beginning such activities.
I can agree that a parent should make themselves AVAILABLE during a child's initial sexual experiences to HELP and GUIDE them, but at no point is it appropriate for a parent to INSIST on meeting their child's partner first, and "giving the green light", so to speak. That again, is CREEPY. Children will make up their own mind on who, where, and when they experience sex, and the best thing you can do is to make sure they are knowledgeable about how to make those decisions.
Parents need to realize that their role is that of teacher, protector, and supporter of their children, not their dictatorial masters who must approve every move the child makes.
At best, we can give them guidance, then they must fly on their own. Over-protectiveness by parents is simply immaturity and selfishness on the parent's part. And as if you say, he'd be doing it if she was 30 as much as if she waa 17, then that's EXTRA CREEPY. Parents do not "own" their children's body parts, and certainly not those of their adult children.
Notice the "Joe" father character doesn't ask his daughter to call him to discuss whether she should have sex, or if the situation is safe/healthy, that would be appropriate. Instead, he insists simply that she should call him so he can
Let it go, would be the mature point of view. -
stephen_j_foy — 16 years ago(December 26, 2009 04:07 PM)
Agree totally with
gvytui
. He described Joe Bologna's character perfectly. Yeah, he was a bit over-the-top, but that's what made him so funny. Imagine for a sec that you had a daugher like Michele Johnson. Knowing that every guy is checking out your daughter big time would make any father act a little crazy. I bet a lot of real Dad's in his position would act even more crazy than Bologna did in this movie! -
fredgarv79 — 16 years ago(February 03, 2010 06:09 PM)
ok, I just heard it, he said, " we had a pact, you should have told me first, at least call" so it sounds like he just wanted to talk to her first a little. why? I dont' get that part. what is he going to say to her? ok, jennifer, we've had a nice talk, now go ahead and bonk, have fun. I think your're right, he is a little creepy, but this whole movie is a little creepy, but really who cares? it's funny and entertaining in multiple ways. I think even women might like it, but of course, it's the perfect fantasy for any guy over the age of 30, so to me when I fist saw it, it was just great.
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