Oh yes, today it's totally wrong to say something like that because you will almost certainly be taken for a pedophile.
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Hazzer_99 — 16 years ago(July 02, 2009 01:18 AM)
No, I hear you. And I dont disagree with with the fact that the world need to chill out about such things. But the point I was making was that this is a discussion board for films, and quite simply we are
discussing
whether or not what he said was supposed to mean what it sounded like. The fact is, everybody who hears the line is surprised and wonders what it means, and the writers are not stupid. Its supposed to be something socially unacceptable otherwise he wouldnt have told Joe about how the woman he loves accepts the things that are
wrong
with him. Personally, I think it is supposed to mean he has tendencies to find kinds attractive or whatever, but in his case he is clearly a good man and would not hurt a fly and tendencies or not, he does his best to ignore his feelings. And his wife helps him with that.
But incidentally, I rant about random stuff all the time, so who am I to tell you not to say what you want to say!
Go to the loo, 'cause all the beep's coming out your mouth instead of your a-hole -
cobhatecrew — 16 years ago(August 16, 2009 09:53 AM)
no no no !! this is a brilliant love and life story why on earth throw a pedophile thing into it? no he isn't a pedo! i'm surprised somebody HAS started this thread , then again with the mentality of humans these days maybe i'm not . when quince said "i love little girls" it never crossed my mind that he was a pedophile . i saw this at the cinema and the audience just burst out laughing . i think it was just an example that we are all human , all fallible and silly and wrong things can slip out in a moment.
as for the scene where quince says about the deepest darkest secret , as stated in the movie "this isn't one thing , its an idea"
Also brad pitts character would know if he was a pedo (he knows all) and i don't think he would like him for it if it was true and as it turns out "death" really likes quince he even says"your one of my favourates" however he hates drew and basically says in not so many words "ur going to hell"
why? for being a schemer in business? is that worse than being a "pedo"?
in answer to your question yes you have misunderstood catastrophically -
WarpedRecord — 16 years ago(December 15, 2009 10:30 PM)
I thought that as well. The fact that he didn't want to tell his "darkest secret," followed by his very inappropriate comment shortly afterward seems to be a key to that secret. I suspect Alison was a cover or some kind safety check.
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maximumcool — 16 years ago(January 04, 2010 12:38 AM)
Quince's character (like all the characters in this film) is fairly complex imho. He is a very intelligent person when he gets the chance to be. We see that he's got a fabulous memory for sports figures and while everyone has been focused on this big deal he's been poking around and finding some alternative mergers (I would guess partially because he didn't have anything else to do, the merger with the big company (I forget the name) is largely being handled by Drew and Bill). Buthe lacks confidence in himself to begin with. He doesn't have the courage to come forward with these alternative options until the big deal falls through and even then I think he goes and talks to Drew about it because he's much more comfortable with someone else being the 'lead' on that sort of thing. He probably is intelligent enough to fit in with the rest of the family but he clearly doesn't feel like he really belongs with the family. When he talks to Joe about his relationship he refers to himself as being a world class loser and you even tho he's referring to the past, I think deep down he still worries that he still is a loser.
Drew at one point doesn't quite understand all this. He talks to Quince about not having to kiss butt anymore and being rich on his own money because he thinks that Quince cares about that sort of thing, but he doesn't. He's afraid to tell Bill about what he did because he's afraid it will ruin his relationship with his wife, nothing more. But he overcomes that fear in the end and is allowed by the script to redeem himself by manipulating Drew into coming to the party at the end (once again subtely showing that he actually does have skills and intelligence).
Now as for his comment about liking little girlswell I think that most certainly he doesn't mean it that way and tends to sometimes blurt things out without thinking about them. But my main theory is this: he and his wife have obviously been married for a while but they don't have any kids. I'd be almost certain that this is because they haven't been able to. His wife looks at him like she does because she knows that's what he means and it hurts her a little. He's not saying it to be hurtful, I think he just means he likes kids and he wishes that they had some children, but (having struggled for 7 years to have children with my wife and not having much luck) it always hurts a little to be reminded of that fact.
This of course all ties in with his relationship with his wife (and her relationship with her father). She is someone who is always looking for affirmation from her father and Quince is someone who is very friendly and in general is always trying to make people feel better about themselves (like saying he likes keychains). This is probably one of the reasons they are in love. But if my theory about them being infertile is correct (and no way of knowing short of one of the script writers responding!) this just adds further understanding to Quince and Alison that this is another area of their life in which they feel like they have failed.
As for the his worst secretswell it could be anything, including him being attracted to children (which a big thumbs up to whoever said earlier that there's nothing wrong with that as long as he doesn't act on those feelings, the vast majority of pedophiles were molested when they were children themselves) but I don't think it was meant to go with that comment. He could just as easily have other dark secrets, certainly he seems to be a borderline alcoholic in the movie. But hats off to the writers and everyone involved in the process for making such interesting characters.
"Go away or I'll call the brute squad!" -
mfs_void — 15 years ago(May 05, 2010 10:56 AM)
Without realizing there's already a thread on what Quince had said about his fond or love for little girls during the dinner scene, I sat through the flick recently after years of not seeing it.
The following describes more or less what I felt when I watched the scene in question.
When I heard Quince said his line, initially I felt rather bemused. However, I quickly overcame the bemusement and zeroed in on what exactly he had meant when he said those words.
Both Quince and Allison must have been married for quite a number of years prior to the start of the film (supposedly).
One obvious fact about the two of them is that they don't have any children of their own even after being married for so many years.
It's a natural thing for a husband (or wife) who has been married for so long and not having any children, to somewhat pine and hope for a child.
I believe, Quince isn't a pedophile as what has been suggested at the beginning of this thread. That claim is not only far-fetched, but also baseless.
As such, to me, if Quince were really guilty of anything, all that he was guilty of was one of a Freudian slip; implying his desire to his spouse and other close members/acquaintance of the family, that he's hoping to finally have children of his own girls preferably.
Case closed. -
sparkster1 — 15 years ago(July 21, 2010 10:18 AM)
I'm inclined to agree with
maximumcool
and others who view Quince's character more innocently than the original poster.
I've seen this film several times; as it happens, it aired again just a few nights ago and I was able to watch it from the start. Ironically, I particularly noticed Quince's "I love little girls!" line in this recent viewing. I was bemused, but I also remember thinking it did NOT, as so many have posted, come "out of the blue." It was actually was spoken with some context.
Since I'm responding to this from work (on a break, though!), I can't access the actual film. I was able to look the script up online, however. Quince's Little Girls line comes during the second dinner Joe has with the family. During that first dinner, which immediately followed his revealing himself to Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins' character), Bill is primarily concerned with just navigating his way through the meal with this unexpected guest.
The next day, having had some time to digest (no pun intended) the fact of his soon-to-be demise, Bill Parrish instructs his secretary to tell his family he wants them all to join him for dinner again that night (his secretary is surprised by that fact, as is the family when they get together.) At dinner, Bill makes a few halting attempts to make some kind of profound statement of appreciation to his assembled family, but finds he can't really pull his words together. One of his sentences begins, "AnywayI remember when you were little girls" and then he trails off. There is an awkward pause, and that's when Quince pipes up "I love little girls!"
It didn't strike me as creepy or as the least bit pedophilic. I saw it as no more than Quince's clumsy attempt to fill an awkward silence at the table, to help his father-in-law out. And it seemed totally in keeping with the way Jeffrey Tambor plays Quince, as a guy who generally comes out with whatever pops into his head.
Later, when Quince and Joe talk about love, Quince remarks that he was a world-class loser and his wife loves him anyway. He adds that "there's nothing we don't know about each other and it's okay. I mean the deeper, darkest secrets they don't matter." Please note: he doesn't say that Allison knows HIS deepest, darkest secrets; rather, that
they
know each others.
Does anyone feel that Allison is hiding some dangerous, dark thoughts - is SHE the pedophile? (Kidding!) No. I think
maximumcool
is on the right track when he/she suggests Quince's secret is that he lacks confidence, is insecure. Allison suffers from a similar problem, compounded by the fact that she knows her sister is her father's favorite.
My reading of Bill Parrish's character is that he is the last man on earth who would keep someone on staff who is inept at his job, so I've always bought into it that, on some level, Quince is a good businessman. He may, however, lack the drive or initiative or "killer-instinct" of someone like a Drew, which he may translate to him as "not quite good enough." And I too suspect Quince may see himself as inferior to the Parrishes in general.
If I may draw an analogy for those who are fans of "The Office": I see Quince as bearing a slight resemblence to Michael Scott, in that he's sort of socially inept (though nowhere near as downright offensive as MS can be.) At Joe's first dinner with the family, Quince makes a remark about how the veal is prepared which his wife quickly shushes (presumably because it's not exactly a palatable topic of conversation.) In "The Office", Michael is a social dweeb and a horrible office manager, who nevertheless is shown, at times, to be a really good saleman. The one place where he can read people correctly and behave accordingly is when he's making a sale. Perhaps Quince has a similar ability somewhere.
All in all, Quince seems like a sunny, likeable but very average guy, who harbors insecurities about his worthiness. I think he's a great match for Allison - they both seem to wear their hearts on their sleeve. When Joe is first introduced to them, Allison immediately blurts out "I love that name!" and, later, asserts that it's "So sturdy, so straight!" (Does that make her a crazed psycho killer of guys named Joe? Kidding, again.) Quince backs up her first remark with "Me, too. Hey, buddy!" Somewhere in this thread, someone noted that seemed a little overly-friendly to say to a person you've just met. And so it maybut then, so are Allison's comments overly-friendly. I think that's just the way those two are.
In a later scene, when Allison is upset by her father's lack of interest in her party preparations (due to his preoccupation with Joe) and begins to cry, Quince does a very good job of cheering her up and confirming for her that these things actually do matter to him and, ultimately, to Bill. I think a great part of the significance of that pairing in the film is to demonstrate for Joe how couple's work to help one another and soothe each other's hurts. ( -
betelgeuse-6 — 15 years ago(October 14, 2010 01:12 AM)
Some excellent essays here about Quince! Who would have thought?
Quince may see himself as a loser, but he is an honest, good, playful, kind man who may be just a bit naive. I, too, believe that, when he blurted out the "little girls" line, he was just trying to lighten things up at an awkward moment, as he tried to do more than once at the family dinners. He's a simple, good person, who means well. And, more to the point, he is given Joe's heartfelt approval near the end of the film:
QUINCE
Do you like me, Joe?
JOE
Oh yes, you are one of my favorites.
In this film, that's about the highest recommendation you can get. -
wyliec — 14 years ago(May 01, 2011 06:30 PM)
Agree wholeheartedly betelgeuse-6!!
As for the OP, the only way one could interpret this as titled on this thread is if one was over-sensitized to any reference to children by having been a victim themselves.
I don't know whom I feel worse for - those that simply don't understand the concepts of this movie or those that deliberately troll a suggestion they know is false. -
fugazzi49 — 14 years ago(April 27, 2011 10:42 AM)
It's just part of an ongoing joke.He says he loves whatever is being discussed.Bill's daughters as little girls was the topic at the second dinner;note that at the first dinner,when Allison is talking about platinum keychains as party favors,he says "I love keychains".He's presented as a sweet,bumbling character with low self-esteem & the writers wouldnt have negated this by giving him such a dark side.
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Speed-the-plow — 14 years ago(April 02, 2012 03:20 PM)
Wow, this never crossed my mind until I read this, but as someone else pointed out, Quince and Allison are a childless couple; maybe this is the reason why.
Having pedophile-like desires does not make you a bad person, but acting on this desire does, especially, if you do nothing to prevent yourself from acting upon it, or even worse, deliberately seek positions/settings that give you easy access to children.
In fact, it could be said that someone who does have these desires, and does everything they can to keep oneself from acting upon them is a very good person. -
BigRich — 13 years ago(January 14, 2013 01:21 AM)
I thought the deep dark secret he was referring to was the fact that it was HIM that told Drew and the board about Joe Black and because of this, the board voted Bill Parrish out as Chairman. As he's telling Joe about his situation with his wife, and how they know each other's secrets, etc remember the fact that his wife is Bill Parrish's daughter. Even though it was He that caused her father to lose everything, she still loved him.
However, hidden within this message, where Quince is telling Joe about knowing each other's deepest darkest secrets and then you're able to love each other freely I gathered this was the point when Joe felt he needed to tell Susan who he really was.
_
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