Did anyone else laugh at this??
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Dollhouse_89 — 16 years ago(November 01, 2009 12:15 PM)
i am an american. when i heard that line i sort or raised and eyebrow and chuckled. i thought "is that supposed to mean something"?
i didn't know if they were supposed to be under the impression that their american origin somehow made them important or if they wanted the other people to think "hey someone is going to come down hard on this place if these americans go missing". -
Sabracad — 16 years ago(November 07, 2009 07:29 PM)
Yes it was meant to be funny and yes there is a perception that all Americans think they are untouchable and the words "we're American" will solve all problems.
I'm not sure where this perception came from.
I almost came as a Shark actually, but then I realised that an Eagle was slightly better. -
g-463 — 16 years ago(December 06, 2009 03:30 AM)
It's meant to be kinda funny, yes. But it's also something someone might say in a situation like that. They're under the impression that this is how Russians take care of business. They don't yet know that Ben Kingsley's character is a crooked cop.
Plus, the movie recognized that this was a humorous line. That's why Ben Kingsley's character said, "They're American. Shoot him in the knee." -
LawDawg95 — 16 years ago(December 29, 2009 04:37 PM)
like Roy & Jessie would never say that.
But to most Americans who rarely travel outside the U.S. this would seem like a reasonable protest to make. It would seem like a realistic statement to most Americans. -
itsmymailaccount — 15 years ago(April 26, 2010 07:58 PM)
Nobody in America really cared one way or the other. The thing is in Spain, and probably most of the rest of the world, you apparently obsess about America and American culture. Here, I hate to say it, most Americans don't give a moment's thought about the rest of the world. We sort of like British TV shows and music, and that's about it. The rest of the world is a quaint Disneyland to us. Sorry to burst your bubble that Americans were somehow sitting around thinking about that line one way or the other. The reality is most Americans didn't see this movie, those that did forgot it two minutes after it ended, and those that did certainly didn't think about that line at all. But we're glad the line gave you a few moments of escape from your life of bullfighting and poverty though
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Shteve3 — 15 years ago(May 05, 2010 04:54 PM)
I was kind of taken aback by this line too (I'm American) but I think what Roy was getting at is that they stand out in Russia because they are American and it would be noticeable if they were missing. At least that's what I tell myself to be convinced that Roy wasn't an idiot. Except his character is a littlenaive, I guess. I don't know; just throwing that out there.
I think beep just happens, but that's just me. -
Kronborggade — 15 years ago(June 03, 2010 05:25 PM)
At first I found the line stupid, but I believe that his intention was to state that they as foreign citizens have rights and are to be treated according to international laws. The line just came out goofy and should have been rewritten. Or ditched.
Do Americans really feel more protected because of their foreign policies? Well, some do I guess and some don't. I would like to think that my country (Denmark) would do what it could to help me, should I accidently end up in a siberian beep (or just a simple cartoon-misunderstanding about bombs and turbans).
*** IMDB beeped me. The line was 'siberian gangster/drugs/beep-up. Figure out the beep yourself. *** -
donald-rando — 15 years ago(June 06, 2010 03:42 PM)
I didn't laugh, but I can see why some would. It is like black comedy I guess, laughing at their foolishness for their thinking their citizenship should protect them. When they say we are american they should be saying we are humans, sadly that may not mean much to some people either.
How am I not myself? -
markfilipak — 15 years ago(June 12, 2010 11:25 AM)
"You can't do this to us, we're American!!"
That one line quite brilliantly (and economically) conveyed just how naive Roy was. Do I know people like that? Sure, and so do most of you.
PS: A hundred years ago, the line could have been: "You can't do this to us, we're British!!" and a hundred years before that: "You can't do this to us, we're French!!" Enough said? I hope so.
Interested in collaborating on a new type of film rating system? Contact me. -
msellman1 — 15 years ago(June 28, 2010 10:49 PM)
The character is serious, but the viewer is supposed to laugh at his naivete, while also being sympathetic to someone in such a dismal situation. The line doesn't really work b/c it draws you out of the movie to ask just your question, but it's not an elegant or interesting enough idea to merit presence in the movie. It's the most cringworthy part of a movie that has its share of cringeworthy moments, but not for the the geopolitical narcissism of the filmmakers. Plus, one can't really know what they'll say in such situations and being an "American" does have more cache in those situations because the US is surely the most extreme, capable, and adept at administering martial, financial, and diplomatic retribution around the globe. Look at Afghanistan and Iraq. And again, the line is in keeping with his mid-western golden boy character.
A correction: the US is "the" most powerful country in the world, not "one of the". A point of fact not pride. -