The two women--WTF?


So what was so fascinating about this guy????? He has these two beautiful women all ga-ga over him, basically throwing themselves at him, and he couldn't care less. Puh-lease.

I have known a TON of alcoholics, and I have yet to meet one that will turn down ANY woman, let alone one who looks like Gloria. Helen might have been a virgin, etc.--okay. But Gloria was a sure thing! He could have gotten drunk before AND after. It makes no sense.

And what draws THEM to him? He's a drunk loser who babbles on and on. What's so friggin attractive about that???

I did enjoy the movie, but having two hot babes slobbering on him to no affect sure doesn't ring true in my world.

reply

To be fair, one of them was basically a bar slut. Considering the quality of men she usually went home with, he probably looked like a prize.

reply

[deleted]

Ah! Duh. It all makes sense now.

reply

You dont know any true alcoholics approaching the end stage. The drunks you know are still in the heavy drinking, party stage. Alcoholics dont have any kind of fun when they drink. They pass it all up for booze: food, sex, anything and everything that cuts into their drinking time.

reply

You don't know what I don't know.

This guy didn't seem to me like he was in the end stage. Ever see Barfly? That seems more an accurate portrayal of serious alcoholism. This guy was still pretty well dressed and relatively coherent. I supposed you could chalk it up to the time the film was made; this was probably "gritty and realistic" in 1945.

reply

Yeah, Barfly was more accurate. A stinking hobo of a loser has Faye Dunaway fall in love with him. Happens all the time.

reply

I agree with you....she wore such nice clothes for a slobbering alky. And the British rich chick....really? Hitting on BUKOWSKI? Fist-fighting over him?!

reply

If he was still alive he'd swear it was an accurate autobiography!

reply

I know! lol so full of it. Kinda fun reads, though.

reply

I'll drink to that. =)

reply

On the point of him not caring about them, I think that was the point. He certainly loves Helen, and probably even has some feelings, or at least physical attraction to Gloria, but that damn bottle...it's all that occupies his mind. Whether or not it's realistic doesn't matter- alcoholics in real life wouldn't reject a beautiful woman, fine. But in the context of this film, Wilder wants to show that for this guy, there is only the bottle.

Also they probably were all over him because he was a fairly attractive guy, and being a writer, was probably sensitive and spoke poetically. "Like Michelangelo, molding the beard of Moses." Chicks eat that sh!t up

reply

That was my biggest issue with this movie! How did Helen a smart educated woman fall for this guy who could never take care of her.

And then Gloria, who after he stood her up and treated her with disrespect, he gives her a kiss and opens her pocketbook. it was infuriating.


I understand the dramatic need for these two women he keeps turning away and using, but as far as believability goes, in a movie so set in a realistic harsh portrayal of a drunk took away from the movie.

reply

Finally someone who gets it! I suppose that during the 40s this was "gritty and realistic" (like I said previously), but come on. A woman like Helen would have all kinds of "normal" guys throwing themselves at her. And Gloria, who someone else called "a bar slut" could have done better, as well. If the guy blows her off time & time again, why get your hair done, etc., if you KNOW the guy will probably blow you off again? She wouldn't. And a bar slut wouldn't give HIM money, it's preposterous. Bar sluts like the guys who buy THEM drinks, not vice-versa.

And Ray Milland is not attractive at all. Add a sh*tty personality on top of it, and pffffffft!

reply

Milland and not attractive? Check him out in The Major and The Minor, not only is he attractive, he oozes boyish charm!

reply

I agree, Vicky.

reply

He has these two beautiful women all ga-ga over him, basically throwing themselves at him

...and his sober, decent, caring and good looking brother has none, which is sad and very realistic. Women often throw themselves at bad guys and don't even notice good ones.

reply

Oh, have I had THIS conversation before. I have yet to meet a truly "nice guy." I have found that the nerdier the guy, the meaner he is. I know you'll take issue with this, but I am not trying to be a jerk. I was once pretty good-looking (I'm old now, thank God, lol) and having two early BFs who I think you'd call "bad boys" I desperately searched for someone who was truly nice. I found that the more successful, cultured and what society would call average-looking the guy was, the better (craftier) he was at being mean. The Nerds I've met tend to like to lord their superiority over their women. Once they find out that you can spar with them word for word, you become a "man-hater" or a "spoiled bitch." (In other words, no good-looking bimbo DARE question his obvious authority.) It really really sucks. I am married to a decent guy, however, he can be very controlling and tends to see things in black and white (my way or the highway). He's very responsible and law-abiding, but his life has no room for mistakes made by being young (the kids) or has compassion for mistakes that fall outside his scope of law. I do love the man, and we have a great relationship altogether, but I get tired of being treated like I need to be taken care of because I couldn't possibly exist without his help.

reply

How do you know that Wick has no girlfriends??

Is that in the book? I don't recall its being in the movie. I don't think we can make that assumption just from the film.

reply

There is no mystery here. He was tall, nice looking, well groomed and a writer. Don Birnam was quite a wordsmith and woman found him to be fascinating. The movie contrasts the interesting Don well with the other men in the movie. Remember the nerdy looking guy that was looking for Gloria? Don's brother Wick was rather boring and straightlaced compared to the much more interesting Don.

Check out my review at Ruthless. http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/21953/lost-weekend/

Goat at Ruthless Reviews

reply

Well...I guess it's subjective. I find nothing attractive about Don (or the actor, physically speaking, lol). No charm whatsoever. Surly, drunk, angry...and a broke-ass writer to boot? (I am a writer, so I know, lol) Meh. Does nothing for me.

reply

Disagree to the bone, lol!

reply

Thank you for sharing your review, I enjoyed reading it.

reply

Its because its Hollywood and any love interest actress is going to be pretty. They're not going to cast a walrus girl just for 'realism' when LA is full of beauty girls.

reply

A walrus girl? ROTFLMAO

reply