MovieChat Forums > Cujo (1983) Discussion > This part didn't make sense

This part didn't make sense

posted 12 years ago by JSplend954
19 replies | jump to latest

I recently saw this movie, and when the Camber's Boy makes contact with his dog - Cujo in a wooded area, he notices Cujo is acting different. The dog is foaming at the mouth, growling, not obeying his instructions.

He tells his mother about Cujo's unussual behavior and makes a comment that he is going to tell his father before they leave for their trip. The mother tells her son "You will do no such thing, as he probably got sprayed by a skunk and your father will know what to do".

That comment doesn't make sense. If Cujo got sprayed by a skunk I'm sure there would be a strong odor around Cujo and the boy would have realized that. Why would she insist that he doesn't tell his father about Cujo's condition?

It's possible the father would have done nothing but at least he may have been somewhat prepared.

[–] lm362 9 years ago

Along with what others have said, I'll add that she just thought of Cujo as a dog and was the kind of person that viewed dogs as able to care mostly for themselves, that pets were not things you get attached to. She cared more about what she wanted to do instead of putting the dog's welfare first.

[–] benGsboat 9 years ago

She didn't say anything about a skunk. She said "You'll do no such thing. Your father will just jump on something like that."

Meaning, "He won't let you go on the trip."

[–] Legendary_Badass 9 years ago

It made perfect sense, it was just a little less obvious than the typical Hollywood crap they're serving these days.

Mrs. Camber is seen as being a little off in her introduction. There's no point in having her being introduced in the manner she was if everything was fine and dandy at home. This explains the concern in the face of the protagonist. Mrs. Camber even had to win the lottery to get time away from her husband. Packing photos for a trip to her sister... more like fleeing.

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[–] Centralline92 9 years ago

I agree with what some others have said here already. Charity wanted out of the marriage and was leaving Joe as he was seemingly a nasty, abusive, controlling bully. She seemed afraid of him most of the time and the trip to see the sister was a way of her getting out and making sure she took her son with her. Brett telling Joe about Cujo would make Joe stop him from going on the trip with Charity. She would then have to come back or risk never seeing her son again as Charity clearly had no intentions of ever returning. She was escaping a horrible life. I don't think Brett realised what she was up to though.

[–] SueDeeNim 8 years ago

Yes; the movies should have made the situation a bit clearer. The clues were there, but easy to miss if you weren't watching closely. For example, packing the photo album, etc. was a "blink and you'll miss it" moment.

Camber was a much more horrible person in the book; anybody would leave him in a heartbeat if they could. They did the story a disservice by downplaying his personality in the movie. He didn't seem like that bad a guy in the movie.

[–] Milkdoesabodygood 8 years ago

How much more dangerous would it have been IF Brett and charity had stayed, they both might have been killed too by rabid Cujo.

Spoiler alert for them spoil sports out there! Y'all like spoiled milk, stop crying over it!

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Sweet_T0209 8 years ago

I think after hearing what was wrong with Cujo, she immediately knew he had rabies. Since she was in an abusive relationship, and knowing how dangerous rabies were, it all worked out right for her. Therefore, she decided that it was in her best interest that he didn't know Cujo had rabies.

[–] slipperyspirit 8 years ago

Well I think it's been made pretty clear now

Charity was stuck in a dead-end, abusive marriage and she was planning on leaving for good, so she didn't want to give Joe any opportunity to delay, or worse, completely negate her trip, or more accurately, her escape

The book illustrates this point very clearly, but the film is much more subtle, like others have said, the clues are there but you have to look very closely

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