MovieChat Forums > Alien from L.A. (1988) Discussion > 'Big Bones'

'Big Bones'

posted 15 years ago by ginger_sling
5 replies | jump to latest

Could someone please explain to me what the hell this is talking about?

I watched the MST3k version of this and they mention it in the earlier half of the film, while I don't think the actual movie mentions it until the last half or so. Did they cut the explanation for this out of the MST3k version?

"Big bones" is supposedly a specific enough description that everyone in Atlantis recognized Wanda when she was on the run, but I can't see what the difference between her and the rest of the people in the film could be. Did they explain what it was at all, or did they just start saying "she has big bones!" and hope it stuck as significant to the audience?

"Oh, all right. All right! A man with nine legs."

"He ran away!"

[–] GrownUpKid 15 years ago

She sure had some nice big bones, whatever those were supposed to be

Still got my fingers crossed, waiting for Judas Contract to get green-lit

[–] smeth 15 years ago

I think the phrase "big bones" has a couple purposes. One is that she is supposed to be very tall compared to the others (I think one of the newscasts warning about her calls her a giantess). This emphasizes how out of place she is. The other thing is that the phrase "big boned" used to refer to people, often girls and women, who were tall or clumsy or overweight. In a world where women are supposed to be petite and thin, being big boned was a way of saying "it's not your fault your don't look like everyone else, your bones are too big." The phrase was also used as way of insulting someone by using "nice" words.

I think the idea for using the phrase is to show the character being judged and insulted about her looks. Wanda is frumpy for most of the movie and her inner beauty only shines at the end. I think her transformation in the end is mostly about her inner strength and surviving teenage years to become a woman. Yeah, I know that Kathy Ireland is very beautiful. The emphasis of the story is about inner strength.

[–] ginger_sling 15 years ago

That makes sense!

Thanks for taking the time to explain it. (:

"If you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen." - Conan O'Brien

[–] jasontschaaf 8 years ago

Yeah, I just assumed it was because she is tall for a woman. Kathy Ireland is 5 foot 10.

[–] DevilYouKnow 8 years ago

The director thought that the people who lived in Atlantis would be smaller due to gravity, and when he auditioned Kathy he said she was very very tall and statuesque so that's where the "big boned" thing came from. It was a way to tell her apart as an "alien".

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