Hardy TOLD Keith that Amanda was fine with coming to the party after she just broke up with him for two-timing on her. Keith didn't verify his story with Amanda and the movie does not show Hardy asking Amanda to the party or Amanda mentioning it. I always thought Hardy was just trying to manipulate Keith as he lies and manipulates others.
Yes, but you're forgetting about the part at the mall where Laura overhears Hardy and tells Keith that it's all a joke, and that Amanda is only agreeing to go out on the date to get him over to Hardy's party to get his ass kicked. And he believes it without even confronting Amanda to see if its true.
As for the date, Amanda was upset because Keith had set up this fairy tale date in his mind without asking her
Was it a fairy-tale date? If you want to call an expensive date a "fairy-tale date", fine, but why would that upset her? If anything, it would impress her that he went through all of that trouble just for her--Right?
I thought that she was upset for the way he was treating her with smart-ass lines like "Your ass is too precious for vinyl", "I like to cover my bets", and "Do you have to check with your friends first?"
And he had all these prejudices about her like she will know what caviar is and like it because she has friends who are upper middle class. Hardy probably never spent as much money on her in a week (maybe a month) as Keith did on the restaurant and bribing people around town. When he had the fancy restaurant bring out a burger for her, she started to warm up to him.
I can't argue with you here. Well-said!
I see a parallel between Keith's behavior towards Amanda and his dad trying to plan his whole life out for him at 18. He's creepy and controlling. The teacher told his dad that he was interested in art school and dad says "no, what can he do with that? I think he's got a head for business."
He's not creepy and controlling--He's just trying to look out for his son--Is that so wrong? Yeah, maybe he's a bit over-bearing about it, but he actually makes a lot more sense in this movie than a kid wasting his life-savings trying to impress a girl who's setting him up to get his ass kicked.
How is that a parallel with his behavior towards Amanda? Is she trying to control him too?
Keith and Amanda help each other learn to stand up to their friends / parents and stand on their own, directly and indirectly.
They just had the one date--Right? They didn't teach each other anything--They didn't even talk long enough to have time to teach each other anything.
He'd already stood up to his father, and she'd already stood up to Hardy and her friends by going out with him. Her friends weren't even talking to to her anymore JUST because she went out on this date.
So to me it's a story of redemption
Good for you! I obviously don't see it that way at all, but I'm all for people seeing great things in movies that I don't. "The SKOW Redemption"--I like it!
And the kiss at the Hollywood Bowl is justified, because they saved each other even if they didn't realize or plan to.
Saved each other from what? And even if they did somehow "save each other", THAT justifies a long romantic kiss???
I don't think it's fair to say Keith was trying to show off in front of the high school crowd because all the places that he took her were empty or a rich adult crowd. Not the mall or the street location where he asked her out.
But that's the reason why he was interested in her in the first place--Every guy in high school wants to date the hot popular chick as a trophy, and Keith is no different than anybody else.
But as soon as he found out that the joke was on him, that changed. Had he believed that she was going out with him because she really liked him, of course he'd be parading her all over school and all over town, at least by the second date.
He even says so in his fight with his dad, then Amanda says it on the date, and then he agrees that he used her for this very reason!
Also it's not quite fair to say Amanda accepted the date just to make Hardy jealous. That is Hardy's excuse, but she never said it. She was through with Hardy. Everything supports that in the movie. She only offered to go back to him to prevent Keith being beaten up. She could have turned Keith down. She could have said that she just accepted to make Hardy jealous, but she didn't. She could have turned him down and said she accepted since they were across the street and nobody heard what was said.
Well, let's see what we have to support MY claim...
1) She accepts the date right in front of Hardy when she was extremely mad at him for cheating on her again ("I said YES!")
2) Shayne repeatedly asks why she won't back out like she had planned to do, but she says that she just can't do it in cold blood.
3) Later on the date, she says "How this happened is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you".
Do you think that she really wanted to go out with him? He was a low-life that she didn't even know while she was hanging out with the rich popular crowd ("So you're asking me out...on a date?")
I agree that she was through with Hardy, but she still considers herself way above Keith.
And you do know that it IS possible to want someone to be jealous without wanting them back--Right? She was just giving him a dose of his own medicine, and it worked.
So I don't think that I'm seeing this movie wrong at all, but thanks anyway Maturity!
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maturity
8 years ago
Keith's sister got the wrong idea. The rest of the movie was based on a misunderstanding because Keith did not ask Amanda explicitly "did Hardy invite you to the party on our date? Did he tell you he was going to beat me up? Did you agree to come for that purpose?" I do not see her as being that cold-blooded, to use her own words. That is sadistic psychopathic behavior.
The line "how this happened is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you" doesn't make any sense. She is perfectly aware of the situation he asked her out and he was right that she had to ask her friends for permission and she knew he was right because they shunned her for defying their pressure to conformity. When Keith finally confronts her and says he was set up she doesn't seem to understand. When she says "are you asking me out...on a date?" she seems just surprised and embarrassed, not like she thinks she's above him.
So what if Keith blew his life savings on ear rings? It isn't going to be the end of the world for him. Lots of people get by without much savings. He is a working class guy. He can save up more or get a better job or Watts can also work. He didn't have the guts to stand up to his dad and tell him he wants control of his cash and it's really none of his business how he spends it. Buying a $4,000 stereo or fancy Armani suits might be seen as just as much of a waste of money. He is still living at home and will learn to live on his own.
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maturity
8 years ago
I called it a "fairy tale date" because he planned it all without her input. He asks her don't you like art when they pull up in front of the art museum, which he has set up for an after-hours private show. Hughes never has totally black-and-white situations or stereotypical characters. For ex: Hardy doesn't seem to be a jock. He's just an idle rich kid with idle rich friends. He is a coward and wimp when somebody stands up to him. Just because he tells his friend Amanda is "bringing Keith" doesn't make it true. Maybe he just wants his friends to believe that. He's a liar and a manipulator, sadist and a sociopath with no conscience. He was abusive, he manipulated Amanda and everyone else. He's not a reliable source of information on anything. He probably figured Keith would not ask Amanda but just bring her there and then he'd say she was in on it and Keirh would believe him. he could separate them and beat Keith and give her no chance to deny it. The question is do you really believe she was that low?
There is no proof that Amanda wanted to make Hardy jealous in the words "I said yes!" There is no proof she wanted out of the date; she didn't even know what she wanted because she had to go through her "friends." Shane was pressuring her to get out of it saying "don't you have something to tell what's-his-name, er Keith?" Was there any direct quote where Amanda claims she wanted out of the date without influence?
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