MovieChat Forums > The Grifters (1991) Discussion > Oranges

Oranges

posted 19 years ago by Funnyboy73
4 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie in the theater with my mom (when I was 17). I know I could go out and rent it - and I probably should, as I've since become a huge fan of the goddess Anjelica Huston - but could someone help me refresh my memory with something?

Explain to me, please, the scene with the conversation about the oranges. I just recall Anjelica's character being terrified - but I cannot recall what the conversation was about, or the significance....

I'd love it if someone could help me out. Thanks.

Bring me the head of Paris Hilton.

[–] orbit_087 19 years ago

From the script:

LILLY
You hit a person with the oranges
in the towel, they get big, awful
looking bruises, but they don't
really get hurt, not if you do it
right. It's for working scams
against insurance companies.

BOBO
And if you do it wrong?

LILLY
It can louse up your insides. You
can get puh, puh, puh...

BOBO
(impatient)
What's that, Lilly?

Lilly pauses, bent over, tightly holding an orange.

LILLY
Permanent damage.

BOBO
You'll never **** right again.

[–] Funnyboy73 19 years ago

Thanks. God, that's some scary sh*t.

Bring me the head of Paris Hilton.

[–] westieangeljill 18 years ago

Yah, i when i first watched it i was like 'oranges...?'. Pretty clever, pretty clever...but brutal! ( Note to funnyboy-2: i am a total Anjelica Huston fan too! Awesome!)

[–] CalvinJarrett (447) 2 years ago

Thank you, Funnyboy73 for asking this question. And thank you, orbit_087 for answering it! I saw this movie over 20 times. It was my favorite movie in the early '90's, and you cleared something up for me over 30 years after! I always thought it was the oranges that were getting the "big, ugly looking bruises," and while unaesthetic, they were still edible. And I thought the insurance was on the produce. But that there was some commercial use for the still unharmed oranges (e.g., juicing). I thought the permanent damage and lousing up your insides came from the idea that sometimes the oranges aren't wrapped properly, and if someone eats any, they get some kind of bacteria that permanently screws up their GI track. Thank you for clearing this up. I must have never really heard that first line about "hitting a person."