MovieChat Forums > Youth in Revolt (2010) Discussion > Who cares if 'people really talk like th...

Who cares if 'people really talk like that'...?

posted 14 years ago by TylerDurden87
2 replies | jump to latest

That's a complaint that has popped up in Juno criticism and now Youth In Revolt: "Nobody talks like that."

What is the issue if a bunch of quirky FICTIONAL characters talk differently than the audience's boring bunch of generic friends? There is a reason we go to movies, and that is to see things that are more interesting or more emotionally engaging than our boring lives.

Do cops really act like Murtaugh and Riggs from Lethal Weapon? Does anyone actually know anybody that acts like "Jack" from Fight Club? Or Verbal Kint from Usual Suspects? How many times has an actual person had to deal with situations similar to those experience by John McClane or John Connor? How many gangsters does anyone actually know?

Why is it that occupations and events are allowed to be extraordinary, but dialogue isn't?

[–] alienworkshop-zero 12 years ago

Totally agree with you, man. Pay them no mind, as works of fiction are meant to be mental masturbation- derailing from what happens in life and journeying into our constant, personal fabrication. I loved this movie for that reason, it's very fresh. I particularly like the scene with Justin long talking about past lives. It's purposefully confusing, but elegant in humor- not the pointless jabber of our simple minded coworkers.

[–] Craytonus_AP 12 years ago

Here's the thing . . . some people DO talk like this. Or rather, they would if that sort of speech didn't tend to put other people off. My normal or "default" speech patterns are very similar to the way Nick and the others spoke in the film. The reason I don't speak that way is because it's become clear to me that the average person looks at you like you're some kind of eccentric nutjob for using polysyllabic or even archaic words in casual conversation.

So yes, there most certainly are people who talk like this in real life, but I'd be willing to bet that the majority of them rein it in, so to speak, so as not to weird out their friends.

"Tahiti is not in Europe . . . I'm going to be SICK."