MovieChat Forums > The Way Way Back (2013) Discussion > Trent is right about Candy Land

Trent is right about Candy Land

posted 10 years ago by baconbit
14 replies | jump to latest

First off, Pam is the one who wanted to play. Second..if you can just take the shortcut any time you want..what would the point of having the REGULAR longer route on the board? "We can fudge the rules" OK..fine...but Duncan, the one who is moving, doesn't WANT to. He wanted to play by the damn rules. My god...these aren't 5 year olds playing who might cry if they lose. IF you are going to play a game, play by the rules.

If you played Chutes and Ladders, you wouldn't expect to just go up all the ladders instead of passing by, would you?

[–] jonnysound 10 years ago

Sure

[–] greskeneveland 10 years ago

The problem was that Trent started arguing when there wasn't a reason to forcing her to defend herself pointlessly. Sure he had a point but he was being a royal jerk about it.

[–] ivyelle4 10 years ago

She was already pissed about what's-her-face.
He was trying to teach the kid to stick to be a generally responsible man in small ways.

That's the beauty of the movie - it wasn't clear cut, like some lame charicature.... and each person's perspective on the other was generally valid.
That scene just showed the cracks in Trent and Pan's relationship.

[–] AtoZ2014 9 years ago

"He was trying to teach the kid to stick to be a generally responsible man in small ways."

He was a dick boyfriend who wanted to bully his girlfriend's 14 old son, who he hardly knew.

[–] ispamforfood 9 years ago

The reason Trent was so wrong in arguing over "obeying the rules" was because he himself was disobeying the rules by cheating on Pam with that other guy's wife. It's hypocrisy.

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Right now, we are alive... And in this moment, I swear... We are infinite.

[–] johmil-18374 9 years ago

Thats spot on. And Carells character have such a nasty aura that he do not have to say anything, you just instinctually dislike him.

His extremely selfish and I don't buy into that he wants to teach the boy to be responsible. Duncan had a great insight when he said to his mother that Trent only seems to care about the family but not really doing so. Trent want to show the image of a responsible family father mostly cause its a position he like to have. Its a status position especially when you are not bound to act responsible yourself but just demand it from others and Duncan especially. Probably it stems back to Trents own childhood, he just does what he wants and he kind of get a kick out of manipulating Duncan.

[–] hka-3 9 years ago

Well said. You're right, Trent definitely was not interested in teaching Duncan to be more responsible and didn't care about Duncan raising his number from a "three." If he did he would've been proud of Duncan's victories at the water park (yes, Duncan had been deceptive about his employment, but Trent still should've been able to appreciate the bigger picture about Duncan raising his "three"). Instead he said, "Are we done?" and acted like he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

It's also a great point that Trent proved he didn't have the credibility to demand higher standards from others.

As for Pam, when it came to Candy Land she had been feeling guilty that Duncan was suffering due to her decision to be in a relationship with someone like Trent and she made a bad decision to "baby" Duncan during the game as a way to help make up for her shortcomings. She just wasn't making good choices all around. I think when she saw a more accomplished and mature side of her son, it was a relief for her to know he wasn't nearly as dependent on her as she previously thought. I believe this led to her feeling like she could stand to be choosier about the man she was in a relationship with.

Mag, Darling, you're being a bore.

[–] johmil-18374 9 years ago

Yes Pam really made some bad decisions. She seems like a person that wants everyone to get along. But unfortnatly that means caving in for Trent all the time because he will cause more problems if he don't get what he wants. I think you're right about Pams reasons for defending Duncan during the game its probably a combination of babying Duncan (defending him in completly wrong situation) and her own anger against Trent. Probably it was the straw that broke the camels back from a classic "afraid of conflict person" and I think generally that kind of personality gets angry in rather strange situations.

[–] trickg1 9 years ago

That's a very cool observation and a connection I never made in the times I've seen this movie. Thanks!

My name is Gladiator - Maximus Decimus Meridius

[–] byson5186 9 years ago

Yeah, and I'll say that when I watch this movie while the movie tried to make him an unlikable character, I feel like he wasn't that bad. He wasn't the friendliest, but the movie mostly just shows him as not being accepted by Duncan and tries to make him unlikable.

[–] ChocolateButt 9 years ago

He was not accepted by Duncan because he was an a$$hole. That's the character. He cheated on the mother and belittled the son for no good reason, while constantly abusing his power over them.

"What race are you? If you don't tell me I'll just...assume the worst."

[–] melinda2001 9 years ago

This is why the game came with an age limit. They were all breaking the rules by playing in the first place.

[–] alaninho 8 years ago

To be fair Trent might have been a rectum but in the case of the game he was correct. Nobody enjoys playing a game where rules are just ignored, what would be the point? The rules actually make it more fun.

[–] Wuchak (8732) 3 years ago

As pointed out elsewhere on this thread, Trent revealed his hypocritical legalism: He demanded everyone play by the rules in a silly board game, but didn't apply the same standard to vastly more important real-life matters, like being faithful to Pam and, by extension, his new family. Christ put it like this in reference to the Hebrew legalists: "You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."