I'm not sure if I missed the point.. but the doctor assures him that his prostate is fine, and as he never had problems with it until now, it's not likely he would ever start to. Yet, he keeps talking about not being able to urinate properly, which is understood to be a prostate problem usually. So what was the who urinating thing about? was it all a game between the two friends, and he was somehow playing along, as a way to comfort Mick, like he is not alone in this?
shareIt was never entirely clear to me just what was actually going on (and I suspect there simply is no "right" answer).
"Playing along" would be consistent with his personality, but in his conversation with the Doctor he implies he actually believed he had a problem. None of the many explanations I came up with made any sense at all once I thought a bit about them. What the heck exactly was going on remains a mystery to me.
The movie is largely about how the character is hiding "in retreat" from life, deceiving himself into believing he is washed up and finished. His fixation on physical ailments (this one in particular) despite being told at the end he's as "healthy as a horse" by the physician is likely tied to this.
Not the same situation, but I sometimes have a difficulty urinating in public restrooms when others are present. I get what is referred to as "piss shy." This is not because there is anything physiologically wrong with my bladder or other anatomy. It's psychological, but the physical effect is very real.
Ah, the first possible explanation I've heard that actually makes some sense, thank you! If I understand you correctly, you're suggesting he really had been having trouble pissing, and the doctor's comment -probably from a prostate exam- was essentially "there's no physical reason troubling you".
shareThat was my understanding of it as well. With a wife lost to him for the past 10 yrs. due to Alzheimer's/dementia, his child grown, and plenty of visual cues that time was passing, he had become "apathetic", which I guess felt better than being fearful of aging and sad over the loss of love and companionship.
I took Fred's much-referenced apathy as a defense shield and his self-proclaimed prostate issue as a willingness to feel some sort of physical aging process, thus confirming his belief that he was old and had no need of trying to do anything much.
The look on his face when the doctor told him that when we have nothing wrong with us we have, essentially, youth, was priceless.
Yeah, I got all the "apathy" and "youth" stuff.
But as an older person who's suffered from serious prostate problems myself, I'm more focused in this particular thread on specifically what was up with his "prostate problem" than on any possible psychological motivation for that situation. To me, the basic question here is what is that situation (i.e. does he pee or not?).