Tag: Film

“I really, really like you”

LORELAI: I’ll be right there.
RORY: I really, really like you.

A possible reference to the actress Sally Field. In 1985 she received her second Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart (1984), and made an acceptance speech which was both admired for its earnest sincerity and mocked for being excessive.

Its closing words were, “I haven’t had an orthodox career. And I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me … right now … you like me! Thank you!”.

Field was making a humorous reference to her dialogue in the 1979 film Norma Rae, but most people missed the reference, and it was widely misquoted as, “You like me! You really, really like me!’. Field later parodied herself when she delivered the line in a commercial for finance company Charles Schwab.

Cirque du Soleil

RORY: My point is in ninety tries, there wasn’t one other picture that was good for the group and didn’t have me looking like I’m in Cirque du Soleil?

Cirque du Soleil, previously discussed. The circus show was covered in a 2002 reality TV series called Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within, and the production Alegría was broadcast on TV in 2002. The chances are very high that Rory and Lorelai watched them, considering their fascination with circuses.

It is clear from this exchange that Paris is still angry at Rory, and they are still in a fight. Rory refused to talk about Jamie with Madeline and Louise, in order not to further aggravate Paris, so she seems to be trying to improve the situation.

Adrian Zmed

LORELAI: Angel face, you need to learn that there are going to be times in your life when you have to do ridiculous things for money. If you’re Adrian Zmed, that includes everything that ever happens in your whole career.

Adrian Zmed (born 1954), actor known for playing Johnny Nogerelli in the 1982 film Grease 2; several of his other films have gone straight to video. He is best known for the role of Officer Vince Romano on police drama TV series T.J. Hooker, airing from 1982 to 1986.

“The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain”

RORY: But we want to be spontaneous. Jump a train to Paris, head off to Spain.
LORELAI: Oh no, it’s raining in Spain. But since the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain . . .

Lorelai quotes from the song, “The Rain in Spain”, from the musical film, My Fair Lady, previously discussed.

The line is used in the film purely to teach elocution, and is not geographically accurate. The plains in Spain are parched and arid, and most of the country’s rainfall is in the north.

Jayne Mansfield

LORELAI: The cork fell off my hook and Jayne Mansfield over here bit … Not the brightest fish in the pond, but she’s awfully pretty.

Jayne Mansfield, born Vera Palmer (1933-1967), actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and Playboy Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, Mansfield was known for her personal life and publicity stunts. Her film career was short-lived, but she had several box-office successes and won a 1956 Theatre World Award for Will Sucess Spoil Rock Hunter?, and a 1957 Golden Globe Award for The Girl Can’t Help It [pictured].

Mansfield was married three times, including to Mickey Hargitay, previously discussed. She is the mother of actress Mariska Hargitay. When Jayne was killed in a car accident at the age of 34, Mariska was one of three children asleep in the back seat, who survived with minor injuries.

Although Lorelai has called the fish Jayne because she’s not very bright, Jayne Mansfield had a reported IQ of 149, received solid if unspectacular grades at school, attended acting classes at several universities, and spoke five languages.

Luke Asks Nicole on a Date

LUKE: No, no, no, uh, what I meant was – ah, what the hell? Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?
NICOLE: Yeah.

It’s pretty obvious that, besides being flattered by Nicole’s attention, Luke asks her on a date primarily because he knows Lorelai is dating Alex. Jess has already criticised Luke for waiting around for Lorelai like a faithful dog, and has nagged him to ask Nicole out. Finding out that Lorelai is out on a date with a coffee shop owner who’s outdoorsy and likes fishing (sounding suspiciously similar to Luke) is the final straw that pushes him towards Nicole.

In this scene we learn that a cup of coffee at Luke’s cost seventy-five cents. That sounds like a bargain for what every character seems to believe is the best coffee in the world.

Notice that in the background to this scene, someone walks behind Luke and Nicole wearing what appears to be a maroon and gold Gryffindor scarf from Harry Potter.

Bad Seed

RORY: Nixon’s bad seed.

Bad seed, an American expression referring to someone who is evil or unprincipled by their nature, “born bad”.

The expression gained widespread notoriety through the 1956 psychological thriller The Bad Seed, directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Patty McCormack in the title role. It is based on the 1954 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn was based on the 1954 novel by William March. The film is about a sociopathic little girl, and was a hit at the box office, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Rory suggests that Paris was born from the “bad seed” of disgraced president Richard Nixon, to explain why she is such a bad president herself.

Sundance

RORY: I certainly didn’t call this meeting.
PARIS: Save the act for Sundance, you little snitch.

The Sundance Film Festival, first founded in Salt Lake City in 1978 by Sterling Van Wagenen, head of Robert Redford’s company Wildwood, and John Earle, from the Utah Film Commission. Originally called the Utah/US Film Festival, the name changed to Sundance in 1984, after the Sundance Institute, the non-profit organisation founded by Robert Redford to support independent artists – Sundance took over management of the film festival at this point. Many notable filmmakers received their big break at Sundance.