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When does Charlotte notice that Bob is a movie star?

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:35 pm
by burgundy
One thing that puzzled me from the first time I saw LIT was why Charlotte never appears to notice or comment on the fact that Bob is this big movie star. Unless I am missing something, this is a flaw in the script. If she has heard of him, then at some point she would have to acknowledge it. Like when they bump into each other in the bar for a drink. He says he's in town promoting Suntory for $2 million. If she didn't know who he was before then, then that would be cause for comment.

I know all these things can't be clarified perfectly given the limits of time in the movie, but it struck me as odd. Only later when they see the trailer ad for him on the street is this acknowledged by her.

This is part of the problem with their relationship perhaps. He is a star and perhaps used to attention from all kinds of people, including women. That gives him a certain distance and skepticism. It's refreshing that Charlotte doesn't go into some fawning movie fan mode. And it's great that she teases him about various things such as the mid life crisis and the orange military t-shirt, etc. This would really cut through a lot of the standard fan adoration that he would usually get. Maybe that's how Charlotte breaks through to him initially. But in the end, Bob's inherent desirability as a star perhaps makes him too jaded to pursue things further. She would probably be up for it however.

Maybe another question to ponder is what would have happened if Bob wasn't a star but just an ordinary person? I'm not sure how it would have changed the dynamic, but it might have.

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:44 pm
by Congruous
I don't think it would be stretching things too much to assume that she knew who he was when she first spotted him.

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:39 pm
by burgundy
Yes, I think that is most likely.

But then it's a bit odd that she never conveys this either to the audience/camera or to him. As far as developing their friendship, I think this may have endeared her to Bob.

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:44 pm
by tsooml
"[quote:384b4f0ff3="Congruous"]I don't think it would be stretching things too much to assume that she knew who he was when she first spotted him.[/quote:384b4f0ff3]
Well, I don't think he made the kind of movies she'd like -- and I'm not sure they weren't made before she was of an age to go see them in the theater!"

Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:39 pm
by mothling
I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that she either didn't know who he was, or didn't care who he was.

The fact that the movie didn't explain everything is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's nice to come up with your own theory as to why she didn't ask him about his movies.

Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:45 pm
by I65
mothling wrote:I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that she either didn't know who he was, or didn't care who he was.

The fact that the movie didn't explain everything is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's nice to come up with your own theory as to why she didn't ask him about his movies.
Because if she asked him about his movies, then this relationship never happens. She's just another star struck fan.

She saw Bob the man, not BOB the MOVIE STAR.

On another forum, I posted a picture of a song of Janis Joplin, and someone asked me, why couldn't someone make her feel loved?

Celebrities reach this idol like state with us. Excessive charisma can be a curse. People forget that they are still human and need the same things all of us do. Love, touch, understanding.

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 5:59 pm
by burgundy
Ithildriel65 wrote:
mothling wrote:I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that she either didn't know who he was, or didn't care who he was.

The fact that the movie didn't explain everything is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's nice to come up with your own theory as to why she didn't ask him about his movies.
Because if she asked him about his movies, then this relationship never happens. She's just another star struck fan.

She saw Bob the man, not BOB the MOVIE STAR.

On another forum, I posted a picture of a song of Janis Joplin, and someone asked me, why couldn't someone make her feel loved?

Celebrities reach this idol like state with us. Excessive charisma can be a curse. People forget that they are still human and need the same things all of us do. Love, touch, understanding.
I know what you mean but I would still have thought she would acknowledge who he was in some way. She had a teasing sort of way with him ("have you bought a porsche yet?), so I would have thought she might have said something in that vein about his star status. To me, it's a script flaw.

But you're right about her wanting to see Bob the person and not Bob the star.

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:02 pm
by I65
burgundy wrote:
Ithildriel65 wrote:
mothling wrote:I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that she either didn't know who he was, or didn't care who he was.

The fact that the movie didn't explain everything is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's nice to come up with your own theory as to why she didn't ask him about his movies.
Because if she asked him about his movies, then this relationship never happens. She's just another star struck fan.

She saw Bob the man, not BOB the MOVIE STAR.

On another forum, I posted a picture of a song of Janis Joplin, and someone asked me, why couldn't someone make her feel loved?

Celebrities reach this idol like state with us. Excessive charisma can be a curse. People forget that they are still human and need the same things all of us do. Love, touch, understanding.
I know what you mean but I would still have thought she would acknowledge who he was in some way. She had a teasing sort of way with him ("have you bought a porsche yet?), so I would have thought she might have said something in that vein about his star status. To me, it's a script flaw.

But you're right about her wanting to see Bob the person and not Bob the star.
She does when they wave at his visage on the bus going by in the street that night. That is their moment when they take a minute to acknowledge, yes you are a star, oh yes, yes i am...and then go back to being Bob and Charlotte.

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:15 pm
by Bob_san
I want to welcome new users like Burgundy to the forum!
It's been awhile since we got a new member as enthusiastic even after the film having been out about 3 years now.

I would also like to welcome "the member formerly known as johnmonkey" as he makes his way once again through the "ranks"! :shock:

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:00 am
by burgundy
Thanks Bob-san. Thanks for keeping this site going for all us LIT addicts. It definitely beats methadone.

I realize I may be just about the last person on Earth to have seen LIT. I had friends who told me to see it when it came out but for some reason I never got around to it.

Better late than never.

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:24 pm
by findingcharlotte
thanks Bob-san............for us long timers..Im always happy to return and find this special place. Every once in a while now I return to the movie to re - live its magic , ( I miss it ) then return here to find others who were lucky enough to find / feel Sofias message...

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 10:53 am
by Nak Nak
She does make mention of it in the bad lunch scene. "Back when you were still making movies."

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:44 pm
by Pitman
Nak Nak wrote:She does make mention of it in the bad lunch scene. "Back when you were still making movies."
Exactly, she did know...it just wan't her character to be a typical fan.

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 6:30 pm
by burgundy
Yes, she knew obviously.

I just thought it wasn't handled at all when they first met. To me, that's a script weakness because it seems unrealistic. She knows the guy is a big movie star and says nothing. I don't think so. She could have said something quickly unfawning and got on with the normal conversation.

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:42 am
by Pitman
Well, the other flaw in the script is if she knew he was a film star, she would have recognized him the moment she looked at him in the elevator. So, maybe...just maybe she doesn't really know who he is until they have their first chat at the bar and he reveals he's doing a million dollar ad for Suntory.

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 11:57 am
by blades7896
'So what are you doing here?'

Charlotte goes up to him, sits at the bar and asks Bob this without any sort of introduction. She knows he is famous, but she dosen't treat him differently. That is what is so refreshing to him.

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:09 pm
by Pitman
Yup...good point. Charlotte is educated....very unlikely she wouldn't know who Bob is.

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:17 pm
by hull_street
I don't think this is a flaw in the script. Rather, it's a reflection of who Charlotte is. She is not one who is impressed with celebrity. Her husband works as a professional photographer, has a lot of acquaintances in the business, and perhaps because of this familiarity, she is not as impressed in meeting someone "famous" as other people might be. It's an early indication that her value system is driven by different forces. This is also what allows her to connect so quickly with Bob. She sees the real person in front of her, instead of the celebrity, which Bob probably finds refreshing.

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:35 am
by LostCalls
I agree that Charlotte recognizes Bob as a film celebrity with that early line "So what are you doing here," as was previously posted. I think the fact that Charlotte has such an easy manner about her when she asks this--and Bob, in turn, responds in a similarly casual yet sincere fashion--foreshadows the type of unspoken but deep understanding that the two will develop over the course of the week. Bob and Charlotte's relationship thrives, I think, on audible silences, on inside jokes that are understood though never even once verbally articulated. An example of this same type of understanding--one that seemingly bypasses many layers of speech that other people might require to make sense of a situation--comes when Bob and Charlotte stumble upon Kelly's pathetic rendition of "Nobody Does It Better". Immediately, even before the stifled laughter begins to appear on Charlotte's face, she and Bob both recognize their common place in relation to the scene in front of them. They don't need to actively keep each other from laughing at Kelly as they pass or make some sarcastic remark about her less than stellar singing; rather, they both almost automatically assume a faux stoic walk and expression which belies both of their feelings harmoniously--and in a way that reveals their connection easily to us viewers.

In a way, I think this reduction of spoken language is what makes the film so poignant. One of the lines that hit me the hardest was Charlotte's simple statement "That was the worst lunch" during the fire alarm sequence. Here again, the two recognize in this statement that all of the coldness of the previous day--all of the likewise unspoken resentment--is immediately forgiven. Enfolded into this simple line, then, is--to my mind--a complete recognition and forgiving of human weakness and error. Neither Bob nor Charlotte mentions any futher specifics about what made the lunch so bad (the rude comments, Bob's sleeping with the jazz singer previously), but both of them instantly understand that all of these elements are being addressed just under the surface of "That was the worst lunch." Basically, Bob and Charlotte speak (and sometimes don't speak, as it were) in the same way, and this provides great comfort for both.

(Sorry for the length/rambling; this is my first post!)

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:42 am
by BrassInPocket
Wow...no need to apologize! That was a *wonderful* first post. :)