When the giggling stops

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When the giggling stops

#1 Post by Guest » Thu May 05, 2005 10:32 am

At another site, imdb, I think, someone observed that Johansson's acting consisted of giggling at Murray. I admit that there were times when the giggling was a bit much. But Charlotte goes through two or three changes in the course of the movie, and the giggling actually delineates one phase of that change.

In the first portion of the film, Charlotte appears to be closed off, largely expressionless, depressed, and lonely. The only interaction she is up for at this point is with her husband, and he is usually gone.

Later, when she, apparently spontaneously, gets acquainted with Bob, she smiles a little at first and even allows herself a few controlled laughs.

Then when John has left, and she runs into Bob outside the pool, the giggling starts, and there's plenty of it. Maybe my favorite scene in the movie is when Bob goes by Charlotte's room to pick her up. She is obviously happy. While she is cutting the tag off his shirt, he spies the "Soul Search" CD and asks her about it. He immediately senses her discomfort and says, "I've got that" to let her off the hook. The look on her face at this point speaks volumes.

The giggling goes on until Charlotte, standing at Bob's door, hears the singer in his room. Her awesome glare at him in the sushi restaurant is amazing. From this point on, Charlotte tries to figure out what her relationship to Bob is, while Bob is largely clueless until the night of the fire drill.

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#2 Post by sooner77 » Thu May 05, 2005 11:16 am

I noticed the incessant giggling on about my 5th viewing of the movie. I happen to love LIT but it does get annoying. My main question would be was she directed to do all that giggling by Sofia Coppola, who has what amounts to a schoolgirl crush on Murray. If you watch the making of feature on the DVD it becomes obvious that Sofia thinks EVERYTHING Bill says or does is a total laugh riot.

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#3 Post by Silver » Thu May 05, 2005 11:34 am

During the 2003-'04 award season, I did see Sofia Coppola on the various award programs - e.g. The Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awarda and the Oscars. She herself has a nervous giggle. The Charlotte persona has a couple of Sofia's characteristics - the giggle and the hair going back behind the left ear.

I think this was intentional. I haven't seen Scarlett Johansson exhibit these traits in films other than "LiT".

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#4 Post by jml2 » Thu May 05, 2005 5:23 pm

Guests do the best posts around here :)
The giggling seemed so natural to me, I thought it was total Scarlett, I'm not sure it was a specific direction from Sofia, except that she wanted Charlotte to laugh at Bob's jokes (the infamous single direction line in the script). The style of laughter, giggles, seemed very Scarlett to me, even though I don't even know her

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#5 Post by You Make it Easy » Thu May 05, 2005 5:48 pm

The night they meet in the bar and first talk, The first time she giggles she does a little giggle slight pause than a little giggle again that always annoyed me, but thats probably the only thing that bothers me in the movie.

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#6 Post by Guest » Fri May 06, 2005 1:19 pm

Actually, the post was to be longer but I was called away and never got back. My point, which I failed to make, is that after Charlotte caught Bob with the singer she, instead of telling him to go to hell, got on his case and reined him in. Bob was still confused until the "...we'll start a jazz band" remark later that night. Then the reality of their relationship hit him full force. After that he was tongue-tied and gaga, while Charlotte was all business. When they met the next morning, ostensibly for Charlotte to give Bob his jacket, Bob just stared at her while she waited for him to say something to her. There weren't any giggles to help him out and let him play the fool.

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#7 Post by jml2 » Fri May 06, 2005 6:29 pm

interesting

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#8 Post by ForRelaxingTimes » Sat May 07, 2005 2:35 pm

I for one didn't have a problem at all with her giggles, in fact they make me smile everytime hah. Anyway, the giggles were almost like a guide for Bob. As the movie progressed Charlotte had the almost shy quiet giggle (when Bob made his first witty remarks) to a very open, comfortable giggle as her and Bob became close. So I guess there
is one way to look at it. :D
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#9 Post by A moment of silence » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:28 pm

I like the giggles. I mean, when a man is funny and interesting and you like him then you giggle after he jokes around. It's just a reflex. I believe that when she would giggle he understood how she liked him and she found him cool. He then felt comfortable, and saw that he had someone who would laugh at his jokes and remarks. I love her giggles, sometimes they seem to be natural, not rehearsed.
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#10 Post by 52FM » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:39 pm

I never really understood why - but I think one of the biggest ego boost/compliments a guy likes to get from a woman is having her laugh at his jokes (a natural laugh or giggle - not fake). Likewise - it often seems to make a woman jealous when another female laughs at "her" man's jokes.

Maybe times have changed - but I recall that in my much younger days - guys kind of competing to get the girls to laugh in school. It took on different forms as I got older - but the "reflex" is still there.
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#11 Post by sw25 » Thu Oct 13, 2005 10:15 pm

Oh, you bet it is, 52FM.

I'll always love hearing a girl laugh at a joke I tell. It relieves stress like nothing else can.

I even have to admit that I get uncomfortable when guys around me are making the girls laugh so much--I basically sit there and get very quiet.

I don't know. I'm selfish, and just not good in big crowds. I kind of need to be one-on-one with a person to let my sense of humor out of its cage.

But yeah, I love a girl's laugh. It's music.

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#12 Post by preciouswhile » Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:50 pm

sw25 wrote:But yeah, I love a girl's laugh. It's music.
Then if you know a girl who begins to snort when she laughs too hard (which is often), is that like the rhythm section?

Hee hee snort hee hee snort snort.

It's actually much cuter than the text makes it seem.

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#13 Post by sw25 » Fri Oct 14, 2005 4:29 pm

Could be.

Actually, it would be an interesting experiment to put together all the myriad girl laughs I've heard into one big swinging band.

That, or a scarring nightmare.

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#14 Post by findingcharlotte » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:16 pm

Think its nothing more than part of her personality ..Its cute ..fun ..and part of what makes her so appealing.
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#15 Post by Just Like Honey... » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:31 pm

sw25 wrote:I'll always love hearing a girl laugh at a joke I tell. It relieves stress like nothing else can.

I even have to admit that I get uncomfortable when guys around me are making the girls laugh so much--I basically sit there and get very quiet.

I don't know. I'm selfish, and just not good in big crowds. I kind of need to be one-on-one with a person to let my sense of humor out of its cage.

But yeah, I love a girl's laugh. It's music.
Oh, you said it!

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#16 Post by adrien950 » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:16 am

findingcharlotte wrote:Think its nothing more than part of her personality ..Its cute ..fun ..and part of what makes her so appealing.

I agree...although I found it a little much when she is showing him her toe in the restaurant. It did, however, show how totally happy she was being with him. :D
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#17 Post by Congruous » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:52 pm

I remember toward the end of "the Sure Thing," Gib (John Cusack) and Allison (Daphne Zuniga) are lying in bed talking and Allison, who has a boyfriend but is beginning to fall for Gib, is talking about all of her boyfriend's great qualities. He's going to be a lawyer and he and Allison are going to fix up an old farmhouse in Vermont and they're going to raise puppies and then Gib interrupts her by saying, "Yeah, but does he make you laugh?"

I think Charlotte's giggles are elements of 1) her reserve and 2) her beginning to realize she might be able to be happy. Sometimes when you meet someone new who you like, you laugh to let that person know you like what they are saying or doing. You don't come out and say, "Gosh, I think you're great!" or "Darn, you're beautiful!" You're giddy but don't want to act like a geek. You see a new door opening up in front of you and you don't want to screw things up.

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sophia crushs on Bill

#18 Post by welcometoTokyo » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:11 pm

definally special feature of movie tells us that how much Sophia loves Bill and for me to watch her as my first time ever behind this movie making Charlotte resembled so much of Sophia's real life chacracter, quite and soft spoken. and Scarlett has this natrual husky voice that never appears on this movie.

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#19 Post by welcometoTokyo » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:13 pm

oh and not forgetting Sophia shedding tears of joy that Bill's finally arriving in Tokyo to shoot her film

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#20 Post by Cryogenic » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:41 pm

adrien950 wrote:
findingcharlotte wrote:Think its nothing more than part of her personality ..Its cute ..fun ..and part of what makes her so appealing.

I agree...although I found it a little much when she is showing him her toe in the restaurant. It did, however, show how totally happy she was being with him. :D
Actually, I found this one of the most endearing aspects of the movie (and there are many). Charlotte's laughter seems very natural here -- not forced and "movie like", but spontaneous and organic. LIT has many intersecting layers of hyperrealism; layers that enrich its themes and mood. There is little to nothing that is "dramatic" about LIT in the conventional sense. Charlotte's effusive laughing here seems to really fit and bolster this aesthetic. The cleverness and subtlety of LIT continues to bowl me over.

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