actually, it's not a plate of beans. it's more like a whole field of them...

April 12, 2008 2:38 AM

Question about audience reaction to "The Ruins"--spoiler of one line of dialogue, comments (if anyone else actually saw it) may contain more.

The line "Four American tourists don't just disappear" provoked a slow crescendo of laughter when I saw "The Ruins" in a Canadian theatre tonight. (We love you here, though, really we do...) Since I have such a large group of non-Canadians handy, I figured I'd ask how that line went in the film's home market.

Was it trying to show the character to be naive (he's generally not, otherwise), or was the moment meant to be played straight, and misfired in my showing only because audiences here always laugh at overly jingoistic lines in American films? Was there laughter in your theatre too? If so, was the movie wanting us to laugh, or was it a bad moment of breaking our suspension of disbelief?

Bonus points if you, along with three other young American tourists, have ever been...ah, shoot, I said I wouldn't give spoilers, didn't I?

posted by roombythelake to media & arts (5 comments total)

Audience reaction in Los Angeles when I saw it included no laughter at that line.

Personally, I think that the character truly believed the line and it was meant to be played straight.
posted by dogwalker at 4:00 AM on April 12, 2008

It's one of those lines that in theory is true- we sure would hear about it at home if four American tourists just disappeared, especially young, attractive ones. But that doesn't mean they would ever get found, a la Natalee Holloway.

It's not true irony, or good foreshadowing- it's a ping line. The character believes it is true and he is safe, but oh noz! the audience knows he is not safe and will soon die! Other ping lines for reference:

Nothing is going to happen if I go find my cat.
They say God himself couldn't sink this ship.
I'll be right back...
posted by headspace at 6:52 AM on April 12, 2008

Ping lines are most often found in horror movies and films based on actual events. In the case of the latter, it's a way for a screenwriter to ease suspension of disbelief. You sit down to watch Titanic, and you're immediately removed from the story because you know how it ends. Out pops the ping line to acknowledge, yeah, yeah, we know- the ship sinks, and it relaxes an audience and allows it to participate.

They actually function in the exact opposite way in horror films. Everybody likes to be scared, but not too much. If the horror is too real, or too personal, the audience can't separate themselves from the action and superficially enjoy the adrenaline. So you get ping lines in horror movies to give the audience a sense of superiority- this could never happen to me because I'm not that dumb/this could never happen to me because I'm not that naive. It deliberately separates the audience from the story by giving them the upper hand- they know something the characters don't know.

So, to conclude our lecture in film studies- your laughter was appropriate. The LA audience's silence was appropriate. It's a super funny line if you're not an American; it's a subtle ping line if you are.

Papers are due on my desk on Friday, no extensions, even if your grandmother ate your homework, got the flu, and died in another state unexpectedly.
posted by headspace at 7:04 AM on April 12, 2008 [3 favorites]

I thought the character really believed this too. He was very practical, yes, but still had some naive ideas. Plus, how could he know how bad the situation was?

No one in my theater laughed, but if you read the IMDB boards for The Ruins, you'll see this line provoked plenty of laughter.
posted by Locative at 7:19 AM on April 12, 2008

Haven't seen it, but, when I saw Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, there was a line said by a female character trying to decide whether to escape alien consumption via listening to the government or going with the rebels, and it was something like:

"That's crazy! The government doesn't lie to people!"

This was in a packed theater on Christmas Day in Washington D.C., and the theater erupted in loud and sustained laughter. Of course, I was watching Alien v. Predator on Christmas Day, so who knows what kind of crowd that attracts....
posted by hybridvigor at 9:22 AM on April 12, 2008