Posted by captaincranium at pm3-9-s3.traverse.net on April 09, 2001 at 01:55:30:
In Reply to: Re: How is he a genius because of that? posted by Serial1227 on April 09, 2001 at 01:41:58:
Yes. He's a direct reference to the character in Jaws. Somewhere Kevin talks about how he had Hooper written into the original Mallrats script but ended up cutting it out early and saved him for use in Chasing Amy. Originally his idea was to use all three main characters from Jaws in Mallrats. Also, I couldn't agree more with your thoughts on these two fantastic films. Peace.
: I'm not one to flame, and I don't plan to start here. Mallrats, the red-headed step-child of Kevin's films, is most often overlooked (even in your list) as a "real film" when, in fact, it's a brilliant comedy that pays tribute to an entire genre of films that inspired a generation of film makers. Why can't it be labeled as a "real film?" Because it went for the "cheap dick and fart jokes" (to borrow a phrase from Kevin)? Didn't "Animal House" do the same thing? What about "Fast Times At Ridgemont High"? Would you argue that these aren't "real films?"
: Now, if you want to get deep, one could easily argue that there's a lot more going on than just the names in terms of my JAWS/MALLRATS connection -- hell, I could write a thesis on underlying themes shared by both JAWS and its characters and MALLRATS and its characters. What really blew me away was the fact that it was so elusive to me -- a relatively blatant joke that totally escaped me. A joke that didn't "pop up out of the water" until I had the time to sit down and enjoy a classic like Jaws. That, my friend, is genius.
: Captaincranium: Made the Hooper connection this time around as well (though, is he really named after Dreyfuss's character?) and, of course, the Salsa Shark connection as well! Thanks!
: Best regards,
: Granger