What did Ordell mean by this?
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Jackie Brown
forallpracticalpurposes1 — 11 years ago(July 10, 2014 01:37 AM)
Right after Ordell kills Louis in the van - he says to him, "What happened to you man? Her ass used to be beautiful".
What did he mean by that last line?
-LeLu -
ryerockarola — 11 years ago(July 11, 2014 10:50 AM)
Pretty sure what he says or means to say is "what happened to you man? Your ass used to be beautiful"
Changes the meaning of the last line from likely being mad about him shooting melanie (her ass) to ordell being extremely disappointed in Louis like ordell's in a way blaming Louis for ordell having to kill Louis (your ass) -
Anorensic — 11 years ago(December 04, 2014 11:51 AM)
Yeah he does say "your ass" not "her ass"you know throughout the movie Louis is shown quite mild mannered, distracted, uncertain of himselfmaybe before he went to prison he was really good, reliable at what he does but the term "your ass used to be beautiful" might imply in-prison rape which affected him psychologically, he was there for just four years, isn't it!! how else could such a change in his personality be explained in relatively shorter time..
There are two scenes to support this theoryone him doing Melanie from what looked like behind, perhaps he did that because it might get him to feel better (about himself), get his old edge back.but three minutes later..well..
Second in the parking lot, when Melanie is teasing him she gets to him for some reason and he just completely loses it and shoots her down in a public place.even Ordell is quite perplexed why he didn't just punch her in the face or something!!! This indicates he had some serious issues.
wat are you lookin' at -
RobSac — 11 years ago(December 26, 2014 11:01 AM)
Remember, Jackie Brown is based on a book called Rum Punch. Rum Punch is Elmore Leonard's second novel which includes the characters Ordell and Louis. The first is "The Switch", which was written in the 1970s. A movie just released in 2013 is based on The Switch. It's called "Life of Crime". Yasiin Bey plays Ordell, and John Hawkes plays Louis. The film is written and directed by Daniel Schechter. So, The Switch and Life of Crime could give some insight as to what Ordell means in Jackie Brown when he tells Louis 'yer ass used to be good'. I'm reading Rum Punch right now, and haven't gotten to the part where Ordell and Louis have their final clash yet. So, not sure if that line is also in Rum Punch.
-
eonaxes — 11 years ago(January 06, 2015 10:38 AM)
very obvious what he means he used to be a solid guy he could trust but now he is incompetent
but a grown man telling another grown man that "his ass used to be beautiful" is a very odd and pause way to put that -
jbhartley14 — 11 years ago(January 23, 2015 07:32 PM)
First of all this is one of my favorite QT films and I've always thought it was way underrated. I've seen it several times over the years and always understood the line to be "our ass used to be beautiful" which makes sense as it refers to their past partnership over the years. Maybe I'm wrong but it works for me.
-
Ironman54 — 11 years ago(February 22, 2015 09:58 AM)
Charlie: "When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful."
Sound somewhat familiar ? If not, watch 1954s "On the Waterfront".
Same thing just that the 'language' (your a**) wouldn't have gone over in the 50s.
But, without a doubt, both characters meant the same thing. -
Ras_lupo — 11 years ago(March 05, 2015 12:32 AM)
I agree with OP that this line was unusual because when i watched it on Netflix with the captions it said "Her ass" I was confused. The captions could of messed up but if it wasnt a flub i just expected he meant Melanie.
Oh my god, unisex names killed my family. -
Kupovi — 11 years ago(March 08, 2015 02:10 PM)
Its a little bit hard to hear, but Ordell says 'Her ass used to be beautiful'. At that instance he was referring to Melanie. His beautiful white surfer gal.
I mean, since Louis shot her. Makes sense that Ordell was still a bit upset over that. -
bossat2822 — 11 years ago(March 17, 2015 05:48 AM)
I'm really shocked this line needs clarification.
Eonaxes (and a few others) got it. It was " your ass" NOT " her ass". Samuel L. Didn't get pissed about Melanie getting shot ( well if ya had to do it, ya had to do it). He was pissed that Louis didn't put 2 & 2 together when he saw Max Cherry. The old Louis would've seen Max there and shut that sh!t down with the quickness. This new Louis has lost his edge and thinks a bail bondsman in the middle of the day is shopping for his wife at the same time a major money transaction is going down. The old "beautiful" Louis ( street wise and savvy) antennas would've been raised while the new Louis let that whole thing go over his head. Ordell sees this new Louis as a liability ( kinda like Beaumont is a liability) and had to cut him loose Roby- style.
Now, it's been a while since I've seen this, but. Are there any scenes with Max and Louis? How does Louis know who Max was? Unless they crossed paths in the movie and I forgot. -
Kupovi — 11 years ago(March 17, 2015 06:00 AM)
@bossat2822
But Samuel L. did get mad when he found out Melanie got shot ("you couldnt have just slapped her?") but as criminals often do, he just dealt with it and moved on.
Once it became clear that Louis was incompetent, he got shot and then Samuel's last line to Louis was 2-part (1. What the beep happened to you man? and then 2. Her ass used to be beautiful. -> referring to his now-dead white surfer gal).
He was still a bit upset about Melanie.. Obviously Louis got shot for a different reason but that didnt mean it wasnt in Samuel's mind still.
To answer your other question: Louis also met Max the first time they visit him at his business. Louis gets told (or decides to) wait in the car. And Samuel L explains him how the alarm system works. -
bossat2822 — 11 years ago(March 20, 2015 10:51 PM)
Thanks for reminding me about Louis meeting Max.
Now, I'm not saying ordell was thrilled Louis shot Melanie, but his demeanor sharply changed when Louis throws in the fact that max cherry was in the store. His face contorts up and orders louis " look at me when I'm talking to you!"
I'll have to go on YouTube or somewhere to see if I hear " her ass" or " your ass" -
vittimafia — 9 years ago(January 24, 2017 01:54 AM)
He says "your ass used to be beautiful" for sure.
Ever since Louis was out of prison he couldn't cope with outside life what was pretty clear throughout.
Still Ordell trusted him from past experience to find out Louis lost his touch and not only killed Melanie but more importantly lost the money
That was real? I saw that movie, I thought it was bullsh*t