September 12, 2007

"Brad knows there are times he should just be quiet and look pretty."

Said Angelina Jolie:
"I won't talk to Brad about [money] because you know how he is financially, which is stupid," she said. "Someone has to make the big decisions, though. He'll put money into things — but it's bizarre! It doesn't always make sense to me."

She added: "The reality is, we're not a company together. Things should be separate. I think you know I make my own financial decisions. Brad knows there are times he should just be quiet and look pretty."
To tell you the truth, I can't even remember if Pitt and Jolie are married. (I'm trying to figure out if the post gets the "marriage" tag.) So why am I fascinated by this quote?

It's that it's a case of the woman appropriating old-fashioned male chauvinist pig rhetoric, and probably assuming that it's charming or humorous to do it. If this were a video clip, we'd see her mesmerizing face and it probably would become brilliantly charming and hilarious, but we're reading it on the page.

It must be hard, when you're devastatingly beautiful, to learn to say things that look good on the page. When you're speaking to people, they are responding to your fabulous presence. You don't get accurate feedback about what you've said. This is why ugly people have more hope of becoming great wits, and the beautiful people do better delivering scripted lines.

57 comments:

Joaquin said...

I hope she got a good beating when she got home ;-)
These 2 should stick to collecting kids.

Hoosier Daddy said...

The reality is, we're not a company together. Things should be separate. I think you know I make my own financial decisions.

TRANSLATION: I don't want to risk my hard earned wealth with marriage cause considering he dumped whats-her-name for my crazy ass, no one is indispensable, even when you're devastatingly beautiful. Hugh Grant is a prime example.

Brad knows there are times he should just be quiet and look pretty."

TRANSLATION: Brad is dumb as a box of rocks and outside of his devastatingly good looks and unexhaustible sexual stamina the only other thing hes good for is hauling the kids around while I shop.

Jennifer said...

They're not married. I think she meant to be funny. She's articulate, but not very good at lightening up. Brad, on the other hand, has a much quicker wit and a surer persona in interviews.

Uglier people probably have a better chance of developing all kinds of handy skills and talents.

Bob said...

Paul Theroux nailed it when the two of them were in Africa, comparing them to Tarzan and Jane; I figured they'd name the first baby Cheetah, but I was wrong.

KCFleming said...

Such pedestrian comments coming from one so achingly pretty and successful is rather Britneyesque, more the kind of thing a middle manager at Wal-Mart might say at an office party.

Paul Johnson in his A History of the American People noted an undercurrent to modern America of downward mobility, wherein the rich take on the manners and cultural ways of the poor. At first, it's ironic, then it's real.

They should tattoo her phrase "just be quiet and look pretty" on each other, as both warning and family motto. Upside down, so they can read it to themselves.

Mike Ballburn said...

Does she have any space for another tattoo on her skeleton-like arms?

Hoosier Daddy said...

Does she have any space for another tattoo on her skeleton-like arms?

heh...there's always room for one more! Or so I keep telling my wife.

Ron said...

Don't give Jolie ideas; she may now want the first skeletal tat, so when they dig her up a thousand years hence, she'll have made her artistic statement on a femur.

Bob said...

Ron: that would be more along the lines of Scrimshaw, rather than tattooing.

*laughs*

Ron said...

Still, I am surprised that Jolie and Billy Bob didn't inspire America to get a velcro sex wall at home...and why there isn't one in the Martha Stewart Collection.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

If I recall correctly, Brad said that they wouldn't get married until everyone in America could share the same privilege.

TRANSLATION: She won't go for it, so I'm making a pro-gay marriage statement to save face. A very pretty face.

Joseph said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joseph said...

Althouse: "I can't even remember if Pitt and Jolie are married."

Pitt: "Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."

Galvanized said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Galvanized said...

But weren't these comments overheard, being made by her to a friend? It's a little different than if she had said these things to a reporter for an interview.

Still, if I heard that my husband made comments like these about me, even in jest, especially to an opposite-sex friend, I'd be seriously miffed.

What were Jennifer Aniston's words a while back about Brad? "There seems to be a sensitivity chip missing." Looks like karma to me.

Meade said...

Paraphrasing and melding Jane Wyman, Angelina, and Althouse: it's bad taste to talk about prospective-husbands and prospective-wives. Especially if you're so drop dead gorgeous that you've never had to develop a sense of humor or even any sense at all. When you're one of the beautiful people it's best to just be quiet and look pretty. That's all.

Trooper York said...

The really sad thing about Angelina is that Mort doesn't find her attractive either.

Laura Reynolds said...

Better seen than heard, those two.

Anonymous said...

Back in "the good old days", major stars were under contract to the studios and the studios controlled the message. Now we are treated daily to the mindless blather of pretty airheads. I don't see that as an improvement.

Mortimer Brezny said...

It's that it's a case of the woman appropriating old-fashioned male chauvinist pig rhetoric, and probably assuming that it's charming or humorous to do it.

This happens on every single date I go on. I have considered buying a wife from another nation.

Mortimer Brezny said...

The really sad thing about Angelina is that Mort doesn't find her attractive either.

What? Get out of here! When I found out Brad dropped Jen for Angelina, I said, "Finally, the boy is properly using his Brad-Pitt-ness! Not wasting it on that plain jane nobody." Angelina is super hot.

Trooper York said...

Great news Mort...I stand corrected
...for a moment there I thought you were only obsessed with blonde haired lawyers with quirky dispositions....what a relief

Mortimer Brezny said...

for a moment there I thought you were only obsessed with blonde haired lawyers with quirky dispositions....

You must be confusing me with Simon, sir. I don't need to lower my standards to boff the Jolie. My trousers are another story...

DBrooks17 said...

I realize I am in the minority, but they both always look to me as if they need a shower. I don't find either one of them particularly attractive.

KCFleming said...

"I don't find either one of them particularly attractive."

I'll let that go.
Too easy.

Trooper York said...

Boff the Jolie is my new euphemism for joy de vivre...I always learn something on this blog

KCFleming said...

Hell, I'd even buff the Jolie, if asked.

Unknown said...

Hoosier Daddy said..."Brad is dumb as a box of rocks..."

And you base this "translation" on off the cuff comments from his partner?

Yeah, if this guy was any dumber he'd probably be able to carve out some kind of successful career spanning 20 years and about 50+ films and paychecks at about $20,000,000 per flick.

*Jealousy is an ugly thing to behold.

Unknown said...

DBrooks17 said..."...I don't find either one of them particularly attractive."

Yeah, Jolie's a real dog.

What a hoot.

Unknown said...

Oh, and he has 6 more future films in production.

How depressing.

Trooper York said...

Fred Thompson has been citied for his hang-dog, laid back appearance...his apparent laziness....he just doesn't seem to have the fire in his belly...he just lacks the essential boff the jolie to be president.

Trooper York said...

But on the other hand...he seems to have plenty of the boff the jeri so I don't think he's too worried.

Freeman Hunt said...

Anyone else watch MadTV? LOS just became the movie guy character. I laughed out loud.

jeff said...

So brains = successful career in Hollywood? How do the lawyers and managers fit into this success? And what level of success do they need before you deem them smart? Both Reagan and Thompson had/have successful careers. Tom Cruise makes a ton of money. Genius Scientologist?

Hoosier Daddy said...

So brains = successful career in Hollywood?

No but a good agent does.

Trooper York said...

He is only making a comeback now because he has recently begun to display the proper amount of boff the katie

Hoosier Daddy said...

And you base this "translation" on off the cuff comments from his partner?

Actually it was my intent to be humorous based upon the fact that most of the Hollywood nuptials and hookups are about as shallow as a rain puddle.

Yeah, if this guy was any dumber he'd probably be able to carve out some kind of successful career spanning 20 years and about 50+ films and paychecks at about $20,000,000 per flick.

So you're saying that intelligence is a measure of someone's wallet? I'd daresay a brain surgeon or an engineer is light years smarter than Brad but I could be wrong. Maybe he's a seceret member of Mensa.

But if your measure of intelligence is a successful Hollywood career, you'll have to lump in those stalwart Republicans like Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger and...Ronald Reagan.

Unknown said...

Freeman Hunt,
Say what??

jeff,
I never said he was smart or a genius...merely successful...which is a FACT.

Yours and Hoosier's premise is based on a few comments from Jolie?

Unless YOU know the man...you're basing your comments on absolutely nothing but conjecture.

*Did you also think Reagan was "dumb as a bag of rocks?"

Unknown said...

Hoosier Daddy said..."...most of the Hollywood nuptials and hookups are about as shallow as a rain puddle."

America has the highest divorce rate in the entire world.

That's a pretty big puddle.

Hoosier Daddy said...

America has the highest divorce rate in the entire world.

We're 12th

http://www.divorcemag.com/statistics/statsWorld.shtml

Unknown said...

Hoosier:

#1 United States: 4.95 per 1,000 people
#2 Puerto Rico: 4.47 per 1,000 people
#3 Russia: 3.36 per 1,000 people
#4 United Kingdom: 3.08 per 1,000 people
#5 Denmark: 2.81 per 1,000 people
#6 New Zealand: 2.63 per 1,000 people
#7 Australia: 2.52 per 1,000 people
#8 Canada: 2.46 per 1,000 people
#9 Finland: 1.85 per 1,000 people
#10 Barbados: 1.21 per 1,000 people

Unknown said...

Hoosier,
I stand corrected: percentage versus population.

rhhardin said...

I don't know who any of these people are.

I've been told I have nice eyes, however.

Revenant said...

I have no idea if either Brad or Angelina are intelligent. I know both of them can convincingly ACT intelligent, but that's because they are both good actors.

I agree that Angelina was joking, but that kind of joke usually has an undercurrent of truth to it. I think that Angelina has some trust and control issues, which would be understandable considering that she had crazy parents.

Revenant said...

We're 12th

Depends on what you mean by "divorce rate". In percentages of marriages that end in divorce we're 12th; in divorces per capita we're #1. The reason for the discrepancy is that we're also #1 in marriages per capita.

The sensible statistic to care about, in my opinion, is the one you quoted -- percentage of marriages ending in divorce.

Unknown said...

Rev,
Are you divorced...yet?

Mortimer Brezny said...

When you're speaking to people, they are responding to your fabulous presence. You don't get accurate feedback about what you've said. This is why ugly people have more hope of becoming great wits, and the beautiful people do better delivering scripted lines.

What about beautiful people who grow uglier?

Freeman Hunt said...

Relevant MadTV clip.

Paddy O said...

Freeman, thanks for the link. You're right. It's perfect.

Trooper York said...

They direct Mort, they direct.

Trooper York said...

Quick choice Mort, if you had your druthers...and could be the liverwurst in between two pieces of pumpernickel...Jennifer
Aniston/Angelina Jolie....Ruth Bader Ginsberg/Sandra Day O'Conner.

ricpic said...

Wouldn't be at all surprised if old Brad out of the blue up and shoots sweet Angie one day.

Galvanized said...

Mortimer Brezny said...

What? Get out of here! When I found out Brad dropped Jen for Angelina, I said, "Finally, the boy is properly using his Brad-Pitt-ness! Not wasting it on that plain jane nobody." Angelina is super hot.


Mort...seriously? Please say that's tongue-in-cheek. Because we all know that people are attracted solely to "hotness," right? Plain jane-ness can encapsulate other desired qualities like character, depth, and warmth, which also figure into choosing a partner. I think Aniston is every bit as wholesomely lovely as Jolie is salaciously hot.

And the only thing that Pitt had to help him in his dilemma of whom to choose was the fact that his marriage already existed.

Trooper York said...

Mort lets up the ante..your choice... you can be the shmear in the bagel between Pam Anderson/Courtney Love or Hillary Clinton/Barbara Boxer

Trooper York said...

For the ladies: Abe Vigoda/Burt Young or Dennis Kucinich/Tom Tancredo

Trooper York said...

Don Zimmer/Tommy Lasorda vs. Teddy Kennedy/Chris Dodd

Trooper York said...

Britney Spears/Paris Hilton vs. Jeri Thompson/Judi Giuliani