‘Another Simple Favor’ brings up a frustrating ‘Titanic’ conversation
I loved Another Simple Favor but the Paul Feig did bring up one topic of conversation that is frustrating. And no, it has nothing to do with the actual movie.
During Emily’s (Blake Lively) bachelorette party, which is just Emily and Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) in a pool together, the two start talking about the movie Titanic. Stephanie was trying to hold her breath as long as Kate Winslet reportedly did while filming Avatar: The Way of Water and the two then bring up another one of Winslet’s biggest films: Titanic.
In the movie, Rose (Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) survive the ship sinking only for the two of them to remain floating in the freezing cold ocean. They keep hoping that one of the boats that managed to escape the ship will come and get them but they’re in the water for quite a while before one comes and ultimately saves Rose because Jack has, unfortunately, already frozen to death.
The scene itself has made “fans” of the film angry for years. “Fans” is in quotation because if you were a fan of the movie, you’d know that it was established that Jack and Rose cannot both fit on the door because the door would sink. A fact that literally happens in the film. But alas.
For years, we’ve had a conversation over whether or not Rose and Jack should have traded off and on or if they both could have fit (they couldn’t) and it has been a part of our cultural conversation since the film was released in 1997. So for nearly 30 years, we’ve had to hear the conversation about the door in the water. And now Another Simple Favor did it.
The door frame would sink!
Jack and Rose are on a door frame and the two attempt to both get on it. It sinks. So Jack tells Rose to stay on it by herself. By the time she is rescued, she is almost frozen to death herself so if you think about it, if they traded spots or attempted another way of surviving, they both would have probably ended up dead. And Jack sacrificed himself for the one he loves.
Emily and Stephanie both ignoring the very real plot line in Titanic to make a joke might seem like bad writing but I’d argue that it shows how this conversation has gotten frustratingly annoying throughout the years. I could wax poetic about how you can track the death of media literacy through this conversation but I’ll spare you my lecture.
Instead, I think that the inclusion of this off-handed joke is such a good way to get us distracted. I found myself angry that we were back here and missed key moments that would have helped me figure out the twists faster. It was smart! Frustrate me and I miss the red flags.
But I do think it is important to remember this simple fact: Jack and Rose could not both fit on the door frame because they’d sink it and that’s established in the movie. So thank you and good night.
(featured image: Prime Video)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
