Friday, February 3, 2012

Really George?


Here we go again - yet another movie and movie star who feels it necessary to make a joke at the expense of people with intellectual disabilities. Yep, it's the 'R' word AGAIN, this time in an Oscar nominated movie.

The movie is The Descendents,and the movie star is George Clooney. I know he has enough clout in the industry to demand a change in the script. Yet he didn't, so in my book that means he agreed with using the R word as a punch line.

Here is the exact dialogue exchange as taken from the book on which the movie is based, and the movie lines are almost exactly the same:

"Stop it," I yell. "Stop touching each other."

"Whoa," Sid says. "Maybe that's why your wife cheated on you if you're so against touching."

I snap my head around to face him. "Do you get hit a lot?"

He shrugs, "I've had my share."

I face my daughter, "You know you're dating a complete retard. You know that, don't you?"

"My brother's retarded, man." Sid says. "Don't use it in a derogatory way."

"Oh." I don't say anything more hoping he'll interpret my silence as an apology.

"Psych," he says and now kicks the back of my seat. "I don't have a retarded brother!" His little trick is giving him a great amount of amusement. "Speaking of the retarded," he says, "do you ever feel bad for wishing a retarded person or an old person or a disabled person would hurry up? Sometimes I wait for them to cross the street and I'm like, 'Come on already!' but then I feel bad.


So needless to say, I will not be seeing this movie and I will be encouraging others to not see it. I'm sure it has already made a gazillion dollars and may probably win an Oscar, but it won't make my $7.50, and neither will any future movie in which Mr. Clooney participates.

I'm really, really tired of this.

1 comment:

Amy Payne said...

Not going either !