Welcome to my TedTalk on this scene that has always been the slightest bit irritating to me. My wife refuses to listen to me talk about it when it comes up because I need to just “let her watch the show”. Phillistine 🙄
This scene always felt so out of place, like it was lost in translation from the way it was written to the way the director perceived it. The writing is great, it’s a classic Sopranos writing where it’s got an iconic funny line but there is important subtext happening. The direction of all the character actors is like the director missed the point but the main cast understood it.
When Tony tells this guy to take his hat off there are a few things that fit the character and show theme. It’s preceded by a conversation of Tony and Artie lamenting there are no values today, the irony being they’re both void of conventional values. Artie then is irritated because he presents it as the value thing again but there’s a subtext that he’s jealous of a young guy with a hot girl (again this fits Artie). First, Tony is so emboldened by his status that he doesn’t feel like general social norms really apply to him anymore (like most people might think the hat is a dick move, but they’re not going to say it), he sees himself as the arbiter of what is “right” (a robinhood type mentality), and that his presence carries a natural intimidating energy (the guy initially blows him off but feels so uncomfortable he relents). He then sends a bottle of wine to the guy because again, fitting Tony’s discussion of values, violent intimidation is out weighed by a facade of a “classy gesture” where he throws money at something. Artie is completely thrown from this because his character wishes he was Tony but has none of the confidence, he’s completely off guard Tony wound actually do something he’s essentially fantasized about and then further thrown that he doesn’t just relish openly in his intimidation. Tony however is beyond just getting high off intimidation, he sees real power in what he sees in emulating the a fictional idea from cinema, the malevolent mob boss. Again, a theme of the show is Tony and the greater mafia idealize this fictional guys like Corleone and see themselves as movie characters when in reality their lives are more comparable to a standard white collar office job but their business also parlays in violence. All of this does come across in the scene (primarily because Gandolfini is so good and Artie’s actor knows his character well), it’s the reaction of all the bystanders that make no sense. The girlfriend’s reaction is a mix of embarrassment and discomfort, it’s at odds with the energy she had towards hat guy immediately preceding it. It’s as if Tony makes he realize it’s embarrassing or something? Nonsensical. The waiter is thrilled Tony did this, as if he wanted to but was powerless, which makes no sense for a high end restaurant. The onlookers should’ve all been horrified and Tony/Artie completely obtuse to it.
The scene is directed in a very “this is bad ass, isn’t Tony cool” way, but the takeaway should’ve been actually “Tony and Artie think this is badass, isn’t Tony cool, EVERYONE around them is terrified and sees it as psychotic”
2 guys could be in Riggs’ field of vision and still never meet
Portnoy, that nose is like a natural canopy.
He was biologically gay, Dave Portnoy?
It was the medication he was on for his backward knees. It fucked with his head.
Can smoke a cigarette in the rain with his hands tied behind his back
Riggs? It’s a fucking nickname. His family name is Bozo
A. She was a hoo-ah. B. She hit me.
👉 bozo 👉
Imagine that? You get eye surgery, one week later youre buying dinner for Mintzy..
wow i used this line in FT.
Welcome to my TedTalk on this scene that has always been the slightest bit irritating to me. My wife refuses to listen to me talk about it when it comes up because I need to just “let her watch the show”. Phillistine 🙄
This scene always felt so out of place, like it was lost in translation from the way it was written to the way the director perceived it. The writing is great, it’s a classic Sopranos writing where it’s got an iconic funny line but there is important subtext happening. The direction of all the character actors is like the director missed the point but the main cast understood it.
When Tony tells this guy to take his hat off there are a few things that fit the character and show theme. It’s preceded by a conversation of Tony and Artie lamenting there are no values today, the irony being they’re both void of conventional values. Artie then is irritated because he presents it as the value thing again but there’s a subtext that he’s jealous of a young guy with a hot girl (again this fits Artie). First, Tony is so emboldened by his status that he doesn’t feel like general social norms really apply to him anymore (like most people might think the hat is a dick move, but they’re not going to say it), he sees himself as the arbiter of what is “right” (a robinhood type mentality), and that his presence carries a natural intimidating energy (the guy initially blows him off but feels so uncomfortable he relents). He then sends a bottle of wine to the guy because again, fitting Tony’s discussion of values, violent intimidation is out weighed by a facade of a “classy gesture” where he throws money at something. Artie is completely thrown from this because his character wishes he was Tony but has none of the confidence, he’s completely off guard Tony wound actually do something he’s essentially fantasized about and then further thrown that he doesn’t just relish openly in his intimidation. Tony however is beyond just getting high off intimidation, he sees real power in what he sees in emulating the a fictional idea from cinema, the malevolent mob boss. Again, a theme of the show is Tony and the greater mafia idealize this fictional guys like Corleone and see themselves as movie characters when in reality their lives are more comparable to a standard white collar office job but their business also parlays in violence. All of this does come across in the scene (primarily because Gandolfini is so good and Artie’s actor knows his character well), it’s the reaction of all the bystanders that make no sense. The girlfriend’s reaction is a mix of embarrassment and discomfort, it’s at odds with the energy she had towards hat guy immediately preceding it. It’s as if Tony makes he realize it’s embarrassing or something? Nonsensical. The waiter is thrilled Tony did this, as if he wanted to but was powerless, which makes no sense for a high end restaurant. The onlookers should’ve all been horrified and Tony/Artie completely obtuse to it.
The scene is directed in a very “this is bad ass, isn’t Tony cool” way, but the takeaway should’ve been actually “Tony and Artie think this is badass, isn’t Tony cool, EVERYONE around them is terrified and sees it as psychotic”