Daily Dialogue — July 11, 2013

Mystery Woman starts shooting at Elwood and Jake.

Elwood: Who is that girl?
Mystery Woman: Well, Jake! You look just fine down there… slithering in the mud… like vermin.
Jake [to Elwood]: No problem…
Mystery Woman: You’re not going to get away from me this time!

She shoots machine gun at Jake and Elwood again.

Jake: [gets up] It’s good to see you, sweetheart.
Mystery Woman: You contemptible pig! I remained celibate for you. I stood at the back of a cathedral, waiting, in celibacy, for you, with three hundred friends and relatives in attendance. My uncle hired the best Romanian caterers in the state. To obtain the seven limousines for the wedding party, my father used up his last favor with Mad Pete Trullo. So for me, for my mother, my grandmother, my father, my uncle, and for the common good, I must now kill you, and your brother.

Jake walks forward a few steps and falls to his knees.

Jake: Oh, please, don’t kill us. Please, please don’t kill us. You know I love you, baby. I wouldn’t leave ya. It wasn’t my fault.
Mystery Woman: You miserable slug! You think you can talk your way out of this? You betrayed me.
Jake: No I didn’t. Honest… I ran out of gas! I–I had a flat tire! I didn’t have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!!

Elwood covers his head in anticipation of more gunfire. Jake removes his sunglasses to make a wordless appeal, and the Mystery Woman visibly softens.

Mystery Woman: Oh, Jake… Jake, honey…

Jake embraces the Mystery Woman and they kiss.

Jake: [to Elwood] Let’s go.

He drops the Mystery Woman and walks off.

Elwood: [to the Mystery Woman as he steps past her] Take it easy.

— The Blues Brothers (1980), written by Dan Aykroyd and John Landis

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is begging for one’s life, suggested by Despina. Today’s suggestion by bolo boffin.

Trivia: Elwood removes his hat three times in the film: when going to sleep in his room, to break the window to get into the Palace Hotel, and towards the end of the movie when the Bluesmobile falls apart. His sunglasses are removed once in the scene where he quits his job at the glue factory factory “to become a priest.” Jake removes his sunglasses once, when he is talking to Carrie Fisher, but never removes his hat.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from bolo: “This is a comedic take on begging for one’s life, a classic one at that. Plot-wise, it’s here so that Elwood and Jake’s pursuers can continue pursuing them — the Mystery Woman firing her machine gun alerts them to where the Blues Brothers are as the clip makes clear. This scene couldn’t work in a drama, but as comedy it’s perfect. It fits both main characters’ personality, a comedy can stand a one-off character like the Mystery Woman (since we can all imagine such a person in Jake’s past), and Jake triumphs over her in a beautifully comic way. The mission from God can proceed.”

Note: We’ve officially run out of begging for one’s life suggestions. Any ideas you have, please post in comments. Not that I’m begging or anything…

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