In the scene, Richie comes into the bathroom and begins cutting his hair. He continues cutting until both his beard and hair are gone. He then says to the camera, "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow," and slits his wrists multiple times, covering the room with blood. Luckily, Dudley wanders into the bathroom and discovers this and Richie is rushed to the hospital. The entire scene is shot with a blue-ish tint, to symbolize Richie's emotion as the scene was happening.
Instead of riddling the film with expletives and sexual innuendos, the film added a level of reality, reminding us that the characters are only human, thus making us uncomfortable and upset by Richie trying to kill himself. It is a hard scene to watch, and it's meant to be.
The addition of this scene made me, as an audience member, respect the film (more than I would for other comedies) and think of the film as more dramatically exciting/interesting.
Why did Richie say, "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow," then try to kill himself right then?
I'm not sure why Richie says that. My only guess for now is that he says it as a way to fool the audience. We think he is going to be doing it later, but then, out of the blue, we see he is bleeding. I think this enhances the shock and surprise of the scene. I don't think this is the best reason, but I can't think of a better one.
ReplyDeleteI too found this scene to enhance the film, in both a comedic and dramatic sense. After this scene, many of the jokes were much-needed comic relief, and I found myself laughing at them more now that I knew this wasn't just a ridiculous comedy. I also found that Richie's depression and attempt on his life made the film much more down to earth, I cared about it, the plot, and the characters.
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