There are a lot of quotes that are being repeated from the movie The Hangover, my favorite being “Hey Bro, you mind putting on some pants? I find it a little weird I have to ask you twice.”
However there’s another quote in the movie that refers to the Jonas brothers which is repeated quite often by fans of the movie. It actually gives me an extra chuckle whenever I hear it because it reminds me of a conversation I had with two middle schoolers, one of them happened to be my son.
The quote from the movie was made by Alan when the discussion of another get together came up:
“Next week’s no good for me, The Jonas Brothers are in town.”
It was funny that Alan, a middle aged man, wanted to make sure he got to see The Jonas Brothers. It was also funny that in my conversation with the guys that afternoon, they brought up the Jonas Brothers and their fan base of middle aged men. It was a little like a scene from a sitcom:
I came into the den to quickly check something on my computer. My son Jay and his school friend Chris were opponents in a wrestling video game. This is where I picked up listening.
Jay - “…you know what fraternal twins mean, don’t you?”
Chris - “It means they look alike”
Jay - “No, that’s identical”
Chris - “Like the Jonas Brothers. They all look like the same girl.”
Me: - “Well, actually it means they were born at the same time but from two different eggs. Identical twins come from the same egg that split.
(I continued uninterrupted about the science of it all)
Me - “.blah, blah, blah… twins….blah blah…. have to be same the gender…blah blah, blah, …hereditary traits…blah blah blah….and so, fraternal twins can look alike because after all, they are brothers.”
There is complete silence until Chris, scratching his head finally breaks it.
Chris - “Well… that still doesn’t explain the Jonas Brothers.”
Jay - “Yeah nobody likes the Jonas Brothers except little girls and middle aged men.”
Chris – “And Michael Jackson.. oh wait...is it too soon?”
Me - “Yes, it’s too soon.” (This was the weekend after MJ’s death).
Then suddenly the conversation turned to global warming as it pertained to the two of them passing gas. The conversation continued to go downhill as terms like green house gases, damaging the ozone and fuel emissions were used to describe their own personal contributions to the ecological problem. I was actually quite impressed with their knowledge of environmental issues even if they were used in comparison to bodily functions. To my “mother ears” it was still a bit crude but to two thirteen year old boys it was HI-LA- RI-OUS.
When they wanted to experiment with their version of the “greenhouse effect” in a closed in environment like the den, I headed for the already closed door.
Ah, the simple joys of childhood.