Question: Can anyone explain to me the phrase Rene Russo says to Mel Gibson 'Close is a lingerie shop without a window'. Gibson's character can't make sense of the phrase and neither can I.
Answer: She means that's as close as he's going to get or as far as they're getting. Like the old saying, "Close but no cigar." He played the game, but didn't win the prize.
Question: How accurate is the portrayal of the Untouchables, when it comes to names and numbers? Were there actually only four of them? Do Garcia, Connery and Smith play actual people or fictive ones?
Answer: It's about 50% truth and 50% fiction. Ness, Al Capone, and Frank Nitty are real, of course, but the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith are fictional. Ness started out with 50 candidates for his 'Untouchables' force. This was whittled down to 15 finalists and from that he selected 9 agents (none of which has the same name as the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith). It's true that Capone was convicted for tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but received an early release because he was in the last stages of syphilis. He died shortly after being released from prison.
Capone lived for 8 years upon his release from prison. The 8 years being slightly longer than the actual prison time he served, which was just over 7 years. He died, having the mental capabilities of a 12-year-old.
Question: What led Axel Foley to know that agent Fulbright was in on the scheme? He didn't seem to show any suspicion earlier. Was it just because Fulbright was at the park at the end? The way Foley talked made it seem like he figured it out before know Fulbright was there.
Answer: Just before Uncle Dave is shot earlier in the film Axel figures out that the note he was given was written on treasury mint sample paper - I believe it's at this point that Axel know Fulbright was in on it since the "matter of life and death" note was written some time before the treasury mint paper truck heist.
Answer: Axel was suspicious of Fulbright of knowing everything that was going on in Wonderland but did nothing. He said, they were investigating but Axel was the only one making any progress. Plus, to get the materials needed to make counterfeit bills they were using authentic paper and ink, something only a Treasury Agent would have access to.
Question: Did Terrance Howard do his own rapping for the film?
Answer: Yes he did. The lyrics for the songs that he raps in the movie were written by the group Three Six Mafia.
Question: Where does Bonnie get all her clothes from? From what we see she goes off with Clyde wearing the yellow dress and doesn't have any bags or anything with her. Are we supposed to think she steals them?
Answer: Bonnie and Clyde were bank robbers, remember - it's quite reasonable that Bonnie would buy herself some clothes with the proceeds.
Question: Can anyone give some insight as to what was used to contaminate the hotel reviewer's room?
Answer: I don't think there's any way of providing an exact answer to this question, but I think it's safe to say that whatever materials they used were highly bacterial but not lethal (otherwise the 5 Diamond Award critic would be dead or in serious condition).
Question: What's the symbolism behind all the blue in the movie?
Answer: Blue's the color for Aubrey's character, and the red one's for Dakota. If you watch the movie carefully you can notice that Aubrey wears blue clothes the most of the time while Dakota wears red ones. So it's just to represent the diferent characters and make the movie obvious.
Question: Early on we see the crooks put wet cash in a microwave, presumably to dry it. Would that work? I just assume you'd end up with hot wet cash - I would have thought an oven or hairdryer or something would be a better bet.
Answer: Considering how microwave ovens work, it seems it would. Microwaves work by bombarding whatever is inside with actual 'microwaves' which works to excite the water molecules within. Paper, and in the case of cash, cotton, wouldn't be affected on its own but the water inside would be. Ever had something wrapped in a paper towel when you microwave it? The cash is not metal, and the water content is what gets heated up inside and evaporated, so I believe it would work.
Answer: There are videos of people drying money in microwaves, but it was a single layer of bills. But it can be tricky because, like wet clothes, it can catch on fire in the microwave if let in too long.
Question: What car is Gina driving at the end of the movie?
Answer: A 1966 Ford Galaxie-500 XL. There's a website that lists the vehicles used in the movie.
Question: This is what I don't get. The mansion actually belongs to who? Wadsworth or Mr Broddy?
Chosen answer: Tim Curry (as Wadsworth) states he knew about the secret passages because the house belongs to a friend of his. Tim Curry (as Mr. Boddy) says at the end of the movie that they "Could stack the bodies in the cellar and could all leave one by one." Which infers that Mr. Boddy has no intention of returning to the house. Either way, there is no definite way to tell who the house belongs to considering all the lying going on.
Question: What is Jerry's wife watching on TV when she is about to be kidnapped?
Answer: A local TV show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area called "Good Company" which starred Steve and Sharon Adelman. It has been off the air for many years now.
Question: If Susie's body had been in a bag in the safe, how did people who went into his house (Lindsey when she broke into his house through the basement window) not smell her dead body?
Answer: The dog could smell her body even from outside, and he barked and hesitated as he passed near the killer's house. Dogs can smell people from a long distance.
Question: In the scene leading up to where the mirror is knocked off and the car stalls, there appears to be a billboard in the background with a cowboy with his head in profile. In large letters above it is what appears to be the word "Impotent." (Not "Important"). Does anyone know what is with that?
Answer: That billboard was part of an anti-smoking campaign from about 18 years ago. The image mocks the iconic Marlboro Man, with the cigarette in his mouth flaccid and drooping. The word "Impotent" is rendered large in the same type style as the old Marlboro logo. In much smaller text (not visible in the film), the sign reads, "WARNING: Smoking Causes Impotence."
Question: When Carl Lee Hailey visited Jake to tell him that he was thinking about killing those 2 men, wouldn't he have been required to report that to law enforcement? It's not considered attorney/client privilege when you tell your lawyer that you are planning to kill someone. And then he went home and told his wife about it, so wouldn't that also make her an accessory?
Answer: I'm not from America but couldn't you just say the conversation didn't take place? Maybe they didn't want to say anything due to being parents themselves and thinking they would do the same?
Question: In the scene when Moriarty is doing a book signing, his aide sits and hands him a piece of paper with what looks like some kind of grouped numbers together. What is this and does it get referenced later in the film?
Chosen answer: That's the key code for his fortune concealed in his library. The one Mrs Watson uses to relay to Inspector Lestrade. Like the book reference numbers in a public library.
Question: Am I mistaken, or did Sylvia say she was born in the US before moving to Africa? I'm just puzzled as to why she was deported in the end even if she has dual citizenship.
Chosen answer: Dual citizenship is complicated, and it does not guarantee a person equal rights, privileges, and obligations in both countries. Nor does one country or the other always recognize dual citizenship. Since Sylvia's main residency has been in Africa, the US would consider that her primary homeland and could legally deport her there. Basically, the government is giving Sylvia a way to avoid prosecution in the US by allowing her to leave the country.
Question: Matty introduces her friend as Mary Ann, but in the year book, the friend is actually Matty Tyler, and she is actually Mary Ann. Were both girls in on the scam? (00:31:22)
Answer: I noticed the problem of the introduction, also. It seemed like a major plot hole to me. There wasn't any material in the movie to support blackmail, etc by the real Matty. I hadn't thought of her possibly being in on the scam. If not, why wouldn't the real Matty have immediately blanched when hearing herself be introduced with the wrong name? So far, I agree with the OP's suggestion.
The real Maddy was at the house when Ned arrived. Presumably, she had already discovered what "Fake Maddy" was up to. It looked like Fake Maddy (Turner) gave the real Maddy a check, presumably a payoff to keep quiet. The real Maddy may or may not have known exactly what Fake Maddy was planning, but went along with being introduced as "Mary Ann." Also, the movie deliberately leaves details vague because it is a big plot twist at the end when Ned, and the audience, learns that Fake Maddy is really Mary Ann.
Answer: It appears that the real Matty Tyler was not initially in on the plan. It's confusing, and there're many plot holes, but it seems the fake "Matty" (Kathleen Turner) intended for the real Matty to eventually discover that her identity was being used (by Turner). The real Matty was then apparently blackmailing fake Matty to keep quiet. It appears that fake Matty intended to lure and then murder the real Matty, framing Ned Racine for her murder, as well as Edmund's. The real Matty's body was identified as being Edmond's wife through her dental records. Fake Matty probably intended for Ned to be killed in the explosion.
Answer: So what does it mean? "Nothing, " says screenwriter Jeffrey Boam. "It's a complete non sequitur. The (original) line was something like 'Close doesn't count, ' or 'Close only counts with horseshoes.' Dick (director Richard Donner) is a fun-loving guy," says Boam, "and this thought just popped into his head. He said, 'Let's have her say something completely off the wall.'" Boam, who wasn't on the set at the time, quickly faxed Donner a dozen meaningless lines that began with the words, "Close is..." Then the whole cast and crew started coming up with them. But the one they used came from Russo herself. "This is like some line from a Beatles song," says Boam. "I guess people are trying to figure it out."