Broken English

Broken English (2007)

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Movie Quote Quiz

Jean Paul Clement: Most people are together just so they are not alone. But some people want magic. I think you are one of those people.

Question: When Nora drinks with Nick Gable at the bar, she says "You know what Hugh Hefner says about ____? That 3 are too many and one is not enough." What's the word she said in the blank? What is she talking about? The subtitle was left out there. And from what I searched, this "Hugh Hefner" is a real person. The Wikipedia says he is an American magazine publisher. Is there a remark that became known to the public he has ever said? (00:14:10)

Bunch Son

Answer: She appears to actually be paraphrasing author James Thurber: "One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough." Hugh Hefner was the publisher of Playboy Magazine, but he doesn't seem to be the one who made this quote.

Brian Katcher

Chosen answer: The word she says is "breasts." I've never found it attributed to Hugh Hefner though. The quote seems to have originated from the film "The Parallax View" where Gail says "They say a martini is like a woman's breast: one ain't enough and three is too many." It's been re-quoted in several different places and has nothing to do with James Thurber. She's just saying it as a joke and I think they used Hefner's name since it sounds like something he might say since he founded Playboy, but also so Nick could say "he's one to talk, he has 19 girlfriends."

Bishop73

There are Internet sources showing that the original quote being paraphrased is by James Thurber: "One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough."

raywest Premium member

Yes, but that's not the joke and has nothing to do with the scene. They're two different quotes and the latter one has nothing to do with Thurber's quote. His quote is not being paraphrased at all.

Bishop73

Yes, but the way your response is worded makes it sound as if the quote never had anything to do all with James Thurber. Brian Katcher was citing it in his response to give context to the joke's origin and how it is being paraphrased, not the joke itself.

raywest Premium member

Yes, the quote in the movie, despite not being credited to Hefner, IS NOT Thurber's quote. Brian just brought up a random quote that had nothing to do with the scene or the question.

Bishop73

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