September 28 is the official Ask a Stupid Question Day, but it may be celebrated on any day in September that is the last school day of the month. Ask a Stupid Question Day was created specifically to encourage students too afraid or nervous or tentative or shy to raise their hand in advance of forwarding a query that may indeed produce laughter amongst their fellow classmates, but ultimately also succeeds in producing a higher grade come test time. You know what the say: there is no such thing as a stupid question. You will have to watch these movies all the way to the end to determine for yourself if the title question is stupid or not.
O Brother, Where are Thou?
The real question that “O Brother, Where Are Thou?” answers is should you become a George Clooney fan? I was not a Clooney fan until I watched “O Brother, Where are Thou?” I became one as a result. Another question that is often raised when watching this film that is most definitely not stupid is where the title originated? The title is taken from a screwball comedy called “Sullivan’s Travels.” Another question that is not stupid to ask relative to “O Brother, Where are Thou?” is what it means in relation to the movie itself. I can’t answer that for you.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
One of the interesting things about “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” is that it is a movie title that really is appropriate for Ask a Stupid Question Day. Mainly because knowing the answer is almost comprehensively unimportant to being able to enjoy this very dark Mike Nichols domestic drama. Whether or not you are familiar with Virginia Woolf, you should be able to enjoy the movie. Having said that, not knowing the identity of Virginia Woolf means that half the fun of the title is going to sail right over your head. Get to know your British writers, film fans.
Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
You will have a hard time tracking this questionable movie down, but I’ll give you a hint: YouTube. “Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?” remains one of the longest titles to ever produce an Oscar nomination. The nomination was for Barbara Harris for Best Supporting Actress. Dustin Hoffman plays a 1960s singer/songwriter in this surreal adventure of an artist trying to track down an unknown entity who is going around badmouthing him. If you aren’t into metaphor and film and philosophy, then you may well think this movie is a definite candidate for the most apt addition to Ask a Stupid Question Day.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Little bit of trivia. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is most definitely a movie that asks a question. But my lack of proper punctuation is not by mistake. The question mark that should be part “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was left out on purpose. Supposedly there is a superstition against including a question mark in the title of movie. Something to do with poor box office mojo. I think that superstition has since been disproved.
For more from Timothy Sexton, check out:
Extra Long Movie Titles: A Trend Trickling Up From B-Movies to A-Movies
