WatchmenComicMovie.com Forum

In the book, Dan and Laurie's first attempted sex starts because they're watching news coverage of the war, and start talking about the end of the world and how there might be no tomorrow... Then one thing leads to the next and it just kind of happens. It makes sense in the book.

In the movie, all we get is "Jon sees a lot of things...but he doesn't see me" out of nowhere.

A big part of what drives the end of the story is the characters starting to live like there might be no tomorrow. In the movie, I didn't get a sense of that at all in this scene, and so it just didn't work for me.

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"Computer unnecessary."

In the movie, Dan seems to think that he and Laurie have established some sort of romantic relationship. When he shows her the goggles, she goes on about how it must be how Jon sees the world. This upsets him and she sees that. She then attempts to remedy this. Not to mention the fact that (in the DC) at the Crimebusters meeting, they seem like they might establish something waiting for Jon to show up. They smile at each other, but when Doc shows up, Laurie diverts her attention to Jon, leaving Dan visibly "hurt." I don't see what the problem is.

I'm still not understanding how we get from "cool goggles" to "let's have sex" in just a few minutes.

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"Computer unnecessary."

You don't have to be a cinephile to understand what happened there. Dan goes on about the goggles, then she says "this must be how Jon sees the world." His mood visibly changes after she says this, he grows upset/disappointed and shuts off the lights, leaving her in the dark. That screams how upset he is about her mentioning Jon. When he sits down, she says "Dan, Jon sees a lot of things (referring back to the goggles) but he doesn't see me," implying that he does, in fact, see her. She finds a connection that she didn't have with Jon in her relationship with Dan. The attempted sex acts as a physical manifestation of these feelings.

Again, I have to say that I don't understand what your problem is with this scene. It's one of the easiest scenes to understand in the movie. I agree about the Cold War bits, but in terms of the "goggles/sex" transition, it's perfectly logical.

I just don't buy Laurie suddenly deciding "wow...Dan sees me....I'm gonna go up there right now and sleep with him."

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"Computer unnecessary."

No, I think she's deciding that Dan cares for her in the here and now, while Jon's lost whatever love for her he might have had. That's a very important distinction, especially at the point Laurie's in at the time.

However, I will grant that this pill might have been easier to swallow if Laurie reacted as harshly to the breakup as she did in the graphic novel. Akerman plays the breakup as if to say "it happened, but it was a long time coming and that's that." In the GN, she's positively torn up about it, having lost her boyfriend/means of financial support for so many years. In the latter case, I could easily see Laurie in dire need of a rebound. In the former case, not quite as much.

To be certain, this plotline suffers from imposed brevity and from the direction Akerman and Snyder took Laurie. Still, I don't think it completely fell apart. It still works, just not as well.

EDIT: Or maybe Laurie decided to jump his bones because they just came out from a warehouse full of fun superhero gadgets. After all, the movie makes it abundantly clear that Laurie and Dan both have something of a superhero fetish (just listen to their talk about Archie near the end of the movie and try to count all the innuendos). Maybe an interactive tour through the Owl Chamber was enough to get Laurie hot, but Dan needed something more.

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

I don't feel that Dan and Laurie's feelings come out of nowhere at all. I don't think Dan believes they've established a romantic relationship...he just wants one. It seems pretty clear that there's an attraction between them, period, even before Laurie leaves Jon. He just doesn't see it from her. When Akerman says "He doesn't see me". I get the sense that she's not just talking about Jon seeing her needs. She's talking about Dan's own "blindness". Doesn't she also remove his glasses as she says this? Can't remember.

Is there some brevity to it? Sure. But short of the fact that they watch TV for a longer time in the book, there's not really that much more than there is in the novel, and it's set up a lot better too, with their chemistry in the restaurant VS Laurie lost in her own little world and essentially ignoring Dan all the way through the novel until she just doesn't. I find it a more believeable progression, than the novel where she basically never shows she truly cares for him until they're about to bang. And that said...the movie's portrayal of their relationship is about eighteen times as interesting and better executed than...any other comic book movie, save for perhaps SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. Maybe.

You know I agree with this on the novel is an unrequited attraction from Dan's POV till during the couch talk he makes the "Manhattan;s transfer joke" and then she decides to mess his hair and jump his bones at least on the movie is obvious that she did liked him before she just fell for Jon harder or he impressed her more but specially on the scene at the restaurant she is clearly happy to see him again. Not that I don't like the GNLaurie but the MovieLaurie has her merits as well.

The book has a lot more. I buy it because they have a long conversation about "could this really be the end?" A lot of bonding goes on in that scene.

There's A LOT more in the book then "Jon doesn't see me." It doesn't feel like it happens all of the sudden without warning. There's some build-up to it.

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"Computer unnecessary."

I agree with you, ROR-SHACK. When I was in the theater watching it, I was like, "Okay, calm down, nympho, geez!" LOL. It just seemed like she conveniently forgot about her boyfriend that she spent the last 20 years with to hump on Dan whereas in the book, there is more of a buildup before they start to make love on the couch. As a sex scene alone it's good, but if you take in the whole picture and compare it to the book, the whole exchange between Dan and Laurie has more meaning in the GN than in the movie, but I understand they had to change the scene for time, and also to sexualize Laurie's character to make her more acceptable and watered-down for a general audience.

I thought it was fine. Now I'm sure you know that there are time constraints prohibiting the books vision of the courtship of their first "attempt" at sexual intercourse. However what they do in the film is build up, or infer, their like or affections for one another. It's fairly obvious from such scenes as the pre crimebusters meeting, the Raphael's dinner, the dinner at the Gunga diner, and others that I may have forgotten. But it was fairly obvious that she liked him and he liked her, and I'm sure from Laurie's point of view, she liked having a human touch, having someone who cared for her feelings and was considerate and attending... unlike Jon. That's what I personally thought that quote displayed. That Jon never understood her, the man who can understand notions that mankind can't even begin to grasp; like calculus to an ape. Despite all his vast knowledge, all his godly understandings, he never understood her and made her feel the way that Dan did. To me tha'ts a good build up for an important sexual display of affection.

Now both versions offer their own takes of the situation/scene but just because it's differs from the book doesn't mean that it should be considered faulty.

I'm sorry, but from the moment Dan invites Laurie to stay with him, and she accepts, they BOTH know that they are going to be having sex at some point. It is PLAINLY obvious.

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No need. Fine like this.

I have no problem with that part of it. In the GN it is plainly obvious as well, but there's more of a build-up before the sex happens. In the movie, it's like she can't wait to rip Dan's clothes off and it just made her seem like a floozy. Just my 2 cents.

the way i see it dan has always been a bit in love with laurie, and laurie has always liked dan, except she never really realised until the goggles scene how much he like her, and also over the few days they are living with each other after thier meal out, she was seeing more and more what a great guy he is, she sees that her comment hurt dan, and tries to amend it one one of the only ways she knows how, after almost 20 years living with Jon she doesn't know any better. i think the movie works. it is not a huge jump. and of course Dan talking about his NO stuff gets her in the mood

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We're all actors, Laurie. I'm just an actor who read the script.