Just Got Back From Seeing MU

[pitbulllady]

I'll add spoilers with appropriate tags later, but I seriously JUST walked in the door. I didn't even know that our local theater was showing it TONIGHT at 8 PM until like, 7:45, by accident, when I did a search to see which area theaters were going to be opening it TOMORROW. I literally got in the door at 8PM on the dot!
I was a bit disappointed at the crowd, though, lots of empty seats, but I have to wonder if that's because a lot of people still think that it opens tomorrow. Thursday night is not a big movie night around here and the official opening is supposed to be June 21st. Most of the audience this time was little kids..REALLY little kids, like toddlers, and I was also disappointed a bit in the audience reaction. Not many big laughs, and I felt like an idiot laughing out loud at times, but then, a lot of those jokes(like the "old people" jokes centered around Don) went right over the little kids' heads.

Now, the bit I know everyone is waiting for, so here goes: Most of us here already knew that Randall had very little time in this movie, and didn't really play as big a role as he did in the original. There's no big emo scene with him, either, although watching his face and body language closely you can really get a feel for what he's going through. He does NOT-and I repeat, does NOT-become a "p****" in this movie, at all! The closest thing he does that can even remotely be considered "bad" is dumping a bunch of stuffed toys on the OK's...yeah, toys. Really mean and evil, right? Even after that, when he and the ROR's are around Mike, he blinks a LOT, clearly uncomfortable, and won't look Mike in the eye. You can see that he DOES feel bad about what happened, but can't challenge Johnny. Yes, Randall looks happy each time the ROR's win something in the Scare Games, and why shouldn't he? He starts out looking nervous and unsure, but as his team wins more and more, you can see his confidence start to built a bit. He's not being a jerk about it; he's nowhere NEAR as demonstrative as Reggie(but who IS?) or as obnoxiously in-your-face-as Chet(but Chet is still funny as heck), though. Now, most of us already know what happens to Randall following the Scare Games, but one other ROR's screws up even worse, and nothing happens to HIM! It really did show that Johnny didn't recruit Randall because he liked him or thought he was a good Scare candidate, but was really using him to hurt MIKE. Randall was just their entertainment, more or less. They all refer to each other by their first names, but call him "Boggs", repeatedly, which is probably where HE got that habit of referring to others by their last names. Once Randall joins ROR, though, Mike wants nothing more to do with him, and I really got the impression that it was MIKE who broke off that friendship. What made me want to punch the seats, though, is that there is an emotional scene between Mike and Sulley, in which they both reveal things about themselves that neither had ever told the other...and I could not help but wonder how differently things would have gone had Mike and Randall had a similar soul-baring conversation and Mike had learned why Randall wanted to be "in with the cool kids" so badly, why it meant so much to him. Mike would have found out that he and Randall had FAR more in common than either of them had ever imagined, and he and Sulley, as well.

pitbulllady

[TheOnePistol]

So I'm going to assume that this movie was a good thing for Randall and his fans, in regards to the possible future films?

[Watcher]

Jun 20, 2013 21:46:16 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

I'll add spoilers with appropriate tags later, but I seriously JUST walked in the door. I didn't even know that our local theater was showing it TONIGHT at 8 PM until like, 7:45, by accident, when I did a search to see which area theaters were going to be opening it TOMORROW. I literally got in the door at 8PM on the dot!
I was a bit disappointed at the crowd, though, lots of empty seats, but I have to wonder if that's because a lot of people still think that it opens tomorrow. Thursday night is not a big movie night around here and the official opening is supposed to be June 21st. Most of the audience this time was little kids..REALLY little kids, like toddlers, and I was also disappointed a bit in the audience reaction. Not many big laughs, and I felt like an idiot laughing out loud at times, but then, a lot of those jokes(like the "old people" jokes centered around Don) went right over the little kids' heads.

Now, the bit I know everyone is waiting for, so here goes: Most of us here already knew that Randall had very little time in this movie, and didn't really play as big a role as he did in the original. There's no big emo scene with him, either, although watching his face and body language closely you can really get a feel for what he's going through. He does NOT-and I repeat, does NOT-become a "p****" in this movie, at all! The closest thing he does that can even remotely be considered "bad" is dumping a bunch of stuffed toys on the OK's...yeah, toys. Really mean and evil, right? Even after that, when he and the ROR's are around Mike, he blinks a LOT, clearly uncomfortable, and won't look Mike in the eye. You can see that he DOES feel bad about what happened, but can't challenge Johnny. Yes, Randall looks happy each time the ROR's win something in the Scare Games, and why shouldn't he? He starts out looking nervous and unsure, but as his team wins more and more, you can see his confidence start to built a bit. He's not being a jerk about it; he's nowhere NEAR as demonstrative as Reggie(but who IS?) or as obnoxiously in-your-face-as Chet(but Chet is still funny as heck), though. Now, most of us already know what happens to Randall following the Scare Games, but one other ROR's screws up even worse, and nothing happens to HIM! It really did show that Johnny didn't recruit Randall because he liked him or thought he was a good Scare candidate, but was really using him to hurt MIKE. Randall was just their entertainment, more or less. They all refer to each other by their first names, but call him "Boggs", repeatedly, which is probably where HE got that habit of referring to others by their last names. Once Randall joins ROR, though, Mike wants nothing more to do with him, and I really got the impression that it was MIKE who broke off that friendship. What made me want to punch the seats, though, is that there is an emotional scene between Mike and Sulley, in which they both reveal things about themselves that neither had ever told the other...and I could not help but wonder how differently things would have gone had Mike and Randall had a similar soul-baring conversation and Mike had learned why Randall wanted to be "in with the cool kids" so badly, why it meant so much to him. Mike would have found out that he and Randall had FAR more in common than either of them had ever imagined, and he and Sulley, as well.

pitbulllady

*NODS RAPIDLY* I was thinking the exact same thing- if Randall and Sulley's positions had been changed at that point- this would've ALL gone so differently... omg! ;D I'm so glad someone else has seen it!

I had the same thing with the audience- I dragged 6 other 19-26 year old with me to enjoy it- but I really thought it'd be packed the rafters- I pre-booked tickets, waited in line like a psycho- dressed up! XDD

I also WISH--- there was more about Mike and Randall's relationship- because- they WERE friends- it was so vague how that ended- booo! ;3;
<3
Fanfiction time~

[pitbulllady]

Yeah, I agree that Mike and Randall's relationship just sorta ended, no angry confrontations or anything like that. They never speak to each other again following that scene where Randall more or less pleads with Mike not to "mess it up for him" by trying to get him into OK, now that he's "in with the cool kids". And that is the bad thing-that Mike, Sulley and Randall ALL have these big issues, and Mike and Sulley finally sit down and talk about how they feel and why they act the way THEY do, and that's what really brings the two of THEM together, now that each one really knows where the other is coming from, but Randall...he just gets left out in the cold, yet again. No one cares what HE is going through or how HE feels, or why HE does anything. The only clues we get are a few of the things he says, that Spartan room decor(especially compared to Mike's side of the room)and that "kicked dog" look he has when he's around the other guys in ROR, especially when they are hassling Mike. What Mike says to Sulley in their soul-baring conversation is almost a summation of what Randall's life has probably been like, only Mike apparently came from a somewhat more affluent family judging by all the stuff he brings with him. But if the two of them had had a chance to really sit down and talk, instead of Randall being all nervous(and he IS a seriously jumpy dude) and Mike being the calm one, they both would have been like, "WHAT? You TOO?!"

Oh, and gotta throw this in, not that it's totally relevant, but it's pretty clear from this movie that Randall definitely likes the LADIES! He made those cupcakes specifically for the girls at the party, and when he was trying to persuade Mike to go the party with him, he says it like this, "it's a fraternity and a SO-ROR-ITY party", as in "wink-wink, nudge-nudge there's gonna be GIRLS there".

[mintygreen]

I haven't seen it yet although apparently they did have some showings today....I just found out about it too late and I already have plans to go with some other people to a showing tomorrow so, yeah.

Anyway, the ROR guys always refer to Randall by his last name?

It's interesting how on the score board in MI, Randall is the one who's name is listed as his first name instead of his last, unlike everyone else.

I wonder if being called simply by his last name really ended up hurting him, based on what happened to him at the end of all of that at MU. So maybe now if someone refers to him as his last name only, it brings back painful memories that the ROR guys weren't really his friends?

I don't know. I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't judge this as well as those that have.

[Deleted]

Jun 20, 2013 22:16:19 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

Oh, and gotta throw this in, not that it's totally relevant, but it's pretty clear from this movie that Randall definitely likes the LADIES! He made those cupcakes specifically for the girls at the party, and when he was trying to persuade Mike to go the party with him, he says it like this, "it's a fraternity and a SO-ROR-ITY party", as in "wink-wink, nudge-nudge there's gonna be GIRLS there".

Totally agree on that! I picked up on that months ago during the advanced screening and was like... oh yeah... he's totally into this. XD

[pitbulllady]

Jun 20, 2013 21:53:20 GMT -5 TheOnePistol said:

So I'm going to assume that this movie was a good thing for Randall and his fans, in regards to the possible future films?

I really don't know. Most of the audience at tonight's showing laughed when bad things happened to Randall, but then, most of them were little kids who just saw that slapstick element and don't really have much empathy for anyone at their age. Randall really was not in this movie much at all and does not have a pivotal role, like he did in MI. I can see that some of the more shallow people might see him following Johnny's orders and wanting to belong to the "cool people" so badly as a sign of him going "bad", and Sulley's win over him in the Scare Games isn't exactly legit because Sulley SPOILER ALERT: does not just roar, but he actually grabs the frame of the simulator room and SHAKES it vigorously, and THIS is actually what causes Randall to slip and fall onto the rug, and then of course Johnny kicks Randall out of ROR but I'm sure that to many people Randall's reaction to that will make it seem like he's just a sore loser. MORE SPOILER: Reggie screws up HIS scare much worse than Randall does, and it's nobody's fault but his, but HE doesn't get kicked out of ROR; only Randall does, and then Johnny offers Sulley RANDALL'S ROR jacket! If Randall had had more screen time, and there had been more interaction between him and Mike, then I'd say yeah, it would bode favorably for him in future films, but we're just left with him saying that line about Sullivan, whom he's never even spoken to or about until that moment, and for many people, they're just gonna say, "see, he was always mean and jealous".

pitbulllady

[mintygreen]

He made the cupcakes for the girls? XD lol....well it's definitely awesome to know a guy can cook....especially if it's not something you like to do(I'm completely fine with other chores like laundry and other things but I HATE cooking food).

[TheOnePistol]

Jun 20, 2013 22:30:21 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

Jun 20, 2013 21:53:20 GMT -5 TheOnePistol said:

So I'm going to assume that this movie was a good thing for Randall and his fans, in regards to the possible future films?

I really don't know. Most of the audience at tonight's showing laughed when bad things happened to Randall, but then, most of them were little kids who just saw that slapstick element and don't really have much empathy for anyone at their age. Randall really was not in this movie much at all and does not have a pivotal role, like he did in MI. I can see that some of the more shallow people might see him following Johnny's orders and wanting to belong to the "cool people" so badly as a sign of him going "bad", and Sulley's win over him in the Scare Games isn't exactly legit because Sulley SPOILER ALERT: does not just roar, but he actually grabs the frame of the simulator room and SHAKES it vigorously, and THIS is actually what causes Randall to slip and fall onto the rug, and then of course Johnny kicks Randall out of ROR but I'm sure that to many people Randall's reaction to that will make it seem like he's just a sore loser. MORE SPOILER: Reggie screws up HIS scare much worse than Randall does, and it's nobody's fault but his, but HE doesn't get kicked out of ROR; only Randall does, and then Johnny offers Sulley RANDALL'S ROR jacket! If Randall had had more screen time, and there had been more interaction between him and Mike, then I'd say yeah, it would bode favorably for him in future films, but we're just left with him saying that line about Sullivan, whom he's never even spoken to or about until that moment, and for many people, they're just gonna say, "see, he was always mean and jealous".

pitbulllady

Its kinda sad how his role is so short, I mean they show the antagonist from the first movie in a TOTALLY different light and give him the smallest role ever. Kinda makes no sense, almost as if they just threw him in for the fans and nothing more. But you never know, maybe it was for a reason.

[pitbulllady]

Jun 20, 2013 22:21:28 GMT -5 mintygreen said:

I haven't seen it yet although apparently they did have some showings today....I just found out about it too late and I already have plans to go with some other people to a showing tomorrow so, yeah.

Anyway, the ROR guys always refer to Randall by his last name?

It's interesting how on the score board in MI, Randall is the one who's name is listed as his first name instead of his last, unlike everyone else.

I wonder if being called simply by his last name really ended up hurting him, based on what happened to him at the end of all of that at MU. So maybe now if someone refers to him as his last name only, it brings back painful memories that the ROR guys weren't really his friends?

I don't know. I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't judge this as well as those that have.

Yeah, all of the ROR guys refer to him simply as "Boggs", no first-name basis here, although they call the other members by their first names. Johnny speaks to Randall and gives him orders the way someone would talk to a dog undergoing obedience training, seriously. He literally-right after we see that Randall is in ROR -yells at him, "BOGGS! COME HERE! Do that trick!" and Randall looks like, "oh, God, NOT again" but he goes over to them and "disappears", leaving only his jacket visible, and they all just about fall all over themselves hooting with laughter, and Chet says something like, "OOOOOH, he's MAGIC!" in a tone you'd use if you are really making fun of someone. I really, really hate to think of what they put Randall through as part of his initiation, but if Johnny says "JUMP", it's like Randall just wants to know "how high?" Johnny rules him with an iron fist, and that much is obvious, but I bet still a lot of people won't see that and will just think that Randall's being a jerk now because he was always mean.

pitbulllady

[usernamesareadrag]

Jun 20, 2013 22:16:19 GMT -5 pitbulllady said:

Yeah, I agree that Mike and Randall's relationship just sorta ended, no angry confrontations or anything like that. They never speak to each other again following that scene where Randall more or less pleads with Mike not to "mess it up for him" by trying to get him into OK, now that he's "in with the cool kids". And that is the bad thing-that Mike, Sulley and Randall ALL have these big issues, and Mike and Sulley finally sit down and talk about how they feel and why they act the way THEY do, and that's what really brings the two of THEM together, now that each one really knows where the other is coming from, but Randall...he just gets left out in the cold, yet again. No one cares what HE is going through or how HE feels, or why HE does anything. The only clues we get are a few of the things he says, that Spartan room decor(especially compared to Mike's side of the room)and that "kicked dog" look he has when he's around the other guys in ROR, especially when they are hassling Mike. What Mike says to Sulley in their soul-baring conversation is almost a summation of what Randall's life has probably been like, only Mike apparently came from a somewhat more affluent family judging by all the stuff he brings with him. But if the two of them had had a chance to really sit down and talk, instead of Randall being all nervous(and he IS a seriously jumpy dude) and Mike being the calm one, they both would have been like, "WHAT? You TOO?!"

This. This exactly. I think that how their relationship ended was one of my least favorite parts about the movie, probably because their friendship really warmed my heart(which was, surprisingly, a consensus among the people I saw the movie with, even some children and those who don't like Randall). If they'd just had an opportunity to talk it out, things would have been a lot different. I'm not saying that they would be perfect, but Randall would have been able to keep the one friend who liked him for him and Mike would have had a friend that understood his perspective. I think that the two have a lot in common, really, even if that opinion might not be particularly popular. Both wanted to prove themselves and be accepted, but they went about it and faced their problems in different ways. Randall, as is most often the case for people in his sort of situation, seemed to have been beaten down by his social awkwardness and the obvious exclusion and teasing that he suffered before MU. Mike, on the other hand, became overly confident in himself because he appeared to be his own number one supporter, optimistic to a fault because that's how he faced his own bad situation(I must admit, when I saw him without any willing fieldtrip buddies at the beginning, I couldn't help but tear up a little because I've been there more than once). Which, of course, makes it all the worse because if they had had a chance to speak to one another like Mike did with Sulley at the lake, things would have been much, much different.  


I can't completely blame either of them for not speaking to one another, though. Somehow, I feel like it might come down to ROR, even if that's probably just wishful thinking on my part. I hardly think that they would have allowed Randall to be friends with Mike, even if they'd stayed roommates after joining their respective fraternities. As pitbulllady has pointed out so aptly on tumblr, Randall was quite obviously intimidated by the members of ROR, Johnny in particular. Considering he was asked to join ROR probably with the sole purpose of taking Mike's one friend away from him, I don't think they would have taken too kindly to them being friends let alone speaking to one another.



So, yes, it's incredibly unfortunate that Mike and Randall never had that chat-to-chat because they missed out on a friendship that could have been wonderful. Monsters Inc. would have been so different with Randall, Mike, and even Sulley working together that it's not even funny. Truly, they could have stayed "the best of chums" and Randall could have found real friends instead of those jerks in ROR. Okay, I'll stop ranting now and return to wallowing in my MU feelings.

[wandering]

Oh gosh just reading this thread gives me all the feels again...sorry to go all tumblr on you guys.

But yeah my one real disappointment (besides the lack of screen time), was how Mike and Randall's friendship just tailed off into nothing. I expected some sort of acknowledgement. Maybe a glare between them, but no. Somebody said (I don't know who), that Randall reminds them of a victim of an abusive relationship, because of the dynamic he has going with ROR. He would never admit that they were bad for him, he'd just go around blaming any and everyone else, pretty much like he is in MI with Fungus, Sulley and Mike. It's like he will never accept that joining ROR was a bad choice. One thing I am really interested about is how the rest of his college life turned out. I'm doubtful Johnny and he would be on good terms after the Scare Games let down. But I do wonder if he reverted back to being very timid? I can just imagine he went very bitter in the end, as he is in MI.

I have to say though, as sad as it is, I like that in the end Randall was just the type to fall in with the "wrong crowd". It's realistic and shows a loss of innocence, since in the beginning we know he was a good guy (and it kinda urks me that some people on tumblr are forgetting that, just labeling him a "huge jerk all along"). In a very early MU review somebody explained Randall's backstory as "cute", which is a strange way to put it, but I can see where they're coming from with that. It's not dealt with heavily, but there's enough there for you to put it together.

Has RB come back yet? I'd love to know what he thinks!

[Antanas]

Unfortunately, from a movie standpoint, they couldn't really let Mike and Randall reconcile their friendship, since we already know that 10 years down the road, they are most certainly NOT on good terms with each other. Still, it would have been nice to have some sort of meeting between the two of them after the scare games...

[pitbulllady]

I think that the reason why Randall and Mike did not remain friends was due to them having very different goals and dreams. Mike wanted, more than anything in the world, to become a great Scarer. THAT dream was what had kept him going, kept him positive all of those years, and helped him overcome the fact that he really didn't have any friends, either. While being pushed aside and rejected no doubt HURT, he was able to simply suck it up and keep his dream ahead of him and give him a reason to be positive. For Mike, having friends had been put on the back-burner and simply was not important to him when he got to college. Becoming a Scarer, and a great one at that, had become more than a dream; it was an obsession. Mike basically even tells Randall in as many words that there will be time to make friends and have fun and party ONCE HE GRADUATES AND BECOMES A SCARER. Right now, though, getting to that point, fulfilling HIS dream, is Mike's only priority.

Now, Randall's dream is different. He's a Scaring major, yes, but he's not obsessed with becoming a Scarer. Randall's dream IS making friends, having friends, BEING a friend. Randall wants to be accepted, socially, and find a niche where he can fit in, where he won't be made fun of, won't be a "joke". That look of sorrow that crosses his features when he says to Mike, "If I do that in class, I'll be a JOKE" says even more than his words themselves right there about what Randall's life has been like up this point. His "Winds of Change" poster was no doubt chosen to reflect that he sees college as the opening of a new door, a new life, a new beginning...no more being laughed at, no more being made fun of and ridiculed. Becoming a Scarer is a means of achieving popularity and respect, yes, but for Randall, that major was probably chosen for a more practical reason: it was a reliable job market and a reliable way to make a living and support himself. He and Mike had different visions of what becoming a Scarer would mean.

Mike says that his "life-long best friend could be behind this door", but he inadvertently proceeds to brush off Randall's overtures of real friendship after that first meeting. It's not that Mike is trying to hurt Randall or alienate him, but that's what he's doing. Mike is SO obsessed with studying, with fulfilling HIS dream, that Randall's dream does not matter to him. As innocent-sounding as Mike's suggestion for Randall to "lose the glasses" was, did Mike even think about WHY Randall had those thick glasses on in the first place? No, all he could think about is, "they'll give it away" during a Scare, taking away from Randall's Scare factor, and rather than argue that he needed them to see(which becomes obvious right away)Randall simply takes his advice. Why? He does not want to lose that chance at making Mike his friend! What Mike says, goes. When Randall expresses how nervous(HUGE understatement there) he is upon arriving in class(note that Randall is FOLLOWING Mike, not leading), Mike just says casually, "relax, everything will be fine", and then totally ignores Randall from that point onward, even though Randall's facial expression and body language sure didn't look like HE thought it was "going to be fine". Mike really does not notice how clearly uncomfortable he was there. Later, Randall is practically BEGGING Mike to go to the party with him, using even that incentive of there being GIRLS there to try to intice Mike to put down the books and go with him, even just this once. Mike again brushes him off, in favor of studying, telling him that they can party and have fun once he graduates and becomes a Scarer. Mike does not realize that Randall not only is trying to get him to lighten up have some beneficial fun, but that Randall REALLY needs Mike to be there as an emotional anchor for HIM in his first social outing. He NEEDS Mike, with his confidence, as an ally and a back-up, just in case he runs into someone like that big blue jerk who barged into class earlier,who might want to start something. Guys like him intimidate Randall(we can only imagine WHY)and he'd feel a whole lot more comfortable knowing he had a friend with him just in case. Mike does not see this. Randall is irrelevant to him, far less important than his studies. His dream. At the party itself, Mike is miffed that he does not get credit for catching the pig and is insulted by the ROR guys. Meanwhile, standing a few yards away, his roommate has just had a platter of cupcakes, which he'd baked to try to break the ice with new friends, dumped on his face, making him an even bigger butt of a joke than Mike was. His first ever attempts at socializing has ended terribly for him. Does Mike notice? Nope. Who wants to bet that Mike never once offered Randall any sympathy? Or that they even talked about what happened to both of them at all? At that football game, Randall is so out of his element it's sad to see. He looks absolutely TERRIFIED there! If ever the term "alone in a crowd" applies, it applied to Randall in that scene. Mike is there-physically. What does Mike do? Does he notice how uncomfortable Randall is? Does he say anything? NOPE. Mike is too busy studying-at a FOOTBALL GAME-to realize that Randall is on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack!
But now, when MIKE needs someone to help him study and prepare for a test-we see this happen TWICE-who steps up, happily, to fill that position? Who calls out test questions to him and helps HIM make those good grades, with a smile on his face? Oh, yeah...that was RANDALL!! Do we see MIKE doing the same thing for him? Anyone?? Going once...going twice...Oh, that's right, Mike never did that!

pitbulllady

[wandering]

arghhh it's so frustrating though. Watching MU has made me more than anything want a proper sequel to MI, to tie Mike, Randall and Sulley back together somehow. I think Sulley (and a lot of others seem to as well) would be the one to extend to olive branch. Randall and Mike are stubborn, it wouldn't be easy, but I just adore the idea of them all working together for some god knows what reason. If Pixar could make it happen it would be wonderful. I keep going back to how they've portrayed him in MU, with him being such a dork and friends with Mike in the beginning...it really does create potential for some reconciliation. I really hope that old article is right, telling us they plan to make the Monsters world a franchise.