Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Gagger Card

Wednesday - Point of View 


Gagger Card

While serving in the U.S. Navy, my husband was a submariner.  Every patrol, the entertainment committee designated certain videos as "gaggers" and if a sailor sat through the entire movie (witnessed by others) he could get his "gagger card" punched. When the card was filled (8 holes punched), he received a prize.

We still have a nice duffel bag my husband earned with a gagger card.

So, when a movie stinks and manages to suck away two hours of my life, I groan, "I need my gagger card punched!"

I won't name the gagger movies, but I will mention three films that I initially thought were gaggers, but later learned to appreciate.

  • ¡Three Amigos! (1986) I watched this movie alone (hubby out to sea) and it seemed lame. Little did I know that my husband also watched it during patrol and thought it was the funniest movie ever. When he returned, he insisted I give it another try. We laughed so hard! It's been a favorite, often quoted, and one of the few movies we own.
  • Groundhog Day (1993)I initially thought this was boring. "Okay, I get it. He wakes up on the same day over and over and over and over. Let's move on!" Yet, I watched it yearly (around February 2, of course) because my husband loves it. Seeing it over and over and over, I finally recognized the value of its message, and it, too, earned a spot on our DVD shelf.
  • Napoleon Dynamite (2004)Friends convinced us to see this. We were unimpressed through most of the film, then towards the end (when Napoleon dances on stage in his worn-out moon boots) it finally clicked. We caught the humor, and watched it again, roaring with laughter. "Gosh!"

Do you have a favorite movie that you initially considered a gagger?


9 comments:

  1. Oh, Trudy...reading your blog is the highlight of my day! Gaggers. YES! The films you mentioned, I like. Groundhog Day is one of our faves. We've watched it over and over. Napoleon Dynamite had to grow on me, but now it is hilarious. (The animated TV show is wonderful if you ever get a chance to see it). My gaggers are pretty much anything with Adam Sandler.

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    1. I am glad you are enjoying my blog.:-) I have not seen the animated TV show of Napolean - I will look for that!

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  2. Gaggers, The Other Guys... most the others I liked them cause they were the style I enjoyed...Welcome in the letter "G"... thank you!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]

    There's no earthly way of knowing.
    Which direction we are going!

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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    1. I've never seen "The Other Guys" so maybe that's a good thing?

      Thank you for visiting my blog!

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    2. You should see it, though it's a guy thing... like the film grandma's bo...

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  3. I have seen Groundhog Day so many times! The first time I was thinking "really"? A whole movie about the same day over and over again? But it was like one of my favourite movies, Run Lola Run. Every time you watch it, you see something new or notice a scene you missed the first time!

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    1. I've heard of Run Lola Run, but I've never seen it. It's great when we find something new each time.

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  4. I always loved Groundhog Day because I keep waiting for life to show me where the rewind button is. I haven't seen the others but think I will look them up when I need a laugh. I hope that having your husband do the viewing with is not a requirement for seeing the humor.

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    1. Sometimes comedy is much funnier when watching it with someone else (but it doesn't have to be my husband, hahaha!). I can tell a comedy is REALLY good if I find myself laughing out-loud when I'm all alone.

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