Can a man say he likes the movie "Lolita" without sounding creepy?

With enough conversational skill, the right audience, and sufficient forethought, a man can say pretty much whatever he likes.

You’d almost have to talk about the quality of the quality of the film-making itself, and not the plot, probably.

I think so, a man can discuss it in terms of how well it portrayed the book, or how well it was filmed, or even how well it portrayed Humbert Humbert’s obsession. It only gets creepy if you start talking about something like “what a great love story” or like the creepiness itself.

Sure, for the same reason you can ask a question like this without sounding creepy. I guess.

You would have to focus your comments to specifics, like Peter Sellers, or Stanley Kubrick. Saying anything positive about this movie in a generalization is too easily misunderstood.

I guess you could as the above comments above suggest but basically it was a creepy movie, and it gave you the feeling as if the writer thought it was some beautiful love story. Just plain creepy. I’m not sure even a woman can really get away with saying anything positive without giving a creepy vibe.

Can anyone say that they like that movie without sounding creepy? I love Lolita, by the way. I love that it makes me feel deeply conflicted and emotional, because the story makes it difficult not to find HH almost endearing, though he is pathetic and really the bad guy. The story itself has stood the test of time (I assume it is safe to say, by now), so I would guess that plenty of people like it.

Just say why you like the movie when you say that you like the movie. If your reasons are not creepy, then your statement will not be creepy.

I can easily also talk about the novel without sounding perverted. Why not the movie? Criticism does not depend on subject matter.

I would also opine that the story line is considered creepier now than it was when first written and filmed. In the 1950’s, Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13yr old cousin and Elvis Presley dated 14 year old Priscilla. While Lewis’ career took a hit based on his marriage, now-a-days both would have been shunned and arrested for pedophilia.

@gailcalled I think the problem that @zensky is getting at is not just talking about the movie, but being a man and praising the movie. A man who says that he likes Lolita risks accidentally implying things about himself more than a woman who says the same thing does.

Great piece of literature. So so movie. I see nothing wrong with saying you enjoy either.

Only if he added in that he was a huge fan of Peter Sellers and had seen all of his movies, even though he thought the portrayal of the Clare Quilty character was really “out there” and “over the top” and he was concerned that a guy as charming as James Mason is in real life, that it worried him that girls could actually be lured in by such a man. Then he’d have to say, it was a great piece of film making with really talented actors, but he was kind of creeped out by it, himself.

If he went on to say that he’s also watched the version of Lolita, with Jeremy Irons and Frank Langella, multiple times, I might start to worry a little bit LOL.

No ofcourse not, Lolita is a movie that provokes thoughts and desires that some men might have…and by which society would consider taboo. I could see how for a man its intruiging…Lolita is an extremely young, careless, sexual lady who knows how to seduce and knows whats she’s doing :)... I dont see the movie as a pedophile who is obsessed with young girls.. I see it as a man who just so
happened to fall inlove with a young girl :)

@snapdragon24 I’ve read the book and seen the movie. Humbert Humbert did not fall in love with her, he was sexually obsessed with her. And I think she was young enough to consider him to be a pedophile. He went to great lengths to possess her, first by killing her mother and then kidnapping her. At first, she did’t realize she was being kidnapped. Because she was young and foolish, she had a typical schoolgirl crush on him (at first) and a fairly typical schoolgirl dislike of her mother. So she was definitely a naughty little, stupid slut, but he was 100% a pedophile. All those dudes in nambla try to claim that they love their victims. But they’re just perverts.

The girl was a messed up nut job, though, because of her own sicko obsession with Clare Quilty.

@snapdragon24 Yeah, you should definitely watch the film again and/or read the book. It’s pretty clear that Humbert Humbert is a sexual predator. Also, keep in mind that Humbert Humbert is an unreliable narrator attempting to put himself in a positive light—yet despite this, he still admits to being a sexual predator in the course of telling the story.

Hey @SavoirFaire and @Kardamom…As you have figured I have not read the book and only remember small parts of the movie… Her mainly being a slut… Yehh got to watch it again…:)

@snapdragon24 OK, we’ll give you a break then. You might want to watch the re-make with Domenique Swain as Lolita, and Jeremy Irons as Humbert Humbert and Frank Langella as Clare Quilty. Mr. Langella is not quite so ADD riddled as Peter Sellers was, and the young lady, who I believe was 18 when the movie was made does a good job. Come back and let us know what you think.