A small boy's birthday cake waits unclaimed at a bakery. A woman makes a shocking confession while rinsing spilled wine from a skirt. Catch from an ill-fated fishing trip goes up in flames on a patio grill. Natural and unnatural forces interrupt a family picnic in the California hills. Before Magnolia (1999) and Crash (2004), there was Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), a film whose characters' lives are as full of intersections as Ventura Boulevard.
The Celluloid Pantry: Egg Sandwich with a "Broke Yolk" and Short Cuts (1993)
One of the most memorable food scenes here is the bittersweet exchange between a waitress, Doreen Piggot (Lily Tomlin), and her estranged limo-driver husband, Earl (Tom Waits), who comes into the diner noticeably rumpled after a night spent sleeping outside their trailer. Doreen is stubborn, but we can tell she's touched.
Doreen: People are looking. You wanna order something?
Earl: Yeah. How about you on a bed of rice?
Doreen: Cut it out…You want a cup of coffee?
Earl: Oh, yeah. Give me some coffee. How about an egg sandwich?
Doreen: With a broke yolk?
Earl: Yeah, with a broke yolk [sniffles]. Thanks, baby.
I don't know about you, but the broke yolk gets me every time.
- Nora
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The Celluloid PantryRelated Links
- The Celluloid Pantry: "Fresh" Wine and The Jerk (1979)
- The Celluloid Pantry: A Flying Olive, 30 Pounds of Raw Sirloin and Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- The Celluloid Pantry: Upper-Berth Manhattans and Some Like It Hot (1959)
- The Celluloid Pantry: Escape
FromIn New York (With Movie Snacks in the Park) - The Celluloid Pantry: Frightful Food
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I've been meaning to see this movie for years...and now I have no excuse to put it off any longer
i'm so glad you brought up Short Cuts, my favorite LA movie! i think it's a little overlooked. wonderful choice of scene... yes, the broke yolk is terrific!