MovieChat Forums > MASH (1970) Discussion > the whole Painless suicide thing. . .

the whole Painless suicide thing. . .

posted 17 years ago by bethanne88
54 replies | jump to latest

maybe i'm a total blockhead, but i didn't get any of it. can someone explain it?

BOO!

[–] randysch1 17 years ago

What's to get?

The dentist, who was legendary for his well-endowment and sexual prowess, has a bad night (i.e., he couldn't get it up) and starts doubting his own sexual orientation.
He decides to commit suicide.
His friends humor him, going so far as to arrange a fake suicide on his behalf ("the Black Capsule") and instead of dying, he has sex with a beautiful nurse who restores his self-confidence.

End of story.

[–] DrMulholland 17 years ago

Yeah, this was my favourite "segment": The story of Painless.

It was a truly wonderful short story inside this military portrait and Painless is my favourite character.

[–] hoobler878 17 years ago

it was kind of stupid, but it lead to the "last supper" scene & nurse dish helicopter take off scene

[–] claudja777 16 years ago

i love the face of dish when she leaves ahahahhahahHAHHAHAHAHAH

[–] JoeyBagOfDonuts 8 years ago

That's the kind of facial expression that I like to see, the look of complete satisfaction.

Brains are good, especially when sauteed with caramelized onions.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cookiela2001 14 years ago

<< The dentist, who was legendary for his well-endowment and sexual prowess, has a bad night (i.e., he couldn't get it up) and starts doubting his own sexual orientation. He decides to commit suicide. His friends humor him, going so far as to arrange a fake suicide on his behalf ("the Black Capsule") and instead of dying, he has sex with a beautiful nurse who restores his self-confidence. End of story. >>

Yup, that's it.

Completely retarded sequence. And unbelievably dated.

[–] porfle 13 years ago

Totally agree--I liked it for the very same reasons you did, especially the "dated" quality that it conveys so well!

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[–] Adler-99 17 years ago

I thought it was extremely stupid, and further proof that many men think the entire world revolves around their *****. Grow up. It doesn't.

[–] watchmen12-1 17 years ago

I think it's the best scene in the film, and it led me to believe that M*A*S*H is one of the few perfect movies I've seen. Every persons life is filled with incredibly bizarre pointless events and this movie shows that that can even happen in the time of war.

[–] BassmanUW82681 17 years ago

Actually, from a biological sense, the whole world does evolve around a man's penis. From a biological sense our entire purpose is to exist, procreate, and die. Well, if you can't procreate, from a biological sense that is something that is difficult to go through. And also, Painless isn't supposed to be like a 50 year old man who goes impotent. He was a 30 year old (or younger) guy who had never failed at sex before. Had he continued to fail at sex, well, that's pretty devastating.

[–] cjr3559 17 years ago

Try having a bad DECADE, though impotence isn't the issue; just being an all out failure is worse. I'm surprised I'm still alive. If I only had friends like those in the 4077th... Maybe the characters aren't as disgusting and vile as everyone claims on this board.