October 12, 2007
Before he began to resemble a manatee carrying twins, a lean Marlon Brando once remarked ‘What you got’ when asked ‘What are you rebelling against?’
Later in his career, when he began rebelling against dynamism and a high fiber diet (he famously bared his fat arse to 100 extras between takes during the filming of the Godfather’s wedding scene, causing more than one cast member to upchuck into their tiramisu), he literally became a larger than life icon.
Still, he’s remembered more for delivering lines that became catchphrases than being unable to refuse an offer of an all-you can-eat buffet.
An Atlanta teen, exhibiting some Brando-esque bellicoseness of his own, mouthed off at cops with a ballsy ‘Yeah, what of it?’ when asked if he’d been drinking—an admirable retort if it were not the the end result of having drunk dialed 911. (a parting shot worthy of a free copy of The Shark Book too, incidentally, if its authors weren’t the stingiest of buggers). The teen had been arguing with his dad about, appropriately enough, underage drinking when the old man threatened to call the cops on his pie-eyed scion. The son interrupted, saying he’d do it himself. He was promptly arrested. (full story here).
As a second public service announcement, (don’t say we didn’t already warn you about the perils of drunk dialing) it’s best to leave such ripostes to the imagination of Elmore Leonard.
