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A Gilmore Movie Night: Pilot 1.1

Updated: Oct 13

Hello and welcome to an extensive list of all things film related. Cue your inner Gilmore, grab your red vines, poptarts, and twinkies, sit down, relax, and enjoy. (check out my IMDB page for a complete list of all film mentioned).



West Side Story (1961)

Lorelai is at the counter trying to get another cup of coffee from Luke, when he gives her a face of disappointment due to the fact that she just got one about 2 minutes prior. She snaps back with a "look, Officer Krupke" which is a direct character reference to the movie West Side Story. Officer Krupke is a minor character in the movie. Though he constantly throws out verbal threats of bodily harm or at least a trip down to the police station, Krupke’s bark is shown to be far worse than his bite.


Cover of “West Side Story” featuring a black title on a red background with silhouettes of people dancing on fire escape stairs.
West Side Story

X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963)

Enter stage left (or right) Rory. Rory is wearing a huge (but very comfortable looking) sweater/shirt/dress thing. More commonly known as "muumuu" by Lorelai. She asks Rory why she's wearing that and drops a hint that maybe she couldn't find something made of metal in case anyone has x-ray eyes. Now, of course, she could have just meant this as a general statement of humor. But, I love overanalyzing this show and (through some digging on le internet) would like to assume this is a reference to the 1963 film X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes. Directed by Roger Corman and with Ray Milland in the title role, this made on a shoestring budget film was nonetheless successful and well-received. According to one of my all time favorite websites I stumbled across through all this research (lookin' at you Annotated Gilmore Girls), the teenage Rory is apparently self-conscious about having her developing figure, and Lorelai teases her about it. Despite the lack of response from Rory, Lorelai’s criticism seems to have been taken on board, as she never again wore anything this thick, baggy and shapeless to hide her body.


Cover of "The Man with X-Ray Eyes" featuring a green man with a yellow area around his eyes and a large yellow X on his forehead. The title is in white lettering in the center, with various images at the bottom, including two that resemble X-ray scans.
X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes

Forrest Gump (1994)

Rory has just been accepted to Chilton. Yay! Love that for her. How did she get in? Well obviously due to the fact that she's a genius. Not because Lorelai slept with anyone (she didn't), but both Sookie and Rory question her on that. The first twelve times I watched this show, I always thought they were just joking around and assuming Lorelai was being slutty. When I researched this, I realized this is actually a reference to the movie Forrest Gump. Now, don't hate me or burn me alive on a wooden pole, but I've never watched this movie. I KNOW. It's a classic. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Nothing against Tom Hanks. He's a great actor. You're talking to the world's biggest Splash fan here okay? Just literally have not gotten around to sitting down and watching it start to finish. I will though. And when I do, I will come back to this exact post, and retract this statement. Anyways, back to this reference. This is a 1994 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and with Tom Hanks in the title role. In the film, Forrest’s mother, played by Sally Field, has sex with the principal to persuade him to allow her simple-minded son (IQ of 75) to attend school. This is most likely what Sookie and Rory were referring to. But I don't know for sure. You decide.


Cover of “Forrest Gump” featuring a man sitting on a bench with a suitcase on his left. The actor's name, Tom Hanks, is in red lettering, and the title is in blue, all against a white background.
Forrest Gump

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Ah, the Ruth Gordon, tannis root, Rory lowkey yelling at Dean, start of their whole relationship scene. Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski. Based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin, it features a young wife who comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Sidenote: can we just take a minute to appreciate Dean's own movie knowledge and impeccable hearing? What if he had not seen this movie? Or was hard of hearing? He never would have heard Rory, or if he had, wouldn't have known what she was talking about and their whole relationship would be non-existent. I mean, he probably would have ended up stalking her anyways (geez, I mean "watching," sorry. Gotta get that straight), but regardless, we have to somewhat keep in mind that this scene was crucial to their entire relationship. We're here for it too (although I am not Team Dean. Sorry).


Cover of “Rosemary's Baby” featuring a green background with a baby stroller on top of a black hill. The title is in small black lettering at the bottom against a beige background.
Rosemary's Baby

Mommie Dearest (1981)

Lorelai and Rory are in a "fight" (small one compared to some of the later ones, am I right?), and Lorelai asks Rory if she's going to give her the Mommie Dearest treatment forever. A little bit over-dramatic in that this is a 1981 American biographical drama film directed by Frank Perry in which the film depicts Christina Crawford’s adoptive mother, actress Joan Crawford, as an abusive and manipulative mother who hurt her adopted children. Now, obviously, Lorelai is not like that at all, but it makes for a more dramatic reference nonetheless.


Cover of “Mommie Dearest” featuring a black background with an image of a woman. The image is designed to look ripped at the bottom right corner. The ripped piece reveals the title in black lettering, styled as if handwritten.
Mommie Dearest


I appreciate you reading this far. If you're enjoying yourself, feel free to continue onto the next episode. No rules here. This is a fun space.




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