Six Degrees of Separation / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- In Paul's last conversation with Ouisa, is his plea for help and expression of a desire for friendship and acceptance all an act, or is it sincere? Since everything we've seen of Paul suggests that he's a completely amoral, sociopathic compulsive liar, chances are it's all just an act. However, there's also the possibility that Paul is something of a Jerkass Woobie who became a scammer and a liar because that was the only way he could find acceptance in high society. The fact that he was willing to turn himself into the police provided that Ousia accompanied him to the station is also ambiguous: was it an admission of guilt, or was it just an attempt to get law enforcement to go easy on him by bringing along someone wealthy and "respectable".
- What does Ouisa's sympathy for Paul say about her? Does it show that she, unlike her allegedly shallow husband and friends, is an open-minded humanitarian, or is she just another gullible person who's willing to forgive a man's criminal and sociopathic behavior just because he's such a smooth-talking charmer?
He Really Can Act: While Will Smith was already a star in music and on television, this film marked the first time critics took him seriously.
Hilarious in Hindsight: Paul pulls in his marks by claiming that his father Sidney Poitier is working on a film version of Cats. While they question how Cats could ever work on film, Paul assures them that Sidney cracked it, though he notably doesn't explain how. In 2019, the long-awaited film version of Cats, directed by Tom Hooper, was finally released to universal scorn, seemingly proving that there is no way to film Cats.
Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: In universe, part of the reason Ouisa sympathizes with Paul is that despite the fact that he's a sociopathic Con Man, even he's more likable and sympathetic than her own spoiled, ingrate children or the equally spoiled children of their friends. Many who watch the film agree with her.
Memetic Mutation: As mentioned on the main page, this eventually led to Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Moral Event Horizon: For about the first half of the play and the movie, while Paul has certainly lied to the other characters about who he was (not just his lineage, but also his friendship with everyone's children), as the detective points out, he really hasn't committed a crime (and the money everyone gave Paul was just chicken feed), and besides, these are Idle Rich folks. However, Elizabeth and Rick are both struggling to make ends meet, and Paul basically gets Rick to empty out Elizabeth and Rick's entire bank account on one night of celebration, which later drives Rick to kill himself, and leaves Elizabeth bankrupt.
Retroactive Recognition:
- In addition to McKellen, there's also J. J. Abrams as Dr. Fine's son.
- Daniel von Bargen plays the detective.
- Bruce Davison is Larkin, while Anthony Rapp plays his son.
- Heather Graham is Elizabeth.
Unintentional Period Piece:
- At the time, it was still The Apartheid Era in South Africa, though it was starting to wind down.
- Also, nowadays, the characters would just use the Internet to look up Sidney Poitier, where they'd learn that he isn't working on a film of Cats since he passed away in 2022, and Tom Hooper filmed it already anyway in 2019.
- The Waverly Theatre, where Paul gets arrested, has since closed down (replaced by the IFC Theatre).

YMMV / Six Degrees of Separation

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