Line #4 YMMV/GranTorino


1	* AccidentalAesop: Don't associate with people just because they're family. [[FamilyOfChoice Build a family with the people you like]].
2	** Walt can't stand his biological family for being self-absorbed cretins who only care about his possessions. But ultimately, he finds much healthier relationships with his Hmong neighbors who actually treat him with a smidgen of respect.
3	** Thao and Sue, in turn, didn't think much of their father and are pushed around by their psychotic cousin. But ultimately, they find a better role model in Walt, who instills in the former a sense of work ethic.
4	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
5	** Walt is not a bigot. He doesn't say anything to the Hmong that he wouldn't say to his best friend, or expect his best friend to say to him.
6	** Is Walt a MightyWhitey savior rescuing Thao and Sue, and the Hmong from a dangerous gang, or are Thao and Sue saving Walt from dying alone and bitter? It's not like it's a one-sided relationship, as both Walt and Thao help each other out in odd ways that neither of them would have expected before they met.
7	** Are Walt's sons just entitled cretins who want to take Walt's stuff? Or are they men embittered with their father over his neglectful parenting?
8	* AwardSnub: The film received critical acclaim when the Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute named it as one of the ten best films of 2008 and made it onto the top 250 films list on Website/{{IMDB}}. Number of UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations? ''Zero.''
9	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Over the credits, [[spoiler: Creator/ClintEastwood sings about the movie's events. A song written by him no less!]]
10	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Walt Kowalski, especially regarding:
11	** His status as a WhiteSavior. Those who agree with the statement point to the ways in which he aids Thao in his CharacterDevelopment by teaching him to act and speak like a stereotypical politically incorrect GrumpyOldMan as well as ultimately [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing his life]] to save the Hmong from the criminal gang, including dying in a ''very'' unsubtle [[CrucifiedHeroShot Christlike pose]] that some viewers interpret as [[{{Glurge}} almost self-congratulatory]] in Clint Eastwood's regard.]] Those who disagree with the statement point to Walt's own CharacterDevelopment, as his growing friendship with the Hmong is the center of the film's heart and aids in him overcoming his own prejudice and guilt, meaning Thao and Sue helped Walt just as much as he helped them.
12	** His RacistGrandpa schtick. Some think it's funny because of how [[RefugeInAudacity over-the-top and deliberately offensive]] it is while others think it promotes genuine racism, especially considering how Walt continues to use racial slurs even after developing stronger bonds with Thao and Sue. Even Bee Vang, Thao's actor, has expressed concern regarding the latter issue.
13	* BrokenBase: While the choice to cast actual Hmong actors garnered positive reactions from both critics and [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales real Hmong]], the film's depiction of the Hmong community [[CriticalDissonance proved to be far more controversial]]. Experts and historians specializing in Hmong culture believe it's accurate or at least close enough (which Bee Vang originally believed) while people who are ''actually'' part of the Hmong community claim it's leaning more towards inaccurate (Vang's more recent opinion, even claiming some Hmong viewers found the inaccuracies offensive).
14	* CatharsisFactor:
15	** After all the horrible things they've done, [[spoiler: Spider and gang going to jail for Walt's murder certainly raised the spirits of the audience]].
16	** [[spoiler: Walt cutting his family out of his will and giving his Gran Torino to Thao is definitely what they deserved for snubbing Walt and coveting his possessions.]]
17	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
18	** Walt is ''so'' damn racist that it's hilarious. Especially when he starts teaching Thao to talk like him and gets Thao to learn the first lesson about talking like that is to know the guy involved or risk getting a shotgun pointed at you.
19	** Thao's second attempt at talking like Walt, while not ending with a shotgun pointed at him, was equally ridiculous. You get the impression the kid was probably doing it just to mess with him.
20	--->'''Thao:''' Boy does my ass hurt from all the guys on my construction job.
21	* DesignatedVillain: Subverted with Walt's kids and grandkids. Walt indicates regret when confessing to the Priest that he was never closer to his sons, but does not state that it's his own fault. On his final day, despite the effort he goes to tying up other loose ends, he doesn't bother to call anyone in his family. His grandkids clearly couldn't care less about him, but that's also likely because they see him as nothing other than a mean, judgmental old man who doesn't take any interest in their lives and thus feel no sense of obligation in return. On top of it all his sons are clearly close to their own children. On the other hand, Walt's wife was said to be loved by the community but at her funeral her grandchildren are apathetic and disrespectful. His son isn't much better, as he only calls him to ask if Walt can still get him tickets to a sporting event. Later on, when Walt calls him to talk to him he gets blown off. And when they try to put him in a nursing home it ''seems'' like genuine concern but odds are there was mostly an interest in gaining possession of the house. [[spoiler:And when Walt dies and leaves the house to the church]] they are shown to be very irritated, despite it being what his late wife would have wanted (his son's wife even rolls her eyes when that part is read aloud).
22	* GeniusBonus:
23	** Maybe too small to be a ShoutOut, but Walt's AccidentalMisnaming of Youa as Yum-Yum might be a minor reference to Theatre/TheMikado.
24	** Walt's nurse is a Muslim woman. This alludes to the Detroit area has one of the largest concentrations of Muslim communities in the U.S.
25	* HilariousInHindsight: Only a year later, another critically acclaimed movie would come out about [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} a grouchy, recently-widowed old white guy bonding with a young Asian boy]].
26	* JerkassWoobie:
27	** Walt, who's maybe a RacistGrandpa, but is haunted by [[WarIsHell memories of]] his UsefulNotes/KoreanWar experience, recently lost his wife and is hated by the rest of his own family.
28	** Walt's family count. Consider what Walt said about how he regrets he was never closer to his sons, and how that almost implies ParentalNeglect on his part. His family clearly couldn't care less about him any more, and the feeling is mutual, but his sons probably just wanted a father figure they never got, and the same for his grandkids, so it can be hard not to feel sorry for them too.
29	* MisaimedFandom: While undoubtedly cool, Walt's threats and violence towards the local gang in the context of the film are shown as short-sighted and futile, as [[spoiler:they don't discourage future attacks at all; that's only solved when the police get involved. Similarly, Walt himself spends much of the movie traumatized for his past violent deeds in the Korean War and aggressively yells down Thao when the boy expresses a desire to [[ARealManIsAKiller be like him]].]] The film is ultimately a Deconstruction of the ActionHero that Eastwood embodies. Doesn't stop fans of the film from quoting Walt's {{Badass Boast}}s verbatim, though.
30	** Additionally (and more troubling), Walt's [[CrossesTheLineTwice line-crossing comments]] are popular among some ''actual'' racists who see his character as a TakeThat to political correctness, unaware of the fact his RacistGrandpa shtick is not only [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold somewhat of an act]] but one that drives most people away from him.
31	* MoralEventHorizon: Spider and his gang seem like typical young delinquents who are all talk at first. But they prove themselves to be [[TeensAreMonsters absolutely vile creatures]] after [[spoiler: attempting a drive-by shooting on Thao's house and then beating and raping Sue, ''Spider's own cousin''.]]
32	* {{Narm}}:
33	** Creator/ClintEastwood singing came off as this to many people.
34	** The pose Walt makes when [[spoiler:he gets shot to death, with some obvious Jesus symbolism that might be a bit too on the nose.]]
35	** A lot of the Hmong actors are clearly inexperienced and constantly give off flat deliveries.
36	* NightmareFuel: Spider and his gang are this all by themselves which is especially shocking since they terrorize their own relatives, of all people. See MoralEventHorizon for more.
37	* OneSceneWonder: Kor Khue, the Hmong shaman, appears in only one scene, but leaves quite an impression by being able to read Walt like a book.
38	* TheScrappy: Walt's granddaughter, Ashley. She shows no respect during her grandmother's funeral, openly covets Walt's car in front of him, and refuses to help him prepare for the funeral.
39	* SignatureScene: The "get off my lawn" scene is by far the most frequently quoted and remembered part of the movie.

Context YMMV / GranTorino