In 2 Brothers and a Bride (aka A Foreign Affair, 2003), two brothers (Tim Blake Nelson and David Arquette) run a farm. After their mother dies, they travel to Russia in search of a bride to help cook and clean for them. It’s an odd film, and I think the filmmakers were going for quirky. Real-life clients and would-be brides appeared as extras as the film, and scenes were shot during an actual “romance tour” in St. Petersburg, Russia. You can feel the desperation from both the male suitors and the mail-order brides.

And that desperation also comes through in the library scene. In an early scene — just ten minutes into the film — the elder brother, Jake (Nelson), goes to the public library to look at newspaper ads, where he spots the ad for mail-order brides. The plot of the movie hinges on this two-minute library scene.

After spotting the ad, which includes a web site address, Jake looks over his shoulder at the librarian, seen stamping books in the background. This small gesture reveals his nervousness.

Library scene from 2 Brothers and a Bride — Is the librarian looking?

He braves the reference desk and asks the librarian (Allyce Beasley as Library Lady) for help.

Jake: I want to go on the Internet.
Library Lady: Ok. You may.

[He just stands there, unsure.]

Library Lady: You need help. Go ahead. You can say it. I really need help. [putting fist to her chest, see below]
Jake: I need help.

Librarian in 2 Brothers and a Bride — Arghhh, the clutter! This is probably a real working library

I think they were going for funny here — and it may be funny, I’m probably just too close to it — but the librarian’s actions in this scene seem VERY condescending to me. I said out loud at the screen, “You’re not making us look good here, lady… “

The scene cuts to Jake seated at a computer carrel, with the librarian leaning over his shoulder and giving him directions.

Screenshot from 2 Brothers and a Bride — Such a good camera angle to demonstrate how trapped and awkward Jake must be feeling. And this physical set-up — the wooden study carrel adapted for computer use — feels so familiar. I’m sure this was filmed in a real library.

Library Lady: See, move the arrow like this, then you click, to go to…

[Looks at Jake, he looks back]

Library Lady: Where? Name of the web site. You got to type it.
Jake [quietly]: Loveme.com

The librarian’s reaction? She stares straight ahead, her expression hardly changing, and then a little sigh escapes. “There’s a 20-minute time limit. You got 16 left.” She then whispers to him, “I’m watching you, buddy”.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of her facial expression before and after he tells her the web address URL.

Before:

After:

She’s on porn alert. You can tell. And he can tell. After he looks around the site a bit, he looks up and finds the librarian standing and stacking books and watching him, a weary expression on her face.

Librarian look from 2 Brothers and a Bride — I’m watching you, buddy.

As he is shown preparing for the trip in the next few scenes, he obviously got what he needed at the library. The Library Lady character serves in an Information Provider role in a variety of ways: she provides info to Jake about computers and library use policies, and she provides info to the audience as an example of the obstacles these brothers face, as well as reflecting the social attitude toward mail-order brides.

In many ways, this is a pretty realistic scene. I’ve dealt with this kind of situation in real life, especially back when I started out in public libraries. I taught computer classes and helped people learn how to use computers and the Internet and what a computer mouse was used for. There was a regular male user who would come in to look at these kinds of “international dating” sites — heck, it might have even been the actual site used in this movie! — who wasn’t very good with computers. So I get it. I get the weariness this librarian must be feeling, with all that stamping and book processing and showing people how to use computers and having to be on the lookout for porn use in public spaces like the library. But the understandable weariness of this reel librarian gets turned into condescension in this film, which isn’t very flattering to our profession. And her look isn’t very flattering, with her drab colors and buttoned-up clothing and I-give-up hairstyle. And she has given up. She’s jaded. That’s what makes this portrayal a little too close for comfort. (Sigh.)

Sources used:

2 Brothers and a Bride, aka A Foreign Affair. Dir. Helmut Schleppi. Perf. Tim Blake Nelson, David Arquette, Emily Mortimer. Screen Media Films, 2003.