Lost Treasures of Yore: "Thanks! I needed that!"

Welcome to a new feature, Lost Treasures of Yore, in which we celebrate those great standbys so common in pop culture back in the day, but now sadly M.I.A.

Today I want to call for the return of this classic comedy convention: Someone is in "hysterics." In the immediate vicinity, another person takes the initiative and smacks him or her in the face. Usually the hysterical person is calmed after a second or two of displaying a dopey stare, and he acknowledges this by saying...

"Thanks! I needed that!"

My personal favorite version is when someone slaps TWO people at the same time, and then they get the dopey look, maybe rub their cheeks, and look at each other before turning back to the slapper and saying in unison...

"Thanks! We needed that!"
Why does this not happen so much anymore? Is it because we're less hysterical? Are we less tolerant of slapping each other around for comic effect? Has the slap to reality been discredited as a legitimate cure for temporary hysterics, even in a comedy setting?

My personal opinion is that we can blame Cher. I trace the decline of this lost treasure back to "Moonstruck" and her famous "Snap out of it!" broadside across the face of Nicolas Cage. Granted, I am biased because unlike much of America, I don't like the film. But while I don't think this scene is funny, I can't deny its impact.

I think Cher's comic whap of Cage subtly killed off the "Thanks, I needed that," reaction, undercutting it before it can even occur with her bellowing, "Snap out of it!" and doing so not just in one particular part of "Moonstruck," but in films and TV for years to come. Oh, I'm sure it's happened since then, though I can't think of examples offhand, but I'll bet it's ironic and done to poke fun at the lost treasure of yore.

Because people don't realize how lame "Moonstruck" is, they are blind to this unintended side effect. Now, though, years later, perhaps we can take back the slap. I challenge the filmmakers out there to include a "Thanks! I needed that!" (I'm not even asking for the more complicated double; one person getting slapped and responding thus will do) in a movie--and not in a way that deliberately mocks itself, but in a way that is supposed to be a legit punchline in its own right.

I'll settle for a TV show, though. The sitcom may be a dying breed, but this might be one modest step toward bringing it back.