The Rewatchables: ‘Breaking Away’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey

Published 2024-06-11; 1:52:20 by the feed.

Awards and segments (78)

Double feature

  1. pick American Flyers: Another cycling movie from the same era to pair with the Indiana bike-race story.
    “American flyer.”
    unknown · 1:35:11
  2. pick Fade to Black: Offered for the Dennis Christopher fans, since it was his very next movie after this one.
    “Okay, to black.”
    unknown · 1:35:15

Most rewatchable scene

  1. pick The opening credits: the wide shot of the quarry that introduces all four guys and the town in minutes.
    “Can I just say, what a fucking opening credits.”
    unknown · 0:32:58
  2. pick Mike pretending he drowned, then raging about the Indiana University kids (the big Dennis Quaid speech).
    “This is the big Dennis Quaid part.”
    unknown · 0:34:12
  3. pick Dave chasing the Cinzano truck, where doom is expected but never comes.
    “The scene when Dave chases the truck, the chinzano truck, yeah, is fucking awesome.”
    unknown · 0:35:55
  4. floated Mike racing the Hart Bochner character in the pool, the one time someone gets hurt.
    “The, uh, mic racing, this is the one time someone gets hurt when you races the Hart Bachner character in the, uh, in the pool.”
    unknown · 0:36:38
  5. pick The Italian team's cheating in the Cinzano race, then Dave telling his dad he is dropping the Italian act (everybody cheats), with the crying mom.
    “I love that scene immediately afterwards when he goes back home and basically says to his dad, like, I'm dropping the Italian act.”
    unknown · 0:37:09
  6. pick The Little 500 race, especially the last two laps and the finish.
    “It's easily my pick because it's just so crazy.”
    unknown · 0:39:22
  7. floated The ending celebration with Cyril looking for someone to hug.
    “Dana Stern, nobody to hug.”
    unknown · 0:39:43

Ebert review · The hosts read Roger Ebert's review of the film.

  1. pick Breaking Away: Ebert gave it 4 stars and called it a treasure; the hosts also note his one-star review of Fast Times and his drive-by on Bloodline.
    “Quote, breaking away is a wonderfully sunny, funny, goofy intelligent movie that makes you feel about as good as any movie in a long time.”
    unknown · 0:26:37

Best That Guy · The best that-guy performance in the film.

  1. pick Robyn Douglass as Nancy: A face people know from this movie without knowing her name; her career never took off.
    “I mean, it's tough because this movie came out so long ago, but Robin Douglas to me is kind of a that guy”
    unknown · 1:12:08
  2. pick Paul Dooley: Called an elite that guy, along with Barbara Barrie.
    “I think Paul Dooley and Barbara Verry are kind of like elite, that guy and gals.”
    unknown · 1:12:38
  3. pick Barbara Barrie: Already a huge stage star, but still the money for this movie.
    “I guess Barbara Berry's the that guy?”
    unknown · 1:12:31

Small Role, Big Impact · A small part that leaves a big mark.

  1. nominee The truck driver: Floated as the Dion Waiters pick.
    “Deion Waiters, the truck driver?”
    unknown · 1:13:44
  2. winner The Italian cyclists: Agreed as the pick after the truck driver.
    “I was going to say the Italians too.”
    unknown · 1:13:52

Overacting Award · The most over-the-top performance.

  1. winner Paul Dooley: Goes big a couple of times with deadpan spit takes.
    “I think Dooley goes for it a couple of times.”
    unknown · 1:07:17

Apex Mountain · Where a person or thing in the film sits on the mountain of their career.

  1. pick Indiana in 1979: Bill reels off Indiana sports and pop-culture peaks of 1979.
    “Apex Mountain for Indiana right here.”
    unknown · 0:42:04
  2. winner Dennis Christopher: Star of an Oscar-nominated movie who never got the career you would expect.
    “Dennis Christopher unquestionably.”
    unknown · 1:16:29
  3. nominee Dennis Quaid: Dismissed as the peak.
    “Dennis Quaid, no.”
    unknown · 1:17:31
  4. nominee Robyn Douglass: Probably, citing The Lonely Guy.
    “Probably, lonely guy, she's really good.”
    unknown · 1:17:35
  5. pick Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher: Highest peak, in Little Children, then Watchmen.
    “I think Little Children is number two.”
    unknown · 1:17:53
  6. nominee Daniel Stern: No on his peak; Home Alone and City Slickers floated.
    “Daniel Stern?”
    unknown · 1:18:33
  7. pick Dave's 1978 Masi Grand Criterion bike: Apex Mountain for the bike.
    “His bike was a 1978 Masi Grand Criterion, so I'm going to say Apex Mountain for that.”
    unknown · 1:19:00
  8. pick Peter Yates: Bullet is the peak of his career.
    “It's got to be bullet, right?”
    unknown · 1:19:10
  9. pick Hart Bochner: His peak is Die Hard, or PCU, which he directed.
    “No, it's Die Hard.”
    unknown · 1:19:27
  10. pick Rod: A villain name that belongs up with Hans.
    “Villain, villain name that's really up there.”
    unknown · 1:28:39

What Aged Best · What holds up best.

  1. pick Hart Bochner as Rod: The pink-polo, Mercedes-driving villain who later gets killed at Nakatomi Plaza.
    “CR, how about this for what stage the best?”
    Bill Simmons · 0:44:10
  2. pick Robyn Douglass as Nancy: Elite 70s babe who got lost in the shuffle.
    “Just like in the pantheon for 70s, babes.”
    unknown · 0:44:42
  3. pick Hart Bochner's blue 450 SL: The cars and sparse downtowns of 70s movies.
    “Heart Bachner's Blue 450 SL.”
    unknown · 0:45:25
  4. pick John Ashton as Mike's brother: The brother scene says everything about the brothers.
    “What's age the best? as Mike's brother?”
    unknown · 0:47:18
  5. pick Barbara Barrie as Evelyn Stoller: One of the all-time great screen moms.
    “Um, Barbara Berry would say age the best.”
    unknown · 0:47:44
  6. pick Calling the townies Cutters: The production team picked Cutters over the local stoners nickname.
    “Also, Cutters is just a sick nickname.”
    unknown · 0:48:49

What Aged Worst · What holds up worst.

  1. pick Mike swimming with his jeans on
    “Disgusting.”
    unknown · 0:54:24
  2. pick Robyn Douglass's scooter: Looks like a cyber truck scooter.
    “It's like a cyber truck scooter.”
    unknown · 0:55:35
  3. pick Massive recreational cycling on campus
    “This was mine.”
    unknown · 0:55:45
  4. pick Serenading a girl outside her dorm and pretending to be Italian: Would get you arrested in 2024.
    “Serenading someone outside their college dorm room is probably now get arrested.”
    unknown · 0:59:24
  5. pick The 1980 TV series spin-off: Barbara Barrie, Jackie Earle Haley and John Ashton all came back for it.
    “They made a TV series based on the film.”
    unknown · 1:00:09
  6. pick NBC paying $5 million to air the film months after release: Five months after release, ahead of its time.
    “NBC paid 5000000 to screen the film on television.”
    unknown · 1:01:07
  7. pick Dennis Christopher: Lied about his age, said 1955 but was born in 1950.
    “Lied about his age.”
    unknown · 1:02:27
  8. pick All the idle time the guys have: Today they would be playing video games.
    “These guys just wouldn't have this much idol time.”
    unknown · 1:04:19

Best Shot · The best shot in the film.

  1. pick The wide shot of the last two laps: Best for technical achievement.
    “Uh, I mean, just for technical achievement, probably the last last 2 laps”
    unknown · 0:49:07
  2. nominee The wide shot of the quarry: Also loved for its setting.
    “although I just really like the setting of the quarry a lot.”
    unknown · 0:49:11

Big Kahuna Burger · Best use of food and drink.

  1. winner The dad eating pepperoni pizza in his car while listening to the race: The hosts then riff on movies getting pizza right.
    “The, uh, the dad eating pepperoni pizza in his car, listen to the race.”
    unknown · 0:49:57

Butch's Girlfriend Award · The weak link of the film.

  1. pick Moocher's subplot lifting weights in front of Nancy: No true weak link; just not sure the subplot was needed.
    “I'm not so sure I understood or needed like as much of Moocher's like, weird, like, I'm lifting weights in front of Nancy.”
    unknown · 0:52:00
  2. pick Hart Bochner as Rod: Leaves the inside open on the last lap; a choke.
    “Heartbachner and the bike race, just to fucking choke Jack.”
    unknown · 0:52:17
  3. pick Paul Dooley: Questions his strategy of selling lemons over and over.
    “I don't really, what's, what's Paul Dooley's character's strategy as a car salesman?”
    unknown · 0:53:02

Hottest Take · Each host's hottest take.

  1. pick It is a movie about parents getting to know their child
    “I think this is actually a movie about parents getting to know their child before he leaves than it is about sports.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:07:52
  2. pick Peter Yates: Yates understands America better than most American directors.
    “Peter Yates understands America better than most American directors.”
    unknown · 1:08:25
  3. pick Dennis Quaid and Kevin Costner should flip careers: Quaid is Costner five years too early.
    “Dennis Quaid and Costner, if you just flip them.”
    unknown · 1:08:54

Casting what-ifs · Almost-castings and recasts.

  1. pick Bob Fosse: Apparently wanted to direct the Eagle of Naptown script; no casting what-ifs found.
    “But Bob Fosse was like, I want to drive.”
    unknown · 1:13:09
  2. pick Tom Hanks: Hanks could play the lead or Cyril; Cruise closer to Jackie Earle Haley's part or Dennis Quaid's.
    “Cruise or Hanks?”
    unknown · 1:23:19

Picking Nits · Nitpicks of a film they love.

  1. pick Nancy (Robyn Douglass) never questioning that Dave is Italian
    “is she really so dim that she can't pick up on this guy is not Italian?”
    unknown · 1:25:32
  2. pick Mike hitting his head on the rock
    “Mike hitting his head on the rock never really sat well with me.”
    unknown · 1:25:57
  3. pick Rod clapping for the Cutters at the end of the race
    “There's just no fucking way that Rod is clapping for the cutters at the end of that race.”
    unknown · 1:26:15
  4. pick Going from the bowling alley brawl straight to the university president ordering a bike race
    “how quickly they go from the bowling alley brawl to like the president of the university is like, you guys all need to do a bike race.”
    unknown · 1:26:50
  5. pick Why the Italian team would come to Indianapolis for a 100-mile race
    “So why would the Italian cycling team come to fucking Indianapolis to do a 100 race?”
    unknown · 1:27:08
  6. pick Dennis Christopher: Nominated for best juvenile actor at the Young Artist Awards at 28 or 29.
    “Dennis Christopher was nominated for best juvenile actor at the Young Artist Awards.”
    unknown · 1:27:54
  7. pick Robyn Douglass: She would never talk to Dave again.
    “I don't just don't think Robin Douglas is ever talking to Mike again.”
    unknown · 1:28:04
  8. pick Barbara Barrie: The pregnancy at the end seemed unusual.
    “I did think about putting that in nipix that she just gets pregnant right away.”
    unknown · 1:37:29

Sequel, prequel, prestige TV · The sequel, prequel or TV show they would make.

  1. pick An all-Black-cast version, perhaps a team from Gary, Indiana: Called the movie untouchable but willing to discuss it.
    “I'm willing to have the all black cast discussion for this, and I don't know if cycling would be the sport.”
    unknown · 1:29:52
  2. pick Mike joins Indiana University as a 28-year-old QB: Joking sequel pitch in the vein of Necessary Roughness.
    “Did Mike eventually become a 28-year-old college QB like Scott Bacula necessary roughness?”
    unknown · 1:33:16

Is this movie better with… · A bit about dropping an actor into the film; here an Italian-language Wayne Jenkins.

  1. pick Wayne Jenkins in Italian: A host does a long Italian monologue in the voice of Wayne Jenkins.
    “Italian Wayne Jenkins.”
    unknown · 1:32:01

Oscar pick · Who should have won or been nominated.

  1. pick The screenplay
    “The screenplay.”
    unknown · 1:32:35

Unanswered questions · Questions the film leaves open.

  1. pick How long could you handle someone doing Dave's Italian bit
    “How long do you think you would you could handle Ben doing Dave's Italian bit?”
    unknown · 1:32:42
  2. pick Was Mike any good at QB
    “That's actually my unanswerable question was, was Mike any good at QB?”
    unknown · 1:33:38
  3. pick What is the upside of winning the Little 500; did Dave get a tuition break
    “What is the upside of winning the little 500?”
    unknown · 1:33:55

Zihuatanejo Award (what happened the next day) · Where the characters end up after the film.

  1. pick Dennis Quaid as Mike: Becomes a cop with his brother.
    “I think Mike's gonna become a cop with his brother.”
    unknown · 1:36:36
  2. pick Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher: Moves to Chicago with Nancy and has four kids.
    “Much has like 4 kids.”
    unknown · 1:36:46
  3. pick Dennis Christopher as Dave: Gets an education, a career, and becomes an engineer.
    “I think Dave is fine.”
    unknown · 1:36:50

Memorabilia · A piece of memorabilia they would want.

  1. winner The bike
    “I think it's the bike.”
    unknown · 1:38:09
  2. pick Neapolitan Sunset cologne
    “I had Neapolitan Sunset Cologne.”
    unknown · 1:38:17

Best life lesson · The best life lesson in the film.

  1. winner Everybody cheats
    “Everybody cheats.”
    unknown · 1:38:28

Who won the movie · Who came out ahead from the film.

  1. nominee Steve Tesich: Floated as a candidate.
    “Tessich?”
    unknown · 1:38:36
  2. winner Peter Yates: One host settled on him as the winner.
    “I was the one I settled down was Yates”
    unknown · 1:39:18
  3. winner The state of Indiana: Called a love letter to Indiana.
    “I think Indiana is a good one.”
    unknown · 1:40:37
  4. winner Barbara Barrie: Another host picked her, a split decision.
    “I'm saying Barbara Barry, who are you saying?”
    unknown · 1:42:09

Better title · Whether the title is better than the original.

  1. winner Breaking Away: Preferred to the original title Cutters.
    “I just think that breaking away indicates sports and triumph somehow in a way that the cutters...”
    unknown · 1:07:35

Best name use · Whether Cutters works as a racehorse, band, wrestler or fantasy team name.

  1. pick The Cutters: Best as a rock band.
    “Cutters is probably a rock band.”
    unknown · 1:24:09

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