Loves charisma performances, movie stars at their peak, and trivia from Tarantino's circle. Champions Brad Pitt as the winner. Can't stand awards mistakes like The Artist winning, and he warns about the 'Oscars should wait five years' view. A sucker for 1960s details, driving scenes, and Boogie Nights real estate.
Stances
Brad Pitt won the movie
Oscars should be awarded five years later
Focus is underrated
Humor: Runs bits on movies he almost bought, fake research, and sports-style comparisons.
In their words
“I think Pitt won the movie.” (1:17:58)
“I think I'm the only one that likes focus.” (0:32:43)
Loves the mid-80s Eddie Murphy and the movie's cultural phenomenon, and has a clear soft spot for Lisa Eilbacher. Is a sucker for Hollywood-excess anecdotes (Simpson, cocaine, Rourke, Stallone) and for sports analogies. Has little patience for plot logic holes but loves list games and categories.
Stances
Eddie Murphy in 1984 was the biggest star in the world after Michael Jackson
Lisa Eilbacher is the Apex Mountain and the film's winner
The Eddie-Murphy-as-star what-if game (Top Gun) is a worthwhile question
Humor: Rapid-fire sports analogies (WAR, LeBron, Dion Waiters, Shawn Michaels) and mock-indignant asides.
Loves the lore of how a movie got made, the lists (casting what-ifs, recasting), and the 'unanswerable questions' category. Has little patience for Lawrence Tierney's acting or for Ebert missing on Tarantino. He remembers the 1992 Boston era of a movie that mattered and is a sucker for a heist.
Stances
Tarantino won the movie
Lawrence Tierney is bad (the 'Mike Francesa' bit)
Does not want new Reservoir Dogs content
Wants to see the heist, plays devil's advocate
Humor: Throws sports analogies, invents award names, and runs recurring bits like Roger Ebert and Felony Land.
In their words
“I love bank ice scenes.” (1:23:55)
“It's Tarantino, and I think all of those actors robbing a bank.” (1:23:22)
“Can I make the case for seeing the heist?” (1:23:18)
Loves ensemble casts and film-lineage framing, sports analogies (Dwight Gooden, Penny Hardaway), and the show's recurring awards. Wants a better soundtrack, and cannot stand the ending speech. Is a sucker for his wife and kids' opinions of the film.
Stances
Mean Girls is the best Lorne Michaels movie
Lohan's decline is like an athlete's lost career
Soundtrack and ending speech are weak
Humor: Dry, sports-and-family riffs, often teased by his co-hosts.
In their words
“that was like Dwight Gooden in 1985 on the Mets.” (0:27:59)
“I think this is the best Lauren Michaels movie.” (0:16:22)
Bill loves old-school sports myth-making, baseball nostalgia, the Natural's chill scene, and stat-nerd rabbit holes like reconstructing Roy Hobbs's season. He is picky about throwing motions and lineup logic, and is a sucker for the dugout-emptying slow-motion shot. He ranks Bull Durham/Hoosiers/Rocky near the top and finds slow hospital stretches in sports movies unbearable.
Stances
The Natural used to be the greatest sports movie but is now slower than he remembers
Every great sports movie needs a chill scene
Dislikes bad throwing motions on screen
Hospital detours in sports movies should be cut short
Roy Hobbs was a Bonds-level statistical machine, or worse
Humor: Dry, list-making sports-nerd riffs and reaching pop-culture asides (Bachelor, Harry Potter) delivered as if serious.
In their words
“My move with sports movies is like, get me out of the hospital as fast as possible.” (1:00:37)
“nothing drives me crazier than when somebody can't throw in a baseball movie.” (0:56:43)
Loves Gen X touchstones and basketball analogies; sticks up for Winona Ryder and Friends season one; mocks Troy-type guys and over-talky English majors. A sucker for half-assed internet research and awards-bit tradition.
Stances
Winona Ryder won the movie
Singles is a flawed but beloved sibling
Ben Stiller deserves credit
Humor: Rolls NBA references and mock-feuds into everything.
In their words
“I do look at her in a way, like, uh, like I look at some NBA players.” (0:32:14)
Loves sports-adjacent silliness, big broad comedy and quotable lines, and wedding toast chaos. Can't stand being wrong about movie trivia he has already litigated. A sucker for his own running categories and bits (Ebert, Joey Pants, Dion Waiters).
Stances
Roger Ebert is never to be trusted on comedies
Comedies of the era were a nice 6-7 year run
Open your movie with a wedding theory
Luke Wilson is not Harrison Ford
Humor: Deadpan rapid-fire teasing of co-hosts and mock-outrage, plus sports references.
In their words
“never to be trusted on comedies.” (0:15:17)
“This movie also nicely slots into my open your movie with a wedding theory.” (1:01:05)
Loves sports analogies, Kurt Russell and Pacino's Cruising, defends 90s movies like Fletch. Dislikes dated romance interludes like the picnic. A sucker for mustaches and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson.
Stances
Val Kilmer wins the movie
Wyatt Earp is the rival, Tombstone is more entertaining
Cruising is incredible
Cut the 12-minute theater scene
Humor: Rapid-fire sports comparisons and teasing his cohosts.
In their words
“I think this movie is the perfect microcosm of both of their careers.” (0:12:28)
“I just don't come to Tombstone for picnics” (0:29:44)
Loves old-school and 5 o'clocker action, Seagal, Stallone, Nick Cage, and movies that know exactly what they are. Can't stand over-explained worldbuilding or sequels that give the hero a known villain. A sucker for the Neeson comeback and for ranking things by era.
Stances
Taken is the perfect 5 o'clocker
Taken 2 is not better than the first
Neeson is the Apex Mountain of the movie
The first Taken works because there is no main villain
Humor: Deadpan nitpicking, escalating sports analogies, and long self-deprecating dad stories.
In their words
“I just like watching movies that know exactly what they are.” (0:32:10)
“I don't think it's a John Wick 2 situation where John Wick 2 is actually somehow better than John Wick one, or we could at least have the debate.” (0:42:12)
Loves big star-driven movies and sets the show's categories; adores the Wahlberg and Baldwin scenes, Boston flavor and the crazy cast what-ifs. Can't stand Nicholson's performance here, implausible plot points and the rat. A sucker for 'that guy' actors, Goodfellas and Boston details.
Stances
The Departed is a Hall of Famer because it is flawed and fun
Leo won the movie, Nicholson loses it
Costello should have been Pacino
Damon's Boston accent beats Wahlberg's
Scorsese's Stones fetish is funny
Humor: Deadpan nitpicking, jokes about plot holes and trivia, rapid mock-outrage.
In their words
“This is a perfect rewatchable because it is a great bad movie.” (0:12:23)
Calls Spielberg the greatest director ever but is skeptical of his late period and Munich. Loves Jaws, Raiders, and E.T. through his kids, and measures movies by whether kids can stay with them. Distrusts the calculating, career-minded side of Spielberg and Spielberg's DreamWorks hedging.
Stances
Spielberg's first 15 years are the greatest career stretch ever
His recent work is solid but not special
Spielberg is 'calculating' where Mann or Coppola are obsessive
Judges movies by whether his kids can watch them
Humor: Wry and teasing; leans on sports analogies (LeBron, Popovich) and bits like 'hit by a car in 1986'.
In their words
“if you just got hit by a car at the peak of your career, how would people remember you?” (0:51:08)
“I judge everything by my kids who have, you know, 21st century ADD with pop culture.” (1:00:09)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
The Big Picture
Drafts: Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument.
Hall of Fame: A star's or director's best, ranked and argued.
Countdowns: Ranked lists, top five or top ten.
The Rewatchables
Apex Mountain: The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits.
Who Won the Movie: The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off.
The Ebert review: Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show.
Casting what-ifs: Who was almost cast, or who should have been.
Most rewatchable scene: The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels.
Aged best / aged worst: What holds up and what does not.
Picking Nits: The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits.
Double feature: The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick.
Their claims
Showing 901–1,000 of 1,295 claims.
people (people):
Sylvester Stallone → Staying Alive.
Stallone directed Staying Alive and put himself in the redone opening credits.
unmapped (torch passing):
Tom Cruise → Paul Newman.
Cruise was number one and Newman tenth in the 1986 Quigley poll, so the narrative was Cruise taking the torch; Cruise modeled himself on Newman but went the Redford route.
“Cruz did kind of model himself after Newman in some ways, but ultimately went more of the Redford route”
verdict (career ranking):
The Color of Money → Slap Shot.
Only Butch Cassidy, Cool Hand Luke, The Verdict and Slap Shot rank above this among Newman's films for the speaker.
“I think only Butch Cassidy, cool hand Luke, the verdict and slapshot would come ahead of color money for it.”
career (career tone):
Paul Newman → The Sting.
The Sting is the movie Bill associates him with most but sees it as his most easygoing, cruising performance.
“I think it's also his most easygoing performance.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Paul Newman → Jaws.
Newman turned down Quint in Jaws; Bill thinks he would have made a good Brody, but Quint is Robert Shaw.
unmapped (directorial constraint):
The Color of Money → Panic Room.
Both directors were handed a confined, mundane space and responded with showy camera flourishes.
“it reminds me a little of panic room with Fincher.”
people (performance extremity):
Tom Cruise → Heat.
Cruise's Werewolves of London pool scene goes for it as hard as anyone on the podcast other than Pacino in Heat.
“cruise goes for it as much as I think anyone's ever gone for it. Maybe in the history of this podcast other than Pacino and Heat.”
people (same actor):
Bruce A. Young → Risky Business.
Moselle in this film is the same actor who played Jackie the prostitute in Risky Business, likely brought back by Cruise.
what-if (casting what-if):
Jackie Gleason → The Color of Money.
They thought about bringing back Gleason as Minnesota Fats, but he felt the role was an afterthought.
“They thought about Gleason, bringing back Minnesota fats.”
people (same actor):
Paul Herman → Goodfellas.
The Atlantic City bar guy is Paul Herman, who is the 'helicopters' guy in Goodfellas and Beansy on The Sopranos.
“is Paul Herman, who in Goodfellas is like, you want to see helicopters? I'll make you see helicopters.”
unmapped (production trivia):
The Color of Money → Goodfellas.
Scorsese came up with Goodfellas while filming this movie after reading a review of Wiseguy.
“Scorsese came up with Goodfellas when he was filming this.”
career (career arc):
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio → The Abyss.
After this she did The Abyss and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; they wonder if criticizing Cameron hurt her career.
“she came out so hard against Cameron during the abyss, whether that made her like a problem child”
unmapped (Cruise sing-along):
Top Gun → Cocktail.
In the best Tom Cruise singing-along category, Top Gun, Cocktail, Risky Business, Jerry Maguire and this film compete; Top Gun wins as camp and 80s.
“Top Gun probably wins because it's a whole scene and it's Anthony Edwards and It's out of control, campy”
career (career phase):
Bill Murray → Groundhog Day.
Bill's three-phase Murray: What About Bob?, Groundhog Day and Quick Change form the adult phase after Ghostbusters.
“he has, what about Bob and Groundhog Day pretty close together? And quick change”
what-if (casting what-if):
Will Ferrell → What About Bob?.
Only Will Ferrell, in his view, could also have played Bob over 35-40 years; but Murray has a character-actor gear Ferrell may lack.
“I actually think Will Ferrell would have also crushed this part.”
unmapped (recurring bit):
Bill Murray → Stripes.
Murray's flirt-by-annoying persona goes back to SNL's Todd and Lisa Loopner sketches with Gilda Radner and Stripes, then becomes the whole premise of What About Bob?
“He did it in stripes when he was trying, you know, his way of trying to like flirt with people would be to annoy them.”
unmapped (therapist movies):
What About Bob? → Good Will Hunting.
Bill's therapist Mount Rushmore includes both, along with Analyze This and Ordinary People.
“Movies that had to include a therapist used in some profound way in the actual plot.”
theme (same premise):
Analyze This → The Sopranos.
The Sopranos has basically the same mob-boss-in-therapy premise and cut the legs out of Analyze This's legacy.
“the Sopranos completely cut the cut the legs out of that movie from a legacy standpoint because the Sopranos is basically the same premise”
unmapped (prior episode):
Mr. Holland's Opus → Richard Dreyfuss.
The trio did Mr. Holland's Opus a few months earlier and discussed Dreyfuss's addiction history there.
“We talked about him a lot when the 3 of us did Mr. Holland's Opus a few months ago”
people (actor's heel turn):
What About Bob? → Mr. Holland's Opus.
Both are Richard Dreyfuss movies where he plays an asshole; Sean traces his heel turn from nice-guy hero to the worst guy in the movie, starting here.
“No one has had a heel turn. Like Richard Dreyfuss. And it starts with what about Bob?”
unmapped (80s wagoner / lake-house comedy):
What About Bob? → The Great Outdoors.
The 80s station wagon shows up in many comedies, including The Great Outdoors and Harry and the Hendersons; also lake-house small-town dreaming.
craft (era tone):
What About Bob? → Parenthood.
Parenthood used a school-shooting imagery as a comedic device, another example of things no longer made.
“Or even parenthood where they use a school shooting for a comedic device.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Woody Allen → What About Bob?.
Woody Allen was approached to play Dr. Marvin, direct, and possibly co-write; he turned it down.
“Woody Allen was approached to play Dr. Leo Marvin, was also considered to direct, which is bizarre, and possibly co-write the script.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Charlie Korsmo → Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Korsmo was the original choice for the Edward Furlong role in T2 but did What About Bob? instead.
“We found out he was the original choice for the Edward Furlong role, but he did what about Bob instead?”
unmapped (child-star cohort):
Charlie Korsmo → Elijah Wood.
Korsmo, Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood are called the early-90s three-headed dragon of child actors, like dunking KG and C-Webb.
lineage (ripped off):
Growing Pains → The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Bill's hot take: Fresh Prince's famous Uncle Phil scene was lifted from a Growing Pains episode with Leo.
“was actually ripped off from growing pains and Leo”
theme (house comparison):
What About Bob? → The Good Son.
Bill says the lake house is one thing, but the house in The Good Son was probably made up; leads to Culkin evil-kid horror.
“Here's here's where this game ends when you see the house from the good house from the good son.”
unmapped (evil-kid horror):
The Good Son → Brightburn.
Evil-kid horror lineage: The Good Son, The Omen, Orphan, and Brightburn (Superman-as-alien child).
“He made a movie called Brightburn. Oh, Brightburn's great.”
lineage (lineage):
Seven → Heat.
Grouped with Usual Suspects, Heat and Casino as the four defining 1995 movies, three of which were shut out at the Oscars.
“Our usual suspects, which we recently did, Heat Casino in seven.”
contrast (contrast):
Seven → The Usual Suspects.
Both were hugely influential 1995 genre movies that the Oscars largely ignored; Usual Suspects got a screenplay win while Se7en got only editing.
“Usual suspects had space to get nominated for best supporting actor, and it got nominated for best original screenplay.”
industry (industry):
Seven → The Usual Suspects.
Spacey went uncredited in Se7en and the earlier-released Usual Suspects built momentum; two twists may have been too much for the Academy.
“I wonder if 2 super duper, incredibly memorable twists, a quarter of a century later, uh, was too many for the academy to handle”
career (career):
Kevin Spacey → Seven.
Spacey's billing choice (uncredited) kept the twist secret in a pre-internet era, which fed a slow-building box office.
“And it was a great move by Spacey not to be credited.”
career (career):
David Fincher → Alien 3.
Fincher fought the studio on Alien 3 in press coverage, with Sigourney Weaver backing him, then seemed unlikely to direct again.
what-if (what-if):
Seven → The Sopranos.
Fincher's planned fade to black would have resembled the Sopranos cut to black, which Bill came around on after years.
“I think I would have eventually felt the same way I do about the Sopranos ending where I actually like the Sopranos ending now.”
verdict (verdict):
Seven → Casino.
Casino was a near miss against Goodfellas, framed as 98 out of 100 versus 100 out of 100, the same tier of 1995 hall-of-famer.
“It's like a 98 out of 100 compared to Goodfellows 100 out of 100, you know?”
career (career):
Brad Pitt → Interview with the Vampire.
Pitt's pre-Se7en run had flops and weird roles, including the homoerotic vampire movie he did with Cruise.
career (career):
Brad Pitt → Legends of the Fall.
Pitt fought the changed ending of Legends of the Fall and vowed not to do that again, then made Se7en and 12 Monkeys.
“Legends of the Fall, which some people like, but they changed the ending.”
career (career):
Morgan Freeman → Unforgiven.
Freeman's 1992 to 1995 run of Unforgiven, Outbreak, Shawshank, Se7en is a strong quartet with Outbreak the weak link.
“Outbreak is obviously the week, the weak link, but the other 3 are Hall of Famers.”
verdict (verdict):
Seven → Roger Ebert.
Ebert gave 3.5 stars, then republished a four-star review years later, which becomes the show's running Ebert gag.
what-if (what-if):
Sylvester Stallone → Seven.
Stallone reportedly turned down Mills, post-Tango and Cash, hunting for a dramatic movie that turned out to be Copland; Sly would have derailed it.
industry (industry):
Morgan Freeman → Deep Impact.
After Shawshank and Se7en Freeman had the juice to take shitty parts like Deep Impact for giant paychecks.
“he does this movie, and both of them are smashed successes, and that paves the way for him to be able to take shitty parts and deep impact and stuff like that”
fun, about
Jay Barrishell:
Daily Beast interview: Jay said he and Jonah didn't get along and found Jonah's compliment scene exhausting, then loved the rough cut.
fun, about
Rihanna:
Slapped Michael Cera for real; Cera asked if he could slap her butt and she said only if she could hit back; multiple takes left him lying down.
“he asked Rihanna if he could actually slap her butt and she said, if I can hit you back.”
fun, about
Alec Baldwin:
On set Baldwin refused to shave his beard, so Bill Pullman was lined up to replace him; he then shaved but stopped talking to the director for the shoot.
“And then won't talk to the director for the rest of the shoot.”
fun, about
David Mamet:
Art Linson's book: in the pitch an executive objected that nobody roots for a rich guy, so Mamet added the affair and the cuckold angle.
fun, about
Bart the Bear:
Bart's filmography: Legends of the Fall, The Great Outdoors, 12 Monkeys, Grizzly Adams, presented at the 1998 Academy Awards.
“He was a presenter at the Academy Awards in 1998”
fun, about
Paul Bettany:
Balcony speech: fear of falling is really fear that you might jump; then the money-left-after-taxes run with 76,520 on hookers.
fun, about
Margin Call:
Casting what-ifs: Irons role first offered to Ben Kingsley, Tim Robbins and Billy Crudup passed, Carla Gugino was to play Demi Moore's part.
“The Jeremy Ions ions world was originally offered too.”
fun, about
Misery:
Goldman wanted the job because of King's foot-chopping scene; George Roy Hill could not direct it, and Reiner and Scheinman softened it to the ankle-breaking hobbling.
“The lapping scene was gone now forever replaced by the ankle breaking scene.”
fun, about
Judd Apatow:
Bill reads the Rudd character as a stand-in for Judd, with Apatow's own wife and kids on screen: 'Judd's really going through something'.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
A Premiere magazine piece says the script was rewritten dozens of times, finalized three weeks before production, with a 10-week shoot stretching to 20.
“Cop 2 ate up the energy of 2 executive producers, 2 producers, one director, 6 writers, and various productive production executives of personnel at Paramount.”
fun, about
Brigitte Nielsen:
Most rewatchable scene pick: the jewelry-store robbery with the robber calling out elapsed time and time left.
“If a movie features a scene where there is a robbery and the robber is calling out the amount of time that they've been in there and how much time they have left, probably going to be a rewatchable at some point.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Murphy's original pitch was a Testarossa and a Beverly Hills gun club; the studio first considered England/Scotland Yard and a TV series, but Murphy refused both.
“Murphy's ideas was that that Folish should have a testeras, Rosa Ferrari, and that there should be something at the Beverly Hills gun club.”
fun, about
Tony Scott:
Scott flew to New Jersey to meet Murphy, shot pool, then Murphy vanished mid-rematch and sent his boys to say Scott was fine with him.
“Scott recalls shooting some pool with Murphy. who won the 1st game, then disappeared in the middle of a rematch.”
fun, about
Eddie Murphy:
Murphy arrived with a huge trailer and an entourage including his Uncle Ray, brother Charlie, cousin Ray Jr., Fruity, and a 21-year-old valet, and was late all the time, then ad-libbed.
“he was late all the time, according to one of the crew.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Eddie Murphy himself called it the most successful mediocre picture in history, a half-assed rehash that was less spontaneous. Both hosts disagree and say they love it.
“Beverly Hills cop 2 was probably the most successful mediocre picture in history.”
fun, about
Eddie Murphy:
Murphy bought a $65,000 Porsche at lunch when depressed, and fought producers to keep the Ferrari from the movie; the producers' spokesman denied they ever gave him one.
“Eddie may have bought a red Ferrari, but Don and Jerry never gave him one.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Most rewatchable scene: Axel at the gun club pleading for his daughters Monique and Unique; Simmons calls it a fucking classic.
“I'd like to see my kids, Monique and Unique again, fucking classic.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Best quote candidate: the Gerald Ford lookalike in the strip club; Simmons says he still doesn't know why it's funny after all these years.
fun, about
Tony Scott:
On the armored-truck city deposit robbery: Scott takes off his shirt, rubs body butter on his arms and does action-sequence curls for three minutes.
“Tony's like, takes off his shirt, rubs his arms with body butter, and just fucking does some curls for us for about 3 minutes.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Ages the best: the opening song 'Shakedown' by Bob Seger; Simmons wants more theme songs thematically drawn from the movie, like running away from crime in the city.
“We just don't have, we used to do things in this country.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Ages the best: Producer Craig plays the Faltermeyer opening and Simmons says it makes him want to rob a jewelry store; they plan to end pods with a 45-second Craig song.
fun, about
Hugh Hefner:
First movie ever filmed at the Playboy Mansion; Hefner had said no film, then supposedly found a film reflecting his values. Paul Reiser also reads Playboy Sisters in three scenes.
“Reiser, he's reading Playboy Sisters, 112 pages of Sexy Siblings.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Casting what-if: Simmons wants Geena Davis in the thin role of Bogomil's daughter Jan, and Ryan wants Lisa Bonet as a strip-club character killed to fuel Axel's revenge, an 11-minute sidetrack.
“It's just 2 phone calls and then she's like, I've solved where this guy's visa came from?”