Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise.
Stances
Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told
Friday 2 is a leap over the original
Humor: Digressive, sports-analogy heavy, and self-teasing about his office and Rewatchables running gags.
In their words
“There was 2 commercials, spring, summer, 1980 that scared the fuck out of me.” (0:07:38)
Loves Halloween and the 1970s; admires the film's craft and rewatchability, especially Leatherface's unintentional comedy. Hates Franklin, hitchhikers, and unlikely logistics. Uses sports and pop-culture analogies for everything.
Stances
The film is a rewatchable, not just a great movie
Leatherface is the hilarious favorite slasher
The hitchhiker is scarier than Leatherface
Hooper won the movie
Humor: Runs sports, NFL and podcast-world analogies and mock-outrage bits against Craig and the staff.
In their words
“I think it is a rewatchable, but I'm willing to hear the other side of it” (0:01:29)
Loves from-hell thrillers and movies that are fun to talk about even when they fail; a Boston guy who remembers where he saw things (Zoolander two weeks after 9/11). Can't stand a movie that wastes a good premise. A sucker for hoops details and stars' career arcs.
Stances
Domestic Disturbance is bad but a rewatchable good-bad movie
Vaughn and Travolta are mismatched to their roles
Cut footage and PG-13 killed the movie
Humor: Dry, trivia-heavy, with self-mockery about his own research and notes.
In their words
“I'm so relieved that this is how you're framing it.” (0:03:10)
“I saw Zoolander in the theater in Boston.” (0:11:47)
Loves ranking, tallies and lists (Pantheon, Hall of Fame, Mount Rushmores), and treats the show like a sports franchise with categories as awards. Hates inauthentic, silly-looking athletics and bad stinkers, and has always disliked narration (now conceding). Sucker for Midnight Run, Almost Famous, and sports analogies for everything.
Stances
Concedes narration is fine when the movie is good
Wants to build a Rewatchables Hall of Fame with plaques
Wants to rewatch Midnight Run
Treats the cell-phone conspiracy as plausible
Humor: Self-deprecating bits about his own mispronunciations and sports-metaphor overreach.
In their words
“Okay, these are all actual emails from actual listeners.” (0:04:36)
Loves sports movies, tropes and underdog arcs; loves racing movies more than real racing. Can't stand people who throw cards. Sucker for Pacino speeches, Pitt as an old-school star, and hot takes about better endings.
Stances
F1 is the movie of the 2020s on feel
Sonny should have crashed and JP won
Brad Pitt is above Matt Damon in culture
Nobody should throw cards for fun
Humor: Dry listmaker who stages bits and fake categories with deadpan.
In their words
“This is a better movie if Sonny crashes.” (0:55:40)
“I don't like anybody in real life or in movies that throws cards for fun.” (1:19:45)
Loves 1980s teen comedies and the Hughes run, ranking The Breakfast Club an all timer; lists teen movies by year and tracks careers and what-ifs. Rates the movie fun but is bothered by how Lisa is written and by the age gap in the kiss.
Stances
Weird Science is a super fun watch with weird elements you must factor in with the 80s
Anthony Michael Hall should have been a bigger star
Hottest take: Lisa sucks
Humor: Dry list-making and award names, reading research aloud like a deadpan docket.
In their words
“And I mentioned this because I was 15 years old when I saw this movie in the theater.” (0:03:11)
“They're both pantheon for me, but breakfast club's an all timer for me.” (1:23:34)
Loves sprawling statistics and lists (genre-checkbox years, Carrey's run) and a good Oscars grievance. Cannot resist a bit about bars, themed restaurants and sports metaphors. A sucker for the 1990s and for movies that hold up on repeat.
Stances
Carrey's 94-2000 run is the best by a comedian
1998 checked every genre box
Movies should run about 100 minutes
Humor: Rapid-fire riffs that fold sports and gambling into movie talk.
In their words
“Carries the star, obviously, and carries in this heater from 94 to 2000.” (0:27:23)
“I think 1998 is in the running for the greatest checking all the boxes movie year we've ever had.” (1:06:05)
Loves 80s TV that wrecks him (China Beach), cool-guy actors like Madsen, and big dumb 90s movies sold on a single premise. Teased for being a sucker for the Hollywood Hills guy's lifestyle. Dislikes Sil-adjacent logic holes less than he enjoys them.
Stances
Species is a great B movie that gets a pass
Wants Madsen and Helgenberger to have been a TV duo
Would be Robbie in another life
Humor: Deadpan sports-and-pop-culture analogies and self-aware sleaze.
In their words
“I fucking love China Beach.” (0:07:15)
“Bill, you see yourself as Robbie, huh?” (0:37:46)
Loves 80s and 90s crowd-pleasers, Goodfellas as his favorite movie, and a good Hollywood backstory. Can't stand pot smoke and bike traffic in modern New York, Pee-wee, or Jade. A sucker for actresses who deserved better careers (Arquette, Fiorentino) and sports-brain comparisons.
Stances
Fiorentino and Arquette were robbed of better careers
80s Scorsese is the best
Warriors is superior to After Hours as a night movie
Tom Hanks or Keaton would improve the lead
Humor: Breathless riffs, absurd hypotheticals (kill Reagan for Arquette) and sports analogies.
In their words
“I don't know how Linda Fiorentino was never on the Sopranos.” (1:09:50)
“Would you have killed Ronald Reagan for Rosanne Arquette?” (0:33:25)
Loves the pop-culture web of the 80s: songs, TV, sports ads and movie stars tied together, and reads Ebert and old press clippings. Will take a bold contrarian stance (Tess may be the villain) and invents award categories. Cannot stand an unexplained plot hole or a premise that ruins itself, but forgives absurdity when the emotion works.
Stances
Tess might be the villain; she took Catherine's idea, boyfriend and job
The Pointer Sisters' 'I'm So Excited' is secretly the most important pop-culture song
Humor: Runs deadpan bits and invented awards, and teases co-hosts' obsessions.
In their words
“is secretly the most important pop culture song of all time.” (1:27:43)
“Are we sure Tess isn't the villain of this movie?” (1:59:14)
Loves Rocky as a cultural phenomenon he lived through in 1976, and the sports-movie recipe it created. Loves the casting what-if games and the running categories. Can't stand slow courtship scenes in 2025 terms. A sucker for Stallone and for lore.
Stances
Rocky is one of the most important movies of the last 50 years
Rocky was a phenomenon in 1976, comparable to Jaws and Star Wars
Stallone wins the movie
All the President's Men should have won the Oscar
Humor: Drops running bits (Ebert, hot takes, categories) and teases the others about Boston and doo-wop.
In their words
“I saw in Dedham, Massachusetts with my dad.” (0:08:57)
Loves football, sports movies and the long run of sports books and shows; likes nitpicks and ranking lists. Fond of Billy Bob Thornton and the TV show, with a Grantland-era sense of history. Enjoys odds, lines and fantasy-football talk.
Stances
Friday Night Lights is a top-six football movie, behind The Longest Yard
Movies where the good guys lose are great for rewatchability
Billy Bob should have been the TV Coach Taylor, as a career move
Coach Gaines is arguably a bad coach
Cruise is too small and not Texan, so Hanks wins
Humor: Banter, tallies and running-bit award names, plus deadpan wagers and career-strategist asides.
In their words
“I think Billy Bob should have played the coach in the TV show.” (1:17:08)
“I think longest yard is just number one.” (1:39:56)
Loves the whole texture of Pulp Fiction and builds the whole show around categories and awards. Cares about specific lines, casting what-ifs, and bits that tie to sports (Paul George, Dion Waiters, NBA draft). Can't stand lazy nitpicks and the weak link of Fabienne's 12 minutes. A sucker for diners, milkshakes, and the lifestyle nostalgia of the movie.
Stances
Fabienne's 12 minutes is the weakest part of Pulp Fiction
Dump 8 of those minutes for a real Wilson vs Coolidge boxing sequence
Vincent Vega is completely incompetent
Cruise as Vincent or Butch is the Apex Mountain casting pick
Humor: Runs category gags and sports analogies, and escalates absurd 'unanswerable questions'.
In their words
“Well, we have some bonus categories for this one.” (0:02:34)
“I will say that for as awesome as this film has so many great shots.” (1:11:22)
“I hate to tell Tarantino what to do, who's incredible creative achievement, but if you dump 8 of the 12 minutes with Butch's girlfriend,” (1:36:04)
He disliked Twister in 1996 because it felt like the start of the effects-driven blockbuster era but now loves it for the old-school feel of real danger. He is a sucker for summer-calendar history, box office numbers, and a movie you can leave on for three days. He reads casting and career arcs through NBA and NFL analogies.
Stances
Twister is underrated and he held it unfairly in 1996
Practical effects make the actors feel in actual danger
1996 is the year the summer blockbuster calendar was set
Jonas should have had more scenes
Disaster movies should be natural disasters and not star the Rock
Humor: Sports analogies for everything, dry running bits, and mock-outrage over the group's picks.
In their words
“I watched it twice in the last week.” (0:03:10)
“I actually like it more than I've ever liked it in my life.” (0:03:12)
“I treated it this time around, like basically tried to recreate the circumstances of an old school rewatchable” (0:10:05)
Loves the 90s Myers era (Wayne's World, Axe Murderer) more than the Powers films. A sucker for Heather Graham and Garth-style sidekicks. Dislikes the rap song and the Fat Bastard sleeping bit; wants comedians to stay comedians.
Stances
Myers era best in Wayne's World/Axe Murderer
Comedians should not go serious
Mike Myers won the movie
Humor: Digressive trivia dropper and conspiracy-tangent jokester.
In their words
“We never want them to become serious actors.” (0:15:47)
Loves 80s movie-star careers, studio and box-office lore, and Kathleen Turner as a teenage ideal. Cannot stand wasted runtime and the DeVito framing scenes. A sucker for production trivia, deleted scenes and Phil Collins-style what-ifs.
Stances
The DeVito framing scenes are the weak link and could be cut
Turner is the better performer in the Douglas/Turner combo
The dog should have been made into pate
Roses is 'hall of fame' evidence that they don't make movies like this anymore
Humor: Dry, list-making and rhetorical, with sports analogies and running-bit category names.
In their words
“But man, when I was growing up in the 80s.” (0:08:23)
“She was like my platonic ideal for like someday I hope I get to marry somebody like Kathleen Turner.” (0:08:26)
“The Danny DeVito scenes, even though there's good wisdom in them” (0:48:09)
“I think it's more important that they both actually die than that you know for sure that the dog died.” (1:05:02)
Bill loves Richard Gere's charisma at full power and a movie that gets more unhinged as it goes. He keeps the categories moving and loves sports analogies and long-ago junket stories. He is a sucker for a villain you end up rooting for, and he is dismissive of Bad Lieutenant for trying too hard.
Stances
Gere's Dennis Peck is his best performance
He actually wants more dirty-cop movies
Bad Lieutenant is not a rewatchable
Humor: Sports-flavored riffs and mock-awards, like the Rick Dalton Award, and impressions.
In their words
“I think this is his best performance in a movie.” (0:09:09)
“Little like Kenny Pickett on the Steelers.” (0:18:52)
“I interviewed Ron Silver at the Ali Junket in 2001.” (0:51:48)
Bill loves Pacino's swagger and Any Given Sunday, loves Heat, and treats the Michael Mann signature as a thing he can pick at, calling out the slow-motion ending and score as dated. He is a sports guy who can't let go of the Knicks 'semifinals' line, and he has little patience for stray bad casting like Wings Hauser. He is a sucker for scenery-chewers like Bruce McGill.
Stances
Pacino's Any Given Sunday is his favorite Pacino performance other than The Godfather
The slow-motion ending is bad and tacky
Cigarette smoking in movies makes people look cool
Pacino should have smoked in this movie
Humor: Digressive and comic, uses sports analogies (LeBron, Knicks, Dion Waiters) and bits that run on.
In their words
“The Inch's speech is all time for me and that movie's terrible and he's carrying it like LeBron carried the 2007 caps.” (0:09:36)
Loves The Big Chill enough to make it his birthday movie and has seen it more than almost anything. Cares about football-movie accuracy, soundtrack craft and the 80s ensemble dramedy. Can't stand bad touch football scenes and the Oscars' snubs.
Stances
The Big Chill is a movie he returns to again and again
Touch football in movies is never done right
Kasdan's first five years are the greatest screenwriting run
Humor: Runs bits and riffs, jokes about the show's low bar and his own friends.
In their words
“Every year on my birthday, we do a movie that I love, and this year we're doing the big chill.” (0:00:58)
“I've never been satisfied with the movie touch football scene.” (1:34:03)
Loves quotable, rewatchable movies (Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino, Speed), the Sopranos, and craps and sports analogies. Hates narrators generally, but allows this one. Sucker for lists, categories, and made-up channels.
Stances
Lessons from the movie are the best part; 'nobody cares' wins
Bar-intro scene is a Goodfellas rip
Chazz Palminteri won the movie
Hasn't seen John Wick 4 yet; will wait for the perfect time
Humor: Runs the format as a bit machine, with channel pitches, rankings, and teasing his co-hosts.
In their words
“I hate narrators.” (1:10:32)
“I always wanted an all-jail movie channel called Bars, B-A-R-Z.” (1:05:05)
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.
craft (craft):
Explosions in the Sky → Kid Cudi.
Rates the Explosions in the Sky bus-ride cue as the best needle drop, setting it beside Kid Cudi's 'Pursuit of Happiness'.
“I have that as kid cutty pursuit of happiness where best needle drop.”
what-if (what-if):
Matt Damon → Friday Night Lights (2004 film).
A mid-90s Matt Damon, as in School Ties, would have been ideal for Winchell, but he was too old by 2004.
“And what I realized was that this would have been an amazing mid 90s Matt Damon part.”
verdict (verdict):
Friday Night Lights (2004 film) → The Longest Yard.
Bill's football-movie ranking: Longest Yard first, then Friday Night Lights, North Dallas Forty, Titans, Rudy and Any Given Sunday in some order.
lineage (lineage):
Pulp Fiction → Pulp Fiction imitators.
The Royale-in-Paris, Amsterdam conversation is the most parodied and copied stretch of screenwriting of the last 30 years.
“Yeah. I would argue this is the most ripped off four and a half minutes of screenwriting in the past 30 years.”
lineage (lineage):
Pulp Fiction → Lee Majors.
The setup of Vincent taking the boss's wife out echoes a Hollywood story about Lee Majors asking someone to take Farrah Fawcett out while he was away.
industry (industry):
Quentin Tarantino → Reality Bites.
Reality Bites got My Sharona for its convenience store scene; licensing chose it over the gang rape scene, and Tarantino says he is glad.
“Reality Bites also wanted it for the convenience store scene.”
programming (programming):
Twister → Apollo 13.
The 1995 summer slate (Crimson Tide, Die Hard, Braveheart, Batman Forever, Apollo 13) was when Hollywood began slamming mid-May to July 4.
“Batman forever, Apollo 13th all before July 4th.”
programming (programming):
Twister → Mission: Impossible.
1996 is when the studios locked in the early-May-to-July-4 summer blockbuster calendar: Twister, Mission: Impossible, The Rock, Eraser, Independence Day.
industry (industry):
Twister → The Cable Guy.
Chris pushes back that The Cable Guy, a notorious failure, still made 104 million, and Twister made 495 million.
industry (industry):
Twister → Twisters.
Twister and K-Hive both came back on Twitter in the same week ahead of the sequel, and the original is on Max.
“And Twister is on, I think it's on the Max app, but it's just it just feels very omnipresent right now.”
career (career):
Bill Paxton → True Lies.
In the 90s Paxton had important non-lead roles in True Lies, Tombstone and Apollo 13 before finally leading Twister.
career (career):
Bill Paxton → Sam Neill.
Like Sam Neill, Paxton did not become a star because the audience remembers the spectacle (storms, dinosaurs), not the lead.
career (career):
Bill Paxton → Kevin Bacon.
Paxton belongs to the Kevin Bacon, Bill Pullman, Kiefer Sutherland tier; the third guy in the cocktail with Tom Hanks in Apollo 13.
career (career):
Todd Field → Eyes Wide Shut.
Todd Field as an actor is an absolute banger in Eyes Wide Shut, Twister and Sleep with Me, then directed only three unique movies.
“Nick in eyes wide shut, twister, and sleep with me.”
verdict (verdict):
Twister → Roger Ebert.
Ebert gave 2.5 stars, saying loud dumb escapist entertainment works but not for thinkers; this became a running joke later.
craft (craft):
Twister → Van Halen.
The hail tornado is dubbed the Van Halen storm for its needle drop, a song that works in the movie but would not make a Van Halen playlist.
theme (theme):
Twister → The Shining.
The drive-in tornado scene works because a tornado tears the screen while the audience watches The Shining, a frightening movie with a real threat behind it.
“there's something coming behind that that's actually fucking frightening and it just starts ripping.”
theme (theme):
Twister → Heat.
A joke that Chris Ryan lost the town its treasury of cinematic knowledge when blown away, still hadn't seen Heat, which hadn't been made yet.
craft (craft):
Twister → Eric Clapton.
The most inexplicable music choice is Dusty watching an Eric Clapton video, which the speaker writes off as product placement.
“The most inexplicable song is just when Dusty's watching the Eric Clapton video from Motherless Child.”
contrast (contrast):
Helen Hunt → Steven Seagal.
Helen Hunt's running through the cornfield is likened to Seagal and not athletic despite Quarterback Princess.
“I'm just not happy with the running in this movie.”
what-if (what-if):
Twister → Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg was initially attached to direct, as he was for every movie in the 90s, before Jan de Bont took over.
“Spielberg initially attached to direct, which I think was the case for every single movie in the 90s”
what-if (what-if):
Bill Paxton → Tom Hanks.
Hanks read for Bill, passed, and suggested Paxton; Hanks even had wardrobe ready, so Paxton got the role via a big star.
what-if (what-if):
Twister → Sally Field.
Casting a bigger actress for Aunt Meg is floated with Sally Field, Ellen Burstyn, Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger.
“Who was available at? Ellen Bursten? Sally Field? Coming off Forrest Gump?”
career (career):
Jami Gertz → The Lost Boys.
The guess for Jami Gertz's apex mountain is Less Than Zero or The Lost Boys, when she was one of the biggest under-25 actresses.
“It felt like she was one of the biggest under 25 female actresses on the rise.”
theme (theme):
Twister → Armageddon.
The panel debates whether Twister is the apex 90s disaster movie against Armageddon, Outbreak, Dante's Peak, Deep Impact, Independence Day; natural disasters only.
“So so I consider disaster movies to be natural disaster movies.”
contrast (contrast):
Twister → San Andreas.
Modern disaster movies fail by casting the Rock, who is never in peril, instead of normal-looking actors like Adam Driver.
what-if (what-if):
Twister → Denzel Washington.
Denzel is too cool, like Charlton Heston as Brody in Jaws, so nobody believes he would lose to a tornado.
what-if (what-if):
Bill Paxton → Aliens.
A proposed category: actors reprising a different character from their own filmography; Paxton just doing Hudson from Aliens and screaming Cows.
industry (industry):
Twister → Titanic.
Twister started a playbook of putting not-yet-A-list leads in a spectacle, which Titanic and later Star Wars followed.
career (career):
Michael Douglas → Kathleen Turner.
Douglas and Turner were the Hepburn and Tracy of the 80s and seemed headed for 20 movies together; Roses was the last.
“Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner were the Hepburn and Tracy of the 80s”
career (career):
Kathleen Turner → The Man with Two Brains.
Turner was in Steve Martin's The Man with Two Brains, not a great movie but one a Martin completist enjoys.
“she's in Man with Two Brains, which is not a great movie”
career (career):
Kathleen Turner → Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Turner voiced Jessica Rabbit in Roger Rabbit, a hugely influential movie, in the same 80s run.
“She was the voice in who framed Roger Rabbit, which was a massive deal”
career (career):
Michael Douglas → Fatal Attraction.
Douglas's hit run from 87 includes Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Black Rain, Roses, Basic Instinct and more.
“And then from 87 on when he rips off Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Black Rain, War of the Roses, shining through.”
industry (industry):
Michael Douglas → The War of the Roses.
Douglas's producer background gave him a spot-on commercial taste that produced rewatchable classics.
“Michael Douglas, because he thought, like, a producer and had this whole producer background”
career (career):
Danny DeVito → Michael Douglas.
DeVito was a big 80s star who was always the third wheel with Douglas and Turner, and was doing the Schwarzenegger movies.
industry (industry):
Phil Collins → The War of the Roses.
Phil Collins wrote a song for Roses that was supposed to be in it but took too long and the offer was withdrawn.
“Phil Collins wrote a song called Something Happened on the Way to Heaven that was supposed to be in this.”
career (career):
Richard Gere → An Officer and a Gentleman.
Internal Affairs and An Officer and a Gentleman are probably the final two for Gere's best performance.
“It's this and it's officer and a gentleman probably in the final two.”
contrast (contrast):
Internal Affairs → Ghost.
The same movie could be made with Ghost's dirty banker and the drug dealer; the cop element is not necessary because it is about power and manipulation.
“So remember how in Ghost he was the dirty banker that was funneling money for the drug dealer, whatever?”
craft (craft):
Internal Affairs → Lethal Weapon 3.
The unfinished Granada Hills development recalls construction sites in Lethal Weapon 3 and other action crime movies.
“Because when you think about, I guess it's lethal weapon three.”
what-if (what-if):
Nancy Travis → Annabella Sciorra.
The movie would be better if Sciorra and Travis swapped roles because the dark Italian-Latin side would contrast with Peck.
“What if, is this movie better if Annabelle Shiora and Nancy Travis swap roles?”
fun, about
Steve Martin (Apex Mountain):
Apex ruling: Martin's true apex is 1978-79 (The Jerk and SNL); mainstream Steve Martin starts here. Keaton's apex is Annie Hall; Kimberly Williams and father-daughter movies yes; Nancy Meyers no; San Marino 100%; wedding movies likely.
fun, about
Father of the Bride (nitpicks):
Nitpick roll: no father-daughter dance, no rehearsal dinner, honeymoon flight that night, LA snow that melts perfectly, and a 14-year age gap between Annie and Matty.
fun, about
Father of the Bride (wedding cost):
Unanswerable question: wedding cost estimated at $250K by a frugal site; the hosts use their own math to land on $60K-$90K in 1991 prices, and a 500-person list cut to 150.
“So we'll say somewhere between like 60,000 and 90,000.”
fun, about
Sidekick / George Banks:
Piece of memorabilia: the bedazzled bridal sneakers (Simmons's wife and daughter went nuts); Dobbins takes the cappuccino maker; both wonder if George's Sidekick shoe company merged with Foot Locker.
“it's probably more likely he like merges with foot locker and it doesn't really work out that well.”
fun, about
Tony Manero:
The movie in a nutshell: Tony's line that he has been told he was good twice in his life, once for a raise and once for dancing at the disco.
“This raised today and dancing, dancing at the disco.”
fun, about
Saturday Night Fever:
Gene Siskel bought the white suit at a 1979 charity auction for $2,000 and sold it in 1995 at Christie's for $145,000.
fun, about
Travolta dance solo:
Travolta threatened to quit unless the director shot the solo wide; with the Steadicam they let him cook for two minutes.
“I'm quitting the film unless you go wide, and you kind of let me cook.”
fun, about
Karen Lynn Gorney:
Simmons spent half an hour searching for why she was cast and found nothing; she is also about nine years older than Travolta and a weak dancer.
“I'm so confused why she got cast for this movie that I actually spent like a half hour Googling it”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
In the 1986 Quigley poll of most marketable stars, Cruise was number one and Newman tenth, his last appearance; Newman made it 13 times before 1986. The narrative was Cruise taking the torch.
“Cruz was number one in 1986 when this movie came out. Newman was 10th. It was his last appearance.”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
Newman was hands-on: he effectively cast it, hired the director, and badgered Richard Price. It's Scorsese's only film to come in under schedule and under budget.
“Scorsese's only film he has directed that came under schedule and under budget because Newman was a maniac about it.”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
Roger Ebert gave it 2.5 stars, saying it wasn't an exciting film even though Scorsese was a friend; the hosts disagree but respect his integrity.
“And it's not an exciting film. It doesn't have the electricity, the wound up tension of his best work.”
fun, about
Tom Cruise:
Most rewatchable scene: Cruise's Werewolves of London pool run, with a cue-flipping routine. 'No camera has ever loved an actor more than those 2 minutes.'
“No camera has ever loved an actor more than those 2 minutes.”
fun, about
Casting / White Lotus joke:
Running joke: Cruise from Cocktail now owns the White Lotus resort as Brian Flanagan; Vince owns it with Jennifer Coolidge, Julie Christie and Olivier.
“Cruise from cocktail now owns the resort in Jamaica.”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
What ages worst: the fictional video game Stalker and the 1980s pool-star cameos (Steve Mizerak, Keith McCready) that were a big deal then.
“I knew who Steve Mahalik was and some of these other dudes”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
Bill's theory on why pool left TV: the best players were the people you least wanted to hang out with, like Phil Hellmuth in poker.
“the people who were the best at pool were people you just didn't want to hang out with when you were watching TV”
fun, about
Casting what-ifs:
Bill pitches Julie Christie for the Helen Shaver part; others suggest Charlotte Rampling, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Sissy Spacek.
fun, about
Paul Newman:
Newman became one of only six people to win or be nominated for an Oscar for a part he'd already played; he and Joanne Woodward were the first married couple with his and hers Oscars since Olivier and Leigh.
“Newman became one of like only 6 people who won and one or even got nominated for an Oscar for playing a part he'd already played.”
fun, about
Tom Cruise:
Cruise did his own trick shots except the ball-jumping-two-balls shot, which used a stunt person because learning it would have cost two production days.
fun, about
Apex Mountain: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio:
Not Apex Mountain for her (maybe Abyss or Perfect Storm), but she's 'a 5 alarm fire' here; Bill blames her long name for her stalled career.
fun, about
Best Tom Cruise singing along:
Category contenders: Top Gun (twice), Cocktail (Addicted to Love), Risky Business, Jerry Maguire (Free Fallin'), and this film; Top Gun probably wins.
“This is the secret of Cruise's success. singing along to songs.”
fun, about
Bill Murray's phases:
Sean says Murray has two career phases split at Rushmore; Bill argues for three, with Ghostbusters ending phase one. Van jokes they are MC Ewing-ing Bill Murray.
“See, I would argue Murray had 3 phases, not two.”
fun, about
Film year 1991:
Bill reads off the 1991 top box office list as a great pop-culture year, asking if 1991 is the movie year to what 1995 is hip hop.
“I wonder if 91 is the movie year to what 95 is the hip hop year.”
fun, about
Siskel and Ebert:
Ebert gave three stars and called it Murray's best since Ghostbusters; Siskel felt Dreyfuss gave too angry a performance. The hosts disagree with Siskel.
“Said, Dreyfus gave too angry of a performance and it ruined the movie for him.”
fun, about
Most rewatchable scene:
Bill's pick: the first therapy scene, with 'What if my heart stops beating' and the line about two types of people, those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't.
“There are 2 types of people in this world. Those are like Neil Diamond and those who don't.”
fun, about
Catherine Erbe's age:
Sean's theory: Anna is a 26-year-old post-college failure living with her family, which is why she invites Bob in. Bill says Sean just made a whole different movie.
fun, about
Most rewatchable scene:
Dreyfuss's puppets: he addresses his daughter via two puppets in the family conference, and Bill says this is when the movie takes off.
“To me, this is when, right here is when the movie takes off.”
fun, about
Best quote / most rewatchable:
The call that Bob supposedly killed himself: Dr. Marvin's wife says how horrible, he pauses, then 'let's not let it spoil our vacation.' Bill says it turns the light off.
fun, about
Dr. Marvin's wagoner:
What Aged the Best: the 80s station wagon, which the hosts want to return; Bill says there could be a website of 80s wagoners in comedies.
“there could easily be a website just with all the 80s wagoners and different movies”
fun, about
Half-fast research: the house:
The lake house that explodes at the end was a model replica built at 34th scale on a different lot; the vacation house was filmed at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
“they built a 34th size model replica of the house”
fun, about
Bill Murray / Richard Dreyfuss:
Dreyfuss recalled Murray as 'an Irish drunken bully' who screamed 'Everyone hates you. You were tolerated' and threw a glass-blown ashtray. The hosts side 1000 percent with Murray and mock Dreyfuss for specifying the ashtray was 'modern glass-blown' and 3/4 pound.
fun, about
Charlie Korsmo:
The child actor who plays Siggy stopped acting in 1998, got a physics degree from MIT and a JD from Yale, passed the New York bar and now teaches corporate law at Case Western Reserve; Van is stunned.
“Earned his jurisdoctor degree from Yale Law School in 2006.”
fun, about
Apex Mountain:
Apex Mountain verdicts: Murray no, Dreyfuss no, Korsmo yes (with an Obama nomination later), Hagerty no, 'death therapy' yes for the apex; Good Morning America passes maybe.
fun, about
Pick nit: the 35-day vacation:
Producer Craig asks if July 31 to Labor Day is too long a vacation; Bill notes a psychiatrist leaving for 35 days; Van says he'd take it personally.
fun, about
Se7en (ending):
Fincher wanted to cut to black right after Mills shoots John Doe; in test screenings the house lights came up immediately, New Line panicked and added Somerset's coda, which Freeman, Pitt and Fincher still resent.
“So New Line freaked out and they ended up doing that little coda at the end”
fun, about
Chevy Chase:
Chase nearly died during Modern Problems when airplane landing lights on his costume malfunctioned and passed an electric current through his arm, back and neck.
“An electric current passes through his arm back and neck muscles and he almost dies.”
fun, about
Fletch:
Producer rights were bought July 1976, every studio passed for 8 years, then Michael Douglas pushed it through; $8M budget, $59M gross, $24.4M in video rentals.
fun, about
Fletch / Roger Ebert:
Ebert gave Fletch 2.5 stars saying Chase's detached mask prevents identification; hosts mock him, saying Siskel got it and Ebert wanted a drama.
“Fletch needed an actor more interested in playing the character than in playing himself.”
fun, about
Fletch:
Scene: Fletch at the physical, the doctor snaps on a glove and Fletch asks if he used the whole fist, Doc; Bill's son stayed stone-faced.
fun, about
Fletch:
The second tennis club visit: Fletch orders caviar twice and champagne to Cabana One on Underhill's tab; Sean's single favorite 6 minutes.
“Bring two bottles of, uh, Dom Perignon to Cabana One.”
fun, about
Fletch:
Fletch steals the Alfa Romeo, fakes a Smart Patrol emissions stop, then crashes Fred Dorfman's luncheon and gives a speech; probably Chase's best 90 seconds.
fun, about
Fletch:
The full list of Fletch's pseudonyms, from Ted Nugent to Harry S. Truman.
“Fletch, Fletch, Ted Nugent, Arnold Babar, Dr. Rosen Penis, Dr. Rosenbosen, John Cocktail Stone, Mr. Poon, Igor Stravinsky, Gordon Liddy, John Levinstein, Donc Corleone, and Harry S. Truman.”
fun, about
Fletch (what's aged worst):
Producer Craig, who joined the Zoom, doesn't like Fletch and calls the jokes dad jokes; hosts call it the most tension ever on the show.
“The biggest the most tension we've ever had on a rewatchables.”
fun, about
Fletch (casting what-ifs):
Considered for Fletch: Burt Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Mick Jagger, Barry Bostwick; the author rejected Reynolds and Jagger; the producer first wanted Richard Dreyfuss, whom Chris imitated.