Working Girl is her favorite movie and her dream Rewatchables pick; she loves it as a rom-com, a Cinderella story and a cultural artifact, and as how she learned the 80s and her parents. Sucker for the song and score, the Staten Island Ferry, big real estate and Harrison Ford's clothes. Defends Tess to the end.
Stances
Working Girl is the perfect romantic comedy and a cultural artifact
Defends Tess against the villain charge
Chose the elevator or opening as most rewatchable
Loves the Staten Island Ferry as Apex Mountain
Humor: Self-aware and warm; jokes about herself, her husband Zach, and her real-estate award.
In their words
“Perfect romantic comedy, but more than a romantic comedy?” (0:03:03)
“It is a cultural artifact as well as a, you know, Cinderella story.” (0:03:07)
“Amanda has always said, working girls, the number one movie I would ever want to do in the rewatchables.” (0:01:29)
A child of divorce who treats divorce movies as a pantheon, loves interiors and real-estate fantasy (the Nancy Meyers houses), and holds firm opinions on decor. Can't abide the late-80s terrazzo floor.
Stances
Roses house is not even a top 20 movie house
The terrazzo foyer floor is the weak link
Cruise, via Jerry Maguire, is the right lead
The Roses are shocking because of their cruelty to animals
Humor: Obsessive-list energy and affectionate takedowns, as in her house-ranking bit.
In their words
“the 1st Michael Douglas movie I saw was the American president.” (0:06:45)
“This is not even a top 20 movie house.” (0:59:09)
“I'm thinking like collateral cruise crossed with Jerry Maguire cruise.” (1:17:39)
“Yeah, I did the terrazzo floor in the foyer.” (0:51:21)
Loves Nancy Meyers world, the family house and kitchen aesthetic, Steve Martin as dad, and earnest comforting movies. Can't stand talking-to-camera as a device and one-note accent comedy. A sucker for nostalgia, sequels and revivals she says she will watch anyway.
Stances
Father of the Bride is a Meyers formula movie where the house is the first character
Annie is a good daughter, she is just 22
Father of the Bride Part II is fine
Would watch a Grandfather of the Bride series
Second family dinner scene is the best scene
Humor: Precise, self-aware, observational wit (hot dog buns, curtain rings, independent consultant as unemployed).
In their words
“I'm definitely my father's daughter in that sense.” (0:03:26)
Adores Easy A as a summary of the teen-movie canon she liked: John Hughes, Ferris Bueller, Clueless (her number one), and Mean Girls. Loves star-quality musical numbers, Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci as parents, and a good recast game. Cannot stand plot choices that don't hold up, like the party scene and Facebook shutting everything down.
Stances
Easy A is a summary of what she loved in earlier teen movies
Emma Stone should have been Oscar-nominated; the Oscars ignore comedy
Defends the Clarkson and Tucci parents
Emma Stone is not at Apex Mountain here but doesn't get there without it
Picks Zendaya and Florence Pugh as recasts
Humor: Warm and enthusiastic, with committed hot takes and the occasional Freudian slip (Emma Thompson for Emma Stone).
In their words
“I think it's pretty high for me as well, because in a lot of ways, easy A is a summary of all the types of teen movies that came before it that I really liked.” (0:12:26)
“Number 2 for me is Emma Stone.” (0:18:24)
“So please respect Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci.” (1:20:24)
The biggest Skyfall fan on the show, owns it and rewatches it; loves Bardem, the Adele song, and Judi Dench. Protective of Bardem's performance, can't stand criticism of it, and finds modern Bond sexual politics rough.
Stances
Skyfall is the best Bond movie
Bardem's performance is the performance of the decade
No one is overacting
Humor: Defends Bardem with mock fury and ribs the others about sex habits.
In their words
“I think it's an outrage that Javier Redemma is not nominated for an Oscar.” (0:07:32)
Loves Regina George and the script, the first lunch scene, Lizzy Caplan, and Mean Girls as internet culture. Hates dumbing down for a boy and the ending speech; a sucker for teen-movie lineage and McAdams.
Stances
The first lunch scene is most rewatchable
Rachel McAdams won the movie
The soundtrack is underestimated
Humor: Deadpan and teasing, quick with callbacks and rankings.
In their words
“I think I'm going with the 1st lunch scene.” (0:25:55)
“Because it's just burned in my brain, the plastics at the lunch table.” (0:25:59)
Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording.
Stances
The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain
Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better
Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking
Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
Humor: Wry and conversational, mocking Sean's marriage take and her own Googling while enjoying emotional detective bits.
In their words
“I'm emotionally detecting, but not informationally detecting.” (1:26:12)
“It's a very, um, withholding film, like both visually and emotionally.” (0:24:04)
“I think no answer would have been better personally.” (0:35:01)
Open to horror and gross-out more than she used to be, loves a lovely movie star and a tropical setting, and dislikes screen-movies and AI propaganda. She is skeptical of Chris Pratt, a defender of Amy Adams's ambition, and a Kirsten Dunst champion. A sucker for Beatles news, Harry Styles gossip and the Princess Diaries.
Stances
Mercy is a mess that reads as AI and surveillance propaganda
Rachel McAdams is beloved and underused
Kirsten Dunst and Regina Hall deserve leads (low confidence in attribution)
Humor: Self-deprecating and tangential, riffing on her own survival skills, floating Vespas and Hollywood trivia.
In their words
“I thought that this was pretty insulting to, um, the recovery community as well as the unhasked people of Los Angeles.” (0:38:41)
Loves Tár and Top Gun: Maverick equally, prizes sincere family-scaled filmmaking like The Fabelmans, and has a soft spot for Downton Abbey, Pearl, and Minions. Treats the draft as a comedy of grudging picks and delights in odd documentaries like Jennifer Lopez: Halftime. Skips most 2022 blockbusters as slop.
Stances
Only two 2022 movies really mattered to her, and the draft order spoiled that
Downton Abbey: A New Era is the best of the series films
Pearl is Mia Goth's best performance
The Lost City and Bullet Train are not worth picking
Humor: Mock-petulant and confessional, then escalates a tiny joke (the minions choir) into a long recap.
In their words
“I had to have a meeting with myself about not being a petulant brat for the rest of the thing” (0:25:58)
“This is a great film.” (0:56:22)
“I'm picking the movie that I've thought about the 3rd most in 2022 after Tar and Top Gun Maverick” (1:17:52)
“I saw this movie by myself at my childhood theater, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia” (1:15:45)
Loves character-driven, funny-but-fucked-up movies, Leo's comic work, and champions The Irishman as underrated. She is bothered by viewers who take the film as a how-to and by tidy trauma-explains-everything backstories. She is a sucker for 90s nostalgia, like Steve Madden loafers, and for a good needle drop.
Stances
Wolf deliberately refuses to explain Belfort away
The Irishman is underrated and detractors are wrong
Catch Me If You Can is the runner-up Leo performance
Excitement and nerves about doing right by One Battle After Another
Humor: Teasing and conversational, comfortable with chaos and personal tangents like shoe collections.
In their words
“Which I think is the most underrated film on this list.” (0:05:29)
Ties Tenenbaums to growing up in a house without a father and loves Gwyneth Paltrow's look and Eli Cash. Sees the film as a 70s/French New Wave hybrid. Champions letting filmmakers grow incrementally. (Attribution of individual remarks is low confidence.)
Stances
Wes Anderson deserves an Oscar
Grand Budapest wouldn't exist without Tenenbaums
Humor: Dry riffs and running gags about the Beckhams and jarred goods.
In their words
“You and I both grew up in a house that our dad didn't live in.” (0:22:46)
A devoted Soderbergh fan, loves baseball and snacking, a Cubs fan, and a sucker for dad-daughter stories and process movies. Likes Moneyball's sentimental core and Pitt's physical restraint.
Stances
Soderbergh's version was fascinating but the finished film is happy
Moneyball is more than a baseball movie, it's a pop cultural phenomenon
Not a stats person
Humor: Wry audience banter, relatable self-mockery about sandals, Mets and snacking.
In their words
“as devoted as I am to the Steven Soderberg project, I am, I am happy that we got the movie that we got.” (0:24:06)
Loves romantic comedies and mother-daughter stories (Pretty Woman, Postcards, Mermaids), plus well-made studio thrillers like The Hunt for Red October. Dislikes authority and anything too tough, and drafts with her heart. Has a soft spot for Whit Stillman and Mike Nichols.
Stances
Pretty Woman is her number-two romantic comedy
Sequel slot: take Die Hard 2 to avoid Look Who's Talking Too
Drafted Metropolitan with her heart, not strategically
Humor: Playfully self-deprecating, with a flair for roasting her co-hosts' obsessions.
In their words
“I don't really like authority very much.” (0:41:45)
“I think I'm going to draft with my heart instead of strategically.” (0:59:49)
“I mean, it's Mike Nichols, one of my faves.” (1:18:24)
Amanda is the skeptic and the Q1-doomer who thinks TV is currently better than movies. She loves Black Bag, The Studio, a good Amanda Seyfried indie, and the original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She can't stand cynical IP bait or grim retirement-home talk, and she is wary of any community she'd have to join.
Stances
Creatively TV is in a better place than movies this quarter
Only happy to concede business wins, not quality wins, for Minecraft
Super Mario was the real comp for Minecraft
Does not want to be a burden to her kids as she ages
Will not go to Misericordia-type brutality unprompted
Humor: Dry, deflating interjections and domestic complaints (golf weekend, kids' ages, Hatch), usually landing at Sean's expense.
In their words
“I mean, I just think we're I... Sorry to be the negative person because I know this is like your therapy session and you had a religious experience at Minecraft or whatever, but... We're like, I mean, I think we're just in a really rough time.” (0:28:13)
“I mean, no, I don't want to join any community ever, as you know.” (1:20:22)
“Because I'm taking care of my 2 children while you take my husband golfing.” (1:24:34)
Just returned from maternity leave with a new baby, and a self-declared Harris Dickinson fan. Defends Moulin Rouge as a masterpiece (she was 17 in 2001) and calls Baz Luhrmann a visionary. Wants both Destroyer and Babygirl in the Hall of Fame, and likes Kidman for dismantling her own glamour.
Stances
Babygirl is good, divisive, and its sex scenes are memorable
Women really can have it all, including Destroyer and Babygirl in the Hall
Kidman is great at playing against her own myth
Humor: Warm, self-deprecating, a mother who turns sports loyalties and sleeplessness into jokes.
In their words
“I think this movie is a masterpiece and I think Baz Lerman is a visionary.” (1:11:04)
“What if I want Destroyer and Baby Girl?” (1:57:46)
“I made a joke that I was like, I'm going to raise our children to be Cowboys fans just to mess with you.” (0:33:12)
Loves melodrama and classic Hollywood, Rudolph Valentino and Betty Davis catalog. Famously prefers Babylon's middle two hours to the opening party. Not a fan of animals, high heels, or party excess, and is skeptical of the film's cohesion even as she respects the filmmaking. Likes Singin' in the Rain and old-fashioned show business.
Stances
Babylon's middle two hours are the best
She admires Babylon more than she is in the hive
Admits the film's narrative cohesion is missing while still saying he can make a movie
Humor: Quick, dry needling of her co-hosts (especially Sean's social switch and Chris's habits) delivered while eating Chick-fil-A.
In their words
“I famously really like the middle 2 hours of this movie.” (0:07:04)
“It's not something I don't really want to interact with animals, you know?” (0:09:07)
“But, I mean, he can fucking make a movie.” (2:58:26)
A devoted Mean Girls (2004) fan who also found the musical charming. Loves actresses she believes the Academy undervalues (Greta Lee, Margot Robbie), keeps pushing Oscar chalk, and is a sucker for emotional, parent-centered movies; All of Us Strangers hit her as a mother. Can't stand award-show indignities like airplane-style food, nor True Detective's current season.
Stances
Believes Barbie will be nominated for best picture but win little
Thinks the Academy never respects comedy
Wants the director to give the final speech, not the spouse-producer
Pushes back on the notion of actor-chemistry irrelevance in musicals
Humor: Self-deprecating and quick, riffing on her own life, in-laws, bars, and Whole Foods.
In their words
“This was the 1st movie I think I've ever watched where I was watching it as a mother.” (1:11:58)
“The academy never respects comedy.” (0:42:08)
“I'm perfectly fine if this is the newest Star Wars Born where every 20 years another Otour comes along” (0:54:17)
Loves genre translated by auteurs (Lanthimos as rom-com, Mean Girls, monster movie), costumes, production design, and Tony McNamara's writing. Likes Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone. Can't stand movies that feel like they are looking too hard for something; a sucker for funny costume details.
Stances
Poor Things is flat-out great
The Favourite is Mean Girls
Poor Things and The Holdovers are 8-out-of-10s for her
Reads Poor Things' ending as resignation after exploitation
Humor: Bickers with Sean as a running bit and delivers chaotic parenting anecdotes.
In their words
“I liked it a lot.” (0:33:17)
“And I said, well, because the Oscar nominations are being announced on Tuesday morning” (1:37:25)
Likes Ferrari for its physicality and immersion and Penelope Cruz; The Insider is her number one. Allergic to poor casting and loves things that go fast. Sucker for Europe locations and Adam Driver.
Stances
Cruz carries Ferrari
Woodley is miscast
The Insider is Mann's best
Humor: Wry, dropping deadpan asides and teasing jokes.
In their words
“I really liked it.” (0:07:12)
“once again, I think Michael Mann, for bringing me closer to the people I love.” (1:01:23)
Admires Fincher's genre craft and finds the film propulsive, funny and violent; enjoys the Smiths cues and consumer-culture jokes. More skeptical of reading the movie as emotional, seeing it as cynical and nihilist. Sucker for tiny logistics and travel details.
Stances
The movie is more cynical or nihilist than emotional
Fincher is the chosen one of the American thriller
Netflix canon problem: streamer films feel less real
Humor: Dry, teasing, constantly poking Sean about identifying with the killer.
In their words
“he is the chosen one at the American thriller in the last 30 years.” (0:18:09)
“I think that that is kind of the electricity of it” (0:08:34)
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):
Jonathan Demme → That Thing You Do!.
Producer-pair Demme and Goetzman, cinematography by Fujimoto, score by Howard Shore make it a high-class studio picture.
theme (theme):
Bringing Up Baby → Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
The screwball energy of Bringing Up Baby is the gleeful-but-smart quality they loved in Ghostbusters, which others dumb down.
“is the same thing that you and I responded to in Ghostbusters that so many people dumb down.”
theme (theme):
Frances Ha → Singin' in the Rain.
Both are listed as feel-good picks about movement and joy: the pirouette to Modern Love versus dancing.
“the scene of Greta Gerwig pirouetting down to modern love”
verdict (verdict):
F9 → The Fate of the Furious.
Amanda puts F9 over Fate of the Furious purely for the magnet set pieces; Fate's submarine and baby sequences are the other side.
verdict (verdict):
The Fate of the Furious → Hobbs & Shaw.
Fate of the Furious is ranked above Hobbs & Shaw, with the Statham/Mirren material working better in Fate.
“Especially in Fate of the Furious, because it works in that movie and like doesn't really work in Hobson Shaw”
verdict (verdict):
Fast and Furious 6 → The Fast and the Furious.
Amanda ranks Fast 6 above Fast & Furious since 6 comes after Fast Five and has found its more-is-more footing.
“I like 6 more than 4 because 6 is, you know, well, it's obviously like post fast five.”
programming (programming):
Black Widow → Spider-Man (Sony MCU film).
The previous MCU film was Sony's Spider-Man about two years earlier, so the franchise had waited a long time.
what-if (what-if):
Judas and the Black Messiah → Nomadland.
It would be more exciting if Judas and the Black Messiah made noise against the Nomadland front-runner.
“it'd be more exciting to me if something like Judas and the Black Messiah started making a little bit more noise”
theme (theme):
Tiger → Pretend It's a City.
Pretend It's a City, with its Spike Lee-Michael Jordan-as-artist archive, helps frame Tiger's moments as sublime, viewable only through footage.
“I do think those Tiger Woods moments probably are this sublime, and to be able to see them again, as friendly boys kind of points out, is really the only way that you can”
industry (industry):
Pretend It's a City → Pretend It's a City.
A streaming service giving great artists room to make projects like this is cited as the proof of what streaming can offer; it could not have happened a decade ago.
“I think it's a good testament to actually what a streaming service can provide, which is sort of the beneficence to great artists on projects that they otherwise would not be able to make.”
programming (programming):
Nomadland → Parasite.
The National Society of Film Critics has picked Best Picture winners that later became cool-kid Academy picks, such as Parasite, Moonlight and Spotlight.
“they have picked some best picture winners, um, in recent memory parasite.”
contrast (contrast):
Malcolm & Marie → Parasite.
Malcolm & Marie is the frontrunner for memeable movie, a thing Nomadland is not likely to be the way Parasite was.
“I wouldn't say that Malcolm and Marie is a best picture frontrunner, but I do think it's a frontrunner for memeable movie.”
contrast (contrast):
Network → Taxi Driver.
Network is the extravagant experiment of collaborators at their peak; Taxi Driver is daring too, but less so.
“Taxi Driver is pretty pretty daring, but network is an extravagant experiment and a collision of people at the absolute height of their powers all working together.”
theme (theme):
A Star Is Born → Full Metal Jacket.
Offered as a second answer to best half-movie: everything up to the first time she sings Shallow is dynamite.
“everything leading up to the 1st time she sings shallow on stage, which is like, I think an hour, maybe a little bit less.”
programming (programming):
Citizen Kane → Casablanca.
Younger viewers resist classics because they feel they must watch five canonical films first; a recent episode showed they refuse Citizen Kane even on streaming.
“we just went through a whole episode where people refuse to watch Citizen Kane on streaming.”
lineage (lineage):
Bringing Up Baby → Howard Hawks.
Hawks's fast-talking screwball comedies influenced every romantic comedy and dialogue-heavy film since.
“the Howard Hawks screwball comedies because just of the fast talking and the influence that they have on every single romantic comedy that is made”
people (people):
Bringing Up Baby → Katharine Hepburn.
The Hepburn-Grant chemistry is why Bringing Up Baby is a favorite even if it is not the best performance of either.
“what they can do together and the chemistry between them is um, I'm very partial to it.”
industry (industry):
To Catch a Thief → Grace Kelly.
The shoot overlapped with Grace Kelly being courted by Prince Rainier, a gossip draw to be on set.
“It's when Grace Kelly was being courted by Prince Rainier, and I would also like to kind of witness that from a, you know, gossip perspective”
craft (craft):
The West Wing (TV series) → A Few Good Men.
Cruise and Nicholson are the best single Sorkin performances, but the West Wing ensemble is best because Sorkin could write for them.
“Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson are the best single Sorkin performances”
craft (craft):
The Trial of the Chicago 7 → The Social Network.
Both use the intercut to dramatize testimony; Chicago 7's climactic speech is another intercut that does not land.
“it is actually another intercut, Sean, as you mentioned”
craft (craft):
The Trial of the Chicago 7 → Molly's Game.
Both add an unnecessary decent or fatherly figure; the Schultz character is compared to Molly's father on the park bench.
“I don't know why Molly needed to be motivated by her father on a park bench in New York City at the end of that movie.”
programming (programming):
Good Will Hunting → Matt Damon.
Good Will Hunting plus its Damon/Affleck/Williams Oscar campaign started Amanda's interest in the stories around movies.
“I think the 1st time I was aware of all of that was Goodwill Hunting”
industry (industry):
The Kissing Booth 2 → Amanda Dobbins.
Amanda worries the craft of movies is slipping while a generation makes TV; Kissing Booth 2 as the example of streamer output.
“the craft of movies is kind of slipping through our fingers”
what-if (what-if):
Joan Didion → Gwyneth Paltrow.
The Secret History was once to be scripted by Didion and Dunne and later developed by Gwyneth Paltrow and her brother.
“there was a script by Joan Didian and John Gregory Dunn”
unmapped (anecdote):
Creed → Amanda Dobbins.
Amanda's husband called Creed 'not that fun' and would not see it again with her; she cried alone in a theater.
contrast (contrast):
Mulan → The Lion King.
Amanda says Mulan did not stay with her like The Lion King, partly due to age and her Elton John fandom.
“it just didn't stay with me the way that, um, the Lion King did, but I think that's because of age and also because I'm like the world's number one Elton John fan.”
industry (industry):
Mulan → Aladdin (live action remake).
Amanda says the live action remakes are made for money and the question is always who they are for, with Mulan being for everybody and nobody.
“I think they're trying to make a movie for everybody and no one at once.”
industry (industry):
Mulan → Maleficent.
Amanda reads the witch as Disney setting up a spinoff, 'maleficenting' the film to make way for franchise action figures.
“I was just like, oh, you made a maleficent character and you're setting up your maleficent spinoff.”
contrast (contrast):
Mulan → Aladdin.
Amanda argues 'A Whole New World' crushes the Mulan songs; Sean says Mulan's songs follow the same formulaic spot as Disney training-montage songs.
verdict (verdict):
The Little Mermaid → Beauty and the Beast.
Mallory ranks 'Part of Your World' third on her list; Amanda ribs that the Beauty and the Beast pick is only the fifth best song from that film.
“the 5th best beauty in the Beast song, but that's fine.”
contrast (contrast):
Aladdin (live action remake) → The Lion King.
Amanda says the live action Aladdin was off-putting because the sex was on the main text, unlike the original's subtext.
“the thing that made the live action Aladdin so weirdly off putting was that the sex was just on Maine. It was just out there.”
theme (theme):
Mulan → Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.
Amanda says the love interest tacked on at the end of Mulan 1998 echoes Rise of Skywalker's putting girls back in the romantic box.
“This is also what made me mad in Rise of Skywalker.”
theme (theme):
To Kill a Mockingbird → Inherit the Wind.
Mockingbird is never in question about who is right, unlike the combative movies; its value is the speech.
“there's never any question as to whether he's right”
contrast (contrast):
Miracle on 34th Street → A Few Good Men.
Miracle is the starter kit: a fantasy kids courtroom drama, unlike the others, which are incomprehensible or inappropriate for children.
“Miracle on 34th Street is like, is kind of the starter kit”
fun, about
Father of the Bride:
The film's catchphrase-adjacent scene: the dad's opening monologue to camera. Dobbins hates talking to camera as a device but says it works here because the monologue is excellent, and it sets up voiceover narration that lets George say what he cannot say to the family.
“It works in this one because the monologue's really good and he's really good in it.”
fun, about
Father of the Bride:
Steve Martin's dinner list of consolations: Paul Simon tickets at the Forum, a Lakers game, and 'independent communications consultant' as code for unemployed. Dobbins used the line on her in-laws.
“Independent communications consultant is still...”
fun, about
Father of the Bride (most rewatchable scenes):
Cutting the wedding list: the crossing-off gag where they ask if someone died last year is a Simmons favorite. Also the blender box scene with Martin grappling a blender.
fun, about
Father of the Bride (hot dog buns):
The hot dog bun math gag still persists: Dobbins had a meltdown ordering curtain rings (7 holes, packs of 9) and thought of the scene; Simmons tells his daughter that tips and hot dog fractions are the only math adults need.
“All I could think about was the hot dog, hot dog bun scene and father of the bride.”
fun, about
Martin Short:
Worst-aged: the whole fake-accent wedding planner gag is one note, and Simmons's teenage daughter just found him annoying; Dobbins says the gag is not comedy in 2021. Both think B.D. Wong is funnier.
fun, about
Diane Keaton:
Casting what-if: Keaton says Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg did not want to work with her after The Good Mother flopped, and Shyer and Meyers had to beg to get her into the film.
“Charles Shire, Nancy Myers, who'd worked with me before, had to beg to get me into Father of the Bride.”
fun, about
Father of the Bride (remake as series):
Unanswerable: Dobbins talks Simmons into a 10-episode series called Grandfather of the Bride with Kimberly Williams and George Newbern as the parents and Martin and Keaton as grandparents, and no Zoom version.
“Kimberly Williams and George Newburn would be the parents.”
fun, about
Annie Banks:
Unanswerable: is Annie a good daughter? Simmons prosecutes (never told them for 3 months, ignored dad at the wedding, only called to say goodbye); Dobbins defends: she is 22, and the call is a great movie moment. Verdict: Simmons says bad daughter.
“Is she a bad person or is she just inexperienced?”
fun, about
Father of the Bride (who won the movie):
Who won the movie: Steve Martin. Nancy Meyers is the alternate, though it comes together more for her later.
fun, about
Skyfall:
Severin scene: Bond sneaking up on her in the shower after she says she was in a sex ring, flagged as the film's worst-aged moment.
“It really jumped out at me last time I watched it when he's like, I'm going to sneak attack you in the shower”
fun, about
Mean Girls:
Mean Girls is dated April 30, 2004, but fans celebrate Mean Girls Day on October 3rd, after the line about the date; Simmons only learned of it while researching.
“People think Mean Girls Day is October 3rd, but actually it came out on April 30th.”
fun, about
Lindsay Lohan:
The rewatchables crew remembers an MTV 'Diary' episode filmed right before Mean Girls, plus a hosted SNL with Debbie Downer, and a 2005 return whose monologue was about her problems.
fun, about
Mean Girls:
Best quote picks: 'Stop trying to make fetch happen' is the iconic line; others include 'I'm a cool mom' and 'On Wednesdays, we wear pink'.
fun, about
Marriage take:
Sean's hot take that past a certain tax bracket people should not marry, because marriage is a business arrangement propped up by the tax code.
“past a certain tax bracket, you just like should not get married anymore.”
fun, about
The Strangers:
Amanda admits the film gets under her skin without being gory or supernatural, because her horror problem is irritation, not fear.
fun, about
The Strangers:
The final line: asked why, the masked woman answers because you were home. The hosts debate whether no answer would be better.
fun, about
The Strangers:
Self-defense riff: the hosts argue about whether you can kill an intruder and why the couple never barricades the door with furniture.
“It's just a real like barricade the home situation.”
fun, about
The Strangers:
The couple's vinyl collection includes Joanna Newsom, Merle Haggard, Gillian Welch, Billy Bragg and Wilco and Richard Buckner; later the strangers put on the Merle Haggard record, with Mama Tried as the closing jam.
fun, about
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again:
Amanda applauded alone at the Arclight when Fernando played in the sequel and has told Sean what happens before.
“I maybe did start applauding at the arc light, like, alone when Fernando shut up.”
fun, about
Pierce Brosnan:
Brosnan's long residence near Hanalei on Kauai and a rumored $100 million Malibu property turned up in an Architectural Digest search.
“he lived like outside Hanalay for like 25 years in on the north shore of Kauai”
fun, about
Mamma Mia!:
The who's-the-father debate: Sean and Amanda both pick Pierce Brosnan; the director and screenwriter reportedly say Stellan Skarsgard, and Amanda offers a diary-order ovulation argument for the middle man.
“the middle person is going to be the closest to ovulation.”
fun, about
Mercy:
Reenacting the closing line: Pratt says we all make mistakes and learn, then the AI judge appears on a lobby screen and says yes, we do.
“Human or AI, we all make mistakes, and we learn.”
fun, about
Amy Adams:
The pair argue over whether Amy Adams is to blame for her roles, with a roll call of Hillbilly Elegy, Justice League, Woman in the Window and Dear Evan Hansen.
“Hillbilly Elegy Justice League, woman in the window.”
fun, about
Amanda Dobbins:
After Chris takes Top Gun first, Amanda announces she needs a meeting with herself, then admits she was being a petulant brat.
“I had to have a meeting with myself about not being a petulant brat for the rest of the thing”
fun, about
Downton Abbey: A New Era:
Amanda pitches it as Singin' in the Rain: Lady Mary dubs a silent star, and Lady Violet inherits a French Riviera house from a torrid affair.
“Lady Violet, a.k.a. the dowager countess, like had a torrid love affair, and she got left a house.”
fun, about
Minions: The Rise of Gru:
Amanda saw it alone at her childhood theater in Atlanta; a minions choir appears from nowhere and sings, which made her crack up.
“There's a minions choir that shows up from nowhere and they just start singing.”
fun, about
Jennifer Lopez: Halftime:
Amanda says cameras caught Lopez backstage devastated after losing the Golden Globe, the most defeated moment, and she's the third most thought-about 2022 movie.
“the most defeated, disappointed, like, I can't believe like I let you guys all down for a fucking golden globe”
fun, about
Steve Madden:
Dobbins tells of 90s Steve Madden four-inch chunky loafers on Long Island, towering over 13-year-old boys, and the pump-and-dump that sidelined him.
fun, about
Brad Pitt:
Opening of the film: old playoff footage, then Pitt alone in a stadium turning a radio on and off. Riveting because he holds the frame.
“him sitting alone in a stadium just turning a radio on and on. And it is riveting.”
fun, about
Challengers:
An audience member suggests Challengers as a sports movie they should have done; the hosts say it is not on the list and Amanda jokes about her own list.
fun, about
Spike Jonze:
Great cameo in a beautiful peaceful living room, in sandals; Amanda owned similar sandals at 15 and wore them in March to Long Island high school.
fun, about
Amanda Seyfried:
Sean's fan trivia: her Vogue get-ready-with-me discussing her eczema, a Jimmy Fallon clip singing Joni Mitchell, an Architectural Digest tour full of hiding places.
“doing her get ready with me, talking about her eczema.”
fun, about
Kinda Pregnant:
Amy Schumer steals a pregnancy bump from Hatch, the noise-machine company, pretending to be pregnant to keep up with her friend; one sex scene, harder than you'd expect.
fun, about
Babygirl:
The film opens on Kidman's orgasm sounds piped in loud; in one screening nobody made a noise for a long time, in another people laughed.
“And those sounds are like piped in loud and there's nothing else, no one else was making any noise for a very long time.”
fun, about
Secretary:
Jesse Eisenberg's date to Secretary: his future wife put her coat over her head the whole time and he decided he wanted to marry her.
“And I believe his wife was so uncomfortable that she just put her coat over her head throughout the thing and he says, and then I was like, wow, she's so weird.”
fun, about
Poor Things (toddler performance):
Amanda says Stone's baby-to-toddler stages matched her son Knox's development between viewings, six months apart.
“I was like, wow, we've really charted the development here over 6 months.”
fun, about
Poor Things (Lisbon):
The first section is black and white; the Lisbon title card cuts to color and the 'furious jumping'. Bella wears yellow silk shorts (maybe Victorian underwear) with white heeled ankle boots, costumes by Holly Waddington.
fun, about
Poor Things (the three things she can say):
At dinner Bella is told to say only 'delighted', 'how marvelous', and 'so flaky, so crisp' about the pastry, then yells that she must go punch a wailing baby.