Leaderboard

You know an actor is electrifying when you sit through an entire credit sequence just to watch them do nothing. We watched:

I hope after watching this we will all be a little bit more polite with our drive through orders

Yes. I think he said on Conan or somewhere that they were allowed to improvise to a degree and that conversation was pretty much just them riffing.

For a split second, I thought she might say yes...but it wasn't that kind of a movie. I liked it overall. I think the 2 leads were fine and I like a good road trip flick. The Fast & Furious dialogue - that was all Jason, right?

I think Richard’s proposal in the diner may just be the cringiest moment since Favreau’s repeated phone messages in Swingers.

Did anyone else notice that in the beginning of the movie, Richard says something like "in my 35 years on this planet," but then later he says that he met the love of his life when he was 15 years old, which was 25 years ago, making him 40.

I guess Richard got money by maybe selling Nat's stuff and the car? He seemed to have no problem with money at the end but the entire movie he was flat broke.

I totally agree. Nat is so young and inexperienced, he's bound to change a lot in school, whether he pursues photography or not, but that is a totally different movie. For Richard, I would have liked a more definitive statement about where he is going, if not exactly where he ends up. It would have been nice to see him more affected by his time spent with Nat at the end.

First of all, thanks to everyone for participating in this diversion from form. I really appreciate it, especially since we weren't able to organize or connect with a Rabb.it screening. Anyway, I think Nat was sort of an undercover loose cannon, or at least someone given to spontaneous behavior. First, he lets Richard into his car and into his life after just seeing him get fired in a very loud confrontation. This man is clearly unbalanced, but Nat is up for letting him join the ride, even as Richard begins to down beers in the car minutes after meeting Nat. Second, it was NAT who encouraged Richard to seek out his high school love, which is a CRAZY idea. Maybe that's more born out of naivete because he's lived a very sheltered life, but it does she potential for him to make spur-of-the-moment, risky, emotional decisions, even if he is not as explosive as Richard. And to @Cameron H.'s initial comment about watching Richard at the counter, I think that speaks to how much I like the characters in this movie. I too watched Mantzoukas just sit there and do nothing because I enjoyed spending time with these people so much, even if the narrative itself was, admittedly, rather weak. It was a character study and it worked, not the way a Hal Ashby movie like The Last Detail does, but I still enjoyed it.

I guess by “ambiguity” I just mean I don’t know where Nat’s journey goes from there. Like, did he establish his art philosophy or not? What is it? He doesn’t look happy. Is he going to drop out of school? As far as Richard, yeah, I think you’re right, but I found that unsatisfying. I guess I wanted Richard’s journey to be a bit more dynamic. The movie ends with him (apparently) changing very little. Nat has changed, but I don’t know to what degree. That’s where I’d want closure. Something to show me how he’s changed and not just “he’s not the same as he used to be.”

I enjoyed the ending. The stealing of Francois' car was satisfying to me. Also I took the very end as Richard didn't really change at all, he just went straight to the slots and moving his life to Vegas (where certainly his wild nature would be uninhibited). Nat continues on his journey, walking on to the train, to keep moving forward. It didn't seem all that ambiguous to me! I do agree that a little more pre-story would have been helpful in fleshing the characters/story out a little more though.

This was a debate I was having with myself after the movie, should we have seen more of Nat before he met Richard? I think that's where the problem was coming from for me. Richard was so out there and such a wild card that most any person would shrink back a little. Who's to say that Nat when talking with the Taissa Farmiga isn't who he was before the trip. Was that him being himself without Richard being around or was that him actually growing a bit? I couldn't tell. I also agree about the ending.

I was with Richard 100% in that scene. Nat was showing terrible drive-thru etiquette.

I didn’t really feel it was coming out of nowhere. He had been getting more and more aggravated as the movie went on, and I think after losing his car, and then his camera and possessions because he trusted Richard (again), he was just done. I think I was a bit let down by the end, though. I’m not really sure where the characters are at the end - metaphorically speaking. I get the ambiguity was kind of the point, but I felt unsatisfied. I guess I wanted a little more closure.

I thought sure he was going to declare his love for the casino waitress before the credits ended. Not sure if I am happy I was wrong.

In all seriousness though, I had a conversation with my brother, who is a mental health counselor, about the very topic of suicidally depressed people who are very kind and seem outwardly positive. Within days of Brody taking his own life, I heard a public radio story about a college basketball player who exhibited these tendencies to the letter and ended up committing suicide as well. In the case of the athlete, his peers and his family were totally shocked that he would do such a thing, totally oblivious to his symptoms. A lot of that has to do with the culture of athletics and the community he grew up in, both of whom tend to sweep such problems under the rug. So it behooves all of us to reach out to people who are hurting, to make them feel recognized and appreciated, at least so they know they have some place to go to for help. Thank you all for doing that here.

He doesn’t score Conan? id say the boys patience is running pretty thin and they’ve all but moved on at this point, preferring to interact with the talented Jordan. But what happens when Kevin is unable to secure Conan as a guest like he’s promised time and time again... sweep him back to boy on the street gigs fir improve4humans? Is his career in Hollywood completely over? Will he be operating duck boats at the Wisconsin dells this summer? should be interesting

I did! Honestly, I just chalked it up to Richard's scatterbrained nature. Like, he loves The Fast and Furious movies, but has no idea that they made more after the third one.

I'll jump in because I think, based on Letterboxd anyway, I probably enjoyed the movie the least. I still enjoyed it and would rate it positive overall I just really didn't like the last 15 minutes or so. Nat's turn just felt more forced because he's suppose to have changed than actually motivated by actual character changing. He just goes a little too hard in too fast and then after initiating the stealing back of the stuff and leading the breaking in, but then go back to unsure to jumping in the fight into the fight just seemed a bit much to me. I could buy it a bit more if his character had slowly been changing over the course of the film, but it just seemed to all come on a bit to quick and convenient for me. Yes he was robbed at gunpoint and a kind lady shared her world view but he shouldn't have been that changed or charged to where he was out Jason-ing Richard.

Hi Paul & all, Long time listener, first time poster and hesitant to do so but the minisode struck a personal nerve and I feel compelled to educate. The updated terminology is “died by suicide” not “committed suicide” since the word “committed” implies the person did something immoral or sinful. A simple way to minimize the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide is to be mindful of the words one uses in speaking about it. Thank you for spreading awareness and providing resources for those struggling, but please be mindful of the words being used.

We love you, Snakes! You’ve been a wonderful addition to our nerdy, little family here

Great stuff jay. Superb content.

The Second World War Came to an end We forgave the Germans And then we were friends Though they murdered six million In the ovens they fried The Germans now, too Have God on their side

If Dalton Wilcox' books were at B. Dalton, I think Walton Dilcox should look for his books at D. Balton.