DrGuts1003

I wanted to talk about their romance as well...I found a People Magazine article from March 1994 (the movie came out in November of that year) and it goes into detail about how their romance blossomed while on set. Here are some excerpts from the article: "The meeting, apparently, had the feeling of fate. “I knew it the second I met him,” says Alyssa. “I called my mom and told her, ‘This is the man I’m gonna marry.’ ” Scott couldn’t have agreed more. “I could have asked her to marry me two weeks after we met,” he says. “I’m convinced we’re like two halves of the same soul.” Their particular brand of puppy love is on display wherever they go. “It’s nice when other people notice,” says Wolf. “People get all oogily around us.” Oogily? “That’s our word,” explains Alyssa. We’re talking terminal cuteness here. To her, he’s Love Bug; he calls her Angel Face. True, Scott, who graduated from George Washington University with a finance degree before pursuing acting, was “very, very content to be single” at the time of their first meeting, he says. But a week later the two went to a dance club with film-crew members and “started playing these stupid games like 20 Questions,” recalls Alyssa. “After that we played Truth or Dare, and someone dared us to kiss. I wanted to slip that guy 20 bucks.” Scott’s resistance quickly faded. “It didn’t hurt that she was incredibly cute,” he says of his intended. “Yeah, I was physically attracted to her. I don’t know how you can be a human male and not be.” At the end of the Cleveland location shoot, a bereft Milano returned to her home in Los Angeles and wrote a page-and-a-half poem about Scott, who had five more days of shooting left. “It was real sappy,” she says. “It could have been a Hallmark card.”" "In August (1993), Scott moved into Milano’s two-bedroom, Spanish-style house in the San Fernando Valley. Then, just before Halloween, he surprised her with a 1940’s-vintage diamond engagement ring hidden in a pumpkin. After he proposed (on one knee) and she accepted, they decorated the gourd with a carved heart and the legend “Alyssa loves Scott.” “I got the ring,” she says. “I figured I’d better write that.” But my favorite quote comes at the end of the article: "She also lets people know that, cuteness aside, what she wants is a serious thing. “I really don’t want people to look at this as another couple who met on a film set,” she says. Not a chance, seconds Scott. “This is anything but that. You can interview us 25 years from now—and we’ll prove it.”" It's now 25 years since the movie came out. How'd that work out Scott?

Another joke that the hosts (yup, still referring to Paul, Jason, and June as "the hosts") missed is when a news anchor mentions that the river has caught on fire again, which is a reference to the Cuyahoga River which has caught on fire at least a dozen times including famously in 1969 when both Time Magazine and National Geographic did a news story on it and it led to the creation of the EPA. The Cuyahoga River is in Cleveland, which is where Double Dragon was filmed.

I’m thinking the podcast should be called ‘Trashcan Fire’.

I think they recorded last year’s Christmas movie episode around Halloween so it may be too late to suggest a film for this year’s holiday episode, but nonetheless I still recommend they do The Night They Saved Christmas, a made for TV movie from the 80s. It stars Art Carney and June Lockhart as Santa and Mrs. Claus, Jacklyn Smith as the mom, and a young Scott Grimes as the lead kid. It’s about Santa trying to stop an evil oil company from drilling at the North Pole.

I know the corrections and omissions are meant for the main show, but I wanted to point out that Grace Jones’s May Day from A View to a Kill was not the Bond villain with killer thighs (although it wouldn’t surprise me if she has killed people with her legs before). It was actually Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen) in Goldeneye.

Here’s the Fantasy Island trailer that Paul talked about in this week’s minisode.

I just came across a site that contains a full early draft of Body of Evidence that includes several things that got changed once they actually filmed the movie including: Madonna filming one of her lovemaking sessions with Willem Dafoe and using the tape to blackmail him. Frank Langella’s bisexuality being discovered during cross-examination of him, not during Madonna taking the stand. Anne Archer confronting Willem Dafoe in the parking garage after the trial, high on cocaine, yet giving him information that makes him realize that Madonna was guilty. There’s also a scene where Willem Dafoe(who was named Dulaney in this early draft) tries having rough sex with his wife and here’s the dialogue from that: It’s a full script, so it’s a long read, but for anyone interest in the process this story went through, it’s worth checking out.

They don’t really get caught, yet they are not really subtle about their relationship either. I mean, why exactly is he going to dinner with Madonna? This happens very early in the case, so they have no reason to celebrate yet. I know this is pre-social media and even pre-OJ trial, but I have to believe that a lawyer going to dinner with his client, who is accused of killing her millionaire lover, would attract some attention.

After Unforgettable, we have another movie that ends with the female villain in a flowy, all white outfit. You just knew she would be shot and become a bloody mess when she appeared in that outfit. There seems to be a lot of odd connections like that in these tour films after the hosts brought up the houseboat connection between this and DDF.

The hosts kept talking about how that was Willem Dafoe’s stepson that we see early on in the film, but I don’t recall anything explicitly said that would indicate he is not actually his own son. The awkwardness of their conversation seemed more a case of Dafoe being the stereotypical clueless, workaholic dad. The one thing I did notice, however, is when Dafoe and his son leave the restaurant, the kid puts on a Chicago Bulls hat. That is a bold move considering they live in Portland and the Trail Blazers had just just to the Bulls in the NBA Finals in 1992. I assume we never see the kid again for the rest of the film because he was beaten to death by the repressed residents of Portland who weren’t having kinky sex as a way of releasing their energy and frustration.

The judge’s name is Mabel Burnham. Is this meant to be a warning to Willem Dafoe that Madonna “may burn him”, either figuratively by helping her get away with murder (allegedly) or literally with the candle wax? Also, I was glad to see the hosts love the judge so much, but was disappointed they didn’t mention the one moment where she yelled “Keep your rude mouths shut or get out of my courtroom!” to the people watching the trial. Rude mouths? I guess lightly murmuring when big revelations occur is considered rude.

Can someone help me on the joke and/or symbolism of why Joe Mantegna gives Willem Dafoe the last doughnut during that pre-trial hearing?

If I’m in the minority, I’ll shut up, but personally, I would prefer the actual episode be left as uncut and whole as possible rather than getting these “deleted scenes” in the minisodes. I mean, I get cutting dead air during the time when Paul is walking from the balcony (those monsters) back to the stage, but otherwise leave every joke/comment in the actual episode. Even if it is not fall down hilarious, I would still rather hear it than have an episode hacked all to pieces. I feel like the StarCrash episode was particularly choppy and difficult to contextualize at times.

Although my posts weren’t poached by callers this week, I was still dismayed that neither my discussion on the A. Friend reveal nor the Happy To Be Me doll were discussed by Paul on this week’s episode. I thought both had the potential for good discussion/jokes. Oh well, I’ll try again next week.

I actually thought that phone call was going to play a key role in the mediation hearing. Part of Demi Moore’s testimony to prove that Douglas harassed her was that she was so angry and upset after he left her office. I figured Douglas’ lawyer would question why she would bother calling his house and tell him about the meeting time if she was so affected by what he had supposedly done to her.

Actually he doesn’t play The Game until three years later.

Even though it was a small moment in the film, I was surprised that the "Happy to be me Barbie" was not discussed in this episode. When Michael Douglas and Dennis Miller's wives are at dinner, they are discussing whether or not to get such an item for the daughter for Christmas. I thought that this was maybe a joke, but there is some reality to this item. A "Happy to be me" doll exists, but it was not made by Mattel (the company that makes Barbie). It was designed to be the anti-Barbie. Here's a picture of the doll: On the back of the packaging it says "Let's face it. Girls don't grow up to have fashion doll bodies. The "Happy To Be Me" doll gives your child a more realistic model of the female anatomy. Our doll doesn't look like a fashion doll because real women don't have pinched waists, tiny feet, and legs disproportionately long for their bodies. Real women move and bend their arms and legs. So does the "Happy To Be Me" doll. And that makes her more fun. She can read a book, ride a bike and wave goodbye. Ultimately, we believe playing with the "Happy To Be Me" doll will help your child grow up to be happier with who she is." The doll debuted back in 1991 by a company called High Self-Esteem Toys Corp. A year after the initial doll's debut, her creator, Cathy Meredig, who had poured $90,000 of her own money into manufacturing the line, started developing dolls of different races and ethnicities as well. I could not find any evidence that it is still in existence today and clearly kids were not interested in playing with a more "realistic" doll (Although I am not sure how "realistic" it is when its thighs still do not touch and its measurements still come out to be 36-27-38). But if you are still interested in buying one for your kid, you can still buy one of these dolls on ebay for about $13.

And one other thing...why go through with the subterfuge of blocking your email address, only to sign it with the name of the person whose email address you are using? And this is 1994...so are you telling me that either this chemistry student or his mom had enough technical know-how to send emails without displaying the sender’s address?

Perhaps it is explained better in the novel, but within the context of this movie the reveal that “A Friend” is the son of the other female employee who gets the promotion at the end of the film makes no sense. There are several scenes where Michael Douglas gets an email referencing things that just recently happened and would only have been known by someone who was near Douglas and working for the company. How is a student at the University of Washington aware of any of these happenings? And, more importantly, why would he care? It even strains believability to assume his mom is telling him what to write in these emails.

As someone who enjoys craft beer (but would never quit my cushy job to start my own brewery) I researched the name Copper Mountain Brewery and it turns out such a company exists out of Indiana. Here is a picture of one of their beers. I’m not sure how they could use the same name unless “Copper Mountain Brewing” is considered different from “Copper Mountain Brewery”. Using Copper Mountain as the name of his brewery is also a bit odd as the Copper Mountains are in Colorado not California. Most craft breweries tend to choose a name that is somehow associated with the area where they are making the beer. The only association I could find between Copper Mountain and California was a community college called Copper Mountain College near Joshua Tree. Maybe that’s where Tessa got her degree that will allow her to get a job.

I wish the film had been more consistent with its own internal logic. During the first Copper Mountain Brewery event after Tessa gives her speech, one of the other investors’ wives points out to Julia that Tessa won’t even actually take a sip of the beer because she doesn’t want the calories. But throughout the rest of the film we see Tessa drinking copious amounts of wine. As you can see in the infographic below, while wine does not have quite as many calories as beer, it is certainly not a calorie-free beverage. We also see Tessa have two margaritas at lunch with Julia. According to nutritionaction.com “Most restaurant chains’ mojitos, Moscow mules, and margaritas deliver 200 to 300 calories. Chili’s Strawberry or Mango Patrón Margarita hits 360. But a classic margarita—tequila, lime, triple sec—in a small glass cuts most of the sugar and hovers around 200 calories.” And how have we not talked about Tessa vaping yet?!? For a woman so consumed with beauty, she sure has a lot of unhealthy habits.

I felt the extended timeline in this film was unnecessary and created more problems for the story. This film seemingly takes place over a six month period. Seemingly Katherine Heigl sets her plan to ruin Rosario Dawson’s life in action fairly quickly. If so, this would mean that Heigl is spending a lot of time establishing a fake relationship with Vargas. And I have a hard time believing that Vargas would just be cool having a 6 month virtual relationship with Julia after she put out a restraining order on him. He seems like the type who would want to find her immediately to either sleep with her or physically abuse her. Also, are we to believe that no one else came across Julia’s Facebook account. I’m constantly getting asked if I want to be friends with people who I barely have any connection to and yet her fake account seemingly goes unnoticed by everyone else. Surely Whitney Cummings or another one of her ChapterPad friends had to have gotten a notification that she was now on Facebook.

This straight-to-VHS ripoff of Home Alone involving a boy fending off three inept crooks with his remote control toys including this bizarre German doll with a Hitler mustache seems perfect for the HDTGM crew.

Seeing that pic of young Nate reminded me...did anyone else think that Jane looked more like the grown up version of that kid than the guy playing adult Nate?

At one point Johann says the the problem with June's teeth is that she has 'fluorosis' which I had never heard before, but after doing some research is an actual malady. And June and Jason's point about June being the victim of neglect as a child seems to have merit based on what WebMD says about fluorosis. Fluorosis is described as "a cosmetic condition that affects the teeth. It’s caused by overexposure to fluoride during the first eight years of life. Fluorosis first attracted attention in the early 20th Century. Researchers were surprised by the high prevalence of what was called “Colorado Brown Stain” on the teeth of native-born residents of Colorado Springs. The stains were caused by high levels of fluoride in the local water supply. Although fluorosis is not a disease, its effects can be psychologically distressing and difficult to treat. Parental vigilance can play an important role in preventing fluorosis. A major cause of fluorosis is the inappropriate use of fluoride-containing dental products such as toothpaste and mouth rinses. Sometimes, children enjoy the taste of fluoridated toothpaste so much that they swallow it instead of spitting it out. But there are other causes of fluorosis. For example, taking a higher-than-prescribed amount of a fluoride supplement during early childhood can cause it. So can taking a fluoride supplement when fluoridated drinking water or fluoride-fortified fruit juices and soft drinks already provide the right amount." WebMD also states that only 1% of all cases of fluorosis are considered severe, which is what June's case would be described as. To have such a severe case, my guess is that June's parents were giving her fluoride supplements with the same regularity that Arno's mom gives him holiday snacks.