GrahamS.

Haha, sweet! I know what I’m watching this weekend!

When this film came out, I was 33, which is ten more numbers than 23. I turn 46 this month, which like you said, is 23 twice. It’s been 13 years since 2007 and look at our luck this year! IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!

Well shit, since Paul himself brought this movie up in the 2:22 episode, I have to ask WHY THE HELL HAVEN’T THEY DONE THIS YET??? it’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie, but I remember it being every bit as insane as this preview suggests.

I will agree that the ending—in both the play and the movie—would have been better if it had been a mix: Audrey gets tragically eaten, Seymour escapes but it doesn’t matter because then you establish that the earth is fucked. That’s what shocked me when I saw the play—I figured Audrey was gonna die but was blown away when Seymour gets killed, too. It is an insanely downbeat ending but the play is VERY faithful to the plot of the original movie. I’ve seen this so many times I can recite dialogue, but still the scene where Audrey squeaks when Seymour tells her he named the plant Audrey Ii made me laugh nonstop for the better part of a minute. It’s too bad Ellen Greene didn’t appear in more comedies—she fucking nails it!

I watched the director’s cut on HBO and loved it. Honestly, I think it works so much better. Not only does it capture the play’s ending, but it has AMAZING puppetry. Truly, Frank Oz’s masterwork (although I enjoy Bowfinger as well, but no singing plants in that one). i get that it’s a bleak ending that goes against typical musical tropes, but that’s what makes it work so well. I’ve seen the play performed two years ago (and it was excellent—it’s amazing what they can do with puppetry onstage. Also, the singer for Audrey II definitely had a Levi Stubbs-type vibe and did it really well). It was the first time I’d seen the original ending and it was shocking (although I’d heard how it ended before and knew that Oz hated the studio version). I’ve known several people throughout the years that have found the “happy” ending fun but... also feeling that it was a LITTLE unintentionally racist (these have all been white people who have expressed this opinion to me, by the way). I go back and forth on this, but it is true that it’s slightly cringey that the principal Black character is a) the villain and b)killed by a white man who is not exactly innocent. Although the leads are SUPER charming, that doesn’t change the fact that Seymour is guilty of manslaughter, twice. It feels a little weird that the white dude can go happily off to suburbia. It’s as well-done as a test-mandated happy ending can be, but it does feel a little off. but maybe I just feel the human race deserves to be destroyed by blood-hungry plants! Also, I think Grudian didn’t like the dentist stuff. Disagree 1,000,000%. I love the movie but Steve Martin has my favorite musical number and this is one of my favorite performances of his, because it’s so different. The Bill Murray scene is great. For me, in a movie filled with highly entertaining shit, it very nearly ran away with it. By the way, I saw this in movie theaters. Like 3 times. When I was 12!

I watched the first 5-10 minutes of this last night and had to stop. The entertainment level to assaultive stupidity ratio was so bad that I turned it off. I believe the entertainment level was zero and the assaultive level was 20 (how many quick cuts does a movie need?). I also believe that this ratio illustrates that I don’t know how math works. I made it to where he was zipping through traffic on his bike without a helmet and was actively hoping he’d a)traumatize an elderly person crossing the street, b)accidentally plow through some large windows being carried by construction workers, and/or c) get hit by a cab or bus. When he made it safely to air traffic control(???) I said fuck you movie and watched Extra Ordinary instead.

Umm, did you know that the MTV Movie Awards Clip was followed by an 85 minute French film called Les Babysitters? I didn’t watch it, I’m just going to let it live on in my imagination. Was it art porn or a foreign documentary about babysitters? either probably would have been preferable to what preceded it.

I know it’s too late to make an official suggestion for Unspooled, but The Spectacular Now is really good, if you haven’t seen it.

I did join the Spoolies FB group to see what the group was like, so I won’t vote again here because that seems unfair. I enjoyed the movie but I didn’t vote for it because there are so many high school movies and this one didn’t have the emotional resonance—for me—that other movies like Fast Times, The Spectacular Now, Booksmart, or several others have had. Also, I have a question about how the new list is being compiled. Doesn’t it seem really premature by starting the list off by deciding what should DEFINITELY be on it? A)we don’t know what other movies we’ll be talking about (besides the back-to-school ones) so it’s difficult to have any perspective, b) it seems like we should come up with a rough draft of a list and then vote. Perhaps Amy and Paul are intending it to be a rough draft, but I’m unclear on what the guidelines are. I would be more inclined to vote for something like Mean Girls as a candidate for the list than as something that HAS to be included from the jump.

I just watched that the other night. I just got an urge to watch weird art house horror movies and support them onVOD. I watched Relic and I’ll Die Tomorrow, the directorial debut of Amy Seimetz. I liked them both, although they’re not exactly fun COVID-era viewing. Truth be told, I’m still 1/2 hour from the end of I’ll Die Tomorrow, so I don’t know how it ends yet, but I doubt that it will be happy. Although the film is fucking weird, so who knows?

I have seen that on Amazon, I think? Will have to watch it on a night when I don’t want to have to actively think about anything. Which could be very soon!

Directors cut of the 1986.version is on HBO or HBO MAX, with a fully restored ending. I will try to watch this and Stop Making Sense this week—I’ve been tied up with work drama that is thankfully resolved.

This is not a “so-bad-it’s-good” pick. I LEGIT LOVE THIS FUCKED-UP MOVIE. It is a hoot. The acting is excellent, the cast is amazing, and the plot is such a genre-bending mixture of extreme violence, dysfunctional family dynamics and cringey interactions that it feels like a Coen Brothers Movie on PCP. As a bonus, it also gets funnier the further you get into it. It would be fun to hear the gang’s reactions. The plot, as far as I dare to describe it: Elijah Wood has received a letter from his long-lost father (whom he hasn’t seen for over 30 years). Eager for reconciliation, he tracks his father (played by Pontypool’s Stephen McHattie) down in a remote cabin. His father does not seem pleased to see him, however, and this extremely strained reunion rapidly deteriorates within the first third of the film. That’s the jumping-off point for a fucking wild roller coaster ride that somehow manages to stay on track through plot twists that would derail most movies. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re attuned to it’s wavelength, it’s pretty unforgettable. I haven’t laughed so hard while cringing in a long time. And you will never view pens or BBQ forks the same way again.

I would agree that Wood’s character is WAY too weird and desperate in the first half, but also think it’s a really good performance. It gives the film some surprising emotional weight.

I think both systems have their pluses and minuses. Metacritic’s biggest minus is that RT covers a surprising amount of film/TV. While RT might not provide a ton of reviews for a film made in the 1940s–say The Maltese Falcon, for example—it will at least have SOMETHING. Unfortunately for Metacritic, if the film/album/videogame/etc. came out before approx the year 2000, you’ll have a hard time finding it on the site.

Great choice! Was also one of the movies I was tempted to pick for my last choices.

I just watched that preview. Holy fucking shit. Would make an interesting double feature with Hudson Hawk.

I’ve never seen this but I remember it was a massive commercial/critical flop RIGHT AFTER The Sixth Sense. Sixth Sense was in the summer, this came out in the fall amongst much more iconic movies like Being John Malkivich, Fight Club, etc.

This deserves a bump. It’s not a “bad” movie but it is fucking insane and it’s incredibly trippy. It has an insanely convoluted plot with William Hurt giving a performance that varies from charmingly uptight asshole to psychotically uptight asshole. It’s an ambitious mix of art house sci-fi/horror with an over-the top, exceptionally well-made b-movie. The best parts of the movie are such a sensory assault that you just roll with it. Plus there’s body horror, a primate rampage, and cultural appropriation all before the third act even starts! It’s such a unique roller-coaster ride (BTW, the film is fully aware of how ridiculous it all is and subverts itself so often that it is genuinely unpredictable) that I could see it being covered on HDTGM or Unspooled, but I’ll suggest it here. Now streaming on HBO Max.

I’ve heard of it. Sounds interesting!

I agree! One of the most entertaining releases I’ve seen this summer. A welcome break from stress. i would just recommend NOT watching the preview and go into the movie cold.

When I first used Paul’s text line, i recommended Color Out of Space (which was produced by Mandy’s producers), and he responded, saying he knew about Color and he hinted about a project that he was involved in. At the time, I thought he might be doing working on a special for HDTGM or Unspooled with the producers, but MAYBE he was referring to this movie? Honestly, it was a short text, so who knows, but I’ll add this to the rumor pile!

Yeah, I haven’t listened to most of the back catalogue of minis. The regular eps themselves took a long time to get through.

I was excited to just have my C&O be read on the episode! Thanks Paul!

Yeah, some of us raised this point in a different thread. A lot of comedies—especially “edgy” ones—rely on gay panic or other problematic issues for laughs. That didn’t really start changing until maybe the last five years, approximately. The same goes for anything that uses “edgy” humor, which includes this podcast. I also have Stitcher and have listened to the back episodes and have thought “oof, that wouldn’t fly today” in parts (since I work in special ed, I remember Jason used to say “retarded” semi-frequently. I would just roll my eyes and acknowledge that it was a different time period). Having said that, they have changed with the times and a lot of those older episodes are still very funny—you just have to be ready for those moments where the comedy risks being offensive and decide whether or not it’s still worth listening to.