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Elektra Boogaloo

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Posts posted by Elektra Boogaloo

  2. Posted

    I also think they very much play Edna's weight off for laughs throughout the musical as well as the whole "man in a dress" aspect. When it was Divine it wasn't just a man in a dress. Divine was a known figure for cross-dressing and to have her in that part was groundbreakingly amazing. To me, John Travolta being in that part shows how little our society understands the LGBTQ+ community. Divine wasn't there for laughs, but it felt like Travolta was.

     

    Sorry to have missed much of this discussion! You all know I love "Hairspray" and was talking about it as a better sequel to "Grease" than "Grease 2" in my mind, since it does more with the 60's counter culture.

     

    I see both sides of this debate about the casting of John Travolta. I know when he was initially cast there was a lot of backlash because Scientology is quite a homophobic religion. So it wasn't just that it was a straight man, but that it was a straight man who is part of this controversial religion.

     

    Also why can't we ever make a musical without John Travolta?

     

    I remember watching the movie and wishing they had cast someone else (because I knew Divine and Harvey Firestein as Edna and thought he was... not in that mold?) I mean, Travolta plays her a lot more naturalisticly. I think that's what the two sides of this argument are about. That is it better to have an LGBT actor be pointedly there or to play the character like a real woman. I think the point when he won me over was with his kind of adorable reactions Christopher Walken. Then I was like "Damnit, I ship them!"

     

    Anyway, since this movie came out I've read the "Going Clear" book and can say that Travolta is probably LGBT (my guess is pansexual, and is held hostage by the recordings of his audit sessions but that's just a guess), defends gay rights in his house to other Scientologists, and possibly this role spoke to him in the way "Can't Stop the Music" (I almost typed can't stop the beat!) spoke to Caitlin Jenner?

    • Like 4

  6. Posted

    So I spent all day today refreshing my podcast app wondering where the new episode was and only just realized that it is Thursday and not Friday.

     

    I came on the board and saw all the fighting about the paywall and was like, "Oh shit are they putting the new eps on Howl first now?" and I freaked out. But then I saw it says eps will be up for six months before they go behind the paywall. Phew. That seems kind of fair to me. I mean, I don't love it. I've been listening to old episodes over and over again lately. I had a depressive episode in November that hospitalized me. There is something kind of soothing about listening to happy, funny people talk for me. So I'm kind of bummed about my faves going away since insurance stuff is sapping all my funds recently (insurance companies: they all suck!).

     

    But I know other podcasts archive their old episodes (DLM, etc). I've certainly listened to the podcasts enough that I should be paying for them. But I can't right now. So I'll have to listen to the more recent ones or--god forbid--try something new.

     

    My therapist would probably say this is a good challenge for me. :P

     

    ETA: I also had to start group therapy for the first time ever and can also confirm from the "Color of Night" episode that it is nothing like that. So you're welcome on that front.

    • Like 8

  7. Posted

    This episode made me realize I kind of miss Q&As. I should just play Paul's Google rant all the time. I should clip it and just email it to people who ask me dumb questions at work.

     

    Next time we need a Howdy for Paul's Best Blockbuster Story. Think of some more, Paul.

     

    Still upset no award for "He's too small."

    • Like 4

  8. Posted

    The only complaint that I have is that under 'best audience abuse' one of the contenders wasn't from Deep Blue Sea. This exchange killed me:

    Guy makes bad pun about Rapport

    "BOOOOOOOO"

    "I'm taking a sticker back"

    'You treat your audience like children in a preschool'

    'Well IF THEY'RE GOING TO ACT LIKE IT'

     

    As someone that didn't listen to the Pete Holmes episode due to, ya know, screaming, this has been fun listening to these clips of that episode.

    Oh yeah, I loved that one.

     

    I also loved how, I think it was Jason said after the clip of the penis bit, "do you see what we mean" (or something to that effect). June wasn't there for that ep, so I think they are like, "See? We told you there was screaming." (Be cool! She doesn't listen to the podcast!)

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I will have more to say later, right now I am at my parents' for Christmas. But I wanted to address one GLARING issue now.

     

    Obviously there was a huge miscarriage of justice today. I am not sure how it happened, but I think we all need to reflect and take stock so that we never bring this shame to HDTGM, Earwolf and the world again. I am talking, of course, about the fact that Nicole Byer doesn't have a Howdy, yet they are heaping them on white, male Pete Holmes. Clearly, the "weirdos" have infiltrated the voting process somehow--possibly through the Bb8 that roams around June and Paul's home. (I don't want to get into what it's true mission is, but here is a teaser: white supremacy.)

     

    #howdysSoWhite #NicoleWasRobbed

     

    As for Jason, hey that's what happens when you don't vote. This is a lesson for us all. Plus he's clearly been phoning it in for the last few years. I'm glad I am not the Jason for my group.

    • Like 6

  11. Posted

    One thing I noticed during the Howdies that I didn't catch during the episode was that during the Pete Holmes Award (which sounds weird to say outside of Doug Loves Movies), when Pete makes the "club sandwich" joke, someone in the audience just goes, "Oh god." And it's the most perfect thing ever.

    I think that was Cameron!

     

     

    Yeah, I thought the whole "We're sorry for making you listen to Pete Holmes screaming at you," was a direct reference to all of the message board controversy.

     

    Paul is like. "Was this ep to loud?"

     

    8125011d3676776fd5bbc7aa0dcfbcf3.500x253x12.gif

    • Like 4

  13. Posted

    Paul's Best Intro Line

    98. LOL: Live! with Rob Huebel, Chelsea Peretti and John Flynn

    101. Xanadau: Live! with Michaela Watkins

    118. Furious 7: Live! with Adam Scott

    134. Can't Stop the Music: Live! with Pete Holmes and Cameron Esposito

    137: The Avengers: Live! with Tom Scharpling

     

    What I Learned from This Category: Paul saves his best material for the live shows. Not a single studio ep nominated.

     

    Best Metaphor or Simile

    93. Staying Alive: Live! with Katie Dippold

    101. Xanadau: Live! with Michaela Watkins (2nd Nomination)

    103. Zardoz with Brett Gelman

    137: The Avengers: Live! with Tom Scharpling (2nd Nomination)

    136. Hell Comes to Frogtown: Live with Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher

     

    What I Learned from This Category: "The Avengers' and "Xandau" are really awards darlings.

     

    June's Craziest Theories

    100. Junior (No Guest)

    108. Con Air: Live! with Seth Grahame Smith

    114. Runaway with Rhea Butcher

    118. Furious 7: Live! with Adam Scott (2nd Nomination)

    120. Masters of the Universe with Tatiana Maslany

     

    What I Learned from This Category: I don't think any of these theories are that crazy. Mirages are scary.

     

    Best Impression by a Guest

    102. Tango and Cash with Nick Kroll

    103. Zardoz with Brett Gelman (2nd Nomination)

    106. Deep Blue Sea: Live! with Evan Goldberg and Paul F. Tompkins

     

    What I Learned from This Category: If PFT had done a full episode as Werner Herzog--like he promised--he would've won this Howdy by now. He has no one to blame but himself.

     

    Pete Holmes Award for Best Dad Joke

    134. Can't Stop the Music: Live! with Pete Holmes and Cameron Esposito (2nd, 3rd, 4th nomination)

     

    Best Movie Scene Recreation

    106. Deep Blue Sea: Live! with Evan Goldberg and Paul F. Tompkins (2nd Nomination)

    107. Lake Placid: Live! with Nate Coddry and Paul F. Tompkins

    118. Furious 7: Live! with Adam Scott (3rd Nomination)

     

    What I Learned from This Category: ... Jason was robbed. But PFT should get an award for best substitute June because two of his eps were nominated.

     

    Best Host One-Liner

    99. A View to a Kill: Live! with Matt Gourley and Matt Mira

    104. Zardoz (part two with June Diane Raphael)

    130. Teen Witch with Deanna Cheng

    133. The Quest with Jon Gabrus

    137: The Avengers: Live! with Tom Scharpling (3rd Nomination)

    137: The Avengers: Live! with Tom Scharpling (4th Nomination)

     

    Best June is Mad as Hell Moment

    89. Gooby with Nathan Fielder

    96. Monkey Shines (No Guest)

    109. Face/Off: Live! with Randall Park

    124. Hackers (No Guest)

     

    Pete Holmes Award for Guest Laugh

    134. Can't Stop the Music: Live! with Pete Holmes and Cameron Esposito (5th nomination)

     

    What I Learned from This Category: Wow, this episode got nominated for a lot of awards. I don't know why it was so controversial on Reddit. :P

     

    Best Moment of Realization

    94. Glitter: Live! with Adam Scott, Casey Wilson and Dan Levy

    132. Bloodsport: Live! with Nicole Byer

    136. Hell Comes to Frogtown: Live with Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher (2nd Nomination)

     

    What I Learned from This Category: It's upsetting to me that Hell Comes to Frogtown has more nominations than Bloodsport.

     

    Grossest Sex Talk

    96. Monkey Shines (No Guest) (2nd Nomination)

    97. Rhinestone: Live! with Matt Jones

    121. Perfect: Live! with Seth Morris

    132. Bloodsport: Live! with Nicole Byer (2nd Nomination)

     

    What I Learned From This Category: Yay, more Bloodsport nominations. What a relief. Congratulations to Nicole.

    • Like 8

  15. Posted

    June may not remember the movies, but Paul seems to have trouble remembering who discussed a movie with him. During the death award, he says June was there for all of the episodes but she was only actually there for "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor". And I would argue that June shouldn't remember a lame death from that movie because IT NEVER HAPPENED.. She got HIV. But people can live a long time with HIV. Can we C&O the Howdys?

     

    Also he didn't know that neither June nor Jason was there for "Glitter."

     

    I'm a bit upset by this because it seems like Paul just churns out these podcasts and doesn't remember what happened. *sniffle* I thought he cared about us. But maybe this is how he saves brainspace, like June.

    • Like 4

  17. Posted

    It was briefly mentioned. I cried for days.

    Okay, phew. I needed to know you were all as upset as I was.

     

    Grease 2 → High School Musical → Zac Efron → Hairspray, the movie musical → Michelle Pfeiffer → Grease 2

     

    The circle of grease.

     

    VNpJgm.gif

    • Like 5

  20. Posted

    In the musical, the T-Birds are supposed to have a "rumble" (I love the word rumble) with the rival gang the Flaming Dukes (which is a hilarious name that makes me picture them as the Village People). Danny doesn't go because he has to go to track practice, and the T-Birds are disappointed. That's something that was cut from the movie which makes Danny's transition seem more real than the superficial one some posters have seen it as.

     

    But I digress! I think the Grease 2 T-Birds would get their asses handed to them by the Flaming Dukes. Can you imagine? I am and my mental image is hilarious.

     

    I bet Kenickie could've taken them all by himself.

    • Like 5

  21. Posted

    Okay. This is something that kind of stuck in my craw about her whole story. According to her avalanche of exposition in the opening scene, she failed out of beauty school and is now back in Rydell to "get my chemistry so I can mix my own cosmetics."

     

    In response, Michael says, "Makes sense."

     

    NO IT FUCKING DOESN'T.

     

    Like, maybe I'd buy that she was back to get her GED so she could go study Chemistry in college. But there's no way that a chemistry class in high school is going to be enough to teach her the shit she needs to know. I don't even really think that a college one would be super-applicable for making cosmetics, but I would at least be able to suspend disbelief a bit.

     

    Later, they go visit her in the high school chemistry lab, and it has this fucking ridiculous still setup. What school is she at that 1) has this kind of setup and 2) lets her fuck around with it with ZERO supervision?

     

    Side note: I rewatched the opening scene to be sure I had her quote right, and I just want to say that, "What are you going to be when you grow up?" "A burden on society" is a great fucking joke that actually made me laugh out loud.

    Oh my god. I Didn't even think about this. So she wants to mix cosmetics. IS she going to be a beautician or NOT? Like pick a side, movie.

     

    tumblr_nb7ipqrpjZ1qd4xnro2_500.gif

    • Like 6

  22. Posted

    On a slightly different note, after re-watching the first movie, I'm even more depressed about where Frenchie ends up. Yes, she tinted her hair pink, but she was able to give Sandy a very successful makeover. It seems like her failure at beauty school has less to do with her ability, and more that they had her working in the wrong genre--they were teaching her Classical while she excells at Rock and Roll. When Sandy transforms, we're also getting closure on Frenchie's storyline. Frenchie is going to be okay. She's going to be an excellent beautician, just as long as she continues to be herself. Having her end back up at Rydell seriously undermines that triumph.

    Oh my gosh, yes. The Frenchie in this movie is sad. She's back at HIGH SCHOOL. And I always thought that, yeah, she turned her hair pink in Grease 1 but it still looked pretty awesome. Then she helped Sandy. So that she was on her way to being like a cool beautician. And it was also a little bit about rejecting the high school norms (Beauty school dropout go back to high school). So sending her back is so depressing. Then cutting her out too!

     

    I still truly believe that Sandy fell somewhere in the middle of those two personalities. Certainly she wanted to rid herself of that image that was getting made fun of by the people that Frenchey brought her around, but I don't think that hardcore image at the end is exactly who she is either. Just like the letter jacket jock isn't who Danny is either, but of course we only remember her look because literally 2 seconds after Danny sees her he throws that dumb jacket out.

    A thought I had while reading this, which may apply to the above about sending Frenchie back: is it possible it is the school itself that is forcing people into roles that don't quite fit them? Like Rizzo isn't truly the bad ass bitch she pretends to be. Danny isn't a juvenile delinquent. Sandy isn't perfect Sandra Dee. Is there something about Rydell that wants to force them into boxes?

     

    Frenchey was my idol when I was a kid though. She was the one I was always focused on (I mean Rizzo is always the character you want to play because I sang "There Are Worst Things I Could Do" non fuckin' stop) and she was the one I wanted to dress like. That pink hair was fuckin' iconic. It looked so gd beautiful and it's everything I've wanted.

    I wanted to be Rizzo so badly. I should also point out the oddness of that. Like a seventh grade me hoping to one day be cool enough to have a pregnancy scare.

     

    Then, when she opens the door (presumably to begin her new career as battlefield nurse - I didn't realise that nurse hats were part of the bomb shelter kit), the other dufuses fall in (who were for some reason going to get off listening to their buddy rape his girlfriend??!?!?!?!), Sharon realises she's been tricked, everyone laughs, Louis falls down from blue balls. The biggest problem I have with this is the next time we see Sharon and Louis, they're sharing a motorbike, as though nothing happened.

    Yeah I really wanted a musical number about her reporting him to the cops for wrongful imprisonment and attempted rape.

    • Like 6

  23. Posted

     

    That's funny you brought all this up because I was thinking something along the same lines. After watching Grease 2, I went back and watched the original (no contest, waaaaaaaay better) and I didn't have the same issue with Sandy's transformation as I've had in the past. In fact, I found it kind of endearing. I think what changed my mind on it was, just before the finale, she is watching Danny win at Thunder Road, and there is a quick "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" reprise. What I never noticed in the lyrics before is she sings, "Look at me, there has to be, something more than what THEY see" I don't know why, but this line makes a world of difference to me in terms of interpreting the ending.

     

    The lyrics are:

     

    Look at me, there has to be

    Something more than what they see

    Wholesome and pure, oh, so scared and unsure

    A poor man's Sandra Dee

     

    Sandy, you must start anew

    Don't you know, what you must do

    Hold your head high, take a deep breath and sigh

    Goodbye to Sandra Dee

     

    There's also the bit where she's the one kicking him around in the "You're the One that I Want" number. (Which was originally

    for the musical.)

     

    But then, I am assuming that since Sandy is positioned as watching the action on her own, she is thinking that she wants to be part of the group not just Danny's girlfriend. It depends on how it is staged. It would be interesting if they had her hear Rizzo's "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", though I have never seen it done that way. Usually Rizzo is alone and Sandy is alone.

     

    Michael may transform into a biker, but he's still a hot nerd that is Stephanie's friend. Michael gets to see Stephanie not just as the coolest girl in school, but the bad English student and someone who will put herself out there for her friends in a talent show she doesn't give a shit about.

    Hmm. I will have to think on this some more.

     

    I do agree that Stephanie is more who a young girl would want to be. But, like, I'd also rather be Michelle Pfeiffer over Olivia Newton John.

    • Like 5

  24. Posted

    I'm listening to it again. Paul really wants to talk about the

    number, which always upset me as a kid. That guy totally became a serial rapist when he grew up. Who fakes nuclear war and thinks it's funny?

     

    It's stuff like that which makes me wonder if this version really is more empowering for girls (as June asserts) than the first movie. Like I never found Sandy's transformation at the end to be totally satisfying--again because it's like she becomes a different person as June said. In a way it's fun because the whole movie has basically been the Greasers being cooler than the Patty Simcoxes of the world and such. (Plus we had Rizzo who had her own sexual agency and didn't need Kenickie and all that. ) So we root for her to become friends with that group. But I want her to be more like the Sandy in the "Summer Loving" number--which is not poodle-skirt, uptight Sandy. She was kissing a boy she barely knew. I don't believe Danny's interpretation that they had sex but they must've fooled around a bit.

     

    So it's like when she's in school, she's not really being herself either. And the Greaser chick look at the end also isn't her. (I should also acknowledge that in Grease 1 it is shown that Danny is willing to transform himself for Sandy but getting the letterman sweater and looking like a nerd. He just shucks it as soon as he sees her. So they are both as committed to the relationship, which might not be seen as the case in Grease 2. Stephanie doesn't do anything for whatshisname that I recall. She is just his ideal from the start. So in a *way* he is also tricking her into falling for him the same way our Do It For Your Country rapist is.)

     

    Ugh. I don't know. I need Taylor Anne to do a this week in feminism on this one.

    • Like 6

  25. Posted

    Adrian Zmed facts: He ORIGINATED the role of Danny Zuko in the Broadway production of GREASE.

    (I've had a lifelong boner for Adrian Zmed)

     

    I saw him play Danny Zuko in the touring company of Grease. (Sally Struthers was the principal and she stole the show.) After having rather disliked him in "Grease 2", I found the scene where Sandy closes the door to the car on his dick rather satisfying. Ha ha.

     

    and now that the T-birds are a biker gang, what are the rules or charter as I think they call it?

     

    This bothers me so much. I don't know why I care so. But in "Grease" the T-Birds (or the Burger Palace Boys, as they were called in the original musical) drove cars. When they soup the car in "Greased Lightning" it's one of my favorite songs, so when they are all about motorcycles in Grease 2 it confused the heck out of me. I wonder if they were trying to get some of the cool "Easy Rider" sixties motorcycle vibe--since this one is set in the 60s not the 50s like everyone assumes.

     

    Which begs the question, which movie fails more at being as cool as "Easy Rider"? Grease 2 or Easy Rider 2?

     

    I do like Michelle Pfeiffer in this. Although I don't love "Cool Rider" just because I didn't thinks he was that great a singer. I was much more impressed with her in "Hairspray" (which, as I said in the minisode thread, is the better version of this. A musical about 60s counter culture with actual black people and mod clothing!)

     

     

     

    I love that June loves this movie. I want them to do Lady Hawk and whatever Paul's favorite movie as a kid was, because it's fun to poke holes in people's childhoods' for me.

     

    I think she is right that this one has a better message for the ladies. I love the Rizzo character but I dislike how they immediately pick on Sandy, and how they treat Patty Simcox, like she's such and asshole.

     

    I'm also really glad that Anna was there to comment on the balls. Now we know June isn't into buns or balls. Update your charts, nerds!

     

    ETA: Surprised some people didn't like Anna. I know she didn't have much to say, but I love her brother-sisterly relationship with Jason. You should definitely listen to his episode of her podcast if you haven't already. She's clearly just there to hang out.

    • Like 6
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