Episode 82 — Double Team

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Owen Burke of Owen & TJ Read the News joins Paul, June, and Jason to discuss Van Damme & Rodman in 1997’s Double Team. They cover everything from the tiger tipping off Mickey Rourke at the amusement park, to Rodman’s basketball zingers, to the cyber monks, to being saved from a colosseum explosion with the help of a Coke machine. People of Los Angeles, make sure to get tickets for the added 10pm LIVE How Did This Get Made? on Friday, March 14th at Largo! Get tickets at www.largo-la.com Also, grab yourself a copy of Paul’s comic book Aliens Vs. Parker now available at www.amazon.com!

[wonderboy 26]

I didn't know Van Damme & Rodman made a porno...ba dum tssshh

[Bright Anderson 132]

Best Coke product placement ever.

[sorrykansas.com 77]

I don't know what the fuck this was, but it makes me laugh uncontrollably every time I see it. I can't wait to finish this batshit crazy movie, and listen to the ep!

 

[sorrykansas.com 77]

I have a big omission for you. During the shoot out at the amusement park, Stavros grabs his kid, picks him up, and uses him AS A HUMAN SHIELD! If he had left his kid on the ground, he would have never been killed.

 

Plus I thought it was funny when Stavros' wife was clawed by a tiger and then almost simultaneously shot in the back.

[Herself 107]

Is anyone else having trouble listening to the podcast on iTunes? It plays for five or ten minutes, then just stops. Very frustrating! Is this happening to anyone else?

[Handinpants 91]

This film was released a year after Space Jam. The financial success of that (over $230 Million) must be the only reason Rodman was in this. Rodman's involvement is definitely why it's named Double Team, a name that really doesn't even make sense other than being a basketball term. Since it's Rodman, it could just as reasonably be named Box Out, Rebounding Champion, or 7 PPG.

 

Time machine idea: Mid-90's Dennis Rodman crossover boxing film named Box Out.

[imhatch 271]

a mid-90s produced movie that is basically the proto-spring breakers with rodman as alien and taking place in mexico in the 80s called Don't Eat The Worm

[BitterComic 25]

Great headshot Owen, nailed it.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

This film was released a year after Space Jam. The financial success of that (over $230 Million) must be the only reason Rodman was in this, which is why it's named Double Team.

Actually, it only came out about 4 and a half months after "Space Jam", so I'm sure that one thing had nothing to do with the other. Remember, this was also during a time when Shaq inexplicably had a film career, even though his films did nothing but fail. Speaking of which, HDTGM needs to do "Steel". "The LEGO Movie" (also featuring Shaq) was a better "Superman" tie-in than "Steel". Hell, "The Lego Movie" would be fun for this show, in a good way.

[RoyCorder 48]

I have 3 ommisssions.

 

1: JCVD comes back to rodman's weapon shop (or whatever) and shoots the lock off to get inside. why the hell was the place where hundreds of weapons stored secured only with a pad lock?

 

2: why did he need to workout with the furniture in his room? that was a pretty nice island with a lot of luxuries. there's not a gym there? that one guy that hated him was pretty buff and obviously worked out; or did he also hump his bathtub?

 

3: if people in the colony need to be in their rooms during the air drop and pick up, then how does JCVD know where to go to hitch a ride on the plane? he would have no idea what side of the island the plane would be, nor would he have known enough info for that plan to work; unless he's left his room a few times, but he never did.

[Smigg 1488]

What was doing me in with this film was the name of Rodman's character, "Yaz". Because every time I heard his name, I kept on thinking about this fucking song.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKADQnjQmc

 

See, same hair, ambiguous sexuality. Perhaps she backed out, and Rodman filled in.

[Handinpants 91]

Actually, it only came out about 4 and a half months after "Space Jam", so I'm sure that one thing had nothing to do with the other. Remember, this was also during a time when Shaq inexplicably had a film career, even though his films did nothing but fail.

 

Even more baffling.

[JoshuaDavis 4]

A tidbit to report. You know how you guys keep mentioning in the review that this feels like it should be a Bond film? Well, I was watching your review of Judge Dredd, which stars the amazing Max Von Sydow, so I started looking up his IMDB. Yeah - his "Bond" contribution was playing a villain named Stavro (Stavros?) in the 1983 independent Bond film "Never Say Never Again." Perhaps that's a leap, but I thought it was interesting.

[Joven 373]

I have 3 ommisssions.

 

1: JCVD comes back to rodman's weapon shop (or whatever) and shoots the lock off to get inside. why the hell was the place where hundreds of weapons stored secured only with a pad lock?

 

2: why did he need to workout with the furniture in his room? that was a pretty nice island with a lot of luxuries. there's not a gym there? that one guy that hated him was pretty buff and obviously worked out; or did he also hump his bathtub?

 

3: if people in the colony need to be in their rooms during the air drop and pick up, then how does JCVD know where to go to hitch a ride on the plane? he would have no idea what side of the island the plane would be, nor would he have known enough info for that plan to work; unless he's left his room a few times, but he never did.

 

 

2. Because I believe he wanted to keep up the pretense that he was injured, and also so he could train in the tub to hold his breath, which might have seemed suspicious. Although, the question would have to be asked...why didn't they have ANY kind of surveillance on the rooms themselves? Just trust in the thumb print thingy, but dont care what they get up to otherwise?

 

3. Clearly he was watching the movie as it was being made, Spaceballs style. In the first scene where we see him getting his plan ready, he was mimicking what was going on with the plane and the box (sending what? I get they would need to receive supplies, but what do they need to send out? they deal in information via computers...) with the cigarette and the lighter so he could know how long each thing took...but no way to know what was actually happening, unless he was also watching footage of it going down, or following some evil spy guys twitter sheet who was live blogging it. I guess a case could be made that you would hear the plane, so kind of know where it was, but how would he know they would even have a box of cargo that gets skyhooked out?

[walterwoodsiv 215]

The, "I'm not interested in your sex life," line confused me too. Then I realized he was actually responding to Rodman's line, "the last guy who made fun of my hair is still trying to pull his head out of his ass." So I don't think it was a random comment on Rodman's sexuality, it was just a really poorly written joke with a pointless pause for laughter.

[justinmh05 1968]

A tidbit to report. You know how you guys keep mentioning in the review that this feels like it should be a Bond film? Well, I was watching your review of Judge Dredd, which stars the amazing Max Von Sydow, so I started looking up his IMDB. Yeah - his "Bond" contribution was playing a villain named Stavro (Stavros?) in the 1983 independent Bond film "Never Say Never Again." Perhaps that's a leap, but I thought it was interesting.

 

Von Sydow played the ultimate recurring Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in NSNA.

[IanStewart 3]

Omission

 

A somewhat clever (not really) basketball pun you missed was when Rodman says, "I don't play with the bad boys anymore." Which was actually a reference to his spell with the "Bad Boy" Pistons of the 1980's. When the movie was made he had moved on to the Bulls

[DirtyCircle 5]

Omission/Correction:

 

While it's true that Rodman has been married three times [including Carmen Electra (1998-99)] when you mentioned some of his flamboyancy, you forgot the time he famously wore a wedding dress as a publicity stunt to sell his autobiography, Bad As I Want to Be.

 

Bad As I Want to Be came out in 1996, for the sake of argument- a year before this film was released, so a joke about questioning his sexuality makes a lot of sense.

 

 

*I live in Illinois and was part of the Chicago Bulls-love that was inescapable at the time and remember all to vividly some of Rodman's antics.

[IronMaiden4892 10]

I thought it was strange that before Van Damme kicks the guy out of the cargo plain he asks the guy if he has a parachute. Presumably this is to show that Van Damme has some sort of moral compass. But even if the people do have parachutes, wouldn't they just land in lasers?

[JustinH.Thompson 21]

You know what I find mysterious? That June CONTINUES TO BE MIA. Are we not going to try to find her? What. Is. Happening?

[RyanSz 3140]

Ah the joy of watching mid-90s career crash of Mickey Rourke. I feel so bad for him being movies like this.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Omission/Correction:

 

While it's true that Rodman has been married three times [including Carmen Electra (1998-99)] when you mentioned some of his flamboyancy, you forgot the time he famously wore a wedding dress as a publicity stunt to sell his autobiography, Bad As I Want to Be.

 

Bad As I Want to Be came out in 1996, for the sake of argument- a year before this film was released, so a joke about questioning his sexuality makes a lot of sense.

 

 

*I live in Illinois and was part of the Chicago Bulls-love that was inescapable at the time and remember all to vividly some of Rodman's antics.

I grew up in the Chicago area and haaaaaaated the Pistons for being such a pain in the ass through the late 80's, so it was pretty great once the Bulls started steamrolling everyone in the 90's. When Rodman joined up in the late 90s, the hate for all things Detroit had sort of worn off, but it really didn't seem like they needed him at that point anyway. He just happened to be playing for them when they were murdering everyone.

 

Anyone remember the EA Sports NBA games for the SNES and Genesis? It started with Lakers vs. Celtics, and then just started naming itself after whoever was in the NBA Finals, but then it just became Bulls vs. Lakers, Bulls vs. Blazers, etc. until they just re-named the series NBA Showtime or NBA Live or whatever it was, because it had basically just become the "Bulls Vs." series anyway.

[Wien 401]

Hey guys! I was sick, too! 99.8!

[rachelpi 228]

The in-room workout could be the "before" of a Bowflex infomercial. JCVD in black and white, lifting the bathtub, "Has THIS ever happened to YOU??" (as always RIP Billy Mays)