Episode 202 - Look Who's Talking Now (w/ Conan O’Brien)

[Oldcore 1]

Conan made many valid points at the end about doing podcasts in studio.  I hope you guys continue to do more of these.  Live ones are great but these ones are special for all the reasons you guys stated.

[Megamuffinbatman 1]

I want them to do Look Who's Talking now just for the sake of completing the trilogy. But, really I want a fourth Look Who's Talking to see it being a psychological horror movie with the kids all grown up, which if you want to feel old will be a modern day movie. If anything this series is like watching a friend slowly become a heroin addict. At first, you enjoy them because they're clean, then they start to show signs of addiction but swear they got it under control, and then you find them ten minutes before they OD because they haven't responded to any of your texts for the past week. This series had an opening of almost $297,000,000 and a 56% on RT (which isn't bad for a comedy), to $47,000,000 and a 17% on RT which still has some profits and had a laugh or two, to just a 0% and barely making over $10,000,000. Maybe this series is why Travolta joined Scientology.

[buffalodavid 0]

On 11/23/2018 at 1:03 PM, KellyMegan said:

I wanted to mention the 2nd opinion where the reviewer calls the movie a “show”... my grandma calls all media “shows” and despite the number of times we call them movies, she consistently calls them shows.

So there is precedent for this term and my grandma is a really sweet lady

I move to southern Utah about 18 yrs ago. The witness protection program won't let me explain why.

People here speak a strange language that only appears to be English.

Trucks and SUVs are called ”outfits” and movies are called shows.

It's not a ”grandmother” thing here.

People of all ages use the term.

[Cameron H. 23786]

One of the weirder moments for me was when Rock's starts seeing for the first time and he laments that all he can see are "wrinkly butts." Setting aside that he doesn't know what eyes are but immediately knows what butts are - and the adjective "wrinkly," apparently - I thought it was really weird that the mama dog makes sure to immediately clarify for him that the wrinkly butts he's seeing aren't hers ("They're not mine. They're your brothers and sisters.") I don't know, it seems like an oddly defensive stance to take with a newborn child.   

[Cameron H. 23786]

While I agree that Travolta and Alley's sexual chemistry was off the charts, I did have a bit of an issue when they got back from the restaurant and Travolta seems to be making a move on Alley - in front of their babysitter. That's borderline criminal! As general guideline, I would encourage adults to corral their libidos and not make out in front of teenagers who aren't in a position to leave the situation. Fucking deviants...  

[Cameron H. 23786]

On 11/23/2018 at 4:30 PM, DrGuts1003 said:

 I am glad they called out the fact that Kirstie Alley seemingly has accepted that she and the kids are going to die in the taxi when it crashes in the forest, but I also wanted them to comment on what her plan was after they initially crashed.  She tells the kids that she going out to "look for pine cones".  Why?  If it was a lie to shield her kids from the grim reality, it's a terrible lie that doesn't make sense.  And if she was being serious, what were pine cones going to do?  Did she plan on using them as a side dish with her clam souffle?

 

As a parent, I just want to say the "I'm going to get pine cones" is a ploy I would 100% use. Like if I was with my kids and I thought I heard someone trying to break in, I might say something like, "I'm going to check if we have enough cheese sticks in the fridge" or something so I could go check it out. Kids have a tendency to follow you if you don't tell them exactly what you're doing. And since you're an adult and obviously have everything all figured out, they don't question it if you say you're going to do something kind of dumb - which you most likely will since you're probably pretty nervous.

The pine cone thing gets her out of the car, allows her to take a breath without panicking the kids, get her bearings, and figure shit out without kids under foot asking a million questions. Even better, she can actually bring back pine cones and say they are going to make Christmas ornaments or something to keep them occupied and set their mind at ease that their mother isn't in the middle of a panic attack.

[WatchOutForSnakes 807]

50 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

As a parent, I just want to say the "I'm going to get pine cones" is a ploy I would 100% use. Like if I was with my kids and I thought I heard someone trying to break in, I might say something like, "I'm going to check if we have enough cheese sticks in the fridge" or something so I could go check it out. Kids have a tendency to follow you if you don't tell them exactly what you're doing. And since you're an adult and obviously have everything all figured out, they don't question it if you say you're going to do something kind of dumb - which you most likely will since you're probably pretty nervous.

The pine cone thing gets her out of the car, allows her to take a breath without panicking the kids, get her bearings, and figure shit out without kids under foot asking a million questions. Even better, she can actually bring back pine cones and say they are going to make Christmas ornaments or something to keep them occupied and set their mind at ease that their mother isn't in the middle of a panic attack.

Smart take. 

Also, when she pulled out the Christmas presents for the kids in the car, I didn't think so much that she had given up and thought they were going to die, but wanted to give the kids something to occupy themselves, and to distract the kids from the situation while she tried to figure out a solution. I do kind of like the idea of hitting a tree and going, "well, that's it kids! It's all over"

Oh this movie was painful! 

[Cameron H. 23786]

33 minutes ago, WatchOutForSnakes said:

Smart take. 

Also, when she pulled out the Christmas presents for the kids in the car, I didn't think so much that she had given up and thought they were going to die, but wanted to give the kids something to occupy themselves, and to distract the kids from the situation while she tried to figure out a solution. I do kind of like the idea of hitting a tree and going, "well, that's it kids! It's all over"

Oh this movie was painful! 

That and she was picking the presents with warm clothes.

[WatchOutForSnakes 807]

5 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

That and she was picking the presents with warm clothes.

Kirstie Alley might be a better mom than Paul and crew think! 

[Cameron H. 23786]

4 hours ago, WatchOutForSnakes said:

Kirstie Alley might be a better mom than Paul and crew think! 

Honestly, I wasn't too unhappy with the parenting. Yeah, she really shouldn't have been out there in the first place, but considering they were, I think she acquitted herself just fine. Even letting the kids watch Rocks fight the wolf wasn't a deal breaker for me. Not that it's something a child should see (it's not something anyone should see), but I'm not sure what her alternative would be. She was alone and trapped in a car. What was she supposed to do? Dive on top of them and throw her arms around their necks and covers their eyes while they listen to their dog get mauled to death? The next thing you know, they're going to start freaking out about their dog is dying and that the wolf is coming for them next. So, on top of everything else, she's got to deal with that. Plus, if Rocks loses, she's got to keep an eye on that wolf. It's so important for parents to keep their cool - no matter how difficult - because if your kid sees you lose your shit, then they're really going to freak out. You're supposed to be the most together person they know - even if you don't know what the fuck you're doing. My only complaint about that scene is that nobody seems too concerned about rabies, like, at all. I mean, thank you, Rocks, but stay the fuck away from my kids. 

Also, regarding the family dynamics, I really liked how they Mikey and the whole Santa Claus situation was presented. All you want is to keep your children is to keep them innocent and believing in magic for as long as humanly possible. I felt really bad for them. The only thing I didn't like was how they kept being like, "Would Santa keep us apart on Christmas?" Mikey's already in a fragile state regarding that subject and you're really just setting him up for disappointment. If something comes up and you really can't make it, you're just going to make it so much worse. 

ALSO, also, NORAD does a whole Santa tracker every year, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was, like, a wireless, jingle bell equivalent. But even if not, would it really matter if it actually WAS Santa? It's a movie where we hear dogs talk, is the existence of Santa really that much more of a leap?

Personally, this is why I feel like you have to be careful when critiquing children's movies. Of course they're ridiculous. They're not for grown-ups. They're for kids. They have to work based on a child's logic. My 6-year-old son watched it with me and ate it up. I mean, job well done as far as I'm concerned. I would go actually cite what Tim Heidecker said in the Odd Life of Timothy Green episode and say you have to judge a movie by whether it works for its intended audience. Is the movie for kids? Are the kids entertained? Then cool, it did what it was supposed to do. I would be more focused on movies like Gooby or Top Dog. Movies that are not only bad, but fail at appealing to their audience.    

[DrGuts1003 462]

2 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

Honestly, I wasn't too unhappy with the parenting. Yeah, she really shouldn't have been out there in the first place, but considering they were, I think she acquitted herself just fine. Even letting the kids watch Rocks fight the wolf wasn't a deal breaker for me. Not that it's something a child should see (it's not something anyone should see), but I'm not sure what her alternative would be. She was alone and trapped in a car. What was she supposed to do? Dive on top of them and throw her arms around their necks and covers their eyes while they listen to their dog get mauled to death? The next thing you know, they're going to start freaking out about their dog is dying and that the wolf is coming for them next. So, on top of everything else, she's got to deal with that. Plus, if Rocks loses, she's got to keep an eye on that wolf. It's so important for parents to keep their cool - no matter how difficult - because if your kid sees you lose your shit, then they're really going to freak out. You're supposed to be the most together person they know - even if you don't know what the fuck you're doing. My only complaint about that scene is that nobody seems too concerned about rabies, like, at all. I mean, thank you, Rocks, but stay the fuck away from my kids. 

Also, regarding the family dynamics, I really liked how they Mikey and the whole Santa Claus situation was presented. All you want is to keep your children is to keep them innocent and believing in magic for as long as humanly possible. I felt really bad for them. The only thing I didn't like was how they kept being like, "Would Santa keep us apart on Christmas?" Mikey's already in a fragile state regarding the matter and you're really just setting him up for disappointment. If something comes up and you really can't make it, you're just going to make it so much worse. 

ALSO, also, NORAD does a whole Santa tracker every year, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was, like, a wireless, jingle bell equivalent. But even if not, would it really matter if it actually WAS Santa? It's a movie where we hear dogs talk, is the existence of Santa really that much more of a leap?

Personally, this is why I feel like you have to be careful when critiquing children's movies. Of course they're ridiculous. They're not for grown-ups. They're for kids. They have to work based on a child's logic. My 6-year-old son watched it with me and ate it up. I mean, job well done as far as I'm concerned. I would go actually cite what Tim Heidecker said in the Odd Life of Timothy Green episode and say you have to judge a movie by whether it works for its intended audience. Is the movie for kids? Are the kids entertained? Then cool, it did what it was supposed to do. I would be more focused on movies like Gooby or Top Dog. Movies that are not only bad, but fail at appealing to their audience.    

I don’t know if a movie rated PG-13 can really be considered a kids movie.

And even if she did do an acceptable job of parenting after they crashed, there is no excusing her completely ignoring her kids on the airport runway.

[Cameron H. 23786]

1 hour ago, DrGuts1003 said:

I don’t know if a movie rated PG-13 can really be considered a kids movie.

And even if she did do an acceptable job of parenting after they crashed, there is no excusing her completely ignoring her kids on the airport runway.

 How about "family film that skews HEAVILY toward children?"

 As for the airport, I don't really remember the scene, but I will say - at the risk of sounding pedantic -  they might have been on the tarmac, but there's no way they were on the literal runway. That's not how airports are set up. They're also the children of a pilot. So while they might get into mischief, they probably had at least a general idea of what areas are safe or not.

As for an excuse, I would say that she just lost her long term job for being "too good." I would guess that she's not in the best headspace and probably feeling a bit overwhelmed. I mean, shit, I've lost sight of my son while ordering a cup of coffee I think it's okay to assume that parents aren't superhuman and kids are slippery little devils. Personally, I'm willing to cut her some slack.

[Cameron H. 23786]

In the episode, the gang seemed shocked that Alley's character couldn't find a new job outside of Santa's Elf - especially because it was "tax season." Except, the movie takes place during November/ December. Tax season is between January and April. I think it's very possible, even with her family connections, accounting firms might freeze hiring during their off seasons. She might just be biding her time until the new year.

For me, the real question is why such a supposedly successful accountant apparently has so little in savings, that even with her husband taking a job as the private pilot for the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she is forced to pick up a part-time job? You don't have a cushion at all? What about a severance package? And isn't it odd that  despite all their apparent economic struggles, they can somehow still afford chic dinners at fancy, misspelled restaurants?

I'm just saying that, yes, it sucks that she lost her job, but maybe the rationale behind her firing wasn't for being "too good" after all...

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

Cameron you are defending this movie way too much and I'm worried about you

[Cam Bert 8145]

I can't believe that they overlooked the real victim of this movie and that is the poor homeless busker that Rocks originally befriended. So this poor down on his luck fellow is minding his own business playing his guitar for nickles to busy New Yorkers when all of a sudden this small puppy wanders into his life. Even though homeless and short of money he freely gives up his food to this dog. What a nice guy. Then he gets the dog a neckerchief and raises him for what seems to be awhile. The dog gets bigger and helps this guy get food. They have a good thing going when all of a sudden the dog catcher snaps up Rocks leaving this poor man just sitting there waiting for his dog to come back. Day by day he waits in the same spot with his eyes open looking for his only friend. Soon the last remaining strains of joy and hope and happiness leave his body. He is left an empty husk of a human being. He doesn't even wish to pick up his guitar anymore. He stops eating because Rocks will be hungry when he gets back and needs the food for him. He clothes grow baggier and baggier. Then in the cold harsh winter as Rocks sits comfy and well fed in a heated New York apartment without a single thought of his old master that poor busker closes his eyes for the last time.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Before Mikey discovers the horrible truth about mall Santas two of Kirstie Alley's co-workers are leaving for the day. As they leave she wishes them good bye by saying "Good night Prancer, good night Dancer." Two things, one they are elves not reindeer. Santa has two reindeer named Prancer and Dancer but does he also have two elves that go by the same names as the reindeer? There is no denying that Prancer and Dancer do sound like elf names but when in relation to Christmas the first thing that pops in your mind when you hear those names are the reindeer. It's just confusing. Second, does Kirstie Alley not know her co-workers actual names? True, she hasn't been working there long but do you think people at Disney say "Good Night Mickey" to the kid in the costume as they are leaving for the day? What about the surly Santa? Is going to say "Good Night Santa" to him? Just learn their names.

[Cameron H. 23786]

8 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

Cameron you are defending this movie way too much and I'm worried about you

Between this and Sophie’s Choice...

[Raymond Luxury Superyacht 11]

So Paul asks (as did DrGuts1003 earlier) why a New York kid would be into Charles Barkley.

 

I've been trying to puzzle out why the writers of a film featuring dogs would settle on Barkley as the player that she's obsessed with. I mean it's even talked about in the podcast that her attempt at "flying" is inspired by Barkley, when Barkley wasn't known for his prowess in jumping. It just doesn't make sense.

 

Barkley, Barkley, Barkley.

[Cam Bert 8145]

7 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

Between this and Sophie’s Choice...

Look Who's Talking Now I think is much better than Look Who's Talking Too. I think on pretty much level it works better. The conflict is better as is the pacing and use of the VO.

[grudlian. 4725]

9 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

In the episode, the gang seemed shocked that Alley's character couldn't find a new job outside of Santa's Elf - especially because it was "tax season." Except, the movie takes place during November/ December. Tax season is between January and April. I think it's very possible, even with her family connections, accounting firms might freeze hiring during their off seasons. She might just be biding her time until the new year.

For me, the real question is why such a supposedly successful accountant apparently has so little in savings, that even with her husband taking a job as the private pilot for the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she is forced to pick up a part-time job? You don't have a cushion at all? What about a severance package? And isn't it odd that  despite all their apparent economic struggles, they can somehow still afford chic dinners at fancy, misspelled restaurants?

I'm just saying that, yes, it sucks that she lost her job, but maybe the rationale behind her firing wasn't for being "too good" after all...

I assumed by "tax season" they meant getting everything wrapped up for year end. A lot of businesses try to get things on the books by December 31 so it will qualify for the next year's taxes. Not exactly tax season but it's for taxes.

I'm not sure if this is necessarily be an accountant's job but I don't actually know what accountants do on a day to day basis.

As for no savings, they live in New York City. Depending on where they live, that apartment could be several thousand dollars a month. Travolta barely had a job at the end of the last movie and just started this new one. So, not having savings isn't ridiculous especially when you consider the number of families who have basically no liquid savings.

[Cameron H. 23786]

2 hours ago, grudlian. said:

I assumed by "tax season" they meant getting everything wrapped up for year end. A lot of businesses try to get things on the books by December 31 so it will qualify for the next year's taxes. Not exactly tax season but it's for taxes.

I'm not sure if this is necessarily be an accountant's job but I don't actually know what accountants do on a day to day basis.

As for no savings, they live in New York City. Depending on where they live, that apartment could be several thousand dollars a month. Travolta barely had a job at the end of the last movie and just started this new one. So, not having savings isn't ridiculous especially when you consider the number of families who have basically no liquid savings.

Well, the gang are the ones who brought up tax season. According to the script I found online, the only time “tax season” is even mentioned in the movie is when Samantha is getting audited and she specifically says, “It’s not even tax season!”

Regarding the apartment, I’m not talking about an average family. I’m talking about a person who was fired for making “too much money.” So, either this person who’s job it is to save money is either not saving any money for her and her family or living well beyond her means. Neither of which are really the qualities you would expect or look for from “the best” accountant.

So, my point stands that if you’re struggling to the point that you’re willing to take any job to make ends meet, even with your spouse’s cushy new job, maybe you should consider fewer presents for Christmas, less clam soufflé, and no more dinners to fancy restaurants to show off how well you’re doing.

[Crummy Scrimmage 188]

I have nothing to add except that my kids thought this movie sucked and told me to turn it off mid-way through. I was happy to oblige. 

[grudlian. 4725]

2 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

So, my point stands that if you’re struggling to the point that you’re willing to take any job to make ends meet, even with your spouse’s cushy new job, maybe you should consider fewer presents for Christmas, less clam soufflé, and no more dinners to fancy restaurants to show off how well you’re doing.

I'd say this falls into the realm of "movie magic" or "movie logic" that most movies or shows fall into. I think the parent losing a job right before Christmas but they still have presents for the kids is enough of a trope to kind of ignore.

[tomspanks 9039]

Did anybody else think the basketball player doll looked like Hakeen Olajuwon? 

  

The lean body type, the long arms, and the way that doll dominated the Patrick Ewing doll at all times?

[tomspanks 9039]

13 hours ago, Cam Bert said:

I can't believe that they overlooked the real victim of this movie and that is the poor homeless busker that Rocks originally befriended. So this poor down on his luck fellow is minding his own business playing his guitar for nickles to busy New Yorkers when all of a sudden this small puppy wanders into his life. Even though homeless and short of money he freely gives up his food to this dog. What a nice guy. Then he gets the dog a neckerchief and raises him for what seems to be awhile. The dog gets bigger and helps this guy get food. They have a good thing going when all of a sudden the dog catcher snaps up Rocks leaving this poor man just sitting there waiting for his dog to come back. Day by day he waits in the same spot with his eyes open looking for his only friend. Soon the last remaining strains of joy and hope and happiness leave his body. He is left an empty husk of a human being. He doesn't even wish to pick up his guitar anymore. He stops eating because Rocks will be hungry when he gets back and needs the food for him. He clothes grow baggier and baggier. Then in the cold harsh winter as Rocks sits comfy and well fed in a heated New York apartment without a single thought of his old master that poor busker closes his eyes for the last time.

Don't feel too bad, maybe he got another dog.