F the Critics, Go See “Him”

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "F the Critics, Go See 'Him'"

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Date: September 23, 2025
Episode: F the Critics, Go See “Him”

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Overview

In this episode, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes sit down post-movie to discuss the much-maligned football horror film "Him." Despite widespread negative critical reception and scathingly clever reviews, Amy and T.J. recount their own, much more positive experience at the theater and debate the value of both professional critics and everyday audience opinions. The episode explores how expectations, hype, and big-name producers like Jordan Peele influence perception—and makes a strong case for seeing movies yourself before passing judgment.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Movie "Him" and Its Critical Reception

[03:38 – 04:58]

• Summary of Reviews:
  • "Him" received severe criticism: half a star on RogerEbert.com, disliked by The New York Times and IndieWire alike.
  • Amy reads a brutal line:
    • “Putrid and hollow. Justin Tipping's brain dead football horror film, which somehow managed to secure the backing of producer Jordan Peele, is incomprehensibly bad.” (Amy, 04:15)
• Critical Consensus:
  • Rotten Tomatoes average: 29%.
  • Critics characterized the film as “fumbling the ball,” with style but poor execution and “rookie execution.”
  • Reviews are filled with puns and football-themed burns.

2. The Hosts' Initial Expectations and Experience

[04:31 – 07:52]

• Motivation to Watch:
  • Amy & T.J. were drawn to see the film specifically because of bad reviews.
  • Amy: “It was a football story meets Midsommar. That’s what it felt like to me.” (Amy, 05:38)
• Their Experience:
  • Intriguing and entertaining, full of oddness and ambiguity—hallucinations vs. demonic possession vs. football concussion.
  • Not your classic jump-scare horror, more of a atmospheric thriller; contained comedic elements and body horror.
  • The film spurred instant discussion: “We were arguing, like, ‘What was that? What did that mean?’…that makes art.” (T.J., 06:48)

3. Criticizing the Critics

[07:54 – 09:40]

• Tone of Reviews:
  • Both hosts note the “meanness” and unnecessarily personal digs in many professional critics’ reviews.
  • T.J.: “Why was everybody trying to be cute in their writing?…There was a meanness to a lot of this stuff.” (T.J., 08:04)
• Marlon Wayans’ Response:
  • Marlon Wayans addressed the negative reception with class, respecting critics but encouraging audiences to see for themselves.
  • Amy paraphrases: “Innovation is not always embraced and art is to be interpreted and it’s subjective....Don’t take anyone’s opinion. Just go see for yourself. Love to all.” (Amy, 09:04)

4. The Jordan Peele Factor & Expectations

[10:05 – 11:00]

• Producer’s Influence:
  • Jordan Peele’s name lent the film extra attention and raised expectations, equating him to the “Black M. Night Shyamalan.”
  • Amy: “There are a lot of high expectations associated with a name like his…and I do think they end up being perhaps their own worst enemy.” (Amy, 10:30)

5. "Is it Just Critics?”: Audience vs. Professional Opinion

[21:02 – 24:53]

• Hosts as Fans:
  • Amy & T.J. consider themselves horror aficionados, not professional critics—judging films by whether they’re entertained and moved.
  • “Was I entertained? Was the acting good? Was the script good? Was it able to make me feel things...and it did all those things.” (Amy, 21:23)
• Fans' Reviews:
  • Some regular audience reviews are just as harsh, calling the film, “horrifyingly bad and shockingly boring,” and “not worthy of my time.”
  • T.J.: “That’s mean. That’s emotional.” (T.J., 23:46)

6. Defense of the Movie’s Merits

[24:53 – 29:10]

• Visuals, Acting & Tone:
  • Strong disagreement with the ‘cheap visuals’ accusation—both praise the look and production value.
  • Julia Fox:
    • Amy: “Scene stealer…played her role perfectly.” (Amy, 25:39)
    • T.J.: “We turned to each other…Like, oh my God, she’s awesome.” (T.J., 25:52)
  • Tyreek Withers & Marlon Wayans:
    • Tyreek Withers is praised for range and vulnerability.
    • Marlon Wayans described as “remarkable,” with his best performance to date. (Amy, 28:06)

7. The Box Office and Genre Context

[18:29 – 21:02]

• Box Office Performance:
  • “Him” reached #2 at the weekend box office, bringing in $13.5M against a $27M budget.
• Genre Boom:
  • Modern horror's mainstream success may be raising expectations and making critical backlash sharper.

8. Takeaways and Recommendation

[29:10 – End]

• Art is subjective; critics’ perspectives are not universal.
• Both recommend seeing “Him” for yourself if you enjoy thrillers, body horror, and a bit of weirdness.
• Final word from Amy:
  • “If you haven’t seen it, and you can handle a little bit of gore and you love a thriller, we highly recommend this film.” (Amy, 29:37)
• T.J.: “You will not be bored. That is our recommendation.” (T.J., 30:05)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “We would like to tell you—we fucking loved it.” (TJ Holmes, 04:31)
• “It was a football story meets Midsommar. That’s what it felt like to me.” (Amy Robach, 05:38)
• “We were arguing, like, ‘What was that? What did that mean?’…that makes art.” (TJ Holmes, 06:48)
• "Why was everybody trying to be cute in their writing?... There was a meanness to a lot of this stuff." (TJ Holmes, 08:04)
• “[Marlon Wayans] was phenomenal. And by the way, in some of these reviews…they did point out the acting chops of Marlon [Wayans].” (Amy Robach, 28:06)
• “If it gets you talking, if it gets you feeling something…even if you’re annoyed that you saw it, hey, you felt something, you experienced something.” (Amy Robach, 29:37)
• “You will not be bored. That is our recommendation.” (TJ Holmes, 30:05)

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Key Timestamps

• 03:38 – Show introduction and overview of “Him’s” reviews
• 04:31 – Hosts’ immediate, positive reaction to the film
• 05:38 – Amy’s “football meets Midsommar” comparison
• 06:48 – Discussion about art leading to post-film debate
• 09:04 – Marlon Wayans’ Instagram response to critics
• 10:11 – Jordan Peele's effect on expectation
• 18:29 – Box office breakdown and horror genre context
• 21:23 – Amy’s audience-focused review criteria
• 23:34 – Reading particularly harsh audience reviews
• 24:53 – Discussion of Julia Fox, production value, and music
• 28:06 – Praise for Tyreek Withers and Marlon Wayans
• 29:37 – Amy’s final recommendation
• 30:05 – T.J.’s final word: “You will not be bored.”

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Tone & Style

The episode is conversational, energetic, and candid, featuring loads of direct quotes from both the film’s critics and from Amy and T.J.’s own experience. The hosts are passionate champions for seeing movies yourself, pushing back against both professional snark and audience negativity, and openly fan out over horror genre favorites and underappreciated performances.

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In summary:
Amy and T.J. defy the critics, have a blast with a much-maligned football horror movie, and urge listeners—especially horror fans—not to let nasty reviews scare them away. For them, it’s all about the visceral, shared, and highly subjective joy of going to the movies.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Amy Robach]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Amy Robach]

This is Wisecrack available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's your favorite Jersey girl, Gia Giudice. Welcome to Casual Chaos, where I share my story. This week I'm sitting down with Vanderpump Rules star Sheena Shay. I don't really talk to either of them, if I'm being honest. There will be an occasional text one way or the other from me to Ariana. Maybe a happy birthday from Ariana to me. I think the last time I talked to Tom it was like, congrats on America's Got Talent. This is a convo you don't want to miss. Listen to Casual chaos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is Tuesday, September 23rd, and we just came from a theater seeing what is described as maybe the reviewed movie of the year. Just how badly is it reviewed? Robes.

[Amy Robach]

Well, him has gotten one half star out of four from a major Roger ebert.com New York Times did not like it. And Indiewire. Whoo. They panned it as well.

[TJ Holmes]

When you say they panned it, what do you mean?

[Amy Robach]

How's this for a line in a movie review? Putrid and hollow. Justin Tipping's brain dead football horror film, which somehow managed to secure the backing of producer Jordan Peele, is incomprehensibly bad.

[TJ Holmes]

And we would like to tell you we fucking loved it. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. We were scratching our heads. We were a little confused. Some of the reviews. And they can be bad. Some of the reviews we heard for this one seemed mean.

[Amy Robach]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

Why?

[Amy Robach]

How about this? A rock brained football horror movie that's as subtle as being sacked by a 300 pound defensive lineman and somehow only half as much fun.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh my goodness. That seems mean. That doesn't seem to be a critique of the lighting, of the music, of the acting, of the writing that seemed like they were taking shots at this movie that has a rating on rotten tomatoes of 29%. 29. I think it's on the rise if it's 29 because I think it was lower at one point. We have been Seeing previews, robes. We go to horror movies. The only thing we see at theater is pretty much a horror movies.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[TJ Holmes]

So we see previews for upcoming horror movies. We've been seeing about this one for a while. It was intriguing, we were curious. But it wasn't one we planned to run out and see at theaters until. How is everybody hating on this movie so much?

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, until the bad reviews. And then we knew we had to see it. And the truth is it's not. Look, I appreciated how different it was. For me, it was. The best way I could describe it was a football story meets midsommar. That's what it felt like to me. So yes, it was bizarre. And you didn't know if what you were watching were hallucinations or some sort of demonic presence or if it was maybe a fever dream from a concussion. You know, you weren't really sure. But that was intriguing and certainly entertaining. I laughed. I was shocked. There weren't the typical jump scares. It wasn't terrifying or scary.

[TJ Holmes]

It was a thriller, more so a horror thriller kind of a thing.

[Amy Robach]

Correct. And there was some, certainly some body horror in there. But you suffered through. You know, I hate that's not your favorite genre.

[TJ Holmes]

I hate there was a movie substance. I'm still mad.

[Amy Robach]

And there were some folks who made comparisons to it, but saying it wasn't anywhere near as good. But there was. You know, when you've got the audio, the sound effects that go along with just even a simple injection can be disgusting. So they. The sound effects were definitely a lot like a horror genre. I mean a horror. A body horror genre.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay. And it's hard for us to say now because we. How could you go back? But there is no way that even if we had not heard any of the reviews, which would naturally set low expectations. Dearest, if we had seen this movie without seeing a single review, we would have enjoyed. Yes, this movie. We wouldn't have walked out complaining. We walked out, the three of us, me, you and Sabine. We were arguing like, what was that? What did that mean? We immediately started talking about it. To me, that makes a good movie, that makes art.

[Amy Robach]

Because it starts. You question, wait, what did I just see? And what do you think that meant? And didn't you like this? And that was weird. But what do you think that was? That I think is all something I appreciate when I walk out of a movie that you're having a shared experience. You watched it individually, but now you want to talk about it, discuss it and figure out what actually happened. It was never Boring. And a lot of people, A lot of people. A lot of critics and a lot of folks just who Everyday Joes who write audience reviews for Rotten Tomatoes. Some. A lot of people said it was boring. Boring. Yes. And too long. It was only an hour and 36 minutes.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes.

[Amy Robach]

But yes, this was. I love this one. Him is a single idea stretched out for half the length of an NFL broadcast. Spoiler alert. Half of an eternity is still an eternity.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, I found. I saw. Why was everybody trying to be cute in their writing? They were trying to in some way take advantage of a football movie and a football theme to make all these clever little cracks and be snarky. You can do your thing and you can be a critic. That is fine. But there was a meanness to a lot of this stuff.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. The critics consensus. So they kind of just sum up all of the different critiques on Rotten Tomatoes. Said this fumbling the ball well before the red zone. Him has style to spare, but botches its promising conceit with. With rookie execution.

[TJ Holmes]

Christ on. Say it.

[Amy Robach]

Come on. Filled with puns.

[TJ Holmes]

Look. Filled with puns. Maybe people took it, took advantage. Look, I, I. And we have to give Mar. The reason I think we're doing this is because Marlon Wayans put out a statement. He put out something on Instagram acknowledging how bad the reviews were. His statement, I thought was classy. I think you gave me a heads up about that. He had put something out. So I thought he was taking him on in some way. I thought he was respectful and classy in the way he addressed it.

[Amy Robach]

I think so too. He said he respects the critics. He said their job is to critique. He respects their work. He said it shapes our industry. But an opinion does not always mean it's everyone's opinion. Some movies are ahead of the curve. And then he went on to say innovation is not always embraced and art is to be interpreted and it's subjective. He says, I've had a career of making classic movies that weren't critically received and those movies went on to be classics. So don't take anyone's opinion. Just go see for yourself. Love to all him in theaters now. And that is what made us want to go see the movie.

[TJ Holmes]

His statement I was. I was leaning toward, like, how can a movie be reviewed so poorly? And it's not just that people say it's not good or it drags or it's poor writing or can't believe how it was shot or the acting performance. This was just. Everybody took a shot. It seemed like People were dying to take a shot. Look, the director is one thing. What is his name again? Robes. The direct tipping. Just tipping.

[Amy Robach]

Justin Tipping.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay. But a lot of what's been used to promote the movie is the name of Jordan Peele.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[TJ Holmes]

Jordan Peele is the. Seen as a hitmaker, if you will, in this genre in particular. So his name is attached to it. I don't know what the expectation, given that Jordan Peele's name was attached. I was like, okay, this kind of. This idea from some of his previous movies. I'm like, okay, I don't exactly know what I'm seeing, but I'm going on some kind of a trip.

[Amy Robach]

I feel like he's right now kind of the black M. Night Shyamalan. He's had some really big hits. He's got a very creative mind, and people will go to see a movie with his name on it. But there are a lot of very high expectations associated with a name like his. And same with Shyamalan. And I do think that they end up being perhaps their own worst enemy. And the fact that people have these expectations and if something didn't feel like their last movie or they didn't think it was good enough, it's almost easy to take a shot at them because they've had such success.

[TJ Holmes]

Can I ask, is it highbrow expectations, perhaps? Like, you have to have some kind of an elevated horror experience.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay. And we are. I will put our credentials up. We are horror movie aficionados. We love horror movies. And some of them are outstanding and excellent. They're not award winning, but are wonderful experiences to have. This was a sweetheart from start to finish. I think I told you a third or a half in the movie in I still didn't know exactly what was happening.

[Amy Robach]

And I appreciated that.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes.

[Amy Robach]

And I think a lot of people didn't. They somehow they wanted. They thought it was too subtle, too obscure, too confusing, you know, I actually wanted to read this review by Robert Daniels. Another doozy in RogerEbert.com but just from where he started. And I did read one of his lines towards the end of it, but he said, I can't believe I left the house to see him. I can't believe I took the train for over an hour from the north side of Chicago to downtown to see this movie. I can't believe I stood in line to buy a soda and popcorn at the theater to see him. And I especially can't believe that I sat through the entirety of this thematically lost movie, allowed it to live in my head on my trip back home and that I'm currently sitting on my couch writing about it. And so he went on to say other horrible things. But then he said, the D dialogue is dreadful. The performances are wooden, particularly Julia Fox as Isaiah's wife. And then he refers to the young man who played Cam. He's the lead stick Stiff. Excuse me? He called him stiff. Tyreek Withers. I just couldn't disagree more because I thought the acting was remarkable. I thought the writing was great. It was comedic. Right when I needed it to be. Needed it to be. Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

I think, look, we are not movie critics and we're trying to end this. What Marlon did, he respected. This is what you do. You critique. Now, if you have a criticism, why does it have to be. Why did you have me waste my time on the couch? Again, I get maybe they're trying to be snarky, maybe trying to be funny. Is that what it is? But it comes across as mean and unnecessary. Like, this is someone's art. This is someone. You know how hard it is to get a movie on the big screen. Of course we do do. But this is years in the making. Everybody bust their ass to make this special. And when you do, just say, you wasted my time getting on the train. Why am I even breathing? Yeah, that just. It just seemed me. I'm sorry. Maybe just. It's tongue in cheek and I'm not taking it the right way, but Marlon. Can we not say enough about Marlon Wayans, who was so convincing and impressive?

[Amy Robach]

This.

[TJ Holmes]

When we come back, folks, we will tell you what we really think about the performances of three of the top stars of this movie.

[Amy Robach]

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[Chris Counahan]

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[TJ Holmes]

Well, I was.

[Chris Counahan]

I wanted to ask Chris what I.

[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

Thank goodness. What was that site?

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On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear.

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On 22 July 2015, a 23 year old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house.

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[TJ Holmes]

All right, folks, we continue now with our difference of opinion. With a lot of reviews out there for the new movie him, which was good enough to get number two at the box office at 13 or 15 million last weekend. 13.5 million 500, a respectable number. Came in second at the box office. Only cost 27 million to make. So not the biggest scare in the world. Looks like they could make their money back and do okay.

[Amy Robach]

Now.

[TJ Holmes]

This is one. Do you think robes because of the attention. It's gotten so much negative attention in the way he has addressed it. This could possibly do them some good. They could possibly pick up some new audience because of how bad the thing has been reviewed.

[Amy Robach]

It can peak interest to see just how bad they. Someone else might think it is based on some of these reviews, but I also think they're being compared to. Look, a lot of folks have been writing that horror movies, and we've talked about this, have been on a massive hot streak. They have done just gangbusters at the box office. And we've been excited because we feel like finally people are catching on to the genre that we love most.

[TJ Holmes]

They've been huge sinners, Weapons, Final Destination, Conjuring.

[Amy Robach]

Conjuring last. Right.

[TJ Holmes]

Big Summer.

[Amy Robach]

They have basically been buoying up a, you know, a lagging box office. And we've got more coming too, because there's a whole bunch of new movies coming out. It. People have recognized that horror movies are now kind of you like, it used to just be a niche where only a certain type of person or a moviegoer would want to see it. And now it seems like it's caught on. And so, yes, people are looking into making big franchise horror movies and they've.

[TJ Holmes]

Been doing them well, but they heightened expectations now.

[Amy Robach]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

Right. I thought this one was in line. The way it looked, the way it was shot, the way. I mean, it was a beautiful movie. The production value and all that was in line.

[Amy Robach]

It was remarkable. So I don't know if maybe perhaps they're being compared to or this movie is being compared to the ones that came before it. And they set up these certain expectations, not just Jordan Peele's former movies, but these other movies we just mentioned also coming down the pike, One battle after another. Strangers, chapter two. Black Phone 2. We just saw the trailer for that in this theater. So this has been hyped up. And sometimes when people have high expectations, the hype is so at such a certain level that maybe, unfortunately it became a victim to that as well. What's come before it and what's coming after it. And people just might have had unrealistic expectations of what they thought it should be or could be.

[TJ Holmes]

But are we laypeople compared to professional critics who I actually don't know what their training is, but are we laypeople and they see something or, excuse me, are they just looking through a different lens than we are? We are simply fans. We are not trying to critique it as we're watching. Our critique is our experience in the theater. And our experience was a good one.

[Amy Robach]

It was a good one. And I think for me, my critique, or the way I view it is was I entertained. Was the acting good? Was the script good?

[TJ Holmes]

Loved it.

[Amy Robach]

Was it able to make me feel things, whether it be laughter, fear, horror, shock. And it did all of those things. And confusion even sometimes because I like to be. To be. I was on the edge of my seat, not because I was scared, but because I was intensely watching to see what was coming next and how this was all going to be explained. And that's a thriller that was missed.

[TJ Holmes]

A thriller.

[Amy Robach]

It was a thriller with a body horror and there was gore. So I mean, it really was a thriller. Horror, but probably more thriller than horror because you're trying to figure out what is happening, what's going on.

[TJ Holmes]

There is a scene when things finally turn when he's in a practice and there is a. There are consequences for him missing a pass, right? And the consequences are not on him, it's on somebody else. That intensity. I was like, oh, where's this movie going? Oh, you saw it when that happened.

[Amy Robach]

I had my hand over my eyes. I did not want to look. I was definitely not wanting to see some of what was happening to this. This poor fella who happily get a leave volunteer for whatever reason. I have no idea to be tortured. But it was. I just thought it was never boring, it was never slow. So that's why I'M confused by what a lot of these critics are saying. And even so, they have some regular Joes, you know, who write in. And I always like those actually more than the critics because I feel like they're kind of every man like us going in to see these movies. So a couple of them. And this was. Wow. I want to get your take on it. Horrifying and shocking were taglines I read about this movie. Unfortunately, there was some truth to it. This was horrifying, horrifyingly bad and shockingly boring. Even the slasher scenes were bad and uninspired. None of the scenes were scary at all. While it is obvious that was the intention only, the cinematography was good, but did not save the film. During the film, you keep wondering if everything that happens is real or is just playing in his head. And then I realized I just don't care.

[TJ Holmes]

Damn.

[Amy Robach]

Wow.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay.

[Amy Robach]

It's tough, right?

[TJ Holmes]

People have their opinions. And again, the critique.

[Amy Robach]

Okay, he said this was not worthy of my time. One of the worst movies I have seen this year.

[TJ Holmes]

Let's stop. Let's not do that.

[Amy Robach]

I. I actually am fascinated.

[TJ Holmes]

Not worth my time. That's purse. That's mean. That's emotional. Almost not worth. And again, maybe I haven't read enough movie reviews. And this is how they talk sometimes. And this is how you have to be to get attention. You had to be. I don't know. Or maybe that's how he genuinely feels. It just seems harsh.

[Amy Robach]

How about this one? This one I don't even get. Cheap visuals.

[TJ Holmes]

Cheap?

[Amy Robach]

Okay, disagree. A wandering plot.

[Commercial Announcer]

I didn't.

[Amy Robach]

I didn't think it was wandering. And a disappointing amount of gore. Despite a promising premise with a likable protagonist, the execution was fumbled. But on bump, several main plot points are carried by shaky cams and strange montage shots that make very little sense. This movie almost seemed almost afraid of leaning into the gore and the actual scares. Which, for a movie about football, an inherently violent sport, seems like a poor choice. Very disappointing from Jordan Peele.

[TJ Holmes]

I'm sorry.

[Amy Robach]

Cheap visuals.

[TJ Holmes]

A disappointing amount.

[Amy Robach]

Meaning too much gore, I think.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh, okay. So I took that as, wait, there wasn't enough. You're saying that they think it's too much?

[Amy Robach]

Well, you know what? Maybe just seemed almost afraid of leaning into the gore.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh, so they're saying it's not gory enough?

[Amy Robach]

Yes, and they wanted more scares, more gore.

[TJ Holmes]

But see, they sound like they went into it with too many expectations.

[Amy Robach]

I think everyone did. I think that's part of the problem. But cheap visuals? I Don't get that at all. I thought it was absolutely well shot and compelling in terms of the visuals.

[TJ Holmes]

And the compound they're at was the.

[Amy Robach]

Music was great, the acting was great. I, you know, it's, it's interesting. The, the original really awful preview by Robert daniels@robert rogerebert.com when he said that Julia Fox was wooden. I actually thought she was a Steen seal, a scene stealer in a lot of moments because she was playing this.

[TJ Holmes]

Over the top person.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. Like this influencer who was married to, you know, the goat, the big quarterback. And she was this, you know, full lipped woman who played her role perfectly.

[TJ Holmes]

You and I. After her first scene, we turned to each other, both leaned over immediately, just naturally to each other, like, oh my God, she's awesome.

[Commercial Announcer]

Right?

[TJ Holmes]

We love. I loved her the first appearance she made. Like, oh my gosh, she's great. I'm glad she's in there. And to hear somebody hated her. Look, to Marlon's point, a critic's opinion doesn't mean it's everybody else's. They have the right to their opinion. They can write as snarky and comedically as they want. And even if I find it mean at times, it's their job and you have to respect what they do. Just completely disagree, sweetheart. I am serious. I was nervous about going in because we had already committed to saying, to telling the audience, hey, we're gonna do a review. I was scared, like, oh, what if this is like, we actually don't like it? We are being as genuine as we can be about this movie. I am shocked at how bad the reviews are.

[Amy Robach]

We would never be mean. And I was prepared to not like it as well and just say, hey, I think we didn't have to. To say things so harshly. But yeah, there were some major problems with this film. I didn't. I was prepared to be able to say that too. I didn't know what to think. So again, I do think when you go in with low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. We kept looking at each other, waiting for it to get bad. I was like, this is good. And I actually saw you genuinely enjoying it just from like a guy football kind of a thing.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh, it again. I think that was. I think you said it before we even got out of the theater. Football meets Midsummer.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. That's what it felt like to me.

[TJ Holmes]

It was a trippy little thing. You have more reviews?

[Amy Robach]

Some. Well, someone else described it as. I wait, what did they say? It was Friday Night Lights meets Nosferatu, which I thought was kind of funny, too. I was like, that's another way to put it.

[TJ Holmes]

And I like the kid. Tariq Withers.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah.

[TJ Holmes]

We look and we saw. We recognize. What is he from? Where's he from? He was the guy who played the. In the recent reimagining of I know what you did last summer. So he was in another movie.

[Amy Robach]

He was the Ryan Felipe of the new franchise.

[TJ Holmes]

And he. I thought he was solid. And I like his feel, his look and motion at times, his toughness at times, his vulnerability. He was a kid, at times a man. I loved it. I look and, you know, look, full disclosure, we have a special place in our heart for Marlon Wayans. We just do. Best I've ever seen him in a.

[Amy Robach]

Movie, I thought he was remarkable, as in, you know, people talked about sinners and the acting performances in that movie. I thought he was on par with that. That's how good he was. And he. It was such a departure from anything else I've ever seen him in. I thought he was phenomenal. And by the way, in some of these reviews, even though they didn't like the movie, they. They did point out the acting chops of Marlon White. Yes. And several other outlets did point out Variety. Some of the other. They were. They were lukewarm on the movie itself. They weren't as harsh as some of these other ones did. Give nods to the acting. And I. And so when I do see other people talk about the wooden stiffness, I'm like, what did you see the same movie I did. Because I just thought it was. We see a lot of bad acting. We watch a lot of silly horror movies. Campy. And they're not even intentionally campy. Some of them are just campy. And they were trying to be good. And we still enjoy those. But I would never say that the acting is good. The whole point is sometimes we like to watch movies with bad acting, but. Because it's just fun. But this acting was stellar. Stellar.

[TJ Holmes]

Love and credit. And we commend Marlon Wayans for what he did, for being able to speak about it. This is his art. You know, he put a lot into this role, and he knows what's being said about it. And to just say, you know what? I respect you all. Do your thing, but doesn't mean it's everybody's opinion. Go see it. And for whatever reason, maybe that works. Sweetheart, I'm not sure if we would have seen this movie had he not put out that Instagram post.

[Amy Robach]

So kudos to Marlon Wayans. We've always loved him and certainly really respect his acting capabilities from this movie. And like he said, art is subjective. And so hey, if it gets you talking, if it gets you feeling something, even if you're annoyed that you saw it, hey, you felt something, you experienced experienced something. But if you haven't seen it and you can handle a little bit of gore and you love a thriller, we highly recommend this film.

[TJ Holmes]

You will not be bored. That is our recommendation. The folks we always appreciate game we didn't expect this but movie review What? What it's just for an Ebert. What are we going to be?

[Amy Robach]

Oh well, definitely thumbs up.

[TJ Holmes]

We're going to we should come up with a grading system.

[Amy Robach]

We should. If we if we do enough of these we we could come up with our own system. But this is definitely a you should go see it.

[TJ Holmes]

We would recommend this one for sure. Folks, we always appreciate you hanging with us and listening to us. From our dear Amy Robach. I'm TJ Holmes. We'll see y' all soon. And yes, go see him.

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[Amy Robach]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Amy Robach]

This is an iHeart podcast.