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Dear Movies, I Love You
Referential Films & How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)! Plus, Screenwriter Chris Thomas Devlin!
02:03:20
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- [00:02]
A
This is exactly right at Charmin. We heard you shouldn't talk about going to the bathroom in public, so we decided to sing about it.
- [00:11]
B
Light a candle, pour some wine, grab a roll the soft kind for a little me time. Charmin ultra soft smooth hair, wavy edges for my rear so let the softness caress your soul. Just relax, you're on a roll.
- [00:27]
A
Let her rip.
- [00:28]
B
Charmin ultra soft smooth tear Charmin ultra.
- [00:30]
A
Soft smooth tear had the same so you love now with weighty edges that tear better than the leading one. Ply brand Enjoy the go with Charmin. Hello, Casey. How's it going?
- [00:39]
B
Oh, Millie. Bad again.
- [00:42]
A
Why? What's going on now?
- [00:43]
B
I'm embarrassed.
- [00:45]
A
About what?
- [00:48]
B
I lost my groove. Yeah, I lost it and I don't know where I put it.
- [00:53]
A
I can see it in your face.
- [00:56]
B
I Actually, this is true. Not that losing my groove isn't true, but I lost my car keys when I was snow blowing, and so I think they're just. It's just underneath the snow and guess I'll see them in the spring. But that was really distressing.
- [01:17]
A
Oh, boy.
- [01:18]
B
Yeah, and I lost my groove, which is more distressing. I don't got it anymore.
- [01:24]
A
You know what I always say, Phone, keys, groove before you leave the house.
- [01:28]
B
Phone, keys, groove. You know, it's Jim Tan groove. You know, that's. That's how I. Did you ever watch Jersey Shore Jim Tan Laundry?
- [01:39]
A
No, unfortunately, I did not see the documentary of people who share my ethnicity, or at least half my ethnicity, the.
- [01:50]
B
Docu series about Italian Americans. But yeah, it's. I don't know, maybe it's the winter months. We're post holiday stuff. My birthday was last week.
- [02:03]
A
Oh, really? How was it?
- [02:05]
B
It was. Yeah. I mean, depressing. I'm getting older and my groove is gone. And so. But yeah, that's sort of the state of things.
- [02:15]
A
Yeah.
- [02:16]
B
How about you?
- [02:17]
A
I. I have lost my groove from time to time.
- [02:20]
B
Oh, but got it back.
- [02:23]
A
Well, it just comes and goes. You know what I mean? It's like. Okay, it's like a. It's like a wave of a beautiful ocean, maybe in Jamaica or a Caribbean island of some kind, which I. At this time of the year, you know, last. Last episode we did Bleak Week, and then this episode we were like, thinking, oh, let's do something that's a little bit more, I don't know, vacationy, Tropical, maybe in a tropical climate. And that's all I've really been thinking about, to be honest, is about going on vacation. Did I tell you that I'm going on a cruise with my parents in a couple months.
- [03:01]
B
You 100% did not tell me about this.
- [03:04]
A
Listen, I don't look it, but I've been on several cruises in my life. And is that true? Yeah, I mean, first of all, I used to work cruises because I worked for TCM and we would put on a cruise annually as a, you know, an event. So I used to work cruises, the TCM Classic cruises, in fact. And I've been on a couple, just like with my mom and dad. They're kind of into cruising. So, you know, a lot of people shit on them and I completely understand why. However, it is a perfect little vacation if you just don't want to make decisions for yourself.
- [03:46]
B
And I mean, that sounds nice. Yeah, I get the appeal. I also get the appeal of like eating so much food that I want to burst.
- [03:56]
A
Yeah, you don't even have to get off the boat, you know, like if you really want to, you can just kind of hang out. I mean, you know, there's pluses and minuses, but it's like, it's perfect for people who like just want a little contained little resort environment without many decisions to make. And you can just lay around and read and hang out and it's kind of nice in that way. But regardless, I'm kind of dreaming of that cruise. I'm just kind of dreaming about warmer weather and just being out of this grooveless January.
- [04:35]
B
Yes. I cannot tell you how much snow is in our yard. It is like we are in the Arctic tundra here. It is crazy.
- [04:43]
A
Yeah, I can't imagine like. Like you tell me you live in Minnesota and I am like, wow, God Godspeed with that.
- [04:53]
B
Well, I did just get back from a little trip to la, so I should have my groove back. But that didn't for some reason initiate my groovedom. Yeah, I was in LA for about a week and the weather was really nice. It was really hot and I got to see a lot of friends, ate at some of my favorite LA restaurants, like Gilbert's Mexican Food in Santa Monica and the Prince in Koreatown.
- [05:21]
A
Yes, I love that place.
- [05:23]
B
I love the Prince. Had some great Korean fried chicken. And then of course I had to have In N Out, Del Taco and Jack in the Box. All three I can't have in Minneapolis cause it's not here, so. But it was nice, it was a good trip.
- [05:41]
A
And yet you remain grooveless in Minnesota.
- [05:45]
B
I remain grooveless. Well, you know, it also might have affected it is us watching Come and See and discussing that movie. I think that might have been where I lost it. But I'm hoping that this episode brings us back.
- [05:59]
A
I think it will.
- [05:59]
B
Brings my groove back.
- [06:01]
A
Yeah. I'm very, very curious to talk to you about this movie because we're doing a movie called How Stella Got her groove back from 19. And we decided that we wanted to do this movie for two reasons. Number one, sort of changing the loca, the location from Belarussia to Jamaica, which we felt like was necessary in these bleak January days. Right?
- [06:30]
B
Yes.
- [06:31]
A
But on top of that, we wanted to talk about movies that are sort of like, I don't know, referential movies. I guess that's the best way to put it. Movies that after they've come out, kind of become the loose term for something that we talk about in our popular culture. Right?
- [06:48]
B
Yes.
- [06:49]
A
I thought it would be interesting to talk about this movie in that regard because How Stella Got Her Groove Back is sort of like a term that people sort of say when, I guess, single middle aged women decide to go on vacation and then have a little fling or something.
- [07:08]
B
Yes, yes.
- [07:09]
A
You know.
- [07:10]
B
Yeah. And you instantly know what that means. Like, it's like a shorthand and it becomes almost like a term in and of itself.
- [07:18]
A
Yeah. Even if you've never seen the movie, though, that's the thing is that like you've never seen the movie. And what I think is really interesting about this movie too is that I have not seen this movie since it came out. I have a lot of thoughts about that and I find that it's interesting that it's actually less about the vacation than I ever thought.
- [07:38]
B
I mean, we'll get into this, but I was surprised when shortly into the movie, they're back from vacation.
- [07:43]
A
Yeah. I was like, wait a minute, I thought she was supposed to be. This was like a minute by minute documentary about Stella's vacation. But. No, but that's. But it also creates another interesting sort of conundrum for those characters which I, I don't know, I kind of appreciate too. But yeah, lot of thoughts.
- [08:01]
B
Yes. Can't wait to get into that. We also have a great guest on this Week for my area of expertise. He's a friend of mine, screenwriter Chris Thomas Devlin. He actually. I don't know if you saw this, Millie, but Deadline just reported it, announced his new movie coming out. It's called Doomtown. They haven't started production on it, but Blumhouse is going to be making it. So that was kind of cool. That just happened this last week.
- [08:28]
A
Yeah, that's great.
- [08:30]
B
But he's going to be on to talk about fake movies in movies. So that was a very fun conversation. You'll be able to hear that later in the show.
- [08:41]
A
Well, please stay tuned. I think we're going to have a little pep in our step for this.
- [08:47]
B
I think so, too.
- [08:47]
A
I think we're going to change things up for us. You're listening to Dear Movies, I love you. Dear Movies, I love you.
- [08:58]
C
And I've got to know if you.
- [09:02]
A
Love me, too, yes or no? Check the box below. All right, folks, you are listening to Dear Movies, I love you. This is a podcast for those who are in a relationship with movies. My name is Millie Decherico.
- [09:29]
B
My name is Casey o'. Brien.
- [09:31]
A
And that is. Right. We are going to be talking about a movie called How Stella Got her groove back from 1998 starring Angela Bassett, who? And Whoopi Goldberg and Taye Diggs, which a couple things about that. Number one, Angela Bassett. This was like her era, like this whole era of her with her extremely ripped, jacked body.
- [09:57]
B
I know. I like that in this movie. I feel like they, they're like, we need to show her working out, that she works out in the movie to explain why she's in, like, such incredible shape.
- [10:11]
A
Yeah. I was like, if they don't address the fact that she's got, like, full abs, huge jacked arms, I'm just like, if they don't explain this, then we're not going to be able to move on.
- [10:26]
B
I did, I mean, I made this note, but she is, like, so hot in this movie that it almost, like makes the believability. It, like, almost takes me out of the movie.
- [10:36]
A
Yeah.
- [10:36]
B
Like, she's like, too attractive because I feel like they're kind of trying to make her be, like a little bit of a fuddy duddy. A little bit. And yeah, she's not.
- [10:45]
A
I know. In fact, you know, Casey does this kind of informational packet, I guess it would be before we record episodes that just has, like, details. And it's kind of our outline for the episode. And he always posts a picture still from the movie. And the one that he posted is my favorite outfit that she wears in the entire movie. Super cute. It's like her and Whoopi Goldberg on a bench in Jamaica and they're both wearing straw hats. And Angela Bassett's got that, like, black and white striped little tank top with her red skirt. And I'm like, that is so fashionable. She looks so good.
- [11:21]
B
Yeah, she looks great. Yeah.
- [11:24]
A
So. And also, not for nothing, I've talked About this on I saw what you did. I don't know if you remember this, but back when I had Twitter or X, Taye Diggs started following me.
- [11:37]
B
And I remember he followed me too. That's what I said, everybody. He followed like 500,000 people.
- [11:44]
A
The whole joke of it was that I was like, oh, my God, Taye Diggs is following me on Twitter. This is the greatest day of my fucking life. And then I realized he's following, like, I look, looked at our mutuals and he was following every single person pretty much.
- [12:00]
B
I think he literally is. I actually looked at his Twitter before we started recording because I wanted to see if he was even active. He hasn't posted anything since like 2024, and he follows over 500,000 people on Twitter. Literally. I think it's like 540,000 people.
- [12:17]
A
So do you think that's like a social media manager or something that he hired was like, here's the deal. In order to get followers, you had to follow.
- [12:25]
B
Here's the thing I don't understand. Did he have some sort of bot that was automatically following people? He must have, because like that. How do you click a mouse? How do you find 500,000 people to follow? You know?
- [12:38]
A
Well, I wonder if it was discriminate or not. Was he following just people in media?
- [12:44]
B
I mean, I am low, low, low on the totem pole of media, so.
- [12:47]
A
But it doesn't matter.
- [12:48]
B
I mean, yeah, it doesn't matter.
- [12:50]
A
I don't. I don't know what he was doing, but that just killed my dreams a little bit. That was back in the day when you thought that a Twitter follow meant something.
- [13:00]
B
I remember when, like, someone famous would, like, even, like, respond to something I tweeted. Like, if I tweeted something at them and they responded, that was like, so huge.
- [13:09]
A
But listen, we've had guests on the show who used to be social media followers of mine and vice versa, who didn't even realize they were. They, like, they approached me as if I was a stranger. I'm like, oh, cool, we're just following each other. That's what I'm saying. Social media means nothing. It absolutely means nothing.
- [13:26]
B
So, yeah. Well, Millie, should we get into our. Well, actually, you know what? I just wanted to say one thing that was really nice that I helped me get my groove back a little bit this week is I bought a CD from Poly Vinyl record label. Yes, Polyvinyl.
- [13:41]
A
Of course.
- [13:42]
B
I did the CD Saturday by the band Saturday Looks Good to Me, all youl Summer Songs, which is kind of this, you know, twee kind of soul pop band from the early 2000s. And they sent me a watermelon airhead with the CD.
- [14:00]
A
Hey, that's really nice.
- [14:02]
B
And it was delicious.
- [14:03]
A
Did you get a. Did you not get a Rainer Maria album from Polyvinyl? Did you remember them?
- [14:10]
B
Yeah, I remember them.
- [14:11]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [14:12]
B
Got a little sticker. Anyways, that was a nice little treat.
- [14:14]
A
Good for them. I love that.
- [14:16]
B
But, Millie, should we open up our film diary for the week? All right, never mind.
- [14:22]
A
That's fun. Good.
- [14:24]
B
Millie, what did you watch this week? And why?
- [14:28]
A
And why? The big question and why? So my friends were like. My friends who, by the way, pretty much all work at tcm, a lot of friends that still work at tcm. And they, for some reason, wanted to hang out and do, like, a pizza and movie night, and they wanted to watch. They randomly wanted to watch Scream 3. Now, I thought it was random that they wanted to watch Scream 3. I don't know if there was some other thing that was motivating them to watch it. Maybe the new Scream that's gonna come out soon.
- [15:02]
B
Is there even a new one coming out soon?
- [15:04]
A
I think there's a new scream movie.
- [15:05]
B
Okay.
- [15:06]
A
20. Yeah, it's Scream 7. Scream 7, in fact. Upcoming. Scheduled to be released in the US on February 27th.
- [15:15]
B
Okay.
- [15:18]
A
I don't even know what to say about it, because. Did you see the last Scream, the one that came out most recently?
- [15:25]
B
I believe I have.
- [15:26]
A
Okay.
- [15:27]
B
Is it in New York?
- [15:28]
A
Is it?
- [15:30]
B
I thought the latest one was in New York.
- [15:31]
A
Okay. I remember virtually nothing about the new theater. Newest Scream movie to come out. Okay. Except for two things. Sydney was in it, and she was wearing Blundstones, which I am a fan of Blundstones. So I was like, cool. She's wearing shoes that I wear. I felt very represented by that. And then two, the worst thing that could possibly happen is that they fucking killed Dewey off. Which I was like, how could they? How fucking could they, bro? How could that be insane?
- [16:04]
B
I feel like he was an untouchable.
- [16:07]
A
Listen, I was so fucking pissed off when that happened that I was like, that's it for me. I'm out.
- [16:13]
B
I hear you.
- [16:14]
A
But then somebody, I don't know, someone I know that's in the horror streets that loves horror gossip is saying that he's gonna be in the new one. I'm like, how the hell is that possible?
- [16:27]
B
You know, it's kind of like Fast and Furious. They kill people on that series all the time. And guess what? They're right.
- [16:32]
A
Back.
- [16:33]
B
So maybe they can just do that again. Do something like that.
- [16:37]
A
Well, Scream three, a lot of people think, is the shittiest one.
- [16:45]
B
It definitely takes a left turn from the previous two movies. I would say.
- [16:50]
A
Yes. Although there are people that stand it pretty hard. I mean, number one chief among them is because Parker Posey's in it. And, yes, it's great. She's probably one of the best parts of the film.
- [17:04]
B
Yes, I would say so.
- [17:05]
A
I personally think that this is the Scream where everybody complains about Courtney Cox's little weird choppy bangs, and they should.
- [17:15]
B
I mean, it is a bad haircut.
- [17:19]
A
I don't mind the hair as much. I just think the whole MacGuffin of the voice changer box is so fun. Stupid. I was like, you're telling me in 2000, they had the tech to have a fucking deep fake voice box where. Because the conceit is that basically the Scream killer is able to imitate every person's voice perfectly.
- [17:50]
B
Yeah.
- [17:51]
A
So he calls the. He calls the phone, and then it's like he can sound like Sydney or Dewey or anybody, and I'm just like, ain't no fucking way that's happening in 2000.
- [18:03]
B
That was. That was a bridge too far.
- [18:05]
A
Bridge too far. It's like we haven't even perfected it now. We're still working.
- [18:09]
B
Yeah, right.
- [18:10]
A
But it's like that thing where it becomes. It's just the fucking stupid MacGuffin where it's like, the only way he's able to get anywhere in this movie is by using that stupid machine. And it's like, it looks like a little pager that he holds. And I'm just like, this is so.
- [18:26]
B
Dumb that it's kind of like in the Mission Impossible movies, which I know you don't watch, but they have the technology to make perfect masks of people. So it's. And, like, perfect voice replication. So there'll be someone that's, like. Looks exactly like Tom Cruise or like some other character, and no one can tell the difference because it's so lifelike. And that is also, like, insane.
- [18:49]
A
No, it's. There's these little things sometimes in movies where I'm just like, that's not. That can't happen. But this is the screen that's also kind of like Hollywood. It's like the movie in a movie. Right.
- [19:03]
B
Jenny McCarthy's in it, too, I believe.
- [19:05]
A
There's so much. Listen, I said this during. During the viewing that we had at my friend's house. Is there anything that dates your movie more than A cameo by Jay and Silent Bob.
- [19:23]
B
I forgot they were in that.
- [19:25]
A
Oh, my God. The moment they showed up, I'm like, all right, I know this move. Just such a bad omen when they show up.
- [19:35]
B
Yeah. Well, I remember the thing I kind of Remember from Scream 3. It's been a while since I've seen it. I remember the explanation of who the killer is is really convoluted. And they're, like, explaining, like, who exactly he is and why he did it. And I was like, if he has to do this much, like, explanation of why he's. I was like, it was kind of backwards and silly for me.
- [19:59]
A
Oh, it's so. I mean, the whole Rita Reynolds, I would read Reynolds. What a name. I'm like, reno Reynolds is the name of, like, my boss when I worked at Old Time Pottery in high school.
- [20:15]
B
Yeah.
- [20:16]
A
Rena would, like, go out for a cigarette break, and I'd be like, reena, dude. She, like, is on my ass today. It's like, I want to try to clock out early, but I think Reena is gonna come down on me. But that whole storyline of, like, Maureen Prescott, Rena Reynolds, I'm your brother.
- [20:33]
B
Like, oh, I'm your half brother. And it was like, he's also directing the movie that they're doing, so why is he killing these? I mean, it's just so insane.
- [20:45]
A
Oh, my God.
- [20:46]
B
Yeah. I mean, I think it's hard because I. The I. The first Scream is so good. I feel like it's so great.
- [20:54]
A
And so I think the second Scream is really. I think me, too. Isn't that the one with, like, Lori Metcalf? I mean, Jerry o' Connell's in that one, but whatever. Like, it's. It's really good. And.
- [21:06]
B
And that introduces the concept of Stab.
- [21:09]
A
Yeah.
- [21:10]
B
Movie Stab, which we discussed later in this episode with Chris Devlin. But.
- [21:14]
A
Yeah, but it's. Ah, damn. I think my friends were obviously wanting to watch it because they knew. They weren't suggesting it was a masterpiece by any means, but I. I'd actually seen it again pretty recently, because when the last Scream movie came out, I was like, oh, I'm gonna go back and watch all of them. Yeah.
- [21:33]
C
But.
- [21:33]
A
Yeah. Wow.
- [21:34]
B
Wow.
- [21:35]
A
What a ride. That's it. That's all I watched this week was Scream 3.
- [21:39]
B
So I watched a movie. I only watched one movie, and it's called.
- [21:44]
A
You've.
- [21:44]
B
No one's ever heard of this stupid movie. It's called colony. It's from 2013. It stars Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Zeggers. Who was the lead in the Air Bud movies. Colony is a futuristic sci fi movie where it's, it's kind of like Snowpiercer, where the entire planet is like frozen arctic tundra. And the colony is like this place. It's like, you know, the seed colony where the, the seeds have been kept. So they have like a little society down there.
- [22:22]
A
Yeah.
- [22:23]
B
But it's also a zombie movie. But they refuse to call them zombies in the movie. They're like, they're, they're just like, they're crazy cannibals. But I'm like, these are, these are zombified humans. It was just fine. I don't know why I wanted to, why I think I wanted to watch a cold movie.
- [22:46]
A
I was gonna say because you lost your keys in the snow.
- [22:49]
B
Yeah.
- [22:49]
A
And then you're like, what would happen if, you know, Laurence Fishburne was here?
- [22:53]
B
Yeah. He would save me. He would find my keys. Infuriating. I'm so mad I lost my keys. It's so, I'd be, I'm pissed anyways.
- [23:03]
A
Well, this movie looks, since this movie looks, I don't even know what to tell you.
- [23:10]
B
You know how on, you know when, if you're on like Twitter or TikTok, random movies will pop up? Like, people will be talking about the most random ass movie from like 2014 on there for some reason?
- [23:26]
A
Sure.
- [23:26]
B
And I, when those do, I'm always kind of like, oh, that looks kind of interesting. And that's how I end up watching these stupid movies.
- [23:31]
A
You are the only person that's curious about that kind of stuff. I mean, honestly, I see that stuff and I'm like, looks like I'm gonna keep it moving.
- [23:40]
B
I don't know. I, I, I want to know more.
- [23:44]
A
Well, on some level, I appreciate that. So good for you.
- [23:48]
B
Thank you. Well, that's it. That's all I got.
- [23:50]
A
All right, let's close the vault.
- [23:53]
B
Close it up. All right, we are moving on to our main discussion of How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Also, we're going to be talking about referential movies.
- [24:17]
A
Yeah.
- [24:17]
B
Maybe we can kind of start there. We talked, touched upon this already. But what are kind of some of when you think about that type of referential movie where you say, like, oh, like if you said like, oh, your, my friend, is kind of doing a How did kind of a How Stella Got Her Groove Back situation. We all know what that means.
- [24:37]
A
Yeah.
- [24:38]
B
But what, what are some other ones that really come to mind for you?
- [24:42]
A
Well, I think the biggest one is probably the biggest one now is probably Gaslight. Yeah, I'm sure everybody's.
- [24:52]
B
Like an actual term that I don't even think people know is associated with a movie.
- [24:59]
A
Correct. And as somebody who was working at TCM and programmed the movie Gaslight from 1944, directed by George Cukor, many, many times, to witness this term be kind of brought into popular culture in sort of real time was so fascinating to me because I was like, certainly people are talking about this film, but who the fuck has seen this film? This is not. And I'm not saying that Gaslight 1944, because there was an earlier version, a 1940s version with Anton Walbrook, which is less popular. I would say the Ingrid Bergman version, the Charles boyer version, the 1944 version is not. I wouldn't say it's like this hugely. It's no Casablanca. It's no wizard of Oz. It's just, you know, like a fucking classic film that was, you know, made by famous classic actors and directors. Right?
- [26:12]
B
Yeah.
- [26:12]
A
So the idea that it became this thing that people just kept saying, it's like, on TikTok, it's like being used by young people. It's kind of part of this whole, like, pop psychology, pop therapy type of language. Right. That we're all using now.
- [26:30]
B
It. I feel like, especially in conversation around reality television, I've noticed it really popping off too.
- [26:37]
A
Right. Because, you know, there is an actual gas light, which is what. Exactly what it is. It is a light that was powered by gas. It was used, you know, primarily in the Victorian era, like. And that was an item that existed. But then the actual movie is more about the term, which is basically like a guy who makes a woman think that she's going crazy when she's not. Right. And so that becomes the term now gaslighting that we have, which is that basically, it's when somebody is making you feel like you're going insane and you're not, or, you know, convincing you that, like, you have, you know, irrational, insane thoughts about something.
- [27:29]
C
Yes.
- [27:30]
B
And it's interesting because, like, the conversation around gaslighting, I feel like people think of it as, like, a psychological term now, where it's like, well, that's not actually. That is gaslighting, and that is not gaslighting. Let's be careful when we throw around the term gaslighting, but it's like, this is like a silly reference to a movie, so we don't actually have to be that careful, you know?
- [27:52]
A
Yeah. I mean, like, is it in the DSM 5 or whatever? Or at this point, I don't know. But it's like. But I just think that in terms of it coming from a movie, that's gotta be the best example. Modern day.
- [28:05]
B
Yeah.
- [28:06]
A
But then there's also things like we were kind of spitballing ideas about this, like, Weekend at Bernie's. Right. Which it's so funny. I think the best part about perhaps How Stella Got Her Groove Back but also Weaken at Bernie's is using the film title as a verb.
- [28:26]
B
Yes.
- [28:26]
A
Which I think is hilarious. Right. Being like, oh, he weakened at Bernie's Dim. You know, he's basically like, carrying around a dead guy on vacation.
- [28:35]
B
Yeah. Or it's like your friend gets so drunk that you have to just kind of sling him over your shoulder and go about your. The rest of the party or whatever. And it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [28:46]
A
He weakened at Bern east him. That is a. Like, you know. Oh, she. It was totally like, she. Stella got. How Stella Got Her Groove Backed. You know, it's like, oh, okay.
- [28:57]
B
Which I almost feel like How Stella Got Her Groove Back has been supplanted a little bit by Eat, Pray Love. I feel like now people say Eat Pray Love for a very similar type of experience where a woman goes to someplace exotic to kind of find herself and in, like, possibly with romantic implications.
- [29:21]
A
Well, I would. I would add to that that Eat Pray Love is for white people. It's like when white women want to find a spiritual reckoning with themselves while accidentally falling in love. Whereas I feel like How Stella Got Her Groove Back is more primal. I feel like that's like, I work too hard and I just want to fuck. Whereas Eat Pray Love is like. Well, I also want to find, like, providence in another country.
- [29:47]
B
Yes. You know, that's a good distinction.
- [29:50]
A
But, you know, I sort of talked about this on. I saw what you did when we. We did an episode about Deliverance, the movie Deliverance from 1972. And, you know, I don't think that people are actually using the term Deliverance, but I. But I also think that referential movies can also be, you know, scenes and films that people remember. And I think that people have used the. And I talk about this a lot on that episode. So, like, you know, go listen to it. People have used, like, the Ban show noise as a way of striking fear of the unknown in, like, rural environments. Right.
- [30:34]
B
Yeah. Yeah. You'll just go bad. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Or something.
- [30:37]
A
Exactly. Or, like, paddle faster or whatever. Like, it's that thing of, like, people taking Adopting scenes or titles or, you know, tropes or, you know, plots of films and using it in kind of everyday language, which I think is really interesting. And some movies do it better than others, obviously. But do you have any examples that, like, besides Eat, Pray, Love.
- [31:04]
B
Yeah, well, I. One that, like, maybe this is just my friend group, but we have. We always are, like, you know, when you're in la, sometimes you find yourself in kind of like weird hoity toity Hollywood situations that you're not supposed to be in. And we would always be like, this is a real Eyes Wide Shut situation.
- [31:21]
A
Yeah.
- [31:21]
B
Like, that was like kind of like a shorthand for that type of thing. You know, finding yourself in like, all of a sudden you're like, out of your depth and it's kind of frightening. But with like, rich elite people.
- [31:37]
A
Oh, for sure.
- [31:38]
B
I feel like misery is another one that comes up in conversation just being like, if someone's like, obsessed with you and you're alone with them, or like, if a friend is like, alone with someone that's obsessed with them, you're worried they're going to be in like a misery situation.
- [31:56]
A
I don't find that. I know it doesn't happen to me very often, so I don't. I don't know what you're talking about, Casey.
- [32:01]
B
Okay. You don't think people are obsessed with you?
- [32:03]
A
Absolutely not. I don't think I'm ever in a room with anybody that's obsessed with me ever.
- [32:07]
B
Maybe this is more of like a college situation when I had to do with like, crushes.
- [32:11]
A
Yeah. People. That's you, basically. That's you telling on yourself. Yeah. I mean, listen, the funny thing about this entire thing we're talking about is that my entire life is movies. I reference shit constantly and don't even realize it.
- [32:27]
B
Yeah.
- [32:28]
A
To the point where sometimes I reference a movie and my friends don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about. And I'm like, oh, sorry, I'm the only one that's seen that movie. Right. Like, and this. I just think that it is literally a second language to me to talk in movie ness.
- [32:46]
B
Yeah.
- [32:47]
A
Which is why a movie like How Stellar Got Her Groove Back is really fun to talk about because again, like, it is. It is a film. We'll talk about it as a film for. For sure. But then just the idea that it's kind of become, you know, the. The term for something.
- [33:04]
B
Yeah.
- [33:05]
A
Without. And it can be referenced without people even having to see it, I think is really cool in a way.
- [33:11]
B
So Yeah. I think the Shining is also one, like, people being isolated, like, going insane. I feel like that gets referenced sort of in that.
- [33:19]
A
Oh, yeah. Oh, I say that constantly. Like, especially these days. I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm totally the Shining in here. I'm all by myself. I've. I've talked to nobody in a week, you know? Yeah.
- [33:29]
B
And I feel like people usually refer to that in. The Shining is like, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. Like, they say that more than, like, the Shining, but it is, like, kind of the same thing.
- [33:40]
A
Yep.
- [33:47]
B
Do you want to get into the movie?
- [33:48]
A
Fuck, yeah. Let's go.
- [33:50]
B
Let's do it. Okay. This is a romantic comedy drama from 1998. It's directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. It's written by Terry McMillan, who wrote the book that this is based on, and Ronald Bass. Some themes on here. I said tadpoling. It's a little bit of a theme.
- [34:10]
A
What the hell is. I wrote this in all caps or no, in bold. What the hell is Tadpole?
- [34:18]
B
You've never heard of Tadpole?
- [34:20]
A
No. What the fuck is that?
- [34:21]
B
Tadpole. You've never heard of Tadpole? It's when a young man goes out with an older woman. Oh, God.
- [34:27]
A
No, I have not. That is offensive.
- [34:32]
B
I didn't come up with it.
- [34:33]
A
Oh, God. But then think about a tadpole.
- [34:38]
B
That's good. Gross. Can't believe you never heard that. There's a movie called Tadpole.
- [34:44]
A
Okay. Together. Tadpole. Yeah. Who's in that movie?
- [34:48]
B
Sigourney Weaver.
- [34:50]
A
Oh, God. Why did they come up with, like, such gross terms for, like, who gives a. Like, oh, cougar. A mil for Tadpolar being a blood. Like, Give me a break.
- [35:03]
B
I don't know what to tell you, but that's a theme of the movie. You could say, hey, it is maturity, aging, standout actors. There's a. There this. There's a. Quite a cast shock. Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Regina King, Whoopi Goldberg.
- [35:21]
A
The kid that plays her son, who I love. Who is this kid?
- [35:25]
B
Quincy? What is that guy? I don't. I didn't recognize him.
- [35:29]
A
Michael J. Pagan. Man, he was a good little actor, I thought.
- [35:34]
B
Yeah, he was great. He was great. I also really liked seeing Glenn Turner. He didn't really have a big part, but I like the actor Glenn Turman. Oh, me too. Who plays Winston's father. But, Millie, do you have a personal connection to this movie outside of having seen it before?
- [35:52]
A
Well, this is something that I kind of want to talk to you About. Because I realized you have written. I have zero connection to this movie. And yeah, I'm curious because I feel like there is, there are certain movies in the black movie canon that I remember not as a black person obviously, but as somebody who grew up around black people and had. And around black culture specifically, like in my life. Right. But then I remember it came on because this came out like what, 98. So I was already like out of. Out of the house. I was in college and I remember I saw this on. I want to say it was during a holiday when I was like at my parents house and they, you know, it's like on HBO or Showtime or something like that. And I remember thinking it was really adult. Like I was like, oh, this is like for people in their 40s. This has nothing to do with me. I'm in my shithead phase. I'm, you know, in my early 20s and what do I know about having a full time job in finance and then being so stressed out that I have to go to Jamaica. Right.
- [37:02]
B
Yeah.
- [37:03]
A
But I just remember being kind of intrigued by that because I was always like wanting to know what life would be like when I was 40 and I had a job, you know. So there was that little bit of a fascination with it even though it felt like I didn't know anything about that life. Right.
- [37:20]
C
Yes.
- [37:20]
A
At the same time though, though, I don't know if you remember this, but there was after this movie came out or maybe around when this movie came out, there were so many advertisements on TV for Jamaican trips and for resorts in the Caribbean. I don't know if you remember this. There was this one called Hedonism.
- [37:42]
B
Well, I've heard of Hedonism.
- [37:44]
A
Yes. So there was this resort called Hedonism. And I want to say there was like a hedonism 2 and a hedonism 3. Like there are multiple resorts, but it basically would advertise on television for like, I don't know, like adults. And they were adult only resorts in the Caribbean where you couldn't bring kids and they were like a little sexy.
- [38:06]
B
That it was basically my. I always thought of those as like, these are like orgy resorts down in Jamaica.
- [38:17]
A
Or, or swords. But you know what I'm saying, What I'm getting at is that like I was like fascinated by that kind of stuff because it was like I was in. I was not of the age where that would have appealed to me.
- [38:33]
B
Yeah.
- [38:34]
A
At that time, in 98. So in total I was like, okay, this movie was. So there's something Big going on with this movie. Not just from the stars, but also just, it's kind of like, you know, the sexy movie that came out that year that was for adults. And you know, I just was sort of fascinated by it from afar. But then also as part of this kind of movie about black experiences which wasn't, doesn't happen as much. I mean, I honestly have not seen by that point had not seen a movie I don't think about a black woman who goes on vacation and finds romance. I mean, there's so many white movies that have that mean Roman Holiday. I mean, you want to go back further than that. It's like how many times has Katharine Hepburn gone to Italy to find romance, you know, or whatever. But it's like, okay, so now we have something that's not necessarily the white experience and it's for other people. And I just find that fascinating and interesting.
- [39:42]
B
So yeah, absolutely. Like I said, I don't really have any connection to this movie because when it came out it was just, it felt like very adult contemporary type of movie. I mean this is kind of like the, the soft rock. It's, it's just, it feels like a Kenny G saxophone solo or something. It just feels like so it was so not of interest to me when I was like a teenager, you know, of course. And I'm not really even speaking to like the black experience of it. I just mean it's like a very adult movie about adults with complicated adult problems. And that was something I was not interested in as a young kid. And now watching it, I'm very interested in that. And I would found it very refreshing seeing a movie like this because we don't get mainstream movies like this that are, you know, it's not tackling super difficult topics, you know, it's not wrangling with huge events, but it's about the problems we have as aging adults. And I found that like, yeah, really refreshing and entertaining and I was touched by a lot of this movie watching it. I'm going to get into the synopsis here briefly if you need to. Okay. Stella. Stella Payne. The names in this movie are kind of funny. Stella Payne, played by Angela bassett, is a 40 year old, wealthy, successful stockbroker in San Francisco. She's also a single parent to her son Quincy, who's 11 now. Quincy the beginning of the movie is going away for two weeks to stay with his father. And Stella all of a has a lot of free time on her hands. And her son Quincy says to her when he's leaving mom, try to have some fun. And she sees an ad on TV for, like, we were just talking about an ad for a vacation in Jamaica. And she has this sort of fantasy sequence where she sees herself in the ad, which isn't a device that's used anywhere else in the movie, but it is used at the top of the movie. So she kind of, on a whim, calls up her pal Delilah, played by Whoopi Goldberg, and they decide to go to Jamaica together and have some fun and maybe, just maybe, get her groove back. Now, Millie, what do you think when you say the groove, what are they exactly referring to? Do you think that is the groove?
- [42:22]
A
That is the widest question I've ever been asked in my entire life.
- [42:26]
B
That's what I bring to the podcast. Possible.
- [42:30]
A
Yeah. So the groove. I don't want to speak for anyone else but me, because guess what, folks, I am now. I'm kind of older than Stella. Let's get serious. Which is shocking to think about. I think there is a general groove loss in her 40s. Doesn't matter gender, nor anyone's specific experience. I think 40s, the groove levels take a dip no matter who you are.
- [43:09]
B
Okay, trending down.
- [43:11]
A
Yeah. I think for women there is, you know, the issue of menopause, perimenopause, hormonal changes, et cetera, that get really kicked up a notch in her 40s. So I think that this character is sort of right on time for all that stuff. I mean, she's already had a kid. The kid is old enough to, like, sort of, you know, be independent. She doesn't have a husband. She spends a lot of her time working, and she works in a very high pressure field. She works in finance, and she doesn't have a lot of time to date her friends, try to set her up with people. She's kind of like, you know, one foot out the door. I feel like there's a lot of women that can relate to that in my age group. Right?
- [44:11]
B
Yeah.
- [44:11]
A
So I feel like there's like the 40s, 40s thing, just generally. And then I feel like women have a little bit of extra complications with it. And I think that's, you know, our bodies, but also culturally. And so I feel like when I watched this now, I was like, oh, hell yeah, her groove is fucking gone. Like, this bitch is not having any fun. She's just, like, living to work and, you know, sort of just like having a spa day here and there. That doesn't really solve anything, right? Yeah, but it's that thing of that feeling. And I. And I will say that maybe it doesn't get as fleshed out as maybe it could have been. Like, you could, like, as a viewer, you could really stand to know what that groove loss is a little bit more. But I certainly felt it because I was that age does. Do you see what I'm saying?
- [45:14]
B
Like, yeah, I think I sort of felt like she's. She is such a high status character.
- [45:22]
A
Yeah.
- [45:22]
B
And I was kind of like, well, what does she need? I know there was like, there's a little bit of a lack of, like, personal life going on, but I was like, does she really need to, like, get something back? It didn't really feel like she had lost anything at the beginning of the movie. You know, that was sort of my thought.
- [45:44]
A
I would argue the opposite, but that's just because, again, I feel like we have different perspectives on life. And I think, really, if you want to just get down to it, her groove is basically, she needs to get fucked. That's kind of what is happening. Right. And if in the film, it doesn't seem like she's doing that.
- [46:06]
B
No, it does not. I. I thought that was actually pretty. Well, I liked when she's by herself after her son leaves and she's like, trying to learn how to play the piano. Like, there's like, she's like, plucking and she doesn't know how to play the piano. I was like, yeah, that's like bleak. Like, she's trying to, like, come up with this, like, new hobby alone. She does need to go on vacation. Can I just say, too, I like that this movie was R. Yes. I feel like now they would be like, well, just take out the swearing and like, there's some nudity, but it's like a pretty soft R. But it made it just like. There's one point where Whoopi Goldberg is like, fuck him.
- [46:52]
A
Yes.
- [46:52]
B
That was. That made the movie more enjoyable than if it was, like, a little tamed down, you know?
- [46:59]
A
Yeah. I loved the language. I definitely thought there should have been more sex. And I actually remember inaccurately that I thought there was more sex in it than there actually was. There really isn't a lot of, like, tantalizing scenes. Except for the shower scene.
- [47:17]
B
That's really the shower scene.
- [47:19]
A
But it was like, I. I was like, oh, I thought they had a lot more sex than they actually did in this film. But they do cuss a lot, which is great.
- [47:26]
B
Yeah.
- [47:26]
A
So I don't know. I think, yeah, if they would have made this today, it would either be a fucking terrible PG13 movie, or it could be really risque. Actually, if they made a really risque version of How Selah Got Her Groove Back, I'd be throwing my money. Throwing.
- [47:43]
B
Absolutely. I'd love that.
- [47:45]
A
Yeah.
- [47:46]
B
All right, moving on. So Stella, she's at breakfast, and she meets a very sexy young Jamaican man named Winston Shakespeare, played by Taye Diggs, our. On our social media pal Taye Diggs, we hear kind of Stella's inner monologue about how hot he is, which is, again, a device that's never used again in the movie. But they hit it off despite him being 20 and she is 40. So, you know, they're flirty and they meet up at this. I don't know what. What was the name of this party where everyone's in their, like, underwear in college? It was called An Undie Run, but it's like, essentially that.
- [48:34]
A
Did you actually go to something like that?
- [48:37]
B
I never attended, but they did happen at college, but they have one of these parties, and then all of a sudden, this was, like, the main nudity in the movie. Everyone starts getting naked. That was kind of shocking, actually. Okay.
- [48:49]
A
I wanted to talk about this because I was like. There was like. Everyone's, like, in megaloches, which I thought was so fucking crazy to begin with, right?
- [49:00]
B
Yes.
- [49:01]
A
Then some random woman runs up to the microphone and it's like, all right, everybody take it off. And every, like, the women just start taking their tops off.
- [49:11]
B
Yeah.
- [49:11]
A
And I was like, like, wait, wait, what's happening here?
- [49:14]
B
That's hedonism. That's the orgy resort. That's what I'm talking about.
- [49:18]
A
But here's my beef with that. You didn't see any dongs. And I was. I was really upset by that when I watched it again.
- [49:24]
B
That's. That'll be in our new version of Hostila. Got your groove back? More dongs?
- [49:29]
A
Listen, I. You. You leave the remake of this up to, like, the Danny McBride team.
- [49:38]
B
Yes.
- [49:39]
A
You would see no naked breasts and only dogs, which is what we want. That's what we want as a country.
- [49:47]
B
Danny McBride's How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Can you imagine? But this was shocking. This was shocking. And it shocks Stella, Sure. And they kind of run away together, but, you know, now they do get freaky. They have sex. It's great. It's powerful. But then Winston gets a job as an assistant chef somewhere, and he has to start immediately, so he can't hang out with Stella as much. And Stella's pissed, and they kind of break up over it. And she goes home. And this is where Millie and I were both shocked that she left the vacation. Cause we thought she was there the whole time.
- [50:32]
A
Time.
- [50:33]
B
Also, Delilah, Whoopi Goldberg, she's not feeling well. Which a little bit of foreshadowing.
- [50:39]
A
I know.
- [50:41]
B
I thought Whoopi Goldberg was kind of underutilized in this movie. I love Whoopi Goldberg and she's like, really funny and fun in the movie.
- [50:47]
A
But I thought she was great. I thought she was necessary for it because it was like. It kind of created a lightness that I thought the movie needed. And we'll talk about it in a second as the movie goes on. But their friendship is really great to me. Yeah. So I have a couple thoughts about this entire thing. Because, number one. Okay. The only thing I could think of during this whole courtship of Winston Shakespeare and Stella Winston Shakespeare, which they never talk about that again. And I'm like, there's no fucking way his last name is Shakespeare. I'm just throwing that out there. I know that England colonized Jamaica. And it might be possible that somebody's last name is Shakespeare because of that. But honestly, no, I'm not buying it for one second. Or the fact that she would not bring it up again.
- [51:46]
B
I'd be.
- [51:46]
A
If I dated a guy, if I met a guy and his last name was Shakespeare, I'd just be like laughing about that the entire time. So here's the thing. Like, because my brain is diseased and only watches the trashiest reality tv. And I know you wrote this down too. The only thing I kept thinking about was 90 Day Fiance.
- [52:14]
B
Well, there are. And I can't think of any of the people who were on the show, what their names are. But there are several instances where a woman, an older woman, went to Jamaica.
- [52:26]
A
Yes.
- [52:27]
B
And met a young man and they were to be married. So it's like very. It's like the exact plot of this movie happens on 90 Day Fiance. Some with some frequency.
- [52:39]
A
I mean, this shit. This shit was giving Usman, AKA Soulja Boy. Do you remember? Do you remember this?
- [52:46]
B
Soulja Boy. That's exactly who I was. Yes. 100%, yes.
- [52:50]
A
Yes. Okay. I will say that Angela Basset is not Lisa, the, you know, 50 year old white lady from America. Okay. But like the vibe of what's happening is so Soja Boy. Like, it's very. Like. I kept thinking about that. I kept thinking about. I mean, little less Michael and Angela. Do you remember Michael and Angela from 90 Days?
- [53:17]
B
Absolutely. God. Those guys were both from.
- [53:23]
A
Yes. I Know, it's. Jamaica is a whole ass other country. But it's also like, what's the one. Is her name Ashley? She was like the white lady with that one.
- [53:38]
B
I was thinking of Ashley Martin and Jay smith.
- [53:41]
A
Yeah.
- [53:42]
B
Of 90 Day Fiance. And he was like a really young guy and he was. She was an older white one. She wasn't that. She was 12 years older than him. Yeah. So she. It's. But that's more of a. I would say that's the most similar to this. How Stella got her groove back.
- [54:00]
A
Yes. But even just more generally, like this is a very. This is exactly what 90 Day Fiance is about, is that people are on vacation, they meet people at a resort. Usually one of them is working at the resort and then they get, you know, engaged. And this is the show. I mean, there's like somebody moves to America and. Yeah.
- [54:25]
B
And like this like young Jamaican guy is all of a sudden living in Pennsylvania.
- [54:32]
A
And then it's like, as the movie plays out, it pretty much plays out like a 90 Day Fiance episode where, you know, I understand that it's hard like as an immigrant to find work because you're actually prevented from working at the beginning. Right. And so it's hard to find a job because your visa is working its way through the system. And basically that's why people are sponsored, because you have to be financially responsible for somebody. But it's like that thing of like, as the movie played out, I was like, oh man, this is like gonna be the craziest 90 Day Fiance episode I've ever seen.
- [55:12]
B
Well, like you were saying, there's like specific scenes in the movie where I'm like, this happens in every episode. 90 Day Fiance. Like the barbecue scene where he meets all of her friends. And like some of them are like, he seems nice, he seems like a good guy. And other like the sister, Angela's very suspicious of the situation. And like, there's a lot of judgment on Stella for being kind of a freak, for like wanting to date a 20 year old, you know, that whole thing. But yeah, there are scenes that mirror exactly 90 Day Fiance episodes.
- [55:47]
A
Yes. And it's obviously that show wasn't out when this movie came out, but it's so funny that now it's just the only thing that I can think of when I watch this movie. I wanted to ask, have you ever fallen in love on a vacation?
- [56:07]
B
No, but I feel like the closest. No, I never. Not never on a vacation. Number one. I haven't actually been like enough vacations in my life to like, meet anybody. Wow. My family and I, we never went on vacation, really. When I was growing up, you didn't.
- [56:31]
A
Go on a vacation with, like, your bros or your friends, like on a, like, boys trip or something or when you were single maybe?
- [56:41]
B
Not really. I've just been too. I was. I didn't have enough money to do anything like that. I'm so boring. I don't have anything. I don't have anything exciting to reveal. I remember I was, like, working this convention for work, and I was, like, kind. It was in Lake Arrowhead, and I feel like there was a blossoming romance that just never happened. But that's about it. I don't have anything. Any juicy stories. Oh, sad.
- [57:14]
A
Interesting.
- [57:16]
B
What about you, Millie?
- [57:17]
A
So I only really have one to speak of. But it was not. It was not reciprocated. It just was an awkward situation in the same way that it rolls out in how Stella got her groove back, whereas. So I was on a cruise. This was a cruise, okay. And this was a work cruise. Just go back, like, 20 minutes in the episode and you'll find out why I was on a work cruise. It was on a boat that was almost kind of. It wasn't like hedonism, but it was like an adults only cruise. And there are certainly specific cruise companies that are only for adults. And they kind of like, you know, and it's like basically like, oh, we have a casino on board and we have drinks, and it's like, like, no kids are allowed. Right. Which, you know, appeals to people, I suppose. But we were on the boat, which was one of these cruise lines, okay. So I don't know what happened. I think it's because of that where, like, things just get kicked up a notch. Like, the people on board are like, a little bit more like down to cloud or something. And it's. It creates a very interesting environment as somebody who's just working the boat. And so one of my coworkers there was like, these two dudes on the boat who were, I gotta say, a little bit younger than us. I mean, probably in their late 20s, maybe early 30s. And they were like these kind of two professional guys. One of them looked like JFK Jr. So we kept calling him JFK Jr. And it was like him and his Buddy, his friend. JFK Jr. Wanted to definitely get with my friend. And it was that kind of scenario where I was kind of of like the other party involved with the other person. And so I remember we went on.
- [59:08]
B
This like, you were the Whoopi Goldberg in the situation.
- [59:11]
A
Or I was the Stella going out with the other football player guy. Do you remember what I'm saying?
- [59:18]
B
Yes, yes.
- [59:19]
A
And I. But I remember going on this insane, like, double dinner date with them. And it was very formal.
- [59:25]
B
Like.
- [59:28]
A
I think my friend got a little action, but then that was it.
- [59:31]
B
That's great. Yeah, I've been in that situation before where I'm the guy, I'm the other guy with the other woman, and I'm like, on these double dates where I'm like, in hell. Oh, well, my friend and his date are, like, falling in love.
- [59:49]
A
Well, but here's the thing. Like, I very. I mean, I'm. I, I joke that I'm not even good enough for that. For, like, the ugly friend status. I'm like, not. But I'm like, not even close to that. I very rarely find myself in that situation. So, like I said, I think that's maybe why I was feeling so weird about it, because I was like, wow, this never happens to me.
- [60:11]
B
Yeah.
- [60:12]
A
But anyway.
- [60:14]
B
Wow.
- [60:14]
A
That's about as close as it came, though. I've never. Yeah, I've never done this. I've never 90 day fiance anyone or anything close.
- [60:26]
B
I feel like, you know, it's interesting about the whole 90 day fiance of it all. This was based off the. Did you read about this? Okay, this is based on the real life of Terry McMillan.
- [60:35]
A
Okay. This was a huge scandal when it came out, so tell them.
- [60:42]
B
So basically this is based on her life where she met her, like, younger husband in Jamaica and they got married and she writes this book, the movie comes out. Then around, like, 2004, 2005, he comes out as gay and they get a divorce. And there was a lot of, like, accusations of you were using me for a green card. You knew you were gay the whole time he was saying, I didn't know I was gay when we got married or hooked up. But they famously went on Oprah and kind of hashed it out after the divorce happened. So the real life story is also kind of 90 day fiance, like a feeling kind of.
- [61:33]
A
Yeah, that was. I mean, I remember when this happened and it was such a huge ordeal because it is kind of every gal's worst nightmare in a way to be like, oh, you mean the guy that I thought I was in love with from my vacation is actually gay? And I've let him into this country and he doesn't actually love me? And he, you know, like, of course that's a giant fear of anyone, but it's like, yeah, I mean, I think it was just like shocking and. Cause we all wanted it to be. We wanted it to be forever. Let's get serious. But.
- [62:12]
B
Well, maybe we'll get to that more at the end of the. The movie. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. But yeah. Anything else to say about that scandal?
- [62:22]
A
No, actually, we can move on.
- [62:25]
B
All right, moving on. So Stella goes back home and she goes back to work and she's discovers that she's been laid off because there was a merger. So she's redundant.
- [62:36]
A
What was her boss? Vincent, what's his name?
- [62:40]
B
Oh, Vincent.
- [62:42]
A
Victor Garber. Victor.
- [62:43]
B
Victor Garber, Yeah. Yeah. So she's been let go and she's a little rudderless, you know, but she's still very horny. So she goes back to Jamaica. She gets a call from Winston being like, I miss you. So she goes back to make Jamaica and she brings her son and his cousin this time. And on this trip, Stella is kind of blindsided when. And he introduces her to his parents. And Winston's mom is like, I'm 41. You're 40. Is there no good men in America that are your age? Like, what are you doing, you freak? You know? And also she gets a call. Stella gets a call that Delilah has cancer and is dying. Whoopi Goldberg. And so she flies back to New York to visit her dying friend. And this whole stuff was very sweet and touching, like when they're like singing together in the hospital. And I found this movie very effective. I was like very affected emotionally, frequently. But Winston surprises her at the funeral to support her. And after this, he has quit his job as an assistant chef and he flies to San Francisco with her and they begin dating in earnest. So I was gonna ask you, Millie, are you good at meeting significant other's parents? Are you good with the par.
- [64:13]
A
I mean, you're talking to somebody that worked at Turner classic movies for 20 years. Yeah. You're trying to tell me that I won't charm the pants off of anybody? Just get them talking about classic movies?
- [64:24]
B
Oh, yeah, I see it.
- [64:26]
A
I mean, I am not gonna brag, but I am beloved by people's parents. And I'm not saying significant others. I'm saying friends. I'm saying my parents. Neighbors. Yeah, my parents. Neighbors. I don't know, I just have that connective tissue to the things that they like, which, I mean, I. Oh, I wish, I wish that served me in. Like if I was married, I'd have a great relationship with the in laws. Hopefully.
- [65:02]
B
Sure.
- [65:03]
A
But I don't know, I just end up just chatting with the Parents. And then they call me and they want to hang out with me. Actually, that has happened before. Like, I have my friend Drennan. His parents love the shit out of me and they text me and I play trivia with them and I give them movie screeners. Like, I'm like, oh, I'm fully friends with your parents.
- [65:26]
B
Yeah.
- [65:26]
A
And you can fuck off. Really? I mean, your parents are cool and I think more in common with them than with you, buddy. No, I'm kidding. But I'm just saying that, like, I'm really good. To answer your question. I'm really good at that. Are you good? What's your vibe?
- [65:43]
B
Come on.
- [65:44]
A
Come on, crush it.
- [65:47]
B
I'm a parents. I'm a parent's wet dream. Come on. I always do well with the parents.
- [65:56]
A
I feel.
- [65:56]
B
Yeah, I feel like I'm a very non threatening yes person. So everyone's pretty excited that I'm dating their daughter.
- [66:06]
A
Listen, I never underestimate the power of a gregarious white guy when it comes to people's parents. Like, I'm telling you, it doesn't take much. Really doesn't. So, I mean, you just have to be a white dude who is friendly.
- [66:24]
B
Yeah. Good head of hair. I think that helps too.
- [66:27]
A
A job. Having a job is 90% of it. So.
- [66:31]
B
Yeah. Yeah. This movie kind of started reminding me of other movies. When I was watching it a little bit. I started thinking of some Eric Romer movies because his movies are kind of vacation romance movies. And I felt like this movie really takes its time. Like it was like there's some sort of meandering moments where you're just kind of like looking out at the beautiful verandas and beaches and stuff. So that was sort of coming to mind.
- [66:59]
A
Yeah, the pa. You know, I gotta say, now that I've seen this again after many, many years, I feel like the pacing of this movie is very weird. Cause I feel like there.
- [67:07]
B
Yeah, it is weird.
- [67:08]
A
It takes its time in certain places and then it really speeds up the narrative a lot in others. And I feel like I understand the challenge of trying to adapt a novel that's spanning a lot of time. And you want to get all this info in there. But again, when I first. When we first thought about doing this movie again, I was like misremembering a lot of things about it, which I just thought the entire movie was about the vacation. And I realized it wasn't. I was like, oh, fuck, I forgot there's a part where she goes to visit his parents. I'm like, Damn, man. They burning a lot of time on this to the point where I actually. Until they said it, I was like, how long has it been since they've seen each other? When he goes to San Francisco.
- [67:50]
B
Yeah.
- [67:51]
A
So I don't know. I mean, I don't know I said this before, but I love the friendship between Stella and Delilah. I think it's really sweet, especially in the moments where she is in the hospital. That whole sequence, which took up a lot of time, weirdly enough, but I thought was like, they should have just kept focus on that. It just felt kind of uneven at times when it comes to this stuff. I. I don't know. I think at the end of the day, if I want to be honest, I would love. I would have loved Less San Francisco and more Jamaica.
- [68:24]
B
Interesting.
- [68:25]
A
Don't you feel that way?
- [68:26]
B
Been like a cleaner movie, I think. Yeah. Because, like, they would never make a movie like this now for a lot of reasons. But also it just feels like they let. They had just like, final cut, but it was kind of like. It doesn't feel like a traditionally paced movie in a lot of ways. So I hear what you're saying.
- [68:47]
A
I mean, it could have been really good Eric Romero movie, where it was just in the environment of Jamaica and having more to do with, I don't know, maybe outside of the resort a little bit. They could have really expanded it a little bit more, I thought. I just think it was so strange how quickly they move away from it.
- [69:12]
B
I also was like. I think I was a little surprised watching this movie. I wouldn't. I almost wouldn't classify this as a romantic comedy. It is classified as such, but it's not actually very funny. Like there. I feel like it's pretty dramatic.
- [69:28]
A
Sure. I think Whoopi Goldberg is the.
- [69:30]
B
Whoopi Goldberg is funny, obviously, but.
- [69:33]
A
But what you. Yeah. What'd you think about Taye Diggs and his Jamaican accent? Believable.
- [69:42]
B
It was a. I don't know if it's for me to say if it was believable or not. He didn't do too much, though, which I appreciate it.
- [69:49]
A
Yeah.
- [69:50]
B
It was a pretty subtle Jamaican accent.
- [69:53]
A
Yeah.
- [69:54]
B
I felt like.
- [69:56]
A
Let me tell you a little something about Taye Diggs. Besides the fact that we're both Twitter buddies of his, Taye Diggs, to me, is extremely attractive. Have you ever seen the movie Brown Sugar with him?
- [70:15]
B
No, I haven't.
- [70:16]
A
And Sonal Lathan. I remember that. I fucking love Brown Sugar.
- [70:21]
B
Okay.
- [70:21]
A
I feel like we should do it as an episode.
- [70:23]
B
Sure.
- [70:25]
A
It is so charming and good. And Taye Diggs is so hot in that movie. Like, he just puts it on. Like, he has more riz in that movie than he ever has, I feel like in a lot of things. And I kind of was like. I kept thinking about this when I was rewatching How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I was like, they actually do not look too far, age wise.
- [70:55]
B
I felt that same thing. It didn't really. Like, there are so many scenes in the movie where people are, like, staring at them with raised eyebrows, like, look at that old witch with that young hottie. But it's like, they don't look that strange together.
- [71:10]
A
No. And that's. And that's why I kept thinking, what's the. Why is everybody freaking out? He actually. He actually looks a lot older than he is, and she looks younger. And if you do the Math, he was 27 when this movie came out.
- [71:30]
B
Yeah.
- [71:31]
A
He's supposed to play 2020 in this movie. And I was kind of like, that's a little bit of a reach, but he certainly looks 27 and she actually looks like 35, maybe 34. So they.
- [71:45]
B
They could have been cast as romantic leads and no one would have batted enough.
- [71:51]
A
Absolutely. You know, and I kept thinking, like, every. The way that everybody's reacting, especially, like, when they're in public, is like, oh, my God, here's like, Ralphie from A Christmas Story with Betty White or something like that.
- [72:05]
B
That was the. That was the vibe. Yes.
- [72:09]
A
And I'm like, this is. This is not as bad as I've. As I've seen it in the past. We're not talking about Bill Belichick and.
- [72:17]
B
His girlfriend, Jordan Hudson. Is that her name? Well, and there's that scene where the bartender is like, it's so nice that you're hanging out with your mom. And I was like, come on, I.
- [72:30]
A
Would have never said that as a bartender. Would you have ever said that, period, or no. God, man.
- [72:40]
B
Ridiculous. Yeah, they didn't look that outrageous.
- [72:42]
A
Gary, break.
- [72:45]
B
Okay, anyways, you know, Stella and Winston, they're dating now in San Francisco, and he proposes, and she's like, I want to say yes, but give me some time to just think about it. And. But there's tension because she's an old hag and he's a young boy like we were talking about. And there's a lot of judgments from her friends and her. Her bitch sister. And Winston, he likes stupid movies and Cocoa Puffs. How can they make this work? We also find during this time that Stella Has a past passion of furniture making. And she has a furniture making shop that has just fallen into disrepair at her house. So that made me laugh. And I feel like furniture making is like the in vogue secret dream of a lot of movie characters. I was thinking of Magic Mike for example. Uh huh. I don't know, I just thought that was such a funny. It's like we have to give her some sort of creative passion that's not making money, you know?
- [73:55]
A
Yeah, I. Oh my God. Like that was a little a bridge too far for me because I was like, okay. She has this entire garage at her house that has like all of this woodworking material.
- [74:12]
B
Huge, huge and huge tools.
- [74:16]
A
I was like. And she just was like, I'm not into making furniture anymore. And I was like, what? Like, what is this like insane character detail?
- [74:29]
B
But it seems like by the end of the movie it's like she didn't take. She doesn't go back to her job and it seems like she's gonna make a. She's gonna try to do furniture. Follow your dreams, I guess.
- [74:40]
A
Such a bizarre and yeah, you're right. That being sort of this weird recurring trope in movies about how people need to get away from Wall street and go back to their roots, AKA making furniture.
- [74:55]
B
Yeah. I mean it is just such a classic. Classic. Like see, they don't want to be like they have an interior life that's interesting, like care about them as a character. But I'm like, we already cared about Stella. We already had buy in. We didn't need this whole furniture. I don't know, it was just a fun.
- [75:14]
A
Also I wish like, oh God, I wish I could remember. They're at the movies and like he wants to go and see like some shitty fucking comedy.
- [75:24]
B
And she's like, they go and see it. Yeah, they go and see some stupid comedy.
- [75:28]
A
It's funny because there is the poster for it in the background and I can't remember what the name of the movie was.
- [75:35]
B
I gotta hold on, I gotta look.
- [75:36]
A
It was very Trace. Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock. It was like, you know who that ninja or something like that. It was very like one of these things. And I was actually bummed out that she didn't laugh, to be honest.
- [75:52]
B
I thought this was sort of an interesting little commentary because the character of Winston Shakespeare, he is very mature and like self assured and like confident in himself. And he's happy to see a stupid movie and not some art house movie. But like Stella is like, well, I can't be seen going to this Stupid ass. Like, yeah, like fake Seinfeld movie sack lunch or something. Like, I don't know. Yeah, I was kind of bummed that she was lunch. Like, why is he laughing at this stupid.
- [76:27]
A
Oh, here it is. Here it is, here it is. Hold on, hold. Because, like, the whole thing is, is that she runs into her sister. Right? At the movies.
- [76:38]
B
Yes.
- [76:39]
A
And so they're like, oh, you cry at the end or whatever they had seen, you know the rest. The adults went and saw an adult movie. And Winston's like, actually, we saw that one. It pans over to this fake movie poster, and it's for a movie called My Nerve. And I'm like, oh, man, Stella didn't think My Last Nerve was funny.
- [77:11]
B
Well, I think Stella lies too. I think she's like, oh, yeah, the ending was really sad. Like, she, like, tries to cover up that they didn't see it. And he's like, actually, we saw that. That movie.
- [77:21]
A
Okay, real talk, Casey. Imagine a world where you weren't married with a child. Okay, got it. Imagine if you were dating somebody who was much older than you, you know, and you took them to see My Last Nerve and you were just fucking like, this is the funniest movie of all time. Like, I don't know, maybe your favorite comedians are in it. Maybe Tim Robinson's in it. Maybe, you know, like, whomever. And then that person just sat there looking at you like, I can't believe you took me to this shit. It.
- [77:52]
B
I would be. That would be like, so honestly, such a turnoff for me. Like, I would be like, oh, you're not a fun person. And I. I actually would think you're stupid if you didn't like a dumb. If. If I. If you as a person can't enjoy a dumb thing, then I actually think you're dumb. Yes.
- [78:13]
A
I'm like, if. Like, it doesn't have to be My Last nerve. Maybe it's MacGruber, my favorite. My favorite five star powers. Yes. If. If I went to that took somebody to see that movie and they acted not. Not just like, okay, it was stupid, but like, this is beneath me. Like, you're a young dumb idiot for liking this movie. And I'm like a cultured older person. I'd be like, well, this ain't gonna last beyond tonight because there's no fucking way. And like, again, my whole life revolves around dumbness and fun and, like, you know that I just felt like that was. I don't know, at some point I was like, I don't know about this. Like, she can't appreciate my Last nerve. And Winston's, like, rolling on the floor laughing his ass off about it. I think they got. I think there's a fundamental rift.
- [79:14]
B
Just saying if I took someone to go see the clumps, I want. I want to be how. And they. They're like, this was stupid. And I actually judge you for liking this movie. I would be like, this is over. I'm sorry.
- [79:28]
A
Yikes. Yeah. I mean, you just. Baseline need to have some level of respect and appreciation for someone's dumb.
- [79:38]
B
Yeah.
- [79:38]
A
Taste, I guess. Yeah. Right?
- [79:41]
B
Yeah.
- [79:42]
A
Anyway, all right, just around just to.
- [79:44]
B
Finish things up here real quick. So Winston proposes, and Stella's like, yeah, I want to. But she kind of hems and haws about it, never gives him an answer. And he's like, you know what? Fuck this. And after. After she didn't like the stupid My Last Nerve movie, he's like, I'm gonna go back to Jamaica and go to medical school. This has been fun. But she surprises him at the airport, and she says yes to his proposal. The end.
- [80:15]
A
The end.
- [80:18]
B
Oh, man.
- [80:19]
A
Well, this is this whole part to me. Gotta say, rewatch Flimsy, period. I was like, he's gonna go back to Jamaica and go to be a medical student. Can it just go? She goes. Because at the end, like, one of her last lines is, what about Stanford? I was like, exactly. What about it? Like, he could just go to a medical school here in California.
- [80:44]
B
Yeah, well, I sort of feel like it was flimsy because, I mean, he's, like, leaving, and then she just decides to show up at the airport and is like, let's. Let's stay together, actually. I say yes, but there isn't really, like, an inciting incident of her being like, oh, my gosh, I've been focused on the wrong thing. I need to go for love. She just sort of shows up at the airport and is like, actually, let us let. Let's get married, you know?
- [81:15]
A
Yeah. I don't know, dude. I. I don't know if it was just because I was like, this movie is trucking along. It is trucking. Because I was like, again, this is what kind of made it feel a little uneven was that I was just sort of like, oh, we're already at the point where he's trying to leave, and they. They have their goodbye.
- [81:40]
B
We see his ass.
- [81:41]
A
You see his ass. I was like, listen, it's been too long. We haven't seen. Tay digs in the shower. Like, this movie is almost the hottest scene. Let's get fucking serious. I was like, I've been waiting for this for an hour, over an hour.
- [82:00]
B
You have to post this picture of the post. We have to get approval from our legal department to post the My Last Nerve post.
- [82:09]
A
Damn, it's so good. The. The whole thing about now. First of all, goodbye fucks in film, maybe that's a separate episode. You knew something was up. Because every time there is a goodbye fuck in a film or a television show, there's something very dispassionate about the end of it where they're just kind of like looking off into the middle distance and they're just like, I don't know about this. I think we fucked for the last time. And I don't know, I feel like. Like this is our goodbye. It happens in a lot of other movies too. And I'm just sort of like, man, this is grim. So I knew something was going on after they had that goodbye fuck and that was it. So the minute that's over, I'm like, all right, who's leaving? I forgot about this. Who's leaving? And then it's like, Winston, he's the one to leave. And then again, that excuse of him being like, well, I've decided to lets you have your life back. You don't need me to complicate things. I want to go back and be a doctor in Jamaica. My flight leaves tonight at 10:00pm I was like.
- [83:28]
B
Well, they explained that away. She's like, that's very. That's very quick. And he's like, well, I thought it'd be easier if I left right away.
- [83:35]
A
No, like, give me a break. I was like, that is so, so dramatic. Needlessly dramatic. And then, of course, an airport reunion. I mean, come on.
- [83:49]
B
Like, I mean, it's classic Garden State situation.
- [83:52]
A
Classic. And I mean, I suppose that it's good that they're back together, but it was this whole, like, this is needless. He could have just said, I'll stay with you in America. I don't want to complicate your life, but I am going to, like, maybe get an apartment and go to Stanford. That's all that needed to happen. Maybe I just. I need to. I. Maybe I need to.
- [84:14]
B
That's too practical.
- [84:16]
A
Come on. You know, that's why I'm not in Hollywood, baby. That's why I'm not writing scripts, because I'm too practical.
- [84:23]
B
Well, you know, and it is sort of funny that the real life situation is we know they didn't end up together, you know, did that happen to these characters too. He came out as gay later and, you know, interesting.
- [84:35]
A
Well, hard to say, but yeah, that is such a shocking turn at the end of it. But this movie is, you know, I gotta say, my. Obviously age has changed so much about movies. After seeing something at the beginning, you know, when it first came out and seeing it much later in life, I had projected a lot of my, my ideas and thoughts about middle age onto this movie in 1998. And now that I'm this age and older in fact, than Stella, I'm looking at this going, okay, this movie isn't as good as I thought it was. Conceptually though, I'm all on board for anybody that wants. I think it's really nice, in fact, that we do have a sort of term now for a woman, a single woman going to a foreign country and finding a little fling for herself that is positive. And I think that that's a good thing to have in your pocket.
- [85:41]
B
I agree. Just the title alone is almost How Stella Got her Groove Back is. So it's more important than the movie itself.
- [85:52]
A
You know, the, the concept needed to happen and I'm glad that it happened because, you know, as a single woman of a certain age, I like, I like having options for my life and I like knowing that one day I could walk away from this podcast and go to Jamaica and find a husband if I really wanted to.
- [86:12]
B
Right, you could end up in a 90 day fiance situation.
- [86:15]
A
And listen, if I, I told myself that if I, if I was ever in a 90 day fiance situation, I would immediately start vaping because that's what it seems like all the women are. They're adult vapers, basically.
- [86:34]
B
Oh, man.
- [86:34]
A
But that also, like, I don't know, I, I think that, that I know that this is a movie podcast and not a television reality show. Television podcast. But like, that whole show has really disrupted this fantasy. This fantasy of how Stella got her roof back is ruined because of 90 Day Fiance.
- [86:57]
B
You're 100% right, because that show is very dark.
- [87:00]
A
It is.
- [87:00]
B
It is one of the darkest reality TV shows of all time.
- [87:04]
A
It makes you feel like actual love is never possible. Like, it's just like though the absolute nobody ever will will meet anybody in a foreign country and it not be drama free. Free.
- [87:17]
B
Like it's the absolute romantic ideal too. You know, we. You think about it, it's like you travel to some foreign land and you meet the love of your life, you know, and then you watch the people who actually did do some version of that, and it's a nightmare. And, yeah, it has ruined that forever.
- [87:38]
A
Yeah. It's so sad. And it's like, do I want Hastella Got her groove Back? To be real, of course. But then it ended up not being that way in real life. And then now we have 90 day fiance to ruin it even further. So all this to say, it's a serviceable rom com. More on the rom, less on the calm. And I'm glad we have the term.
- [88:08]
B
Yeah. You know, I feel like I liked this movie more than you did.
- [88:12]
A
I was, like, actually happy to hear that. What are your thoughts?
- [88:15]
B
I think I was sort of taken with the fact that it. It was bizarrely. The pacing is very bizarre and unusual. It felt like.
- [88:24]
A
Sure, sure.
- [88:25]
B
And so I was very intrigued by that. And in some ways, it kind of felt like an art house film. So it was kind of like, ooh, this is sort of interesting. And then, like, the relationship with her friend Delilah, with Whoopi Goldberg, I was touched by. I was touched by her relationship with her son.
- [88:40]
A
Yes.
- [88:41]
B
And I'm not 40, but I'm looking at it. I'm right there, you know, so there are aspects of that when it comes to your life and career and stuff. I'm very happily married. That's the difference. But, you know, I don't know. I was like, I'm like an adult now, I guess, and I enjoy this adult movie. That is something I would have never enjoyed as a teenager, you know, so.
- [89:06]
A
Agreed.
- [89:07]
B
All right, well, that's it. How Stella Got Her Groove Back. And hopefully we'll get our groove back when we talk to Chris Devlin. All right, everybody, we are back with another installment of my area of expertise, and we have a expert on the show. He's an old friend of mine. He's the writer of Texas chainsaw massacre from 2022. Chainsaw.
- [89:41]
A
One word.
- [89:42]
B
No, the very important. And 2023's cobweb, which is now streaming on Netflix. Indeed. Is that correct? That's correct.
- [89:51]
C
They both are.
- [89:52]
B
Oh, they both are. Oh, awesome. You could do a Chris Thomas Devlin double feature because we have Chris Thomas Devlin on the show. Hi, Chris. Hi, Casey.
- [90:01]
C
So happy to be here. What an honor. Also, of course, one missing credit from that wonderful intro, and that is the 2015 theatrical presentation, Dark and Stormy, which is how you and I came to know each other, because you were one of the stars of the first and, to this day only play that I have ever written. But you were a. I was, of.
- [90:24]
B
Course, going to say that, Chris, one of your most important credits. Yeah. Chris and I. I was in Chris's play. Was that 20, 15 years ago?
- [90:34]
C
Yeah, that was. Yeah, that was a big year for. And that play was part of it.
- [90:38]
B
Chris and I were both involved with this theater company, you could say, called the Tavern Rakes, and it was all plays that we did at this bar. It was like a play set in a bar, an actual bar. A blind barber sitting, like a speaker at the blind barbering. Yeah, yeah. In Culver City. And so people would be, like, seated in the booths and, like, chairs in the bar, and the play would take place at the bar itself.
- [91:08]
A
Yeah, it's like that episode of Nathan for you where they don't. They do a play.
- [91:13]
B
Is it the rehearsal?
- [91:13]
C
No, no, no, she's. No, no, you're correct. Nathan for you, the Smoker's welcome episode. Possibly. Possibly the best episode.
- [91:22]
A
That's great.
- [91:23]
C
Very much indeed. Yes.
- [91:25]
A
I love it.
- [91:26]
B
And I think we only did. Did we do just one? Just one.
- [91:29]
C
So I think that. I think the Tavern Rakes went on to start doing multiple performances, but when I was brought on, the.
- [91:37]
B
The.
- [91:39]
C
The gimmick, so to speak, was that this. This was a one night only. They were one night only original plays. So it was like, you have to be there. And that's so cool in theory, but what an immense amount of work goes into that ephemeral experience.
- [91:56]
B
At the time it did, I was like, oh, yeah, one show. That makes sense. But, like, looking back, it's like we did, like, I don't know, two months of rehearsals or something like that for just one show. I mean, it's crazy. We didn't have anything better to do, and I thought it turned out great, but it is just funny.
- [92:14]
C
A lot of friendships that I've really maintained. I live in New York now, so I'm still friends with Julian and Rachel. They live there. Tom Myers, obviously, is a big part of my life, so. So it was a wonderful time. And look where it's led. Now we're speaking here.
- [92:32]
B
You're a guest on my movie podcast. Who'da thunk it? Just craziness. Now let's get into a little bit of why you're here, of your expertise and the expertise you sent me. I was very excited about this. You said you wanted to do depictions of fake movies in movies with an emphasis on horror movies. Now can you kind of explain where this passion came from?
- [93:02]
C
Yes. Now, before I begin, I should give the caveat that at this point, I know every guest gives, which is. I don't really consider myself an expert on this topic.
- [93:11]
B
But it is.
- [93:12]
C
It's sort of like every audio commentary, DVD audio commentary, had someone starting to talk about the ending, and then someone else said, no, no, no, no, no spoilers. And then every single time would be, hey, if they're watching this before they've seen the movie, they deserve to have it spoiled. Now that's an area of expertise. That's an area that I am an expert on. All the weird habits people would have on DVD audio commentaries, but I don't.
- [93:37]
B
Listen to enough that I used to listen to so many DVD audio commentaries. I don't. That is not a part of my practice anymore, truly. You guys.
- [93:44]
C
No, I've done them.
- [93:45]
A
I do them kind of often for money, but you do it.
- [93:49]
B
Do. Do you do that more than listening to them, Millie? Yeah.
- [93:53]
A
Yes. I mean, unless, like. I mean, I'm gonna be completely honest with you. Yes. I mean, there's like a couple of. Actually, there is a. There's a couple of commentaries that I've listened to multiple times because there have been like, they're like legendary commentary type of things, but those are kind of few and far between at this point. I don't know. I only watch them now if I'm doing heavy research on it, on something, you know, for like writing or something. But yeah, I mean, now it's like. I don't know. Sometimes I just skip them.
- [94:23]
C
I do have a theory on this, which is because I was a huge audio commentary fan and this. What we are doing right now has replaced audio commentaries. It was a great place to hear filmmakers espouse on the.
- [94:38]
B
The.
- [94:39]
C
The world of filmmaking or just like people that you like hanging out with each other and cracking jokes and being funny on an audio format that. Well, we have. We live. That's the world we live in at all. We're constantly listening to audio commentaries throughout our day.
- [94:53]
B
I. I think you're 100% right. Yeah. I mean, absolutely. And like, the decline of physical media, of course.
- [95:00]
C
Yeah.
- [95:01]
B
That's probably something to do with it too. But the. I think you're totally right that people are. Yeah. Getting that. That taste of film talk.
- [95:09]
C
Yeah.
- [95:10]
B
That fix elsewhere. Yeah.
- [95:11]
A
If what they pay to do them now is indicative of that, then it's absolutely true. It is not a way to sustain a life. By the way, to do audio commentaries.
- [95:24]
C
DVD audio commentaries need zip recruiter ads. And I think that then they can maintain their cultural presence. But that's not what we're here to speak about.
- [95:33]
B
No.
- [95:34]
A
So sure.
- [95:34]
B
But yeah. So where did the. Where did this, like, where do. Do you remember the first time you, you stumbled upon this phenomenon? Or like, where this sort of began?
- [95:44]
C
Yeah, well, I mean, it certainly began when you posed the question to me, hey, would you be on my wonderful podcast? And I said, of course. And like, this is such a great assignment. What is an area of expertise that I have, and I'm sure there are so many, but drew an immediate blank. However, that very same night I was watching the 1988 remake of the Blob. And in that film there is a. In reference to the original film, there is a sequence set in a movie theater. There's a big sequence of. In the remake set in a movie theater. And they are seeing a film called Garden Tool Massacre. And the irony here being that the only scene that we see the killer is using a hair curler like a curling iron as a weapon. So no Garden Tool insight. But nonetheless, this showed up and I was like, oh, wait a second, I love it when I see a movie within a movie. The fake movie. Like this is something that always works for me 100% of the time. And to actually answer your question, I think that this goes back to the movie that, you know, if this was Family Feud and the topic was fake movies within movies, I think number one with a Bullet, the one that everyone would say, and correct me if you disagree, but that would be Angels with Filthy Souls and Angels with Filthier Souls from Home Alone. I think this is most people's first exposure to the concept of a movie within a movie. Even if, if you ask most normies, a lot of people think that these movies were real. I certainly did when I was a kid. But yeah, Angels with Filthy Souls, Angels with Filthier Souls. Obviously, if, if your audience requires any context or preamble, these are the movies that young Kevin McCallister is too young to be watching. But he's home Alone, so of course he has access to these VHS tapes, which is so cute and quaint. Like nowadays, like the idea that A kid, an 8 year old, shouldn't be watching a noir film from.
- [97:43]
B
Yeah, I mean, it is funny. Like the idea that like, that's the movie they chose to be. Like, he can't watch this one because it's too violent. Whereas, like, in reality it would be something like, like, I don't know, Starship Troopers or something. Or like something like.
- [97:59]
C
Or a horror movie. They typically go horror movie. That's it. That's the. In the Blob, the. It's two young kids who are like sneaking into the movie and they're like, they're not supposed to see it because it's this, you know, cliche 1980s slasher film. But in Home Alone, he's watching a noir film called Angels with Filthy Soldiers, whose play on Angels with Dirty Faces, I believe from 1938. I haven't actually seen, seen it, but I did do some research before this conversation.
- [98:25]
B
You've seen it, Millie, how is it?
- [98:27]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, it's good, it's good, it's good. It's a, it's a classic, as I say. So. But yeah, no, I, that is actually the first thing that I thought of when, when I saw what your topic was going to be, I was like, oh, yeah, Angels.
- [98:41]
B
That was number one on my non. Horror movie.
- [98:44]
C
Right.
- [98:44]
B
But like, I, I was going to ask like, you, you wanted to do an emphasis on horror movies. Which one? Which, which is the most prominent in your mind of them, that category? I have one that I, I have like one with. Number one with a bullet for me, the fake.
- [99:00]
C
I want to hear it. I want to. You go first. I wonder if it's the same one as mine.
- [99:03]
B
Stab. Oh, of course.
- [99:06]
C
Yes, yes.
- [99:07]
B
That was my cuz. I love, I also love the movie within the movie. And there I think I could be wrong, but I think Scream 3 also is about a movie. Or it might be about stab 2, the making of stab 2. Okay.
- [99:22]
C
I actually don't remember if it's explicitly stab 2, but yes, post scream 2, the stab franchise plays a pretty.
- [99:33]
B
Crucial.
- [99:34]
C
Role in the meta narrative of the, the Scream films. But yes, we, we open with seeing Stab. The premiere of Stab. Or a premiere of Stab. Like a local premiere of Stab.
- [99:46]
B
Yeah. And I, I, I, I too, like a fake movie within a movie because it's like, like it's almost like double, like exciting or something. It's, it's like it feels amped up.
- [99:58]
C
Yeah.
- [99:58]
B
Like it's not a real movie. A lot of times it doesn't feel like, like in Home Alone, that actually felt like a real movie, the first one, the Angels with Filthy Souls. But like Stab feels like a movie on like cocaine or something. Like it just feels like amped up for some reason.
- [100:16]
C
Yeah, well, it's so funny because like, like, and we can talk, we'll talk about this further, I'm sure. But when it comes to the fake movies, sometimes they're done satirically, like as a way to like, make fun of a genre type of movie. Other times they are done, I think, as a way for a filmmaker to be able to Play in spaces they don't normally get the opportunity to. Or for something like we could talk about like a Hail Caesar, for example. I think that was like the Cohen's going like, we would love to do this kind of sequence. We would love to do this kind of sequence. Where could we put them? Well, let's just do the. The movie about movies and we put them all in there. But Stab is so interesting because it's. It's doing the satirical movie aspect, but within its own. It's like a meta commentary on its own franchise within the fake franchise within that movie. And also just like I keep saying meta but like metatextually. I think I'm using that correctly. It's so funny just to think of. Of Stab as within the world of Scream. Stab the mov a vast franchise are all based on real murders that are like.
- [101:23]
B
Yeah.
- [101:23]
C
Actually occurring. Or at least the first one is. I don't know how much the later Stab. This is actually a good question. How much the later Stab movies within the world of Scream do they continue to. Is stab 2 basically scream 2 in the reality?
- [101:37]
B
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
- [101:38]
C
Because it seems interesting.
- [101:40]
B
I don't know now I've only watched.
- [101:42]
C
Scream 5, also known as Scream once and I as Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy. Can't really harp on that too much, but sure. But nonetheless, like I can't. I don't remember that movie as well, but it seems based on like why the killers in that one are their motivations for kind of correcting the franchise. It seems like the Stab franchise has kind of gone off the rails tales. So it's probably no longer tied to the original murders themselves. But yeah, I did also think it was just so crazy. Just a funny aspect is like you have this very popular slasher horror movie franchise that are literally based on murders that are happening. That's so crazy. But then I remember that like probably one of the longest franchises, if you can even call it that today is the Amityville movies. That's true. And those are based on a real. At least a couple different murders as the. As the starting point. So I guess that is. It is. I always thought this was so ridiculous, but only just like an hour ago did I remember Amityville. I was like, oh yeah, I guess there is some real world precedent.
- [102:57]
A
What are Yalls thoughts on this? I'm sure this was probably going to come up at some point, but the whole grindhouse juggernaut of the fake movies that I wrote this down too to turn into real movies. Right? Because there was like Machete Thanksgiving and Hobo with a Shotgun that got turned into actual movies, right?
- [103:21]
B
Yeah, Yeah, I think only one hasn't. Is that correct or have they.
- [103:25]
C
No, there's. Of the original three. Three trailers. There was. Well, okay, so there. Let's. Let's remember this. So there's Machete, I believe that started. That played before Grindhouse. That one obviously became two movies, Machete and Machete two. There was Thanksgiving, which became Thanksgiving. And then you're right. So Hobo with a Shotgun, which I believe started off as a. There was a contest where you would make a Grindhouse trailer, and the best one would play in front of the movie. And so Shovo with the Shotgun was a contest winner. Made by the director. I forget the name of the director. He's done some very cool stuff that then was turned into a feature film. And then. So the two that aren't are Edgar Wright's Don't. Which is my favorite. That's my favorite of the bunch.
- [104:18]
A
Yeah, me too. And Rob Zombie's one. It's the Werewolf.
- [104:23]
C
Werewolf.
- [104:24]
A
Women of the ss.
- [104:25]
B
Yeah.
- [104:26]
A
Yeah.
- [104:26]
C
With Nick Cage as Fu Manchu.
- [104:30]
A
So. Yeah. And that's. I just thought this was so interesting. Cause I remember at the time I saw Grindhouse in the theater when it came out, thinking that those trailers were brilliant. Like, I was like, oh, don't. Especially being like, so, like, actually brilliant. Look like a hammer movie mixed with, like a giallo. And just the whole thing. And I was like. And then when they started making them, I was like, oh, my God, they gotta make. Don't. That's such a great. And then they didn't. And I was like, oh, bummer.
- [105:01]
B
There's still time, Edgar. Running Man.
- [105:04]
A
Listen, I saw Running man last night.
- [105:06]
B
He kept.
- [105:07]
A
Oh, yeah, he should definitely make do. Like, come on. I would. I would put that at the top of the list if I was him. So. But those are fun. And then I was. I was thinking, like, are there. Out of all of these examples that we provided or maybe stuff we haven't even talked about, are there movies that you. Fake movies in the movie that you wish would actually become a movie?
- [105:31]
C
Yeah, I mean. I mean, my honest, actual answer is the Angels with Filthy Soul franchise. Yeah, actually, this is really good because I'm looking at them and truthfully, actually, other than those, maybe not really. I mean, a lot of, like, just out of curiosity, but I don't know how many of them are like, oh, that actually seems like a great movie that I would. I would want to watch. I mean, actually. Okay, actually, The Hail Caesar movies, actually almost all of them, I would really like to see. Sure. Lazy Old Moon being, I think, my favorite, starring Hobby Doyle, played by Alden Einrich. I think that's his name.
- [106:04]
B
Yeah, yeah. Yep.
- [106:05]
C
Hail Caesar itself seems like a really great biblical epic. I'm not as much into Merrily We Dance. It's those kind of like a 1930s style. Like, I guess the movie is not necessarily 30, but those Paramount, like, really glamorous people in very expensive outfits drinking champagne and Martin and talking about their problems. But it certainly has a place, but just certainly not the kind of thing that I'm most attracted to. But, yes, to actually answer your question, the Hail Caesar ones are ones that I think these are all movies that I would genuinely love to watch. I don't think it has a title named within the movie, but the sort of Anchors Away, Channing Tatum movie seems great. That's the best sequence in the movie by far.
- [106:53]
B
Millie, did you have a movie that. That a fake movie that you thought would be.
- [106:57]
A
Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to think of what. So, I mean, I have to say this topic has come up, like, so much for me right now. Cause I'm actually doing a entire rewatch of 30 Rock, the TV show 30 Rock. And they have fake movies and TV shows in that so much that it's just constantly on the brain.
- [107:22]
B
So I was already Leap Day Williams.
- [107:23]
A
Oh, it's like the Leap Day Williams, of course.
- [107:26]
C
Yeah. Rural Journal.
- [107:27]
A
Like, who that ninja. Like, it's fucking brilliant. But I was thinking of. I wasn't thinking of horror. I was thinking about comedy stuff. And do you remember in Boogie Nights how there was a lot, like, a lot of Brock Landers properties that were happening inside of Boogie Nights?
- [107:48]
B
Well, that's.
- [107:48]
C
That's, of course, an angel lives in my town.
- [107:52]
B
That's a whole other thing is like, fake porn movies, like, in movies.
- [107:57]
A
Oh, yeah. That's like almost an entirely different branch that we could, you know, go down. Oh, my God. But yeah, I remember the fake. The fake Brock Landers movie. And I was like, they should just make the whole thing. That would be so good.
- [108:12]
B
That would be good. I would watch that.
- [108:14]
C
You mentioned 30 Rock. So that opens up. So I. There's TV shows which I didn't think fit the prop because I was. I was thinking, of course, of all the wonderful fake movies from Entourage, which I, as a millennial young man, of course, went through my Entourage phase, which started off as Earnest, before slowly turning into. What am I doing here?
- [108:37]
B
Oh, I used to really like that show. I think I watched like the first three seasons.
- [108:41]
C
What a show to watch with your boys, you know?
- [108:44]
B
Yeah, with your boys. Exactly.
- [108:46]
C
Before getting to la.
- [108:47]
B
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It was. I think I did start watching that before I moved to Los Angeles. I was like, this is what it's like.
- [108:53]
C
And I live in New York now, so of course I have ample opportunity to drop a lot of.
- [108:58]
B
You kidding?
- [108:59]
C
I am Queens Boulevard.
- [109:01]
B
Yes, Queens Boulevard. That's right. The fake. Yeah. As we're wrapping up here, were there any other standout movies within movies that we haven't touched upon?
- [109:10]
C
Oh, of course. Yes, I can. I would be remiss if I did not get to speak about my. My number one. My. Actually probably honestly the answer to your question. Question, which is my favorite fake movie within a movie, the one that I think is also most successful is Co Ed Frenzy and Brian De Palma's Blowout. So if this is the film that opens, it opens our picture. And it is, I think, the classic example of like a filmmaker who. I mean, Brian De Palma, he certainly dabbles in lurid material, but he's never done just like a straight cheap, you know, slasher. And I think he loves those movies. So this is his opportunity to just do like. I'm gonna start my movie like the beginning of Halloween. Point of view shot from the killer. He's stalking a. A sorority house, I guess, or just like a dorm room. And it's like I said, it's the single unbroken take of this guy, like looking in the windows. We're catching like glimpses of. It's a very complex one honor because it's Brian De Palma, obviously, but it has this like really chintzy, like, synth score. And like the acting is so kind of over the top and it's like really cheap looking. But it's still. A master filmmaker is. Is at the helm of this. It finally culminates in a reveal of the killer, which makes no sense narratively for the. The film itself. Just like you would probably. I mean, I would love to see where. Where it goes, but it's like you probably save this reveal for later in the movie. But we're getting a glimpse of him and you just see this, like, how to describe it? I don't know. Very nerdy looking. Just like with the last guy you would ever expect to like, reveal himself in front of a mirror. Like, so we see the killer with the knife. But it's so hilarious that you forgive it and that it all builds up to. He's about to the killer is about to kill a girl in a shower and the actress screams. And it's a very pathetic, hilarious, just. Just like ineffective scream. This is the inciting incident for the rest of the movie, which is John Travolta, the sound mixer, editor of this film, has to record a new scream, get some new sound effects. And this sequence acts as a bookend to probably just one of the most perfectly structured thrillers Hollywood has ever produced. Where I genuinely don't want to give spoilers here because I love the movie so much. But, like, he does eventually.
- [111:29]
B
That's a great movie.
- [111:29]
C
He gets that scream and it's very powerful and it's very effective and it's very emotional. So just in terms of like the fake movie within movie that is so important to the movie itself, that is also so entertaining. And I mean, it acts as basically a short film on its own and it's a horror movie, so it really fits the premise that I initially started speaking about. So, yeah, I definitely want to talk about that.
- [111:55]
B
And then finally, I guess I love.
- [111:57]
C
The Player has a Bunch. The Player is definitely more of like the satirical version. Like that movie opens with another wanderer, where a bunch of people are talking about movies. Potential movies, sequels to the Graduate or other movies just sound ridiculous. Like parodies of the kind of movies that like 19, the late 80s, early 90s would be producing. But then there's also Habeas Corpus. They film within a film, which is all about the death penalty, and it's about real feelings and real characters and like real tragedy. And of course, through the movie, you see the way that the Hollywood system kind of corrupts these a pure desire for art and turns it into commercial entertainment. He's talking about no stars, no happy endings. Then we finally see the movie and it's starring Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts, Yes. And has this like crazy, ridiculous, stupid ending and ends with the line, traffic was a bitch.
- [112:52]
B
That movie is so good.
- [112:54]
C
Yeah, it's great. And Griffin, you know, Tim Robbins plays Griffin Mills, who. Who technically Bryan Cranston is playing in the studio. The Seth Rogen.
- [113:03]
B
Oh, is that right?
- [113:04]
C
Yes. So I actually can't remember if the name of the studio. Yeah, So I mean, he has the same name. The characters are nothing alike.
- [113:12]
B
Yeah.
- [113:12]
C
And I don't think the. The tagline of the studio in the Player, which I forget what it's called, but the tagline is movies now more than ever. And there's no reference to that in the studio, which is like, you, come on, guys, it's right there.
- [113:24]
B
Yeah. Chris, this is so great having you on. I love talk. This is a great area of expertise. What. What do you. Do you have anything you want to plug right now?
- [113:38]
C
I have a couple. Maybe more than a couple. I have a few projects on the horizon, some more real than others. Two very real, that I'm very excited about. Can't mention them here.
- [113:51]
B
Cool.
- [113:52]
C
But I. I could tell you afterwards, but really nothing to plug, I guess. I'm on Instagram. It's the only thing that I really have.
- [114:00]
B
Go see Cobweb.
- [114:01]
A
Go see.
- [114:01]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [114:01]
C
Well, yeah, I have movies that exist. Yeah. So, yeah, I don't really get any money from them, like being on streaming. So whatever. Watch them if you want, but if you really want to help me out, give them a little download. Go to Apple. Just pay the 12.
- [114:14]
B
There we go.
- [114:16]
C
No, no, but seriously, do any of.
- [114:17]
B
Those have, like, Blu Ray releases?
- [114:20]
C
Cobweb has a Blu Ray release. I. I've never seen it in a store, but Amazon has it. Okay. But yeah, so watch. Watch Cobweb. Watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Why not?
- [114:32]
B
You know, I love them both. Thought they were great, great horror movies.
- [114:36]
C
They're fun.
- [114:37]
B
So if you're a fan, they're fun. Thank you, Chris. This was great. Oh, did you plug your Instagram?
- [114:44]
C
Did you want to. Oh, yeah, sure. It's Chris Devlin, 89. It's just my personal Instagram there, but that's how I stay connected with people.
- [114:51]
B
All right, well, thank you, Chris. This was great. Thank you.
- [114:54]
C
I had a blast and a half.
- [114:57]
A
Be kind. Rewind.
- [115:05]
B
All right, time for film recommendations. Based on the theme of the discussion today, Employees picks, as we call it. Millie, what do you got for us today?
- [115:15]
A
Well, this one is a absolute layup. Can't even believe that I'm recommending it, because I don't think it needs to be recommended. I feel it needs to be put in the curriculum of our schools. This is how important this movie is for me.
- [115:31]
B
It's been discussed on this show before.
- [115:32]
A
It has. But I think that the most obvious choice for me this week is a movie called dirty dancing from 1987, which is also a movie about someone going on vacation and having a little fling that turns into the love of their life. Come on. How baby Got her groove back. Let's go.
- [115:58]
B
Do you think they stayed together forever?
- [116:01]
A
Let me think about this. No, I do not. Because. Because I just feel like there's no way this is happening beyond this romance. Because it's like, first of all, what's he gonna do? Move back to Connecticut or wherever the fuck they're from? I don't even know where they're from. No idea. New York, something like that. He's. He's too much of a greaser to be in that polite society. It'd be like if Brando from the Wild One was, like, going to Jane Wyman's house and all that heaven Allows. There's no way he'd exist in that neighborhood.
- [116:43]
B
There were elements of How Stella Got Her Groove Back that reminded me of all that Heaven Allows. I was thinking about some of that.
- [116:50]
A
How during this. In what way?
- [116:54]
B
Well, particularly when it came to the barbecue scene and How Stella Got her groove Back, where they, like. Or just like, her friends accepting a younger, sexy man in the life. And it's like, what are you doing? Why are you dating this young man so that.
- [117:09]
A
That.
- [117:09]
B
That sort of stuff.
- [117:10]
A
Well, that. That barbecue, he charmed the pants out of everybody.
- [117:13]
B
Well, he charmed the pants off everyone there, but just. There's other things, like with her sister.
- [117:19]
A
Yeah.
- [117:19]
B
In How Stella Got Her Groove Back, where they're like, why are you dating this guy? I think it's gross. You know, just the judgment from others.
- [117:28]
A
Sure, sure.
- [117:29]
B
All that heaven Allows.
- [117:30]
A
But, like, in that barbecue. I mean, that's the power of a black barbecue, though. I mean, it's just that everybody kind of, like, is. They're on equal footing and they're kind of like, yeah, having a good time. They're letting bygones be bygones, that kind of thing.
- [117:43]
B
Yeah.
- [117:43]
A
I mean, at one point, Winston is fucking talking to her ex husband. Like, they're chopping it up. And I was like, yeah. Holy. Like, how is this happening? Happening? But, yeah, that sister is always gonna be the little holdout. I feel like.
- [117:58]
B
Yeah.
- [117:59]
A
Like, I feel like later when he comes out as, you know, gay and. Oh, she's gonna. She's gonna have a lot to say about that. Like. Well, I told you, Estella. I told you many years ago.
- [118:12]
B
Anyway, very good.
- [118:13]
A
But to answer your question, Johnny Castle is. And Baby are done. I hate to say it.
- [118:18]
B
They're done.
- [118:18]
C
Done.
- [118:19]
A
Second thing.
- [118:20]
B
Very good, very good. I have kind of a bizarre. Not bizarre recommendation, but it's a little bit off the beaten path. Have you ever seen this movie from 1971 called Summer of 42?
- [118:34]
A
Yes. We programmed it a lot on TCM. Oh, really?
- [118:38]
B
Okay.
- [118:38]
A
With. What's that guy, Jennifer O'?
- [118:41]
B
Neill?
- [118:42]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [118:45]
B
So Summer of 42 is kind of like a Cape Cod style. It's not. They're not on vacation, but it's like a bunch of boys living in Cape Cod, and it's kind of a vacation ish setting. And this is sort of a kind of like a sex comedy. But one of the boys is, like, kind of obsessed with this woman who is older than him, and they're all in high school, I believe, and he kind of starts like a romance a little bit with an older woman. And I remember just being particularly taken with this book and this movie when I was in high school, and I have fond memories of it, but it's a good kind of summer romance movie.
- [119:34]
A
Yeah. For some reason, I thought the lead guy in summer of 42 was the same kid from the Great Santini, but that. That's not true. I just looked it up. Oh, they're two totally different dudes, so.
- [119:49]
B
Oh, okay.
- [119:49]
A
But yes, this movie is actually great and I think it's a little hidden gem.
- [119:54]
B
Yeah, it's a little hidden gem. I think, though, the guy who wrote the book summer of 42 worked on the Great Santini.
- [120:06]
A
Oh, well, then that's.
- [120:08]
B
There is a Great Santini connection. He is often credited as the ghostwriter of the film the Great Santini. However, he did not work on the film. Oh, I don't know. Anyways, yeah, summer of 42, it's a nice. It's got that nice kind of lovey dovey summer vibe, kind of dreamlike movie. So check that out. Summer 42.
- [120:29]
A
Yep.
- [120:31]
B
Okay, Millie, we finished another episode.
- [120:34]
A
We did.
- [120:34]
B
Hooray. In fact, thank you to Chris Thomas Devlin for coming on the show to talk about fake movies in movies. Really appreciate. Appreciate it.
- [120:43]
A
Yes. Thank you so much. That was a really, really fun conversation. And I don't know, how's your groove feel? My groove is feeling great right now.
- [120:51]
B
I'm back. Yeah, I'm back.
- [120:53]
A
Good, good.
- [120:54]
B
I got my groove back.
- [120:55]
A
Fantastic. But listen, everybody, if you want film advice from us, your film people, if you want a recommendation for a movie, if you need help with navigating a filmography of somebody's, or listen, if you have a. A film gripe, the consensual film grope or film regret, please write us Dear Movies at exactly right media.com. and by the way, if you send an email to our Instagram account, do not count that it will actually be read because those messages go missing constantly. And I'm in there, like, I don't know what the. Like, oh, my God, somebody sent us this message, like, two months ago. So don't rely on that Instagram DM, go to dear movies@exactly right media.com that's where we will get an email. Okay. Also send us a voicemail there. If you want to record a voicemail on your phone under a minute, send it to dearMoviesExactlyRightMedia.com.
- [121:58]
B
Yep, we got an email recently, the title of which is just just grope, exclamation point. So excited to get into that. Well, follow us on our socials Earmovies I love you on Instagram and Facebook, please. It's a fun little place to hang out with us online. Our letterboxd handles are caseylee o' Brien and Mdecherico and listen to Dear Movies, I Love youe on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And please rate and review our show.
- [122:29]
A
Kasey, what are we watching next week?
- [122:32]
B
We are watching Donnie Darko, the Director's Cut. Now, originally we were gonna do Donnie Darko because it's the 25th anniversary, but the director's cut came out in 2004, so that doesn't quite work the same way. But it's still the, you know, the anniversary. But I'm excited to talk about this movie. An important film to me.
- [122:54]
A
Good to know.
- [122:56]
B
Well, Millie, thank you for helping me get my groove back and and getting me to reengage with my love of furniture making. This was lovely. Yeah, thank you.
- [123:09]
A
Yep. Had a great time, everybody. Bye. Bye. Bye. This has been an exactly right production, hosted by me, Millie De Cho, and produced by my co host, Casey o'. Brien.
- [123:22]
B
This episode was mixed by Tom Bryfogel. Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain. Our guest booker is Patrick Cotner, and our artwork is by Vanessa Lilac.
- [123:31]
A
Our incredible theme music is by the best band in the entire world, the Softies.
- [123:36]
B
Thank you to our executive producers, Karen Kilgarith, Georgia Hardstark, Daniel Kramer, and Millie de Cherico. We love you.
- [123:43]
A
Goodbye. Be kind. Rewind.