Catwoman w/ Jamie Denbo (HDTGM Matinee)

Summary

How Did This Get Made? — "Catwoman" w/ Jamie Denbo (HDTGM Matinee)

Podcast Date: September 2, 2025
Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas
Guest: Jamie Denbo

---

Overview

In this episode, the HDTGM crew, joined by Jamie Denbo, takes aim at the infamous 2004 “Catwoman” film starring Halle Berry. The panel deconstructs the movie's failures, its nonsensical plot, wild performances, and deeply misguided attempts at empowerment and sexuality. Overflowing with classic HDTGM humor, the group debates who the audience was supposed to be, why the movie completely abandons Catwoman’s comic origins, and how such an infamous disaster took shape.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immediate Red Flags and the Catwoman Mythos

• The hosts quickly call out the film’s introductory errors—right from the opening credits and score.

  • [02:57] Paul Scheer: “I knew we were in trouble just from the beginning with like, the faux Enya music over, like, the Ken Burns documentary on Cat.”
  • [03:10] Jason Mantzoukas: “I knew we were in trouble when the director had one name.”

• The group is baffled that the film discards the rich DC backstory for Catwoman:

  • [03:34] Paul Scheer: “They decided not to do anything DC with... They're like, we're not gonna adhere to anything that you know about.”
  • [03:40] Jamie Denbo: “But except to say that there have been many Catwoman, so we can get away with this because this is just one Catwoman story.”

---

2. The “Nerdy Girl” Stereotype and Physicality

• Halle Berry’s portrayal of Patience Phillips as the awkward, clumsy “nerd” is gleefully picked apart.

  • [04:22] Jamie Denbo: “It was all about her walk as Patience… all nerds or loser women who are lonely but gorgeous hold their sleeves over their wrists like they're trying not to get their skin out.”
  • [05:14] Paul Scheer: “Gorgeous women having no idea how to act not gorgeous.”

• Comparison to other overacted “nerdy lead” performances:

  • [05:01] Jason Mantzoukas: “It’s like she and Sandra Bullock in ‘All About Steve.’”

---

3. The Surreal Cosmetics Plot

• The team rips into the ludicrous central conflict revolving around a dangerous beauty cream:

  • [05:45] Paul Scheer: “A cosmetic company is—everyone is waiting for this new cosmetic, and they have a building in New York City, and...”
  • [05:56] Jamie Denbo: “It’s all over the news. It’s the only thing going on.”

• The stakes feel forced and oddly gendered:

  • [13:16] June Diane Raphael: “I actually thought it was really offensive because I felt like they were taking this female, like, superhero and then making her have to deal with something that was, like, girl-related.”

• Catwoman's entire heroism centers on fighting “bad skincare” rather than crime.

  • [13:49] Jason Mantzoukas: “To make her be like a good guy who’s like, rescuing women from a beauty product is absolutely so demeaning.”

---

4. Supporting Characters & Comic Relief

• Alex Borstein’s “horniest best friend” gets a lot of comedic attention:
  • [07:07] Jamie Denbo: “She’s Kim Cattrall trapped in Alex Borstein’s body. It’s so awkward.”
  • [07:16] June Diane Raphael: “Every time she talks to Halle Berry, she’s like putting on... She calls it chocolate a lot, right?”
  • [07:21] Jamie Denbo: “Brown sugar. Brown sugar.”
  • Also: the underused gay friend (“Yay!”) and the “man sandwich” confusion.

---

5. Catwoman’s Powers and Absurd Cat Mythology

• The panel can’t decipher what Catwoman’s powers really are or why some are so literal:

  • [15:26] Paul Scheer: “Her powers are the power of a cat. And then also the powers of crazy things so she can sneak out of a prison by contorting her body…”
  • [15:49] Jamie Denbo: “Do cats have, like, crazy senses like that where they see birds really closely?”

• The transformation moment is a highlight of absurdity:

  • [11:36] Jason Mantzoukas: “We don’t understand how she gets her powers. Can you have a cat make out with her dead body?”

• Wild cat behavior gets reenacted, especially her newfound diet:

  • [15:56] Jason Mantzoukas: “That was disgusting. I wrote that down. I was like, what the fuck is this?” (regarding eating tuna straight from the can)
  • [16:23] June Diane Raphael: “I loved all the cat physicalization. I loved her licking that milk.”

---

6. Fashion, Outfits & the Infamous Suit

• The Catwoman “look” becomes an ongoing source of riffs:

  • [09:29] Jamie Denbo: “It’s a free shopping bag. It’s very eco-friendly. It is just...”
  • [44:10] Jamie Denbo: “Michelle Pfeiffer’s actual suit is so much sexier than the, like, the SNF and the big tits, like, the fucking, like, pushed up, like Halle Berry."

• Costume impracticality:

  • [44:55] Jason Mantzoukas: “Every time she jumps... her tits would pop out.”

---

7. Benjamin Bratt’s Detective, Flirtation, and Basketball Sequence

• The meet-cute on the ledge and ensuing romance are picked apart:

  • [22:47] June Diane Raphael: “He thinks that she's a suicide jumper. And then they kind of get this flirtation…”

• Bizarre police procedural moments:

  • [23:40] Paul Scheer: “He finds her wallet and then shows up at her work. Because as we all know, our wallets have our work address in them.”

• The infamous and surreal basketball seduction scene:

  • [25:04] Jason Mantzoukas: “Holy cow... It’s all shots of her upper body. So they’re in. They never move.”
  • [25:32] June Diane Raphael: “And at one point, there’s just a close up... of her ass jiggling.”

---

8. Sharon Stone as the Villain

• Universal praise for Sharon Stone’s performance.
  • [09:14] Jamie Denbo: “And they're both called Sharon Stone… She was amazing, amazing for all the right reasons.”
  • [19:23] Jamie Denbo: “She's one of the only people who understands the movie she's in.”
  • [19:10] Jamie Denbo: “She's a wonderful, she is not, oddly, not overacting, I don't think. I feel like that is just...”

---

9. Plot Absurdities & Feminist Appraisal

• Confusion about Catwoman’s social mission, audience, and the film’s understanding (or lack thereof) of feminism.

  • [14:28] Jamie Denbo: “Who is this for? And who do they think it's for? The whole movie, I'm like... who is the audience that they think they're getting? They obviously want to get superhero people.”
  • [18:10] Jason Mantzoukas: "This movie and Elektra... [are] truly missteps of, like, comic movies completely misunderstanding how to represent women in movies."

• The villain’s marble skin and the cosmetic company’s evil plan are flagged as particularly bonkers.

---

10. Fight Scenes and CGI

• The group notes a long delay before any actual action:
  • [32:28] Jason Mantzoukas: "There's 45 minutes... before the first fight sequence."
  • CGI is omnipresent, especially for Catwoman’s movements.

---

11. The Ending (and Alternate Ending)

• Both the theatrical and alternate endings are discussed:
  • [38:31] Paul Scheer: “There's an alternate ending on the dvd. The original ending, which... is pretty great. So the movie ends with the Catwoman writing a letter to Ophelia Powers and Tom Lone and saying, thank you so much for your help.”
  • [39:08] Jamie Denbo: "Ambiguous, leading room for franchise."

---

12. Razzie Speech Compilation

• The show closes with highlights from Halle Berry’s legendary acceptance speech at the Razzies, where she roasts the film, the director, and her own acting.

---

[46:55] Halle Berry (Razzie Speech):
"First of all, I want to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in a piece of shit, God awful movie... Thank you for thinking this was a good idea. Obviously, it wasn't, but I appreciate the thought you thought it was. You tried."

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Catwoman transformation:

  • [16:38] Paul Scheer: "Her next look is full-on Rihanna... I actually thought Rihanna is stealing from Catwoman."

• On screenwriting:

  • [41:47] Paul Scheer: "28 writers were involved. That's how many it took in the arbitration... 28 writers were involved in this script at one point."

• Amazon Reviewer Roundup:

  • [42:34] Paul Scheer (reading): “If you like Cats or Halle Berry, you're gonna like this movie.”
  • [43:24] June Diane Raphael (reading): “I also like the way this movie treated the duality of what a woman can be if she chooses, and her right to choose.”
  • [43:30] Jason Mantzoukas (cracking up): “I have recommended this film to all I know who are, like me, a pagan.”

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening—First Signs of Trouble: [02:57–04:13]
• Catwoman’s Personality & Powers: [04:22–06:54], [15:20–16:57]
• The Magic Beauty Cream Plot: [05:45–06:59], [13:03–13:28]
• Alex Borstein and the “Horny Friend”: [07:01–07:43]
• Catwoman’s Transformation & Cat Acting: [15:26–16:38]
• Fashion & Costume Critiques: [09:29–10:02], [44:10–44:49]
• Benjamin Bratt & Basketball Scene: [22:47–25:54]
• Sharon Stone’s Villain Role: [09:14–09:20], [19:07–19:23]
• Alternate Ending Breakdown: [38:31–40:13]
• Razzie Speech Highlights: [46:55–49:37]
• Amazon Reviews & Viewer Reactions: [42:02–43:50]

---

Final Thoughts

• The panel agrees "Catwoman" is a fascinating, campy disaster that almost becomes enjoyable through its excesses and misfires.

  • [46:03] Paul Scheer: “Not a bad viewing experience. It's a fun bad movie to watch.”
  • [46:14] Paul Scheer: “It misses the mark because it takes itself a little bit too seriously.”

• Universal consensus: Sharon Stone is the best part; the film is an object lesson in “how not to make a superhero movie”—especially a female-led one.

---

Listener Participation

• The episode features audience-submitted bad “Catwoman” puns and wordplay ([45:41]).

---

Essential Takeaway

"Catwoman" is a jaw-droppingly misguided attempt at a superhero film; hilarious in its own incompetence and notable for its bizarre choices, missed opportunities for genuine female empowerment, wild overacting, and a script that felt like it was written by committee—and possibly by actual cats.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

Change is always happening. But no matter what changes in five years, there's one thing that will stay the same. The price of your Internet. With the Xfinity five year price guarantee, you get five years of the most reliable WI fi with our best equipment included for a price that stays exactly the same. Restrictions apply. New residential customers only. Taxes and fees extra and subject to change. Most reliable WI Fi Based on Open Signal Awards USA Fixed Broadband Experience Report.

August 2024 Would you sell your soul for greatness? What would you be willing to sacrifice? Find out September 19th in the New Jordan Peele produced horror film him only in theaters, starring Marlon Waynes in a role of a lifetime as the greatest football player of all time, AKA the goat. Tyreek Withers also stars as his up and coming protege. Directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Monkeypaw Productions. Never meet your idols. Him hits theaters September 19th.

They say if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. At Amica Insurance, we know what matters most to you, and we work even harder to protect it together. As a mutual insurance company, we're built for our customers and prioritize your needs. Amica empathy is our best policy. Call 877-41-America and get a quote.

Sinister face cream, diamond claws, a perfect basketball game.

[Paul Sheer]

There are so many reasons for me.

[Commercial Narrator]

To be me out, but I keep on being purred. Back in, we saw Catwoman, so you.

[Paul Sheer]

Know what that means.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Now it's time for.

[Paul Sheer]

Perhaps we'll find the answer to the question, how did this get made? Hello, people of Earth, and welcome to how did this Get Made? The show where we try to make sense of the movies that make no sense. I am joined, as always, by Jason Mantzoukas. How are you, Jason?

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I'm good. Paul. What is happening?

[Commercial Narrator]

Not much.

[Paul Sheer]

And June. Diane Rayfield. How are you, June?

[June Diane Raphael]

Hi, Paul. I'm good. How are you?

[Paul Sheer]

As always, I'm delicate. So delicate.

[June Diane Raphael]

I'm a delicate flower.

[Paul Sheer]

As always, we have a very special guest. This person is hilarious. You may have recently just seen her on Happy Endings. Very talented writer, comedian, actress. Please welcome Jamie Dembo.

[Jamie Denbo]

Hello.

[June Diane Raphael]

Hello.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Are you doing this whole thing in character?

[Jamie Denbo]

What character? Maybe my whole world outside this is character.

[June Diane Raphael]

Uh oh.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, man.

[Paul Sheer]

And your podcast, the. The Rana and Bev podcast, where can people find that?

[Jamie Denbo]

They can find it on the itunes.

[Paul Sheer]

It's hilarious. Catwoman. Oh, my God. Guys.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, brother.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Wow. How have we not done this movie yet?

[Paul Sheer]

It's amazing. I knew we were in trouble just from the beginning with with, like, the faux Enya music over, like, the Ken Burns documentary on Cat.

[June Diane Raphael]

That was the longest opening credit sequence I've ever seen.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I knew we were in trouble when the director had one name.

[Paul Sheer]

Bitoff.

[Jamie Denbo]

Bitoff. Well, I just feel it's. From the very beginning, we had a very thin premise. Like a thinness that went through the.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Whole thing, which means nothing because this is a character who has a very rich history or should like Catwoman. It's not like an artificial character. Like, this is. There's a lore to it who's been around forever.

[Paul Sheer]

They decided not to do anything DC with. They're like, we're not gonna adhere to anything that you know about.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah. But except to say that there have been many Catwoman, so we can get away with this because this is just one Catwoman story.

[Paul Sheer]

One of the stories of the many Cat. And so, basically, by the way, I'm.

[June Diane Raphael]

Sorry to jump ahead. I'm so sorry. Was Frances Conroy a Catwoman or just an expert on Catwoman?

[Paul Sheer]

We should get to it.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I'm sorry, you mean Ophelia Powers?

[June Diane Raphael]

Okay, sure.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Her name is Oph Powers. Do you feel him? Oh, feel your powers.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, no.

[Paul Sheer]

We'll get into. We have a lot to talk about.

[June Diane Raphael]

With the names, too.

[Paul Sheer]

So basically, this movie starts off with Halle Berry being, you know, that typical nerdy girl who just bumps into everybody.

[Jamie Denbo]

Like the walk. It was all about her walk as patience. Just apparently all nerds or loser women who are lonely but gorgeous hold their wrists, hold their sleeves in their wrists like they're trying to put on a coat and not get their skin.

[Paul Sheer]

There's a lot of body work in this movie in general. A lot of.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

A lot of physicality when she's her nerd, when she's patient and nerdy. You're right. It's all stiff arms, high shoulders. And then when she's Cameras, it's like Ms. J from America's Next Top Model came in and was like, girl, this is how you need to do this.

[Paul Sheer]

Also, as a nerdy girl, she's always, always bumping into people. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Basically. Did you guys think she was. Basically. Not to draw comparisons again, but it's like she and Sandra Bullock in All About Steve. It's the same kind of, like, mannered. This is how I'm going to be. Unattractive nerd girl.

[Paul Sheer]

Gorgeous women having no idea how to act. Not gorgeous.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yes, exactly.

[Jamie Denbo]

No idea. It's like, I honestly felt she was constantly trapped in a pose of, like, when a little Girl goes, meh. That was the sound that came out of her body.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, I also wanted. This is what. Before we get into the meat of the movie, I. This is another movie. The thing that drives me crazy, it happened in the Smurfs, which we saw. Which is why.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Don't point to me when you say Smurfs. You pointed right at me.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, the Smurfs. Jason, dude, do not out me as.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

A Smurf right now, bro. Don't do this to me, bro.

[Paul Sheer]

Which is the fact that a cosmetic company is, like, everyone is waiting for this new cosmetic, and they have a building in New York City, and everywhere.

[June Diane Raphael]

It's big business, Bob.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's all over the news. It's the only thing going on. And yet they never really show, like, the world expecting it. So it's this presumption that the world is expecting it. And all the shots are, like, the long shots of the building and the face and the announcement. And when's the long shot?

[June Diane Raphael]

Actually, the only people who seem to want this product are people who already work at the company and who already.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Are using it, who are jamming it on their faces like it's like a bad cum shot.

[Jamie Denbo]

A moment for Alex Borstein, who I have to say is maybe, and I feel badly saying this, but the most unlikable friend, funny friend character I've ever seen.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

How do you mean? What are you talking about?

[Paul Sheer]

Say we can speak freely about all these people because in a very classy way. And we're gonna play this a little bit later.

[June Diane Raphael]

Let's keep it classy today, you guys. Let's keep it classy.

[Paul Sheer]

Halle Berry did accept her Razzie and brought Alex Bornstein with her. And they all kind of were like, yeah, we know. Like, so everything.

[June Diane Raphael]

I'm obsessed with the character of Sally. I feel like we could spend this whole time just simply talking about Sally.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

When she's just making calls from the hospital, just like, girl, what are you doing right now? She thinks she's in a hospital nurse's.

[June Diane Raphael]

Desk and wearing pigtails, which I think was one of the most upsetting things to me.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She' so horny.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, so horny. She's Kim Cattrall trapped in Alex Borstein's body. It's so awkward and weird and uncomfortable. And she's a little racist.

[Commercial Narrator]

Oh, yes.

[June Diane Raphael]

Every time she talks to Halle Berry, she's, like, putting on.

[Paul Sheer]

She calls it chocolate a lot, right?

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

Brown sugar. Brown sugar.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And he's like, oh, did you see your man yet? Did you like Fuck him. She's like, she's so randy.

[Jamie Denbo]

Very invested. Very invested. Way too invested.

[Paul Sheer]

This is a best friend who bought her a leather catsuit, which good thing she did for. She goes for dating emergencies.

[June Diane Raphael]

Sally didn't buy that for her.

[Jamie Denbo]

She and the gay friend. Yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, that was a joint gift. I didn't realize that.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Sheer]

It's it for dating emergency with a.

[Jamie Denbo]

Gay friend who came over the side and just goes, yay. Every time something.

[June Diane Raphael]

All of his lines got cut.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

So basically people were like, we can't have a gay guy in this movie. You guys know that, right? You're gonna have to cut him almost completely.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, the gay guy who says when he sees Benjamin Bratt, he goes, ooh, look at this man sandwich.

[Jamie Denbo]

That's the same guy.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah. Which does not mean anything. That would mean two men.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Right?

[Paul Sheer]

I know.

[Jamie Denbo]

I did get confused by that.

[Paul Sheer]

What is a man? Well, one solo man is not a man sandwich.

[June Diane Raphael]

I think he was just saying, like, like, I'm hungry for that guy.

[Jamie Denbo]

Like, well, now I understand it now that we're talking about it, but it was a moment where I was like, there's several people.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah, that's what I would say. Like, if you were like, oh, I would like a man sandwich. I would think, oh, that's a couple of dudes.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah, yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

Like the Voltaggio brothers from Tasha.

[Jamie Denbo]

That's a man sandwich.

[June Diane Raphael]

A man sandwich.

[Paul Sheer]

Correct.

[Jamie Denbo]

Good call.

[June Diane Raphael]

Have I revealed too much?

[Paul Sheer]

Not at all.

[June Diane Raphael]

Not enough.

[Jamie Denbo]

Nope. Not enough.

[Paul Sheer]

So Halle Berry, who's dressed like Raggedy Ann in the beginning of this movie, needs to get an ad.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's an artist for an ad company who's given up her art. She's like, I wanted to be an artist. She sold out. She lives in like a multi million dollar loft.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes. Oh, yeah. That loft is amazing.

[Jamie Denbo]

I actually was glad about that choice because I did think, all right, well, she has sold out, so we have to see where she would have spent her money. Because I felt like when they. They started on Close up or something in her loft, I was like, you'll pull away and it's going to be like a dinky little. Like, at least. Okay, she paid for something, Right. So I like that logic.

[Paul Sheer]

She's doing good. She's doing good.

[Jamie Denbo]

And I do have a couple other things that I genuinely loved about.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Really?

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, me too.

[June Diane Raphael]

I did too.

[Jamie Denbo]

And they're both called Sharon Stone.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, my gosh. Amazing.

[Jamie Denbo]

Amazing.

[June Diane Raphael]

She was amazing.

[Jamie Denbo]

Amazing for all the right reasons.

[June Diane Raphael]

Yes, absolutely. I have to say, the first outfit Halle Berry is wearing as patience is the craziest aspect.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's a free shopping bag. It's very eco friendly. It is just.

[June Diane Raphael]

They just put layers and layers of clothes on her. There's no rhyme or reason to that outfit.

[Jamie Denbo]

There's.

[June Diane Raphael]

The front is in the back is in the front. It is the.

[Paul Sheer]

She is an artist. She is an artist. She's in a smock.

[Jamie Denbo]

But by the way, she's also.

[June Diane Raphael]

Is that her smock?

[Paul Sheer]

No, no, no. I'm saying.

[June Diane Raphael]

I'm genuinely asking. I thought maybe that was a smock.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I think that people. I think they might have been trying to start a fashion trend of smocks.

[June Diane Raphael]

Okay. And she wore that outfit two days in a row.

[Jamie Denbo]

So did Alex Borstein. She was in the red thing. I noticed that too.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I was like, that's another day.

[Paul Sheer]

That's. That's gotta.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

You know what? I.

[June Diane Raphael]

That was an editing.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I bet it's an edit problem. I bet they were like, you know what? We gotta split this in half. We'll put this over here, this over here. But they're wearing all the same clothes. Nobody will notice. This movie's horrible.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, also, here's the thing.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

They'll be too focused on how bad the movie is to notice this.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, we are not even into the first 10 minutes yet.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I could talk forever about the first 10 minutes.

[Paul Sheer]

I mean, it's amazing. So basically, her boss, who is so arch, he makes arch people look like nothing. Like, I mean, he's so crazy.

[Jamie Denbo]

Every line. He delivers every line. Sharon Stone is a lot. Is the cap. It's the yippee ki yay motherfuckers line.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[Jamie Denbo]

So every line is game over. How would you know? You're a cat person. Like, it's just all. Feels like every line. There's no dialogue of like, hey, how you doing? Like, none.

[Paul Sheer]

None at all. It's all to the top. And so they're releasing this product which is going to be more. More important than soap. Yep, is what they say in the movie. And so Halle Berry has.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Which is like a beauty cream.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[June Diane Raphael]

It's like an anti aging, anti wrinkle.

[Paul Sheer]

Cream, which has some pretty crazy properties, which we'll get into.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Basically, Sally's just like lathering it on her face. She's like, I can't get enough of this stuff.

[June Diane Raphael]

Yes. Although in the very next scene, she lathers it on her face and then says immediately, I can't get enough of this stuff. And then says, oh, I've been having terrible headaches.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

The next line Meanwhile, Halle Berry's like, you know, that stuff's experimental. You shouldn't even have that.

[Jamie Denbo]

Every single line also feels like a studio note. Like, they took every studio note feels like that came along happily. Every single one of. Is anyone going to understand this? We should put in another line to explain it.

[June Diane Raphael]

All right.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I hope one of those studio notes were, hey, we don't understand how she gets her powers. Can you have a cat make out with her dead body? Like, how can we get the transference? Can we actually have the cat lip to lip with a Halle Berry?

[Paul Sheer]

That is one of my favorite scenes.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Like Sleeping Beauty, kiss her back to life.

[Paul Sheer]

The cat blows out this breath. Well, the whole reason why she dies is because she needs to get an ad done by midnight. And so no messengers can deliver it to the headquarters, which is also the factory. Which is also the fact. Which is why.

[Jamie Denbo]

That's. The other thing is, like, why couldn't she.

[Paul Sheer]

Why do they need to bring it to the factory?

[Jamie Denbo]

I don't know.

[Paul Sheer]

Which she wasn't even there for.

[June Diane Raphael]

It's also kind of on an island.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah, the factory's on an island.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And it's also like a basement lab is the only place she can wander into.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's like, I gotta drop off these designs. I might as well go to a basement. Secret basement lab.

[Paul Sheer]

And there are clearly security guards all the way around because they come chasing after. They don't stop her. And she sneaks in through the back way. So. And she uncovers the plot that. That where they say the skin cream eats away your flesh, and this is a bad skin cream. Like, well, fuck it. We need to release it.

[June Diane Raphael]

By the way, it's one of the best scenes because there's a scientist there who's, I guess, testing the screen.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

Who says, like, look, you guys, I can take a lot of things.

[Jamie Denbo]

He's like, I've lived with the headaches it caused us. I've lived with the addict.

[June Diane Raphael]

I've lived with the side effects, the nausea. He's like, I cannot live with this. Who is this guy that he can live with any of that, but he.

[Paul Sheer]

Can'T live with their face being decompiguration.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

I also, again, like, the stakes of just releasing a beauty cream, like, to what? Why?

[Paul Sheer]

So in what world is this that important? It's like, I've never seen Clinique take over. Like, the new.

[Jamie Denbo]

You know what?

[June Diane Raphael]

I actually thought it was really offensive because I felt like they were taking this female, like, superhero and then making her have to deal with Something that was like girl. Girl related. She couldn't actually do anything.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Is Catwoman is in the comics, and I know they're not adhering to any comic thing. Like is a villain, you know, she's a thief. She steals stuff. She's like a bad guy.

[Jamie Denbo]

She's a cat burglar.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's a cat burglar. Exactly. And. And to make her be like a good guy who's like, like, like rescuing women from like a beauty product is absolutely so demeaning.

[June Diane Raphael]

See, I didn't know that about Catwoman because I was thinking that the whole time. Like, is she good or bad?

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah, because she does.

[June Diane Raphael]

Well, I knew she was it back, but then she does keep that necklace.

[Jamie Denbo]

That's. But that's why they had to make that. That was the only way to fill out. Flesh this out, I guess, in some way. Because honestly, like, it takes like 20.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Minutes to get to the bad guys. Oh, yeah.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

This movie is nine hours long.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's very long.

[Paul Sheer]

It's very long for an 88 minute movie or whatever. It's like 103 minutes, but it feels like a lifetime. It is crazy.

[Jamie Denbo]

But I think that's interesting when talking about the whole feminist nature of it.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

That's the rest of the podcast should be a feminist appraisal of the movie Catwoman.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yay, June. Party time.

[June Diane Raphael]

I'm up for it.

[Jamie Denbo]

But is that. Is that I didn't know watching. I'm like, so who is this for? And who do they think it's for? The whole movie. I'm like, so who. Who is the audience that they think they're getting it? They think. They obviously want to get superhero people.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah. Like fanboys.

[Jamie Denbo]

Right, Fanboys. And then fan girls up to an age when that doesn't necessarily stay safe for the. Some women that it stays for. But let's be general speaking generals. And then is it for. Is it for women? Because it's also like. Or they think it's for women. Right. But they think. But power.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

So the love story with Benjamin.

[June Diane Raphael]

But that's always really about the movie to me too, because it's like they did more. They spent more time sexualizing her.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh my God.

[June Diane Raphael]

In these super.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, she first becomes the Catwoman and she gets in the costume. They have about a minute and a half long tracking shot that just kind of spins around her body. And you're just looking at this costume.

[June Diane Raphael]

She looks amazing.

[Jamie Denbo]

Amazing, amazing. But her t. Like, what are her powers? I don't.

[Paul Sheer]

Her powers are the power of a cat. And Then also the powers of crazy things so she can sneak out of a prison by contorting her body. Because cats have very flexible bodies. She can land on her feet all the time.

[Jamie Denbo]

I see that happen a lot.

[Paul Sheer]

And then you first see your powers. Like, she heightened senses. But do cats have, like, crazy senses like that where they see birds really closely? Or, like, dogs?

[Jamie Denbo]

How about they're gross cats for one second, and they do. I did think it was both funny and appalling when she was eating the fucking tuna fish.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

That was disgusting. I wrote that down. I was like, what the fuck is this?

[Paul Sheer]

The hottest woman in the world could be eating tuna fish. That's not sexy.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Every time she's eating. And she's also eating sushi with Benjamin Bread. It's like she can control herself. She's like, again, a lot of work.

[Paul Sheer]

There is a lot of acting coach working here. And Halle Berry does talk in her Razzie speech about working with her acting coach on this part, which is true.

[June Diane Raphael]

Like, I loved all the cat physicalization. I loved it, you guys. I loved it. I love.

[Jamie Denbo]

You know what?

[June Diane Raphael]

I loved all of the physical stuff. I loved her licking that milk.

[Jamie Denbo]

I did, too. And then her lipstick being perfect. That, to me, was a good superhero moment. I love that.

[Paul Sheer]

We didn't even talk about the fact that when she. When after she gets transformed into Catwoman, she goes from this, you know, this, you know, girl who's like, I'm Patience Phillips to Rihanna, like, that's it. Her next look is full on. Rihanna. Rihanna. And her dressing, the hair is exactly the same. I actually thought. I think Rihanna is stealing from Catwoman.

[Jamie Denbo]

Well, she has to be, because it's dated.

[Paul Sheer]

It's the same thing.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah, but what's crazy is when you also. When you suggested that when Catwoman came up, my immediate thought was like, oh, that's from the 90s, that film. Yeah, it is. Only from 2005. Why does it feel.

[June Diane Raphael]

Wait, I didn't know this.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

I thought this was, like, 1997.

[Jamie Denbo]

No, no.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

What.

[Jamie Denbo]

Why is it. I don't know.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

This movie is recent.

[Paul Sheer]

She won the Academy Award and then did this.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And then did this movie.

[June Diane Raphael]

Wait, so she. Okay, but she won Monster Monsters Ball. Monsters ball, like, in 2004.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And then used the clout to get this done.

[Jamie Denbo]

See, I.

[June Diane Raphael]

What's a bummer about this is, like, I actually think it could have been a really cool, amazing. Yeah, I think it could have.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, if they actually adhered to what Catwoman is. I mean.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

Michelle Pfeiffer's good. Halle Berry could have done it.

[Jamie Denbo]

I think it's interesting that Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is so in the zeitgeist right now, because I think that if that came out first, then this would be kind of an amazing concept, because I think I do. I think that there is something very similar. I don't know why I haven't formed the words that connect any of these.

[June Diane Raphael]

Thoughts, however good and bad.

[Jamie Denbo]

And also that leathery kind of like, misfit thing, like, that should be our fucking cowboy.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Well, there is, but there is. Like, that's an era. This movie and Elektra are the two movies in which they make so such dread. It is truly missteps of, like, comic movies. Completely misunderstanding how to represent women in movies.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And market towards their audience that way. You know, like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or. Or even like Columbiana. Like, all of these, like, female centric action movies or. Or movies that have, like, an intensity to them are much more like. They're richer stories. Like, I think because these are comic books, people are like, well, it's just for fanboys. Put her in a sexy outfit, have her jump around.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah, she's not safe. There's no crime. You don't get the sense at the end of the movie, like, she's gonna continue to be Catwoman. But there's no. There's no crime to it. Like, what is she gonna do? She's gonna fight. What?

[Jamie Denbo]

I feel like she. And. And Sharon Stone. Sharon Stone, who is so fucking good in this movie.

[Paul Sheer]

This is like her comeback movie. All wanting to be a comeback movie.

[Jamie Denbo]

Should have been. She's great. She's awesome. She does exactly what she's supposed to do. She is fucking gorgeous. She's a wonderful. She is not, oddly, not overacting, I don't think. I feel like that is just.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's one of the only people who understands the movie she's in.

[Jamie Denbo]

Exactly.

[Paul Sheer]

Today's podcast is brought to you by Squarespace.

[Commercial Narrator]

Whether you're starting out or scaling up your business, Squarespace is the all in one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. I am a giant fan of Squarespace. I use it for many different websites. Unspooled. How did this get made? Dark web and my own. Each one completely different. And why do I love it so much? Well, because Squarespace gives you everything you need for your specific product. Every one of these websites is completely different. And right now they offer services that help you get paid. That's right. Get paid on time with professional on brand invoices and online payments. Plus streamline your workflow with built in appointment scheduling and email marketing tools. Every dream needs a domain. Squarespace Domains makes it easy to find the best name for your business at one fair all inclusive price. No hidden fees or add ons required. Head to squarespace.combonkers for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use the offer code bonkers to save 10% on your first purchase of a website or domain. Thrive Market isn't just convenient, it is a lifesaver. Okay, now that school is back you can stock up on all your family's must haves from healthy snack packs to high protein meals to non toxic cleaning supplies. I love Thrive. It's healthy groceries delivered, trusted brands that I love and if you're looking to cut out the artificial dyes or processed sugar or seed oils, you got it. Thrive Market has a ton of on site filters so you can easily filter what your family's preferences are. Now the stuff I love from Thrive Let me tell you Van Leeuwen ice cream.

[Paul Sheer]

Have you had it?

[Commercial Narrator]

It's so good. My family, we live on the Kind bars. Skinny Pop. Yeah they got it. And and I will admit I love myself an Olipop soda. These are just a handful of brands that Thrive have and they will deliver them to your door. So go to thrivemarket.combonkers to get 30% off your first order and a free $60 gift. Start speaking a new language with confidence thanks to Babbel's conversation based learning technique that quickly teaches you useful words and phrases about the things you actually talk about in the real world. There are over a dozen languages available to learn at your own pace and you can achieve your goals with material tailored to your individual proficiency level, interest and time availability. I have been learning Spanish with Babbel and I absolutely love it. I love it because of the games, right? It makes it more exciting for me to just jump right in. Whether it's sentence building or maybe this little learning about the culture that just brings the language home. It's like learning from a living breathing organism. You know, you're engaging, you're interactive. It is so much fun.

[Paul Sheer]

You will love it.

[Commercial Narrator]

Learn another language. Babel is gifting our listeners 55% off subscriptions at babel.com bonkers get up to 55% off at babbel.com bonkers spelled B-A B-B-E-L.com bonkers babel.com bonkers rules and restrictions.

[Paul Sheer]

Apply okay, so Halle Berry has These powers and Benjamin Bratt, which we should just. Just back up for a second and talk about Benjamin Brat. Benjamin Bratt finds Halle Berry while he's on his way to work one morning. Halle Berry is out on a ledge trying to save a cat, but he.

[June Diane Raphael]

Thinks that she's turned into cat.

[Paul Sheer]

He thinks that she's a suicide jumper. And then they kind of get this flirtation. And now.

[June Diane Raphael]

And by the way, he keeps on apologizing for thinking that it's like, don't be sorry about that. Don't be sorry.

[Paul Sheer]

She was on a ledge of a building, like looking like she was a jumper. Anyway, so they get this whole weird.

[June Diane Raphael]

Line of her being like offended that that was. It's like you were hanging out of.

[Jamie Denbo]

A building and then.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

But then he's like, oh, I'm late for work and go straight to work. Yeah, like you were. You almost died. You almost died, by the way, when.

[Jamie Denbo]

She drops her wallet. And they clearly moved the door slamming up so that there would be enough time for him to find the wallet on the floor. Did you notice that? Like, why couldn't you just yell her name? You could give her a wallet right now.

[Paul Sheer]

Just down. You could run down those stairs, right up the stairs.

[Jamie Denbo]

You're a cops.

[Paul Sheer]

You did it.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

You could. Literally all he had to do is, hey, your wallet. That's as much, by the way, that's as much effort as it would have taken. Hey, your wallet.

[Paul Sheer]

By the way. The other thing I think that is important to note is he finds her wallet and then shows up at her work. Because as we all know, our wallets have our work address in them.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yep.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Just like when she finds him at the school, he's giving a talk in by being like, I called the police station. They said you might be here. At a random school in this city.

[Paul Sheer]

He's in a random school giving a lecture. But it seems that part of him is that he's always at this school. But yet it seems like it's the first time that he's there. He's like.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And apparently strangers can just walk into classrooms in this school and smile awkwardly at the guy talking and then challenge him to a one on one basketball team. But also, why have we not talked about the one on one basketball game yet?

[Paul Sheer]

And what is happening? What is also happening with him in that school? He's like, hey, kids, don't grow up to be bad. Who wants to play some basketball? Wait, wait, that's the lecture. It's a half, half complex or half basketball thing.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

No, it's a half complex. You hate kids. Don't be bad. Half the kids being like, show us your gun. Oh, yeah, you want to see your gun, buddy?

[June Diane Raphael]

Actually, I have to say, I like the choice of him being at that school because I felt what it did was. I really did because I felt what it did.

[Paul Sheer]

Like this movie.

[Jamie Denbo]

I did not like it. I thought it was fun. And I liked it because it was.

[June Diane Raphael]

Also like, we're not gonna show him, like, solving a crime and being heroic because it's gonna take away from our gal. So we're gonna actually put him in this, like, feminine environment where he's, like, nurturing.

[Paul Sheer]

And so this one on one basketball game.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Holy cow.

[Paul Sheer]

I remember seeing this in the theater.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's the giggling that she's doing two throughout.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

It's all shots of her upper body. So they're in. They never move.

[Jamie Denbo]

Nope.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

They almost never move.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, it's a 101 basketball game where they never shoot the ball. All they do is dribble. Yeah. And the only time that there's any movement is when she does it. Or she does a lot of walks on the walls and she does a standing jumper, but then somehow she falls on top of him. That's the action of it.

[June Diane Raphael]

And at one point, there's just a close up of her. There's just a close up. A very tight close up of her ass jiggling.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yes, there is.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

There's. And there's also. There's like shots of her upper body, like, moving her arms. Like she's dribbling like a mupper. Showing them eye contact. And then lower body shots of her, like, dribbling the ball through her legs like a Harlem globetrotter, which I'm 100% certain was a man.

[Paul Sheer]

Sure.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

There is no. If you. So many upper body to lower body shots. The lower body shots. She is a man. I guarantee a man did these.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, man. I think.

[Paul Sheer]

Fucking cgi. There's so many parts in this movie where her body is completely cgi. Like when she's running around the city, all the jumping. Yeah. Everything is.

[Jamie Denbo]

I will say this, the. To me, the. The really genuinely standout good scene in this movie from another movie was. Yes, I did. Was the Ferris wheel, which was great.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, that's right. From Beverly Hills Cop 3.

[Jamie Denbo]

All right, well, that's why it was good.

[Paul Sheer]

I know that's not a good sign of being good, but. No, that said that because it did.

[Jamie Denbo]

Everything it should do.

[Paul Sheer]

I agree.

[Jamie Denbo]

It made him on par as an equal. Someone who is right.

[Paul Sheer]

They were Working together.

[Jamie Denbo]

She saved the kid, which I thought was a good. Frankly, I thought it was awesome to see her. So that's such a superhero move. I loved this.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

You're, like, almost tripping off right now.

[Jamie Denbo]

It was a music video, too. The whole movie's a music video.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

I mean, the music they lost, though. And I couldn't believe it. Is this just watching her? There was no, like, oh, I'm watching this woman who was Patience. Figure out all of her superhero powers. Like, that's the fun of the movie.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She seems to be oblivious.

[Paul Sheer]

And her superhero power.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I think she's talking about somebody else.

[June Diane Raphael]

And she's giggling with this basketball stuff. It's like, don't giggle. Like, really, like, what? What is happening right now?

[Paul Sheer]

But to me, it's like Superman, Batman, you understand a base of their powers here. She can run and jump from building.

[Jamie Denbo]

Right.

[Paul Sheer]

But besides that, it was very iffy. It was like, who made her hungry? Like a cat. But she's not a cat. But sometimes she's possessed by the cat.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She hisses.

[Jamie Denbo]

Sometimes she sleeps like a human. Sometimes she sleeps on a pillow.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah.

[Paul Sheer]

It's like, weird.

[June Diane Raphael]

I loved when she.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, we didn't talk about the moment in the movie when she's confused about being a cat that she Googles cat.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

No, she Googles cat Cats, period. Women. That's what she goobers.

[Jamie Denbo]

How about the conversation of the cops going, what should we call her? Cat chick?

[Paul Sheer]

Cat broad?

[Jamie Denbo]

Cat broad. Cat broad. What Jerk.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's wearing open toed sandals throughout all of her adventures as Catwoman. And somebody has created diamond talons for her.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[June Diane Raphael]

Yeah. Because those didn't come in that.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

That didn't come in the box. But gloves with diamonds on the fingers who are. Wait, what are you talking about?

[Paul Sheer]

So she is confused. She doesn't want to take on the ca woman Persona just yet. So she goes to Frances Conroy, Ophelia Powers, who is really upset with the.

[Jamie Denbo]

Men in the world, who lives in the up house.

[Paul Sheer]

I wrote that right down too. She lives in the up house. This little house in the middle of.

[Jamie Denbo]

A city of skyscrapers.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

A tiny Victorian house, like, in the midst of, like, Wall street, like, skyscrapers.

[Paul Sheer]

And she's in this uphouse. And this woman is upset with the men in this world because she was denied tenure.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

That was like, academia is a man's world.

[June Diane Raphael]

Yeah.

[Commercial Narrator]

Most of us don't think twice about liver health until something feels off. When your liver's under strain, you feel it. Fatigue, brain fog, sluggish recovery after a weekend of one too many cocktails or indulgent meals. Well, if you're ready to say goodbye to an occasional bloating and hello to renewed energy, you need to know about the one MD LiverMD LiverMD is an award winning physician formulated supplement developed by a GI doctor. It features seven clinically studied ingredients including patented forms of milk thistle and vitamin E, and the results speak for themselves. 80% of LiverMD users reported significant improvements in liver enzyme tests along with better energy digestion, mental clarity and reduced bloating. Plus, 90% of users rate LiverMD better than the competitors. Join the over 1.5 million people already thriving with Liver MD. Forget ineffective detox drinks. Your liver needs clinical grade support. Visit onemd.org and use the code bonkers to save 15% on your first order of Liver MD. That's 1md.org and use code Bonkers. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. As a small business owner, your business is always on your mind. So when you're hiring, you need a partner who is just as dedicated as you. And that hiring partner is LinkedIn jobs.

[Paul Sheer]

That's right.

[Commercial Narrator]

When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. They make it easy for you to post your job for free, share it with your network and get qualified candidates that you can manage all in one place. And LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions. Then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. You can post your job for free or choose to promote it. Promoted jobs attract three times more qualified applicants, so post your job for [e-mail] valuable. That's LinkedIn.com valuable to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Do you know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're out there planning beach trips and barbecues and three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing that's holding you back. So why don't you make the switch to Mint Mobile? With Mint, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. And for a limited time, Mint mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends are sweating over data, overages and surprise charges, you are going to be chilling. Literally and financially. You know our producer Scott switched to Mint Mobile and told me that not only has his service top notch, but he seems saves 40 bucks a month compared to his old wireless provider this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com hdtgm that's mintmobile.com hdtgM upfront payment of 45 required, equivalent to 15amonth limited time. New customer offer for the first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigs on unlimited plan. Tax and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

[June Diane Raphael]

Paul, you pointed this out, but Midnight, the. The cat that's by her side. The whole movie is like the most uninspired, uninteresting.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Cassian was terrible.

[June Diane Raphael]

I don't know who cast that cat.

[Paul Sheer]

Sometimes they just CGI the cat when they see the cat's not even doing anything. The cat just standing, like, looking at the camera. It's all CGI.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

There's 45 minutes. This is a superhero movie. There's 45 minutes before the first fight sequence.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yep.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

Which takes place lots of Alex Borstein. Just kind of eating.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Girl, did you meet for coffee with that guy yet? I'm like, you are Alex Boorstin. You are not a black woman.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, my God. Oh, okay. Jimmy Smith catches on at one point that Halle Berry and Catwoman might be the same person because they both wrote sorry. She wrote wrote sorry because she missed the date with Benjamin Bratt. Jimmy Smith on a coffee cup.

[Jamie Denbo]

That scene is amazing.

[Paul Sheer]

And then she also wrote sorry on the bag of diamonds that she stole. She returns it to the diamond place and they're like, does this match? Does this handwriting match? I'm not a handwriting expert. I could say this is clearly written by the same exact person.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

There's no way he brings it to a handwriting expert.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Who says, does it match exactly? No, it's close. In this first one, you see the space between the S and the O suggests loneliness.

[June Diane Raphael]

Yes, they're exactly the same.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

What?

[Paul Sheer]

And he goes, it suggests loneliness. But this other one is an adventurous woman, but the other one's an introvert. But this one wants to get revenge. And he goes, man, if you put these two women into a room, you'd have one hell of a party. Yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

What the fuck does that mean, dude?

[Jason Mantzoukas]

What does that mean?

[Jamie Denbo]

Do your fucking job.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, also, like, you put a really anti social woman in the room with a crazy. Like a crazy.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Holy shit. And when they. Is it the same guy that studies the scar on his cheek? Oh, and it's like, perfect. 99.9% perfect match.

[Jamie Denbo]

That is bonkers.

[Paul Sheer]

And he's Studying that scar at midnight. Because Benjamin Brad at midnight. Or they've just had sex, but Cali Berry and Benjamin Brat. And then he like Jimmy Smith. Jimmy Smith's. And he goes to. Like he sees something. He goes to the lab, but it's clearly like two or three in the morning. Just fucked. And they had dinner and it was a late night.

[June Diane Raphael]

I love that cat sex scene.

[Paul Sheer]

Cat sex. And he brings it. And the lab is fully functioning, like way in the early morning. That's when they get the 99% probability.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

We have not talked about when she is going to fully embrace becoming Catwoman. She cuts her own hair with two scissors. Like with scissors in her hair.

[Jamie Denbo]

Edward scissors.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

It's basically Edward Sierra. She's like, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff. I was like, how could you. No, you can't use two sets of scissors to cut your own hair. Why would you even put this in?

[Paul Sheer]

Cats cut her hair. Cats do that.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Fuck you.

[Paul Sheer]

I don't know what it was.

[Commercial Narrator]

I'm.

[Paul Sheer]

Damn. I wrote down one thing here, but I think Benjamin Bratt said something and I don't. Please tell me if you remember this. He goes, would your wife. Would you be upset if your wife did?

[Commercial Narrator]

Blank, blank, blank.

[Paul Sheer]

And the guy goes, I would. If she was carrying a pizza.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, yeah.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, it's a good. If you. Would you rescue. Would your wife rescue a cat on a ledge?

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, right.

[June Diane Raphael]

If the cat was carrying a pizza, I guess.

[Jamie Denbo]

Because his wife's fucking fat. She's a fat pizza lover.

[Paul Sheer]

This movie is so. Yeah, that line just stuck out to me.

[Jamie Denbo]

Terrible, terrible.

[Paul Sheer]

So she is. I mean, this whole. So the whole basic premise of the movie is that the skin cream is killing people. Halle Berry wants to find out if you stop.

[Jamie Denbo]

If you stop. Right.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah, they stop. Right. But if you continue.

[Jamie Denbo]

If you continue, you become marble.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

You become marble.

[Jamie Denbo]

Sharon Stone, who is marble. Yes, she's. So since she doesn't.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's impervious.

[Jamie Denbo]

Which leads me to her demise.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[Jamie Denbo]

Why does she agreed.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She shouldn't die at all. Yeah, she should just fall to the ground. She should fall to the ground and be like. And shake it off because why would.

[Paul Sheer]

That hurt you guys?

[Jamie Denbo]

Maybe start changing before she died?

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah. Why? Because she was scratched.

[Paul Sheer]

Well, can you scratch marble? I didn't know.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

With diamond nails.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes.

[Halle Berry (Razzie Speech)]

Oh, she's got diamonds.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, diamond.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Guy's diamond. I love that we're really trying to track this. I love that we're really trying to figure this out.

[June Diane Raphael]

By the way, during the fight scene between Halle Berry and Sharon Stone. Sharon Stone does not throw a punch back. She just gets the shit.

[Paul Sheer]

By the way, where are they having this fight? They're having a fight in the poster warehouse.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

It's just like, oh, my God.

[Paul Sheer]

Top floor of this building where they. They just keep all the old.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

You know why women are gonna be into this movie? Cause it's in like, beauty. It's in like fashion.

[Jamie Denbo]

And then there's gonna be a new model who's younger. Every woman has that problem. Everyone.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Hey, do you guys think when she becomes Catwoman, she should have like, super, like, powers? No, not really. But she should now be able to fight like a ninja. Okay. Yeah, she can do. She can do that.

[Paul Sheer]

There's also a scene, and again, we've talked about the woman aspect of this film, but there's a scene where like, Lone. That Tom Lone, who is Benjamin Bratt's character.

[June Diane Raphael]

Well, yes, Sally has a lot to say about that.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I think you mean Louis Guthrie.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, yes, yes, you're right. Louie Guzman. It confronts Sharon Stone. He knows the. The evil plan and he's caught her in it. I will play a clip because I finally trusted a friend.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah, well, your friend just got you killed.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Don't be stupid, Laura. You don't want to kill a cop.

[Paul Sheer]

I'm a woman. Lol. I'm used to doing all kinds of things. I don't want to give my regards to my husband. Like, they would throw in these lines.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Like that she is gorgeous. Sharon Stone is gorgeous and powerful and her husband treats her like garbage because she's over 40 and looks.

[Paul Sheer]

And yeah, she's.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She looks 10 billion times better than.

[June Diane Raphael]

This 25 year old than the other. The model is replaced.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

He hasn't said anything important to me since he said I do.

[Paul Sheer]

I do.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's all of the pronouncements about, like, the new campaign and retiring the face of like. As though that would be covered in anything.

[June Diane Raphael]

Although I must.

[Jamie Denbo]

I do.

[June Diane Raphael]

You know, I have to say the press conference, when they finally have it.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah.

[June Diane Raphael]

After her husband dies. There's like three photographers there. Like, there's nothing.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And it's not in like a press room.

[Jamie Denbo]

No, it's in their boardroom.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

It's basically in the circular room from Dr. Strangelove. It's like in an evil layer. They're like, we'll have a couple pieces of the media come to the. The evil lair.

[Paul Sheer]

There's an alternate ending on the dvd, the original ending, which. It's pretty great. So the movie ends with the Catwoman writing A letter to Ophelia Powers and Tom Lone and saying, thank you so much for your help.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Catting Isai Morales.

[Paul Sheer]

Oh, yes. Isai Morales. And so Danny Trejo gets the letter, and it basically says, hey, look, I'm a Catwoman nest. I need to be independent. See you around. Now meanwhile, I guess she's just gonna live in the city and just. But not date him. I don't know. So that's how the movie ends. She's like, I'm a Catwoman now. I do my own thing. She walks off.

[Jamie Denbo]

Ambiguous leading room for franchise.

[Paul Sheer]

Exactly. The way the alternate ending goes is it cuts to her. The whole movie ends. Sharon Stone dies. The press conference cuts to her outside with Alex Bornstein painting a mural of a cat on a building. And there's kids helping her. A giant cat mural.

[June Diane Raphael]

You know what I'm realizing, Paul?

[Paul Sheer]

What?

[June Diane Raphael]

They must have been outside that school that they were at before, right?

[Paul Sheer]

The. The basketball school.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, yeah. I didn't realize that.

[Paul Sheer]

So they're painting a giant cat mural.

[June Diane Raphael]

Coming together. It's coming together for me.

[Paul Sheer]

And then Benjamin Bratt comes up and goes, hey, just so you know, we solved the case. Everyone said that they were guilty, and it's all done. And then she goes, why don't you come down? We'll talk. And then they come down and talk. The camera does this insane thing where it's spinning around them. There's no action. It's this dialogue scene. The camera's spinning almost to the point of, like, nausea. And it's like. She's like, can you live with somebody who's a Catwoman? He's like, well, I could do whatever. You know, I'm cool with that.

[June Diane Raphael]

She says, because I'm pretty complicated.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah. He goes, well, I like a complicated woman. And that's.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

And Nancy Myers was like, hey, that's a good idea.

[Paul Sheer]

And then that's the end. The end is that. That they go off and pull out. Camera pans up. Yeah. Just go up into the sky. That they're gonna be together forever. And the cat mural is gonna be finished painting.

[June Diane Raphael]

Not only that, but after that, you realize this wasn't like they didn't.

[Jamie Denbo]

And Alex Bornstein behind him going, hubba, hubba, hubba. You don't nail it.

[June Diane Raphael]

She's up on the.

[Paul Sheer]

On the scalping, not doing anything. Just, like, commenting, like, oh, this painting is bad.

[June Diane Raphael]

Isn't she? With the hot doctor?

[Paul Sheer]

Meanwhile, Alex Bornstein in the alternate ending, she.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Not in the one that's in the movie.

[June Diane Raphael]

She's delicious.

[Jamie Denbo]

And the strawberry, too.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, God.

[Paul Sheer]

What now? Alex Borenson, you're led to believe that she's getting sick from the cream, but she clearly stops using the cream and her face doesn't melt off. So.

[June Diane Raphael]

And she's totally fine with the fact that she's like, been in a hospital for four days. She's undergoing major tests.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She's in the hospital more concerned with getting laid than the fact that she's getting a drug.

[June Diane Raphael]

Getting Halle Berry laid.

[Jamie Denbo]

Getting laid. Yeah. It's crazy.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Why does Halle Berry. I can't deal with. With the scenes in this movie where she. When she's Catwoman, she just Runway walks everywhere she goes.

[Jamie Denbo]

She's as different as you can possibly get from a little kid.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She just is making it so labored to walk wherever she's going.

[Paul Sheer]

Guys, can I tell you.

[June Diane Raphael]

Well, because I think she's walking like a cat in a very sensual way. I loved her physicality.

[Paul Sheer]

I just want to ask you guys, this is a little bit of a trivia question. How many writers wrote this movie?

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Eleven.

[Paul Sheer]

Okay.

[Commercial Narrator]

How many you want to say?

[Jamie Denbo]

I looked it up, so I shouldn't guess.

[Paul Sheer]

Okay.

[June Diane Raphael]

Oh, God. I'm gonna say like eight.

[Paul Sheer]

28 writers were involved. That's how many it took in the arbitration.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

They nailed it.

[Paul Sheer]

Okay. But they finally were awarded to three writers and two story credits. But 28 writers were involved in this script at one point. Wow. 28.

[Jamie Denbo]

Anyone notable?

[Paul Sheer]

The ones that wrote it were John Dee Brancato, Michael Ferris, John Rogers, Theresa Rebeck, Brancato and Ferris. So those are the. Wow. As you can tell, we did not love this movie, but now it is time for a second opinion. These are culled from Amazon.com. these are five star reviews of Catwoman. So here you go. This is from Huntsville. If you like Cats or Halle Berry, you're gonna like this movie.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Jay Harris writes, no, if you like either or. That's enough. If you just like Cats and hate Halle Berry, you're still gonna like that movie.

[Paul Sheer]

Yeah, exactly. But if you.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yeah, either or if you like both. Holy shit, you're in your day. Just got made.

[Paul Sheer]

Here is another version of that quote. As I love both cats and ancient Egypt, this was my dream movie.

[Jamie Denbo]

So you like two very short montages.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

The opening montage had some papyrus in it. That's it.

[Paul Sheer]

This is the other one I really like. Like, I have no idea why some people say this is bad, because it isn't. It's actually really good. Definitely good. I'm a guy.

[Jamie Denbo]

So desperate.

[Paul Sheer]

And then this gets a little Bit more. More. More serious. It goes. I also like the way this movie treated the duality of what a woman can be if she chooses, and her right to choose.

[June Diane Raphael]

Virgin Vamp.

[Paul Sheer]

I have recommended this film to all I know who are, like me, a pagan.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, that's amazing.

[Paul Sheer]

And finally, the last one. There's so many here that were amazing. On one hand, I'm happy because of the bad publicity that I get the DVD of this movie sooner. But on the other hand, I'm saddened because they probably won't get the sequel. So this guy liked the bad publicity because he just wanted to get a dvd.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Thank God.

[June Diane Raphael]

Can I ask, what is the lore of Catwoman? Like, how in the changes. Actually, there's no Catwoman.

[Jamie Denbo]

Oh, I see.

[June Diane Raphael]

All right.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

But usually she's. I mean, she's a Batman villain, basically. But then Batman is constantly kind of like having a relationship with her. She's very compelling. Like, she's very. She's like a. She started out as, like, a cat burglar, blah, blah, blah.

[Jamie Denbo]

One thing I also have to say, and maybe I'm wrong and maybe this is just my personal or female point of view, I feel like Michelle Pfeiffer's actual suit is so much sexier than, like, the, like, the SNF and the big tits, like, the fucking, like, pushed up, like Halle Berry, you know, Those aren't all. That's not all her. Like, it's just. And like, the sexed up part of it. Like, I prefer the American Horror Story. Like. Yeah, and body condom.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

No, totally.

[Paul Sheer]

I'm down with that.

[June Diane Raphael]

No, I thought she looked good.

[Jamie Denbo]

No, she looked amazing. She looked like.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She was, like, covered in glitter makeup.

[June Diane Raphael]

And she looked very shiny.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

She looked like she was just walking a Runway.

[Paul Sheer]

You were watching a Rihanna.

[June Diane Raphael]

It didn't look functional is what I did look functional.

[Paul Sheer]

Her mask is the worst mask in the history of superhero mask.

[Jamie Denbo]

Also, cats have fur. I'm just gonna say.

[Paul Sheer]

Right. They're not skinny. Yeah.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Every time she jumps, if she was wearing this every time she jumped anywhere, her tits would pop out.

[June Diane Raphael]

Of course.

[Jamie Denbo]

Yeah.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Which I watched astutely. And they did not happen. That did not happen.

[Paul Sheer]

As always, we go to you, the audience, to play a part in the show. Last week, we asked you to go on to eardrop and record your favorite bad pun. That would be like, you would pretend that you're Catwoman. Maybe you and a friend would get together and do one of the puns from the movie. Like, you know, it's a perfect crime. So here are some of our favorites puns from Catwoman. Once I've had my claws in you.

[June Diane Raphael]

You'Ll need to pee with a cat. The.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

So good.

[Paul Sheer]

So good, guys. Right?

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Amazing.

[Paul Sheer]

Any. Any final thoughts? Any final thoughts? We didn't cover anything that people want to talk about. I think that this movie is definitely worth the rental.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Oh, it is on itunes.

[Paul Sheer]

It's on itunes and it's on YouTube.

[June Diane Raphael]

I gotta say, it's outrageous, but it's not a bad.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yes, it is. It's a bad viewing.

[June Diane Raphael]

Viewing experience.

[Paul Sheer]

Not a bad viewing experience. It's a fun bad movie to watch.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

Yes.

[Jamie Denbo]

It's campy and silly and you know what? It is almost. If it were just that much campier.

[June Diane Raphael]

And sillier, it would have been awesome.

[Paul Sheer]

Yes. It misses the mark because it takes itself a little bit too seriously. So like I said earlier, you think.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

This movie directed by Pizzoff, who was.

[Jamie Denbo]

Just a visual effects guy, which makes sense.

[June Diane Raphael]

That makes a ton of sense.

[Jamie Denbo]

He just, he did three movies. This was one of them. So it's like. And he was all. But he's listed crazy credits for visual effects effects.

[Paul Sheer]

I can only say that I think the final word of this movie is best spoken by Halle Berry and her Razzie speech, which we have called together the best parts of she Goes to Town and she was going down with this worst Actress award. She showed up with her Oscar in one hand and Erazzie in the other. But she takes down everyone. Take a listen to that.

[Halle Berry (Razzie Speech)]

I've got so many people to thank because you don't win a Razzie without a lot of help from a lot of people. So please indulge me and just let me, you know, go through this. First of all, I want to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in a piece of shit, God awful movie. You know, it was just what my career needed. You know, I was at the top and then Catwoman just plummeted me to the bottom. I want to thank my manager, Vincent Cincion.

[Jamie Denbo]

Vince, Vince.

[June Diane Raphael]

Here he is.

[Halle Berry (Razzie Speech)]

Here's my manager, Vincent. I want to say. No, no, listen. This guy loves me. He loves me so much. He loves me so much that he tells me that I'm the greatest actress there ever was. He loves me so much that he convinces me to do projects even when.

[Jamie Denbo]

He knows they're shit.

[Halle Berry (Razzie Speech)]

But that's how much he loves me. That's how much he really loves me. And my only advice to you, Vinny, is next time I do a movie, if I get a chance to do another movie. Maybe you should read the script before you read. You know, just counting the zeros behind the one really isn't enough. You really got to read the script. Thank you. I love you, man. Love you. I want to thank my agent and my lawyers, who obviously don't give a shit. They're not here tonight, but love you guys. Love you. I want to thank the writers, all 20 of them. Thank you for thinking this was a good idea. Obviously, it wasn't, but I appreciate the thought you thought it was. You tried. Hey, thank you. I want to thank the cast. You know, it's really important in order to give a really bad performance like I did, you need a lot of bad actors around you. So I want to thank all of them. I also want to thank our director, Pitoff. You know that one name, French guy. Thank you very much. It was a joy to come to work every day and work with him. Really. I mean, I didn't know what the hell he was saying, but I'm sure it showed in my performance. But it was truly a joy and a pleasure. And I also want to thank my acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck. She just wrote a book called the Power of the actor. You all should rush out and get.

[Jamie Denbo]

It.

[Halle Berry (Razzie Speech)]

Could change your life, too.

[Paul Sheer]

All right, thank you guys so much for listening. I don't know if you heard what's going on in the next room. I hope you didn't. As always, you can follow. Jamie, you're on Twitter amiedenbo. And Jason, you're not.

[Jason Mantzoukas]

I'm not on Twitter.

[June Diane Raphael]

June, you're missjunedian.

[Paul Sheer]

I am Paul Sheer. Remember to rate and review us on itunes if you like the show. Thank you very much. Goodbye.

[Commercial Narrator]

If you're sleeping hot and sweaty, it's impossible to get a good night's sleep. And if your solutions are blasting the AC high all summer and doing constant pillow flips, you've got to check out Coop sleep goods. Coop combines advanced cooling technology and personalized comfort to create pillows that help hot sleepers stay sweat free all summer. The fabrics are breathable and cool to the touch, so you feel an instant chill the moment you lay down. Designed for 50% more breathability, the innovative fill helps you sleep cooler and more comfortably. They also have Tencel sheets that are naturally cooling, lightweight, and feel buttery soft on your skin. If it's not your coolest sleep ever, return it with no questions asked using their 100 Night Sleep Better Guarantee. And right now, you can get 20% off your first order. Visit coopsleepgoods.com comedy to redeem your offer. That's coopsleepgoods.comdy Summer's heating up, and so is the action with chumba casino and 2311 racing. Whether you're trackside with Bubba, Riley and Tyler or cooling off at home, the fun never stops at Chumba Casino, the online social casino packed with free to play games like slots, blackjack, and more. Jump into [e-mail] and score your free welcome bonus 2 million free gold coins and 2 free sweeps coins. No purchase necessary. VGW Group voidware prohibited by law. CTNC's 21+ sponsored by Chumba Casino.