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.