How Did This Get Made? | Hudson Hawk (w/ Emily Gordon) – Detailed Episode Summary

Podcast: How Did This Get Made?
Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas
Guest: Emily Gordon
Episode: Hudson Hawk (HDTGM Matinee)
Date: August 26, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features the HDTGM crew—Paul, June, and Jason—joined by comedian and podcaster Emily Gordon, as they attempt to unravel and mock the 1991 Bruce Willis passion project, Hudson Hawk. Known for its baffling tone, outlandish plot, and infamous box office failure, Hudson Hawk becomes the perfect target for the hosts’ signature blend of comedic outrage and genuine confusion. The panel debates what kind of film Hudson Hawk is, questions Bruce Willis’s artistic choices, and highlights the movie’s most absurd and unforgettable moments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Is Hudson Hawk? – The Tone and Intention

• The hosts immediately struggle to categorize the movie.
  • "What the hell is it? Is it a comedy? Is it a mystery? Is it an action movie, a drama, a musical?" – Paul (03:11)
• Jason: "I think it's a cartoon that is just... with real people in it." (03:22)
• The film’s Looney Tunes-level gags and violence clash with its moments of brutal violence.
  • "Never in Three Stooges do you see someone get their heads cut off." – Paul (08:12)
• The group considers the possibility that Bruce Willis wanted an action vehicle that also let him sing (in line with his real-life band).

2. Vanity Project Gone Awry

• Everyone agrees this is a classic "vanity project."
  • "Everything about this movie is like a vanity project gone horribly wrong." – Paul (04:15)
• The cast (esp. Richard E. Grant, Sandra Bernhard, James Coburn) are 100% committed, though seemingly in different films.

3. Plot “Logic” and Absurdities

• Candy Bar-Codenamed CIA Agents: The CIA is full of agents named after candy bars, who also eat their name-sake snacks during undercover missions.
  • "Guess what you don't do? Pull out store-bought candy and start chomping on it like you're goddamn asshole Lindor Truffles." – June (05:41)
• Kit Kat’s 'Mimic' Abilities: David Caruso’s character mimics other characters, sometimes in impossible situations (e.g., turning up in Andy MacDowell's identical red dress).
  • "What is this movie?" – June (07:01)
• Heists That Defy Logic: The heist scenes ignore basic time, planning, and physical reality.
  • "All he has to do is put a lock pick three inches from a lock and the door is, like, open." – June (12:05)

4. Music and Musical Numbers

• Hudson Hawk is literally based on a song Bruce Willis and Robert Kraft wrote.
• The film uses musical numbers as heist timers.
  • "Cool premise that they know the beats... but then Bruce Willis is the sloppiest cat burglar..." – Paul (10:50)
• The panel riffs endlessly on the silliness (“Swinging on a Star” heist), with June, Jason, and Emily agreeing it was bizarrely charming yet nonsensical.

5. Historic and Scientific Gibberish

• The villain plot revolves around Da Vinci’s alchemy machine to turn lead into gold for world domination.
  • "They put a piece of gold and a piece of lead in Bruce Willis’ hand... they’re not the same. Gold is 70% denser." – Paul (17:50; 18:05)
• Opening scenes set in Da Vinci’s lab introduce nested bad-movie tropes (old inventors wearing sunglasses, skateboard gags, freeze-frames that turn into drawings).

6. Iconic Andie MacDowell Nun Reveal

• MacDowell is revealed as an undercover (nun-dercover!) Vatican agent only late in the film.
  • "She’s an undercover nun. She's nundercover." – Paul & June (28:42)
• The panel brainstorms a new film concept: Nundercover.

7. Overabundance of Factions

• There are at least four competing secret organizations—CIA, Vatican secret agents, the Mayflowers (crazy villains), and others.
  • "There’s CIA, there’s Vatican CIA. Then there's the other bad guys, but then Mayflowers. So I guess that's just three things." – Paul (30:31)
• The host's confusion mirrors the audience's typical experience watching the film.

8. Bruce Willis’s Comedy—Jokes and Tone

• One line: "Guess we won’t see him at the hat convention in July." – Paul, quoting Willis (32:13)
• Willis’s New Jersey wiseguy persona pops up in places it doesn’t fit, and the hosts note how it undercuts action or emotional stakes.

9. Action Sequences and Logic

• Scenes like the gurney-ambulance bridge scene gain some respect for their commitment to cartoon physics ("how am I driving?" (33:28)).
• But much of the film’s action is “deeply flawed” (June), with logistics and continuity tossed aside.

10. The Video Game Tie-In

• The group learns there was a Hudson Hawk NES game, leading to a riff on weird early-90s movie tie-in games.
  • "What kid is going like, 'I love the movie, I want to play the game.'" – Paul (26:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Tone

• Paul: "It feels like they were writing this movie on set." (08:30)
• Jason: "My theory of the movie is that Bruce Willis ... wanted to make a movie where he could sing and yet not have it be a quote unquote fruity musical." (08:43)
• June: "Cat burglars should be... audibly singing." (08:36)

On Character Absurdity

• June: "Their introduction is—he looks around and notices there are five people eating candy bars in an auction..." (05:09)
• Jason: "It’s like there are pieces of this movie that have a Toys-like logic toward the movie that is completely unfounded and unwarranted." (07:30)

On the Villains

• June: "I enjoyed their performances. I really enjoyed Sandra [Bernhard]. So good. Really, really couldn't take my eyes off them." (45:07)

On Plot Holes

• Paul: "Every theft in this movie is done with no grace or intelligence or strategy." (27:08)
• June: "The Papal service... There's no... yeah, there's no trouble. And his list of things he needs are like, olive oil, a bunch of stamps..." (27:31)

On Bruce Willis's Take

• Paul: "Satire is him and Danny Aiello singing... That's not satire." (48:01)
• Jason: "He made this earnestly. He didn't make this ironically." (48:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:11]: “What is Hudson Hawk?” Unpacking the film’s genre(s)
• [05:05]: Candy-bar CIA agents
• [07:01]: Kit Kat’s mimic scene
• [10:37]: Playing the “Swing on a Star” musical heist scene
• [12:05]: Ridiculous heist “planning”
• [17:50–18:28]: Gold vs. lead, and science gibberish
• [28:42]: Andie MacDowell’s nun reveal and “Nundercover”
• [32:13]: "Hat convention" joke—classic Bruce Willis banter
• [33:28]: Iconic gurney-ambulance bridge scene
• [39:23]: Problematic lines and the “read your book” scene
• [44:20]: Richard E. Grant & Sandra Bernhard villain clip
• [48:01]: Bruce Willis interview excerpt, “nobody got the satire”
• [50:09]: Budget and box office bomb recap
• [51:03]: Andie MacDowell’s dolphin impression scene
• [53:06]: Frank Stallone and Mario Brothers shoutouts
• [54:27]: Five-star Amazon reviews
• [57:40]: Danny Aiello’s fake-out death and return
• [59:48]: Fat jokes targeted at Danny Aiello

Final Thoughts / Recommendations

• Is it worth watching?

  • “I think it’s a fun party movie. If you like...” – Jason (61:29)
  • “Watch it, but be willing to fast forward.” – June (61:35)
  • “Definitely watch all the Richard E. Grant, Sandra Bernhard stuff.” – June (61:41)

• Everyone agrees the film is a mess, but for connoisseurs of cinematic oddities or group viewing, there’s enough sheer ridiculousness to make it an event.

Callback Gags and Concepts

• “Nundercover”: The idea of an undercover nun movie, spun off from MacDowell’s twist.
• “Mailing yourself in boxes”: One of Hudson Hawk's inexplicable running moves.

Takeaway

Hudson Hawk is, in the words of the HDTGM crew, one of Hollywood’s great, inexplicable messes. It’s baffling, totally singular—and totally worth dissecting, especially if you love movies that seem to have been made because one superstar simply willed them into existence. From candy-bar CIA agents to unhinged villain performances, to Bruce Willis’s dream of being an action-crooning wiseguy, this episode is a hilarious deep-dive into a film that truly prompts the titular question: How did this get made?

Listen for:

• Even if you haven’t seen Hudson Hawk, the episode is a masterclass in affectionate, bewildered comedy criticism—a perfect example of why the HDTGM format works best with maximal Hollywood absurdity.