How Did This Get Made? — Jack’s Back LIVE! w/ Lisa Gilroy

Podcast: How Did This Get Made?
Date: September 19, 2025
Hosts: Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas
Guest: Lisa Gilroy
Venue: Live at Largo, Los Angeles

Episode Overview

This live episode finds Paul, Jason, and guest co-host Lisa Gilroy dissecting the 1988 thriller Jack’s Back, a baffling and delightfully oddball serial killer movie starring James Spader as twin brothers, one good, one potentially evil. As with every HDTGM episode, the trio watches the movie so you don’t have to—breaking the film down with comedic incredulity, calling out the nonsensical plot twists, the era's tropes, and the ultimate weirdness of Double Spader. The episode is packed with quotable exchanges, audience interactions, and deep dives into 80s movie logic.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction & Setup

[02:22] - [04:31]

• Paul notes Jack’s Back is "not really about Jack the Ripper," but instead a movie where a serial killer in LA celebrates the 100th anniversary of Jack the Ripper’s crimes.
• Jason sets the tone: “Let’s go, Largo! Okay, okay, okay. We gotta talk about Spader all night... This is a tone poem.”
• Lisa jokes she thought it was going to be a Jack Black movie.
• Jason and Paul immediately point out the confusing narrative, tone, and everyone’s suspect behavior.

James Spader, Double Duty, and 80s Vibes

[04:54] - [16:00]

• The weirdness of James Spader playing twins confuses the hosts:
  • Jason: “I did not realize until minute 46 that he was now playing his twin brother.” [08:08]
  • Jason and Paul break down how they distinguished between “Doc Spader” and “Bad Boy Spader.”
• Lisa: “I remember my dad showing me Spader on The Office… so that’s where I know him from. So I was like, oh, now he’s Rippert California.” [14:45]
• Paul on Spader’s look: "It's crazy how soft his lips look." [15:16]
• The group reminisces about Spader as the “80s youth actor bad boy.”

Confusion Over Setting, Character Roles, and Logic

[09:12] - [16:19]

• They roast the movie’s setting, especially the “doctor’s office” that looks like a police precinct.
• Lisa: “The clinic was also a church. You guys are so fucking stupid.” [09:22]
• Jason on Spader Prime: “Even in these scenes, I don’t trust this guy. And he’s the good one!” [14:02]
• They riff on the general confusion about who’s a villain, who’s a doctor, and who’s a cop.

The Absurdities of the Plot and Writing

[16:00] - [28:00]

• The incompetent police, the ridiculous apathy about serial murder, and “boy power” in the cast are lampooned.
• Lisa: “No receipts, nothing. They needed no evidence.” [17:20]
• They riff on a scene where the police marvel at the killer wearing condoms:
  • Lisa: “They go, we know our boy wears protection.” [21:44]
• Paul’s “fun fact” about Jack the Ripper not actually raping his victims triggers a hilarious extended sidebar about the perils of correcting people at parties.
  • Lisa: “I don’t think you should go to parties and be like, ‘Fun fact: Jack the Ripper never raped anyone.’” [23:32]

Logic Gaps and Silly Details

[28:18] - [39:28]

• Extended confusion over the abortion subplot and the mechanics of who committed which murder and why.
• Paul tries repeatedly to recount the sequence of murders and is contradicted by Jason and the crowd in classic HDTGM fashion.
• Lisa on the giant, suspicious character: “It can’t be him. He’s like Jock Jams 3000.” [27:19]
• Jason: “His presence on screen is like forced perspective. It forces him to seem as though he’s Gandalf and everybody else is a hobbit.” [27:34]

Twin Movie Lore and Hypnosis

[39:28] - [41:14]

• Lisa schools the crew on “twin logic” from Olsen Twins and Parent Trap-like movies, insisting, “if you hypnotize them, they will see the murder of the other twin.” [40:18]
• Paul: “Identical twins don’t have identical fingerprints.” [40:45]
• Lisa: “Someone’s never been fingered by a twin because let me tell you, you can feel it.” [40:52]

Music, Visuals, and 80s Style

[30:43], [70:24]

• Jason raves: “If you don’t play the songs from this movie… This is better than Drive. This movie is better than Drive.” [30:47]
• The group notes Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” was rejected, so the movie got a knockoff version—Paul mashes up the two for laughs.
• Later, they recall: “There was just some next level 80s saxophone stuff while Spader’s, like, sitting on his porch petting a cat.” [70:29]

Audience Participation & Questions

[54:38] - [65:11]

• The live audience joins in.
  • David, an audience member, provides his theory (jokingly) that the hypnosis sequence is actually depicting Spader’s “O-face.” [56:38]
  • Corey points out the scene where an old man killer throws a woman across the room: “Like, why does he have super strength? He is an old man.” [57:47]
  • Michael #2, an anesthesiologist, fact-checks medical points from the film. [64:01]

Second Opinions Segment

[65:11] - [68:17]

• The crowd sings a “second opinions” jingle (“It ain’t three… I’ll only give it five stars!”)
• Paul reads some highly entertaining Amazon reviews, including a Japanese viewer’s:
  • “I am good at acting. I watched it. The story itself was different from my imagination looking at the jacket. And it was quite interesting… I didn’t know the true culprit until the end and I was pounding the floor watching it… Five stars.” [68:04]
• Lisa: “That made more sense than anything Mantzoukas has said this entire show.” [68:04]

Notable Quotes & Comedic Highlights

• Jason on Double Spader:
  “I did not realize until… minute 46, that he was now playing his twin brother.” [08:08]

• Lisa, confused by the plot:
  “The clinic was also a church, you guys are so fucking stupid.” [09:22]

• Paul, on Valium pacing:
  “I wrote down: this movie took a Valium.” [11:38]

• Lisa, on Jack the Ripper:
  “Because I want to say…I want to say”—
  Jason: “Let me tell you, stop putting that into games of Celebrity.” [23:39]

• Discussing 80s tropes:
  “Mental health professionals, probably quacks. And then he’s got—he lives with his mother and he’s like, ‘I’ll shoot you motherfucker!’ I’m like, what are we doing?” [15:37]

• Lisa, about the tall possible suspect:
  “It can’t be him. He’s like Jock Jams 3000.” [27:19]

• Paul, on homicide logic:
  “I just think that it was a one time thing.”
  Jason: “That’s enough. It’s enough that he killed one Spader. Never mind that he goes after the other one…” [34:40]

• Lisa, about good/bad Spader:
  “The only good guy who would give you an abortion that would actually feel good would be Spader.” [62:20]

June Diane Raphael’s Guess-the-Plot Cameo

[68:45] - [70:13]

• June sends in her trademark film plot guess, theorizing the movie is about “a dad named Jack who dies early and comes back as a snowman,” then revising to “Jack from Jack and Jill who’s a killer doll.”
• Lisa: “I can’t believe you got such a hot woman to do this stupid show.” [70:13]

Final Thoughts & Wrap-up

[71:46] - [73:16]

• The hosts agree Jack’s Back is a fun, never-boring movie, even as it makes little sense:
  • Jason: “I, you know, we’ve had to watch so, so many bad movies that are truly bad and a slog. This was a delight… Not once did I have a note that was like, 'How is there still 45 minutes left?'” [71:49]
• Lisa: “I loved the movie, and I love you guys and I’m glad you made me watch it.” [71:46]
• The episode fades out with the group riffing on the word “lugubrious,” Lisa’s own spells (“Luf Glarius!”), and their usual sign-off.

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [02:22] — Episode launch, intro to the movie and guest
• [04:31]-[09:18] — Discussion of Double Spader, movie confusion
• [09:22]-[14:16] — Clinic/Church confusion, Spader’s “bad vibes”
• [16:00]-[18:04] — Police and evidence logic, Hermione humor
• [21:30]-[24:50] — Condom scene, Jack the Ripper trutherism tangent
• [30:43]-[31:40] — Music mashing, Peter Gabriel “Red Rain” knockoff
• [39:28]-[41:14] — Twin movie logic and hypnosis
• [54:38]-[65:11] — Audience questions, medical fact-checking
• [65:11]-[68:17] — Second Opinions and Amazon reviews
• [68:45]-[70:13] — June Diane Raphael’s plot guess
• [71:46]-[73:16] — Final reactions and riffing wrap-up

The HDTGM Take on Jack’s Back

• Enjoyable, if absurd and confusing. Double Spader’s weirdness alone is worth the ride.
• The movie tries to be about Jack the Ripper, but it’s not—mostly just an 80s LA thriller with some serial killer trimmings and wild logic leaps.
• Standout moments include confusion over who’s who, the magical properties of hypnosis with twins, the Valium pace, a cast of suspects straight out of a police lineup, and hilarious production choices (like the knockoff Peter Gabriel song).
• Audience participation and live setting add to the infectious fun, and the hosts are at their improvisational best.

Good for Listeners Who…

• Love movie podcasts that dive deep and goof off equally hard
• Are 80s/Spader/cheesy thriller enthusiasts
• Appreciate classic HDTGM tangents and live audience chaos

Best Quote to Summarize the Episode:

“This is a movie in which every single character appeared to be guilty of something. Everybody is like, wait a minute. Like, everybody acted like they were the killer.”
— Jason Mantzoukas ([05:35])

For all listeners, this episode is a hilarious, chaotic tribute to the inexplicable choices of late-80s genre cinema—and a must if you love hearing three funny people be confused together in public for 90 minutes.