Transcript

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In theaters May 22nd. Get tickets now. What if cyberspace wasn't cyber at all and it was real? If that idea sounds super cool, then you're gonna be so excited that we saw Lawnmower Man 2 Beyond Cyberspace, aka Job's War.

Podcast Summary: How Did This Get Made? – Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (Classic)

Release Date: April 28, 2026
Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas

Episode Overview

In this episode, the "How Did This Get Made?" crew—Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas—take on Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (aka Job's War), the baffling 1996 sequel to the not-much-less-baffling Lawnmower Man. Known for their witty and brutally honest deconstruction of so-bad-they’re-good movies, the hosts wrestle with the film’s nonsensical plot, strange casting choices, inexplicable changes in tone and style, and its vision of “cyberspace.” Personal anecdotes, 90s nostalgia, and a healthy sense of defeat set the tone for an episode that’s both hilarious and cathartic for anyone who has ever watched (or tried to watch) this movie.

Main Themes

The utter incoherence of Lawnmower Man 2
Recurring confusion about plot, casting, and setting
90s representations of cyberspace
The roles of nostalgia and movie rip-offs
The emotional and technical highs and lows of making the podcast itself

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Deflation: Host Energy Sets the Tone

The team begins the discussion with Paul sounding “defeated” as he tries to summarize the film, which immediately affects morale. This quickly becomes meta, as Jason and June chide Paul for not bringing enough energy to lift the group out of their collective fog.
- Memorable Moment (06:07) – June: "I cannot lift us up. I have to be totally, truly honest about."
- Memorable Moment (08:23) – Paul: "It’s so funny that you guys bring this on me, because I literally thought to myself as I recorded that opening, ‘this is a nice, clean boom, boom, boom opening.’"

2. Plot Disorientation: Attempts to Decode the Movie

None of the hosts can summarize the movie's plot or motivations, even after previous viewings.
- Jason (03:10): "Having now seen Lawnmower Man 1 and Lawnmower Man 2, I don’t know what these movies are about. I don’t know what they’re trying to say... It really felt like perhaps a script for something else that they just repurposed for Lawnmower Man 2."
The film’s connection to Ready Player One (04:17): The dystopian world, cyberspace as escape, and “kids living in subway cars” evoke echoes of Spielberg’s later film.

3. Confusion Over Continuity and Casting

Discussion of how key roles (Jobe, Dr. Angelo) have been recast or altered, with special bafflement over Max Headroom’s Matt Frewer replacing Jeff Fahey.
June isn’t sure if she watched the first film, and no one is certain who played whom or what happened in the previous movie.
- Jason (13:08): "The arc of Lawnmower Man 1, June, just so you know, is that Jeff Fahey is a severely mentally disabled man who is the landscaper..."
- Paul (22:09): "You replaced Jobe, who is a character within a virtual reality world, with a man who is synonymous with a character in virtual reality world."

4. Visual and Stylistic Oddities

The hosts are bewildered by the film's inconsistent aspect ratios (4:3, switching to widescreen), sudden shifts to black and white, and the general lack of logic behind these choices.
- Paul (20:21): "They do a cut to the trial...and it’s in black and white. Why did we go backwards in our technology?"
- Jason (21:00): "The movie straight out the gate makes like three to four huge choices that are straight bananas."

5. Cyberspace as a 90s Concept

The group pokes fun at the laughable depiction of digital reality: clunky graphics, flying through “fiber optic tunnels,” and being able to affect the world simply via computers.
- Jason (39:39): "The version of cyberspace we get in this movie...it's literally as if you go inside the computer."
Dog as Computer Expert: The hosts laugh about the logic-defying moment where a dog successfully operates computer equipment.
- June (26:17): "I did have one note, which is, love that dog."
- Jason (26:59): "The dog is better with computers than my father!"

6. Max Headroom & Meta Casting

Matt Frewer’s casting as Jobe is discussed in depth, as he is closely associated with Max Headroom, itself a digital/virtual reality character from 80s TV.
- Jason (22:52): "Matt Frewer, we most know him for being a Cyber character. So why draw that direct parallel now?"
- Mini deep-dive on Max Headroom, its place in pop culture, and its connection to the film’s director.

7. Rip-Offs & Genre References

The movie is accused of liberally stealing from Indiana Jones, Goonies, Double Dragon, and Ready Player One.
- Paul (56:26): "It's Goonies meets Indy meets the Internet. Write the check for me, please."
The iconic “jacking in” and other 90s cyber-lingo are greeted with giggles and eye-rolls.
- Jason (33:38): "Please don’t say jacked in."

8. Character and Motivation Puzzles

The team repeatedly expresses confusion about the motivations of nearly every character, from Jobe to Dr. Trace to the business villains.
- June (52:59): "I don’t understand anybody’s motivations."
Relationship between kid and Jobe (the “lawnmower man”) seems perennially odd and under-explained.

9. Production Woes & Anecdotes

June shares technical misadventures: repeated failed attempts to watch and record the episode, computer shutdowns, and a house with “40 horses” affecting their dog.
The group gets meta about the curse of the episode, playfully blaming Jobe for their difficulties.
Tangents about motion-smoothing, improper TV settings, and watching movies at weird brightness.

10. Second Opinions & Amazon Gold

Paul reads reviewers from Amazon, most of whom are more excited about the first film; some five-star reviews simply say “my grandkids loved it.”
- Darren Tate (74:18): "Loved the first Lawnmower Man. Really good film. Second film. Hmm, a bit weird. Five stars."
- Valdon Rawel: "Didn’t play. Total ripoff...Very disappointed. One star."
A hilarious detour about plug adapters, using other people’s screens, and travel tech mishaps.

11. Box Office & 90s Nostalgia

Lawnmower Man 2 was a flop, losing over $13 million at the box office and ranking 187th for 1996. It was trounced by Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible, and even Space Jam (which, as the hosts note, has better effects).

12. Recommendations: To Watch or Not to Watch?

June: Hard pass. Found it dispiriting, confusing, and not entertaining: “I did not like it. I don't recommend it. I hated it. I hated talking about it. I hated every attempt I made to watch it.”
Jason: Surprisingly yes: “It's cuckoo, crazy banana time...If you go into it with the assumption from the jump that you're not going to make heads or tails out of any of this, I think you might have a fun ride.”
Paul: Leans yes for lovers of cinematic oddities: “I embrace the more insane films. I'm like, what is happening?...I recommend it a lot. Because it's so bizarre.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Jason (03:10): “This movie was like...It felt like perhaps a script for something else that they just repurposed for Lawnmower Man 2.”
June (41:46): “I am really impressed that you both digested so much of this movie. I mean, I found this to be not watchable.”
Jason (26:59): "The dog is better with computers than my father. It is crazy."
Paul (56:26): "It's Goonies meets Indy meets the Internet. Write the check for me, please."
June (80:01): “We are, you know...I don’t know when this is gonna drop, but right now we're just a week past a coup...And this film really pushed me over the edge. I did not like it. I don’t recommend it.”
Jason (81:16): “Would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely. People should watch this because it's cuckoo crazy banana time.”

Timestamps for Major Segments

Plot confusion, opening woes: 02:06–06:34
Casting and Lawnmower Man 1 recap: 13:08–17:10
Aspect ratio, black and white debate: 16:35–21:15
Cyberspace as depicted in the 90s: 28:31–31:16
Max Headroom & Matt Frewer: 22:09–46:00
Dog uses computer: 26:33–28:11
What is the Chiron chip/Egypt thing?: 38:51–39:05
Ready Player One parallels: 24:24–35:36
Rip-offs: Indy, Goonies, Star Wars, more: 56:26–59:44
Amazon Second Opinions: 69:05–75:55
Host recommendations: 79:40–83:22

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in comedic befuddlement, as the hosts swerve between pop culture analysis, tech nostalgia, personal anecdotes, and meta-commentary about the act of podcasting while defeated by a film. Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace gets roasted for its lack of coherent story, wild tonal shifts, and dated cyber-fantasy—but the hosts find a strange, almost enjoyable absurdity in the chaos.

Final Take:

June: Avoid at all costs
Jason: Watch for the trainwreck factor
Paul: A “must-watch” for fans of cinematic disasters

For further discussion, join the new How Did This Get Made? Discord, and check out John Lajoie’s music or the latest plug-worthy projects from the hosts!