Let It Shine

Summary

Pod Meets World: Episode Summary – "Let It Shine"

Host/Authors: Will Friedle & Sabrina Bryan
Release Date: February 19, 2025
Podcast Series: Pod Meets World by iHeartPodcasts

---

1. Introduction to "Let It Shine"

In this episode of Pod Meets World, hosts Will Friedle and Sabrina Bryan dive deep into the 2012 Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) "Let It Shine." The episode begins with a brief overview of the film's premise—a modern retelling of the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac, infused with hip-hop flair and musical elements.

2. Source Material and Genre Comparison

Will introduces the foundational narrative, highlighting its roots in Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac (00:56). He notes the prevalence of this trope in Hollywood, citing examples like Steve Martin's Roxanne and the TV show Boy Meets World itself.

Will Friedle [02:22]: "That's why the hero's journey will always work. Whether it's Luke Skywalker or Odysseus, it will constantly work."

3. Cast and Performances

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the film's impressive cast:

• Tyler James Williams as Cyrus (Truth): Best known for his role in Everybody Hates Chris and the Emmy-winning sitcom Abbott Elementary (12:16).

• Coco Jones as Roxy: A multifaceted talent transitioning from Disney shows like So Random! to a successful music career, including a Grammy win in 2024 (12:59).

• Brandon Michael Smith as Lord of the Bling: Recognized for his roles in That's So Raven, So Random!, and voicing Michelangelo in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (14:44).

• Dawn Lewis as Gale and Courtney B. Vance as Jacob: Both bringing seasoned performances that add depth to the narrative (16:48).

The hosts commend the cast's ability to bring authenticity and charisma to their roles, underscoring their continued success in Hollywood.

4. Plot Breakdown

Will and Sabrina provide a thorough synopsis of "Let It Shine," outlining key plot points such as:

• Cyrus's Dual Life: By day, he works at an underage club disguised as a busboy, and by night, he produces heartfelt hip-hop tracks (26:22).

• The Mix-Up: A contest mistakenly crowns Cyrus's best friend, Chris, as the winner, leading Cyrus to step in as his DJ to maintain Chris's burgeoning fame (35:48).

• Roxy's Role: A former classmate turned pop star, Roxy becomes the love interest caught between Cyrus and Chris, culminating in emotional confrontations and performances (50:56).

5. Musical and Choreographic Elements

The episode delves into the film's musical composition, highlighting the collaboration with renowned producers and songwriters like David Banner and Rock Mafia (05:00). Sabrina praises the choreography and staging, particularly noting how musical numbers are seamlessly integrated into appropriate settings within the film.

Sabrina Bryan [06:39]: "The choreography was really good. I loved all of that."

However, both hosts express concerns about the film's extended length due to numerous musical sequences, suggesting that some could have been trimmed for a more concise narrative (18:05).

6. Critique and Analysis

Will and Sabrina offer balanced critiques:

• Strengths: Stellar cast performances, authentic integration of music into the storyline, and uplifting messages about authenticity and passion.

• Weaknesses: Overly lengthy musical numbers and some plot inconsistencies, particularly regarding the timing of events and character motivations (48:12).

They also touch upon the film's reception, noting its impressive premiere viewership of 5.7 million and an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score (05:00).

7. Audience Reception and Ratings

The hosts share their personal ratings, with Will awarding 8.5/10 and Sabrina giving an 8/10, citing the film's strong cast and engaging music despite its pacing issues (81:30).

8. Interactive Segments and Games

Towards the end of the episode, Will and Sabrina engage listeners with the "Government Name Game," wherein they challenge themselves to match rappers' real names to their stage aliases. This interactive segment adds a playful element to the discussion, enhancing listener engagement.

9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Wrapping up, Will and Sabrina reaffirm their appreciation for "Let It Shine," recommending it to fans of musicals and heartfelt storytelling. They tease upcoming episodes, including a preview featuring actress Mimi Paley from Alley Cat Strike, encouraging listeners to stay tuned for more nostalgic rewatch discussions.

Notable Quotes:

• Will Friedle [02:22]: "That's why the hero's journey will always work."
• Will Friedle [09:22]: "It is also arguably the best cast of any DCOM we've seen."
• Sabrina Bryan [06:39]: "The choreography was really good. I loved all of that."
• Will Friedle [81:30]: "I liked the cast. I thought the music was appropriate."

Timestamp Highlights:

• 00:56 – Introduction to the source material.
• 05:00 – Discussion on the film's soundtrack and reception.
• 12:16 – Breakdown of the main cast's backgrounds.
• 26:22 – Detailed plot synopsis begins.
• 48:12 – Critique on musical pacing.
• 81:30 – Final ratings and thoughts.

---

Recommendation: "Let It Shine" stands out as a heartfelt musical journey with a commendable cast and meaningful messages. While it could benefit from tighter storytelling, its strengths in performance and music make it a worthy watch for both nostalgic fans and new audiences alike.

---

Note: This summary excludes advertisements and non-content segments, focusing solely on the podcast hosts' discussion and analysis of "Let It Shine." All quotes are attributed with corresponding timestamps for reference.

Transcript

[Chiquis]

These days it feels like everyone is talking about how the American Dream of home ownership has become out of reach. Hi guys, this is Cheekies from the Cheekies and Chill podcast. And Rocket is trying to give more people a chance to own their homes. They're making home ownership simpler and more accessible to more people, turning renters into owners. Rocket believes that everyone deserves a shot at the American Dream. So are you ready? Own the dream. Visit rocket.com or call 804-Rocket balancing multiple.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

Projects, family and everything else life throws at me requires a great support team to keep it all together. Hi, I'm Wilmer Valderrama and when managing the unexpected, I trust State Farm agents to have my back. They are more than insurance professionals. They are part of your team. Whether it's helping you choose the right coverage for your needs or helping you file a claim, they are there to take on life's challenges with confidence. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Jenny Garth]

Hi, this is Jenny Garth from I Do Part two. Who do you know on Ozempic or Semaglutide right now? Everyone right? These game changing Weight loss meds are everywhere and FutureHealth makes it easy to get started. Find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three [e-mail] FutureHealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at providers. Discretionary results may vary. Sponsored by futurehealth.

[Will Friedle]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report Sabrina it's another musical.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It is.

[Will Friedle]

It's another musical which we're going to get into.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's a different kind of musical though.

[Will Friedle]

Disney loves just breaking into song.

[Sabrina Bryan]

We haven't seen this kind of musical.

[Will Friedle]

I have not. We have not. I can't. First of all, I love them, but you got to keep them on the entire time. Can't take them off. I need you to have.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I feel like, oh my God, it's so bad. I can't do it.

[Will Friedle]

I can't do it.

[Sabrina Bryan]

You're calling all my costuming. I can only wear for like the first second and then it's gotta go.

[Will Friedle]

I love it. I love it. But did we love the movie? Well, we'll get into that. First of all, welcome back to Magical Rewind, the show that makes you want to grab your friends, your PJs and your popcorn and go back to a time when all the houses were smart, the wave, tsunamis, and the high school's musical. I'm Will Friedle.

[Sabrina Bryan]

And I'm Sabrina Bryan.

[Will Friedle]

Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted with the girl of your dreams, would you capture it or would you just let it slip? Yo. No, it's not 8 Mile, but this week we are recapping the 2012 romantic hip hop musical Let It Shine. The DCOM debuted on June 15, 2012, and believe it or not, it is a retelling of 1897's Cyrano de Bergerac, a classic play by Edmond Rostand. While it is nowhere near the only modern piece of media that has pulled inspiration from this specific source material, we've got 1987's Steve Martin comedy Roxanne, great movie, 1996's Rom com, the Truth About Cats and Dogs, and Netflix's Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Those are just three examples of other movies with the exact same cribbed premise, while TV shows like the Brady Bunch, Cheers, Frasier, and even a little show called Boy Meets World have stolen this plot. Yeah, it might be actually one of the most used tropes in all of Hollywood where a popular or good looking suitor is fed lines by their uglier or nerdier friend to capture the interest of a girl or a guy. Eventually, of course, the plan is exposed and everything blows up, only to still work out in the end for the nerd and the cool love interest. And it's a journey that always makes for quite a script. Hey, you get a good story, you can see it over and over and over again. That's why the hero's journey will always work. Whether it's Luke Skywalker or Odysseus, it will constantly work. Now, did you know about Cyrano de Bergerac before this movie?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I did not. I did not.

[Will Friedle]

Do you ever see Roxanne with Steve Martin?

[Sabrina Bryan]

No.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, great movie. You gotta go see Roxanne.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I will put it on the list.

[Will Friedle]

You should with the tagline the truth is in the music. Let It Shine is filmed in Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia, which are new locations to us. So they must have lost the coin that week to flip between Utah and.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I swear I was looking going, can I find any type of Toronto scene? No, it was all New stuff.

[Will Friedle]

I was going, wow, Toronto can look like Atlanta too. That's amazing. Nope.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I loved it. It looked great. I thought the sets were so good.

[Will Friedle]

They are. And these are not only new locations for us, but played heavily into the film itself, frankly. It also had a soundtrack with 13 original songs. Some of the producers and songwriters involved include David Banner, Rock Mafia, Toby Gadd, Lindy Robbins and Adam Hicks, who together have created hits for musicians like Justin Bieber, Young Thug, Selena Gomez, Jason Derulo, Beyonce, One Direction, and many others. For the record, I have heard of two of those people on that list. No, I've heard of Bieber. Okay. I've never heard of. Okay, well, there's a lot of people I don't know. And the movie was seriously successful for the the channel. The premiere pulled in 5.7 million viewers, which is a massive number for 2012. And at the time, it became the most watched DCOM of 2012. It had such a popular debut that a sequel script was written according to one of its stars, but eventually was scrapped. So what rhymes with disappointment? Ointment. But doink. I'll keep thinking on it. Let Shine was also released on DVD in August of the same year, marking a fast two month turnaround for Disney, especially since a special rap battle edition aired on June 30, raking in over 4.5 million viewers. On its own, it is also worth noting, and this should in no way shape or form affect our eventual ratings, but the movie does have one of the higher rotten tomato scores we've ever seen with 84%. So. Okay. Sabrina resident expert for singing and dancing. We do this for every musical film that we tackle. What did you think? How was the dancing? Was Chris good? How's the singing? How are we doing?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I thought the dancing was great. Honestly. The choreography was really good. I thought the way that the staging happened, it felt very Paul Hoen to me, the way he filmed it, everything. I loved all of that. It was a hit or miss for music. For me. Some stuff I liked, some stuff I didn't. There seemed to be a lot of musical numbers in this. And I get it, it's. It's about music. But it started to like halfway through, I'm like, oh my God, we're going again. I feel like we just finished the last song. So that I will say was a lot. I feel like there's probably at least two of the routines that were maybe not necessary or didn't need to be as long, but we'll obviously get into those. And when they pop Up. I will let you know which ones I would have scrapped.

[Will Friedle]

I would have taken out. Did you know about Let It Shine before we did this?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I did not. I'm starting to feel a lot more like you will. I have not heard of this at all.

[Will Friedle]

Welcome to the olds. Do you want to. Do you want to guess if I'd heard of it. Do you want to take a guess?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I think this one is actually one that is your favorite.

[Will Friedle]

I had not heard of this one.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I got it. All right.

[Will Friedle]

I had not heard of it. Okay, well, it's the moment of truth. Tonight's the night. Let's get into some joyful noise. Me and you need to get into the synopsis. A teenage boy hides his rapping from family and friends, but when his best friend uses his lyrics to get close to a girl, he must battle to win her affection while struggling against pressure from his father. Sabrina, early thoughts. Did you like the movie?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I. I mean, starting in the church where I'm going, oh, we've got sister act meeting, 8 mile. I'm kind of interested on what's going on. At the beginning of it, I was like, ah, I wasn't. Cause again, Let it Shine. Give gave me as a title. No. Look into what this movie was going to be.

[Will Friedle]

No, of course.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Not at all.

[Will Friedle]

So the 13th year of musicals.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes. So it was. I mean, I get it at the end. I get it. We get it finally at the end. Why that was the title. But so for me, I'm going, oh, wow. I thought the music right away, I loved it. It was cool. I'm a huge sister act fan. This is awesome. Bringing a new generation into the sister act loving fans base. So I was like, okay, I liked it. And then took a little bit of a slow turn and then eventually we'll get to where I land. But at the beginning, I was in. I liked it. This track, meaning 8 mile. I was into it. I was like, this is so different than anything we've seen thus far on all of our movie rewatches, in my opinion.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. I loved this movie.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Did you?

[Will Friedle]

I did. I loved this movie. I thought, good. You know why? Because first of all, all of the singing is appropriate. Meaning it's not a bunch of kids pulling up to a gas station all of a sudden going like, we're getting unleaded. It's like, no, they're. They're singing in places they're supposed to be singing. They have musical numbers in church, on stage. They made it a musical, but it's like it makes Sense as a musical.

[Sabrina Bryan]

And the times that they do break in. And I knew I was hoping that you were gonna like this because the times that they do break into. Just random. He's supposed to be riffing. Hiding.

[Will Friedle]

Correct.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes. Like as a. As a rapper, he does that. He starts just going off of his.

[Will Friedle]

It is also. And we will get into it as we get more into the breakdown, but it is also arguably the best cast of any dcom we've seen.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Such a good cast.

[Will Friedle]

The cast.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Such a good cast.

[Will Friedle]

So good in this movie. They've all gone on to essentially control Hollywood right now, but they are, from the lead to some of the smallest roles in the film. This movie was cast so well that it was. No, I fully enjoyed it. I really did. I thought this was a great movie. Let It Shine is of course, directed by friend of the podcast and a man who makes the D in DCOM stand for direction. Yes, Paul Hoen. Paul is currently the mastermind behind the incredibly successful Disney music franchise Zombies, which at times does have rap in it. But make no mistake, his dcom roots are very strong. Much like the Force with Luke Skywalker. He's got Luck of the Irish. You wish. Read it and weep. Jump in. Cheetah Girls, One World, and Dadnapped, which is. Well, we're gonna get into that, just to name a few. If you wanna learn about Paul and his prolific career, check out our interview with him a few months back on our dedicated Magical Rewind feed. And if you haven't heard it yet, because I know some people listen to this feed, but they don't listen to the interviews. You really should go and check it out because it was really an incredible interview. And just you get a lot of behind the scenes of how this stuff was all put together. It was really, really cool. But as I was saying, the cast is spectacular. Maybe the most names we've ever mentioned. And you can tell how great the casting was by seeing all of their recent success. So let's start with its star, Tyler James Williams, who just pops off the screen. He plays Cyrus, a play on Cyrano. Of course, Tyler is best known for his time as young Chris rock on the TV show Everybody Hates Chr Chris, which ran from 2005 to 2009. He became the youngest person ever to win an NAACP Image Award at just 14. And before that, he spent five years as a kid on Sesame Street. Yes, he's been working his entire life, and rightfully so. That is someone who is born to be on the screen. You also saw him on Shows like Dear White People, Criminal Minds, Beyond Borders, Walking Dead, and now you can see him weekly on the incredibly successful Emmy winning sitcom Abbott elementary as Gregory Eddy. He's just working all the time.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Hilarious.

[Will Friedle]

And then we've got Coco Jones as Roxy. This was her first movie ever. She was seen in episodes of Good Luck Charlie before this and starred as Coco Blue on the Disney show so Random. She is a singer herself, formerly signed to Hollywood Records and is a five time Grammy nominee and won once in 2024 for her song ICU. But she is also known as Hilary Banks in the Fresh Prince reboot Bel Air. And for those keeping score at home, she was also the star who back in 2020 said during a YouTube live stream that there was a sequel in the works but was scrapped. And while I don't normally mention things like this because these are, you know, normally teenagers that we're talking about and it gets creepy. She was distractingly pretty. Just absolutely beautiful in this.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes. You know who did she look like? Anyone to you?

[Will Friedle]

I couldn't place who she looked like.

[Sabrina Bryan]

She looked like. I mean, I know we knew her. She wasn't. I don't know how old Jennifer Hudson was when she came out, but she.

[Will Friedle]

Who she looked like is Jennifer Hudson.

[Sabrina Bryan]

She looks so much like Jennifer Hudson in like, as, like what I would see if. I mean, she would be. She would have been the perfect, like the, the. The movie of her life.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Sabrina Bryan]

To be her. I was like. I mean, she was so beautiful.

[Will Friedle]

She's stunning.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Absolutely stunning. Like, you're right. I mean, I couldn't, I couldn't take. When she was on screen, you just can't take your eyes off of her.

[Will Friedle]

This is truly a cast from top to bottom that commands the screen.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, it really does. You just see they talk about getting through the lens, this cast and we're getting more and more into them. For instance, Trevor Jackson is Chris. He is also a musician. He has songs with Kelly Rowland and Sierra Ramirez. Okay. But has also been seen on TV shows like Eureka, Austin and Ally and Casey Undercover. He also starred in the 2018 Superfly remake, but it's best known now as Aaron Jackson on the shows Blackish and Grownish. Everybody is just still killing it, killing it. And then we have Brandon Michael Smith is Lord of Dabling, which is also my nickname in high school. Thank you, producer Jensen for putting that in. Brandon had already been seen on that's so Raven, 10 episodes of Phil of the Future and Nick's Unfabulous, but is best known as one of the stars of so Random alongside Coco. He'd later play Little Richard in the James Brown biopic Get On Up. And he's the voice of Michelangelo in the new Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. TV shows and movies. Ah, so jealous. Also, for magical rewind purposes, he's in another dcom called Starstruck.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

And then we have Dawn Lewis is Gale. She is a TV legend best known as Jaleesa on A Different World. She also appears in the movies Dreamgirls and is an incredibly busy voiceover actor for shows like the Simpsons, Futurama, Star Trek, Lower Decks and Fairly Odd Parents. She is also in one of the greatest films of all time, Keenan Ivory Wayans. Very first big movie, I'm Gonna get yout Sucker, which is still one of the funniest movies of all time. And she is hysterical and a name very familiar to me. My friend Alex Deser plays Levi. Alex is, first off, the coolest human being on the planet. He is seriously the coolest person who's ever lived. But professionally he, he played Jake on the Long Running Show Becker and Eli Williams on Boy Meets World. He's probably most recognizable for one movie role though, even though he was only in maybe four or five scenes tops. But he's Charles in Swingers, the guy willing to leave a very crowded party because his place is dead. Anyway, he is now a very busy voiceover actor In 2025 as the new voice of Carl and others on the Simpsons. And he's the lead singer of the Hepcats, a ska mainstay in the LA music scene since the 90s. And we're not done yet. Nicole Sullivan is Lila. You might know her as a mad TV cast member or as Janine on Blackish or as Holly on the King of Queens or as Shego on a little show called Kim Possible. But she currently plays Carol Finkel on the Sex Lives of College Girls, a show I have never heard of and probably will not be watching. Sorry, I love you, but it just doesn't seem like it's made for me. Two time Emmy winner Courtney B. Vance. Man is Jacob, a veteran character actor from movies like the Hunt for October, Dangerous Minds and Space Cowboys. He's also starred in over 100 episodes of Law and Criminal Intent. But it was his two high profile guest star roles, one on the HBO show Lovecraft country, and then most infamously as Johnnie cochran in the O.J. simpson American Crime Story that won him the Emmy. He's an incredible actor. Just this cast, it's again, it's one after Another of amazing actors.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

And finally featured background choir girl number one and choir girl number two are played by Chloe and Halle Bailey, two kids at the time who have become massive stars. The sisters are a hit R and B duo signed to Beyonce who've been nominated for five Grammys and were stars of the show. Grown Ish. Halle also played the new Ariel in the recent Little Mermaid Live action remake. Did you notice them, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I did not notice them. I've got to go back and look at those scenes because hallelujah. I mean she was amazing as Ariel. So good. This is such a cool, A cool thing to find out that like one of her first things probably was right there on the Disney channel in this dcom.

[Will Friedle]

This is so rad, me being old and still not knowing any of these people. I've heard of Grownish, you know that.

[Sabrina Bryan]

The remake they did the like with with.

[Will Friedle]

I know of it, but I've never seen it.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Okay. Yeah, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And I've heard of Beyonce and she is gorgeous.

[Sabrina Bryan]

And I've heard of Beyonce.

[Will Friedle]

I've heard of Beyonce.

[Sabrina Bryan]

You don't live completely under a rock.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think I've ever heard a Beyonce song. But I' heard a Beyonce. Oh boy. This is seriously arguably the most impressive cast we've ever seen, don't you think? I mean, amazing. Incredible. Now we get to the bad news. Let it shine is 104 minutes. Oh, even with a cast like that, it is. Say it with me too long.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh my gosh. And again we go back to the numerous of musical portions of. Yeah, we could have easily.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Sabrina Bryan]

He's got them down if not taken them out.

[Will Friedle]

We're looking for 90 minutes, people. 90 minutes only. So instead of Let It Shine, more like let it end. Am I right? And I loved it. It's written by Eric Daniel, whose only other writing credit is the Wesley Snipes comedy Back on the Strip. However, he was a production assistant on do the Right Thing and New Jack City, so that's very impressive. And he shared the credit with Don D. Scott, who found incredible success as the writer of Barbershop 1 and 2 and in the room of the TV show the Neighborhood.

[Chiquis]

These days it feels like everyone is talking about how the American dream of owning a home is dying that so many hard working Americans have been locked out of home ownership.

And if you're one of the millions yearning to own your home, Rocket is here to give you back the keys. They're working to lower down payments to lift us up, giving first time buyers a head start on their starter homes and fighting for homes for those who fought and served so we can have ours.

The American Dream isn't dying, it's just been out of reach. Everyone in this country deserves to own a piece of it. And Rocket isn't going to stop until.

Everyone can own the dream. Visit Rocket.com today or call 804 Rocket.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

State Farm knows Making smarter financial moves today secures your financial freedom for a second tomorrow on Michael Tura Podcast Network. We believe this too by sharing money management tips that help you realize your dreams, like on our show Life as a Gringo with DJ Dramos.

[DJ Dramos]

If you've been following the show, you know how passionate I am about financial literacy, particularly when it comes to our community. For me personally, I was one of those people who, like many of us, weren't taught about finances. You know, my parents didn't know my my grandmother didn't believe in credit cards. Money was under the mattress, right? And of course my mom inherited zero financial knowledge. So I think what a lot of people don't real just how important this period of your life is. Because for me, yeah, I'm making more money than I was before. But now this is the time where I can become somebody who creates generational wealth. Or I just sort of end up being in the same hamster wheel that we've been in for generations.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

At this point, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm, proud sponsor of my Kultura Podcast Network.

[Jenny Garth]

This is Jenny Garth from I do part two. Everyone's talking about GLP1s like Ozempic semaglutide. With Future Health you can find out if they're right for you too. Just go to tryfh.com that's trifh.com and find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three minutes. FutureHealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at providers discretion. Results may vary.

[Lifelock]

Sponsored by Future Health during tax season, your sensitive info does a lot of traveling to places you can't control, stopping off at payroll, your accountant or tax preparer and countless other data centers on its way to the irs. Any of them can expose you to identity theft because they all have the info on your W2. Just the ticket for criminals to steal your identity. No wonder the IRS reported tax fraud due to identity theft. Went up 20% last year. You need Lifelock. They monitor millions of data points per second and alert you to threats you could miss. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's US based restoration specialists will Fix it backed by the million dollar protection package and restoration is guaranteed or your money back. Don't let identity thieves take you for a ride. Get Lifelock protection for tax season and beyond. Join now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off terms apply.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, enough of the opening act. Let's get to the Grand Slam and get into Let It Shine. We open at a large and beautiful black church. The sun shines through stained glass, illuminating a service taking place. The choir is singing while a man sits on a large chair at the center of the pew. Then the piano player, a young man in a sweater and a tie, presses play for a hip hop beat to blast over the speakers. The choir and full band love what they hear, busting into an upbeat gospel tune and dance routine. But the man in the chair is not feeling it. Especially when the choir throws off their gowns to expose pastel gap looking outfits. They close out on the movie's first song with a big roar of approval from the church. The piano player Cyrus celebrates until he locks eyes with Jacob, the important man in the chair who's also his dad. Cyrus knows he's in trouble, and I have to say, if church was like this growing up, I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh my gosh.

[Will Friedle]

Right?

[Sabrina Bryan]

So fun.

[Will Friedle]

Back at home, he's hearing it from his mom and dad. When he was appointed choir leader, he was supposed to focus on praising the Lord. Jacob considers rap the devil's music. But as he heats up, Cyrus mom Gale jumps in to calm him down. Jacob makes his son promise that this will never happen again. Is that still a thing even in 2012? People thinking that there's the devil's music?

[Sabrina Bryan]

No, but I think, I mean in 2012, rap was really, really at. I mean it was. It was everywhere. And a lot of times it has that negative undertone to.

[Will Friedle]

I get that. I feel like they should have gone more like that than being like it was the devil's music. That just seems like such a trope from the.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes, but truly, I was in the state of Disney channels doing a religious aspect of anything.

[Will Friedle]

Right?

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's right. Now we haven't seen this at all.

[Will Friedle]

And talking about the Lord and talking about Jesus and yeah, really, they normally was like, whoa.

[Sabrina Bryan]

So I mean they leaned into it. So I think already that was kind of a little like what to me. But I mean, yeah, it is a. It's an Old school one, but I think that's kind of what he was. They were setting this church up to be was an old school type Baptist church.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I think you're right. Jake makes a son promise it'll never happen again. Later that night, Cyrus is in his room working on beats while on the phone with a friend. They'll see each other later that night at the club. Even though Cyrus isn't excited that Bling will be rapping tonight. He brags that he doesn't have to sneak out. But we quickly cut to him sneaking out of the house. Sabrina, Sabrina. Yes? Did you ever sneak out of your house when you were a kid, when you were growing up?

[Sabrina Bryan]

No. No. Come on, I'm telling you. No. I was too chicken. First of all, my mom is a ninja, okay? So even like, even if I was downstairs on the couch with my boyfriend all of a sudden, like she'd just be like, hey, so it she can right?

[Will Friedle]

She pop up from behind the couch. What do you guys do?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes, we're squeaky. You could come. I don't know if she like slid down the banister or what, but she was a ninja. She scared the crap out of me. I. There was no way I was getting out of the house and being able to do anything like that. My friends would. And most of the houses if it was a two story, all the bedrooms are upstairs. I'm like, how do you like. Oh, I go out my thing, my. And then hop down the garage. There's like a part where I can put my foot on the tree and What?

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Now what, man. No, no, no.

[Will Friedle]

I distinctly remember, of course I would sneak out, but it was usually just to go like sit on the roof and smoke a cigarette or something. Because again, when you're 12, would you.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Stay at your house to do that?

[Will Friedle]

Occasionally. Yeah. But the biggest sneak out night was from Steve Sacco's house. It was seventh or eighth grade and we snuck out because that night Shannon Shipley told me she'd kiss me at a party. They were having a sleepover and then we got lost.

[Sabrina Bryan]

There's Shannon Shipley in the woods.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, Shannon Shipley. We got lost in the woods and I never got that kiss because we were just then wandering the woods randomly and then Steve Sacco's mom caught us. It was a whole thing. Yeah, it was a whole thing. But anyway, Cyrus tiptoes through the front yard, but then trips, making enough noise to concern his dad who is reading in the living room. It's a close call. But Cyrus eventually hops onto his moped and makes it to off the street. Which is a club that apparently does not check IDs because no one is 21. It has to be an under. Under 18 club is what I'm thinking because I don't think they're serving alcohol.

[Sabrina Bryan]

But brings me to this ridiculous point with Disney. Why do they keep creating, putting this figment like this imaginative situation that there are clubs out there that will host parties without other. Without anyone's parent for like 15 year olds.

[Will Friedle]

Don't they? Isn't there? They had those in LA, weren't there under 18 clubs?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, but they never lasted because they're this. I can't even imagine why they. I mean it's.

[Will Friedle]

There was a big one in LA.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That it was called like 17 or something. I went to it. I know.

[Will Friedle]

Did you?

[Sabrina Bryan]

It was not great. And it was just like you just.

[Will Friedle]

Wanted to sneak into the real club, which you didn't do because you never did anything wrong. Never broke a rule in your entire life.

[Sabrina Bryan]

But don't you think I broke a rule? How many times have we seen this? That there's these like little Club Bop areas and it's making kids all around the country think like there's these things that happen that they just don't have access to and they don't exist. Disney. Stop putting it in their head.

[Will Friedle]

Let's go open one. Let's go open.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't want it. Are you kidding? Kids nowadays are crazy. Kidding. I'm not being responsible for anything they're doing. They're like. They just smoke vape pens. They'll do like it with like vanilla extract. They're not even. It just.

[Will Friedle]

It's.

[Sabrina Bryan]

They're so rebellious. No. No. That is a big lawsuit coming our way.

[Will Friedle]

I cannot wait till your kids are teenagers.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I know inside going to be horrible.

[Will Friedle]

Cyrus then runs into. Talk about being a ninja. You're going to have it all scoped out.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Cyrus runs into Chris in the middle of the club. His best friend since kindergarten who is telling two girls how great of a rapper he is. He just likes to keep it on the down low. We get a feeling that maybe he's not that great a rapper, but the girls are loving his Riz. Anyway. Thank you Danielle Fishel, for teaching me what that means. Once the girls are gone, Cyrus tells Chris they aren't his type. He's looking for a girl with some substance. One he can take to the Atlanta Jazz Museum. Chris is more concerned with the new beats which Cyrus hands over. Then the Club manager Levi runs over and barks at Cyrus to bust some tables. So he's got a secret night job. So is he. Is he literally sneaking out of his house every single night to work at the store?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know if it's every night, but it's often. And it's.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's gotta be the weekend nights. I imagine that's the only time these underage clubs are open. So he's probably sneaking out Friday and Saturday nights, I'm guessing.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Well, they do mention later on that it's a Saturday night situation because that's why the kids aren't wanting to come to church.

[Will Friedle]

To church the next day. Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Remember their time.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Levi gets on the mic and welcomes the crowd. They're going to crown this month's rap king. They started with eight, and now they're down to two. And first up is newcomer Da Boss. Although I personally had wished Bruce Springsteen was going to pop out, it wasn't him. And now for their reigning champ. Month after month, Lord of doubling, the entire club breaks into song, exclaiming the club is on fire. And leading right into deboss's scathing battle lyrics. And this is again where I was like, okay, musical, but appropriate musical. They're on a stage. They're supposed to be singing here. They. It makes sense. They all know the words, they all know the dances. It was like. It's not just like, we're in the cafeteria. So. Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryan]

And even when there is a moment when he's, like I said, bussing the tables and he's singing along with his crab, he's riffing. So it's, you know, it's not the kind of stuff you hate. And I love, love it.

[Will Friedle]

You did. You loved it. All right, then let's. I know because you love.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I said the kind of stuff you hate, but I love. I love when they bust.

[Will Friedle]

I'm just gonna sit here and just.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Wait.

[Will Friedle]

Now we have another lyrics to the song. Hey, please. This one. This made sense. It made sense. We're back to Da Boss's scathing battle lyrics. He claims Bling's chain is fake, his hat is too small and his breast smells bad. The crowd loves it. And everyone is still synchronized dancing. It's now Bling's turn, and he turns and he says that Da Boss is poor, his pants are too tight and they should call him a ghost the way he gets booed. And this is getting good. In the crowd, we see Chris getting down with the moves, and Cyrus is rapping to himself as we were talking about while bussing the tables. And frankly, his raps were better. He knows he could be a champ, but he's stuck with this job. He's working for minimum wage when he should be up there. On stage. The song comes to a close and Levi, who says he gives the kids beats to keep them off the streets, proclaims, lord of the Bling has won again. While celebrating, Bling announces he'll be winning the rap grand slam title this year as Cyrus watches on, wishing it was him. And once Lord of the Bling is off stage, it gets even worse for Cyrus. He bumps into the champ, dropping a drink on his new shoes. Bling tries to shame Cyrus, but to his surprise, Cyrus stands up to him and he says his raps weren't that hot anyway. Bling is of course, furious and starts battling Cyrus right there. But Cyrus still isn't impressed. Cyrus says Bling has some skill, but he ain't quote all that with the rhymes. Lord of the Bling hops back on stage and calls out, urkel. That's the busboy. That's what he calls Cyrus. Little hack there on my friend Jaleel. Busboy to battle. The crowd chants Urkel, but Cyrus walks right out, leaving the crowd and Chris disappointed on their walk home. Where's his moped?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Well, they've. They're. That was a. Sabrina sees. But they're holding the helmets as if they rode that moped together and then.

[Will Friedle]

Just left holding it.

[Sabrina Bryan]

No, they must have parked it somewhere because they're. They purposely are holding the helmets to say like, they took that home. We just don't see the moped.

[Will Friedle]

Can't just leave your moped every. Everybody knows that.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know any teenagers that drive.

[Will Friedle]

Mopeds, so I drove a motorcycle. I love mopeds, but no, it's not the same. By the way, all these new electric bikes are just fancy ways of having mopeds. That's basically what a moped was.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So Chris says he knows that Cyrus has mad skills and dope rhymes. Why won't he just rap? Are you laughing? Because I'm saying things like mad skills and dope rhymes. I'm trying to be.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I'm sorry. Just mute my audio. I can't stop giggling.

[Will Friedle]

You got a problem with me saying mad skills and dope rhymes?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Is that what's happening, Sabrina? A huge problem with it.

[Will Friedle]

I'm sorry, do you have a problem with. Come on, Sabrina. Come on. What's your problem?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Sorry, I'm trying my rhymes.

[Will Friedle]

Sabrina, what's Your problem.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh, my God. Okay.

[Will Friedle]

All right, so I have to say it again. Cyrus has mad skills and dope rhymes. Why won't he just rap? Cyrus doesn't know. It's just easier alone in his room. We are now back in the house and apparently not afraid to wake up his parents anymore, they turn on the TV to watch on the Beat, a show that claims to be the best urban music showcase on the planet. This is based, of course, on BET's 106 and Park. The hosts are interviewing Roxy, a singer that was in the same third grade class as Cyrus and Chris. They both think she's fine as hell. She is so pretty. Coco Jones forever. Again. I can't take your eyes off of her.

[Sabrina Bryan]

They're not wrong. They are not wrong.

[Will Friedle]

She is stunning. I mean, just a stunning girl. And again, I know that's creepy to say because she's probably, like, 17 when she shot this movie. On the show, they talk about a group of critics that have been harsh on Roxy. They call her outfits too provocative. But again, what should she wear? A parka? She's a singer. And by the way, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to what I think younger people should wear. And I didn't think she was wearing anything that was all that crazy in this movie.

[Sabrina Bryan]

No. If anything needed to be toned down, it was like the brightness of color.

[Will Friedle]

Right? Right. Can we get a neutral color?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Can we get a neutral?

[Will Friedle]

Tiny little skirts or anything?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Somewhere? Just. Just a nice neutral color.

[Will Friedle]

Can we get a brown? Can someone wear a brown or a beige once?

[Sabrina Bryan]

It's just just one part of it.

[Will Friedle]

It's true.

[Sabrina Bryan]

So much color.

[Will Friedle]

Seriously. But yeah. So I don't understand how she should address. But she has big news that day. She's working with Atlanta Records on a contest where one amateur artist will get their song produced by her label and their own music video. She says you just send in the song and a recent picture of yourself to enter. Cyrus announces he's gonna enter and win, but Chris says that's impossible because he's gonna have the winning song. And they're very playful about this. That night, Cyrus already gets to work, retreating to his room and makeshift studio to produce a love rap called Don't Run Away. This kid apparently never sleeps. He's either working at the club, working at church, or producing his own music. And one lyric is, you are. What is that? Tetradactyl Fly. Am I saying that wrong? What's happening?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know what's happening. Yeah. You are a tetradactyl fly. Apparently he burns a song onto a disc and puts it in the mail, including a picture of him and Chris together dropping it in the mailbox, which is literally directly in front of his house. He steps out the front door and drops it in the mailbox. Yes, so very well. Position. The next morning he realizes that he's late for church, which is also directly next door to his house. He's his kid doesn't have to go anywhere. His whole life is a total of 10 steps and a few drives on his now lost moped. He walks into the church late, opening a very squeaky door and interrupting his dad's sermon. Cyrus sits at the piano and listens to his dad who goes on a tirade about loud music, high skirts, sagging pants and rap music. He mentions that downtown rap club keeping their kids up too late for church the next day and says he wouldn't allow his kid to go. He wants to stop hip hop and the most powerful grip it has on the youth. But little does he know his kid actually works there. Meanwhile, we see Roxy looking through contest entries while her road manager Lila spots a bad headline regarding Roxy's voice. It says she depends on a vocoder which is auto tuned too much and it feels like Roxy might actually agree. While checking out tracks, Roxy has made it to Cyrus song and recognizes Cyrus and Chris from their photos he sent. Roxy does find out about the critical headline and doesn't get why she's so picked on. Lila says it comes with being famous. But on better news, they've picked a contest winner. It's Cyrus and Chris. She says he calls himself Truth and he's making real thoughtful music, which she loves. Lila assumes it is of course the better looking Chris making the music and calls him a cutie. But oh no, they have the wrong guy because they think Cyrus looks like a dork, which is a shame, but it's also, don't send in a picture of you with somebody else, just send in your photo.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes, cut that picture in half.

[Will Friedle]

Problem solved. Just put a picture of just you up. You gotta have a photo of just you. Something like a. I mean something. That night at off the street, the film crew from on the Beat. I don't know why the names had to rhyme, but they do shows up to announce a rapper named Truth from this club won their contest. Lyle says he's never heard that name, but the TV host spots Chris and proclaims him the winner. Chris runs to Cyrus to celebrate, but Cyrus looks shocked. He didn't even hear Chris's song. But that doesn't change that he is in fact the winner. And now it's time to meet pop star Roxy from back in the day. She arrives with Layla and hugs the boys. She says Chris looks great and Cyrus, while being very awkward, looks, well, the same as he did in third grade. Roxy congratulates Chris. She felt like that song might have been about her. Chris is a little confused, but agrees. The crowd starts to chant Roxy's name, so she takes the stage to perform again. Makes sense why there would be a song here. But even after a killer song on the show, she pushes the attention back to the contest winner. She says the emcee's name finally. And that name is Truth. Truth. Wait, that's not Chris's rap name. That's Cyrus name. Oh no. It's because the photo he sent in was of them both and they assumed it was the more studly Chris. And then Lord of the Bling. This guy finds a new target. Kris. He battles him now calling him a garbage and a rookie. Rocky suggests that Truth doesn't even bring himself down to Bling's level. In turn, he starts battling Roxy and Lila quickly gets her out of the club. Hot take. Lord of the Bling is the most talented musician in the movie. Yay or nay. What do you believe, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, I thought he was really good.

[Will Friedle]

He was great.

[Sabrina Bryan]

He was great.

[Will Friedle]

I frankly thought he won the rap battle at the end. That's why I was always so bad with these Step up movies because I'd see the rival team and I'd be like, I think that one was better.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, I, I found out from this movie and I remember still sort of being confused in 8 mile that I just don't really understand the voting process that happens within these battles.

[Will Friedle]

I'm not sure there. Yeah, I don't get it. It's yell or yell louder.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, the loudest yell. But if you just have the more most amount of people in the audience like it's. I don't know. I don't really get it.

[Will Friedle]

I don't either.

[Sabrina Bryan]

There's no machine that like actually even like measures the level of loudness. Like I just.

[Will Friedle]

Well, your, your, your apple watch will say loud environment. Be careful. Maybe that'll do it. Chris then storms out too. And Levi tells Cyrus he can't believe Chris is now the king of rap. But Cyrus tells the truth to his boss. The song was his. Cyrus decides to tell Rocky about the mix up himself. But he sees her posing for pictures With Chris and kissing him on the cheek. They seem to really be hitting it off. So Chris begs him not to tell her. He wants to see where things will go, even if it was all Cyrus. Deep thoughts. So they need a plan. Cyrus says he'll teach Chris his flow and stay in the background as his dj. They agree, and Chris is very optimistic until Roxy tells Chris he needs him to re record his song for the video shoot tomorrow. And that, of course, creates quite a predicament. Did you meet cool rappers as a. As a Cheetah Girl? You must have.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I did, actually. It was early on in the Cheetah days. That was my favorite meeting was Keely and Adrienne were still doing 3 LW, which was another girl group that they were like, was like a real girl group. This was back when the Cheetah Girls was just going to be a movie. There was no toxic making a girl group out of it at that time. So they were in a real girl group, 3Lw. And they were filming while we were in the rehearsal process here in la. They were filming their music video for Never Get Enough and they invited me to come and be on set with them. And Lil Wayne was in the movie.

[Will Friedle]

The music video, Danielle's favorite.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh, my God. And I just remember being so excited to go. I went. We went after rehearsal and I got to sit around the thing and there was like a scene that they were thinking I would be joining them, but we never ended up filming it because they were focused on this, you know, dance sequence that Julia had. Anyway, so I'm working for a Disney movie, right? Working like, you know, squeaky clean, whatever. And then there's I'm on now a music video of, like, with big rappers, right? Lil Wayne and his whole posse is in this trailer that they have. And I just happened to be walking right by it, going with the girls from hair and makeup to set. And the trailer door flies open because Little Wayne's going to come out and do his performance. And it was like the biggest gust of of smoke just like billows out. And I'm like, oh, my God, I'm going to get contact high. Like, there's no way. Like, oh my, I've got to drive tonight. Like, I was so worried because it was so thick that just billowed out and it was just like, wow. Like, this is a different world than what I'm going to be filming in Toronto.

[Will Friedle]

You are such a rule follower. You don't even want to walk through somebody else's cloud of dope.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Well, it just like tackled me. I wasn't ready for it. I mean, I knew he was there and I obviously know like about that. But I just me thinking a kid actor too, thinking like, you're on set. Of course they wouldn't be doing that on set. This is like a professional environment. What the rap world was not meant for. Sabrina Bryant, something that I was ever going to get into.

[Will Friedle]

I love that.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

All right.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, that's my favorite one.

[Will Friedle]

Little Wayne. Lil Wayne is great.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Chiquis]

These days it feels like everyone is talking about how the American dream of owning a home is dying that so many hard working Americans have been locked out of home ownership. Hi guys, this is Chiquis from the Cheekies and Chill podcast. And if you are one of the millions yearning to own your home, Rocket is here to give you back the keys. They're working to lower down payments to lift us up, giving first time buyers a head start on their starter homes and fighting for homes for those who fought and served so we can have ours. The American dream isn't dying, it's just been out of reach. Everyone in this country deserves to own a piece of it. And Rocket isn't going to stop until everyone can own the dream. Visit Rocket.com or call 804 Rocket State.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

Farm knows making smarter financial moves today secures your financial freedom for a second tomorrow on my Cultura podcast network. We believe this too by sharing money management tips that help you realize your dreams. Like on our show Life as a Gringo with DJ Dramos.

[DJ Dramos]

Many of us grew up and like I started the podcast earlier, saying for me, in my family, one of the biggest points of contention was finances. And I know as I gotten older I made it a promise to myself to say I don't want to relive that. I don't want finances to be something that stresses us out. I don't want to be living in fear of the. The shoe dropping, so to speak.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[DJ Dramos]

You know, hiring somebody to do credit repair for me. That was a gift that I gave myself that allowed me to then get my first apartment, get my first car under my name, then eventually buy my own home. Like these are all things that are possible for all of us. We just have to educate ourselves and put in some of the hard work.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. State Farm, proud sponsor of my Cultura podcast network.

[Jenny Garth]

This is Jenny Garth from I do part two. Everyone's talking about GLP1s like Ozempic semaglutide with future health. You can find out if they're right for you too. Just go to tryfh.com that's trifh.com and find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three minutes. FutureHealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at provider's discretion. Results may vary. Sponsored by Future Health when it comes.

[Chiquis]

To playtime, never let your squad down. Unlock elite gaming [e-mail] Push your gameplay beyond performance with 13th gen Intel Core processors. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search and head to lenovo.com.

[Will Friedle]

Now the next morning, the boys make their way to a professional recording studio. Chris is scared because Roxy and Layla will be in the studio and see that Cyrus is actually rapping it, but Lila interrupts them practicing in an elevator, Roxy and the engineer running late. This is great news for Chris. He says he wants to work alone with Cyrus, his DJ engineer. Cyrus says he's half the price of her engineer, so of course she approves the idea. With Layla out of the way, Cyrus gets the song. But mid session Roxy arrives so Cyrus quickly has to hide. But it works as Roxy flirts with Chris, who she thinks of course is Truth, even offering him a song on her next album. But she wants to hear him freestyle first. Oh no. Chris panics. She wants intelligent and romantic lyrics. He starts by rapping about having babes in every city and she is of course not feeling it. He pretends he was joking and Cyrus saves the day. He grabs a mic and starts whispering into it, playing only into Chris's headphones, which are actually around his neck and probably very hard to hear, but it was a cool way to do it. Either way. He feeds him the lines all deep and love infused, totally impressing Roxy. Cyrus knows they can't keep this up though, but he pops up and performs for her in the dark in the vocal booth, covering his face, pretending to be Chris for a new song. You Belong to Me, she says. It's the most beautiful song she's ever heard. She comes into the booth to see him and the boys switch spots. It's all working. She's about to kiss Kris, but Cyrus interrupts with an engineering question. Oh yeah, Gotta. Let's call it rap blocking for this, okay? Is that better? Is that easier for you to deal with? Cause what's it normally called? Sabrina? I can't remember. What's it normally called?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know.

[Will Friedle]

What's it Normal?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't even know Cuckoo Ka choose wow.

[Will Friedle]

It's called Ha Ha. Later at church, Cyrus is late for his choir practice. His mom had covered for him, but the group wants more hip hop inspired jams. His dad is nearby though, and shares his disapproval. So no dice. We are now back at the studio. Roxy stops by to see Cyrus working on a new track for her and Chris. And when Chris arrives, he wants to hear the song too. Cyrus lays out his vision. He thinks it'll be like the Beatles, all you need is love, even though what we end up hearing is absolutely nothing like that. Chris pretends to like the Beatles and he says his favorite album is the greatest hits album. Either way, the song is coming together and Lila thinks Truth is the next big star. She also reveals that Roxy is going to headline the Grand Slam. But Roxy isn't so sure this is a good idea because they usually book more traditional singers, not the ones who use the autotuning vocoder. I think it's called a vocoder, by the way. I'm probably wrong with all this hip lingo, but I'm doing my best. Later that day at off the Street, Cyrus is greeted by an angry Levi. Cyrus missed work last night and it was a full house. Levi also asks if he's told Roxy the truth yet. Cyrus explains the whole switcheroo thing that they're doing, and Levi is not impressed. He suggests telling her the truth, but Cyrus doesn't want to sell out his best friend. But Levi sees right through this. This is just an excuse to avoid being rejected himself. Cyrus says Chris has the swagger for Roxy, but Levi says he just needs to speak for himself. How can anyone call themselves Truth when they're living one big lie? Very good question and a good line. We are now alone in the club. Cyrus surveys the scene leading into our next song. It becomes a bit of a montage. Cyrus cleaning, performing, writing new lyrics, and his parents cuddling on the couch. For some reason, we make no sense. I'm guessing this is one of the ones you would have cut. Would you cut this one, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryan]

This one could have. I think it was like a six minute song and it could have been cut down to 45.

[Will Friedle]

It was like the. It was like Indigada de Vita or Stairway to Heaven.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, I was just like, okay, all right. Oh, we're still going. Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, we're still. We're still going. Then Roxy's limo pulls up. Chris is late for their date, but she hears music coming from inside. She enters to see Cyrus performing and she cannot believe what she's seeing. He sounds just like Chris. Oh. Oh. Cyrus pretends he was just lip syncing and she buys it. Chris flakes on her and now she's stranded and starving. So Cyrus suggests they eat together, which ends up being a perfect time to share his thoughts with Roxy. He thinks the vocoder she uses is cool. It's on trend. But he also encourages her to show off her real voice. He remembers Roxy singing in church. She can do it, even if Lila advises her not to do it. Later, Cyrus and Roxy are eating some barbecue in the rain and talking music. Cyrus likes all kinds, even opera. Roxy ii. Roxy admits they seem to have way more in common than she does with Chris. And I thought these were all very sweet scenes between the two of them. They really had some great chemistry. They did, and they just. It was a wonderful kind of relationship to watch. On their walk home, they stumble, as you do often onto a rap battle, and the first guy looks a lot like Theo von. Roxy and Cyrus are impressed when the rapper Revelation wins. And when it's time for the new competitor to step up, King of Doubling oh takes the mic and sees Roxy with Cyrus. But before battling, he does. This guy's everywhere. He's like your mom when you're trying to sit with your boyfriend. He makes fun of the geek she's with, and Cyrus, as usual, wants to avoid all conflict. Eventually, Cyrus pulls Roxy away and they let the Cipher get back on track. On their way home, Roxy says she should visit their church. One day. It would be great to see his parents. And the next day we're at church again. And Roxy does just that. She shows up in a very shiny gold jacket and causes quite a stir amongst the congregation, especially Cyrus, who's happy to see her. He convinces her to sing with the choir for a song called Good To Be Home. There's no vocoder on her now and she sounds amazing. Once finished, Cyrus's dad. Ugh, I couldn't believe this begins. Oh, I was, like, irrationally angry. Begins his sermon mentioning that a few at the service have lost their way. They may have been raised with God, but they walked with the devil now and only come back when it's convenient. It's obvious he's talking about Roxy. He mentions hypocrisy or more like hip hop. Re. See Rick. See. Hip hop. Hip hop, hip hop. More like hypocrisy can wait. Do it again.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Hip hop Okarasy.

[Will Friedle]

Hip hop, hip hop. Ocracy. Hip hop ocracy. There you go. Hip hop. Oh, see, it's hard. Roxy starts crying, and rightfully so. Being called out at church after just singing by an adult.

[Sabrina Bryan]

She's like a teenager.

[Will Friedle]

Yup. I was so mad. Do not do that to her.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

Nobody puts Roxy in a corner and then storms out later that night at the reverend's house. His wife obviously feels the way Sabrina and I do and says he'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight after what he did to poor Roxanne. Jacob defends his actions. She's what's wrong with music today? But her wife is still disgusted with him. The next morning, Cyrus leaves for some quote unquote errands. And Gale reads in the newspaper that Roxy's new rap artist is filming a music video in town today. This could be the perfect time for Jacob to go and apologize to her. Then we're over at the club. The video shoot has begun. Roxy arrives to fanfare, and Cyrus quickly apologizes to her for what his dad did. She says he's entitled to his opinion, but Cyrus argues it was wrong and unfair. Good for you, Cyrus.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

When Chris arrives, Roxy invites him to a Middle Eastern art exhibit that night. But America's Funniest Home Videos is having a four hour marathon and he says he can't miss the dancing. Baby, you can tell. This obviously irritates Cyrus. Once inside the club, Lila says she's convinced the Grand Slam to let Chris perform with Roxy. He's excited, but again, this irritates Cyrus, especially when it's revealed that there is a no lip sync policy he'll need to rap live. Cyrus pulls Chris aside. How's he gonna do this? He has no clue, but assumes Cyrus will come up with something. That's all he's saying. He's like, you'll figure it out. He's already looking forward to having a hit song and going on tour because then he'll be around all kinds of honeys. Ugh. He's trying not to be tied down. Cyrus asks about Roxy. He says that she's good for now. And again, you'll be shocked to hear that Cyrus is once again irritated. Chris lip syncs to the Truth song for the video and actually kind of kills it. Am I right? The dancing was good? Yeah, the video was good.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I thought it was good.

[Will Friedle]

It was good.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It was. It was good.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Well, Roxy is impressed with Truth, but admits to Cyrus that their relationship kind of sucks. Maybe she's not the girl he deserves. Which I was like, wait, huh? Cyrus is disturbed that she thinks she's not good enough for him. Yes. Iris she rolls her eyes just as Reverend Jacob enters looking for Rox. Roxy. He earnestly apologizes to Roxy. And again, even in this apology, the gravitas that Courtney B. Vance had as an actor, Even the apology, like, shut up the whole room. And he's just got this presence when he's on stage. That was just. It was awesome. Anyway, so he's apologizing to Roxy, and then once he's done that, he turns his attention to. Oh, his son. What is he doing here? Right then, Levi walks in and asks for Cyrus's help cleaning up the place. Oh, wow. Now this is bad. His dad knows that he works there, which still seems like it would been a very tough secret to keep. He's been working there for years, but who knows?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Jacob, of course, feels disrespected by his son and demands his son come home with him right now. But Cyrus finally stands up and just says no. And again, it's the quiet dad who turns around and just says, like, excuse me. Jacob is shocked. Cyrus is not willing to let down Levi. Jacob says, they'll deal with this later, and leaves. Even I got a chill. I was like, yeah. Oh, it's the quiet dad. Like, we'll talk about this later. Like, oh, geez. Back at home, Jacob returns and tells his wife he apologized to Roxanne. She's happy to hear it, but then reveals what he learned about Cyrus. Gail admits she knew about it all along, which also angers the Reverend. Yikes. And then, guess what? Cyrus arrives home on his moped. He got it back. Three cheers for the moped. That's the real movie. Here, by the way, is what happened to his Moped. He is greeted by his mom and dad on the patio, and his dad is more than just a little upset. He's disappointed again as the Ugh. He says he failed a test from Jesus. Cyrus declares he's a songwriter, but Jacob doesn't care. He is forbidden from reentering the club. And once Jacob goes inside, Gil lets her husband have it. What does it matter what type of music he's into? It is his passion. The next morning, while leaving the house, Cyrus spots an ad for truth on a taxi cab. That's a very fast promotional department, considering they just shot it yesterday. But the bigger news is who's driving the cab. It is Lourda Debling. We just get a quick glimpse of that. We then enter a montage. Chris is swarmed by fans on the street. Truth has a number one hit on the charts, and he's with Roxy on tv we also see Jacob stumble onto his son's lyric book. The next morning, while Cyrus is writing new stuff, someone is there to see him. It's Roxy. She wanted to check in on him. Very sweet. And reveals Lord of the Bling made the finals of the Grand Slam. She also needs relationship advice. She says the lyrics Chris writes are right up her alley, but in person, he just feels very, very different. They end up in a record store and connect on even a deeper level on old school music and tracks that they love. He wants her to sound more like this stuff. She has her own suggestion. Maybe he turn on his mic and stop lip syncing. Good advice. And then, ooh. They almost kiss. But Roxy snaps out of it. Chris is taking her to a jazz museum, which was Cyrus's dream date. He's now stealing this whole kid's life. But before she can leave, she thanks Cyrus for just being there for her. It's like, you're like my brother. And pats him on the head. Felt like.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Puts him in the friend zone so hard. Oh, man. No exit available.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, like new kids on the Block. It was rough. Thank you. I'm glad you got that. Later, Cyrus decides to visit the club. It is the night before the Grand Slam, and Chris is chatting with a bunch of honeys. Yes. That's right. I said it. One girl. I said it. Yes. One girl is so excited that he'll be singing live tomorrow, which makes him visibly nervous. And that's when Cyrus arrives. He is on a mission. He asks how the jazz museum date was. Thank you. And Chris quickly pulls him away from the other ladies. Cyrus is not happy. He accuses Chris of not having an original idea in his body and is mad that he's playing with Roxy's emotions. Chris fights back. They're both in this together. It's been that way from the start. But Cyrus pushes back again. Chris couldn't wrap a present with a bow and some scotch tape. Everyone in the club is starting to pay attention. Chris calls him a hater, which, let's be honest, is kind of true. Chris adds that Cyrus is one of the best rappers he's ever heard, yet he's scared to be himself. He has no guts or heart. And then they start fighting. Like a physical fight.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I know. I was shocked.

[Will Friedle]

Fight is things that happen in this movie that we're like, what? They start fighting. Levi breaks it up and tells him to go home and get their mind right or don't come back at all. He does not allow fighting in his club. Cyrus tells Chris he's on his own tomorrow and Chris says he doesn't need anyone anyway. Anyway. That night, Gale leaves the local newspaper on her son's bed. It's advertising tomorrow's Grand Slam. Cyrus catches her on the way out and decides to tell her the truth. He's truth. He tells her the story and admits he can't just leave his best friend alone on stage. He'll be humiliated beyond belief. She asks what he's going to do about it, but he doesn't know yet. The next day, Reverend Jacob wants to know where his son is off to. Cyrus knows he's on punishment, but today is important for his friend and he can't miss it. And instead of being mad, his dad says he knows about the show and he's been reading his lyrics. Once he got past the fact that they were rap songs, he loved the message of caring, sacrifice and devotion. Good Christian values. Maybe he's been too harsh and he's sorry. Another very nice scene. They hug in the front yard as Gale watches on with a smile. His parents say they're running late and they're going to the show too. Cyrus is shocked, but sure is is the rap show in the morning? When's the rap show?

[Jenny Garth]

Can you walk us through the timing?

[Sabrina Bryan]

What's it seeming like? That's what it's seeming like. And that felt so awkward because most of everything else with this club has been during the nighttime when he has to sneak out. Yeah. So why? I mean, I don't know. I guess it's a separate thing in the club that they're doing. Maybe they want to hold their regular hours at 11am I would tell you, like. Yeah, it didn't make sense at all.

[Will Friedle]

It didn't. But anyway, I guess no matter what.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Time for the shooting schedule, it is.

[Will Friedle]

It's what it is. We're gonna have to shoot it during the day. So no matter what time of day it is, tons of people are at the club for the Grand Slam. Lila is with Roxy, who is dressed actually like an insane person. She's in big silver boots now, matched with a blue leotard, a pink wig and see through balls taped all over the top. Roxy decides she cannot hide behind the gimmicks anymore. She wants people to know the real her. She loves Lila, but she's done with it. She's starting fresh tonight. Thank God, because that was rough. Chris is on in five minutes and he's nervously running in and out of his dressing room. I imagine horribly vomiting. And that's when Cyrus shows up. Cyrus Says he would never leave his friend high and dry. And they hug. They apologize to each other, and Chris admits he's jealous. He's not. Truth. He also admits that Roxy should be with Cyrus. They decide tonight is the night to make it right. Yeah, that's right. I'm gonna throw in some rap when I can. They're eventually interrupted by the Lord of the Bling, this mother being his normal cocky self, calling them both. But this guy just keeps popping up.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I know he does. It's just like, oh, there he is.

[Will Friedle]

There he is again, calling them both busters. Chris calms Cyrus down and tells him to focus on what he came here to do. And by this point, I was seriously, like. He would pop up and be like, come on this guy again right now. I know he was supposed to be there, but still. It's almost time for the Grand Slam Battle finals. Revelation versus Lord of the Bling. Backstage, Cyrus is hyping himself up. He needs to just tell Roxy the truth. And that's when he sees her. She's ditched all the pop star gimmicks. She looks like the church girl he remembers, and he loves it. And before the battle, it's time for Roxy and Truth to perform. She comes out guns blazing with a new song, and the crowd loves it. Backstage, Lila asks Chris if he's ready to go on stage, and he says yes. But then he turns and hands the mic to Cyrus. Whoa. And as the track continues, out walks the real Truth. Cyrus. Roxy's figured it all out too, and she seems really mad. Rightfully so pissed, and should be. She weaves her emotions into the lyrics of the song. I guess. Was he playing her? Wait, were these now the original lyrics of the song that just really work with what's happening, or is she making them up as they go? I don't know which one it is.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I think that this is the part where you would kind of start turning towards, like, how you normally do with musicals. And it seemed as if they were trying to play in, like, they were both riffing through song, like.

[Will Friedle]

Right. But Coco can do nothing wrong. So it worked perfectly, and it was the best thing I've ever seen.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

It was. So, as I've always said to you from the beginning of this podcast, I love when people just randomly break into song like this. And when Coco does it, it works perfectly. That's all I have to say about that.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Cyrus either starts rapping or making it up as he's going along now, too, explaining he did it for her and that he's sorry, he wants the truth, and he says she's all he ever wanted. Now, again, it all fits perfectly in the song. He gets down on his knees and apologizes, but she runs off. But the crowd, of course, loves the song, so I guess that's. That's a good thing. The emcee of the night asked the crowd to give it up for Roxy and Truth, or whoever that guy was, which is very funny. And now it is battle time backstage. Chris and Cyrus sprint to Roxy's dressing room. She immediately. And this was another big first for Disney, slaps Cyrus. She slaps him in the face and calls them one big lie. I've never seen a Disney slap around.

[Sabrina Bryan]

The Burbank building of Disney Channel. This is a first. I don't even know if we'll ever see another one she hit. It was a great slap, by the way. It was done so well. But I literally went, oh, whoa.

[Will Friedle]

She hit him.

[Sabrina Bryan]

You would never expect that. The most we get is what we've seen before where they're pushing. And even this movie was a lot more of an aggressive push than we've.

[Will Friedle]

Seen most of the full slap in the face.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Straight slap in the face. Like. Like that had some heat on it.

[Will Friedle]

He did. Yeah, he did. Seriously. She says he is one big lie. Cyrus says it's all his fault. He should have been up front. He just knew he wasn't a hot guy. But she says it wasn't about his looks. It was about his words and being real. But it wasn't. Yeah, it was kind of.

[Sabrina Bryan]

She's kind of lying there because, let's be honest, Roxy, Chris.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryan]

You liked Chris because he's the hot one. That was your fault.

[Will Friedle]

And you put. And you put him right in the friend category right away. You're right. So you weren't. You know, he. You weren't per. You weren't totally innocent in this, as I guess.

[Sabrina Bryan]

No, you were not. Let's just own what we've done. Let's just own what we've done.

[Will Friedle]

Yep. But she says none of this was real and she doesn't want to have anything to do with either of them. She leaves without even handing out the battle trophy. So they give it to Cyrus, and he has to give it out and go and crown the winner. So we're back on stage. Lord of the Bling becomes the new Grand Slam champ.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Lord of the Bling.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Lord of the Bling. So Truth, AKA Cyrus, must hand over the title. But Bling can't believe what he's Seeing why is this busboy holding the trophy, the crowd erupts. Cyrus ignores the diss and congratulates him very stand up. But Bling isn't done. He tells Cyrus to polish it for him and calls him Baby Ruth. And that's when Cyrus hits his breaking point. He says Bling doesn't deserve the trophy. He's not good enough. Lord of the Bling challenges him to battle rap. And Cyrus accepts it is on. Bling starts off calling him a loser that's never kissed a girl. And that's when we see Roxy is in the crowd. She's still there. Bling attacks Cyrus's dad, who's also there. It seems like nothing's off limits. And then it ends with Lord of the Bling telling truth to go get his mop. And then it's Cyrus's turn. He's confident. He's calling him a horse without a saddle. He's telling him to skedaddle, which doesn't feel very hip hop at all. But we are now back to Bling. He's back on the attack, calling Cyrus a lightweight who should be in high heel shoes. He ends his verse by throwing money at Cyrus, telling him to go buy a new outfit. Even Levi, who's watching on, thinks that was a good one. And then Cyrus final verse begins. He says Bling doesn't have a stack of cash or a flashy pad. He actually saw him last week driving a cab. What? The secret's out. So if anyone needs a ride to the airport, call Lord of the Bluff. Cyrus throws the money back at him, calling it a tip. He says Bling can keep the trophy that he doesn't deserve. He might just be a busboy, but you just got served. Bam. So lesson learned. Don't drive a cab or you'll lose a rap battle. By the way, this is where I realized I had no idea what was going on. Because I thought Lord of the Bling was better than Cyrus. I'm not. I don't know if I'm wrong, but I thought it was better.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I still need to know what the rules are with the votes.

[Will Friedle]

I hope there aren't any. You know me though. I don't. I don't care about rules. Yeah, the way it is. Truth is, crowned the new Grand Slam champ. But Roxy still leaves without saying a word. Now outside and worth noting, it might still be morning. I'm confused about the time of day when the event happened. We don't know what's happening now. In a limo, Chris runs up to the window and Asks for just a minute of her time. She agrees and he apologizes. Cyrus did everything for him. Chris was the one who said they should trick her. If it's real that she's looking for. It is Cyrus. Lila says they have to go. And Roxy drives off. It's now Sunday morning again. Ish. Or still we don't know what's happening. Time wise, this is where the time gets really weird. So the event was before church or it was the next day. Sabrina, can you help me with this? Do you know when it was?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I couldn't figure it out either because it wouldn't. I guess. I guess it was that early because it definitely wasn't at night time when she was leaving. So I guess.

[Will Friedle]

And Chris, we then see him. Is he wearing the same outfit that he wore at the Grand Slam? He is. Right?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Sabrina Bryan]

And she wasn't wearing the same outfit she was wearing in the right.

[Will Friedle]

Was it a 24 hour rap battle? What happened? Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know. I'm not sure.

[Will Friedle]

I don't even. The timing was a little weird. I agree.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. It was confusing. So. Yes. So he's wearing the same outfit at the Grand Slam. He stops Cyrus and his family on their way into church. He wants to join them. Reverend Jacob is thrilled. He who was lost is now found. And that's when they see it. A limo pulling up. So it has to be the same day then because she's in the limo still.

[Sabrina Bryan]

But she had the limo everywhere. That's the only form of transportation she had.

[Will Friedle]

You're right. It's okay. It's. It's. The timing was confusing.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And there she is. It's Roxy, looking beautiful for church. She introduces herself to Cyrus as Roxanne Andrews. Maybe he remembers her from elementary school. He says he does. And it's nice to see her again. They embrace and we fade into the church where Cyrus and Roxy are now performing an upbeat gospel track about being yourself called Let it Shine. The churchgoers and even Reverend Jacob love it. Chris pops and locks in the aisle, eventually joining them on stage. The song comes to a big finish. We even see Lila in the audience. We freeze on Cyrus and Roxanne arm in arm. And then we get some bloopers. It's a classic DCOM trope, but it's just a few alternate takes from Nicole Sullivan calling Cyrus other names like Cyclone and sinus. And that is our movie.

[Chiquis]

These days it feels like everyone is talking about how the American dream of owning a home is dying that so many hardworking Americans have been locked out.

Of home ownership and if you're one of the millions yearning to own your home, Rocket is here to give you back the keys. They're working to lower down payments to lift us up, giving first time buyers a head start on their starter homes and fighting for homes for those who fought and served so we can have ours.

The American dream isn't dying, it's just been out of reach. Everyone in this country deserves to own a piece of it. And Rocket isn't going to stop until.

Everyone can own the dream. Visit Rocket.com today or call 800-4Rocket State.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

Farm knows Making smarter financial moves today secures your financial freedom for a second tomorrow on my Kultura Podcast Network. We believe this too by sharing money management tips that help you realize your dreams, like on our show Life as a Gringo with DJ Dramos.

[DJ Dramos]

If you've been following the show, you know how passionate I am about financial literacy, particularly when it comes to our community. For me personally, I was one of those people who, like many of us, weren't taught about finances. You know, my parents didn't know. My, my grandmother didn't believe in credit cards. Money was under the mattress, right? And of course my mom inherited zero financial knowledge. So I think what a lot of people don't realize is just how important important this period of your life is. Because for me, yeah, I'm making more money than I was before. But now this is the time where I can become somebody who creates generational wealth. Or I just sort of end up being in the same hamster wheel that we've been in for generations.

[Wilmer Valderrama]

At this point, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm proud sponsor of my Cultura Podcast Network.

[Jenny Garth]

Hi, this is Jenny Garth from I Do Part two. Who do you know on Ozempic or Semaglutide right now? Everyone right? These game changing weight loss meds are everywhere and FutureHealth makes it easy to get started. Find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three [e-mail] FutureHealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at providers discretion. Results may vary.

[Will Friedle]

Sponsored by FutureHealth when it comes to.

[Chiquis]

Playtime, never let your squad down. Unlock elite gaming [e-mail] Push your gameplay beyond performance with 13th gen Intel Core processors. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel WI FI6E and maximize gain performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search and head to Lenovo.com.

[Will Friedle]

Sabrina let's do some real reviews we know what we thought about it, but what did other people think about it? And I think this week you've got the one star.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I've got the one star. My one star review comes from Bryce F. The thumbnail on Disney looks ugly. Okay, Bryce, thank you.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, Bryce, very sweet.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Moving on.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you so much for that.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's not even a review, but okay.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Oh, man. You know, when you're leaving a review, Bryce, maybe roll the dice, because I'm sorry, I'm still in my rap phase. I've now got. I have two rap videos out. Sabrina, that's not even a joke. I have two videos now. I know. So I kind of know what I'm doing. I'm kind of a big deal in the rap.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah, you are.

[Will Friedle]

You are. I have a five star review from Taylor S. And it says this is the greatest movie of all time. It changed me for the better as a person. I was disgusting before this.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Taylor.

[Will Friedle]

Taylor esque. There's a lot, lot going on under that. That's like a duck on the.

[Sabrina Bryan]

There's a lot going on in the show. I have found the light. I'm glad you have found the light.

[Will Friedle]

And now we are coming to our favorite portion. Well, Sabrina's favorite portion of the podcast that is our featured game of the week. The game this week is called the Government Name Game. So by the end of Let It Shine, we know that Truth's real name is Cyrus DeBarge. It was quite a journey to get to that point. But facts are facts. We will get five birth names, and we have to decide from multiple choice what aliases they took to rock the mic. So, for example, if we're given Marshall Mathers, that's Eminem. Dang.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I was hoping that was gonna be.

[Will Friedle]

I know. Me too. Because that would have been the only one I would have known. If we get three out of five, we win.

[Sabrina Bryan]

All right, so here we go.

[Will Friedle]

Number one. And I'm sure. Oh, producer Jensen just loved this number one. Earl Simmons is the name. Is that A notorious Big B, Mystical C, dmx or D? Vanilla Ice? Ooh, I think I. I have my answer.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I think I'm gonna go with D. Vanilla Ice.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, I. I know it's not Vanilla Ice, so you've already got one wrong. I'm going with C. D, mx.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Oh, that's the one I was really gonna go for. Is it C?

[J]

I have a feeling she's gonna say that after every one of them. This is C dmx.

[Will Friedle]

Ah, I got one. Yes. Okay. Because I knew it wasn't Notorious. BIG I've never heard of Mystical, and I knew it wasn't Vanilla Ice. Number two. We've got George Albery Stone iii. Is that A, Chief Keef, B, estg, C. Redman, or D, Vanilla Ice. Oh, my God. I'll pick first this time. The only two. I've never heard of A or B, so I'm gonna say it's C. Redman.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's what I'm going with, too.

[J]

That's Reggie. No, so it's B. Estg.

[Will Friedle]

Estg. Okay. Sabrina, have you heard of estg?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I don't know who that is.

[Will Friedle]

No, it's Jensen. Knows every rapper that has ever rhymed two words together, even if they did it in their bathroom when they were 12. He knows every single one of them, just so you know.

[J]

Listen, normally I would know if a kid drops a mixtape in Boise, but these are big names.

[Sabrina Bryan]

They are big names.

[Will Friedle]

ESTG and Chief Keef are two big rappers.

[J]

I mean, listen, you are a boomer at heart. But Chief Keef and estg? Very big.

[Will Friedle]

Yes. Okay, okay, fair enough.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I've heard of Chief Keef, but I haven't heard the estg.

[Will Friedle]

Number three, Jacques Webster. Is that A, Travis Scott, B, Fat Joe, C, Lil Webby, or D, Vanilla Ice? Doesn't Travis Scott just rap under Travis Scott? Oh, no, I'm saying. Oh, they picked Travis. Ah. I'm gonna say. Well, I mean, Webster and Webby, but that'd be three seasons. I'm gonna say B, Fat Joe.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I'm gonna go see Little Webby.

[J]

It is A, Travis Scott. To be honest, I also was. As much as I know so much. I did kind of forget that he just picked a normal human name as his rap name.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Number four, Clifford Smith. Is that A Method Man, B, LL Cool J, C, two Chains, or D, Vanilla Ice. Heard of all four. Now, at this point, is it.

[Sabrina Bryan]

All right, I'm gonna go with A. Method.

[Will Friedle]

I'm gonna go with Method man, too.

[J]

Clifford is Method Man. Sabrina's first, Will's second. This is. This is a big ender here.

[Will Friedle]

Sabrina.

[Sabrina Bryan]

No, I got. Oh, wait, no, no. I got Redman. I got Red Man.

[J]

Yeah, Red Man's name. His name's Reggie.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, Reggie. No, it wasn't Redman. It was estg. And now number five.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Damn.

[Will Friedle]

You're gonna pick first. Sabrina.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Robert Van Winkle. Is that a Kid Cudi? B, Action Bronson. C, Li'l Bow Wow. Or D. Vanilla Ice.

[Sabrina Bryan]

D. Vanilla Ice.

[Will Friedle]

Correct. It is D. It is.

[J]

Weasel's his way into Three really good, too. And I only knew he'd get Vanilla Ice. That is to his. That's his wheelhouse.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's why it was an option for every single.

[J]

I just knew in the back of his mind, he's like, once Robert Van.

[Will Friedle]

Winkle comes up, I had to stop, collaborate and listen. Okay. I needed to know what was going on. Well, thank you once again, producer Jensen, for making it so much fun. And now can we do some Sabrina Cs?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes, we can. So we've talked about the religious portion of this movie, which is obviously not what we're normally used to with Disney. This isn't something we've come across so far anyway. And I did think that they did an interesting way of doing it without saying Jesus a ton. God a ton. Like, they didn't do that, but they did it in an interesting way to, like, tiptoe around it by spelling G, O, D. So they weren't saying God, but they were, like, spelling it out. I thought they did, like, to where it wasn't too much in your face. You got the idea of where this background of this family comes from, but it wasn't, you know, based on that. Even everything around, like, if you were looking at the set, there wasn't a lot of, like, crosses and, like, things like that on the set. It was still just very, like, plain. You understood where they were without it being, like, shoved down someone's throat. Which I thought was great for Disney because it. It opens up this world without it feeling like it's also being pushed on anything. So Disney always does stuff like that so well.

[Will Friedle]

They have the good balance.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Okay, so if there was a drinking game with this movie, it would have to be every time you saw a freaking fedora. There were so many of these hats in here, it started to irritate the crap out of me. That and all of the. The pieces of hair. And you know, sometimes, like, they like with things that are considered edgy at the channel, at least when my experience was, it was like, that was for me, like, let's have her hair really blonde and then put some chunky, dark pieces in it and throw on a spiky belt. Ooh, she's edgy now. And give her one glove, not two, just one. She's an edgy girl. Like, that's what it was. And this was, for some reason, to be in the rap world. It was like, let's throw in color in their hair.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Wear wigs all the time. Like, it was just kind of. And papa fedora on anyone that we could. And even if it wasn't the main actors wearing fedoras, there was someone in the background somewhere on that set.

[Will Friedle]

By the way, not to interrupt, but you just picked my rap name. I'm gonna be Papa Fedora from now on. That is my awesome rap name.

[Sabrina Bryan]

That's a really good one. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Some of the things that they were saying that was just kind of funny with, you know, like, I said the vocoder or whatever and then saying like, oh, I'm gonna put you on my next cd. Like, no one says that. Well, when I was. It was always like, my next album. Why do you keep saying cd?

[Will Friedle]

Cd?

[Sabrina Bryan]

There was a lot of funny, like, little lingos that didn't seem that great. And then what was it? And then again, I. We just got to shed some more light on that slap because that shocked.

[Will Friedle]

The shit out of me, too. But there's violence.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It was a violent, violent moment that I don't know if it was warranted. I don't know if that's why it shocked me so much, but it was just like, wow.

[Will Friedle]

And she hit him.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It was a connect. I don't even. I mean, it seemed like there might have been a bad day on the set that day that she just let him.

[Will Friedle]

She's like, oh, I can't wait to actually be able to hit him. Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Shining it up. Bam. It was so good.

[Jenny Garth]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

She cracked him.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Cracked him. Anyway, I had to say that had to be talked about. And that was all my Sabrina scene this week.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you so much. And now, of course, we have to rate our film. We're gonna do five as the best. Seven is the worst. Oh, two is middle. No, we're gonna do one is the worst. Ten being the best. And our options this week. And you get to pick this week, Sabrina. We've got one out of ten King of doublings. One out of ten pterodactyl flies. That's what it is.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It's no pterodactyl.

[Will Friedle]

There we go. No, that's not what it is. Tetradactyl.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Tetradactylactyl.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think it's pterodactyl. Anyway, don't pick that one, please, because it's too hard to say one out of ten mailboxes right outside your house. One out of ten abandoned mopeds. One out of ten honeys. America's Funniest Home Video Marathons. One out of ten fast promotion departments. Loser cab drivers or one out of ten skedaddles skedaddles. What do you want to pick for this week, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryan]

I think we gotta add in fedoras just because they're so.

[Will Friedle]

Pick it. Should we do fedoras? Should we do 1 out of 10 fedoras?

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yeah. Misplaced fedoras.

[Will Friedle]

1 out of 10 misplaced fedoras. I love it. I think. Am I going first this week?

[Sabrina Bryan]

You're going first this week.

[Will Friedle]

I am going first this week. And I really liked this movie. I liked the cast. I like that it was a little long. I thought they could have been trimmed. But I liked the cast. I thought the music was appropriate. Again it's like hey, everyone's breaking in a song cuz they're supposed to performances. So I liked all that stuff. This is gonna get a high number for me. This is getting 8.5.

[Jenny Garth]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Placed fedoras for me. I really enjoyed this movie. Really enjoyed the cast. Yeah, this was a fun 104 minutes for me.

[Sabrina Bryan]

I mean I agree. I liked the movie. I started to sway here and there again because of the length there was between his song that you had mentioned of when he was busing the tables and whatever and that one she stumbles into between that one and then. Although I loved the song, it was when she got back out to when she was at the church again for the first time before she got reamed by the reverend. That song, I'm trying to see in my notes what it was called. Cause I know I wrote it down but I can't find it between those two songs. Although I love that song, it just was long. So those moments for me started making me kind of a little out of tune and not caring as much. But really that was the biggest critique I had. Other than that I thought the actors were amazing. Yeah, me too. You know, not every song did I love but there were definitely songs that I did and then just I loved again. I love seeing a new location that was so fun for me to see.

[Will Friedle]

Atlanta looked great.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Looked amazing like I thought visually. All of the sets were so great. Me too. And I again the, the cast carried this into great places for me. So I'm giving this an eight. Misplaced fedoras.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. We're kind of on the same page there.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, that's is awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us for this great movie. Let it Shine. What a fun movie. If you want to see people singing when they're supposed to, this is one I would absolutely recommend. Our next movie is another Paul Hoen joint. It is 2013's Let It Shine 2, Cyrus's moped. So these are, like, back to back at this point. I'm kidding. It is 2009 dadnapped with some very familiar dcom names involved. So we are looking forward to that one. But before we hear that, this week, we've got a park hopper perfect to listen to while bowling or dancing to some swing music. We got to chat with Mimi Paley, who, though now grown up and has kids of her own, was the adorable little girl in our recently reviewed Alley Cat Strike. And we hear all about her time filming around strikes and spares. So why don't we get a little bit of a preview of what we're in for?

[Sabrina Bryan]

There was a period of time where.

[Will Friedle]

Like, I'd be in a volleyball game and, like, my opponents, you know, on the other side of the network, like, like, that's the. You know, like that or my parents. I went to sleepaway camp and they were sending me video.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Well, they.

[Will Friedle]

You couldn't send videos on a phone then, but they had taken videos or pictures of people trying to do, like, the bowling move.

[Sabrina Bryan]

It became this phenomenon, and I was.

[Will Friedle]

Like, I don't understand. Like, it's a Disney Channel movie. But I didn't know that they played.

[Sabrina Bryan]

These movies, like, five times a day.

[Will Friedle]

Every day for months. So, like, I had no idea what I was in for. There is no way you should miss that. It was really a ton of fun to hear just about how she got into the business and her strange connection with not only Sabrina, but also Ben and Fred Savage. Yes, go check that one out. Make sure you subscribe to our dedicated Magical rewind feed on Apple, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more info, of course, you can follow us agicalrewindpod on the Instagram machine. Bye, everybody.

[Sabrina Bryan]

Bye.

[Chiquis]

These days, it feels like everyone is talking about how the American dream of homeownership has become out of reach.

Well, Rocket is trying to give more of us a chance to own our homes.

They're making homeownership simpler and more accessible to more people, turning renters into owners.

Rocket believes that everyone deserves a shot at the American dream.

So are you ready?

Own the dream. Visit rocket.com or call 804Rocket.

[Will Friedle]

I love talking to people and learning from their experiences. Cada Persona is un mundo. And one thing that holds true for all of us is we can't do it all alone. We need our village. Hi there. I'm Honey German, a State farm. My State Farm agent is there when.

[Chiquis]

I have questions regarding the right coverage.

[Will Friedle]

For me or need help filing a claim. Mi mundo hira maseguro con State Farm Online, over the phone or in person. They got us like a good neighbor.

[Chiquis]

State Farm is there.

[Jenny Garth]

This is Jenny Garth from I do part two. Everyone's talking about GLP1s like Ozempic Semaglutide. With FutureHealth you can find out if they're right for you too. Just go to tryfh.com that's trifh.com and find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three minutes. FutureHealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at providers discretion. Results may vary sponsored by FutureHealth during.

[Lifelock]

Tax season, your sensitive info does a lot of traveling to places you can't control, stopping off at payroll, your accountant or tax preparer, and countless other data centers on its way to the irs. Any of them can expose you to identity theft because they all have the info on your W2. Just the ticket for criminals to steal your identity. No wonder the IRS reported tax fraud due to identity theft went up 20% last year. You need Lifelock. They monitor millions of data points per second and alert you to threats you could miss. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's US based restoration specialists will fix it, backed by the million dollar protection package and restoration is guaranteed or your money back. Don't let identity thieves take you for a ride. Get Lifelock protection for tax season and beyond. Join now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off terms apply.