Reel Justice Redux

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Reel Justice Redux" – The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Information:

• Title: Reel Justice Redux
• Host: Ben Ferguson
• Guest: Senator Ted Cruz
• Release Date: February 14, 2025

---

Introduction

In this engaging episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson welcomes Senator Ted Cruz for a special segment titled "Reel Justice Redux." Originally intended to air as a Christmas Day episode, this rebroadcast coincides with Valentine's Day, providing listeners with an insightful discussion centered around favorite movies, personal anecdotes, and the intersection of politics and popular culture.

---

Favorite Movies Discussion

The core of the episode revolves around a heartfelt conversation between Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz about their favorite films. Both share a deep appreciation for cinema, highlighting how movies have influenced their lives and careers.

• The Princess Bride: Senator Cruz passionately declares, "My favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride" (07:00). He reminisces about college games inspired by the film, illustrating its lasting impact on his personal life.

• The Godfather Saga: Both agree on the excellence of The Godfather series. Cruz praises the complexity of the characters, noting, "I quote all of them all the time" (08:40), while Ben humorously suggests using Godfather quotes as team-building exercises in the Senate.

• Scarface: Cruz includes Scarface in his top three, appreciating Al Pacino's standout performances. He remarks, "I like Pacino" (10:33), emphasizing his fondness for crime genre films.

• Criminal Minds: Diverging slightly from movies, Cruz expresses his admiration for the TV series Criminal Minds. He shares, "I just find it fascinating" (11:10), despite differing tastes with his household.

• Unforgiven: Highlighting Clint Eastwood's mastery, Cruz discusses Unforgiven as a transformative Western that "turns all of the stereotypes of the western on its head" (14:44).

• Team America: World Police: Cruz recommends the satirical film Team America, recounting a humorous misadventure where he and his wife, Heidi, watched it with her parents, leading to laughter and unexpected reactions (17:03).

• Other Notable Mentions: The duo also touches upon classics like Patton, The Sting, Awakenings, Braveheart, Gladiator, Beverly Hills Cop, Wall Street, Hidden Figures, Schindler's List, and Lone Survivor, each bringing unique personal stories and reflections (18:19 - 37:55).

---

Personal Anecdotes and Insights

Throughout the episode, both hosts delve into personal stories that intertwine with their love for films:

• Hidden Figures and Personal Legacy: Cruz shares a touching narrative about his mother's role as a "computer" at Shell and the Smithsonian, paralleling the film Hidden Figures. He narrates his legislative effort to honor these pioneering women by renaming a street near NASA headquarters to "Hidden Figures Way" (25:07 - 28:35).

• High School Theater Days: Cruz reminisces about his high school acting experiences, detailing his roles in musicals like Sound of Music and Oliver. He humorously recounts his six-month quest to master singing for the role of Fagin, ultimately securing the role of Bill Sykes despite his self-proclaimed lack of vocal prowess (32:03 - 33:52).

• Impact of Movies on Personal Life: The discussion highlights how films like Schindler's List resonate deeply with Cruz, especially in moments of reflection and personal loss, such as the end of the 2016 presidential campaign (29:01 - 30:38).

• Musical Preferences: Beyond acting, Cruz expresses his passion for Broadway, mentioning musicals like My Fair Lady, Oliver, Hamilton, and Les Misérables. He shares emotional connections to songs from Les Misérables, particularly noting how they mirrored his feelings during pivotal moments in his political career (31:00 - 36:08).

---

Notable Quotes

• Senator Ted Cruz: "My favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride." (07:00)

• Senator Ted Cruz: "Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie. There's only one right answer." (06:05)

• Senator Ted Cruz: "If you can watch that speech and not be inspired, you're dead."* – Referring to Patton (18:51)

• Senator Ted Cruz: "Hidden Figures Way is where the story of pioneering African American women who were the mathematicians that got us to the moon is honored."* (28:35)

---

Conclusion

"Reel Justice Redux" offers a compelling blend of cinema appreciation and personal storytelling, revealing the multifaceted personalities of both Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz. Their shared love for movies serves as a bridge between their professional lives and personal passions, providing listeners with an intimate glimpse into how art influences and reflects their values and experiences.

Whether you're a film enthusiast or interested in the personal side of political figures, this episode delivers rich insights and engaging conversations that underscore the power of storytelling in shaping our lives.

---

Timestamp Key:

• 07:00
• 08:40
• 10:33
• 11:10
• 14:44
• 17:03
• 18:19 - 37:55
• 25:07 - 28:35
• 32:03 - 33:52
• 29:01 - 30:38
• 31:00 - 36:08

Note: Timestamps refer to the minutes and seconds into the main content of the episode, excluding advertisements and promotional segments.

Transcript

[A]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have supervision, enhanced hearing, extraordinary reflexes? To be, dare we say, superhuman? Well, Roku's new Pro Series TV can't do any of that for you, but with a 4K screen, side firing speakers and a blazing fast refresh rate, it'll sure feel like it. Elevate your entertainment using all your favorite apps like iHeart and Play all your music, radio and podcasts with the new Roku Pro Series. Your senses aren't better. Your TV is the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions.

[B]

It's over.

[A]

Fly Eagles, fly. Celebrate the big win with the official licensed Super Bowl Champions gear available [e-mail] the Eagles win at Super Bowl 59. From jerseys to hats to must have collectibles, we've got everything you need to rep your team with pride. Don't wait, these styles won't last. Shop [e-mail] and gear up like a champion. Hello, it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on jumbaccasino.com I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba Casino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino's home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free, anytime, anywhere. So sign up [e-mail] to claim your free welcome bonus. That's chumbacasino.com and live the Chumba Life. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary VGW group void where prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply. Welcome to Verdict with Ted Cruz. This is Ted Cruz. I hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day. I hope you find the love of your life and give them a hug, give them a kiss and let them know they mean the world to you. Unfortunately, today Ben is sick in bed with a nasty flu. So rather than do our normal pod, what we're going to do is we're going to rebroadcast our Christmas Day pod. And the Christmas Day pod was one. It's one of my favorites. It recounted some of my favorite movies. Some of the movies I enjoy watching the most. I am a movie guy. I love movies. I've loved movies my whole life and so I hope today on Valentine's Day you listen to the pod, you enjoy it. Maybe go out and watch a movie and take your wife or husband or boyfriend or girlfriend and have a great time at the movies and we will see You. We'll do our regular weekend review tomorrow on Saturday, and Ben and I will both be back, God willing. And the creek don't rise on Monday morning. Enjoy.

[B]

By the way, you're a movie theater guy. Just so people know this.

[A]

Oh, I like the real theaters. I like the big screen. I like popcorn and gummy bears and, you know, the experience of being there. And by the way, I'm also rabid about staying until the very end, till the last moment of the credits play. I will not get up and leave. There's a sense of completeness, of appreciating the entirety of the, the movie. And, and so what we decided we'd do today is put together just a compilation of movies that, that I love, that I, that I recommend to you and, and, and hopefully as you're taking some time with your family, maybe you'll go watch one of them and, and laugh or cry and it'll touch you and, and you'll enjoy it. And I think art and storytelling are beautiful, beautiful things.

[B]

So with that being said, here are the big shows and the big movies on Senator Cruz's list. Merry Christmas. I get asked all the time from many of you guys that are watching or listening right now, what is Ted Cruz like behind the scenes? So we thought we'd have a little fun. I'm going to ask him some questions and you're even going to find out what his favorite movies are. Senator, we're going to have a little fun. I get asked all the time when I'm all over the country. It happened this last week in New York. So what does Ted Cruz really like behind the scenes? And I say, I actually, if people got to see the side of you that I know, you're actually really fun to be around, you're also a huge movie buff as well. And so I'm gonna ask some fun questions just to kinda let people know behind the curtain who you really are. So let's start with this. What is the last thing you watched on a plane?

[A]

What is the last thing I watched on a plane was Outer Banks, which is a series. It's a Teeny Bopper series and it's phenomenal. I am in the middle of season three and there's a reason I'm watching a Teeny Bopper series, which is my youngest daughter, Katherine loves Outer Banks. She's at camp right now. And when I dropped her off at camp, she said, dad, I want you to watch Outer Banks and I want you to write to me in letters and tell me what you think as the season's progressing. And so I've been regularly, I write to her about every couple of days and I tell her, okay, here's where I am. I'm at this point, I'm at this point, this character just died.

[B]

Who's your favorite character?

[A]

Jb? John Danby.

[B]

Yeah, mine too. No doubt about it.

[A]

So she asked me that. I'm a little troubled. Her favorite character is jj, who is kind of a. Look, I guess if you're a 13 year old girl, he's, you know, he's always doing the dumbest thing imaginable, but he's kind of a. I like John B. John B. Is a good character.

[B]

It's such a fun show. So when you were growing up, what was it that you were watching? High school. College.

[A]

By the way, spoiler alert. I apologize if you haven't seen it. I'm gonn give a spoiler alert right now. So just fast forward through this if you don't want a spoiler alert. But in season two, when, when, when Ward has blown. Blown up. I knew Ward was not blown up. And so I wrote her, I said, yeah, Ward just died. I'm very confident he's alive. And I remembered they keep scuba gear in the boat. He got in the scuba gear. And then like seven episodes, like Encyclopedia.

[B]

Brown books, remember those? You got to figure it out. And you're like, they got to keep this. They got to keep the series going.

[A]

So I felt pretty good that I was at least a step ahead of the Teeny Bopper series.

[B]

I like that. So what were you watching in high school? Like, what were your favorite shows? What was your favorite movie growing up? Growing up?

[A]

So I love movies. My parents love movies. Like we would, you know, this is what we do. So every holiday, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, my family would go out and watch movies.

[B]

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

[A]

Of course it is.

[B]

Okay, good.

[A]

Absolutely. Yes. There's only one right answer.

[B]

Okay, good.

[A]

Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie. But we would go out and do movies when I was a kid, when I was like 8, 9 years old, my dad would drop me off at the theater all Saturday and I'd watch like five movies. I'd go from one theater to the next to the next and just watch everything there. It's. We all love movies. So what I've done done today for this show is I put together a list of 25 movies. Now, this is not exclusive. This is not the only 25 movies I like. And. And I don't even know that it's my 25 favorite. But it's 25 awesome movies, which, if you haven't watched, I recommend you watch. You will enjoy them, you will laugh, you will be moved. You will get good things from them. So let's go through the 25.

[B]

Well, I got to ask one more question for you. 25. What movie have you watched the most in your life over and over again?

[A]

Well, that actually happens to be number one on the list.

[B]

I knew it. I like this.

[A]

So. So my favorite movie of all time is the Princess Bride.

[B]

Really?

[A]

I. I love the Princess Bride. The Prince. I think every character in it is exquisite. Every line from every character is fantastic. I'll tell you, in college, we used to play a game called Drinking Princess Bride. And so the way you play Drinking Princess Bride is you sit down with a bunch of college kids, you put the movie on, and you try to say each line immediately before it's said. If you get it right, you point at somebody, they have to drink. If you screw it up even slightly, you drink. And if two or more people say the same line at the same time, everybody drinks. So when you get to the as.

[B]

You Wishes, that's why you were so sober in college. Now I understand it.

[A]

Look, when you get to the as yous Wishes, yeah, everyone can get them. So they're all socials, and it is a fun game. My problem is I know just about every line from the movie, but I'll screw them up slightly, so I end up kind of getting myself. Cause I try an awful lot of them. But it is an exquisite movie. I probably watched the Princess Bride, I don't know, a couple hundred times.

[B]

No way.

[A]

Yeah, it is fantastic.

[B]

So that's number one on your list.

[A]

Far and away. Number two on my list is the Godfather saga.

[B]

Couldn't agree with you more. One of the best series ever made, period.

[A]

And I'm not gonna break it down between 1, 2, and 3. I even like 3, which is a bit of a heretical idea. I think three stands on its own as its own movie. The least that three only makes sense in conjunction with one and two, which.

[B]

Is when you're in the club. I kind of like that. Like, you can't fake it and go see number three and think, oh, that was incredible. You have to be in it.

[A]

And look, I quote all of them all the time, you know, from three. Every time I get out, they keep pulling me back in. I will say it was a little depressing with my team where I turned. You know, Senate staffers are all children. You Know, your average.

[B]

You should put that on a T shirt.

[A]

Your average Senate staffer is like, 23, 24, 25. So things like Godfather quotes, they just don't get. And so I said something. I said, this is the business we have chosen. And everyone looked at me confused, and I said, okay. I had, like, six staffers there. I said, all right. Do any of you have any idea what I'm saying? They're all like, no, no, no. I said, okay, this is Godfather 2. And this is a conversation between Hyman Roth, who is clearly modeled after Meyer Lansky, Hyman Roth, and Michael Corleone. And they're down in Miami. And Hyman Roth goes, Michael. I had a friend. I had a friend since childhood. Mo Green was his name. And one day, somebody put a bullet in his eye. I did not ask who was responsible. I did not seek retribution. I said, this is the business we have chosen. None of them had any idea what I was talking about.

[B]

Team building night in the Senate. You should totally bring them in. One, two, and three.

[A]

Just nine hours. We're. Sit down.

[B]

This is what you're going to do. That's Team Building 101.

[A]

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday.

[B]

All right. Favorite line from any of the Godfathers. The best one. Mine's the cannoli.

[A]

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

[B]

Yeah, no brainer. Number three on your list.

[A]

Scarface.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Oh, I love me some Scarface.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Notice Pacino has two spots in my top three. I like Pacino. Okay. I love crime movies. And look, Scarface. Tony Montana. He's Cuban. I'm Cuban. It's, you know, it is larger than life. I can quote a lot of lines from it, to be honest, I'm not going to because they're pretty off color. And I'm going to avoid putting out on the podcast some of the language from. From it. But it is so crime genre is your thing. And I like Pacino.

[B]

Yeah, he's amazing.

[A]

So my favorite TV show is Criminal Minds. I love Criminal Minds.

[B]

I'm actually shocked by that one, because if there was only one box that I could take with me my whole life, like, if I was stuck on a desert island, it'd be West Wing.

[A]

West Wing is fabulous. I've watched every episode of West Wing. I've watched every episode of Criminal Minds. But Criminal Minds is. I just find it fascinating. Heidi hates it, by the way, when Criminal Minds is on, she's like, turn that garbage off. Because, you know, you've got evil, vicious murderers. I'm like, no, no. They're the bad guys, though, it's all about stopping them. But she just doesn't like that in the house. All right, number four, Fletch.

[B]

Never seen it.

[A]

You've never seen Fletch?

[B]

Never in my life.

[A]

Go home tonight.

[B]

What's it about?

[A]

And watch Fletch. It may be the funniest movie ever made.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Chevy Chase plays Irwin Fletcher, an undercover investigative reporter. It is absolutely hysterical. You know, I love Chevy Chase.

[B]

So that's. That's.

[A]

It's Chevy Chase's best movie.

[B]

No way.

[A]

Much better. Much better than. Than Lampoon's Vacation. Much better than. And he's done a ton. I love Chevy Chase, but Fletch is head and shoulders above them all. You know, Grant, who heads up my security detail. Grant and I quote Fletch lines back and forth at each other every week. Really hit. Go and watch the movie.

[B]

I've never seen it.

[A]

It is spectacular.

[B]

All right, Fletch. I'm on it.

[A]

All right, number five, Amazing Grace.

[B]

Also never seen it.

[A]

A lot of people have not seen it, but it is a very good. It is the true story of William Wilberforce. Now, William Wilberforce was a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom who led the effort to abolish the slave trade.

[B]

Very cool. Is it a true story?

[A]

It's a true story.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And Wilberforce, So when he started as a young mp, the slave trade was the United Kingdom's single greatest source of revenue. It was their business. And he begins as this young MP arguing, we must end the slave trade. It is wrong. It is immoral, and everyone laughs at him. And it would be like if you were in Texas standing up saying, we should ban oil and gas.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, it was that absurd of.

[B]

An idea back then.

[A]

And he spends 50 years battling for it. And the movie ends with him successfully championing and passing the legislation abolishing the slave trade and shutting down their most lucrative business because it was evil. And by the way, the title, Amazing Grace, do you know where it comes from?

[B]

What?

[A]

So the person who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace was a friar who had been the former captain of a slave ship.

[B]

Really?

[A]

He was the captain of a slave ship. And think of the words of the song Amazing Grace. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now am found Was blind but now I see. And imagine the person writing that in that context was the captain of a slave ship. Presumably, he had murdered people. He had beaten people. He had whipped people. I mean, you think of the evil entailed in being the captain of a slave ship. And then the amazing grace that God offered redemption even in the face of the horrific evil. It puts a whole different character. The book is by Eric Metaxas, who's a fantastic author, Christian author, does great biographies. I highly recommend Amazing Grace, number six, Unforgiven.

[B]

Never seen it.

[A]

Oh, Unforgiven is.

[B]

This is why it makes me laugh when we get to do shows like this. Because, I mean, I will go watch these now.

[A]

Okay. So Unforgiven, best Western ever made, won the Academy Award for best picture. Clint Eastwood is in it.

[B]

I could do an age joke here. Was it in black and white?

[A]

No, no, no, no. It was actually lade Eastwood. You were actually out of diapers when it came out.

[B]

Okay, gotcha.

[A]

Morgan Freeman is in it. Gene Hackman is in it. Gene Hackman is spectacular. What's interesting about Unforgiven that is so powerful is it turns all of the stereotypes of the western on its head. So, for example, Clint Eastwood plays this outlaw who had turned over a good leaf and was good and then was going back, gets hired. What happens is a woman who is a prostitute is badly cut up by a drunk cowboy, and they put out a reward to kill the cowboy who cut her up. And Clint Eastwood, as this retired outlaw, needs the money and so is coming to collect the reward. And Morgan Freeman, his partner, comes with him. But there's a point where Clint Eastwood, you know, there's a young kid who wants to be a gunslinger and he's like, practicing on shooting fast. And like Clint Eastwood says, well, you know, for me, this is about as fast as I can draw my gun, point it, aim at it, pull the trigger, and hit what I'm aiming at. And he said, in most firefights, people are scared out of their mind, and they're just terrified. And whoever can kind of calmly engage is who wins. And there's scenes where, like, everyone's like, oh, crap. And they shoot their foot and they drop their gun and they're like, freaking out. And he kind of. And he would just get drunk and just sort of systematically bang. And really did invert many of the conventional wisdom of being a fast draw and everything else. And Gene Hackman's character is hysterical. It is. He's the sheriff who initially you think might be the hero, but he very quickly becomes an anti hero. So excellent movie. Number eight, Team America.

[B]

I've actually seen it. Hilarious. Okay.

[A]

And I'm going a little edgy. So Team America. Team America, World police. It's a puppet movie.

[B]

I remember when it came out and everybody was in shock, but I was dying laughing.

[A]

So Heidi doesn't like movies very much. I took Heidi to see it. She almost fell to the floor laughing.

[B]

So she. Y'all clicked on that one.

[A]

It is screamingly funny now. It makes fun of both sides. It makes fun of Republicans, Democrats, everybody. It's the guys who do south park who did is puppets.

[B]

They are truly equal opportunity offenders.

[A]

It is now I'm gonna give a warning. Every third word is a profanity. If you are offended by profanity, skip this suggestion. I will say, when we were fairly newlyweds, we went on vacation with Heidi's parents down at Lake Powell, which is fabulous. And we brought it with us, and we sort of like Heidi. And I remember this is really, really funny. And I think we didn't quite remember that every third word is a profanity. And I'm sitting there with Heidi's parents as we're listening to Blinkety Blink Blink Blink blink blink. We didn't finish the movie. Like, 10 minutes into it. We just.

[B]

Heidi, I can't believe you brought this in front of your parents.

[A]

Right? Yeah, yeah, it was. But it's still funny as. I'll get it. All right, next movie. Patton.

[B]

Yep. Amazing, amazing movie. I've watched Patton probably five, six times in my life.

[A]

All right, do you know what I did before every Supreme Court argument I ever did?

[B]

I can figure it out now. You watch Patton.

[A]

Not the whole thing.

[B]

Just which scene.

[A]

The opening speech. Okay, yeah, just the opening speech. George C. Scott in front of the gigantic flag, standing up and saying, men, the objective is not to give your life for your country. The objective is to make that other poor son of a bitch give his life for his country. I mean, I can dig that.

[B]

I can dig that.

[A]

It is sound advice. If you can watch that speech and not be inspired, you're dead. Yeah, like it is.

[B]

See, those are my weakness movies. I love true stories. I love good versus evil movies. I absolutely love sports movies as well. But there's always usually a big speech in those.

[A]

By the way, a buddy of mine collects historical military equipment and clothing and uniforms, and he has Patton's dog tags.

[B]

No way.

[A]

And I actually have worn Patton's dog tags. They have rested on my bare chest, and I literally felt like I was ready to pull out a pistol and start shooting in an airplane. Like it made you. You think about that? That actually rested right above the heart of Patton.

[B]

That's incredible.

[A]

Pretty wild.

[B]

That's A good thing to own.

[A]

All right, next movie. The Sting. Classic. Have you seen the Sting? No. You've never seen the Sting?

[B]

I don't even know what it's about.

[A]

Oh, oh, Benjamin, Benjamin, Benjamin. The Sting. All time classic. Robert Redford, Paul Newman. They're con man. It is.

[B]

This is when I could really mess with. Wait, Newman does something outside of like salsa.

[A]

It is hysterical. It is beautifully done. Go and watch it.

[B]

And what's it about?

[A]

It's about con men and it's worth watching. I probably watched it a hundred times. It's such a good movie. All right, next movie. Awakenings.

[B]

Yes, I've seen that.

[A]

So awesome. So Awakenings is fabulous. Robert De Niro.

[B]

You're a De Niro fan?

[A]

I like De Niro a lot. Not a fan of his politics, but a big fan of his acting. He's a great actor, although as much De Niro got all the acclaim, but I actually thought Robin Williams stole the show.

[B]

Well, I love Robin Williams, so this is right up my alley.

[A]

Robin Williams is one of my all time favorite actors ever. I mean, he's an incredible comedic actor.

[B]

So you're gonna laugh. I was asked the question, if you could have dinner with like any five people who would be at your table living or alive or dead. I had Robin Williams for years in my list because I think he's just one of the most brilliant actors and genuinely funny human beings.

[A]

So when Robin Williams passed, I genuinely cried and I wrote a long statement about Robin Williams on Facebook that I put up and it just. I hammered it out on my iPad because he is so funny. His stand up. If you've ever watched his stand up routine on golf. Oh, I've watched the one on golf. Is again, profane language, warning, but as funny as anything that has ever been said. Like screamingly funny Awakenings. The portrayal he gives. I actually like Robin Williams even better in dramatic performances than comedy. And he's one of the funniest human beings ever alive. So Awakening put it on the list. Yes. Fabulous. All right, the next two I view together, Braveheart and Gladiator.

[B]

Both amazing. No brainers.

[A]

Incredible.

[B]

Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, right? Yes, back to back. How can you get that wrong?

[A]

And both standing and fighting and fighting against oppression and their epic, epic movies. Again, if you're not inspired by them, you're dead. Yeah, I will say Mike Lee, there's an app where you can put yourself you speaking into an audio clip. And he and I used to send things back and forth and you know, at the end when, when Mel Gibson is being executed. He screams freedom. So Mike would send me videos of him screaming to Mel Gibson's voice. Freedom. It was pretty powerful. All right, next. Beverly Hills Cop.

[B]

Hands down, one of the funniest movies ever.

[A]

Just screamingly funny. Eddie Murphy, you're laugh.

[B]

I consider that a Christmas movie because it's like days off. I want to watch the classic. I watch that.

[A]

It is every moment of it. Eddie Murphy remains one of my favorite actors of all times. I love it.

[B]

He's got a new one coming out, a sequel coming out on Amazon. I think it's on Amazon Prime. Did you see that recently? I just saw it this last week. I don't know which one it was, but they were teasing it.

[A]

Yes, yes. They're doing a Beverly Hills Cop 2.

[B]

Okay, is that what it is?

[A]

Or 3? Yeah, but look, the original Beverly Hills Cop is screamingly funny. And I actually have three Eddie Murphy movies in a row because I love Eddie Murphy. Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And Coming to America.

[B]

So Coming to America was one of the first movies. It was like really edgy that I remember like in my adolescence seeing hilarious again.

[A]

Screamingly funny. And Eddie Murphy and Arsenio hall and they play multiple characters and all of the different, you know, in the barbershop, when you have Eddie Murphy and Arsenio hall going back and forth, I mean, it's amazing. And you know what? They probably wouldn't let you make that movie today.

[B]

No, they would not.

[A]

It gets racially edgy in a way that like now you know the woke world. No, no, no.

[B]

You can't laugh about it.

[A]

No, no, no, no, you can't. You can't. You can't have any of that humor, by the way. You want funny humor, go back to young Eddie Murphy on SNL when he was like 19 years old. Brilliant and edgy and just edgy. Comedic like brilliance. I love. He's by far my favorite character ever on snl, Young Eddie Murphy. Because it was just so funny.

[B]

I like it. Mine's Farley, by the way.

[A]

Look, he was great and he put his hole into it.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you know, I. I.

[A]

Also love Fat man in a little jacket.

[B]

It's unbelievable. That man down by the river, I mean. But I also love like comedy when there's people falling over and he could do that. His physical comedy was really incredible.

[A]

Yep. All right, next on the list, Wall Street.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Just all time Gordon Gekko. One of the great all time classics. By the way, a line that I quote frequently. Gordon Gekko is, is in the locker room getting cleaned up after playing. Playing Ra. And he turns to Charlie Sheen and he goes, I'm on the board of the Bronx Zoo. Cost me a million bucks. That's the thing about wasps. Love animals, hate people. There's some insight there.

[B]

There is some insight there for sure.

[A]

Hidden Figures.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Wonderful movie. Incredible movie about the African American female mathematicians who were foundational to America going to the moon. And for me, there are two kind of personal reasons why that movie is significant to me.

[B]

One, it's gotta be because of Houston.

[A]

Well, when we went to see the movie, I took my mother to the movie. I took Heidi to the movie. I took both my daughters to the movie. And it was interesting. My girls, it was the first time they'd seen a movie that had segregation.

[B]

Yeah. The bathroom is one of the most iconic scenes in that whole movie.

[A]

And it led to. I had a long conversation with both of them, and they were like, well, why would people have done that? And to talk about segregation and civil rights and just sort of walk through the history of it. It prompted really good conversations with my girls. But secondly, so my mom. My mom graduated from Rice in 1956, and she had a math degree, and she went to work as a computer programmer at Shell. She subsequently went to work at the Smithsonian. And you remember the movie Hidden Figures begins with Sputnik being launched, sort of the space race being beginning. One of my mother's first assignments at the Smithsonian was to help compute the orbits of Sputnik. And so in front of the girls, I asked my mom, I said, mom, you were doing this. And in fact, you were doing it 10 years earlier. You were doing it in the 50s. Hidden Figures is set in the 60s. And I said, how accurate is it? And my mother thought it was very accurate, that it did a really good job of conveying what it was like to be a woman in space and science and a technical environment. And I commented to her, I said, okay, one of the strange things to a more modern ear is that they referred to the women there as computers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And we think of a computer as a piece of metal, but they were.

[B]

Actually called computers because they were actually doing the math.

[A]

And my mother started laughing at me. And she said her first job title was computer. And when she started at Shell, she had a business card that said, eleanor Darrah, Computer, no way. And so in response to that, I introduced legislation to rename the street in front of NASA headquarters Hidden Figures Way. And this is actually a really cool story. I introduced that legislation before it could Pass. And we would have gotten it passed, but a D.C. city councilman saw that legislation and said, you know what? That's a great idea. And the D.C. city Councilman introduced it in the D.C. city Council. The guy's a Democrat.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he got it passed. So the D.C. city Council passes it.

[B]

That's cool.

[A]

So I went to the street sign dedication, and that is the street sign there. And I was there. I spoke at the dedication.

[B]

And where is it?

[A]

It is the headquarters of NASA in D.C. okay, cool. And so NASA, the address of NASA is one hidden figures way. So I spoke at the dedication. The D.C. city Councilman spoke, and he's a Democrat, I'm a Republican. And I told the story of my mom, which was really cool to get to tell. And I said, look, at some level, you might say, listen, a street sign's not that big a deal.

[B]

That one is.

[A]

But at another level, 50 years from now, 100 years from now, some little girl, some little boy is going to come visit NASA and they're going to look up and see the street sign, and they're going to say, hey, what does that mean?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're going to hear the story of the pioneering African American women who were the mathematicians that got us to the moon. And so it's where movies and stories are powerful.

[B]

Did any of the characters of the movie, did any of them get to come to that?

[A]

They had passed by the time we did that. So no. All right, we just got a few more.

[B]

Schindler's List, one of the hardest movies to watch.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

The other one is that I can. I've only watched it one time. Cause I just can't bring myself to watch it again. Is Lone Survivor. Those two movies to me are must sees. But I just. I don't know if it's because I've become a dad and having kids now and watching the kids, I just can't watch them like I used to.

[A]

So, as you know, a couple of weeks ago, I was at normandy for the 80th anniversary of D Day. And wildly enough, I got to meet Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, which was really cool. And I had pretty extended conversations with both of them. And they've done. Look, their politics are both left of center, but they've done an amazing job, really honoring and telling the stories of the greatest generation, whether Saving Private Ryan, whether Band of Brothers, whether the Pacific. And so we're talking about that. And I was talking with Spielberg about Schindler's List and just, you know, talking with the heroes The World War II heroes, who almost all say, well, I could have done more. I could have done more. And the real heroes are under those crosses behind us. And I was telling Spielberg, I said, hearing them say that reminds me of the end of Schindler's List, where Oskar Schindler is like, I could have done more. And he looks down at his gold watch and he said, this watch. This watch could have saved three more people. Three more people are dead because I kept my watch. And you think about the heroism of his rescuing Jews from the Nazis and the incredible courage, but at the same time, the like, why didn't I do even more? And that, to me, is the most beautiful moment of that movie, is the.

[B]

Sort of, Did I do enough?

[A]

Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna take a detour. A detour to the world of musicals. So I like musicals.

[B]

Do you like Broadway?

[A]

I do. I love Broadway. Absolutely.

[B]

So, like you, if you go to New York, you would put it on your list to go see a show.

[A]

I love Broadway. And I'm gonna have four musicals on here.

[B]

I'm ready.

[A]

So number one is my father's favorite movie of all time, which is My Fair Lady.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And My Fair lady is fantastic.

[B]

I've seen it because of my mom, my sister, multiple times.

[A]

Teach the English.

[B]

I've never watched outside of it.

[A]

Teach children how to speak Norwegians. Learn Norwegians. The Greeks are taught they're Greek.

[B]

See, this is why I said this show would be entertaining, because I would have never thought you were musical.

[A]

Oh, it is spectacular.

[B]

Favorite Broadway show you've ever been to.

[A]

I'm gonna get to that.

[B]

Okay, go ahead.

[A]

I'm gonna get to that. So the second one there is Oliver.

[B]

Yep. Great.

[A]

Oliver is spectacular. So, look, I was in high school. I was president the drama club.

[B]

I have way too many one liners, but I'll leave that for another show.

[A]

Keep going. You were captain of the tennis team. I was president of the drama club. Okay, I get that there's a reason why you would have stuck me in the locker if that would have.

[B]

That would have gotten you a smackdown for sure.

[A]

Yeah, but. So look, I. All politicians are frustrated actors. It's just part of the. It is.

[B]

Did you act in high school?

[A]

Oh, yes. A lot.

[B]

What were you in?

[A]

So I did.

[B]

Do we have eight tracks of this or what was it?

[A]

Beta cam there? They may be somewhere. Okay, so let's see. I've done Sound of Music twice.

[B]

What'd you play?

[A]

So I played. The first time I played Rolf.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and I warbled out. You are 16 going on 17.

[B]

No way.

[A]

And then the second time I played Max.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I also. So I did Oliver, and Oliver's a fabulous.

[B]

It's a classic. Yeah.

[A]

So Oliver was my senior year, and the head of the music department told me, hey, we're doing Oliver next year. And. And he said, you know, I'd love to have you play Fagan if you can sing it. And my curse. Look, I am a terrible singer. I cannot carry you to save my in a bucket like, I wish I could. I have singing.

[B]

You were not given that. Neither was I.

[A]

And so I actually went and for like, six months, I took voice lessons to try to get. Be able to sing. Fagan is such a.

[B]

Did you get any better in the six months?

[A]

A little bit, yeah. And so what happened? And the nice thing about Fagan is Fagan's songs are more spoken than sang. So, for example, the song. Reviewing the situation. A man's got a heart, hasn't he? Joking apart, hasn't he? And though I'd be the first to admit that I wasn't a saint I'm finding it hard to be really as bad.

[B]

So you're gonna see your dad next time. I'm gonna say, those six months is worth it now. Right.

[A]

I'm reviewing the situation Can a fellow be a villain all his life?

[B]

All the trials I Now I'm not worried about that. You retire. I know it better.

[A]

Settle down and get myself a wife and you remember it. Wife will cook and sew for you and come for you and go for you and go for you and nag at you the finger she will wag.

[B]

At you how many tickets they sell for this is what I really want to know.

[A]

So I prepared that song was one. Now it's mostly spoken. It's not really. So I could do it marginally, competently after six months practicing. I did that at the tryout.

[B]

What did he say?

[A]

And then afterwards, music director said, hey, Ted, stick around. And he went to the piano and he said, sing this. And he went. And I went. And he did it like, three times. He goes, okay.

[B]

Like, damn it, not happening.

[A]

So I was cast as Bill Sykes. It's the second male lead with no singing. Yeah, it's a fun role. You're the villain. You get to, like, beat up Oliver Twist and, like, you're. But. But I wanted to play. I wanted to play that role badly. And. And I did not get it. All right. Two more musicals. Hamilton, which is utterly exquisite. I've seen it multiple times. It is brilliant. It is beautiful. It is powerful. My girls know the songs. There are few things that make me happier than when my daughters are singing songs from Hamilton. I mean, it was. There was a period where they were obsessed with it.

[B]

You and I were talking about this the other day. My dad. I took him to New York for the first time ever for his 70th birthday. And I. And you said, did you go see a. And I was like, do you want to see Hamilton? He's like, I'd rather go to the Yankees game. And then the next night, I was like, would you say I'd rather have a nice meal? I tried hard. I tried to get him to Hamilton. It just wasn't on the list.

[A]

And then my favorite music of all time is Les Mis.

[B]

Really?

[A]

And I love Les Mis. I. I think.

[B]

Do you get choked up? Be honest. Because I'm a sucker for those.

[A]

I get the lump in the throat choked up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, so what song gets you choked up?

[B]

Oh, the one. The most famous. I'm terrible with it. It's the one that. Anne Hathaway does it so good.

[A]

Oh. And she won the Academy Award for it.

[B]

Every time. It gets me.

[A]

So that is beautiful. I'll tell you, the two that get me choked up are number one, when John Valjean is saying, let him live.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And he's looking down and he says, you know, if I die, that one's incredible. Let me die. Yeah, let him live. And it's a prayer to God to let him live every time. I have tears every time. And the other one that gets me is the song Empty Chairs and empty Tables at the end, when everyone has died. And I will confess, at the end of the presidential campaign in 2016, as I walked through the empty campaign office and I saw the empty chairs and empty tables, I heard the frames of that song. So Les Mis is exquisite. All right. By the way, when I was. All right. So 1993, I was just finished my first year of law school, and I had a job in New York. I was working a law firm in New York for the summer, and I decided to fly my mom to New York for the weekend. And so it's 1993. So I actually FedExed a plane ticket. And this is back when a plane ticket was a piece of cardboard. Yeah, I FedExed a plane ticket to her with nothing else. It was literally. She opened the FedEx package and just a plane ticket to New York fell out. And she called me, and she's like, ted, I assume this is You. I said, yeah. I had no note, no nothing. Just a plane ticket and the FedEx thing.

[B]

Get on the plane. I'll see you soon, Mom.

[A]

So I flew her to New York, and we went out to dinner at Boulay, which at the time was the nicest restaurant in New York. Was fabulous. And then I took her one night to see Camelot, which was really fun. And then the next night to see Les Biscuits.

[B]

And did she love it?

[A]

She loved it. And. And it. I.

[B]

That's one of those ironed memories for us, life.

[A]

Yeah. No, no, that. That was just very cool to go do that. All right, so we have a total of three more. I'm gonna say the Magnificent Seven.

[B]

Incredible. Watched it 10 times.

[A]

The original one.

[B]

Yes. With my dad.

[A]

All right, all right.

[B]

That's like, in my dad's. Like, I grew up on John Wayne and war movies.

[A]

Yeah. Like Magnificent Seven.

[B]

And that was like. I remember watching.

[A]

Other than Unforgiven, Magnificent Seven is the greatest Western. That's actually originally at a Western. Unforgiven was of a modern remake format. But Magnificent Seven, exquisite with, you know, Yul Brenner and. And Charles Bronson and. And that was the Coburn.

[B]

Oh. When mom was out of town, that was one of the movies we watched.

[A]

Oh, it was so good. It's. It's a fabulous movie. And then I'm gonna end with two. Quentin Tarantino.

[B]

Is it the Inglorious Bastards? Is that where we're going with this?

[A]

So I'm gonna start with Pulp Fiction.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Which is fantastic. And then the last one is Inglourious Baster.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And I feel bad that I left Reservoir Dogs off, because Reservoir Dogs is exquisite, too. But the other one, if you made me pick two, I go with Pulp Fiction and Inglourious. Inglourious Basterds is a spectacular movie. So that's 25 movies, which, if you've got some downtime, download them, watch them. You will enjoy them. You will laugh. You will be moved. You will be.

[B]

And send your critiques on Twitter. We'll take them. And let me ask you one other question. If you could only take one movie and one TV series to a desert island with you, what would you pick? Only one movie and only one TV series. That's all you got to watch.

[A]

The Princess Bride and Criminal Minds.

[B]

There you go. That's it. Yeah, I like it. See, now we know a little bit more about you. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Every once in a while, we get to do something fun. Like this. So make sure you hit that subscribe or auto download button and the Senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.

[A]

Step into the world of power, loyalty and luck. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. With Cannolis and spins mean everything. Now you want to get mixed up in the family business? Introducing the [e-mail] test your luck in the shadowy world of the Godfather slot. Someday I will call upon you to do a service for me. Play the Godfather [e-mail] Welcome to the family. No purchase necessary. VGW Group Void we're prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply. On Saturday, February 22nd at 1:30pm Eastern.

[B]

It'S the Pro Volleyball Federation's first All Star match. The league's biggest stars will clash in.

[A]

A can't miss event hosted in the Indy metro area, home of the Indie Ignite. Catch every serve, spike and save live on cbs. Don't miss this historic showdown of volleyball's.

[B]

Finest, the Pro Volleyball Federation all star.

[A]

Match on February 22 at 1:30pm Be there. Did you know you can now buy a Hyundai on Amazon, the same place where you order yoga mats, a toothbrush and pretty much everything else, all from the comfort of your home? Just locate a nearby dealer, pick your color, your options, check the price, and with a few dotting of some I's and crossing of some T's, voila, your Hyundai is ready for pickup. It's that easy. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details. Pick up through a participating Hyundai dealer in select markets.