‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘Friendship,’ and the Top Five Movie Friends

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Big Picture – ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘Friendship,’ and the Top Five Movie Friends

Episode Details:

• Title: The Big Picture
• Host/Author: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, The Ringer
• Description: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review essential movies, engage in Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more, featuring contributions from Ringer colleagues like Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, and Bill Simmons.
• Episode: ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘Friendship,’ and the Top Five Movie Friends
• Release Date: May 28, 2025

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1. Cannes Film Festival Highlights

At the beginning of the episode, Sean and Amanda touch upon the recent Cannes Film Festival, discussing the distribution strategies and award outcomes.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean [02:28]: "We talked about Cannes last Friday. We hadn't seen any of the films we did not attend."
• Amanda [03:17]: "Neon extends its record to six straight Palme d' Ors."
• Sean [03:45]: "The jury prizes went to Seurat, which is a Spanish film directed by Oliver Lacks. It looks awesome."

They delve into how Neon, a distributor, manages to secure prestigious awards without directly funding the films, highlighting their strategic acquisitions. The hosts express excitement about upcoming films like "Sentimental Value" by Joachim Trier and discuss the implications of Netflix acquiring Richard Linklater’s "Nouvelle Vague."

Key Points:

• Neon's Success: Neon continues its streak with six consecutive Palme d' Or wins, mainly through strategic acquisitions.
• Award Winners: "Sentimental Value" wins the Grand Prix, while "Seurat" and "Sound of Falling" also receive jury prizes.
• Netflix Acquisition: Netflix's acquisition of "Nouvelle Vague" marks their third consecutive Linklater film, emphasizing their commitment to high-quality cinema.

2. Box Office Analysis: 'Lilo & Stitch' Live-Action Remake

Sean and Amanda extensively analyze the unexpected box office success of Disney’s live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch," which grossed $183 million domestically in its opening weekend.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean [10:21]: "This movie might end up becoming one of the highest-grossing live-action Disney movies of all time."
• Amanda [11:39]: "I do have a less nostalgia-based theory which is just that Memorial Day is weirdly early this year."

They hypothesize that the film's success is driven by nostalgia, with millennials revisiting a beloved childhood movie alongside their children. Additionally, an unusually early Memorial Day weekend contributed to higher attendance, as opposed to typical travel plans disrupted by poor weather.

Key Points:

• Nostalgia Factor: The remake appeals to millennials who have fond memories of the original and are now introducing it to their children.
• Timing: An early Memorial Day weekend with poor weather conditions likely kept people closer to home, boosting theater attendance.
• Box Office Projection: With potential to reach $400 million in the U.S., "Lilo & Stitch" is poised to become a major success for Disney's live-action remakes.

3. Discussion on 'Friendship'

The hosts shift focus to "Friendship," a new comedy from Andrew DeYoung starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. They explore the film's portrayal of midlife struggles and the complexities of forming new friendships.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean [47:40]: "Friendship is a new comedy from Andrew DeYoung. Tim Robinson has become a beloved comic figure."
• Amanda [47:40]: "This was a durational experience for me, but which I think is actually part of the art."

Sean praises Tim Robinson’s unique comedic style, which blends absurdity with deep psychological insights. Amanda appreciates the film's structure, likening it to a series of sketches that effectively explore the protagonist's social struggles.

Key Points:

• Tim Robinson's Performance: Robinson brings a discomfiting and psychologically nuanced humor to the character of Craig.
• Film Structure: "Friendship" uses a sketch-like format to delve into the awkwardness and desperation of midlife friendships.
• Themes: The movie explores the difficulties of forming new connections, especially for individuals with established families and careers.

4. Top Five Movie Friendships

Sean and Amanda curate a list of top movie friendships, highlighting diverse and influential pairs that showcase different dynamics and depths of friendship.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean [66:11]: "My number one is of course, Elliot and E.T. from the film E.T."
• Amanda [65:48]: "Mine is Frances and Sophie from Frances. Ha. And this movie is a lot of ways in about how they're very close friends and roommates."

Top Five Movie Friendships:

1. Elliot and E.T. ("E.T.")

   • Description: A heartfelt bond between a young boy and an extraterrestrial seeking to return home.
   • Quote: Sean [66:11]: "It's about a friend who needs another friend in a moment, but ultimately, if you love someone, let them go."

2. Frances and Sophie ("Frances Ha")

   • Description: The evolving friendship between two women navigating their personal and professional lives.
   • Quote: Amanda [74:05]: "They like practice kissing together and maybe if they were older..."

3. Will and Chucky ("Good Will Hunting")

   • Description: The deep, complex friendship between a troubled genius and his loyal friend.
   • Quote: Amanda [80:09]: "It's a nice idea of friendship. Of knowing that you're wanting the best for your friend."

4. Danny and Rusty ("Ocean's Eleven")

   • Description: A seamless partnership between two con artists planning a major heist.
   • Quote: Amanda [70:57]: "They are together, they understand each other, they don't have to speak the things."

5. Julio and Tenoche ("I TU Ma También")

   • Description: The transformative friendship between two men on a spiritual journey.
   • Quote: Sean [73:30]: "They have something shared where they have this slightly kind of punk edge."

5. Final Thoughts and Light Banter

Towards the end of the episode, Sean and Amanda engage in light-hearted conversations about their personal experiences, including a visit to the zoo and observations about wildlife interactions. They also touch upon their differing views on dentistry, injecting humor into their discussion.

Notable Quotes:

• Amanda [81:47]: "I think that preventative dentistry is a scam invented to make money."
• Sean [84:46]: "I saw the movie was quite nice. Even though it has a terrible reputation. I thought there was something actually beautiful about it."

Key Points:

• Personal Anecdotes: The hosts share amusing stories from their lives, such as encounters with wildlife and their perspectives on everyday topics.
• Humor and Relatability: These segments provide a break from the structured discussions, showcasing the hosts' chemistry and sense of humor.

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Conclusion: This episode of "The Big Picture" offers a multifaceted exploration of current films, their performance in the box office, and the timeless theme of friendship in cinema. Through insightful analysis, engaging discussions, and memorable quotes, Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins provide listeners with a comprehensive overview of what makes these films resonate with audiences.

Transcript

[Rob Harvilla]

Look, it's not that confusing. I'm Rob Harvilla, host of the podcast 60 Songs that Explain the 90s. Except we did 120 songs and now we're back with the 2000s. I refuse to say aughts. 2000 to 2009. The Strokes, Rihanna, JLo, Kanye. Sure. And now the show is called 60 Songs that Explain the 90s. Colon, the 2000s. Wow, that's too long a title for me to say. Anything else right now, Just trust me. That's 60 songs that explain the 90s. Cole in the 2000s preference, preferably on Spotify. This episode is brought to you by the Dark Ages ID Software presents the Dark Ages, a dark fantasy sci fi shooter that delivers searing combat and over the top visuals in an epic cinematic story worthy of the Doom Slayer's legend. Dominate demon infested battlefields with bone crunching. Tools of mayhem. Take flight atop the fierce mecha dragon or pummel enemies in a 30 story Atlan mech. Stand and fight on Xbox Series X&S, PlayStation 5 and PC. Available now. Rated M for mature. This episode is brought to you by the Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card. This is an ad for the Active Cash credit card from Wells Fargo. That's a mouthful, but that's because it packs a lot in. Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with it, big or small. So whether it's buying tickets to the game with your mom or grabbing a coffee with your dog, earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases made with it. Say it with me. The Active Cash credit card from Wells Fargo. Learn more@wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply. I'm Sean Fennesee.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I'm Amanda Dobbin and this is the.

[Rob Harvilla]

Big Picture, a conversation show about friends. Today on the show, we are diving into a pair of new releases about unlikely friendships. The Disney live action remake Lilo and Stitch and the Tim Robinson comedy Friendship. These may not seem like a natural pairing, but we will illuminate the ways in which they are perfectly matched. We'll also share our favorite movie friendships, which is something I think we may have done a version of some years ago, but we're bringing it back in a slightly different register. But first, let's talk about Cannes. We talked about it last Friday. We hadn't seen any of the films we did not attend.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. Still haven't seen any of the films.

[Rob Harvilla]

Still haven't seen any of the films. I've seen a couple of trailers. I've seen some still photos. Okay, we do have prizes. They gave out the prizes over the Memorial Day weekend, I'm going to run through them very quickly for you. Just jump out and say, hey, this caught my eye, or, I'm intrigued by this. Okay, here we go. Amanda. The Palme d' or, it went to. It was a simple accident by Jafar Panahi.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Neon extends its record to six straight Palme d' Ors.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes, they do. Can I throw a little cold water on that?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

They acquired the rights to the film.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

They didn't pay for the movie. They didn't identify Jafar Panahi, you know, after no Bears and say, we want to fund your next film, you know? No, but due respect to them, they do a lot of great work and they distribute a lot of great movies.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I meant more that they are. They are clearly able to read the can, jury and tea leaves in a way that no one else can.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think this is the one they acquired.

[Rob Harvilla]

The real heads knew that Juliette Binoche, who was the president of the jury this year, was a longtime supporter of Panahi and that in all likelihood, she was going to throw her weight behind the film in some way. And she did, and it won the Palme d' Or. I'm very excited to see this film. I actually have started a setup. Like, how am I going to go through all the Panahi films I've seen, the ones I haven't seen through the years? This is a movie that we'll probably be talking about over the next 12 months. I'm very excited to see it. The Grand Prix went to Sentimental Value.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

Joachim Trier's new movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Very excited to see this film.

[Rob Harvilla]

Me too. We don't have to say too much more about that. The jury prizes went to Seurat, which is a Spanish film directed by Oliver Lacks. There is a trailer for this movie that I watched. It looks awesome. That's all I'm gonna say. It's about a father trying to find his daughter in the midst of, like, an EDM Burning man situation in the middle of the desert.

[Amanda Dobbin]

How old is the daughter?

[Rob Harvilla]

I would guess twenties.

[Amanda Dobbin]

As soon as you started talking, I imagined you trying to find Alice, you know, and at edm, at Burning Man. And I was like, well, your fault for taking her.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's a very fair point. I'm not sure how well Alice would do at Burning man, but we can find that out soon. Yeah, it's not really her style. Sound of falling Also a jury prize winner and then best director went to Claiborne Mendocafilo for the Secret Agent, the new Wagner Moore movie. Actually, the Secret Agent won two films or won two prizes because Wagner Moore also won Best Director. Kind of unusual at Cannes. You don't usually see a film get multiple prizes. They try to usually spread it around. Neon also has this movie. They have every movie here that Mubi doesn't have, except for a couple additional awards. We mentioned Nadia Malidi from the Little Sister. She won best Actress and best screenplay went to the Dardennes for Young Mothers. And there was a special award for Resurrection by Bi Gone, a Chinese filmmaker, and his film just got picked up by Janice. So that's gonna find its way into movie theaters probably at the end of this year. I would guess you'll see that movie at the New York Film Festival along with me. That's usually what happens when they pick up titles like this. And then the other big news out of this was that Netflix has acquired a film. They picked up Nouvelle Vague, the Richard Linklater movie. This is the third consecutive movie that Netflix has picked up from Linklater after Hitman and Apollo 10 and a half.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

The animated film that you didn't see. And this is interesting because the film is obviously a love letter to the cinema as it's about the making of Godard's Breathless. And it will play on Netflix.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, you know, as Linklater said, after they acquired Hitman, it's like they had the money, they wanted to buy it. And if other people are not throwing the money around, I mean, this is. As you noted, it's. Netflix and Janice are the only two non movie, non neon acquisitions at the whole festival. So the players are pretty defined. And if they were going to go for it, then at least we'll get to see it.

[Rob Harvilla]

I'm very excited to see it and I'm glad somebody is doing it. And I think my gut on this is that for Linklater and maybe Linklater's investors, the most important thing is to be able to continue to make movies.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

And by selling these movies at what one assumes is a modest profit, I'll get to make more. And I'd rather have the movies than worry about what it means specifically for how it's distributed.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Can I tell you another way we could have seen this movie?

[Rob Harvilla]

Sure.

[Amanda Dobbin]

If we had gone to Cannes. How you feeling now? The critics generally have been saying it's a. It was a pretty great year.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's not true. They have not been saying that, but they've been saying it's. I think it's. There's not like the fit. The, like, Fizz Bang.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

The last couple years, I think there's clearly, like, very good films. There's no doubt about that.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But like the Fizz Bang last year once again was Amelia Perez.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And the Nora, you know, but it's like. Like, I'm. It does feel like that there was a sense that there's, like, a lot of really good films at Cannes that we did not get to see.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's definitely true. Let's use the powers of our ignorance to project whether or not there is an anora or a. The substance in this year's slate.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

Do you see anything that gives you the makings of not even just best picture contender, but potential phenomenon?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I just. I want to shout out all our listeners in Brazil, it's your time again. The Secret Agent. They cannot be denied.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, it's a very good point.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And two awards that can suggest that they're. Something's going on there. I don't think it's the last time we'll be talking about Secret Agent. I don't think it's the last time we'll be talking about sentimental value, obviously, for a lot of reasons. Joachim Trier and Renai Ribincev. But also Stellan Skarsgrd and Dakota Fanning. Like, there is some crossover Hollywood, definitely. You know, like, there's the Bridge.

[Rob Harvilla]

I've heard a little bit of scuttlebutt that there's a very interesting potential. It's time. Stellan Skarsgard situation where he's never been nominated for an Academy Award, he's appeared in, you know, more than a dozen truly great movies in both Hollywood and in Europe. And so this would be an interesting opportunity to kind of celebrate his. The arc of his career.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Totally. And I do think we'll be talking about. It was a simple accident. I mean, that's gonna be a really interesting Oscar campaign. Just geopolitically.

[Rob Harvilla]

I mean, whether or not Panahi can even get over to the United States.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. Or whether he wants to, honestly.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. He was greeted back in Iran this weekend like a hero, which is quite interesting. Cause he obviously had been under house arrest for years there because of, you know, the activities, making these films. So him even campaigning a movie like that is fascinating.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But that is interesting. And I think also we'll kind of keep it in the conversation. So. I don't know. That seems like a good rundown.

[Rob Harvilla]

Some cool stuff.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Cool stuff at the box office.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay. Yeah, I guess so.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, it depends on. Do you care about the Box office succeeding, or do you care about having good movies? Good movies was like, meh, I'm not so sure we had the best slate of films.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, I mean, I look forward to talking about this on a qualitative perspective, but we can start with quantitative.

[Rob Harvilla]

Let's start with quantitative.

[Amanda Dobbin]

People really like going to the movies again.

[Rob Harvilla]

Apparently they do, and they always did. And anytime we or me or anybody panics, it's always a little bit silly. You may recall that it was at this time last year when I gave a little post furiosa failure monologue.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Which was.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But to me, it's an annual big picture tradition.

[Rob Harvilla]

It is. But to me, my intention with that monologue, which maybe I misframed it somehow, but was to sort of just be like, it's gonna be okay. Like, just, let's keep going to see movies. And like, one of the things I said, I seem to recall that I said was like, here are some new films that are coming out that we're excited about. Hey, Anora just won the Palm. Sean Baker is a great director. Like, let's continue to be excited about these things. That there's always this intersection time wise of the movies we haven't seen yet at Cannes that build anticipation. And they usually kind of blah Memorial Day weekend movies that are released.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

So this weekend we got this insane performance. Lilo and Stitch made $183 million domestically, which is almost surpassed what our individual predictions were in the box office game for the entire domestic run. So we both got that pretty darn wrong. But to me, that's okay.

[Amanda Dobbin]

That's fine. Well, like, so what's going on with that?

[Rob Harvilla]

I have a lot of theories.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

This movie is obviously a young millennial classic. It was released in 2002. So I was just talking with Arjuna Ramkapal, one of our pod managers here, and Arjuna said he was like 10 or 11 when the movie came out, and his wife was like 7 or 8, I think he said, and that the movie is, like, deeply meaningful to his wife. It's like one of her favorite movies, the original animated movie. And so when I went to go see the movie this weekend, I brought my daughter. There were kids there, but there were just a lot of couples, couples in their 20s and 30s, because they love this movie. So a lot of people showed out. It really touched in the same way that I think Inside Out 2 touched a lot of nostalgia for people who had been younger when those films released. We've also seen this, obviously, with the Minions movies and Despicable Me movies where like kids who are 6 are now 20. Right when those films first started coming out and they're like, I'm going to go see this movie. Of course, even though it's minions 4 and like the age thing isn't an issue. They just want to be near this story. So this movie might end up becoming one of the highest grossing live action Disney movies of all time. Like In America, only two movies surpass 365 million. The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. And those are all time classics. But I think Lilo and Stitch is an all time classic for a demo that is directly beneath us.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I do have like a less nostalgia based theory which is just that Memorial Day is weirdly early this year. This was also like historically the biggest Memorial Day opening weekend of all time.

[Rob Harvilla]

It was.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But it does feel like because it is, I think one of the earliest it can be in the calendar. A lot of schools aren't out yet. Like a lot of people didn't travel and there was really also terrible weather throughout much of the country. And I do just feel like people instead of using their holiday weekend to go on a trip were just like, well, I guess we're at home and we're going to the movies. And I do wonder if there's like a little bit of. Not a fluke. But also.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, it contributed.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, I think, I think that's totally. Makes sense. You did miss an incredible weather weekend in Los Angeles. It was amazing.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, well, I'll tell you, I was in Boston and that sucked weather wise. I like many people are saying lovely town. Got to go to Fenway for the first time. Beautiful wedding. Congrats Isaac and Sammy, who also. They picked a stars board song for their first ditz is absolutely. That's great iconic stuff from them. But. But it was. It was cold.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. It wasn't summery.

[Rob Harvilla]

There were plenty of people who were more than happy to ignore the 75 and sunn weather that we had in LA to go see this movie too. I think this obviously comes in addition to the 77 million the mission Impossible final Reckoning made, which is a totally good Mission Impossible performance. It's kind of exactly in line. It's the mean average of most of these movies. It's technically the biggest three day weekend or I think it's technically the biggest three day weekend that a Mission Impossible movie has ever had. But it had IMAX screens and you know, it's like these movies don't usually open. Yeah. Inflation. They don't usually don't open on Memorial Day. They're usually, I think, July movies. The first film and the second film were both Memorial Day weekend and none since. So, yeah, there's a more of an open crowd coming to this. Memorial Day is usually where I think of franchises like Going to Die, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Fast 6 and Men in Black 3. And a lot of movies that open where they're like, the. The franchise isn't dead yet, but it's kind of like entering its final era. So maybe it's fitting that mission closed things out. I'm just going to ask you again, since we spoke about it last week, does this result make you feel any differently about whether or not this will be the last Mission Impossible movie?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I think it's just mediocre enough to not be indicative. If it had been an absolute sensation, if it had been Lilo and Stitch, then we would know they would make another one. If it were doa, I think we would know that. Probably they don't. But, you know, Paramount hasn't settled anything.

[Rob Harvilla]

And that's a big part of it. You're right.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And this is just like, fine. And maybe people will keep going to see it. I was surprised to see the cinema score was an A minus.

[Rob Harvilla]

I was, too.

[Amanda Dobbin]

You know, and we got some feedback.

[Rob Harvilla]

On our conversation, which was pretty in depth about what didn't work for us, even though, weirdly, I think we both were like, this is pretty good.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, we got a lot of feedback of that, of people being like, well, you shouldn't have taken it so seriously in the first place. To which I say, find another podcast.

[Rob Harvilla]

Disagree. Yeah, completely disagree with that.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But people do seem pleased or, like, enjoy it, which, you know, it helps that the biplane is the last stunt. We walked out being like, wow, you walk out high.

[Rob Harvilla]

And I think that always helps in these circumstances. It's the same feeling I had when I saw Final Destination Bloodlines, which has now made $95 million in 11 days.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I did guess pretty high on that one.

[Rob Harvilla]

Not that high.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Not this high. But, like, at least I'm gonna get closer, you know?

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, I think I guessed 46 million total for that film and it beat it in one week.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, this movie was originally supposed to be an HBO Max original. This wasn't even supposed to be in theaters, which is the same. The same is true also of the Evil Dead movie that came out two years ago, which also went on to great box office success. Also true of Smile, which came out three years ago. Which was supposed to be for Paramount. Plus, the lesson, as always, put your horror movies in movie theaters. I mean, if you have even like a mid budget horror movie with a decent marketing campaign, people want to go see these movies. It helps that Bloodlines is a ton of fun. But this is unusual for the sixth edition of an old franchise.

[Amanda Dobbin]

This is why I was trying to figure out, okay, so, like, what's going on? Why is everyone at the movies? And I guess TVs sort of in a down slump right now. Unless you're into Last of Us. I know it just finished, but there's not that much going on. There's some sports.

[Rob Harvilla]

I mean, the rehearsal season two just ended.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, sure. Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

It is an extraordinary piece of television.

[Amanda Dobbin]

What do you think the overlap is between the Rehearsal and Final Destination bloodline? Like, probably larger than you would think.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. I think for socially damaged old millennials, it's really high.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think it actually has more in common, given its aviation theme this season with Mission Impossible, the Final Reckoning.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, right.

[Rob Harvilla]

There's a lot of.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, I gotta watch the Sully episode. I've heard, I've heard I'm catching very.

[Rob Harvilla]

Strange and kind of magical season in that only Nathan Fielder could have done something like that. But other movies that are still going, I mean, sinner's still going. 260 million, over 300 million internationally. This is pre PVOD. This movie's gonna end up making a shit ton of money.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I was interviewing the younger generation at this wedding that I went to.

[Rob Harvilla]

AC Sinners.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. And it was a high school senior who I asked, like, how many movies do you go see in theaters? And he's like, I went to Sinners. And that's the first movie I'd been to in a long time.

[Rob Harvilla]

No kidding.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. But he's also into the rehearsal, so.

[Rob Harvilla]

Wow.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Another Venn diagram.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Shout out, Max.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's beautiful, Max. Thank you. Thunderbolts probably going to get to about 190 million. There was a report that went up about right before we started recording, which someone just texted me that said Thunderbolts was going to lose $100 million. I don't really know what that means. We had the same conversation about Sinners. But the fact that that's getting out in the world probably means it's ultimately considered a big disappointment. And I did say on the Brave New World podcast, if we get a few of these in a row, we can officially say this is over insofar as the centrality of it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But isn't it all Riding on Fantastic Four it is.

[Rob Harvilla]

And if that underperforms whatever that means financially, then I think it's safe to say we're in a new era where these movies will continue to exist. They will always have fans, but building entire content plans around them will be gone.

[Amanda Dobbin]

We'll be set free.

[Rob Harvilla]

We'll still see the movies. You know, you went to go see Lilo and Stitch.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I did. By myself at 7:15 on a Monday night. And there were a lot of people there without children, so. A lot of old couples. Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

What could have been. If you had not had children, you could have been seeing that film without even thinking about your children.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, that's exactly what would have been.

[Rob Harvilla]

Sliding Doors, you know, just a remarkable weekend for the box office that's Setting aside. We're going to talk about friendship later. That movie did really well for an indie. The Last Rodeo is an Angel Studios movie that Neal McDonough I think wrote and directed and stars in that made like $7.5 million. People just showed up at the movies. Maybe your theory is right. It's clearly. I don't know. It's just. People want to see movies, man. It's not. It's not that complicated. And we've now fully shifted away from we got to send our movies straight to streamers. Like that's not happening anymore. It just doesn't make. They're leaving money on the table every time they do that. So that's exciting. Okay, speaking of money, let's talk about Lilo and Stitch.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

This is a live action remake of the 2002 film that I mentioned. The original film is from Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois who went on to make the how to Train youn Dragon movies. Chris Sanders just had huge success last year with the Wild Robot. Dean Fleischer Camp is the director of.

[Amanda Dobbin]

This film and also the co creator with Jenny Slate of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. They were once a couple. They're no longer together. This is his first film since that film stars Maya Kiloa, Sidney, Elizabeth Agadong, Billy Magnuson, Hannah Waddingham. Incredible weekend for Hannah Waddingham. Courtney B. Vance. Incredible weekend for the Courtney B. Vance, Angela Bassett household. Zach Galifianakis and then Tia Carrera, Amy Hill and Jason Scott Lee are back in supporting roles. They had voice work in the original film. What did you think of Lilo and Stitch? Live action.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Qualitatively.

[Rob Harvilla]

Qualitatively.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I was sort of offended by this movie. I was offended. So the little girl is very cute. Maya Kealoa And Stitch was cute as well. I definitely saw the first film, probably in theaters, and I guess in some ways this is a very faithful recreation. But I think they also changed certain things for plot purposes. I was just talking to another millennial colleague, Tate Frazier in the lobby.

[Rob Harvilla]

Did Tate see it?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Tate saw it.

[Rob Harvilla]

No kidding.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And yeah, and he was like, they changed.

[Rob Harvilla]

Tate loves the movies.

[Amanda Dobbin]

They changed everything to like, make me mad.

[Rob Harvilla]

And, you know, Arjuna said something similar.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think particularly the ending is really rankling people.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, that, that bothered Tate as well. And we can talk about it.

[Rob Harvilla]

We'll talk about it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. But I just thought that whatever changes they made to the plot in order to introduce new characters and I guess up the stakes or make the stakes make sense once you have live humans were offensive and hurtful to both Lilo, Stitch and me, you know, like just, just. And, and, and Nani the teenager. Like, let's just help them, you know, like, let's help everybody. Like, what are we doing? You know, like, why can't the neighbors just pitch in? Like, I don't really think that child services is like working that hard in this one, you know, like, what, what about some daycare? You know, like, what about universal health insurance? It doesn't matter. I was just really pissed off. I was like, this seems very rude to everyone involved and just let them be nice and a happy family.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. You know what movie it reminds me of a little bit is the Florida Project. Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, shit. Seriously. I was like, what's going on?

[Rob Harvilla]

Where it is incredibly dramatic about the future of a six year old girl's life and the way that she is not being cared for in the way that she should be. It. The movie is weirdly very similar to the original, but also has made an effort to amplify the tension in a way that is like so common for like, all Disney movies are all about like, a child separated from their parents or their parent has died and so that they need to figure out how to live their life safely while also not having a parent. But yeah, I think the collision of that with animated aliens roaming free through the Hawaiian Vista is a little bit strange to me. This is kind of a classic nothing of a movie and I was just sharing with Jack that I saw it with Alice and she was very excited to see it. We had seen the original together probably about a year ago, and I wouldn't say it was one of her favorite movies of all time, but it's a movie that she liked. And who doesn't like Stitch? Like it's just a very effective character. And during the film, very engaged, like leaping onto her mom or like, laying on my lap. Like, she was scared. She was kind of showing us.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, it seemed very upsetting.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. There were parts that were a little intense for her. It's pg, not G. But after the movie ended, we heard nothing about it. No conversation. No, I liked this part. No, I'm into this character. No. Can you buy me this? Which is unusual because there's this insane wave of Lilo and Stitch merchandising. This was written about in the New York Times recently that, like, this film, over that 20 plus year period, has become a real cash cow for Disney.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Like, in what?

[Rob Harvilla]

Like, take me through the products plushies.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Like, okay, so little swear.

[Rob Harvilla]

Like, like, literally, you can put Stitch on anything.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Kids will want it. Okay, got it. And so not like the Lilo and Stitch resort where you can go on vacation.

[Rob Harvilla]

I don't. I'm going to Disneyland next week. I'll let you know.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. So I. I'm sure there will be a really deep Lilo and Stitch presence. Lilo, I think, is a character that is, like, tremendously relatable for my daughter. You know, she's, like, very, like, tough, independent minded, like, a little alienating at times. She's like. And very, very focused on what she wants to accomplish. And I could see her, like, getting really invested. Anytime something was going bad for Lilo, she was into it. But the fact that it drifted away from her usually, like, what did my daughter think? Doesn't really matter on this podcast. This is an instance where I think it does matter, because this movie is targeted really close to her. And I think the movie being such a smash phenomenon, but also older millennials and super young kids being a little bit mixed on it. I think it's really hitting for, like, 9 and 10 year olds. That was the impression I was getting. They're loving it purely the same way that they were loving Minecraft and that the silliness of it and the slapstick quality of Stitch was playing really well. And that's kind of all that matters. And they'll probably see it a second and third time, but if you're on either end of that spectrum, it's not a success.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, I guess there is a lot of slapstick, but even Stitch doesn't get to do that much. You know, he.

[Rob Harvilla]

They kind of show us all the Stitch moments in the trailer.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, he's being, like, hunted for a while and is hiding and he Barely gets to dance, he barely gets to have any fun.

[Rob Harvilla]

A little bit less Elvis than I.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Was hoping and a little bit more CIA and Intergalactic Council.

[Rob Harvilla]

So I think in the original film, Courtney B. Vance character is retired CIA. Right. Isn't that the idea that he's not actually CIA any longer?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I thought that the, the social worker is actually CIA.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. I think he's retired CIA and he works as a social worker. But in this movie he's like pretending to be a social worker.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

And so it's like it is kind of Men in Black where you're like, is this government agency going to get involved with the acquisition of this alien? Just a little convoluted.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. And, but. And it also adds in another adult who's there just preying on them instead of helping the situation. There's just like a lot of adults in here being like, yeah, why don't you just help this nice young woman who wants to be a marine biologist and is trying her best and her six year old little girl who just wants to do hula and you know, the kind of the crazy dog who's actually an alien.

[Rob Harvilla]

So as I said, this story structure is very familiar. Like Lassie, E.T. the Black Stallion. Like there are tons of examples of little kid, you know, creature of some kind or unusual friend or alien or what have you. Do you like these movies? Like is it like a sub genre that appeals to you at all?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean I really like ET and I, I guess so there it there the idea of a little kid who needs a friend and then a friend comes and helps them and whatever form a friend it is is nice. I think the older I get, the more focused I am on the failures of all the adults around them. So it's hard to enjoy them.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But also like at least ET is aligned on how all the adults are screwing up and they just cast them definitively as the bad people. So it's easier to understand why these two people need each other. What are other. I don't know. I like a friendly creature, you know, for sure, I'm open to it.

[Rob Harvilla]

I mean there's a ton of examples, not just like post ET There were at least a dozen studio movies that were about aliens coming to this planet and befriending Mac and me as they're like ongoing bit with Paul Rudd and Conan o' Brien. I don't know if you know this. So there's so many examples of these kinds of movies done poorly. They're really cringy, sentimental and dreadful. Done well, they basically will touch your soul. You know, ET Is one of the most pro. The Black Stallion is a beautiful movie. Like, there are beautiful versions of it. It's so funny that this one popped from Disney and the fact that 25 years later they're remaking it because the movies that were coming out from Disney animated features at this time are notoriously either not good or were failures because it was happening simultaneous to the rise of Pixar. So Toy story comes in 95 and then the late 90s and early 2000s for Disney animated features are like Atlantis, the Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear Home on the Range. These movies are more or less forgotten. Like they have no cult following, or if they do, it's very small. And Lilo and Stitch somehow emerged as this, like all time classic now.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I think Lilo and Stitch also broke through in a time. Broke through at the time in a way that those others did not. Because I was, you know, in high school at that point and I have never seen any of those films. You just.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's so interesting.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But I did see Lilo and Stitch because it was like a thing and it is a little bit of like the George Lucas. They just got the creature right, you know, and it's just the. Whether it's R2D2 or what are the new ones? Porgs. Pooks. What you remember Poog is. No, that old podcast.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think it was Porgs from Star Wars.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That just the thing that turns into the plushie that you can sell. But they nailed it with Stitch.

[Rob Harvilla]

Agreed. There's definitely a little bit of gizmo from Gremlins going on here too. And Zach Gilligan's relationship to those characters.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And, you know, like Baby Yoda. What are we. What's his real name?

[Rob Harvilla]

Grogu.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Grogu is not, like, unrelated to Stitch. You know, you can see. See the lineage straight on through Grogu to David Copperfield's Alien.

[Rob Harvilla]

We should do the Evolution of Man poster chain. But all just like creatures who become friends with characters in the Disney universe. I did want to give some love to Billy Magnuson. I thought he was really funny. He plays Pleakly, who is an alien who gets a cloaking device that allows him to turn into a human who looks like Billy Magnussen. He just, what knew what kind of movie he was in. You know, he has like a slapstick comedy quality that I think is in direct contrast. And his handsomeness.

[Amanda Dobbin]

He's also the friendly alien. And so he's like the quote, unquote Earth expert.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And is so happy to be there. So there is like a. You know, he. He can play the comedy, but also the. He's not mean. You know, he's not shooting anyone. He's just, like, wearing funny clothes. So it's good. It's.

[Rob Harvilla]

This is an unkind question, but I'm just gonna ask it. Did Zach Galifianakis get veneers?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I did not. I thought that it was a change in facial hair.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But I do know what you're saying. I did notice he just looked a little different. I did notice something going on in this area. I thought it was, like, maybe a goatee and something. Here's what I was thinking.

[Rob Harvilla]

I was distracted.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I know I. Chapel Roan said this first, but I agree with her. I think that we need to.

[Rob Harvilla]

A nightmarish formulation.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Veneers are okay. Let people get bad veneers. Yeah, I know, but it's like.

[Rob Harvilla]

I'm not making a negative comment. It just. It looked like he had veneers.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Which, I mean, that happens to people. That's how dentists make money.

[Rob Harvilla]

And the only way that they make.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Money is scamming you.

[Rob Harvilla]

You and dentists need to talk it out. You guys need to talk it out.

[Amanda Dobbin]

They need to come up with a. A business proposal that isn't just lying to everyone all the time, you know, but that's fine. I think it's okay if people get.

[Rob Harvilla]

You've never been more out of your depth than your dental rants.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I'm not out of my depth.

[Rob Harvilla]

These are not. People have serious problems.

[Amanda Dobbin]

If you have pain, they can help, but otherwise they're just like. They're just paying you to use an electric toothbrush and then, like, shame you. You know, like, on you. I can do it at home. That's what it is.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, you don't like to be told what to do. And if you're doing something wrong, you really.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Let me show you how to floss. I know how to floss, by the way. Like, show again. Show me the double blind studies on flossing. Show me. Okay. They don't exist.

[Rob Harvilla]

You're looking at one. They've made a dramatic improvement in my teeth health.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, that's great.

[Rob Harvilla]

I love a strong take. Yeah, that's one in particular where I have no idea what you're talking about. Dental work has radically changed millions of people's lives in this country and around the world. Moving on. The live action remake thing. We've talked about almost everyone on this.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Pod except for Snow White.

[Rob Harvilla]

We didn't talk. I still haven't seen it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, I haven't either.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think I was away when it came out and Alice went to go see it without me.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes. Yeah, I think that was Rewatchable's tour.

[Rob Harvilla]

Right. So maybe when it hits D, we can have a three hour conversation about Rachel Zegler's politics. Generally, the live action remakes are painfully bad to me. Yeah, I really, really don't like this trend. And I thought after Snow White, maybe it was coming to a close. And it's not. No, it's not coming to a close. It's gonna continue because this movie is so big.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, what's left on the table?

[Rob Harvilla]

Great question. I'm glad you asked.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay. Oh, boy.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, there's nothing actually currently in production as far as I know. One thing I did note is that this is the fifth. Is it the fifth. Fifth consecutive movie that Disney Studios has released that has either been a sequel, a live action remake, or both. Inside out two, Moana two, the Lion King, Mufasa, Snow White, and now this. Three of the next four are also either sequels, live action remakes, or both. The one original is Elio, and then Freakier Friday, Tron, Ares, which honestly looks sick. So it's all good. And Zootopia 2. Zootopia 2 trailer in the studio, in the movie theater. Bananas town. Kids losing their minds for the Zootopia 2 teaser.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Dead silent in my theater. Okay. Yeah, because there were. And.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, there's all adults.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, all adults at night. And there are no words. And it was just people. What's.

[Rob Harvilla]

Did you like that bop. That EDM jam that they were playing?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I liked the little creatures who came out and played the keyboard. That part.

[Rob Harvilla]

Have you seen Zootopia?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No. I was going to ask you. What's it about. They're in a zoo and then they.

[Rob Harvilla]

Break down Rabbit, who I believe is a police officer. And she has to investigate a case. And she brings in a fox character to help her research the case. It's kind of like Chinatown meets Peter Rabbit.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay, but are they in a zoo?

[Rob Harvilla]

No. They live in a world full of animals. Zootopia is the world.

[Amanda Dobbin]

So Zootopia is the world, but because it rhymes with Utopia, not because it's a zoo.

[Rob Harvilla]

Bit of both.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And. But how is the world organized?

[Rob Harvilla]

It's a wonderful question. Let's bring in the Chamber of Commerce from Zootopia. Gym animal. I don't know. It's like.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Is it just like us?

[Rob Harvilla]

Is it like they all have jobs?

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's like Richard Scarry vibes where you know everyone. It's just like the pig.

[Rob Harvilla]

So you're not familiar with the sloth bit from Zootopia?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No.

[Rob Harvilla]

You don't know the sloth joke?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No.

[Rob Harvilla]

Jack, do you know the sloth joke from Zootopia?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, vaguely.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's just. It's an iconic animated movie bit.

[Amanda Dobbin]

All right. Do you want to tell me?

[Rob Harvilla]

Why don't you watch it in real time?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

I'll vamp while you're watching it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Zootopia. YouTube. Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

And if you're amused, that's great. Try to not listen to it too loud so we don't get any bleed here.

[Amanda Dobbin]

The sloth laughing.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. Okay, well, you just spoiled it for yourself. But I guess you had to search for it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, it's the title of the thing. Oh, I think I've seen this guy and he. Hold on. Oh, and he's going like this.

[Rob Harvilla]

What do you think about a sloth?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I don't really have any feelings about them one way or the other. I think that it's a live and let live situation for me.

[Rob Harvilla]

So if you saw one in the street, you wouldn't murder it?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I don't need to interact with it or put it in a zoo either. I think I would be frustrated if it were in a consumer facing role in the world that I lived in.

[Rob Harvilla]

Consumer facing.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, this is what I'm looking at at the movie.

[Rob Harvilla]

There are no humans in the film Zootopia. So no need to worry about facing this sloth.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay. So the bit is just. Oh, okay. Yeah, I think I've seen this meme.

[Rob Harvilla]

I believe it was in the trailer.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, that's funny. Yeah. And he's laughing. Okay, I'm familiar. Okay, that's great.

[Rob Harvilla]

Not sold on Zootopia 2. Disney is running the same playbook they've been running for 15 years. It's pretty depressing.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

I don't have any follow up comments.

[Amanda Dobbin]

The other trailers that I saw were for Elio, which is just.

[Rob Harvilla]

I hope that's good.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But it is also like fancy boy, Lilo and Stitch. So that's fine. Fancy boy, not fancy boy. Fancy. And I like, you know, Pixar high art.

[Rob Harvilla]

Fancy comma, italicized boy. Yes, Dash.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Because Elio is a boy. Lilo and Stitch and I guess it's like a home and away situation.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. What if Stitch dragged Lilo to another planet?

[Amanda Dobbin]

But that's fine. I mean, there are no new ideas under the sun. Freakier Friday. Watch the trailer. Listen, I'm happy for Lindsay it looks.

[Rob Harvilla]

Like a yogurt commercial.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It does actually look like one of the Jamie Lee Curtis yogurt commercials, so that is tough.

[Rob Harvilla]

Will we do an episode on Freakier Friday? I feel like it's going to be.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I'm going to. I'm going to be on leave again. So maybe we'll do it at the end of the. At the end of August.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, no, we should do it five years from now.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

Just circle back.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I don't know what's up with Tron Aries, but I'm happy for you. Or sorry that happened.

[Rob Harvilla]

I'm extremely excited because one, apparently Tron, has gotten into the real world, which just sounds like, okay, crazy town to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, I'm excited about that.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's enough for me. Jared Leto, you know, not ideal. Well, he's not exactly what I wanted in Tron Ares. You know, that could have been. Who could that have been? I'm just so sure that could have been Joe Pantoliano.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

Instead it was Jared Leto.

[Amanda Dobbin]

So Jared Leto is Ares.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think he's the villain. I don't know.

[Amanda Dobbin]

That's what it says.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, sure.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Jared Leto as Aries. Greta Lee as Eve Kim.

[Rob Harvilla]

Love her.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Evan Peters is Julian Dillinger.

[Rob Harvilla]

Julian Dillinger.

[Amanda Dobbin]

That's what it's.

[Rob Harvilla]

Is that a reference to John Dillinger? Is that John Dillinger's? Great.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I am just reading the cast list on Wikipedia.com.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay. Is Jeff Bridges in the film? For Christ's sake.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes. Kevin Flynn. Yeah, yeah. Oh, I remember him. Gillian Anderson is apparently in this.

[Rob Harvilla]

Gillian Anderson? Yeah, she's seen in the trailer looking ominously out of a giant building. Do you think Trinaries will be better or worse than Lilo and Stitch?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, that's a great question. So Tron Ares follows a highly sophisticated program. Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission marking humankind's first encounter with AI Beings. I'm going to say worse.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay. Tron Ares is being released on October 10, aka Venom. A Star Is Born weekend.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, great. Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

Should be pretty interesting. What else is coming out that weekend? Animal Friends, an animated movie created by Ryan Reynolds.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, yeah. So you'll be there. Front row.

[Rob Harvilla]

Also coming out that weekend.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I'm excited for your voice performance in that.

[Rob Harvilla]

Thank you. I play a sloth. After the Hunt is also coming out that weekend.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, yay.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yay. Lilo and Stitch. It's gonna make $400 million in America. Well, I got no problem with it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

I hope people enjoy things. Yeah, they should be able to enjoy things.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's fine. I mean, again, I think all the adults around should do something to help this family, but. Oh, we didn't talk about the ending.

[Rob Harvilla]

The change in the end. Okay. If you don't want the new Lilo and Stitch.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Spoiler. Spoiler.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

The ending, in particular, the notes that I've heard from hardcore fans, is the idea that Nani, her older sister, who I thought was really good in this.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Movie, I did as well.

[Rob Harvilla]

The performances in general, I think, are pretty good in the movie leaves Lilo and Stitch and allows her to live with her neighbor. And she goes off to college, which is a change from the original story. Is there more about the ending that you found disquieting?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I wasn't that upset with it, but everyone who is so loyal to the 2002 film is really upset that this young woman's getting an education, which I. You know. Yeah, I. I don't know if that's my take. She's going to San Diego. It's not that far.

[Rob Harvilla]

If Barbie can get a hysterectomy, this woman can go to college. That's what I say. That's what she's getting at the end of Barbie year.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I was gonna say, is that what she's getting? Hold on. I'm just pulling up the jack. Do you remember what happens at the very end? Wow. Okay. All right. Just.

[Rob Harvilla]

Just.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, no, no, no, no. In the original Lilo and Stitch, okay, they just rebuild the house. Maybe there's nothing about going to college. I guess in the original.

[Rob Harvilla]

I believe that's right.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

I've seen the movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, I have, too, but many years. I think it's okay if this young woman wants to go pursue higher education.

[Rob Harvilla]

Sure.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And I honestly just don't understand why the neighbors didn't step in sooner.

[Rob Harvilla]

Native Hawaiian, Gen Z women can have it all.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But this was my main issue with the neighbors, who were like, call us if you need anything. Obviously, they need things. They need some help with childcare. They need some help with, you know, basic, you know, household tasks so that Nani can go get a job. Like, they need a lot of things.

[Rob Harvilla]

You should run for city council in Los Angeles. Your platform is extraordinary.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I just like.

[Rob Harvilla]

Do you have a website?

[Amanda Dobbin]

You weren't mad?

[Rob Harvilla]

I wasn't really thinking about the inner lives of these characters too much. I had not remembered that this ambition. The thing is that ohana is the big theme of the movie. This idea of family and never leaving anyone behind. The whole point of the movie is stick together. When you're in a family, you have to have each other's backs. And the beautiful thing with the movie at the end, the idea that Stitch gets to stay on Earth. Sure.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And so does Billy Magnussen.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. And Pleakly stays. And they're all together and they're a family.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

And so her leaving is a direct rejection of the core theme of the original film. It doesn't mean that the core theme of the original film is women shouldn't be able to go to college. It means that what's most important is taking care of one another. Now, you may disagree. You may say it's important that she study porpoises. You know, that that is what really matters.

[Amanda Dobbin]

That even when you're six, you can take care of your sister, too, by understanding that she needs to go to college and FaceTiming with her. Plus, they have the portal, so she comes back, so it's fine.

[Rob Harvilla]

This can be a tough beat for your sons when you're like, I have to go to Venice because I have to take care of my things. And they're gonna be like, you got my back here.

[Amanda Dobbin]

That is literally what's happening. And the answer is their father.

[Rob Harvilla]

Unfortunately for Lilo, she doesn't have any parents.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I know, but she has the neighbors, and she has Stitch, and she has Stitch's alien companion.

[Rob Harvilla]

You're right. Family. Family is a community is what you're.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Saying, and that is what the neighbor says ahead of time.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, should we all be so lucky to live in such a caring community?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I. I mean, I think that we should. Anyway, this is just a lot more.

[Rob Harvilla]

Lilo and Stitch than I expected to get into.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It took a long time to become caring enough, though. That was. That was my issue.

[Rob Harvilla]

It is weird when Amy Hill's character comes around and she's like, what's going on over here?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Oh, yeah, good luck.

[Amanda Dobbin]

This is what I'm saying.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's very true. It's because it's such a contrivance in the plot. They have to kind of yada yada it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And also the social worker being like, we can help you with the cost of the health insurance if you surrender your child to us. Just, like, how about you just pay?

[Rob Harvilla]

You know? It's so funny. So Tia Carrera voices Nani in the original film, and the film came out, I don't know, probably, like, almost 10 years after the Wayne's World boom. And that's where most of us saw her for the first time. If you were me, one of the most intoxicating people that's ever lived. And I just saw her in person at a screening of Mary Poppins at the Academy Museum and I clocked her immediately. She's so striking. And I was like, what the hell has Tia Carrera been doing with her life? Lo and behold, one month later, she showed up in the biggest movie of the year. Really happy for her. Any closing thoughts?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No. I think I summed it right up.

[Rob Harvilla]

Let young women go to college.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. If they. If they would like to build the support system so that they can.

[Rob Harvilla]

You would try to nudge in universal healthcare, which I also believe in, but I'm not totally sure, like, is that the subterranean message of the film?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, it is, like, really, really upsetting to me. The scene with Tia Carrera after they forget to apply for health insurance.

[Rob Harvilla]

And then the only way we can take care of you is if you're a ward of the state. Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And she's like, we can handle all of this if you sign away, like, all familial rights to this kid. And it's like, how about you just pay for it and then give them some money for groceries? Just a thought.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, I can't disagree with that. It is quite an insidious plot device to make us feel for this family while also considering the nature of our federal and state governments.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

So thank you for your work today.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn. When you release a movie, the first thing you want to do is make sure people know about it. And even more importantly, you want to make sure that people who like the genre know it's out. Because horror fans are more likely to go see new horror movies. Disney fans will go see new Disney movies. Rom com fans will go see new rom com movies. Targeting the right audience is key when it comes to marketing. If you're selling expensive new kitchen appliances, you probably want to sell to people who actually like to cook, not people who rely on food delivery services for every meal. And that's the tricky part. Making sure your message gets to the right people. You have to use the right tools. If you're in B2B marketing, that means using LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has a network of over 130 million decision makers and the targeting tools to make sure you're connecting with the right ones. You can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority skills, or company revenue. So you can stop wasting your time and budget on the wrong people. LinkedIn will even give you a hundred dollar credit on your next campaign so you can try it yourself. Just go to LinkedIn.com thebigpicture that's LinkedIn.com thebigpicture Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads. This episode is brought to you by Max. The HBO original comedy special Gerard Carmichael, Don't Be Gay is now streaming on Max. Emmy winning comedian Jarrod Carmichael returns to the stage in his boldest special yet, bringing his sharp witness, unfiltered honesty, and the kind of vulnerability that's made his voice truly one of a kind. Fresh off his groundbreaking docu series, Carmichael dives even deeper, sharing his singular take on life, masculinity and what it means to be himself. Don't miss Gerard Carmichael, don't be Gay now streaming on max. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. Ever finish a movie and the next thing you know you're totally obsessed? Like I'm talking about ordering a book about 70s film lighting or buying the soundtrack on vinyl. Kind of obsessed. Whatever it is, prime helps you get more out of whatever passions you're into or getting into. Head to Amazon.com prime and follow your.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Obsession wherever it goes.

[Rob Harvilla]

Now that we've talked about the struggles of young women in this country, we can talk about the struggles of aging men.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

With the film Friendship.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

So Friendship is a new comedy from Andrew DeYoung. He wrote and directed this movie, which I find fascinating because the movie so clearly locates the comedic talent of Tim Robinson.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

Tim Robinson has become over the last 10 years a beloved comic figure in America. He co created Detroiters. He was very briefly a cast member on Saturday Night Live. And he is the co creator and star of I Think youk Should Leave, which has been a very successful Netflix sketch comedy show that I think has had three seasons now. First season is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my life. I have never laughed harder at a TV show. I loved it dearly. This movie also stars Kate Mara, Jack, Dylan Grazer and Paul Rudd. It's about a guy named Craig who is a marketing executive drifting through his midlife and he tries to befriend his charismatic new neighbor who's a weatherman. And the friendship very quickly sours into a kind of obsession and it soon threatens to ruin both of their lives. What did you think of the movie Friendship?

[Amanda Dobbin]

This was a durational experience for me, but which I think is actually part of the art. Like, I think it's very good.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And they did what they wanted to do. It's you clear. It's clear that you are watching exactly what was intended. That they have, like, a very specific insight into whatever is going on with all of you. And by you, I mean men.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think it's, like, sociologically and artistically really insightful and accomplished. I saw it in a silent theater. Really, like, it was.

[Rob Harvilla]

I've heard varying reports on this, and.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I have as well. I've also talked to people who saw it, and they were absolutely, like, in theater where everyone was losing it.

[Rob Harvilla]

Do you see it at press screening or do you see it in the movie theater?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I saw it at Burbank 16.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And where you would think that I would be among my people.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think I maybe laughed the most.

[Rob Harvilla]

Really?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Which was a few, like, really choice moments. And I would characterize most of the other laughing. Oh, no, you know what? I saw it at the Americana, which is maybe changing.

[Rob Harvilla]

Different crowd.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Different crowd. Just to. Just to be fair.

[Rob Harvilla]

And no, no, no shots to the. To the Americana. AMC Americana. But the Burbank sickos are like, that.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Is real heads like that. When. When.

[Rob Harvilla]

Which is a stupid delineation, but it is.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, when movies only open in two theaters in L. A when they're limited, it's at Century City and at the Burbank 16. That is where. That is where we see our big picos all the time. And I would characterize the laughter that did happen as, like, mostly nervous. So I wonder if everyone knew what they were walking into.

[Rob Harvilla]

I don't. I don't know. I saw it at a press screening. Yeah. Now, I think one of the downsides of this movie is that many people, including our pal Adam Naiman, have called this the funniest movie the last 10 years. And so that immediately raises the stakes and I think is creating an expectation for a movie akin to the hangover or the 40 year old virgin or these memories we have of going to see these kind of crass buddy comedies from the 2000s or even the 90s that made you like rolling in the aisles, you know, the early Farrelly Brothers movies. That's not really what Tim Robinson does.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No.

[Rob Harvilla]

He has a much more sharply defined, discomfiting, psychological edge to a lot of his comedy, because the character that he almost always plays is a guy who is doing something insane, and he is insanely insecure about it. And this movie is the kind of the pinnacle of that approach. It's not the same as a sketch. It does feel as though a sketch has been stretched, though.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

You Know, like the premise of the movie is fairly thin, but then the details of it are highly specific.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

And that's part of what makes the movie effective and fun for me.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, and it is structured in such a way where it is a kind of series of sketches that, you know, which, which is in many ways like what all comedy movies are. You know, it's like now they, now they got to do this and now they got to do this. So anything from like, you know, the trip to the, about the, the lizard, the frog trip.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Is that what it is? The drug trip? Yeah, the. Obviously the, the maze situation. But they're like discrete events of things that inevitably go terribly wrong that are many sketches within their own.

[Rob Harvilla]

The frog licking sketch is a really good example of something that. It would be weird to be laughing very hard through the entirety of that sequence. But there is a version of laughing that is like, I can't believe this is happening right now. And that was how I felt during that one. I probably had a 50, 50 balance between, wow, they're really going for it. Self awareness and then the. I can't control myself. This is so funny. When the guy identifies himself as jimp. I like almost fell out of my seat. I think that is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. His name was jimp. That's the kind of dumb shit that I think powers the movie, in addition to that weird edge that I'm talking about.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

And the truth is, is this is a real thing. I wouldn't say I actually personally struggle with this very much. I found that I've actually made a bunch of new friends in my life in the last few years, more so than in the previous five or six years, in part because of the show, because I have a thing that communicates to the wider world, like, here's what I'm into. And so it's easier to be like, oh, you're into that? I'm into that. And then we have a lot of like minded interests. But it's very common for middle aged men who have families and let's say, you know, they've fallen, you know, out of touch with some friends or their lives have gotten more tightly focused on their career and their families and then they lose this kind of social contact and then they even kind of lose themselves in their families and in their jobs. And then they have a real difficulty making new friends or like finding new communities. Andrew DeYoung has definitely located an actual. I don't know if it's a Phenomenon, but something that does happen to a lot of people. Friends of mine I know have experienced this specifically, and it's a very serious social disorder. I think that, like, kind of presages the incel. Era.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure, sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, where, like, you can just kind of kill time on your phone all the time. You don't have to be around people you throw yourself into. Like, I hear this new Marvel movie is nuts. You know, some of the jokes that.

[Amanda Dobbin]

They'Re writing, like, no Marvel spoiler zone. That is really funny.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's very good. But I think by finding something quite. Not serious but quite real and then building around the Tim Robinson insanity of humor around. It was a good choice.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I think it's very effective and fascinating. It was interesting that we put together our, like, movie friendships list. And, you know, like always, I tried to think of movies about, you know, female friendships, of which there are many, but they're always about how screwed up their friendships are. Whereas historically, like, when you think of a buddy comedy, you think of, like, two guys who have a pretty uncomplicated, hey, I love you, man, and I love you, man. And now we have to go, like, you know, solve a crime somewhere and laugh it up. And so there are not that many complicated, you know, male friendships. And it Sometimes it does seem like you guys, you're either, like, totally okay and, like, not worried about it, or things are very, very weird and with. Between men. And this is a good examination of. Of. Of category B, I think.

[Rob Harvilla]

I don't personally have a ton of. I don't fight with you. Your husband is my best friend. I don't know if we've ever had a fight. Chris and I never fight. It's just not really a part of our genetic DNA. And part of that, I think, is that we kind of know where to go and where not to go for the most part in the relationship. But in this movie, it's a new friendship. And so it's people in the middle of their lives when they kind of have become who they are, trying to find a way to become close.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

And very quickly, we see that Craig and Austin, the Paul Rudd character, it seems like they have something shared where they have this, like, slightly kind of punk edge where they want to defy the expectations of their life. Austin literally plays in a punk band, even though he's a weatherman during the day. Craig is sort of like, oh, you can, like, break into a sewer and.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Smoke cigarettes and you don't have to have a phone.

[Rob Harvilla]

Right. There's, like, certain Things that he has accepted about daily modern life that goes. Austin is showing him don't need to exist. And so at the very early stages of their friendship, they're giving each other something.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

And then as soon as Craig gets dropped into a social environment with Austin's other friends, it's clear how much he doesn't fit. He doesn't fit with them. He doesn't fit with Austin. He doesn't even really fit in the world.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

He's just an odd guy.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well. And then it becomes. Part of it is also just. This is about, like, one person who, like, lilo, like many of other people, doesn't really know how to make friends, thinks he finds his other person, and then you realize, oh, no, you. Like, he is the weirdo. You know, and we don't often get movies about the loser.

[Rob Harvilla]

So do you think this movie, or.

[Amanda Dobbin]

If we do, it's Taxi Driver.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, okay, so that's what I was gonna say. Cause that's a really great comparison.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

And there is certainly a kind of Scorsese quality to this movie where you're like, they're not. Even though there's a lot of jokes, they're playing it pretty straight.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

There's even a. A gun theft in this movie. So if this character. If Craig was played by a different actor who was not so clearly communicated as Tim Robinson is funny.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, if it was his kind of. If it was. Even if it was John C. Reilly and Paul Rudd, where, like, John C. Reilly could go either way. This could be a comedy or this could be an incredibly.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, John C. Reilly is like a. If it's stepbrother's John C. Reilly, like, that's okay. How about Pretty close?

[Rob Harvilla]

How about Joaquin Phoenix?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. Well, then you're like, this guy's weird. Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

But he's not kidding.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, and he's also. Joaquin Phoenix is just, like, not classically handsome, but is sort of classically movie star handsome. So that's another.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, you always bring that up.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Listen, a lot of people are getting on the train, and I just, like, I've been on the train since inventing The Abbott Joker 2. No, I didn't. I don't like it when people sing, so I don't want to mess up, you know, the fond memories I have.

[Rob Harvilla]

You don't like it when people sing?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I don't like it when most people sing. Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Right.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, are you happy when you're somewhere and someone just, like, bursts in a song, like, 90% of the time? Unless it's where does that happen? I don't know, but whenever.

[Rob Harvilla]

Musical concert.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Want to panic. No, but you know when it's like at a. I don't know. Most of the time when people are singing. I wish they weren't Jack. It's very normal.

[Rob Harvilla]

I agree with you, but I don't understand. What are the circumstances in which people just begin to sing at you in public? Does this happen frequently?

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's like usually, you know.

[Rob Harvilla]

You mean like a busker?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, that's. That's okay. Sometimes they're good. I mean, if they're not good, then what are you gonna do? I don't know. Like gatherings like weddings, like graduations, you.

[Rob Harvilla]

Know, people are bursting into song at these events.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sometimes people do sing at a wedding and that is like, tough. That did not happen at the wedding that I went to.

[Rob Harvilla]

I can't believe you didn't ask me to sing at your wedding. I could have sang something beautiful. I could have sang an Irish lullaby.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Just most of the time it's just really. It's a level of sincerity and also asking for attention that is really, really makes me uncomfortable.

[Rob Harvilla]

How did we get onto this subject?

[Amanda Dobbin]

People singing? I don't remember. There is a really funny singing moment in this movie. Yeah. That's when I laugh the most.

[Rob Harvilla]

There are a couple. We did learn. We learned early in the movie that Craig is in a punk band. But then when he and his friends are together, they also sing late 90s hip hop dance jams.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Acapella.

[Rob Harvilla]

Acapella.

[Amanda Dobbin]

But I was laughing like that was the true guffaw in the theater for me.

[Rob Harvilla]

Another genius construction of Craig realizing that he just doesn't fit in with these guys. Even what these guys are. Even though what these guys are doing is ridiculous and I pray to God no one is. No group of friends are doing that anywhere in the world right now. It is really funny. There is. I think there's something kind of challenging in a good way about being forced to be with Craig Robinson for one hour and 40 minutes again.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Durational.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. Which I ultimately did enjoy. And the highs are so high. But I did feel like this movie could end with him murdering everyone. And I wouldn't have been stunned.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes. But I think I would have been a little annoyed.

[Rob Harvilla]

Oh, because then it was trying to be too serious.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No. Or. And. Or if it were using that as like pure comedy, then it would sort of undercut what it is achieving. And it's like. And its weirdness for the sake of.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. Then it would seem like a nihilistic Exact. Yeah, yeah, I get that. I really enjoyed both Kate Mara's character and her performance. Yeah, I could not think of another example of a character like this in the history of a movie. In the movie, which is, like, pure comedy. She never winks. She's never, like, in on the joke. She is a person who is living her life, specifically the way that she wants to live it. Now she's in a marriage with Craig, and she has a teenage son that she has an unusually close and physical relationship with. But she is very openly talking about her friendship with her ex boyfriend. And she's also very clearly perturbed by the lack of support she receives from her husband with her flower business. And, like, over time, she just kind of drifts away from him and just pushes him away. She has, like, a tremendous amount of agency in this movie after she's lost in a sewer system.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right? Well, she does get lost in a sewer system.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, I love Kate Mara. As you know, I thought the way that she chose to play it was really interesting. Not what you usually would see from the wife character in the buddy comedy and not funny, but very. Is it stupid to say profound?

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I don't think so. I think that this is a very intelligent movie for something that is, like, really, really stupid also and playing for, like, blunt laughs. But I think also, if she's not there, there is something about the way she performs it in her sort of, like, independence and just kind of how she's separated off from him that keeps you from asking questions like, why are you married to this person? Like, how did any of this happen? There is. There's, like, a otherworldliness to what's. How all of these people are behaving that gets you past the suspension of disbelief.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes, agreed. So it's like when Conor o' Malley enters the garage.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Everything Connor o' Malley does in this is also the other time I absolutely lost it.

[Rob Harvilla]

Connor o' Malley going in the garage is like when Godzilla and Kong finally face each other in Godzilla vs Kong, where you're like, I've just been waiting five movies to see these guys punch each other. And I need. I would like Conor o' Malley in more movies is where I stand on that. It's a very funny scene. Two guys who were, like, experts at the awkward. Like, everyone realizes there's something wrong with this guy, except for this guy who both raised their voices in uncomfortable ways and who have located something about, like, the disillusionment in the American spirit that the Internet has bored down into People like, they both have kind of picked up on something in different ways where it's just like every guy looking at his phone is basically broken and they just. They get it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's true.

[Rob Harvilla]

They just. They get it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

What does Connor Malley yell as he leaves the garage?

[Rob Harvilla]

I forget.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's really, really good.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And then at the end of the party, also, it's, you know, very funny stuff.

[Rob Harvilla]

I also enjoyed Craig's blown pitch to the mayor about his new marketing campaign, which is also just phenomenal stuff. This is a very funny movie. I know it's hard to get theatrical comedies going and this movie is on a smaller scale and it was obviously a cheaper movie. It was a festival movie that I think got picked up by a 24 out of TIFF and seems like they're doing pretty good business with it. I don't think it shows the way for anything, but.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, but it's nice that it exists.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. And I think it probably is like a little bit of a proof of concept for a slightly bigger Tim Robinson thing if he wants it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. But this is also. This seems like the right level. I think this will become like a very off referenced movie. You know, it's sort of like instant cults.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. It'll be on max in three months and then people will watch it over and over again just like they watch. I Think youk Should Leave Paul Rudd. We haven't mentioned him too much in this episode.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Very funny.

[Rob Harvilla]

He's great. There's a phenomenal episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler with Paul Rudd. I highly encourage people. It's just them doing bits for an hour. I really liked it. He. Him doing this movie is great. He definitely didn't have to do this. I think he clearly did it because he thinks Tim Robinson is funny. He still looks exactly like the guy from romeo and Juliet 35 years later. Which is a little dispiriting for me.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean this has been like a meme for 15 years now. But it's.

[Rob Harvilla]

That meme was like nine years ago and it's still going.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

Which is. And it's played for an incredible laugh in the movie because it's revealed in the movie that his character is bald and wears a toupee, which is something that we would joke about about Paul Rudd, who's preserving his eternal fountain of Youth. By the way, I saw the film Fountain of Youth on Apple TV this weekend.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Oh, ye. Yeah, that's. I'm. I'll do it at some point. But yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

I don't Think it deserves much. Okay, airtime here on the pod. I thought he was really good in this. I thought he was really funny. I thought he also. His character was also a little bit more complex than I was expecting. He wasn't just the suave, cool guy who dashed into town and took Craig's breath away. He also is kind of a middle aged guy going through it who needed to be inspired to do some things differently, who also is flawed, who also is insecure, you know, in a way that was like, I don't know, pretty.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Pretty. And they make fun of him too. You know, he's the aspiring weatherman, but he keeps. He's like not popular at work.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes, yes. Getting kicked by his bosses. The anchors are very rude to him. Pretty funny movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Definitely. And also good. I mean, it is not a broad comedy. And I do wonder how many people I saw the movie with who were just like, what is happening? You know?

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, there's a strain of that, I think for anybody who fires up. I think you should leave too, where you're just like, this is just a. There's a real not for me contingent, which is totally fine. Ultimately not the best movie about friendship that I've ever seen.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think that it is a very good movie about the way that a friendship can mutate. I mean, this is the thing. Right when we were making our lists, are we. Is it like model friendships or good movies about friendships? Because I went through a lot of movies where I'm like, well, she's a pretty bad friend. And I wouldn't do that if I were, you know, or I would be mad about this. Yeah, I mean, that is like, you kind of need that.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, you have one on here that I. I left off, but I'm glad you added it because something happens to it that kind of like makes me sad and.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. But is also the. A major part of the movie?

[Rob Harvilla]

It is, it is.

[Amanda Dobbin]

You know, and. And is, I think, a good movie about friendship.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. Okay, let's do our list. Okay, I'll go first because my first one's kind of a joke, but I do believe in it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay.

[Rob Harvilla]

These are friends who are new friends, like the friends in the movie friendship. And they instantly bond. I'm talking about McLovin and the cops from Superbad.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Superb.

[Rob Harvilla]

And one of my favorite things about Superbad, which is an all time movie that we love, is the way that the cops, played by Bill Hader and Seth Rogen, play it so straight that they're having a blast with McLovin while they're riding around in their cruiser with him and that they feel a bond and a connection with him. And when it turns out that he's not who he says he is, that they are deeply hurt and that all the fun that they've had has been premised upon a lie. And it's just a rare, beautiful portrait of cops in a movie. And McClellaven, of course, you know, Christopher Mintz Plasse gives an incredible performance in that movie. So that's my first one.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, Mine is the Flossy Posse from Girls Triple. Okay, so this is. This is my, like group of women together in the movie Sex in the City. Not eligible. Because that was a TV show first. Yeah, but it was a TV show first. I thought about it also. You know, they. They have their ups and downs as friends.

[Rob Harvilla]

And just like that is coming back.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Soon, I could not be more aware or more excited. I already volunteered myself as the end. Just like that correspondent on the Watch.

[Rob Harvilla]

Great.

[Amanda Dobbin]

So I won't be here for the next 10 weeks. I'll just be on the Watch.

[Rob Harvilla]

Understood.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Diagramming every bit of it.

[Rob Harvilla]

Sounds good. Solo Phoenician scheme pod for me.

[Amanda Dobbin]

There are a lot, obviously, like a lot of movies about a group of women, usually four, and they are figuring things out, but really at the end they love each other. And this one is both genuinely fun and funnier. And then also just the speech that Regina hall gives at the end made me cry. So there is something very heartfelt about it that I still remember. And obviously a sensation, box office wise.

[Rob Harvilla]

So we had a bunch of these when we were kids. I think Steel Magnolia is probably kicked off the trend of these movies, but I remember very, very vividly now and Then was like a huge one.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Sure.

[Rob Harvilla]

What were some other examples?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Huge for me too. Devin Sawa Forever.

[Rob Harvilla]

Absolutely.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I didn't realize that Devin Saw was Final Destination until I listened to your podcast, Alex.

[Rob Harvilla]

He is the critical character in the film. There are some other examples. What are some other. I mean, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is like a famous version of this, right?

[Amanda Dobbin]

First Wives Club.

[Rob Harvilla]

First Wives Club. That's a great one. Yeah, there's a lot of these. Yeah, they're pretty persistent. My number four is two women. Two women named Enid and Rebecca from Ghost World, played by Thor Birch, also Now and Then. And Scarlett Johansson. I think this is maybe the second time I saw Scarlett Johansson after the Horse Whisperer. That was a movie, right?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay. Yeah. With Robert Redford and Kristen Scott Thomas.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, I think she was the Horse Whisperer.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Can I tell you, for a minute, I thought that Kristen Scott Thomas was voicing the Galactic counselor or whoever in Lilo and Stitch. And then I recognized it was Hannah Waddingham doing far better accent work than she did in Mission Impossible Final Reckoning. I gotta give her credit.

[Rob Harvilla]

Good to know.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I would have been happy to see that money to go to Chris and Kott Thomas.

[Rob Harvilla]

I. We're getting far away from Eden and Rebecca. However, I watched an interview with Hannah Waddingham about her working with Tom Cruise, and she was extremely laudatory, as most actors are. And she made one note that I thought was interesting, which is that she said when she was working on the movie, that Tom Cruise waited to shoot his coverage until the end of the day. And she said, unlike many other stars whom I've worked with, this is incredibly uncommon, that it is important for their coverage to be shot first, that they be taken care of first. And he was like, we got to make sure everybody else looks good and everybody else is taken care of. I'm not sure that's really meaningful in any way, but I thought it was a very specific detail that she chose to share or was encouraged to share about her experience with Tom, anyway. Eden and Rebecca. Ghost World, Fascinating movie about two young women who find themselves kind of, like, searching for the next stage of their life. They befriend an older man who's a collector, a jazz music fan, or, excuse me, a blues music fan, and they kind of, like, befriend him at first to kind of mock him and make fun of him, and then slowly come to recognize he is like a kindred spirit. Enid, in particular, kind of, like, falls for the idea of him. He's played by Steve Buscemi. And their friendship is really interesting. It's somewhat similar to one of the ones on your list, too, in that they kind of. You can see that they've been friends for a very long time, since they were young girls, and that as they've gotten older, they've stayed close in some ways and drifted in other ways. And the things that they're interested in. Enid is like a little bit more of an oddball, and Rebecca is becoming a little bit more normie through the course of the storytelling and the way that they like very. They don't. There's no dramatic throwdown between them. They just kind of, like, very gently drift for a while, but they know that they'll always love each other. And I always thought it was like a very sophisticated portrait of a particular kind of friendship. And I You know, I think they're both like such great actors and I love that movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

My number four is, you know, less high minded, but also really beautiful. Danny and Rusty in Ocean's Eleven.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, this is me and Ciara.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, I mean, it's really. You think we need one more?

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbin]

You think we need one more?

[Rob Harvilla]

We need one more shorthand.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. Nothing. They just. They are together, they understand each other, they don't have to speak the things. It's beautiful. It's probably like my ideal form of friendship.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's nice when.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And also they do crimes.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's kind of the opposite of Craig and Austin where it's like they've got 30 years behind them.

[Amanda Dobbin]

There's like. There's a real comfort and trust in that they understand each other and so then they just go do their things. And even when Dany is like. Has actually turned out to set up the whole thing in order to get back tests, I think Rusty's mad for like 5 seconds and then eats some cocktail shrimp and then moves on. So it's fine.

[Rob Harvilla]

Is Rusty good at his job?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think so, because he gets the money out of the vault. You know, he's in the. They're all in the vault together, just asking questions. I mean, I guess. I guess Danny's in there too. I'm trying to think.

[Rob Harvilla]

Maybe time for a revisit.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, but no, I mean, he plays a crucial role in moving things together and moving things apart.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay, I'll roll with you on it. Questions? 11. Great movie. Number three is a little bit of a recognition of something that you were talking about. This is Gus, Harry and Archie from the John Cassavetes movie Husbands, which came out in 1970, which is a, I think, a very famous movie among a certain kind of person that is about a very specific kind of. It's sort of a prequel to friendship. It's about old friends, guys who've known each other for a long time who come together in the aftermath of the death of their other closest friend. And it's Ben Gazzara. Cassavetes and Peter Falk played the three friends, three guys who have appeared in many Cassavetes movies over the years. And it's about them having a little bit of a. What we might call a crash out in 2025, in the aftermath of this death, where they're kind of getting into trouble and kind of wandering around the city, getting drunk, playing basketball, picking fights with strangers, picking fights with each other, finding ways to kind of sloppily communicate how much they care about each other, but then also how much they hate when one of the others does something. Only death can kind of draw out this kind of honesty amongst friends, I think. And this is a really emotionally sophisticated movie that feels really slapdash on purpose, and I really love it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. I mean, it's also kind of a nightmare from the outside, but if you're.

[Rob Harvilla]

A woman, this movie is hard to watch.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Portrayed, but, yeah, I would say it's accurate. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Mine, my number three is Frances and Sophie from Frances. Ha. And this movie is a lot of ways in about how they're very close friends and roommates. At the beginning of the movie, they are in a transitional phase of life, and so they are moving away from each other as the movie goes on, which often happens especially for. Well, at that phase of life.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes. And late twenties. What am I really doing right?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Am I getting my stuff together? And I think that the hurt and the confusion and also the love are all portrayed, like, without melodrama. They just kind of. And so it feels very true and wistful at the same time. And they, like. They get to an okay place and, you know, everyone's gonna be okay. Which is kind of what is beautiful about Frances. Ha. In general, one of my favorite movies. And I think it's just. It is very, very lived in, that friendship.

[Rob Harvilla]

I agree. I really like. I really like. Gosh, what is her name?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Mickey Sumner.

[Rob Harvilla]

Mickey Sumner. Her performance. And after. I remember seeing after the movie, obviously, Greta has gone on to incredible things, But I feel like I have not really seen her very much. And I feel like she embodied. I was like, that's a girl I know in New York that is my friend's friend. And I think that there's something very wistful about Frances being the one who's left behind. And I do think that in a lot of small groups of friends, there's one friend where you're like, whatever happened to X? But to build the movie around the person who's like, whatever happened next is just a very smart idea and a wonderful movie. Okay. Number two is fresh in my mind because I just rewatched it for our Children of Men conversation. It's Julio and Tenoche from ITU Ma Tambien. Diego Luna back in the news due to Andor obviously. And Gael Garcia Barnal's characters from Cuaron's beautiful road movie. I put this on the list because I think it's a really great example, not just of two guys who are best friends who end up basically falling in Love without necessarily speaking about that feeling.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It's funny that our number twos are the same.

[Rob Harvilla]

They are. They're matched in some ways, but because it's about the evolution of a friendship. Like the way that a friendship which seems very tight and very close, like they're homies at the beginning and they're going on this trip together, and they're like. They think already that there's nothing more that they could say to each other that would blow each other's minds. But across the movie, things become so much more emotionally intense, and they have, like, such a series of realizations about one another and about themselves. That kind of shows you, like, what a close relationship can do for your life. So that's just an amazing film, and I recommend it.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Once again, I'm. You know, this is. That's the art film, and mine is the mainstream classic. Veda and Thomas from My Girl. Jack, you seen My Girl?

[Rob Harvilla]

I have not.

[Amanda Dobbin]

So you don't know what happens at the end of My Girl?

[Rob Harvilla]

I do not.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I remember when I had to tell Bobby what happens at the end of My Girl. Okay. Can I spoil it for you?

[Rob Harvilla]

You can just. If you haven't seen the film. My girl.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

1994 cinematic classic.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Listen.

[Rob Harvilla]

Veda Sultenfuss as portrayed by Anna Chlumsky. Yeah, we all loved her.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I don't remember Thomas's last name, but he is portrayed by Macaulay Culkin.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And Veda.

[Rob Harvilla]

At the height of Home Alone mania.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Veda is going through some tough stuff at home. She lost her mom. Her dad's dating someone new. She's a little bit of a, you know, she's.

[Rob Harvilla]

It. Is it Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I believe so. Correct. Yeah. And she's like 10. 11. A little bit. You know, that. Which is a tricky age. Kind of tomboyish, kind of just, you know, frustrated with everyone.

[Rob Harvilla]

So Alice. Oh, my God.

[Amanda Dobbin]

She's so Alice. And then Thomas shows up, and he's just a new kid in class who becomes her friend, and they become friends. Then things are kind of sorting out at home. And then Veda has this mood ring that she loves, and she loses her mood ring. And Thomas goes back to get it for her because they're best friends. And he's allergic to bees and gets stung by bee and he fucking dies. He dies, Jack. He's 10 years old and he dies. And like, when you are 10 and.

[Rob Harvilla]

You'Re watching this, just gonna say, I was 11 when I saw this, and I felt like I got Shot in the heart.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It is still so fucked up, so real.

[Rob Harvilla]

You're saying, like, this is not an art film or whatever. This is a really, really good movie and very effective.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, it's really, really effective. And it does also, it gets something, something very true about friendship at that age. And they are, you know, they like practice kissing together and maybe if they were older, they, you know, there's like this seedlings of the romantic thing, but there still is also that they're just like two 10 year olds, like trying to figure out in the world and they each need someone else and it's like very uncomplicated. And then the loss is also just absolutely like pure and gutting.

[Rob Harvilla]

We don't really see him officially die. We see her being told that he didn't make it, as I recall. And it's so powerful. So my best friend growing up was a girl, my friend Sarah. And Sarah and I saw this movie together and very, very, very tough. And Sarah was a little Veda ish as well. And yeah, great. Honestly, really good movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Incredible movie.

[Rob Harvilla]

I mean, maybe it's. Maybe we'd watch it now and be like this piece of trash. Why was it shot this way? But I'd be like, I don't think.

[Amanda Dobbin]

The adults are taking Beta's emotional needs seriously enough.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay. I think our ones are kind of obvious, but in good ways. My number one is of course, Elliot and E.T. from the film E.T. which is very similar to Lilo and Stitch. The idea of a formulation of a boy who just really needs a friend. Things at home are not going well. He feels a little bit at sea at school and socially, and he wants something kind of deeper and bigger in his life and he can't really find it on the ground until ET Presents himself. And then he kind of builds his whole emotional life around the friendship to ET Steven Spielberg, the master of directing child actors. And there's. It's hard to have a new thought about ET I've podcasted about it many times in my life and I will. I can't wait to show it to my daughter. But I thought it was kind of the perfect match for the new friendships in this episode.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes. You know, clearly Lilo and Stitcho's a great. Dead to it. I mean, I can't really talk about it without crying, but it's a great movie and similar to my number one in that it's about a friend who needs another friend in a moment, but that also ultimately, you know, if you love someone, let them go just to let them Go. So mine is Will and Chucky from Good Will Hunting and, you know, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as well. But this scene, you know, the best part of my day is, you know, when I show up and just for a second, I think that you're not going to be there. And they have known each other forever. They understand each other. They also understand and that there's something different. I wouldn't say it's like an equal friendship. I think Chucky's, like, giving a little bit more and Will's, like, taking a little bit. But he's had a hard life, so it's what he needs, I guess. And Chucky's gonna be. Chucky's gonna be okay. He can ace any job interview that he needs to. But you know that I feel like that one Ben Affleck moment, that speech is, like, immediately iconic. And it's. It is a nice idea of friendship. Right? Of knowing that you're, you know, wanting the best for your friend. So beautiful stuff. Love them forever.

[Rob Harvilla]

Great choices. Friendship. Complicated thing to portray in the movies. I don't even really know among my honorable mentions, there's kind of too many to add. I tried to avoid the, like, classic Lethal Weapon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Right. Thelma and Louise.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. Like, these guys, they loved each other and then they died.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yes.

[Rob Harvilla]

Any closing thoughts? You feel good about the box office.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And how movies are back and dentistry, all of it.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, you're an anti. Dentite. You know, that's. You may recall from Seinfeld.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I think that they play an important role in society, but that then they're just scamming. Like, when you are having a real tooth problem, they fix it and they, like, alleviate pain and help people live happy and healthy lives.

[Rob Harvilla]

You don't usually have a real health problem until you don't do the things that dentists advise.

[Amanda Dobbin]

No, I think preventative dentistry is a scam invented to make money. There we go.

[Rob Harvilla]

Shared that take very. Like, many times with no verifiable proof.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Merely asking them to show me the. I brush my teeth.

[Rob Harvilla]

An entire field of study. This is like being like archaeology as a scam. Show me the proof of its value.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, well, it's like, didn't. Didn't we discover the other day that the dinosaur bones are, like, they're putting them together wrong?

[Rob Harvilla]

The other day we discovered that. Where did you read these? Where are you getting this information?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I read all the news that you don't read about, like, you know, shark attacks and all this stuff.

[Rob Harvilla]

But why Aren't you sending me?

[Amanda Dobbin]

Because you don't respond. I give up.

[Rob Harvilla]

But I look at it well. You want me to write an essay back about the incredible discoveries and new archaeological.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Our form of friendship is not me just like sending you links, you know, why not? Because then every time I do, you're like, why'd you send me that weird thing? You're such a weird person. You're just like, oh, look, a hat.

[Rob Harvilla]

You know, rather than just send the link, you could send some context. Like, hey, remember we were having this discussion, and in furthering our friendship, I thought it would be great to have some new context as we chat through this.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I think I heard that some of the dinosaurs got put together wrong. And also they were colorful. And maybe colorful. Maybe had feathers.

[Rob Harvilla]

Well, that we've heard.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah.

[Rob Harvilla]

That they're in the bird phylum. I don't know what the right word is there, scientifically speaking.

[Amanda Dobbin]

You know, one thing I did like about Lilo at Stitch was the throwaway joke of, like, you know, earth is just like a mosquito rehabilitation project. And then the thing about humans is that an asteroid hits their planet every however many years and they just have to start all over. It's kind of adorable.

[Rob Harvilla]

You just reminded me of something.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, I thought that was at least slightly funny. But that was the only humor for adults in the whole film.

[Rob Harvilla]

It wasn't very winky. Pixar. This is for adults. It was definitively a kids movie. I watched, well, two things. Two wildlife notes to close this episode on one. We watched the Good Dinosaur in Our House over the weekend, which I had never seen. That's a Pixar movie.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I don't know what that is.

[Rob Harvilla]

It's probably the least celebrated of all the Pixar movies.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Okay. And baby staring a dinosaur in the eye.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah. Well, it's obviously scientifically inaccurate because humans live contemporaneously to dinosaurs. And in fact, dinosaurs in the film develop our agrarian technologies and they build farms for us, which I don't think that's how. I don't think that's what really happened. I can't be sure of that. But I don't think that that's how we discovered farming.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, once they put the bones out of order, you know, who can say?

[Rob Harvilla]

I know everything has been completely undermined in my life. And I gotta tell you, I thought the movie was quite nice. Even though it has a terrible reputation. I thought there was something actually beautiful about it. Just putting that out there. The other thing is, we went to the zoo oh, wow.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And I saw the real holiday weekend vibes.

[Rob Harvilla]

Oh, my God. We did so many holiday things. We went to the bird show, and.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I fucking hate that.

[Rob Harvilla]

The birds. I was thinking of you because the birds are flying at a low angle. Absolutely enormous.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Absolutely not.

[Rob Harvilla]

California and Andean condors, like. Like, right over your head. Like, sure, there are parrots there. They're very cute. You know, there's some, like, nice, smaller tropical birds. But these condors, which look like ancient villains, I mean, they look like they were designed to destroy our culture, but they were. They were well trained. Nobody got hurt.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, sure, until they aren't.

[Rob Harvilla]

The show opens with one of them being, like, let out of a. Almost looked like a rucksack or something.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Where's Alice on this?

[Rob Harvilla]

She was interested. She was engaged.

[Amanda Dobbin]

She wasn't, like, freaked out at all.

[Rob Harvilla]

No, she loves animals. We had a great time.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I know, but the birds, they just. It was wild parrot season, you know, for the last couple weeks. And the parrots were just very close to our windows. And I find it really upsetting.

[Rob Harvilla]

I think they're nice. I'm not really scared of them, but if a giant Andean condor picks my daughter up and carries her off to a magical land, I'm not gonna feel the same about this.

[Amanda Dobbin]

I just remembered that this morning while I was getting dressed, I watched a coyote poop in the backyard next door. It thought it was a little.

[Rob Harvilla]

Are we still taping Jack? Hour 22.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It was, like, really having a moment by itself.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay.

[Amanda Dobbin]

And I was just like, well, there's a coyote taking a giant shed in my neighbor's backyard.

[Rob Harvilla]

We're in the 82nd minute of this episode.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It was funny.

[Rob Harvilla]

Do you think that this show is actually about your midlife crisis, like, when you really think about it? Because I thought it was about mine, but I don't think it is anymore.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah, and we, like. You passed the bat.

[Rob Harvilla]

Yeah, I think so.

[Amanda Dobbin]

It was wildlife, you know, And I was just. I saw.

[Rob Harvilla]

You were moved by this, or you thought it was fun?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I thought it was funny because I really. The coyote thought it was having a moment of solitude. And I was like, I'm right here, buddy.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's incredibly invasive.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Well, it's. You know, they. They cut down a lot of trees, so it's the neighbor's fault anyway.

[Rob Harvilla]

Okay. Coyotes an issue in the neighborhood?

[Amanda Dobbin]

I mean, depending on who you ask. There's around. It's their home, too.

[Rob Harvilla]

I find they're quite nice.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Yeah. I don't mind them.

[Rob Harvilla]

Don't bother them. They won't bother you.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Exactly.

[Rob Harvilla]

That's how I feel about all of my takes on this show. You don't bother them.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Let's see how you wind us back to the segment.

[Rob Harvilla]

I understood it. I think I got back. I got us back. Thanks to our producer, Jack Sanders, for his work on this episode. Thank you so much. Thanks, Jack, for sitting in this room with us as we went through this. We will be back on Friday and we're going to be paying tribute to an old friend with a very special episode. Karate Kid Legends. Off the schedule.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Not doing it.

[Rob Harvilla]

Replaced by this very special episode. So do you think we need to.

[Amanda Dobbin]

Prepare people, or do you think that the people are prepared and we're not?

[Rob Harvilla]

I'll just say some letters. Those letters are S, H, R, E and K. We'll see you then. SA.