‘High Fidelity’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney

Summary

The Rewatchables: “High Fidelity”
Episode Date: December 16, 2025
Panelists: Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan (CR), Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney

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Episode Overview

The panel gathers for a passionate, nostalgia-charged look at Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity (2000), adapted from Nick Hornby’s novel. Starring John Cusack, Jack Black, and Iben Hjejle, the film explores obsessive music fandom, commitment struggles, and the evolution of Gen X sensibilities through the lens of a Chicago record store and its emotionally stunted owner. The hosts dig into the film’s “list-making” culture, generational themes, iconic performances, and enduring impact on pop culture.

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Main Themes and Purpose

• Dissecting the cultural and emotional relevance of High Fidelity as a touchstone for Gen X and retail-worker identity
• Breaking down the transition from book to film (and UK to Chicago), and the movie’s resonance among obsessive media fans
• Evaluating the “top five” culture and how High Fidelity crystallized a certain way of engaging with pop
• Unpacking the representation of male emotional immaturity, romantic relationships, and nostalgia
• Celebrating standout performances, especially Jack Black’s scene-stealing turn and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s transformative cameo

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening: Personal Connections & Nick Hornby Fandom

[02:21-03:35, 05:16-06:26]

• Joanna & CR: Both chose High Fidelity following a movie draft, highlighting its obsessive nature resonant within The Ringer “obsessive interests” culture.
• CR relates directly: “I was a record store clerk from 1995 to 2003…assistant manager… My career development was taken.” ([02:51])
• Deep personal influence of Nick Hornby's writing on music-obsessed culture.
• Mixed feelings about switching the story from London to Chicago, but praise for the adaptation’s authenticity to British music.

Gen X Cultural Significance

[06:29-10:17]

• Bill Simmons: “It’s the last Gen X movie” — frames the film as a bookend for the era’s pop culture anxieties.
• Dialog about how Gen X protagonists are depicted as “guys talking in rooms movies,” with a focus on romantic difficulty, emotional pain, and drifting careers.
• High Fidelity is compared and contrasted with other Gen X staples: Say Anything, Singles, Reality Bites, Chasing Amy.

Memorable Quote:

• “You’re kind of stuck with the people you were stuck with wherever you lived…You’re kind of on a playing team, but you have all this content you want to talk about.” - Bill ([10:37])

The Retail Workplace as Identity

[09:51-13:35]

• Discussion of “retail hangout” films: Clerks, Empire Records, You’ve Got Mail, and High Fidelity as formative for 90s/00s subcultures.
• The unique camaraderie, nostalgia, and low-stakes drama of “shop life.”
• The dynamic of being friends out of necessity, not preference—core to the film’s trio.

Quote:

• “What you like is more important than what you are.” - General Consensus ([11:37])

List-Making and Pop Culture Obsession

[20:20-24:09, 46:07-48:52]

• Is High Fidelity responsible for the “top 5” craze? The panel tracks the lineage from Casey Kasem, Letterman’s Top Ten, to this movie’s niche specificity.
• Influence on journalists and future content creators: Bill credits the book’s list-mania for expanding the boundaries of pop writing and “mailbag” columns.
• Scenes dissected: the “hand-selling” sequence, list specificity (“top 5 track one, side one”), and their real-life analogs in retail jobs.

Notable Moment:

• “There’s nothing like messing up a mixtape and being like, shit, I gotta start all over again.” - CR ([52:29])

Relationship Dynamics: Settling, Maturity, and Female POV

[17:00-19:02, 18:03-18:44]

• Who’s settling in Rob and Laura’s relationship? The consensus: both.
• High Fidelity gets credit for sidestepping the traditional “romantic gesture” ending, leaning into realism and ambivalence instead.
• Contemporary criticism: “Rob ages the worst”—nostalgia for the obsessive, flawed male protagonist has less appeal now.

Memorable Dialogue:

• “I’m too tired not to be with you, there’s something kind of romantic about that.” - Joanna ([18:16])

Standout Performances and Legacy

[26:53-33:40]

• Jack Black: The panel agrees this is his breakout, the birth of the “Jack Black” persona, and possibly his best work — “the 6th man Jack Black.”
• Catherine Zeta-Jones: Lauded for playing “a lady you would know”—more “normal” and relatable than her blockbuster roles.
• Iben Hjejle: Praised as an inspired, European casting choice, adding a “babysitter for a manchild” energy.

Soundtrack & Cultural Accuracy

[40:21-44:58, 86:05-90:12]

• Discussion of what songs and soundtrack choices have “aged the best”—debates over Beat Band, Katrina And The Waves, Marvin Gaye, and whether the film reflects true 2000s music taste.
• Nitpick: The relative lack of contemporary 90s/2000 bands in the soundtrack, especially for a Chicago record store – “It got too deep cutting…these guys would have been listening to more music from the last 10 years.” - Bill ([86:10])

Impact of Technology and Changing Eras

[51:08-54:54]

• Smoking indoors, answering machine drama, physical mixtapes vs. digital playlists—all “aged the best/worst” discussions.
• The panel notes the movie’s plot and tone would be drastically altered by social media and smartphones: “We all know too much about our exes already.” - Joanna ([79:38])

The “Rob” Archetype: Then and Now

[73:49-74:44, 75:25]

• Panel notes how the culture and movie now undercut Rob’s point-of-view–he’s seen as unreliable, self-absorbed, and frequently called out for his missteps.
• Influential fourth-wall breaking is compared to Ferris Bueller, Alfie, and Fleabag.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Gen X cultural malaise:

  • “You have this male protagonist who doesn’t know where his life’s going…This is probably the least likeable character of all the leads.” - Bill ([07:48])

• On retail camaraderie:

  • “You wind up becoming friends with a weird group of people where you have this core thing in common, but otherwise your paths would never cross.” - Joanna ([11:26])

• On mixtapes:

  • “There’s just nothing like messing up a mixtape and being like, shit, I gotta start all over again. Maddening.” - CR ([52:29])

• On romantic realism:

  • “Have sex with me after my dad’s funeral, and then I guess we’re back together.” - CR ([18:28])

• On Laura’s casting/reasoning:

  • “If we cast an American, she would seem too much like Rob’s mom. So we need someone who’s European.” - Joanna referencing Stephen Frears ([60:47])

• Jack Black’s steal:

  • “Jack Black…is the number one movie star of Gen Alpha, wouldn’t you say?” - Joanna ([29:06])

• Hot Take: Smells Like Teen Spirit

  • “The problem…is that song kind of sucks, and nobody wants to talk about it.” - Rob ([84:19])

• On obsessive list-making:

  • “I consider you the patron saint of the top sevens.” - Chris Ryan to Bill ([06:18])

• On the male POV:

  • “It’s always the dude…let me preach.” - Chris Ryan ([08:32])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:21]: Why the panel picked High Fidelity
• [05:16]: Bill on generational identification with Rob/Gen X legacy
• [07:00]: The essential Gen X filmography
• [09:51]: “Great retail movie” run of the ’90s/2000s
• [11:37]: Panel’s retail stories—commodity of connection over content
• [20:20]: Did High Fidelity invent the “top five” obsession?
• [18:03-18:44]: Relationship themes—who’s settling?
• [26:53]: The ensemble cast/Jack Black’s breakthrough
• [40:21]: Most rewatchable scenes
• [52:29]: Making mixtapes vs. playlists
• [73:49]: The unreliable narrator and self-awareness
• [84:19]: Rob’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hot take
• [86:10]: Bill’s critique on music selection
• [91:00]: Liz Phair as originally considered cast for Lisa Bonet’s role

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Recurring Rewatchables Categories

(With Panel Picks)

• Most Rewatchable Scene:

  • Jack Black’s entrance ([39:03])
  • DJ Rob introducing Sonic Death Monkey ([44:58])
  • Hand-selling/record store banter ([45:08])
  • Lisa Bonet’s performance ([47:57])

• Best Needle Drop:

  • Stevie Wonder, “I Believe (When I Fall in Love)” ([65:58])
  • Beta Band, “Dry the Rain” ([66:11])
  • Katrina & The Waves ([66:31])

• What’s Aged the Best:

  • Breaking the fourth wall ([55:16])
  • “Retail job hangout” dynamic ([9:51])
  • Gen X drift/nostalgia
  • Jack Black’s comic performance

• What’s Aged the Worst:

  • Seriousness of Rob’s behavior viewed now [75:25]
  • The stalking/misogyny that flies less well today

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Lightning Round: Hot Takes, Nitpicks & Flex Categories

• The “Rob” archetype now looks more self-pitying than romantic.
• Several excellent deleted scenes discussed (e.g., Beverly D’Angelo, Harold Ramis).
• Panel debates whether High Fidelity’s soundtrack really matches the Chicago 2000 scene, with sharp critiques from Bill (“Biggest reason...not one of my movies, got too deep cutting”).
• Jack Black and Catherine Zeta-Jones seen as “scene stealers”; Lisa Bonet as “from another planet” in the best way.
• Modern social media would “ruin” the film’s premise and slow-burn obsessions. ([79:38])
• Flex awards for best “cell phone would ruin this movie” scenario, food/drink (the burrito chomp), and “actor who could have been bigger” (Jack Black’s career trajectory).

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Conclusion: Who Won the Movie?

• Consensus: Jack Black’s Barry—breakout performance and career catalyst.
• Honorable mention: “Cusack wins because he knew Jack Black was the perfect pick.”
• The film’s legacy thrives with its blend of snark, sincerity, and the way it crystallized a generational approach to pop culture, relationships, and failing upward.

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Final Thoughts: High Fidelity remains a foundational text for how we talk about pop culture, get stuck in our own heads, and define ourselves by what we love. The film endures in both its specific time capsule flavors and universal themes, with a debate about whether the Hulu remake might have ultimately bested the movie itself.

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“It’s not what you’re like, it’s what you like.”

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

It's okay.

[A]

You just sent me back Sicario. You're like Sicario. Sicario. Sicario.

[B]

I have other ideas.

[A]

Yeah, but there was one movie that was on both lists.

[C]

I mean the star is completely aligned for High Fidelity. How could it not CR you?

[B]

Let's work it out.

[A]

High Fidelity is next.

[B]

You totally stole that from me.

[A]

This episode of the Rewatchables is presented by State Farm. Whether you're debating watching that award winning sports drama or rewatching your comfort buddy comedy Movie for the 10th time, choices are important when it comes to choosing coverage. A State Farm agent can help you find options that are right for you. Go online@state farm.com or use the award winning app to get help from one of their local agents. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. I have a million places I could start here. But let's start with why both of you picked this up. Joanna, you go first.

[D]

Probably cause we had just done the big pic movie draft and it was on my mind so I think that's why it was on my list.

[C]

But also if you work here, this is a formative movie for people who care about things obsessively. What else are we doing here if not this kind of thing? I saw this movie as a teenager. And of course, you see some of that. Rob in this. Rob. You see some of that. There are parts of him that you loathe and there are parts of him that you love. And so it's like, how could you not pick a story like this?

[A]

C.R. you actually worked in a record store in the late 90s?

[B]

Yeah, from 95 to 2003. I was a record store clerk.

[A]

So this movie comes out in 2000.

[B]

I was also an assistant manager as well. I don't want to make it sound.

[A]

You had some oversight.

[B]

My career development was taken.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

You had keys. You had keys.

[B]

I did, yeah.

[A]

You had keys.

[B]

Not to Kim's, but for Newberry. Yeah.

[A]

So this movie comes out. But you'd already read the book.

[B]

I had Nick Hornby. It's set in London. It's like a twin with Fever Pitch in that sort of like Peter Pan, English male trying to hang on to the things that he loved as a child as he becomes an adult.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Was he like your favorite author in the 90s?

[B]

He was one of my first, you know, he was one of my first contemporary authors that became like, a favorite author.

[D]

Yeah. Like, if there's a new Hornby novel out, you're gonna read it.

[B]

Yes. I'm so excited. After I felt very seen by those two books.

[A]

Were you cool that they were making a movie out of the book? Because that was like a traumatizing 90s. Like, oh, you can't touch that book. You're gonna fuck it up.

[D]

I was upset about Chicago.

[B]

I was upset.

[C]

Really?

[B]

I was nervous about Chicago. But I was a huge gross point blank fan.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So I was excited for John Cusack with music because he had obviously shown an affinity for, like, populating his movies with really great bands and really great needle drops.

[C]

I'm surprised for the two of you because you're two of the biggest Anglophiles I know. So moving out of the uk. Yes. That's scary. But they make the characters in this obsessed with British music.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. So doesn't that speak to you in some way?

[D]

Sure. But I loved the book, like C.R. and I just didn't see it working outside. And it totally works. It works really well. But I didn't want it and I was wrong and I'm surprised. You know, they made a TV show on Hulu, which I actually really, really loved as well.

[A]

I feel like Covid killed that show. It was right before COVID It was.

[D]

Ridiculous that that got killed.

[A]

I really liked it.

[E]

Why?

[D]

But we still haven't had A London based version of this story. And I would, I would take it eagerly.

[C]

That's kind of crazy.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously the, the version of it that happens on Hulu, the Hulu Show. I think the hardest thing to get over is the idea that there's still like a relatively thriving record store.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

There are some, there are some that are still doing well and they're. The vinyl is probably having like its most popular run in a long time. In the last couple of years.

[A]

That would be the re entry.

[B]

But the idea of like a record store where like multiple people can work for.

[D]

Even in 2000.

[C]

Yeah, 2000, definitely even in 2000.

[D]

I was like, that apartment. Rob's like, look at my shitty apartment. I'm like, that apartment.

[B]

That apartment's sick.

[D]

Yeah, it's great.

[A]

I have a complicated relationship with this movie. Cause I was probably the exact same age as the guy in the book when it came out. I was obsessive with weird shit like him. My life wasn't going the way I totally wanted it to go at that point. And I also love the book. So it was one of those where I went into it, read it and not like it that much. But it's kind of worn me down over the years.

[B]

Can I ask you, do you feel like when you, when you read this book, had you started writing yet?

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

Was it influential?

[A]

No, because I always thought his style was just so different than mine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I don't feel like he invented anything with that. It was a lot of how we conversed in the 90s was we didn't have the Internet yet. And it was a lot of like. You would have these long arguments about shit for like two, three hours.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you would argue, you would do like list of things or favorite whatever. Like this is all the stuff that like became Bleacher Report we were just doing in somebody's apartment at 1:30 a.

[D]

Day, constantly generating listicles.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm kind of surprised you like this movie because I consider you the patron saint of the top sevens.

[A]

Right.

[C]

What are you even doing with it?

[A]

You have to make a lot of money.

[B]

Top 11 cusacks straight to video movies in the 21st century, let's say.

[A]

Well, here's what I realized as I was thinking about it. I do think it's the last Gen X movie. I think Gen X kind of dies with this movie in a lot of ways. But then I was trying to think of. This is why I called Close to Win today. Because I was like, this is my List of the essential Gen X. If you're doing a thread from where I'm going to start to High Fidelity. And it's interesting because Cusack bookends it because his theory was that say Anything is the first Gen X movie, which I actually agree with. Because he's like, Lloyd Dobbler. All the things he stands for is Gen X.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And he's like, I don't want to sell anything. He has that whole speech. He's like, I don't know where my path is. That was basically Gen X. Pump up the Volume, I think is a Gen X movie. Slacker is the one that I'm not sure about. I have that as an asshole.

[C]

Why wouldn't it be?

[A]

Because it's like Chuck was saying. It's a little bit more like it almost. It's set in Austin in the 80s, but it is Gen X. It's like it's on the cusp. Anyway. Singles, Reality Bites Before Sunset, Kicking and screaming, Chasing Amy in High Fidelity, I think are the ones that have to be in there. And then Slacker I'm not sure about. I wouldn't put Clerks in there.

[D]

Because Chasing Amy is definitely the Kevin Smith that you would put on that list.

[A]

I think so. Because it's. Because otherwise it's five years between kicking and Screaming and High fidelity. And I need, like, something.

[D]

Oh, you need, like, just to take it.

[A]

But I think the thing that all those movies have in common except Slacker, you have this male protagonist doesn't know where his life's going. There's either somebody that he used to be in love with and he screwed it up, or he was in love with her but wasn't sure she was quite good enough for him. Or she dumped him. And they're just kind of navigating it and you're not even positive you like them. This is probably the least likable character of all the leads. Sure. And it's about the woman. And it's always told through the eyes of the male. There's no Fear Female Gen X movie. Really? That I can remember from the 90s. Was there cr.

[B]

Off the top of my head. It's hard to think of one. But there was.

[A]

It's always the dude.

[C]

Well, a lot of the movies you described are guys talking in room movies. And a lot guys talking in rooms at women. Like, trying to. Like even Ethan Hawkin Before Sunrise and Sunset.

[A]

It's a lot of.

[C]

Let me preach.

[B]

I would argue that Winona Ryder is the protagonist of reality.

[C]

That is true.

[A]

Oh, that's Fair. That's a good one. Yeah. And I think you could say in singles, like Bridget Fonda is a co protagonist.

[B]

Would you put Heathers in this group or is that like.

[A]

I wouldn't, but it's close.

[B]

I think Heathers and say anything to me are a different kind of high school movie than the ones that I had gotten previous to that. So they're different than John Hughes.

[D]

But what is Heather's teaching us about Gen X, I guess, is the question.

[A]

So when you were younger than Gen X, CR was right at the tail end and I was like headfirst in the middle of it. So when you both look at Gen X, what do you see?

[D]

I'm a cusper. I like to claim Gen X when I can. Yeah.

[C]

I mean, obviously the jadedness I think is part of it. And clearly just like the such a strong pushback against any kind of sellout culture or enfranchisement in any way. There's such an independent spirit. And with that, I think just comes a cold, hard, honestly bitter shell to a lot of these movies and stories. And you can see that with Rob through and through. Right. He is closing himself off from the world in this book and this movie and just fiddling through his record collection as a way to keep warm at night. But I think that's kind of what sticks out to me the most about these Gen X stories.

[D]

It's funny that you went through these like Gen X signposts. Cause I was thinking about this. I think this is a great retail movie, like a hang at the store movie. And you've got clerks 94, Empire Records, 95, you've got mail, which I was a bookstore clerk, so that's what I would count.98. I think that counts, you know. And then you've got this 2000. It was like a nice little run.

[A]

For like I'd even throw mall rats in there, sort of. Kind of. At least the working.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, like, hanging out in your retail job is, you know, I think this is all comes from Clerks, but that's my favorite part of this movie. Like Rob and Laura is interesting to me. But the guys in the store, well.

[B]

In and out Slacker kind of the bookstore in Slacker kind of works for this as well as like a retail hangout place.

[A]

One other thing with Gen X that this movie hits perfectly is you're kind of stuck with the people you were stuck with wherever you lived and they weren't exactly. It's like you're not on the OKC Thunder this year, you're not winning 75 games. You're kind of on a playing team, but you have all this content you want to talk about. And it's like, well, these are the people I guess I have to talk to about this.

[D]

These two guys showed up to work.

[C]

Yeah, stop.

[A]

Name names. But, like, he's with these two guys that I'm not even sure he really likes. And they're not that likable. Yeah. But they're all just kind of together every day doing top five. And he's just, like. Almost like a standup doing a piece.

[D]

Yeah, but that's the joy of the retail job. Especially, like, based around, like, I would say, music or books or something like that, where it's just sort of like you have this base thing in common where you love books or you love music or you love, like, people. Worked. I worked at a movie theater. You love movies.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And so even if you like different genres, there is this sort of. You wind up becoming friends with a weird group of people where you have this core thing in common, but otherwise your paths would never cross.

[C]

So you're saying what you like is more important than what you are?

[D]

Like, I actually agree with that. Yeah.

[B]

It's. It's at least kind of true.

[A]

Right.

[D]

And I found myself sick to my stomach when I was like, I know we're not supposed to agree with this.

[B]

But I think it's like the dark Finstock Award. It's like, it doesn't matter. I agree with Joe. I mean, like, I remember the names of almost everybody I worked with at a record store, but, like, forget names of people that I met last year, you know, like, and there is also, like, it's a very important time in your life when you're kind of in college, coming out of college, or if you're just, like, entering the workforce. The retail jobs that I had in the record store, jobs specifically that I had, I was like, you know what? If nothing ever else happens to me, I'd be good. Like, I. Like, I kind of would still work at a record store if I could.

[D]

I get nostalgic for it. I'm like, can I do that on the weekends? Can I go into the bookstore on the weekend?

[B]

Intellectually stimulating while being physically mechanical. So, like, you just don't have to do that much. You just bullshit with people all day about stuff you're interested in, and then, like, the things that you're quote unquote, responsible for are, like, alphabetizing and moving things.

[C]

That actually does sound very shelving.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

A lot of shelving. And then you close the store door at the end of the day and then you're done with work.

[B]

Yes. And lots of cigarette breaks.

[A]

Yeah. I remember my buddy Gus from high school, we used to play this game called the Name Game where you said Joanna Robinson and then I had to say the next name had to have Joanna or Robinson in it. And we would just keep going until you could try to stump the next person. So we did a Robinson Cano and then Frank Robinson. We did it. We just on a road. We would be driving somewhere for three hours, just. We didn't have podcasts to listen to. It's like, let's play the Name Game. And you'd eventually get to some crazy name like Trajan Langdon. It's like, fuck, I have nowhere to go. I don't know, another train. But that's the kind of shit you did in the 90s. You're just killing time with content and you never, you know, you'd hear somebody's theory or take on some movie or a music album or something like, that's fucking amazing. Oh yeah.

[B]

Well, there was.

[A]

You find out on the Internet anywhere.

[B]

There was no comment section. So people would be like, I'm going down in flames with this take.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And the only comment section is the bar. So I don't have to like worry about this following me around for years. If I want to say like, this band is better than Pavement or this band is a. This is a better movie than Apocalypse now or whatever.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You could just have one glorious night and they'd be like, oh, I had four beers.

[D]

That's why I thought that.

[B]

But like now if you, you know, if you're like, high fidelity is better than, than Nashville today.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

People will friggin at you for a while and like, you'll be like, well, that was miserable.

[A]

Yeah, Drunk takes were huge back in the day.

[C]

I think drunk takes still exist. They're just, you know, experienced and documented different consequences.

[B]

I love your point about the people you're stuck with though. Like, that is one thing that this movie gets really right is the Barry and Dick and Rob trio is like they spend more time together than anybody else in their lives. But like Rob is just like, they just started appearing here, right.

[A]

It was supposed to be three days a week.

[C]

He says that, but he goes out every night with them. Of course, you know, these are his guys.

[B]

Every night with your co workers from the rest from the store. Because that would be the people who are getting off work at 9:30 or 10. And you'd be like, okay, let's go see a band. Let's go to the bar.

[A]

But then Dick moves to, like, I don't know, Austin with Anna and would never talk to these guys ever again.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Never again.

[A]

Never connect, ever.

[D]

I. I moved a lot in my. I worked in bookstore all through my 20s, and I moved a lot in my 20s, and every time I went to a new town, I worked in a new bookstore. And then you just have built in community. And it was so easy to move to a new town when you have that sort of, like, retail fam.

[B]

Or were you like the Patrick Swayze of Roadhouse of bookstores?

[A]

The cooler. The cooler of the bookstores.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Hey, Joe Robinson's in town.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

You can't pin me down, man.

[A]

Who was there? Sam Elliott. The Gen X blueprint I wrote down. I might have missed a couple things. Turning pop culture into therapy.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Reading way, way, way too much into music or movies. Caring way too much about a relationship because you didn't have enough else to care about. That was 100% true. You're just missing, like, three things. Hanging out with people you didn't really like that much. We talked about that. Being tortured, that you're not doing what you thought you'd be doing. I think probably is still the case, but in Gen X was like a badge of honor that I don't want to do this. I don't know how I got into this. Like, almost like, proud but not willing to change it.

[D]

But it was almost like there's something virtuous about working, like, retail or something like that, where you're just like, I'm not making a ton of money. I'm doing this for the passion. X, Y, Z. I feel like millennials when they complain about not being where they want to be. It's like, because the economy screwed me.

[C]

Right.

[D]

And with Gen X, it's like, because I have principles because I didn't want to sell out.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Well, wouldn't it be nice to have principles?

[B]

You know?

[A]

But think about Rob. He. He was a good dj. He probably made money from it. Like, he was getting complimented, and he was the happiest he'd ever been when he did it.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

But now he's like, in this record store that nobody goes to. And that's just.

[B]

But that was also, like a very. I don't know if this happened with you in the bookstore, but, like, the moment you get any recognition from within, the sort of business side of working In a store, you're like, whoa, wait. Wait a second. This isn't my life plan.

[D]

Yeah. I was also a manager.

[B]

And I'm like, I don't want keys. You should think about.

[D]

I don't want to.

[C]

I'm like, whoa.

[A]

Two more blueprint things settling with someone solid when you're not sure if you can do better, which was big. Even in, like, beautiful girls. Who's dating.

[D]

Oh, especially beautiful girls.

[A]

They're doing the ratings, and it's like, what is she? And he's like, she's solid seven and a half. And they're like, seven and a half. And you're like, yep, solid seven and a half. And he can't decide if that's good enough. That was a big Gen X culture thing. And then you're the same person you used to be, and I'm not. Which Laura says to him was a classic Gen X thing of somebody's like, I'm 32, and I'm doing the exact same things I was doing when I was 27. What happened? Five years just went by.

[B]

And this is like, if you were gonna continue the sort of jumping the lily pads from this movie onwards. The man trapped in a boy's mind thing is essentially the template for, like, the early Apatow movies. You know, like, for Knocked up and, like, I just want to hang out with my friends and just fucking play D and D and watch and watch movies. And it's like, yeah, but grow up, right? Like, you're almost 30, kind of.

[D]

When you. To go back to the. Settling for someone in this movie in High Fidelity. Who's settling, do you think? Well, I think it's Laura.

[C]

It's both.

[A]

I think it's both sides on that one.

[D]

Definitely.

[C]

Laura, when she says, like, I'm too tired not to be with you, there's something kind of romantic about that.

[B]

I don't know.

[C]

There's something about the comforts of finding your 7.5 out of 10 person.

[B]

This is the big, weird curveball that this movie throws, is that there is not a gesture in this movie the way there is in singles, where he's like, I want to be Mr. New to you. You know, like, there is none of that here. It's basically like, have sex with me after my dad's funeral, and then I guess we're back together.

[C]

I guess the gesture is I didn't. Or I made the tape for the reporter, but it didn't mean I told.

[D]

You that I disclosed it, even though I proposed, even though it was pretty sure. You wouldn't say yes.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Who's in the gesture? Have sex with me, or I'm gonna go home and put my hand in a fire. Or you can put some cigarettes out on me. Those are my three options. Yeah.

[D]

Sex it is.

[A]

Abc, this is not a romantic movie in the traditional way.

[D]

Yeah. No boomboxes in the rain. Just payphones and piles of quarters.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I was gonna do this on Unanswerables later, but these two do not actually get married.

[C]

No chance.

[A]

Yeah. This is a wrap. Craig, can you give us your Gen X thoughts.

[E]

About the generation or.

[A]

Yeah. When you see Gen X represented in movies and tv, what do you see?

[E]

Well, I don't want to spoil my. Because that factors into my entire opinion.

[A]

All right, save it. Okay. I intentionally didn't learn how to pronounce Laura's real life name because I knew I had Joanna here, and nobody pronounces names of actresses and actors better than Joanna.

[D]

Great. I'm gonna picture me last night in my hotel room wandering around, just muttering this over and over and over again to see if I can. I came up with even yala. That's what I got. Is that what you got?

[C]

I heard yala. I heard something like yala. Like, it just depends on the even yala. How much. How much Danish spice you want to put on that last pronunciation, Yayla.

[B]

But, like, that was. That was just one version of the Internet's response to how to pronounce this one.

[A]

Well, for the rest of the pod, we'll be calling her the lady who played Laura.

[C]

I think even is doable.

[A]

Well, she said, also, be very careful.

[C]

This is a Scandinavian podcast, and you should be very careful about this.

[A]

I don't want the Swedes to come after me. She said, I knew tons of guys like Rob where it was ages before they understood that relationships and committing and having kids is a good thing. And it doesn't mean that you have to lose yourself for who you are or what you like to do. And then she said, rob is the sort of character I would fall for. To me, he symbolizes a whole generation of what matters is not what you're like, but what you like. Which I thought was an interesting way to put it. I mean, well, the things you like. But my question is, is that now, too, the things you like are what you like are what you're like.

[D]

Between podcasters and these guys in the record store, It's a great question.

[A]

I don't know.

[C]

I mean, we're here because I'm not happy about it.

[A]

I'm not happy about it. Then there's with the Gen Xers. It's. This is a whole different era of hopeless romantics and courting and standing outside somebody in the pouring rain. I don't know if this happens in the same way anymore. Now somebody would just call the police or take a cell phone video.

[B]

Or you just be unhinged being like, eh, I'll just.

[A]

Sorry, dude. Other people. Come on, Tinder. My next question. Did this book slash movie create the top five list? Like for real? Because I'm going to say no. But I also can't think of what did.

[C]

This is a pre Apex Mountain for top fives.

[A]

Maybe. Yeah.

[D]

Like Casey Kasem.

[A]

Casey Kasem?

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

No, that's his countdown. Might have been it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

When does PTI start?

[A]

Later after this.

[B]

I know they weren't doing top fives, but they were doing that like the idea of a countdown and the idea of like a sort of menu for the day.

[A]

We would do more arguing one thing against another thing versus lists.

[D]

We weren't doing a lot of lists. We were doing what's the best?

[A]

Like you do like, I don't know, best Harrison Ford movie or you do Barry Sanders versus Emmett Smith.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

Right.

[A]

Hearns versus Hagler. It was a lot of that. It was a lot of 1v1 not lists.

[B]

There was. And there was also like a. I think this movie or this book kind of introduced the idea to me at least of. Or like I don't remember a time before it, of top five track one side one, like very specific lists and then also adding like sub lists into the list or giving excuses for it.

[A]

I would say that was really influential, at least for me. Thinking about writing columns and being like, how far is too far? And be like, the answer is, especially when I was doing the first year of the mailbag or something, every question's on board, no answer can be detailed enough and fuck it, let's go for it. Because that book is like, the lists are crazy in the book in a good way.

[C]

The only reason I think this is not the outset of the top fives is that Barry in particular has all these second and third wave opinions about list making. It's like, oh, you can't do the four safe ones and the ones modern classic, or else I'm gonna call you a pussy. So it's like it's been happening somewhat for a while at this point, right?

[B]

Yeah, there's like a couple of. There's a couple of like big bangs. There's like Tarantino in Sleep With Me doing the Top Gun speech.

[A]

I'm so glad you brought this up.

[B]

Is like, where I first saw the guy in the bar who's like, I have a fucking take that's gonna blow your mind. And it was like to see that on screen and to know that there were satellite dudes like that in every town.

[D]

Well, this is what the Kevin Smith Uber is too. It's like just an assemblage of those.

[A]

Hot takes and kicking and screaming, too. And they. What was the top eight whatever movies when they did? It's like, ding. Yes, ding. Which was before this movie. But anytime I would see that in a movie, I'd be like, oh, like, the Tarantino thing is the ultimate example. That was so great and so random in that movie. And it was like. Became the most memorable part of the movie. But. But to see somebody do that in a movie, it was like, that's what me and my friends do. We do weird shit. Like, there's more of us. Like, it was constantly trying to discover that there was more out there than just this little weird group you had.

[B]

There was also this very.

[A]

And it turns out it was everybody.

[B]

Funny thing. Cause I think that this is actually similar to what goes on now, because we have so much access to streaming stuff. But back then, from the 90s to the 2000s, like, in 95, especially on. I remember this huge flood of, like, used stuff. Like, you. You could basically build up a record collection for, like, a couple of dollars per lp, and you could start being like, I listen to Funkadelic and I listen to industrial music, and I listened to Public Enemy and I listened to the Beatles, and it wasn't that expensive to have that kind of breadth of taste.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which is why Barry's so interesting, because he's got, like, hipster taste in some ways. But he's also like, I listened to Katrina and the Waves and Rob. Obviously, like, the kind of variance of people's tastes was really interesting. For those kinds of arguments and those kinds of lists, I thought of a.

[A]

Better top 10, top five thing. It was Letterman, the top 10 list. Of course, that started, like, 85. And that was my show first. He did it ironically. He was making the stupidest list possible. And then they became one of the staples of the show and became a serious thing.

[D]

And that's. He's like the Gen X Sherpa.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

David Letterman. But I wonder, like, with. With Nick Hornby, like, did. Did he know even know about the music?

[B]

I'm sure he knew about.

[A]

He Must have, right? Yeah.

[D]

Rob, can I ask you please, is this Rob the top pop culture Rob the top Rob? Because I. I couldn't like.

[C]

I mean, top five rocks.

[B]

Rob Roy.

[C]

Rob Lowe's pretty big.

[D]

No, but that's like fictional rocks.

[C]

This is fictional robs.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

There aren't that many. I was looking.

[C]

They're fictional robs. I can't. Honestly.

[D]

Rob Roy was one I could think of Rob Stark. Rob Stark has two Bs. Doesn't count.

[B]

No, two Bs are in your hotel room being like fictional robs and how to pronounce.

[D]

I have a normal existence, Chris. Don't worry about it.

[A]

How do you add the second B with Rob? Did we ever figure that out? Where does the second B come from?

[C]

It doesn't make any sense.

[D]

It's just George R.R. martin's way. He likes to add consonants.

[A]

Now, is anyone else do the double Rob? Second B Does who like the. Who else does double Rob? Double B, Anybody?

[B]

Well, there's the robbery, but that's not. That's not Rob. Like, that's the.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Jen with two ends was always at least understandable because it was Jennifer, but it was always suspicious because Jen should have one end.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

So anytime someone added the second end, they were usually on the Real World or show like that. Like, oh, Jen with two ends when.

[B]

You were bartending was like, don't give Jen with two ends any extra shots.

[A]

Like, oh, she's here today. The cast of this movie that includes Cusack, who I can't wait to talk about Jack Black. Todd Luiso.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I never knew his name until the research of this movie. I just knew him as the Manny and the guy from this movie, Manny and Dick. I didn't know he had a name in real life, but he also directed Love Liza, which I found out. Yeah. It's like directed multiple movies. Couldn't believe it.

[C]

He's so good in this, too. I know Jack Black has all the shine, but having the nebbish guy off to the side who's so anxious he can barely contain himself as he's getting the tape off.

[D]

You need him to talk to him.

[B]

About, so I'll talk to him. When I talked about those other things.

[C]

He'S putting the beta in beta band.

[D]

Like Barry Work is what I think.

[C]

They have a beautiful thing going.

[A]

It's a good combo. Catherine Zeta Jones, Lisa Bonet, Sarah Gilbert, Chris Bowers in this movie.

[D]

Cut from the movie. Oh, he was cut. I know he's on IMDb, but he is cut from the movie.

[A]

Which deleted scene? Is he in it? I thought he was in it for a second.

[C]

So I think his initial scene got cut. And then you see like a 2 second dinner party sequence after they get back together where he's like bringing a plate to a table or something.

[D]

Frank Sabaca's here. Great.

[C]

Frank Sabaca. Barely made.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

Lily Taylor. John. John Cusack, Tim Robbins. And one of my all time favorites, Natasha Gregson. Wagner, who's dug her.

[B]

Way to go.

[D]

A primo Nepo baby. One of the best.

[A]

Just had some moments. Never sure why. Why it didn't fully come together. But I was.

[B]

She was married to one of the screenwriters for a while.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Great job by her. Okay, so we'll talk about Jack Black here. This is a really important Jack Black performance. He steals the movie.

[D]

This is the Jack Black. This is.

[A]

To me, this leads to School of Rock. Everything else. Is this the best Jack Black performance?

[D]

I think so. He said this is his best performance.

[C]

School of Rock is carrying more though. You know, he gets to come in and be heat checking constantly in this school of rock. Like he has to be the emotional center of the movie and the Jack Black of the movie.

[A]

Would you rather have this, this like version of Jack. Jack Black coming off the bench.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And just shooting threes, or do you want Jack Black in the Jaylen Brown Celtics role right now?

[C]

I kind of want him in the Jaylen Brown role.

[A]

Really?

[C]

I mean, only in a specific kind of movie.

[B]

I prefer this version of him. 6th and Jack Black. But the streets have spoken and like, he is one of the most reliable movie stars in the world now.

[D]

I think he's the number one movie star of Gen Alpha, wouldn't you say?

[B]

Probably.

[A]

Yeah. Well, especially in this last movie. Yeah.

[D]

But like Minecraft, Mario Brothers, Jumanji, like all these things that are directed for kids. Goosebumps. Like, he's the king of the kid franchise. And I think for generations of people, Jack Black is the biggest movie star in the world.

[C]

Super Mario Brothers. Like, I guess there really is a straight line not just to School of Rock but to like Bowser singing ballads. Like, it's very strange world we live in.

[B]

I went to a pre Luca Lakers game last year and he got a bigger round of applause courtside than anybody else, like on the floor. And I think like Wemby was playing like Wembley.

[D]

I mean, he's easily the biggest like thing to come out of this movie without question. And then thinking, well, I didn't know.

[A]

Who he was before I saw this movie. I didn't know, like, he came out of, like, a fucking canon. You're like, what?

[D]

Tenacious. He was already on hbo, but, like, I. This. This was like his calling card. Like, this was.

[A]

Which show is he at?

[D]

There was a Tenacious D. Yeah.

[C]

Tenacious D show with his band.

[A]

That was sad.

[B]

Do you remember him in the Day of the Jackal remake with Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, where he gets his arms blown off?

[D]

I 100% do. He's also an Airborne.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

A very important movie.

[C]

Famously an airbor.

[B]

You know, if you were ever gonna let me pick a rewatchable, it wouldn't be Sicario.

[D]

It would be Dan Special.

[A]

Yeah. I saw Tenacious D at some point after we moved out here when it was the right time to see them. And it was like, really amazing. He's just such a great stage performer. It captures it. But I still think his best scene's the first scene.

[B]

It's one of their greatest scenes when.

[A]

He comes in and he's doing the stuff with his hands and there's just nobody like that.

[D]

I also just think there's, like, sold to Barry, like, his ambitions, his disappointment that Rob is willing to back the teenagers instead of him and all this stuff like that. I think Jack Black has talked about how he was so nervous to make this movie. And so I think he's just a little bit more restrained. And I like off the leash Jack Black, but I like just a little bit of restraint. I'm not sure I can go to 11 in every single moment. I like that balance inside of this movie.

[A]

How about Zeta Jones? Where does this rank for her? Because for me, it's like, way up there.

[B]

I wish she had done more movies like this.

[A]

Yeah. Just come in and.

[B]

And I wish she had just played more, quote, unquote, normal people where, you know, obviously she just gets cast in a lot of, like, really big blockbusters and pretty, like, comic. Comic. Not comic book roles, but, like, really out there roles. And this is just like Charlie. This is like a lady that you would know.

[C]

She's great. And if I can borrow a Dobbins ism. It's very important. Like, her in a Pretender's T shirt is a very important thing.

[A]

This was a specific type of woman that I'm sure still exists. That I always had my number.

[D]

Which. Which ver. Like the college version of Catherine Zeta.

[B]

Joe type had your number?

[A]

No, just. You're annoying. And I don't even wanna put the two hours in here, but you look great. And I'm just Glad I'm here. But, God, you're annoying. But, God, you're great. And just that kind of.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And she. Though she's not in this movie that much, but she's so good in the parts, and she's so. So, like, just phony. And I just knew people like this, and it was. But you couldn't stay away from them.

[D]

But I just love that revelation he has, because you get the flashback version of her, and you're like, you. You believe, Rob, that she's the most fascinating person has ever existed. And then he meets her now, and he's like, wow, she's the worst. She's absolutely the worst person.

[C]

I mean, she probably was when he was 22.

[D]

Exactly. You know, but we're just seeing the, like, the horny haze.

[A]

The great thing for me is that some of these people are still on Instagram now. And you can. They just don't change.

[B]

You mean.

[D]

I would say this is the real life people.

[A]

The real life Charlies.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

I would say they are the core of Instagram.

[A]

But, I mean, they're like, in their 50s now, still making Charlotte.

[D]

They poured the concrete upon which Instagram is going.

[A]

Yeah, they really did. They started it. There's a Lily Taylor cameo. Always fun when the Cusacks are in a movie together.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And then how mad do you think.

[D]

Piven is that he's not in this movie?

[A]

Oof.

[B]

It's unreal.

[A]

I had that in Unanswerables. Like, I don't. They were. They're best friends, and it's a Chicago movie. I don't know what happened. And then my queen, Lisa Bonet, is in this movie.

[D]

Incredible casting. Really, really good work.

[C]

Unreal.

[B]

Pre L A Law Susan Day, but black. Yeah.

[C]

It's a good description. Honestly, it kind of works.

[A]

Post Partridge.

[B]

Shockingly accurate the way he delivers.

[A]

That is so much.

[B]

So distracted.

[A]

I'm just kidding.

[D]

Just like, offhand, tosses it off.

[A]

Yeah. Want to do some Stephen Frears?

[D]

I'd love to do some Stephen Frears.

[A]

He does Dangerous Liaisons in this movie.

[D]

You love Dangerous Liaisons. And one of my.

[A]

I love.

[D]

I know we talked about this. One of my favorite things, like doing research for this, is how many people. Everyone lost their shit about working with Stephen Frears because of Dangerous Liaisons.

[A]

Did you?

[B]

The Grifters, right? Yeah, the Grifters is in between.

[A]

That's the thing. If you put his best movies on next to each other, it's crazy. It's like, just all over the place.

[D]

Where do you rank Mary Riley.

[A]

So I never liked Mary Riley. I didn't like. Too skinny.

[D]

You have to say it like that because that's how they said it.

[A]

Did you like it?

[D]

No. Nobody liked Mary Riley. Julia Roberts doing a bonkers Irish accent.

[A]

What was the other one? The Big stable fairs.

[B]

Well, the Grifters.

[D]

My beautiful laundrette.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Did he do the hits?

[B]

Is that him?

[D]

No, I don't think so. But after this he. He just veers really into like sort of mirror Max Fuddy duddy British costume drama, period piece.

[C]

A lot of very British movies. This is like the most American thing you probably ever.

[B]

I always wondered whether I was trying to figure out who Jim Broadbent is supposed to be in J. Kelly, you know, the British director.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And it's like it has a little bit of freers, a little bit Michael, who was also originally attached to this or Bogdanovich.

[D]

Do you think Frears makes a good sandwich? What do you think?

[B]

I bet.

[D]

Yeah, I bet he does.

[A]

Liaisons is on the 26th rewatchable slate. It's gotta be watched it just randomly two weeks ago and I was like, I forgot. This movie's amazing. This is like an amazing movie. Anyway, this movie is based on the Nick Hornby book. Obviously they gave him 500k.

[D]

Wow.

[B]

Such truck changed back then.

[A]

Yeah. He is a fan of the movie. It was developed for three years with somebody named Mike Newell, who's the director and beautiful girl. Scott Rosenberg.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Who was the guy who was dating Bridget Moynihan or maybe even married to her before Tom Brady started dating him. It was a Boston guy and it was always like the all time conundrum. You're like a giant Pats fan.

[B]

I'd watch a high school.

[A]

But you lose your girl to Tom Brady, your quarterback. It's the great rom com nobody ever made.

[D]

Yet.

[A]

Yet Cusack got ahold of it and they moved it from London to Chicago. I can't wait to talk about some of the Cusack oral history performances. Just wait.

[C]

On the edge of our seats.

[A]

Just wait. But he said, when I read the book, I knew where everything was in Chicago. I knew where American Rob went to school and dropped out. Where he used to spin records. I knew he does the whole thing. He knew. He just felt like it could all switch over and be a transition. He was right.

[B]

To me, this movie actually is like the. One of the rare examples of a hipster movie or like kind of cool movie that actually got in under the Wire before all the stuff it was talking about. Was sort of over, which is sort of the criticism people love at Singles, which is, like, it feels like they're, like, a year behind everything. This was, like, actually a great time in Chicago music. All these venues were, like, iconic. Like, all my friends who would tour to Chicago be like, do you think we'll be able to play lounge acts or whatever? And the bars? We'll get to all the locations. But it's a great Chicago movie.

[A]

$30 million budget made. $47 million. It's fine. Roger Ebert. Four stars, Raj. Raj came in hot, came through. He loved this movie.

[B]

What a shock that Raj liked his movie.

[A]

He said, watching High Fidelity, I had the feeling I could walk out of the theater and meet the same people on the street and want to, which is an even higher compliment.

[D]

Rog was in the number of people, probably Roger Ebert included, who read this book or watched this movie and said, I am Rob is really fascinating to me.

[B]

Probably disturbing as well.

[D]

Yeah. But, like, the number of guys who are like, that is me. That is exactly me. And I was like, that guy's an asshole. Like an asshole in an arc, but an asshole.

[A]

See, you're missing the other piece of that.

[D]

What am I missing? What am I miss?

[C]

That is the arc. That is the movie.

[A]

There was that group, but there was the other group who was like, I'm not Rob. Why do you think I'm Rob?

[B]

Right.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And the people who are defensive that they weren't Rob, even though they probably.

[D]

Were, were more Rob than the other guys.

[A]

That's Chuck Klosterman. Cause he literally said, people come up to him. Be like, you must love High Fidelity. You're just like, Rob. He's like, I'm not Rob.

[B]

Yeah, Just like.

[C]

That's about the meanest thing you could say to somebody, especially Chuck.

[A]

Chuck doesn't want to be pigeonholed by a movie character. But, yeah, so those were the two groups. I remember I left singles and then.

[D]

The women saying, I've dated Rob.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

I left signals singles.

[B]

Guess I dated him and I'll do it again.

[A]

I left Singles at the Chestnut Hill Mall and was with a female friend of mine, and we left, and she thought I was like, eh, okay. I thought she thought I was, like, the Campbell Scott character. And it really threw me off for the rest of the night.

[B]

Because you thought you were the Matt Dillon character.

[A]

I was like, I'm not any of those characters. What are you talking about? She's like, no, you're just like that guy. And I'm like, what? And there's nothing worse than being compared to a movie character when you don't feel like you're the movie character.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[D]

But if I wanted to be anyone in that movie, it might be Campbell Scott in singles.

[C]

If you had to pick.

[D]

If I had to pick.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I've just ruined transportation in Seattle and I just ordered Chinese food everywhere.

[D]

It dramatically improved transportation in Seattle.

[A]

My thing I spent a year on.

[B]

It was a huge failure with Xavier McDaniel.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

What are your thoughts on garage door openers?

[A]

A lot of them. We're take a break and then we're going to do Most rewatchable scene this episode is brought to you by Netflix. J. Kelly, the new film from Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach. My Guy George Clooney stars as an actor confronting his past and present on a journey of self discovery alongside Adam Sandler, My guy as his devoted manager. Critics are calling it a declaration of love to the chaotic art of filmmaking, with the Wall Street Journal praising it as, quote, a transcendent comedy drama. Jay Kelly now playing only on Netflix. This episode is brought to you by AT&T. America's First Network is also its fastest and most reliable based on root metrics. United States root score report 1H 2025 tested with best commercially available smartphones on three national mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. Roof metrics rankings are not endorsement of AT&T. When you compare, there's no comparison. AT&T most rewatchable scene the beginning. What came first? The music or the misery? What came first? C.R.

[B]

The music.

[A]

I think the misery came first.

[B]

You think that there's something inside of.

[A]

It because then there's music about the misery, which then it became a cycle.

[B]

But when you're young and you're like, I don't know what I am yet, maybe you have lots of different feelings, but you can't put words to them yet. And then you see, like, look at this.

[D]

Really.

[B]

Like my friend's older sister who likes the Smiths. What's up with that? Like, that's dark.

[C]

I get.

[B]

I get it. That's me. You know, like, there's a certain kind of like, you're. You're basically like molding your personality to the things that you like.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

I think there's nothing stronger when people talk about music. There's nothing stronger than the song you listened to when you broke up with some. The breakup song. And what. That. What, what is the song that got you through this breakup? Or what is the song that always Reminds you of that breakup. And so that's like the epitome of misery and music together.

[C]

But the misery came first before the.

[D]

But you mold the music to the misery because a lot of people, for a lot of people.

[A]

He's thinking, day one, Adam and Eve music was.

[C]

The people were not like Morrissey, let's go. You know, this is not the vibe.

[A]

That would have been amazing.

[D]

But maybe with their various instruments, they created a percussion.

[A]

Initially, misery was first, but then I think as we evolved as human beings, probably the music puts a face on the misery.

[C]

Yeah, well, so much of our modern lives is how do we simulate danger? Like we watch sports to get the adrenaline rush, but it's not actually dangerous. And it's like we tap into sad music to feel something immense that's not actually like harmful to us in a way. It's like they're just feelings, they're just emotions, but it taps you into something different.

[A]

I don't know. I remember it's funny cause they play this song in the movie the river, the acoustic version of the river by Bruce Springsteen. One of the great concert album moments of all time, when he tells the five minute story. And I remember driving to Boston to go to a Celtic game, listening to they put out that concert album. And he's telling us, first time I heard this story. And he's like, when I was growing up, there were two things. My dad hated me and my guitar. And he does this whole Bruce Springsteen thing. And you're just driving like, this is the. And then you would hear things like that and they would really resonate in this. You mean Bruce Springsteen was going through stuff in high school? Oh, yeah. It wasn't just me.

[D]

Why do you think they called Jeremy Allen White and not you for the Springsteen biography?

[A]

Do you think I could have done it, Joanna?

[D]

I think you could have gotten the nomination as well. Yeah.

[A]

Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable or was I miserable because I listened to pop music? Was the other part of this. I would say that's probably 50. 50. I like when he says, if you really wanted to mess me up, you should have gotten to me earlier. Is a great line.

[C]

Very normal thing to say to somebody.

[A]

We know right away we're dealing with somebody who's messed up. All right, More rewatchable scenes. Jackbox. First scene we mentioned Charlie. You fucking bitch. Let's work it out. Just that little piece when he's going to see Marie play.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

This is so funny. When he does. The John Doenture was shot Dead. And that day, do you know who tipped him off? His fucking girlfriend. And he just walks in. We get to see Lisa Bonet next. 1. Laura tells the sister the four reasons they broke up.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Junk. You suck. Didn't really enjoy that much, Rob.

[B]

I feel like she may have told her two, but perhaps all of the following.

[C]

If your list is four or five, like, it's bad. Well.

[B]

Cause he does the. Like, I slept with somebody else while she was pregnant. And he's like, that's one. I was like, that's two. Where do we go from there?

[A]

Rob plays the Beta Band in the store for and then gets Robbed. I liked this whole thing about playing the Beta band and looking to see who reacted.

[B]

It's a real thing.

[A]

Classic record store move.

[D]

Handselling.

[A]

Charlie calls Rob back, but then Ian shows up. And then we get the four versions of how he handles Ian. It's great. Laura Reid in the Top five Jobs. Did you have some notes on that? The Top five Jobs.

[B]

I honestly felt very seen by that list.

[A]

Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone 76 to 79 producer, Atlantic Records 64 to 71 singer, director and architect.

[B]

The top five seemed like a real.

[C]

Invasion of privacy, I gotta say. Like, that's his list. It was in a drawer somewhere. Why did she even find it?

[B]

I think all bets are off with Laura and Rob at that point. In terms of invasion, when you gravitate.

[C]

I mean, I get it.

[A]

Rob and Laura get back together, but he knows something's missing. And then my pick, which would be DJ Rob doing the concert introing Sonic Death Monkey who coming off that album with the two kids, their song I Sold Mom's Wheelchair.

[B]

Kinky Wizard Toon.

[A]

Yeah. Then let's Get it on and the Jack Black. And then we get the ending. The last eight minutes of this movie is fantastic. That would be my pick. What's yours, Joanna?

[D]

I mean, I think you hit most of mine, but I will say that I want to expand on the Beta band and say it's just that whole entire hand selling sequence, right? Like, Jack Black is hand selling the Jesus and Mary chain, and Dick is hand selling stiff little fingers, you know.

[B]

And we're just like, just Jo Casually dropping. Hand selling right here is just unbelievable.

[D]

Hand selling. That's what they're doing. Hand selling. If you work in a, like a bookstore music store, you're just sort of like. And I like the different styles, right? Like, Rob just plays it passively and he knows he's gonna hook people, right? Jack Black is emotionally manipulating this guy into Buying Ostack. And then Dick is making like a very personal, like, connection with somebody. Yeah.

[C]

You make that so craven for him. He's making a genuine effort with.

[D]

Right. But he's catching some other strays while he does it. Right. Is this the new Green Day? So I think that because I think this is such a good retail movie, I think the whole busy Saturday hand selling vibe.

[B]

Do you have a favorite hand selling story? Favorite?

[D]

Yeah. Because, well, you can stack anything on staff favorites and it'll fly out the. That's crazy. Yeah. You could put something at point of sale. It'll fly out the door, you know? Yeah.

[A]

Cr. I might have been more in it than you, but the bootleg CD culture in the 90s.

[B]

Sure. The live. The live stuff.

[A]

Yeah. And there's a store actually in Kenmore Square. There was a store that had a whole bunch of great ones, but they would do the move of it would be behind the counter. It's the only one I have with the high price. I can't sell it.

[B]

Jack Black does with tattoos.

[A]

And you would go back. It really worked. You would go back and be like, it's still there. Are you gonna sell that yet? I don't know. And then eventually, the fifth time, they would sell it to you for $20.

[B]

My favorite.

[D]

Yeah, what's your favorite?

[B]

I was recreationally high on Adderall and a mom came into Newberry and was like, my kid really likes corn. Do you have any recommendations? And I was like, your kid doesn't like corn. And I like walked her through, like the entire store.

[C]

You pulled the. I just called to say, I love you.

[B]

You gotta get him fugazi. You gotta get him this. And I was just like, she. I just changed that kid's life and then my mom's life. But in retrospect, I was so high, she was probably like, I'm gonna call the cops.

[D]

I had a woman come in, she was returning like Hunger Games or something like that. And she was like, this is too violent for my kid. I'm bringing my kid up religiously. I don't like this. So I sold her his Dark Materials trilogy where basically like, they kill God.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I was like, but she won't know that. So that's my favorite hand selling story. She didn't return.

[A]

So I did the wine version of that. When people order Pinot Grigio. And I was like, you don't want Pinot Grigio? It sucks. Get a Chardonnay, please. Try the Chardonnay. And if you don't like it? I'll get you the Pinot Grigio, your favorite rewatch.

[C]

When they go see Marie Desall play. I mean, it's got the Dillinger trivia, it's got the Peter fucking Frampton, which is the only way I refer to him by his full God given name. Now it's got daydreaming about liner notes. It's got everybody swooning and it's got Lisa Bonet in it. The whole movie kind of stops for a second and everyone is just kind of marinating in it together.

[A]

It's a great call. She's making me rethink my choice. I know. What do you have, Sierra?

[B]

I'm tied between Jack Black entrance scene, which culminates with Cosby's sweater and the side one track one list making with the Captain Beefheart vinyl problem. And that whole sequence because that is Jack Black being like, ah, a new classic casually slipped into the end of the top five so that you don't look so boring. Interesting. And I just like. That is you would just have that fight about like the nature of your own list making at that time. And it was just so perfect.

[A]

Do you remember before we started Grantland, we went to New York. Cause I still hadn't met a couple of people. And we all hung out at this bar and it was like me and you and Katie Bakes and Klosterman. Maybe like two other people.

[B]

Oh, sure.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And all we did for four hours was shit like this where we were just arguing about.

[B]

I was like, is this a job interview? Like what is happening?

[A]

No, this is what Bill's actually like. It wasn't a job interview. Yeah, but it was like this is what we did. I was like. It was kind of the vibe that I think was gonna. We thought might be the website, but it was like, oh, all these people kind of get it. But that came out of like this weird era.

[D]

I do have to say the Tim Robbins fantasy sequence. The get your patchouli stink out of my store. As someone who worked at Bay Area bookstores for a decade is my most.

[C]

It's about patchouli.

[D]

That's my most quotable line from this movie. Get your patchouli stink out of stink.

[C]

How many people did you bash over the head with an air conditioner?

[D]

In my mind.

[A]

Job by him. The way he held it up.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

What's the most 2000 thing about this movie? I have a few things, but we'll go around. What do you got, Sierra?

[B]

It's really weird, but I noticed it this Time is that when Laura first comes back to pack up her shit, that's when she gets her laptop. And it reminded me of like, yeah, I leave my computer at work, you know, like, like I, when I, when I leave work, I don't, I'm not checking my email. I'm not like checking the Internet.

[A]

Oh, right.

[B]

And it was just sort of like if that was now, the laptop would be in her bag first, you know what I mean? She'd be like, I'm taking my computer, I'm taking my phone and all this stuff. So that was. That jumped out at me.

[A]

What do you have, Rob?

[C]

That's a hard look in the mirror. I mean, bands, rock music, I think all that stuff is right there. But also calling the operator to get somebody's home address.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Absolutely not.

[B]

Directory assistance.

[C]

Definitely not.

[A]

What do you have?

[D]

Rob's sunglasses, which I believe are Oakley's. And they're just like right on the edge of 90s and into like 2000s style. They're just like right on the cusp.

[A]

That's good. I have the last, last days of mixtapes.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Describing someone as Cheryl Crowish combined with Partridge Family, pre la, Susan Dava Black. I don't know if that would fly now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like Craig wouldn't understand any of that. Being tortured by answering machine messages. It's the tail end of that era too.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Smoking indoors.

[B]

Well, I was going to say smoking.

[A]

Indoors is always in here.

[B]

I, I was going to ask if any Chicago listeners could just hit us up and let us know. Could you still smoke at your workplace in 2000? Because I don't think so.

[D]

If you owned the store.

[B]

That's a, that is the twist.

[C]

That was kind of right on the edge.

[B]

But if you walked into Championship Vinyl and you were just like, these guys have been smoking darts in here with like no windows open.

[D]

But don't you know that Championship Vinyl reeks of cigarette smoke? And it doesn't matter when they stopped. It was definitely smell like that person.

[B]

I've ever worked with at a record store were like inveterate chain smokers. But we did it outside.

[D]

Sure.

[A]

Have two more. Being afraid you'll end up someday working in a virgin mega store 2000s. And then a guy in his late 20s, early 30s named Dick.

[D]

Sure.

[A]

That guy doesn't exist anymore. He's.

[B]

He's named Scout now.

[A]

Craig, do you know any Dicks?

[E]

Not a single dick.

[D]

Bring back dick.

[A]

That's what I mean.

[C]

Bring back Dick.

[D]

Yeah, Bring back Dick.

[C]

That's what we're Going with.

[D]

That's what I'm going with.

[A]

We're gonna cut that out for social.

[D]

Rob Mahoney, quick question. Have you ever made a mixtape?

[C]

Mix cd, yes.

[D]

But not a mixtape.

[C]

And I mean this will shock no one. But after seeing this movie in high school, I'm like, well, I gotta follow Rob Gordon's advice for you gotta start with the banger. You gotta lead it off, then you gotta bring it back down. Cause you don't wanna blow your wad. It was like. There is a philosophy to it. I was very bad at it. But no mixtapes, only mix CDs.

[B]

There's just nothing like messing up a mixtape and being like, shit, I gotta.

[D]

Start all over again. Maddening.

[A]

I actually found my. I found an actual mixtape I made in 1993 that I made it as a Spotify playlist. And here was the order. Feed the Tree by Billy yeah. Cantaloupe Flip Fantasia Fuck with Dre Day Let me ride Geppetto into your arms Mr. Jones time capsule by Matthew Sweet. Cannonball make you sweat by Keith Sweat. I don't know why he's on this.

[B]

This is so good.

[A]

Ordinary World by Duran Duran. Remedy by the Black Crows. Let me Go by Cake Anna begins by the Crash Test Dummies. Loser get off this Amazing by Aerosmith. Uncertain Smile by the the Human Behavior by Bjork. And it ends with Indigo Eyes. And I have no idea. I must have Human behavior by. Must have been hammered.

[B]

93 bill. Just vibing out 93 bill.

[A]

I think just trying to prove he had a lot of layers. Sure. I don't know who he was trying to prove it to.

[D]

I can't tell for me if it's the Counting Crows into Matthew Sweet or Cake into the Counting Crows. Like what is the most quintessentially Bill.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That's all you would say that we would have been friends when I was 24 is what you learned.

[B]

He would be like, you don't want Pinot Grigio.

[A]

Just try the shirt. What stage the best mixtapes have they.

[B]

Cause of playlists or I think the.

[A]

Mixtape is better than the playlist that I'm gonna make the case. I can do it now.

[D]

It takes so much longer. Playlist.

[A]

Yeah, I get it. Playlist easier.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Pop em in digital. I get all of it. But there's something about the mixtape. Listening to it.

[D]

I agree with you.

[A]

And not knowing the sweat and tears.

[D]

You put into the tape.

[A]

Yeah well. But also not knowing where the mixtape's gonna go is the art of the Mixtape. And somebody's listening the first time and they don't know the order of the.

[D]

Write out the tracks on the.

[A]

You did, but you tell them, don't look at the things. Just listen to it and take a ride on it.

[B]

On the COVID of the mixtape?

[A]

No, I just would write this. What did you do?

[B]

Sometimes I would make, like, zine style.

[D]

Like, cover art.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That's beautiful.

[A]

Cr. Fucking renegade renaissance man. Jesus.

[D]

God damn.

[E]

Cr.

[C]

But how is this not a Spotify feature where you can hide the track list and so you could be surprised.

[B]

You can make your own art on Spotify, but you can't hide the track list.

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's tough.

[C]

That's the next frontier. We got to mixtape this. You got to call.

[A]

So it's almost like the vanish text that Apple has.

[C]

But for playlists, you got to hover over.

[B]

You should request an emergency meeting with the top two guys at Spotify.

[C]

Gustav, have you seen High Fidelity?

[A]

This great idea.

[D]

We're going to revolutionize playlists. And it's mixtapes.

[A]

I have a shitload of what stage the best, so give me yours.

[B]

I was going to. So I. I didn't know whether to do this here or Apex Mountain, but this is the best breaking of the fourth wall in cinema history.

[C]

It's really great.

[B]

And with the exception of maybe Ferris Bueller, Alfie sustained.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, Alfie's up there. I would say this is my favorite.

[A]

What else is on the list? Singles did it.

[B]

Yeah, singles did it. There's a lot of fourth wall breaking momentarily, like in Spaceballs or something like that. But to have it be. I am just addressing the camera and.

[D]

Working as your narrative on the L on the. Yeah.

[A]

Ironically, it was close to Men's biggest nitpick with the movie.

[C]

Really.

[A]

He doesn't like the staring into the camera.

[D]

I love it because you can. They're using, like, swaths of the book in that. He's just, like, reciting the book. But also, one of my favorite parts of the movie is when Laura comes back and she hears the fourth wall break. A very fleabag moment, you know?

[C]

And when he wakes up the morning after Marie, he's, like, whispering it so he doesn't wake her. It's like, all that stuff, I think.

[B]

Works texturally so well, the time when John Cusack calls him and is like, I don't know how I feel about this Ian guy. And then Marie comes in and he goes out of his office for a minute and talks to Lisa Bonet and then comes Back and he goes, what? Fuck.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

That was just like in the back of percolating his brain the whole scene. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Could you have done this movie blind?

[B]

I'm finding that I don't need to look at my notes very much.

[A]

Yeah. What else did you have? For what stage is the best?

[B]

There's a very, very cool Cusack moment, which is like, I'll give him some honorary dap for smoking here. But the beat that he takes between taking a drag on a cigarette and revealing the four pieces of information that Laura might have told Liz is like, it's everything you need to know about Rob where he like takes this drag and he's like, okay. And he's like, you're an asshole, but not without your charms. And also probably. Probably getting laid off the back of a parent dying. Because we call this the Jesse from Reality Bites. That was a move back.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Classic move.

[A]

What do you got, Rob?

[C]

Marvin Gaye, let's Get It On. I mean, only gets better with age, to be honest with you.

[A]

I think one of the all timers.

[C]

Final relative to 2000. To your point, Chris, like, it is boomed way beyond my wildest expectations to the point where I never thought I would own a single record. It seemed inconceivable.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

When I was 15, I would ever buy one. And now, you know, you got your tidy little collection of your favorites and it's like a nice analog way to experience.

[A]

What do you have, Joanna?

[D]

30 something white dudes talking about records and books and movies.

[C]

What are you talking about?

[A]

Yeah, welcome to the ringer.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

I have dickheads working in a record store who don't actually care about customers or selling records is a fucking staple.

[C]

This is what is the best.

[A]

Well, because that's the way it was and the way it probably still is.

[B]

This is like a perfect balance that we had in this country.

[A]

I still think we had.

[B]

Somehow these places could stay in business.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't want to name the store, but I was in a store with Ben and they were just not interested in selling us anything because they were deep in a conversation behind the counter. And it was. This has been a thing that's gone on for 30 plus years of like, can you hold on a second? I'm in the middle of this meaningless conversation with somebody I work with.

[B]

Or were you like, I'm going to get on fucking Yelp and kill these guys?

[A]

No, I think it's just the culture. The people that are in the store aren't in the store to make money. For the store. They're in the store because it's a cool job and they get to hang with or whatever. And it's like, hell yeah, comrade Bill.

[C]

Like, power to the people, power to the world.

[D]

You don't make enough money to care. You also don't make enough money to run down shoplifters. Rob does. But the fact that Barry goes, I'm like, you don't make enough money to do that.

[A]

The concept of a grown up Charlie I just thought was really well executed.

[B]

2.

[A]

What's aged the best? Two great theories from this movie. The is it better to burn out or fade away? Is just a great question with Elaine.

[C]

Jack Black Hand acting as he does.

[B]

But that is that his Stevie Wonder point is like one of those, like, we're gonna fight about this for five hours. Because now it's like, I don't think anybody really wants to hear anything negative about Stevie Wonder. But like a dude throwing a Molotov cocktail and being like, stevie Wonder's greatest failures of the 80s is like, yo, all right, man, you're a text, man.

[A]

That was a classic Molotov cocktail point. You're right. Which you wouldn't do on the Internet in the same way. The other one I loved was Rob's theory about how he tried to move up in weight class with Charlie and how guys have to punch their own weight. It's one of the great theories that I've always been jealous of. He's like, what did he say he was, a welterweight or a middleweight?

[B]

I think he said he's a middleweight.

[A]

He's like, I'm a middleweight. What was I thinking going up in class? I was like, that's fucking great. Katrina and the Waves for what stage? The best. I think this was their only song. And it's probably a top five, the happiest song that anyone's ever made. And you just hear it and it's like, hey, let's go. Sad bastard music. I just like the phrase. How about movies where there's a cute lead actress and she really belongs to this movie. And I don't know what else she was in. I'm sure she acted in a bunch.

[D]

Of stuff, like Danish stuff. Yes, yeah.

[A]

But she belongs to this movie. And when I see her, I see her in this movie in America.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like, I'm glad this wasn't like Gwyneth Paltrow.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[D]

You mean Ibn Yalla.

[C]

She's the Gwyneth Paltrow of Denmark, though, you know?

[A]

True.

[D]

Well, did you read What Frere said about casting her. Yeah. That he was like, if we cast an American, she would seem too much like Rob's mom. So we need someone who's, like, European. Just because Rob is such a man child and he's like, I need. I need someone who won't feel like she's babysitting.

[C]

The problem is she still feels like she does.

[D]

She sure does.

[A]

Busy coffee houses with people pounding cigarettes. Cr. Yes, I know. You were getting the shakes.

[B]

I miss it.

[A]

Overqualified stars doing small cameos. I just wish there was more of them. Like, just, let's see Tim Robinson when he's red hot. It's going to be in, like, two scenes. Hulu remake show, I think is aged the best. I liked it.

[D]

It's so good.

[B]

This is such a cool property. I just can't believe that they gave up on Zoe. Kravitz was like, I would still be making that.

[C]

She's fighting for it.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Would have her Oscar, though, if.

[B]

Probably not. But me and Joey Kravitz text each other about how we wish we were still making High Fidelity.

[A]

All right, here's my best. What stage the best. There's an Entertainment Weekly 2020 oral history about this movie. And Cusack signed a heat check in it to the point that I decided to create a new award for the Rewatch Ball. It's called the John Cusack Hero Ball Award for biggest Heat check in an oral history anniversary feature. It's unbelievable.

[B]

This could only go to, like, three movies.

[A]

Yeah. It might never be given out again. The cousin to this is the Wikipedia, where somebody involved with the movie clearly wrote a lot of the Wikipedia, which is also one of my favorite. Cusack has quotes on this oral history. These are actual quotes. I knew that Jack Black would be my secret weapon. He had made a movie with Tim Robbins and there was this sort of actors gang, blah, blah, blah. I knew the secret was that he was a great musician and a comedian. Hadn't gotten a role with, like, High Fidelity yet. He's got like 10 of those in this where it's like everything was his idea. He knew this. He knew that he pulled this off. He got Bob Dylan to give them most of the time. I was lucky enough to be friendly with him. So I called him up and I said, do you want to be in this movie? Blah, blah, blah. And then he has this quote. My movies, at least the ones where I've been involved in producing or writing or co creating it, a lot of times they don't get seen or loved. Right away when they come out. So that's pretty common. But I am proud of it. I put an enormous amount of effort and care into this film. The whole history's like that. He's just heat checking it. I sent it to cr.

[B]

It was such a bracing read. Doesn't he also just. Like, I had Springsteen on speed dial. Like, I got him.

[A]

He does that. Yeah, It's. It's a spotty reputation for Cusack. I think Piven being his best friend is. Says a lot, I think, telling.

[D]

Did you read the Frears quote where he was talking about working with him on the Grifters? Where he's like, I only had two good hours a day with John on the Grifters, so we had to schedule around that. He's like. By the time we did High Fidelity, he had figured it out and he could, like, show up for a full day of work. But on the Grifters, he only gave me two hours a day. And that's it.

[B]

It's one of. It's him and Nicolas Cage where it's just like. It feels like the world is at their feet. And then they go on to make six movies a year that are on Amazon Prime.

[A]

Ironically, they were in Con Air together.

[D]

Is this John Cusack's last great movie?

[C]

No, Malvich.

[A]

I mean, Hot Tub Time Machine was a massive movie, but that's probably nine years old.

[D]

Are you stumping for serendipity? What are you stumping for?

[C]

I was thinking Malkovich too, but it's 99.

[A]

This is the end of the run for him, though.

[B]

Well, yeah. No, I guess terms of.

[C]

I mean, outing Darley in.

[B]

Yeah, this.

[C]

Maybe it is.

[D]

I think it is.

[A]

I meant to do this before we did the categories about Q. Just like going back to the sure Thing. He's in a couple 80s movies even before the sure Thing. Like, he's in class. He's in one of the Hughes movies, maybe Sixteen Candles.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Where he's just a party goer.

[A]

He's just in the background. And then he became like a main guy and he just. Sure thing. And he's better off dead. And then say anything. Kind of minted up. And then I think he had a good 90s. But Lloyd Dobber, I think, was a really important character for an entire generation. So I think people gave him a lot of leeway for a long time, and then this movie helped. But I don't. I don't think he sustained it in the way I would have predicted.

[D]

He just did a bunch of, like, I think bad Rom coms after, like, he took the wrong lesson from High Fidelity where he's like, I'm a rom com guy now, and that is not what it was.

[A]

Like, I'm a rom com or weird, like, psychological thriller guy.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

But he probably actually would have been better off. He had a good career, but he probably would have been better off, like, I don't know, some sort of HBO show, like, being like, the Big love part and the Bill Paxton part, something like that.

[D]

Yes, definitely. Big Love.

[A]

Being Sabaca in the Wire, something. Take a swing. John Cusack.

[C]

I don't think that's the one.

[D]

Take Chris Bauer's, like, legacy.

[A]

What do you have for Great shot, Gordo?

[B]

CR I don't really. This is a very subtle visual film, but I had. I like this shot of him walking with the Metrograph movie theater in the background and talking about Dillinger.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

There's not a ton of blinding visual stuff in this.

[A]

What'd you have for Kid Cudi? Pursuit of Happiness? Or for best needle drop rope?

[C]

We could do a whole bracket. I think for this movie. It's hard not to pick Stevie Wonderful Wonder. Like the closeout song with Stevie Wonder. But I think Bob Dylan coming out of the funeral is also. That's a powerhouse.

[A]

Would you have Joanna.

[D]

It's a beta band.

[B]

Dry the rain, Drive the rain. Although we'll say puts the CD in and the song starts four minutes into the.

[D]

I was gonna say the exact same thing. It starts with a hook.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is like, nitpick.

[D]

We can't do it.

[B]

Yeah, it's.

[D]

It's an A, you wouldn't do it in the record store with their. Such purists. And B, you can't do it on a cd.

[A]

No.

[D]

Because it's not even a vinyl. It's a cd.

[A]

I have Katrina in the Waves because black switches it, and it's like a pure needle drop.

[D]

Can I go back to cinematic shot?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And say when he's on the Kinsey Bridge and the camera's.

[A]

Oh, that's a good one. Yeah. Yeah.

[D]

And he's going back and forth. I think that the five things he.

[C]

Loves about or misses Laura.

[D]

He misses about Laura. Yeah.

[B]

Did you try to pay tribute to that shot when you did your walk and talks in Chicago?

[A]

You know, I didn't, but I can claim that I did. All right, we're taking a break, and then we got a flex category for Sierra. This episode is brought to you by Coca Cola. From the first time you turn on your Christmas lights till the last President is placed under the tree. The holiday season is packed with iconic moments, but with every exciting minute spoken for, it can feel like they're flying by faster than Santa's sleigh. This Christmas, cherish them all with crisp, refreshing Coca Cola. Hissing, clinking, gulping and eyeing your way through the most exciting moments the season has to offer. That's a gift in and of itself. Enjoy a Coca Cola refresh your holidays.

[E]

This episode is brought to you by.

[A]

The Focus Features film Hamnet.

[E]

From director Chloe Zhao and producer Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendez discover the untold story behind Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece. Winner of more audience awards than any film this year, Hamnet is a monumental cinematic experience and now it's nominated. Nominated for six Golden Globes and 11 Critics Choice Awards, including best picture of the year. Hamnet ready? PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13 now playing only in theaters.

[A]

CR Flex category. What do you got?

[B]

The Den of Thieves Benny Hano award for scene stealing location. When Rob is going through the four things that Laura might have told Liz. It's the green Mill, which is the bar from Heat Thief. Sorry.

[C]

Blows the up and see.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah, that's a good one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Surprised I didn't notice that. Butch's girlfriend award weak link of the film. What do you have, Joanna?

[D]

I think it might be Lily Taylor, who's an actress who I love.

[C]

First of all. How dare you.

[D]

I love Lily Taylor.

[C]

She's so great in this.

[D]

I think that character's too real for this moment. Like too sad for this moment. And I needed more like Elizabeth Banks and 40 year old Virgin energy, I think from her. I don't know.

[C]

I love the heartbreak. Like her performance messes me up.

[B]

Her grabbing him when they sit down. It's like, are you seeing anybody? I would say to piggyback off of that. I don't know. That Rob reckons with like the wreckage of his, you know, going back through his back pages, interviews with these women where it's like Penny's like, I was basically like sexually assaulted after we broke up. And then Sarah being like, I'm off my meds and unemployed. And he's just like, great, okay, moving on. We got an answer there.

[D]

That's what I have for what's age the worst.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

When she's like, it was basically rape. And he's like, yes, I rejected her.

[A]

Right.

[D]

And you're like.

[A]

Yeah, not greatest thing.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

I think he just ended up with the wrong girl in the movie.

[B]

So do you think he ended up with the Wrong girl.

[A]

I think he should have been with the girl from the Raiders. Really? My girl, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

[B]

Breaking Gregson Wagner.

[D]

I think he should just, like the chemistry chosen himself. I don't think he should have wound up with anyone.

[A]

Yes, I think he should have kicked the tires with. With the reader girl, I thought.

[B]

But he's already back together with Laura.

[D]

When that starts, it's your girlfriend.

[A]

But that should have been the sign, though. Also, he was only with her because.

[D]

He didn't have someone new.

[A]

He was only with her because he couldn't think of what else to do. Then he clearly had this other person who's like, this is like my soulmate here.

[C]

But that's not his soulmate.

[B]

His whole point is that, of course you're gonna meet somebody and they're gonna be distracting, and they're gonna be like the. The tantalizing new thing.

[A]

What was distracting about it?

[B]

She was great in her everyday underwear, only her lingerie.

[C]

They only had the cute problems, like buying each other the same Christmas present. You know, it's not a real thing.

[B]

What's gonna happen when the Chicago reader negatively reviews the CD single he's put out and he's just like, what's happening?

[A]

You know, she thought she was a good, calming presence.

[D]

No, but I feel like if he hops to the next woman, there's no lesson learned. Back with Laura is a lesson learned, but I think the real lesson should. Laura should not have come back well.

[A]

So I had that in. Unanswerable questions. Is this a better movie if he ends up with nobody at the end? And I think if they make it 10 years later, I think that's how it ends.

[D]

I don't think he ends up 500 days a summer.

[A]

Right.

[D]

Think of Minky Kelly.

[A]

Well, in the last 20 years, we have shifted to. We actually. It feels like a rom com, but we are not gonna give you the happy ending. We're gonna actually give you the.

[C]

The problem now is, like, we have so many movies in which they choose themselves at the end. And I think it's like, we're like. It's so therapized in terms of the robs of the world now in films and tv, like, have to work out their problems in a real way.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

This is so incremental.

[B]

Guys should not be in therapy. They should dj.

[C]

Well, this is a man's journey to thinking about a person for literally the first time who is not himself. It's like. Like, the revolutionary idea is, I'm gonna make a mixtape of Stuff she likes versus what I like.

[D]

Can we bring back. Can we bring back the hottest take so CR can do a whole mention be in therapy. They should DJ episode.

[C]

I mean, why.

[A]

You know who created. I choose me. Joanna knows.

[D]

I know It's Kelly.

[A]

Kelly Taylor 902 and now sent Dylan and Brandon pack. And she's like, I choose me.

[D]

I think it should be a category. The Kelly Taylor.

[A]

I choose Kelly Taylor. I choose me.

[B]

Do you guys think that the. The Rob and Laura getting back together works within the context of the movie being satisfying? Even if you don't think that they belong together?

[D]

I do what I think is interesting, and I think this is true. I did not reread my copy of High Fidelity in the last 48 hours, but if you just had one more.

[B]

Night in the hotel, Even yala.

[D]

Even yalla. As I turn the pages. Rob doesn't do his career shift in the book. Like, Laura comes back, but he doesn't have this. And now I'm a music producer. And I think that's an interesting ad of just like, this is another. This is another for Rob as he is sort of like growing in his career and Laura comes back. So it's like he's evolving in multiple ways.

[A]

It's just. It's. What's funny is we all had the couples in our lives where they got back together like this, and you're like, they're not gonna make it. But then they end up getting married and having kids and then getting divorced.

[D]

There's a deleted scene. There's a lot of great deleted scenes.

[A]

There really is.

[D]

But there's one where Laura's talking to Liz, to Joan Kiyosak's character, and she's. Maybe I should go back just so that he can break up with me and then it'll be easier. And Liz is like, that's demented. And she's like, I know. But, like, that would just calm everything down. If I just go back, let him break up with me.

[B]

And then that is something that people used to think back then, though, where it was like, you just didn't have enough feedback. So you were like, maybe what I'll do is, like, we wanna have sex for three weeks and see what happens.

[D]

So there's an interpretation. If that scene stays in the movie, there's an interpretation of the ending of, like, that's just what Laura's doing.

[A]

What was the other deleted scene? That's the famous Delet.

[D]

Well, there's a couple. There's Beverly d' Angelo with the.

[C]

With the the record collection.

[D]

The record collection, which in the TV show was the Parker Posey episode, which is so good. And. And then there's Harold Ramis. Harold Ramis is his dad. Yeah.

[C]

There's one where when the reporter asks him to give his top five records, it turns into like a full blown nervous breakdown where he goes home and has to, like, revisit and keeps, like, calling her back to add more records to the list. There's a lot of really fun stuff.

[D]

There's a direct address that I kind of miss, which is like, he's talking to the audience and he's like, yeah, you think I'm an asshole? He's like, okay, take a moment. Write down the five worst things you ever did to your partner or never told your partner. And then he like, next scene he's like, do you write him down? All right, who's the asshole now? You know? And so it's just this, like, interesting relationship he has with the viewer where he. He keeps saying like, yeah, I'm an asshole. But to your point earlier, it's just like, I feel like he wants the viewer on his side and. And that's really demonstrating that.

[C]

I think they do a really good job of almost not quite needing that because the movie undercuts Rob all the time. He'll go on some super self indulgent tangent, and then a dead body at the funeral goes underground. And it's like, this fucking guy. There's so many ways where they point at him and so many characters who are constantly making fun of him for who he is, that the movie is judgmental of Rob, even if Rob himself isn't calling stuff out directly.

[B]

In the oral history, the actress who plays Laura talks about the sex scene with Tim Robbins.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And how it was fun because they were like, this is what's happening inside of Rob's head. So it's not like a real sex scene. It's supposed to be what's tormenting him. And I was like, I wonder how many of these scenes you could view as like an unreliable narrator telling you about them. That being said, I don't think the film itself tips its cap towards that very often.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

So I do tip take the movie at face value when it's depicting events.

[D]

But like, I think the flashback stuff. Yeah, you're like, that's through a lens for sure.

[B]

Also age the worst. Yes.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Also for what's aged the worst. The. The semi stocking, the mean spiritness and the misogyny. We gotta throw that in. But that was the 90s rob.

[D]

Rob ages the worst. Rob is a character.

[A]

Rob is a character.

[B]

Charlie, you fucking bitch. Let's work it out. What's the funniest and most disturbing thing in this movie?

[A]

We gotta talk about Cusack's hair. Every time Joanna's on. Somehow we get into the hairpiece thing.

[D]

The last time it was Robert Redford in your cross hairs. Now it's Cusack. Tell me.

[A]

Never really answered.

[D]

No one. No one has definitely answered. I had an a couple people in.

[A]

My life sending me different screenshots of him in the early 70s, but nope, we'll never know.

[D]

I stand by. It's a dying problem, not a.

[B]

A peace problem.

[A]

Well, Cusack had the combo of he's wearing wigs in the movies for the throwback scenes, but then it's the real Cusack and it's like, are we. Oh, no, that. It's a lot of that. I don't know what's going on.

[D]

Do you think he has fake hair just as Rob in present day Rob. Resent day Rob.

[A]

Well, he definitely added hair from the say anything. Kind of early Con Air was when it was we talked about in the Con Air podcast. He comes in with the full mane.

[B]

In Con Air, there's a lot of. Not continuity problems, but, like, stuff shot out of order in the sense that you can tell, like, he's changed his hair since they shot the exterior to the interior. And I wonder if it was just like, that's not a huge concern of this movie is like, how his hair looks.

[A]

You know, I have another. What's age the worst? Springsteen's cameo just isn't that good. I just wanted more from it. It's fine. Bruce Springsteen. Can you come up with better than whatever he says?

[D]

So it sounds like you guys read an ew. Did you read the Consequence of Sound? I did, yeah. Which was like constantly reloading. Did you have that issue?

[C]

I also had that issue. We gotta talk to the server people.

[A]

As consequences of sounds right now.

[D]

But they talk a couple things about the Bruce Springsteen cameo. One, they claim that Bruce himself is the one who punched up that line where he's like, oh, yeah, you'll feel better. They might feel better.

[B]

They might feel better.

[D]

That that was like a Bruce ad.

[B]

Maybe they feel better. Definitely feel better.

[D]

Where he's like, no, it's not that. They'll feel better. And so. And then also for copyright reasons, they had to have Bruce noodling something unidentifiable so they could use it.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Because they didn't have to pay for It.

[B]

Oh, that's interesting.

[D]

And they made him say on camera, I'm just making this up as I'm playing it. So they could, like, send it to the record company.

[B]

If they paid for the river, they would have just, like, paid for.

[A]

Maybe he could just all mishandled. Have him actually play one of his songs. Play something from Tunnel of the Love.

[D]

Well, then you. Then your. Then your budget goes up from 30 million to something higher, and you're 47.

[A]

Million Tim Robins in this movie. You're fine. Scott Rosenberg wrote the original draft set in Boston. Cr.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How crazy would that have been?

[B]

That would have ended our lives.

[A]

And then they moved around, and then somehow he ended up getting writing credit anyway. And then my last one for Stage the Worst. This movie did pretty well, which led to Fever Pitch and Jimmy Fallon being on the fucking infield grass as the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. And I'll never forgive anyone for that, but if this movie doesn't do well, maybe that doesn't happen. So what's aged the worst for me, Joanna? Get Jimmy Fallon off the fucking field. My team just won the World Cup.

[D]

Favorite pitch in the uk.

[C]

Punish Nick Hornby.

[A]

We'd already made favorite pitch. Why were we making this again? The Ruffalo Hayne and rubyneck Partridge. Overacting. Word. It's Jack Black. But I'm also. It's not an insult. It is Jack Black.

[B]

Don't take it the wrong way.

[A]

I mean, it's a compliment.

[B]

I'm playing more Saul Rubenak. Word.

[D]

We're.

[B]

We're fans.

[A]

Yeah, we're fans.

[D]

Complimentary, Tim Robbins, but I'm also not mad about it.

[A]

Tim Robbins is fin.

[C]

I do think Natasha Gregson Wagner, who plays Caroline Forrest.

[A]

Careful, Rob.

[C]

She.

[D]

This is your first time last.

[C]

Her flirt dial is cranked up so high, she forgot how to be a normal person.

[B]

Yeah, that was a definite. Like, it's happening in Rob's. It's weird.

[D]

Yeah, some Olivia Nazi, like, journalism ethics question.

[A]

Wow, we're getting topical current affairs here. Oh, Jesus, that was great.

[C]

She's been relieved from her post as west coast editor.

[A]

Oh, Joanna's got a flex category.

[D]

Okay. I was tempted to do the category that I invented, which is, would a cell phone ruin this movie? I would say social media would ruin this movie. We all know too much about our exes already or whatever, but I'm actually going to give it to the Big Kahuna Burger. Best use of food and drink is when he says Laura's dad Died. And Jack Black goes, oh, drag. And then just chomps on a burrito. And it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[D]

Oh, drag. And then just like a massive chomp of a. Of like a 2.99 burrito.

[C]

Barry's whole reaction to her dad dying of like, top five songs about death. Alora's dad tribute list.

[B]

And then all the guys in the. In the record store are like, okay, yeah, for sure.

[C]

Acceptance.

[D]

Tell Laura I love her. Absolutely. Bring the house down.

[B]

Cr.

[A]

What do you have for the. CR Thinks Luke Wilson could have been Harrison Ford. Had us take a word.

[B]

I have two. I wonder if Joe and I are circling the same thing, which is kind of the TV show. I don't know if it's better than the movie, but it has. I think it had legs. My hottest take is that there's just no way Rob and Laura even get back together, much less stay together. And that, first of all, all the Marie stuff comes out fucking one day. Barry's like, hey, this is Marie to South. Remember when you were sleeping with her for, like, a couple weeks when you and Laura broke up? And I just don't think that I'm making a mix CD for the Chicago Reader music critic.

[A]

No, it's the tape. She's. She's.

[B]

She's just like, oh, cool. Like, that doesn't. That's not happening.

[A]

It's done. It's a rap. When he's caught making the tape, I.

[D]

Don'T know that I would say the show is. Is better, but because by the nature of television, it just has more time to luxuriate in the side plots. Like, I'm selling my terrible ex husband's record collection.

[A]

None of you guys have the balls to. The TV show is better than this movie, and I like this movie. The TV show is better.

[C]

It's not a ball.

[A]

It's absolute crime that they canceled it. It's fucking bullshit. The show is good.

[C]

The show is good.

[A]

And it would had to have been.

[B]

Covid, because otherwise the best possible, like Zoe Kravitz got to do, like, you just got to see her do everything.

[A]

Also, no offense to Hulu, but I'm going to offend Hulu. Like, you're not exactly the 96 bulls.

[D]

Great use of Jake Lacy in that show.

[A]

It's not like, oh, we have to cancel this because of all of our other awesome shows here on Hulu. Like, what the fuck are you guys doing?

[D]

Lizzie Moss needed more money for Handmaid's Tale. Season.

[A]

It's ridiculous. They have like three good shows a year.

[B]

Next time you see him at a.

[A]

Clippers game, it's ridiculous. How do they cancel this? Zoe Craft Ravitz.

[C]

They fucking blew it. Like, they really had it in their hands. And again, there's no reason to not let it play out.

[A]

But also not a lot of people at Hulu in 2018 like, it was still. I don't think Hulu is where it is now. Hand Man's Tale is like one of the first.

[D]

I think everyone was watching normal people on Hulu during COVID I certainly was. Yeah.

[A]

Absolute bullshit.

[D]

You're not a normal. You're not a normal people head. Not a celebrity guy.

[A]

No. I don't know the story behind it, but I guarantee it's like, whoever ran Hulu got fired and it was their show and the new person came in and it's like, well, that's not my show. I don't get credit if it does well. And they just got it rid of. That's what always happens.

[C]

I think in terms of scope too, one way that the show would work better. I saw this quote from Ryan Coogler this morning about, like, he's adapting the new X Files thing. And he was talking about how someone in TV had told him TV is about, like, the most important journey in somebody's life. And a movie is about the most important moment in somebody's life.

[D]

So good.

[C]

The most important moment for Rob is at the end when he's like, I cannot believe I've been putting everyone at a distance. I haven't committed to anything my entire life. This huge revelation in the rain. And his life changes from that point forward, but he needs more time to actually become a not shitty version of Rob. Yes. Yeah.

[A]

You don't need to hear Jack Black playing music for two minutes to be like, I found the light.

[C]

And so if you play it out over multiple seasons in a TV show format, like, this is a Journey story, not a moment.

[B]

There's also like, it would have just been cool if they were more realistic where it's like, well, okay, after he covers Marvin Gaye and you do one record release party, like, now what now what now what?

[A]

Your take? Did you ever had a steak?

[D]

I agree. Just like Laura should have say, Laura should not have come back. I will say this movie does some things for Laura that the book doesn't like. We're at least in her pov. Sometimes there are scenes of Laura without Robb and the moment where he's crying for her at her dad's funeral does a lot of work for me, but in general, Laura should not have come back, I think.

[A]

Did you do yours?

[C]

I have one. The top five you were talking about earlier, Chris. The top five side one track, one debate in the record store. The problem?

[A]

Thunder Road not being on it.

[C]

Well, no, the problem with Smells Like Teen Spirit being on the list is not that it's like a cliche pick. It's that that song kind of sucks and nobody wants to talk about it.

[B]

This is your hottest take.

[C]

This is my hottest take.

[B]

Holy shit, Rob. Is it like, at the risk of.

[C]

Never coming back on the Rewatchables, you.

[D]

Were like, comment sections have killed the hot take, essentially. Here comes Rob with Smells Like Teen Spirit is bad.

[C]

Actually, look, this is the Gen X divide. Honestly, it's like, wait a second. Yeah, I've been listening to for like.

[B]

Four years and you're just like, yeah, you know, there's a lot to like about the Bulls, but you're coming for fucking Kurt Kobe.

[C]

I have more things to say about IO Desumu than I do about Smells Like Teen Spirit, to be honest.

[D]

Tell me more about why. Tell me more about that one. Oh, my chest sucks.

[C]

I mean, I think there's like the emblematic bigger thing, which to me, grunge feels so put off. To me, the ethics of grunge do not feel authentic. They don't feel lived or not.

[B]

Now you're coming for the entire ideology.

[C]

Well, so I'm starting big and literally zooming in.

[D]

We have to dig on this take, Sia.

[C]

Like, we start there and then. If I were to pick a grunge song, it wouldn't be Nirvana. If I were to pick a Nirvana song, it wouldn't be like the nonsense radio play Nirvana of all things. Like, I just do not like that song.

[B]

Wow, I'm speechless.

[C]

I don't know.

[A]

Well, that's it for the Craig.

[B]

What did you think of the movie?

[A]

Wow, that was great.

[E]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

You may have to rename this category to Rob Oni. That Smells like.

[A]

Sorry.

[D]

Not even overrated. Just sucks.

[B]

I think it kind of sucks, dude.

[A]

You would have passed the category over.

[B]

You would have done very well in bars in the 90s. I feel like Rob is like Rocky. He's been fighting right handed this entire time. Oh, what's Rob's hottest take gonna be like?

[A]

Yeah, it was funny because I thought I had a pretty hot take and now I just feel like, tepid.

[D]

Tepid take compared to following greatness. Yeah.

[A]

I just don't think the Music's good enough for this movie.

[C]

Whoa.

[B]

What?

[A]

Yeah, I think it's the biggest reason. It was. It was a rewatchable for me, but not like one of my movies. Cause I thought it got too deep cutting.

[D]

Did you own.

[B]

I did, but I actually now probably prefer listening to, like, there's a lot of playlists of all the songs mentioned in the book and in the movie and also in the TV shows.

[D]

Here's me wandering around saying, even y' all in my hotel room. And I listened to the Official. And I was like, this isn't satisfying. And then I listened to, like, one.

[A]

Of those playlists that it's just not that good. And I think it could have been, like, one of the great soundtracks of my life.

[B]

And it's not to the movie's credit. A lot of the music is diegetic, where it's like. It'll be, like, playing in the store at a certain volume. So, like, they could have had any. Like, they could have had the greatest collection of songs ever. But I think they use music functionally in this movie rather than, like, Days and Confused, where it's just like, this is the fucking best song at the best moment.

[A]

I just think these guys would have been listening to more music from the last 10 years. They're doing this in 2000, I think, the 90s. That was like, one of the great decades of all time.

[B]

I know, but, like, this is one.

[A]

Of my pick advice.

[B]

Sell the new shit, I feel like.

[A]

But this is one of my picking nits, though. Okay, I'll do them now as part of my how to steak the Smashing Pumpkins. Not being in this movie is outrageous. They're a Chicago band. It's 2000. I think they were. They just had this crazy run.

[B]

There was a touchy relationship between the Chicago music scene and Smashing Pumpkins.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

But here's the thing. Billy Corgan in the Springsteen spot. I don't know. Makes more sense if you want Billy Corgan in here. Yeah.

[C]

That's the stage advice you want?

[A]

Yeah, I want Billy Corgan in here.

[B]

Hey, the world is a vampire.

[D]

Anything from Billy Corgan?

[A]

He's so weird. It's a better cameo. So you don't think the Chicago Pumpkins piece.

[B]

I just think that there was, like, the bands that they're championing are, like, Touch and Go and Drag City bands.

[A]

So the Pumpkins are like the sellout band?

[B]

Kind of.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, they're only one of the best bands of the 90s.

[D]

I will say that Billy Corgan would not have aged Back today they pay pick. They pick the Boss. And anyone watching now knows who Bruce Springsteen is. But anyone young watching now does not know who Billy Corgan is.

[A]

But that's the thing in 2000. I don't think these guys are listening to Bruce Springsteen.

[B]

But if they're critic adjacent geeks who care a lot about like music history, canon stuff like the river is a very important record.

[D]

But you don't think he pulls up his Fleetwood Mac album.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[D]

Like he's talking about Lance.

[A]

You guys don't think he wouldn't have cared about the 90s stuff too? I feel like he.

[B]

But he does care about the 90s stuff. He's playing Beta Band.

[A]

He's like, yeah, but that's my point is he's going like the old stuff is like the most famous people possible. And then the new stuff is like the deepest possible.

[D]

So you want to.

[B]

I don't know what his older, deeper.

[A]

I don't understand his taste.

[D]

You want older, deeper cuts or mainstream current is what you're saying.

[A]

Whatever he's doing are two separate things at the same time. And I didn't understand a lot of new.

[B]

A lot of older music genres and like bands were getting kind of rediscovered and re. And like appropriated by younger people because you could buy their albums for three bucks.

[D]

Bucks.

[B]

So I remember like for most of my life I thought Fluid Mac was like soft rock that I didn't listen to. But then when you can get their records for like three of them for 10 bucks and you're like, oh, there's like really good songs on Rumors and, and Tusk. Like you. That's how like that stuff kind of like was.

[A]

Yeah, but I'm the same age as the guy in that movie. And by the time you're 30, you're not listening to the river anymore. You're listening. It's like for you by Springsteen, like you've moved on to deeper cut Springsteen. That's the part. He's still like basic Springsteen, but Springsteen's been in his life the whole time.

[C]

Isn't that kind of the formula though is like the old stuff is the canonized stuff and then the new stuff is like you are digging deep into the bins to find what is like hyper specific to maybe that feels coherent.

[B]

I hear what you're saying though. I'm just, I just, I don't know.

[A]

How your mass appeal on one side and then deep, deep, deep cut on the other side seems weird.

[C]

He contains multitudes.

[B]

We realized that whoever they picked isn't massively canceled now, so that, like, what happens in life, I'm dealing with, like.

[A]

Casting what ifs. Jack Black passed, and they just basically bullied him into doing it. The role of Dick was originally offered to David Arquette. I'm gonna give that, like, a small scale. Yikes.

[D]

That's way worse.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Liz Fair. That's the one was considered for Marie duo.

[B]

We'll never know.

[C]

That's a totally different movie.

[D]

What about Bob Dylan for the Boss? If it's Dylan instead of Bruce Springsteen?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I just don't think he ever does it.

[D]

No, he wouldn't. But, like, would that have Billy Corgan or Bob Dylan?

[C]

It's like, what's the. That's the binary we know.

[A]

I think Billy Corgan's so weird. Springsteen wasn't weird enough, I think. Well, Bob Dylan is weirder, so he's probably better than Springsteen.

[B]

Lisa Bodet is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life. I probably would still throw my life away for Liz Phair.

[A]

I gotta say, Ciara's like, fucking run. This is my jam.

[C]

They talked about how hard that part was. The cast and I think there is something on Lisa Bonet, specifically, versus Liz Phaire, which is. Liz Fair's great, but she needs to feel Marie does like an alien to rob like, she makes from another planet. And that's not Liz Phair's whole deal.

[A]

Ciara, who are your 90s female musician? Throw My Life Away. Who's in your inner circle for that one?

[B]

Well, Liz Phair is definitely the number one seed. She's Gonzaga number one, I think.

[D]

So.

[B]

There was a lot of, like, fleeting, like, the.

[A]

The.

[B]

This is a strange conversation to be having in 2025. Sarah Shannon from Velocity Girl.

[A]

I'm saying in the mid-90s, who were your Throw the live oasers? That's not a strange conversation. Liz Fair was up there. Yeah. Okay.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

The girl like this lead singer from Velocity Girl would be another one. I don't know if you liked them, did you?

[A]

Well, Julian Hatfield was from the Boston area, so she was a big one from us. There's a couple others. We really sidetracked big time.

[D]

Bill, do you have any other names than burning a hole in your pocket that you want to get out there? Exactly.

[C]

We need to reflect it back to you.

[B]

Like Will, Tanya Donnelly. Like, what else you were locked in the.

[D]

Would you care to go to therapy or just become a dj?

[C]

We're moving.

[A]

Lost track. Lost track of where we were. Oh, you mentioned how Ramus, Beverly d'. Angelo. Rob Cusack said he wanted I'm so tired by John Lennon for this key scene when Rob finally proposed to Laura and they couldn't clear it. John Lennon was also dead at that point. But also I think would have told John Cusack to fuck off would be my guess. Best. That guy Todd Luizo counts, right?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

No. Does anyone know his name's Todd Louiso? I see him and I think he's the manny from Jerry Maguire. And he's from this movie, and that's how I know him.

[C]

I actually, to this point think he's such a. That guy. His name is Todd Loizo. I think at least that's how John.

[D]

Cusack predates Ibn Yala.

[A]

But there's a better. There's a better that guy than him.

[D]

Alex Desert.

[A]

Yeah, Alex Desert from Becca. This place is really.

[B]

Anyway from pcu.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

He needed two more scenes in this movie.

[D]

Swingers.

[C]

Like, why is he a part of all the arguments?

[A]

He's in for two minutes and I'm like, can he come back? And then, I don't know. He got cut. This place is dead anyway. Cr Deon Waiter's award. Alex Desert. Catherine Zeta Jones. Lisa Bonet, Tim Robbins or Natasha W. Wagner.

[B]

I think it's Catherine Zeta Jones.

[A]

I think it's Katherine Zeta Jones.

[C]

Strong.

[B]

What do you think?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, she's great. Did we talk about Lisa?

[D]

Lisa is amazing in this movie. And I was watching this movie with someone who's younger than me, and she was like, is that Zoe Kravitz said, no, Zoe Kravitz is not old enough to be in this movie. But, yeah, she's just. She's absolutely smoke show in this movie.

[E]

I don't think anyone's ever looked more.

[B]

Like their parent than Zoe Kravitz.

[A]

It's funny because we did this last.

[B]

Week with exactly alike.

[A]

We did this with Cameron Kroeber talking about Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn. How crazy was that? A mother and daughter that could have played each other's roles.

[D]

Kai Gerber is like Kai Gerber. But. But I think, interestingly, in. In the Nepo baby world that Zoe Kravitz has cultivated looking like her mom because, like, when she first starts in, like X Men and stuff like that, like, she doesn't really look as much like her mom as she does now.

[C]

This is the new frontier. You got to lean into it. You got to lean into it super hard. You got to wear it. You got to style yourself. Similarly, I think. I think it pays off more than people think.

[A]

She's one of my true queens. Cr. Zoe, along with.

[B]

Or Lisa.

[A]

Lisa, yeah. Along with Michelle.

[B]

She's aware of the Cosby joke in this.

[A]

Diane Lane.

[D]

The Cosby sweater joke.

[C]

Great question. Oh, little Sideswipe.

[A]

She probably supported it.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

What if it had been Cosby instead of Bruce Springsteen?

[B]

I think they may have re edited that. They would have been like, can we get Corgan still.

[D]

Is Corgan available?

[A]

Recasting couch director Sidium. Just throwing this in quick. Can we test drive? Just take. Hop in the car with me for Samantha Mathis as Laura.

[B]

Oh, Jesus.

[A]

Just quick drive around the block with that thought.

[B]

But then. Then I get very defensive.

[D]

Who comes up in this category more than Samantha Mathis?

[A]

I know. I'm. I keep trying with her. I just thought it was a little throwback to the early 90s of Gen X.

[D]

We were talking about her. We were talking about River Phoenix on the sneakers pod and their. And their country music movie that they made together.

[C]

What about Laura Linney? I was trying to think, like, how. Who.

[A]

Early Laura Linney.

[B]

She's in Congo by now. So this is like, you can count on me.

[C]

Like, I'm already, like, she's already babysitting Mark ruffle.

[D]

Yeah. Early 90s.

[B]

Oh, so she's. She's in the mix already.

[C]

I think, like, she could really nail this part. The question is, can she be partier?

[D]

Laura, she's like a whisper away from love.

[B]

Actually, the only other one if you're gonna keep. If you're gonna keep Laura being from Europe. What about Famka Johnson?

[C]

Wow, that's powerful. That's a lot for one movie.

[D]

She's. She's Jean Gray. She's Jean Graying.

[B]

Really hard brown and high fidelity Run.

[A]

I think. I think you're bringing too much firepower for that car, Sierra. Oh, Craig, you got a flex category.

[E]

I. I have the cell phone. Same thought as Joe. And that this movie. This movie makes, like, not knowing what happens to your ex seem torturous, when in reality, it's actually, like, the beauty of it. And that now. I mean, Rob would be on a list now if he had Instagram. He a psycho.

[B]

Yeah. They wouldn't let this dude on commercial.

[E]

No. If he knew that, like, somebody was, like, across the street at a cafe or was posting photos of, like, a different guy who would have completely lost his mind. But the other category I want to give, which is kind of odd, is the Sasha Jenkins award. The actor you can't believe didn't become a Bigger star. Jack Black, although you are right, he is literally probably the most dependable box office star right now. But he is a kid star. And I think it's kind of crazy that Jack Black never really was, like, an adult comedy movie star. And for how funny he is, he was never even the top five of. That's my favorite comedy star. He never really had, like, the big movie. He had Shallow Hal and he kind.

[B]

Of ended it right.

[E]

They tried Nacho libre and things like that. He's really funny in Tropic Thunder, but, like, it's crazy that he never had an Austin Powers or an Ace Ventura. He's so physically gifted. And he, like, never became an adult comedy star, like a big one. And I think it's really weird.

[D]

Would you not count School of Rock as, like, it's a kids movie. Yeah.

[A]

But he's saying, like, he never got in the Apatow crowd.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

No, he never got franchise comedy. I think it's a good point. Like, there should have been, like, probably Five School Rocks.

[B]

I'm thinking of that now. Like, you could just base. I mean, like, it's strange that, like, somebody wouldn't make a movie with Jack Black now where it's like, what's your Ace Ventura like?

[A]

Could it have been like, Jim Carrey, like, had like a 1994.

[E]

Jim Carrey was so gifted physically as a comedian.

[C]

Definitely.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

And it just never tr. I mean, he was so good in Tropic Thunder and he's really good in the roles he's given, but I can't believe he never had his own.

[D]

Stay tuned this holiday season for Anaconda.

[B]

That's true. That's true.

[C]

Also the holiday, a perpetual rewatch for a lot of people. I think he's maybe the weirdest part of that movie, though. He's so out of place.

[A]

He's like the weak link of the holiday. I think part of the problem with him was he. The Tenacious D thing was pretty all consuming.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

He was, like, on the road half the time with them.

[D]

He has said that he was worried about making this movie. Some people have the theory in this Consequence of Sound oral history that he was worried because he was too scared. And he said that as well. But he was also like. But my music career was kicking off and that was something that I was really interested in as well.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So, yeah.

[A]

Half asset research. Not a lot. Except for you can, if you want to know, the Marita Styles cd, what was on it.

[B]

Yeah, this is really fun.

[A]

After Baby I Love youe Way. It includes Ghostbusters. Beat it. Baby Got back. I will survive but my heart will go on. The time is now Pretty good.

[C]

I will kickstart the Marie Desall Ghostbusters. Cut. I need Lisa Bonet singing Ghostbusters in my life. I just need it.

[D]

You should turn it up.

[C]

Turn that thing up.

[D]

You should turn it up.

[A]

Tim Robbins said he agreed to take the small roles in High Fidelity and Anchorman because he didn't care about the money. But he wanted to keep the custom made wigs. And that was part of the deal that he got to keep the wigs.

[D]

Do you think Susan enjoyed the Ian Gray Ponytail Away.

[A]

Got to Give it up was the original Jack Black song for that scene. And he really wanted to do the other one, so they did the other one. How many movies do you think Joan and John Cusack have appeared in together?

[C]

So many career.

[B]

Not only that, how many. But are they the best brother, sister actor tandem to appear in films?

[A]

Who are they competing Gyllenhaal together.

[B]

How many Gyllenhaal movies are there?

[D]

Donnie Darko. Yeah.

[C]

How does one suck a fuck?

[D]

How exactly does one suck a fuck? Wrong.

[A]

You didn't guess how many?

[D]

5, 10. 10.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

There's a bunch that they're just. Yeah, they're both sporting not very big.

[D]

In, but because she's also in that Hughes movie that he's.

[B]

Yeah, Sixteen Candles. She's. She's incredible in gross point blank too.

[D]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Has that been a rewatchable yet? Grosse point blank.

[D]

Because she like. I like that. This is sort of her like girl on the phone is like kind of her role in this movie too.

[B]

And the scene at the funeral between the two of them is one of the best scenes in the movie.

[D]

But she's like, we are talking about someone else.

[C]

Laura.

[A]

There's a theory that there's five albums that you can see in Rob's apartment that that's his top five albums.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's Funkadelic, Neil Young, Beach Boys, Sonic Youth and the Minutemen.

[B]

It's pretty good Five checks out. It's a pretty good five checks out.

[A]

Good theory.

[D]

Which Beach Boys album is in Pet Sound.

[C]

It's gotta be Pet Sounds.

[A]

Wild Hunt.

[B]

Oh, see? Little curveball.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Classic Rob.

[D]

Classic Rob.

[A]

Rob got us again. Speaking of Rob Rob, you have a flex category. Your first one, probably your last after you get banned from the rewatch most.

[C]

I'm gonna go out in flames then.

[A]

You know, coming for granted. But you already have a new. You took over the hottest hate Category.

[B]

Once we send that clip to Courtney Love.

[C]

Yeah, absolutely screwed.

[A]

I. I can't wait for fantasy for that clip. I know top three people who will go nuts for that clip.

[B]

Definitely, like, Yassi and Sean, are going to lose their minds when they hear that we're talking about Yassi.

[A]

Let's keep that away from Yassi.

[D]

Rob, you were, like, establishing yourself as a music guy.

[A]

Listen, as Avi know, we need more hottest takes than life. Craig tried to bring back cannibalism. Now cannibalism is in pluribus.

[D]

It's true, Mr. Craig. I heard.

[A]

Rob, what's your flex?

[C]

I'm going to attempt the double cigar. So we've got Steven Seagal shitting on himself for the most unbelievable anecdote from the actual film shoot and the Steven Seagal Hard to Kill award. Did this movie need a better intimacy coordinator? Apparently, the Tim Robbins dream sequence that we've been talking about, it wasn't really directed by Stephen Frears at all. He went and gathered all of the women on set who were just, like, working in hair and makeup or working in craft services and were like, can you guys just tell us what to do? And the result is that Ivanyala said, this was the best sex scene I've ever shot and the most, like, the most comfortable I've ever been. So I put it to you. Do they need another intimacy coordinator or did they crowdsource an entirely new model we should be taking advantage of?

[D]

She said, Steven Frears was essentially, like, in the corner with his hands over.

[B]

His eyes turned to the corner, shielding.

[D]

Himself as the women of the wardrobe department were like, grab her ass.

[C]

Yes. That's hot. That's funny. Crawl your hand down her thigh.

[B]

Robin's kind of like, I have, like, a small window to do this, so.

[E]

We gotta kinda like.

[A]

Well, maybe this would be a new blueprint for intimacy coordinators that will go terribly wrong on some other movies. That would be my guess.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So maybe don't crowdsource the crew.

[C]

Maybe not. Or be very careful about your hiring in the crew. But it turned out to be a hilarious scene.

[D]

Fun fact, the cinematographer of this movie, Seamus McGarvey, also was a cinematographer on Fifty Shades of Gray. Was he inspired by this sequence? Who's to say?

[B]

I don't think so. Based on what we know about the 50 shades of gray intimacy coordination.

[A]

Apex Mountain. Cusack. No.

[C]

What's the argument for?

[D]

No. Gross by blank.

[A]

I don't think it is.

[C]

But this run, like, 97 to 2000. That run.

[B]

He doesn't like these you don't like the run. He doesn't like the run. He likes the exact moment. Trust me. I've tried to unlock this door so many times.

[A]

It's always fun when a new rewatch of this person comes in.

[C]

What's Apex Mountain?

[A]

It's the most juice. He didn't have the most juice in this movie earlier.

[B]

They literally called him to be like.

[C]

Can you bail out our script? Because it doesn't. Can you make this movie work? And he's like, yes, I will do it. I will star in it. I will make an unlikable character quite survivable within the context of the movie. Like, you want to spend time with Rob despite the fact that he sucks. I think he's got a lot of juice here.

[A]

Maybe he never had an Apex mountain.

[B]

I think 96.

[A]

Just a couple mini mountains.

[E]

96.

[B]

97 is his apex Mountain.

[A]

When he's in Con Air.

[B]

City Hall. Gross. Point blank. Con Air.

[A]

Yeah. I agree. All right, sir.

[B]

That's like Blockbuster.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Prestige, Pacino, you know.

[C]

But you stretch out a little bit and you go Thin Red Line. Malkovich. This.

[B]

Yes. Although he probably doesn't even know he was in Thin Red Line. I'm not sure.

[D]

No one knows they were in Thin Red Line.

[C]

You could have been in it, guys. I don't know.

[D]

Apex out of Thin Red Line.

[A]

Deleted. Smith Singles.

[D]

Micro Bangs.

[A]

Love Thy Neighbor.

[B]

I was thinking about that. That was very attractive to me at the time.

[A]

Jack Black. No, no. Beta Beat.

[B]

Definitely Beta band.

[A]

Beta band. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Bonet.

[B]

No.

[A]

Santa Jones.

[B]

No.

[A]

Katrina and the Waves. Maybe.

[B]

Probably just that.

[A]

Or when the song actually came out.

[B]

I think that.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Ibanyala.

[D]

Iban Yala.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

And her Micro Bay.

[A]

Sad Bastard music. Maybe breaking the fourth wall in a movie. CR brought that up earlier. Posse.

[D]

Guess he does.

[B]

Like, they do it in Annie Hall. I'm trying to think of, like, when that would have been like. I think Ferris Bueller was probably the most like I was ever like.

[C]

That might be the one.

[B]

But this is. This is very.

[A]

That's. You're right. That's what it is. It's Ferris. Or it's Stanley Roper on Three's Company. One of those.

[D]

Or Fleabag.

[C]

Fleabag is great.

[B]

Or Fleabag.

[A]

Would you go for Todd Loiseau? Is it the Manny or is it the this?

[B]

I think it's this.

[A]

It's this. I think more people know from the.

[D]

TV show that has the name Ted in it. It was like a workplace comedy. Do you know what I'm talking about?

[B]

Better not Better off.

[D]

Better off, Ted.

[A]

No, that's a thing.

[D]

He wasn't one of the light guys in the lab. And maybe confusing him for another guy who looks like him.

[A]

Chicago movies. No book movie combos from the last.

[C]

35 years in terms of both are good.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

35 plus 35 years.

[A]

We'll go back to 1990. I think the answer is Fight Club.

[D]

Let's just do 25 years. 2000 on. Why. Why are we involving the 90s?

[A]

Because I wanted to bring Fight Club into it as the answer.

[B]

What about Mystic River?

[D]

Atonement.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

My atonement?

[D]

Really good.

[A]

Fight Club.

[B]

When was Bridges of Madison county? Was in the 90s.

[D]

Mm. Bridget Jones.

[B]

Bridget Jones.

[E]

Holes, obviously.

[C]

Obviously holes. Fifty Shades we already cited.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

Cruz or Hanks?

[B]

This is tough. This is tough.

[D]

I think this is Cruz Hanks.

[A]

I'm never buying Cruise running a record store in Chicago. I'm pretending he likes music.

[C]

It's Cruise as Ian. That's the reason.

[D]

Yeah, I don't think Cruise.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

Cruise as Ian Raymond real.

[D]

I agree.

[A]

So is that doable? Can Cruz win on that, or does he have to be the lead?

[E]

He has to be for the lead.

[B]

He's got to be the lead. You don't think that. I mean, yes, it tanks then.

[A]

It tanks.

[D]

Is the wrong.

[C]

I guess Hanks is Rob, but Cruz is Ian slash Rick.

[A]

What role would Philip Seymour Hoffman have played?

[B]

I think so.

[D]

Freer said that Philip Seymour Hoffman auditioned for this movie for it seems like Dick.

[C]

They were trying to figure out, like, where to put him.

[B]

But do you think he would have been good as Barry? I mean, he basically does.

[A]

That's his version of Dick, I think, would have been pretty good. It's like a Scotty J. Crossfit.

[D]

I don't think you could put him with Jack. But Black, though. No, but him. Because he d does a Jack Black role in Twister.

[A]

I always talk that out for a minute.

[D]

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jack Black.

[A]

You don't think Philip Seymour Hoffman would have laid back and counter Been counterpuncher for Jack Black?

[D]

I don't think he's capable of fading that much.

[B]

I feel like it would be like Philip Seymour Hoffman's Punch Drunk Love character would come out.

[C]

Shut the up.

[B]

Shut up. It's like, hey, man, we're just talking side one, track one.

[D]

He's like, you put some respect on Anna's name.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Picking this. So Jack Black's character, I think we would all agree, was fantastic as a performer, just not ever playing Music in any capacity. Never got shit working at the store. Yeah, could have gone to karaoke night, belted it out a couple times. This guy never sang.

[B]

I do like the idea that, like, when he's just like, how come you're not putting my record out? And he's like, because you just won't let anybody hear your stuff. That being said, the influences that he has up on the flyer for his band is got nothing to do with the music that he plays at the end. It's far from classic. Soul, Pale Head and Primal Scream and Warp Records is like all over the place.

[A]

Laura being with Ian, this was like a 90s trope. It was the same guy in singles with the ponytail guy that Pierce, Edric's character ends up with. Why do they do this?

[D]

Sometimes you're interested in understanding what tantric is. Sometimes you're like, have I tried tempeh? I don't know.

[A]

Maybe. Maybe I want Valerie showed up here.

[B]

But how many earrings does this man.

[C]

Have on his ear? You know, it could be four, it could be five.

[D]

Something I said while watching this movie is I'm upset that my ear jewelry and his ears jewelry is essentially the same. I was not happy about that.

[B]

There was also like a trend back then because they would like the genre of world music was so kind of popular and it was a very like.

[D]

Jack Black wearing the Yanni T shirt. The Yanni Tour T shirt. This is John Corbett's character in Serendipity too, right? Because he's essentially Yanni in that movie.

[C]

I do think Rob referring to him as some Supertramp fan is offensive. That's rude for no reason.

[B]

Do you like Supertramp?

[C]

Fine.

[B]

But like Ivan Nirvana?

[C]

No, comic.

[A]

Wow.

[D]

He's a Magnolia soundtrack guy.

[B]

What other nitpicks do we have the band that they use as a stand in for. What is it? Vince and what's the other kid's name? Name like the two. The Kinky Wizards band. They play Royal Trucks music as like, this is what they sound like. But Royal Trucks would be a band in the high fidelity world because they were on Drag City, which was a Chicago label. So that just is like breaking. Breaking a seal there. Sorry to get nerdy about that. And the way that Lewis, the Alex Dessert character, holds the Captain Beefheart record shows that he does not getting kicked out of that store $40LPs because he's like holding it by the corner of the the sleeve and bending it and like you're.

[D]

You're like, get your patchouli stink out of my store.

[B]

Well, no, but it's like. It's like that. That record is now worth, like, $5 less because of the way you're holding it.

[A]

So that was the secret sauce right there from cr.

[D]

I think. I think it's really good stuff. I'm gonna go with. Rob can't afford that apartment.

[C]

No chance. No.

[B]

Nor can he afford to pay dick.

[D]

And is he paying them only for three days a week, even though they live, like, Evanston?

[B]

Like, how does that happen?

[A]

What's the ratio of people who couldn't actually afford the apartment they're in in the movie? Is usually 50. 50.

[D]

I believe Marie could afford her apartment possibly.

[A]

No, I'm not saying just this movie in general. With movies and TV shows we like, the apartments are always nice.

[D]

I would say 75. 25.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

75 feels low. I feel like, overwhelmingly. It's like you just need enough space for one to film in these places a lot of the times. And then there's just no way they'd be realistic for a record chore.

[A]

This is a big thing with my wife. When we watch stuff.

[D]

It bothers me a lot.

[A]

She's always really upset if they don't get the real estate.

[B]

Right.

[D]

I mean, I think especially because in this movie, he's like, look at my shithole apartment. And I'm like.

[E]

And it's like.

[A]

It's pretty cool.

[D]

I will say the other thing about Laura moving in with Ian slash Ray is when he tells. When he tells the story of their story, she moved in with him right away. So I think this is just something Laura does.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Serial monogamous.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Also a little weird because Ian's living in Rob's building, but moves out, and then Laura moves in with him.

[D]

Right.

[C]

I think that's.

[B]

I would need a minute to kind of process that.

[A]

It's a move. It's a ploy that my lease is expiring. Move.

[C]

Does it work?

[A]

You know who it worked for? My wife. What's her.

[B]

Six months.

[A]

She said to you, my.

[D]

My lease is expiring?

[A]

Yeah. She's like, I'm here all the time anyway. Next thing I knew, I had a roommate.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Bill's like, hold on, let me turn down my world music for a second.

[A]

We got to move you in. I'm like, hold on.

[B]

Pedro into a relationship, and a girl I was dating got evicted. Was like, I can either leave Boston or live with you. And I was like, well, live with me, then.

[D]

There's just, like.

[B]

Just as long as, you know there's four other guys working.

[D]

Working in retail in San Francisco. In the early odds, there would be couples who would break up and they would, like, have to stay there because, like, someone has to sleep on the couch or whatever, because you just, like, can't afford to move.

[A]

So that's like an Apple news story you'd read on the side of your iPhone where it's like the divorced couples who still live together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Here on Harper's Magazine, the real story.

[B]

Of the housing crisis.

[C]

Six minute read.

[A]

Any other picket nits from anybody?

[C]

After the funeral, Rob jumps over the white picket fence into the mud. He's covered in mud. And then immediately goes into her car and they have sex. Just vile. Absolutely disgusting.

[B]

No, but he's not completely cleaned off when he gets into the car.

[C]

But how?

[B]

I don't know.

[D]

Well, I would say it's a torrential downpour for about 40% of this movie. True. So that rain was coming out also.

[B]

He drives shaking the mud off his head. Everybody has pneumonia. Yeah.

[C]

Disgusting.

[A]

Any nitpicks, Craig? Nothing. Nothing brewing for you?

[E]

No, not yet.

[D]

Okay, I'll let you know.

[C]

Just to be clear about the movie's statement on this sorting your collection autobiographically is deranged, right? Like, it's meant to read as deranged.

[D]

No. But kind of cool.

[B]

No, it's. How do I explain this? It's crazy. That's a crazy thing to do, though. There's. This is. This is. I gotta tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than reorganizing your CD collection or your records.

[C]

I agree with that.

[B]

Just taking them all out, seeing what you got, and cleanly putting them back away.

[D]

Don't leave them stacked because the, you know, the pressure.

[C]

The pressure, they'll compress.

[D]

Rob, if you took your movies, your DVDs, your Blu Rays, your 4Ks, right, and you put. Could you put them in autobiographical order?

[C]

No chance.

[D]

There would be, but wouldn't it be fun to try? I watched this. I remember I watched this when I was in fifth grade.

[B]

Maybe I'm unplugged.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Who.

[C]

Who's to separate the one time I went to, like, CD Warehouse in 2006 from the other time I went to movie trading company.

[D]

Maybe you're not a real one like this, Rob.

[C]

I guess not.

[D]

Maybe you're not a true fan.

[C]

So is it meant to be autograph autobiographical by when you first listened to it or when you bought the record?

[B]

I think it's supposed to be every song has a story. So every. Every record has a story. It's like, oh, I listened to Super Chunk when I broke up with my girlfriend, blah, blah, blah. So I have to find it in this year.

[C]

The soundtrack of your life stuff.

[B]

I don't think you can do that.

[D]

Is when I would listen to Super Chunk.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Any. Any other nitpicks because I'm going to move on to the Wayne Jenkins Award.

[B]

Do you have a Wayne Jenkins Award?

[A]

We can skip it. I. I could also be talked into doing one.

[B]

I would. I was wondering. I don't have any other nitpicks.

[D]

It's Rob's first time. Don't you think you should do it?

[C]

I would love one.

[A]

You want to do a Wayne Jenkins?

[C]

I don't want to do one, but I would love to experience one.

[A]

Okay. I had Stephen A. Smith as Rob in the scene when Ian Ray shows up to the store as a fifth scenario. Because we have four scenarios in there. This would be the fifth. I'll pretend you're Ian Ray in this. Ian Ray, you know I like you. You know we're friends. But I did not appreciate how you came into this record store. That's happened. I was doing that. STEPHEN A on YouTube does this does a very long story.

[B]

Oh, he's got like a very like, I'm warning you not to cross this line kind of thing.

[A]

Yeah. And slash Ray, you know I like you. Yeah. If you want to do whatever you want to do with law Laura, I hope y' all are very happy. Just don't come in this record store again because if you come in a second time, we're gonna have a problem. That's Stephen a YouTube.

[B]

Really nice work by Pregnant Paws.

[C]

Low voice.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Honestly, you were really hitting it. Build threat. Also an important part of the formula.

[A]

I'm working on it. Yeah.

[C]

And now he'll go to answering fan mail where he like ranks Pokemon or something.

[A]

Just want to ask her who gets it.

[B]

I think cuz.

[D]

Right.

[A]

What I was going to say. Jack Black, supporting production designer.

[C]

Oh, I like that.

[B]

Good call.

[C]

Especially like the record store.

[D]

They built that record store from scratch.

[A]

Unanswerable questions. Is this movie better with Ethan Hawk as aren't.

[C]

Aren't most.

[D]

No. No. Because you're taking Troy from Reality Bites and you're putting him in this movie.

[A]

Or I'm zagging from Troy from Reality Bites and doing the evolutionary older Troy from Reality Bites.

[B]

Like a self aware Troy a little more.

[D]

Dad already died.

[A]

True.

[D]

Froggy already went accordant and now he's doing this.

[B]

Hey, that's my bike. Crashed and burned. He's moved to Chicago and opened a record store.

[A]

You know, no, I'm.

[C]

I'm in for it. Like, I think Cusack is really tremendous in this movie, but I don't know many Cusack movies that Ethan Hawke couldn't also do.

[D]

No. Well, here's the deal. I think Ethan Hawke is a way better actor than John Cusack. I think John Cusack has a likability. He does that Rob really needs that Ethan doesn't inherently have.

[A]

This is my next question. Did Ethan Hawke market correct John Cusack?

[B]

Well, they're pretty parallel, right? Like, I think he's a little younger than him, but, I mean, maybe that's.

[C]

Part of the reason Cusack started doing so many other weird roles is like, Ethan Cock grabbed all the sensitive boys, and then Cusack had to hit it and do the.

[B]

And then John Cusack's like, I have to make a movie in Bulgaria with, like, three UFC fighters.

[D]

Ethan Hawke could do Must Love Dogs.

[C]

Absolutely.

[D]

But John Cusack could not do Dead Poet Society.

[C]

No doubt.

[A]

Must Love Dogs. Not a bad movie.

[D]

It's a bad movie.

[B]

It would have been cool.

[A]

Not a bad movie.

[D]

That's your Diane lady laying head talking, I think.

[A]

Sure. That's just a normal Diana.

[B]

It would have been interesting if they put Ethan Hawke in the Tim Robbins role and made that character, like, much more down. Like, it would basically be like choosing between less cartoonish. And Laura had to choose between the two icons of Gen X.

[C]

That's just reality bites at that point, isn't it?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, that's probably.

[D]

Stiller is better in that role.

[A]

That's a better Ian slash Rey thing. Right. He owns, like, a. The biggest comic book store in Chicago's corner.

[D]

He's not even.

[B]

Why would she be with this guy?

[C]

True.

[A]

What piece of memory?

[B]

I had a couple other possibilities. Questions. Who should Rob wind up with?

[A]

Nobody. Or the reader? You know, I'm already in with the reader lady.

[C]

Well, sub question, not, is it better to burn out than fade away, but why doesn't he call Marie that?

[B]

You also did the hand gesture.

[C]

It's part of the move. Like, when he and Marie part ways, he's like, I'll call you. And she's like, yeah, well, whatever. Why wouldn't he call her?

[D]

Because both of them knew what that was, which was not an actual beginning of anything, but just sort of like, we're both not over the person. The exes that we're talking about.

[C]

I just don't believe that that guy does not call her again. Even though he's trying to play a.

[B]

Real more out of his league than Charlie. Maybe that's like, more of my.

[D]

Like, how about he has a better reaction to Penny's story.

[C]

Yep.

[D]

And he winds up with her because he's like, we're having a great date. She has a light up Penny. Yeah. And that's what I thought. Film critics had to have a light up pen because of this movie. But he's like, we're having. We're getting along. And if he has a better conversation with her in the restaurant that doesn't end with her storming out on the word rape, then maybe those two crazy kids make it work.

[C]

All he had to do was not bring it up. All he had to do was not be going through a what does it all mean? Thing. It would have been fine.

[B]

We never talked about the Alison Ashmore. The one in, like, seventh grade. The first kiss when he's just like, she married. Married Kevin, I'm fine now.

[A]

He kisses me.

[D]

Yeah, I'm fine now. Is such a good, like, such a funny delivery.

[C]

That's the thing. Could Ethan Hawke do the. Like, I am alone in a room screaming. Because that is half of the exact performance.

[A]

Yeah, you're right.

[C]

That. That's. I'm not sure he has that anymore.

[A]

Just.

[B]

What do you. What do we think the ceiling on Rob's DJing is? You know, like.

[A]

Oh, you had some thoughts on this.

[B]

Well, so in the early 2000s, I would go see Holotronics DJ, and that was Diplo and his partner, low budget. And they would play a lot of stuff, but, like, it had that same kind of, like, I'll play the Neptunes and then I'll play, like, an 80s new wave song. And so, like, that kind of, like, variety was emerging as a DJ choice. But I don't know. Like, they make it seem like Rob is just selling clubs out with his DJing. And I was just like, I'm not so sure that's, like, a viable.

[A]

He also didn't have the DJ type of personality.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, did you believe he was a DJ? DJs have a certain vibe to them that I'm not sure John Cusack has. I can't see him being like, DJs got to do a lot of that to get the crowd going.

[C]

When famous enough that Caroline would remember him, but not so famous she wouldn't remember that he's Robin, not Bob. It's like, it's a weird fine line.

[D]

Do you have a weird thing about.

[C]

Rob and Bob Robb? I Think we all do.

[D]

But like.

[C]

Like, it's nothing offensive. It's just like I am not a Bob.

[D]

Yeah. Or a Bobby or anybody.

[C]

Definitely not a Bobby. I mean, nobody wants to be a Bobby.

[A]

But you could be a Bob Mahoney.

[D]

Shut up, Bob. But you could be a Rob or a Robert, but not a Bob or a Bobby.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, I literally am a Robert, and I'm definitely a Rob.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Bob is just like.

[D]

It's a.

[C]

They grew up on the other side of the. Of the river.

[B]

You should develop culture chat character called Bob Mahoney. That's where you save your real takes.

[C]

The real tape.

[D]

Chris, have you ever considered to Topher.

[B]

No.

[C]

No.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

That's in the chat. That was never like.

[B]

That wasn't in the mix until Topher Grace.

[D]

I didn't.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It took years until I figured out that that was short for Christopher.

[E]

I just found that out right now.

[A]

And Liam's the other one. That Liam's didn't exist for the first 30 years of my life. And then all of a sudden, they started.

[B]

I'm just glad I got past the era of my little league coach calling me Chrissy, you know, that was tough. I was just really worried that was going to stick.

[A]

And it. Tony Soprano calling Christopher Chrissy a couple times. That's the last time that's happened.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

What about Will Simmons? Like your alter ego Will Simmons?

[A]

I just never would have. No. I was Billy for the first, like 20 years, then went to college and dropped the Y. Oh, wow. Because my dad was always Bill and I was Billy. They separated us.

[C]

So did you just never introduce any yourself?

[A]

College. I'm like, I'm Bill.

[C]

You're Bill now?

[A]

Yeah, I'm Bill.

[D]

A rebranding.

[A]

I'm now Bill.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

What memorabilia would you want or not want from this movie? What?

[B]

One thing, to be completely honest, it's not quite memorabilia. I want the record store.

[A]

All entire record store.

[B]

A storefront. Smoking indoors is allowed. We listen to records all day and argue with each other. Probably live stream it.

[A]

There's a Marie Desale poster that I think would be pretty great.

[B]

The black and white one?

[A]

Yeah. The wind outside the club. There's a poster over thing. I thought it was.

[D]

What about the dickie shirt that he wears and Zoe Kravitz also wears in the TV show? Sure.

[C]

Oh, quite good.

[D]

Also great coat. John Cusack, perhaps top five coat actor.

[B]

The leather jacket.

[D]

Yeah, the long leather jacket. But he's like a really good coat jacket actor. He knows how to like, swing a Pocket, et cetera, et cetera.

[C]

I like that.

[D]

How about you, Rob?

[C]

I would love the flyer for the record release party, which, I mean, looks. It looks like a woman is giving birth to the name Kinky Wizards in Space. But most importantly to me, at the risk of doxxing myself, the party's happening literally on my birthday, so I gotta have the flyer.

[B]

You know, doxxing just more fuel for.

[D]

The nirvana for Courtney Love to steal your identity.

[A]

Life lesson is it, it's not what you like.

[B]

It's not what you like. It's what you like.

[A]

Yeah, that's a pretty good.

[D]

For all the physical media collectors at the Ringer, Fetish properties are not unlike porn.

[C]

I mean, it is true.

[B]

I'd feel bad selling to these guys if I wasn't one of them.

[C]

How about when. When Rob is going through what he misses about Laura, talking about how she has character, it's like character is not taking it out on people when you're having a bad day. I think there's some truth to that.

[D]

Oh, but more importantly, it's what you like.

[A]

It is.

[C]

I mean, that's the movie.

[B]

I know what you were like, double feature trace. You need just. Joe got me thinking about Clerks, but I had Empire Records written down.

[C]

What about if you. So if you flip the formula and you make a movie that's basically from Laura's perspective. It's also another Nick Hornby book, which is Juliet Naked, where she's, like, dating a guy who is, like, in it.

[A]

I like that.

[C]

But I think that, like, the movie's pretty good. I think it could work as a double feature.

[D]

I would say either gross point Blank or About a Boy.

[A]

I would do, say anything. Bookend it with Cusack. The beginning, end of Gen X. Yeah. Who won the movie?

[D]

Jack Black.

[A]

I think Jack Black as well.

[D]

His entire career.

[C]

I mean, it's hard to argue. I think what Cusack gets out of this is pretty powerful. And like all the iconography of the movie, the COVID the poster, him in the record store is all Cusack.

[A]

But Cusack wins because he knew that Jack Black, this was the perfect fight for him. That's true.

[D]

So he made Jack Springsteen.

[B]

So after calling Springsteen, I told these.

[A]

Guys Jack Black was going to be great. I told Dylan when I was on.

[C]

The phone with him, picked all the songs in the movie.

[A]

Yeah. What do you have?

[B]

I think I have Cusack. I think that there was a road here where he could have done, like, an iconic generational role every 10 years. And he kind of did in his Teens and his twenties and gets right up to the precipice of his forties. And it just goes direct to video.

[A]

Too much time. With Jeremy Piven, producer Craig. Yeah, what do you got?

[E]

Never seen this film.

[A]

Oh, yeah, but your wife likes it, though.

[E]

Yeah, she saw it a while ago, and I think she saw it when she was really young and was like, now I'm realizing that I completely didn't get that movie and I need to watch it again. But there's a lot I liked about this movie, but there's no way I could like it as much as the people who actually fit the demo who saw it when it came out. Like, I just think you kind of can't get there unless you were there. It's just not for me. It's not mine. Like, I feel like you guys were like the people in the record store in the movie, like, working there. And then I was the dad who.

[C]

Walked out the store. Dad, what are you in a coma?

[E]

Yeah. Like, I'm not going to point out the scenes I like. You guys are like, you were there. You don't understand. But it's funny, this movie being in 2000, I feel like I knew less of the names you guys talked about today than a movie that came out, like, 1980 of the actors or, like.

[B]

The bands just, like, the cultural references.

[E]

Are just, like, gone. I don't like when you were just naming all the singers that you were, like, attracted to in the 90s. Like, I don't know any of the names. You were talking about half the bands over my head. It's crazy that, you know, I think the. I was born in 1994, and it's like your parents, when. You know when. Right? When they have kids. Like, that's the time in your life where you, like, stop consuming new things, right? And so from probably from, like, 94 to 2000, my parents probably watched the least amount of movies they had ever watched, which is when kind of this comes out. And then when I come to in, like, the mid-2000s, I was completely getting ingested into, like, the Apatow era. So I think there was just like. It's like there are these blind spots. And it's why I saw 80s movies before these movies, because my parents love the 80s movies. So I think there's like, a blind spot from, like, 94 to 2000 that I just, like, have no cultural reference for.

[A]

And you never read the book?

[E]

No.

[A]

Yeah, the book's really good. It's worth reading.

[B]

It really is.

[C]

It is.

[D]

My copy Is all water damaged because I accidentally left it on the lawn of my dorm and the sprinklers came on. And so it's all, like, crunchy and wavy, and I was just like, I'm gonna keep it there that way.

[E]

I also struggle with the, like, the emotionally stunted, like, angry at the world wo. Is me, like, reality bites, Troy type. I don't. There's something about that that's never c. I don't love that.

[A]

But that is.

[C]

The Apatow guys, too, like that, you know, in a slightly different.

[A]

They're just making fun of each other.

[C]

That's true.

[B]

Yeah.

[E]

It turns much more raunchy and slapstick.

[B]

And try to do Mr. Skit.

[D]

Instead.

[B]

Of having a record store.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's like.

[E]

It's not as clever. Like, the writing is not as clever deliberately. Like, there are still lines in this movie that are very reality bitesy. Like John Cusack looking at the camera and being like, it was a state of ill advised, blah, blah, blah. And you're like, nobody in an appetite.

[B]

Movie talks like that. Yeah.

[E]

And it's still very. It's very lyrical in this movie, which is like, kind of an example of that 90s style.

[D]

Except for my guts have shits for brains, which is a line I would cut from this movie.

[A]

I'd like to apologize before we end the pod that I didn't mention the lady from Mazzy Star as one of my throw my life away people.

[C]

Well, you didn't.

[A]

You.

[B]

You did that class thing where you shoved the boat out and you. You didn't come up behind me. It's like, who. Who is your Rushmore? So the lady. Lady from Mazzy Star. Who else?

[D]

Julianna Hatfield.

[A]

No.

[E]

Like, who are these people?

[A]

I don't care.

[C]

Okay, Maddie Star.

[A]

You got it.

[E]

I don't know that.

[B]

You don't know. Fade into you.

[C]

You would know that song.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Who was the. Who was the one that dated Evan Danda? Evan.

[B]

Jillian Hatfield did, didn't she?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She's on there. I. I feel like we're missing somebody. I'm not prepared for this.

[B]

Well, you. You asked me.

[A]

I wasn't either.

[D]

This is how it feels.

[E]

I didn't get the list on you.

[B]

Yeah, but I didn't.

[D]

Like.

[E]

I didn't.

[B]

Wasn't like, oh, I'm going to talk about who I was attracted to for a decade. Like, it was. I just forgot.

[E]

You're always doing that in the office.

[D]

Though, Cracking a cold poppy can.

[B]

It was also like. There was just like. It was more like types of women and it was like, you know, it was more like women in Hal Hartley movies or Noah Baumbach movies or whatever, you know?

[A]

Yeah. Like the. The girl and kick him for. Kick him and screaming. Yeah. Rob, how was it for you?

[C]

It was great.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

This is the kind of initiation I was. I was hoping and dreaming.

[A]

You did a great job.

[D]

Hoping to just like burn your. Your career with.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

This shit.

[C]

It's something clearly can't be. Advice it back.

[A]

Joanna, a pleasure as always. Cr. You're the best. Thanks to.

[B]

Great see you.

[A]

Craig Worldbeck Gao as well. Who else is back there?

[E]

I don't know. Who's back there now? Ct Jack Wilson shouts out to Eduardo.

[A]

Yeah. All right, we'll be back. How many more? This.

[D]

What.

[A]

What's today's date?

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's.

[B]

Today is like the 8th or 9th or something.

[E]

Today?

[A]

The 10th.

[C]

10Th.

[E]

We have two more in the month of December.

[A]

Yeah. Wow.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

Thanks, guys.

[C]

Thanks, Bill.

[B]

Thanks.