We Made It Weird #216

Summary

You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes - Episode #216 Summary

Release Date: May 2, 2025

In Episode #216 of You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, host Pete Holmes engages in a candid and humorous conversation with his co-host Valerie. Recorded ahead of its release, this episode delves deep into themes of creativity, authenticity, personal struggles, and the evolving landscape of stand-up comedy. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key discussions, insights, and memorable moments from the episode.

---

1. Tour Updates and New Beginnings [00:00 - 01:24]

The episode kicks off with Pete and Valerie sharing exciting news about Pete’s upcoming stand-up tour. After previously branding it as the "PG13 Tour," they announce a rebranding to the "Pete Here Now Tour." This change reflects Pete's desire to embrace his authentic comedic voice without unnecessary restrictions.

• Pete Holmes [01:00]: “We are no longer calling it the PG13 tour. We’re calling it the Pete Here Now tour.”

The hosts express enthusiasm about connecting with audiences across various cities, including Toronto, LA, Nashville, and more. Valerie adds a light-hearted remark about her musical preferences, setting a relaxed tone for the episode.

• Valerie [00:30]: “I only yawn in classical music.”

2. Navigating Creativity and AI [01:34 - 05:00]

The conversation shifts towards Pete’s creative process, particularly his experience in writing a movie scene that aims to establish empathy for a fictional couple. Pete discusses the challenges of creating authentic moments that resonate with audiences.

• Pete Holmes [02:14]: “We had to write a reason for the audience to root for this couple. It was harder than I thought.”

Valerie and Pete explore the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence, questioning how AI influences the creative industries. Pete muses about the potential of AI to aid or hinder authentic storytelling.

• Pete Holmes [07:22]: “It’ll be interesting to see what the world is like when AI is doing so much of our creating.”

3. Personal Struggles and Authenticity [05:43 - 10:35]

Pete shares a personal anecdote about a social interaction that left him feeling disconnected and invisible. This moment of vulnerability highlights his ongoing struggle with seeking validation, especially from his parents.

• Pete Holmes [09:48]: “This is why I need Valerie. I'm like a mutant in a hotel lobby going, who cares?”

Valerie provides support, emphasizing the importance of real-time nostalgia and mutual understanding in their relationship. The duo reflects on how authenticity is crucial both in their personal lives and creative endeavors.

• Valerie [10:35]: “It's not boring.”

4. The Essence of Stand-up Comedy [10:34 - 16:19]

The discussion delves into the philosophy behind stand-up comedy. Pete expresses his commitment to being authentic on stage, resisting the urge to tailor his material solely for audience approval.

• Pete Holmes [15:00]: “That was pretty good.”

Valerie commends Pete for his approach, highlighting how his authenticity makes the podcast a safe space for guests and listeners alike to share their "weirdness."

• Valerie [29:23]: “That's your life's work, really.”

5. Embracing Creativity Through Healing [16:19 - 22:46]

Pete and Valerie explore the relationship between personal healing and creativity. Valerie asserts that clearing emotional space and healing past wounds can enhance one's creative capabilities.

• Valerie [46:43]: “We are all being creative. You are such a creative force naturally.”

Pete agrees, sharing his realization that his desire for parental recognition has fueled his creative pursuits. This introspection leads to a broader discussion on how authenticity aligns with creative expression.

• Pete Holmes [22:11]: “But it's true.”

6. Navigating the Creative Process [22:46 - 36:06]

The hosts continue to discuss the importance of allowing oneself to surrender to the creative process without overcomplicating it. They touch upon the pressures of maintaining authenticity while meeting external expectations.

• Pete Holmes [27:23]: “Be the funniest you can be and the most authentic you can be.”

Valerie echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that creativity thrives when one is free from self-imposed limitations and societal pressures.

• Valerie [30:30]: “Don't stop.”

7. Breaking Down Creativity and Community [39:28 - 50:23]

After a brief hiatus during the ad break, Pete returns with introspective thoughts on creativity and community. He shares how his parents' lack of recognition has paradoxically driven him to create more, seeking validation both personally and within his creative circles.

• Pete Holmes [41:14]: “This is happening because we just did it.”

Valerie and Pete discuss the natural state of creativity, arguing that healing and clearing emotional clutter are foundational to genuine creative expression.

• Valerie [49:09]: “We don't need to be sad, broken, or hurt to create.”

8. Movie Musings and Storytelling [50:23 - 59:14]

The conversation shifts to their thoughts on various movies and storytelling techniques. Pete criticizes the lack of character development and meaningful arcs in modern films, using examples like "Hitman," "Dark Knight Rises," and "Three Amigos."

• Pete Holmes [58:13]: “Well, we watched Honey I Shrunk the Kids. There's an aunt that's helping the children.”

Valerie and Pete lament how contemporary movies often sacrifice deep character development for repetitive plotlines, impacting the audience's engagement and emotional investment.

• Valerie [59:14]: “It feels different.”

9. Community Reflections and Listener Engagement [59:29 - 66:25]

In the closing segments, Valerie shares heartfelt messages from listeners who resonated with Pete's discussions about parental acceptance and personal struggles. This segment underscores the podcast's role in fostering a supportive and understanding community.

• Valerie [65:07]: “Thank you for taking the time to reach out in that way.”

Pete expresses gratitude for the trust and openness within their listener base, reinforcing the podcast’s mission to celebrate and embrace individual "weirdness."

• Pete Holmes [66:02]: “There is some trust involved. And... you guys are beautiful.”

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Notable Quotes

• Pete Holmes [10:35]: “It's not boring.”
• Valerie [29:23]: “That's your life's work, really.”
• Pete Holmes [22:11]: “But it's true.”
• Valerie [46:43]: “We are all being creative. You are such a creative force naturally.”
• Valerie [49:09]: “We don't need to be sad, broken, or hurt to create.”

---

Conclusion

Episode #216 of You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes offers a blend of humor, vulnerability, and insightful discussions on creativity and authenticity. Pete and Valerie’s honest dialogue provides listeners with both entertainment and thoughtful reflections on personal growth and the creative process. By celebrating individuality and embracing their own "weirdness," they continue to inspire a community that values genuine self-expression.

Transcript

[Pete Holmes]

You made it with. You made it with. Oh, yeah. You made it weird with Pete Holmes.

[Valerie]

What's happening, weirdos?

[Pete Holmes]

What's happening, weirdos?

[Unknown]

We are here.

[Pete Holmes]

This is a great one. I always say that, but this is a great one.

[Valerie]

This is. This is a great one. This is.

[Pete Holmes]

I love this one.

[Valerie]

I do, too. Just listen to it.

[Pete Holmes]

You're already here. Already picked. It's so many picks, and you picked this. Thank you.

[Valerie]

Yeah, thank you.

[Pete Holmes]

I'm going to say. That's magical. Thanks for being here. This is the Friday edition. We recorded these. These kind of a while ago. We had to bank some. So if anything, you know, I don't know, major happened. We don't know about it.

[Valerie]

Yeah. So don't blame us.

[Pete Holmes]

Don't blame us. We're just. We're just two. Two suckers gabbing. But we're glad to be here and I am on the road. We talk about this a little bit, although I'm sure I've talked about it plenty in the intros to the other podcasts. But we are no longer calling it the PG13 tour. We'll get into that. We're calling it the Pete Here now tour. And coming up, I don't know if it's already May 10, but that was Toronto, then LA, Nashville, Irvine, San Jose, Houston, Royal Oak, Michigan, Washington, DC, Boston and Cleveland. All of those are [e-mail] get into it. It's fine. I need help.

[Valerie]

I only yawn in classical music.

[Pete Holmes]

I think you're missing a note.

[Valerie]

Oh, it falls apart.

[Pete Holmes]

That's what we were just doing in the car. And I want to start this episode with an ask, please tell me what the name of that song is. Yeah, I tried on Google, but here's the thing. Hold on.

[Valerie]

I'm just kidding.

[Pete Holmes]

I couldn't find it. The end. I was just kidding.

[Valerie]

If. Even if you can hear the name of it or know the name of it, you won't recognize the name of it. We've only just know it from movies and stuff.

[Pete Holmes]

No, I know. I was thinking. So we're. I'm trying to write a movie idea and the producer that I'm working with was like, we need a reason to root for this couple. Isn't that funny? And I was. And I, like, drew a blank. I know you and I have this incredibly endearing podcast, but when you tasked me when I was tasked with, like, write a scene where you see that this couple has, like, bits and is, like, likes each other and you want them to be together. Yeah, it was Harder than I thought. I thought, like, well, maybe smallest smile. And I was like, yeah, that's okay. That. That was the first idea.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

But then today in the car, we were driving just. Just now, and I was going. And you didn't know what song I was doing?

[Valerie]

At first I did.

[Pete Holmes]

No, no, no. Yes. When I did it, clearly. But there was a moment where it just seemed like I was going, like, I need to know what I was doing.

[Valerie]

I knew 100%.

[Pete Holmes]

No, I'm going to tell you what.

[Valerie]

The time when you knew it, because then you went, do you know what song I'm doing?

[Pete Holmes]

And I'm like, yes, that's hilarious.

[Valerie]

I know what song he built.

[Pete Holmes]

I was just thinking about blind spots. Like, what don't I know? You built. What?

[Valerie]

You just built a story based on the fact that I didn't join you?

[Pete Holmes]

Well, and honestly, it was because in that moment, I was like, oh. Oh, God, this is it. This could be a moment. Like, if I were to. And I'm not even saying I'm trying to, but if I directed this movie, I would just have the male and female actors drive around.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

In the hopes that something like that would happen. But then I was like, well, that's what a script is. Yeah.

[Valerie]

You gotta. You gotta write something for them. But then you can be like, you know, ask the actors what they do.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, but even better, a script is just going like, no, that happened. Let's recreate it.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

And then I thought it was very funny. And we were laughing at that, like, everyone knows. And that happens twice. And then it's.

[Valerie]

And then you just.

[Pete Holmes]

Nobody knows. I. So I'm on Google. If I'm being completely honest, I'm on the toilet on Google.

[Valerie]

Yeah, well, Google, I think. Let's give the full picture.

[Pete Holmes]

Tell everybody that you're pooping. Google.

[Valerie]

Google. We got into the house after trying to do that from that song and.

[Pete Holmes]

Realizing that it's hard, which I would still. Please. Pete picks ymiwmail Or. Or. Or you can slide into Val's Instagram DMS and you'll see it. I would really appreciate it because I couldn't do it. The Internet didn't know. Yeah, I did. I thought a pretty good job, but I still maintain.

[Valerie]

You're gonna get like, fu. La fuhre.

[Pete Holmes]

Is now the time? I'm just kidding.

[Valerie]

Oh, God.

[Pete Holmes]

I know what you mean. Fur Elise. What you're thinking. That's what I. I know what you're thinking.

[Valerie]

I knew for Elise, I just couldn't. Like, I thought I Thought you're Elise first. And then I just couldn't improvise too much past that. It's like when a teacher would give you an example and I would be like, well, that's all I can see now.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

I can't think of anything else.

[Pete Holmes]

I understand completely the reason. And I want to get back to you painting that picture. The reason is you. And the reason is. Yeah.

[Valerie]

Oh, God. Okay.

[Pete Holmes]

Somebody wrote that. Think of that moment in the biopic. And the reason is. What's the reason?

[Valerie]

What's the reason?

[Pete Holmes]

And even after you realize it's. It's you, he's like. And the reason his. You. No, it's gotta be like, all right. The reason is in this movie that doesn't exist yet. Let's say we have that moment where my character and your character are driving along and we're laughing because we realize that everybody knows the first part of that song. And then ba, ba, ba, ba. So then in the movie, these people kind of like go on the rocks and they sort of fall, they separate things, get chunky, but then they get back together. How funny would it be that when they get. He sees her across the room, it's the moment where they see each other again after all of the in between part. And that song plays.

[Valerie]

Yeah, that's great.

[Pete Holmes]

It's great.

[Valerie]

That is great.

[Pete Holmes]

I feel very strongly, too, that it's great.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And the reason why. The reason. Well, the reason. And everybody knows. It's not like I'm the only one that's out here being creative. We're all being creative. Is that that idea showed up. I think it's very interesting. It'll be interesting to see what the world is like when AI is doing so much of our creating. Because it is. It is a little ineffectual or at least slow. That about two weeks ago, the producer said, we need a moment where we like this couple.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And then I put it in my brain, and then I walk away. That's my strategy.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

I go and do shows, I fart. And then one day in the car, I go, now that's great. And then when he sees her, he can play that song, and it's perfect. But it's better than if I had sat down and deliberately gone like, all right, 50 things that could make. That's how you get. You know when you watch a movie and you're like, I don't know why, but that is just bullshit.

[Valerie]

Yeah. It's not. That's not what people are like. That's not what People are like, yeah, I know. I think. But yeah, I assume we're gonna get into that more.

[Pete Holmes]

What?

[Valerie]

Like the AI thing that you were saying.

[Pete Holmes]

We can talk more about the AI thing. I do want to explicitly say here, please, if you know the name of that song.

[Valerie]

I think you have said that.

[Pete Holmes]

Okay. All right.

[Valerie]

People know.

[Pete Holmes]

All right. I'm feeling like behind myself, like, I am not being. I don't mean on this podcast as a podcaster. I mean as a human being. The past couple days, I'm like, what do you say? Like, I went up to Robert Kelly. I was in Austin doing the comedy fest. I was really tired and felt like jet lagged, even though it was only to Texas. And he was talking to these two people. And I went up in the lobby and I'm like, hello. Hi, Bobby. Just wanted to say hi to Bobby. Then they're like, these are these guys. And I was like, hey, nice to meet you. And then I stood there and realized it was my turn to say something and I couldn't think of anything. And I just went, who cares? And Bobby laughed so hard and I just walked away. I didn't mean like, who cares? These people. I just been like, who cares? Like, I gotta get out of here. Who cares what to say? I gotta get out of here. And then I was like, this is why I need Valerie. I'm like a mutant. I'm a mutant in a hotel lobby going, who cares? And walking away.

[Valerie]

I know.

[Pete Holmes]

Like, that's not a likable person in a movie. Unless you're. Unless the movie's about that guy. Then you're like. Then it becomes like a thing. Like, who cares? Like, we all do it. That's what the magic of movies. You take someone who's persnickety and a little bit broken and a little bit strange.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And you put them at the center. And then you go like, well, if I was that guy, I'd be rooting for him. And a movie goes, well, you are that guy for this dream, you're this guy. And now you love how Napoleon Dynamite feeds the llamas. And we all go, damn, Tina. Or whatever he says, come get your meat. Suddenly something that if you saw that, he'd be like, that guy should be more kind to the llama.

[Valerie]

Right. Just because the camera stays on that person, we're rooting for them. So powerful.

[Pete Holmes]

And I'm gonna go even more me about this. The camera allows it and holds it and captures it. It's a neutral observer, and it invites you to be a Neutral observer. And I would even say, even though this isn't very pleasing to, like, Hallmark or romantic love, but love is a neutral, allowing of all things. And if you saw me in a movie, go, who cares? And then it cuts to the title card, and it's like, lemon head.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

You'd be like, I love that lemon head guy. You know what to say. And he said, who cares?

[Valerie]

I know.

[Pete Holmes]

I will say in my own defense, it's not boring.

[Valerie]

It's not boring.

[Pete Holmes]

It's not boring.

[Valerie]

No, it's. It's. I'm telling you, I go through this with you all the time. This is, like, my job of. Not my job, but this is sort of working overtime. The gig of loving you is that even in the moment, maybe when you're being specifically socially awkward, just snapped.

[Pete Holmes]

I'm a snapped Slim Jim. Slim Jim is broken in half.

[Valerie]

Just be a little, like. I might feel a little like, yeah, he's not with me. But then, like, the second I think back about it, like, there's some distance. I'm like, I'm sorry. That's the one I want to be with. Like, just this weirdo.

[Pete Holmes]

You've gotten very good at real time nostalgia.

[Valerie]

Yeah, Real time. I'll just be like, I. I love, like, having to sort of, even if it's just internally, give, like, a shrug of like. Yeah. No, there's no predicting what this guy's gonna say.

[Pete Holmes]

And that's the same guy. If he had had a poop or something, Better sleep.

[Valerie]

I know.

[Pete Holmes]

And a good cup of coffee in the same situation would have been like, what's going on? Oh, what a pleasure to meet you. Oh, Suzanne. Like Suzanne. Oh, Susanna. It's either full Giamatti, full fire hose, like Robin Williams or Paul Giamatti.

[Valerie]

Yeah. Deep in character, just barely speaking.

[Pete Holmes]

I'm just saying Hamlet is overrated. It's like that.

[Unknown]

Hamlet.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

You like? I just want to keep saying you like Hamlet like this. In this Giamatti movie. He can't stand people who, like, say they like Shakespeare, but all they know is Hamlet.

[Valerie]

Right. Yeah, that sounds correct.

[Pete Holmes]

That does sound correct. I appreciate that.

[Valerie]

Yeah. I. I mean, going back to the creative thing. Well, two different things. You've said that you felt behind yourself. And I was gonna say this to you this morning, just in our normal lives, but why not make it public?

[Pete Holmes]

Why not? This is when we talk. That doesn't mean we don't talk. I just mean most of the time. There's a child.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

A wonderful child.

[Valerie]

One of the things that the listeners of this podcast will remember and sort of like my job, one of my jobs in our relationship is to be a little bit of the pattern recognizer for your wild, erratic changes.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, what fun. And you, what sounds delightful for you, you're like a geologist that has to go like, this is where the watermark was in the Paleolithic.

[Valerie]

You know what I'm just now realizing sounds great.

[Pete Holmes]

Is that you need to get out of here.

[Valerie]

Is that I'm. Oh, I'm done.

[Pete Holmes]

I'm done. I don't know why, but that's it.

[Valerie]

No, I was obsessed as a kid with the movie Twister. Obviously.

[Pete Holmes]

Twister.

[Valerie]

Helen Hunt in a white tank top. Come on.

[Pete Holmes]

Look, if you don't think Helen Hunt was and is a stone cold babe.

[Valerie]

Then you don't think that I am.

[Pete Holmes]

I don't think you look that much like her, but I do. I do sometimes not say 90s Helen Hunt when I look at you. Sometimes I don't believe.

[Valerie]

I think she's hot in that movie.

[Pete Holmes]

Which movie? Twisters.

[Valerie]

Yeah, Titty twisters.

[Pete Holmes]

You're talking about her white tank top.

[Valerie]

Titty twisters. Colon, purple nurple.

[Pete Holmes]

Did you guys know they're redoing? They're doing a titty twisters, too. Purple Nerval. It's with the guy from Top Gun. Tit gun. Titty twisters. Titty twisters. Two Top Gun, purple nurples.

[Valerie]

Now, there's your movie.

[Pete Holmes]

You know how Twisters was a hit? Titty twisters. It's topless women running from a tornado. Seth Rogen, for some reason. Anyway, love the studio.

[Valerie]

We're loving the studio. That's why that was Seth Rogan.

[Pete Holmes]

We love it.

[Valerie]

We love it.

[Pete Holmes]

I'm just saying. I can't do it. Can I do it?

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

I love gluten. Was that anything?

[Valerie]

That was pretty good.

[Pete Holmes]

It was okay. It was a D. It was a.

[Valerie]

D. I think if I'm not looking at you.

[Pete Holmes]

Hey, Val. Well, yeah, I just think that I know what he sounds like. That's what makes it so frustrating that I can't do it.

[Valerie]

I know that. Welcome to me and every single impression.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, I know. And me for 99.999%.

[Valerie]

But I always, like, was obsessed with movie Twister as kid and, like, wanted to be like Helen Hunt just, like, wildly in a tank top chasing tornadoes. And that's essentially what being married to you is.

[Pete Holmes]

Like, this is. Am I wearing a fez right now? Am I being served prime rib in a private room of a 90s steakhouse?

[Valerie]

Like a Wes Anderson, sort of.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there's clinking of silverware and glasses. And you say that, and then it does. Well, but mostly it's about me just kind of looking up from AJU and being like. Like there's like a small non reaction.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

I love that joke.

[Valerie]

Yeah, but.

[Pete Holmes]

And that is your. And you look like her.

[Valerie]

I like it, but I do. What I'm saying is I. I'm saying I like the tornado. Okay. What I'm saying is that I like the tornado. But what I was going to say is, as the record, the weather keeper, meteorologist of our relationship.

[Pete Holmes]

Meteorologists report it. They don't write it down.

[Valerie]

They don't.

[Pete Holmes]

No, no.

[Valerie]

Who's writing it down?

[Pete Holmes]

The guy that writes it is called the Fendor. Couldn't do anything.

[Valerie]

Made up a word yesterday, too Means.

[Pete Holmes]

Love all around she was.

[Valerie]

Was she singing a song and she needed a rhyme?

[Pete Holmes]

She was singing and I couldn't hear her.

[Valerie]

And then she made up a word that.

[Pete Holmes]

Tell me.

[Valerie]

Groping.

[Pete Holmes]

Scoping.

[Valerie]

And you said, what does it mean? And she said, love all around.

[Pete Holmes]

She. She said I made up a word. Scroping. And it means love all around.

[Valerie]

Oh.

[Pete Holmes]

And I was like, so whatever this. I can't. I can't even talk about it. It's too precious.

[Valerie]

But as the meteorologist or the scrooper of our relationship.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

I. You know, it wasn't that long ago that you felt like you had kind of lost your mojo when.

[Pete Holmes]

Because I've lost my mojo like, four times this week.

[Valerie]

I know. Well, it seems like you've said that again. And I'm saying there was a time, like, you know, pre this, like a few months ago.

[Pete Holmes]

Okay.

[Valerie]

Where you were like, I've lost my mojo. And I can't remember if that was this time actually, but I know it's connected to smoking weed and watching videos about AI. Like, that was when you were just starting to feel.

[Pete Holmes]

Well, that's when I. Dad. Brain. My brain. Dad. That's a better way to put it.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

My brain dad had to come in and go lock up the weed.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

And stop watching videos about AI.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And I have been watching some videos.

[Valerie]

About AI and smoking weed. I just noticed that you have been doing that. And I'm not saying you. You shouldn't. I'm just saying I'll be the one that's like, if you are not feeling, like, the juice and the mojo, I'll tell you, you might not want to go down that. That's that slippery slope again.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. You're right. I did report to you this morning though, that they're just like 60 minutes. I still like 60 minutes. A little clock, little stopwatch, little 60 minutes.

[Valerie]

Oh, it's 60 minutes. Well, never mind.

[Pete Holmes]

That's hilarious. I love how when you watch 60 Minutes on YouTube, it'll introduce the story in the black shiny room with the fake magazine. They're still doing that. Like, this is like a magazine. And everyone's like, what?

[Valerie]

What's a magazine?

[Unknown]

Exactly.

[Pete Holmes]

And the guy's like, we're here to talk about AI, but there's a magazine.

[Valerie]

Behind me and an analog clock and.

[Pete Holmes]

A clock stopwatch that ticks.

[Valerie]

What's that sound? What's wrong with your computer?

[Pete Holmes]

You might as well be cobbling wooden shoes and be like, I wore these clogs to Google.

[Valerie]

Yeah, to the Google headquarters.

[Pete Holmes]

To the Google people. But I love. It'll introduce the story and then it'll go 60 minutes. It fades to black and then just a shot of the clock. Everyone knows this. Anyone that's a 60 head and it goes 60 minutes. We'll be back after this. And that's when the commercials would be. But it's YouTube and there isn't a commercial. So it just comes back and I'm like, just take that out. Yeah, but they don't.

[Valerie]

They don't.

[Pete Holmes]

Look, if I was a to take that, I could have done it.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

But anyway, I love you so much. I feel so held and supported by you. And it's one of the great joys of my life and I feel safe to say, sounds like. No, no, no, no, no, no. You're just bringing up for me that, like, it's a chicken egg situation. It's like I went to Austin and I was just shocked that like something about I've been traveling a lot, doing the movie. Doing a movie. Are you tired for a movie?

[Valerie]

Are you tired for a minute?

[Pete Holmes]

Are you tired of being in a movie?

[Valerie]

It's hard to think of what to tell the PA to bring you for lunch.

[Pete Holmes]

You mean I have to choose from these four choices?

[Valerie]

Can I get one thing from each of them? I can, I can.

[Pete Holmes]

I need to know four lines. Four lines.

[D]

How am I supposed to do that?

[Pete Holmes]

Oh, there's a nine hour break between each line movies.

[Valerie]

That is actually annoying. Yeah, that's the annoying part.

[Pete Holmes]

No, but it's also like, you'll have time.

[Valerie]

Oh, right.

[Pete Holmes]

Sometimes when I go, when am I going to learn these lines? I'm like, you've forgotten what a movie is.

[Valerie]

That. That's so Much of making a movie is waiting in a trailer.

[Pete Holmes]

Yes. And you'll be learning them in Portuguese. Let's just say he had time to learn them in Portuguese. I feel like Johnny Carson. He could have made it work. Let's just say he had time to learn him in Portuguese.

[Valerie]

He could.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. He could have made that work. Anyway, which is it? Like, dipshit, which is it? That's a line from my act. No, I just don't know if I lose my moj and then start smoking. Like, here's what happened. Like, I lose my moj, and that just means I'm just not feeling effervescent. I'm not really feeling. Which is weird because I'm feeling so inspired that I can't stop writing things down. I've written down. I had that. It's not that. That great. But, like, things be coming through.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

But, like, oftentimes, if I'm like, well, my mojo's not here, I might as well just fuck off then and smoke weed and watch AI videos. Because I'm like, it's like nothing's happening. I might as well just do the thing I can't do when things are happening.

[Valerie]

Yeah, I know. That's the trick. That's one of the tricky things of life, is to know when to hold them and know when to hold them.

[Pete Holmes]

No, it's true.

[Valerie]

But really, to know when to surrender to. Like, this is just the season of the moment.

[Pete Holmes]

And allow it and allow it, and.

[Valerie]

I'm gonna allow it and lean into it, and it's okay. I don't always have to be producing and going and expanding and being effervescent, as you said.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

And when to go. Okay.

[Pete Holmes]

When to fold them.

[Valerie]

Yeah. Well, that's when to fold them.

[Pete Holmes]

The first one was folding them.

[Valerie]

I guess both.

[Pete Holmes]

It's the same.

[Valerie]

It's the same.

[Pete Holmes]

Both are surrendering.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

Both holding and folding are the same decision to just, like, be with what is.

[Valerie]

When do you play?

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. When do you bluff?

[Valerie]

When do you bluff?

[Pete Holmes]

Nobody's unclear on when to hold them. I guess. I guess you are a little. You can be unclear on when to hold them because the implication of know when to hold them is actually when to bet.

[Valerie]

Right.

[Pete Holmes]

And when to bluff.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

So a lot is in hold'em. Fuldom is just what it sounds like.

[Valerie]

Fuldom is what it sounds like.

[Pete Holmes]

Fuldom is just fold'em.

[Valerie]

Yeah. But if you are, I'm such a poker nerd.

[Pete Holmes]

I'll watch a video on epic lay downs, which are like Incredible times. People folded good hands. And they were right. It's actually quite.

[Valerie]

And they were right.

[Pete Holmes]

And they were right. That's why that's celebrated. Like, somebody will have three aces and they'll fold it, and you're like, how did he know? He knew that the guy had. Whatever. A straight. A straight beats three of a kind. Get the.

[Valerie]

Well, I don't know what. I'm gonna abandon the poker analogy.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. Let's put that. Let's fold it.

[Valerie]

But it's hard to know when to go. Okay. Actually, I do need to sort of pick myself up out of this rut here and.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. Paul Rhett.

[Valerie]

And change something up so that I. That I do feel differently.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

Like a. Fake it before. Fake it to make it.

[Pete Holmes]

Well, when I was in Austin, Texas, just this past weekend, I was shocked that I was like, I've been to Austin many times, and usually when I walk around the bustling, and it really is a bustling city, it's almost got.

[Valerie]

Like, a Nashville bustling.

[Pete Holmes]

It's bustling. Vegas is bustling. Austin is bustling. Bustling, bustling. But it is bustling. And, like, if I'm in my Robin Williams way, I'll walk around a city like that and be like.

[Valerie]

You can tell by the way.

[Pete Holmes]

Loving it. And for some reason, when I got there, I was just like. I guess you could just say, like, I was in kind of like a fight. Flight. Freeze. Had nothing to do with the city, but suddenly the city now seems like it's filled with orcs or something.

[Valerie]

Right.

[Pete Holmes]

Even though everywhere I went, literally, people were like, hey, it's. And I'm just like. But inside, I'm like, ah, why can't I? The way I can.

[Valerie]

I.

[Pete Holmes]

Why can't I? This wasn't my. My solo show. My solo show was awesome, but that was building up to my mojo. I'm like, I gotta get my mojo for that shojo. And I was doing. I did, like, the Sklar show, and I really enjoyed it, but I was just feeling like I'm not exactly in touch with the part of me that loves communicating ideas, like jokes. Like, I don't have that. Like, hey, can Starbucks stop pretending that pumpkin spice lattes are seasonal? I either feel like saying that or I don't. And, like, I couldn't find it. And I bet I went back to that, like, old. Like. Like a chemist going, like, what do I need? And I exercised. And I swear it made me feel worse. I was like, what is going on? And then I was like, I actually think you need something. But this is what I was doing the entire time. I was like, I don't think it's exercise. I don't think it's more shows. I think it's like, rest and all. But I was trying everything I had.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And then finally. But when I got to the show, luckily I was like, okay, I feel fantastic.

[Valerie]

You did?

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. And then. And then I'm sure, yeah, this will have been announced on. We're. We're recording these kind of ahead of time because I'm. I'm doing the movie. But I got off stage. This was really funny. So I did it with Laura Peak. The wonderful Laura Peak.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And then I got off stage, and it was the first time I had done the hour under the banner PG13 Tour. And as soon as I got off, I was like, no, that.

[Valerie]

It's not gonna work. It's not PG 13.

[Pete Holmes]

Which is like, whoops.

[Valerie]

Yeah, like, whoops.

[Pete Holmes]

Like, not again. It's not, like, filthy. And I'm sure everybody's gonna be tired of me talking about this by now, so I'll keep it brief. But I was just like, don't name the album before you've written all the songs. Because I added some jokes and some jokes, but really, that's. That's kind of a cop out. Yeah, that's kind of a cop out. The truth is, is if I'm on stage and I know I can say, like. Like in Green Eggs and ham, I say, cock butter bitch.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

It's not a clean line.

[Valerie]

Right.

[Pete Holmes]

It's so funny to say cock butter bitch. It's so funny. It makes me. Even as I'm saying it to you now, I'm like, oh, you cock butter bitch is so funny to me. I can't not do it.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

It's like, I'm such a. You could frame it politically and positively and be like, I have to give the crowd the best show. But there's also. There is that. But there's also just this, like, if you have an ax strapped to your back, why would I go and fight a bear hand to hand.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

Take out the axe. Like, do everything. And also stand up is so hard. Do be the funniest you you can be and the most authentic you you can be. I really realized. I was like, I shouldn't have been inviting the audience to look at me through the lens of, like, can he stay in the box he painted himself in?

[Valerie]

Right.

[Pete Holmes]

I was like, that's the opposite of what I got into stand up for.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And I think it pertains to what we've been talking about on this podcast. I think there's something kind of darling and actually precious and a little bit sad about calling the tour the PG13 tour. And then something in that breaking after this new revelation with my folks and just feeling some progress in regards to boundaries and giving up some hope that we've been talking about. I think I was like, maybe I can do a PG13 tour and maybe they'll see me. But that sounds really sad. But now I'm like, no, actually I am who I am and I like who I am and it is who I really am. And I'm gonna just keep doing that because that's beautiful and that's worthy and that's really, really funny. And I just had like a. That brings up the. What do you got on that?

[Valerie]

Yeah, I got so much. Yes, I think you do stand up comedy at least in stand up, right? Is that what we're talking about?

[Pete Holmes]

What are you, someone in an airport? What am I in line at a Panera?

[Valerie]

Yeah. You do stand up, right? I do. See, people say that to you a lot. Yeah, but sorry. But you know, part. You do it in part at least to be like, to be seen totally sort of naked and authentic and to have your shadow self be seen and accepted and delighted and model that for everybody. And model that for everyone. And it does. That's what we do on this podcast.

[Pete Holmes]

Yes.

[Valerie]

That's. That's your life's work, really.

[Pete Holmes]

It's one of my core beliefs.

[Valerie]

It really is.

[Pete Holmes]

It's a core belief.

[Valerie]

Think about what you do on the podcast with guests. That's like, I would say if. If there was like a thesis of og, you made it weird. It's. Pete's going to get so painfully vulnerable that the guests will then feel safe to do that.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

So that's like your life's work, even in your standup. That's what you're doing.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

So to limit that to like. Well, actually, I can't show that much of my shadow. I can only show the PG13 and.

[Pete Holmes]

People would like it more if I didn't, which is my family.

[Valerie]

That is your.

[Pete Holmes]

We would like it more if you would tone it.

[Valerie]

And that's specifically the wound that you doing stand up is addressing. So I think you're right about that. Also, I do think that it's like, we talk about this all the time when we're in the beginning of writing something. It's like that thing is going to change and evolve so much. So the least limitations you can put on yourself, the better meaning. And this is don't really good advice.

[Pete Holmes]

Five songs, right?

[Valerie]

Well, that.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

But also, like, if you're so. I'll use it in. You can if you want of writing. But if I'm writing a script. Script. And I'm like, I can't name that person that because this person's named that, or I can't base that character off of this person. They're going to watch it and know. Or what if my mom sees this, like, masturbation scene or, you know, whatever it is. Like, this will make somebody mad. Or even like, there's a perfect joke in this, but this is somebody else's story.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

I'll be like, just when you're writing anything goes, put it all in because it's gonna change.

[Pete Holmes]

Name the character Tom Cruise.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

And have him say, show me the money. That's the right thing.

[Valerie]

That's the right thing.

[Pete Holmes]

Don't stop.

[Valerie]

Don't stop.

[Pete Holmes]

So many people get. You're telling me. To me it's giving me life. I really appreciate it.

[Valerie]

That's the thing. And that's what. Stand up. This is the first time I've ever thought of it this way. But, like, especially because you're doing this new hour while we're. I mean, we just sort of finished editing your. Your last hour. And remember there were jokes where we were like, actually, we don't need that. Like that line. That one is pretty dirty. And it. And it. We don't lose a lot after, you know, cutting it. We didn't cut a lot because it was dirty. But like, what I'm saying is when you are on stage, it's a different experience than like filming an hour.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

You. You need to feel completely free to do what it was.

[Pete Holmes]

Val.

[Valerie]

That specific room needs. And it's gonna vary.

[Pete Holmes]

It'll vary. So this was 10 o'clock in Austin at the end of a comedy festival. And it's a thousand people. And Laura, who is great, obviously I love her, was kind of dirty. And then the whole festival is kind of dirty. And then I'm going up and I'm like, it just feels like it's 10 o'clock and I want to murder. I want to murder. And then I was just kind of, you know, trying to be a little more PG13. So there's the story where I talk about Ira when he punched me in the dick. The little kid named Ira, punch me in the dick. And usually I just say, punch me in the dick. And now I'M saying, punch me in the penis. And like, for some reason I'm like, what is this? I hate this. I hate how I feel. And there's. I will say this. I dropped a few fucks and I liked that. Like, I noticed that some of the fucks weren't necessary, so that was a worthwhile exercise. But I just. I don't know, it felt like a. A remembering of myself and I wouldn't have changed it. I'm glad I did it. Yeah, I lost some sleep over it because I am such a. I can be people pleasing. And I'm like, boy, I hope nobody was upset that that wasn't very PG13 or whatever. And then I wouldn't be able to sleep until I like, thought of a. I was like, we gotta change the name, we gotta change the tour art, we gotta make an announcement. All this sort of stuff. Yeah, but it was, it was worth it to go on the little walk around the block to be like, oh, there's still. It is that little boy that's like, maybe I can be like Nate. Like, if I was like Nate, people, my mom and dad would like me more. And there's something very precious about that.

[Valerie]

But the thing is.

[Pete Holmes]

But then there's also something very triumphant in Breaking Bad and like becoming Heisenberg about like. Actually, no, right. I. That space is. Meaning when I'm on stage is supposed to be the most free space imaginable. And that's one of the options. And I'm not gonna do it because. Because I thought of a cute name for a tour. No, it's not working.

[Valerie]

This is. Yeah, this is what Nate. Nate offers a different thing. This is why we need different stand ups with different things. And Nate, Nate, really, I think he's being authentic.

[Pete Holmes]

I saw an interview with Nate where he said when people cut me off in traffic, he doesn't say fiddlesticks. But he doesn't say what I say.

[Valerie]

Yeah, exactly.

[Pete Holmes]

And what I say would make Andrew Dice Clay blush. What I say, exactly.

[Valerie]

And Nate is sort of almost here to make us like laugh at like everyday mundane stuff.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, that's right.

[Valerie]

And you're here to help us feel good about our shadow and our vulnerabilities and our, our like almost grotesque humanity.

[Pete Holmes]

I really appreciate it. And that is, that's the art that I like. You know, These are my favorite films. My favorite movie is There Will Be Blood, for crying out loud. I don't.

[Valerie]

This is not even like PG13 movies.

[Pete Holmes]

Like, exactly. I haven't seen a PG13 movie since I was in the womb. My mother, they hand out those under the chin earphones, remember?

[Valerie]

Because it was the 70s where they're hard.

[Pete Holmes]

They're hard and they go under like a Lincoln beard. I had those. And on the wall of my mother's Womb, they showed D2 Mighty Ducks 2. It wasn't even out yet, but this is a magical scenario. Well, I couldn't wait to talk about this with you and I've been doing some press about it, but there's more to unpack for sure. But we'll do it after the break here. But I do there's a little update on just creativity in general and what we've been talking about these past couple weeks. And I think it'll be interesting, but I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Yeesh, Valerie, Yeesh. So we will be right back.

[Valerie]

Back. Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

Oh, yeah. I guess I haven't recorded the intro. I don't know how many ads there are, but here. But here they are not needed.

[Unknown]

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[Pete Holmes]

I'll stand up.

[Unknown]

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[Pete Holmes]

Why?

[Unknown]

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[Pete Holmes]

All right, we're back.

[Valerie]

We're back.

[Pete Holmes]

I had a really interesting thing happen Recreativity where I was like. So these past couple weeks we've been talking about giving up. It's even still hard to say but like giving up the hope that things that have never happened might happen. You know, like the idea of being like beheld and truly seen and really I like beheld by specifically by like your parents and being able to get them to see you and just how much of my career has been to get my parents to see me? We Talked about my book. I very clearly wrote that, like, in that sad way that a kid writes his parents a letter. Like, if. If it's written out, they. They can't mishear me. Yeah, that was really the spirit. Not all of it, but a lot of the book was to be like, this is me. This. This is my spirituality. This is my life. This is how I remember my childhood. Like, what do you think? And now I'm in a place where I'm like, I think my. My parents said they read it, but now I'm not so sure. You know what I mean? Like, I'm sort of like, maybe, but probably not. But anyway, I realized I've been a little gunked up since this, like, radical acceptance. Like, all right, we were talking about the book. Let them. It's like my parents are this way. Let them. Yeah, let them. Yes, thank you is my line. Yes. All right, That's. That's normal. Don't be mad. Learning something. You already knew all of these things that we say. But now I'm like, I was talking about the movie that I'm writing and I'm noticing that one of the benefits to having this belief that my parents don't see me, it drives me to create so, like, it makes me write jokes, it makes me write movies, it makes me create TV shows.

[Valerie]

Trying to get other people to see you.

[Pete Holmes]

Well, and also trying to get them specifically. Yeah, I can still want other people, Other people to see me, by the way. You need to hear this. This is happening.

[Valerie]

Okay?

[Pete Holmes]

This is happening because we just did it. This is a. This is a video that maybe everybody's seen. Who knows? But Christian Dugay from the Valley Heat podcast, which I love so much, sent me this news video. Even the audio will be good. All you need to know is it's two twins talking to the press recounting.

[D]

Some of the drama that unfolded on the Sunshine coast this afternoon. Two sisters have told how their mother and man raced to help.

[Pete Holmes]

Don't worry, it's not dark.

[D]

SUV rolled on Steve Irwin way, only to find the gun wielding car thief emerging from the wreck.

[Pete Holmes]

Don't worry, it's not, it's not dark. You're gonna like it.

[D]

And one guy, he was up there with our mum and he, he went up there and he was coming back down towards us and he goes, run. He's got a gun. And, oh, our heart started to pound. And I said, well, Mum, where's mum? And poor mum was stuck up there, apparently. Our brave mum, she goes, are you all right? Because he had all blood all over his face. And he goes, I'll shoot you. She goes, hey, I'm here to help. And mum distracting him to make him look the other way. And he looked the other way.

[Pete Holmes]

Okay, you got it.

[Valerie]

Oh, my God.

[Pete Holmes]

Twin stalking. Twin stalking. But Australian twins.

[Valerie]

But also, what's funny is there is one that is just telling the story.

[Pete Holmes]

Oh, it swaps.

[Valerie]

And does it?

[Pete Holmes]

It swaps. At a certain point, the other one takes the lead and the other one echoes.

[Valerie]

It really is, like, almost the singing game.

[Pete Holmes]

It is exactly the singing game. And it's what we just did briefly, inadvertently, anyway. So, like, I've just become. And I've always been interested in, like, why do people make what they. And I'm realizing, I think if I'm gonna, like, really kind of try to retire this huge pillar of my identity, which is if I make enough noise, if I'm shiny enough, if I'm special enough, if I bang the pots and pans and the pats enough, my parents will turn and I'll see, like, a trance leave their face, and they'll be there, and they'll go, it was you all along. And I'll go, it was me. And then we'll prance. If I retire that belief, which I really feel like I have because I've been feeling, like, in mourning of that. I think I feel like I need a new tenet. Like, I need a new. What do you got?

[Valerie]

I feel pretty strongly about this, actually.

[Pete Holmes]

Val, we have another ad. Shakti Mats, have you wanted a massage, but you don't have. Lay on these. Lay on a Shakti mat. Shakti Mat is terrible. Poke your. Poke your way to better health with better help. BetterHelp. BetterHelp.com Shakti Mats LMNT promo code for more hydration LMNOP, the new hydration supplement. LMNOP.

[Valerie]

Go ahead. Yeah. No, you don't.

[Pete Holmes]

No, you don't.

[Valerie]

You don't have to find another tenant, because what will happen is you will clear space up. You'll literally, like, there's, like, real estate in your body. Real estate. That's my Barbara Corkin Corcoran impression.

[Pete Holmes]

Real estate.

[Valerie]

Real estate. I don't know if it's really a good, like, audio, but the.

[Pete Holmes]

The talking out of the side of.

[Valerie]

A smile and, like, not moving your mouth. Real estate.

[Pete Holmes]

The Cochrane Group.

[Valerie]

That's you. You will, like. You know, that thing that you're carrying is taking up real estate in your body. And if you. The more you can sort of grieve it and feel it and release it and let it come out. You will clear the channel for creativity. So, yes, it won't. It won't be motivated by the same thing, but your natural state, and I'm talking to all of you, she's talking about us. Your natural state is creative. And you know how I know? Because the natural state of the entire universe is creative. Literally. That's how we got here. That's how everything got here. It is to create. So the natural, the, like, the status quo even of our systems is to create. And that looks very different in, you know, in every single person, which is what's beautiful about it. But I just really, really feel strongly that the storyline, which I lived with for a long time of, like, I think the. The reason you. The proof of this is that you took your wounds, even. Your wounds even.

[Pete Holmes]

You took your wounds even.

[Valerie]

And you used that for your own creativity. That's how strong that force is. But then we get confused and think we need the wounds are what's making the creativity. And it's like, no, you are such a creative force naturally, that whatever is thrown in, whatever materials you're given, even if it's shards of glass, you'll make something beautiful out of it. So you can get rid of the shards of glass. They're cutting up your hands, baby girl. Just get rid of it and create. You aboard. Born, born, born to create, create, create, create. I wish it got to the place at the table.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, go ahead. Keep going.

[Valerie]

Go ahead.

[Pete Holmes]

This is how you made me feel. This is how you make me feel. No. Chorus.

[Valerie]

Chorus.

[Pete Holmes]

Nobody.

[D]

Can'T describe it.

[Pete Holmes]

Sorry. You. You deserve better than this. But that is the song that was playing in my head when you started talking.

[Valerie]

That's it. I really. I believe that maybe more than I believe anything.

[Pete Holmes]

What I just said.

[Valerie]

No, what I just said. Jesus.

[Pete Holmes]

I know it's not all about. Yeah, yeah, no.

[Valerie]

But I do think that. I think clearing space and healing will only cultivate creativity. It'll feel different. It feels different. Your ego is like. But this is a fundamental part of cre. Creative creativity. Creating creatine helps you create because it gets fed from that. But the ego actually has little to nothing to do with creativity. Don't tell him that, though. He's going to be upset.

[Pete Holmes]

You're absolutely right. It's the clearing away. It's funny that you say that. First of all, I actually just got an email that you won the potty. The potty, Gotta Go Potty award this year for best podcast moment, which was you reminding us all that we don't need to be sad, broken, or hurt to create. That's just stepping into your natural state.

[Valerie]

And also, if you are somebody who is like, I want to be creative, but I feel like it takes all of my energy to just heal my past wounds, because I felt that way for a while. That is an act towards your creativity, because the more that you heal and let go of, creativity is all about just clearing space and clearing the channel to, you know, there's like a super highway to what I would say is like, source or God or the universe. But you could just also say the nature of reality, that when you're in alignment with it, creativity just naturally happens. So clearing out space and healing your wounds is. Goes towards, you know, creativity. Create. Creatine. Why am I having such a hard time saying that word?

[Pete Holmes]

Creatine.

[Valerie]

Creatine.

[Pete Holmes]

I loved it. I also. I don't always write down things to say on the podcast, but when I do add promo code. A keys. A Keanu Reeves, A Keanu keys. Dos piano keys. Harris.

[Valerie]

I know.

[Pete Holmes]

I think it's really funny. This morning I was. Thank you again. What a great thing you said.

[Valerie]

You're welcome. I'll just, I'll step out now.

[Pete Holmes]

You can take over.

[Valerie]

I can feel the neck.

[Pete Holmes]

No, no, no, that's. That's not true. That's not true.

[Valerie]

No, I just.

[Pete Holmes]

I know, I know. You're Raz and Mataz. I, I. This morning, I was on good days. On most days, I try to start my day by reading My beloved Rupert Spira. And this morning I was reading all about sort of the freedom when you recognize, obviously, what Ram Dass was saying, too. I am loving awareness. I am this state that I'm this field of awareness that is peaceful and loving and, you know, open and free. And that is freedom is recognizing that what you thought you were, Pete, is really just a cluster of recurring thoughts and sensations that kind of we've mistaken for a separate inside self. And the freedom, though, and this. The reading I was reading this morning was very explicit. It was like when it's seen clearly that that doesn't exist, that what you are is everywhere, is everything is free. It's inherently all that stuff. You know, it's a radical transformation. That's basically what we're all talking about. And I was really taking these moments to really sit in that and really enjoy it. Especially in the morning, you can be tempted to go like, okay, I'm flying to Utah for the movie today. And all the different things we Got to make Leela's lunch and stuff. I was like, just for 30 seconds, can we stop and go? Like, we create a sense of continuity and all that stuff, but really, in the nakedness of our experience, we are just that which knows. We are the knowing. And I was like, okay, so isn't it funny that when Rupert, a father figure, if there ever was one, tells me I don't exist, I feel fantastic.

[Valerie]

Matter.

[Pete Holmes]

This is one of the good things about if we were on YouTube, we couldn't play that song.

[Valerie]

We couldn't.

[Pete Holmes]

Oh, it would get pulled.

[Valerie]

I was just thinking we should be on YouTube because then they could see us dancing at it.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. But it would be dancing to silence.

[Valerie]

Wow.

[Pete Holmes]

Speaking of, AI whatever is searching YouTube videos for unlicensed music. I mean, they took Sean Parker, the creator of Napster like a sock, and they pulled it inside out and made whatever that program is, because it is the least Napster y thing I've ever seen.

[Valerie]

It's the opposite of Napster.

[Pete Holmes]

It's Rhett Panan.

[Valerie]

Red Rab no Strand.

[Pete Holmes]

Redrum is the Bueller. Bueller of horror. Can we agree on that? Red Rum saying Red Ram is the Bueller of horror.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

100 the same. The guy that says Bueller still says Red too. Oh, no, no.

[Valerie]

I mean the guy who is saying.

[Pete Holmes]

Social situation, as Ben Stein did say. If you knew the name of the kid in the Shining, I'd be shocked.

[Valerie]

Freddie Mercury.

[Pete Holmes]

Freddie Mercury.

[Valerie]

You know, a lot of people don't know that. Is young Freddie Mercury.

[Pete Holmes]

People didn't know that before the teeth came in. Yeah, before the teeth.

[Valerie]

When he still had his baby teeth.

[Pete Holmes]

Sacha Baron Cohen apparently worked on. Or he did work on the Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury movie, until he quit. Like, he dropped out of it. And he. I saw him on Stern talking about the reason he dropped out was because the band, like, had a lot of ideas and they were like, the first half of the movie is with Freddy and then when he dies, the second half of the movie and they're like, you can't have the main character die in the middle of the movie. And they're like, yeah, the first half is about the Freddy years, and the second half is about thriving after and surviving. And we're like, oh, so nobody told you that we all.

[Valerie]

We all stopped listening after Freddy died.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Valerie]

We kept listening to the Freddy stuff, buddy.

[Pete Holmes]

I couldn't name another member of Radiohead. And that's not a slight. I'm just saying, like, I'm sorry. Yeah, the Radiohead movie is gonna be about Thom Yorke. I don't care if the drummer was out there hunting elk with his bare hands and feeding the needy. If Thom York had a strong cup of coffee that morning, that's our opening scene.

[Valerie]

Also, was Sacha Baron. Was Sacha Baron Cohen gonna be playing Freddie Mercury? Because if not, that's an oversight.

[Pete Holmes]

He looks quite Freddie Mercury, I just realized. And then in comes Rami Malek. We saw Amateur. Oh, my God, it was so fun going to the movie.

[Valerie]

We had so much fun. Just like going to a midday action movie. And we needed it. We were like, we were toasted.

[Pete Holmes]

And I would say, look, if anybody listening worked on the movie, Amateur respect. And I get it. There are just some things that weren't for me. We really thought that it was setting up a guy like a Jason Bourne with consequence. Like, if you shoot someone, your life is both changed and maybe even ruined. And like a movie like that where a gun really is a gun, right? Not a pow, pow, squirt gun, but like the horror I've shot, like at a shot at a shotting range. And you shake after you shoot. It's so adrenalizing. It's unbelievable. And it's so loud. And I was like, oh, they're doing it. It's like, what if the guy from it went on Liam Neeson, Matt Damon, John Wick style revenge spree, but he can't quite do it. And in the middle of the movie, I thought that's what we were gonna get. And then instead it was like, you know, I don't want to ruin it. I'm just saying it wasn't that.

[Valerie]

It wasn't. Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

But here's what I will say. And I say this as loudly as I can. They sold. So this is LA speak. They sold that movie as a two hander. That's a Rami Malek movie.

[Valerie]

Yeah, 100%.

[Pete Holmes]

And somebody was like, rami Malek can't open an action movie. I firmly disagree. Yeah, I would have been. Although when you said, do you want to see it? This is talking out the other side of my butt. I was like, I love Laurence Fishburne. Laurence Fishburn is in that movie for about seven minutes, Right. And his role is the guy who trains Rami and Rami and he's like. And he's just like, kid, you don't have what it takes.

[Valerie]

Right?

[Pete Holmes]

Kid, you don't have what it takes.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And then, and then Rami Malek goes off.

[Valerie]

I mean, it's like, it's like in.

[Pete Holmes]

The first 15 minutes and he doesn't do anything. And then later he comes back and gets in a little fight. And then later he comes back at the end and you're like, this is not a two handed move.

[Valerie]

And when he comes back, there's a conversation where it's like Rami Malek's like, I just did what you taught me. And it's like, did you what he didn't teach you?

[Pete Holmes]

All he said was, I can't teach you anything.

[Valerie]

Did all that happen off screen?

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. Is there a, an extended cut? Because I don't know, man.

[Valerie]

Also, what's going on with these movies now where the characters don't have arcs? Because I've seen a couple.

[Pete Holmes]

You mean amateur, no arc. Like, he just is who he is and he stays that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Valerie]

Like, let's see him either get worse or get better, but he cannot be the same.

[Pete Holmes]

I agree with you. He's. In fact, that movie has a moment where someone in the beginning. I don't care if I spoil this movie.

[Valerie]

Yeah. I don't.

[Pete Holmes]

Someone hands him a gun and says, shoot me, and he can't do it. End of the movie, someone hand the bad guy, hands him a gun and go, shoot me. And he can't do it.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And you're like, okay, so he's done nothing. By the way, I'm not about shooting people, but I am sort of like, what am I here for? If I want to watch guys not decisively and dramatically solve their inner conflicts.

[Valerie]

Yes.

[Pete Holmes]

Well, that's true. And you, if you want to watch someone be kind of like, I don't know what to do, I'll just stay home.

[Valerie]

Well, you and I really. I think you actually hit the nail on the head when we were driving home from it, where you're like, we watch those movies as metaphors. So, like, the killing of people isn't killing people. It's not killing people. It's like going in, John Wick is.

[Pete Holmes]

Shooting every doubt, insecurity, and in.

[Valerie]

It's like a movie for your protectors.

[Pete Holmes]

It's saying like, he's shooting his unworthiness.

[Valerie]

Exactly, exactly. It's like, this is righteous.

[Pete Holmes]

He's taking up space, masculine, speaking his truth.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And it's. Yes, it's bullets, but I'm. It's also not at all bullets.

[Valerie]

And I actually almost got worried for a second.

[Pete Holmes]

Is it.

[Valerie]

Yeah. That I. I'm not one of these people. Like, I. I can't really get in touch with, you know, the fire of like, yes, you can.

[Pete Holmes]

Somebody told me how much they loved your thoughts on Malcolm Gladwell this week.

[Valerie]

Really?

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah. And I was like, if you can get Val getting a little salt and pepper. My favorite hip hop group is salt and Peppa Pig. Sorry, I don't mean to Marilyn mansplain to you.

[Valerie]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Well, I'm. As somebody who has a hard time getting in touch with my masculine energy, which the good. The good that comes from the masculine energy is like taking up space, doing the thing you want to do, forward motion, setting boundaries, not giving all of your energy away to the community. These things are important and I can rarely get in touch with them. So if I'm actually willing to watch an action movie, it's because I really want to see somebody up.

[Pete Holmes]

Well, we're both going through in our families and there's a lot of like, I don't know, I don't know.

[Valerie]

And we watch why we wanted to watch that.

[Pete Holmes]

We did.

[Valerie]

Because we were like, oh, he's going to start like, I don't know. I don't know. And then he's going to become a badass. Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

It was my same issue with the movie Hitman, which also had the guy from Twisters in it who's great.

[Valerie]

Bill.

[Pete Holmes]

Bill Paxton. No, no, Twister is not Twister. Oh, I don't know anybody in Twister. But Twisters, it's the new. It's the new Tom Cruise.

[Valerie]

I don't know anyone Twisters. Yeah, I can picture him.

[Pete Holmes]

Good looking man. But anyway, and it's not. And I love Richard Linkletter too. And we've already talked about this, but in that movie Hitman, it's like, what if the IT guy has to go in the field and pretend to be a hitman to set up a guy for the FBI? And the first time he does it, he's fantastic.

[Valerie]

All right.

[Pete Holmes]

And I'm just sort of like, I get it. I feel the. The filmmakers maybe being beholden to an audience that can't wait, sit and wait. But I'm like, can we get. Can we get anything? It's, it's. By the way, it's not just that movie. It's one of the reasons I hate Dark Knight Rises. Batman can't beat Bane. Then he does. Why? Yeah, he just keeps punching him. But he was punching him at the beginning and it wasn't working. He didn't learn anything. He climbed out of a hole. I guess that doesn't make you better at punching somebody.

[Valerie]

We really are losing something. I mean, severely It's a big loss that we. Our attention span can't handle the build of something anymore. Because I was just telling my brother he has to see the Color Purple, which I got to see, like, on Broadway with Cynthia Erivo, and it changed me. And then I love the movie. I do.

[Pete Holmes]

Shouldn't she have been on stage?

[Valerie]

Yeah, she was sitting right next to me. She was singing all along. I was like, all right, either get up there or stop singing. But I need to be focused on this. But the movie is fantastic. I highly recommend it. But the thing is, and I told my brother, I was like, I keep wanting to send him clips of especially the last, like, two songs of that play. But I'm like, it will ruin it because those are so important. Because you've sat in agony for two and a half hours as just one thing after another goes wrong. So then when she sings her triumphant song, you are feeling the most a person can feel about it. And if you're not willing to sit through that, then it doesn't feel the same.

[Pete Holmes]

But we're also, as I've already gone on and on about, we're unwilling to even watch Consequence. We watch. I'm going to do this on stage, I think. But. But we watched Honey I Shrunk the Kids. There's an aunt that's helping the children. This is the cutest little aunt gets killed by a scorpion.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

And Leela's like, he comes back though, right? And I'm like, no, because it's the 90s.

[Valerie]

Yeah. It's the 90s.

[Pete Holmes]

And like, things mattered.

[Valerie]

And we're. Yeah. There are actual stakes. Watching kids movies.

[Pete Holmes]

Any Marvel movie. Any. And I like Marvel movie. I'm just saying, like, nobody's dead. Don't worry. Nobody's dead.

[Valerie]

Yeah. Nobody's ever dead. Because then you can't make millions of dollars. Also, my brother and sister in law and I watch Billions.

[Pete Holmes]

What if I was that guy?

[Valerie]

Billions.

[Pete Holmes]

Try Billions.

[Valerie]

We watched Three Amigos talk about, like, a perfect example of how. How long the attention span was back then.

[Pete Holmes]

Yep.

[Valerie]

Like, it takes so long for you to even see the three of them being funny together. And then you get another huge chunk where it's just the B characters in Mexico. And then you'll get a huge payoff where they're singing My Little Buttercup in the.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

And you're just like, all of the tension of this.

[Pete Holmes]

Yeah.

[Valerie]

Has led to, like this beautiful, huge.

[Pete Holmes]

We're just clips.

[Valerie]

Yeah.

[Pete Holmes]

Three Amigos would just be. My little. My Little Buttercup goes viral. But what about no dough, no show?

[Valerie]

I know.

[Pete Holmes]

That is literally them asking us to care about three Hollywood actors, like, wanting more money. And we do, because it's.

[Valerie]

And we do. It's so good. And also when he goes, it's real. When he comes up to them, that's.

[Pete Holmes]

The best moment of cinema.

[Valerie]

This is real. It's the best delivery. Just like, I can't do it if you haven't seen it, but you should. You should watch that movie.

[Pete Holmes]

When Steve Martin realizes that it's not a movie and goes back and tells them that it's real, it's the best performance that's ever happened. And it's funny. It's like.

[Valerie]

It's real.

[Pete Holmes]

This is real.

[Valerie]

This is real. So good.

[Pete Holmes]

We gotta go. I gotta go to Utah. I'm shooting.

[Valerie]

He's shooting a movie. All right.

[Pete Holmes]

We're glad you're here, babies.

[Valerie]

I do want to say in the. The last minute here, a couple episodes ago, I guess it would be now, because we've been banking these.

[Pete Holmes]

Banked.

[Valerie]

We asked you to reach out if you. If what Peach. So vulnerably and beautifully shared about his. What he's been going through with his parents resonated with you. And if you have a similar story and just sort of like a little. A little moment to feel solidarity in the community. And I got so many messages on Instagram of people saying, like, yes, me too. I go through this, too. And thank you for sharing, Pete, and I've been sharing them with you a little bit, but I need to share more. We just never see each other. But I just wanted to say what a beautiful use of this little, Little podcast we do. Thank you so, so much for taking.

[Pete Holmes]

This space where I can. Where I can do that. There is some trust involved. And. And you guys are beautiful.

[Valerie]

Yeah. And thank you for. For. For taking the time to reach out in. In that way.

[Pete Holmes]

Absolutely. Thank you, everybody. All right, and we'll. We'll keep unpacking and keep laughing while we do it. Valerie. All right, real quick.

[Valerie]

Go ahead and keep it crisp.