Episode 31 Mystery Men and Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Dave & Christopher review "Mystery Men" a 1999 superhero spoof comedy  starring Ben Stiller, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, et al  and directed by Kinka Usher in his feature-length directorial debut and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", the 1982 classic coming-of-age comedy/drama directed by Amy Heckerling in her directorial debut and starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, and Phoebe Cates

"If You Were Here" © writers: Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway performed by J.Christopher Thomas

"Ride Captain Ride "© writers: Mike Pinera, Frank "Skip" Konte  performed by Blues Image

Transcript

Mystery Men

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to Let's Go get some microphones. We worked together for several years in a small full movie movies that have seen thousands over the years. We provide unique perspectives on some love of the movies everybody's seen. But sure. If you're looking for a good movie or two to ensure that you've come to the right place, let's get started.

SPEAKER_09 0:31

Alright, so we are back. Back, baby. My movie, my light movie for this uh series is Mystery Men. Um Mystery Men? Why did I pick this movie? I don't know. Uh I don't remember if I saw this movie in the theater. We didn't see this movie together, right? No. This was 99.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

I have a confession.

SPEAKER_09 0:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

This was my first time watching it.

SPEAKER_09 0:56

Oh, for this? Oh wow, that's cool. Yeah. Um, 99, I would have been in San Francisco, so I probably wouldn't have seen it in the theater. I probably saw this in video years later. Probably this probably would have been like a Netflix back when Netflix sent DVDs. Right. So that's probably why where I saw it. I just probably just saw it in their, you know, in their whatever their menu or whatever, and said, Oh, that looks interesting. Ben Stiller's pretty funny, and you know, give it a shot. And I'm glad I did, because it's a pretty good movie. It's not the greatest movie ever. None of these probably ever will be, but I mean it's pretty decent. As far as and this would have been probably a good ten years before the the full superhero movie thing started taking over.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

This was still in the light of uh Tim Burton's Batman.

SPEAKER_09 1:40

Yeah. Um I think Dark Man was out. Darkman was earlier.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Earlier, yeah. But still along those lines, where you're still trying to do that.

SPEAKER_09 1:48

There wasn't a superhero movie every you know, what is it, what is it now? Four a month for a year?

SPEAKER_01 1:53

No, they stopped that. But yeah, in the past, you're correct.

SPEAKER_09 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

I mean Spider-Man started and then we just were non-stop since then.

SPEAKER_09 2:01

Yeah. When was Spider-Man? The first one 2003, I believe. Oh, so that was this was even before that. Okay, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Oh no, you know what was before that? Was the X-Men movies. I think that was like a year. This is a year or two before that.

SPEAKER_09 2:13

This is even before the X-Men movies. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So anyway, um, they ripped off Ben Stiller and they owe him a bunch of money. So anyway, Mystery Man is a 1999 comedy. It's a superhero spoof film. Yeah. I don't know if spoof's the right word, but uh it's a superhero film, kind of a comedic superhero film. Um stars Ben Stiller, who plays Roy. His superhero name is Mr. Furious. He's probably my favorite because I probably see most of myself in that character. Mr. Furious is a guy who gets mad about stuff but doesn't really do anything. He's just kind of like makes a lot of idle threats, and he's just kind of more attractive. He just can't he's not he's not that dude, he's not about that life, as the kids say. Uh he is um he he wants to be tough, but he's not tough. And he builds this lore around himself, oh you moved a bus once, you moved a city bus by yourself once. Right. Uh so anyway, that's Mr. Furious. He thinks he's super cool back in the day when they had um action movies. He thinks he's one of those type of dudes. Sure. Uh Jeffrey Rush, who I love, plays the villain casting over Frankenstein. Right. I love that he was I think this was after Shine.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

It might have been, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 3:33

I think so. I think it had to have been because I wouldn't have even known who he was if not. '96? Yeah. Something like that. Because that was also part of what attracted me to this, is because I wouldn't have known him other than Shine. Shine, I loved, loved that movie. And then I said, Oh, he's in this too's comedy? That's that's interesting. I want to see how that works. It's because of the music. I get it.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

No, I mean it's it's it's it is a good movie.

SPEAKER_09 3:55

Uh David Helfgott had his moment there in real life for a second after the because of that movie, but he didn't really go anywhere with it. Yeah, I was right, 96.

unknown 4:03

I still got it.

SPEAKER_09 4:04

Yeah, nice.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

I got it.

SPEAKER_09 4:06

Jeffrey Rush plays Captain Or Frankenstein, Greg Kneer, who I also love, plays Captain Amazing. Oh, that guy's yeah, Captain Amazing is like the uh who's who's the parallel? He's kind of like Superman, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Well, kind of like Watchmen too, right? The Adrian Vint or whatever, where he was smart, super smart. Oh, right, right, right. But I mean he's not. I'm not he's not smart. Right. But he has that charisma.

SPEAKER_09 4:27

Is it nemesis? Nemeside nemesis? Right. He can't doesn't know how to say the plural of nemesis.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

And then who figures out which one of them figured out? Was it uh William H. Macy's character that figured that um Greg Kinnear's character, the biz the whatever the guy, the Playboy and are the same guy.

SPEAKER_09 4:45

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, and Mr. Fuhrer kind of knew, but they were like, oh, you're wrong. Oh, it's Mr.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Fierce. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 4:51

It's the same guy. I forget what his alter ego is. He's a billionaire or something or other. Yeah, so he's kind of like Batman slash Iron Man kind of thing. Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

He wears like this weird armor and he's Lance Hunt and Captain Amazing.

SPEAKER_09 5:02

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Lance Hunt is his altered ego.

SPEAKER_09 5:05

The billionaire Lance Hunt, and he just takes has glasses.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Right. That's why Fierce goes, take the glasses. It's him. He goes, Oh, Lam H. Macy's like, no, no.

SPEAKER_09 5:14

That's right. Uh speaking of H. Macy, another great name, also probably why I picked this movie back then, back in the day. Sure. Uh, he plays Eddie slash shoveler. The shoveler. He's the guy who uh wields a shovel as his weapon for some reason. He's not very good at it. Uh Hank Azaria plays Jeffree slash Blue Raja. Right. He is a it's a weird character. He plays a uh a white person who's from India, who was raised in India, who throws silverware.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Well, that's his I guess alter ego. He's really just a white guy, but he's just a regular white guy who lives with his mom of being, right.

SPEAKER_09 5:55

Yeah, this blue rajah who speaks with this weird accent.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

English oxen.

SPEAKER_09 5:59

Yeah. Uh Kel Mitchell, who plays Invisible Boy. Oh my god. Um Paul Rubens, who I love, plays Spleen. Sleen. Janine Garofalo plays Carol The Bowler. West Studios in it as the Sphinx. Yeah. He's kind of like the mentor character, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yeah, he helps them.

SPEAKER_09 6:18

Kind of comes in, gets them in shape or whatever, getting them working on as a team. He is his superpower, he's very mysterious.

SPEAKER_08 6:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 6:27

That's the theme of all these superheroes, they have useless powers. Right. Uh, and then also we have uh the the side character, Claire Ferlani, who beautiful woman. Did she ever really take off? But I think they want there was there's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

There was a push for her because what Meet Joe Black was her name, I think after this or somewhere in the same timeline. Right. Very good-looking woman. I mean, she's a capable of act actress. Yeah. I'm not saying she can't, but I agree with you. It was more of a push because of her looks. Right. But did she ever take off? Uh no. I mean, I'm not trying to No, I mean it's it's she Yeah, neither of us are.

SPEAKER_09 7:01

She had an amazing career, much better than a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

She's still acting today, so to her credit.

SPEAKER_09 7:06

Yeah. I'm just saying back in the day, there's a period there where it seemed like she was at everything and she never really trying to find a new what?

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Ingenie for whoever, right? Because there's always a push. Yeah. She was one. I mean, she's good looking, she can act.

SPEAKER_09 7:19

She can act. Uh um, I want to say there's a Kevin Smith movie. Mallrats? Yes. Maulrats. She kind of overacted in that old age.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

This was during that time too, because 90s.

SPEAKER_09 7:28

That's right. So this would have been the same time. That's what I mean. She had a bunch of little roles, and it's like there's that push, but she never really it never blossomed into anything huge.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Piggybacking off that, Lena Olin's another one took the colour. Yeah, Lena Owen's Dr.

SPEAKER_09 7:42

Annabelle Leak. This is like a fake Harley Quinn kind of Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Because I know like there was a movie she did with uh Gary Oldman, um, Romeo is bleeding. Oh, right, right, right, right. And she played on the city. And did she take off or I mean again, very good actress. I know she's Swedish, so I don't know if she parlayed that into her home country or other than the US.

SPEAKER_09 8:05

You never know. She might be really big there.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Right, but here, I mean, she's had a couple, we've seen her, like I said, she's I know her name.

SPEAKER_09 8:11

I mean, it's not like you know she's been in a couple things, like you said. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

But unfortunately, I didn't I mean, I guess we're saying, 'cause it's when you hear actors and actresses, are they A-list? There's not always A-list, unfortunately. There's B and Mid. There's still a career.

SPEAKER_09 8:27

What do you call them like well, I don't know if it's character actors the same thing. No, it's not true. Because some character actors get a lot of work. So I just think this is it seems like there's certain people where they push them to be A, they don't quite make it. That's I guess my point.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

There's certain levels, obviously.

SPEAKER_09 8:40

But Claire Filani's not she's not Julia Roberts. You know what I mean? They both are not in the same time period or anything like that, but I'm saying they both can act but one just blew up, everyone just became America's sweetheart, and the other one just kind of like, well, it's kind of interesting if you would think of it.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Real quick on a side note. That's okay. Let's play that devil's advocate. Let's say it wasn't Julia and it was Claire. Yeah. I mean, would had she you know catapulted to that stratosphere? Right. I mean, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_09 9:07

She could have just done why why not?

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Right.

SPEAKER_09 9:09

Well, I mean, um no, no shade against Julia, but like what is she doing that's so much better than anybody else could do? Right. I'm I could see Claire Falani in any of her roles, I think.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

That's a good point. I mean, that's I I brought the point at this point.

SPEAKER_09 9:21

It's just the luck of the dice, I guess, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Yeah, that's what I guess I'm trying to say.

SPEAKER_09 9:24

Yeah. Um Eddie Izzard was famous. Eddie Izzard, yeah, plays Tony P, head of the disco boys. It's like the henchman for Casanova Frankenstein. Right. Tom Waits plays Doc Heller, who's kind of like the Q, like the weapon supplier for the gang. Right. And kind of a bum that lives in a joke yard. Uh I put uh Louise Lasser plays Violet Blue Raja's mom. Oh, yeah. Uh Jennifer Lewis plays Lucille Chevler's wife.

SPEAKER_08 9:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 9:55

Uh Praz, Praz Michelle plays Tony C from The Fujies, one of the many cameos in this movie. Now, first of all, that cast is huge for a movie of this caliber. Yeah. Of this budget and scope. Sure. And all of those people are like, like I said, Claire Ferlani, uh, Hank Azaria, Ben Stiller, Jeffrey Rush, Greg Kaneer. These are all people that are William H. Macy. These are not nobodies. Right. So I can't imagine what the cast budget must have been.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Here well, I have it here, so we'll usually do this at the end, but I'll bring it up. Go ahead, yeah. The budget for this movie was sixty-eight million dollars.

SPEAKER_09 10:30

What? Yeah. Sixty-eight million, damn. I don't remember that. But it made less than half. Oh, I see. Yeah. 33 and a half. I put I drew a frowny face next to 33.5 mil. Because I love this movie so much, I hate to hear that. That's probably the that of all the movies we've done, that might be the biggest loss.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 10:51

Because that's not that's not counting promo. That's just straight up budget versus what you made. That's that's a wipe out. Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Wipeout.

SPEAKER_09 10:58

Because then if you tack on budget, that's probably another that's 80 something that it costs, maybe, right? Yeah, with the um advertising whatnot. Yeah. And they made 30. Damn, damn. That's fucking.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Slapped them down, yo. Slapped them down. 12 million.

SPEAKER_09 11:13

Uh Ricky J, real quick, plays Vic Weems, Captain America's publicist. Uh, I put here cameos. Interesting cameos. Michael Bay plays one of the uh I was like, that's Michael. That guy looks familiar. And Ricky Rackman, I don't know if you know from Headbangers Ball back in the day. CeeLo from the Goody Mob and The Goody Mob, you should say. Oh, yeah, I remember CeeBoy. He has a little line in there. Um Artie Lang plays the leader of the red eyes at the very beginning. That gang of guys who play like these goggles that are red tinted or whatever. Uh Mark Mothersbaugh, who of course from Devo.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Wow, I know. I saw his name. I was like, oh yeah, we had to talk that because I mean that's amazing to go from Devo to sound or yeah, you're you're making the movies.

SPEAKER_09 11:55

Who is casting this movie? I should have looked that up. Uh Dane Cook, Doug Jones, and Dana Google. That's two comedians. Well, one and a half comedian. Yeah, thank you. Dane Cook sucks. Yes. Sorry. No, you're not the Doug Jones is the guy from Doug Jones is the water.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

He's done a lot of movies with Gimmel. He's like the creature or something, right? Yeah, because his stature and his slim figure.

SPEAKER_09 12:20

The movie where the woman fell in love with the Shape of Water. Shape of Water. Hellboy, right. Yeah, he's also like a water creature then, too.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Something like that, right. He he plays those characters. Well, he was in Pan's Labyrinth, the guy that the That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 12:35

He's always a weirdo under a lot of makeup makeup. Anyway, Dane Cook plays Waffler. Uh Doug Jones plays Pencil Head and he has a little kid with him. Right. Pencilhead Jr. or whatever. Dana Goul plays Squeegee Man. Oh, Sung Kang, who's from Fast and Furious. One of the yeah. And Monet Mazer play uh they're part of the Suzy's gang. That's right. I think that's all the cameos, I think. Anyway, so directed by Kinka Usher. This was his only uh movie that he did. He was known for doing commercials. He did like the Got Milk. It was like really big, really big in commercials. They won like some advertising awards and won like best commercial director. I guess he parlayed that into this movie, and then this movie was kind of troubled from the beginning. So I guess it's kind of like he was like, ah, after this, no, I'm good. Go back to commercials.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Probably too much.

SPEAKER_09 13:26

Yeah. 68 mil and you make, you know, 68 million and you only make 33.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

And you're hoping because of all the stature of these actors and actresses.

SPEAKER_09 13:37

And then it doesn't pan out. You're like, you know what? I'm gonna go back to commercials. Right. It's a lot less stress. Uh anyway, the story revolves around a team of lesser superheroes with unimpressive powers who live in the shadow of Captain Amazing. Um, the team is thrust into having to save their city called Champion City for some reason. In the process, they learn the value of teamwork, integrity, sacrifice, and courage most notably.

SPEAKER_03 14:02

Right in a place called Champion City. The forces of good and evil, Captain Amazon, what's a surprise? Are about to collide.

SPEAKER_07 14:17

Nemesis. Nemesis.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

Now the city's one true hero missing. Captain Amazing is in danger. We will step forward you again. It's my best too like it's one. But now the day I'm gonna come. This is power. I only wanted four days in the house. That's the part that really doesn't work for me. New League of Heroes at step to a different piece. No, I am taking time from Fury.

SPEAKER_07 15:44

I don't find you too much.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

We're not your classic heroes.

SPEAKER_06 16:00

We're the other guys. Mystery men.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

I'm invisible! Can you see me? Yes.

SPEAKER_06 16:07

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Maybe you should put some shorts on or something if you want to keep fighting evil today.

SPEAKER_09 16:18

Uh let's see. Oh, so other notable superhero movies that are kind of in this genre are Kick Ass, which came like 20, no, 12 years later.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

2010, somewhere.

SPEAKER_09 16:28

2010, yeah, exactly. Super 2010, those rain.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Oh, those are good movies, both of them.

SPEAKER_09 16:33

Blank Man was actually before this, it's 94. That was Damon Wayans. Yeah. Played a hapless kind of bumbling superhero. And then, of course, the show Greatest American Hero.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Believe it or not.

SPEAKER_09 16:47

There you go. That was way before this. It was 81, 81, 83.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

I thought, oh, was it? I thought it was late 70s. Was it William Cat? Was that his name? Yeah, William Kat. Yeah, I remember just remember he had Carrie and all that row.

SPEAKER_09 16:58

Can you say that on C Jufro?

SPEAKER_01 17:01

It's okay.

SPEAKER_09 17:02

We're all good. He would always try to like fly and he would crash or whatever. Right. And was it Robert Cope? Wasn't that?

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_09 17:09

Yeah, he was like the mentor or something like that. Something like that. Anyway. I just point that out because if you like that genre of, you know, bumbling superhero, more human. This thing where you had to have to learn to rely on your own human courage. You don't have to be a superhero to be super.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

And trusting your team your fellow teammates.

SPEAKER_09 17:28

Right. Have each other's back. You have it inside of you all along that whole thing. I think it's kind of it's it's kind of smoky, but I kind of like it. It's cool.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah, I liked it. I mean, like I said, first time watching. It was enjoyable.

SPEAKER_09 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

It's fun, like I said, to revisit, you know, uh actors and actresses when you've watched them as they obviously develop, right? And I'm this isn't a knock on Stiller, but he does have that similarity of roles. Yeah, where he plays that he's angry and not really cool.

SPEAKER_09 17:56

He wants to be cool, but he's kind of a nerd. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Then he there's that self-admission. Well, you know. I mean he's down self-effacing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_09 18:05

Yeah. Uh he was in was it Extras? Ricky Gervaise. Where he kind of played a version of himself.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Right.

SPEAKER_09 18:11

He's a director and he's like, Ricky Jerry's giving him shit or whatever. Right. Say, do you know I was in. He was literally playing himself. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_08 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 18:18

He was, I was in such a so with Jen Rass, and I got touch your boobs or whatever, something like that. And he was like, ooh, and Ricky Jerry's like, ooh, good for you, little man, or whatever, just giving him shit. Right. But again, making pointing and making fun of himself.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yeah, and I'm not trying to pick on Ben. I just, it's interesting to see, like I said, when you've seen them in their infinite to their now, the similarities he's played. But I mean, I give him credit. He's made a career for himself. I mean, he's made really a lot of money. Yeah. You know, and his mom and dad, he's made them proud, obviously. I mean, unfortunately, both passed. Jerry Stiller and Anne Mira. Right. But I mean, he learned, I would say, from the best, his parents, right? Yeah. And he capitalized. That's all I really had to say on that because like I said, he had a lot of similarities, but I do like Ben Stiller and his movies. I I won't knock.

SPEAKER_09 19:03

And I I feel like this would have been somewhere around his tenth movie overall.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Right.

SPEAKER_09 19:07

This is fairly early in his career, and he's still going. So I mean yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Now he directs. I mean, he's always kind of directed, but more so now.

SPEAKER_09 19:14

Yeah. So he did reality bites probably five years earlier than this.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Something like that, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 19:19

Also Wincheting Yorofalo. Yeah. Um, yeah, he's always that guy who's not quite cool, but you kind of like him, but that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Almost kind of a dick.

SPEAKER_09 19:31

He kind of gets away with it though. Yeah. He's made a pretty decent career out of it. That's what I'm saying. Right. Yeah. What did you think of the movie? Other than this, your your first watch.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

No, I enjoyed it for what it was. I mean, is it great? No, but it's a fun little afternoon, you know, oh, let's see what's on, you know? Yeah. That's what I think. I mean, like you said, if we're going nostalgia and old school, this is one that you just click, oh, let's watch it. You know what I mean? A nice just enjoy your day off somewhere and just uh it's it is you know fun.

SPEAKER_09 20:02

Yeah. And that's the thing. That's the thing with these movies, especially the ones we're doing now, is like they're not um they're not super think pieces, they're not super there's not gonna you're not gonna cry.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Don't take yourself seriously.

SPEAKER_09 20:13

Right. They're just like flicks, just like you watch it. You could watch this movie at any point and it's fun to watch. As a matter of fact, I think I did when I was re-watching it, I had to go do something in the other room, and I came back because there's a s they start out where it's just uh Blue Raja, Shoveler, and Mr. Mr. Furious, right? And then they have a little mission that doesn't work out or whatever, and then they have to recruit more people on the team. I think I came in for the recruiting part, but I missed the whole first part. And it was still like it was still fine. Just watching the recruiting scene is like, oh my god, all these people out there in their stupid suits and like the homemade. But that's the other thing I've always thought like with the super with the real superhero movies, like I even now uh there's like a Spider-Man, let me date myself. There's a was it brand new day? Is the new Spider-Man one? So if you listen to this 20 years in the future, you'll know.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Brand new day trailer just came out, and part of what I understand is like it's he makes his own suit, like he's he's gotten rid of the whole everyone's forgotten him because at the end of Spider-Man No Way Home, Doctor Strange cast a spell so no one remembered him. Right. That was you know, so that they could close the multiverse, but as we see that didn't stop anything.

SPEAKER_09 21:27

But anyway, yes, you're correct. He's he's distancing himself from the Stark wearer suit and and the MCU in general. He's more like down to earth. So anyway, long story short, he makes his own suit. And I'm just like, who in high school can make a suit? You know, I mean he may he's a super genius, uh so maybe he can. Maybe he doesn't need to like look at YouTube and see how that's even a possible.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

I'm sure he probably does though. It's just for helpful tip to me.

SPEAKER_09 21:55

I there's no way. Even with YouTube, there's no way I could make I'm gonna make myself a super suit. And they all do it. It's like they're really tailored and they got little logos and shit on them. It's like really? I guess anyway, I won't get in that, but that just my point. I guess my point is I like Mr. Eamon because these guys have terrible outfits on, like a milk carton with the eyes cut out. It's like, yeah, that seems like more like what a human being would do.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Right. I mean, even William H. Macy, the shoveler, right? He wears a regular jacket, has something so the shovel doesn't fall off.

SPEAKER_09 22:29

Or something. Right. And he's got his kids ump his uh baseball. He's like a uh catcher. Something like that, right? Because Jennifer Lewis gives him shit. He needs this thing back for his game on Saturday. Right. He starts to tell her, but we gotta go. And she's like, just gives him the hard look. Oh, okay. He just like okay, yes, dear. So funny. Yeah, so um I I really like this movie, obviously. I mean, it's just a fun time. Um let me give you some trivia on this that I think I got from Wikipedia. Uh Ving Rames is originally considered to be Chevler, which is probably why Jennifer Lewis, the black lady is the wife, but it worked. I mean, as as is, but yeah, I get it. And Vince Vaughn was considered for a role as well, just unspecified.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

That's when he was literally just starting out. Just starting out. Because I mean Swingers, I think, came out a year or two before that. I know that that movie launched him because Spielberg hired him for the Jurassic Part 2 because of that.

SPEAKER_09 23:26

Oh, okay. And the Jurassic Part 2 was what year?

SPEAKER_01 23:28

I would say in the early 90s, I'd have to look it up. Probably a little before this. Probably.

SPEAKER_09 23:33

Yeah. I mean, he was definitely on the map if he was considered. I mean, it's not like he, oh, by the way, we saw him in the edition hall. It was like they were they wanted him, and for whatever reason he couldn't do it or they changed their mind. So he was on their radar. Says there's been tales of uh sequel. Ben Stiller as of 2025 was down to do one. He says he's definitely not against sequels. Zoolander 2, Meet the Fuckers, Happy Gilmer, Madagascar, uh, Night Museum.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

It was 97 for Jurassic Park.

SPEAKER_09 24:07

So two years before this. Yes. Uh but the movie bombed so bad, it doesn't seem likely. Uh, but then again, this was before uh the whole big superhero thing. So maybe if they brought it back, it could still work.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Maybe.

SPEAKER_09 24:22

I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing it. I mean, they're all much older now. They're probably in their 50s and sixties, so I don't know how they would well, Cole Rubens has passed away and rest in peace. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Um I mean I mean, I don't know if it would it'd have to be a real slim veget because it's not gonna make money. Right. Or it'd have to be a Hulu Netflix thing.

SPEAKER_09 24:45

Right. Where well the budget's like the reason why it's like you guys can talk about all you want. We're not doing it. Right. Because you could that's like a huge bomb. Like I said, I I think of all the movies we've done, I think this is the biggest bomb.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

So far. Yeah. You may hit one later. We don't know yet.

SPEAKER_09 24:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

But and like I said, it's unfortunate because it is, like I said, it's a fun movie.

SPEAKER_09 25:02

Right. I shouldn't say financially it didn't do well, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad movie.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Because I mean, we forget this.

SPEAKER_09 25:09

Shawshank didn't do well.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

There's always a cult following later. Right.

SPEAKER_09 25:13

But that doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It's a great classic movie. Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

And that's what we're saying. This could have picked up via like you, either Netflix brought Blockbuster and has its own little following now. So if there was a talk of sequel now, it might do okay just because of that. And then you have a whole new generation to discover that.

SPEAKER_09 25:31

Right. And it's kind of, I mean, because the superhero genre is right for being poked fun at right now. Oh, definitely. Not like an over-the-top type thing, like, you know, like the naked gun type stuff. I'm talking about just something more subtle like this, where it's like, you know, we're just kinda-I mean, I know they have the boys kind of poking fun of the superhero thing, but something like this is a little more fun, not so dour and bloody or whatever. Sure. Because be kind of cool. Anyway, um, wrapping it up. So Rotten Tomatoes 60%.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

That's not bad.

SPEAKER_09 26:00

Metacritic 65. Uh, they put oh Rotten Tomatoes absurd characters and quirky gags are brought to life by talented cast, providing the superhero spoof with lots of laughs. That's I think very accurate.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Yeah, it's very accurate. Sums it up pretty deep. I agree with that.

SPEAKER_09 26:16

Yeah. And that's all I have. Where uh let's see, I saw it. I think I'm pretty sure it was Amazon. Yeah, Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Yeah, it's on Amazon. That's all I saw. Everything's on Amazon, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 26:26

I I own this movie, but uh again, so do I'm not gonna go find it wherever it is.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

I did own it because I wanted to see it, and that was my and I got to watch it. Thanks to that.

SPEAKER_09 26:32

That's crazy. So you actually owned it from uh before, obviously. You didn't buy it recently.

unknown 26:37

No.

SPEAKER_09 26:37

Right? Yeah. So you just had it, you just never watched it.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

I was gonna watch it's one of those things, you know, you like you tell yourself when I retire, I'm gonna watch and I did. See, thanks to you.

SPEAKER_09 26:45

That's like with books. I was like, one of these days I'm gonna crack that book and then go on empty the trash or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Opened it up and then I'm like, wow, I should have read this a little sooner. So yeah, it was cool.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

SPEAKER_09 26:55

That's awesome. All right, well, that's that's all I got, I think. Hey, sorry to interrupt, but if you're enjoying the reviews, please take a second to like, rate, and subscribe to our podcast. We'd really appreciate it. And now back to the reviews.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

So on to the next. Yes. Which my pick this week was Fast Times at Richmond High.

SPEAKER_08 27:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

The ultimate teen comedy classic. It set the precedent for all those 80s movies going forward. Yes. I'm sorry. I wanna see too. Yeah. And it's funny, I got to go see it in the theater. Jesus Christ. It was actually downtown Fairfield movies.

SPEAKER_09 27:40

You had no supervision.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

And you know, it's rated R.

SPEAKER_09 27:43

I don't know if I somehow almost rated X, from what I understand. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Um, I want to say somehow either I would went it was somebody I knew that was older that got us in, but I remember watching it at Fairfield Cinema.

SPEAKER_09 27:55

But people roughly our age were the people that were in the theater, so a lot of times there was a couple that would be like, no, you can't go in. But I never really got carded or what do you want to call it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

What I love about this movie, and I'll get to the synopsis here, is it watching again made me feel all that stuff back when I was a kid again. All of the look of it, the feel of it, all of that. I was like, oh my god. Yeah. Takes you back. I mean, I'm aging myself, but it's fun to look back at those times. They were innocent, you're just starting out really as a kid, I mean as a teenager. And like I said, I mean, I give Kevin Crow, who wrote the screenplay, who went undercover to actually do this um screenplay.

SPEAKER_09 28:38

He was 24-ish or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Right, but he looked at young and uh was it let me see the director. Amy Heckerlin said that he had already started I guess he was a Wonderkin of some kind, sorry, where he had journalistic instincts. I mean w what's uh almost famous.

SPEAKER_09 28:59

So this is like two movies that are based on his experiences as teenager.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Right. So well, he wasn't a teenager here, he was twenty-four, but still the point of it is is that him being able to write so prolifically at that age, you know, is amazing.

SPEAKER_09 29:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Um so Fast Times at Richmond High is a 1982 film, American coming-of-age comedy drama filmed by Amy Heckerlin, and her featured directorial debut. Its screenplay was written by Cameron Crow based on his 1981 book, Fast Times at Richmond High, a true story. And it's it stars Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Lee, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, and Ray Walston. A school year in the lives of underclassmen Stacy Hamilton, Mark Rat Ratner, and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, both of whom believe themselves wiser in the ways of romance than their younger counterparts. It's that's the basic premise. We come in and we meet young Stacy. She's working at Perry's Pizza.

SPEAKER_09 30:02

Stacy is Jennifer Jason Lee. Yeah, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Stacy Hamilton, to be precise. And her best friend is Linda Barrett, who is played by a younger. J. Cage. Wow. Um Stacy Ellison has a brother who was played by Judge Reinhold, who's Brad Hamilton. Uh Brian Backer plays Mark Ratner, um, and his best friend friend is Mike Damone, played by Robert Romanus.

SPEAKER_09 30:29

Yeah. Um we mean Jody Foster was up for the role of Stacy.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

There was quite a few. I can't I couldn't give you, I mean, it might be in here, but yeah. Uh Sean Penn plays Jeff Spicoli, he's a pothead.

SPEAKER_09 30:41

Who would ever think that that dude on the screen that you're watching would be like a multi-oscar winner years later?

SPEAKER_01 30:49

To give credence, he actually had to audition twice for this. The first audition. Well, the first audition didn't go well. I think I saw a thing with him, and he was saying he came from doing stage work to this. I mean, he was young, but he had come from stage and trying to pretend to be that stoner wasn't in his being yet or him. So they were like he they didn't like the audition. And the second time when he finally realized, oh, they're looking for this. Yeah. It's funny though, he used to hang out with who was this guy? Robert Dyne Jr., um, the Estevezes. They all used to hang out. So they you know. I would think, but I you know, Penn, I'm if he ever was a I don't want to say like Jess with Coley, I don't see that him ever being like that.

SPEAKER_09 31:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

He had to obviously model after somebody to be that character.

SPEAKER_09 31:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

So uh I know the second audition, not to be long-winded here, but he did play it more like what you see on the screen.

SPEAKER_09 31:50

Yeah. Because it's kind of a high, stoned-out surfer, laid-back kind of dude. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

What do you say? All I need is some tasty ways and a cool buzz. That's right. Yeah. But yeah, Sean Penn plays Jessica Coley, Jennifer Jason Lee, Stacey Hamilton. She's a 15-year-old underclassman. I mean, as we see, she meets up with the 26-year-old later. It's like, oh my God. Today, that couldn't happen.

SPEAKER_09 32:16

That would have been but it couldn't really happen then.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Yeah, it wasn't supposed to, but I'm not trying to destigmatize what it was. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_09 32:22

As a matter of fact, what I read was that Amy Heckerling or whoever was the writer, powers that be behind this, wanted to show teenage, I want to say sexuality, it's kind of too much on it. But now I had it to be real. Right. There's a thing with the two girls where they're like trying to one up each other, which is very real.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

Well, Linda, I think, tries to come across, like it said when I read, like her and Damone, more worldly than they are. And the guys do too, I should be to be fair. Correct. Rat doesn't know this. Rat, very shy. Right. Oh, really? Right. I mean, he goes, I give you five things. I'm giving you this. This is I charge people for this, Rat. You know, it's hilarious.

SPEAKER_09 32:58

But that's what I mean. It's it's it's not like going far afield. I mean, it's to your point of like, this is not like this is not a PC thing, like you can't do that, whatever, blah, blah, blah. This is like they were trying to show This is real life.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Exactly.

SPEAKER_09 33:11

And that's and I think it's accurate.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

It's it's right, you know. Well, we grew up in that. Right. I mean, I could hit on like They're not glorifying, I guess is my own. No, right. They're just showing what it really is.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

And I could use like three o'clock high, all the rumors, because Linda and whatever live off rumors. Because if when we're teenagers, we take it as gospel. Right. Oh my god. Right. Right? Because there's a scene, and this is where we meet Mr. Han and Jess Picoli, right? Right. The alarm rings for that class. It's what, US politic or U.S. history. US history, probably, yeah. And the bell rings, all the class is seated, and Mr. Han comes out of his room, walks the door, and tells you, This is U.S. history, blah, blah, blah. And he tells them the rules and you know, about being on time, and yeah, he's giving them the syllabus and all that. And all of a sudden we hear a and he's like, he looks around the room, looks, and looks at the door, and he's like And it's got the window, upper part of it is the window. Right. And he's all yes? Uh I'm in your class. And he goes, Excuse me? Yeah, I'm in this. So he unlocks a door.

SPEAKER_02 34:13

Excuse history. I can see the globe right over there. He walks in, he goes, Oh, hey, I know that dude. And he goes, something. And he's asking me a question. He's like, these new schedules, they're hard to read or whatever. And he sucks and he tears it in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

He's like, What are you hey bro? Hey, hey, dude. Like, what's your problem?

SPEAKER_09 34:34

You're a dick or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

There is no problem.

SPEAKER_02 34:37

You dick. But anyway, I say that because he throws the pieces in his face. It lets it fall, and he's picking it up, and he, you know, just storms out.

SPEAKER_04 34:46

This guy's been stunned since the third grade. Yes? Yeah. I'm registered in this class. What class? This is U.S. history. See the globe right there. Really?

SPEAKER_03 35:01

Oh, please. I get so lonely when I hear that third attendance bell ring, and all my kids are not here.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

Sorry, I'm late. It's just like this new schedule's totally confusing. I know that, dude. Mr. Spicy, that's name the game. You're ripping the car. Yeah. Bud, what's your problem?

SPEAKER_03 35:33

No problem at all. I think you know where the front office is.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

You dick! And then later on, Linda's like, oh, did you hear that, you know, some beach bum put a pulled a gun in? And Stacey goes, No, he just called him a dick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

See how things get exaggerated stuff so much. And it's hilarious. That's my great.

SPEAKER_09 35:54

Yeah. But yeah. Yeah, so that's what it was in high school. Everything's like, you know, going on rumors. Everyone wants to fit in. Everyone wants to be cool. I think it captures that very well.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Um there's even a young Forrest Whitaker. I want to say this is probably one of his first roles. He plays Jefferson.

SPEAKER_09 36:10

I think it is his first role.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

Like he plays this badass star football player at Ridgemont High. Yeah. Vincent, how do you pronounce that? Scivelli? Mr. Vargas, the science teacher?

SPEAKER_09 36:24

Oh, yeah. The guy. I always think of him as Ghost.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Amanda Weeks. She plays Lisa, Brad's girlfriend. She was in later movies. She was in Better Off Dead. She played Lane Myers. Hopefully that'll be a later movie. I think that's a classic. But yeah, there's a bunch of different Eric Stoltz plays one of Spacoli's. Spicoly's friends, yeah. Also, I was gonna say you mentioned him, but he was in References of Nerds, but Anthony Edwards is also one of his first roles. Nicholas Cage, or he went by Nicholas Copeland actually during this time.

SPEAKER_09 36:59

I saw him because I was looking for him because I I've heard that rumor, or not rumors, it's true, obviously. Yeah. But I was like, I've never seen him in the movie. There's an open thing. He's in there for a hot second, right?

SPEAKER_01 37:08

Oh, he's in there for a couple scenes. There's a scene when you see beginning of school, everyone's going to school, and there's people like, hey, he's shaking this guy's hand. They put a sticker in the back, he's a fag, right?

SPEAKER_04 37:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

Well, that was Nicholas Cage putting the thing on his back. Oh, okay. And then later on, when the restaurant.

SPEAKER_09 37:25

In the restaurant, they're like, there's like a, you know, the thing where you throw you put the order where the guy says, Hey, I call back, I need this order, or whatever, and they put it through the window.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

And you can see Nicolas Cage.

SPEAKER_09 37:35

Nicholas Cage and one other dude are like, they're looking over when um Judge Reinhold is telling that guy off.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

Yeah, that's gonna kick 100% of your ass if you don't get out of here. And it's it's so sad because it says 100% guaranteed. Mr. If you don't show up, I kick 100% of your ass.

SPEAKER_07 37:48

May I help you? Uh yes. This is not the best breakfast I ever ate, and I'd like my money back.

SPEAKER_06 37:54

Uh, okay. Uh, I believe you have to fill out a form for that. Uh no, I'd like my money back, man. I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way. You see, I have to fill out a form, and well, you ate most of it already, so.

SPEAKER_07 38:06

See that sign? It says 100% guaranteed. You know what the meaning of guarantee is? Did they teach you that here? Sir, if you just wait a minute. Just put your little hand back in the cash register and give me my two dollars and seventy-five cents back, please.

SPEAKER_06 38:22

Sir, if you just give me a minute, I'll find the forms. I'll take care of everything.

SPEAKER_07 38:26

I don't have a minute. You made me late in here. I am so tired of dealing with incompetence. It says 100% guaranteed you move. Mr.

SPEAKER_06 38:36

Fucking 100% of your face.

SPEAKER_07 38:42

Can I help you, sir? You bet you have a problem. Your employee here use profanity and threaten me with violence. It was a little understanding.

SPEAKER_05 39:04

Did you threaten his customer or use profanity in any way? He insulted me first. He called me a morning. Did you threaten his customer or use profanity in any way? Yes. You're fine. I'm very sorry, sir. I'll refund your money right now. Hope you won't hold this against us.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

It's a fun, like I said, movie. It's it starts out. We see the beginning of the school year, how it works out. Stacy, uh Jennifer Jason Lee's character, hooks up with this guy. I think his name's Ron Johnson. Right. And Johnson. Oh, he got the Johnson. She got the Johnson. But anyway. But you know, everyone's these other waitresses that work at Perry's Pizza. This isn't a mall, by the way. Yeah. So I want to stipulate that. And you know, it's funny. I mean, I don't care about malls now, but it does bring that nostalgia. Nostalgia. Where you missed those times going to the mall. That was huge back in the day.

SPEAKER_09 40:03

Rat works at the movie theater, which of course I can relate to. We can too. Hello. Right. Hello. Same time period, roughly a little earlier than us, but he's in the theater that's connected to the mall. And he's like standing outside. Yeah, and he looks across and you can see Jason Lee. And yeah. So and the mall is packed. Always. And I was like, that just brought back memories. Like, yeah, that's and then also even, you know, um, the restaurant where they work at is the pizza place or whatever. Perry's pizza, right? But there's like five or six waitresses. It's like, that's not, you don't get that nowadays. Like, but that just as a as a customer, I want to go in a place where it's fully staffed.

SPEAKER_01 40:38

Right.

SPEAKER_09 40:39

That's just me. I want a good experience. Cool. But as a worker, that's like when we worked at the theater, it was like, God knows how many people, like dozens of people. It's like you, oh, I like this person, I like this person, that person's cool or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

No, I'm not just gonna cut you off, but it's yeah, it's it's amazing because we had the foot traffic, right? And that's what that represents. And that's what I'm you're to your point. Um, are you had to have money to get that equipment?

SPEAKER_09 41:03

But anyway, um Yeah, so people that Gen X will, I think most people can relate to a lot of this. Maybe not all of it, but I think a lot of people, yeah. Yeah, and it's multiple stories, so right. We're kind of jumping around, but I mean it's like but that's kind of what the movie does because it's Jennifer Jason Lee and Kiki Case character, and uh Judge Reinhold has his arc, and then Rat and what's the guy. Damone, that's yeah, they have an arc. Is that it? Uh it's goodness spacoli.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Yeah, so it's really the three. This the Hamilton's Linda kind of plays in with Stacy. Right. Brad has his little arc with being I mean, he's pretty successful in his mind, you know. I mean, and it's it's fair, he was. Then we get so funny, and we get the one character, Scott Thompson, who plays Arnold. I remember he meets Hey Brad, um, are you guys hiring? You want to come to All American, you know.

SPEAKER_09 41:56

And Brad takes that pride, like, yeah, so funny.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

I'll see what I can do.

SPEAKER_09 42:00

I'll talk to and they're flipping burgers basically. It's not like, but he's like so proud. He's in high school. Right. High school, your first high school job, you can give the shit.

SPEAKER_01 42:08

Right. And Mr. Hand's a side character, but he plays an very important part of the movie. Um, but yeah, those are the arcs.

SPEAKER_09 42:16

Damone and you know, Ratner, and then and they all kind of tie in together, but they're all also separate, which is kind of uh, you know, right. A tricky thing to direct, so I give her credit for that.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

Oh, yeah, especially her directorial debut. That's amazing. She did a phenomenal job. I mean, like I said, it's a classic.

SPEAKER_09 42:32

I mean it literally is a classic, right? Because I think they've like designated it some kind of right. I actually got it on movie landmark or something or other.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

It's actually on Criterion 2, which I that's right, criterion, yeah. That's what I loved about it, it had that graininess of the original print. You know, you would think because it's supposed to be blue right now, but I didn't care about that because it still has that certain flavor to it, I like. Yeah. That nostalgia of it.

SPEAKER_09 42:57

Can you imagine seeing this in 82 in a theater back in 82? I yeah. That yeah, well, yeah, you did actually. Yeah, we're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

But yeah, I mean, and that was I mean, minus the whole high def. That was our film.

SPEAKER_09 43:10

This was film back in the day. Right. Yeah. So you've actual cartons of film. We remember because we have to help carry them up.

SPEAKER_01 43:18

But yeah, as we see Stacy, Ron, stop. Ron got what he wanted. He hit it and he quit it.

SPEAKER_09 43:24

Bounced, yeah. Right, you know, okay. Then we're gonna get to first base, next thing you know, boom. Yeah, home run.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

She must be somebody's baby.

SPEAKER_09 43:31

Just as an aside, we're touched on briefly the whole PC thing, and uh, you can't do that nowadays, but whatever, blah, blah, blah. But uh, as I said, this is Amy Heckling's desire to show what teenagers are really like. I want to say she did like decline of Western Civilization, but okay, the same, but that was nonfiction. She wanted to show like here's the metal scene, here's the good parts of it, and the bad parts. I want to show you all of it. And that's what she was doing with this, but it was fiction. And anyway, my point is. I guess there was a scene where that it might have been that guy, Ron, where he was he had a full frontal and they said Roman. But she was like, well, wait a minute. How come if a guy is naked, it's X. But if a woman given an underage gone almost, well, she's just 20-something. Still, a young woman can be naked, that's no problem. That's an R. But if a guy, oh, that's X.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

Because I know that. So she was challenging the Phoebe Cates was actually 18 when she made the film.

SPEAKER_09 44:25

Oh, really? Wow. I want to say Jennifer.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

No, Jennifer Jason Lee might have been the same, either 18 or 19.

SPEAKER_09 44:31

I know she was, yeah, right about 18, 19.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

But yeah, Phoebe was actually But the other ones are like 20-something. Right.

SPEAKER_09 44:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:37

And the reason that Judge got the role is because they were living together, Amy, and I guess his girlfriend knew Judge, and that's how he she got he got cast.

SPEAKER_09 44:46

Uh there's a thing in there that says that Tom Hanks is considered for that role at one point. It would have been interesting. Yeah. He could have done that.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

Yeah, I'm sure he could have.

SPEAKER_09 44:53

But I just I like that idea of like, I want to show teenage sexuality as it really is awkward. There's a scene where someone has uh erectile dysfunction because it's their first time. That's what kind of happens sometimes in your first time. She's showing all the dirty parts of it.

SPEAKER_01 45:08

It's what character was that?

SPEAKER_09 45:09

Oh, you want I can cut it out, Damone.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

I don't know they had erectile dysfunction. He just was playing.

SPEAKER_09 45:17

That's considered dysfunction if you come in three seconds.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Well, I mean, that was the first round. He had to warm him up.

SPEAKER_09 45:24

Yeah, that's what it was. No, he was all talk. That's what it was. That's what I like about honest.

SPEAKER_01 45:29

That's what I was going to piggyback off what you're saying. That's why I think I liked it.

SPEAKER_09 45:32

He's talking about all the women he's been with, but then he gets actually comes in three seconds.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

I bet that was his first time too. Exactly.

SPEAKER_09 45:38

Yeah, he's a four. But we all were.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

But that's what I loved about this movie too, is the realism of it, right?

SPEAKER_09 45:44

Right. I love that. And I thought of it as like people might think of it as oh, it's one of those raunchy, porky. So it has those elements to it, but it's better than that.

SPEAKER_01 45:53

It's yeah, the realism of it. I mean, because we, like I said, you and I were we're close, but we grew up with that. That was our normal. Right. Right. And that it didn't it's kids grow up with it now too.

SPEAKER_09 46:05

Right. But it's like it's sanitized, or like, you know, like you can't talk about it and stuff like that. That's what she was doing. Like, we need to put it out there. Opening it up, right, right. I like that it didn't insult us. The abortion thing, right? That whole thing. That wouldn't have been they don't see that in porkies. But that's what I like. It's like, oh, I'm gonna cut a hole in the girl's shower and then I'm gonna run away or whatever. Right. They don't talk about the negative part about, you know, right.

SPEAKER_01 46:26

It didn't insult us. That's what I really appreciate. Right. It talked, it was speaking to us right in a way that, like I said, it wasn't this is something you should be able to relate to.

SPEAKER_09 46:36

This is something you're probably, you know.

SPEAKER_01 46:37

Right. I know late later on a lot of the people that were depicted try to sue.

SPEAKER_09 46:42

Oh, really? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

A lot because those characters are based are based on real people. The Spicoli character, based on somebody well, he did go undercover as a student. So he befriended all the people. He befriended these people.

SPEAKER_09 46:56

But Spacoli's the only one I thought he actually took whole cloth. I thought. I thought it was okay, yeah, you're right. Yeah, that that could be. So these people were upset.

SPEAKER_01 47:05

I mean, he didn't obviously they changed the names. Yeah, and unless you're the person, the only person that's gonna know is you, and then maybe some of your classmates. Oh, yeah, that kind of reminds me of, you know, you know, Bob.

SPEAKER_09 47:18

I'm just trying to think of what was so bad that uh who knows. I mean, uh uh Damone's character didn't come out. Yeah, and also he I'm not like that no more. He ditched her after the abortion, right?

SPEAKER_01 47:31

Right.

SPEAKER_09 47:31

I mean So that's not cool.

SPEAKER_01 47:32

Let's be real. Was that normal?

SPEAKER_09 47:34

I mean, I'm not saying I'm not making that justifying that, but that's right how things are that's what separates her from being a sex romp or like you know politically incorrect. It's yeah. I mean, the whole thing where she yeah, got pregnant and like she goes to him, she's very mature, you know, it's gonna cost X amount. You know, I just need you to give me a ride. And he flakes, he tries, kind of. Kind of, and then he goes like, yeah, I'm just gonna do anything about it. And that's what teenagers kind of do.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

I'm gonna segue out of that and go back to a lighter thing with uh Spicoli and Mr. Hand, because that's a fun theme, right? And I don't want to give away the whole thing, but there's a scene where their little banter back and forth is hilarious. I mean, even in the beginning, I skipped over when he goes, Mr. You know, Mr. Spacoli, why are you late for my class? I don't know. You know, and he puts it, I'm gonna put this, I'm gonna give you credit. All right. And he's all like proud. All right.

SPEAKER_09 48:24

He's such a dick, the teacher. He really is a dick. And I don't know when he writes it on the board. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 48:30

Mr. Mr. Ham, will I pass this class?

SPEAKER_09 48:33

I don't know. It's he thinks he's gonna he says cruise through the I don't know why he thinks that.

SPEAKER_01 48:42

Yeah, that's classic scene. I love that. I mean, yes, he's kind of a dick, but he's trying to I mean, that's what teachers were back then. Not saying they were dicks, but they were actually trying to teach.

SPEAKER_09 48:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

You know, and today I I mean I can see that a lot of teachers put up with more than they should. Right. And I appreciated someone like Mr. Han back in those days who was just straightforward. Yeah. You know, I remember when he's passing out, D, F.

SPEAKER_09 49:09

And he's holding the F. He's holding the the the papers like they're someone's underwear. I know. He's like with two figures like throwing it down on their desk. F drops it.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

What's wrong with you people?

SPEAKER_09 49:21

Are you on dope? I think, and I mean, I haven't been to school in a long time, but just the fact that I remember that some a lot of the teachers cared. You got that the idea that they cared. Right. And that's kind of how they showed it. They're sarcastic or whatever, but it means that you know they're not just get collecting a paycheck. They want you to understand what it is they're trying to teach you.

SPEAKER_01 49:38

That's their mission. They really want to teach.

SPEAKER_09 49:40

Right. And so if you don't, they'll kind of give you shit about it. You're like, okay, you know.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

But uh, yeah, I mean, as we see, like I said, Stacy after Ron, she hits up on uh Ratner, right? Rat Ratner Mark. Yeah. And you know, he tells Damona, and he's like, go over there, you know, trying to give him uh encouragement to go. And he gets over, he goes, Oh, take the jacket, though.

SPEAKER_09 50:05

And he Oh, to go talk to Stacy, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

So he calmly goes over and says, Hey, this thing is hey, what happens to the jackets? Oh, we have I don't have time to do all that. So cute. What's the second thing? Um, can I get your number? Yeah, and it's surprising.

SPEAKER_09 50:20

She goes, Okay. Just like no hesitation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:24

And then when they go on their date, the Damone special, and he's playing cash with her. That whole date is hilarious. But I I find it funny afterwards. I mean, I can kind of relate being shy, you're not sure, you know. And I mean, Stacy's laying it on thick. She goes, Oh, can I change in something comfortable? He's like, Okay, and where are your parents? Oh, they're gone for the weekend. I mean, everything's locked and loaded to just be like, oh, yeah, you know, and she's already and she's ready. Right. They start kissing, and then you know what? My sister needs your car. You're like, what the? I mean, I don't know. It's just interesting. I mean, I get, I guess, the gun shy, and he doesn't I I mean, it's your first time, right?

SPEAKER_09 51:06

Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of pressure.

SPEAKER_01 51:07

And that's probably it.

SPEAKER_09 51:09

Probably inexperienced too. Oh, yeah, 100%. It's usually men pursuing the young women.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

And it goes to what you're saying. I think she thought that's how you got guys. Because Linda puts it in her head constantly, right? I mean, there's a scene in there with the blowjob, right? I mean, you're like, okay, but I mean it wrong. Right. But you know, but that my point of it is Linda puts all this stuff. Again, Demone and Linda act as these mentors and they're both.

SPEAKER_09 51:41

So she uh lost her virginity at 13. That's what she says. She's like, wow. But do you think she really did? No. Yeah, okay, great. Uh that's what I thought.

SPEAKER_01 51:48

I think she made it because I mean, even when they're discussing how long they're, you know, when Demone has his little maybe two seconds or whatever, I'd say. Yeah, and all of a sudden, you know. And he's they're talking, Linda and and Stacy, while they're cutting whatever for the pizza. Yeah. She goes, Well, how long does what's his name? I don't remember her boyfriend because he's in college. Oh, he goes, I think you said 30 or 40.

SPEAKER_09 52:12

Oh, yeah, I think she goes, Well, how long did Mo?

SPEAKER_01 52:16

Oh, he was fit, and it's like she didn't want to tell her the truth. Three pumps, and he was done.

SPEAKER_02 52:20

She's like, Oh, he's 20 to 30 minutes. Oh, that's pretty good for a high school, you know, it's a lie.

SPEAKER_09 52:25

I was just asking because um Phoebe Cates' character at the end, she's doing that thing. Well, uh, I can cut this out if you want, where she's crying and she's reading the note, supposed note. So I'm like, is she faking the note because she's graduating and then she's gonna have to prove that she has a boyfriend? So instead of doing that, she says, Oh, I got this note where he's breaking up with me.

SPEAKER_01 52:44

She was writing to him. That's what it was.

SPEAKER_09 52:46

Yeah, that's what I mean. Like, so then you never have to meet this guy because conveniently, right? Right. I because I wasn't sure it's like, really?

SPEAKER_01 52:54

To piggyback off that, she's like, yeah, the first one, and then she kind of, oh, you know, I'm I'm free now. And that just wipe the real quick, right after. So she's doing alligator chips. I agree with you. I think yeah, it was all a ruse. Yeah. No, I you know, we could be wrong, but I don't think we are. I didn't, yes. Right.

SPEAKER_09 53:12

I mean, even like I said, even back then, 13, losing your virginity at 13, that's a wow, that's that's crazy.

SPEAKER_08 53:18

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 53:19

Unless you're faking and you want to show that oh, I'm so I'm so experienced, I've been doing this for two, three years now. It's like, no, you haven't.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Well, I'll give Damone some credit at the beginning, or because Rat and Damone go to Stacy's house to kind of make up for the because Rat struck out and he just felt bad, like, oh, you know, and he felt like an idiot. So they try to go to Stacy's and they go in the pool, Linda's there. Right. And and oh I won't even mention, but um, although that is one of the classic scene.

SPEAKER_09 53:50

That's the classic scene. Let's we can just leave it there. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 53:52

Yeah. Um but then as they're all having fun, now Stacy's eye on Mike, Damon, you know, it's like, ooh, because later on she's like they're they're walking in the hallway at high school, and he tries to say something positive about his friend, you know, rat. She's like, Oh, yeah, I think I like you. And it's like, then he walks her home. I think he does have a conscience at one point because he's like trying not to, but then she's like, Hey, let's go swimming. Okay. And then when they try the trunks on, it's like, oh god. It's I mean, a real friend, but you're a teenager too. I love the I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_09 54:31

No, no, you're good. Uh was it just going to get it to night?

SPEAKER_01 54:40

I know. Then the music just starts But I mean, I think he did try to be the noble guy, not but in the moment in his way for a teenager, yeah. Yeah, I mean, some girls thrown her so literally at you. I mean, she's naked. Yeah. I mean, it's funny, it's so awkward that whole scene, you know. The yeah, but that's but it goes to but I guess what I'm getting at is that later on when Rat you know confronts Damone about it, I mean that's that hurt him because I mean that's you're supposed to be my boy.

SPEAKER_09 55:12

Right.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

That's how you, you know, and I I stick up for you like he tells him, and yeah, that's the thanks I get.

SPEAKER_09 55:18

And you know he's not telling the truth, he's not he's not lying when he says people say such such about you, and right.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

I I no, I say, hey, you don't know Damone.

SPEAKER_09 55:27

Yeah, and he does. He's a loudmouth or whatever. It's like probably I think people probably do say that about him. Right. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:35

Like I said, great film. I mean, I kind of jumbled, but I really enthusiastically highly recommend this film. I mean, I think it's I mean, for those maybe our listeners who have watched, rewatch it, it's still just as good as first time I saw. I've seen it a few times, but I still love the movie.

SPEAKER_09 55:52

Yeah, and I'm far from being a teenager, but I think the things that are depicted here for the most part, the sets might change, then maybe this is not a mall or whatever, but I think the feelings, the interaction between people, I don't think that changes.

SPEAKER_01 56:05

I think that's universal because we mean yeah, we think we're, but no, that's still what I think speaks today.

SPEAKER_09 56:11

I think a lot of people still want to try to get together with each other, and there's still a lot of misinformation and awkward and right. That and and like having your first job and all that stuff. That's universal.

SPEAKER_01 56:24

I mean, it yeah, it speaks a hundred percent. Right. I think people definitely I mean, what I saw to watch, obviously Amazon, I guess what was it? Uh AMC Plus. I don't have that.

SPEAKER_09 56:36

Yeah, I did that too. Seven-day free trial, then I'll cancel it when I get home.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

I mean, yes, like I said earlier, I own the movie. Yeah. So I watched it and it was like I said, I think I own this one too. It's just timeless to watch it. Music takes you back.

SPEAKER_09 56:50

I mean, a lot of eagles as an aside. I mean, again, if you're not uh Gen X or older, you probably won't give a shit about that.

SPEAKER_01 56:59

Jackson Brown's Somebody's Baby.

SPEAKER_09 57:01

I mean like I want to say at least three individual Eagles have songs. Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmidt, and Don Hinley. They all have songs because their manager was the producer of this movie, which is a thing back then.

SPEAKER_01 57:16

Real quick, um it was budgeted at five million. Five million, wow. And it made twenty-seven point one. Wow. Or I don't know if it says or fifty million. I don't know if that's worldwide, but it made twenty-seven point one, and that's easily five times its budget.

SPEAKER_09 57:33

In box office, not after no, that's huge.

SPEAKER_01 57:37

Rotten Tomatoes gave it 78% of 60 credit reviews. They were all positive. Uh there was an average of 6.7 out of 10. Um trying to look at Metacritic, 61 out of 100. I mean, what are these critics? Audience poll by cinema score gave the film an average grade of a B plus or an on an A plus to F scale. So it made a B plus. I mean, that's pretty high.

SPEAKER_09 58:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:08

I'm trying to see if your your favorite boy is in here. I don't see him. What? No Ebert? That's what I'm looking for. Nope, no Roger. He had to. I'm sure he did. I just don't see his name mentioned in here. But I mean, minus critics, I mean, it's pretty much still a passing grade. I mean, it's a D, but still, they don't know what they're talking about. Oh, except for Oh, here it is. Roger Evert was highly critical of the film's vulgar humor humor and called it a scuzz pit of a movie. Nah.

unknown 58:42

God.

SPEAKER_01 58:42

I I sometimes, I mean, I like Roger Ebert.

SPEAKER_09 58:44

How could they do this to Jennifer Jason Lee?

SPEAKER_01 58:46

What? Just saying, you know, he I guess there's a point in the beginning he thought that Jennifer Jason Lee's character is put through humiliating cer situations that he found degrading to young women. But I mean, to Amy Heckerlin's credit, that's a lot of what young women kind of went through. It's not I mean, not all. I'm not saying all. I'm just saying there's a lot of young women that can relate to that experience. Right. And they're trying to I mean, unfortunately, sex is always a thing where either men or women feel like they have to give that up to keep that person or to get that person, right? I'm not saying it's right. You're not saying it's right. It's part of growing up. Yeah. You know, you don't know.

SPEAKER_09 59:23

But how is it I mean, the only thing I can think of is him like saying it's degrading to her or whatever. It's got I mean, she's I know she's naked, right? I remember she gets naked, right? So that's probably right, not really necessary to get that point across. So I could kind of see that, but sure. It's directed by a woman, so like who are you to say that she's wrong for making the movie she wanted to? Like, isn't that Texas itself?

SPEAKER_01 59:46

And to piggyback up what you're saying, if it was a man, sure. Then we'd really like, oh, but this is Amy Heckerling.

SPEAKER_09 59:52

But you're a man, so you get to say it tell her it's degrading, even though it's her movie. Like, and also the point I brought up earlier is there was nudity for both people, but the studio is probably run by men, said no, the man can't be naked, but the woman, that's fine. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:07

So the enraged girl, yeah, that's on that aspect, yeah, he'd be right.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:10

Right. But but he doesn't couch it that way. No. Uh I some of his his reviews early on. I I think he thinks of himself as you know an auteur, like an artiste. Like I I think I know he tried to direct a movie, I think, and it didn't do well.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:25

He wrote a movie, right?

SPEAKER_09 1:00:26

And then ever since then, it's just been like, you have to be on my level or whatever, what I want to do. Kind of almost like a Quentin Tarantino type thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:34

And I agree with that. I think that's part of my problem. Like, I like Roger and I like Gene. I respect some of their reviews and the way they but I agree with that. There's that level of arrogance. Right. And it is because I mean I review we review movies and we're giving our opinion. We don't think that we're above, but we're an average guy's going, I think maybe a little above, but just kidding. Um to put it on that level, like, oh, that's a you know, I'm not a I love, like I said, across the board, different movies. Right. That's where I think I feel like I gives me a little bit more credence.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:07

Yeah, and I would hope that neither of us are saying or speaking in absolutes, like correct. I'm not this movie. Is this it's bad, and it's everyone knows it's bad. No, it's just my opinion on whether it's bad or not. And we state that. I hope so. I hope that's coming across.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:21

No, we come across. I think we state.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:22

His thing is more like, oh, it's bad. If you like it, you're I'm Roger Ebert. Right. This this is how you speak with authority, right? Right. And it's like, okay. And even with his partner, you know, Cisco's like, you know, they're arguing about, you know, like what are you guys arguing about? It's like it it's his opinion is this, your opinion is that. Go on about your business.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:38

Right. I mean, I get it. You guys are multi-millionaires from that show. Good for you. Right. Right. I mean, that's commendable, but it doesn't make you the authority of all movies.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:46

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:47

I mean, it's all still this opinion. And I get people like critics or certain people, and that's great. You know, and hopefully you guys like our show. Right. But really, realistic going back to your point, we're not the authority. We're just giving our opinions.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:00

It's just a matter of you, if you find yourself more often than not agreeing with what we say, then maybe you can put some credence in what we say, but I certainly would never say like I like the problem I have with with some of his early reviews, like I said, it's like it's more like absolute. Right. Like everyone knows that a movie's supposed to be X amount long, this many characters, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, no, what we don't all know that. Maybe that's what you like, but you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:24

Yeah, but yeah, that's our point. That there is no absolutes. Everyone has an opinion, and most either you listen to us because you agree with a lot of our stuff, or you listen because it's fun. Or either way.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:34

And you hate us. Right? Either way.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:38

Exactly. But yeah, but yeah, again, to finish this, my opinion, and I think a lot of other people, not just mine, but very much so a classic. A good great time, it can be watched. Any mind you don't watch with younger kids.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:51

Yeah, it is it is Criterion. So I mean that for whatever that's worth, and that that's you know, Criterion Collection being one of the upper uh levels notable movies across time, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:04

Right, that they put on that particular um format. Right. So but that's really it for me. I mean, like I said, I think both movies are fun. Yeah. I mean, obviously one's more of a classic than the other, but still, definitely Yeah, both movies are fun.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:19

I think Fast Times takes on a few more serious topics, but not in a super dour, no over overly serious way.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:26

Thank God for Spigoli. And even Stacey and M. I mean, there's some some little it's a dramedy, but it's more comedy.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:32

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

And I like I said, a great time with the movies. Yeah, I agree. I think that's it. All right, till next time. That's a wrap for today's movie reviews. Thanks for listening. Remember, if you like what you've heard, make sure you like, subscribe, and rate our show. Let's go get some ice cream.