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Misery

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Misery The Rewatchables

Kathy Bates gives the best Best Actress performance from 1990 through the episode’s present

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:11Read transcript
  • Kathy Bates is argued to have the best Best Actress performance across the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and early 2020s
  • Frances McDormand in Fargo, Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball, and Emma Stone in La La Land are offered as winning comparators
  • Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, and Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me are offered as non-winning comparators
  • Charlize Theron in Monster is raised as another major comparator
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Misery

Casting What-Ifs

Misery The Rewatchables

Many actors declined Annie Wilkes and Paul Sheldon; several alternative Paul Sheldons are debated

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:38Read transcript
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Misery

Half-Assed Internet Research

Misery The Rewatchables

Production anecdotes cover Caan, the actors’ rehearsal conflict, adaptations, effects, and King’s addiction metaphor

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:02Read transcript
  • James Caan reportedly had unusable footage after arriving hungover and reimbursed the studio
  • Some dialogue is suspected of having been looped, though the reason is uncertain
  • Stephen King is reported to have called Annie Wilkes his favorite character
  • Caan preferred discovery during filming while Bates preferred rehearsal; Reiner found a middle ground
  • A 2015 Broadway adaptation starred Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf and used a Goldman script
  • Castle Rock season two also adapted Annie Wilkes material
  • A DVD feature described Annie as a broad catalog of mental illness
  • The hobbling prosthetics used gelatin legs, wires, and openings in the bed for Caan’s real legs
  • King later explained Annie and the hobbling as metaphors for his drug dependence and inability to escape it
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Misery

Apex Mountain

Misery The Rewatchables

Kathy Bates and the 1974 Jeep Cherokee are clear peaks; several other subjects are debated

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:13Read transcript
  • Kathy Bates is an immediate Apex Mountain choice
  • King of Comedy is selected as the apex movie about an obsessed fan
  • The Overlook Hotel is selected for Colorado
  • The Shawshank Redemption is favored as the apex Stephen King film, with The Shining and Stand by Me discussed
  • A Few Good Men is proposed for Rob Reiner, with When Harry Met Sally, The American President, and The Princess Bride also discussed
  • The 1974 Jeep Cherokee is judged at its apex
  • The 1966 Ford Mustang is judged not at its apex
  • Liberace is raised with the film’s memorable record-player line
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Misery

Picking Nits

Misery The Rewatchables

The pursuit, scrapbook, housing, legal history, knife plan, and bodily-care logistics draw objections

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:15Read transcript
  • Annie says she followed Paul, but the wide opening shots show no vehicle behind him
  • A snowmobile hidden in the woods is offered as one way Annie could have followed Paul unseen
  • Keeping an incriminating scrapbook openly in the living room is challenged; hiding it is proposed
  • A defense notes that real serial killers sometimes retain trophies
  • Paul is so successful that he should own a Colorado home instead of repeatedly using a lodge
  • Annie’s apparent release after multiple infant deaths seems implausibly lenient
  • Paul should stay awake with the knife rather than doze off
  • Paul’s injuries and exhaustion are offered as a defense for falling asleep
  • The movie largely avoids the practical toilet and bedpan needs of a bedridden captive
  • The practical burden of staging and shooting bedpan material, only to cut it in editing, is offered as a defense for omitting it
  • A small toilet in the room is proposed as a simple fix
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Misery

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Misery The Rewatchables

A limited-series remake with two women is favored, with disagreement over whether it must remain period-set

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:30Read transcript
  • A seven-episode limited series with gender-flipped or same-sex leads is proposed
  • Two women are preferred as the remake’s leads
  • One view says it must remain a period piece because modern people are too findable
  • The opposing view says modern surveillance and devices could become part of the story
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