In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:46Read transcript
- The film is unanimously considered not to need a better sex scene.
Categories & segments
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
“You’re all alone in this world. Once you got that down, nothing hurts anymore.”
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:54Read transcript
- The selected quote says that accepting being alone in the world prevents further hurt.
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Gossett’s role overrated; Lynette defense; Gere’s kissing
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:49Read transcript
- A hot take calls Foley slightly overrated because the showy yelling role is easier than Gere, Winger and Keith's internal emotional parts, while stressing admiration for Gossett's talent.
- Diggstown is named as a favorite Gossett performance.
- Gossett's Oscar competitors are considered, with particular admiration for James Mason in The Verdict and doubt about choosing against him.
- A defense argues Foley could have become cartoonish but Gossett's intensity and glimpses of heart prevent that, including his reaction to Mayo helping Seeger.
- A hot take defends Lynette as a straight shooter whose motives are understandable despite her conduct.
- Gere is called the worst movie kisser for swallowing faces and gripping jaws; a dissent sees unusually convincing desire instead.
Casting What-Ifs
Denver; Bridges; Travolta; Hamlin; Reeve; Costner; Weaver; Huston; Leigh; unresolved DeMorne name; Ryan; Davis; Nicholson; Patinkin
In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:42Read transcript
- Travolta reportedly declined both American Gigolo and this role; Gere's subsequent career slump is placed against competition among leading men before Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman revived him.
- Gere is preferred to Travolta because his mystery and harder edge make the breakdown believable; Travolta's sweetness and broader quality are considered less suitable.
- An online claim that John Denver was offered Mayo is treated as a disastrous hypothetical and met with disbelief.
- Jeff Bridges reportedly was Hackford’s original choice but was unavailable.
- Travolta reportedly declined Mayo.
- Harry Hamlin was reportedly considered for Mayo.
- Christopher Reeve was reportedly considered for Mayo.
- Kevin Costner reportedly auditioned for Mayo.
- The role is imagined as a major alternate career break for Harry Hamlin.
- Sigourney Weaver was a reported Paula possibility but is judged unsuitable.
- Anjelica Huston was a reported Paula possibility but is judged unsuitable.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh reportedly left for Fast Times and is considered plausible but inferior to Winger.
- The performer transcribed as DeMorne (identity unresolved) reportedly auditioned and is considered too glamorous for Paula but plausible for Lynette.
- Meg Ryan reportedly auditioned for Paula.
- Geena Davis reportedly auditioned for Paula.
- Jack Nicholson reportedly declined Foley.
- Mandy Patinkin was reportedly rejected on ethnicity grounds before research into Black drill instructors redirected casting.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:56Read transcript
- Gere's I got nowhere else to go breakdown is the overacting choice, celebrated as both excessive and iconic; Lynette's final cheer is a secondary possibility.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:49Read transcript
- Harold Sylvester is a that-guy candidate.
- Grace Zabriskie is a that-guy candidate.
- Tony Plana receives an explicit personal that-guy pick.
- Sylvester's television and film work is praised at length, particularly Fast Break, Inside Moves and Vision Quest, and his likability here makes his defiance of Mayo satisfying.
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:53Read transcript
- Robert Loggia is the emphatic heat-check winner for his opening minutes.
- Paula’s father is a heat-check alternative.
- The hostile factory worker Bunny is a heat-check alternative.
- Seeger is a heat-check alternative, with a question about whether the part is too large.
- Victor French as the stepfather is a heat-check alternative.
- Grace Zabriskie as the mother is a heat-check alternative.
Recasting Couch
Stone, unresolved DeMorne name or Arquette as Lynette; Quaid, Hanks or Reinhold as Sid; Dennis Quaid as Mayo; later-era Denzel as Foley
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:38Read transcript
- The cast is largely considered untouchable; Sharon Stone and The performer transcribed as DeMorne (identity unresolved) are proposed for Lynette, with continued admiration for Lisa Blount.
- Randy Quaid is proposed for Sid.
- Judge Reinhold is proposed for Sid.
- Tom Hanks is proposed for Sid, with enthusiasm for an Oklahoma accent.
- Dennis Quaid is proposed as a plausible alternative Mayo.
- A later-era Denzel Washington is proposed as an especially strong Foley, explicitly outside the original casting period.
- Denzel's military filmography is recalled in support of the hypothetical Foley casting; A Soldier's Story and Adolph Caesar's sergeant are praised.
- Rosanna Arquette is a late Lynette recasting proposal.
Half-Assed Internet Research
Stewart’s experience; medals; actor isolation; training; fight double; locations; motorcycle; ending; ring; Winger contract
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:32Read transcript
- The screenplay reportedly draws on Douglas Day Stewart's officer-candidate experience, including a real Paula he dated but did not marry; this is credited for the setting's specificity.
- Foley’s decorations are listed as the Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Gallantry Cross unit citation, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, and a final item transcribed as “Combat Actionary” (unresolved). Their extensive detail is appreciated without requiring the film to explain each one.
- Hackford reportedly housed Gossett twenty miles away to keep him apart from the other actors.
- Lisa Eilbacher reportedly found it frustrating to pretend to struggle on the obstacle course because she was in excellent physical condition.
- Gere reportedly mastered the karate while Gossett struggled, accidentally kicked him in the groin, and a trained stand-in was used during Gossett's two-day absence.
- Foley putting Mayo's dollar in the right rather than prescribed left pocket is interpreted as a small deliberate rebuke.
- The Tides Inn is identified as the motel location.
- The hangar is reportedly now the 1,200-seat McCurdy Pavilion.
- Mayo’s motorcycle is identified as a Triumph Bonneville.
- Gere reportedly disliked the ending until factory workers became emotional during rehearsal.
- Stewart’s listed credits include The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The Blue Lagoon, this film, Thief of Hearts, and Listen to Me. Thief of Hearts is praised for a burglar using a stolen diary to become a woman’s dream man; Listen to Me is recalled as a debate movie with Kirk Cameron, Jami Gertz, Roy Scheider, and Amanda Peterson.
- Keith reportedly swallowed a ring attached to string so it could be retrieved.
- Winger reportedly negotiated without an agent and omitted a nudity clause, leaving her surprised by a more explicit rewritten sex scene.
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:47Read transcript
- Gere is affirmed for Apex through American Gigolo and this huge success.
- Winger’s Apex is assigned to Terms of Endearment.
- David Keith is affirmed for Apex here.
- Louis Gossett Jr. is affirmed for Apex here.
- Military-training movies prompt a dispute between Private Benjamin and Full Metal Jacket, ending with agreement on Full Metal Jacket rather than this film.
- Puget Sound is unequivocally affirmed for Apex.
- The Triumph Bonneville is proposed for Apex as a particularly impressive movie motorcycle, but other motorcycle peaks are offered without a settled affirmative result.
Top Ten List
1980 domestic box office
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:08Read transcript
- The spoken 1980 domesticboxoffice ranking is:1 Star Wars (specific installment not stated);2 Nine to Five;3 Stir Crazy;4 Kramer vs. Kramer;5 Any Which Way You Can;6 Private Benjamin;7 Coal Miner’s Daughter;8 Bandit II (shortened spoken title);9 The Blues Brothers;10 Ordinary People.
- Lower positions are given as The Shining 12, Caddyshack 14, Friday the 13 th 15 and Raging Bull 20.
Picking Nits
Worley’s taunting; motel clerk; timeline; trainees; math; factory safety; ages
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:20Read transcript
- Worley taunting Foley from the boat is questioned as inconsistent with everyone's supposed fear of him.
- The motel clerk not warning Mayo about Sid swallowing a ring is questioned, with a counterargument that clerks routinely ignore strange behavior.
- The late timeline is criticized as confusing: a few days apart play like a long breakup, while earlier training weeks pass rapidly.
- One more developed trainee or rival is proposed to strengthen the graduation payoff, but an objection notes that this would turn the romantic drama into Top Gun.
- The small size of the training class is questioned, with the short course duration offered as a possible explanation.
- Whether Mayo ever learned the required mathematics or relied entirely on Sid remains uncertain.
- Kissing Paula while she operates machinery and coworkers abandoning their posts are joked about as workplace hazards.
- The trainees' apparent ages and the small age gaps between actors playing parents and children are questioned; an explicit reference to Mayo nearing the eligibility cutoff is suggested.
- Rosanna Arquette is a late Lynette recasting proposal.
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