What’s Aged the Best?
Baldwin; New York; Aniston; child-star premise; Risk Master; comic details
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:12Read transcript
- Baldwin's accent and Indursky are aged-best choices; his character is imagined as an older Glengarry Glen Ross shark. The discussion's contemporaneous Rust remarks are distinguished from Craig's association of Baldwin with 30 Rock.
- The film is praised as an underrated New York movie, especially recognizable downtown restaurants and galleries.
- Aniston's career arc looks stronger in hindsight after later hit comedies; Hoffman is also an obvious aged-best choice.
- A child actor permanently defined by a ten-year-old success is an aged-best concept, illustrated by school memories. Hamburg reportedly drew on wondering how life would have changed had he won an audition for The Champ.
- The nature of Crocodile Tears remains uncertain: a family comedy, childhood tragedy or Bad News Bears-style film is debated, and the bagpipe scene's content is unknown.
- Polly's graphic children's novel about losing an arm is praised as comedy that now resembles some real children's books.
- St. Barts and vacation settings are aged-best choices, with pandemic family movie-watching used as virtual travel.
- Risk Master and Reuben's constant calculations fit his profession; an actuary spouse supports the characterization, though the stated subway-grate and car-accident odds are questioned.
- Bryan Brown's presence is celebrated through Cocktail references and a proposed repeat episode; a seven-minute bar-showcase compilation is imagined.
- Jesus Christ Superstar rehearsals with Sandy claiming both Jesus and Judas are aged-best, as is Reuben's aversion to communal bar snacks; individual modern snack trays are a contrasting aged-worst observation. Impromptu base-jumping is praised as dependable movie excitement.
- Reuben counting down to delay orgasm and shouting 50 is praised, as is Polly's later conversation about it. His broken Spanish confrontation with Javier fits Stiller's foolish persona.
- Leland Van Lew's name is an aged-best addition, and his jump building is identified as the AT&T Tower at 611 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, qualifying the assumption that all filming was in New York.