What’s Aged the Best?
Alan Arkin and John Goodman; Affleck's hair; movie-business in-jokes; the Intelligence Star; the 1979 Iran feel; the heightened escape day; opening credits; soundtrack; Scoot McNairy; 70s thriller vibe and ensembles
In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:07Read transcript
- Goodman and Arkin end the category; the casting is a 15 out of 10, and once the right people are cast there is little left to do.
- The six were cast without star power, chosen to resemble the real people shown in the closing credits, while the stars went to Affleck, Arkin, Goodman and the government roles.
- Goodman has one of the strangest filmographies, working constantly across hits and misses, and is best in dramas where he provides comic relief.
- Affleck's hair continues to delight.
- The movie-business in-jokes, such as the WGA line, hold up.
- The Intelligence Star, an award with no ceremony that must be handed back immediately, is a favorite concept and is joked about as a Ringer podcast award for 2021.
- Affleck breaks out his Good Will Hunting wistful half-smile when receiving the Intelligence Star.
- It is unclear where the Iran scenes were shot, but the film feels like 1979, helped by cutting in news footage.
- The decision to make the escape day far more tense holds up, though think pieces say the real departure was easy.
- The hosts say Affleck was upfront about taking liberties and that the bazaar confrontation and the plane chase did not happen, and Zero Dark Thirty drew more trouble by presenting itself as closer to documentary.
- Movies based on a true story should be watched for the story, not history; even Spotlight changed things, and the hosts say Arkin's character is a merger of real people.
- The opening credit sequence and a soundtrack of four bangers, including Dance the Night Away and When the Levee Breaks, are praised despite a song that came out too late.
- Song-year accuracy matters only if a film goes all in; still, the anachronistic song made one host think it was 1982.
- Scoot McDerry is incredible as the only real foil to Affleck, though the constant doubting invites a shut-up.
- His career is judged worse than it should have been; he could have had a Gandolfini-style leading turn, and his name may have hurt him.
- The 70s political-thriller vibe and the stacked ensembles, from Titus Wellever and Kyle Chandler to Scoot McNary, Tate Donovan and Cleo Duval, add up to 15 good people.