What’s Aged the Best?
Griffith; Los Angeles; music; Peter Meter; enduring influence
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:38Read transcript
- Recognizable Los Angeles locations make repeat viewing richer; the city’s filming history prompts frustration about current production incentives.
- Long Beach doubles for the coast nearer Los Angeles, while backlots, auditions and deliberately artificial locations reinforce the film’s interest in constructed appearances.
- Young Griffith and the enduring Barney’s Beanery are praised; Wasson’s Maher/Meyer resemblance is a running joke.
- Linda Shaw receives overdue praise through joking basketball-star comparisons.
- A relapse at the bar and the horrified bartender’s questions are enjoyed, leading to a tangent about knowing regular bartenders.
- The neighbor’s stripping music and Holly’s Peter Meter dance routine hold up; the score’s later use in Air is noted.
- Sam claiming creative differences with the Seattle repertory company is enjoyed as an obviously convenient excuse.
- The fake Vampire’s Kiss title reportedly inspired the later film; American Psycho’s Bateman obsessively rents Body Double, and an adult performer takes Holly Body as her name.
- The Griffith–Dakota Johnson–Tippi Hedren lineage and the film’s influence after its flop are praised.
- Sam applying elaborate disguise makeup himself is briefly admired, though the stereotyped identity is immediately challenged as having aged badly.