Most Rewatchable Scene
Split: John Witherspoon’s dinner sequence; Grace Jones’s first perfume-boardroom scene
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:55Read transcript
- The opening lunch establishes the three friends through Marcus’s dating philosophy and Martin’s asparagus riff.
- Marcus sleeping with Lady Eloise and then meeting Jacqueline at work is praised as a perfect six-minute comic sequence. — Bill Simmons
- Jacqueline’s party flirtation works because Robin Givens matches Eddie Murphy’s confidence and control.
- The art-class scene is praised for Eddie Murphy imitating the little girl, recalling his earlier comic appeal. — Bill Simmons
- The John Witherspoon dinner is praised for its mushroom outfit, sexual advice, bathroom reveal and improvised family chaos. — Bill Simmons
- One host argues the dinner also explains Gerard’s vulnerability and why Marcus’s later betrayal hurts him. — Van Lathan
- The pool game makes Marcus’s embarrassment over Angela visible while preserving the friendship’s comic rhythm.
- The rooftop reconciliation culminates in Martin arriving late to demand another hug and then moves into the P.M. Dawn song.
- Two hosts select the Witherspoon sequence. — Wesley Morris
- Wesley selects Grace Jones’s first boardroom pitch and the “Steel Vagina” suggestion. — Wesley Morris
- One objection is that the dinner sequence was shoehorned into the story and is not needed for the plot, even though its comic digression is pleasurable. — Wesley Morris
- The scene evokes Black theater and its later Tyler Perry counterpart, bringing class tensions into the comedy. — Wesley Morris
- The chitlins in a wealthy household and Angela being asked to handle them are described as a collision of Black culture and snobbery. — Wesley Morris