What’s Aged the Best?
Mortimer and Randolph crossover; barbershop Joe Louis bit; Darryl and Soul Glo; "The royal penis is clean"; McDowell's versus McDonald's; Louie Anderson's cameo; Eddie's Jewish comedian makeup; engagement-announcement trope; the women in the cast; the Waldorf Astoria; Queens and New York as themselves
In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:14Read transcript
- Mortimer and Randolph crossing over is mentioned again, along with the barbershop bit about Joe Louis's age and Frank Sinatra saying he was 137.
- A barbershop take starts with Kobe being better than Jordan and escalates; the lines are sneaky funny and well written.
- As personal trauma, avoiding barbershops where the average age is 75 after bad shape-ups.
- Darryl and Soul Glo helped end the Jheri curl, making it mainstream to mock; West Coast rap briefly kept curls and N.W.A was the last gasp.
- The Soul Glo commercial is a tour de force that feels like real TV, one of the funniest, most devastating Black culture jokes.
- "The royal penis is clean, your highness" always kills.
- John Amos explaining the difference between McDowell's and McDonald's is enjoyed.
- Louie Anderson's McDowell's monologue gained a second life through Kanye West's Gold Digger.
- It was reportedly Landis's idea for Eddie to play the Jewish comedian, and visiting Paramount executives didn't recognize him in the makeup.
- The 80s-90s trope of a father announcing his daughter's engagement to an annoying boyfriend without her knowing is a favorite gimmick.
- Every Black woman in the movie has aged well, including Vanessa Bell Calloway, Garcelle Beauvais, Shari Headley and Madge Sinclair.
- Jody Watley's sister, who went by Midori, plays one of the rose bearers.
- The Waldorf Astoria became the benchmark for an amazing hotel; the Plaza plays that role through Home Alone.
- Queens and New York look like themselves, without the snow plowed for the king's arrival.