The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Better chemistry than La La Land; Stone’s inevitable rise; marriage halftime disputed
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:49Read transcript
- Mina’s early hottest take is that Gosling and Stone have better chemistry here, and a better romantic scene, than in La La Land.
- An early hottest-take discussion treats Stone’s rise as visibly inevitable, comparing early Streep, Roberts and Cruise breakthroughs; Superbad is defended as an immediate star signal.
- Van’s hottest take asks whether marriage needs a halftime. The others challenge the analogy because cheating was not mutual consent and one partner might prefer separation; nine partners makes reconciliation harder.
- The marriage-halftime debate also considers Cal’s complacency and contrasts the film’s reunion with real-life returns after disappointing dating experiences.