What’s Aged the Worst?
All-white cast; a movie like this never again topping the box office; kitchen and bathroom hygiene; bell bottoms; milk at every meal; Shaunessy's courtroom cruelty; Jim O'Connor's treatment of Ted; one-day hiring process
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:09Read transcript
- Beyond the on-set conduct already discussed, the film has zero minorities, not even a Black judge, which probably occurred to no one making it in 1979.
- The fact that a simple, sincere, small film like this will never again be the biggest movie in the culture is lamented; around 1984 is proposed as the turning point toward blockbusters. — Sean Fennessey
- The appalling bathroom and kitchen hygiene, with no flushing or hand-washing before making breakfast, is the first of several items. — Mallory Rubin
- Bell bottoms and milk at every meal are added as relics of another age. — Mallory Rubin
- John Shaunessy's harsh legal approach is named.
- Jim O'Connor's consistently unsympathetic response to Ted as a single parent, from suggesting relatives take Billy to firing him, is called authentic to 1979 but tough to watch.
- The one-day hiring with a two-minute interview is mocked; in 2022 kissing a stranger at the Christmas party would get him fired immediately.