What’s Aged the Best?
Prison codes; deliberate capture; cages; title; burner phones; loyalty; geography; tattoos; Bernthal; Bell; letter; mustaches
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:21Read transcript
- Prison-story pleasures include hierarchy, corrupt guards, protective groups, reading, terrified new arrivals, nicknames, respect codes, riot preparation, improvised shanks and sizing up cellmates.
- Prison slang and philosophy are admired; Jericho Mile and Mann’s recurring incarceration interests are compared.
- Deliberate capture as part of the plan is praised, compared with Seven, The Dark Knight, Silence of the Lambs and Face/Off.
- Shot caller is admired as a clear power label and proposed for football/baseball/front-office roles instead of bland job titles.
- The outdoor cage cells and their wide-shot composition are admired.
- Bulletproof-vest fakeouts and prepaid phones are beloved thriller ingredients; Howie’s unquestioning loyalty to Money is praised.
- The family’s move from Pasadena to Eagle Rock efficiently signals financial decline through Los Angeles geography.
- Prison vocabulary and parole-tattoo inspection details add authenticity.
- Bernthal’s anxious repeated agreements and restaurant confrontation are highlights, made funnier by later Wayne Jenkins associations.
- Lake Bell makes a limited role believable; her dating prospects with an imprisoned gang-leader husband are questioned.
- Money’s directive letter to his son is admired but its farewell tone explains why it seemed suicidal.
- Money’s changing facial hair and final horseshoe mustache compete with Benjamin Bratt’s large mustache.