Apex Mountain
Blues Brothers band; prison-property returns; mall stores; Illinois Nazis; Oldsmobiles
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:53Read transcript
- Belushi’s official peak is placed in 1978 with Animal House and SNL, though his Chicago citywide popularity is considered another kind of apex.
- Aykroyd is rejected in favor of Ghostbusters.
- The prison-property-return scene is an apex candidate and a template, compared with Rounders and 48 Hrs.; an imagined heist-movie version becomes a joke.
- Chicago as a film location is rejected in favor of Ferris Bueller or The Fugitive, with Thief an emotional alternative.
- The blues is rejected; Elvis in Vegas is preferred for bushy sideburns.
- Fisher’s simultaneous Star Wars-era prominence supports her case, though Jedi is proposed as a stronger character moment and sparks disagreement about the trilogy.
- J. C. Penney and especially Pier 1 benefit from the mall scene at an already strong historical moment for the stores.
- Illinois Nazis are accepted; Rawhide’s theme is placed at the television show’s height instead. Orange Whips prompt uncertainty about the drink itself.
- Scarface and Richard Pryor are alternatives for cocaine’s cultural peak, with a joking basketball-stat line also imagined.
- New Oldsmobiles are accepted and James Brown rejected; Elwood’s awful apartment is compared with Se7en’s sloth-victim apartment.
- The Blues Brothers as a band are accepted here over their platinum album and SNL appearances.
- Vengeful ex-girlfriends lose to Fatal Attraction; Landis’s peak is debated between Coming to America and Animal House rather than this film.