☆★☆★☆★☆★
The hosts discuss Roger Ebert’s four-star review and its description of the film as smart, funny, of its time, and a metaphor for 1980s avarice.
In the discussion (4)
- Ebert awarded the film four stars.
- The quoted review calls the movie smart and funny.
- The quoted review says Hollywood functions as a metaphor for 1980s avarice.
- The quoted review calls it the movie The Bonfire of the Vanities wanted to be.
The opening tracking shot wins over the party, Rialto murder, Habeas Corpus pitch and ending, awards speech, and Pasadena interrogation.
In the discussion (14)
- The 7:47 opening tracking shot is nominated and ultimately selected.
- The opening includes Buck Henry pitching The Graduate Part II.
- The opening’s rapid movie-pitch mashups are praised.
- Fred Ward discussing Touch of Evil while admitting gaps in his movie knowledge is praised.
- The large party where Sidney Pollack appears is nominated.
- The Burt Reynolds party exchange is praised.
- Griffin confronting David Kahane at the Rialto and the ensuing murder are nominated.
- The hotel-pool Habeas Corpus pitch is nominated.
- Griffin’s generic black-tie speech about movies as art is nominated.
- The one-year-later Habeas Corpus ending with Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis is nominated.
- The final in-car pitch of The Player and Griffin’s homecoming are nominated.
- The Pasadena interrogation with Lyle Lovett and Whoopi Goldberg is nominated.
- Whoopi Goldberg’s tampon exchange is highlighted.
- The lineup scene and Whoopi Goldberg’s pressure on the witness are praised.
Early-1990s Los Angeles, the no-stars pitch, cameos, Randall Batinkoff, anonymous threats, and Hollywood-insider jokes lead aged-best.
In the discussion (14)
- The pre-internet early-1990s Los Angeles movie world is praised.
- Executives recoiling from a movie with no stars is praised.
- Jeremy Piven’s pre-hairpiece appearance is highlighted.
- Anjelica Huston and John Cusack visibly disliking Griffin is a favorite cameo moment.
- Randall Batinkoff’s funny supporting role and failed star trajectory are highlighted.
- The mystery-person postcard device is praised as reliably effective.
- Brion James’s studio-chief presence is praised.
- Larry Levy attending AA meetings to make deals despite not drinking is praised.
- Malcolm McDowell’s cameo is praised.
- The movie marks Sidney Pollack’s return to acting before a later run.
- The running assumption that Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis fit every movie is praised.
- The Pasadena insult is highlighted.
- Griffin being served a different bottled-water brand in each venue is highlighted.
- The movie’s insider view of powerful institutions is connected to later storytelling.
Spelling Entertainment, car phones and fax machines, the rattlesnake, Griffin’s police-station laugh, June’s characterization, clothes, and the Range Rover draw criticism.
In the discussion (10)
- Spelling Entertainment’s credit alongside its television slate is treated as incongruous.
- Car fax machines and giant mobile phones are dated.
- June Gudmundsdottir’s unusually long name is questioned, then explained as common in Iceland.
- The rattlesnake-in-the-car torment is questioned.
- Griffin’s police-station laughing scene is considered overly broad.
- June’s motivations and lack of suspicion toward Griffin are questioned.
- The panel disputes whether the problem is Greta Scacchi’s performance or the character writing.
- June is read as an intentionally distant noir-artist archetype.
- The double-breasted clothes are criticized.
- The Range Rover as a power vehicle is treated as dated.
Chevy Chase and John Travolta were considered for Griffin, and several cut cameos and cast relationships are discussed.
In the discussion (5)
- Chevy Chase wanted to play Griffin, but Warner Bros. rejected the idea.
- Robert Altman reportedly considered John Travolta for Griffin.
- The panel prefers Robbins and notes his early-1990s career run.
- Jeff Daniels golfing in surgical clothes and Patrick Swayze doing karate were filmed and cut.
- Greta Scacchi and Vincent D’Onofrio were in a relationship and had a daughter.
Leah Ayres wins over Richard E. Grant.
In the discussion (2)
- Richard E. Grant is the runner-up for his manic Habeas Corpus pitch.
- Leah Ayres, identified through Bloodsport, is selected because the hosts recognize her but did not know her name.
Fred Ward and Brion James are discussed as performers who graduated or may have graduated from That Guy status.
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (3)
- The panel explicitly proposes Best Former That Guy, also called the Former Joey Pants Award, for movies at least 30 years old.
- Fred Ward is discussed as a performer who changed from an unnamed familiar face into a recognized actor by Tremors.
- Brion James is offered as someone who may still qualify as a That Guy.
Bonnie’s climactic confrontation, played by Cynthia Stevenson, is the overacting choice.
In the discussion (1)
- Cynthia Stevenson’s final confrontation is selected as the moment when the casting starts to come apart.
Whoopi Goldberg wins the heat check; Richard E. Grant and Dean Stockwell are alternatives.
In the discussion (3)
- Whoopi Goldberg is selected for dominating a small number of scenes.
- Richard E. Grant is nominated for his pitch performance.
- Dean Stockwell is nominated.
Robert De Niro for Fred Ward’s role is the strongest recasting proposal, alongside multiple ideas for Bonnie.
In the discussion (8)
- Robert De Niro is proposed for Fred Ward’s security-chief role.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh is proposed for Bonnie.
- Mary McDonnell is considered for Bonnie.
- Holly Hunter is considered for Bonnie.
- Joan Cusack is considered for Bonnie.
- Annabella Sciorra is considered for Bonnie.
- Glenn Headly is considered for Bonnie.
- Lisa Kudrow is considered for Bonnie.
Production accounts cover the actors’ boundaries, improvisation, and Altman’s rationale for the film’s nudity.
In the discussion (4)
- Greta Scacchi reportedly negotiated limits on nudity.
- Burt Reynolds reportedly improvised material during the opening shot.
- Altman reportedly explained Cynthia Stevenson’s nude scene as part of exposing Hollywood’s power imbalance.
- A Paul Newman anecdote is quoted to illustrate performers negotiating exposure and control.
Altman, Cynthia Stevenson, Leeza Gibbons, double-breasted suits, and several performers receive distinct apex judgments.
In the discussion (15)
- Tim Robbins is judged short of an overall career apex.
- Vincent D’Onofrio’s Law & Order work is suggested as his apex.
- Robert Altman’s Nashville and immediate post-MASH power are weighed.
- Cynthia Stevenson is explicitly judged at her apex.
- The Player competes with other Hollywood-industry satires.
- Peter Gallagher is judged not at his apex.
- Double-breasted suits are called a period apex, with hope that the style stays buried.
- Leeza Gibbons is judged at her apex in 1992.
- Fred Ward is judged not at his apex.
- Brion James is judged probably not at his apex.
- Whoopi Goldberg’s Ghost and Sister Act period is identified as the apex context.
- Greta Scacchi’s Presumed Innocent period is compared.
- Outdoor Los Angeles meals and drinks are placed at a 2020–2022 apex.
- Randall Batinkoff’s School Ties, Buffy, and The Player run is judged his apex.
- Murdering a screenwriter is rejected as an apex-worthy behavior.
The panel raises visibility, investigation, postcard, drug-use, and motive problems.
In the discussion (7)
- June seemingly fails to recognize Griffin through a window despite having seen him.
- David Kahane appears unusually informed about studio operations.
- The objection is partly withdrawn because trade coverage could explain his knowledge.
- Details of the murder appear to circulate implausibly quickly.
- The threatening postcards stop for roughly a year without a satisfying practical explanation.
- The movie is said to contain too little cocaine for its Hollywood setting.
- The blackmailing writer’s motive is unclear: credit, acknowledgment, a screenplay sale, or cosmic justice.
A ten-episode contemporary adaptation could expand the novel and industry world, though the panel doubts it would improve on Altman.
In the discussion (4)
- A ten-episode version could spend more time with the different characters.
- A contemporary version could update the story with the internet.
- The mystery element is offered as a reason an episodic version could sustain binge viewing.
- The hosts would adapt the book rather than remake Altman’s movie.
The formal question asks whether Altman saw the future of movies, leading to a broader discussion of recurring industry crises and artistic risk moving to television.
In the discussion (6)
- Did Altman see the future of movies?
- The panel answers yes and cites Griffin’s transparently hollow gala speech.
- The panel notes that declarations of cinema’s death recur across decades.
- Recent movies are defended as good even as viewing shifts toward home platforms.
- The Underground Railroad is cited as ambitious work that struggled to break through.
- Television is described as a place where established creators can take larger swings.
The M poster, Griffin’s suit and Rolls-Royce, the Rialto cinema, and the studio jeans are proposed.
In the discussion (5)
- The M poster is proposed.
- Griffin’s suit is proposed.
- Griffin’s Rolls-Royce is proposed.
- The Rialto cinema or its sign is proposed.
- The conspicuous studio jeans are proposed.
Robert Altman wins the movie by consensus as a major comeback.
In the discussion (2)
- The panel immediately agrees that Altman wins.
- The win is framed as another major Altman comeback.
Roger Ebert's review
Most Rewatchable Scene
What’s Aged the Best?
What’s Aged the Worst?
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
Apex Mountain
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?
Who Won the Movie?