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Along Came Polly poster

Along Came Polly

year 2004decade 00sdirector John Hamburggenre Comedygenre Romance

90 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Ben Stiller Reuben Feffer
Jennifer Aniston Polly Prince
Debra Messing Lisa Kramer
Hank Azaria Claude
Bryan Brown Leland Van Lew
Alec Baldwin Stan Indursky
Michele Lee Vivian Feffer
Bob Dishy Irving Feffer
Missi Pyle Roxanne
Jsu Garcia Javier
Masi Oka Wonsuk
Kym Whitley Gladys
Cheryl Hines Catering manager
Todd Stashwick Security officer
Mitch Silpa JCS director
Christine Barger Mary Magdalene

Along Came Polly | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeck theme Shart Week
Explore episodeClose episode

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:38Read transcript
  • Ebert gave two stars but singled out Hoffman favorably; his discomfort with broad comedy is used to explain the panel's disagreement.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Art-gallery shart into basketball

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:28Read transcript
  • The wedding entrance is a rewatchable scene: Sandy's pratfall, frosting consumption, former-child-star recognition and claim of an E!True Hollywood Story establish Hoffman's willingness to do anything for a laugh.
  • The wedding's risk assessment and Baldwin introduction are praised. The honeymoon discovery is another scene nominee, including Lisa's immediate attraction to Claude, the scuba equipment hitting the boat, her disheveled explanation and Claude driving Reuben to the airport.
  • Reuben urinating beside his boss is a rewatchable scene, with the long pee, fart and blunt judgment of Lisa. Baldwin's accent and comic persona anticipate The Departed and 30 Rock, with Outside Providence an earlier example.
  • The gallery shart sequence flowing into basketball is called the winning seven-minute stretch: Sandy's art-world introduction, awkward walk, boasts, misses and refusal to switch defenders are highlighted.
  • Sandy preparing greasy pizza with fingers in the pepper jar and pouring grease between slices is a rewatchable-scene choice.
  • The Moroccan dinner date is nominated for Reuben's sweating and refusal to disclose IBS despite avoiding unfamiliar food being the obvious choice.
  • The bathroom disaster is considered funny but derivative and weaker than There's Something About Mary or Dumb and Dumber; preferences distinguish juvenile from gross humor.
  • The salsa date and more basketball are additional scene mentions; a longer unedited Hoffman basketball cut is wished for.
  • Polly discovering the list supplies drama, while the disastrous Jesus Christ Superstar performance leads to the father's speech as a late scene nominee.
  • The father's advice to enjoy the ride unexpectedly supplies genuine wisdom.
  • Sandy handling the insurance meeting is the final scene nominee: the expected romantic chase gives way to his redemption, his hand lands on the wrong man's shoulder, and child-star recognition closes the deal. The performance evokes Affleck in Good Will Hunting.
  • The art-gallery shart into basketball wins most rewatchable scene; hypothetical seven-minute movie compilations are brainstormed, not a completed ranked list.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Racquetball; communal bar snacks; E!True Hollywood Story; Stiller running

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:36Read transcript
  • Racquetball is an aged-worst candidate potentially replaced by pickleball, though it is defended as fun when both players are good; others emphasize injury and fighting risks.
  • Communal bar snacks have given way to individually served trays at many bars.
  • E!True Hollywood Story is dated yet nostalgically valued, and the joke that Sandy hired the crew remains excellent. Stiller's running is another aged-worst candidate.
  • Hamburg reportedly recalled Hoffman being frustrated that strangers recognized the basketball/shart role after his more prestigious achievements; the discussion distinguishes enjoying broad comedy from disliking public attention.

Picking Nits

Honeymoon decision; disastrous date; chemistry; no Knicks scene; expensive loofah

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:26Read transcript
  • Going upstairs to a tiny apartment while expecting bowel trouble is a major nitpick; its bathroom would provide no privacy.
  • Leaving Lisa with the conspicuously attractive scuba instructor is nitpicked; leopard-print speedos provoke a comic detour.
  • The disastrous bowel-trouble date should end the relationship, and the couple's basic attraction is considered implausible despite Polly's insistence it is genuine.
  • The absence of a Knicks scene is a major nitpick given both actors' fandom; a hypothetical 2003–04 team scene and Anthony Mason jersey for Sandy are imagined.
  • Polly's$200 loofah seems inconsistent with a waitress's finances, but poor spending choices and the illusion of wealth from cash tips are offered as defenses.

Apex Mountain

Hippo monologues

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:56Read transcript
  • IBS is tentatively proposed for Apex without a firm conclusion.
  • Apex rejects Stiller, Aniston, Hoffman and spanking; Meet the Parents is favored for Stiller, and Capote/Mission: Impossible III for Hoffman. Messing receives a probable yes during her Will & Grace era.
  • Apex rejects Komodo dragons, Stiller bathroom mishaps and White Chocolate in favor of Jason Williams; throw pillows are only a possibility.
  • IBS remains only possible Apex; salsa and ferrets are rejected, while hippo monologues receive a probable yes and direct agreement.

What’s Aged the Best?

Baldwin; New York; Aniston; child-star premise; Risk Master; comic details

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:12Read transcript
  • Baldwin's accent and Indursky are aged-best choices; his character is imagined as an older Glengarry Glen Ross shark. The discussion's contemporaneous Rust remarks are distinguished from Craig's association of Baldwin with 30 Rock.
  • The film is praised as an underrated New York movie, especially recognizable downtown restaurants and galleries.
  • Aniston's career arc looks stronger in hindsight after later hit comedies; Hoffman is also an obvious aged-best choice.
  • A child actor permanently defined by a ten-year-old success is an aged-best concept, illustrated by school memories. Hamburg reportedly drew on wondering how life would have changed had he won an audition for The Champ.
  • The nature of Crocodile Tears remains uncertain: a family comedy, childhood tragedy or Bad News Bears-style film is debated, and the bagpipe scene's content is unknown.
  • Polly's graphic children's novel about losing an arm is praised as comedy that now resembles some real children's books.
  • St. Barts and vacation settings are aged-best choices, with pandemic family movie-watching used as virtual travel.
  • Risk Master and Reuben's constant calculations fit his profession; an actuary spouse supports the characterization, though the stated subway-grate and car-accident odds are questioned.
  • Bryan Brown's presence is celebrated through Cocktail references and a proposed repeat episode; a seven-minute bar-showcase compilation is imagined.
  • Jesus Christ Superstar rehearsals with Sandy claiming both Jesus and Judas are aged-best, as is Reuben's aversion to communal bar snacks; individual modern snack trays are a contrasting aged-worst observation. Impromptu base-jumping is praised as dependable movie excitement.
  • Reuben counting down to delay orgasm and shouting 50 is praised, as is Polly's later conversation about it. His broken Spanish confrontation with Javier fits Stiller's foolish persona.
  • Leland Van Lew's name is an aged-best addition, and his jump building is identified as the AT&T Tower at 611 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, qualifying the assumption that all filming was in New York.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Hoffman’s basketball; origin of shart; bathroom scenes and reviews; Crocodile Tears

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:34Read transcript
  • The nature of Crocodile Tears remains uncertain: a family comedy, childhood tragedy or Bad News Bears-style film is debated, and the bagpipe scene's content is unknown.
  • Hoffman's actual basketball ability is an unanswerable question, with coordination here and a Love Liza scene suggesting competence rather than proving it.
  • Whether Hamburg coined shart is unresolved; the panel's view is that the act and probably the term predated the film, but the film popularized it.
  • Hamburg's theory that bathroom scenes harm reviews is debated against the acclaimed There's Something About Mary; actual feces is proposed as the critical dividing line.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Mike Myers as lead; Messing’s appeal over Aniston

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:53Read transcript
  • A hottest take prefers another lead: Rudd is considered too handsome or insufficiently anxious, Bateman more plausible, and Mike Myers the final preference in the vein of So I Married an Axe Murderer rather than his disguised characters.
  • A second hot take prefers Messing's appeal to Aniston's in this film, especially the wedding and return scenes; swapping their roles is considered but doubted.
  • No casting what-ifs were found by the host.

Casting What-Ifs

None found by the host

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:41Read transcript
  • No casting what-ifs were found by the host.

Recasting Couch

Michelle Williams as Polly; alternatives considered

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:47Read transcript
  • For Polly, recasting considers Paltrow too polished, Ryder plausible, and a younger Meg Ryan or Geena Davis a natural fit. Holmes is floated but rejected while her missing romantic-comedy career is lamented.
  • Heather Graham is considered almost too striking; Michelle Williams is the final preferred replacement and a chance to give her happier material. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is plausible but possibly too old, Courteney Cox rejected, and Kudrow plausible but also too old.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Ferret bites; jump location; Baldwin coaching; sweat gag

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:48Read transcript
  • The ferret reportedly bit Stiller during production; the thought of using it as toilet paper successfully alarms a viewer.
  • Leland Van Lew's name is an aged-best addition, and his jump building is identified as the AT&T Tower at 611 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, qualifying the assumption that all filming was in New York.
  • Hamburg reportedly rewrote the boardroom speech the night before; Hoffman struggled until Baldwin talked with him at lunch, after which the finished performance emerged.
  • The basketball sweat gag reportedly used glycerin, a trampoline and twelve takes of the man's chest hitting Stiller's face.

Best Race Horse Name from This Movie

Crocodile Tears; Al Hafez

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:15Read transcript
  • Crocodile Tears is the favored name across racehorse, band, wrestler and fantasy team; Al Hafez is an additional suggestion.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Evil Laughing Ramon Raymond as Javier

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:08Read transcript
  • Evil Laughing Ramon Raymond is the hypothetical addition in Javier's salsa scene.

Just One Oscar

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:28Read transcript
  • Hoffman is the clear single-Oscar choice; the actual supporting-actor nominees are revisited and space for him is argued, with incredulity at Foxx being classified supporting in Collateral.

Best Double Feature

The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:18Read transcript
  • The original Elaine May Heartbreak Kid is the double-feature choice for its shared honeymoon-breakup setup and discomfort; the remake is criticized as misunderstanding it.

The Andy and Red – Zihuatanejo Award for What Happens the Next Day?

Four more weeks together; Hamburg imagines a family in Costa Rica

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:53Read transcript
  • Hamburg reportedly imagines the couple unmarried with children surfing in Costa Rica; the panel instead predicts roughly four more weeks together, possibly followed by Reuben returning to Lisa.
  • The game-used Hoffman basketball is the main memorabilia choice; Craig's loofah choice is attributed as a pre-recording comment.

Producer review

Enjoyable B-level background comedy

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:43:50Read transcript
  • Asked for his review, Craig calls it an enjoyable B-level/background comedy whose repeated cable exposure allowed it to endure, unlike films now buried among streaming catalogs. — Craig Horlbeck

More from the conversation

Shart Week is jokingly adopted as a theme after an initially uncertain slow-burner-month idea.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:47Read transcript
Slow burner is proposed for successful but initially dismissed films whose appeal grows later, distinguished from cult favorites; Miami Vice, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Hardball and Limitless are examples.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:22Read transcript
Hoffman's unusually broad studio-comedy performance elevates an otherwise generic Stiller romance; his early death may also sharpen appreciation of overlooked work.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:11Read transcript
Hoffman is compared with an elite athlete playing an unexpected sport; Jack Black is imagined as the conventional alternative, and Galifianakis in The Hangover another overqualified supporting comedian.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:48Read transcript
His career is praised for moving between eccentric supporting parts and mainstream work, including Twister, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Red Dragon, Mission:ImpossibleIIIand The Hunger Games, whose final credits make a poignant ending.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:10Read transcript
Sandy's immediate pratfall and frosting eating announce the film's most desirable presence. His boastful but terrible basketball persona remains adaptable across successive social-media platforms.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:34Read transcript
Hoffman's physical grace is compared with a dancer and Chris Farley; even when playing a bad athlete, his movement suggests real athletic ability.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:06Read transcript
Belushi and Carrey illustrate athletic physical comedy; Carrey's Roxbury and lifeguard SNL sketches are recalled as exceptional, though the hosting year is uncertain.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:42Read transcript
Hoffman's comic work in Boogie Nights, Ripley, Almost Famous and Punch-Drunk Love contrasts with later grave roles; Happiness is recalled as a rejected Rock Bottom Month choice, not the current episode's theme.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:57Read transcript
A count of Hoffman's Rewatchables films is corrected from seven to eight after The Big Lebowski is remembered; future possibilities include Almost Famous, Twister, Mission:ImpossibleIII, The Master and Happiness. A ten-film club is imagined, not a formal Top Ten list.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:12Read transcript
Studio-comedy abundance, DVD dorm-room viewing, date-movie appeal, travel locations and shareable Hoffman clips are proposed reasons for the film's slow-burn growth.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:02Read transcript
Capote's Oscar campaign and Hoffman's later death expanded appreciation of earlier work; his continued preference for supporting and independent roles made this broad comedy seem especially striking.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:18Read transcript
Other best-actor winners hypothetically playing Sandy include March, Brody and Pacino, with Pacino's basketball ability questioned.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:16Read transcript
Stiller's anxious persona and Aniston's familiar casting may have caused fatigue in 2004; Stiller's six releases are enumerated as Polly, Starsky & Hutch, Envy, Dodgeball, Meet the Fockers and an Anchorman cameo.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:38Read transcript
Stiller is described as a polarizing acquired taste despite a strong decade of comedies; a magazine editor once refused to feature him because he found him annoying.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:14Read transcript
There's Something About Mary casts a shadow over the bathroom embarrassment, generationally between the Farrelly and Apatow comedy waves. Stiller's later directing of Escape at Dannemora and Severance is praised as his leading-film appearances diminish.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:13Read transcript
Tropic Thunder is praised as Stiller's ambitious success; Craig explicitly rejects the suggestion that his generation dislikes it.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:31Read transcript
Aniston's commercially successful film run is traced from Bruce Almighty through Polly and later comedies; Office Space and The Good Girl showed range before this final film made during Friends, and her post-Friends fame grew further.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:03Read transcript
The leads' chemistry divides opinion: one view enjoys their connection, especially the pillows scene, while another sees people who would date briefly before becoming friends.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:00Read transcript
The Heartbreak Kid remake is noted as repeating Stiller's newlywed honeymoon breakup premise.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:51Read transcript
Asked directly, Craig prefers weird Stiller supporting turns such as Happy Gilmore and Dodgeball to his straight-man leads. Stiller's Cruise impression is also praised.
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:17Read transcript
Your Friends & Neighbors and the Baumbach films suggest an unproven theory that Stiller wanted an edgier dramatic career; Reality Bites and Greenberg express a more dissatisfied worldview than the mainstream comedies.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:06Read transcript
Hamburg's I Love You, Man is another slow-growing comedy whose younger viewers retain affection; a conversation with Paul Rudd and childhood Tommy Boy viewing illustrate the point.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:42Read transcript
Anyone But You's timing, marketing and stars are credited with success despite its quality being disputed. The Fall Guy raises hope for renewed studio comedies. Polly's stated budget is$42 million and worldwide gross$178 million.
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:27Read transcript
One reading sees Reuben drawn to messy people as an outlet for anxiety or self-loathing, though the panel recognizes that this may overinterpret the comedy; Ebert's objection is that the romantic motivation is insufficient.
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:40Read transcript
The absent Chris Ryan prompts a travel and possible Heat-remake discussion; the 1986 Burt Reynolds film is distinguished from the Pacino/DeNiro film.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:07Read transcript
Hamburg's Netflix film Me Time with Wahlberg and Hart is cited as a largely unnoticed modern comparison despite its stars.
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:08Read transcript
Sex and the City's Netflix resurgence prompts debate about a platform's power to revive older work such as The Accountant; that power does not reliably rescue its originals, with Rebel Moon contrasted. Rom-coms, smart action and horror are viewed as especially compatible with home viewing.
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:51Read transcript
The closing explicitly credits Craig Horlbeck. Azaria's remarkable physique is discussed with The Birdcage and Heat comparisons; speculation about how he achieved it remains unverified.
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:43Read transcript