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The Rewatchables ·

Scent of a Woman

year 1992decade 90sdirector Martin Brestgenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck format 250th Episode
All 34 categories

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson · 1:23:11

Do not snitch and keep looking

Bill Simmons: Do not snitch or amputate your soul is the first lesson.

The film

Scent of a Woman (1992)

Directed by Martin Brest · Drama

156 minutes

IMDb Find on JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

22:30

What’s Aged the Best?

The score, class dynamics, supporting performances, Oscar debate, career-changing roles, New York locations, and the ...

The score, class dynamics, supporting performances, Oscar debate, career-changing roles, New York locations, and the hero’s heightened senses

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:30Read transcript
  • Thomas Newman's score is praised as an active character in the movie. — Bill Simmons
  • The prep-school conflict between inherited power and the scholarship student remains a sharp depiction of class and old-boy protection. — Bill Simmons
  • The running joke in which the colonel calls Jack Daniel's 'John Daniels' is explicitly offered as something that aged well. — Bill Simmons
  • James Rebhorn is praised as an elite supporting actor at playing polished men with sleazy interiors. — Bill Simmons
  • The boarding-school setting belongs to a strong run that also includes Dead Poets Society and School Ties. — Bill Simmons
  • Pacino's advice that a young actor should never marry an actress is recalled as a colorful set anecdote. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie sits at an early point when public arguments over Oscar winners became part of mainstream movie culture. — Chris Ryan
  • The performance helped establish the cynical idea that an actor could win awards by playing a disability or other conspicuous obstacle. — Bill Simmons
  • The coveted Charlie role is used as an example of the career-changing parts that many young actors once competed to win. — Chris Ryan
  • The Waldorf and Oak Room footage preserves an appealing pre-reservation-app vision of New York access and luxury. — Chris Ryan
  • The colonel's heightened smell and hearing are treated as entertaining superhuman powers attached to a disability. — Bill Simmons
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25:34

Most Rewatchable Scene

The second half of the school hearing

The second half of the school hearing

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:34Read transcript
  • George's threatening walk with Charlie is praised for the strange physicality and for revealing an actor who immediately stands out. — Bill Simmons
  • George's ingratiating conversation with Mrs. Hunsacker is a smaller candidate that shows him as a skilled rich-kid manipulator. — Chris Ryan
  • The airplane conversation is selected for the colonel's loudly inappropriate advice while other passengers sit nearby. — Bill Simmons
  • The Oak Room arrival efficiently establishes the direction of the weekend and the conflict between the two leads. — Bill Simmons
  • The Thanksgiving dinner is praised as a great dysfunctional-holiday sequence built around rising tension, insults, and the horrified family.
  • The tango is praised for its lesson that mistakes can be folded into the dance and for the surprise it creates in the room. — Bill Simmons
  • The tango partner said Pacino skipped the rehearsals and that she was left with several half-broken toes. — Bill Simmons
  • The Ferrari sequence includes the dealership negotiation and the implausible but exciting blind drive. — Bill Simmons
  • Charlie's intervention during the suicide attempt is praised as an emotional toe-to-toe performance with Pacino. — Bill Simmons
  • The second half of the school hearing is the final choice because the speech and immediate verdict provide the dramatic apex. — Bill Simmons
  • The final teacher flirtation is a small closing candidate because the perfume-reading premise finally pays off. — Bill Simmons
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48:01

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

The two-shot at the hearing verdict

The two-shot at the hearing verdict

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:01Read transcript
  • The selected image holds both leads at the table while the students rise and cheer behind them after the verdict. — Chris Ryan
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48:15

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The extended ending and lengthy Karen Rossi setup

The extended ending and lengthy Karen Rossi setup

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:15Read transcript
  • The movie is said to have reached its natural ending when the teacher flirts with the colonel, making the chauffeur and homecoming scenes unnecessary. — Bill Simmons
  • Karen Rossi's long pre-trip setup with children, the cat, and Thanksgiving plans is judged disposable. — Chris Ryan
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50:07

What’s Aged the Worst?

The escort requests, dated first class, heavy drinking, and unexplained football background draw criticism.

The escort requests, dated first class, heavy drinking, and unexplained football background draw criticism.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:07Read transcript
  • The colonel's repeated public requests for an escort would now attract scrutiny, though the behavior is defended as plausible for the pre-internet era. — Chris Ryan
  • The first-class airplane cabin looks cheap and ordinary by current standards. — Bill Simmons
  • The quantity of whiskey consumed during a short flight and across each day appears incompatible with the character remaining so controlled. — Bill Simmons
  • Charlie's sudden description as Baird's star halfback feels unsupported by everything else shown about him. — Bill Simmons
  • Frank Slade is described as a nightmare guest at holiday dinners. — Bill Simmons
  • The recurring Pacino impression is added to What's Aged the Worst because it repeatedly parodied this movie. — Bill Simmons
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54:24

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Scent of a Woman

Scent of a Woman

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:24Read transcript
  • The original title is retained over An Amputated Spirit. — Chris Ryan
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55:02

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

The takes place the performance outside Pacino’s best eight and condemn Karen Rossi for leaving him with a teenager.

The takes place the performance outside Pacino’s best eight and condemn Karen Rossi for leaving him with a teenager.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:02Read transcript
  • The performance is placed outside Pacino's best eight and possibly outside his top ten because several earlier roles are more nuanced. — Bill Simmons
  • The counterpoint says the movie is valuable precisely because Pacino commits fully to the outsized character. — Bill Simmons
  • Karen Rossi is blamed for abandoning a vulnerable heavy drinker to a teenager during Thanksgiving. — Chris Ryan
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1:01:02

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

The colonel’s shouting and Chris O’Donnell’s crying scene

The colonel’s shouting and Chris O’Donnell’s crying scene

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:02Read transcript
  • The colonel's enraged family confrontation, firing-range intensity, and repeated cries about being in the dark are offered as obvious overacting material.
  • O'Donnell's crying during the suicide intervention is another candidate. — Bill Simmons
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1:01:45

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Todd Louiso

Todd Louiso

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:45Read transcript
  • Ron Eldard is rejected by one participant because he had been a recognizable television lead.
  • James Rebhorn is proposed as the archetypal supporting answer. — Bill Simmons
  • The colonel's brother is a recognizable alternative whose actor name is not known by the panel. — Bill Simmons
  • The chauffeur Manny, explicitly identified as Gene Canfield, is another recognizable alternative. — Bill Simmons
  • Nicholas Sadler is chosen by one participant as the familiar ringleader student. — Chris Ryan
  • The third student is the other choice based on recognizable parts in Jerry McGuire, The Rock, Apollo 13, and High Fidelity. — Chris Ryan
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1:02:52

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Split: Bradley Whitford; the chauffeur

Split: Bradley Whitford; the chauffeur

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:52Read transcript
  • The chauffeur, Bradley Whitford, Gabriel Anwar, and the Ferrari salesman form the candidate list. — Bill Simmons
  • The chauffeur is selected for making a potentially thin role warm and additive through the final tip exchange. — Bill Simmons
  • Bradley Whitford is the other selection for his brief but sharp Thanksgiving performance. — Bill Simmons
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1:07:09

Apex Mountain

Apex checks cover Pacino, O’Donnell, blind movie characters, the Ferrari, bad Thanksgivings, and the Ringer chokehold.

Apex checks cover Pacino, O’Donnell, blind movie characters, the Ferrari, bad Thanksgivings, and the Ringer chokehold.

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:09Read transcript
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1:14:19

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

A prestige television version

A prestige television version

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:19Read transcript
  • The core plot is judged small enough to fit into a television subplot despite working as a movie. — Bill Simmons
  • A series could spend more time with the prep-school students and the Thanksgiving family. — Bill Simmons
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1:15:09

Is This Movie Better With…?

Wayne Jenkins as Mr. Trask

Wayne Jenkins as Mr. Trask

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:09Read transcript
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1:15:53

Just One Oscar

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:53Read transcript
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1:22:43

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The custom suits and cane

The custom suits and cane

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:43Read transcript
  • The custom suits are the first choice when the Ferrari is excluded. — Chris Ryan
  • The cane and old-fashioned luggage are the other desired objects. — Bill Simmons
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1:23:11

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Do not snitch and keep looking

Do not snitch and keep looking

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:11Read transcript
  • Do not snitch or amputate your soul is the first lesson. — Bill Simmons
  • The day people stop looking is the day they die is the alternate lesson. — Bill Simmons
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1:23:37

Who Won the Movie?

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:37Read transcript
  • Pacino is the immediate consensus winner. — Bill Simmons
  • Hoffman is placed high among the beneficiaries because the small role planted the seeds for his career. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Al Pacino
Speaker not identified
Al Pacino
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1:24:15

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Pacino is actively bad; his performance plays like a parody

Pacino is actively bad; his performance plays like a parody

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:15Read transcript
  • The producer says he did not enjoy the movie and calls Pacino actively bad. — Craig Horlbeck
  • He says the performance feels like a parody of someone playing a blind role and blames Pacino for dialing it up too far. — Craig Horlbeck
  • He also says Chris O'Donnell is not very good and calls both central performances one-note. — Craig Horlbeck
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