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The Rewatchables · August 22, 2022

Scent of a Woman

host Bill Simmons host Chris Ryan producer Craig Horlbeck format 250th Episode

Casting what-if: Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, and Chris Rock
Weakest link: The extended ending and lengthy Karen Rossi setup
Needle drop: Thomas Newman’s score

All 34 categories

Who won the movie Al Pacino
Roger Ebert
Just one Oscar Al Pacino
“That Guy” Award Todd Louiso

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award · 55:02

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

Bill Simmons: 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.

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

Al Pacino

Chris O'Donnell

James Rebhorn

Gabrielle Anwar

Philip Seymour Hoffman (credited Philip S. Hoffman)

Sally Murphy

Michael Santoro

Nicholas Sadler

Todd Louiso

Richard Venture

Bradley Whitford

Rochelle Oliver

Ron Eldard

June Squibb

Baxter Harris

Gene Canfield

Leonard Gaines

Frances Conroy

Everything from the episode

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

22:06

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:22:06Read transcript

The stated score is three and a half stars. — Bill Simmons
The quoted review praises the intelligence and skill with which the movie reaches familiar coming-of-age and prep-school conclusions. — Bill Simmons

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35:19

Picking Nits

The prank, heightened senses, empty streets, Ferrari dealership, Baird discipline, and dress-uniform suicide trope

In the discussion (10)

Approx. transcript time · 00:35:19Read transcript

The blind Ferrari drive is called the movie's biggest nitpick and judged impossible even at low speed. — Bill Simmons
The active job-posting bulletin board used to arrange Charlie's holiday job is questioned. — Chris Ryan
The panel questions whether everyone at school would already know who committed the prank. — Bill Simmons
The colonel's ability to detect Charlie's movements makes his blindness seem inconsistently superpowered. — Bill Simmons
Donna's name is treated as a poor fit for the tango partner. — Bill Simmons
The Ferrari drive occurs across impossibly empty city streets without signals, pedestrians, or traffic. — Bill Simmons
The location of a Manhattan Ferrari dealership beside empty driving streets is questioned. — Bill Simmons
Baird's school-wide disciplinary hearing, blackmail tactics, and instant committee verdict seem implausible. — Bill Simmons
The dress-uniform suicide setup is criticized as a showy military-officer trope also used in A Few Good Men. — Chris Ryan
The prank depends on an improbably engineered milk balloon and the headmaster choosing to pop it while standing on his car. — Bill Simmons

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58:46

Casting What-Ifs

Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, and Chris Rock

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 00:58:46Read transcript

Jack Nicholson reportedly declined the colonel, and his version is imagined as darker and more uncomfortable. — Bill Simmons
A claim that the Rocky star declined the role is treated skeptically. — Bill Simmons
Philip Seymour Hoffman reportedly auditioned five times for George before the role became his break. — Bill Simmons
The performance led Paul Thomas Anderson to write Scotty J. for Hoffman. — Bill Simmons
Chris Rock sought the Charlie role and later argued that casting a Black student would have made the movie more interesting. — Chris Ryan

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1:04:12

Recasting Couch

Matt Damon

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:12Read transcript

Leo is proposed as a higher-ceiling Charlie but may have been too electric and emotionally developed for the role. — Bill Simmons
Matt Damon is preferred over Leo, although he may seem too smart and carry too much baggage for Charlie. — Chris Ryan
Chris O'Donnell is defended because he plausibly looks like a scholarship student from Oregon. — Chris Ryan
Ben Affleck is considered, though Chris O'Donnell is judged better suited to this particular role. — Bill Simmons

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1:05:55

Half-Assed Internet Research

Locations, blindness and weapons preparation, the origin of “hoo-ah,” and a deleted hotel cameo

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:05:55Read transcript

The Baird scenes were filmed at the Emma Willard School in New York. — Bill Simmons
Pacino prepared with a school for the blind and avoided focusing his eyes on objects. — Bill Simmons
A lieutenant colonel taught Pacino to load and unload the pistol. — Bill Simmons
Pacino reportedly adopted 'hoo-ah' after hearing a soldier use it while handling a rifle. — Bill Simmons
A Plaza Hotel scene with Trump and Marlon Maples was filmed and then removed. — Bill Simmons

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1:15:53

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The ending, Charlie’s response to blackmail, racial implications of recasting, and the colonel’s finances

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:15:53Read transcript

The movie is said to have a clear answer to whether it should end after the teacher flirtation: yes. — Chris Ryan
Charlie could have reported the headmaster’s blackmail to the disciplinary board. — Chris Ryan
Another proposed strategy is to admit seeing three students from far away without claiming to recognize them. — Bill Simmons
Casting Charlie as Black in 1992 is debated as more interesting but likely to make the colonel harder to redeem. — Bill Simmons
The panel asks how much of the colonel's savings the extravagant weekend consumed. — Bill Simmons

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1:19:35

Best Double Feature

Dog Day Afternoon and The Chocolate War

Dog Day Afternoon

The Chocolate War

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:35Read transcript

Dog Day Afternoon is proposed as a Pacino pairing. — Chris Ryan
The Chocolate War is proposed as a prep-school pairing about loyalty and betrayal. — Chris Ryan

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