Four scenes are picked, with the other participant invited to add more afterward; the first is Statham versus the Rock in a dark, empty FBI office after Elena leaves. — Bill Simmons
Elena is joked to be 15 or 16 months pregnant by the film's chronology without showing it. — Bill Simmons
Statham at the Rock's computer, the "standing right in front of you" exchange, the Rock Bottom move, a grenade, and Hobbs and Elena falling five or six stories onto a car make a great four-minute scene. — Bill Simmons
The reply agrees it is incredible but reads the Rock catching Elena and landing on a car as copying Dom catching Letty in Fast 6, a possible poke at Vin Diesel, likened to a 2015 Durant-Westbrook split. — Shea Serrano
Statham is praised as one of the few believable opponents for the Rock and a genuinely good actor; the Rock is said to dial it up in this film, with a joke that producer Craig would ask for it turned down. — Shea Serrano
Inventive camera angles make the fight look even despite the Rock's size advantage. — Bill Simmons
In an aside on Dom's hospital visit to Hobbs, the hosts sense no warmth given the real-life tension, keep the scene for the information handoff, and wish writer Chris Morgan had leaned into alpha-dog tension. — Bill Simmons
The second pick is the car drop, called one of the most absurd and phenomenal scenes in the franchise; the hosts riff on a name for the crew's hijack unit. — Bill Simmons
The hosts report the drop as practical: a Lockheed C-130 Hercules dropped cars from 12,000 feet, cameras were mounted on the cars, skydivers filmed, 70% landed perfectly, and the landing shots used a pulley system and cranes removed with CGI. — Bill Simmons
The reply had assumed all the stunts in the movie were real. — Shea Serrano
After the drop come Tyrese struggling to land, Dom and Shaw driving off a cliff twice, and Brian jumping between cars at 80 miles an hour, even shoving Ramsey onto a car. — Bill Simmons
Brian's bus fight, the bus dangling over the cliff, his run up the bus with Letty catching him, and Dom driving off the second cliff are called all-time in a theater, with three ridiculous moments listed. — Bill Simmons
A correction: Brian's bus opponent is "Tony Jha" (as transcribed) from "Aung Bak" (as transcribed) and The Protector, not the guy from The Raid; the matchup is likened to Kobe and LeBron guarding each other in an All Star Game, and letting him survive reads as respect. — Shea Serrano
A favorite franchise moment is Brian running up the falling bus and Letty's fishtailing catch followed by a deadpan "you good"; the speaker rewatches it once or twice a month with his youngest son, who screams at the TV. — Shea Serrano
The Shaw-Rock fight is ranked the fourth-best fight in the franchise; each of the top four has Letty or the Rock in it. — Shea Serrano
The bus run is said to have been done for real by a stuntman rather than Paul Walker, in an early sequence already filmed; the set piece runs 10 or 11 minutes. — Bill Simmons
The God's Eye rationale is summarized in 12 seconds, followed by jokes that Shaw keeps showing up anyway and that Dom's crew does not kill people, as the speaker's son noticed. — Shea Serrano
Dom holding up a car with a strained face is compared to Stallone in Cliffhanger, and Shaw keeps showing up while they seek God's Eye to find him. — Bill Simmons
The car jumping from one glass tower to another, Brian's expert roll out of the car, and Dom nearly going out the window are called harrowing and well shot; the picker calls it his runner-up favorite scene. — Bill Simmons
The addition is the Letty-Rousey fight: after Letty's Fast 6 fights with Gina Carano, including a subway fight called the franchise's best fight, or else the Rock versus Vin Diesel in Fast 5, it delivered, capped by the 20-foot fall onto a piano and Rodriguez's winded face; this is also called a runner-up scene. — Shea Serrano
Two dressed-up women fighting at an Oscars-like party is called a rare wrinkle that plays as a full-speed fight rather than a spectacle for men, like "Tony Jha" (as transcribed) versus Walker. — Bill Simmons
The building jump is framed as the point after which nothing is too absurd for the franchise, leading to Fast 8 on the ice and the Rock redirecting a submarine missile. — Shea Serrano
The first film is named a favorite; Fast 5 perfected the recipe of family and action, and Seven turned the volume up as high as possible without losing the emotional weight that Eight and Hobbs and Shaw lack. — Shea Serrano
The last pick is the ending; after Letty revives Dom, the theater wonders how the Walker exit will be handled, and Ramsey's presence on the beach is questioned, with the reply that she was never noticed there. — Shea Serrano
The shots of each character watching the beach, Vin Diesel's "it's never goodbye" and the song kicking in are described, and a Vin Diesel impression is praised as the best of about 200. — Shea Serrano
The montage back to Fast 1, the two cars side by side, Walker's car turning toward the water, and the "For Paul" card are called masterful and perfect. — Bill Simmons
The reply expected Brian to sacrifice himself; the chosen direction is called smart and beautiful and compared with the opening of Up for never losing its effect. — Shea Serrano
Other movie tearjerkers such as The Champ, Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias and My Girl are dramas, never action movies, which makes this ending an undeniable level of genius. — Shea Serrano
One participant says Jim Cunningham and others later made a goodbye-to-Grantland video using the song, showing it makes anything emotional. — Bill Simmons
Dom's closing "quarter mile at a time" monologue is read aloud in the Dom voice and praised, with a note on how Dom clips the word brother. — Bill Simmons
The ending is named the pick for most rewatchable scene of this movie, of any Fast movie, and one of the most rewatchable action scenes of all time. — Bill Simmons
The reply agrees these are the four main scenes but finds the ending too draining to pick, choosing the drop onto the mountain with Brian running up the bus and Letty saving him. — Shea Serrano
That choice includes the preceding Tyrese leadership bit and Ramsey profiling the crew, ending with Tyrese's "double alpha man candy" reply; Tyrese is credited with more laughs than anyone in the franchise and the scene is said to represent all of Fast and Furious at once. — Shea Serrano
Is there a real drug that blacks you out yet keeps you having fun for eight hours? Does Alan die when Tyson hits him? Should The Hangover 2 have been a blackjack card-counting movie? What was the room damage bill?
Is there a real drug that makes you black out while having this much fun for eight or nine hours straight: no, that is not how being roofied works, it knocks you out rather than keeping you up; the movie says Rufalin (as transcribed) rather than rehypnol (as transcribed), perhaps because they could not name it, an ecstasy version of a blackout drug.
Does Alan die when Tyson hits him: the hosts cannot believe he gets up, since Iron Mike even now could put somebody in the hospital; a generation has had triple-digit conversations about whether you could take a punch from Mike Tyson, which the movie captures perfectly, and his getting up with the worst shiner in history is paired with 'Ollie getting up from Frasier' (as transcribed) as the two greatest get-ups.
Should The Hangover 2 have been a blackjack card-counting movie rather than going to Thailand; the questioner is proud of it and the group imagines the casinos chasing them.
The room damage question was originally filed under unanswerable questions and handled during nitpicks instead.
Inspired by producer Trip Vinson's real missing bachelor party; Ed Helms' missing tooth was real, a pulled dental implant; Helms shot The Office by day and the film by night; a prosthetic was used for the end-credits blowjob photo; the script sold for two million and was rewritten by Phillips and Jeremy Gerlach (as transcribed), who added Tyson, the tiger, the baby and the police cruiser; Caesars guests still quote the check-in lines; Galifianakis improvised the Holocaust ring line; Todd Phillips traded his fee for 16 percent of the film and made about 80 million
The story was inspired by a real event: Trip Vinson, a producer and friend of executive producer Chris Bender, went missing from his own bachelor party and woke up in a strip joint being threatened with a huge bill; Ed Helms' missing tooth was real, not CGI, because he had a dental implant for a missing adult incisor since his teens and they pulled it out.
Helms was shooting The Office at the same time, flying from Vegas to Van Nuys at four in the morning to shoot all day and the film all night; he said that stretch of The Office shows him out of his mind, slurring with a fake tooth in and living on Red Bulls.
Asked whether they like Ed Helms, one host respectfully does not, except in this movie, disliking the type of guy he plays; he is nonetheless one of the most successful comedy actors of his generation, with Vacation, the Night at the Museum movies, We're the Millers, Tag and animated films, the CJ McCollum of actors nobody leads a podcast with.
For the explicit final photo of Zach getting a blowjob, a prosthetic penis was used and an old porn actor was found to perform on it, prompting 'what a great podcast'.
John Lucas (as transcribed) and Scott Moore sold the script for two million; it was rewritten by Jeremy Gerlach (as transcribed) and Todd Phillips, who added the Tyson, the tiger, the baby and the police cruiser, which led to a WGA credit dispute; the two songs were improvised.
The film had a major impact on Caesars, where guests still quote 'Did Caesar live here?' and the pager-friendly line at check-in; the hosts advise against it since the staff have heard it; Galifianakis improvised 'I didn't know they gave out rings of the Holocaust' (as transcribed) and the filmmakers debated whether to keep it.
Todd Phillips' deal is called almost too good for the segment: his fee was about six and a half million, Legendary wanted to cut the budget after losing the stars they expected, and instead of half his fee he took no fee for points, ending up with 16 percent of the movie and about 80 million dollars, probably still earning from streaming; the four then negotiated as a quartet for the next two.
Black Doug is floated but he is Mike Epps, too famous to win; Rob Riggle's sidekick is funny and a worthy winner precisely because nobody knows her name.
Mike Tyson's bodyguard is mentioned; Doug's fiancee is Sasha Barice (as transcribed), who no longer acts and is a professional poker player, and the award goes to her.
Seven names are on the list; Jeffrey Tambor as the father-in-law is not a heater, a subdued performance but always knowing Vegas will go badly, which sets off a bit about a host insisting he would be at his daughter's fiance's bachelor party; Rachel Harris; the doctor who has only one C, with 'get lost and buy a fucking map'; Brian Cowan (as transcribed), Heather Graham, Rob Riggle and Mike Tyson.
One personal vote goes to Rob Riggle; the award is defined as the biggest heat check, doing the most with the least playing time, like hitting five threes in ten minutes, and whether to take Riggle here or in Step Brothers is floated.
Ken Jeong should win even though the speaker does not like the performance, because he is doing a lot and really going over the top. — Sean Fennessey
The pushback that the award acknowledges something they like and that the integrity of the Dion Waiters Award is being undermined on the 103rd pod, answered with 'it's just good to examine what we're really doing here', gives way to agreement: Ken Jeong goes out like a Tasmanian devil taking shots and grabbing rebounds, almost Brandon Jennings-esque, and Dion Waiters would agree; Riggle is more Montrezl Harrell, the energy off the bench you really need, not Austin Rivers, and the movie vaulted him to another level.
Lindsay Lohan nearly cast as Jade but judged too young by Phillips; Jack Black turned down Alan; Paul Rudd turned down Phil; Jeremy Piven turned down Stu; Mike Tyson refused until he learned Phillips made Old School; Alan was written as a Jonah Hill-type younger brother and Thomas Hayden Church (as transcribed) was considered
Lindsay Lohan was almost cast as Jade; Phillips decided she was too young and is adamant about it, while Lohan's version is that she turned it down and it was the biggest regret of her career.
Lohan in the movie would have felt very 2009 and not a good version of her; Heather Graham is perfect, and being a little older makes the part work better.
One host is not as much of a believer in the theory that Lohan was a great Goldie Hawn-esque movie star whose talent was frittered away. — Sean Fennessey
The reaction is 'Oh, how dare you?' and 'This is your worst take you've ever had', with Parent Trap offered as proof: she plays two people, one with an English accent, like a 17-year-old Meryl Streep in training; Freaky Friday is weaker.
The Heather Graham conversation runs License to Drive, Twins, Drugstore Cowboy, Six Degrees of Separation and Swingers, by which point one host was in love, then Austin Powers; she may have been his number one 90s crush, Ed Burns dated her, and Boogie Nights, Even Cowgirls Got the Blues, Diggstown, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Scream 2, Two Girls and a Guy and Bowfinger show she was always in good stuff and good at sending up her persona; another gets her confused with Terry Polo.
Her ABC show Emily's Reasons Why Not never worked; Grey's Anatomy is raised as a show she might have led, but she is a comic actress who thrives in comedy; she is good here and way better than Lohan would have been, her 35 making more sense than weird 25-year-old energy.
Jack Black turned down Alan, thank God, since he would have overpowered the other three; Paul Rudd turned down Phil and would have been doing Brian Fantana and Sex Panther while making fun of it, whereas you believe Cooper as a shit bag even greeting his wife at the wedding; Rudd has not played a guy like that outside Neil LeBute (as transcribed) plays.
Jeremy Piven turned down Stu, thank God, probably because he was at the height of Ari Gold; Stu is the third lead.
Mike Tyson refused to appear and changed his mind on learning Phillips directed Old School; the Galifianakis character was written as a younger brother-in-law of the Jonah Hill type until Phillips realized an older brother was funnier, and Thomas Hayden Church (as transcribed) was the other option, a different movie.
The end-credits photo reveal now that everyone knows it is coming; the sequels; the surprise of the Mike Tyson cameo; the mystique of Vegas; Who Let the Dogs Out; Justin Bartha not becoming famous; Ken Jeong's crazy Asian stereotype; Ed Helms' glasses frames; Mike Tyson's potbelly
The end credits are argued as aged worst: ten years later it is hard to capture how funny the photo reveal was in the theater, with Wayne Newton, Carrot Top and Galifianakis getting blown ratcheting it up 17 notches; comedies are hard to end and this one sent people out saying it was the funniest movie they had ever seen, but now everybody knows it is coming.
The sequels have aged terribly and one host would rather pretend two and three did not happen; the makers more or less disavowed three as done for the money; two has moments, is pretty dark and is set in Thailand.
The surprise Mike Tyson cameo was a massive surprise and a marketing draw in 2009 and now carries no surprise; Tyson has acknowledged battling drugs during the shoot.
The mystique of Vegas has turned into something else, so commercialized that a movie like this now would feel like branded content and a partial money grab with strategically placed things.
Who Let the Dogs Out feels like ten years ago, a very literal case of aging badly, though they were already making it a joke, with the 'who brought this guy along' exchange recited.
Justin Bartha because he did not come out of this famous; Sudeikis or Gyllenhaal in the part would not have mattered since Doug is barely in the movie.
One host saw Bartha in the wild at a wine tasting around 2012, dating one of the Olsen twins, seeming really happy and thriving.
Another host and his wife saw him at dinner at the SLS hotel one table over with both Olsen twins, and then Galifianakis showed up, which made LA feel very weird six months after the movie; the four obviously became real friends, which may belong in what aged best.
The final one is called probably the winner: Ken Jeong playing up the tiny-dick crazy Asian stereotype, funny in the moment but not great, which Donnie Quack (as transcribed) wrote about on the Ringer last year; the fiancée accepting an extra night is held for nitpicks.
The homophobia is raised and shrugged off; there are a couple of lines you would be surprised to hear in a movie again.
An early aside proposes tabling the category because it would ruin what is fun about the movie, then offers Ed Helms' little rectangular glasses frames and a fat Mike Tyson whose potbelly could be fixed with CGI.
First nominee is the drive to Vegas, a fantastic five and a half minutes from the gas station stop through Galifianakis in the car to checking in at the hotel; Phil starts drinking as soon as he gets in the car, like the two guys at every bachelor party who get wrecked on the way there, and the others realize in the car that Galifianakis has 17 screws loose.
Waking up in the hotel room not knowing what happened is phenomenal: a nice camera move that follows a disoriented Ed Helms looking around, Galifianakis naked pissing next to a tiger he does not register for ten seconds, a chicken from nowhere, everybody sleeping on the floor and the woman sneaking out; a smart scene that sets up everything.
Brunch with Carlos the baby: Cooper's 'not at the table, Carlos' and the bit where he pretends to jerk off the baby hits one host's funny bone every time, so inappropriate it would never happen now; the hosts like that the baby is named Carlos and seeing him in the Bjorn.
From the Hollywood Reporter oral history: Galifianakis did the bit first with a doll while the shot was set up, Todd Phillips waited for the baby's mom to go upstairs and asked the dad, who answered that his wife would be gone for half an hour and asked them to do it in that window; it belongs in the conversation of all-time inappropriate throwaway laughs alongside Stripes and Caddyshack.
Further nominees: the stun gun scene, Tyson reviewing the security footage, getting the tiger out of the car with Bradley Cooper pretending to hump it from behind while calling it a beautiful majestic animal, the blackjack scene with the calculus floating in front of Galifianakis's face, and the wedding reception with the Dan Band and Ed Helms breaking up with his girlfriend, about ten minutes one host had forgotten the movie still had.
One host goes for the entire police precinct sequence, not just the stun gun but the payphone call, the kid taking a cell phone picture and the phone kicked out of his hands; it is called the funniest thing Rob Riggle has ever done, with 'in the face' recited.
Brian Callen's wedding chapel scene is added as an amendment to how he was treated on the Old School episode: the same character and Greek accent, greeting them as the craziest bastard he ever met, the first clue in putting the puzzle back together, plus the baby goat while he is on the phone pretending to be in Napa; the hosts think he never found the right role and that the Greek grifter should have his own series.
One vote goes to brunch with Carlos the baby together with the Bjorn elevator ride to the brunch, the speaker's favorite part of the movie.
About four weeks ago the speaker and his son were flipping channels when the movie came on during the drive, not as a planned viewing; the son did not see the closing credits, was dying laughing at everything Zach Galifianakis did, and also liked Ken Jeong's character. — Bill Simmons
