A sculpture copyright dispute reportedly required edits in later releases; the rooftop was on the 50th floor with the stage eight feet from the edge. — Bill Simmons
The film used a real October 1996 Roy Jones Jr. fight; Kevin’s support for the opponent is criticized as boxing ignorance. — Van Lathan
Nielsen reportedly had been in America a month before casting; the empty-street shot used a Sunday 7:30 a.m. closure of 57th Street.
The Lucifer transformation reportedly combined Reeves and Pacino life masks, including a Godfather-era mask, with Rick Baker involved. — Bill Simmons
A proposed 1994 version with Schumacher and Pitt would have modeled the subway on Dante’s circles of hell; it reportedly collapsed without an actor for Satan. — Bill Simmons
Pacino reportedly rejected the project five times, Reeves accepted reduced pay to secure him, and Theron hesitated about nudity. — Bill Simmons
Reeves is called a beloved major star with limited acting and accent skills, who found an ideal stripped-down style in John Wick. — Bill Simmons
His blankness is defended as making extraordinary events believable in The Matrix and this film. — Van Lathan
His effectiveness is said to depend on the role, with action and Californian characters working better than Shakespeare, scientists or other stretches. — Chris Ryan
His distinct star quality is defended as valuable even without prestige-acting range. — Bill Simmons
Demon transformations look dated, although the institution scene remains effective; ambiguity might have worked better.
The overt demons change the nature of the film; one participant would classify dated effects as Aged Worst rather than Weak Link because the problem is repairable. — Van Lathan
Delroy Lindo’s and Reeves’s accents become alternative weaknesses, with Reeves’s accent fluctuating between scenes and exaggerating Gainesville speech.
A new Jimmy Conway Award for best or worst smoking is proposed; Reeves appears to smoke awkwardly by character choice despite being a smoker in real life. — Bill Simmons
Kevin’s lapse after quitting is offered as an explanation, but the performance is still criticized; Pacino handles cigarettes as naturally as an extra finger. — Bill Simmons
Steve Martin in 1979; Parenthood for Mary Steenburgen, tentative; A Beautiful Mind or Apollo 13 for Ron Howard as director; Happy Days free-throw scene for Ron Howard as actor; Harley Jane Kozak; the Ford convertible; Randy Newman; Amadeus for Tom Hulce; City Slickers for the screenwriters; The Bad News Bears films for Little League scenes; The World According to Garp; the Pam and Tommy Lee tape
Steve Martin’s Apex was previously assigned through Father of the Bride; the real peak is 1979 with Saturday Night Live guest-hosting, The Jerk, comedy albums and arena stand-up, prompting mock objections for Shopgirl and HouseSitter. — Bill Simmons
Mary Steenburgen’s Apex might be this film rather than the Howard Hughes movie, and her character is linked to Randy Newman’s song.
Ron Howard’s directing Apex is argued as A Beautiful Mind because it won him the Oscar; Apollo 13 is offered as the alternative.
Apollo 13 is favored for Ron Howard’s directing Apex, described as a mainstream rather than unusual view. — Chris Ryan
Ron Howard’s acting Apex is the Happy Days scene where Richie misses a game-winning free throw and his father offers a candy bar. — Bill Simmons
Randy Newman is a yes for the Oscar-nominated song and the era when I Love L.A. became a Lakers staple; a fan argues he had several peaks, Toy Story is attributed to Craig, and The Natural score is noted, while another host resents him for the Lakers and Dodgers. — Bill Simmons
Parent comedy movies are considered, with Folks! and National Lampoon films raised. — Van Lathan
City Slickers is the Apex for the film’s two screenwriters.
For feel-good Little League scenes the answer is not Parenthood but The Bad News Bears and Breaking Training, with Hardball and Rookie of the Year also raised.
A fan theory imagines the Hardball coach as Keanu’s Parenthood character after moving to Chicago and picking up gambling from Larry.
Parenthood is called up there for funny great-grandmother characters, which are hard to pull off. — Bill Simmons
For car accidents caused by oral sex, The World According to Garp is declared the winner, recalling its driveway scene to horrified reactions. — Bill Simmons
This film is not the road-head peak; the answer is the Pam and Tommy Lee tape, with a story about ordering it by phone before the internet. — Van Lathan
Keanu may be ineligible for having too many scenes; Clint Howard and the grandmother are nominees until Dennis Dugan as Gil’s boss is nominated and called the winner.
Dugan’s boss exercises in business clothes during work hours, talks down to Gil, and lights a cigarette as soon as he steps off the machine.
Keanu Reeves seems to be in a slightly different movie with an unexplained racing career and backstory; the award, not always given, goes to him approvingly. — Bill Simmons
Tom Hulce is the alternative: he is in the right movie, but his flight to Chile to escape gamblers suggests a separate film, and his father says he will never be seen again.
Joaquin Phoenix, then credited as Leaf, gives a performance that forecasts an Oscar winner, especially when his face breaks while asking his father if he can live with him. — Bill Simmons
One participant did not realize the actor was the boy from Parenthood until after Gladiator, when a sister pointed it out. — Van Lathan
A Kanye West lyric from Gone about a new wife and “now you’re Jennifer Aniston” is said to borrow from the film’s line about a new wife and family. — Van Lathan
Gil’s thumb trick still delights small children. — Bill Simmons
The grandmother inhaling helium is favored, as any helium scene is funny. — Bill Simmons
Per the research, there was a rivalry in which DiCaprio sought the Garry role, Phoenix got it, and the two competed for parts, with Phoenix measuring himself against DiCaprio. — Bill Simmons
Garry’s chaotic room is praised as a horror show compared with a real teenager’s room. — Bill Simmons
The boyfriend character as every parent’s nightmare who turns out decent is a favored concept. — Bill Simmons
The nude-photo discovery reportedly happened to producer Brian Grazer; developing such photos in the 1980s is joked about. — Bill Simmons
The Cure's Boys Don't Cry poster in Julie's room is appreciated. — Bill Simmons
Kevin’s tense face became a recurring reference in an early sports column, seen in a head coach during the Super Bowl and in LeBron James. — Bill Simmons
Harley Jane Kozak, also Helen in When Harry Met Sally, is appreciated as an actor who never quite broke through. — Bill Simmons
The film’s candid treatment of money, including Larry’s debts, Gil’s worries about private school, and summer-school pay funding a vacation, is more relatable than shows where money is no object. — Chris Ryan
The car sex-act gag is raised but deferred to Apex Mountain.
