Tom Hanks plays Ned in his funny Bosom Buddies mode, which would make it 100 times better, and a young Sharon Stone plays Alice.
Kathleen Turner is floated, but the role is judged probably a little bit beneath her, and she is too sultry; in 1980 she would have caused chaos at a summer camp.
Michael Douglas revealing in his autobiography an affair with Kathleen Turner during Romance in the Stone (as transcribed) surprised nobody, given their Han Solo and Princess Leia level chemistry.
Verhoeven’s Apex is disputed: Starship Troopers is preferred for its later reputation, while Basic Instinct is defended for its cultural impact, commercial success and creation of a star. — Bill Simmons
Apex affirmatives are Stone, Eszterhas and erotic thrillers; Douglas and San Francisco films receive no, while ceiling sex mirrors are qualified by later MTV Cribs examples. — Bill Simmons
Freeze-frame moments are discussed with a Phoebe Cates counterexample; Tripplehorn’s peak is debated against The Firm, Coke and Jack Daniel’s receives assent, elevator murders loses to Dressed to Kill, and male-star nudity is proposed with Gibson, Costner and Willis comparisons.
The resumed Apex discussion endorses ice picks and women on top; sex with a therapist is proposed but compared with The Sopranos and The Prince of Tides.
San Francisco locations are an aged-best choice; locals’ objections to the nickname San Fran prompt discussion of SF and other names. — Bill Simmons
The film’s cigarette smoking is an aged-best choice; Douglas wins the smoking award because smoking appears to unlock Nick’s other destructive impulses. — Van Lathan
Aged-best picks include Catherine’s introduction on the dangerous rocky deck, the score, nudity, Stone and plot-driving props such as ice picks, scarves, mirrors and matching Picassos.
Men pursuing women who could destroy them is an aged-best theme, extended into a joke about dating Kardashians. — Mallory Rubin
Aged-best picks include Boz’s apartment and Picasso, Douglas’s hesitant flirtatious laugh, the Nick–Catherine dialogue, Gus’s colorful lines and pre-tech San Francisco. — Bill Simmons
Beth’s broken lock is praised as a subtle clue that Catherine has entered her home and planted evidence, although the ending is still considered fragile. — Van Lathan
Rewatchable scenes: Tom learns he may lose his job, then meets Meredith and angrily tells his staff he was passed over. The workplace banter is praised as absurdly full of statements that would now prompt HR complaints. — Bill Simmons
The staff's impromptu feminism debate is praised, especially the female engineer who can trade jokes with the men while explaining obstacles they dismiss. Dennis Miller supplies the wisecracks. — Bill Simmons
The after-hours drink with Meredith is praised for Moore's intensity and described as exceptionally charged without nudity. The hosts debate how its appeal implicates viewers because she ignores refusal, while the former couple's familiarity complicates the scene. — Bill Simmons
Meredith invokes their sexual history, comments cruelly on Tom's wife and domestic life, and stresses that he has more to lose. The old-flame trope and personal familiarity help explain his initial participation. — Bill Simmons
The encounter is compared with Single White Female's scene of a man outwardly resisting while participating; that film is preferred in the comparison, and its subsequent self-righteous response is mocked. — Bill Simmons
Tom seeing his reflection and recognizing what he is doing is singled out as an exceptional Great Shot Gordo moment. — Bill Simmons
Meredith's furious reaction after Tom stops and her demand that he return are praised for Moore's commitment and the scene's magnetic excess. — Bill Simmons
Dennis Miller exposes Tom's situation at a double date; Tom's wife says she already knows. Her later accounting of his mistakes is praised, along with his defensive speech about power. — Bill Simmons
Tom's deposition is praised for both lawyers and its squirm-inducing questions, with his female attorney opposed by Meredith's traditional male lawyer. — Bill Simmons
Meredith's deposition unravels through the rare 1991 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay: ordering it weeks earlier undermines her account of an impromptu meeting. The hosts enjoy the wine knowledge and legal construction.
The recording exposes Meredith's account, after which she doubles down with a speech about sexual aggression and women in power. The hosts compare the shift with Sharon Stone's interrogation and praise its theatrical excess.
The hotel-room virtual-reality sequence is a favorite for its cliff, poor effects, Meredith's avatar jump scare, and her angry computer face. Its file retrieval is contrasted with modern VR games used for amusement. — Bill Simmons
Getting into a hotel room by asking staff to clean it is praised as a 1990s movie device while questioned as real-world security, with Pacific Heights as another example. — Bill Simmons
The shareholder showdown firing Meredith is called unrealistic but entertaining. The ending gives Stephanie the job, reveals the anonymous friend, and restores Tom's family and employment. — Bill Simmons
The Donald Sutherland sexual-advance dream is called the funniest scene by one participant and an aged-worst choice by another, with its close-up treated as a jump scare. — Bill Simmons
Final scene choices: Van's sexual encounter choice is acknowledged, while another participant favors the comic hotel-room VR sequence. — Bill Simmons
The cast is largely considered untouchable; Sharon Stone and The performer transcribed as DeMorne (identity unresolved) are proposed for Lynette, with continued admiration for Lisa Blount. — Bill Simmons
A later-era Denzel Washington is proposed as an especially strong Foley, explicitly outside the original casting period. — Bill Simmons
Denzel's military filmography is recalled in support of the hypothetical Foley casting; A Soldier's Story and Adolph Caesar's sergeant are praised. — Bill Simmons
Connery is a reported Frank possibility. — Chris Ryan
De Niro reportedly was offered Mitch after Eastwood joined but was making A Bronx Tale; the discussion imagines overlap with his other sinister roles. — Bill Simmons
