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
Kasdan; Tilly’s Big Chill–Psycho II year; Mary Kay Place; JoBeth Williams’s Poltergeist–Big Chill period (qualified); the sperm-donor arrangement; “hog is broken” jokingly
Redford or Hoffman are imagined in a 1970s version, but neither would supply Travolta’s particular lightness and finesse. — Wesley Morris
Travolta is imagined in Tom Hanks’s 1980s roles, Romancing the Stone, Beverly Hills Cop and Amadeus, praising his combined dancing and everyman abilities. — Wesley Morris
Purple Rain is jokingly floated and doubted, while Manhunter receives enthusiastic support as a hypothetical Travolta vehicle.
Travolta in No Way Out and Field of Dreams is imagined; Field of Dreams versus Bull Durham suitability is disputed, including whether he looks like a baseball player.
Travolta in Die Hard is enthusiastically supported; missing an action vehicle around 1986–1988 is considered a lost opportunity.
Nancy Allen is the recasting target despite admiration for Dressed to Kill and Carrie; repeated casting of a romantic partner is compared to Sondra Locke, while Allen is said to improve in the second half. — Bill Simmons
Lange is initially considered the only proposed actor suited to the character’s ditziness; Allen’s apparent dullness is defended as manipulation plus genuine hospital sedation.
Allen is defended through her attentive eyes in the bar scene; the alternatives might project too much intelligence and professionalism, including Lange’s light rather than ditzy Tootsie performance. — Wesley Morris
Sarandon remains a possible alternative, but Allen’s Bronx background makes her believable as Philadelphian in a way Lange may not. — Chris Ryan
Margot Kidder and Carrie Fisher are proposed then rejected as different or too smart; Allen’s lightness is defended as exactly right, while the desire for a new actress persists.
Harrison Ford is proposed as capable of the lead but acknowledged to produce a different performance. — Wesley Morris
Roy Scheider could make it work as a more 1970s film; Redford is doubted as too beautiful and insufficiently East Coast, while Pacino and Gere remain conceivable. — Wesley Morris
Stallone is jokingly the worst case because he would rewrite the material.
The invited producer agrees Allen works better by the end despite disliking her early performance. — Bill Simmons
Nina van Pallandt replacing Hutton is proposed as an older but striking woman plausibly intoxicated by Julian. — Sean Fennessey
Christie remains a preferred Michelle, with her age making the senator marriage more convincing. — Bill Simmons
Lange is favored if casting younger; Glenn Close is another appealing option for a desirous senator’s wife and future erotic-thriller skill. — Sean Fennessey
A current remake considers Bernthal but doubts his age, proposes Miles Teller, and raises Glenn Powell while questioning his smirky quality. — Sean Fennessey
The first hangout lunch between Annie and Lillian opens the category, with Annie's penis impression called first class and possibly improvised.
Apatow understood the value of four-minute hangout scenes establishing why characters are friends, a template later seen even in The Hangover. — Bill Simmons
Jill Clayburgh, a major late-70s star, plays Annie's mom; her chicken-coop scene is longer in the extended version, and the character was toned down after she died. — Bill Simmons
The dueling engagement-party speeches were largely improvised; Rose Byrne invented fake Thai and a sensible Thai sentence was dubbed in.
The rest of the engagement party works too: Megan's introduction (dolphin telepathy, "I survived. I thrived.") and Annie being repeatedly paired with random men, where everyone else, not Annie, raises her single status. — Mallory Rubin
The speeches push secondhand mortification until guests are holding their glasses up waiting to drink. — Mallory Rubin
Asked about memorable wedding speeches, one participant recalls a best-man speech for best friend Jeff 23-24 years earlier that ended on hoping to someday find what the couple had. — Bill Simmons
Every character introduction before the speeches is distinct and funny, including Rita on her teenage boys and Becca with her husband after a Disneyland honeymoon. — Mina Kimes
Rose Byrne is one of the most underrated aspects of the film, also great in Neighbors (on the 2021 schedule); the dueling speeches felt more cringe-inducing than the bridal-shop scene. — Mina Kimes
Per the research, Byrne had been a dramatic actress hired as a Glenn Close-type villain foil, with nobody knowing she was this funny; she has the hardest, passive-aggressive part.
The food-poisoning dress-fitting scene is the iconic one; it was not in the shooting script and was added after Apatow and Paul Feig pushed for one more physical-comedy scene.
Setup details include the stray dog at the Brazilian restaurant and theme suggestions of Pixar from Becca and Fight Club from Megan. — Bill Simmons
The gross-out sequence was written in one participant's outline under most rewatchable scene before the rewatch; favorite lines include "I just need to get off this white carpet" and "Look away." — Mallory Rubin
Annie refusing to concede anything to Helen, looking worse with each cut and inching a Jordan almond toward her mouth, may be the funniest part.
It is one of the funniest scenes of all time for any age; after it was shown to a five-year-old son, "look away" became a household running joke. — Bill Simmons
The immaculate white bridal shop makes the chaos funnier. — Mallory Rubin
Asked which sick character they would be, one participant picks the character who throws up on someone else; another says they would be the "look away" character, like a dog that avoids eye contact.
Megan should have owned using the sink; the janitor's next-morning cleanup was on one participant's unanswerable-questions list.
The plane trip, a spouse's favorite scene, is a great 10 minutes: McCarthy's air-marshal bit and Annie escalating to "Welcome to Germany."
Good ensembles work in any pairing, compared with the Russo brothers' pairings in Infinity War and Endgame; seating Rita and Becca together to discuss their sex lives is a delight. — Mallory Rubin
The film shows up in gifs a lot, like Anchorman: "look away" and Annie's sarcastic reply to Helen's Vegas restaurant offer. — Mina Kimes
Planes are not funny places, especially since 9/11 and now the pandemic, so unlocking comedy there works. — Bill Simmons
Annie getting fired over the fight with the teenage girl at the store is a smaller favorite.
The bridal shower, including the bleached-asshole exchange, is another set piece; Lillian's "talk behind my back like a normal person" line is praised, and Megan takes the golden retriever puppies home. — Mallory Rubin
Megan's pep talk, which opens with Annie watching Cast Away, is nominated as a quieter pick blending humor and heart. — Mallory Rubin
McCarthy was the film's stunning revelation; she was an improv legend largely unknown to the public, compared with a John Belushi documentary, and was nominated for an Oscar.
Annie repeatedly driving past the cop to get his attention is a spouse's favorite. — Bill Simmons
Jon Hamm's scenes are flagged as a likely heat check, including the "open for biz" lap-nap line. — Mina Kimes
