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Film credit

Deborah Kara Unger

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Episodes featuring their films
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Rewatchables episodes featuring Deborah Kara Unger’s films

The Game

1997 film

Bill Simmons · Sean Fennessey · Chris Ryan

Aired September 29, 2020

Displaying 1 episode

Mentioned in discussions

The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:18Read transcript
  • A participant initially proposes no winner because this is not the best work of anyone involved, except possibly Deborah Kara Unger; the panel objects that career-best work is not the criterion. — Chris Ryan
  • Douglas is defended because his old-school movie-star presence carries nearly every scene and gives the audience its point of view.
  • Penn is defended because Conrad’s few scenes require an actor with enough energy and danger to make the entire premise work. — Bill Simmons
  • Fincher is rejected because he disowned the movie, though its success helped position him to make Fight Club.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Michael Douglas
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Deborah Kara Unger’s name, a possible real-world death linked to the film, and the game’s final cost

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:13Read transcript
  • The panel asks whether using a shorter professional name would have changed Deborah Kara Unger’s career. — Bill Simmons
  • An Unsolved Mysteries case is recalled in which online speculation linked a man’s death to an obsession with this film. — Bill Simmons
  • The final-bill question is framed by 1997 prices, the brothers splitting payment, and the belief that fifteen to twenty million dollars would be unaffordable.
  • Five million dollars is proposed, then questioned because even a wealthy character would notice that cost. — Chris Ryan
  • A San Francisco commercial lease, hundreds of extras, and actor day rates add substantial overhead. — Chris Ryan
  • Permits, a cab driven into the ocean, and gunfire through an apartment building raise public-incident concerns.
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Picking Nits

The bank calls, Mexico trip, cab escape, apartment gunfire, roof jump, publishing-executive timeline, and company stakes

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:20Read transcript
  • The panel doubts that a multimillionaire’s accounts could be drained so easily and suggests CRS merely redirected his calls. — Chris Ryan
  • Nicholas reading account numbers aloud in front of Deborah Kara Unger’s character is treated as implausible banking behavior. — Bill Simmons
  • His psychological-test answers seem insufficient for reliably guessing every password. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie skips how a penniless and disheveled Nicholas travels back from Mexico. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel asks how Nicholas was brought into Mexico and how he could stay roofied for a four-to-six-hour drive. — Bill Simmons
  • Divers are assumed to be waiting if Douglas drowns in the cab. — Chris Ryan
  • The apartment gunfire is explained as blanks plus effects in the walls, but the scale of the staging remains doubtful. — Bill Simmons
  • Nicholas could easily jump a few feet away from the roof target and die, making the planned fall the central liability problem.
  • Attempted suicide or fake murder would radically change the party, and recovering emotionally in ten minutes is judged implausible.
  • The timeline for the publishing executive learning about the game and accepting Nicholas’s firing is unclear. — Chris Ryan
  • Nicholas’s intense concern over a children’s publisher missing projections by two cents seems disproportionate to his wealth. — Sean Fennessey
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Apex Mountain

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:46Read transcript
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Recasting Couch

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:45Read transcript
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

What’s Aged the Worst?

The Mexico detour, Fincher’s dislike of the movie, Deborah Kara Unger’s later career, and repeated Super 8 flashbacks draw criticism.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:55Read transcript
  • The movie drags after Nicholas wakes in Mexico, and moving the sequence to San Bernardino is proposed as a faster alternative. — Bill Simmons
  • Fincher’s public dislike of the movie is itself called something that aged badly. — Bill Simmons
  • Deborah Kara Unger’s career after this role is described as a disappointment. — Bill Simmons
  • The repeated Super 8 images of the father’s suicide are said to break the tone and over-explain Nicholas. — Chris Ryan
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

What’s Aged the Best?

Sean Penn, the final bill split, San Francisco locations, fluorescent graffiti, thriller phrases, Deborah Kara Unger, and Fincher’s hidden societies are praised.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:29Read transcript
  • Sean Penn’s unreliable, volatile brother remains a major strength. — Bill Simmons
  • The brothers silently agreeing to split the final bill is praised as a sharp closing joke. — Bill Simmons
  • The Ritz-Carlton remains an unchanged and recognizable San Francisco location. — Bill Simmons
  • The graffiti-covered house remains visually memorable. — Bill Simmons
  • The phrases “they’re watching” and “now you’ve done it” are praised as durable thriller devices.
  • Deborah Kara Unger is praised as well suited to the movie, while the panel wonders why she did not become a larger star.
  • The panel reports that Fincher and Douglas cast her after seeing a Crash sex scene on her reel, then explicitly questions whether that story is true. — Sean Fennessey
  • Fincher’s Bay Area photography gives the city a strong cinematic identity. — Chris Ryan
  • The hidden organization operating through familiar hotels, phones, and bank systems fits Fincher’s recurring interest in secret societies in plain view. — Chris Ryan
The Game The Rewatchables
The Game

Most Rewatchable Scene

The ending run, CRS chase, first Rebhorn meeting, Conrad lunch, graffiti return, presidential suite, and cab escape

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:40Read transcript
  • Conrad's lunch is praised for Sean Penn's meth anecdote and volatile energy. — Bill Simmons
  • The television speaking directly to Nicholas is selected as the moment the game turns strange. — Bill Simmons
  • The car scene is separately nominated as the game begins to unravel. — Bill Simmons
  • The dog chase and dumpster jump are praised as reliable thriller devices. — Bill Simmons
  • The presidential-suite sequence escalates through the pickpocket, hotel-desk recognition, and a room staged with drugs and pornography. — Chris Ryan
  • The cab-driver scene and Nicholas jumping from the cab are another favored set piece.
  • The entire ending run from the CRS cafeteria reveal through the party and final airport invitation is the preferred extended sequence for one participant. — Bill Simmons
  • The graffiti-covered house and first use of White Rabbit are praised for their fluorescent design and immersive staging. — Sean Fennessey
  • The principal chase with Deborah Kara Unger’s character through CRS and the later return with police to an empty office is another winner. — Chris Ryan
  • Both confrontations with the publishing executive are praised, especially the later scene in which Nicholas throws Polaroids at him. — Chris Ryan
  • Scenes in which Nicholas questions participants and tries to determine the rules are valued for sustaining uncertainty.
  • The first Rebhorn meeting is selected for the controlled sales pitch about accepting the game before judging it. — Bill Simmons
  • The slow-motion racquetball footage is jokingly nominated while prompting doubts about Douglas as an athlete. — Bill Simmons
Displaying all 8 discussions

Films in the archive

The Game

1997