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Rewatchables episodes featuring James Brown’s films

The Blues Brothers

1980 film

Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey

Aired February 11, 2025

Displaying 1 episode

Mentioned in discussions

Another 48 Hrs. The Rewatchables
Another 48 Hrs.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Motorcycle; Reggie’s car; novelty pen; Walkman; lighter; James Brown cassette

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:05Read transcript
  • The motorcycle and Reggie’s car are wanted, with the car acknowledged as against the rule. — Bill Simmons
  • The novelty pen is another choice. — Chris Ryan
  • The Walkman, lighter and James Brown cassette are added. — Chris Ryan
Just One of the Guys The Rewatchables
Just One of the Guys

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Rick; the Cyndi Lauper pronunciation

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:17Read transcript
  • Weak-link discussion focuses on the Cyndi Lauper pronunciation and Rick’s underwritten character, while another response resists judging performances in a vibe-driven comedy.
  • Rick’s characterization is criticized as inconsistent, with James Brown enthusiasm failing to make the sensitive outsider compelling.
The Blues Brothers The Rewatchables
The Blues Brothers

Apex Mountain

Blues Brothers band; prison-property returns; mall stores; Illinois Nazis; Oldsmobiles

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:53Read transcript
  • Belushi’s official peak is placed in 1978 with Animal House and SNL, though his Chicago citywide popularity is considered another kind of apex. — Bill Simmons
  • Aykroyd is rejected in favor of Ghostbusters. — Bill Simmons
  • The prison-property-return scene is an apex candidate and a template, compared with Rounders and 48 Hrs.; an imagined heist-movie version becomes a joke.
  • Chicago as a film location is rejected in favor of Ferris Bueller or The Fugitive, with Thief an emotional alternative. — Bill Simmons
  • The blues is rejected; Elvis in Vegas is preferred for bushy sideburns. — Bill Simmons
  • Fisher’s simultaneous Star Wars-era prominence supports her case, though Jedi is proposed as a stronger character moment and sparks disagreement about the trilogy.
  • J. C. Penney and especially Pier 1 benefit from the mall scene at an already strong historical moment for the stores. — Bill Simmons
  • Illinois Nazis are accepted; Rawhide’s theme is placed at the television show’s height instead. Orange Whips prompt uncertainty about the drink itself.
  • Scarface and Richard Pryor are alternatives for cocaine’s cultural peak, with a joking basketball-stat line also imagined.
  • New Oldsmobiles are accepted and James Brown rejected; Elwood’s awful apartment is compared with Se7en’s sloth-victim apartment. — Bill Simmons
  • The Blues Brothers as a band are accepted here over their platinum album and SNL appearances.
  • Vengeful ex-girlfriends lose to Fatal Attraction; Landis’s peak is debated between Coming to America and Animal House rather than this film. — Bill Simmons
The Blues Brothers The Rewatchables
The Blues Brothers

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Aretha Franklin; Ray Charles tie alternative

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:12Read transcript
The Blues Brothers The Rewatchables
The Blues Brothers

Most Rewatchable Scene

Ray’s Music Exchange; Chez Paul; mall chase

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:54Read transcript
  • Jake’s release, the brothers’ reunion, police-car pickup and bridge jump provide a strong opening. — Bill Simmons
  • James Brown’s church performance and Jake’s epiphany are nominated as iconic, with a stunt double inferred for the handsprings. — Bill Simmons
  • The Dixie Square Mall chase is loved for escalating destruction, deadpan shopping remarks and its period mall atmosphere. — Bill Simmons
  • Chez Paul is a favorite and the funniest scene, unleashing Belushi through food and outrageous demands; more similarly unrestrained scenes are desired. — Bill Simmons
  • The Soul Food Cafe sequence combines John Lee Hooker, dry toast and four fried chickens, and Aretha’s Think; Murphy’s stiff acting contrasts with her performance. — Bill Simmons
  • Ray’s Music Exchange is praised as the best musical number for its outdoor choreography, compared with Ferris Bueller’s Twist and Shout dancing. — Chris Ryan
  • Bob’s Country Bunker, Rawhide and Stand by Your Man are nominated; its chicken wire inspires a joke about live television recaps.
  • Minnie the Moocher, the Palace Hotel performances and Carrie Fisher’s tunnel confrontation are listed among candidates. — Bill Simmons
  • The 106-miles-to-Chicago exchange is an iconic launch into the final chase. — Bill Simmons
  • The Nazis’ prolonged falling Pinto, the Bluesmobile collapsing and the surrounding guns are final-chase highlights. — Bill Simmons
  • Ray’s Music Exchange is explicitly selected for Charles’s timing, the song and dance, and its necessary place in getting instruments; another response favors Chez Paul or the mall. — Sean Fennessey
Coming to America The Rewatchables
Coming to America

Apex Mountain

Shari Headley; Allison Dean; Clint Smith; Jheri curls in film

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:43Read transcript
  • Eddie Murphy is not at Apex here. — Bill Simmons
  • Arsenio Hall is proposed as at Apex, but the objection is that the Arsenio Hall Show is his apex, with 1989 preferred. — Bill Simmons
  • James Earl Jones's apex is debated: this film and Field of Dreams, the 70s, the voice of Darth Vader, the Yellow Pages ads, possibly no apex, or Sandlot as a belated apex.
  • Best of the Best is jokingly named as an apex and a future Rewatchables pick.
  • Shari Headley and the other sister are "definitely Apex for both". — Bill Simmons
  • St. John's is no, because the 1985 team with Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Mark Jackson was better. — Bill Simmons
  • Clint Smith is a yes. — Bill Simmons
  • Hot tubs are raised; the Coming to America hot tub is admired, but others point to Julia Roberts and Eddie's James Brown sketch. — Bill Simmons
  • For Jheri curls, Soul Glo is both the nadir and the apex, at least in film. — Bill Simmons
  • Queens isn't treated well enough to be at Apex, and classy New York hotels peak with Home Alone. — Bill Simmons
  • Barbershop conversations were copied for 33 years, but the movie Barbershop is judged the apex for barbershops. — Van Lathan
  • The category should be specific to Black barbershops because Mississippi Burning has a barbershop scene the same year. — Wesley Morris
  • It's got to be Barbershop. — Wesley Morris
Rocky IV The Rewatchables
Rocky IV

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The bloody “throw the damn towel” towel

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:41Read transcript
  • The snake watch and Rocky’s funeral/Cobra aviators were proposed.
  • The bloody towel was the strongest choice if it could be authenticated. — Bill Simmons
  • The robot, gloves, trunks, James Brown robe, and treadmill were other candidates. — Bill Simmons
Rocky IV The Rewatchables
Rocky IV

What’s Aged the Best?

Drago’s minimal dialogue, Rocky’s clothes, Paulie’s arc, the training contrast, montage density, opening credits, and Ivan Drago himself

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:51Read transcript
  • Drago’s six terse English lines remain iconic.
  • Rocky’s oversized jacket was praised.
  • Rocky wearing Cobra-style aviators to Apollo’s funeral was enjoyed as a specific mid-1980s choice.
  • Rocky’s Hugo Boss sweatshirts and Scorpion-like robe were praised.
  • Paulie’s arc from threatening brother-in-law to essential cut man was praised.
  • Adrian’s snake-shaped watch was singled out as exceptionally gaudy.
  • The natural-versus-steroids training montage remains effective despite its irony.
  • James Brown’s credit as “The Godfather of Soul” was enjoyed. — Bill Simmons
  • “Living in America” was reported as Brown’s first top-40 single in eleven years and the last of his career. — Bill Simmons
  • The film’s high-tech sports equipment looked ahead of its time. — Bill Simmons
  • Nearly 32 percent of the movie was reported to be montage.
  • Apollo’s later-unacknowledged son aged well because it enabled the Creed continuation.
  • The exploding Soviet and American gloves made the opening credits immediate and memorable. — Kyle Brandt
  • Ivan Drago’s lasting screen presence was chosen as the strongest aged-best element. — Bill Simmons
Rocky IV The Rewatchables
Rocky IV

Most Rewatchable Scene

No consensus: the combined training sequences; Drago–Rocky round two; the larger fight and entrance sequence

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:40Read transcript
  • The two training sequences together were the advance favorite and one final choice. — Bill Simmons
  • Creed’s “Living in America” entrance was nominated for James Brown, Drago’s confusion, and Apollo’s showmanship. — Bill Simmons
  • The full Drago–Creed fight was nominated, including the nicknames, glove touch, “throw the damn towel,” and “if he dies, he dies.”
  • The “you can’t win” confrontation with Adrian was nominated.
  • The Lamborghini “No Easy Way Out” montage was nominated. — Bill Simmons
  • Duke’s “Apollo was like my son” training speech was nominated.
  • The first old-school-versus-high-tech training sequence was nominated. — Bill Simmons
  • The second training sequence, with the mountain climb and “no pain,” was nominated. — Bill Simmons
  • Round two of Rocky–Drago was nominated for “he’s cut,” the tackle, and “he’s a man.”
  • Round fifteen was nominated for Drago’s collapse, the crowd turn, and “he’s chopping the Russian down.”
  • Rocky’s final speech and Gorbachev slow clap were nominated. — Cousin Sal
  • One host chose the nine-minute training and Adrian sequence; another chose the second round.
Face/Off The Rewatchables
Face/Off

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"There will be a lot of changes around here"; "We'll take a break when the case breaks"; "What a predicament"

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:05Read transcript
  • Lines put forward: 'I'm Castor Troy' (as transcribed Caster Trey) from the clip already shown; evil Travolta's 'it's like looking in the mirror, but not', a really good Travolta line; and his throwaway 'lies, mistrust, mixed messages, this is turning into a real marriage', offered as a senior high school yearbook quote.
  • Also 'Sean, we've been living together as man and wife for a week', which is devastating and very uncomfortable, and the actual last line of the movie, 'Dad, I'm sorry I shot you'.
  • Gives an honorable mention to Travolta with Cage's soul going into Dominique Swain's room, seeing her pack of cigarettes and that she is listening to the James Brown song about a brand new bag, lighting one and saying 'there will be a lot of changes around here' before walking out; that is his favorite line. — Chris Ryan
  • Picks a different one: six years after the elite uber terrorist killed his son at the carousel, Sean Archer has become the worst boss ever, and when asked to give the agents a break says 'we'll take a break when the case breaks'. — Jason Concepcion
  • Has two Travolta lines from the church standoff at the very end: Travolta telling the Cage-faced Archer, who is mad that he killed his kid, to either get over it or kill himself rather than take it so personally; and, as the two-man standoff grows person by person to a dozen guns pointed at everyone, 'what a predicament', the best line in the whole movie for him. — Shea Serrano
  • Another host might vote for 'what a predicament' too, since it was exactly a predicament.
Displaying all 12 discussions

Films in the archive

The Blues Brothers

1980