The brisk, joke-dense film balances absurdity with sincerity. Staying home supplies a coherent Christmas goal rather than the earlier sequels’ episodic travel.
Chase’s attic and ladder work recalls Keaton-era physical comedy, now partly displaced by real Jackass stunts; childhood exposure to those films becomes a parenting joke.
Chase combines frustration, physical precision, offhand sarcasm and leading-man looks; Martin, Ferrell, Sandler and Vaughn are comparisons, but no current equivalent is found. His long run ended without Murray-like dramatic reinvention.
Louis-Dreyfus and the tormented yuppies remain funny; Juliette Lewis’s annoyed but tender Audrey is considered the best version, and Diane Ladd’s mother is praised.
D’Angelo’s appeal and straight-woman performance remain strong.
The sap gag, Shitter’s full meme, franchise callbacks and the film’s unexpected generational Christmas status endure.
Discovering one’s father had a sexual life is a recognizable theme; Van recalls his father encountering an old college acquaintance who taught him science. — Van Lathan
The electrocuted-cat gag reportedly survived a proposed cut because test audiences liked it.
Bart deserves more reverence and a documentary, perhaps a six-part series; his personal moviegoing impact exceeds Juliette Lewis and Gary Sinise, while Gary Oldman is a harder comparison. — Bill Simmons
The second participant explicitly has no additional hottest take. — Van Lathan
Craig Kilburn (as transcribed) is nominated because he probably regards it as a heat check; Juliette Lewis was incredible in only two scenes, one the supermarket invitation in the closing credits, like an amateur porn star before the term existed; the Dan Band and the actor who played Blue are also named.
Sean William Scott (as transcribed) as the animal trainer Peppers is added for yanking the goat's chain and for his reaction to the dart gun, 'you just took one in the jugular, man', played as a clip.
Juliette Lewis is one host's winner, with five threes in nine minutes; Brian Callen as the Greek waiter with 'it is on me, Godfather' is a weird performance, and he is a favorite who never made it despite MADtv and Inside Schwartz, now around the Rogan and UFC podcast world.
Terry O'Quinn, uncredited, post-X-Files and pre-Lost, in two scenes, does not qualify; he was just a big guy in movies until Lost revived his career; two hosts go Juliette Lewis.
Four opening nominations: Frank the Tank at Mitchapalooza through the streaking and the women driving slowly beside him; the green-hat oral-sex class; the dart-gun birthday party, including the bread maker re-gifted a third time; and Blue dying during the KY wrestling match, which may run into Blue's funeral and Will Ferrell singing.
Another nomination is the first meeting in the kitchen at Luke Wilson's new place, with earmuffs and Frank walking around with a hockey stick destroying things, watched eight times that week; everybody knows the guy who picks up the hockey stick mid-conversation and makes you afraid something will break.
The first scene with Jeremy Piven's character is very funny and a weirdly good Piven performance, subverting his PCU character now that he is old enough to be the dean; it is pre-Entourage and before he found the right toupee.
The opening with Juliette Lewis and two people in the bathroom, with Todd Phillips at the door, is nominated as a great twist on the familiar scene of a man coming home to noises in the bedroom; it is a good Luke Wilson scene too, and probably her best grown-up performance for one host, who otherwise fears her Natural Born Killers mode.
Asked for the most rewatchable, the pick is the hockey stick scene. — Chris Ryan
Another host goes with Frank the Tank coming back to life, from the guys pressing Frank to have a drink through the 'nice little Saturday' Home Depot speech to 'we're going streaking', and plays the clip; whether the scene runs into his wife finding him and the Speaker City speech is debated.
Other candidates: Vince Vaughn mouthing along to his own commercial, Will Ferrell talking about the car's restrictor plate, the wedding with 'it takes a real man to give away an angel' and the under-the-breath 'this is such a mistake, you got to run' muttering in the church that kills Will Ferrell, and drunk Luke Wilson meeting Ellen Pompeo with 'Denver, the sunshine state'; the hard thing with comedies is whether something is a moment or a scene.
The third host goes earmuffs along with Chris, calling it the most iconic thing in the film aside from the streaking and the most repeated line in his life; the hosts realize earmuffs came from this film, wonder whether it was a Vince Vaughn ad lib or something heard around LA, admit owing him royalties for Ringer-office use, and play the clip.
