They realized they could not afford Sally Field, who would have been 32; Estelle Parsons was another option and Shelly Winters turned it down.
Palmer agreed because she needed a new car, was paid $1,000 a day for 10 days and thought it was a piece of shit, with no idea it would be a major movie.
Sean Cunningham, the director-producer, was going to have his son play young Jason, and his wife vetoed it.
Earlier, the hosts note that they wanted Sally Field and could not get her, which forced them to cast unknowns who could be killed in more violent ways.
Most effects hold up, but Lennon’s digitally altered mouth looks rough and the scene diminishes him by crediting Forrest with song ideas. — Bill Simmons
Forrest’s suspiciously eclectic suitcase and Sally Field being only about ten years older than Hanks expose visual and continuity awkwardness. — Bill Simmons
Warner Bros. traded away the property after Rain Man for Executive Decision, a choice framed as a roughly $650 million error. — Bill Simmons
A deleted scene in which young Jenny kills her abusive father with a tractor is one the panel wishes had survived, rejecting the filmmakers’ fear that audiences would not forgive her.
A filmed scene in which Forrest diverts police dogs from Martin Luther King is unanimously treated as wisely deleted. — Bill Simmons
The proposed sequel would have involved Forrest Jr. with HIV, O.J.’s Bronco, Princess Diana, and an Oklahoma City bombing death; its extremity and post-9/11 abandonment are documented.
Naming Forrest after Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest is the clearest aged-worst decision, even with the narration’s explanation that people do senseless things.
2023 parents Gosling and Emma Stone with Bernthal as Cady proposed; Stone perhaps too young, Amy Adams alternative. — Bill Simmons
Current Reese Witherspoon becomes preferred wife alternative; Southern background and Big Little Lies support fit. — Bill Simmons
Early-1990s alternatives: Sarandon always preferred by one, Spacek and Sally Field considered. Lange’s height and physicality may favor her over Field. — Sean Fennessey
Since the movie makes things up anyway, Denzel Washington as David Ferry is suggested; Denzel as Mr. X is called insanely great, with doubt about him as Ferry.
Recast Sissy Spacek because she is too good an actress for a crummy part, freeing her for a better role.
A case is made that Robin Williams is at Apex Mountain: coming off a six-year run with five top-10 movies, maybe never a bigger star than in 1993, with a huge comedy that is not recognizable IP. — Amanda Dobbins
His Good Will Hunting Oscar is probably the last conceivable Apex Mountain, though this may be where he had tremendous success and still had options. — Amanda Dobbins
Only Jurassic Park made more domestically in 1993, ahead of The Fugitive, The Firm, Sleepless in Seattle, The Pelican Brief, Schindler's List, Cliffhanger and Groundhog Day; 1993 is called a great movie year. — Bill Simmons
Pro Last Action Here: it came 20 years too early but is great to watch. — Shea Serrano
Sally Field: no. Pierce Brosnan: no. Addendum: Brosnan's chest hair, yes; Brosnan in a bathing suit, yes.
Tries to recall Brosnan in a bathing suit in the Bond movies and The Thomas Crown Affair, and plans to keep replaying those scenes. — Amanda Dobbins
Chris Columbus: yes, after Home Alone, Home Alone 2 and this film's $441 million; he could make whatever he wanted, then tailed off. — Bill Simmons
Old-school San Francisco houses: yes, on a run with Pacific Heights, Full House and this movie. — Bill Simmons
Divorce comedies: yes, the main reference point in the 90s. — Bill Simmons
2640 Steiner Street; Williams in costume around San Francisco; cut neighbor scenes; eight-piece makeup; real childhood nanny; 'dear' count; cast divorces; Lisa Jakub's expulsion
The house is at 2640 Steiner Street; stories say Williams walked through San Francisco as Mrs. Doubtfire, including buying sex toys at a sex shop to see what he could get away with; 30 minutes of deleted scenes with the nosy neighbor were cut. — Bill Simmons
A prosthetic mask was a prop; the real makeup was eight separate pieces taking four to five hours; the character drew on Williams's real British childhood nanny, Lolly. — Bill Simmons
How many times the word deer (dear) is said in this movie: 29 times, 38 and 101 are offered. — Bill Simmons
Sally Field was going through a divorce while filming, and Williams later divorced his wife to marry the nanny. — Bill Simmons
Lisa Jacob, who played the oldest daughter, took five months off her Toronto school and was expelled; Williams wrote asking them to reverse it, and they framed the letter instead. — Bill Simmons
The Sally Field part is recast since the movie wasted her talents: someone 35 to 42 with 80s cachet, as with Terry Guard in Mr. Mom, maybe not a major star. — Bill Simmons
No huge overactor stood out at first. — Bill Simmons
Picks Sally Field reluctantly: the material is terrible, but she leans into the frustrated working mom and yells a lot, as judged by a connoisseur of parents fighting in movies. — Amanda Dobbins
Another participant will 'sign off on that' pick. — Amanda Dobbins
Whether Robin Williams is eligible is raised; he is just being Robin Williams, no replacement could be conceived, and he has inherent vulnerability, eyes that water on command and a rubbery face. — Shea Serrano
Disguise premises; early-90s working-mom character; runtime; 37 minutes before Mrs. Doubtfire appears; Dude Looks Like a Lady montage; indoor smoking; teen poster; theme-park score; bag left by the toilet
The internet ruined disguise-and-makeup plots: it is absurd that the family would not recognize Mrs. Doubtfire or that anyone would spend the daily makeup time, as with Tom Hanks's Boosom Buddies; why not just ask to watch the kids from three to seven? — Bill Simmons
Counter: he does ask and she says no, apparently because he has proven unreliable, though she is written as a one-dimensional, hateful character.
The early-90s working-mom character, with lines about corporate clones and an oddly corporate interior-decorating job, is an unflattering portrayal with no empathy for the mom, cast as the homework killjoy. — Amanda Dobbins
She is called the only villain of the movie, working too hard and keeping the kids from a cool husband; it is a tough part for Sally Field, though she comes around at the end. — Bill Simmons
At two hours and eight minutes the film is too long and a strong 90-minute contender; he does not become Mrs. Doubtfire until the 37-minute mark. — Bill Simmons
The 'Dude Looks Like a Lady' montage; the song itself has not aged, compared with Pat on SNL. — Bill Simmons
Cigarette smoking inside a studio is jarring. — Bill Simmons
A teenage girl's poster (transcribed as 'YouTube') is raised as aging badly, likened to a moment in Taken. — Bill Simmons
The score sounds like being on a Disney ride the whole time, even while the parents fight.
Watching Madman and the Miami Vice TV show made smoking seem cool, conceding that on-screen smoking can influence viewers. — Bill Simmons
Another aged-worst item: leaving the bag next to the toilet while switching back and forth; now the restaurant would be cleared out in two minutes. — Bill Simmons
