The father is criticized as helpless and lacking clear traits, with an oddly subdued response to possession. — Bill Simmons
The father’s strange hair raises the question of whether he is wearing a wig. — Sean Fennessey
The film should either emphasize his absence as a long-haul trucker or introduce a darker quality; John C. Reilly and John Hawkes are floated as alternatives. — Chris Ryan
Most unrealistic part of the Mikey-Lorraine scene; Trent's after-school special story; whether Trent made it as an actor; why anyone hung out with Mike; salami for breakfast
Most unrealistic in the Mikey-Lorraine scene: Heather Graham alone at a bar with no one circling, both swing dancing at a high level, her asking him to dance and being attracted to him.
The swing dancing is the most unrealistic, like figure skating, when Mike cannot get dressed.
Trent's after-school special story is judged embellished, since the oral history says the dialogue was drawn from their lives.
Asked whether Trent made it as an actor, the answer is no; guesses include the par three, waiting tables at the 101, and bartending back in Chicago after two or three years. — Chris Ryan
When was Mike ever fun? He had to be talked into Vegas, cannot gamble, is an unfunny comedian, throws friends under the bus, is stuck on an ex dating Pierre, cannot golf, is somehow an accomplished swing dancer, and cannot seal the deal with Heather Graham. — Bill Simmons
Pushback: that makes the others monsters, since Mike is homesick and relatable; the glory-days answer is a joke about the set of Rudy, and neither Cameron nor Mike is someone you would actually hang out with, though both are great characters.
Is Ron Livingston's character unwrapping a roll of salami for breakfast the most unrealistic thing? One host defends it and fetches soppressata from his kitchen on air. — Chris Ryan
Opening credits; Vaughn and Favreau careers; This Place Is Dead Anyway guy; Vegas baby Vegas; Mikey-as-loser jokes; PG-13 line; Marty and Elaine; party-to-party convoys; diner hangouts; music; Vaughn-Favreau dynamic; Doug Liman; Ron Livingston and Heather Graham casting
The opening credits and their pictures of LA. — Bill Simmons
The careers of Vaughn and Favreau, which in 2003 might have seemed stuck after a grand slam out of the gate. — Bill Simmons
The "this place is dead anyway" guy, played by Alex Desert, says it twice when the place is not dead; nobody is paying attention to them. — Bill Simmons
"Vegas baby Vegas" was first heard here and reused liberally in columns. — Bill Simmons
The film establishes Mikey as a loser: Lisa is a Dorothy at the MGM Grand, the "not in Kansas anymore" line gets dead silence, and the comedian is the least funny guy. — Bill Simmons
Marty and Elaine look exactly the same at the Dresden years later; one host saw them play midweek last fall and jokes they may be alien life forms. — Bill Simmons
Everyone driving in their own car in a convoy from party to party, as LA was until about 2014-15. — Bill Simmons
Hanging out in diners, a top-five hangout location; late coffee and pancakes are missed. — Bill Simmons
A college diner near Holy Cross called the Heritage, where a friend always ordered the Heritage; the 101 diner near the office is the diner in the movie; diners are a lifestyle on Long Island. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say diners have taken a big hit with COVID and many in LA have gone down. — Bill Simmons
Doug Liman is called one of the 10 or 12 most successful directors of the last 30 years, a risk-taker good with actors, discussed on the Edge of Tomorrow podcast. — Sean Fennessey
Ron Livingston and Heather Graham were caught right before fame; Livingston is likable and almost the moral conscience; Graham made this and Boogie Nights within about six months. — Sean Fennessey
The drive to Vegas is a pick: he is talked into going, puts on a suit while the other holds the wheel, they scream Vegas, then the next cut is them driving sadly down the highway.
The whole blackjack scene is a pick, ending with the devastated Mike and Trent insisting he is the big winner. — Bill Simmons
That roughly 11-minute stretch runs into breakfast, with the pancakes, the age of enlightenment, and "I'm going to pull a Fredo", humming for 15 solid minutes. — Bill Simmons
Details praised: counting the money before handing it over, an amateur move; the three black chips back; the double down loss you could see coming; the look on Favreau's face. — Bill Simmons
Is it Mike's first Vegas trip? They seem secretly losers; Trent, supposedly worldly, cannot gamble, and doubling down on 11 is his only move. — Bill Simmons
The Los Feliz par-three scene is a pick: not mentioning her like not talking to a pitcher mid no-hitter, and "get there" on a putt six feet short, still funny 150 times later.
The par three looks exactly the same, down to the booth attendant, and captures struggling actors with nothing to do; opening a round there with an eight or nine is relatable.
The NHL video-game scene is called perhaps the greatest video-game scene in movie history; The Wizard is raised, but this is the first to integrate guys playing a sports game so seamlessly. — Bill Simmons
Picking Roenick was essential because he was a god in that game; Vaughn is said to be a huge Blackhawks fan. — Bill Simmons
"The Kings are a finesse team", making Gretzky's head bleed, and messing with Mikey over the delivery guy are all called lights out. — Bill Simmons
A participant who was an only child identifies with Sue: undefeated against the computer, then blaming the controller when friends beat him.
Per the Grantland oral history as told on air, they could not make Gretzky's head bleed and had Vaughn come over during editing to keep trying until they captured it. — Bill Simmons
The Heather Graham scene is a pick: he finally uses Trent's lessons, they swing dance, and cutaways show a crying, happy Trent and Sue; Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are said to have been asked on a whim and later played a Super Bowl halftime show. — Bill Simmons
The late-night diner scene is a pick, with "our little boy's all grown up" and Trent jumping on the table, said to be ad-libbed. — Sean Fennessey
The whole Nikki run, from the bar and the number to calling her machine repeatedly, is painful but amazingly well done.
Watching with a daughter who had never seen it, attention on the TV was about 80-20 versus the usual 50-50 with her phone; she was confused by the answering-machine calls.
Maybe the party-to-party bouncing, from the Dresden to Marty and Elaine and the talk of not getting a pilot, felt like a window into an unknown world. — Sean Fennessey
The whole movie is rewatchable; for one participant the video-game scene is the favorite. — Bill Simmons
