Basic Instinct
1992 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Mallory Rubin · Van Lathan
Aired April 14, 2026
‹ All people
My Cousin Vinny
Scent of a Woman
Scent of a Woman
Film credit
James Rebhorn
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 8
- Movies in this archive
- 7
Rewatchables episodes featuring James Rebhorn’s films
The Talented Mr. Ripley
1999 film
Bill Simmons · Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Aired December 24, 2019
Displaying all 8 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:42Read transcript
- The That Guy debate contests excluding Wayne Knight, Stephen Tobolowsky and James Rebhorn; Roxy is rejected under the category definition and Rebhorn is tentatively accepted. — Bill Simmons
- Further That Guy candidates are Jack McGee, Bruce A. Young and Chelcie Ross; no firm single final selection is established. — Chris Ryan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:09Read transcript
- James Rebhorn is favored after an exceptional run of supporting appearances; familiar viewers may know his name, but the general audience likely does not. — Bill Simmons
- Tom McCarthy as Dr. Bob is the alternative, with his later directing career making the acting role surprising. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:40Read transcript
- Bruce McGill and James Rebhorn are ruled too recognizable; Maury Chaykin’s grits witness is nominated. — Chris Ryan
- Lane Smith is the other choice, with his Bad News Bears in Breaking Training role and imposing size recalled. — Bill Simmons
The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot
None; tentative Rebhorn Dutch angle
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:46Read transcript
- No strong cinematic shot is chosen; a Hitchcock-like Dutch angle on James Rebhorn is offered tentatively.
Apex Mountain
Apex checks cover Pacino, O’Donnell, blind movie characters, the Ferrari, bad Thanksgivings, and the Ringer chokehold.
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:09Read transcript
- Pacino's apex is rejected, while the movie is accepted as Chris O'Donnell's apex. — Bill Simmons
- James Rebhorn's apex is debated because his supporting roles occupy a consistently high level. — Bill Simmons
- Scarface is preferred as the apex for Pacino movies featuring a character named Manny. — Bill Simmons
- Blind movie characters are proposed as an apex because few alternatives come to mind. — Bill Simmons
- The 1989 Ferrari Mondial T Cabriolet is declared an apex. — Bill Simmons
- The Thanksgiving scene is placed among apex dysfunctional family holidays. — Bill Simmons
- The Ringer chokehold is declared an apex. — Chris Ryan
- Matthew McConaughey in A Time to Kill is chosen as the apex for 1990s hunk actors crying. — Bill Simmons
- Philip Seymour Hoffman and prep-school or boarding-school movies are rejected as apexes for this film. — Bill Simmons
- The Oak Room is considered a possible apex for the location itself. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:45Read transcript
- Ron Eldard is rejected by one participant because he had been a recognizable television lead.
- James Rebhorn is proposed as the archetypal supporting answer. — Bill Simmons
- The colonel's brother is a recognizable alternative whose actor name is not known by the panel. — Bill Simmons
- The chauffeur Manny, explicitly identified as Gene Canfield, is another recognizable alternative. — Bill Simmons
- Nicholas Sadler is chosen by one participant as the familiar ringleader student. — Chris Ryan
- The third student is the other choice based on recognizable parts in Jerry McGuire, The Rock, Apollo 13, and High Fidelity. — Chris Ryan
What’s Aged the Best?
The score, class dynamics, supporting performances, Oscar debate, career-changing roles, New York locations, and the hero’s heightened senses
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:30Read transcript
- Thomas Newman's score is praised as an active character in the movie. — Bill Simmons
- The prep-school conflict between inherited power and the scholarship student remains a sharp depiction of class and old-boy protection. — Bill Simmons
- The running joke in which the colonel calls Jack Daniel's 'John Daniels' is explicitly offered as something that aged well. — Bill Simmons
- James Rebhorn is praised as an elite supporting actor at playing polished men with sleazy interiors. — Bill Simmons
- The boarding-school setting belongs to a strong run that also includes Dead Poets Society and School Ties. — Bill Simmons
- Pacino's advice that a young actor should never marry an actress is recalled as a colorful set anecdote. — Bill Simmons
- The movie sits at an early point when public arguments over Oscar winners became part of mainstream movie culture. — Chris Ryan
- The performance helped establish the cynical idea that an actor could win awards by playing a disability or other conspicuous obstacle. — Bill Simmons
- The coveted Charlie role is used as an example of the career-changing parts that many young actors once competed to win. — Chris Ryan
- The Waldorf and Oak Room footage preserves an appealing pre-reservation-app vision of New York access and luxury. — Chris Ryan
- The colonel's heightened smell and hearing are treated as entertaining superhuman powers attached to a disability. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:44Read transcript
- The Rebhorn That Guy case is brought forward: a 1990s run from My Cousin Vinny and Basic Instinct through Scent of a Woman, Carlito's Way, The Game, the Seinfeld finale and The Talented Mr. Ripley, later Homeland; he is now simply James Rebhorn, and the award could be named for him. — Bill Simmons
- Rebhorn is ruled ineligible as too much in the movie. — Bill Simmons
- Dan Loria, the dad from The Wonder Years, is floated as a good pick. — Bill Simmons
- Leland Orser, briefly in the surgery room and also in a famous Se7en scene, is offered and accepted. — Chris Ryan
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:46Read transcript
- Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and David Fincher are rejected as apex cases for this movie. — Bill Simmons
- Deborah Kara Unger is given an emphatic apex verdict. — Bill Simmons
- The movie is considered as the last strong pre-Silicon-Valley San Francisco film, though Zodiac and Bullitt complicate the claim. — Bill Simmons
- Johnny’s Coffee Shop is proposed as an apex location after appearing as a set in many films. — Bill Simmons
- James Rebhorn is explicitly raised as another apex candidate.
- The birthday cheeseburger is jokingly proposed for a food-on-film apex.
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:02Read transcript
- James Rebhorn is raised as the category candidate. — Bill Simmons
- The panel settles on Rebhorn because his face was familiar from many roles even when his name was not. — Bill Simmons
- The attorney, whose name is transcribed as Peter Donot, is proposed for his earlier appearance in the Godfather II commission hearings. — Bill Simmons
- The same actor is reported as the runner-up choice for the role transcribed as Tom Hagan before it went to the actor transcribed as Deval. — Bill Simmons
- Tommy Flanagan is recognized by his facial scar and later television work. — Bill Simmons
- The cab driver is tentatively raised and immediately questioned as a candidate. — Sean Fennessey
- The performer whose name is transcribed as Linda Manns is recognized as the roommate from Days of Heaven.
- Mark Boone Jr. is recognized as Seven’s library-files character and from later television work. — Chris Ryan
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:04Read transcript
- Philip Baker Hall is mentioned as a possible pick but set aside because he is 'Philip Baker Hall now'. — Sean Fennessey
- James Rebhorn, who plays Dickie's dad, is named an all-time that guy, with both called all-timers. — Bill Simmons
- His credits are listed: a film transcribed as 'incentive of a woman' (also with Hoffman), My Cousin Vinny and Basic Instinct back to back, Carlito's Way, White Squall, a psychiatrist in Basic Instinct, and the dad on Homeland.
- Rebhorn is called the G.D. Spradlin of his generation, who would have played Senator Geary in the 70s; a that-guy pyramid is proposed with Joe Panelliano (as transcribed) as the overlord for his 80s run. — Bill Simmons
- Rebhorn's character hating jazz, paying a player $100 to stop, is liked; his hatred of Europe is explained as post-war American snobbery, with a Brexit joke.
Displaying all 11 discussions
Films in the archive
Basic Instinct
1992
Independence Day
1996
Meet the Parents
2000
My Cousin Vinny
1992
Scent of a Woman
1992
The Game
1997
The Talented Mr. Ripley
1999