L.A. Confidential
1997 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Andy Greenwald
Aired March 31, 2026
‹ All people
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential
A League of Their Own
The Firm
The Firm
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 4
- Movies in this archive
- 5
Rewatchables episodes featuring David Strathairn’s films
Displaying all 4 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
David Strathairn, Ron Rifkin and Matt McCoy are candidates, with Rifkin’s first name corrected from Rob to Ron.
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:35Read transcript
- David Strathairn, Ron Rifkin and Matt McCoy are candidates, with Rifkin’s first name corrected from Rob to Ron.
- Alan Graff, the opening abusive husband and stunt coordinator, is nominated. — Sean Fennessey
- Thomas Arana and John Mahone are offered. — Bill Simmons
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
David Strathairn’s brief Patchett performance is flagged as a Dion candidate.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:36Read transcript
- David Strathairn’s brief Patchett performance is flagged as a Dion candidate.
Most Rewatchable Scene
The interrogation scene is the shared final choice.
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:31Read transcript
- The interrogation is confirmed as the shared choice. — Andy Greenwald
- Bud’s first visit to Pierce Patchett is another favorite, with praise for David Strathairn.
- The post-shootout montage efficiently advances everyone’s story, though it skips potentially interesting freeway and party material.
Apex Mountain
Geena Davis, Penny Marshall, Lori Petty, and women's sports films
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:52Read transcript
- Geena Davis is judged at Apex after Thelma & Louise and this film in consecutive years. — Bill Simmons
- Penny Marshall is judged at Apex because this became her most commercially successful film. — Bill Simmons
- Lori Petty is judged at Apex because Kit remained her defining role. — Bill Simmons
- Cow-milking scenes and long urination scenes are debated without a firm affirmative selection. — Mallory Rubin
- David Strathairn, Madonna, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell, and Tom Hanks are rejected or left below other career peaks. — Bill Simmons
- Women's baseball, women's sports movies, and baseball movies receive affirmative Apex judgments; sister movies do not. — Bill Simmons
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
The unnamed actor beside Paul Sorvino's mob boss, with Jerry Hardin (Royce McKnight) as runner-up
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:40Read transcript
- The award is explained as Joe Pantoliano, 'that guy' through the eighties before becoming Joey Pants; the question is whether the winner should be someone who was that guy then and became known, or someone never known, with Terry Kinney, David Strathairn and Paul Sorvino ruled out as people we know.
- The personal choice is the man beside Paul Sorvino, with Hal Holbrook's consigliere Jerry Hardin, who plays Royce McKnight, as runner-up; Hardin was in everything for twenty years, from Big Trouble in Little China and Reds to Deep Throat on the X Files and Melrose Place.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:05Read transcript
- Wilford Brimley qualifies and therefore wins; David Strathairn, Holly Hunter, Paul Sorvino playing a mob boss again after Goodfellas, the actor beside Sorvino and Gary Busey make up the rest of the top five.
- Brimley is his own planet in the film: the hosts quote his 'oral and whatnot' speech, note that Hackman was five years older yet Brimley seemed born at fifty, recall him as the Quaker Oats man and the manager in The Natural, and perform his catalog monologue, which the Ringer's president Jeff Chow does best.
- Brimley had never played a bad guy before, brings an unexpected edge, and the blockbuster hinges on him checking whether the fax machine has paper; it is traumatic to watch Cruise fall on him and kick him, and whether he died is left for unanswerable questions.
- Brimley carried himself like a hated stepfather and makes the office scene before the chase feel like Mitch is about to be killed; the 'oral and whatnot' line is recited again and he is declared the winner.
Most Rewatchable Scene
The chase: Mitch summoned to the partners after taking Avery's files, Tarrance's 'get out of there' call, and the escape through Memphis
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:27Read transcript
- The chase is the one pick: Mitch takes files from Avery's office, is stopped for a word, Brimley comes down, and the Ed Harris 'get out of there' call starts a fifteen-minute stretch the host watches every time, with Cruise running, jumping onto a truck that happens to carry pillows, riding the tram and hanging on while the two hitmen chase him; it carries the movie and is Sidney Pollack doing Three Days of the Condor twenty years later.
- The scene where Mitch guesses his salary is a minor but good dramatic scene, one of the few that shows his intellect at work, and the hosts play the clip; the final maneuver that turns the ending into a court proceeding with Lambert as judge and Lamar as defense lawyer is also loved.
- The Grand Cayman meeting where Mitch and Avery talk Sonny Capps into a tax loophole shows why Mitch is a great lawyer, though Cruise's profane 'fucked with a dick big enough for an elephant to feel it' line sounds like a robot wrote it; Jerry Weintraub playing a dirtbag years before Ocean's Eleven is enjoyed.
- The chase, Cruise on the run, is called one of the best fifteen-minute sequences of the nineties; the wined-and-dined montage of Mitch learning the firm while Abby grows suspicious through Lamar's wife is also entertaining, the first hour is strong, the middle sags and the ending picks up, including the demolished house and Abby's return.
- The boat scene between Strathairn and Holly Hunter, with the crooked-smile exchange, is a couple the host would have taken ten more minutes of instead of the beach scene.
Displaying all 7 discussions
