Mr. Herlihy continues Sandler’s funny pattern of confrontations with combative older men. — Bill Simmons
Sonny’s misguided parenting discovery—options rather than orders—is amusing. — Bill Simmons
The soundtrack captures its era through Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Limp Bizkit, Everlast, Big Audio Dynamite, Styx, Eurythmics, Springsteen, New Radicals and Harvey Danger. — Bill Simmons
Omar Epps is at Apex: coming off Juice and before Higher Learning, he was one of the great sports-movie actors, before things faltered after ER. — Bill Simmons
Craig Sheffer is a yes, and this is also the Apex of his tall tales, including a reported Parcells letter about backing up the Patriots' quarterback; one participant says he read it and it was true, though it amounted to Parcells saying he would love to have him around. — Bill Simmons
The guy who played Latimer is absolutely at Apex. — Bill Simmons
The film may be the Apex Mountain for steroids, before the McMahon trial and baseball's reckoning; it is called wildly irresponsible steroid porn, and the case is agreed with.
Asked whether Princeton had a urine guy, the speaker jokes he was named Kevin and charged $100. — Kyle Brandt
A final Apex question is whether this is when people realized Michigan sucks, with its image turning from Big Chill favor to loathsome; Weyman's draft stock is also debated. — Bill Simmons
Latimer's sexual assault scene; James Caan's performance; opening-game rainstorm; Joe Kane's age; cut road-lying scene; Kristy Swanson's tennis jorts; Ray the tailback's casting; Joe Kane's body double; no college overtime; Chris Berman's shtick; Ray Griffen's party sweater; Darnell licking his hands; quickly dropped assault charges; missed 1993 music
Latimer's sexual assault scene was rougher and more terrifying than remembered, deplorable for a liked character, yet realistic for late-80s and early-90s campuses.
A 2020 film would handle it differently; it recalled the Gandolfini and Alabama Worley scene. — Bill Simmons
The scene is accurate and terrifying, and the small cast heightens how scary it is. — Kyle Brandt
The scene is important because it shows Latimer as the worst character, which makes him conflicting and great; a comparison is drawn to a Vision Quest scene, and films have become more careful in the last 15 years. — Bill Simmons
James Kahn is not great here, like a coach who had a mild stroke; the "keep that index finger on the ball" line and the halftime speech lose the speaker.
Caan's best scenes are kicking a player off the team and the academic board hearing where he sells his soul to football. — Kyle Brandt
A research claim that Popovich adopted James Kahn's coaching personality is admitted to be made up, and another participant flags the habit of throwing in fake information. — Ryen Russillo
No NBA arena has ever hyped a crowd with the James Kahn scene. — Bill Simmons
The opening-game rainstorm looks like a monsoon. — Bill Simmons
A prediction game on the next item is won by the guess that Joe Kane is 32 years old; the deleted scene was next on the list.
The actor was actually 33, with a receding hairline, and Halle Berry at 27 with hair extensions seems like a teacher rather than a junior. — Bill Simmons
Craig Sheffer is the biggest flaw: not big enough to be a quarterback, never a big star, and too old, like an assistant coach.
Joe Kane is only a junior; Tim Weyman looks mid-40s; Halle Berry was making Boomerang at the same time. — Bill Simmons
The deleted scene of Joe lying in the road as cars swerve was cut after two young men were reportedly killed imitating it; it is missing from the VHS, later airings and Amazon but is on YouTube. — Bill Simmons
Sheffer's quote that he refused to do the scene until his agents were called is met with skepticism. — Ryen Russillo
The cut leaves a hole: pre-internet it was unobtainable, and without it Joe jumps from party quarterback to borderline suicidal, like cutting Maverick's MIG encounter. — Ryen Russillo
Cutting it while keeping the assault scene and the train-tracks stunt is inconsistent; the Cliffhanger comparison argues imitation risk does not justify it. — Bill Simmons
Further items: Christy Swanson playing tennis in jorts, Ray the tailback needing a better actor, Joe Kane's obvious heavier body double, the lack of college overtime, and Chris Berman doing the same shtick 27 years later, though that is countered as having come back around to respect. — Bill Simmons
Ray Griffin's party sweater (but not his khakis) has aged badly, as has Darnell licking his hands before the last kickoff; Newman gloves are fondly recalled. — Bill Simmons
The assault being resolved in seconds because the victim's booster father drops charges is not any real dad's reaction. — Bill Simmons
The film missed several chances to feel musically like 1993. — Bill Simmons
Love & Basketball is favored as Omar Epps's career apex, with The Wood and ER also considered.
Higher Learning is considered a plausible Michael Rapaport apex, with a later television role also recalled but not clearly named.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is preferred as Kristy Swanson's apex.
PCU is favored over Higher Learning as the apex for mid-1990s college-campus culture.
Higher Learning is considered Busta Rhymes's likely movie apex after Belly is correctly rejected as a film he appeared in.
John Singleton's apex is debated between Higher Learning's career leverage and Rosewood's stronger filmmaking, while Boyz n the Hood remains his best movie to one participant. — Van Lathan
Rosewood opening opposite Booty Call is cited as evidence that Singleton had less industry leverage by then. — Van Lathan
