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True Lies
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Film credit
Martin Lawrence
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 4
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Martin Lawrence’s films
Displaying all 4 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Van Lathan Award for Did This Movie Need More Black People?
No; Martin Lawrence as Faisil proposed
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:18Read transcript
- More Black People receives an initial no, including rejection of replacing Trilby merely with a wise Black character. Martin Lawrence is then proposed for Faisil, while the existing casting is defended as potentially offsetting the film’s ethnic optics.
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Best actor ever for Limitless; oven as the NZT hiding spot
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:34Read transcript
- Asked for the all-time best person to star in Limitless, Will Smith is the first pick for his charm and emotional attachment. — Shea Serrano
- Given 2002 Will Smith or Firm-era Tom Cruise, the choice is Cruise, with early Michael J. Fox as an interesting alternative after Alex Keaton's diet pills. — Chris Ryan
- Another vote goes to Cruise, who would have learned skills like flying a helicopter or winning at race-car driving; no one loses.
- An amendment requires putting Cooper into the swapped star's movie: take 2004 Will Smith after Bad Boys 2 and swap out I, Robot for Cooper.
- Cooper as Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys with Martin Lawrence is offered as the obvious swap; Cooper in The Firm is another, and Cruise didn't make enough Limitless-type movies, unlike Keanu.
- With cops coming, the oven is questioned as the best hiding place and called underrated for money, drugs or guns.
- A childhood memory recalls an aunt who hid drugs in the microwave; anything oven-related is endorsed.
- An old-fashioned air-conditioner vent, as in No Country, is always great. — Chris Ryan
- The alternative is to take all the NZT and make yourself police commissioner.
Recasting Couch
Christopher Lloyd, Dennis Hopper or Al Pacino as the Area 51 doctor; Demi Moore or Sharon Stone for Mary McDonnell's role; Martin Lawrence for Connick
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:22Read transcript
- Option two: the wacky Area 51 doctor should be a real famous person, such as Christopher Lloyd as a Doc Brown wink or Dennis Hopper. — Bill Simmons
- Pacino is suggested for two scenes at $10 million, with an impression.
- Option one: never having been a Mary McDonnell person (after an Amy Adams comparison), Demi Moore is wanted for four scenes, and her death would be more shocking. — Bill Simmons
- A defense: McDonnell is good in John Sails movies. — Bill Simmons
- For a three-day role, go big; Sharon Stone is suggested and would have been an unexpected death. — Bill Simmons
- Returning to recasting, Connick could be swapped for Martin Lawrence if the seat just needs a funny guy. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Martin Lawrence as Pookie; Oran "Juice" Jones as G Money; Tupac Shakur as G Money; Vivica A. Fox; Michael Wright; Vanessa Williams
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:46Read transcript
- The best what-if was already mentioned: Martin Lawrence was cast as Pookie and had the job; one view says he would have been better than Chris Rock. — Bill Simmons
- According to writer Cooper, Martin Lawrence opted out after his mentor Robin Harris died, and Chris Rock was the backup. — Bill Simmons
- A garbled passage concerns someone turning down Ice T's part; Michael Wright is named and would have killed the part, reuniting later for Sugar Hill. — Bill Simmons
- Vibica A. Fox (transcribed form) auditioned for Selina and Keisha but did a 90210 episode that year instead; she would have been great as Keisha, as Set It Off showed.
- The Vanessa Williams married to Rick Fox would have been a great girlfriend for Nino. — Logan Murdock
- Allen Payne was a replacement: Orange Juice Jones was cast as G Money, filmed scenes and was fired, per research; his "Walking in the Rain" is called very 80s. — Van Lathan
- Tupac Shakur auditioned for G Money but was judged too young-looking to have grown up with Snipes. — Bill Simmons
- Tupac could be both aggressive and vulnerable, as Birdie in Above the Rim; it would have been interesting, though Allen Payne was perfect. — Van Lathan
- A case that Tupac should have been cast, rewritten as the best friend's younger brother, and would have been better. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
Club Hell
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:17Read transcript
- Will Smith gets a no. — Bill Simmons
- Martin Lawrence is debated: one view says yes because of Martin and this hit, while others argue a second life with Life as a possible Apex, before conceding he never had as much juice as coming out of this film.
- This was Club Hell's Apex Mountain; it never got better, and it sounds like a club Stefan would make up on SNL. — Bill Simmons
- Michael Bay no; mid-1990s Porsches yes; Leoni no. — Bill Simmons
- Is it the Apex for Miami movies? Miami is like Gene Hackman, always perfect, so the case is no. — Bill Simmons
- A follow-up asks whether mid-90s Porsches are the Apex and answers not the Apex Mountain, then asks whether another hit buddy-cop movie came after; Rush Hour counts. — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Dark cheap sets; improvised scenes; 'I love you too' argument; fake urine recipe; Bay-funded explosion; Leoni knocked out on set
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:16Read transcript
- An early step into research: Bay convinced Smith to run with his shirt open in the hotel lobby shootout, telling him it would make him a movie star, and later said he should get half of Smith's salary. — Bill Simmons
- The research says the sets were cheap, with the heroin heist the biggest example, and anything dark in the movie was to save money. — Bill Simmons
- The research reports improvisation: Smith unexpectedly calling Lawrence a bitch so Lawrence actually got mad, Leoni's gay-couple assumption, and the whole liquor store scene. — Bill Simmons
- According to Bay, Smith didn't want to say 'I love you too' at the end; they argued for half a day until Bay guilt-tripped him into it. — Bill Simmons
- For the Club Hell urinal gag, the research says Bay used Gatorade crossed with Coca-Cola as urine. — Bill Simmons
- The big explosion reportedly cost $25,000 from Bay's pocket, and Leoni was accidentally knocked out by Martin Lawrence's stunt double and went to the hospital, slowing filming. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Dana Carvey and Lovitz; Arsenio Hall; Laurence Fishburne
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:30Read transcript
- This is a Don Simpson-Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and the hosts say Simpson was unraveling with substance issues at the time. — Bill Simmons
- The hosts say Dana Carvey and Lovitz were first wanted in a film written for them called Bulletproof Hearts; Carvey backed out after a Vegas trip with Simpson, and the project moved from Disney to Columbia. — Bill Simmons
- Bay wanted Will Smith, and Arsenio Hall reportedly turned down Mike Lowry and calls it his worst mistake; nobody can picture Arsenio in the opening or the open-shirt run.
- Martin Lawrence reportedly told a magazine that Fishburne also turned down Lowry; Fishburne is said to have turned down Jules in Pulp Fiction and Die Hard 3, about seven iconic roles in five years.
- Fishburne would have made this a different movie; he was born to play Jules, a cold pill to swallow until Morpheus. — Van Lathan
Apex Mountain
Robin Givens, David Alan Grier, Boyz II Men, Reginald Hudlin, P.M. Dawn, Strangé perfume, and the three-man pool-game format
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:24Read transcript
- Robin Givens receives an immediate and emphatic yes. — Bill Simmons
- David Allen Greer receives support because the film coincides with In Living Color and showcases his humanity and comic generosity.
- A correction inserted after recording gives Boys to Men an emphatic unanimous yes. — Bill Simmons
- Toni Braxton, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence are rejected. — Bill Simmons
- Reginald Hudlin, P.M. Dawn, Strangé perfume and the unusual three-man pool game receive yes answers. — Bill Simmons
- The 1992 Knicks and chitlins are rejected. — Bill Simmons
- Black romantic comedies are unresolved: one yes, one undecided answer and one semi-yes limited to Black-themed sex comedy. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Whitney Houston as a new nightclub-singer girlfriend for Martin Lawrence
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:07Read transcript
- The category opens with “I love the casting” and “I wouldn’t change anything.” — Wesley Morris
- Whitney Houston is proposed because she would fit the ensemble’s environment and energy.
- Whitney Houston is considered for Robin Givens’s role or Strangé. — Wesley Morris
- Strangé and the character described as Lila Rashon’s are suggested, with concern that the latter would be too small for Houston’s stardom.
- Halle Berry’s part is floated, but replacing Givens is specifically rejected before a new character is proposed.
- The final solution creates a new singer character paired with Martin Lawrence. — Bill Simmons
- The imagined character performs Millie Jackson songs in a club. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
Halle Berry’s performance (final first choice), Jeffrey Holder’s ads, the Martin origin story, slang, Murphy’s reactions and clothes, role reversal, Strangé ads, Star Trek riff, Angela’s breakup, and the recovery arc
In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:03Read transcript
- Jeffrey Holder makes the deliberately vulgar Kissable ad pitch funny through the character’s sincere disappointment at being restrained. — Van Lathan
- The episode reports that Murphy’s praise of Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell helped inspire their pairing on Martin. — Bill Simmons
- “Hammer time” and “the twizzah” remain instantly recognizable bits from the movie. — Bill Simmons
- Murphy’s comic orgasm and Grace Jones’s helicopter entrance are singled out as physical and visual comedy. — Bill Simmons
- Angela is praised as an unusually complete romantic-comedy character whose humor, warmth and natural presence were underused later. — Van Lathan
- The film’s gender role reversal remains clear in how Jacqueline controls the sexual relationship with Marcus. — Bill Simmons
- The first Strangé commercial and Eartha Kitt’s horrified reaction preserve the campaign’s escalating absurdity. — Bill Simmons
- Marcus improvising Spock Jenkins is praised as an early example of casual pop-culture conversation inside a movie. — Bill Simmons
- Angela’s breakup line and real slap give the emotional turn force. — Bill Simmons
- Marcus’s no-tie wardrobe is described as sharp and still wearable. — Bill Simmons
- The loss and recovery of Marcus’s confidence is treated as an identifiable relationship arc. — Bill Simmons
- Halle Berry’s charisma and complete performance receive the final selection. — Van Lathan
- A longer discussion argues Black actors can receive different, often richer opportunities from Black directors, producers and writers. — Wesley Morris
- Berry’s uneven 1990s roles are contrasted with the promise visible in Boomerang. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:38Read transcript
- Listed nominees: Bill Nunn as Radio Raheem, Robin Harris as Sweet Dick Willie, and Rosie Perez; Sam Jackson, Martin Lawrence and Roger Guenveur Smith are also raised. — Sean Fennessey
- Heat check is tricky because nearly every character gets about a scene and a half; Robin Harris is a 'bay leaf' outside the plot, always with Frankie Faison and Paul Benjamin. — Sean Fennessey
- John Savage's scene in a Larry Bird jersey, stepping on Buggin' Out's new Jordans, is offered as the pick and as a potential rewatchable scene.
- Savage's story that Larry Bird gave him the jersey through his sister is called apocryphal: per the hosts, Lee debunked it to Savage's face, saying he bought the shirt and gave it to costume designer Ruth Carter. — Sean Fennessey
- Challenged on picking a white guy, the picker is not scared: Savage's one memorable scene is a heat check moment. — Wesley Morris
Who Won the Movie?
Matthew Lillard; The Mask; the horror genre; Wes Craven
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:38Read transcript
- For the first time in eight or nine episodes the hosts do not know who won the movie, so they go around the circle.
- Picks the mask, and did not know the story of the filmmakers happening upon it, which seems like fate. — K. Austin Collins
- The mask pick is praised as a top-critic answer; another goes with Lillard for what he did in every part, which made every later Lillard appearance, like She's All That, worth watching and even got a host to Summer Catch.
- Picks the horror genre, revitalized and given a new appreciation writ large through the self-referential movie that sent people back to Halloween, Freddy and Friday the 13th. — Jason Concepcion
- Wes Craven is offered for a specific reason, but it is not counted as a ballot because the 'But who's your winner?' that follows in 242 may be pressing the same voice, who then answers Lillard in 243: a professorial, sweet man typecast as a horror director, he used the leverage of Scream and Scream 2 with Miramax to make the sincere drama he had waited decades for, Music of the Heart, for which Meryl Streep got an Oscar nomination.
- The last pick is Matthew Lillard, joining the earlier Lillard vote; rewatching, this host was stunned by how good he was, going to another level in a part that could have been merely fine and blowing people off the screen.
- Lillard's pod with Andy and Chris about his career makes it sadder that the dominant guy in a $300 million movie that launched the horror revival did not go further; he never returns for the sequels and is uncredited in part two, pulling a Winkler.
- The right movie for him might have been 13 Ghosts or a buddy cop film as the zany Martin Lawrence part, though he may be too good and suited to a wilder vibe; Twin Peaks reminded people of his energy, and whether the TV on his head officially killed him is doubted, leaving room for a return in a remake.
- Earlier, Lillard is flagged as more in the Who Won the Movie conversation than expected, J.R. Smithian in his willingness to overperform.
Podcast choices
- K. Austin Collins
- The Mask
- Speaker not identified
- Matthew Lillard
- Jason Concepcion
- The horror genre
- Speaker not identified
- Matthew Lillard
Displaying all 12 discussions
