The principal young cast not being Jewish is raised as a potentially dated casting choice despite the Jewish people behind the scenes. — Juliet Litman
The opening montage is considered the weakest section and seems tonally like a war movie. — Juliet Litman
Football editing and staging are criticized, with a wish for more plays, less dancing, and an earlier example of Dillon playing well. — Bill Simmons
The car prank is also placed in aged-worst. — Bill Simmons
The casual racial slurs are jarring to hear, even with the 1955s etting acknowledged. — Bill Simmons
The episode reports Locane being imprisoned after a 2010 DUI manslaughter case, treating it as a sad association. — Bill Simmons
The St. Luke’s uniforms are criticized as looking like an anachronistic modern football league. — Bill Simmons
Streaming artwork promoting Affleck as one of the four principal stars is criticized as misleading about his role. — Bill Simmons
Cutting the first ten minutes is proposed, but the Scranton teammates’ support and farewell with David’s father are defended as useful contrasts with the new school. — Mallory Rubin
The lack of a visible Jewish community at home is questioned, while his openness and accepted place among teammates are offered as a defense. — Mallory Rubin
The opening fight establishes David’s willingness to brawl, though using his throwing hand is questioned. — Bill Simmons
Lowry’s career is described as fading after Color of Night, which is strongly disliked. — Bill Simmons
The football scenes’ stationary cameras, unclear field geography, and confusing down-and-distance information are criticized. — Mallory Rubin
The football uniforms’ colors, stripes, and helmets are admired, with a reservation about the body of the uniform. — Bill Simmons
The ancient graduate from the class of 1875 is enjoyed as a link to the Civil War era, while his apparent 98-year-old vigor is questioned. — Bill Simmons
Ed Lauter as David’s father is appreciated as a sports-film presence, with a wish that he attended the major game despite the travel distance. — Bill Simmons
The honor code is praised as an effective dramatic device precisely because it fails under pressure. — Bill Simmons
Scranton remains a legible hometown reference, partly because of The Office. — Juliet Litman
Cheating is praised as a reliable source of conflict and debate. — Juliet Litman
The tweed coats and blazers are admired. — Juliet Litman
The Scranton youths’ James Dean styling and the Rebel Without a Cause marquee are enjoyed. — Mallory Rubin
The luncheonette and Skip’s Diner are admired as neighborhood gathering places. — Mallory Rubin
Youth dances and the meeting of boys’ and girls’ schools evoke record hops, enforced distance between dancers, and camp memories. — Mallory Rubin
Dillon’s fumble, missed tackle, forced block, and despondent expression are considered ideal material for a modern meme. — Mallory Rubin
High-school football boosterism and recruiting the player needed to defeat a rival are praised as enduring traditions; David having to work a real job is contrasted with Friday Night Lights. — Mallory Rubin
Damon’s villainous performance is praised as an underused side of his screen persona. — Mallory Rubin
Dillon’s reaction at the bar on learning David is Jewish is praised, with the family discussion about whether blocking is enough singled out.
The Smokey Joe’s Cafe dorm-room scene is nominated. — Craig Horlbeck
Affleck’s unexplained shirtlessness is enjoyed as an attempt to stand out. — Bill Simmons
The dorm scene is considered so exaggerated that an SNL parody would look the same. — Bill Simmons
Fraser’s charisma and presence in the musical gathering establish him as the big man on campus. — Juliet Litman
The song’s Jewish songwriting team is interpreted as early thematic preparation. — Juliet Litman
The dorm gathering captures both easy and awkward youthful bonding. — Bill Simmons
The Ex-Lax sign and McGivern’s bare feet are memorable dorm details. — Bill Simmons
The hi-fi bargaining exposes casual antisemitism and establishes the McGivern–Cleary tension. — Bill Simmons
The first win against Winchester is nominated, with an exaggerated joke about the enormous distance of David’s touchdown pass. — Bill Simmons
David and Dillon talking on the dock is praised as essential bonding, especially Dillon’s admission of envy and the burden of expectations.
David’s response to the failed French grade establishes different class expectations without making him unsympathetic. — Mallory Rubin
The balance between privilege and genuine suffering is compared with Jaime and Brienne in Game of Thrones. — Mallory Rubin
The dock places the two boys physically level and similarly dressed while exposing the class difference that David must earn his opportunities. — Juliet Litman
The St. Luke’s win is nominated, especially David throwing Dillon into a block. — Bill Simmons
Dillon lying on the grass while others celebrate David is a favorite image and imagined modern meme. — Mallory Rubin
The postgame cocktail party and Dillon’s reaction to learning David is Jewish are singled out as a powerful setup for the coming confrontation. — Bill Simmons
The film was originally to star Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, two people mentioned earlier in the episode whom the filmmakers would want to reunite; they dropped out, possibly toward La La Land. — Bill Simmons
Doing this and La La Land back to back would have made them a Tracy-Hepburn pairing, prompting a tangent on audiences recognizing pre-1970 references. — Wesley Morris
Stewart is praised as a subtle sexual actor, citing an extremely erotic film with Julieta Benoche, versus Robbie's externalized style; Smith and Stewart are predicted best actor and actress winners this year. — Wesley Morris
Per the internet research, Affleck dropped out over scheduling, Will Smith signed, then Stewart dropped out; whether she left over scheduling is unknown, assumed busy. — Bill Simmons
Leav Schreiber is bumped for a skinny, pre-Good Will Hunting Ben Affleck of the Chasing Amy and Mallrats era, for a little more star power. — Bill Simmons
Jason Lee is the other option, to add some wise-ass comments; the bald Californication guy's role was meant to be the wise-ass and did not work. — Van Lathan
The hosts say the real Mendez was 5'7" and not a supermodel, while a 6'4" handsome Affleck would have been a red flag in Iran. — Bill Simmons
The Swissair pilot should have noticed the cars, and the plane could have been radioed or shot at; the counter is that Iran did not want an international incident. — Bill Simmons
The housekeeper subplot feels tacked on: she needed a scene showing her connection to the six to explain covering for them, though the film favors forward momentum. — Bill Simmons
A pitch to handle the exfil like the unseen Lufthansa heist in Goodfellas is declined in favor of the existing inaccurate version. — Chris Ryan
Nightline should have been on in the background more often. — Bill Simmons
The 79 baseball all-star game and Dave Parker's throw from right field should have been worked in. — Bill Simmons
Tate Donovan's own Apex is floated as Friends before settling on season one of The O.C. — Bill Simmons
Cranston first gets a no for Breaking Bad, then a yes on the argument that Breaking Bad is surging toward its finale while he establishes himself in movies. — Bill Simmons
The CIA is joked about as making a comeback after killing JFK, but no explicit Apex yes is given. — Bill Simmons
Whether this is the Apex for exfils is asked but drifts into Proof of Life and Predator without an answer; exfiltration is defined. — Bill Simmons
The hosts cite Mendez saying the fake Studio Six was so convincing that 26 scripts arrived after it folded, including one from Steven Spielberg. — Bill Simmons
The hosts cite a 2016 Vice report, based on Freedom of Information Act research, that the CIA was involved in the production of Argo and Zero Dark 30. — Bill Simmons
The hosts report that several hundred thousand bootleg copies circulated in Iran, watched out of hate, curiosity and quiet protest. — Bill Simmons
The hosts report that Carter only delayed authorization by 30 minutes, well before Mendez left for Europe, and that the chase sequence never happened. — Bill Simmons
The hosts report that Affleck had the six actors dress and hang out in character for a week to build chemistry. — Bill Simmons
The hosts note that Jack Kirby, who made the storyboards, was a comics pioneer. — Bill Simmons
The hosts cite the original Wired article placing the Studio Six offices at Sunset Gower, in Michael Douglas's vacated China Syndrome offices. — Chris Ryan
The hosts recount that the project began with Clooney's company winning the bidding war for a 2007 Wired article, and that Clooney planned to write, direct and play Tony Mendez before Affleck got involved. — Bill Simmons
Affleck's wig-like hair; the Iranian characters; the casting controversy; the invented Lester Siegel; Canada's minimized role; the late song; the multiple endings
Affleck's hair, also listed as aged best, is terrible and presumed to be a wig. — Bill Simmons
At first viewing one host mistook Scoot for C. Thomas Howell for the first 20 minutes. — Bill Simmons
Every Iranian character is angry and screaming, a simplistic and not-so-veiled racist view; only the housekeeper shows a conscience. — Bill Simmons
There was an early controversy over Affleck taking the part because Mendez was, the hosts think, half Mexican; Mendez gave his blessing, and the outcry would be bigger in 2021. — Bill Simmons
The hosts note Lester Siegel is not a real person. — Bill Simmons
The hosts report the film has been criticized for minimizing the Canadian embassy's role, falsely showing the New Zealand and British embassies turning Americans away, and exaggerating the escape day; Maclean's said it rewrites history at Canada's expense. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Garber's Ken Taylor is supposedly the real hero and that Mendez was in Iran only a day and a half; Affleck is quoted admitting the portrayal of Britain and New Zealand was not totally fair. — Bill Simmons
The hosts quote Jimmy Carter saying 90% of the contribution was Canadian and that Ken Taylor was the main hero. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Carter only briefly pulled the tickets before Mendez reached Iran and that Taylor received a Congressional Gold Medal from Reagan, yet the film gives Garber only a couple of scenes. — Bill Simmons
The song arriving a year late is called unacceptable in jest. — Chris Ryan
The Spielberg-style endings drag on through Cranston, the house, the flag hug, the bedside reading and title cards; it should have ended with the plane handshake and celebration montage. — Bill Simmons
