Andy Mast's diner introduction is a scene nominee; his weekly fee and months of work prompt inflation and financing questions. The Grand Rapids family gathering and Kristen's friend establish repression and misdirect expectations. — Bill Simmons
The theater reveal is declared the best scene. Mast's theatrical surprise, discovery of the reel and delayed response to 'turn it off' are nitpicks. Scott's reaction and Mast's warning about wanting his daughter back expose unresolved forgiveness questions.
Great Shot Gordo: the distorted high-angle image of Scott losing his bearings and adult storefronts surrounding him convey immersion in the unfamiliar world. — Bill Simmons
The motel filming scene is praised as deliberately funny, especially the UCLA director, Scott's undercover look and dialogue; Serena's appearance prompts a biographical aside.
The seedy 1970s hotel setting is praised and linked to later homages such as True Romance. — Bill Simmons
Jake's Hollywood drive, ominous recurring score, shop admission and high camera angle are praised. CSNY's Helpless is singled out as an incongruously funny needle drop. — Bill Simmons
The auditions of Big Dick Black and Jism Jim are scene nominees, with exaggerated credentials, stage names and Scott reaching for a lamp praised for comedy.
Craig's text notes Jake's abrupt wig-and-shirt transformation; the panel asks why an unknown furniture maker needs a disguise and compares the look to Body Double. — Bill Simmons
Nikki and Jake's San Diego life talks and airport discussion of TULIP are praised for writing, chemistry and changing the film's energy.
Nikki's perspective and Hubley's comfort opposite Scott are praised; his softness in their scenes is distinctive.
The bondage-house wall breakthrough, slowed motion and green neon are memorable; the steep-hill fight and physical stunts are praised.
The theater reveal is selected again for its iconic impact; the first Mast meeting remains a favorite. Another choice shifts to Bill Ramada's office and right-man exchange, compared to The Big Lebowski's Ben Gazzara.
The stunt coordinator is the first choice despite no such Oscar then; Gazzara is also imagined as a supporting-actor nominee, with the breakfast speech favored as his clip over Sh-Boom driving.
The new category is introduced as something these podcasts have circled before; it is expected to be really funny for a Roadhouse episode, with a case that Ben Gazzara was robbed in 1989 and for the Jeff Healy Band (as transcribed) for Best Original Song.
Several of those nominees are liked, In the Bedroom a lot and Gosford Park pretty good, but Fuqua and Training Day should have been nominated; Lord of the Rings was a tough hang that soaked up nominations for years in a way Star Wars never could, even though one host would take Star Wars a hundred times.
Early validation from a nomination might have set Fuqua on a different course, since the movies he made after this resemble Training Day; Denzel's Best Actor win over Russell Crowe, Sean Penn in I Am Sam, Will Smith in Ali and Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom is fine, and Halle Berry won for Monsters Ball (as transcribed).
As in Rain Man, where Tom Cruise is the best person in the movie but Dustin Hoffman won, the performer who blows everyone away obscures how good the other one was; Hawke had to avoid being blown away by Denzel, be on PCP for half an hour and be believable in the fight scenes, which is likened to Chris Paul playing on a hamstring.
Nobody here would pick Kingsley in Sexy Beast over Hawke, though he is good in it; two-hander movies like Butch and Sundance, The Sting, The Color of Money and Rain Man raise the question of how filmmakers present the straight man, and Redford is seen as more important than Hoffman in All the President's Men.
Hawke is in more scenes and the movie starts in his house, so he could be argued as the lead with Denzel supporting, but really both were best actors, and doing it otherwise is like making Geena Davis supporting in Thelma and Louise.
Later, on the phone, the Hawke loss to Jim Broadbent is called terrible and one of the few times an actor was right there with Denzel, alongside Viola in Fences, Morgan Freeman in Glory and Hanks in Philadelphia; he should have gotten that award.
Earlier, the hosts note Denzel had only a supporting Oscar before this, having been passed over for Malcolm X, He Got Game, The Hurricane and Remember the Titans.
