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Podcast Host, The Ringer
Van Lathan
Van Lathan is billed as a participant in the official Rewatchables episode feed. Further biography has not been verified for this prototype.
Also referred to as Ben Lanthan, Bane Latham, Van
Stats
- Episodes credited in this archive
- 79
- Movies in this archive
- 78
- Attributed podcast choices
- 13
Across the table
Appearing on these Rewatchables episodes
Star Wars: A New Hope
1977 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan
Aired May 6, 2025
Star Wars: A New Hope
1977 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan
Aired May 6, 2025
Displaying episodes 13 - 24 of 79 in total
Mentioned in discussions
What’s Aged the Best?
Brisk absurdity and sincerity; Chase’s physical comedy; yuppies; cast; sap; memes; enduring holiday status; cat gag
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:30Read transcript
- The brisk, joke-dense film balances absurdity with sincerity. Staying home supplies a coherent Christmas goal rather than the earlier sequels’ episodic travel.
- Chase’s attic and ladder work recalls Keaton-era physical comedy, now partly displaced by real Jackass stunts; childhood exposure to those films becomes a parenting joke.
- Chase combines frustration, physical precision, offhand sarcasm and leading-man looks; Martin, Ferrell, Sandler and Vaughn are comparisons, but no current equivalent is found. His long run ended without Murray-like dramatic reinvention.
- Louis-Dreyfus and the tormented yuppies remain funny; Juliette Lewis’s annoyed but tender Audrey is considered the best version, and Diane Ladd’s mother is praised.
- D’Angelo’s appeal and straight-woman performance remain strong.
- The sap gag, Shitter’s full meme, franchise callbacks and the film’s unexpected generational Christmas status endure.
- Discovering one’s father had a sexual life is a recognizable theme; Van recalls his father encountering an old college acquaintance who taught him science. — Van Lathan
- The electrocuted-cat gag reportedly survived a proposed cut because test audiences liked it.
Apex Mountain
Martin no; Candy’s Uncle Buck; road-movie split between this and Midnight Run; Thanksgiving movie and train stop yes.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:16Read transcript
- Martin no; late70s standup/The Jerk likely peak, second film career acknowledged. — Bill Simmons
- Candy Uncle Buck agreed because carries film despite this film remembered more fondly; Stripes important alternative and Culkin/Home Alone follow-on. — Bill Simmons
- Mid80s Chicago Ferris Bueller; road movies disagreement this vs Midnight Run, best decade broadly praised. — Bill Simmons
- Due Date and Tommy Boy derivative; Road Trip favorite,Overnight Delivery and The Chase recalled, kidnapped Silverstone film unresolved until276. — Bill Simmons
- LaSalle Van Buren train stop yes; Thanksgiving movies unequivocal yes. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:33Read transcript
- The same romantic gestures could now feel frightening or intrusive: drunken possessiveness, a boombox outside a window and appearing at someone’s workplace are criticized.
- Post-club newsstand visits and the fear surrounding casual sex feel historically remote. — Bill Simmons
- Video dating looks obsolete but can also be read as a precursor to Tinder rather than wholly dated. — Bill Simmons
- Answering machines, broken machines and overheard live messages are dated plot mechanisms, with Swingers invoked as a later example.
- Luis’s elaborate romance deception is condemned as predatory and bizarre, especially pretending to leave for Spain while remaining nearby. — Chris Ryan
- The Bobby Van reference now requires explanation as a Make Me Laugh host. — Bill Simmons
- Nirvana’s absence is regretted; Crowe wanted Imodium, but the band publicly rejected appearing in a Seattle love story or rock movie. — Bill Simmons
- Linda’s ideal combining Holden Caulfield and Mel Gibson now carries baggage because of Gibson’s later conduct. — Van Lathan
- The fax machine is dated, prompting an uncertain discussion of when faxing faded from ordinary use. — Van Lathan
Van Lathan Different Time Award
Different Time Award proposal
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:45Read transcript
- The panel jokingly proposes a Van Lathan Different Time Award after defending dated comic insults; no formal award winner is selected. — Wosny Lambre
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Is Leo an attempted murderer? Was Bob foisted on him? Why no sequel? What could a sequel without Leo be?
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:05Read transcript
- Leo’s effort to blow Bob up is judged attempted murder that should lead to jail. — Bill Simmons
- Bob’s previous doctor transferring him to Leo is proposed as an all-time foist. — Bill Simmons
- The absence of a sequel is attributed partly to the stars’ hostility.
- The panel says a sequel still needs Dreyfuss because his performance is essential.
- A conventional reversal sequel is compared with Analyze That and the observed “Meet the Fokkers.” — Van Lathan
- One 2021 sequel pitch makes Bob a successful television self-help figure whose progress collapses after Leo dies. — Bill Simmons
- A reported royalties dispute with Disney is raised as a practical reason Dreyfuss might not return. — Bill Simmons
- Possible sequel titles include But Seriously…What About Bob? and What About Me? — Bill Simmons
- The all-Black sequel is later given the title What About Van? — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Botched sequel; Nino Brown name origin; Chris Rock crack-pocket anecdote; Sundance premiere; comic-book visual design
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:27Read transcript
- Ice T said the sequel was botched by his Cop Killer trouble and by Snipes getting $7 million for Demolition Man. — Bill Simmons
- In the sequel idea Nino survived the shooting, which is doubted, though one participant says he would have been there opening weekend. — Bill Simmons
- Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man is called one of the great movie villains. — Logan Murdock
- The name Nino Brown came from Nino Gabriel, a storefront on Third Avenue where Harlem gangsters bought shoes, per Barry Michael Cooper. — Logan Murdock
- According to Chris Rock on Inside the Actor's Studio in 1994, dealers put crack and cocaine in his pockets for three years afterward, joking they thought it was a documentary. — Bill Simmons
- The film premiered at Sundance in January in only the festival's second year, after Sex Lise and Videotape (transcribed form). — Bill Simmons
- According to Cooper, they intentionally used a comic-book look, making Nino's mansion like Dracula's lair to suggest he was sucking the blood out of the neighborhood. — Bill Simmons
- A question whether Snipes played a vampire in Blade sparks a mock rebuke about asking "King nerd Van Lathan".
What’s Aged the Best?
Liquid-metal T-1000; hidden good-guy twist; Robert Patrick; cutting the Cyberdyne plot from Terminator 1; catchphrases; "It's in your nature to destroy yourself"; rat-boy John Connor; police as villains
In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:53Read transcript
- The idea of an improved Terminator 2.0 made of liquid is fantastic. — Van Lathan
- Hiding that Schwarzenegger was the good guy during the run-up to the movie aged well. — Van Lathan
- Young Robert Patrick running and quickly murdering people with metal hands is a three-way tie for aged best. — Van Lathan
- Would Usain Bolt beat Robert Patrick? Why didn't the T-1000 morph into a sprinter like Michael Johnson or Carl Lewis? — Van Lathan
- Patrick reportedly took sprinting technique so seriously that he was catching the motor scooter and was told to slow down. — Bill Simmons
- Robert Patrick is certainly one of the great movie athletes. — Chris Ryan
- Patrick's later career (Cop Land, a key Sopranos role, action films) looked like an effort to escape the Terminator image; he reprised the role for one scene in Last Action Hero. — Bill Simmons
- Teaching Arnold slang ('no problemo', 'hasta la vista, baby', 'chill out, dickwad') is a borderline rewatchable scene that shouldn't work but does. — Bill Simmons
- This is one of the only movies helped by narration; narration usually signals script trouble, but her voice works here. — Bill Simmons
- The narration is great and ties to the alternate ending. — Bill Simmons
- Narration usually sucks but works when sparse, as in Stand by Me, Shawshank and Goodfellas. — Van Lathan
- Destroying Cyberdyne was an idea cut from the first Terminator and left in its deleted scenes; Cameron banked it as the nucleus of T2, making that cut an aged-best decision. — Bill Simmons
- 'Hasta la vista, baby' and 'I'll be back' became iconic pop-culture lines repeated even by a mother at the shopping cart.
- The last aged-best pick is the Terminator coldly telling John 'it's in your nature to destroy yourself'. — Van Lathan
- The line hit close to home and made the movie a tough watch for a self-described neurotic, anxious Van; his father would side with the Terminator ('nah, he right'). — Van Lathan
- Rat-boy John Connor, with the Public Enemy shirt, motocross bike, arcade scams and foster-parent friction, is a great conception of the future resistance leader; finding Furlong outside the Pasadena boys club was one in a million. — Bill Simmons
- The police as the bad guys aged best: the film has a healthy skepticism about the police, and it flipped the heroic-cop mentality of Colors from two years earlier.
Who Won the Movie?
Eddie Murphy (two votes); Halle Berry (one)
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:57:47Read transcript
- Van Lathan answers Halle Berry. — Van Lathan
- Van argues Berry is the movie’s hidden star and that its love story gave her the stickiest role she had played. — Van Lathan
- Wesley Morris chooses Eddie Murphy because making the film broadened his interest in Black family and cultural life on screen. — Wesley Morris
- Wesley praises Murphy’s tenderness, vulnerability and control of Marcus as a character distinct from himself. — Wesley Morris
- Bill also chooses Murphy and calls it his best adult performance. — Bill Simmons
- Bill says Murphy uses all the pieces and makes the most people better in the movie. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
Most Rewatchable Scene
Split: John Witherspoon’s dinner sequence; Grace Jones’s first perfume-boardroom scene
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:55Read transcript
- The opening lunch establishes the three friends through Marcus’s dating philosophy and Martin’s asparagus riff.
- Marcus sleeping with Lady Eloise and then meeting Jacqueline at work is praised as a perfect six-minute comic sequence. — Bill Simmons
- Jacqueline’s party flirtation works because Robin Givens matches Eddie Murphy’s confidence and control.
- The art-class scene is praised for Eddie Murphy imitating the little girl, recalling his earlier comic appeal. — Bill Simmons
- The John Witherspoon dinner is praised for its mushroom outfit, sexual advice, bathroom reveal and improvised family chaos. — Bill Simmons
- One host argues the dinner also explains Gerard’s vulnerability and why Marcus’s later betrayal hurts him. — Van Lathan
- The pool game makes Marcus’s embarrassment over Angela visible while preserving the friendship’s comic rhythm.
- The rooftop reconciliation culminates in Martin arriving late to demand another hug and then moves into the P.M. Dawn song.
- Two hosts select the Witherspoon sequence. — Wesley Morris
- Wesley selects Grace Jones’s first boardroom pitch and the “Steel Vagina” suggestion. — Wesley Morris
- One objection is that the dinner sequence was shoehorned into the story and is not needed for the plot, even though its comic digression is pleasurable. — Wesley Morris
- The scene evokes Black theater and its later Tyler Perry counterpart, bringing class tensions into the comedy. — Wesley Morris
- The chitlins in a wealthy household and Angela being asked to handle them are described as a collision of Black culture and snobbery. — Wesley Morris
Displaying discussions 49 - 57 of 57 in total
Flex picks
The Proof of Life / David Caruso Award for a Character Who Should Have Been Spun Off into Their Own Sequel
Giancarlo Esposito’s Cassius Clay Sr., watching his son’s rise
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:27Read transcript
- The flex category explicitly asks which character deserves a sequel. — Van Lathan
- Cassius Clay Sr.’s perspective across his son’s transformation is the chosen story. — Van Lathan
Five Movies Not Getting Greenlit in 2026
1. Soul Man; 2. The Birth of a Nation (1915); 3. Juwanna Mann; 4. Tropic Thunder; 5. The Ringer.
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:18Read transcript
- The Ringer ranks fifth on the list of five movies not getting greenlit in 2026. — Van Lathan
- Tropic Thunder ranks fourth because the intact film is doubted as a present-day greenlight. — Van Lathan
- Juwanna Mann ranks third because a man dominates the women’s league. — Van Lathan
- The Birth of a Nation ranks second, specifically the 1915 film rather than the later film with the same title. — Van Lathan
- Soul Man ranks first and is considered impossible to make in 2026. — Van Lathan
- The film’s anti-racist conclusion is offered as a counterargument, but another speaker argues that viewers cannot get past its premise to reach that lesson.
- The Crying Game is proposed as another film likely to be attacked today, particularly because its secret would be deliberately spoiled.
- Fight Club is proposed as difficult to release now because preview coverage would expose its twist; the counterdiscussion focuses on lost secrecy rather than whether production itself is impossible.
- The Blair Witch Project is rejected as workable under the same modern secrecy conditions. — Van Lathan
- American History X is considered still makeable. — Van Lathan
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:45Read transcript
- Van’s explicitly introduced top-five fictional bands are, from fifth to first: Josie and the Pussycats, the Wonders, Spinal Tap, the Five Heartbeats and Stillwater; Eddie and the Cruisers is intentionally excluded from this episode’s list. — Bill Simmons
- A follow-up distinguishes best fictional band from best music: the Five Heartbeats, Wonders, Eddie and the Cruisers and Stillwater are compared, with Fever Dog considered a weaker signature than On the Dark Side or That Thing You Do!. — Van Lathan
- The Revolution and the Time are excluded as actual bands despite Purple Rain’s fictional framing; Sex Bob-omb is suggested as an additional candidate.
- Additional fictional-band candidates include Sex Bob-omb, the EuroTrip band, Hey That’s My Bike, CB4 and Citizen Dick; the Dan Band is distinguished as real and Citizen Dick’s onscreen performance is disputed.
How Would Van Lathan Get Out of This One?
A motel visit framed as adult political and cultural outreach
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:45Read transcript
- Van explicitly selects How Would Van Get Out of This One, inventing a defense of a motel visit as political/cultural outreach with adult college fans; the lengthy story is a comic hypothetical, not an event. — Van Lathan
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:41Read transcript
- The top five begins with Running Scared fifth and Reggie/Jack fourth; the latter placement is disputed. — Van Lathan
- Vincent/Jules rank third and Sidney/Billy second, with the action-comedy boundaries explicitly stretched. — Van Lathan
- Riggs/Murtaugh rank first; 48 Hours is defended as the influential prototype, and the ranking remains disputed. — Van Lathan
- Honorable mentions are Django, Men in Black, The Last Boy Scout and Money Talks; Men in Black could replace Running Scared. — Van Lathan
- Wilder/Pryor are qualified, while Crockett/Tubbs raises the distinction between movie and television duos.
How Would Van Lathan Get Out of This One?
Rick separately reframes Kevin’s betrayal to his wife and sets boundaries with his girlfriend.
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:14Read transcript
- The speaker chooses Rick and tells his wife that Kevin’s betrayal proves her prior suspicions right. — Van Lathan
- For Monique, the speaker proposes reasserting that their time apart is separate and offering a later hotel visit. — Van Lathan
- The panel questions why Rick must arrange the late-night pizza and jokes about how both women might resist his framing. — Van Lathan
Did This Movie Need a Random Sports Scene?
Yes: a Halloween-night homecoming football gathering could let Michael attack players and even suit up as an unstoppable tight end.
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:27Read transcript
- A football game or team gathering would widen Haddonfield beyond the hospital and give Michael athletic victims. — Van Lathan
The Den of Thieves Benihana Award for Scene-Stealing Location
Clarksdale and the American South
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 02:12:00Read transcript
- Clarksdale and the American South are praised for textured beauty and convincingly old buildings. — Van Lathan
- A Mississippi drive past cotton fields illustrates the South’s brutal beauty and its uneasy historical associations. — Van Lathan
Did This Movie Need a Random Sports Scene?
Yes—a Yankees game
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:47Read transcript
- The flex proposes an actual Yankees game during the stadium scene. The baseball strike may explain access, but the film could mention it; the Mets’ stadium is another option.
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
An accidental Luke–Leia sexual relationship; Han mistreats Luke; Star Wars is great art and a damaging industrial precedent
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:11Read transcript
- The trilogy is said to become darker and better if Luke and Leia unknowingly have sex before learning they are siblings.
- The imagined guilt is argued to give Luke a stronger pull toward the dark side. — Van Lathan
- Star Wars is called both one of the best films ever and one of the worst things to happen to Hollywood because of its industrial influence.
- Han is called a cock-blocking dickhead who pursues Leia and tells Luke not to get cocky after Luke's success. — Chris Ryan
Paulie Award for Asshole of the Film
Paulie
The panel proposes a new category here.
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:04Read transcript
- Van explicitly selected flex Paulie Award for Asshole of Film, Paulie winner. Discusses sequel power-of-attorney financial ruin, objection Rocky V never happened; modest defense Rocky IV his best version.
- Paulie flex continued: treats sister as commodity, blames her for unmarried life, insults her, destroys Thanksgiving turkey while keeping leg and coerces date. Rocky partly complicit in coercion; exaggerated wished-for retaliation. — Chris Ryan
- Paulie flex: no redeeming deep-down goodness; proposed Paulie/Panino why-character-awful naming, neighbors would tire of yelling.
Top Five List
Top five "white people solve racism" movies
Flex pick · Van Lathan
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:09Read transcript
- The explicitly ranked white-people-solve-racism list begins with The Blind Side at number five and A Time to Kill at number four. — Van Lathan
- Number three is described as everyone being racist and beautiful, referring to the current film in context; The Help is second and Driving Miss Daisy first. — Van Lathan
- The Help and Driving Miss Daisy are mocked as self-congratulatory, while The Help’s actors are praised; a bookstore colleague deliberately called the book The Hep. — Joanna Robinson
Displaying all 12 flex picks