WEBVTT 1 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.800 We're terrible, Lorenzo, and this is the Bitter Kitten Movie Club. 2 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:28.719 Hello Kitten's welcome back to another edition of the b 3 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:31.320 k MC, A supplemental edition of the PSO where we 4 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:33.960 take a look at one film and give all our 5 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.520 thoughts on it. I think that is the smoothest I 6 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.600 know b k M c intro I have ever done. 7 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:40.880 Like your hair right now? 8 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:42.479 Your hair? 9 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:42.759 Your hair. 10 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:45.960 Okay, that's a little weird. 11 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:51.759 Anyway, this week's film is Little Miss Sunshine, and we 12 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:54.799 before we flipped on the mics, I said to Lorenzo, 13 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:56.359 I was like, I think this might be the shortest 14 00:00:56.359 --> 00:00:59.159 one we've ever done, the shortest b k MC podcast 15 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.079 we've ever done. I picked this film for the lineup 16 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:06.840 for this month. You know, we try and mix it 17 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:11.319 up a little bit. Genres, styles, eras, that sort of thing. 18 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:12.599 So I'm not going to. 19 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.439 Really get into anything older than the nineteen eighties on 20 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:21.519 this in this project for now at least, because it's 21 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.799 very difficult to get people to watch old old films 22 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:26.760 any and I don't want to going for a more 23 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:27.560 popular right. 24 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.760 We don't want to fall into the same cliche of 25 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:32.400 like old movies, classicals and stuff. Like that, at least 26 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:32.840 not for now. 27 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.879 I never forgot a bitchy queen who was a friend 28 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.879 of mine but it's no longer who said when our 29 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:44.120 blog first launched. He was like, it's nice, but it's 30 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:46.400 all like the obsessions of middle aged gay men. 31 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.159 And I was like, fuck that queen said that. You 32 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:51.159 know who I'm talking about, right, but New York queen 33 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:53.400 that we don't talk about any well, of course, of 34 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:56.079 course the New York queen, but anyway, that's another subject. 35 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:57.480 Yeah. 36 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.079 So the reason I picked this this film is again, 37 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.400 you know, I wanted to a range of styles and everything, 38 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.199 but also I had seen this film once, probably around 39 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:09.759 the time it came out. It came out in two 40 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:12.879 thousand and six, and I really really didn't like it. 41 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.759 And it was critically acclaimed. 42 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:16.560 I mean it was. 43 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:20.680 It was nominated for Best Picture, it won Alan Arkin 44 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.439 won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in it, and 45 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:24.759 that was a deserved win. 46 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.639 But the thing is that I respect critics, I mean, 47 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:30.439 believe me, I do. That's what they do, their professionists, 48 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:32.479 But sometimes they get too much. 49 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:36.919 Well in love with some especially around this time when 50 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:41.439 it came to indie films, and this was kind of 51 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:45.879 what set me off back then. It just if I 52 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:48.599 I and Okay, I look at it. I looked at 53 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:49.960 it in two thousand and six, I looked at it 54 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.800 in twenty twenty six, and I had largely the same reaction, 55 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:58.759 which was, this feels like a checklist of indie film markers. 56 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:03.199 Like you have adorably quirky little girl, you have the 57 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.120 teenager who does not speak that's sort of god, teenager 58 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:11.000 who doesn't speak their grandfather, the grandfather who's inappropriate. Everything 59 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.879 about it felt checked off a list and felt like 60 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:16.719 something I had seen before. 61 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:20.000 Everything the fat having trouble with its job, you know, 62 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:20.919 it's like everything it. 63 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:24.360 Just you know what. 64 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.159 I don't want to get too deep into the weeds 65 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:30.280 of my critiques yet, I want to talk about first 66 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:32.919 what I liked about the film, because this is what 67 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:35.240 I'm trying to get at is I picked the film 68 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.240 to see if I could reassess it two decades later, 69 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:40.719 like maybe I was wrong about it, Maybe I you know, 70 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.759 et cetera, et cetera. So and I admit that a 71 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:46.360 lot of the stuff that I didn't like about the 72 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:49.039 film immediately popped up in the first twenty minutes, and 73 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.479 I was like, shit, it's exactly what I remembered it as. 74 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:55.680 But I have to say I will unpack a few 75 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.199 things about the story as it goes along, But when 76 00:03:58.199 --> 00:03:59.560 it gets to the end, I was like, all right, 77 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.639 this is worthy. This was worth my time. It was 78 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:04.400 worth it spending it with these people. 79 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:08.159 The cast is just the castle. 80 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.000 I mean, come on, that cast is stacked and nobody 81 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:16.519 gives a bad performance. I do think Steve Carrell's Sad 82 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:18.879 Gay is a bit of a It was a cliche 83 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:19.800 top to bottom. 84 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.040 It was a weird take. 85 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.040 It was a weird take, but honestly, he was an 86 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:26.800 up and coming comic actor at that time. Okay, see 87 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:29.120 what it was a little and in two thousand and 88 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:31.120 six it was still kind of a big deal when 89 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.600 a straight actor played gay, So it was kind of 90 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.560 a brave creative choice for him to make to play 91 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:39.199 that character. I just didn't think he added any I mean, 92 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:46.439 but it's really well acted. Everybody's great in it. 93 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:49.000 I actually. 94 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:53.519 It made me go to IMDb and check out Greg 95 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:55.639 kinnear because I was like, what happened to him? He 96 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:58.319 doesn't seem to you know, but he actually has been working. 97 00:04:58.319 --> 00:04:59.959 I just haven't been paying attention to what he's been. 98 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:02.040 Well, that's what I like about watching these movies is 99 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.360 that you forget about these people were there. 100 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:08.240 She was in everything, Yeah, for like fifteen years there. 101 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.399 I mean he, like I said, he's still working. He 102 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:11.959 he was in Marco's Got Money's Troubles. 103 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.199 Or they're so young, you know, Like I'm like, oh 104 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:17.160 my god, they're so young. Yeah, like what's his name, 105 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:19.759 Poet Pole? You know, my god, he's a child. 106 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:21.680 Well he's I mean I looked it up. He was 107 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.000 like in his twenties, but he was playing a fifteen 108 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:24.879 year you look like a. 109 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:26.720 Fifty look like a teenager. Yeah. 110 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.920 And Abigail Breslin adorable, and Tony Kolett. Man, it just 111 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:35.079 never goes wrong. If you want a harried mother, she's 112 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:37.199 your gal. She is the one to play. 113 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:39.839 And she does American so well, like America does America 114 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.920 really very well. I love her since day one. Yeah, 115 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.439 she's she's been incredible. 116 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:49.560 So uh, I think it's a perfectly enjoyable film. 117 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:50.240 I really do. 118 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:52.759 I think it's I really don't have I'm not going 119 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:57.040 to rail against it, but I will talk about what 120 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.600 I didn't like about why it sets me off. Let 121 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.839 me just say before I get into that, I want 122 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:04.720 to talk about the story itself, which. 123 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:06.839 We need to explain that. Yeah, well no, I mean 124 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:10.000 if you watched it, if you're listening, watch a summary. 125 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:11.480 No, I'm not giving a summary. 126 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:16.199 Sorry. What I mean is, ah, he's laughing, but he 127 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:24.480 wants to kill me. I know that laugh mister. No, 128 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:25.600 I'm not going to sum it up. 129 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.839 I mean, the whole point here is that we're we've 130 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:34.040 all watched it, and now we're talking about it. My 131 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:37.279 issue with the script, with the story is that there 132 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:39.480 are times when I feel like it just didn't feel 133 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:43.240 very believable. And you know, that's not the most salient 134 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:46.360 critique in the world, because it doesn't necessarily have to 135 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:50.399 be a believable film. But for instance, like when you 136 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:53.240 get to her act at the end, her dance act, 137 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:55.839 which is I mean, it's a really funny paloff. 138 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.639 I thought it was some some other member. 139 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:04.680 They all danced anyway, right, but I'm talking about her act. 140 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:06.680 When you get to that, it's a great payoff. It's 141 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.720 really funny. But you have to sit there and think 142 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.560 they went on this entire trip and none of them 143 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:13.600 knew what she was going to do when she got up. 144 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:16.360 There like that. The whole film hinges on that, and 145 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:18.120 the whole time I'm watching that scene, I'm. 146 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.439 Like, I don't know. Considering the family, I get that 147 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:25.720 they are completely checked out on a lot of things, 148 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.120 but I don't know that really it hinged on on 149 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.279 something that I first out left it because it caught 150 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.600 me completely off. It is really funny, it is really, 151 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:41.600 and I give them credit for going into the joke, 152 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.639 but not the joke never goes somewhere uncomfortable, like they 153 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.160 never made Abigail Breslin do something where I was like, Okay, 154 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:48.600 that's okay, that's al too much. 155 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:54.480 It's it's relatively innocent all around. It's just you know, inappropriate. 156 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:55.920 That's song. It's a song. 157 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.519 She's slapping her ass while she's dancing and everything. I mean, 158 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.800 it's really, really funny, and it's a shame because it's 159 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:03.639 the funniest part of the film and it's the most 160 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:04.720 memorable part of the film. 161 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:06.759 So I just kept waiting for it. 162 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:10.720 But what I love about that scene is the hypocrisy, 163 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:13.199 you know, the whole hypocritical attitude of the other ones, 164 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.000 because I mean, all these girls look like adults with 165 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:19.199 all that makeup and hair and everything, and they sexualize 166 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.720 these girls. So to react the way they reacted with 167 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.759 what she did, it's a little too much. I mean 168 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.439 it is. It is a little too much, but coming 169 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:30.360 from where you guys come from, like dressing these little 170 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.360 girls like like adult. 171 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:37.320 So similarly, and again I guess this goes to how 172 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.600 checked out the family is. They know the grandfather's doing Heroin, 173 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.840 I know, so they're like, you're rooming with Grandpa Intel 174 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:46.960 tonight with the little six year old girl. I'm like, 175 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.039 what it just it helps the story if she has 176 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:53.720 to go and wake them up the next morning and 177 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:59.120 say Grandpa won't wake up. Yeah, everything, and sometimes those 178 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:03.639 things they were really hard against the characters, because yes, 179 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:09.000 they are checked out. They are not Their marriage isn't great, 180 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:12.639 their family structure isn't great. They're not emotionally supportive of 181 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:17.440 each other throughout most of the film. But that's a 182 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.759 level of irresponsibility where you're just getting it and it's 183 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.799 actually it's the same thing with Greg Kinnear's character in 184 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:26.559 that scene where he berates her for eating ice cream. 185 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.559 I'm like, all right, we're getting into full on. He's 186 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:31.200 a villain here. Right, And the best way to end 187 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.039 this story is to have her his wife walk out 188 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:36.679 on him because he is literally abusing his daughter. We're 189 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:38.480 watching him do that, but. 190 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.320 It's quirky, and we forgive him. 191 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:44.600 And I'm like, I do think the film sometimes loses 192 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:48.440 sight of how people act in real situations because it's 193 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:53.519 so caught up in it's quirkiness, in its little twists 194 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:54.679 and turns and everything. 195 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:59.879 Guy, I hate when a script has milestones to be reached, 196 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.159 you know, and and they use the characters for it, 197 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:03.840 you know what I mean, Like instead of developing the 198 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:06.440 what do you mean by that? Like like when okay, 199 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:08.200 you write a script and you're like, all right, we 200 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.600 need to do this, We need to make this point, 201 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.200 we need to write, you know, like you establish what 202 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:14.159 you need to cover. 203 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:15.679 And then and then fill in the blank. 204 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:17.840 Yeah, you sort of like use the characters for it 205 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:21.440 instead of having the characters being characters, right, you know, 206 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:22.559 you know what I mean. I mean it's hard to 207 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.279 explain what I'm science say, but instead of having characters 208 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:28.360 being real people quote unquote real people and have them 209 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.000 act like real people, you create a script that Okay, 210 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:34.440 well they need to do this. The grandfather needs to 211 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.519 die now, and then she needs to do and then 212 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.679 something's gonna happen with the kid, you know what I mean, like, uh, instead. 213 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:42.879 Of thing's gonna happen to make Paul Dano speak. 214 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.639 Right right, And that was a bit of a I 215 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:48.320 do like some of the stories I do. 216 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:51.399 And like Steve Carrell they're in a gas station when 217 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.720 he runs into his old boy what stuff like that, 218 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:57.200 where it's like, Okay, I get it. It's a quirky 219 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.600 little tail. It doesn't have to be realistic, but you 220 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:02.440 are taking me out of it. I think sometimes. 221 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:06.120 Yeah, I mean I was like, how they be there? 222 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.279 The same coincidence of that is just a little bit 223 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:10.879 too much for me to take that. 224 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:14.039 Stuff like that was a little too much. The whole 225 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:18.000 cop thing finding the porn and just letting them go 226 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:21.440 and keeping the porn. Come on, it's again, it's a comedy. 227 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.879 It doesn't have to be realistic. But I think tonally, 228 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:27.919 sometimes the film doesn't know where it is where you 229 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:30.720 know where it lands. Are we doing an unrealistic comedy, 230 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:33.879 like a broad sort of comedy, or are we doing 231 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:36.519 a quirky indie film about family dynamics? And I think 232 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:40.600 sometimes it tries to do both and it doesn't work. 233 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.519 And that cop scene is perfect example of that, where 234 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:44.960 I was like, all right, you're taking out of this. 235 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:47.559 I mean, if this was some goofy dumb and dumber 236 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.279 style in my film, then fine, that scene works. But 237 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.039 within the context of this one, right, it just I 238 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:57.840 don't know. I have a loved hate thing with road movies, 239 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:00.360 like you know, road Trip, I agree with. I love 240 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:02.600 them in a way, I mean, but they are cliches. 241 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.360 Those are my favorite when it comes to in the 242 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:06.559 national movies, because first of all, you get to see 243 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.639 those beautiful scenes in landscape and all that, and the 244 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:11.320 characters sometimes they're rech but its. 245 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:15.320 Characters also go on a journey. It feels very cliche. 246 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.559 But it's the same. Everybody hates everybody to get on a. 247 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.759 Car, and then by the end they all learned a 248 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:21.039 pall love each other. 249 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:22.000 Yeah, all right, let's. 250 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:23.600 Take a quick break and we'll come back with some 251 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:28.559 more critiques. We'll be right back. We're back talking about 252 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.480 Little Miss Sunshine. And when Lorenzo started talking about road 253 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:34.840 movies and everything, I just said to them with the 254 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:36.200 MIC's off, I was like, I know, you want to 255 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:40.559 mention Central Station. Well, there's Central Station is one of Lorenzo's. Well, 256 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.559 we'll have to put them on the list. We are 257 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.919 one of Lorenzo's favorite films. And it is a Brazilian 258 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:50.519 movie from like nineteen ninety six, I think, And it's. 259 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:51.639 A yeah, I think too. 260 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:54.480 Yeah, it's a road movie. It's about a woman and 261 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:59.879 a boy who travel across Brazil. And it's not a comedy, no, 262 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.679 absolutely not. That is an example of how to do 263 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.519 a movie like that correctly and not lapse into cliche 264 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:08.480 the way I don't want to. 265 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.679 I urge everyone to watch it. So I'm not gonna 266 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:13.039 we'll put it on the list for next month. I'm 267 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.600 not gonna give it away how it ends, especially, and 268 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.080 I love that movie because of that. You know, it's 269 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.360 it's it's a journey. That one is a journey. 270 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:23.960 It is, and it feels like an epic one. 271 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:29.240 Right. So it's a beautiful movie. The scenery and the traveling, 272 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.639 it's just incredible. It's a beautiful story. It's definitely one 273 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:35.559 of my favorite movies of all time anyway. But so 274 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:38.519 I do like those movies. There's so many international movies 275 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:40.960 like that where people get on a car and they travel. 276 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.440 So many American movies, yeah, and they tend to all 277 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.000 be focused on the American West because you have all 278 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:50.279 those wide open spaces. So this was Albuquerque in California, 279 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.360 and it was all very much And that's fine, But 280 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.720 like I said it, it feels like a cliche of 281 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:01.759 indie films around two thousand and six. It feels like 282 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:04.480 the exact kind of film that critics went crazy for 283 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.759 twenty years ago. Because it checked off all of these boxes. 284 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.039 That doesn't make it a bad film, but I don't 285 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.120 think it's a great film. 286 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:18.000 I think it's a perfectly enjoyabah. It's funny because I 287 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.120 rewatch it. It was my second time watching it, and 288 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.519 I have to say Paul Dana's character is my favorite. 289 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.440 I think he's great, and I do think Steve Correll 290 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:29.000 is good. I do, and I did like their scenes together, 291 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.159 but I was like, there's something very dated about the sad, 292 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.279 tragic gay figure played by a straight actor. I'm just 293 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.799 not impressed by it anymore. We act too much of 294 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:40.840 like a zombie to me. You know, well, he's post suicide. 295 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:44.399 I get all that, but I didn't get much emotion 296 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:48.440 from him. But the lines are dead on. I really 297 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.879 like the script, the stuff he says and related to 298 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:54.440 the family and all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do 299 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.919 like that, but he's acting. I don't know, it's just 300 00:14:58.039 --> 00:14:59.120 fell off a little bit. 301 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.200 I want to talk about what my because I haven't 302 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:05.320 really talked about what pisses me without this film and 303 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.799 what originally pissed me off about this film and it's 304 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:09.919 and the reason I put it at the back end 305 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.879 of this is because I don't want to over emphasize 306 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:18.000 this critique. It affected my viewing of the film, but 307 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:22.960 it is ultimately an easy one for you as a 308 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:26.200 viewer to dismiss. This is my thing, whether you agree 309 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.919 or not. We should mention that this was directed by 310 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.279 Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a couple who have directed 311 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.480 a bunch of music videos and a bunch of other films, 312 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.399 and it was written by Michael Aren't. And I'm bringing 313 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.679 this up because I'm kind of taking those three people 314 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:41.120 to test. 315 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.639 Here's an example. Michael Aren't, the screenwriter. 316 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:51.679 He said he chose the iconic YELLOWVW bus for them 317 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:54.720 to drive in and for it to constantly break down 318 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:59.440 because that was the bus his family. It was like 319 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.799 thirty five year old bus at the time of two 320 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:03.720 thousand and six. And this is my issue with the 321 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.240 film is that the aesthetic of the film is completely off. 322 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:09.399 And I said this to you last night, well while 323 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:11.039 you were watching it, we watched it separately. 324 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:13.440 I said that family would not have that. He would 325 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:17.159 not have that van. He's such a striver and he's 326 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:21.799 so image obsessed and success obsessed. He would, you know, 327 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.080 mortgage his house to have a fancy car. He would 328 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.840 not have a thirty five year old van like that. 329 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:27.679 And especially the van falling apart, you know. 330 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:30.120 Yeah, I mean, I know they don't have money. I 331 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:33.759 get that, But this is my issue with the film 332 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:38.399 is the clichde way they indicate that this family doesn't 333 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:39.200 have money. 334 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.039 And it's very clear that they don't have money right now. 335 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:42.960 But look at the house. I mean, look, well, that's my. 336 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:44.399 Problem with the house is. 337 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.279 And this was my problem back then. I was like, 338 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.279 that's not what poor people look like. I'm sorry that 339 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.879 not in two thousand and six. Let me just say 340 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:54.600 in two thousand and six, that was about when we 341 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.679 were furnishing our home. I mean, we were ten years 342 00:16:57.679 --> 00:16:59.840 into our relationship at that point, but we were in 343 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.159 that mode where we were decorating and that sort of thing. 344 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:05.359 And we live in a section of the Philadelphia Old City, 345 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:08.759 which at the time it had a lot of chic 346 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.079 vintage stores. In fact, the last Sheikh vintage store just 347 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:18.599 left our neighborhood, oh last year, and we furnished our 348 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.960 place with a lot of stuff from those places. And 349 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.200 when you walked into a vintage store in two thousand 350 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.599 and six, a high end vintage store where everything was 351 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:32.400 well curated and expensive, it looked like their house. Right, 352 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.519 That's not what the Salvation Army looks like. That's not 353 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:39.400 what like, That's not what Porpi. That was an extremely 354 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.599 well curated house of vintage mid century Brady Bunch, you 355 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.680 know esthetic, and it absolutely was wrong for our family 356 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.559 in two thousand and six. I think I might have 357 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:53.200 mentioned this before for some reason. I remember talking about 358 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.680 this on this podcast. It's you know, we've been doing 359 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.680 this a long time. But I once compared the a 360 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:01.839 set of this film to do you ever see I 361 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:06.319 know you've seen it the Lord video for Royal Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, 362 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:11.079 which depicts poverty, modern poverty in the way I talk 363 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:15.480 about this because I have in my life, in my upbringing. 364 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:17.799 I have been part of a poor family. I have 365 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:19.599 been part of a poor working family. I know what 366 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.400 it looks like and it doesn't look like that quirky 367 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:27.000 art directed house. And I bring up royal because it 368 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:29.279 shows them living and they don't have anything, like they 369 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:34.279 just literally don't have anything because they're poor, and poor 370 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:38.000 people don't have quirky, curated mid century stuff. They have 371 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.319 plastic shit that they bought, you know, or they have 372 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.799 really old, broken down shit. That's what the house of 373 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:47.559 a poor person looks like, not this curated. And that 374 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:50.759 bothered me right from the beginning. And honestly, the film 375 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.319 is there's only one scene or maybe two scenes set 376 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:54.640 in the house and the rest of the film is 377 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:58.000 set out of the house. But it really turned me 378 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:02.200 off right And then when I read that about the van, 379 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:04.200 like that was the van from my child. Well, that's 380 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.519 the problem here. You're you're depicting poor people in nineteen 381 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:10.160 seventy five and this is two thousand and six, so 382 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:11.640 it doesn't feel correct to me. 383 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.319 It goes back to what I said, it's it's just 384 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:16.880 because you have to do something, so you just throw 385 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:19.799 these characters, you know, into and it looks good some 386 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.599 sort of situation. Yeah, the fact that, okay, we really 387 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:25.480 need them all in a van, so they can't afford 388 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.240 ticket airline tickets, you know, like right flight, they can't. 389 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:31.079 It be interesting to have them in some nineteen ninety 390 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:34.519 five you know, Ford aerostar. No, we have to put 391 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:36.759 them in a quirky thirty five year old gen X 392 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:41.200 signifier because you know, it looks good on film. That 393 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:43.400 was my issue with the film, and it remains my 394 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:46.559 issue with the film is that it is overly quirky. 395 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:50.799 It has an interesting story, great cast, but the aesthetic 396 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:53.880 and that the sort of indie quirkiness, it sort of 397 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:54.599 overwhelmed me. 398 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:59.440 Like, yeah, I mean it gets into a lot of cliches, 399 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.000 but I you kind of enjoyed it every now and then, 400 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:05.319 you know, the dialogue and the situation. I agree, I 401 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.799