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198 - Existo (1999) (Straight Up 004)
57 Plays2 months ago
“Spin the bishop!”
It's time once again for our quarterly foray into Tucker's cinematic influences with an all-new installment of Straight Up! This week, we're visiting the theater of the underground, doing art for its own sake, and taking a deep dive into the minds that created Ernest P. Worrell! Oh, yeah… and Brett's back! Join us as we cover this truly bizarre film experience!
Check out the standard version of the film on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NVHYjHapvsY?si=clqIuapbrbXrK8lA
As the second podcast to ever cover this film, we would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the first, The Projection Booth, whose 2016 episode on Existo was a vital source of research: https://youtu.be/end_CuTDAas?si=D30OuyvGE3EfecaN
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:54
Speaker
Now we start the disenfranchised podcast. That podcast all about those franchises of one, those films that fan the bit those films fancy themselves full fledged franchises before falling flat on their face after the first film. I am your host, Steven Foxworthy, except for when I'm not. And today is one of those days because we're going straight up today. Straight up what? Well, I'll let him tell you all about it. It's Tucker, hey Tucker.
00:01:22
Speaker
to butt straight up to butt. That's what what in the butt. And who is that? It's me, your friend Tucker. And there's another guy here. It's our friend. Come back. Brett Wright back in the house. I mean, I i wouldn't call it a welcome. I'll be back for a few weeks. And then after that, we'll see. Fading directly back into the ether.
00:01:53
Speaker
Yeah, this is my final run guys. mannessa Last three episodes you'll ever see me on ever. No. I'll never ever be back. Well, no, because you got to come back for 200 too. So four, four episodes. Give us four. for Okay, fine. Give us four. And then I will never ever come back. Except for an occasional guest spot.
00:02:13
Speaker
We really ought to just record your your your typical greeting just so we can put it in at the beginning of an episode. ah Like that one episode where Tucker accidentally left your audio out of it. um So we can put you in at the beginning of the episode and then just like not mention you at all. I'll put it on the soundboard here so I can just hit the button and be like, hello, Steven. Yeah. That sounds like a perfect idea because I mean, it's not like a whole lot would be lost. It's most of my episodes. It is false and you know it.
00:02:42
Speaker
How dare you, sir? We could do a soundboard, though, with just like some general phrases where he's like, yep. Oh, I agree. ah Yeah, me too. Oh, I don't know about that one. And then just pop them in there every once in a while just for funsies. Man, Ghostbusters is great. Yeah, exactly. There's one right there. There's one right there. This is so good. We're going to get in these.
00:03:06
Speaker
Um, we are here altogether in one place where we have not been for low these many months because Tucker demanded it.
Diverging from the Usual Format
00:03:15
Speaker
Tucker demanded it because today Tucker is one of those four times a year where we hand over the reins of the podcast to you to talk about whatever the hell you want, whether it fits the format or not. Although one could argue this one potentially could fit the regular format. It absolutely does.
00:03:35
Speaker
Tucker what the fuck are we talking about today?
Discussion: Existo Film
00:03:38
Speaker
We're talking about Existo!
00:03:43
Speaker
Existo from 1999, directed by Coke Sams, written by Bruce Arnston and Coke Sams, and starring Bruce Arnston, Jackie Welch, Jim Varney, Gaylord Sartain, Mark Cabus. I'm sorry, The Great Gaylord Sartain? Correct. You didn't say The Great? The Great Gaylord Sartain, Mark Cabus, Jenny Littleton, and many others. What a cast! Dare I say it, what a picture.
00:04:14
Speaker
Wowzers, I like this one you guys You guys both made it through? You guys made it through? I did. Yeah. Yeah. In one sitting, as I tend to do. I started this movie going, I don't know if I'm going to make it. And then like then it became like a legitimate movie at some point. like the first like By the end, Brett's singing along with the credit song. I mean, no, look, I will say that the songs in this movie are legitimately like good. like I thought they were like legitimately good. And that's what it sort of kept me going, too.
00:04:46
Speaker
and uh yeah no i mean the first part of this movie is ridiculous it makes a whole lot of nonsense and i was like i don't know if i'm gonna be able to do this tucker's gonna be mad at me and then it became like it became a legitimately good movie about halfway through and was a coherent story and i was on board i also watched this movie steven disagrees I appreciate what this movie is trying to do. I don't know that it's overall successful and its aim, but we can get into all of that. Yes, we can. So Tucker, why have you brought this offering to our feet? Why why why this? Why now? I mean, I should, in in terms of backstory, mention that us covering this episode is really Brett's fault.
00:05:39
Speaker
um because this was originally supposed, before our delays earlier this year, this was supposed to be our 200th episode. And I said, hey, Tucker, the 200th is gonna be a straight up.
Jim Varney's Influence and Ernest Films
00:05:52
Speaker
And Tucker said to the group chat, how weird do you want it to be on a scale of one to 10? And Brett immediately responds with 10. Of course. To which I respond, what the fuck have you done? Why would you answer anything else to that question? Because it's Tucker.
00:06:10
Speaker
That's why I answered. That's even more of a reason why I said. So Tucker's like exist. Oh, it is to which I said, damn. And here we are talking exist. Oh, Tucker. Why? Why? Well, aha let me tell you, I've always been a big fan of Jim Varney from the time I was a wee wee boy until right this very second. And this is where you stop being a fan? No, I'm continuing. I used to be a fan, but I so i still am a fan, but I used to. OK. But I always really enjoyed ah the films, the earnest films and the other stuff that Jim Varney had done, um of which there's unfortunately not as much as I would like.
00:07:04
Speaker
Um, but I always really, really, really liked the, the Saturday morning show that he had on CBS when I was a kid called, Hey, Vern, it's earnest. Just like his answer to Peewee's Playhouse in a way. Kind of, kind of. kind It's got some similarities. A little bit. Yeah. Um, it's a really good show though. If anybody hasn't seen it, it's, um,
00:07:32
Speaker
It's better than you remember and it's better than anybody has told you that it is. And it's just ADHD personified. Yes. It is. Yes. It's, um, there's a character in the show who is called Existo and he is a magician. Um, but he's, he's not a very good one. He's not a very good magician. Uh, and he always, he always fails. That's the thing I like about, Hey, Vern, it's Ernest.
00:08:02
Speaker
is it's the same joke every time. Every episode is the same joke. Just slightly tweaked for whatever the theme is. yeah Like we were we were talking about um we were talking about our our boy Gaylord. He was the um he was a sound effects guy.
00:08:22
Speaker
lonnie Yes, he would always talk long, long, long about this sound effect that he had to make. But it was always just making a fart noise with his hand every time. And he almost gets me every time. I'm like, oh, he's going to do something different. Nope. Nope. Damn. You got me again. Nope. This could be the fart sound again. So anyway, Xisto exists in this um cast of characters.
00:08:49
Speaker
Uh, Bruce Arnston, who's the guy who plays ex Existo, who created the character actually before the show even existed. Oh, um, he was one of the head writers on Hey, Vernon's Ernest. He did a lot of the music on the show. He even sings the theme song. That's, that's your boy Existo singing the theme song. And he plays some other characters, uh, in the show as well. Most notable for me being, uh, my father, the clown.
00:09:17
Speaker
He is the clown father, the clown father. Sounds like he's the head of organized crime, clown organized crime. He's the clown father. Right. Right. That's correct. Get to work on that. Yes, please. Yes. Which I think that's one of my my favorite concepts in Haver and Tertis is my father, the clown. be Because it's about this clown, what marries this regular ass lady and they have two children's and one is a regular ass children.
00:09:46
Speaker
And one is a clown children. And I just think it's a fantastic concept. Which is very much like that thing in sitcoms where you've got one child that almost perfectly looks like the mother and another that almost perfectly looks like the father, like these two little clone children, and which I think Solar Opposites mimics beautifully with the replicants, um which is a very fun- I haven't seen that show. of that idea It's fun. I've been told that I should see it.
00:10:16
Speaker
It's, it's fun. I enjoy it. I think maybe you told me I should see it. Should I still see it? Yeah. Yeah. Season five just dropped. That's pretty good. I like it better than season four. I'm sold. I'm sold. Uh, yeah, but I just learned about this film Existo. I learned about it probably two years ago. I didn't know it even exists stowed. And, uh,
00:10:44
Speaker
I watched it and I was like, yeah, I'm really sad that I did not know about this before. Cause I'm thinking about all the times I could have watched it in between the time that it was released and now, which would have been about nine years because before it was on YouTube, you had to know somebody get a DVR or a bootleg VHS like from someone who made the film. Yeah.
00:11:11
Speaker
It's because it was never it's never been released on anything officially. Yeah. Yeah, that's why I brought it to you guys. You can spot a Tucker movie from a mile away. You really can. That's true. I can spot them as well, usually. You're the one who usually identifies them.
00:11:31
Speaker
That's true. But then once you tell us about them and we watch them, we're like, oh, yeah, this is absolutely a Tucker movie. Yeah, this makes perfect sense why this is the thing we're watching right now. And this is the second musical I've brought to Straight Up, which is odd because musical is probably one of my least favorite genres. But some of my favorite films are musicals. In fact, my favorite film of all time is a motherfucking musical. It is a Disney musical at that.
00:12:00
Speaker
My least favorite genre of all time is the musical because it's so easy to make a shitty musical. And there's so many of them. There, there are. There are a fair few shitty musicals for sure, which is why I think what makes the good ones so good. Oh yeah, dude. Yeah. Yeah, dude.
Existo's Niche Appeal and Themes
00:12:22
Speaker
Yeah. Why haven't we seen in an ex existo stage show really is what I want to know.
00:12:27
Speaker
Um, because our boys, he has a different thing now. Can I tell you? Wait, before I've got a lot of backstory in this movie, so we should probably talk about like how you guys came across this movie and what your history with, you know, maybe some Jim Varney stuff is and then do the plot and then I'll get into all this other shit because there's a lot.
00:12:52
Speaker
i think i I think I just told everyone my history with how I came across this movie. It was when Tucker's like, well, exist, oh, it is. And I said, damn it, Brett, you doomed us all. Same, but like're we're more gonna get into our our Jim Barney history, let's be honest. That's true. I i was i was an Ernest kid growing up. I will say, Ernest is one of the three fictional characters that terrified me as a child.
00:13:17
Speaker
Um, because, well, one thing that really freaked me out as a very young child, and when, Hey, Vern, it's Ernest was on TV. I was five. Uh, so, you know, we're still fairly young. The idea that someone in the TV could see me.
00:13:33
Speaker
freaked me out talking to exactly and that was his whole thing even the commercials he did because vern is the camera so it looked like he was talking to me and i'm like i don't know who vern is vern's not me he's talking to me i remember one time i was helping my parents set the table for dinner jim varney came on the screen to sell like sprite or something i dropped the plates and ran screaming from the room Um, that the other two fictional characters that scared the bejeebers out of me were Peewee Herman and Sweetums from the Muppets. So basically every rad character ever just scared the absolute shit out of you, Steven. Got it. Okay. Just those three. Sweetums to a very small child is very frightening at first. Correct.
00:14:19
Speaker
I had my issues with Sweethams as a child as well. I outgrew all of those fears. But again, for Ernest and Peewee specifically, it was that talking directly to the camera thing. that I remember one time Peewee Herman ran, it was I was watching Peewee's Playhouse. He ran up to the camera, looked down the barrel of the lens and said, nice pajamas, where'd you get them? And I was Saturday morning wearing pajamas, screaming from the room.
00:14:43
Speaker
Just ah again, me I it freaks me out. um So yeah eventually got over those. And once I did became a really big Ernest fan, Ernest saves Christmas was on regular rotation oh yeah in our house around the holidays for sure. I was never allowed to watch Ernest scared stupid, but I did watch the rest. In my recollection, Ernest goes to jail is the masterpiece of the franchise. Yes.
00:15:09
Speaker
Yes, because it shows off that that Jim Varney can be more than just Ernest because he plays the guy that looks like Ernest. Yes. That guy I am legitimately frightened of. He's a scary, scary man. He's a scary dude. And they're real scary. I watched them up until like I even watched the direct to video releases like Ernest goes to school. I think I stopped at Ernest goes to school. I don't know if I went into I joined Ernest in Africa or in the army.
00:15:39
Speaker
ah slam dunk earnest. I definitely missed slam dunk earnest. Because that was just that was just the plot of the movie like Mike, but with earnest. Well, and Kareem, I love your bar, but apparently, and um but yeah, no, I and then um carried on enjoyed it. I loved I loved seeing him pop up in other things. I was always very excited to see Jim Varney pop up in other projects. Loved him in the Toy Story films. Loved him in Atlantis. um One of my favorite things that he does, which he does as Ernest quite often, is when he gets into that low register that he has.
00:16:17
Speaker
Because it he almost like vocally completely transforms himself. And he doesn't do it too often. So it always feels like a special effect when he does it. Because it's usually way up high, real real high up here. And then every now and again, he'll drop real low. And I love it when he drops real low. When he wants to sound fancy. Yeah. Or smart. yeah when he's tried When he's saying something that he thinks is smart.
00:16:41
Speaker
He uses that voice. and I mean, it's pretty much the voice he uses for Auntie Nelda as well, which is why I think that's my favorite Ernest character. Oh, my favorite. That's my favorite Ernest character, too. Auntie Nelda. She's great. She's great. I like Dr. Otto as well. Yes, which I had no context for. Dr. Otto's pretty cool. Until I went on a Jim Varney deep dive. And I still haven't seen Dr. Otto, but I i recognize Dr. Otto. So I need to see that movie.
00:17:11
Speaker
Yeah, he's in the show. But yeah, you have his own movie. It's not that good. Future episode of this podcast. Sure. I mean, there you go. Why not? Yeah, Brett, what about you? ah Pretty much exactly the same minus the whole being afraid of him at first. um Because this just just now just made me think that like.
00:17:35
Speaker
I don't, I wasn't really ever afraid of, afraid of things I shouldn't have been afraid of when I was a kid, if that makes sense. I don't know. Like you mentioned being afraid of like Sweetums and, you know, Jim Barney talking to you. Like I, and I know other kids were afraid of things like that. I never was. I was afraid of legitimate things, like scary, scary things. Like clowns. Like the troll in Ernest Scared Stupid.
00:18:05
Speaker
Yeah, I remember thinking they were a little, they were a little scary. Yeah. They're scared stupid. Fun story. The first movie I ever saw by myself. Hmm. Nice. Yeah. Eartha Kitts in that movie. and it Yeah. I don't, I don't really remember it. I haven't watched it in a long time, but it was my favorite Ernest film for, for a long time. Very on brand. Well, yeah, obviously doesn that doesn't, shouldn't surprise anyone. Brett, when you do watch it again, um,
00:18:34
Speaker
You might notice now that I'm I'm assuming you've seen killer clowns from outer space. but Of course. um You might notice that the trolls look very familiar is because they are designed by and built by the same people. And they used actually use some of the parts from the killer clowns in the troll. Future episode of this podcast, killer clowns from outer space. Future episode of this podcast are scared, stupid. No, double feature, double bill.
00:19:04
Speaker
No, never look at it this year. Well, none of the earnest movies are connected, though. Yeah, but it's still a franchise. Yes, there's no there's no shared continuity, though. I don't know. Yeah, I'd argue that, too. Tucker, like, come on, like if they could have easily made a sequel to one of them and it could have sp couldve had own franchise. Earnest saves Christmas again. But it's the same character in all of them. though um slightly I'd say they're slightly different universes, slightly different parallel universes, each one. He lives somewhere different each time. He has different friends each time. I just thought he was like a transient hobo man. I mean, maybe.
00:19:51
Speaker
I mean, i we've we've done one for Star Wars. Predators. It's the same character, but it's but we did an episode on it because it's its own thing. Because those are legitimate spinoffs. This is just a a continuation of the same franchise.
00:20:09
Speaker
but Not it is god the difference No, they're all different. like Let's not get bogged down. and That's what I'm talking about it for hours back on topic He's got to get to work. Damn it Earn a scared stupid future episode of this podcast. My foot is down continue Brad. So is mine No, I mean, I don't know how much my opinion still matters in this You sold most of your shares bread, I don't know Yeah, Tucker brought you out and you let it happen. That's fair. That's fair. Look, but you know, that's fine. That's on me.
00:20:44
Speaker
Anyway, yeah, Ernest was great. um I love Ernest. Not as big in my childhood as probably like Pee Wee. I think I was a bigger Pee Wee fan because they they they are pretty much like idiot man children. Yeah. Yeah, they would be friends.
00:21:02
Speaker
If they're ever a crossover. Look look at that. And I was thinking about that one. The greatest crossover in history. I'd watch it. Me too. Yeah. Well, you know, they're doing it in heaven right now. Who would get on whom's nerves first? That's the question. That's that's the was the whole movie to be about that. Who cracks first? Who breaks? It can't fucking do this anymore. My answer is America. That's my answer. There you go. Solid answer. Yeah.
00:21:32
Speaker
That's a good one. That's pretty much it for my, for my history, honestly. Cause the other side, I hadn't even knew I didn't know this movie existed. Exist stowed. Exist stowed. Um, that I was only four when the show came out, which I mean, I did add your recommendation for context. Go and watch a couple episodes. I couldn't watch the whole thing. I had just watched the first couple. Yeah. Yeah. I could not do the whole 13 episode run. Not in one sitting. God. Not in one sitting. God. No.
00:22:01
Speaker
Now, that's a lunchtime show right there. Honestly, yeah, I can see that episode a day. Yeah, like that I could handle. I was going to go crazy if I watched them all. Yes, you would. I might have come out the other side a different person had I done that. Yeah. You know, Brett shows up in like a khaki cap and like a jean vest. You're like, whoa, what's happening, Brett? Oh, what have we done to you?
00:22:29
Speaker
And all of a sudden his camera's a fisheye lens. We never noticed it before. He starts calling us all Vern. Yeah. Fantastic. What do you mean, Vern?
00:22:42
Speaker
ah they Yeah, that that's it. That's it for me. Tucker, what about your childhood exposure to Ernest? I had already I started this all out, man. I said I was a big fan back. That's true. You did say that. And then I still am. Well, what was your what was your touch point? What was your what was your introduction to Ernest? Well, I remember watching the show. I remember seeing Ernest goes to camp. I remember seeing Ernest saves Christmas. I remember seeing Ernest scared stupid um and ah Ernest goes to jail. I don't remember what order I saw these in or what age I was when I saw them.
00:23:20
Speaker
But I saw all of those things as children. And as I grew older, as multiple children it was, yes, it was one of those things, you know, sometimes you grow out of stuff, but then like you come back to it for a sense of nostalgia. I've never outgrown earnest. Like it's always just been a solid straight line from my childhood to right now is my earnest fandom. Nice.
00:23:47
Speaker
It does seem like he was like universal. Well, come ah a lot like you. Like you could enjoy him as a kid, but you could also continue to enjoy it as you grew up. It wasn't like, oh, this is only for kids. Right. There was something like the Muppets. Like the Muppets. Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Yeah. We did it. you That's the existo episode. All right right. Everybody. We did it, everybody. We did it. Congrations. We done it.
00:24:18
Speaker
You guys, why i know it and I know it's kinda early, but like I said, I got a lot of meat and potatoes to get into. Should we should we go ahead and do the plot? We haven't used that D6 of Destiny in a long ass MF in time. It's true, we haven't. I put it in the bag, so now I gotta fish in the bag for it. It's in the bag. It's in the bag. So you guys vamp, Tucker vamped for me while I fished this out of the bag. Bleh, bleh. Was that good?
00:24:45
Speaker
Keep going. Oh, wrong. Well, well, well, well, well, still anymore. We need more. I'm trying to open the damn bag. OK, well, I guess what he's going to edit all this out. It was a yes. And a peanut is neither a peanut or a nut. Discuss why peanuts were walking down the strata. One was assaulted. Peanut. Oh.
00:25:16
Speaker
Did you get it yet, Steven? Damn. Damn. My fingers are not as dexterous as they were in my you. This is why you don't like tie up your dice bag. Why would you tie up your dice bag? I live with cats. I don't want dice all over the place. That's what the drawstrings for, dingus. Yeah. You don't have yours in an old crowd royal bag like the rest of us? Hmm.
00:25:40
Speaker
He does because I told him to. I literally bought ah I asked my mom for a crown royal bag just for this purpose but yeah because my mom likes crown royal, but only the flavored one. So I think this is from the apple. Yeah, I think this is from like a salted caramel or caramel apple one. That's pretty cool. Let me let me know when your mom gets some apple. I'm going to hang out with your mom. So how do you mother for me? She's actually proud. There it is. OK, fuck me.
00:26:05
Speaker
um
00:26:09
Speaker
There you go. And now I have to dig through and find it. Just dig so loud.
00:26:16
Speaker
steve you know what Stephen, if you if you're not prepared, if you're not prepared, then we're all screwed, man, because you're the guy. him ah You're the guy who's supposed to be the organized guy. Oh, I don't like being shackled with that responsibility. JK, I'm the organized one.
00:26:37
Speaker
So ah yeah, so this apparently we're doing the
Production Background and Artistic Integrity
00:26:40
Speaker
plot in 60 seconds right now, because Tucker half mandated it and what what Tucker half wrought we all live with. um yeah This is the part of the show where we would count the one of us at the behest of the D6 of Destiny, since all three of us are here assembled, we'll recount the plot of 1999's Existo in 60 seconds or less. I have been assigned sides one and two, Brett has been side side assigned sides three and four,
00:27:07
Speaker
which makes Tucker 5 and 6. I'm gonna roll this D6, hopefully on a countertop so you can actually hear the roll. Tails. Fuck me, it's two. Yeah! Fuckin' A! I hate my life so much.
00:27:26
Speaker
fucking and saying you you I know I haven't been here for a while, but still, you assigned me the two most statistically common numbers and you never roll them. I don't know how that works. You didn't roll them either, okay? I know. It doesn't make any sense. No. It makes no damn sense. But you know what? We got you for four weeks, so one of these days you're given the plot.
00:27:49
Speaker
Even if I have to just, no, I'm not going to make ah make it up. The last time we made up something on the on the one of the counters, it worked against us horribly. We went to jail. Directly to jail. All right. So who's going to put 60 seconds on the clock so I can recount the plot? I'll do it. OK, good. Because I did not want to.
00:28:09
Speaker
It's like you guys have never seen this pod, you're listening to this podcast before. Do you know how often when you say, who's gonna put 60 on? Like ah we start talking about it, and we're gonna do the plot in 60. And I forget to do it every single time. I forget to put 60 seconds on the clock until you say, will you put 60 seconds on the clock? I don't know why. One minute is the default time on my clock.
00:28:37
Speaker
for this very reason. Well, good for you. I'm gonna buy an egg timer. That's a good one. Yeah, I've heard that before. I mean, look, that's a pretty solid idea. All right, Steven, time starts now. Go. OK, so George Bush is America still again. And Curve Conservative, basically Donald Trump's wet dream, or at least Project 2025 in full force. And underground art, like something out of cabaret ruled by Existo is the
00:29:12
Speaker
the the penis swirling um performance artist is the the guy of the day. but they So they have to take his stranglehold away from the art scene. And so they seduce him with ah Penelope, who's this good Christian girl masquerading as a weird artsy girl. He's immediately enamored with her. um She's leading him to the path of conservatism. And then the after they after he spins the bishop for her, um yes, it's a euphemism, but also a very literal thing.
00:29:47
Speaker
um Uh, he decides to kill himself and, uh, yeah, and eventually he gets better and it's over. He gets, he gets putty-tanged. Yeah. there is like Like Irene seduced putty-tang and took his belt.
00:30:03
Speaker
And then he got to like, he got to remember who he is and shit, come back. and with ah and And literally dies and comes back to life. Like the Christ in the the christ figure imagery is um ah pretty pretty thick here. I almost texted the group chat like, good Lord, are we going to have to go to the Christianity corner on this one?
00:30:23
Speaker
He will do the whole separate episode if you'd like. No, that's OK. And I don't think we're really going to have to. It's it's obvious enough. I think everybody gets it. yeah Yeah, fantastic. But yeah, what a what a picture, boys. What is it? Yeah, I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. This is a fantastic movie. Boy, I don't know if I know. Let me tell you. I mean, i'm not I'm not going fantastic. I ended up liking it, but I didn't i wouldn't say it's fantastic.
00:30:53
Speaker
I'm going to say that it is, um, I would say to be fair for this kind of film, a pretty okay movie, but, um, my own opinion is that it is super duper fantastic. And again, I'm really sad that I didn't get to experience it, uh, earlier in its life because, or in my life.
00:31:19
Speaker
Because I was really into shit like this when this kind of shit was coming out. I like the weird, like, art house movies that came out of the 80s and the 90s. They were very much their own thing. They don't make movies like that anymore, and they didn't before that. Like the late 80s through the late 90s. Independent art house movies? This is his own fucking genre. Just weird-ass shit like this and like the 89 version of Dr. Caligari, Cafe Flesh,
00:31:47
Speaker
weird ass shit like that. They don't make shit like that anymore. Basically all the upcoming episodes are straight up. I mean, that a couple of those are on. Yeah, probably. Yeah. But and and not even just like the weird ones, all the art house cinema kind of had the same kind of vibe, even if it wasn't something like this. Even um what's that movie with Steve Buscemi, where he's working on the independent movie set? I was just reminded what this was called.
00:32:14
Speaker
um It doesn't matter. Um, I'm just saying that even the ones that weren't super weird, they all kind of had the same vibe. but It was a whole ass thing in those days. And I, I'm, it's a genre that's kind of died. Um, I don't know if it should have died or not. Like I'm okay with what we've got. I don't necessarily need anymore. Um, famously I will be the first one to say, you know, uh, if something's good.
00:32:45
Speaker
It should probably die early before it turns into something unrecognizable that is not good anymore. So maybe, maybe it's good that it's a little bottle genre. We'll call it a bottle genre. I just find that in the fade away.
Legacy and Influence of Ernest and Existo
00:33:03
Speaker
Yeah, dude, dude. Yeah, dude. Yeah. No, no, no. So Steven. Yeah. Why do you hate this movie? I don't.
00:33:15
Speaker
Oh, sorry. Do you hate me? I don't. How long do I have? Oh, about an hour. yeah JK. JK. No, i I look I this movie is fairly I don't know. It strikes me as kind of a weird ah there there There are pieces in here that I recognize that there's bits of cabaret, there's echoes of rocky horror, like this feels like it really wants to be like a spiritual successor to something like rocky horror. In that you have like this transgressive underground movement railing against the establishment and morality and what have you. um And then
00:34:01
Speaker
Like all those elements are there. There's some UHF sprinkled in here. I just don't know. I don't know. some I feel like the hand, the the fist is too hammed to be as effective as it needs to be. Like it all feels very, there's, what is it? Sus will be demented as well. Very. and which i That would be a great double feature with this movie, actually. It would. and um They're very, very similar. Ridiculously so. Yes.
00:34:31
Speaker
Um, but like, and I think that there's, there's a way to do that kind of thing and still play up the campiness of it, which I think Waters does really well in Cecil B. Demented. I don't know that Sam's and Arnston are as deft at that as someone like Waters is. So it feels like a less, in my mind, a less successful Cecil B. Demented. Um.
00:34:57
Speaker
And again, all the themes of Waters are definitely there, but this feels like a discount John Waters kind of a thing to me. um And it doesn't, I don't know, it doesn't feel as.
00:35:09
Speaker
as pure, I guess, as as I would like for something like this to feel as a result. So I don't know, like I get it. I got it almost instantly. um it's It's very obvious. It's very overt with this movie is trying to do. ah So that I think by that point, the things that are meant to the movie does that are meant to feel transgressive and shocking.
00:35:31
Speaker
don't because you know, that's what they're kind of going for. And maybe in 99, this would have been more transgressive. This would have been more shocking. But I don't know. In Donald Trump's America, not so much. No, no, no. There's definitely a movie out of view of its time. Right. It's definitely super transgressive and great in 99, but maybe not so much right now. Right. Well, I would say, though, that it does as far as it's like the moral of the story, ah I feel like it kind of holds, that holds up today for sure. ah Specifically the the whole Fahrenheit 451 of it all, you know?
00:36:16
Speaker
Because that's that's what the religious right is trying to do right now, man. That's 100 percent. Yeah, I was going to say the the villains of this movie are just taken out of the Republican National League. They mentioned something about John Ashcroft as like attorney general. I was like, wait, when was this movie made? Ninety nine. But like Bush elected for a third term. What year was that? What year did Bush get elected again? Two thousand. Like I had to like.
00:36:42
Speaker
remind myself as I was watching it, because so much of it seemed to be referencing things that hadn't happened yet. And I was know very taken aback by some of those things. This was um when they put this together, um they wanted to do something that would not cost a lot of money. And something that they thought that All the main, the main people involved could do well. Like with our boy Existo, he was writing all the songs. Well, he he had a hand in writing all the songs because he is a musician first and a comedian slash actor second. Right.
00:37:34
Speaker
Uh, of course they had Coke Sam direct because like this was, um, this was, it makes sense that this was the movie that they made because from the beginning of the time that Jim Varney started making earnest commercials up through his last earnest film, everything that came in between.
00:37:52
Speaker
was all the same people behind the scenes. You had the same sound guys, the same grips, the same fucking PAs. You had the same set decorators, same art directors. Everybody that was involved from the beginning continued to be involved. So to me, it made sense that they made this kind of movie and why it works so well for me is that I feel like this kind of, it kind of fires on all cylinders. For me, everything is,
00:38:21
Speaker
is very harmonious, like everything works well together. um Now, I understand why Steven would say as a whole, maybe it doesn't work so well, but I think each individual part is working as intended and fantastically. I'm not sure if I had a point, but I'm glad I said all those words. I mean, I feel like you made a good point. Yeah.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah, because I didn't know that about like the entire is the same like actors and whatnot to or the a lot of them. A lot of them. Yes, of course. Gaylord Sartain is in most earnest movies. He's in the show. um The same with Jackie Welch um and some others.
00:39:14
Speaker
um But yeah, they're just an it's just a Nashville It's a Nashville group, Nashville based group. And it started with the, uh, advertising company that Coke Sam's had when they signed Jim Varney and that blew up and they started making movies and TV shows and they're just commercial guys. So they sort of surrounded themselves with, uh, people who were really good at all of their individual tasks so that, uh, they didn't have to immediately be experienced in all of that stuff.
00:39:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I get what you're saying about like, you know, by the time they all get to this movie, like everything's firing on all cylinders, like they've worked together for so long. It's a well-oiled machine. It's a well-oiled machine. Yeah. Now, i co is Coke his actual name or is that a pseudonym? I think that's his actual name. I don't. It might be short for something.
00:40:14
Speaker
But that's in the interviews that I listened to, that's what he refers to himself as. And that's what everyone else refers to him as when they're speaking of him. I mean, IMDB does not have another listed name. And of course, he has no Wikipedia page. So. Hard to say. The set child growing up, he had to have been made fun of.
00:40:41
Speaker
Well, and this only coke. This entire group, they're out of Tennessee, right? and Nashville. Yeah, I was just saying that. Yeah. OK, yeah. So I mean, you know, maybe maybe less of a less of a weird moniker in in ten in parts of Tennessee. Who knows? it It could be a hill person name. Sure. Yeah, we'll go with that. I'm descended from hill people. I'll ask my grandma. There you go. Appalachian hill people I'm descended from on one side. Appalachian hill people. Yeah, well.
00:41:10
Speaker
You should know better. That's how you go further. I'll say it wrong. JK. Logic is not logic. I didn't I didn't know that was your heritage, Tucker. That's pretty cool. No, that's true. Actually, my my family on my mother's side were one of those families they wrote about in the newspaper because they feuded with another family. Yeah.
00:41:37
Speaker
Oh, man. There's a whole thing of people getting shot in the middle of the street and shit like some gangster shit in the Appalachian Mountains. Apparently, God, that's wild. People be feuding back in the day. They do happen, though. Yeah. All the lead in the water up there. It's, you know, what are you going to do, right?
00:41:58
Speaker
then all the weird shit that happens in the Appalachian Woods. yeah What happens in Appalachia stays in Appalachia. If you don't make it out alive, it does. Exactly. And remember the saying, when you're when you're out in the woods there, if you hear somebody say your name, no, you didn't.
00:42:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah. um I mean, this is, I think, the second and final feature length film ah directed by Coke Sands, the first being Ernest Goes to School, the first direct to video release in that franchise. Yeah, he was. It's important to note that he was the director of all the commercials. Yes. And of the television show.
00:42:51
Speaker
It was um him and John Cherry were the director of the television show, right? And he was he was involved. um Him and John Cherry are basically, I don't want to say interchangeable, but they're kind of the same guy. They work kind of as a team. So if John Cherry is directing, it's.
00:43:11
Speaker
uh, Coke Sam's is probably right there next to him. You know, and he, I was going to say John Cherry directed the majority of the earnest films. And I think Coke Sam's was the producer on all of them. Yeah. So like that's just kind of their dynamic. Yeah. And he is, as of seven years ago, still writing and pitching things, um,
00:43:36
Speaker
Of course, living living nice off those earnest residual checks. Absolutely. I wonder, because he's now he's producing like the faithful stuff, like the the the religious movies. Like he directed a Shonda Pierce stand up. She's a Christian comedian. ah He produced blue like jazz, which was like a ah Christian book. um And then he also produced something called The Identical. I don't know what that is, but it looks like it looks like one of the characters is Elvis or an Elvis look alike. Yeah. And it's it's got Ray Liotta in it. So yeah, it does. Joey Pants is in this thing. Seth Green, Ashley Judd. Oh, Ashley Judd. I miss Ashley Judd. So, man, you know what?
00:44:28
Speaker
I'm sorry. I hate to do a tangent on this episode because there's so much to talk about. But um I know not a topic I want to get into. Never mind. Bring the whole podcast down. Yeah. We love you, Ashley Judd. Anyway. Yeah, so I think the returns, Ashley Judd.
Existo's Creative Team
00:44:50
Speaker
It's in my and I just wanted to. But then I was like, oh, that's some really seriously fucked up subject matter. And I don't want to bring that on to this episode.
00:44:57
Speaker
No, you don't don't want to do it. I can respect that. He also produced a Michael W. Smith film called The Second Chance. yeah So, yeah, I'm i'm wondering, i and maybe or maybe that's just the only kind of stuff you can get production work on in Nashville. I don't know. I was going to say it could be a regional thing. um ah It could be um a professional or a personal choice. Mm hmm. I don't know therere there i know. I know a lot of people who are, um you know, religious enough to where they would work on something like that, but they're not like crazy weirdos. They're just normal people. Yeah. Who would also make something like ex Existo, given the chance. Right. Which I mean, the villains in ex Existo are the, you know, the religious weirdos. So that's true. But as we all know,
00:45:52
Speaker
Not all religious people are weirdos, just most of them. Correct. Yeah. Or they're weird in different ways. yeah Yes. Yeah. I think it it stands to reason the more sheltered one is and in the within the confines of one's religion, the weirder it gets. That's true. That's true. Stephen got a comment. I just did with the thing that I said. Thank you. I guess. I wanted you to comment on your comment, though.
00:46:19
Speaker
Oh, I said it because I it is based on my lived experience. There we go. We got there it is. yeah So existo existo, a character um that our our buddy.
00:46:39
Speaker
Bruce arn artt aren't Aren't some Bruce. I have really trouble with his last name. You can call him B.A. Those are his initials. Badass, badass. He's a fucking badass. Yeah, so our good friend, badass. He created the character of Xisto when he was doing stand up music based stand up comedy, which is uh, coincidentally what he is doing now. Um, but he created that character as like this washed up magician, uh, who would go around to like elementary schools and middle schools and teach the uselessness and pointlessness and banality of life through magic tricks. That was his whole shtick.
00:47:35
Speaker
Um, just like a really depressing magician that would go to, to schools and teach children. When basically, you know, in UHF, after Terry breaks up with George and he comes out and does that big monologue on, uh, uncle nutsies clubhouse. Yes. Basically everything he says there is what existo is teaching children through the wonder of magic.
00:48:01
Speaker
And then when we're not magic as the case may be when Coke Sam's and and all those boys were like, hey, we're doing a um ah Earnest show. We want you to write some songs on it. So he started writing some songs on it. And then he just kind of stayed in the writer's room, became one of the head writers, played three or four different characters. He he he was hired for one thing and then just kind of wiggled his way into everything else.
00:48:31
Speaker
earned it, I'm not saying he like cons them, obviously. But ah he was hired for one thing and ended up becoming a much bigger part of that show. All of these projects, though, feel like it's kind of like, okay, what who can do what, let's try to use as many people at as many different capacities as we can, so that we can like, not have to hire a bunch of people from outside, we can just kind of do like the whole Hey, Vern, it's earnest feels very much like a small troop of people.
00:48:59
Speaker
It's got a lot of like, let's put on a show kind of energy to it. A lot of DIY kind of thing. So to the extent that it feels like, OK, you're a writer, but you can act, too, right? You can sing. Oh, fantastic. You're going to do the theme song. Like it just that it feels like that kind of show. Yeah, absolutely. um I was telling Brett when when you took off there for a second that um a lot of a lot of the entire crew are the same from the commercials through the very last artist movie. They used a lot of the same people. It was a collective. They were in Nashville. Yeah, it's not like they were in Hollywood and they could hire this guy and this guy and this guy. No, they had their people. Right. And I think I think that's why for and when I was telling Brett, the way he still works so well for me is because it's weird as it is and how um for most people, some of the things would not be pleasant to watch. Mm hmm.
00:49:59
Speaker
It's it's doing all of the things correctly. Right. And you can tell because you can kind of tell that it's a well oiled machine. No matter what the material is, they're going to do it the way that they think it needs to be done. And it's going to technically work. There's a there's a shorthand. There's a shared vision. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah And, uh, a lot of those guys are still pals and stuff based on the interviews that I heard from seven years ago. They're all still trying to work together. Um, they're trying to do, uh, Coke Sam's was trying to get a film made for, um, our boy Bruce arn aren't, aren't since most recent act, um, which actually.
00:50:47
Speaker
They haven't done any shows in a couple of years. They might have retired that. Is that the one they did on Conan Doyle and Debbie? The Doyle and Debbie. Yeah. It was kind of ah a send up of it's kind of a. Parody satire of country music and the culture. Of that specifically from like Grand Ole Opry days where people were wearing the sequins and.
00:51:10
Speaker
had the nice hair and everything. He's Doyle and Debbie is the girl that plays Penelope in this movie. Yes. Jenny Littleton. Yep. Yep. But they did that for quite a while. um There was an influx of music from them four years ago on their YouTube channel.
00:51:34
Speaker
And then our boy Bruce has been coming on the the Instagram and the YouTube, doing solo videos, talking about things. So it makes me wonder if maybe that partnership has dissolved for the time being. Plus, I mean, they're both getting up there, dude. Yeah. Like he's, Xisto is no spring chicken in in the year of our Lord 2024. No. This man was born in 1952. A year older than my father.
00:52:02
Speaker
Yeah, dude. Old as hell. Mm hmm. Say correct. It's dark. Old is dark, dark. Yeah. Yeah. Well. Yeah. So that's that's what that guy's doing. And that's what they're all doing. And they're all friends and everybody's happy. And we're all having a good time. And the sentiment seems to be from every everyone that they would they would like to see this get a release of some kind, ah maybe an anniversary release since um the momentum has just been so great since 1999. And technically it has because you go from no one knowing what the fuck it is, right? At least like 100 people knowing what's up. We're talking about it on the podcast right now. So we are only this. We are only the second.
00:52:59
Speaker
Podcast or anything like newspaper article any sort of anything on this subject that exists There is the one podcast and then there's ours. We are part of two things Talking about ex existo on the internet, which means it's entirely possible that the people that made it will hear this episode That would be fantastic and to people who are enjoying this episode Or actually, even to people who think this fucking sucks, I got something for you. There's this other podcast called the Projection Booth. They did an episode on Existo about seven years ago, and they have interviews with Bruce and Coke and the lady who is the the um art director, no, production designer, and an interview with Jim Varney's nephew. What is the guy who wrote ah the biography on Jim Varney?
00:53:52
Speaker
And it's like almost three hours long. It's very informative. The interviews are really, really good, though. Bruce's dogs won't stop barking. And that becomes a problem at one point. But but. I mean, like we're barely even scratching the surface here. We don't have interviews. No, we're just a couple of dudes talking about how we think it's rad or how we think it's not rad. You really want to deep dive into it. That's the only place you're going to get the only place you're going to get it. It's nowhere else on the it's not.
00:54:21
Speaker
written or typed anywhere on the internet only from the lips of the people involved through this podcast that came out seven years ago, are you gonna hear these things? ah That will be in the show notes, by the way. We will be linking to that. And I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in in this film or um or anything Jim Varney related because they do end up talking about him quite a bit as well.
00:54:47
Speaker
Obviously, for obvious reasons. As one might assume. Yeah, he's kind of the most famous person in that movie. He's he's the guy. Like they all have careers because of him. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
00:55:00
Speaker
And he, yeah, ah yeah then they they took their little troop, which again, very reminiscent of the troop that you see in the film and made a lot of stuff out of it to varying degrees of quality, but still. And a lot of different kinds of things, too. Right. And like you said, very different ah varying degrees of quality. I think, you know, there's a little something for everybody in there. um I tend to gravitate more towards the original the Disney Ernest movies and the show and this film. Right. Yeah, there's a lot of stuff. This was actually um I don't know if this is true, but based on the interview with Coke Sam's, he claims that this was Jim Varney's last ah feature film performance before he died. Now he was in there were films that were released after this one.
00:55:57
Speaker
that he was in, but this was the last thing he filmed before he got too sick to do anything. Entirely possible, because I was going to say this movie does its festival run in 99, and I want to say most of the rest of what he does after that, with the exception of Daddy and Them and Treehouse Hostage, which also comes out in 99, are voiceover roles for the Toy Story and Atlantis franchises.
00:56:23
Speaker
so
00:56:26
Speaker
Yeah, dude. Dang, I had something really cool I was about to say and I forgot what it was. Oh, I'm sorry. Was Jim Varney related? No, it's not your fault. I got lost in what you were saying. You didn't interrupt it. I was just so hypnotized by your rad stuff that you were saying there, Steven. Sometimes you just get lost in Steven's eyes. Yeah, yeah. If I'm silent for a long time, I'm just like, I'm i'm swimming in the pools of Steven's pupils.
00:56:52
Speaker
doing the backstroke, you know, those muddy brown pools that I call eyes. That's fantastic. Oh, I was going to. Oh, I know I was going to talk about. um So this film is technically not technically not the same existo as the one we see in Hey, Vernon's Earnest. I was going to say, how do we get from that to this? Did we watch the same movie? Because they tell you right at the beginning, he was lobotomized. Oh, OK.
00:57:22
Speaker
He was arrested and lobotomized for being an artist. Um, and so I think this movie for me only works if it is the same character. And I'd like to think that the character that Jim Varney plays is like, what if that could be like a lobotomized push to the edge earnest? We don't know. We don't know, but I'll tell you, this movie is a lot more fun.
00:57:51
Speaker
If you, if you imagine the dude from Havern and Cernus, that Existo, becoming this other Existo and thinking them as one and the same. To me, that makes the film, which is why. I don't know. I, the the fact that they keep insisting that it's just, it's a different character with that's a similar character with the same name.
00:58:14
Speaker
man, that's not how you sell it, dude, because that's one of the most interesting things about this movie is imagining like this guy going from that to this from kind of a ah I don't know, a subpar magician to a wacko Andy Kaufman on crank performance artist kind of guy. Yeah, like it's it's, it's an interesting leap. And I have, you're like, you have to watch Havern Attorneys for context. So I'm like, all right, so I watch it. And then I'm like, wait, why did I have to watch that? Because this guys's these guys are nothing alike. and these characters That's the point.
00:58:52
Speaker
And the journey, that imaginary journey that you've taken your brain and be like, damn, that guy was and see. There's I i was always talking about the standard cut and the festival cut. You were always talking about those always. We can't get you to stop. Really? All I do is talk about that. ah So what I call the standard cut, because there's no other name for it, is what they put together for a potential home video release.
00:59:21
Speaker
after the festival circuit. They completely redid the beginning of the film. um Instead of the voiceover narration, well, it's not really voiceover narration, but it's like radio broadcast or whatever, where they're talking about George Bush having his third term and basically giving you the lowdown on what's going on. Right. Setting up the world. That did not exist. Oh, it starts out with Homegirl that owns the club. Our boy, Gaylord, what's this character saying?
00:59:50
Speaker
Yes, yes, Colette. It opens with Colette singing a song called Do Me, which is actually a pretty good song. It's one of those bait and switch songs where like you start out saying one thing and it like you make me come completely miserable, that sort of thing. Gotcha. That sort of deal. Sounds like fun. And it's a it's a really fun, really fun song. um And then when when he gets off stage, it's just um it's Maxine and Existo and they're back and everybody's welcoming them back. And then it goes into with him in the bathtub where it normally begins after the. Yeah. And though I really I really like the song and I really like the scene, but I'm glad that I'm glad that they changed it because it you're just kind of thrown into this with
01:00:48
Speaker
zero context. um and I don't think I would have liked the film if I had seen it with that beginning. Like I need I needed that little exposition. No, I agree with you. You absolutely need that to set up the world. And it it also helps you set up the stakes for what's coming forward is that I mean, you know, that this is essentially Gilead from the Handmaid's Handmaid's Tale. And like that's that's kind of the world. It's kind of what these characters are up against. So, yeah, we we set that ah set that up immediately and then we kind of know where we're going from there. But yeah, to not have that and to try to trickle that in slowly feels like a mistake. Yeah. Yeah. So I would say I prefer the the non festival cut.
01:01:37
Speaker
beginning. What are some of the other differences between the standard and festival cuts? Is it just that? That's it. Yeah, the song basically the song takes it's about four or five minutes. And then the rest of the scene takes about as long as the regular intro. So like basically the six minutes that are added is just the song.
01:02:01
Speaker
um And then that scene, but like I said, the scene is about as long as the intro and the standard cut. So I think that's it. I watched them both. And that was the only thing. And that was the only thing they talked about on the ah podcast and those interviews as well as being the only thing that was different between the two cuts. So have you seen the festival cut or does that just not out there? No, they're both on YouTube. OK. Both on YouTube. ah Both the same quality.
01:02:27
Speaker
Okay. i feel If this movie feels, this movie feels cropped. ah Horizontally cropped. I feel like there's more at the top and the bottom that we're not seeing. I don't know what it was shot in, but it is in a wider aspect, of not a super wide aspect ratio, but not four by three. Right. um I'd like to see this in the original aspect ratio because Most of the time it doesn't bother me, but there are some times where I'm like, oh, oh, you cut that guy's head off. Wait. Oh, OK, here we are. Got it. There's probably something else in that frame, too, that we're but we could be looking at. But yeah, yeah, not that it's anything maybe that we need to look at. I just like to see it for for curiosity. Sure. Because you're one of those people. And it's the intention of the artist like they want them. They shot it in this ah ratio for a reason. And I want to see it. and Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
01:03:20
Speaker
do So um seven years ago, Coke Sam's and and Bruce were very into the idea of getting some kind of physical release for this. But they were also making a Debbie and Doyle movie. So who knows? Maybe one day. Maybe one day. We're doing our part by spreading the good word. We we sure are. Doing our level best in what we can, basically. Yes.
01:03:51
Speaker
Yeah, do we're doing existos work. Have you heard about our Lord and Savior existo? Do you have time? Do you have a moment to talk about existo? Which is really what you're saying constantly all the time anyway. Pretty much. Just trying to trying to get people to to talk about these weird movies that you like. And hey, ah speaking of weird movies I like, this is one and um it's a it's a It's a quick 90 minutes you guys like this movie does not overstay its welcome. There's some weird shit in it. And there's a few times in a few songs where you like are they are they gonna say that again? Yep, theyd said it again they said it again. Oh, Oh,
01:04:34
Speaker
They didn't say it's actually that's perfect. Okay. Okay. You're not sure. There's some things in this movie that while they're happening, you're not sure about them, but when they're over, you're like, Oh yeah. Okay. I get that. I get it now. That's performance. Like that's the nature of performance art. So that makes perfect sense to me. Like those elements, I was, you know, like he really got me. He really got me. He really got like, yeah. Okay. I i mean, I get it, but also yes.
01:05:01
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's what that's what turned the movie around when I went from like not being sure about it to like into it was the whole scene where like they're treating it like a real war. Mm hmm. Oh, speaking like like it's an actual war. Yeah, they're they're yeah out there doing scenes. Yeah, lines. Yeah, exactly. that I was like, this is clever and really hilarious. Yeah. We're doubling and tripling parts. I'm playing this like, yeah.
01:05:29
Speaker
Yeah, and then he gives them the monologue to bring them back to life. I mean, it's it's basically I mean, it that scene reminded me of every community theater I've ever been a part of because there's very much that like, OK, you've got to do this. You're playing these four characters. OK, this is going to be a really quick change for you, like, because that's kind of what theater is. It's all about logistics and like figuring that shit out. So. ah kind of like but a battle, but, you know, i've I've never done any of the like socially conscious theater stuff to where I've never done like the theater happenings or the performance art shit. Like that's not really my scene. um But, you know, there are people that do that and they take it very seriously.
01:06:13
Speaker
um And and this feels very much a piece of what that kind of thing. And then, you know, that stuff happened a lot in like the 60s and 70s art as protests. We still see it to a lesser degree now. Now protest just takes the form of protest. I think now people are more likely to destroy art in protest in protest. Right. I don't like that. I'm not a fan that you're you're mad at the wrong people, motherfuckers. You're mad at the wrong people. Yeah.
01:06:43
Speaker
I don't know who you're mad at, but it's not the Mona Lisa. Come on. Right. Right. Damn. So. And that got burned down anyway, so. Damn. Oh, sorry, you guys, I had to crack my sternum there. Oh, that's fun. What other one of the juicy uncomfortable, what other juicy tidbits about this movie can you share with us, Tucker? Uh.
01:07:13
Speaker
It's a well run drive. You say this is Tucker's performance art right here. The thing is, it's like something a synapse has to fire and like put me on a path. You can't just be like, what's the thing about this movie? I don't know. I don't know any things about this movie until I connects to something else. You know, I'm like, oh, yeah, that thing from the stuff. ah The budget was less than a million dollars.
01:07:42
Speaker
And it's all on the screen. They were actually. Well, no, I'm saying they they were talking about that. They're very proud of it being under a million dollars because I think it does. It does look like an indie movie, but it doesn't look cheap. I don't think it looks cheap. I think the sets look great. Costumes look great. I don't think it it looks like it doesn't look like a micro budget film. I wouldn't even say particularly a low budget film. No, no.
01:08:11
Speaker
And that goes back to what I was saying before about all these people working together for so many years that they don't need a whole lot of money to get that shit done because it's a well-oiled machine at that point. Right. And like like i mean that's where the shorthand comes in handy. And i mean there are things you can do like to help the budget along and to to kind of meter those things. um And you know if you know those tricks and you're working with people that know those tricks, you're you're very easily able to navigate those. um You know, so much of it is just stuff people don't know. Like there's there's more that a lot of people don't know that if they're experienced, you've got all these tricks and tools in your arsenal and you can figure this stuff out. um It's that gorilla filmmaking from Cecil B. Demented kind of thing. Yeah, they shot this in three weeks. Oh, wow. Three weeks. That is impressive, actually.
01:09:10
Speaker
A lot of it was um first take, and not because they were in a rush, not because they didn't have money, but because, like I said, well-oiled machine, man. They know what they're there to do. Everybody knows their part. Everybody's on point. It gets done. And I think that's pretty impressive.
01:09:31
Speaker
um There was something I wanted to say about, gosh, what was it? I did have another thing. Budget. Three weeks. Oh, I wanted to, I think because he sticks out the most as probably the most accomplished member of this cast, I would like to talk ah about Gaylord Sartain, if we could, maybe. Ah, yes. can We brought him up on a recent episode, I feel like, and I don't remember which episode that was.
01:10:08
Speaker
My awakening to him as an actor. Sorry, Stephen, I mean to step on you. I thought I had a moment there. That's my bad. um My awakening to him as like a serious actor was was very odd because I as a child, I just remembered him from the earnest movies and the show playing various different characters, especially with his cousin Bobby or brother Bobby or whatever relation Bobby was to him in that particular moment. Co-worker, you know. Yeah. Bobby and Chuck.
01:10:38
Speaker
Bobby and Chuck, but and then as I grew older and started getting into film, I watched some of these classic films that you're supposed to watch because you like movies, you know, for reference, obviously. And he's in so many of them. Yeah. So many. Yeah. Like you go through his filmography. It's like, oh, shit, he's a banger after banger. He's unclear what he's doing. Go ahead. Good, because I was going to go on a terror.
01:11:08
Speaker
Okay, no good. And I can't wait for your terror, but you wonder what he's doing in a movie like this. And good transition. The reason he's in a movie like this is because he was part of the same comedy troupe as all the dudes, all the people there in this movie. Right. And essentially all the people who did all the characters in the earnest shows and movies. Yeah.
01:11:32
Speaker
So let's talk about his filmography, let's do it. 24 episodes of Hee Haw, right off the bat. Like, yeah yes. as Sheriff Orville P. Bull Moose, for those of you who remember Hee Haw. He is uncredited in Robert Altman's Nashville, widely regarded as one of the best films of the 1970s, as Man at Lunch Counter. ah He plays the big bopper in the Buddy Holly story, which is, that's the Gary Busey. Gary Busey, yes. Yes, the one with Gary Busey. So yeah, he's he's the big bopper in that.
01:12:08
Speaker
um Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws in 1978. He is also uncredited in Steve Martin's Carl Reiner's Steve Martin Starring seminal masterpiece, The Jerk. ah He's in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders. He's in that comedy, the outsiders. I mean, everybody's in the fucking house. Ralph Machio is in The Outsiders. Come on. Yeah, he is. Get the fuck out of here. Jer is.
01:12:40
Speaker
ah Better Scott Baio, Ralph Macchio. um know He's in all of me. I think it was this where we were talking about him, the the comedy where Lily Tomlin possesses Steve Martin.
01:12:54
Speaker
I feel like I brought this up. Oh, you haven't seen it. No, I didn't. It must have been on one of those other podcasts. You're always recording, Stephen. I had so many. Mm hmm. He's on a TV, an episode of a TV show called Nine to Five. He's in The Big Easy as Chef Paul in 1986. Ernest goes to camp, of course, in 87 saves Christmas in 88. Mississippi burning also in 1988. He's that he is.
01:13:22
Speaker
a fucking scumbag in that movie. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Hackman, Defoe, Sartain. Francis McDormand in that movie as well. Fucking A. The same year he was in Hey, Vernets, Earnest. Yeah. Hey, Vernets, Earnest. This is his This is This is 1988. He is in a movie called The Moderns as a New York critic. He's in Earnest Saves Christmas.
01:13:49
Speaker
Mississippi Burning, 13 episodes of Hey, Vern, It's Earnest, and a short film called Harry the Dirty Dog, where he plays an uncredited role as Painter. Like, that's what at what an 88, really. Do you think that he was he was teaching the Foley guys on Mississippi Burning the the trick? You take the meaty part of your palm, wrap it around your face. And below.
01:14:19
Speaker
a Every time in 1990 he does his last earnest movie he goes to jail and Then he does the grifters in 1990 91 he does fried green tomatoes 92 stopper my mom will shoot I think fried green tomatoes was the first thing I saw him in that wasn't an earnest movie because my mom really likes that movie and that would track. I was like, oh, it's Chuck. like Ninety four. He's in Getting Even with Dad, the Macaulay Culkin Ted Danson movie. ah Wagons East, also in 94. John Candy's final film. ah Open season, not not the animated one, something in 1995. The Spitfire Grill in 96. He's Big Daddy on The Simpsons spinoff showcase episode in 97.
01:15:11
Speaker
um I mean, it shows up in the Steven Seagal film, The Patriot, not to be confused with the Mel Gibson film, The Patriot. And also in 99, he is in future episode of this podcast, The All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy in For Love or Mummy. Oh, I cannot wait. I've i've been, ive there have been so many years that that's been on my list and I've never gotten to it. So I'm really excited about that one. We'll have to we'll have to pencil that in next year.
01:15:41
Speaker
Yes, please. ah And then he's also in like he's in The Replacements, which is a movie that got a lot of play in the Foxworthy House because my dad loved that movie. If I could interject um one you missed that I have a personal history with, I understand why you didn't mention it because it was just a TV movie. Right. Pirates of Silicon Valley was about the rivalry between um ah Bill Gates and ah Steve Jobs.
Nerdy Nostalgia and Gaylord Sartain's Contributions
01:16:07
Speaker
Yep.
01:16:08
Speaker
And I remember watching that because I was a big old fat nerd when it came out. So with Noah Wiley and Anthony Michael Hall. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Dude, yeah. As opposed to now where you're not a big fat nerd. ah Well, I wasn't. He's lost a little weight since then. I've lost a little weight. I shed a few. I was more of a metaphorical fat, not a literal one. but Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:16:33
Speaker
No, my metabolism didn't start slowing down until my mid 30s, so I was a skinny ass nerd for a long time. Metabolism, what's that? Yeah, what the hell's that? I'd give you some if I still had it. I i would gladly accept it. And then the last movie he was he's been in is ah Elizabethtown, Camera Crows Elizabethtown. But before that, motherfuckers in Michael Mann's Ali.
01:16:59
Speaker
Michael Mann don't play. He knows when you when you need when you need somebody, that's who you call. That's it. He's seen Ernest movies. you knows mississippi bernie He knows. knows. But no, like what an incredible like talent. I always admired his comic timing, and it doesn't surprise me that he was able to turn in performances in a lot of dramatic films as well, because comedians tend to be able to do both.
01:17:25
Speaker
Well, I think I think that everyone that's in specifically the the TV show, Hey, Vernon's Earnest has that same level of talent. And that's why it works so well because it's silly. It's so stupid. And it's so silly. Right. But it's so fucking good because of the way it's presented, because the way it's performed, it makes it endearing and and hilarious if you're a kid or an adult. Right. It speaks to everyone, basically, is what I'm saying.
01:17:55
Speaker
some universal humor, some humor with universality. Dude, yeah. But yeah, Gaylord Sartain. Know the name and dig the work because he's he's real, real good. And apparently he's still alive. I thought he was dead. No, i've he's just retired, I think like he's he's fine, too. He's still kicking. I just I mean, he's not done anything since 2005. So my assumption is man is retired, which yeah.
01:18:23
Speaker
Fine. Deservedly so, I'm sure. Like let let let him let let the man rest. Yeah, he deserves it. He's deep done a service to all of us. He has. He actually does his own singing in the Buddy Holly story, too. He performs Chantilly Lace in the Buddy Holly story. Yes, he does. yeah Just looking through some of his other credits here. It's too bad they cut his song out of Existo. I wish they would have found a better place to put it, is what I'm saying. Right. Because it was it's really, really good. And i would if you guys have any interest at all, it's just like five minutes. I would recommend just clicking on the the
01:19:02
Speaker
Festival cut. It's the first thing that happens in the festival cut. Check that song out. It's really, really good. It's really fun. And he knocks it out of the park. I believe it's in drag. There's the songs, all the songs in this movie. I thought were pretty good. Yeah. Fucking a very earwormy. Agreed. And and this movie ends on a sequel hook like we get a sequel hook at the end of they're going into the what's the name of the town, Tucker?
01:19:33
Speaker
I don't mind me. It's like I don't know. It starts with an S. That's the only thing I remember. I've only seen this movie five times in two years, which is liy which is for more than Brett and I have seen it, which is our lesson. I'd like to. Oh, yeah, that's like 30 times less than you normally watch one. Right. Yeah, it's it's just because of the the quality of the transfer, it makes it difficult for me to want to Because like every time after I saw it the first time, I just want to see it in its original aspect ratio, a good scan of it that doesn't look and sound like shit. I just want to experience this film the way it's supposed to be experienced. So every time I want to watch it, I come to a crossroads and about half the time I'm like, no, fuck it. I'll just wait for if, maybe if it ever happens.
01:20:28
Speaker
And then a couple weeks later, I'll be like, yeah, that's never gonna happen. I should probably just watch it. I mean, probably not. up their hanging They're driving into this town with the ah guy who the corporate sellout who's come back into the fold. And they got like a weird little polycule thing going on.
Existo's Potential Sequel and Character Evolution
01:20:48
Speaker
And they're pulling into the town and it's completely destroyed. Like it's been decimated, burned to the ground, nuclear arsenal, some shit.
01:20:56
Speaker
And yeah, that like then it, you know, Existo in Spragland or whatever it was called, unincorporated Spragtown or whatever, I don't remember. But yeah, like that could have i mean could have been a sequel. ah You could see it seemed like they were definitely setting up for some things, some continuing adventures of ex Existo in the land of conservatism. But yeah, didn't happen.
01:21:23
Speaker
Solid name for the sequel. Existo in the land of conservatism. Yeah. As far as I know, that's the last time that the character Existo has Existo'd. Which makes sense. I mean, when Sacha Baron Cohen did his movies with his recurring characters, he pretty much stopped doing them after. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:21:49
Speaker
I think, um, this exists though, uh, we were talking before about how it's technically not supposed to be the same one from the TV show. Um, I do think that they're, they are basing it more on the original incarnation of Xisto because he was a little more rough around the edges. He certainly wasn't what he is in the film when he was created, but he also wasn't a character for a children's show either.
01:22:15
Speaker
Right. When they when they converted the character for Haver and Sernus, there was certainly some things that they had to leave out some changes they had to make to the character. So I think the existo could see a giant and carrying a giant dick around and I told it. Well, yeah. And you you would not have in the. In the original incarnation, but ah in the stand up acts, it wasn't certainly wasn't tailored for children.
01:22:44
Speaker
It wasn't as extreme as this film, but somewhere right in the middle. So I think this film kind of combines the two and sort of gives you a peek of what could happen to that character in that sort of situation. And I love that they give you the out. You can interpret it any way you want, because like I said,
01:23:08
Speaker
He's been lobotomized. We don't really know who he was before. Right. You can assume he was Hey, Vernon's Ernest Existo. You could assume he's an Existo we've never experienced before. They give you that out, which I think is very smart because like I say, it it works better for me if this is that Existo just completely mind fucked. And that that is your head cannon now that you are applying to every time you watch the film. So there you go. Yes.
Box Office and Ratings Analysis
01:23:41
Speaker
Good times, you guys. I subscribed to that. So Existo began its festival run September 17th, 1999. Did not open wide at all, but we're going to do the box office for that weekend anyway. ah Number one at the box office, Martin Lawrence, who is short, but not Martin short, in a little film called Blue Streak.
01:24:11
Speaker
Oh, I like that one. I had a feeling that Luke Wilson's in that one. Yeah, it feels like a feels like a Tucker movie. It's real. I love the the concept of that film. And it's it's not it's not a good movie. It's not. But it's so funny. It's so funny. Oh, my God. It's hilarious. Yeah.
01:24:33
Speaker
ah In second place, my favorite actor of all time, ah working with director, I legitimately do admire, ah for love of the game.
01:24:44
Speaker
I would call that one of Ramey's worst. I'd say one of, but yeah. um In third place, the six send ah sixth sense, sense. What if there were more than five senses? What if there was a sixth sense? In seven weeks, it's gross $213 million. dollars That's a lot of million dollars. A hit is what we call that. ah In fourth place, down from number one the week before, Stigmata.
01:25:17
Speaker
Yeah, not what a drop. Well, right. Suck like a stone. Yeah. I'll say, yeah, if you saw that movie, you understand why it lost half its box office gross in that second weekend. Fair. um And then in fifth place, a stir of echoes. Oh, that movie is good as fuck, though. It is. It is pretty good. I've not seen that in bacon. I was going to say that's kind of bacon, though. even bacon I just plan the rest of your day out. Creepy horror movie. It's good. OK. Real, real good. It's a Chicago movie, too. Hey! Like, Chicago is a character in the film. Hey! Like, they turn to it, and they go, oh, hey, Chicago. um No, you know what I mean. Rounding out the top 10, you've got in sixth place, Runaway Bride, where Julia Roberts is a runaway bride. A bride who runs away. Yep, she sure does. In seventh place, future episode of this podcast, the Thomas Crown Affair.
01:26:16
Speaker
Oh, the Pierce Brosnan one? Yep, with renee Rene Russo in that. ah In eighth place, a movie by a director I absolutely love, and honestly, an underrated gem, Bowfinger. God, I love Bowfinger. Oh, yeah, that's a good one. Bowfinger. Slap Frank Oz's Bowfinger. In ninth place, another McTiernan film, two McTiernan films in the top 10 this week, The 13th Warrior. With Antonio Banderes.
01:26:44
Speaker
What if what if Beowulf but with Antonio Banderas? And then in 10th place Mickey Blue Eyes. ah What if the eyes were blue? That's a Hugh Grant movie. Yep, where he marries James Cahn's daughter and James Cahn is connected as it were. Isn't he always?
01:27:02
Speaker
you like he always is This movie guy grosses $12,000 at the box office. Domestic domestic box office gross $12,175.
01:27:16
Speaker
To be fair, was never actually released theatrically, only taken around to film festivals. And a lot of the ones they thought they were going to get into, they did not get into. Like this movie was made for slam dance, did not get into slam dance. Yikes. Yeah. Nobody fucking like nobody wanted this movie. Nobody.
01:27:37
Speaker
And so because there are no critics scores on this, there's no Tomatometer score on this one at all. So no critics consensus. I will say the the audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is, ah Tucker, you'll be excited to know this, 89%.
01:27:53
Speaker
Yo, Steven, people fucking love this movie of the 12 people that have seen this movie. You're like one of only three that did not have a favorable experience. I i didn't dislike it again. I just think it's it's very ham fisted. People really like this movie.
01:28:11
Speaker
It also does not exist, though, on Metacritic either, so there's no Metascore there. ah But it is, it is, it is, it is on Letterboxd. However, Tucker, not enough, just like last week, just like the dead one last week, not enough overall ratings for there to be an aggregate score. ah There's only one fan of this movie on all of Letterboxd, and it is... um S. Sandry Sandrigan, S-A-N-D-R-I-G-O-N is the one fan this movie has on Letterbox. So there you go. ah But I'll bet with Letterbox being what it is. um The ratings that it does have are probably pretty high, I think. I will say um so the highest rating here
01:29:01
Speaker
is a three and a half or a three star, three star rating is the highest at 14 three star ratings, which accounts for 25% of the overall ratings. ah There are nine each, ah three so three and a half star ratings, um which is 16% and four star ratings. So nine each of those, 16% each, seven, two and a half star ratings and five, nine percent ratings.
01:29:27
Speaker
You mean nine, five, five, nine percent? Nine, five percent. No, nine percent. Five star ratings. OK. So okay ahs like I've tried to figure out what I don't know what the fuck you just said, little kid. But you're special. But you're special. You reach out. I'm going to help you.
01:29:47
Speaker
ah So that's what we've got. Brett, out of five possible stars, how many are you granting to Existo? I gave it a three. I fell into the common, I guess, apparently, the common consensus. I gave it a three. Tucker, how about yourself? Well, I, um as much as I do love this movie, I recognize it is something that is pretty much tailor made for my tastes. So I do have to view it objectively. And because of that, I have to give it a four. Okay. It's a two and a half for me. That's fair.
01:30:26
Speaker
Like nothing over the top, nothing grand. But yeah, I mean, I thought it did what it did fine. I just wasn't overwhelmed by it. But yeah, it's. Ham fisted. You needed a turkey fist, maybe a nice corned beef fist. Yeah. Too much ham in that fist. Too much ham. Too much ham. Or maybe another pork product, a sausage fist. I don't know. That's still kind of heavy.
01:30:55
Speaker
Maybe maybe a nice pro jute fist. How about some fucking salami fist? How about that, Stephen? Slappy with some sala but why does salami. What is salami fist sound like a band name? Because it is now. That's our new band, Brett. What do you play? I honestly like I don't really play anything. I'm probably skin flute singer, probably a singer, if anything. OK, all right. OK, we'll have you say. fred Yeah, I don't really want to play the skin flute, sorry. That's another name for a penis. We're aware. Yeah, just in case you didn't know, to our listeners, in case you didn't know, that's what he's bouncing around on the pogo stick. That's supposed to be a dick, you guys. What? Yes. And they're all singing out of singing out of vaginas. They sure are. You remember the skin flute is burn?
01:31:57
Speaker
And that, I believe, is our episode on Existo. I think we did it, everybody. I think we survived. We survived Existo. um We Existoed through it. Yeah. Is Existo an homage to Rene Descartes' Kojito ergo sum ergo Existo?
01:32:25
Speaker
I think therefore I am, I am therefore I exist. I hate to say this again, but I don't know what the fuck you just said, little kid. Like, I only understood about three of those words in the last two sentences. Well, it's Latin.
The Word 'Existo' and Social Media Presence
01:32:39
Speaker
Latin is existo is Latin and also Spanish for I exist. It's a dead language, Steven. Let it die.
01:32:50
Speaker
JK, no, Latin's the shit I'm. teased Yeah, I was about to say that or not, Latin's fucking bad ass. Correct. that How is it how's Brett going to do all his incantations without Latin? Right. Was it going to do them in like ancient Greek? No, thank you. No, lame. That would sound awful.
01:33:09
Speaker
You do them in Italian. That would be fun. Have your hand up like this the whole time.
01:33:18
Speaker
a exist the a hey got know I'm like a fucking eggplant. you never
01:33:29
Speaker
ah So I had to get a ghost blizzard squad in there. I just i had to. you You got to. It's kind of your thing. I haven't been here in a while. I had to get one in there somewhere. Kind of your thing. um So, yeah, that's our episode. And yeah, you can find us on some social medias at disenfranchpod. Email us disenfranchpod at gmail dot.com. Man, I don't know. I barely like existing enough, existoing enough at this point to like update social media as it feels like.
01:33:56
Speaker
That's that's something I'm gonna have to take over and put on my plate. I get it. I'm getting there. Give me a month.
01:34:05
Speaker
I Mean I can do it. I've just you know, it's life ah You don't gotta tell me Why do y'all think I haven't been here for a couple months ah we just thought it was something Tucker said I mean we assumed I We had kind of pinpointed it down to what it was. we We had an idea. We were hoping for confirmation, but we really didn't want to be the ones to bring it up. So. No, it's all good. No, no, no, no, no. Because usually it's something Tucker said. No, no. Usually. Usually. But not this time. It's usually what I'm going for. see Really, Tucker just wants to do this entire podcast by himself. Well, you're going to have to try harder. Damn. Damn. Damn.
01:34:51
Speaker
ah What else do we do? Disinfranchpod.gmail dot.com. Oh, ah Patreon. Patreon dot.com slash Disinfranchpod. Official conversation of the Disinfranchise podcast. Post regular episodes up there for free. And you can comment on them and Tucker or I, sometimes both, mostly just Tucker, will comment on those back to you so you can talk to us. um And, um but oh yeah, and for $5 you get access to a ton of stuff that we haven't updated in forever. Although Tucker keeps promising that he's going to update like two or three episodes of what are we watching and just drop them all on one day. I'm going to when I have the time, like I said, like you motherfuckers are lucky this shit comes out every Thursday. That's true. So so I'm getting there. It's going to happen. um And also. I would like to mention that even though it has been a few months since we have released anything behind the paywall on Patreon, there are
01:35:49
Speaker
days worth of content on there. There's a lot of shit out there for sure. Hours, days, weeks, maybe even a month's worth of solid listening time. You start it. You de press play at the beginning of September 1st and on the last day of September. You probably still have a couple episodes left to go through. But Tucker, I've listened to it already. Listen to it again.
01:36:19
Speaker
do it again All right, maybe let's not mock our fan base. Maybe that's not a good idea. They know we do it. I'm calm. Do they? Yeah. Yeah. like I haven't been here for the ones that pay us do. Right. Or else they wouldn't pay us because I say. Correct. Shit. He does. Tucker be talking shit all the time. All the shit. Every last ounce of shit. It's coming. Tucker.
01:36:46
Speaker
Yeah, where we're getting there. You're going to have those. What are we watching? And then what I'd like to do um when we have the time is come together and do basically what we'll do is three episodes of what are you watching? Because you guys have been keeping your lists, right? No, no list from Brett. Stephen in in theory.
01:37:09
Speaker
I mean, I have my letterbox list that I update fairly regularly. I watch a whole lot of stuff, so I could probably just give it all to you off the top of the dome. You guys, look at this.
01:37:23
Speaker
It's all like, come on, you guys don't keep a list? No, I have to. I have letterboxed. Man, you guys, I watched The Stepfather like two months ago. Jeez Louise.
01:37:34
Speaker
They did nominated by finally watching Game of Thrones. Oh, you poor poor man. No, I mean, I mean, we're on season five, so. Oh, I hated it from the beginning. I didn't like it at all. Like I understood why people liked it, but I thought that it was it was it had at its core. It was a good show, but um they had to be titillating for no reason. And that turns me off.
01:38:04
Speaker
when you when you put that that's why i stopped watching the boys actually because i like the boys but this season came around and i was like do i really want to do this again is it worth it for me no that's how game of thrones was like they had some good shit but like i don't like you don't need to be excessive with that shit when it's not necessary and i can tell when it's not necessary because i get bored you know you know what i'm saying sure i mean it did seem to lessen Like by, I mean, by season four, there's not a whole lot of that anymore. Yeah. Well, so it stopped being as egregious. I just, and it's not, I'm not approved. Like.
01:38:46
Speaker
I'm fine with that kind of shit. But when it's it's extremely obvious that it's just there for titillation, whether it be sex or extreme violence or whatever. They called it sex position because they would really they would have sex scenes during which they would drop like key pieces of dialogue and key exposition just so you know, people would be paying attention to it.
01:39:09
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I suppose so. That's when I tune out. I'm like, why are we having a sex scene right now? Oh, I suddenly don't give a fuck. I'm going to get a snack. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. But if you feel that way about extreme violence, yeah, the boys is not for you. Right. Yeah. Correct. I feel that way about anyone doing something just for shock value. You know, and I feel like I have a pretty finely tuned radar for that shit. And while the the boys ah they definitely do that for a lot of it for shock value and to be extreme and to one up like everything else that's come before it it always kind of it makes sense within the narrative of the show so it's not that egregious but after three seasons of it I'm just like what how are you gonna top that I don't want to find out honestly I don't want to find out a guy exploded inside another dudes dick in third season
01:40:06
Speaker
I don't want to know. I don't want to know what's going to top that. I have no interest. I mean, no interest. There's one thing in season four that immediately comes to mind that they do. Yeah. No, thank you. No, thank you. It's it's pretty it's pretty gross. It is. It sure is. Yeah. Well, glad you guys watched it for me. We can tell you all about it if you want. Oh, later after I've eaten, please.
01:40:32
Speaker
Well, you better eat something really quick, because we're going to tell you as soon as this recording stops. I do need to eat something. Same. ah Blood sugar, having a good time. um So yeah, let me let's wrap this shit. um What else do I need to talk about? We talked about socials, talked about the Patreon. Oh, go rate and review us on Apple Podcast. and Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. And yeah, we'll read that shit on the air. um I'm your host, Stephen Fox. Really, you can find me on, I don't know, a couple of social media platforms, still kind of maybe at Chewy Walrus. Brett, you on socials anymore?
01:41:07
Speaker
hey like I'm on Instagram, but like I don't ever post anything. Sometimes i Brett likes my Instagram postuses. I do like your Instagram posts. And if you post an album that I know, I usually make some sort of comment. That's true. But like yeah, like I ah post on Instagram maybe once. I don't know.
01:41:29
Speaker
like Oh, you did post one a couple weeks ago. You were with your pals. Yeah, GenCon. Yeah. Yeah. Even though I wasn't at GenCon, but I was um went to go have dinner with them before GenCon. In the spirit of GenCon, yeah. In the spirit of GenCon, yes. But yeah, to like i I post on there quarterly, usually. Because I'm a terrible millennial. I forget when I'm out doing stuff, be that I should be, quote unquote, taking pictures for the gram.
01:41:58
Speaker
I forget because I'm, you know, doing there in the moment. I'm living in the moment. and Right. How dare you, sir? There are breadth. There are entire like eras of my life that there's no photographic evidence of because of that, like all my entire 20s. Basically, there's no photograph evidence of it because I never think to take photos anywhere ever for any reason. So I'm just like, oh, that's really cool. And that's really cool, too.
01:42:25
Speaker
And that's it. Then afterwards, I'm like, man, I wish I'd taken some pictures. Shit. Oh man, I should take you a photo. Yeah. sure I never do. Yeah. that Look, I, you know, like to give you an example, I don't think there's really any photographic evidence of me and Ash together as a couple.
01:42:44
Speaker
Which is like, we don't we just don't take pictures of ourselves or when we're out doing stuff. Yeah. But yeah, so I mean, I don't know, Instagram, it's us underscore Warlock. I'm on letterbox. The same name. I update that regularly whenever I watch a movie. It's true. I follow that letterbox did it. Yeah. And Tucker, what about yourself? Well, I used to have a letterbox to count, but it got um too political.
01:43:14
Speaker
No, they they destroyed my account and I never figured out why, because I don't I don't I never commented on anything. I liked some stuff. It may have been like some instance where like maybe someone got a hold of my account and was doing some fuckery because I know the thing is, is I also never logged into it. So if someone was fucking with my shit, I would never know because I never logged into it. Oh, that's fair. Yeah.
01:43:43
Speaker
Um, but I just got an email from them one day and it'd been months since I'd even opened the damn app and they're like, Oh yeah, we, we shut your account down. So fuck you. Bye. I was like, all right. Well, I didn't really, I don't like, maybe dude, you just use. I was like, I didn't even like you motherfuckers anyway. Can't fire me. I quit. yeah ah But I'm on Instagram but and YouTube.
01:44:09
Speaker
at ice 909. That's I C E N I N E. The number zero and the number nine. Also, I don't know if anybody noticed, well, at least nine people did. ah There was a new post on talk box this week, you guys. you dude I still got one of my I still got what's that long awaited update.
01:44:31
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And I got another one in my pocket, too. I still got that one from Jimmy. I need to punch up. It's just I was using that cup to drink coffee the other day because it's starting to get a little chilly and.
01:44:43
Speaker
ah Yeah. Yeah, I took a picture of it and, you know, sent you all the business or my I sent my social media manager all the business coordinator. Oh, cats out of the bag. Oh, who you know, attention to the man behind the curtain.
01:45:00
Speaker
No, pay no attention to Steven. What? No.
01:45:06
Speaker
Yeah, you guys. So, yeah, go to Tuck Mugs. This is a brand new post. I actually ate soup out of a mug yesterday, a new mug. But the world's not ready for that mug yet. You didn't take any pictures because you were living in the moment. Yeah, eating my vegetable soup with penne pasta and my grilled cheese sandwich.
01:45:27
Speaker
<unk> so good this life I'm hungry, you guys. I gotta to be working an hour. Then let's wrap this up. We're waiting on you. I already did. Alright, well then in that case, that's all we've got. That is our episode on Exista. That is straight up number four. Don't forget Tucker, are you going to remember to put the straight up image there with the Paula Abduls? Probably not, but I'm going to try real hard to remember. OK. I thought maybe mentioning it during the episode might help. I could put it in the show notes if you want. Five bucks says Tucker doesn't read this and therefore doesn't put in the Paula Abdul picture. Who gets the five bucks, though? Me. I get the five bucks. Oh, sorry. OK. You, you've earned it.
01:46:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
01:46:23
Speaker
Yeah, well. Alright, that is our episode on 1999's Existo. Until next time for, um im just let's just say what we're doing next week, because next week is in honor of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in theaters. We are revisiting, um are we're revisiting Beetlejuice, but with Tucker this time.
01:46:48
Speaker
beattle trees so So yeah, we're we're doing our Beetlejuice Redux next week, in anticipation of going to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice when and covering it for this podcast when it drops in theaters that week that week. is So stay tuned for that. um In the meantime, um yeah, this has been the disenfranchised podcast ah for my co hosts Tucker and Brett Wright until next time. I don't know, just keep on existing, I guess.
01:47:21
Speaker
you a like an name Fucking A. Fucking A. Fucking A. Fucking A. Fucking A.