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136 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
105 Plays2 years ago
"Workers of Earth! I bring good tidings of peanuts!"
Don't panic! This week, we're celebrating Towel Day by covering the movie that reminds up to always know where our towel is! Join Stephen and Tucker as they stick out their thumbs and discuss the highs, lows and al points in between of this big-budget attempt at a sci-fi comedy franchise!
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- Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content, like our upcoming DisenFIVEchised on the films of David Fincher: https://patreon.com/Disenfranchpod
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Transcript
Introduction to the Disenfranchised Podcast
00:00:21
Speaker
I'll sing one for you
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the disenfranchised podcast where that podcast all about those franchises have won those films that fancy themselves full fledged franchises before falling flat on their face. After the first film, I am your host, Stephen Foxworthy. And joining me, as always, a man who knows where his towel is. It's Tucker. Hey, Tucker. Hi, Stephen. How's it going, buddy?
00:00:45
Speaker
No, I asked you first. I think we asked each other simultaneously, but no, I'm doing well. Let's let's let's give our answers simultaneously. One, two, three. I'm doing well. I was sick this morning, but I'm feeling better now. I'm glad you're
Casual Host Banter
00:00:58
Speaker
feeling better. I'm trying to hit the mute button every time I make a big snuff or a cough. I had a lot of congestion.
00:01:05
Speaker
A lot of mucus and there's still a little bit of it left. So I will try to. And if I don't, I'll edit it out. If there's any in the final product, I apologize. But your boy's been sick for like the last two days and it's. And and speaking of not feeling well, Brett is currently attending a Vogue on poetry reading. So we wish him a very speedy recovery and that he is able to make it back to a soon without dying. We wish him the third speediest recovery. That's right.
00:01:32
Speaker
in the universe, in the universe, the galaxy, the universe, whatever. Tucker, it is. It is towel day.
Towel Day and Hitchhiker's Guide Plans
00:01:44
Speaker
And because it is towel day, Tucker, what are we covering? Is that a day? It's one of those arbitrary. Where do you get these holidays? There is there is a whole calendar online that like has lists of like various pop culture holidays.
00:02:00
Speaker
How offended would you be if I made fun of you every time you mentioned one of them? I mean, they're really dumb. You're going to be doing it a lot, man, because there is a there I have a whole calendar on my phone. I also also have culture holidays. I like you and I don't want to like upset you. Like how hard can I make fun of you when it comes to these holidays? Like I scale from one to 10. How bad can I teach you about them? I mean, don't bully me. Don't don't know. That would be a 10. So it's maybe a six.
00:02:29
Speaker
Six and a half.
00:02:33
Speaker
I mean, look, man, I just look I'm constantly I am constantly looking for excuses to cover some of these movies. And so I'm glad you are. It gives us direction. It really does. That's what I'm trying to do here, man. But I still want to tease you about it because it's a gold mine. Look, man, I say gold mined. My mind is gold. Look, it's been it's been a hell of a week. You've been sick. I've been I've been dealing with my own stuff like it's it's it's been a week, man. So
00:03:02
Speaker
We can extend each other some grace tonight. That'd be okay.
00:03:07
Speaker
But because it is Talladeh, we are covering what film? Tucker, you also have it on DVD. I do, too. It's a film that I own on DVD and purchased not long after it was released on DVD. Say it is. What year did this come
Introducing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Film
00:03:23
Speaker
out, Stephen? 2005. Oh, I was close. It's 2005's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by music video director Garth Jennings, which connects it to our last week's episode. Yep.
00:03:37
Speaker
directed by Garth Jennings, written by Douglas Adams, and the man who wrote all previous iterations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as some script support from Kerry Kirkpatrick.
00:03:55
Speaker
And starring Sam Rockwell, Yasin Bay, better known in this film as Mos Def. The Mighty Mos Def. The Mighty Mos Def, who just hot take alert.
Film Cast and Performances
00:04:06
Speaker
Best part of this movie. We'll get into that. We're going to get into it. Zoey Deschanel. There's going to be a lot of arguing between past Tookie and modern Tookie because we disagree on this movie.
00:04:21
Speaker
I think I think Stephen's going to agree more with past Tookie. So probably. Martin Freeman, Bill Nye, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Anna Chancellor, Helen Mirren, Dame motherfucking Helen Mirren, the great Stephen Fry, John Malkovich, Bill Bailey, Ian McNeese, Richard Griffiths, Thomas Lennon, Simon Jones. What what an unbelievable cast. What a cast. What a picture. What a cast. What a cast.
00:04:52
Speaker
What a picture. What a cast full stop. Ask me by where I first ran into this movie. Ask me, Stephen, ask me. Tucker, what's your first run into this movie?
00:05:04
Speaker
Well, you see back when black off both sides by most def dropped in 1998 Your boy was way into that. I had a friend who introduced me to that record and Then the black star album came out a couple years after that which was most effin Talib quality whose name is in the middle of equality BTW and
00:05:26
Speaker
So I'm a big fan of Mos Def. And I'd seen him in a few. He had some big parts and a few things. He had a big part in his first collaboration with Alan Rickman, an HBO movie called Something the Lord Made, which is a movie about some doctors who created the cure for something or something. I don't remember. I remember I watched it when it came out because I really like Mos Def. And I was like, yeah, he's really good in this. Something something doctor, something something cure. Yeah.
00:05:49
Speaker
Yes, but that's what made me interested in him as an actor beyond just like, hey, that's one of my favorite rappers right now. Right. And then when this movie came out, I was so excited that he was in it for the same reason that I was excited that the it gal was in Dungeons and Dragons because we see our see our most recent episode of what are we watching coming out? I'm sure very soon on Patreon dot com Sunday and French Pod.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah, Sunday. OK, Sunday's when we're dropping those right on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. But so I was really excited to see this. And I did see it. I saw it the movie theater and I loved it. And then I bought the DVD and I continued to love it. And then I just kind of forgot about it. And it's been sitting on my shelf for at least probably six or seven years without being looked at until yesterday. Mm hmm.
00:06:44
Speaker
What about you, Steven? What's your history with this film, this franchise and its many actors? This movie, so I had a passing familiarity with Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. He passed away the year I graduated from high school. And then this movie came out literally the week before I graduated from college.
00:07:07
Speaker
Um, like my last day of classes and then this movie came out, like, so like the next day. So there was one class I was in danger of not passing. I got an email from my professor that I had in fact passed. I grabbed my towel. I threw it over my shoulder. I got in a car with a bunch of my friends and we drove up to their suburb of Chicago, the city I currently live just north of, and we caught
00:07:31
Speaker
opening night of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We all had our towels like we had and it was we had such an absolute blast. I there was a girl that I was seeing at the time she and I went up together and listened to a bunch of Billy Joel on the way up, which was great. Yeah, it was it was just a really great night. Like I remember having a really good time and it was kind of it was a bunch of seniors. So it was like all of most for most of us. It was like our last kind of hurrah.
00:08:01
Speaker
in college and then like the next weekend was like baccalaureate and all like so the next week was like full of packing and baccalaureate and all that all the other shit that we had to do to get ready for graduation uh so that was kind of like our last hurrah and we had such a great time like it was about we we went to school about an hour south of chicago we took we took the drive up we we saw the movie we had a blast we we saw the midnight showing so we didn't get back to the dorms until like 3 a.m
00:08:28
Speaker
Um, and we had a, it was, it was a blast. We had such a great time and I, this movie has long occupied a soft spot for me. Um, is it the best movie ever? No, but after an opening, like so long and thanks for all the fish. Um.
00:08:44
Speaker
I am I was pretty much in on whatever that movie had in store for me after that. Like I was I was buckled in and I was up for whatever after that. And the rest of the movie is pretty damn fun. It's charming. I like it. Oh, yeah. The first 20 minutes of this movie are great. Really solid.
00:09:06
Speaker
Really, anytime Stephen Fry takes over the narration of the movie or anytime he chimes in to give the little asides as the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, fucking brilliant. I love it so much. I also really love and I'm bummed that Brett is stuck at that poetry slam because it's something he and I have long heralded on this podcast.
00:09:30
Speaker
like practical effects, like all the Vogons and the Julie crowds were created by the Jim Henson character feature workshop.
00:09:38
Speaker
It shows like that it and like Garth Jennings was very adamant. This is his first feature. And he was very adamant that the locations and the sets be real, like real lived in things. And I God bless him for that because it makes a huge difference. Like I think this movie is so much fun because of that. Like I think that's what that might be one of my favorite things about this movie is everything's practical.
00:10:08
Speaker
And I think that's absolutely wonderful. I think the only practical effect that I do not like and honestly have never liked, even when I was a big fan of this movie is I don't like the design or the execution of, of the Android of Marvin.
00:10:26
Speaker
I don't like it. It's too guy in a suit for me. I mean, it has been. It's the great work. I know. I know who it is. And I know that's what it is. But I don't care. I've never liked it. I feel like it should have been a lot more robotic, even though he is an android. So he's going to be human like. But he's it just looks bad to me.
00:10:45
Speaker
Literally looks like a guy in a suit. Apparently one of the most difficult things that work Davis ever had to do in a movie, because that suit weighs about two thirds of what he weighs. Yes. And so he's constantly like lugging around this giant, heavy suit, the entire movie. And it was apparently very difficult for him to do. I think Alan Rickman is really good in this movie. Mm hmm.
00:11:12
Speaker
I guess I just mentioned that because we were talking about Marvin. I wasn't. Yeah, no, he's he's he's absolutely phenomenal in this and he does such a great job. Like Marvin has all my favorite moments in this movie. Like despite the fact that I think most death is the MVP of this film, Marvin has all my favorite lines, including the I've got a million ideas. They all point to certain death. Like that was almost my intro for you. The man who has a million ideas that all point to certain death. Like.
00:11:42
Speaker
What a great character is Marvin. I don't know. I love him. For me, Mos Def gets the Bless His Heart Award for this movie. Because I love Mos Def and I love
00:11:58
Speaker
What he's doing here, he's really giving it his all. He's very tuned in to what this movie is supposed to be. But ultimately, for me, he's really the only one doing that. I agree. Like and I love Sam Rockwell, but I get sick of his George Bush impression after about 20 minutes. And that's exactly what it is. Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell. Yeah, one of my favorite actors, one of my favorite characters of all time. Yeah, he's great.
00:12:27
Speaker
But for me, it's a bummer that after three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, he just decided to play racist for the rest of his career. Golly, which was also a hot take. That movie sucks. I've not seen it. That's that's the one Martin McDonough film I have not seen. I own in Bruges. I love Bantu's men or Sharon. I have not seen three billboards. I don't know what any of those words you just said meant. You have not seen in Bruges. You ain't seen bad boys, too.
00:12:54
Speaker
What you mean? I ain't seen bad boys, too. No, you need to see him, Bruges. You would love it. It is Colin Farrell. Sounds like a color in French. Is that a French color? Bruges is a town in Brussels. OK.
00:13:05
Speaker
But it's it's about it's about two hit men played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason Oh, that's the one that was I know what that is I just didn't know that's what it was called with Ray Fiennes and it's it's it's so good It's a it's an absolutely incredible film I love it. It's a really underrated comedy like it's like a really downplay in fact the guy who who the the
00:13:27
Speaker
The non-malesty, or the non-malesty Howard the Duck, Jordan Prentice, is in in Bruges. And he's very good in it. He's a lot of fun. The voice actor guy?
00:13:41
Speaker
No, the other little person. Oh, I got you. OK, who was who was in the suit when like he was the kid that had like the really great range of movement that they initially cast. And then they realized that he wasn't going to be available half the time. So then Ed Gale got the part as a kid. Yeah, right. Yeah. So Ed Gale did like most of the other stuff like Ed Gale was it for most of the time. But whenever it wasn't at Gale, it was Jordan Prentice. So and Jordan Prentice is in Imbruges and he's really good in it. Like I didn't realize that was by the same guy.
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's he's he's done that Banshees have been a Sharon, which was nominated for a bunch of Oscars this past year. A new one. People love that movie. It's good. It's real, real good. I might look at it. It just doesn't really seem like my cup of tea, but I might look at it.
00:14:26
Speaker
I mean, it's it's it's something like you got to be in the right headspace for it because it can get it gets pretty dark. Spoiler alert, Brendan Gleason cuts off all the fingers on one of his hands in that movie. So. Very, very cool. It kind of is very cool.
00:14:48
Speaker
But yeah, it's about two two old friends who one of them just decides I don't want to be your friend anymore. And it's about kind of how their relationship continues to deteriorate after that. But yeah, it's it's fucking great. Barry Keegan, Kerry Condon. What a guy. That guy was on SNL because of that movie. Which one? The not Colin Farrell guy. Brendan Gleason. Yeah, he's great. I love him.
00:15:17
Speaker
wasn't really that good on SNL, but that doesn't mean he's not a good actor. It's just some people are better at, you know, acting that, yeah, not everybody's, you know, can can do SNL. Well, some of the best actors have flopped and been shit on SNL. So it's not it's definitely not saying anything bad about him. I'm just saying his whether it was the writing or whether it was him, it seemed more like it was him. He was having a great time, but it just didn't. It wasn't a good.
00:15:42
Speaker
For my money, Brennan Gleason's right up there with Brian Cox in terms of like aging character actors who just lend gravitas to anything they do. So I'm a big fan of both of those guys. Anything they do, I'm like there for it. I think Brian Cox would be good on SNL. He might or he might not. Honestly, the reason I wouldn't want to see Brian Cox on SNL is because he wouldn't be able to say fuck off in every sketch. And after succession, that's all I want to see him do is just yell at people and tell them to fuck off.
00:16:09
Speaker
I haven't seen the succession. Oh, dude, it's sessions. It's real. No, you keep telling me. And maybe one day I'll get to it. I mean, it's it's the Ted Lasso thing in that it's like really overhyped and you kind of don't want to get into it. I understand. I've got I've just got a lot of shows, man. There's righteous gemstone season three trailer. Have you seen it yet? I haven't seen the trailer, but it comes out in a month. The show comes out in a month. Season three drops in a month. I'm very excited. You know, you know, another show comes out next month and I'm really excited for that.
00:16:39
Speaker
Gremlin's Secret of the Maguire. Oh, yeah, you let me know how that is, Stephen. Yep, you bet. You let let me let me let me know because I. I'm sure we'll cover it on a What Are You Watching segment someday. That trailer. Mm hmm. I was not a fan of that trailer. Don't care. Also, I'm there. Day one. Always Sunny is back in 17 days. Saw that trailer as well. That's one of the girlfriend's favorite shows. So we'll we'll definitely be watching that one for sure. What we do in the shadows is back in 53 days.
00:17:07
Speaker
I wish I watched that show show. You don't watch. OK, and only murders in the building is back in two and a half months. Hell yeah. I'm excited for that show, except like one of one of the most overrated actresses in American history is in that is in that show of the third season. So I'm not really sure how I feel about that. A Glenn Close. No. Who is it? You don't like Meryl Streep? I get them. The thing that's going to get me canceled one day is the fact that I really don't like Meryl Streep.
00:17:36
Speaker
I think she's really over. I think she's good. I just think she's bought into her own hype. And I kind of don't like her for that. And it's kind of hard. It's kind of hard for me to separate Meryl from her own hype. That's kind of how I feel about this movie a
Critique of Film's Writing and Plot
00:17:52
Speaker
little bit. Like it's it's a bit it's not quite as clever as it gives itself credit for 90 percent of the time in my the writing. I would say the writing. Sure. I mean, and I mean,
00:18:06
Speaker
What we can get into it because this lets we should do it, though. Let's do the plot. Let's do the plot. I really hope it's you because I have this movie just meanders so long in so many places that half the time I don't even know what the point of it is. And I never have, but I've always been OK with that just because it's so much fun. The ride is so much fun. It's Douglas Adams. Like, what are you what are you going to do? So it's time for the plot in 60 seconds. It's the part of the show where we one of us at the behest of what do we call it? The quarter of
00:18:36
Speaker
Canadian quarter of indifference. That's it. The Canadian quarter of indifference will decide which of us will recount the plot of the 2005 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film in 60 seconds or less. Tucker, give it a flip so I can call it in the air. OK, just to remember, the queen is heads. Yes. And the moosehead, eh? Is tails. OK, so call it in the air. Heads.
00:19:07
Speaker
It is heads, which means you have to do the right. It's no, it means.
00:19:15
Speaker
Sorry. All right. All right. Can I just read the back of the DVD? I you can, but I know that's that's the 15 seconds like right. I mean, we've we've we've had some plot and 60s that have gone on that long. So I will give you the 30 and the 10 second warnings as usual and your time begins whenever you begin.
00:19:38
Speaker
But so Arthur Dent is a guy and he's fucking pathetic. And his friend, most death is a space alien and these dudes are about to blow up the earth. So most death helps Arthur Dent to get onto a ship of the guys who are blowing up the earth. And it turns out they don't like hitchhikers, so they poop them out into space and the the improbability drive
00:20:07
Speaker
driven ship that has Sam Rockwell 30 seconds and and the manic pixie girl what's her name not Emily Zoey Deschendaele on it and then they do a bunch of crap that is are really fun set pieces and some of the gags are really great but ultimately doesn't amount to shit and then they rebuild the earth or something at the end and then they
00:20:30
Speaker
they decide to really promote the sequel that never was by talking about the restaurant at the end of the galaxy like 50 times in the last three minutes like we get and that's time we know that's a book we've heard about that book we get it we get it anyway
00:20:49
Speaker
And that's fine. Yeah, that's fine. That's the whole that's all that happened in that movie, right? There's a lot of first 20 minutes and then who fucking cares? It's it. It does a thing. I didn't notice it until this time, but it does something that I'm I generally really hate when movies do.
00:21:05
Speaker
And it did sour me a little bit on this movie, this watch, is it's like fetch quest, fetch quest, fetch quest, fetch quest. We have to go here, and then we have to go here, and then we have to go here, and then we have to get this, and then we have to do that. There's like five MacGuffins in this movie, and none of them come to anything.
00:21:24
Speaker
I say by the time it's over, you're like, what, why did any of this matter? Like it was fun. And we got some really great visuals and there's some, some good jokes and stuff. Like it was a fun ride, but who cares? Who cares? Yeah. Which like I said, like I, I, my opinion has changed on this film, but I don't think
00:21:47
Speaker
I'm looking at it any differently. I'm just at a point in my life where it's not something I'm into. You've grown up. I've kind of, well, like I was saying, what was the movie I was saying about cabin fever? I'm just, I'm over it. I'm over it. I used to love it, but now when I watch it, I'm like, I just don't, this doesn't hit like it used to. Like there's some parts where I'm like, that gives me a good feeling. But overall, I'm just like this. I don't care about this. Like I don't want to watch this.
00:22:12
Speaker
Like one of my favorite parts of this movie was the scene with the whale and the bowl of petunias. Like I have historically loved that scene and it just didn't hit the same way this time that it normally does. And I was a little bummed by that. I was a little I was a little perturbed. I found Bill Nye kind of like.
00:22:32
Speaker
Okay this time through whereas I've always been like a big fan of his previously in this movie. So I don't know man like maybe maybe I'm growing up too but like I still like it but it's just not as it's not as strong for me as it has been historically like Arthur Dent has been my go to Halloween costume for like the last three years. It's so easy. It is recognizable.
00:22:54
Speaker
Of course, the downside to that was Halloween 2022, when I dressed up like Arthur Dent to go to the work Halloween party, work Christmas party, work Halloween party, everyone thought I was just a work from home agent, despite the fact that I was carrying a giant book that don't panic emblazoned on the cover.
00:23:13
Speaker
Like everyone was just like, oh you're a work from home agent I'm like, no, I'm Arthur and I've like no and I would show them my book and they'd be like don't panic I don't I was like hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and no one knew and I was like y'all Philistines
00:23:28
Speaker
It's something that really, really, really turned me off to this movie this time is I kind of got hip to how forced and unnecessary the love story angle of this movie is. I wanted to fucking barf. It has no business in this movie. Look, I get that the setup of that is interesting, but the payoff is bullshit that I don't care about. It kind of is. I don't even like each other. They're like friends at best. At best.
00:23:55
Speaker
And I mean, it that's something that they do a lot with these Hollywood movies around this time. You've got to shoehorn the love story in and it always kind of comes off as a little force, particularly when the leads don't have chemistry and these two don't. And it's the one part of this movie that always kind of rang a little hollow to me. Is I mean, yeah, Zooey Deschanel is cute and all, but like there's no chemistry with her and Martin Freeman, like at all.
00:24:26
Speaker
So it feels completely unearned at the end. And really, the only reason she ends up going to him is because A, they're the last of their species and B, Sam Rockwell lied to her because he's an idiot and didn't realize he was lying. So like it's completely unearned. I agree. It is now that that has never worked for me. Even if they do have chemistry, Arthur, that first time that you met her,
00:24:54
Speaker
Red flag, red flag, red flag, red flag. Did you ever see the SNL skit like the perfume commercial about red flag? It's a new perfume and Kristen Wiig is like this crazy bitch and like they just keep talking about like all the like red flags that she's giving where you should not like do not engage. Right. That's funny. That was like that whole scene for me is like red flag.
00:25:18
Speaker
Like, just walk away, Arthur. Walk away. You don't want to have anything to do with her. Like, she's nuts. No, you really don't. She's nuts. She's obviously going through something that she needs to work out. That something that got her on a spaceship. A spaceship.
00:25:35
Speaker
Trying to go to Madagascar. Man, I forgot work. I got to go work tomorrow. Exactly. I have responsibilities. You're you are an adult woman. What are you doing? Get your shit together, man. Who hurt you? Trisha McMillan. Who hurt you? Right. Jeez, woman. But I mean, it's this I noticed a very weird parallel that might prompt a hyper specific letterbox list later this week. The
00:26:04
Speaker
The movie, the early 2000s film, a comedy film in which Zoey Deschanel is caught in the shower by her male love interest. The other one being Elf. Sounds awful.
00:26:18
Speaker
But you know, full disclosure, I don't really like Zooey Deshindel. The only thing that I ever liked her performance in was almost famous. She's a great big sister. And that's it. Outside of that, I just I'm sure she's a great person, but I do not find any of her performances appealing at all.
00:26:34
Speaker
I had. Look, when this movie came out, I'm a like I had a crush on Zooey D. I think her dad's a really great her really great. Her dad's a really great cinematographer. Like he's one of the best, honestly. He's fucking incredible. But like, yeah, I had a crush on Zooey Deschanel and then she was everywhere.
00:26:53
Speaker
Like very shortly after this movie, she just was ubiquitous. Like you could not get, you could not go anywhere. Like she had the, uh, she and him, um, she had like, which was a band for people who thought maybe that was a movie title. That was a musical group. She was with 500 days a summer in 2009, new girl in 2011.
00:27:17
Speaker
Uh, the happening in 2008, a movie she should never have been cast in. Like she just like was on this tear in the late 2000s, early 2010s. And when she was just fucking everywhere and you're just like, I don't. I don't understand why she's everywhere, but she was, she was, she was everywhere.
00:27:41
Speaker
If I may comment briefly on her musical career, I always found she and him to be a little try hard, a little like we're trying so hard to be wholesome and cutesy. That is kind of the energy I feel like she gives off just generally in her performances. Yes. But I will say that I really like the song that she does with Jason Schwartzman on his record Night Timing.
00:28:06
Speaker
Jason Schwartzman, who has a blink and you miss it cameo in this movie. Yes, he does. But she did a song on he had a band. Well, it wasn't a band. It was just him playing all the instruments and recording it track by track. Like I'll set up records called Coconut Records. The record is called Night Timing. It's really, really good. I recommend it to anyone. Also, a fucking golly. What's her name from?
00:28:34
Speaker
Spider-Man and Virgin Suicides, Kirsten Dunst. Kirsten Dunst is on that record. Kiki D. Zooey Deshindel is on that record. Jason Schwartzman's brother, who is the frontman of a band called Rooney, which is also really good, is on the title track of that record.
Jason Schwartzman's Music Career
00:28:52
Speaker
And Jason Schwartzman is not just an amazing actor, though Steven, I don't think, has been exposed to enough of his stuff to have that opinion yet.
00:29:01
Speaker
Um, well, I'm not a big Wes Anderson guy, so I have more than Wes Anderson stuff. A lot more, actually. I can help you with that. I'll give you some recommendations outside of the Wes Anderson verse. OK, I mean, I did see Shop Girl and I didn't care for Shop Girl. That movie sucks, though. I agree. That's what I'm saying. Didn't care for it. Yeah. Well, despite the fact that it's Steve Martin's directorial debut, did not like. But wait, I think is.
00:29:30
Speaker
one of the most consistently great songwriters of our time. I think that's where I really like him as an actor and I really like him as a musician. He's awesome. But I think as a songwriter, that's. That's where he peaks as far as talent. He is a renaissance man. He wears a lot of hats. But songwriting, I think, is that's where he shines the brightest for me.
00:29:58
Speaker
And I'm going to issue a correction. Steve Martin did not direct Shop Girl. He wrote it in the source novel and was the star. Yeah. Boy, howdy, was he? Yeah. Well, that movie sucked, didn't it? It did. It did. No, I hate that movie. You'll get no disagreement from me. I was so excited for that movie, too. Like I was like, oh, Shop Girl. Yeah. And I watched it and I was like, oh, this sucks. That was kind of like there's this like wave of like early 2000s.
00:30:28
Speaker
like indie films like and I put like Melinda same thing Melinda and Melinda and like Strangers in Translation Lost in Translation where you get kind of this like
00:30:41
Speaker
I don't know. This this wandering kind of just like there's broken flowers. Not. Yeah. Not really a narrative here kind of thing. God, I don't like any of them. Yeah. It's just an old guy who has a very young love interest and it's really quirky. I mean, that's Holly. We're like another Zooey Deschanel film. Yes, man. She's Jim Carrey's love interest, despite being like 20 years younger than him.
00:31:08
Speaker
And Carrie can pull off younger, though, and his best friend in that movie is Bradley fucking Cooper. Like, yeah, I'm supposed to believe that Bradley Cooper and Jim Carrey are BFFs like I'm supposed to believe that Dave Chappelle is BFFs with Tom Hanks and you've got mail like, come on. I'd like to see a burbs sequel with Dave Chappelle is one of the neighbors just to get them together again so that they can be funny. Dave Chappelle and Tom Hanks.
00:31:34
Speaker
Oh, you have to replace. He would have to replace Homeboy because he died. Rick to comment. Well, who's going to replace Carrie Fisher? I don't know that I want the hologram they used in that one Star War. That's what you know. Fuck you. No, absolutely not. No, man, the Clopec's got her, dude. She's gone. Oh, that's that's just that. That's mean like I kind of I mean, I don't want to burp sequel just because I don't want to have to have them answer those questions like I don't want to.
00:32:04
Speaker
Like I like the burbs, but don't do that to me. Don't don't make me go through that. I don't want to. Yeah, I hadn't thought of Carrie Fisher. You're right. Yeah. Scratch that. Scratch it all together is is mean, is mean. And I'm not I'm not a big Dave Chappelle fan, so I could care less what he does now. So I am. I don't like the things that he's been doubling down on lately. He's been doubling down on some toxic shit, man. Yeah, I'm not a fan of that, but I.
00:32:33
Speaker
I really like his show. I thought your show was pretty funny in movies like it's like it's like we broke up, but I can still have the memories of all of our fun times, you know. Fair enough. Yeah. But yeah, so so you weren't a fan of Sam Rockwell's George W. Bush impression, huh? Not this time around. It wasn't annoying until now.
00:32:58
Speaker
because I think I just because I love Sam Rockwell so much. The funny thing is like when he's on the there's the special feature, the making of special feature on the on the DVD, which you and I both own. He talks about his influence as a character and George W. Bush does not come up once, despite the fact that it is clear. Yeah. But he like he's naming off like Bill Clinton and like tons of other figures like
00:33:25
Speaker
Brad Pitt and like tons of other people that kind of influences depiction of the character. And George W. Bush does not come up once, despite the fact that it is the most obvious analog possible. Like he is clearly just doing a JW or a GW Bush impression. Now,
00:33:45
Speaker
That makes me think of something that struck me while I was watching it this time, because I did have since I wasn't enjoying it as much, I did put a much more critical eye on it, was that all of these performances feel like first takes. Hmm. Interesting. Except for Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry, of course, because I mean, they were voiceovers, vocal performances, every every performance in this movie.
00:34:10
Speaker
It swings for the fences in a way that needed some direction afterwards. Like that's the first take. And then you're like, OK, that was good. I like where you're going with it. But if you could just change this a little bit and maybe take about 20 percent off the top there, you know, you'd be good. Everything in this movie feels like a first take as far as the live actor performances. And part of that feels like it might be just Garth Jennings not being a
00:34:40
Speaker
a seasoned hand behind the camera. It feels like he's fostered a really great collaborative atmosphere with his actors and it feels like that might have gotten away from him a little bit.
00:34:54
Speaker
When I still love the vibe of this movie, you can tell everybody's having a great time. Everyone having a blast. Tremendous respect for the source material and everything looks great. And there's so much effort put into it. And you could that still shines through for me. But I just didn't it just didn't hit the same now. And so it's which is cool because now I can kind of look at it with a critical eye.
Tribute to Douglas Adams
00:35:20
Speaker
And like I said about Dave Chappelle, we're broken up.
00:35:24
Speaker
but you know, I still remember the good times. Yeah, I mean, and there's still moments in this movie that hit me as so much fun every time I watch it. Like that opening number with the dolphins is a fucking bop. And I feel like if we don't close out the episode with that, instead of our normal love theme, we're doing everybody a disservice quite frankly. Can it be the OG version, the stripped down version instead of like the ridiculously overdone version?
00:35:53
Speaker
the one that plays during the credits instead of the one that plays at the beginning. That's that's fine. It doesn't it doesn't matter to me, but I just because as much as I love I love the opening and I love the song, especially this time. It always has kind of been a bit too much for me, but this time it was just way too much as a fan of you was the way it was done.
00:36:14
Speaker
As a fan of musical theater, I think it's great. And it, like I said, after that number, like it, it hooks me like I'm in. Like that number is the thing that pulled me into this movie and like, it wouldn't let me go the first time I saw it. Whereas it's hold his grip has loosened a little bit, but it still grabs me every time. Like I still love to, I still love to see it. So I'm not gonna, not gonna be grudge it ever at all. Like I think it's great.
00:36:44
Speaker
In fact, when I when I left my previous job that right before I left, I put that gift of from the beginning where the close up of the dolphin and it says so long and thanks for all the face types across the screen. I sent that gift to the to the supervisor channel. I was like, all right, bye, everybody.
00:37:00
Speaker
I don't think most of them knew it was my last day. I don't I told like my boss and her boss and that was it and like the rest of my team and no one else knew. So. So, yeah, like I just kind of threw that in there. I was like, bye. And then I think, you know, the next week, everyone was like, hey, where's Steven? Oh, no, he's no. I don't think anyone asked that question. I don't think anyone cared. All in all, we're just another brick in the wall, really.
00:37:29
Speaker
another cog in the murder machine as the great NCR one turns to go to the retirement home or possibly hospice. There you go. But no, like so long and thanks for the fish. It's a fucking bop. I love it. And I kind of wish there had been more songs in this movie. I there's that one weird hymn that they sing when they enter Hamakavula's church. Yep. Which I like.
00:37:56
Speaker
I like that every iteration of this story is very different from the one that precedes it.
00:38:03
Speaker
Like it started as a radio play and the radio play was very different from the book that came after. The book was very different from like the TV miniseries was very different from the computer game was very different from the movie. Like everything is very, very different from everything that came before it. And I think that's one of the hallmarks of this franchise. Weirdly, if you call it that and you probably could. It's a multimedia franchise for sure. It's been across all sorts of medium. But like it's.
00:38:31
Speaker
is the fact that it's not beholden to any kind of continuity. It's not beholden to any kind of canon, which I think is really fucking fun. And about the only other thing that I know of that does that is stuff like The Simpsons that are not beholden to any kind of continuity, where if it's convenient for a joke, then The Simpsons
00:38:52
Speaker
live right outside the parking lot for the the nuclear plant. If that's if that's the joke, like it just in the next episode, that's not the case. Like I love that. So. Garth Jennings hasn't done any other live action films since he's done one. Son of Rambo in 2007, written and directed by Garth Jennings and starring the future Adam Warlock, Will Poulter.
00:39:21
Speaker
I thought that was as a kid. Oh, wait, so that's not a real thing. It's a movie about something. I thought I've read the back of this box way back in the day when it came out and I totally misunderstood what it was. And I've I've thought that it was a completely different thing ever since then.
00:39:39
Speaker
No, it's it's but you know those kids that like made their own recreation of the Temple of or Temple of Doom Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's kind of like that. But first blood like two kids decide to set out and like make their own shot by shot recreation of first blood. But is it.
00:39:58
Speaker
a remake of First Blood, or is it the story about these kids making a remake of First Blood? I think it's the story of the kids remaking First Blood, if I'm not mistaken. OK, because I was under the impression that it actually was like some movie that a couple of kids made. No, it's it is a Garth Jennings film in the tagline Make Believe Not War. During a long English summer in the early 80s, two schoolboys from different backgrounds set out to make a film inspired by First Blood.
00:40:27
Speaker
Should I see it? Have you seen it? I haven't. No, I've actually. This is the only of his four films that I've ever seen. He is also the man behind the sing franchise, the animated film sing and sing to.
00:40:40
Speaker
Um, those are the four, and again, that was, this was one of those, I was talking about this on the, what are we watching? Um, segment for this week, but like, you know, just sitting down and watching a movie and looking up the director and realizing he's only made a few films and going, I could probably watch his entire filmography. Um, this is actually, uh, son of Rambo is actually streaming on Paramount plus right now. So sweet. Yeah, it's accessible on my list. I made a list of the Irishman and that Muppet show. You definitely need to see Muppet mayhem. It's, it's, it's real good.
00:41:09
Speaker
And looking at his music video output, what stands out to me is he does a lot of music videos for artists that I enjoy, but he worked with them after I stopped enjoying them. Right. Yeah. Like Eels, their first record was great. After that, I don't give a shit. Beck, I mean, is anything after Odele?
00:41:33
Speaker
except for sea change, like I guess in Midnight Vultures overall after Odele, not a huge fan. There's some some gems in there, but I love his appearance on Futurama. That was a washboard break. R.E.M. after that one record of theirs where I was like, OK, I guess what video? What video did he do of theirs? Imitation of life. I actually like that video.
00:42:02
Speaker
I do. I like that song to that. The last record of theirs that I liked was new invent new adventures in Hi-Fi. And I think that is an amazing record. But after that, I don't like anything.
00:42:12
Speaker
Up is up is a really good album. I really like the song. Daysleeper is one that was running through my head on repeat a few weeks ago and it fucking rips like I might. One of my best friends in high school was a R.E.M. apologist like loved R.E.M. And so like every time they came out with a new album, anytime there was a new development with the band, like when Bill Berry left the band, like I knew all about it because he knew all about it.
00:42:40
Speaker
You know all about homeboys aneurysm and shit? I'm sure he does. Like he's he was like that was his that was half of his personality in high school. The other half was Superman. Like he loved Superman and he loved R.E.M. Justin, if you're listening, hi. That's my name. And I loved R.E.M. when I was younger. And Superman. Well, you're almost there.
00:43:05
Speaker
R.I.M. is was is I guess is the shit I think New Adventures and Hi-Fi really sort of a transitional album.
00:43:14
Speaker
from kind of what they had been doing to what they were going to do. And while I enjoyed the transition after that, what they were doing was not really my thing. Records like document time out of mind, automatic for the people, monster, new adventures and hi-fi green. Green is phenomenal. I was about to say, if you don't mention green, we're going to have a problem. Basically, everything up to and including new adventures and hi-fi is my
00:43:44
Speaker
But after that, I just, and that's fine. I have a lot of artists like that. Like one of my favorite bands, Bell and Sebastian. After Fold Your Handchild, I don't really care.
00:43:53
Speaker
Well, and that's like then is enough good shit to where there's still one of my favorite things. And I think that's kind of part and parcel of like our attitude toward this movie or like, particularly your attitude toward this movie. There comes a point where you just kind of have to stop like I do that with TV like after the finale of Lost.
Personal Reflections on Media Consumption
00:44:12
Speaker
And I think I may have talked about this on this podcast before I don't know if I have or not. Like I gave myself permission to stop watching a show when I didn't when I stopped enjoying it. And I've done that a lot. Or I've just like.
00:44:23
Speaker
thought about like, Oh, there's a new season of blank coming out. I might get to it. I might not like I give myself permission to not feel like I have to watch something if I'm not into it. Because life is too short, and there's way too much. And like, there are some things I know I'm never really gonna get to. And that's fine. But like, and I think that comes down to like this movie as well. Like, yeah, you're gonna
00:44:50
Speaker
not everything's for every person. So there are things that you're probably going to enjoy that other people might not. Or there's things that you might not like as much as other people. That's to be expected. And sometimes your tastes change. Something you liked before you don't like now.
00:45:10
Speaker
And so the opposite is true as well. There's some stuff that I saw when I was a teenager or even like in my 20s that I just did not care for. And then upon reinvestigation, I really, really dug. Right. You're like, why was I sleeping on this thing? It works both ways. Yeah, it does. And that's just it. Like I am.
00:45:32
Speaker
There's a part of me that's suspicious of anyone who's not willing to re-engage with something. Like I am perfectly willing to admit that I might be wrong about something that I saw once. And so I might go back to it several times. Like that's something I know that infuriates Brett sometimes is I'll go back to stuff that I love as a kid and I'll watch it and I go, not that good. And he's like, but you loved it as a kid. I'm like, yeah, I didn't have good taste as a kid. What can I say? And I still have those memories and they're great.
00:46:00
Speaker
And then sometimes I'll return to something I didn't like as a kid and I'll be like, that's really great. Or I'll watch something and it won't really work for me. And then I'll talk to some people about it and I'll watch it again and I'll reappraise it. The big example for me, American Werewolf in London. I did not like that movie the first time I saw it. I didn't like it.
00:46:19
Speaker
And then I revisited that. I went back after like hearing a bunch of people talk about it and kind of like and I really engaged with it. And I was like, what the hell was I thinking? Like, this is really, really, really, really fucking good. Yeah. American World with London. It's funny that you mentioned that because that was one that I saw when I first started getting into film, which means I was pretty much just only watching horror films. Right. And so I watched that movie and it was weird because I was like, I know I'm supposed to like
00:46:49
Speaker
And I can see that it's well made, but I just don't care. It's the opposite of this movie. Whereas now I will watch the shit out of some American Marvel. I, you know what? I was the same way with, um, Night of the Living Dead.
00:47:05
Speaker
The first time I saw that, I was not really into it. I was like, I mean, a movie that got me into films where I was like this, like I've always been aware of movies and I liked this movie and that movie, you know, like Ghostbusters, whatever. That was the one where I was like, this is this is this is the thing I'm interested in, like just film as a whole. Right. Weirdly for me, that movie was Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia.
00:47:28
Speaker
Yeah, pretty wild. But like that's, I think that's, but again, and that's going to be different for every person. Like I know for a lot of people, horror resonates with them because it helps them like put their own trauma and perspective or something. Like there are lots of different reasons why people engage with different kinds of cinema and not everything is going to work for every person. So just because you don't like something that other people like or that other people like something that you don't,
00:47:55
Speaker
Doesn't make you right them wrong or vice versa. It just means that not everything is made for every person and You should like, you know, let people enjoy what they enjoy And you and I are gonna disagree like I think I like this film more than you do I'm I'm not it's not a perfect movie by any stretch the imagination like there are things that don't work and I will admit that and there are things that Worked for me before that didn't work quite as well this time but by the same token
00:48:22
Speaker
I still got a lot of nostalgia for this movie. Like I carry this, this franchise as a whole, pretty close to my heart. I, I really like it. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna be pretty positive on this movie. It sounds like you might not be as positive as I am. And that's okay. But like I said, I've got a lot of really good memories of it. So I still have a positive outlook on this movie. I just don't think I have any interest in ever watching it again. Fair.
00:48:49
Speaker
Like because this time things didn't hit the way that I feel like they used to. Right. And like cabin fever, I think I'm just over it. I'm just outgrown it. And that doesn't mean that like, I'm better than this movie. But I'm smarter than this movie, which is, I think, was something I used to like. And my tastes have slightly changed.
00:49:06
Speaker
And that seems to be like the default on Twitter is or any social media platform. Like I didn't like this, therefore I'm better than it and better than you if you liked it. And no, that's not the case at all. Like no one sets out to make a bad movie.
00:49:21
Speaker
You know, so at the end of the day, like there and you here's the thing, you can see the love and the effort that went into this movie. You can tell the cast is having a great time. Like no one went into this going, I'm going to make something that's really overrated. No, they went in thinking.
00:49:37
Speaker
Honestly, I think they went in saying we want to do justice to the memory of Douglas Adams and to this story that he spent most of his life crafting and creating. And that's admirable, I think. Like that's, I think, really, really phenomenal. And I want I want I want to live in that world. I want more of that. Like I love that. That is the I wish more movies were made with that. And I think
00:50:06
Speaker
You know, you may disagree. You may not like Hamakov because he's not in any of the previous iterations. I love him because John Malkovich is really fucking good in this movie. Like I think John Malkovich is having a fucking blast. Like the the whole achoo bless you joke. Is a perfect joke. I don't care who you are. That joke is fucking perfect. It's it's a Mel Brooks joke.
00:50:32
Speaker
It's what it is. And it is. You see when anyone else that would say that, I would think it was a compliment. You say it and I know it's an insult because you don't like it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's absolutely not an insult. Like Mel Brooks is another one where like I get I get why people like him. But that's never really been my type of humor. Like it's a bummer that they sequelize history of the world. Part one, because that was the only Mel Brooks movie we could have covered on the main feed. And now it's got a sequel. So we kind of can't fucking respect. But also, no, thank you.
00:51:01
Speaker
And that's another example of something that is a lot of people like, but you have decided that's not for you. And that's OK. Yeah. Speaking of Hamakavula, is it just me or did they just take like the first words of Bippity Boppity Boo from Cinderella and make it this guy's? Maybe. Here's the thing. Am I wrong? Am I remembering that song wrong? Because that's what that's one of the nonsense words to the nonsense words they say in that song when she's saying magic words.
00:51:32
Speaker
And I used to have a Disney sing-along tape, even though I've only seen Cinderella a few times. I used to have a sing-along tape that had that song on it. So I've seen that, listened to that particular song many times. I am looking up the lyrics right now. It's Salica do la menthica boo, la bibbidi babidi boo. Every time it doesn't change? No, Salica do la menthica boo, la bibbidi babidi boo.
00:52:01
Speaker
But you can see where, like, it would totally fit in there. Uh-huh. Sala Kedula Ming, Menthika Boolaroo. But the thing above that does the job is bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. I mean, no, I absolutely how you could nonsense songs. And I love that song. Yeah, I can see how you keep the humma kavu. Yeah, I see how you get there. That is that's not what they're doing. But it's it. Yeah. It I mean, and again, it's it's something I kind of love about this. And
00:52:32
Speaker
If there's something that this movie doesn't do is it doesn't capture enough of Douglas Adams's really absurd, off-kilter sense of humor, which comes across in his writing really well, like the ship's hung in the air the way that bricks don't. And somehow you know exactly what that means and what that looks like, but you're not able to get that in a movie the same way that you are
00:52:57
Speaker
in a book unless, except for when Stephen Fry is narrating. And that's why I think those parts sing particularly well for me personally. Well, and they get so close so many times, but I feel like, I think the biggest problem with this movie is that it wasn't willing to go full Adams. Like it had to be accessible as a film.
00:53:22
Speaker
You know what I mean? And I understand that. Mm hmm. Like, I wish it didn't have to be that way, but you have to you have to make a movie. People are going to see like, yes, art is important, but the studio has to make money. The studio is spending money. They have to make money. Right. You can't just put out some like wild ass absurd shit as a mainstream movie and expect audiences to go see it. Right. Like, so it sucks, but I get it. And they get so close so many times that you see that they understand. Yeah.
00:53:51
Speaker
But they can't quite. They can't. The problem with that is that when you ride that line, it's accessible to an audience, but not engaging enough for the mainstream audience. And then it alienates the diehard fans by not going far enough. So you water it down enough to where you can accommodate John Cube dude off the street who's not familiar with it in hopes that they'll come in and watch it, but they don't have a base of knowledge. So they're not going to come see it.
00:54:17
Speaker
And then the diehard fans that are going wanting the full Adam, wanting the full Adams are going to be left kind of cold. And so you have this kind of bizarre watered down middle ground where who is this movie for? And we and that's another thing that we find a lot on this podcast, particularly when dealing with existing IP being adapted to film is in an effort to make the thing accessible to a wider audience, you end up losing the core audience that you were expecting to be able to draw into this thing.
00:54:47
Speaker
Absolutely. I agree. Did the. Did this movie do well? I'm not I'm not trying to rush things, but no, it didn't because I saw it at the theater and then I was excited when it came out. I wasn't really paying attention. Right. I didn't know like I'm really interested in this section of the pod because I don't know how much money it made. I don't know like how far they got into.
00:55:14
Speaker
trying to make a sequel for it. Right. So so this movie opens April 29th, 2005, and it it opens to 21 million. It's number one at the box office. It's opening week. So not bad in terms of numbers. Big drop. However, it only grosses 51 million total. So huge drop, not a multiplier. That's the budget.
00:55:40
Speaker
right they broke even basically right taking out marketing that doesn't count mark exactly and then you get another 51.7 international so you're looking at about just over 100 million worldwide which is not not the kind of showing you want for something that's meant to kick off a franchise uh critical reception seemed to be kind of lukewarm
00:56:03
Speaker
We'll get to that here in a second. It opens at number one in its opening weekend. Second place, a movie I'm pretty sure I saw in theaters also, maybe like the week after when we were like in that kind of limbo state, The Interpreter, Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman in a UN thriller. I saw that one in theaters and I could not tell you a damn thing about it. Nicole Kidman, love her.
00:56:30
Speaker
I just can't do Sean Penn, man. I'm kind of I'm kind of there with you now. He's I will I will say he is a great actor. Sure. There's something about him that just rubs me the wrong way. Same. I know what I feel the same way about Meryl Streep.
00:56:47
Speaker
And like the only thing that I like him in, well, I don't even like him in it. It's just, he's not, he's not in it enough for me to be offended by his presence. Right. Is the game, which is amazing. BT does. The game is so good. Michael Douglas in the game. Was that Ridley Scott does that one? No, it's no adventure, man. No adventure. Yeah. We get them mixed up a lot. I don't know why. I mean, sure. Very dark.
00:57:11
Speaker
muted colors. Right. Ridley's just been at it for like 20 years more than. Yeah. Yeah. And they both they both directed installments in the Alien franchise. So. But then in third place, starring the the star of last week's movie, Torque, Triple X State of the Union, starring Ice Cube opening in number third to twelve point seven million in its opening weekend.
00:57:37
Speaker
I like all three of them, Triple X movies like they're not good, but it's just really fun. I haven't seen. I haven't seen one of them. It's just loud and ridiculous. And but it's like kind of clever, like the set pieces are fun and clever. It's like extreme sports. James Bond is the is the hook on that one, right? Yeah. I don't know if that's for me, but one. The first one was with Vin Diesel and then Vin Diesel come back just like Fast and Furious. And one of the till the franchise gained some momentum. Right.
00:58:06
Speaker
And then the third one is many years later is a legacy equal Vin Diesel because because Vin Diesel and Ice Cube ice cubes only in about half of it, but he's way more than like a cameo. Oh, good for him. Yeah, it's it's I like those movies. Like, like I said, they're not good, but they're so much fun. Fair enough. So in fourth place, you've got a future episode of this podcast, the Amityville Horror remake.
00:58:33
Speaker
which in its third weekend has grossed $54.8 million. In fifth place, another future episode of this podcast, Sahara, starring Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn, based on a Clive Cussler novel series.
00:58:50
Speaker
I remember seeing the poster to that and being like, I can't stare at just like sand and beige clothes for an hour and a half. So that's not for me. I saw that movie with an ex-girlfriend of mine and her parents had one of her parents were very conservative and they had one of those things on the on the TV that like blocked out any suggested dialogue or like profanity or like suggestive scenes. And so like random exists. It does watch it. Don't watch it.
00:59:20
Speaker
Exactly. So randomly in the middle of the movie, it would like cut to like like like a field of tulips or something in the middle of the movie or like a puppy. And I'm just like, wait, what is this? And she's like, this is just like because she was not as conservative as her parents. But like it was just kind of the one like if we if we watch a movie with her parents, we have to endure this. So we did my. Yeah, it was my father. Exactly. So the first time we end up when we cover this movie on the podcast, that'll be the first time I end up actually watching that movie.
00:59:50
Speaker
I look forward to hearing that story again when we do cover it. We you guarantee it. Also rounding out the top 10 in number six, you've got a lot like love in seventh place fever pitch, a.k.a. We're going to try to let Jimmy Fallon be a movie star for some reason in eighth place. Kung Fu Hustle in ninth place robots. And in 10 guess who the weird Ashton Kutcher Bernie Mac remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Discussion on Guess Who Film
01:00:21
Speaker
where it's the the race reverse. Guess who's coming to dinner? Wasn't there a recent reimagining of that where like the race roles are swapped? That's that. That's guess who? No, Mac is the dad and Ashton Kutcher is the son. I feel like there's an even more recent retread of the same thing. Let's find out guessing maybe last five years.
01:00:49
Speaker
Um, let me see under, I'm looking at the movie variant versions. Um, no, that's not remake. Um, may have been a different timeline. Maybe 2005 film. Guess who? Um, there's a British radio play titled the summer of 67. I don't know. That's it. And almost, uh, it was at the tip of my brain there for a second.
01:01:18
Speaker
And it says a 2011 episode of the American sitcom Last Man Standing features an episode with a similar theme, although the couple is lesbian instead of mixed race. Crap, I just I just had it. Well, if you remember, you'll have to let us know.
01:01:37
Speaker
Yeah, continue. I'm sorry. But yeah, so the Tomatometer score on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 60%. The critics consensus a frantic and occasionally funny adaptation of Douglas Adams's novel. However, it may have those unfamiliar with the source material scratching their heads.
01:01:54
Speaker
which consistent with what our synopsis was. The meta score is 63 based on generally favorable reviews from 37 critics. And the letterbox score is a three point three Tucker out of five stars. How are you rating 2005's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
Rating Hitchhiker's Guide and Closing Remarks
01:02:18
Speaker
Past Tukey gives it a three and a half. Modern Tukey gives it a two.
01:02:26
Speaker
Okay, so two stars for you. I'm, I'm giving it a three. Like I, I liked it. Like I am not like as strong on it as I once was, but no, I think it's a fun movie and I, I do quite enjoy it and I will.
01:02:43
Speaker
continue to engage with it. So it's a lot of fun and there are moments of it that I still really love. I love that the old Marvin from the BBC miniseries is in the queue on the Vogue sphere. I love that the character design of the Vogons is such that
01:02:59
Speaker
Like they've been smacked in the face their entire life from having original thoughts. So not only do they no longer have original thoughts, but they all have like their noses are all pushed up and their lips are all kind of like up. And if you look at one of the main voice actors for the Vogans, like he just looks like a human version.
01:03:15
Speaker
Richard Griffiths. Yeah. And Ian McGee's both honestly kind of look very much like that. I'm sure they they had to have like based it on them a little bit a little bit because like their vocal performance kind of lends itself to a certain image in your mind of what that person looks like. And it looks just like.
01:03:30
Speaker
And both Ian McNeese and Richard Griffiths are large men, large British men, kind of elderly, like they're great. Richard Griffiths, you might know better as Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter films is probably how most people know him. I
01:03:48
Speaker
I don't. I know him from a ton of other stuff, but most people would know him from that. Ian McNeese, I know from the Sci-Fi Dune miniseries is where I first encountered Ian McNeese, but he was in the old HBO show, Rome, as the town crier. He's been in a ton of shit as well. Every time he shows up, I thought he was a much bigger deal as an actor than he is.
01:04:12
Speaker
But I'm I think he's he played Churchill on Doctor Who or something like he's he's done all sorts of shit. But yeah, he's he's a prolific British character. Both of them are prolific British character actors and they look great. And I know I feel like I know Ian McNeese from something you. I'm sure you do.
01:04:31
Speaker
Like a lot of stuff that I saw once. Mm hmm. And then never went. Oh, he was the DJ in Steve Miner's Day of the Dead remake. 2008's Day of the Dead remake by Steve Miner. Oh, God, that tells me everything I need to know about it is awful. Sounds like I love it.
01:04:51
Speaker
That sounds right. You you also. Day of the Dead is also your favorite film in that franchise, correct? The original is why, which is why you would think I would hate it because it is such a smack in the face to that movie. It's so awful. And it just goes against the spirit of the thing. And it's like, what were you thinking, Steve Miner, who it's the opposite of this movie, where they take a source material and then burn it, burn it down and piss on the ashes. Mm hmm.
01:05:19
Speaker
yeah big bummer but still it's just so bad it's so bad and it's such a product of its time like direct to video movies of that time it's got that they use the same kind of when you see it you'll understand and Steven you will see it
01:05:35
Speaker
When you see it, you understand it's the same kind of like the lenses that were popular back then, like the kind of editing and the handheld shaky, like the really sharp handheld camera movements. Oh, it sucks. It sucks so bad. Yeah, I hate it already. Oh, yeah, but I also hate it, but I kind of also love it because it has a charm to it.
01:05:59
Speaker
because it's so shitty, but it's so earnest, like it's trying. It's trying really hard to do something. It's just that something it's trying to do is shitty and everybody's really bad at it. Fair. Which is the best kind of bad movie makes, I feel like. Fair enough. All right. Well, that is our episode on 2005's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We end it by talking about a remake of a zombie movie. Hell yeah.
01:06:26
Speaker
I can't believe that's the same guy. That's nuts. I never made that connection connection. I always wondered what I knew him from. Yeah, Ian McNeese is one of every time I see him in something, I get really excited. And then he's like barely in it. And I realized then I remember, oh, yeah, he's only a big deal to me because I'm a huge fucking nerd. Well, then you might like Day of the Dead, Steven, because he's a main character. Oh.
01:06:48
Speaker
No, you still don't like you. Probably not. I mean, I promise you will hate it. He's Baron Harkonnen in the in the sci fi dune remake, and he's kind of the best part of it, honestly. Like, I think he's really great in that movie. But yeah, so that is our episode on 2005's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
01:07:11
Speaker
Look, you can find us all over the place. We've got a Patreon, disenfranchpod, patreon.com slash disenfranchpod, where we release now, I think we're going to try to make it a weekly episode at the $5 level called What Are We Watching, where we talk about what we're watching. And the one dropping this Sunday is going to be almost an hour long, because that's how long Tucker and I decided to talk about what we'd watch the previous weeks, two weeks. Sometimes.
01:07:36
Speaker
Sometimes they're short. Sometimes they're long. It just depends. Just depends on what all we've watched. And we had like two weeks of stuff because we didn't record one last week. So it's true. We had a lot to go through. You are in a ruch.
01:07:48
Speaker
But so, yeah, it's an hour long. Despite the fact there's two of us, like if Brett had been here, it probably would have been a full 90. Oh, yeah, because then I would have went through my list of video games I played. Right. But which I, you know, you can do that with him next week and I'll I'll go get a beer, pet my dog, which was the list. No, I got a lot to say about Hitman and you watch that movie. So you need to be there. No, fine. Damn it. Plus, they're really funny stories because I suck at that game.
01:08:15
Speaker
Yeah, well, I heard one of them already because you texted it to the group chat and that was really fucking funny. The whole point of that game is to like you. You do. Nobody gets it on the first try. Right. You do it over and over. You find like you hear conversations that lead to this. Like it's crazy. How amazing that it's like a living, breathing world, that game. But you have to play it a few times to kind of figure out what your plan is going to be to get this done.
01:08:42
Speaker
Save it for the paywall, man. Save it for the paywall. I can get there, but it takes me a long time and just a lot of me just, like, farting around, like, not knowing what the hell I'm doing. I wish I had a Twitch channel still because it would be prime material. It really would. Just start it back up, man. Start it back up. I'm sure there are listeners who would love to follow you on Twitch.
01:09:06
Speaker
I don't I barely have time for this podcast, even I don't think I could. I don't think I could handle the twitch to share. But yeah, follow us over there on Patreon, three and five dollar level. There's always new content coming out back there. Patreon dot com slash disenfranch pod. We would love your support. All that money goes right back into the podcast and we don't spend money on ourselves. Honestly, it all goes into this podcast. So.
01:09:30
Speaker
Uh, your support means we get to keep doing this. So thank you so much. Um, you can also shoot us an email to some French pot at gmail.com. Let us know if there's anything that you want to see us cover on the main feed or just share with us your thoughts. Do we completely get it wrong about the Garth Jennings hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy?
01:09:46
Speaker
Do you have thoughts about a movie we should cover in the future? Let us know. Disenfrancepod at gmail.com. You can find us on social media. That is Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd, Facebook, and YouTube at Disenfrancepod. We are on all of those social media platforms. I am your host, Steven Foxworthy. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd, at Chewy Walrus. Tucker, where can we find you on the socials?
01:10:14
Speaker
Well, to make a small addition to what you said, if you are looking for us on YouTube, obviously you can just search disenfranchised podcast. But if you just have to type in the URL, it is at disenfranch pod.
01:10:30
Speaker
Please include the sign in the URL, which is weird for a YouTube URL. But that's just that's what they assigned us, man. That's the best I could do. But you can find me also on YouTube at YouTube dot com slash ice nine oh nine. That's I see in I and eat.
01:10:47
Speaker
the number zero and the number nine. I'm also on Instagram, which based on what I heard right before we started recording, this is down at the moment. Hopefully it's not still down when we released this episode because.
01:11:02
Speaker
that would be a long time for Instagram to be down. But once it's not down anymore, holler, boy, at the the tux mugs, man, it's like underscore mugs underscore mugs. It's, you know, my coffee mugs and pint glasses.
01:11:18
Speaker
and other such drinking implements that I use in my daily life. Shot glasses, maybe at some point. Also, once we get enough followers, we're going to have some guest mugs. And if you're feeling frisky, you can send us yours and we will totally put them up there at some.
01:11:38
Speaker
Absolutely. And Brett's not here, but you can find him on Instagram and letterboxed at sus underscore warlock. And while you're on the internet, please swing over to Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts and drop us a nice five star rating and review. It's going to go a long way to helping other people find us and love us as much as you do. And so that.
01:11:59
Speaker
is all she wrote for our episode on 2005's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I am once again your host of the disenfranchised podcast, Stephen Foxworthy, for my co-host Tucker and the regrettably absent Brett Wright. Until next time, sub-long, and thanks for all the fish.