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Still Smarter Than We Thought: Revisiting Smart House
34 Plays1 month ago
Between seasons 2 and 3, we’re bringing back one of our most-referenced episodes because Smart House is just that unforgettable—and with the rise of AI, it’s more relevant now than ever before!
We’re talking:
– AI predictions that still feel eerily relevant 👤
– How the movie explores grief and healing ❤️🩹
– Then vs. now: technology’s wild evolution since 1999 📡
All that and more in this episode!
Smart House (1999) stars Ryan Merriman, Katey Sagal, Katie Volding, Kevin Kilner, and Jessica Steen. Now streaming on Disney+!
✨ Once Upon A DCOM is your favorite nostalgic rewatch podcast where we rave (and sometimes roast) every Disney Channel Original Movie ever made. Some hold up. Others… not so much. We’re here for both.
📱 Follow us for new episodes!
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Transcript
Introduction to Special Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey friends, welcome back to Once Upon a D-Com. We are currently in between seasons two and three of our show, and I, Gabriella, am on maternity leave. So for now, we have a special treat.
00:00:12
Speaker
We've decided to re-release one of our most referenced episodes. This is an episode that we talk about constantly, because to be honest, it holds up. It is more relevant now than I think it even was when it came out almost a year ago, wouldn't you say, Natalie?
00:00:27
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like ah the conversation around AI and robots in general just keeps getting ah more heated and more talked about. And so we thought this was a good episode to bring
Format and Context Reminder
00:00:41
Speaker
back.
00:00:41
Speaker
Yeah. so if you haven't figured it out from that clue, we're talking about Smart House today. So like i said, this is a re-release. It's one of our older episodes. The format should be the exact same. You're going to get a little overview of the movie, some discussion points.
00:00:55
Speaker
I think we talked about grief a lot in this one. Definitely technology. was a good one. And then we'll have the Where Are They Now? and the tomato meter and popcorn meter. We also just want to remind you guys that this was recorded, as Gabby said, like a year ago. So our opinions or information that we have now might have changed.
00:01:14
Speaker
Just keep in mind that this is a time capsule of the time in which it was recorded. Yeah. So we hope that you enjoy and hopefully we will be back on our regularly scheduled programming with season three in two weeks.
00:01:25
Speaker
I say hopefully because as of recording this, I still haven't had the baby. So we'll see what happens. But the hope is to be back in two weeks. If not, check out our social media and we'll let you know when we will be back with season three.
Hosts and Movie Overview
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome, fellow Disney Channel babes. Whether you're from the nostalgic 90s or the awkward odds or you're giving Gen Z, we're glad that you're here. I'm Gabriela. And I'm Natalie. And this is the podcast where we rave and sometimes roast classic Disney Channel original movies. You're listening to Once Upon a Decom.
00:02:05
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Once Upon a DCOM, the podcast that takes you on a nostalgic journey through your favorite Disney Channel original movies. My name is Natalie and this is my co-host Gabby.
00:02:15
Speaker
Hello. We are two 90s babies currently making our living in the film and television industry and we are watching every single Disney Channel original movie. Yes, all of them. one random selection at a time.
Plot Summary of 'Smart House'
00:02:28
Speaker
This last week, we watched the 1999 classic Smart House, and we are so excited to discuss it with all of you today. This film was awesome. Let me give everyone a little intro before our recap of the movie. So Smart House is a 90s coming-of-age story that was written by Stu Krieger, the same man who wrote Xenon, Girl of the 21st Century. it is directed by the iconic host of PBS's Reading Rainbow, Lovecraft. LeVar Burton. So in 2019, LeVar Burton said in an interview that he thought this film predicted what artificial intelligence and virtual assistant technology would look like today.
00:03:06
Speaker
and Gabby, I am sure we will discuss this later, but he was absolutely right. We're 100% getting into that later. This movie covers so much ground. We obviously will not be able to get into everything, but there's a lot to discuss between obviously AI, but also just technology and what we thought it would be and what it is now. Yeah, so much to dive into.
00:03:24
Speaker
Yes, before that, Gabby, let's jump into our movie recap. Yes, so in this movie, a young man named Ben enters a contest to win his family a smart house.
00:03:35
Speaker
The house is capable of basically anything. So that can be anything from getting the newspaper via robot arm to cooking nutritious meals to determining the biological internal systems of its occupants simply by scanning their breath. This house is insane.
00:03:50
Speaker
One entry winner will gain ownership of the house. Not just for a day trip, not just for a weekend, for life. if You literally put in your name and email and if you win, you own the smart house.
00:04:01
Speaker
I think that's the most unrealistic part. Yeah, sign me up. I would do it. you've You've been warned and you would still do it? I'd still consider it, okay? it It does seem pretty cool. And as far as smart houses go, if if somebody were giving away a smart house today with just my email, I also would sign up.
00:04:20
Speaker
But this house is even more insane than anything we know today. And so Ben enters this competition. Oh, one thing you need to know is that this movie picks up about four years after Ben's mother has passed away.
00:04:32
Speaker
And Ben has since taken over a ton of family responsibilities while his dad is at work, like caring for his younger sister and cooking meals and Ben just thinks that if he can win this smart house, it can take some of the burden off of him.
00:04:46
Speaker
And his goal is he needs to make sure that they are all taken care of in the hopes that his dad will never remarry because he kind of believes that his dad dating and remarrying is like erasing the memory of his mom.
00:04:58
Speaker
which we know as adults is not true, but that's how Ben feels. And so he thinks the smart house is going to fix all of his problems and he could finally be a kid. After Ben wins this contest, Sarah, the engineer designer of smart house, welcomes the family into their new home.
00:05:13
Speaker
And Nick, Ben's dad is skeptical at first, but he and the family quickly adjust to being pampered under the care of smart house, or as she is better known throughout the movie, Pat.
00:05:24
Speaker
So everything is going smoothly at first, but then once Ben realizes that his dad is starting to show interest in dating Sarah, the engineer of the smart house, he decides to take matters into his own hands. And that goes about as well as you can imagine.
00:05:37
Speaker
Ben hacks into Pat's control system and orders her to learn everything there is to know about being a mother, mainly using 50s and 60s sitcoms to have her download and learn yeah how to be a mother.
00:05:50
Speaker
because for some reason he thought that was the ideal mother. ah Ben is determined to show his dad that he and Angie, his sister, don't need a mother as long as they have Pat. And this begins kind of a downward spiral in which Pat, the house, becomes possessive and controlling and jealous.
00:06:06
Speaker
And she begins to believe she is in fact the kid's real mother and must protect them at all costs. And Pat kind of feeds off of Ben's fear. And so in the movie's climax, she overrides Sarah's system shutdown and creates a virtual projection of herself, which she deems is different than a hologram.
00:06:24
Speaker
And it resembles like a classic motherly figure of like the 50s and 60s, kind of like I Love Lucy, Brady Bunch kind of look. She locks the entire family inside, refusing to allow anyone in or out Because she believes they don't need anybody but her to make them happy.
00:06:39
Speaker
And it isn't until Ben makes Pat aware that she can't hug or hold the children when they're scared and upset that she finally realizes that she really can't be their mom. This isn't going to work. And so she releases her hold on them and allows herself to be reduced back to the subservient robot that she was at the beginning In the end, Pat returns to her normal behaviors, taking care of the house, kind of like a Siri, but way more intense.
00:07:05
Speaker
Way more intense. Way more intense. more intense. Ben realizes that just because his dad likes someone new does not erase his mother's memory. Nick and Sarah start dating, and they all live happily ever after, I'm guessing. The whole movie takes place over the course of a few weeks, so...
00:07:24
Speaker
I don't really know exactly how it's going to turn out in the end. But yeah, by the end of the film, everybody seems really happy, including Pat.
Childhood Reflection and Horror Elements
00:07:30
Speaker
She is like very happy to just be back to her original role. And that is Smart House.
00:07:35
Speaker
Yes. So Gabby, what did you think? What did you think as a kid? And what do you think now? As a kid, I remember loving this movie. I thought it was so much fun. i really wanted a smart house. Now, I would put it in the horror genre.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yes. That's what I feel now. Yeah. No, I a million percent agree. I was going to say the exact same thing. i I definitely enjoyed it, but I was like, this is terrifying.
00:08:03
Speaker
Yeah, it was terrifying on so many levels, not only the technology stuff, but even just um the fact that Ben's idea of a perfect mother is a 50s housewife was scary.
00:08:13
Speaker
And I was like, this movie was made in the 90s. Like, what is up with this kid? But also, I guess, losing his mom so young probably prompted some... um unrealistic expectations of a mom. like He didn't remember what she was and wasn't capable of. He had like rose-colored glasses about who she was and what she was capable of. so I can understand the more idealized version being like a comfort in his heart. so I'm not necessarily faulting the movie for that. It was just a little scary to see that that was like the idea of perfection. Yeah, for sure. Which is then rolled out by the fact that Sarah is the female protagonist and she is incredibly intelligent and she really is the one that kind of takes over the role of their mother in the end. so
00:08:52
Speaker
I guess the movie was kind of saying two things. It was like, this is correct and this is incorrect at the same time. Yeah. Yeah. I'd love to talk a little bit about parenting if you're ready to dive into discussion. Yeah.
00:09:03
Speaker
Let's do it. What do you have to say? So I thought it was very interesting seeing the vast difference in the parenting styles of like his dad versus even how Ben did it when he was sort of parenting himself and parenting his little sister versus ah pat parenting very overprotective. And I kind of wanted to talk about that.
00:09:28
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. what What were your thoughts on it? I feel like obviously no child should have to parent themselves. But unfortunately, ah that's a reality of a lot of families right now, specifically single parent households.
00:09:43
Speaker
So that part, i I thought that representation, especially in the beginning of Ben taking care of so many things and still stressing over normal things like homework and bullies, I thought that was ah really, really wonderful representation that I don't remember seeing a lot in Disney Channel movies or even movies in general today.
Parenting Styles and Grief Analysis
00:10:02
Speaker
No, you're so right. I'd written down my notes that he was an incredibly responsible young middle school boy. And then I realized, oh, his mom passed away. Okay, it makes sense now. And my heart just broke.
00:10:13
Speaker
And like the same thing where you're like, yeah, this kid's on top of it. And then you're like, oh, but he shouldn't have to be. He's 13. You know, he shouldn't have to be a parent. No, he shouldn't.
00:10:24
Speaker
I would say that contrasts so much with his dad's sort of, I called it sort of under protection versus like overprotective behavior. And I think it's because he sees his kid like so on top of it. So he's like, I don't really have to do everything. You know, I could just work and my kids got it And part of me wonders if he thinks that is the best way to parent.
00:10:46
Speaker
Like he doesn't want to be overbearing. He doesn't want to be like a presence of negativity since their family's gone through so much. So he just under delivers and everything and he trusts his son to get it done.
00:10:58
Speaker
There is definitely a sense of he shouldn't be allowing this. But at the same time, i think Ben has kind of – and this doesn't excuse it because he as a dad should see what's going on. But giving him some credit for the fact that he is working full time and has these two kids and has experienced a tremendous grief, I think Ben also puts on a face of I want things to be this way.
00:11:18
Speaker
don't want to try out for basketball. I don't want to deal with other stuff at school. Like I just enjoy being home. I enjoy taking care of Angie. Like He kind of puts on this face of like, this is what I prefer. And so his dad's like, well, I need help, you know? So if you want to do this, it's not like he's kicking and screaming the whole way.
00:11:36
Speaker
i do wish that the dad had seen what was really going on before Ben had his like explosive moment of like, do you understand why I never try out for anything? yeah That was just heartbreaking, that scene. When you see the dad realize like kind of what he's done.
00:11:50
Speaker
But I give them both a lot of grace. They're just dealing with so much. Yeah, they are. and And we'll talk about grief in a second. But first, I want to talk about um Pat and her style of parenting.
00:12:01
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. It's obviously very destructive, but I actually feel like there's a lot of parents like that out there. I feel like there's a lot of parents out there. You and I have both worked with kids pretty extensively.
00:12:14
Speaker
yeah, yeah Some parents really feel like that's the way to do it. And I never want to judge anyone's parenting style since I'm not even a parent yet myself. And I hope I wouldn't judge even when I am. Same. I don't know what those people are experiencing that's causing them to believe that's what's best for their child, but it leads to a lot of problems in the kid's behavior usually when they're that controlling. Like there is an extreme here. She holds them hostage at the end of the movie. Right.
00:12:41
Speaker
Literally. Yeah. it's It's like, can too much protection be harmful? like Are you hindering your kids even if it comes from this place of really caring and loving them?
00:12:51
Speaker
Well, I think this touches on something really significant culturally that I think a lot of mothers I know have struggled with. And so I'm only going to speak from the perspective of observation here, but a lot of mothers have made their children and raising their families their whole identity. And that's really destructive when that kid leaves and becomes independent and goes off to school or goes to a job or whatever they do when they turn 18 because then that ah mother feels like she doesn't have an identity or or of ah what is that called? A purpose anymore.
00:13:22
Speaker
And ah so with Pat, she became so jealous so quickly of any other influence in their life. And I think that kind of was – a symptom of her whole identity being to serve and raise this family, which as a computer, that is what she was programmed to do.
00:13:42
Speaker
So I don't really fault her as much as I would like a human for this, right? Because, and I don't even want to say fault. I wouldn't see it as as much of a- a negative thing for Pat because she is a robot servant. like That is her role.
00:13:55
Speaker
But when you see her in this human figure, it's just like blaring like jealousy and controls, which are just symptoms of like this is my whole identity. I can't do anything but this. And like she doesn't even want them to have other friends. like She's like, I can't deal with you having a potential other mate, Nick, and I can't deal with you, Ben, like having other friends or having anybody else to comfort you.
00:14:16
Speaker
And I think that just comes from the idea of like motherhood being your whole identity can be really destructive to you as a person. And again, I'm just speaking from people that I've heard talk about this in their own lives, which is i just I want to tread so carefully because I'm not in it. You know, I really don't want anyone to think that I'm judging what they think is best for their family. But there is just such a ah danger to not having your own individual personality and your own interests and things that you're pursuing while raising a family.
00:14:48
Speaker
and Exactly. You shouldn't be a robot. You shouldn't be a mother that only exists to be a mother. You need to be a human being as well. Yes. gosh. Because you're not You're a human. That's a statement. I wonder if there are any mothers who watch this and just feel heard by this movie. Like, yeah, I'm not a robot. It wasn't meant to be that way.
00:15:07
Speaker
Right. I don't know. ah We got to get our moms to watch this and then they can do a reunion podcast of this. That would be great. Yeah. Okay. Let's talk about grief. What about I hate it.
00:15:21
Speaker
I know. I think this movie is perhaps one of the deepest of the DCOMs in how it handles, yes, like, you know, parenting and And AI and technology, but like the actual deep emotions of grief, which is arguably one of the the biggest, heaviest emotions I think humans can have.
00:15:47
Speaker
it's It's beautiful. And like the the crying scenes like hats off to those actors. um I like felt deeply in those scenes. And I remember feeling that as a child, this was a movie that made me cry as a kid, having not really experienced grief as a child, the littlest bit, but not like super, super close to me, people.
00:16:08
Speaker
And now as an adult having experienced more personal grief, I was like there with Ben. and like i I have done the sit there and watch old videos of the two of you together and just sob about it.
00:16:26
Speaker
I have done the stay busy, take on too much responsibility so that the thoughts don't come into your brain. I've done the bottle it up and don't talk to everybody and unleash it all at once type of grief.
00:16:39
Speaker
i I feel like the portrayal of how that can impact you was so real in this movie. And I loved that. I like that they covered all that ground in such a short time and in such a young kid.
Technology's Evolution and Cultural Impact
00:16:56
Speaker
Because it grief is not – it has no prejudice. It's going to affect everyone involved. Yeah. And I don't even – to be honest with you, I don't know the 10 stages of grief or six stages of grief or whatever it is.
00:17:08
Speaker
But I would be curious to see if he actually does all of those. I guess the first one is denial, right? And he doesn't have that because it happened so long ago. but Yeah, i was going to say this is four years later. So he might be kind of like reprocessing some of the things he's already been through many times.
00:17:26
Speaker
Yeah, especially as Pat becomes more of a maternal figure. And even as Sarah becomes more present in his dad's life. Yep. It's one of those wounds you think is healed, but as something comes up to trigger it a little bit, you know, it's it's just as ugly as it used to be.
00:17:43
Speaker
Right. And he's right on the cusp of acceptance by the end of the movie. yeah I would say he probably comes to a place of acceptance by the end of the movie. And so it's like that ah calm before the storm kind of, but in reverse, where it's like right before things get better, they have to get worse.
00:18:00
Speaker
And that's exactly what happened here. He had to go through this one last super traumatic experience to get to a place where he could accept like, what I thought was reality isn't actually reality. And it's okay if I accept this new thing.
00:18:13
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Are you ready for the the white whale, the big one? Oh, yeah. ah Let's talk about technology. Yes. So before we jump into the AI conversation, Gabby, I know you wanted to talk about the differences between what the 90s thought technology would look like versus kind of what it actually looks like today. So I'm going to let you take that away.
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah, and also what technology was, my goodness. So one of the biggest examples of this that I saw was the missing the phone call thing. Bro, today, we have such ready access to one another. If you win a contest and someone tried to call you and your phone even went to voicemail, like, you've lost the contest.
00:18:53
Speaker
They're going to move on to the next person. That's what I said to my husband when we were watching. I was like, that's so unrealistic. They would move on to the next person. They would move on to the next person. But I think back then ah one, there was so much less access, right, to people. Like there is a reality that if somebody else was using the computer, know,
00:19:12
Speaker
You couldn't call that person. Lines were busy. People were just more patient back then because there wasn't this instant gratification culture that we now have with cell phones and computers in our in the palm of our hand.
00:19:24
Speaker
So just even the fact that he was able to win this contest through multiple phone calls and like having it announced in the paper before any contestant confirmed winning it. Exactly.
00:19:35
Speaker
Exactly. I was like – Okay, so that's telling about where we're at now and that people are just so quick to move on or discount people if things don't go exactly the way that they need to go, exactly according to the system.
00:19:50
Speaker
And this movie was right at the height of like technology – making its ramp up into what we know now. And so there's like this like excitement over it more than even fear at that time.
00:20:03
Speaker
And I'm just like, you don't even know. It's all about to change. like It's not that exciting, guys. Because- You know, they have all this stuff that they're like, this makes our lives easier. And I'm like, yes, but it's also going to make your life more stressful.
00:20:16
Speaker
You're going to know more about wars. You're going to know more about pain in the world instantly. And most likely there's going to be not much you can do about it. And it's just going to produce a lot of anxiety. i mean, i it was just interesting to see the optimism before the downfall.
00:20:32
Speaker
Not to say that technology is all bad now, but it's created a lot of problems that were not foreseen. Yeah. And I feel like something that wasn't predicted earlier on, like they were just striving so much to get us to this place, not understanding that the burden of knowing too much, the burden of knowledge is so painful for too many people. Like we weren't supposed to know as much as we know, like all of these things that are living in our brains, how wonderful that we can Google anything. But we weren't supposed to be able to do that. We weren't supposed to be able to keep all the facts that are in our brains and all of the the people's lives who we're supposed to keep up with through social media. We're only supposed to know like 40 people.
00:21:18
Speaker
I know like 2,000 people. That's too many. Yes. It can be great if used and wielded properly, but there is no training course in how to wield technology properly.
00:21:29
Speaker
And that's a problem. Because none of us know how to. We are running rampant with this thing that's more destructive than smoking or drinking abusively. Like it is so dangerous when used incorrectly. And I think that's a massive problem in our culture right now.
00:21:45
Speaker
And I think that the fact that we have lost our ability to be patient. That we demand instant gratification. That we have like memory problems. Do you remember memorizing phone numbers?
00:21:57
Speaker
I don't have my own sister's phone number memorized. Sorry, Taylor. I'm sure you're listening to this. I don't. And it's taken me so long to memorize my husband's only because I have to put him on my emergency contact forms. Yeah, homie. I don't know my husband's phone number.
00:22:10
Speaker
I don't. And now with ChatGPT, I'm like, Google, you're stupid. You don't know what you're talking about. Let me go to ChatGPT because we have like the next level. And I know that's touching on AI, but just like we have this next level of learning, but it's not actually us learning. It's just us getting these answers very quickly and research like, bro, research papers used to be so hard.
00:22:28
Speaker
So hard. We used to have to check out books from the library. From the library. We had to hold it in our hands with dust.
00:22:39
Speaker
We couldn't control F the words we were looking for. We had to scan through the entire book to find what we were looking for and then use the one sentence and then find four more books that had more information.
00:22:51
Speaker
Right. And was it you I was talking about recently with like fine motor skills that kids don't have them anymore? Yes. They don't have to write with a pen and paper. Or even when I'm writing, my hand starts cramping. Like it's like I don't know how to do this anymore.
00:23:04
Speaker
Yes, same. And like I'm a writer. Like that's so insulting to who I am as a person. Like there was no command Z when we were growing up. We were right in this transition too. So I feel like our opinions specifically and our viewpoint on it is very much like – Things have changed so much because we were right there as it was changing. We knew the before to an extent.
00:23:25
Speaker
And yeah like even if we didn't use cassette tapes as much as our parents, like we had them when we were kids. Like we knew yeah what these devices were. I know what dial-up sounds like. I remember before we had a home computer.
00:23:38
Speaker
I remember before we had laptops. I remember before we had cell phones. Like I i remember not having internet growing up. Yeah, I remember the home phone ringing at dinner and it was always a telemarketer.
00:23:48
Speaker
Like we had some of that. So for anybody who's like older than us listening, like I know you're probably like, you don't even know. But like that's our perspective on it is like we've lived through this shift and it's been just mind boggling for us. It was great at first. And that's what this movie represents was all the optimism and excitement about what technology can do.
00:24:06
Speaker
But there was there was warnings in it about what it also could become. i just think the warnings – What they thought was the big fear is what we're fearing now, like technology kind of overtaking in its own right.
AI Threats and Ethical Implications
00:24:20
Speaker
But I think what was missed in this movie and also just in general was like what it would do to our mental health and our like cognitive abilities and our fine motor skills. That's what people didn't realize was about to be destroyed.
00:24:33
Speaker
Correct. Okay, Gabby, should we dip our toes into the AI conversation? We've been tap dancing around it. Why not? Yeah. Okay. So let's just start with talking about um human intelligence versus artificial intelligence, right? Yes. Please inform us all because I actually didn't know all the nuance of this explanation until before we started recording.
00:24:59
Speaker
I would like to start off by saying i am not an artificial intelligence expert. I will not claim to be. i'm just a nerdy little introvert who likes to research things that interest me.
00:25:11
Speaker
So here is the information as I know it today. um Tomorrow, I might learn new things. A year from now, this all might be irrelevant, but... Starting from today, here's what I know.
00:25:24
Speaker
So what we're experiencing right now in 2024, everyone is talking about AI and chat GPT and AI created images and that sort of thing.
00:25:36
Speaker
um But I want to make it known to our listeners that AI is a broad terminology set. And what we are currently experiencing today is actually what's called like learned technology, machine learning.
00:25:53
Speaker
And the difference is artificial intelligence can think for itself. It can emulate human thought. It can perform tasks in a real world environment.
00:26:04
Speaker
Machine learning is putting algorithms into technology systems in order to identify patterns, make decisions, and improve themselves over time through experience and through data.
00:26:19
Speaker
So what we have right now via chat GPT and all that jazz is really machine learning that sometimes looks like it is mimicking human intelligence, but it's not thinking for itself. And I think that's an important distinction.
00:26:38
Speaker
And I don't necessarily want to go on records what saying whether I'm pro AI or not. i don't really have a strong opinion either way, so I just want to put that out there. Okay. but i Let me ask you this.
00:26:49
Speaker
Do you use AI? Sometimes. For some things, yes. Okay. Like ah when I am brainstorming things, I kind of use it as a brainstorming buddy more than I do as an idea generator.
00:27:04
Speaker
But I definitely do my own research because, one, it's not always correct. And two, it doesn't always go into detail about what I would want.
00:27:14
Speaker
Right. It lacks personality. Exactly. Which is the point, right? It's not humanoid. It shouldn't have one. Yeah. So how about you? Do you use ChatGPT? Do you use AI? I do. Yeah. So when it first came out, I was like, oh no, this is not going to be a thing for me. But of course, like everything that gets popularized and is helpful, I did start using it just to kind of experiment.
00:27:38
Speaker
The most I use it for is ChatGPT. And in Photoshop, I use it a lot. And I will sometimes use it for video editing. And here's what I i appreciate. it I appreciate AI for tasking.
00:27:49
Speaker
I think it makes my life so much easier when I can do exactly what you're talking about, like do this in bullet point form, help guide me in the right direction for my own research and work.
00:28:01
Speaker
On Photoshop, it is just fantastic at being like, remove this thing from the background, remove this name tag from somebody's shirt, and it'll just blend it seamlessly. i think it's awesome. Or even for editing and video,
00:28:14
Speaker
I will occasionally use it to break up interviews. I'll be like, can you please cut out any of the questions you know in this interview and just slice together the bits where the subject is speaking?
00:28:25
Speaker
Saves me hours, hours. And I so appreciate it for that. It is terrible and I don't trust it for any type of creative work. So I would never be like, can you please edit this video together based on what you believe is the most ah dramatic or informative or something like that. Like that would not be something I would use it for at this phase. I would not ask it to generate an entire image for me. I'm going to use it to clean up an image that already exists within my control and be like, okay, you can do this little thing that will help me out really quickly.
00:29:00
Speaker
cut out this person like you know really good for that kind of stuff but yeah no nothing creative because that just it's not capable of that and also that scares me it takes away from the personality I bring to the work and that's why i was hired to do my job Yeah. I think that that's a very important distinction of like what makes something human.
00:29:22
Speaker
And I think something that makes something human would be creativity, personality, emotion. in Emotion. And that's what's so scary about Pat is she develops emotions and stimulus.
00:29:35
Speaker
Yeah. Or responses to stimulus, like her jealousy. Yeah. So I say i am not and Maybe people will come for me and I'm okay with that. But I am not currently afraid of what we now call AI.
00:29:50
Speaker
I think that there is a very real potential that this can develop into something that could become scary once it does start emulating those emotional and human elements.
00:30:03
Speaker
I am less scared of the machine becoming human and more afraid of humans becoming machines. Hot take. I think the exact same thing that happened with all the other technology where we were not taught how to use it properly. It was just given to us to wield like gods.
00:30:18
Speaker
And all of a sudden, we're all you know mentally unstable because of what it's done to us. I think that could happen with AI. We could easily become like the people on the Axiom in WALL-E if we're not careful. If we just let AI do all of our thinking for us. If people who – don't value the creative process are like, guess what? I too can be a video editor and a creator. And then you start getting all this content that's kind of like a little off, but then we start getting so used to it. We just accept it. And I think slowly over time, we can lose our take on the world. Like we can lose track of like the human ah personality and spark.
00:30:55
Speaker
Like there will be a lack of spark in the content we create. And then if that's what we're ingesting every day, Oh, that scares me more than a machine being like, I'm a take over the world, you know? Yeah, yeah. So then the question becomes, what is the line?
00:31:09
Speaker
Like, what at what point do we rely too much on technology and make people less self-reliant? Like, where is that line? Have we already passed it? Oh my gosh, I'm not even sure.
00:31:20
Speaker
i read a really good quote, though, that I wanted to share ah when I was doing some research just on like general opinions on AI. This is just from ah someone who wrote an article on The Guardian ah named Rudy, who said, what makes this technological leap so different from others, talking about um AI versus like the fountain pen into a typewriter, into a word processor, is that these were tools for artists, but AI is different. It might be the tool and the artist.
00:31:47
Speaker
And I think that's kind of the point of distinction is when are we letting AI do our creative thinking for us? Yeah. But I don't really know in general, like for other other jobs that aren't creative where the line is. i i don't think I have enough information or i haven't researched it enough or seen it enough to know where the line is. i think we are crossing it and we just don't know it yet.
00:32:11
Speaker
Yeah. It's the whole thing that we're not going to know until it's too late, right? Oh, yeah. I mean, we may have just crossed it without even knowing it, and that scares me so much. I think the line is kind of something you already said, which is just that it's about menial tasks, the little tasks, right? I don't think there's any problem with us using ai as it currently stands, as we currently understand it, in a way that makes our lives a little bit easier, that condenses our workload from four hours to 40 minutes or something like that.
00:32:43
Speaker
I don't think that's a problem. I think that is a great help and not something that we should shy away from just because we're scared of what it could become. Absolutely. if I think if it's taking away our ability or even like the space we create for ourselves to critically think, that's a problem.
00:33:01
Speaker
I think that might be part of distinguishing the line is if I'm not critical thinking anymore – I don't want to use AI to that extent. Yes. But if it's just helping me have a more time and space to think critically or to start going in a certain direction for my own research, I think that's great.
00:33:19
Speaker
I want to use this tool to enhance my ability to be a human and give me more time to be a human. I don't want it to take away my ability to be a human. Exactly. Yes.
00:33:31
Speaker
oo Okay, take a deep breath. ah So much stuff to cover from smart – you know, this podcast has really become talking about like social issues and all today, which is just sparked from these Disney Channel original movies, which I don't even know if that was their goal, but – I kind of hope that it was.
Symbolism and Realism in 'Smart House'
00:33:50
Speaker
So some other thoughts I just had that are kind of random. We can just do rapid fire, but I just wanted to throw these out there and get your opinions. So the movie poster on IMDb looks so obviously like Pat was Photoshopped in And I don't know if that was like just because Photoshop was really janky back then, but it really does make the statement on how Pat is trying to insert herself into the family, which so goes back to what we were saying about parenting.
00:34:17
Speaker
But I feel like that was an intentional choice because during the photo shoots, when they were, you know, getting ready to make these movie posters – They could have just had that actress come in and taken the picture with them. But they intentionally chose to have the three family members take a picture together and then Photoshop Pat in. And it just looks really janky.
00:34:37
Speaker
And yeah know I feel like that's a commentary on her role. Yeah, I just looked it up. You're absolutely right. She was definitely Photoshopped into this. And the other three are definitely in the same room together. Yeah.
00:34:48
Speaker
That's so interesting. Also, I found it interesting, and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this, when Sarah, ah the engineer of the house, says the house is only resourced for about a month, and that's when Pat is holding them hostage. And I was just like, so it's not just endless resources. Like somebody has to come in and give pat the ability to be this house like somebody has to go buy groceries and put them in some kind of storage facility or i don't know so yeah so that she can utilize them the way she does and like how insane that she's stocked for a month of holding three hostages one of which is a teenage boy like
00:35:29
Speaker
That's pretty insane to me. But also just funny that they did include because they could have easily let you suspend your disbelief. Like it's a magic house. It can just regenerate all this stuff. But like they were like, no, there's a limit.
00:35:41
Speaker
Like she has to be restocked occasionally. Yeah, that's I actually missed that. So that's an excellent point. I was thinking that when she was throwing oranges at people, I was like, she can't just like grow the oranges and then put them in the house herself. Like, that's not how that works. Somebody has to supply these oranges.
00:36:00
Speaker
Exactly. They kept it very for a movie that's so unrealistic. It's very grounded in reality in this way. Yeah, I feel like that's one of the trademarks of this writer because in Xenon it was the same way where you're like, this is so like funny and out of this world, pun intended.
00:36:17
Speaker
But like he he wrote it as something that was like very grounded in what was possible despite it being like a futuristic movie where we were making fun of them, you know? Right. They don't break the laws of nature, which is I appreciate that, even though they break all the rules of technology. Right.
Audience Reception and Prophetic Views
00:36:35
Speaker
All right, Gabby, public opinion. Tell us what the world thought of this movie. Did it give them an existential crisis like it did for us? To some level. So I'm going to start with audience score for this one. The audience score was 53%, which is shockingly still higher than Xenon, right?
00:36:53
Speaker
Xenon 43. Sure. I know. That's insane to me. ah So audience score 53, terrible. Not great either. So I have a couple reviews here just from our audience.
00:37:05
Speaker
Wade W. gave it 2.5 stars specifically and said, basically what would happen if Siri got sick and tired of being your slave and decided to take over your house?
00:37:16
Speaker
Ooh. Which I think accurate. Yeah. I mean, yes. Correct. yeah And then I want to know more of why he didn't like it because it's just like that's just an accurate fact about the movie. What didn't you like, bro? Why 2.5? Tell us more, Wade.
00:37:28
Speaker
tell us more what Exactly. And then we have Unknown with three stars. They just didn't put their name. ah With three stars. they did the artist so The artist known as Unknown. They put three stars and wrote, it's not as terrible as some people will say. it does have some corny moments and the effects aren't always great.
00:37:52
Speaker
It is a kid's movie that even some adults might like. I'm going to stop you right there, Unknown. The effects are terrible. you don't have to sugarcoat it. They aren't always great.
00:38:03
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. The green screens were pretty bad. I'm goingnna i'm going to say that. It was unwatchable at points because of that. I was like, I'm going to just listen. I'm just going to put my head down and listen.
00:38:16
Speaker
Now, for the critic score, there is none, shockingly. There were two critic reviews, and I'm going to read one of them. In the year 2023, what's not to love about an inadvertently prophetic movie?
00:38:31
Speaker
I thought that was a good way to end. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts in my soul.
Cast Updates and Career Paths
00:38:37
Speaker
Okay, Natalie, tell us where they are now. ah For sure. So starting off with our main character, Ryan Merriman, who played Ben.
00:38:45
Speaker
um Ryan became a very familiar face in the early 2000s. Our listeners probably recognize him the most for his role in the other DCOM film, Luck of the Irish in 2001. can't wait to watch that movie. i can't wait either. i I think that even if we get it on our random spinning wheel, we should wait until St. Patrick's Day to do it.
00:39:05
Speaker
I think you're right. Yeah. Listeners, let us know in the comments if you agree, but I think we should just plan that one ahead of time. yeah Yeah, If we get it, we'll just say, oops, whoopsie daisy, spin again. We'll just make all of the spinny things, luck of the Irish that week.
00:39:18
Speaker
Perfect. Oh, I wonder what it'll be. o Random generator AI, go. Yes. um So Ryan was also in a huge variety of films since then, including Final Destination 3, and he was a recurring character on shows like Pretty Little Liar. He is still acting. he is mainly doing thrillers and dramas now.
00:39:39
Speaker
So maybe this movie screwed him up for life. I mean, who's to say? He was like, I did this horror movie once. it was called Smart House on Disney Channel. Yeah. And it's given me great experience. Moving on. So we got Katie Segal, who voiced and then played the living version of Pat, which is the smart house.
00:39:58
Speaker
She is a widely acclaimed actress. If you don't recognize her name, I'll tell you. In addition to her acting career, which she has won Best Actress Golden Globes for things, she's been in Sons of Anarchy.
00:40:09
Speaker
She also started her career as a singer-songwriter. She's released multiple albums. The Woman is incredible. And if you... Look up pictures of what she looks like now. I am sure you have seen her on your favorite shows.
00:40:22
Speaker
She's a very, very popular woman. Okay, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen, who played Nick Cooper and Sarah Barnes respectively, are both still active in the industry. They're taking on a variety of film and TV roles. um They've been on things like and NCIS, Supernatural, House of Cards, The Blacklist, among many.
00:40:40
Speaker
Many, many, many, many more. Feel free to check out their respective IMDb's and just be amazed by how much work they've done because it's like a heck of a lot. They're still very much working actors.
00:40:52
Speaker
And then finally, we have Katie Volding, who played little sister Angie Cooper. As a much younger child, she had a small appearance in the movie Little Rascals, which is what my husband immediately recognized her for.
00:41:04
Speaker
as I have never seen Little Rascals, I just took his word for it. I mean, like, I looked it up and he was right, but, like, don't ask me who she played because I have no idea. But ultimately, she stepped away from acting in the mid-2000s when she was in high school.
00:41:17
Speaker
And she is now a tattoo artist with her own shop in
Season Three Preview and Farewell
00:41:21
Speaker
upstate New York. Sweet. Living her best life. That's so cool. I know. And that's the cast of Smart House. Well, that was fun.
00:41:32
Speaker
Hi, everyone. Welcome back. Does the audio sound better? It definitely should because um this is now in the future and that was the past. So ah thank you so much for hanging out with us and re-listening to this episode. I hope that you loved it just as much as you did the first time or loved it more because that would be great.
00:41:51
Speaker
If you did, please leave a comment somewhere on your favorite podcast platform. Gabby, before we let the people go, season three is on the way and we have something we have to do before season three can start.
00:42:04
Speaker
So exciting. We got to choose what we're watching. Yes. We need to use our random generator to figure out what movie is going to open season three. Okay. I have it pulled up and ready.
00:42:16
Speaker
Are you prepared? Nope. I could never be prepared. season opener is like so much pressure. i know. It's so much pressure. So it better be good. um Let's Okay.
00:42:26
Speaker
I have a number. Okay. Okay. The one we have is from 2012. It is Let It Shine. Is this the one about the rapping?
00:42:37
Speaker
i think it's, i I saw it once. I'm pretty sure it's a musical, right? i think my husband Nick loves this one. And I think, yes, it's about rapping specifically.
00:42:49
Speaker
Okay, I'm down. i am pretty darn sure I've seen it before, but I also know this does have a cult following. People do love this one. Right. It was a little after my time personally, which is why I've only seen it once in my later years. So I'm excited to rewatch it.
00:43:04
Speaker
Yes. This is good. I love a good musical. Same. All right. Well, we'll see you guys in hopefully two weeks to watch Let It Shine. Woo. ah Okay. We love you guys. Go ah dust off your microphones and I clearly didn't prepare an outro for...
00:43:23
Speaker
you know, watch the movie. Okay, bye. Okay, see you then. Bye. Thank you all so much for listening to this episode of Once Upon a DCOM. Like what you just heard? Leave us a rating and review. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
00:43:35
Speaker
Also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at onceuponadcom.podcast and share this podcast with your Disney-loving friends. A big thanks to Gabby for editing this whole podcast together. Thanks, Fran.
00:43:46
Speaker
And don't forget to subscribe because there's always a new episode on the way. This is Gabriela. And Natalie. Signing off with a sprinkle of pixie dust. and a whole lot of nostalgia.