‘The Nice Guys’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Rob Mahoney

16:45Chris Ryan:as Shane Black as Shane Black gets, honestly. Like, purely distilled. I think especially it's so cynical. And I think there's this kind of, like, discrepancy in the movie of, like, what's the right move versus what's the smart move? Yes. And they're making the smart move the whole time, which is basically to be as crooked as everyone else and like pull over one on old ladies and beat people up whenever you need. And that like idea that we're all cynical, we're all exploiting people. But then sometimes it's like you get to the bottom of the barrel and it's like, I kind of just want to do the one right thing.

17:11Chris Ryan:Yes. And Shane Black is so good at that.

17:13Bill Simmons:Yeah, I think this movie is like a second or third watch because the plot is so convoluted. Oh, yeah. It's hard to follow the first time you're watching. It's a lot. Like, what's going on? There's a tape and that audio show. It starts out confusing. and we'll get to it probably in their categories, but it's unclear if you're just watching it the first time. You're like, wait, so he's following Amelia, but he's just looking for Amelia because she's germane to another case he's working on. And who's Amelia again? Yeah, exactly. So that's Margaret Qualley. Russell Crowe. A little bit after one of the best actor career ones we had, this 11-year run from 97 to 07.

17:51Bill Simmons:Had a pretty hard career soon. Some of that was self-inflicted. and he's 51 when he does this movie, and it's a hard 51. Like, he's lived some life. He's lived some Australian life. He said it was a character choice. He did say that. To pack on a few for this guy. Yeah, he might have already packed it on. I would say, Rob, this wasn't quite his 22 Steph Warriors title, but a little bit similar vibes of, like, I'm still here. I'm still really good at stuff. Don't count me out yet.

18:20Chris Ryan:I think he's more than still here. Like, this movie doesn't work without his, like, counterweight to everything. We just praised Gosling up and down. I think you need the specificities of Crow's performance. I want to save some more about that for later, but I think he's just phenomenal. Me too.

18:34Bill Simmons:I mean, look, him and Gosling are great together. Obviously, he peaked chemistry-wise the most with Caruso and Proof of Life. Yeah. We don't need to litigate that. No. Stuff of legends. I really like that he was able to find chemistry with another actor, though. After, when you peak like that with Caruso, to know that he could still do it again, I thought was cool. Yeah, so like he just makes some odd choices with what to do with his career that may be a matter of like what's offered to him versus, you know, what he wants to be doing. I mean, it's more likely now that you'll see him in an exorcism movie than you'll see him in a big drama.

19:10Bill Simmons:He's had a big like early 60s renaissance. He's moved into this horror film kind of... But he's in Nuremberg, right? That came out this year, this past year. He's fantastic in this. He's such a great, rough, you know, bully with a heart of gold. And he's the one with principles in this movie, to your point. I'm a big fan of the somebody opens the door and just gets punched right in the face move, I think always works from a comedic standpoint. Yeah, it's... So, starting in 2010, Robin Hood, Next Three Days, Republic of Doyle, Man with the Iron Fist, Les Miserables, Broken City, Man of Steel, Winter's Tale, Noah, Water Diviner, and Fathers and Daughters.

19:53Yeah.

19:53Bill Simmons:That's six years. This was in the running for biggest actor that we had in the early 2000s. It was Simond Denzel, right? Yeah. We talked about this when we did Gangster, but good comeback from him. Also, some really good stuff from the younger actors in this. How do we say? Andre Rice? Is that how you say it? Angori, I think. Angori Rice? Margot Kweli. I like Andre Rice, though. He played for her. Andre Risen is in this. Syracuse in 2009. But Rice has a tremendous little kid performance in this. amazing and if you came out of this movie and you were like which of these two are going to have a bigger career Rice or Qualley I think Rice would have been like a minus 300 favorite she's younger she was in Mayor of Easttown yeah but Qualley it's funny to watch her in this now because she's a major major star sure I'm going to give Rice the Sasha Jenkins a word for the actor you can't believe didn't become a bigger star just from this movie yeah there's still so much time She might be like 19 now.

20:53Bill Simmons:I don't even know. No, she's 25. It still can happen. That's why she can't officially get it. And then our guy Keith David is in this CR. Great to see him. Is it that guy to Craig? I get it. Of course it's Keith David. We're not going to litigate that either.

21:08Chris Ryan:I'm glad he didn't go to Detroit. He came back. He came back for the second turn in this movie. If you go to Michigan, we're cool.

21:14Bill Simmons:The Nice Guys took inspiration from Brett Halliday's novel, Blue Murder, which is a pulp. book you have this one i do not have this one yeah i need to get this for the book collection yeah try to figure it out uh directed and co-written by shane black you mentioned his credentials earlier last boy scout wrote last action arrow wrote long kiss goodnight wrote created the lethal weapon franchise wrote all of them directed kiss kiss bang bang wrote and directed iron man 3 which was the most successful was walk me through iron man 3 what happens uh

21:45Chris Ryan:the first two thirds are actually really good yeah the last third is like a bunch of action figures mashing against each other. And the kid who finds Misty Mountains in this movie, the kid who discovers her in the beginning, is the star of Iron Man 3.

21:56Bill Simmons:Really? Yeah. Straight up. Interesting. Well, he started the script for this in 2001. It almost became a CBS TV series at some point. And then they changed the setting in 1977, and it fell into place as a movie, eventually. TV series, I don't know if that one would have worked. Would have been a little early for the Prestige TV run. I can see this working, but I don't think you get Gosling and Crow to do this. We'll talk more about what they should have done with this franchise later.

22:24Chris Ryan:I feel like the TV part is almost more believable than the idea that it wouldn't be a period piece. Trying to set this in 2016 or 2010 or something, I don't even know what that story is. It would just be guys sitting in traffic.

22:35Bill Simmons:Well, it allows you a lot more fun too with 77 because you have way less rules and restrictions. So this movie, 50 million made 62.8. barely made the money back. Gosling made the point over and over again about Angry Birds. It also opened again in Neighbors 2. Yeah. Which was a reprehensible sequel. One of the... Was that when comedy died, Craig? Neighbors 2? What year was that? I thought it was 2016. Same year. Yeah, that's bad. That might have been the... Who were the additions to the Neighbors universe? Chloe Grace Moretz was in it because it was a sorority. They flipped it. They made it a sorority.

23:11Bill Simmons:It's really bad. 115 minutes to smooth it, Craig. yeah, great. I'm not going to criticize this being over 100 minutes at all. This is like my favorite movie the last 10 years, so. Let's go. Good with me. So plus 15, you're good anyway. Fine. It's so tight. The script is great. I have no nose. Okay. Did we do enough about Shane Black? Is he like a top five screenwriter for you? I think he's a hugely influential and consequential screenwriter. And like him and Joe Esterhawes in the 80s kind of introduced this idea of like the million dollar spec. Yeah. And he is really, really, really maybe the best ever at The Buddy.

23:48The Buddy movie.

23:49Bill Simmons:You can tell he grew up on like the 48 Hours type of movies and was just like, this is going to be my recipe. Sure. Just wisecracks and action and good set pieces. I'm going to nail this.

24:02Chris Ryan:He does break your heart sometimes though. Yeah. They're either big hits like this. Or it's play dirty. I don't know that I ever looked more forward to a movie than when he did a Predator movie that really went wrong in a couple different ways

24:15Bill Simmons:does not work unfortunately Roger Ebert sadly passed away in 2016 or 2013 disgrace yourself by asking ChatGPT don't do that what? don't do that I did ChatGPT said probably 3.5 stars Roger had given he said he had a strong appreciation for great comedic performances I think he would have gone three I think he would have been like it's pretty convoluted

24:42Chris Ryan:I think Shane Black was right about humanity just like we are we are the absolute shit just bottom of the barrel stuff Chad GPT-ing Roger Ebert's opinion about a movie died we don't have Roger we didn't have the review

24:55Bill Simmons:I would say three and a half but I could see the three yeah but I do think he would have really loved Gosling and I think he liked these goofy genre kind of movies like this you gotta really want it with this movie because I do think you're right. On first watch, you're probably a little confused by the plot and it's a little bit more confusing than necessary. Yeah. And then it's like the second, third, fourth time around where like, it's the line underneath the line or the sight gag happening in the background of a scene. Like Janet throwing the bowling ball backwards that you're just like, holy shit, this is so funny.

25:29Fucking Janet.

25:30Bill Simmons:Well, but then dropping the dead body on the dinner table was funny the first time. Yes. But only escalates. Every time you see Sid Shattuck's body, collapse that poor dinner party. Poor Sid Shattuck. We're going to take a break and then we are going to do the categories. This episode is brought to you by Claude from Anthropic. You know that thing where you finish a movie and you immediately have to look up who directed it? What year it came out? How much money it made? Suddenly it's 1 a.m. Well, Claude is built for that kind of rabbit hole. Deep research featuring digs across dozens of sources.

26:04Bill Simmons:Pulls it all together. Cast Connections, box office context, production history, so you're not bouncing between 10 tabs, because that stinks. It thinks with you, instead of just handing you a quick summary. Try it free at claude.ai slash rewatchables. This episode is brought to you by TaxAct. Like an expert coach, TaxAct offers step-by-step guidance and guaranteed accuracy when filing taxes. Get tips along the way, add expert assist to talk to tax experts, and let our experts do your taxes for you with expert full service. Tax Act helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve so you can get them over with.

26:42Bill Simmons:Visit taxact.com to learn more. Conditions apply. See taxact.com for details. All right, most rewatchable scene. Opening credits with overhead LA right into a car going through a house. Yeah, pretty good start. Yeah. I think the overhead helicopter shot is really cool though of the city. Yeah. They did that. And I like the house they landed on. These houses still exist, by the way. These houses that came right out of the Brady Bunch. Sure. They're mostly in the valley. They're usually one story. And very rarely you go to a party or you drive by one. Or for parents, when you have kids in here, you have some sort of drop-off or birthday party or somebody's friend's house.

27:24Bill Simmons:And you're like, oh my god, that house is out of 1979. Yeah, like their ranch style? Always the one story. like sometimes like the circle driveway in front they have a couple of those in these but very very like LA but I like that beginning if you're out there

27:38Chris Ryan:and you got a lead on one of these hit me up I would like this house

27:42Bill Simmons:Rob will live in Encino the car going through the house wasn't nothing though that was a pretty good what the fuck is going on here just a great way to start a movie Shane Black's really smart about like what will grab somebody's attention yes well then we get a nude scene in this too if they weren't trying to grab your attention enough if Van was here he would be bringing this up even in the background the shot of when and the kid's at the sink, and then you see the car tumbling down the hill in the background. It's really well done.

28:06Chris Ryan:The number of times I've tried to watch this on a plane, including in the in-flight entertainment, and I just have seen it so many times, I forget about the almost full frontal nudity in the first five minutes. And it's like, oh, I am that guy sitting next to a child on a plane watching the opening scene of The Nice Guys.

28:22Bill Simmons:Well, thank God Van isn't here because this will be about five minutes longer. We'll go to the next scene. Jackson beats up March this includes the we're gonna play a game it's called shut up unless you're me good one to say to your kids by the way I don't know if you've tried that why didn't people go see this movie it's unbelievable

28:42Chris Ryan:shut up

28:42Bill Simmons:I like that game

28:45Chris Ryan:this whole scene including like the tic-tac-toe of Gosling trying to open the cookie jar and get the gun out and then getting punched in the face it's just like this might be the most rewatchable scene right out of the game

28:55Bill Simmons:discretionary revelation well we didn't mention before this scene, he punches through the window and slaps his arm open. I can watch him react to his bleeding wrist so many times or he's just like, that's a lot of blood. I like that he wraps it like it's going to go really well. Tell him you have a spiral fracture of the left radio followed by the high-pitched scream, which is a really funny gossling. Gosling on the john in the bathroom with the gun and the cig and his pants down. Yeah. Just hilarious. Great job by him. It's amazing.

29:31Chris Ryan:Plus Holly asking Healy to beat up Janet.

29:33Bill Simmons:Yeah, the whole bowling alley scene is great. Very good. It's a small scene, but it fucking kills me. And it'd just be my kind of humor. But the little kid on the bike. Bill, this is the most rewatchable scene. Bragging about his dick. I mean, this might be... Big dick, you want to see it?

29:47Chris Ryan:How many categories can this scene win? This kid, this scene. This is also every time. $20? Fucking Chet. when Chet goes cost the guy his life and his life's work really makes you think not really Chet I offered to show my dick because I got a big dick alright

30:13Bill Simmons:I love the kid's perfectly cast too because he really has that I have a big dick confidence but he's just this 12 year old on a bike no one's named Hat Rack can we give that kid the best fucking acting I've ever seen in my life He's very good. He's very good. Listen, Deion Waiter, it's done. It's a wrap. $20? That kid's like up there with Jacob Tremblay. You know what I mean? Like in terms of fucking young acting. How did anyone keep a straight face during that? I don't think they did. The bloopers in this movie must be insane. Oh my God. I would have been fucking dying. Oh, fuck. Like, how is he just saying this?

30:47Bill Simmons:The big porn party scene, which includes, sweetheart, how many times have I told you don't say in stuff? Just say there are

31:00Bill Simmons:And then you know why they call them killer bees, don't you? They kill you. Goss and go over the deck is great. And the can't speak thing is funny. Everything is great. I love the party. I like how weird it is. There's girls upside down. When he goes up to one of the dancers and he just says, you seem to have a very good vantage point up there. I lost my sister.

31:23Chris Ryan:Oh, man. I think this has to be the pick. The party? The porn party? Yeah. It's got the mermaids. Yeah, it's got a nice fight. It's got a banging soundtrack. It's got a fight. It's got a death. It really has everything.

31:33Bill Simmons:It's got the roll down the hill. It was my pick, too. A couple more. The dump of the body over the fence on the dinner party into the fight scene is good. The hot tub. Shooting through the hot tub, I thought, was effective. Yeah, that's a nice one. The elevator scene is short, but it's so fucking funny. I mean, it's definitely the most givable moment. Right before the door opens, he's like, Hitler only had one ball.

31:56Chris Ryan:every Hitler joke in this movie works. They keep going back.

31:59Bill Simmons:There's like eight of them. Yeah. But it was only 30 years prior, you know? He's really interested in Hitler. Yeah. And then when it's going back down and Gosling's like his eyes like twitching, his body falls down. I love how scared March gets in violence. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Two more. The Nixon story when he finishes. So what's the point? There are two ways to look at something. Why did you just fucking say that? and then but then they bring it back when Nixon's in the pool yeah and then it pays off Nixon in the pool I don't know if this is a good podcast but I'm having a really good time I am too yeah Gosling and the fake porn movie and the auto weird auto show and there's parts of this that almost feel like one of those SNL movies in the 90s like how it kind of wraps up like improv like Tommy Boy yeah like those kind of oh now all our characters are here a little elevated version of it but it's effective so we all agree it's the porn party yeah but I would say if you want to know why this movie is so special it's the chat scene with the kid being like because I got a big kid I just love him he goes alright just because it's like even that whole thing they're standing in the in the ashes of a burned down house Gosling lights a cigarette and it's just like moving shit around and it's just like what am I doing here you're so annoyed yeah the most we have to change this to the most 1977 thing about this movie, I think.

33:25Bill Simmons:Which includes a gas shortage, killer bees in Brazil. I actually remember when that happened. Yeah. Being little and being like, are we going to get killed by bees? It was a thing that was a thing. That was a thing, huh? It was a real thing. A killer with a mole named John Boy. Yeah. There's some Sunset Boulevard stuff, including the Tower Records, which is gone, but was here when I moved here. And the Comedy Store. Comedy Store with Robert Klein. Yeah. And then the smog rallies. But I think it's John Boy, I think is the winner for this. Yeah, fuel rationing. Like, Craig, did you know who John Boy was?

33:54Bill Simmons:Yeah. I would also go for guys shaving in their cars. Mm. The Waltons was a massive show in the 70s. Fair enough. It's really hard to explain now. Yeah. I couldn't tell you one thing about it. Do you, have you ever used it? My dad's family watched it. I never watched it. I never watched The Waltons. My dad's family was like a big Waltons family. Were you ever an electric razor guy? Like, portable electric razor guy? Yeah.

34:16Chris Ryan:But the number of people who still will walk around just using those things in public, not in their cars so much but in public spaces you would be shocked I like the idea of like doing a lot of shit in your car like using the rear view mirror because you're like I just live in here I gotta shape up a little bit has a big electric razor guy in the car caught him a couple times as far as the 2016 part what about just like an R-rated comedy period yeah right like this year alone 2016 we talked about Neighbors 2 Popstar Deadpool Everybody Wants Some Edge of 17 Swiss Army Man Sausage Party Bad Moms Mike and Dave need wedding dates Bridget Jones' Baby Keanu Office Christmas Party How to Be Single Dirty Grandpa Nice Guys we get maybe one of these?

34:58like

34:58Chris Ryan:it's just gone it's all moved to horror it's just a genre that doesn't really exist anymore the streamers don't make them anymore

35:02Bill Simmons:the funny thing about all those movies you listed you listed my son was 8 and then turned 9 that year and I think we watched all of them because he was at that I'm being dangerous with R-rated comedy stage so this is how I saw all those movies this is one of my backup hottest takes was the action comedy is the thing that most people love that is the hardest to make. The hardest to make, well, I can count on one hand successful action comedies over the last, like... You have to nail the one or two actors that are the leads. It has to be downy. It's basically like this and Pineapple Express and...

35:35I don't know. Can you think of any others? Of this century? Yeah, of, like, truly an action comedy.

35:43Bill Simmons:Craig's working on a script right now of him and Bellamy and Lucas going to the Oscars together and things go horribly wrong at the Vanity Fair party. I think it's drone strike. Yeah. They need that third act. They need to get that down. Hot fuzz? Yes. And I would say the Corno trilogy is probably right there. Yeah. I think it'll come back because I think there's too many horror movies and not enough comedies right now. Sure. More comedy than action. You're right. The other guys is hilarious. We put that in the poll. It was. We thought maybe it had dark horse. steal it. Yeah.

36:18Chris Ryan:I mean, it might be the best, like, opening gag of any comedy. Oh, yeah. In terms of, like, the misdirect of what that movie is going to be. Is it the Derek Jeter thing? No, like, them jumping off of the rooftop. Right, right, right. Again, unbelievable.

36:32Bill Simmons:The Eva Mendez thing is one of the funniest five minutes. Of the century. Yeah. You're dressed like that? The Floyd Gondale Butter in My Ass and Lollipops in My Mouth Award for something I just enjoy. A great addition to the rewatch. Do you want me to throw the challenge flag? because it's gondoli. Gondoli? Yeah, you say gondoli. You didn't bring the challenge flag. You needed one. You just put it around the desk. We did this in the mailbag when I do a mispronunciation. A reader wanted, a listener wanted Craig to actually throw John Gruden's flag. You say that, I think you would get really on tilt if we started throwing flags.

37:06You'd be like, hey, fuck you. I want to host. I'd be kicked off this show very quickly.

37:12Bill Simmons:I have to do, maybe two, maybe the third one. Craig, we think Hal can take on more responsibility I have for this for my butter my ass a word I think it's better when you mispronounce Gondoli I think because I spelled it wrong Gondoli yeah movies that organically end with the possibility that the main characters might reunite for a sequel I know

37:38Chris Ryan:but that's every movie now

37:40Bill Simmons:they do this in a way where you're like is there a second one coming? what's happening? it's not like like neighbors they didn't know Neighbors 2 was happening when they made Neighbors I think most times they don't know we learned our lesson it's all over now yeah yeah yeah in this one it's kind of like if this does well do you want to do this in two years were the vibes and it just didn't happen it's worth mentioning that the research suggests that these guys read the script instantaneously were like I'll do it if he does it yeah and that it was like a pleasure to make for the most part like It is a great shame that they never made another one.

38:18And the advertisement for their detective agency was so great. I'm sorry. You look Filipino.

38:25Bill Simmons:Or Mexican. Well, we never hear in the research where the guy's like, I'll do it if Rob does it. And then they go to Rob and he's like, nah, I don't want to be in it. Yeah, sure. No, no thanks. We never get like that in the research. Did you have a gondoli award? Barely functioning alcoholic private detective.

38:45Chris Ryan:when it works every time I had every time somebody in this movie trips holding a gun and just like shoot somebody

38:52Bill Simmons:that's how it always works for a movie it's a great bit yeah it's undefeated special award we don't get to give this too much the Robert Duvall dressed like a priest and swinging in Invasion of the Body Snatchers award for bizarre uncredited cameo Robert Downey is the dead guy Sid the bottom when he lights the I had no idea until I did the research did you guys know this? No. Yeah, I knew it, but only from researching in the past of reading about the movie. Did you know this? I did not.

39:19Chris Ryan:It's like unmistakable once you know it. Like, of course, that looks like Robert Downey Jr. Yeah, Shane Black basically is the bridge to the Downey-sance where he does Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with him, does Iron Man 3 together.

39:31Bill Simmons:And they couldn't get him, couldn't they get him like not, he couldn't get him insured for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? It was very hard if they did. In the mid-2000s, it was hard to do.

39:38Chris Ryan:So if not for Shane Black, the Marvel Cinematic Universe never really happens. Yes, and nobody pushes back on Oppenheimer. Good slide on doors. Thank goodness.

39:48Bill Simmons:Well, one thing with this, if I'm going to do an uncredited cameo in Rob's film, I'm probably not doing one where I have to wear a ton of makeup. It is surprising. I'd rather just have been like the bartender like in the porn movie with Misty Mountains like just briefly you see me. Not like just covered with a gunshot wound and sitting outdoors for probably two days. Yeah, you're doing a night shoot. What's fun about that? You don't want to be the human statue?

40:10Chris Ryan:No. Like hair and makeup for six hours? I would have said no to that one.

40:14Bill Simmons:What's age the best? We mentioned 70s LA as a setting. Young Margaret Qualley, just what's happened to her in the last 10 years. It's fun to see her in this. The don't say and stuff is just funny. Yeah. I don't know if that, has that caught on in real life? It should have. All right. Maybe there's still time.

40:32Bill Simmons:Marriage is buying a house for someone you hate. Remember that. Stuff. Is there still time for high school yearbook quotes? We should probably throw that in there for the kids out there. Russell Crowe and the research claiming he put on some extra weight for Jackson Haley. That's amazing. I love that. That's like when Shaq would come back from the summer or the Lakers and be like, I put on some extra weight. I'm going to lose it as the year goes along. It's like, okay, Shaq. I lost my hair right when we went on video because I thought it would be good. It's good comedy. A Crowe basing arena didn't do anything for you?

41:07Bill Simmons:It did not. I have to admit. She's coming up in later categories.

41:11Chris Ryan:I love the original.

41:12Bill Simmons:This one, I don't know. And then some Hall of Fame lines that we covered. Like, shut up unless you're me. I'm sorry you look Filipino. And so on. And then there's a fantasy criteria orgasm in this where Gosling's doing Luke Costello with the not being able to talk. That's like a famous 1930s gag. So what'd you have for what stage is best? Seedy Los Angeles. So porn and strip clubs, dive bars, hotel bars. It seemed awesome. I loved the setup of the Burbank Airport Hotel where it's like the flight deck bar. So there's like a dive bar in the first floor but then there's also like a penthouse bar.

41:54It seemed like a lot of hotel bars, two movie theaters,

42:00Bill Simmons:adult bookstores, and just kind of creepy places. Yeah, it's just a great rendition of it. I also really enjoy the runners that they have. So like the jokes that keep appearing. in the movie, number one being Janet and just like how much everybody hates Janet. Yeah. Or also like, is it Janet or Jessica? It's like, God, Jessica's sister is a slut. Jessica's sister is a whore.

42:24Chris Ryan:Yeah. Also, when they're trying to figure out how to wake up Amelia, Jessica's like, we could just hit her really hard. Jessica's stealth MVP of this movie to be honest with you. It's just really funny to hear Ryan Gosling talk about kids like they're adults. Right. And so that is definitely.

42:42Bill Simmons:That's a good what's age the best for this. Treating kids like adults in the 70s. Because by the way, that's what we did in the 70s. He drives, his daughter drives. No one talks about it. The whole movie. No, you just have a 12-year-old babysit five other kids and be out for six hours. My other what's age the best is Hannibal Buress as the killer bee in the backseat when he falls asleep while he's driving. This movie's fucking great.

43:05Chris Ryan:It's really great. What do you have, Raph? Being suspicious of major corporations. Yep. maybe they don't have our best interest at heart. Possible. So it's a big theme these days. Did you guys feel like the catalytic converter Detroit layer of this movie was like a little bit too... It's like putting a little bit too much garnish on the sandwich. It's really great. There's the missing girl. There's the porn stuff. There's all this conspiracy. But then you add on Detroit automakers being the main villain of it. Yeah. It's all, you know... they're going for it they are I like it because it perpetuates humor right like because then you get to lean into the smog stuff then you get the protesters with the gas mask it's like because they're poking fun at it the whole time like that's why I think it works and you get Gosling saying we're all gonna be driving Japanese collection cars I guarantee it you have any other what stage is the best?

43:58Chris Ryan:Gosling himself I mean like he was a star then but he is something else now yeah great shot Gorda Keith David hitting the pool deck.

44:09Bill Simmons:And he just turns into red. Yeah. But just that overhead shot of Gosling and him falling. I like that. Chess Rockwell, Brock Landers, we're a best character name. We don't always give this out, but we do it. Misty Mountains and John Boy. Just a killer named John Boy was really smart. I like it. And Misty Mountains is like if you have to come up with a Christy Canyon suit. Yeah. That's great. Pretty easy.

44:30Chris Ryan:What about Pornuccio? Yeah. I mean, the man from the billboard himself. We see him in the flight. while in the wood. It's not his nose that grows.

44:43Bill Simmons:Amanda Dobbins Award for Best Piece of Real Estate. We don't get to give this out all the time, but Sid Shaddock's house was the Atlanta home of hip-hop producer Dallas Austin. Wow. Also featured on MTV Cribs. So a true Dobbins Award. Yeah. In Atlanta as LA. Full-scale Dobbins for this one. I like Gosling's house, too. Yeah. Yeah. Kid Cudi Pursuit of Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop. we can either go with Kiss, I Want a Rock and Roller Night, or America Horse with No Name. Oh, I had Get Down On It, The Cool and the Gang, which is the song playing at the porn party.

45:14Chris Ryan:The special band? Yeah. Yeah, okay. Plus, we get September at the porn party. Also, like, Al Green closing credits. I like that. Al Green closing credits is awesome. Bands playing on the roof of a party is pretty cool. Pretty cool.

45:25Bill Simmons:What do you have for your flex? Okay, so I have a couple. I'm going to go with, it's a book about medals award for belatedly best quote is at the Clean Air protest. When Gosling goes, which one of you cock and balls wants to make 20 bucks? I kind of wish you would just like walk out into the bullpen of the ringer and say that. Maybe our new Sycamore studio. I'll just do that once a month. Sean Penn, I brought my own back where it goes to Gosling and the He Got Game hooker scene, most awkward scene if somebody randomly walks in is when Holly is watching porn with the adult film actress. Talking about anal?

46:05Bill Simmons:Yeah. and stuff those are good Butch's Girlfriend Award for Weak Link of the film I don't know I like this movie I struggled I came up with one but I don't feel great about it let's talk this out is this movie better worse or the same if Holly stays home for like half the adventures that they go on so it's interesting because I had her as the weak link too even though I like the performance I had a different angle on it though the incredibly savvy 13 year old girl with the heart of gold it's a little bit a little bit movie tropey

46:40Chris Ryan:yeah

46:40Bill Simmons:what's the purpose these people don't really exist

46:43Chris Ryan:I mean I think the purpose is to nudge Healy right to nudge Russell Crowe's character because if she's not around he's murdering everybody they run into and so like the turn of the heart of the movie I think comes through her being there and him stopping it is weird that the two people she wants to save are John Boy and Blueface which is like these two guys really almost killed you

47:03Bill Simmons:yeah Blueface tried to shoot her yeah Yeah. What'd you have for weak link? Did you have one? I think this is Kim Basinger. I had her in a later category.

47:10Chris Ryan:She's the one thing in this movie that's like a little off register that kind of takes me out of it. And it's like, clearly she can do the genre. Yes. In this mode, in this kind of part, she sticks out a little bit. It's tough because you wonder whether or not she did like four days on the movie because she's in two scenes basically. And they were like, yeah, here it is. And she had no idea how zany the rest of the movie was. Yeah.

47:32Bill Simmons:She's in a... Honestly, you could give her... I had her for What's the Age of Worse. You could give her in the, let's see, where'd we have the Judd Nelson, New Jack City, I'm in a different movie. She's just, every time she's in the movie, it's another movie's happening. Yeah.

47:45Chris Ryan:I think what makes it more noticeable is Tali, Yaya DaCosta, like she feels of a piece of everything that's happening. And so then the contrast between her and Kim Basinger is just like that much more stark.

47:54Bill Simmons:So jumping ahead, we can come back to this, but I had for recasting couch trying to figure out who would have been a good Kim Basinger in part for this. Oh, good. Because I think I do think it's got to be somebody Who's a little bit funny But you don't want to go like Sean Young, Ace Ventura Like over the top But I think it's got to be somebody That's got a little sauce to them Okay She just doesn't have sauce But who's your idea? I had a lot of trouble figuring it out Because it would have to have been They wanted somebody like Probably in their mid-50s at the time, right? But somebody that was famous So it's somebody It's really like Meryl Streep In the early 2000s You think Holly Hunter would be too old?

48:34I don't mind that. Holly Hunter is a good one. Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand. Not that Frances McDormand probably wouldn't.

48:40Bill Simmons:Honestly, Frances McDormand would be amazing. She'd be really good. I always feel like Diane Lane could have needed a part like this. But I also love Diane Lane. So I might be wrong. Sharon Stone, I think, was probably a little too old at this point in 2016. But in the mid-2000s, I think, would have been really good. It's got to be somebody who was sexy, older, but also like had some some comedy chops Demi Moore?

49:03Chris Ryan:I was wondering about like do we just do we collapse the space time continuum and just make Demi Moore Margaret Qualley's mom? I wonder if she does something similar to what Basinger does where it's kind of like what kind of comedy has she done though? I don't know I can't think of that it's tough would it be too meta to just do Andy McDowell?

49:22Bill Simmons:oh Rob like it's right there way to go Bob Rob you fucking did it you redeemed yourself for the Nirvana episode. Yeah, Andy McDowell can do comedy. Oh, that's a great idea. Why didn't they do that?

49:35Chris Ryan:I don't know. I mean, maybe this is at the point of Margaret Qualley's career where she doesn't want that too. But maybe if it happens now, you can see it. Yeah,

49:41Bill Simmons:because they've made a movie together since I think. I think so. Yeah. It's a really good point that it doesn't seem like Basinger knows what movie she's in. Because she's just playing it straight and there's no extra sauce to it at all. I just don't really get it. I don't get what they're trying to get out of her. You also don't know when they filmed it. They could have filmed that scene earlier in the movie, and then it got way zanier throughout the filmmaking. Because when you watch the behind-the-scenes, the making of, even Matt Bomer, who plays John Boy, is like, this movie's fucking funny.

50:08That's something you've got to know about it. And Kim Basinger just seems to be like, it's a very complicated story about L.A. and crime. I love Shane Black's writing. Yeah, she thinks she's in L.A. Confidential again.

50:19Bill Simmons:Any other What's Aged the Worst? I had trouble finding What's Aged the Worst, because I think this movie's aged really well, and it's also set in the 70s when it's supposed to age badly. The thing I had was there is an element of Den of Thieves downtown Atlanta to some of the exterior shots of LA. So like the vibe is always great, but sometimes you can tell like the streets are a little too narrow or there's too much, you know, like foliage in different places. Like when you're watching Den of Thieves, you can tell that's not Gardenia. And like, you know, So you've seen Den of Thieves. I've seen Den of Thieves.

50:50And they shot this in downtown Atlanta. Do you have any words?

50:53Bill Simmons:It's a perfect movie. Hans Gruber scale villain ranking. Blue face is like a nine. Yeah. Even though he's really in it. Yeah. John Boy is solid. John Boy, I thought it was like at least a seven and a half. Let me ask you something though. John Boy, it's like, it's kind of like, are you expecting a little bit more? A little bit of Darren Peterson vibes from John Boy where you're like, I'm hearing all about this guy getting off the plane from New York. He's the baddest motherfucker ever. How come you've missed 200 shots? Yeah. He does miss a lot of shots. He got taken out by two teenage girls pretty quickly.

51:24I'm foxed. But he is menacing.

51:27Chris Ryan:Sure. He is creepy. And I say this with full acknowledgement. Like, look, I don't want to put this out there, but I literally have the same haircut as him. So it's not a great energy that we're putting out in the world. But he shows up and he's definitely serves the intended effect.

51:40Bill Simmons:John Boy. Great, great name for a villain. Ruffalo, Hannah Rubin, and Partridge overacting word. Blue face dialing it up the whole time. The whole time. And then Qualley has that one monologue when at one point she's like, it's not a porn! Just like start screaming for some reason. So it's one of those two. Rob, you have a flex.

51:58Chris Ryan:I do. I went with the Rick Sassetti Guard Mead Award. Most memorable death by a security guard or other bystander of the movie. Treats as inconsequential by his spouse and kids who love them. Specifically, there is a hardworking actor out there in Hollywood. Got a job. It's not the best job, but it paid. They showed up. They're just trying to support their family. Your job is to be a tree man at this porn party on stilts. The tree man. And you're just taking straight, like just takes a stray bullet to the chest. on what otherwise was like a normal job.

52:29Bill Simmons:In your family, you have a mask on as you die or a helmet, whatever the fuck he's got on. Imagine being that guy's wife who then has to explain. Do you think he gets a SAG card for doing that? Identify the body. Oh my God. That's a good one. We'll take one more break and then we got hot at stake. This episode is brought to you by Claude from Anthropic. You know that thing where you finish a movie and you immediately have to look up who directed it, what year it came out, how much money it made. Suddenly it's 1 a.m. Well, Claude is built for that kind of rabbit hole. Deep research featuring digs across dozens of sources.

53:03Bill Simmons:Pulls it all together, cast connections, box office, context, production history. So you're not bouncing between 10 tabs because that stinks. It thinks with you instead of just handing you a quick summary. Try it free at claude.ai slash rewatchables. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. One of the most useful things in my life lately has been my Apple Card. great for game nights, vacations, just life in general. And applying was so easy and quick. You can apply, see your credit limit offer. And if approved, you can start using your card in minutes. Do it while watching a basketball game.

53:38Bill Simmons:You can start making purchases with Apple Pay before halftime even rolls around. I also love how I can get up to 3 % daily cash back on every purchase. That's more daily cash to use for game tickets. I feel like I scored big time when I started using Apple Card. Apply in the wallet app on your iPhone. Start using it right away with Apple Pay. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA Salt Lake City Branch, terms and more at applecard.com. All right, the CR thinks Luke Wilson could have been Harrison Ford, how to stake a word. Threatening to be renamed as the Nirvana was overrated.

54:13Bill Simmons:Rob Mahoney thinks Nirvana's overrated a word. What do you have for how to stake CR? We should be actively awaiting the third movie of this series right now and not pining for it when people get interviewed for other movies that they're in. It's ridiculous. This is such an enjoyable movie. You could kick it ahead five years and do like 1982 Nice Guys. Like, what are we doing? Why can't we make more movies like this? So you could do mid-80s at least. You could do like Simpson-Bruckheimer, Height of the Cocaine, Hollywood era and just run it back. I can't remember the actual literal title, but they were like, what we would do is go to Mexico.

54:49It would be Nice Guys in Mexico, which would have just been like, come on, man.

54:54Chris Ryan:I'm still trying to decide who to blame. Like, we know that Angry Birds are to blame, but I'm willing to back it up. Like, Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone. Seriously. American civilization nosedives, including the creation of the games that become Angry Birds that then outgrows nice guys at the box office. Neighbors 2.

55:12Bill Simmons:I think I blame Neighbors 2. It's Neighbors 2 as well. I blame Neighbors 2 for a lot of stuff. Gosling's so famous now that I just feel like he could say, hey, it's time. I want to do Nice Guys 2. Are they really saying no to that? If he wanted to, he could. Like, a streamer is going to be like, no, we're not funny. I mean, David Ellison now owns Warner Brothers, who made this movie. Ellison, I feel like, would be into this. You think so? Yeah. Yeah, his taste seems to... He's depraved enough. Dave's got some edgy taste. I think he likes buddy cop stuff. I think he's like, this Chet joke was...

55:41Bill Simmons:It's like, can we get the kid with the big dick again?

55:44Chris Ryan:What do you have for how to stake? We talked about Gosling. Yeah. He's on fire in this movie. I think this is the best that Russell Crowe has ever been. Period. No. I'm sorry during CR month. I don't mean to do this. More than the insider? That is... So that to me is the only real competition. That take is... You're really good at this. Oh my God. He is the action star of this movie. Like he is in every fight. He is in every shootout. He is genuinely hilarious in terms of... Like he's getting a chance to play a role he's never allowed to play, which is this sort of comedic role. And he's the beating heart that like rounds out the whole movie and makes it to me a rewatchable.

56:20Chris Ryan:Like if this is just depraved and funny... that's nice and you move on. But it's like, it does have a feel good element that comes from him. And I think he is the piece that kind of brings it all together in a way that even Gosling doesn't.

56:32Bill Simmons:It's hard for me to get too mad at that when I think proof of life was his apex. Sure. Interesting take though. I think what's missing is like, there was a time like way earlier when, you know, he was a really handsome, like leading man, but also like gladiator, Russell Crowe. Yeah. I just don't think there's a lot of people who could have been Gladiator Russell Crowe? You don't think so? No, I don't.

56:55Chris Ryan:I think he kind of gets dog-walked by Joaquin in that movie, to be honest with you.

56:58Bill Simmons:Really?

56:59Chris Ryan:Like, he's good. He's really good in it. Dog-walked? They're only in two scenes together? No, but in terms of, like, who is owning the presence of that movie, he, like, and look, a lot of it's just character. Sure. He's playing a pretty straightforward, like, hero's journey, go and fight the big fight, like, Avenger family, all of that stuff. Right. There's not a lot for him to do that's exciting. And he holds it, and he's good in it, and like should he have won Best Actor for Gladiator?

57:23Bill Simmons:Did he win for that one or Beautiful Mind? He won for both of them. No, he only won one. I think he won for Gladiator. Yeah, he won for Gladiator. I don't know. Maximus was pretty great. Yeah. Where do you stand on this, Craig? Are you a Gladiator guy, Craig? I'm closer to Rob on this to be honest about Gladiator and Crow. It's a traditional role. Yeah. It's a little limited. It's a generational thing. I don't know.

57:46Chris Ryan:I do think Insider is that's the one. If you're going to pick something that's not this. unleash hell you're not like let's go let's do it i'm like let's go but could you plug another actor in and say the same thing i'd still be like let's go i think i would you could you only won

57:58Bill Simmons:for gladiator not beautiful mind yeah i feel like concepcion's gonna just dive through the window right now tech rob um my hottest take was also rosa crow related i think he was the shaquille o 'neal of actors hall of fame potential you could see it early in the 90s like this guy something's gonna happen even goes head to head with Denzel career apex from 2000 to 2002 just like Shaq three finals MVPs for Shaq three best actor nominations in a row and a win for Russ

58:26Chris Ryan:crazy

58:28Bill Simmons:should've won a couple more MVPs kinda didn't totally want it went a little sideways couldn't really stay in his shape which was like a Shaq thing um I think nice guys and the Miami title as the sidekick with Wade that's a really good one like a combo of that and I still think he's a Pantheon guy from the last 50 years but I feel like he left a little on the table. It's an 11-year run. I felt like it could have been longer. Tease this analogy out. That means last night Russell Crowe went live right after the Oscars. It was like, Michael B. Jordan, mate. Could have done a little bit more to impress me.

59:02Playing twins, I did that. I did that and we didn't even have special effects.

59:11Chris Ryan:You forgot budding musical careers too. Oh, that's right. you know very important part of the billy bob thornton like kind of more interested in rocking out than than acting maybe who to blame him i know yeah casting what ifs none it's too early

59:25Bill Simmons:the movie just came out and also would you really change that much other than basing the big one the big one was that the mailing the scripts to the two guys and then being like i'm in if he's in which doesn't really seem to happen that often that's that guy word for the casuals keith david Stealth Bo Knapp Who plays Blueface He's one of those guys I didn't even know Where he's from I had Lois Smith As the old lady With the Coke bottle glasses

59:49Chris Ryan:On Meg from Twister Yeah Oh that's who that was? Yeah

59:54Bill Simmons:That's a good one

59:54Chris Ryan:I do think Is Bo Knapp not just doing Sacha Baron Cohen As Blueface Is that not like the energy He's still checking Every time this movie comes on I was like Is Sacha Baron Cohen In this movie? Apparently not

1:00:06Bill Simmons:Dion Waiters Muriel Tello as Misty Mountains Blueface could keep going but it's the little it's fucking his name's Lance Valentine is that what his name is?

1:00:21Bill Simmons:he's only in one scene right? perfect Dion legendary Dion performance we did recast in Couch unless you guys have anything else for that oh Craig you have a flex so I created a new category I just think no one knows how to open a movie and set the tone quite like Shane Black and it made me think of when Kobe Bryant plowed through Pau Gasol on the Redeem Team, which is like Misty Mountains plowing through the home to start this movie. And if you go back and you look through Shane Black's movies, Lethal Weapon starts with the naked stripper committing suicide off the hotel. Last Boy Scout starts with the football player pulls out the pistol, shoots the guy before scoring the touchdown, and you have this movie.

1:01:00So I think it's the Kobe Bryant shoving Pau Gasol award for the best tone-setting opening move, and Shane Black has the belt right now. Wow. He's also just like, if you read his scripts, they grab you by the lapel. They're like, keep reading. Also, I love when an opening scene, I guess this is my gondoli, I love when an opening scene has characters that aren't involved with the rest of the movie. It's just like a tight, like a cold package.

1:01:22Chris Ryan:There's so many of those throughout this movie too. Like the two women who walk by at the porn party being like, well, if he wanted me to do that, he shouldn't eat in the asparagus. It's just like, that's happening constantly in this movie. He's great at it.

1:01:34Bill Simmons:Half-fetched and researched, not allowed at this point. We had the Atlanta thing. Russell Crowe said it was one of two films where he wished there was a sequel. He said this on Howard Stern. The other was LA Confidential, which ironically we're doing next week on the rewatchables. Unintentional that this happened. The book Holly was reading from is called A Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. That was really all otherwise we mentioned. I did like you mentioned

1:01:58Chris Ryan:the Abin Costello thing earlier with Gosling. And the part of it that I liked was the reason he got into Abin Costello was because his parents wouldn't pay for Blockbuster. so the only movies he could get were from the public library found Abbot Ignacello

1:02:11Bill Simmons:interesting Apex Mountain Crow I guess for Rob and nobody else for me personally Gosling with this and La La Land I think we're here this is the definition of it right it's not quite Wang Chung Apex Mountain but it's it's Apex Mountain but again I'm perpetually you missed the Wang Chung combo in the last episode well I'm just confused by this category regardless of any Wang Chung happening Wang Chung's 1985 was the all time Apex Mountain that's ever happened. Yeah. It's the apex of Apex Mountains. It's now Wang Chung's Apex Mountain, like the SoFi Stadium.

1:02:43Chris Ryan:Yeah. I'm glad for the branding. Does he not have like more cachet post Barbie than after La La Land? So this gets into what kind of Apex Mountain, what kind of mountain do you like being on? Is it when it seems like it's all out in front of you or are you just at the height of your earning potential?

1:02:59Bill Simmons:We had a, in the mailbag, we had a math petition write in about the post Apex. You can actually, it's kind of the, you've still got it combined with maybe you were higher but it wasn't quite Apex Mountain but it was like you actually it was like the Curry 2022 basically so Barbie was probably that for Gosling do you think you'll go see Project Hail Mary? my son wants to see it so it's in play but then he'll be like yeah I saw it last night with my girlfriend sorry

1:03:27Chris Ryan:what's the hold of? just the sci-fi that's what's keeping you out?

1:03:29Bill Simmons:no I want to see it there's really good buzz on it you haven't seen it right? I'm seeing it tonight two hours and 45 minutes Oh, look at the big boy. What does he say? Look at the freak freedom, Brad. Freed freedom, Brad. Man, I fucked that up. Apex Mountain for 1977. Just in general, is the greatest year we've ever produced in the world. I was born that year. What a great year. Star Wars. Pretty good. A lot of good stuff. Reggie Jackson. Yeah. Keith David fight scenes. Sadly, no. It's still They Live. That's an amazing one, though. Wasn't him in They Live? No. No, that's not him. Xavier Brooks?

1:04:04Bill Simmons:You're talking about in the alley? Did I just do the thing where I confused Keith David and Avery Brooks? Wait. Keith David is in They Live. Yeah, Keith David's in They Live. It was Keith David. Why'd you look at me like I was crazy? I didn't. Keith David and Rodney Piper.

1:04:15Chris Ryan:It was him, Bill, not me. First of all, I didn't say anything. You second-guessed yourself. I did. I second-guessed myself. It's Keith David and They Live. Keith David is in The Thing. That's still the winner. Yeah.

1:04:24Bill Simmons:Shane Black? Probably. No. Don't think of this. Iron Man 3? I mean, Iron Man 3, but nothing kind of happened after that. I would say writing Lethal Weapon. one of the lethal weapons I would think and being like one of the most successful so Lethal Weapon 1 is his Apex Mountain I think Angery Rice I hope not yeah too early to say quality too early to say dad-daughter movies probably not no Basinger no the 1978 auto show I think it might have been for sure yeah not a lot of talk about that show other than this John Boy and the Waltons probably still the Waltons I think so which was the number one show for like five years more than the nice guys yeah yeah fair Breaking a window going wrong might have been the peak.

1:05:06Bill Simmons:I can't think of another example. As funny as it gets, for sure. 1967 red Mustangs with a white convertible top. Yep. For a movie, pretty good. Retro porn portraits.

1:05:17Chris Ryan:Bogey dance. Yeah. Cruiser Hanks. Cruise as John Boy. Oh, interesting. He just shows, you don't see him. With like a bad wig. He has like five lines. Or it would have been better if he would play Shattuck. Shattuck would be funny too but yeah Cruz in one of these supporting parts who you hear about and then just shows up I would enjoy it could Hanks have been Russell Crowe's character I had Hanks for Holland March at a different time in his life it's kind of like right after Punchline oh like late 80s yeah late 80s Hanks he could do that

1:05:45Bill Simmons:I like Cruz for John Boy I think that has my vote I think it'd be fun you down with that Craig but the official winner we're saying is Hanks for the lead role in terms of a lead role Scorsese or Spielberg clearly Scorsese definitely way more coke at the party and we probably would have had, I don't know, tops from the Rolling Stones. No, no daughter because you just want to get way darker, way more fucked up.

1:06:07Chris Ryan:Has Spielberg ever done something like as getting his hands dirty as this? No, no way. I can't think of anything.

1:06:13Bill Simmons:Best hang, worst hang. I mean, ironically, Gosling's daughter in this movie is probably the best hang of all these people. Blueface is the worst hang. Blueface, tough cross-country draft. Blueface would be awful. I would spend the night hanging out with Gosling in a bar. that'd be a lot of fun I would hang out with Amelia

1:06:30Chris Ryan:like I am one legal substance away from being very on board to her like big speech about her mom and like mammon is her god yeah like I'm on board for that worst thing Chet Chet I like Chet just talk about you talk about the projector I'm in the industry

1:06:49Bill Simmons:I'm a projectionalist I'm a projectionalist come on guy pickinets 13 year old kids driving I'm not even sure this was happening in 1977 to be honest. Especially with manual steering. Yeah, that was... That would have been tough. Do you have the upper body strength to control a car like that? It's a choice. How did Amelia land on their car and not like die immediately? How far did she fall? I just had questions about that. No, the camera kind of pans up. There's a fire escape. She climbs down. She climbs down and hops down. She jumps? Yeah. It's probably a 15-foot jump.

1:07:19Chris Ryan:But she's putting in a lot of mileage in this movie barefoot. Yeah. Like just running all over the city.

1:07:24Bill Simmons:And I think that dress is probably a lot more banged up after three days. I think there's probably some coffee on it, all kinds of things. How did they so easily get into Misty Mountain's house a couple days after the murder? And why was all the evidence just still sitting there? Well, they have her aunt with them. Yeah. I know, but wouldn't they have picked up specific evidence of people that were in her life and brought it to her? Did that just not have it in 1977?

1:07:48Chris Ryan:I mean, there was a handwritten note from Chet just sitting there. Yeah, wouldn't they have brought that into the station? Unless that's post. This also gets into just the complete absence of cops in this movie. They show up a couple times. Way after the fact and never detaining Jackson in March, despite the fact that there's like seven dead bodies. How do they never go to prison in this movie? I don't know. That could have been Nice Guys 3 going to jail.

1:08:11Bill Simmons:He can't smell. They joke. Did you know what a nose me it was? I did not. Was that real? Who knows if that's real or not. But his daughter kind of says, this is why mom died because she couldn't smell. Because of the gas leak, yeah. But you can't smile at Gas League, I don't think.

1:08:29Chris Ryan:I still enjoyed it. To me, that's the very gremlins to my dad died coming down the chimney as Santa. Kind of like weird anecdote into tragic backstory that I can definitely appreciate. I have one more, but did you have any nitpicks? No, we kind of hit most of them with what's age the worst. I think that the thing I would nitpick the most at is the slightly convoluted plot. Like that kind of thing with like, obviously she saw the movie that they were watching, which means there's another movie which means we have to go She was watching it on the wall I think Keely pulling together the whole case because he saw a suit on a rack in the office that one time Yes is like maybe a bit much but it feeds into something I really like about this movie which is they basically never catch a break because they're good they basically always catch a break because they're lucky like Amelia literally falls on their car and that kind of stuff is happening constantly and there's a lack of heroism in the movie in the sense that like they don't save Amelia No she's very unceremoniously dispatched by John.

1:09:26Bill Simmons:That was one of the things I liked was it really is shocking when she gets shot. Yeah.

1:09:31Chris Ryan:But it's that kind of movie. It's the kind of movie where not only is she going to get shot, it's not going to cut away. Like you were just going to see her in cold blood get murdered and left in the street. It's also good because it makes like Angori Rice's character being present for all of it a little bit more dangerous because like that can happen retroactively.

1:09:47Bill Simmons:Yeah. This is my big one. Craig, this is why I'm a Hall of Famer. This next nitpick. Gosling, twice in the movie, is in a body of water and then smokes a cigarette like five minutes later. Those cigarettes are wet. Oh, yeah. Not lighting. No chance. Oh, his pack. Yeah, his pack in his pocket, done. Yeah. It's a wrap. That thing's not lighting.

1:10:09Chris Ryan:So he's in the tank with the mermaids, but he's like in boxers in that. What's the second body of water? When he falls into the pool. Falls into the pool. Oh, yeah, that one is cooked.

1:10:18Bill Simmons:There's no fucking way he's lighting the cigarette. Yeah. That whole pack's a wrap. They're soggy. they're falling apart sometimes that's why we need the cigarette consultancy company you just win that's true sometimes you just win and also he can't die that's the revelation sequel prequel prestige chibi all black cast or untouchables so the idea you mentioned Chris was nice guys to Mexican detectives yeah that's what Crowe and Gosling wanted to do that's a billion dollar idea come on I also would accept if they did this the way that Netflix did Sherlock where it's just like once every like three or four years, they just do a three episode thing.

1:10:56Bill Simmons:That would be awesome. Well, this has happened a couple times in movies, and I'm pretty sure it happened with Anchorman, because I don't think Anchorman crushed it at the box office, but then became beloved over the next couple years to the point where we're like, why don't we do Anchorman 2? That'll fucking crush. This happened with Austin Powers, too. The first one did okay, wasn't great, but became a cult movie, and then 2 was a monster. I would just Nice guys too Would just be bigger It would be But I would worry At this point Crow might be a long A little long in the tooth To do it

1:11:25Chris Ryan:I think the only reason That could work Is because it Is kind of the movie Right like they're so run down That however many years pass Before they make it It could kind of fit Who these guys are

1:11:34Bill Simmons:It's kind of sacrilege But could you Could you do this And not have them As the partners I don't think it's the same Could you have Gosling Could you have Crow Like retired Getting sucked back in But there's a new partner And there's three people In that too No I don't think it works I hope not And that's exactly what they would do. They would put a younger person with them. Who's in it?

1:11:54Chris Ryan:Who's the youngest? Is this like a Miles Teller?

1:11:56Bill Simmons:I wish I didn't bring this up. Is this movie better with Wayne Jenkins, Fergie the Florist, Zane Lowe, Robert Loggia, or anybody else? What do you think, CR? Zane Lowe interviewing John Boy. Man, you're Jenny here from New York City. Everybody's talking about it here in the streets of Los Angeles. You're named after a Walton character, but what are you going to do to forge your own character?

1:12:23Sure, you have them all. Sure. And that some people would look at it as a handicap. But man, it's your power. I see that as your power. Again, South African. I can't stop making Zane Lowe South African.

1:12:35Bill Simmons:Maybe we should have you as Leo and Blood Diamond as Zane Lowe. Maybe you just combine the two.

1:12:44Chris Ryan:I don't know what to say. It's really something. Is Blood Diamond a rewatchable for you? Didn't we do Blood Diamond? We didn't. 20-year anniversary. Wait a second. Yes, we did. Yeah, we have. Yeah, we've done Blood Diamond, dude. We have. Because the AIDS thing. Are you sure we did it? Yeah, we had a whole conversation about whether he's HIV positive in this movie.

1:13:04Bill Simmons:Hold on. I got to find out when we did it. Spoiler alert. Yes. Blood Diamond. We definitely did. It's June 2023. This is so in the bill zone of like, I don't remember this. No, but I usually don't remember. I usually don't remember 2000 and 2021 because of the COVID vaccine. But 23, I remember. Not because you chose to podcast eight times a week during COVID. What else are we going to do? Be with our family. Wow, we did that three years ago. Who did we do it with? I think it might have just been you and me. It was just the two of you. Yeah. Wow, I'm going to have to listen to that. That sounds great.

1:13:38I think I remember Sean's face when I told him we were doing Blood Diamond. And he's like, cool. Like bummed out he wasn't on it

1:13:46Bill Simmons:or thought it was... That must have been it. It probably was a little bit of both, but he was... And then I remember telling him, like, yeah, Bill and I really tried to unpack whether Danny Archer has HIV in that movie. And I was like, cool. Glad I skipped that one. Yeah, now I remember it. God, we just... So many podcasts. We really are. Then 427, 28 rewatchables. Talking about Joel Embiid and Luca, whether he can put it together and Bam out of bio, scoring 83 points. It all blends together after a while.

1:14:14Chris Ryan:Who's the most name-checked non-Celtics player on the rewatchables, do you think? That's a really good question. Joel, I feel like, might be up there. Just for the antagonism alone. For the jokes? Like, you're just prodding He brings it up once a month where he'll just be like, oh, this would be like if Embiid could actually play five games in a row.

1:14:30Bill Simmons:It's honestly probably Jordan, right? Yeah, I guess so. Like, mentioning different Jordan kind of parallels and things. Makes sense. It'd be interesting. Someday we'll have AI and we'll just be able to ask AI and it'll just listen to every rewatchables in one second and then be like it was actually Shaquille O 'Neal with nine mentions I will speak like Roger Ebert yeah he'll speak like Blood Diamond Guy crossed with Zane Lowe yeah um just one Oscar who gets it Gosling Gosling script that's probably the second it's really good but I I think a lot of what's great about this movie are his reactions like there's moments that wouldn't really jump off the page like when they go to the dive bar in the hotel and they are like, you know, have you seen Amelia?

1:15:18And he's just like, I just work here. He's like, yeah, I know. That's why I'm asking you. That's not like a hilarious thing on the page, but it's so funny, like the way they do it.

1:15:28Chris Ryan:He also chases every line. Every time that character thinks they're being smart, he like winks at somebody or does like a little eyebrow raise. It's just like, he sells everything so hard and so well. Do you like my friend? He's wearing your shirt. I made it myself. Is that a shirt?

1:15:43Bill Simmons:So, Casey Affleck wins for Manchester by the sea that year. Gosling nominated for La La Land. The other three were Denzel and Fences. Viggo Mortensen and Captain Fantastic. Getting them out. What happened? Do you want to go double Gosling? Double Gosling. Or Andrew Garfield and Hacksaw Ridge. We were just... That one can go too. What a drought. Yeah. That was like when Peja Stojakovic was fourth in MVP that one year. Let's get Peja's numbers up. Jesus, we can get Peja out. Peja's in the conversation. Peja and Viggo's out. Where does this kid go? Isn't his kid playing now? Yeah, he's playing somewhere.

1:16:17Bill Simmons:In Arizona or something. So could Gosling potentially have been nominated twice? And has that ever happened? I know it hasn't. I don't think anyone's been in the same category with two movies. Did Leo not?

1:16:30Chris Ryan:Wasn't Blood Diamond and Catch Me If You Can the same year? No, it wasn't the same year. It was Departed and... It was Departed and Blood Diamond. Did he not get double nominated for those?

1:16:39Bill Simmons:Is this the same year? 2000? Is that... so that would have been 2007 I think what's it's happened a few times where somebody's gotten best and supporting yeah but not too best the most recent Scarlett Johansson Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit was lead and supporting yeah Leo only got one that year okay did you find out where Pedro Storakovich's kid goes to college I think it's Illinois oh okay I don't know I could be wrong you're 07 best actor in a supporting role Alan Arkin won Jack Earl Haley in Little Children yeah Diamond Hunsu in Blood Diamond Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls and Mark Wahlberg in The Departed yeah fucking Lace King motherfucker we need to do the re-re-departed too apparently I can't remember any podcast we've done probably unanswerable questions how long did The Nice Guys Agency keep going before Jackson Healy died of a massive heart attack right or like two years later Holland March gets his child taken away by protective services.

1:17:42Imminent. Did we have protective services in the late 70s? You were better than us.

1:17:46Bill Simmons:Yeah, I don't. I don't feel like we did. I was left alone for four or five hours a day. I just found out relatively recently about kids being in car seats until they're a certain weight now instead of age. So it's like you could be in a car seat until you're like seven or eight, right?

1:18:03Chris Ryan:Theoretically, that seems extreme. I was like rolling around the back of a Pontiac when I was like three. And you turned out great.

1:18:11Bill Simmons:I told Rob when we did the mailbag for my pod I wanted to put Khan in a car seat I didn't want him to get hurt but he's huge yeah couldn't really do it I used to my dad would drive me home from school sometimes and I would get to sit like on his lap on the seat in front of him and drive yeah and then one time I looked down and noticed his hand was on the bottom of the wheel when he was really driving I was like fuck I thought I was driving yeah this whole time I was like five would you but can you imagine seeing anyone do that now where there's this little kid driving 30 miles an hour in the front seat with the steering wheel like right there but that's what we did in the 70s if it was the kid with the big dick from the back end yeah let him go damn it what's up so a mailbag a mailbag that we did that Rob didn't hear yet because we haven't run it yet but it was before this podcast we changed the memorabilia question slightly to secret handshake memorabilia from the movie oh So it's still the memorabilia from the movie, but it's an item that you have to really love the movie to get.

1:19:15Bill Simmons:So like a Misty Mountains poster. That would be good. Or maybe people would get that too easily. Well, a poster for How Do You Like My Car, Big Boy. That would be one. Would be good. My personal one, which is a little bit more on the memorabilia side, but I kind of, if anybody knows, please email. I think they may have made it for the movie. is the navy blue mesh bat Dodgers hat that Gosling wears for the two scenes when he punches the window and when he's at the hospital. You think it was custom merch? I can't find a navy blue Dodgers mesh hat, 70s or otherwise. Maybe I'm wrong. Interesting.

1:19:51Chris Ryan:What do you have for this wrap? Secret handshake one is tough because, yeah, there's not a lot of signature items. I would go for the pink cow post-it notes, which I'm going to then send to everyone I know. Anytime I have an important flight slash hotel room to mark on a piece of paper. We're in business. I would love if you, it would be great if you could get a blow-up poster of the Jackson and Holland's detective agency ad. Oh, yeah. In all of its Filipino or maybe Mexican glory. That's right.

1:20:18Bill Simmons:Coach Finstock, Mr. Miyagi Award for Best Worst Life Lesson, which people want, at least one person wanted to be Coggins Law from Cocktail, which I guess this could be a Coggins Law. Sometimes you just win. Yeah. You do. How about sometimes there's two ways to look at something? Best double feature choice? Would you go Shane Black? So I had, just because it also brings in the Detroit part for a crime film is No Sudden Move, which is the Steven Soderbergh movie from a few years ago with Don Cheadle.

1:20:50Chris Ryan:Yeah, that's a great one. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang feels too easy almost. I like that angle. I would almost go like drama comedy. Like let's do like a Michael Clayton or a Pelican Brief. Another like corporate conspiracy kind of movie like that. Speaking of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Chet is Val Kilmer's son. I know.

1:21:06Bill Simmons:Jack Kilmer. Jack Kilmer. I have the other guys. I would have this first, then the other guys. Okay. I can just do Guys Night. Guys Night. Nice guys. Right in the other guys. And then we have Gosling winning the movie. We do. I think he has to. Yeah. Craig, you wanted this for a while. Yeah. This is just an all-timer for me. Probably, I think it's the best comedy of the last 10 years since 2016. Not that there's a ton it's competing against. But, I love the Lethal Weapon movies, which you guys introduced to me on the rewatchables. And like you said, the buddy cop, the dark action comedy, buddy cop comedy, I think is my number one favorite genre in movies.

1:21:42This movie in particular strikes a really delicate tone. It's pretty impressive that they kill Margaret Qualley. Jessica gets thrown through a glass window. Yep. And there's no love interest in this movie, which I really like. Except for Tally briefly. She's just like, hold off, I'm writing this down porn in his past. When she walks in, he's like, you look great. Yeah. And then she throws a pair of scissors at Holly's head. It's so good. But I don't know. I love that. I love that it's just like about these two guys. There's no kiss at the end. It's perfect to me. I rewatch it every couple years.

1:22:15Everybody I've watched it with likes it. It's just universally beloved. Fuck Angry Birds.

1:22:20Chris Ryan:I love that it can end to like Gosling welling up tears in his eyes holding up the film reel. It's like sometimes you do just win. Again, it's inexplicable. It's indefensible.

1:22:31Bill Simmons:But they lucked into it. We never did the what happened the next day with the film reel. Like, did they ever do anything with it? Like, was it a huge story? Was it a national story?

1:22:41Chris Ryan:Well, they say no one, like, Kim Basinger didn't face any consequences. Or she gets sent to prison, but the companies aren't held liable. Well, we should discuss this. The entire plan of making a porn movie that has a message in it to show it was auto show. It's just a commercial element. It's a horrible plan. I mean, just like, you have the information, send it to, like, a news station. Right. You'd expect like sometime in 77, they're still riding high off Watergate. Because they asked her, not even because Nixon's still in office. And they were like, go to the cops. And she's like, my mom is the cops.

1:23:10It's like, okay, you could find a journalist out there who would take the story and write about it and blow it up in the LA Times.

1:23:14Chris Ryan:They do ask her. And she says that they controlled the media too. I like it because it's from the perspective of like stoned out Margaret Qualley logic. Like that's the only mechanism that can solve this problem. It's also the movie takes, it's not like the message is in the very beginning of the porn movie either. Like you have to kind of sit down and watch it. Yeah. Which also makes no sense. But I do love the line, they made a porn where the plot is the point of the movie. Yeah. That's great.

1:23:39Bill Simmons:This was like the last era where they were making porn films where they're actually kind of go for it with the plot. Yeah. And with how they filmed it and actually spending money on it. Which, as Boogie Nights covered, where Jack Horner's like really trying to make movies. And the idea that anybody is like an experimental filmmaker who's also doing these things. Ironically, we were texting about this yesterday about how. No, the new Bev Cinema. That's right. Oh, sure. Yeah, literally. They're showing these porn noir Friday nights or Saturday nights at midnight. They were showing some movie. I thought it was a joke, but it was real.

1:24:10Bill Simmons:And I texted them. And Van's like, yeah, they've been doing it all month.

1:24:15Chris Ryan:I'm not going to name any names. We do have a colleague who has attended some of these out of experimental curiosity. It is funny how Van was kind of getting irritated where he's like, you guys all treat me like a freak, but you know as much as I do. He did.

1:24:28Bill Simmons:Started throwing porn scandals at us. yeah so I'm gonna guess that's a mostly male crowd couldn't tell ya no wasn't it like didn't somebody say it was like couples or something like that yeah no fans must have been fans no way that's true that's 40 guys by themselves and 2 couples would be the audience no it's a really important piece of cinema history well we're almost done with CR month CR yeah one more have you started to think big picture what this month meant to you and the love from the fans I'm curious to see how you use me going forward. You know, from a coaching perspective. You know, like, now, do you take me down a peg or two?

1:25:07Do you ice me? What do you do next with me? What do you mean?

1:25:11Bill Simmons:You've been on, like, 70 % to 75 % of the episodes you've had. No, I know, but now I'm riding high, so do you? Well, first of all, I like that we saved some for the next CR month. Because when, you know, we have a year to play in this now with the festival. Sure. And, you know, the merch, all that stuff. You can hire the guy to play the tree. the guy the$20 big dick guy we'll have him there of all the characters for some of these movies but yeah we left we left Hunter for October for October yeah nice maybe October maybe we just don't do it in October who knows okay yeah who knows if we'll do it or not I'm just worried for you Chris we saved aliens as well oh thank goodness those were the two that didn't that you talked about the most there's been other ones but those have been other than the ones we've already done this month.

1:26:01Bill Simmons:If you want to know, the other contenders were all basically up in the brackets that we just did. I've noticed, I don't always go into the comments, but I did for the Instagram vote. And some people were like, fuck yes, Sorcerer! You motherfucker! Sorcerer has to win! People are angry that anyone has voted for anything other than Sorcerer. I think Sorcerer is a passionate, passionate fan base.

1:26:23Chris Ryan:Those were the CR heads. The true CR heads, those are Sorcerer heads. Are you a Sorcerer guy? Yes, but not as a whole personality. I don't know how I missed it for 50 years. It's a real film nerd new classic. No, I get it.

1:26:37Bill Simmons:Film grow new classic. But it's obviously in my wheelhouse. I just, you know. It's only been a couple of years that it's looked as good as it looks now, though. Is that what it is? Because I saw it at New Beverly and it was still a pretty beat up print and everybody was really pumped about it. But like, it's been a while. It took a while for it to look as good as it looks.

1:26:55Chris Ryan:Was that a more male audience than the porn New Beverly screening you saw. It was a double feature, so it was hard to tell.

1:27:02Bill Simmons:They should put that when they tweet out the movie. They should have an audience survey after what the demo was. Yeah. I wonder if they've ever got 100 % dudes. Henry Portrait of the Serial Killer, like that kind of guy. I've been in some movies with 100 % dudes. Yeah. The 100 % dude crowd. That's like Soldado. Yeah. That's like the Ringer Fantasy Football Show demo every time I look at that. It's like 97. I watched a Soldado again after we did Sicario.

1:27:30Chris Ryan:I'm not going to, I'm going to withhold judgment during CR month. It's not bad. It's tough. It's got some moments. Yeah. 2033. We're still kicking around. We're looking for movies to do.

1:27:42Bill Simmons:2033. Very possible. Rob Mahoney, thank you. CR, a pleasure as always. Craig, thank you. Back on Rewatchables next week, LA Confidential, which is on Netflix. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Is it? but I don't know. No, I think it is. LA Confidential is on. Yeah, go ahead and check. Yeah, yeah. So, and if not, then we'll have to edit this out and do a separate piece of it. But LA Confidential coming next week for CR Month. And don't forget, we did the mailbag if you missed it last week as well. So, yeah. No, it's on there. I'm confident. LA Confidential. Netflix. It's not. It's not. It's not on there. No. It's on Amazon Prime.

1:28:23Bill Simmons:Damn it. Well, We did just get acquired by Amazon Prime, so that'll be fine. There you go. Okay. All right. LA Confidential, not on Netflix. Thanks, everybody.

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