Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Episode 106 - Phil Rosenthal Returns

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

It's time to feed Phil Rosenthal who's traveled the world on his way to our table. Season 5 of Somebody Feed Phil is available now on Netflix! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hey! sourdough. Hey, it's time for Breaking Bread with Papa. Hey, don't you know? Hey, it's also a show. Hey! Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa. I'm Tom Papa. I thank you so much for joining us once again. We've got a good one for you today. We've got Phil Rosenthal. Yes, Phil is back. He has got a mediocre bread. I gave them a mediocre bread, guys. You know, it was a time thing.

I was running. I mean, I planned it beforehand. I made it. All right, this is what happened. Last night, I had a show at the comedy store. And right before I left, I was like, let me mix the dough really quick. That way I can fold it and get it ready through the night. And then it will rise until the morning.

and then crank it out during the morning and then come here and meet Phil. And I forgot and I already rushed the very first step, which is called Otolice. Autolice is when you first mix the bread, the dough, the flour with the water. It's your first step. You let that sit for like 20, 30 minutes and everything, the flour really soaks up the water and it's a great starting point. It's a launching point for making really great bread. I was like, that doesn't really matter.

Screw it. Does Autolese even mean anything? Let's just mix it. And then I'll throw the starter in and the salt. Mix it all together. Go to make my show. This never would have happened if I had remembered an hour earlier. So I did it.

and while I can't completely say that that was the reason that Phil is leaving today with a flat bread, I think that's where I started to go wrong. Because everything else kind of normally when I do that and then over the night and I come into the kitchen at 7 in the morning, my three-court container is almost overflowing. The dough has risen so much that the lid is starting to. to slowly pop off. And it wasn't, it was like three quarters high. So I think that is where I kind of made the first mistake. Because everything else was cool. I shaped it in the morning, put it in the refrigerator. It looked like it was forming a good shape. And I put it in. The other suspect at the

very end could have been that the oven didn't get really hot enough. I rushed it a little bit there. Like maybe it really just needed to get super hot because that's when you put in the dough and it just expands. If the heat is really, if you see on Instagram, we ever see like breads just exploding in the oven, that's all heat. It's just heat. And I felt like I was a little behind on that. It wasn't horrible. I would give it a seven. I would give it a seven.

It smelled great. to give him warm bread. And look, Phil is like family. He's, he's been on my shows before. I've been out to eat with him. He is just a great, as I say, during the beginning of the interview, he is the perfect guest because he is comedy and food all mixed together. Somebody Feed Phil is coming out tomorrow. It drops its fifth season, fifth season on Netflix. Tomorrow. So he is the perfect Yes, because he knows comedy and he knows food. The problem is he knows food. And he's seen really great breads.

This isn't the first bread I've given him. But you don't want to just give him something that's not a nine or a ten. But he's like family. Sometimes mom, you know, really nails it at Christmas. Some years it's just off a little bit. You still love them. It's still good. They still had you in mind when they made it.

So hopefully he seems like a kind guy. But I also suspect that he might be secretly. You can't travel the world and know all of these foods so well and experience all of these things and not have a different metric for what's good and what's mediocre. So thankfully, the conversation that I have with them is, amazing. It's great. It moves. He's got so many great stories. He really is the perfect guest. We had to squeeze it in because he's got the launch of the show coming. So we could do a part two.

Maybe that's what we'll do. There was a lot more to get to. We'll get them back. We'll have part two. Not just for you so you can hear more, but also for me so I can redeem myself. I was thinking about this the other day. you never want to give food to somebody, anything you make, just for your kids, for yourself, for your partner, for a friend. You never want to give food away that has to come with an explanation, an excuse. It's, the crust is a little hard. It's not as sweet as I thought. It's not as, yeah. You just want to give it to them silently. This is for you. and watch them devour it, then you know you nailed it. So don't let my fragile ego get in the way of what is a great episode.

This episode today is brought to you by tompapa.com. That's right. I am touring all around the country. I'm doing a whole bunch of clubs from now through the summer because I am working out stuff for my special that's going to shoot in September for the Netflix's. So I am going to be bouncing around and it's going to be loose and fun and a great way to do some shows. I've also got some other bigger shows like at the Borgata and places like that. And then of course the fall tour, the Wilbur in Boston. I've got Orlando. I've got a whole

bunch of stuff. Also in the short term coming up at the beginning of June, I've got a casino in Iowa. I'm going to West Virginia. I'm going to some other place around there. Phoenix. So I've got a lot of dates. Go to tompapa.com and get all those and we'll see each other live and in person

and kiss on the lips. All right. Let's enjoy a conversation. And you hit me up on social media. When you see or here, Phil get this bread. let me know what you think was he disappointed

was he happy I bet he'll text me later and say he was happy I hope he does he's a great guy enjoy and then go to Netflix tomorrow and enjoy somebody feed Phil

season five dropping on the Netflix enjoy I baked you some bread thank you it's not my best bread goodbye but I feel like we're like family

and you know like it so I can complain am I supposed to take a look at it No, you can take a look at it, though. All right. It's just came out of the oven. Oh, it's warm.

It's warm. Everybody likes this. It just has more wheat, so it's a little heavier. So it's a little flatter. By the way, this is a 20-pound bread I'm holding. It's good, bread. It's beautiful. Smell it.

Listen, I can. It's got a little crackle. It's got a little crackle, it's got a little crackle, thank you. It'll taste great. It's just, I like it when it comes out beautiful and a little larger. It is beautiful. Well, your family, so I figured, you know, sometimes mom nails it, and sometimes mom doesn't nail it.

And we love mom anyway. And we love mom anyway. And, you know, you are really the perfect guess because this is comedy and food. Yeah. And you are really one of the very few who combine both of them in a huge way. You too, mister. I know. That's it.

We should just do this together all the time. No, I love it. There's a lot of food shows that came before. They were very serious. Some of them still are. Yeah. And I think people like it. I think they like, you know,

there are a lot of cooks out there who take it seriously. I happen to not be one of those people. I really think that food is this marvelous break in the day for fun. Yes, exactly. Life, not that I'm complaining, but life can be so hard for so many. And I've seen around the world that food is not only this break in the day for them, but it's the only nice thing in the way. the day for them. Right. The only chance to have some enjoyment in their life. It's so sad when you

think about it. So have fun with this. Yeah, it's a toil. It's a toil. And then you get to, yeah, then you get to just enjoy it and eat it. Now you've got the next season. I can't believe it's season five. Yeah. Coming up. Wow. Congratulations. Season five of anything is just insane. I'm just so happy. And we filmed 10 episodes. So there's going to be a season six. They just said. Oh, no way. But, yeah, I mean, I knew there would be because we filmed enough for two. So they just said today that that season six is coming. Oh, that's so great.

So nice. So May 25th? Is season 5? And then in the fall will be the sixth season. Oh, it's exciting. And I have to tell you, Phil, I have to tell you, it is sticky. There are, when I, because I do this and, you know, there's food, I'm in the food orbit. Yeah.

And from comedy people and just my families and all those kind of things. People really like your show. There's a, I mean, I don't, you don't need that endorsement going into six season. But you can tell when things are like, hey, it's happening. Yeah. Took a while, but I'm grateful. Yeah. I'm grateful to COVID.

Mm. Because people, people actually, they traveled through the show when they couldn't travel. Right. I didn't know how it would go. I actually thought maybe you don't want to be reminded that you can't go out. Yeah. But I guess it was escapism. Totally.

You know, the rumor that I spread is that Netflix started COVID. Who had the most to gain? Netflix. Netflix and Postmates. They can handle it. They're dealing with everything else from all different fronts. They'll be okay. I love them.

I think we're the top food and travel show in the world because of Netflix's reach around the world. We go to places. I'm in places that I'd never dreamed that it would be, and people stop me on the street. Because they all have Netflix. It's in every country on earth except for maybe North Korea and China. And I hear even in China, they kind of get it illegally somehow. That's amazing.

If you could break into North Korea, that would be an episode. Didn't, what's his name to it? I have a friend. The basketball player? I think so. Right? He got in there. He's his buddy.

Yeah. Why am I blanking on his name? Me too. Who? Dennis Rodman. Dennis Rodman. Yeah. who seems completely normal in every other way.

But yeah. Where are we going this season? Oh, very exciting. You ever been to Oaxaca in Mexico? No. It's the most colorful, beautiful, delicious place you've ever been. Really? And it's three hours from where we're sitting.

It is? It is. You got to go. Really? You like Mexican food? I love Mexican food. You know where Mexican food is really good? Mexico.

Oh, I was thinking Toronto. It's so, it's the gastronomic and cultural center of Mexico. I thought it was Mexico City. Yeah. It's this smaller city called Waxaca City. Wahaka. In the county, in the state of Oaxaca, which goes all the way from the ocean, all the way inland. And it's a spectacularly colorful, beautiful.

I can't wait for you to see it. Really? Yeah, that's the first one out of the gate is that one. Then we go to Maine. Also gorgeous. Gorgeous. I love Maine. We love Maine. I went to the diner of my life. I wonder if you've been. Do you know Bitterford, Maine?

No. There's something called. Palace Diner. It's an old railroad car. Oh, wow. And it was an old railroad dining car. So it's, you walk in it and you hear the little 15-seat diner, these great chefs from New York, from Gramercy Tavern,

took over the diner, left the menu the same. Meaning, tuna sandwich, French toast, no. Pancakes, omelets, burger deluxe, and elevated them in a chefi way to make them spectacular. So it's the best comfort food you've ever had. It might be one of my favorite restaurants I've ever been to. Oh my God. I say to the guy, this is, you don't know how great

this is. He goes, well, the bar is very low, meaning that this type of food is very low. I said, no, it's the opposite. The bar is very high because we all grew up on this food. We know we're all experts in that food. So when you have the best friggin pancakes you ever had, that's like a big day. That's amazing. Where in Maine is that? Biddeford, Maine. Where's Biddeford? From Portland. Maybe a half hour away from Portland. Okay. We spend the majority of our time in the show in Portland, But then I have relatives who have a farm in Wisconsin. And we go there and I have to herd sheep. They even wanted me to shear a sheep.

You see some of that. That's the classic film. That is the comedy of the travel show. I guess. It's the food is great. But seeing you having to eat something wiggly or chase after something hairy or row through something weird. I asked this man who's a relative,

how did you get in our family? This is not who we are. You know, when I want lamb, I'm on postmates. Right. It's amazing. Let me just backtrack for a second. Talk to me about Mexico. Yes. Because we have this, and I've

had some great chefs from the area down there, but I I, there is this disconnect from America, from the stories we get in America of, okay, you can, you can, you know, other than going to the resorts, other than going to. Yeah, like Cabo. So it's like a suburb of LA. Yeah, right, exactly. And you see everybody from LA there.

And, but then you see the other places like you're talking about. And it's like, well, those seem like the real thing. That's right. I should be going there. Yes, you should. I should go to the temples and all the rest of it. And then you see reports on our news that you'll get there and you'll get out of the taxi and they will kidnap your children and they will hide you in a cave somewhere and happy vacation to you. I went to Mexico City.

This is the first episode we did in Mexico. And I was nervous about the very same thing because of these stories. Yeah. I get to the hotel. It's a St. Regis Hotel on what looks like Fifth Avenue. very modern beautiful city with crazy beautiful skyscrapers of real architectural design, not like now where they just throw up, you know, just these glass model links. The New York matchsticks.

This is like real architecture, really beautiful, real design. Right. I'm going to say better than what we have in many cities. Yeah. I get out. They have a security. He says, hello, I'm your security. I said, thanks.

He goes, I just want to tell you, you don't need security. I said, really? He says, you see the people walking? And I look on the street and there's people walking like you would see on Fifth Avenue, New York.

I said, yes, he goes, do they have security? Do you see security? I said, no. I said, what if I want to run in the park over there in the morning? He goes, you can see the park from here. Yes.

Do you see the people running? Yes. Do they have security? No. You don't need security. Yeah. He stayed with me the whole time, but I never needed him.

It's true. Yeah. And I think, if you go out at three in the morning in an empty part of town in any place anywhere in the world you're asking for trouble right right so don't do that if you go out in the day when there's people around your chances of being kidnapped are much much less right and so that's what i've never felt unsafe and now i've been to mexico now a bunch of times and the point of my whole episode the wahaka episode so colorful so beautiful so rich in culture every bite of food delicious all the people smiling and

beautiful, loving, sweet, everything else is that we're goddamn lucky to have these people as our neighbors. It's the opposite of what some idiots say in a vile, racist, prejudicial way in a cheap effort to get votes. Yeah, right, to making them all an enemy. And even though you know that they're whipping people up and they're calling them all these horrible things and you know what they're doing, it has a slow effect.

It has a drip, drip, drip effect on even though even people that can see what they're doing. That's what's so disgusting. It's so gross. So my job is to show the other side. Yeah. I'm not saying everyone is perfect and they're all angels and wonderful. Of course not. Who is?

Yeah. Welcome to L.A. Look at this. I think you'll think differently. And that's the best thing about travel is that it changes your mind. Yeah. literally change your mind. It does. It opens your mind in a certain way. It gives your perspective on your life at home, like you take stuff back with you that you can apply to your life at home

after you've traveled. Oh, these trees are beautiful here in this grove in Paris. Look how we don't have anything like. And then I got home to Washington Heights where I lived when I was 23. That was my first trip to Paris. I was marveling at how gorgeous it was. And then I walked down the street in Washington Heights. And for the first time, I noticed the trees on our block. That's what travel does. Right. Was there any place during all these travels that you did feel like, let's get back in the van? At any point?

There was a dangerous moment maybe I heard about in Cape Town. It never affected me. We were doing a scene and one of the PAs came in and said, a van has gone around the block three times and they are obviously checking out our production van, meaning all the equipment, the cameras could be ripe for the taking. So maybe we go now. Skaddle now. That's all.

That was the worst. Yeah. Yeah. But nothing's ever happened. Right. Oh, that's good. Yeah. Cut to.

It's always your own. It's always your ratings. By the way, got food poisoning once in all my travels, you know where? San Francisco. Now. Everywhere in the world, I eat street food in Bangkok. Yeah. I eat Saigon.

I eat anything that everybody gives me. I'm eating bugs. I'm eating whatever. San Francisco. Do you drink the water in all these places? I do what I'm told. Right. If they say, you know what?

Drink bottled water here. And I do. But a lot of, you know, places that we go, listen, I'm not, I'm not Mr. Adventure. I'm not Anthony. Right. Right. I'm, I'm me and I'm old and I want a hotel with a bed with a pillow. And that's where I'm going. I haven't reached a point yet where I'm in the middle of the desert with nothing. I'm not that guy. I'm not going to Antarctica for fun. Right. Right. Which is why watching it is cool because you feel, I feel like, oh, I could go there too. Yes, I think that if people see if that putts can go outside, I can too. Right. If he made it, I'm going to be okay. Yeah. It's like a step down from Bordane.

Right. I watch Bordane and I go, he's amazing. I'm never doing that. Right. But for some people, just getting off the couch is the adventure. They're not going one step out of their comfort zone. No. So my job is to get you.

Right. That first step on the plane. Right. Just get on the plane. Just get, right? Go, go call a restaurant that you never call before during COVID. How do we travel during COVID? Why don't you try an ethnic restaurant?

Right. in town. Postmates it. Yes. And try something. It's like traveling for the night. Peruvian food. It is amazing when you talk about the,

what our mindset was during COVID. Yeah. Because I found myself sitting with my iPad at night and just looking, it just kind of came out of nowhere. I just started scrolling through beautiful pictures of Copenhagen. Oh, yeah. Just like looking. I'm like, what are their baked goods there?

What is their bread like? Look at these? places. Look at that hotel. Look at that. I mean, for a long time. I spent a lot of time just like, it was like almost a vacation. It was, and I have heard that, that they say that the, another very therapeutic part of travel is the planning. Is the planning. That's right. And so now, are you really planning a trip? I'm not, not active. I haven't said it out loud to the family like we're going yet, but in my mind. to me and the listeners.

Yeah. So that's like a commitment. Yeah. I am planning it, but I haven't told the other people where they're going. You, that's great. Yeah. I really want you to do that. Yeah.

First of all, Copenhagen, phenomenal place. You're going to go crazy. Yeah. You've got to go to Noma. Tell me about it. You're going to go to Noma. Uh-huh. You want to go there, right?

Because it's the restaurant of the world. Right. You're going to eat stuff. People plan their vacations just around when they can get in. Exactly. So you'll do that. You'll get in. Yeah.

I might know. somebody. Ah, nice. And you're just going to see, like, I took the family when we shot that episode. My daughter, who was maybe 21, 22 at the time, after three days said, I could live here. Really? Really? Yeah.

And they are used to what they're used to. Right. But it's such an idyllic community. It's so, they do everything right. The cleanest air, food, and water in, like, the world, because they really care about it. Imagine the Hudson River with swirly slides going into it for children. Oh, God. Right?

Yeah. And people fishing the natural fish out of the clean water. Right. That's what life is like. Wow. Air so pure and clean. Food, every bite. Yeah.

Like, they value it. Their bakeries look insane. Yes, the bakeries are insane. It looks beautiful. How big is it? Not very. Yeah, it looks like, is it like a. It's very walkable.

Very bike-rideable. They all ride bikes. Yeah. It's kind of an ideal society. Is there a place that, like your daughter, after going through all this, that you're like, I could live here. Maybe not forever, but. I feel that quite often because we spend a week in each place.

I remember feeling it in Lisbon. Have you been there? No. Spectacular. I feel it maybe every time I go to Italy. Yeah, I know. Italy, you ever feel like. I know.

You were born like there in another life. Yeah. It feels so much like home. And yet it is strange to how we live every day here. Yeah. But so comfortable and just feels right. Remember your first trip to Europe when you tried to buy something at 2 o'clock? And you were like, what the hell?

Why is everything shut? And you couldn't understand. You got mad even what's happening. And then, oh, they take time out and shut down, siesta time, to enjoy the day. What's that like, Tom? What is that like? What is happening here?

Right. We can live like this. We don't have that. We're allowed to live like this. Yeah. So that's the other beautiful thing. Yeah. Travel.

Yeah. You know, I find the break in my day is lunch. And it's like the structure of a play. Right. All the action from the first act is building to the act break, right? Yeah. At the end of the first act. and all the action is going to come from that in the second act.

And so it's this lunch is the tent pole in the day. And so I like to have a lunch with a friend. Right. Because it's something to look forward to in the middle of your day that breaks up your day that makes the day. That's great. Enjoyable. That is a great.

You know, I've actually been thinking about that lately that my focus has always been on dinner. Yes. And it's nice to go out to dinner. Of course. It's nice to do those kind of things when everybody's done. And if, you know, if your wife is working too, like, that's the time you'll meet up and stuff. But really, when I would read Jim Harrison, he actually wrote a thing called a really big lunch.

Oh, I don't know that. Yeah, he's a great writer, wrote for Esquire for years and all about food. And he became diabetic and died too early. But he was, but he's so passionate. And his whole thing was about the lunch. Like the lunch is you could go longer, you could drink, you could just, you could eat more things and still sleep at night. Yes. That's because you fall asleep in the day.

Right, because you do. You nap a little bit. Yeah. The lunch is, uh, it should be like the big showcase. You ever work in a writer's room? Yeah. So we, I called my production company when we're doing Raymond, where's lunch? Right.

Because it's the main preoccupation. First, where are we going to order from? Yeah. Second, where's that lunch already? And they start asking that question at nine. Of course. Yeah. More important than the show.

Right? Can't eat the show. And, you know, you're in this window. room it feels like in it, we called it the veal pen. Right. And the only sunshine coming in is the menu. Yeah. And so you could order whatever you want.

We all got fat. Yeah. And it was, it was kind of paradise. Yeah. We had these dry erase boards on the wall for our story ideas. Uh-huh. We had more dry erase boards for where we're ordering lunch from. What are the possibilities in town?

What are the places that deliver? What are the place we don't like? What are the place we still have to try? That's so great. Very important. Very important. That was such a, I mean, it's an amazing show and we've talked a lot about it. But I was thinking on my way over today, you know, you don't stop when you make something like that.

And this was very personal when you made Raymond because it was a lot of it was your family. And it was like things of your growing up and your parents and things. Are there stories in your head today? take all of the pitching and making it and all the nonsense of the struggle of making a show or a film yeah or a book out do you have stories that are present that you feel like you're getting itchy to tell every time I dip my toe into the sitcom waters again it gets cut off and I'm running out of toes I don't know what the business is now. Of course I have stories.

You do. And I've told you some of the ideas that I've had. I'm certainly happy to write a sitcom. I don't want to run a show anymore. That's a young person's game. And I have my gig now doing the other. Got your show. I'm never going to give up as long as they don't fire me.

I love this gig. I'm the luckiest guy you're ever going to talk to. Which, by the way, sorry to interrupt, but which by the way is a very big story. You are telling a big story. From the time when you were talking to your parents to you traveling, seeing your kids show up and your wife and friends. It is a, you are telling a story. I think that's what hooks us. You're not just showing food. No, I come from the world of sitcoms. Yeah. I understand, I guess, how to tell a story on television. And I'm using it in the service of everything else I love in life. Right. Family, friends, food travel laughs. Yeah. That's that show. Yeah. Right. Food's only part of it.

Right. Food. I would almost say is the hook to get you in so I can deliver my bigger message, just like the message of love and family and understanding was at the center of Raymond, but if we didn't have jokes, nobody would watch. Right, right, right, right. So what was the question? Well put. Oh, other shows?

Other stories? Yes, I have many stories. But the business, do you have to tell you how frustrating it is now? Yeah. I mean, people can't even get movies made because the movie business isn't there anymore. Big people with big names. Look at the movie that won this year. Coda.

You saw it, right? Yeah, yeah. Beautiful little movie. I think had it been, let's say, in the 70s or the 80s, that was the stuff of movies. A lot of those types of movies. That kind of movie came out every month, it seems. That's right. What I'm saying is movies about people.

Yeah. Not superheroes. Yeah. And capes and special effects. Right. Which seems to be the only thing now that gets put in a movie theater. I know. And if you don't have that, you're not making a movie.

And the math behind it. Yes. It's, can this make a billion dollars? They were showing the Johnny Depp, you know, the nonstop trial. Yeah. And there was one question, there was one question, I can't avoid it. It just pops up on Instagram. And they said, and about him being offered $220 million.

dollars to do another pirates that he turned down. What? And 220 million. But that's the math that they're dealing with. These things all make over a billion dollars. So like that's what's moving the studio system. So when people come along with Coda, it's not even like it's like it's a different business now.

It is. And the fact that it even won the Oscar doesn't seem to mean much to them. Or move people. No. Isn't that strange? It used to be, oh, you win the Oscar, you can add $50 million to your box office because you won the Oscar. I don't know if that's true anymore.

And the other thing we have to admit is that movie premiered on Apple Plus. Right. That's right. Not in a movie theater. No. But this is the stuff of what used to be movies. Yeah. I really miss it.

I miss, like they wouldn't even make. I mean, you and I are old enough to know what a big deal, a movie like, let's say dog day afternoon. Oh, God. Remember? Yeah, my God. Any of those. You were thrilled to go to the movie theater to see that.

They wouldn't make that today. Yeah. That would be some like Apple Plus or Netflix little thing. Yeah. Right? I know. What is it? A bank heist.

Who cares? Yeah. It was so phenomenal. Even something like the Godfather, I don't think would be made. No. No. And would people do think that people would,

say the Tom and Phil studio opened up and cranked out Godfathers and Dog Day afternoons and got them in the theaters. Would the public, would they show up and watch them? I have to think if it's good they're going to come. Right. You know, it's not the form. It's the content. I always say this.

People say, oh, you know, the four camera sitcom, nobody wants to see that. What do you mean? Right. The people don't care how many cameras there are. It's in front of the cameras that they are pooping on. Because it stinks. Most things are terrible. Yeah.

And they always have been. Yeah. We just have a lot more of everything now. I know. But I certainly wish that we could go to the movie theater and have that communal experience. Yeah. Because the movie theater felt like the theater. I know.

Where you'd see some great drama or great comedy. Alongside other people. We watched Tootsie the other night again. Yeah. Is there better comedy that come along than 40 years? That movie is 40 years old. Is there even a chance that that would be made today? Not even.

Yeah. It would have to be some gross out humor. There's not a speck of that in that movie. Right. There's barely a dirty joke in that movie. Right. Right? Yeah.

Yeah. And then there'd be all the issues about who's playing this person dressing up like a woman. And is that, oh my God. But damn, is it holds up really well because the writing is so great. Everything about it. God. Just works. I miss that.

Yeah. I just go into, wouldn't you kill for that? To have that experience of a movie that's smart and really gut funny, like with Broadway laughs in it. We were, I watched a, I was reading this book by, um, oh, what's his name, McCarthy, something McCarthy. all the pretty horses. Yeah. And he just has this one scene.

It's like kind of in the West. It says things are becoming modernized. And there's just this one scene of him walking in this young kid walking into a theater. It's very small. It's maybe two paragraphs. But he just comes into this theater and he talks about the red cushy carpets on the steps

and the gold handrails. Match. Getting your ticket. Yeah. Going up to the balcony. Sitting and looking at all the other people below. Yeah. having the thing come on.

And I couldn't believe how it hit me. Like that thing, that magical escape from the world that you got to go and participate in a theater to see a film. Yeah. Like, I can't tell you the last time I went to a theater. These, welcome to things old people say. Right? This is like a most of like, but it was magical. Kids don't know what they're missing.

No, I know. I mean, I think they'll have it. this summer when the new Tom Cruise Maverick comes out because that's going to be a communal experience and everything I'm hearing about it is terrific like it really delivers on what it's supposed to do so maybe that'll be nice if COVID

some new strain doesn't come and kill that for us too but I hope that I hope that comes back because every one of those experiences even if it's this big you know 300 million dollar blockbuster it'll get people going again. It'll get people like get them excited about going to a theater. If you're a teenager, I mean, sure, you've got a,

your parents may have a 60 inch thing with great sound in the living room that you can, like we've created these little places to watch. Yes. I mean, it's all high deaf. It's all looks great. Yeah. But the one flaw is that your parents are there. There's always going to be a need for the guy to take the girl to the movies.

There's always going to be that need. Yeah. Right? Yeah. To have a date. You don't need your dad walking in, chewing on some popcorn. What are you guys watching? It's not a date.

I mean, Netflix and Chill is an expression. Yeah. We know what that means. Yeah. But it's not the same. No. People want to go out. Exactly.

Away from the parents. Go. I know. Live your life, people. Yeah. Get out of it. We need movies. Yeah.

It's like a, it's a basic human need. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Restaurants and you need movies. Both are in danger. I know. Right?

I know. What's that? What's that? Yeah, what's that you're hearing? Because I know you're very tapped in. I think you know everybody that owns a restaurant in Los Angeles. I love the community. I think it's a great community.

I think it's an artistic community. I think it's an art form like any other. And I'm here to support the arts. Yeah. Right? So I'm stupid enough to invest in restaurants. That's how much I love them. Yeah.

And I feel like it's the fabric of society. It's where we socialize. It's our social life. Yeah. It's fun. It's like traveling for the night. Yeah. Or the day.

Yeah. Right? I just came from Republic lunch. Uh-huh. Spectacular. Yeah. It was, you know, you forget everything you're doing and concentrate on how delicious and fun this is.

Yeah. Seeing the people around you. But COVID hit restaurants hard. Hard. And we need a bailout for the restaurant industry, not the giant corporate restaurants, like the white tablecloth places that only rich people can afford. Or the giant corporate chain restaurants that poor people are forced to eat at. It's everything in between. All the restaurants we like, the mom and two off places, the ethnic places.

And I mean, this is a giant, you know, the restaurant industry employees. employs more people than any other industry in America other than the government. Whoa. That's big. But the thing I keep hearing is that all these people that own these places can't get people to work. I don't know what that story is. You can't get the staffing, right? Maybe COVID was like a crazy wake-up call to people that they're not going to do what they don't like to do anymore.

Right. That could be part of it. Another part of it could have been maybe too much money went in their pocket while they weren't working. I heard that a little bit. I don't know if that's 100% true. You would think that would start tapering off at this point. Yes. Right?

Like how much. But on the other side, maybe it was because I know some students who just had like jobs for a short time and the college students who got like, you know, 25 grand. And if I was at that age, I could have. lived off that for a good time. 10 years. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So maybe they did. But you, I mean, it's got to come back, doesn't it? What happens if we don't?

You're hearing that? You're hearing that the people that are having trouble staffing. Of course. Comedy Magic Club said they're opening up. Yeah. They've been, the last one to open. And they said in the email, you know, we're going to be doing just a certain amount of days and stuff. And they said, if you know any cooks, send them our way. Yes.

Like they don't, they can't find the staff to open seven days a week. It's honestly, completely puzzling to me. What are those people going to do for money? Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you have to work. Everybody has to work. Yeah, and they're fun jobs.

They're great jobs. Or are we all so short-sided now, like the government. We just grab it now and screw later, like the studios, like the networks, like that, everybody else. Human nature, maybe. Human nature, just get, grab it now, screw later. Well, when you think like that, you do screw later. Yeah. There is no later.

No, right. If you're so short-sighted, it's the trouble with everything. Yeah, yeah. Like, what is Russia thinking long-term with what they're doing? I know. Have they thought beyond the immediate? That's the most puzzling part of that, isn't it? Yes, not to get political.

When you read the articles and you're just like, what is, what's the end? What's the end game here? Why are they doing this? What's the cruelty? Yeah. Hateful. What are you breeding? What are you doing? Yes.

So people have some long-term goals. Yeah. It's very important to your children. Back to Putin just for a quick sack. Please. He's not young. You know what I mean? Like, whatever damage he does,

like he's not going to even live long enough to see, like what? Like, why? Well, we must consider that he's crazy. Yeah, that's the most unsettling thing we have to consider. I heard also, you know, I read reports that he's very sick, maybe with cancer, and I don't, I don't know. I saw that. I saw some picture with him with a blanket over him.

Okay. I know. I know. And you read that and you're like, is that good for us or bad for us? By the way, the doctor's going to perform that surgery. It has a big role in this world. Oh, how about that? Well, you can give us a good perspective on that.

You went to Russia famously. Oh, they're back in the news now. Famously to see if you could. could, if they could do their own version of Raymond. Called everybody loves Kostya. They asked, invited me to come and helped them. I said, I would if I could film the whole thing. Right.

It's a movie called Exporting Raymond. You can see it on iTunes and Amazon now. It was on HBO for a long time. Yeah. But it's like a cult classic because it's really funny. My family thinks it's the funniest movie ever made because of how much I suffer. You were suffering. Well, I was invited to a place that once I got there, it was no small thing to go to Moscow.

Yeah. For me, this was 10 years ago. I go to a place where I think I'm an expert in the subject. That's why they invited me, right? Just to be clear to the listeners, they wanted to make their own version of Raymond. That's right. And put it on TV, for real. For real.

And they wanted my help. Yes. To produce. They said they wanted my help. And it turns out they didn't want my help. I got there I traveled all that way and they didn't want my help

I think what they wanted was kind of my stamp of approval and I was there as kind of a puppet I don't know what I was I don't know either with the funniest part but I kept trying you did but the funniest part was that there was no funny there

like they literally seemed like they didn't they were very warm at the table and you were eating with the family but as far it was like bringing comedy to people who didn't know what comedy was. I'm not judging because life is hard there. Like a water pitcher would come to the table at every dinner.

A big water pitcher that wasn't water. And they would drink it like water. Jeez. Tall water glasses full. And they'd go through several pictures. And what I came to understand was they need that. Wow. Because life is hard.

Right. They even said when I said, you know, their style of comedy only, they only had sketch shows as comedy. Very broad. Very broad. Like broader than vaudeville. Right. Big, huge, crazy clownish stuff.

Yeah. And Raymond, we're trying to keep it real. We're trying to, we had one rule in the writer's room. Could this happen? Right. That's all. Just could this happen? Not that it wasn't exaggerated a little bit sometimes, but could this possibly happen in the

real world? That was our motto. Right. And I went to a land where things are exploded. It's a giant face. Well, you know, like Jerry Lewis would be subtle. Right. Giant pies.

Giant pie fights. And I would say, I think you want the show to be relatable. Not to me, but to your own real Russian audience. Yeah. And they literally said to me, real life is terrible. Why would we put that on television? Whoa. This is supposed to be an escape.

Jeez. So make it real. really big and funny. Right. And so I was trying to show them when it wasn't working for them, they weren't laughing either because you can't possibly laugh at this outrageous, gigantic performances that they were encouraging. Right.

They just figured that's how it should be. Mm-hmm. So we're watching something of how it should be in our minds instead of genuinely laughing. And then we talk to them off stage, they make jokes like you and the things we laugh at, we don't laugh at. Yeah. And that's universal. But for some reason, there was a mindset.

It must be like this. It must be the circus. Right. Very frustrating to anyone trying to. Yeah. But the whole point of the movie is, listen, it's hard to get your idea across in your house. Right. You know, to people who supposedly love you and are on the same wavelength with you enough that you marry them.

Yeah. But, you know, how many times in your house do you? Like, I see this so clearly, it's so obvious. I know. How do you not see this? How about when you try and recall things with your family? Yeah. Like you and your wife will talk about when the kids were little or something.

Yeah. And you have no recollection. Either no recollection or a complete opposite scenario in your head of what went down. Your wife is like, what? That's right. And I'm going to say, for the sake of my life, she's always right. Oh, I've learned just go along, get quiet, and listen to the story goes. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're right. Yeah, okay. That's how it happened. You want to live? You want supper?

And you know, in reality, she's probably, she probably is right. I'm sure. She was much more into the details of all that stuff going on. She tells me stories about the birth of our son where I, I come off very badly. Where she, our boy came four weeks early. So I was like the Dick Van Dyke show where I did not know where my hat was. You know, it was like a, yeah. I don't know what is happening. And I ran downstairs to get the car. Forgetting that my wife is having a baby and can barely walk. And I'm sitting in the car waiting for her. Because I'm so nervous. Literally out of the Flintstones.

Yes, completely. So I'll never live that down there. Yeah, no, forget it. And that's the way you remember it the same way that that. I don't remember that. Oh, you don't. And then I have to admit, it's not out of the realm of possibility. But I do remember driving like a maniac as best as I could because I thought four weeks

early, something's wrong. Yeah, yeah. So I was nervous and driving and she said, slow down. I'm like driving on Wilshire like a maniac. Wow. Like the French connection. That's crazy. So when you see these stories unfolding of the troubles that seem like they're from another

century of what's going on over there, is there? Is there your experience? Do you have a perspective of the mindset? Is there anything that you've... You have to admire... You have to admire the Russian people and their leader. No, sorry. The Ukrainian people.

Take that back. You have to admire the Ukrainian people and Zelenskyy. The defiance. It's how you wish you would be in such a situation. Yeah, yeah. But damn it, those stories of what I'm hearing, that we're all hearing about these atrocities, these war crimes, these horrible.

It's regular people. Even if you want to take over, what are you doing? Yeah. What is this torture, rape, murder? Slaughter. Slaughter of children, booby-trapping toys for children to find. What are you doing? Yeah.

This is how you want to win, and what are you winning? And what do you get? Yeah, what do you get? So it makes no sense not to not to, I don't even know, I don't even think this is political. It's just human. It's just barbaric. It's like the Syria.

It's like, you know, which is still happening. This is a slow motion. Like, I always think, well, what's that leader get? At the end of the day, you'd get waffle buildings. But what I find in all my travels, and this is a generality, is that most people are so much better than their governments. Yeah. So I'm not even faulting the Russian people.

I know that, you know, Russian people here are being, uh, uh, abused even by people who think, oh, you're Russian, you must be a jerk. Right. You must be a hateful murderer. Right. It's not them. Yeah.

It's this one guy and his surrounding idiots. Yeah. There was last night, just for fun, I checked out South Park. I haven't seen South Park in a while. It's so funny. Always funny. Damn it.

They're so good. How many years? 30? 25 seasons. This is crazy. 25. It's so good. And I was just.

And I was like, oh, they had a Russian one. I was just like, what are those guys talking about? And they had this very funny episode of just what you're saying about they're attacking. Like little butters is in dressage, the horses. And there's a Russian kid who has a horse also. And the parents are all flipping out. Anti-Russian. Like, it's a good little kid on a horse.

So the whole thing goes off from there that all the baby boomers are craving the old days of, when Russia was the enemy, and they could all go back to being, like, in the 1980s. And, oh, it was so funny. Those guys, could you imagine doing something for 25 seasons? Well, they had a great formula, didn't they? God. Take that, like, they found a way, if the animation is cheap enough, and easy enough, we could do it that week. Right.

We could talk about the events of the weekend, actually do a cartoon of the week. Insane. And put it into our scenario. God. And they've done so many that are world-class brilliant satires. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they just came, it was like two years ago. It was before the pandemic.

Yeah. Right before the pandemic. When they all of a sudden were having like one of their best years. Yes. 22. I know. And they were just so relevant. They were so on point.

Yeah. They were just so, God, those minds. You still have to break story every week. Yeah, I don't know how they do it. I don't either. Well, geniuses. Geniuses. God.

Bless them. Bless them. I wonder what they get for lunch. I hope whatever they want. They came to the set once of Raymond. They wanted to see what a real sitcom, like how it worked, and then I think they were going to do one. I think they did something like making fun of George Bush. Oh, you remember that?

Yeah. Like a live action thing. Right, right, right. Oh, and they came in a picture brain. Probably the funniest Broadway show of all time. Oh, my God. You saw it. Oh, yeah.

Did you see the original? The Book of Mormon? Yeah. No. Josh Gad. No, it was right after Josh left. Holy cow. I mean, yeah.

Is there anything funnier than that? I remember sitting behind, I think Regis Philbin was still alive. He had a drink in his hand. You were allowed to bring the drinks in. You were sitting with Lorne Michaels in front of me at the Broadway theater. And there's a show. There's a song in the show called FU God. Right.

They don't say F. They say the word. And the whole song is about how bad their life is. and they're saying F you God. Right. And it is the most profane, shocking for, and outrageously hilarious, like crying, and how wrong this song is, right? Yeah.

The opposite of woke. Yeah. And in intermission, Regis turns to us, and he goes, what's so funny? I don't understand why everyone's laughing. Really? What's funny about this? Yeah. No way.

Yeah. Really? Because it was so, you have to understand that the joke of the writer's room. Yeah. When people say you can't say these things, right, is, yes, we know you can't say these things. That's what's funny about it. The shock of saying it is what's funny about it. Now, there's stuff that truly isn't funny.

And everyone has their line. But once you're in on that joke that you should not say, F you got. in a theater on Broadway? Filled with Midwestern families. You can't stop laughing. Exactly. That's what's really lacking. It's the source, not considering the source,

that we're all in on this together. There's no room anymore for, I don't know, fun, I want to say. I know, that's really what it is. I don't get it. There are people who get canceled for saying the word that you should never say in an example of why you. you shouldn't say it. Say the word.

I know. And then they get canceled. I know. It's really a land of make believe. This is why, and I'm bringing it back because I know we've got to wrap in a second, why your show is so great. Oh, thanks. Really, because there's a freedom to it.

There's a freedom to the travel. You can say what you want to say. You can be with, you're just celebrating. It's very celebratory. And I think that's why that would be Tom Papa's reason for why it's going. into the fifth and sixth season. Thank you. You're the best.

I just love the life I get to have and the people I get to meet. Yeah. You included. Yeah. And I'm just so grateful. I'm still thinking about the bagels I had at your house. Come on. You're welcome any time.

Oh, my God. Courage bagels everybody. Haven't beaten it. It's been about a year. Haven't beaten it. And I've been everywhere. Haven't beaten those bagels yet. Awesome.

Yeah. All right. More lunches. All right. More lunches. We got it, Aaron. All right, everybody, there's the big show, the great Phil Rosenthal. A big thank you.

A big thank you to all of you out there. Make sure you like and subscribe and make sure you get all of the, make sure you subscribe. So you get all of these shows. We've really been killing it lately. We've been having great guests and just let them accumulate. And then when you're popping them into your device when you're on the road, whatever you're doing, you'll never miss one. And also tell a friend and keep expanding the community.

It keeps getting more fun for me. I hope it is for you as well. All right. Thank you, Phil. We'll see you all next time. Enjoy your life.