Cinepals - 13 GOING ON 30 Movie Reaction & Discussion! | Jennifer Garner | Mark Ruffalo

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

Jaby and Michael watch the 2004 rom com 13 Going on 30 for the very first time! In 13 Going On 30 a 13-year-old girl magically wakes up as her 30-year-old self and navigates the challenges of adulthood while rediscovering the importance of friendship and staying true to herself. 13 Going on 30 was directed by Gary Winick (Charlotte's Web [2006], Bride Wars, Tadpole). The main cast includes Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink (Alias, Daredevil, Dallas Buyers Club, The Adam Project), Mark Ruffalo as Matt Flamhaff (Spotlight, The Avengers, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Judy Greer as Lucy Wyman (Arrested Development, 27 Dresses, The Descendants), and Andy Serkis as Richard Kneeland (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Planet of the Apes series, Black Panther). You can watch the cut down reaction to this movie (and many others) on our YouTube channel https://www.YouTube.com/@Cinepals and the full length reaction is available on our Patreon page https://www.cinejump.com SOCIAL MEDIA ~MICHAEL BOOSE~ Instagram: @BooseIsLoose ~CINEPALS~ YouTube: @CinePals Insta: https://instagram.com/TheCinePals Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCinePals

Senna. What is going on, everybody? We are watching 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Gardner, Mark Ruffalo, Andy Circus. That was a surprise. And a number of other folks, according to Imdeba. So let's just jump into this. We've never seen this movie, but that stops today. It's going to be seen.

Here we go. You're awesome, Mr. Frampton. Thank you, Mrs. Flaynor. It all works out. It all works out. And they got the dream house, and it's beautiful, and it's pink. And they don't ever fight. No.

And everyone lives happily ever after. That was delightful. That was definitely fun. I, yeah. It's, again, one of those movies where I was like, I can't believe I didn't watch this before because it was so fun and cutesy. But I think the problem I ran into is it's like, you know, it's 13 going on 30. It's a cute, like, girls' sleepover movie.

Right. Boys don't watch those movies. movies? Absolutely not. You know? So it was never on anybody's radar to like rent and bring home for me or anything like that. But that was delightful. I liked it.

Yeah. I think that if I tried to watch this as a kid, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it, though. Like as a young boy. It's not targeted at me. And so I've, you know, aged into a space in my mind and my soul, mental place where I'm like, I can enjoy this. This is cool. It's the girl's version of big, I will say. It's like, it's a similar vibe for.

sure well i i i saw a big a long time i go to the point that it's so long though i don't remember it very well like i know the broad strokes i guess yeah but the experience of it i could basically watch it again it's like a brand new film for me um but i thought jennifer garner did a fantastic job oh my god yeah she was incredible yeah she brought that very childlike spirit with her through time yes and i you know that's what made it so easy to buy into this magical journey right because she really felt like a 13 year old in a grown-up's body yeah i i I do wish that they, like, kind of even went even more with that just because it's like, there's so much opportunity there. The 80s in 2004, I feel like so much technology.

It was like vastly different. Yeah, for sure. Like, we skipped over the car phone. Like, you probably don't even know what that is, do you? I mean, I have like a vague idea of what a car phone is because I've watched things from that era. Yeah. Before, like, everyone had a cell phone because they became affordable. Like, there was the car phone.

Like, it just lived in your car. Yeah. And that was just like a thing. And so we've leaped over. over all this technology it would have been interesting to see her like kind of stumble through that just a little bit but maybe like that's just not the point of the movie they sort of set it up and established it with her not knowing what was ringing on her when she was going for her cell phone but then we didn't really talk about it after that yeah it just like nobody brought in laptops nobody talked about like because this is like 2004 so that's kind

of early advent of internet too that's right that's right there was a lot that she'd have to get caught up on that she missed over the course of like 30 some years you're absolutely right i mean i feel like Yeah, you know, I didn't even, I didn't even think about that. Like, the internet was a totally, like, it hit in the 90s, in the mid-90s. Like, she was a kid well before that ever hit the scene. So, anyway, that all side. It was a delightful film. Yes.

I had a good time, and I really enjoyed Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo together in this film. They had a really great chemistry. And Mark Ruffalo, as, like you said, you don't see him as kind of the leading man very much. Well, it was, okay, I didn't get to fully articulate, I don't think. just that he was so damn handsome in this movie. I'm used to seeing him as a handsome guy, but like my, the first time I remember like properly looking at his face was in collateral, I think. And so he had this sort of like rough look about him.

I didn't see him as like the, this, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, classically handsome. I was like, oh, okay, he could be a pretty boy. I had no idea it was a pretty boy. That's wild. But like his performance was great. Yeah, he did really, really good. And like you said, their chemistry was really,

incredible. And I think the way that, and I don't know if it's like the writing and the acting or a combination of all of it, the way they juxtapose their two behaviors. So you talk about how Jennifer Garner does a really good job of having that sort of childlike

innocence and that 13 year old in a grown up body vibe and then comparing it where her best friend is an adult and he's like, you're being really strange and you're doing all these childlike things that we used to do when we were 13. And like I still remember them, but I do them with an adult

attitude now. That comparison really, I guess, drove home that chemistry and their relationship really well, where she's like bringing the child out of Mark Ruffalo's character. Yeah, I mean, that almost has the same vibe as, for me, the wedding singer.

You know, I just recall this one thing with Drew Barrymore, trying to play the hand-slap game with her fiance or whatever, and it not working out, whereas she was able to do that with Adam Sandler because they're both kind of like kids in their minds. Yeah. Yeah. I was a little surprised they didn't go one step further with, like, Mark Ruffalo actually believing that she went through time because that never came full circle.

It was just sort of, we just forgot about that. She's just kind of a kid. It's weird, you know? He's like, she's just going through something, I guess. Everybody has, I don't know, a quarter life crisis. Sure. Yeah, sure. We go through like midlife crises along the way, I suppose.

Yeah. Especially at the age of 30, I suppose. You know, going from 29 to 30, you suddenly feel like you're an old person. I've seen so many people on YouTube where 32 go like, I'm an old man now and I'm like, fuck off. Are you dumb? I will say, I'm turning 28 this year

and the running gag is all of my friends who are like maybe a year younger than me being like, ah, you're old, you're getting close to 30, you're going to be a dad now. I'm like, you're right though. 30 is just young all over again. Yeah, because now you've got 40 to look forward to. But yeah, so I thought

the casting was fantastic across the board because you I really bought um what's her name Tom Tom the is it Judy Greer who plays Lucy yes yeah yeah uh like I really bought her in that role as like and you know the thing is like you really weren't sure what to make of her I thought that her performance through and through was actually solid because like she is the best friend and you easily buy her as the best friend right away but you don't realize the layers of evil that live underneath that that start to come out as the film progresses it's like oh my gosh like this person's so messed up they really kind of set her up at the beginning when she's like, oh, there you are with the like the Starbucks coffee and everything like that, that they're best friends and she's going to like help her through

this crisis of I'm a 13 year old and a 30 year old body sort of thing. So it's set up and you know, Judy Greer plays those kinds of characters a lot, especially in sort of as we go deeper into the 2000s where she plays the like kind of innocent bubbly friend who's always there with advice. Okay. And so for me, who's only really ever seen her in those roles, when they set her up that at the beginning, I was really led to believe that she's going to be the supportive friend. And so then the reveal that she's Tom Tom or Ton, Ton, Ton, Tom. Whatever the nickname was, was a really clever, like you said, sort of layered reveal that, oh, she's actually evil. Yeah, for sure. I'm looking for that comedian's name in the IMDB, and surprisingly

that they didn't put him in here. Oh, there he is, Mazda Brony. Oh, yeah, but Jim Gaffigan as well. like i mazre brawny if you haven't seen a stand-up comedy you should definitely check it out he's super funny very like uh and i think you'd like him because you'd relate to his energy on stage he's got he's got a nice kind of a manic energy uh maybe i relate to him more i just i'm kind of check him out though i love stand-up so i'm always looking for new uh new comedians to check out jim gaffigan as well like spectacular like the things he comments on there was this interesting thing it was doing where it's like you sort of just have to go with the the magic of the movie and divorce you're herself from the fact that she's 13 even you know what I mean it's like she's having this grown-up

situation where she's coming between a man and his fiance or you know and it's like that's a very mature thing right yes and meanwhile she's got to sleep over with a bunch of young girls and just earlier she was hitting on a 13 year old boy it's like this crisscross of things and it doesn't need to make sense it's a magical movie we're talking about a story where a girl went forward in time because of a wish none of this matters but it's like it's like a little bit of ick Yeah, you really, there's that moment where you're like, oh, God, that's a 30-year-old woman hitting on a 13-year-old boy. And then you're like, wait, wait, wait, wait, she thinks she's 13. Yeah.

And then vice versa, like, Mark Ruffalo is having an extramarital thing with a 13-year-old. Yeah. You're like, and you're also like, the thing I was thinking with the sleepover is I'm like, at what point do the parents go, wait, you're sleeping over at a 30-year-old woman's house? Well, there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, there's nothing, like, if it was a dude, that would be weird. Yeah, it would be weird if it was a dude. And I guess, like, there's a certain point of, like, oh, she's just having all the girls over and it's a place for the girls to hang out. But also, like, you're not related to any of these girls.

Like, you've only started hanging out with them really in, like, the last few months. Why are you having them all over? They're collectively lying on her behalf, probably. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. But, yeah, I agree. There's moments of, like, reality suspension that are hilarious until you start thinking about. them. I wonder how they shot the 80s stuff, because it had its own look. And I didn't really

pick up on that until they went back to the 80s, where it just, I don't know if they shot with a different film stock or something. And I know they shot on film, because I could see some of the splotches as they went on. This is like very nerdy. Nobody gives a shit about it, except for someone like myself. You say things about the story again and the music. I know this is the part where people check out, because I'm like getting into the nerd stuff. But I get what you're saying. I mean, you know, that's important for the other folks who are watching that like the technical aspects of film. And, you know, it's always a curious moment.

Like, do you try and film it like it would be filmed in the 80s and then film it in 2004? Or do you just film it like you're filming in 2004, but for the 80s version? But the music, I will say, between the 80s and 2000, excellent soundtrack. Yes. They used like a lot of really quality pop music from both eras that still hold up today. There's a certain degree of like, wow, all these popular songs I'm still jamming to because I listened to them when I was in middle school and high school. Yeah.

And you will forever because AI is going to take over. It's like it's just going to be the same recycle beats. The same things over and over again. And then AI will copy AI forever and ever. And the world will end and the last humans will be gone and the AI will be communicating with AI on social media. Andy Circus did a fantastic job I had no idea what to expect

when I saw his name in the IMDB I'm like who could he possibly play in this movie for him to play that the boss who's got his balls and advice from the higher-ups That was such a good bit Yeah he did a really really good job And getting to watch him do the thriller dance

Was just that made my day My God, yes I need him to recreate it now It's just I've got this mental picture of Andy Circus is like this serious actor, you know, he's got all these like really intense character roles between Planet of the Apes and Lord of the Rings and, um, uh, he just did something else. He was in Marvel. Black Panther. Yes. Was really, really great. And now he's like a director. So I have this idea of him very, being very kind of like intense and serious. And so seeing

him in this like delightful comedy role where he plays this fun, frilly boss character, really kind of like a nice change of pace. That's a great way to describe it. I do hate him for one thing, though. Go on. I saw him in an interview, and he said he's never had a fight with his wife. And I'm like, how is that impossible? Like, how? Yeah.

But anyway, that's just an aside. Maybe his definition of fight is different from the rest of ours. Maybe. You know, maybe. He's like, yeah, my wife and I yell at each other all the time, but we've never been in the boxing ring together. Yeah. This is probably his barometer. The whole bit with the secretary, I really adored.

because, like, they established that she fired her last one because they thought maybe she was inside whatever, whatever, or she had her reasons, the other, you know, former version, right? Realizing, because they talk about at the beginning, someone's been leaking to Sparkle, and she's like, oh, she already fired somebody. Jenna was the leak. Yeah.

And so she just fired somebody who either, I mean, was innocent. It was innocent or might have discovered that she was working for Sparkle and then fired her. The implications, oh, my God. Anyway. I think it's less deep. I think it's just, you're probably right. She was just a scapegoat. Yeah. Yeah. But like either way, that's messed up. Right. Now I want the like political thriller that I'm making in my head. But to see the like how the secretary is acting in the beginning and then to be like kind of thrown by Jennifer Garner's behavior. Yeah. And them growing together. She's like, no, you should be part of the pitch. I was like, oh, that's really sweet. I really like that. That was super cool. It was a beautiful moment. The thing I kind of liked is they really subtly established.

who Jenna was before she got possessed by her 13-year-old self. Yeah. Because they really kind of layer it in, again, how the secretary was acting, how people responded to Jenna initially early on. And so you're sitting there going, why are they all acting like this? Why are they acting weird? And then over time, you're like, oh, she was not a nice person. And I think the subtlety of them doing that rather than them just having it come out as

exposition that someone's like oh yeah you're usually a massive bitch yeah was a really kind of clever way to do it and allowed us as the audience to kind of discover discover with with jena as a character that's true we were kind of vicariously her um the the i was wondering about one thing because like the lucy or tom tom rather played by judy greer you know she makes off with all of that stuff there was like a weird thing in my brain that i didn't want to say during the movie because mark ruffalo goes i stopped trusting her when she stole my bubble gum in the third grade or whatever it was right right it's like but you signed the paper you still signed the paper you trusted her that much okay anyway she she made off like like a like a bandit right and i'm like

where's her comeuppance and then i realized her comeuppance was in the past when she got the drink thrown on her and she was called a biotch i'm like okay that was a very clever way to handle that yeah i thought that was cool um the one other thing that i thought was peculiar was at the wedding i recognized no faces i was her mom even there like i don't even i didn't recognize anyone from from her was there. Exactly. It would have been cool to see Andy Sorkas

and the secretary and whatever it's like who knows why they'd be there. It's a magical movie, okay? Or like at least some hint that she's still I guess the idea is like she's still living her fulfilled life

by being married to Matt Morgan Ruffalo's character and that and like she gets the dream house and stuff like that but like a little bit of hint of like some of the characters that stuck around like she still her life still went on a certain track

and she ended up at poise or something like that. Yeah, I agree. That would have been nice. Yeah. But overall, I mean, it was just a delightful film. It was tight 90 minutes or 95 minutes. Yeah.

It did everything a film like this should do. And I understand why it's a classic that the women love. That those people love. You know, it's a fun movie. I mean, clearly, I don't know if it's because we've grown up and we've, you know, have more experience on the adult side of things. Sure. Where we're like, oh, man, yeah, being a kid and wishing you were adult

and then realizing what adult life is like allows us to sympathize with this movie or, you know, dive into this movie a little bit more than we would have had we watched it when it first came out and we were young men. But, like, there's stuff in here for everybody. I think if you're just wanting to have a good time, it doesn't matter if the movie is like a rom-com

geared toward girls sometimes. They're just funny and fun. And oftentimes rom-coms are written really well and very cleverly. So don't sleep on them. You know, I realize, though, this is the very last thing I'm going to say because I was just sort of astonished

that when Jennifer Garner showed up Mark Ruffalo was just sort of like put off and like trying to get rid of her as fast as possible I'm like this woman is she's aged very well like she is so beautiful and then and then realizing he is betrothed he's engaged

with someone who's also very beautiful and you know she's an anchor person I can make sense I'm like okay I understand now. It's like he's already locked in on something. So it makes sense. It took care of itself.

The writers were paying attention that day. Yeah. No, because sometimes I'll judge a film or a show for something like that. Because I'm like, how, why would this character ever be rejected? She's too beautiful. Like, I don't know if you've ever seen friends. But like some stuff like that happens with Jennifer Anniston. I'm like, that's Jennifer Anniston.

Like, how would she ever be rejected by a dude? Ever. Like, no, thank you. But the plot, Jambi, the plot. Yeah, exactly. But anyway, I enjoy this. Thank you so much for hanging out. I'm Jabby Koeh.

This is. Michael Boose. Peace out.