Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Classic: Quick Change and Freaks

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

GGACP celebrates the 35th anniversary of one of Frank's favorite New York movies, the Bill Murray-directed bank heist flick "Quick Change," (released in January, 1990) by revisiting this conversation about the under-appreciated comedy. Also in this episode: Bob & Ray! The cinema of Rodney Dangerfield! Gilbert co-stars with Randy Quaid — and a Rottweiler! And the boys look back at the 1932 horror classic, "Freaks"! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV, comics, movie stars, hit singles and some toys. Trivia and dirty jokes, an evening with the boys. Once is never good enough for something so fantastic. So here's another Gilbert and Franks. Here's another Gilbert and Franks. Here's another Gilbert and Franks, here's another Gilbert and Franks, here's another Gilbert and Franks. Colossal Classic Hi, I'm Gilbert Gottfried and I'm here with my co-host Frank Santo Padre and this is,

I think, Gilbert and Franks's colossal obsessions. Oh See that took me a while just like remembering your last name nice work. Yeah. Yeah, it's like Your last name I did about 40 shows Before I could pronounce it. I don't hold that against you and ha but now I think I know the title of this These like little whatever they're called. I'm not even gonna mention that you left a word I think I know the title of this these like little whatever they're called. I'm not even going to mention that you left a word out because I like it. Oh wait, wait, what did I say? Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal obsession. You left out amazing. All right in that case it's Gilbert and Frank's amazing colossal obsession. You got it. And I didn't say colossal you didn't this time

So so that do you want to start? Yeah, would you prefer I did? I don't care. Okay, really? I want to get this over and leave Less I have to talk to you the better Yeah, well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and recommend... I wish you wouldn't jump off. If that didn't sound like a groucho and a fenomen... Or form a club and beat you over the head with it. Yes, yes. Well, I wish you'd climb out on a limb and jump off. Poor fenomen. Yes. Poor Fenomen. I want to talk about a comedy called Quick Change, which is a Bill Murray

comedy that not a lot of people talk about. I'm not sure you've even seen it. Yes. I think I may have seen bits and pieces. I'm going to tell you about it. People talk about Bill Murray comedies. What about Bob and Caddy Shack and Groundhog Day? They're all great in their way. This is a Bill Murray comedy that not a lot of people talk about. It's kind of a heist comedy which you don't really see a lot of. I was trying to think of more. I thought of maybe the Hot Rock. Oh yes, yeah. There's the Brinks job with Peter Falk that William Friedkin made. They're just there. Tower Heist from a couple years ago with Eddie Murphy

wasn't so good. There was one. I don't know if it would be considered a heist, but it was definitely a robbery. And who's minding the men? Oh yeah, sure, sure. Milton Berle, Jack Guilford. Yeah, that one's kind of funny. I haven't seen it in ages. There's fun with Dick and Jane. But this is a bank robbery movie. Bill Murray plays a guy named Grim and Gina Davis is his girlfriend.

They decide to rob a bank. The conceit of the movie is they rob the bank and they can't get the hell out of New York City. They can't make a getaway. It's a little bit like a film I recommended earlier after hours. Oh, yes. Another film with New York City as a character. A film that, you know, where the joke is the insanity of New York City.

It's based on a book by a guy named Jay Cronley who's a very funny writer. He wrote a book, Funny Farm, which was made into a movie with Chevy. Oh yeah. By George Roy Hill. And it's got a great cast. Jason Robards is the cop who's pursuing him and Randy Quaid is before he went nuts oh hahaha I meant to ask you was Randy Quaid at the SNL backstage by the way since he was in

I didn't see him there although I have a quick scene I think with Randy Quaid tell us and um I think with Randy Quaid. Tell us. I think it was that Rodney Dangerfield movie. Meat Wally Sparks? No, no, no, even less people. Meat Wally Sparks actually made it to theater. Oh I see. What was this one? Okay. Get your googles ready folks. Yes. The other one I made was with Rodney Dangerfield. I'm in like three scenes. Was back by midnight. I never heard of this. Yeah. Well neither has anyone else. What was the conceit of this picture? I think it's Rodney Dainfield. I never actually saw the movie. But I think that Rodney Dangerfield

has to leave prison to do something and then come back to prison. Something like that. Wow. So it's a little like 48 hours meets something. It's really. I'm a security guard. Really? Just a couple of lines? Yeah. I have about, I think, three scenes. I work with a, uh, watch him call out a Rottweiler in the movie. Really? And Randy Quaid's in it. And they would have these weird like foreign investors walking around on this one where it looked like

it looked like a meeting of Isis. Oh Lord. Only more creeps. What is it back after midnight? Back by midnight. Jesus for God's sake. Get it right. This went straight to video, straight to landfill. What happened to this thing?

Straight to something. Like I said, I have never seen it. Then why bring it up? Yeah, well, because it had Randy... Oh, I see. I did one quick scene with Randy Quaid before he went totally over the edge. Right, I started releasing homemade sex videos. My favorite thing about Randy Quaid was that he went into hiding.

Right. He said there was a group of celebrity whackers, he called them, which I consider myself a celebrity whacker. For different reasons. Yeah, I'm a celebrity whacker every night. Oh, you flatter yourself. I can celebrity whack a few times a night, but so I could have been the president of that organization. So this was a hit squad for-

Yeah. Yeah. They were after celebrities. I see. And so he was going into hiding. And so he announced, he held a press conference in Canada when he got there. I remember this. Now I'm in Canada hiding. I'm here hiding. And it's like and it's like Randy you shouldn't hold a press conference to say where you're hiding if you are in fact in hiding.

Canada is a big place. Yeah. He was squatting too at one point. He was squatting in other people's homes and refusing to leave. And I think he owed like some hotels like millions of dollars. Yeah. We should do Randy Quaid and Robert Blake in one show.

So getting back to quick change real quick. Oh, what are we talking about? It's sort of dog day afternoon as a comedy, if you can imagine that. It's got a great comic cast. Quaid is funny. Tony Shalhoub, who's hilarious, shows up in a very small role as a cab driver that is fall down funny. Check it out.

Also, the great Bob Elliott of Bob and Ray. Oh my god, yes. Has some great moments in the film. It's a dark little comedy, it's a terrific film, I don't know why it flew under the radar. Now I'm not sure if he's in this and I forget his name of course. It's right on the tip of my tongue. The guy from That 70's Show. Oh, he's in it, Kurt Wood Smith.

Yes, yes. Yes, he's a prisoner that turns up on a plane at the end that's being transported. Oh, yes. Yes, he in fact isn't. The heavy from Robocop. Oh, yes. Right, he's the dad in That 70's Show. He's in it too it's it's got a great cast it's funny and I think it's the only movie

and people are going to write me and tweet me and correct me on this I think it's the only movie that Murray directed he co-directed it with his with his partner his creative partner Howard Franklin so see quick change if you haven't seen it it's a it's a hoot I don't know why it isn't a more heralded film. And Gina Davis, where are you? Call me. Yes, well she's working. Oh, she is? She's an Oscar winner.

Oh, okay. She's on Grey's Anatomy. Oh, she is? It's not a hit show. I should have watched Grey's Anatomy at least once. You would have made a great cadaver on Grey's Anatomy. Guest cadaver. I know Michelle Oh.

Oh, Sandra Oh. Sandra Oh. You're close. Sandra Oh. Sandra Oh was in that. You mean Michelle Yeoh? Michelle Yeoh. Not Sandra Oh.

Yes. She was years before Sandra Oh was Michelle Yeoh. Totally different Asian actress. Yes. Yes. Or Sandra Oh with Michelle Yeoh. Totally different Asian actress. Yes. And I'm sure both of them have worked with Jackie Chan. Or Don Ho. Or from the Three Stooges Mo.

Yes. Or the guy that played Woe Fat. Remember him? Oh my god, yes. On a white five-o. And, well, there was Hopsing. Yeah. In Bonanza.

But I never got his real name. Gee, I don't even know his real name. Isn't that a shame? Yeah. We usually know these things. Ha ha ha. Sammy Tong, though, that was the guy in Bachelor Father. Is anyone alive from?

Bonanza? Oh, uh... Pernell Roberts is still alive, I think. He is? I could be wrong. I don't know either. I could be wrong. Did he die recently? He might have.

He would be the only one. If he's still alive, I'm sorry. Give us a call. Pernell Roberts. But I think he may have died recently. I don't know. I'll get our staff on it. Okay.

While you're picking your movie, I will sneak over to the Google machine and look up Pernell Roberts. Well, my movie, once again, not a comedy. Oh, shocking. Yes. And I had already talked about it with Robert Osborn, but it's a cult favorite and it's freaks. It was directed by Todd Brown. Who made Dracula. Yeah, the original Dracula with Bale Lugosi. And it was also,

he also directed, oh well, he also directed The Unholy Three with Lon Chaney Sr. See I always talk about him. You gotta work him in. But we gotta remember Senior was an actor. One Chaney or the other. Yes. And it's a movie that takes place in a circus and it's with actual carnival freaks, people

who made their livings in freak shows. And it's like, it's at times horrifying and disturbing, but also with a great sympathy for the people involved. It's a little like The elephant man in that sense. Oh, yeah. Tonally. Yeah. It frightens you, but you're also going, wow,

these are people. Because I think Todd Browning actually started out in carnivals. And so he knew all about these people. And in it, there's a mid midget if that's the term anymore. Or it was then. It's not. But a midget named Harry Earl or Earls and he's in he's there's another woman midget

like who looks like a midget Mae West it's so funny and I think they were in a group together called like like the living dolls that was a group of midget fascinating and Harry Earls was also in the unholy three with Lon Chaney senior yes senior was there someone named Johnny Eck do I have that right three with Lon Chaney. Lon Chaney, senior. Yes, senior. Was there someone named Johnny Eck? Do I have that right? Johnny Eck, yes, Johnny Eck. He was, now was he the half man or?

I'm trying to remember because I haven't seen, we fly without a net here. We don't have the computer open. Wow, yeah, yeah, the net hasn't been around with us for a while. No, she left the act. I haven't seen freaks probably since college. One of our social media gurus, Mike McPatton, would know about this. As a matter of fact, I think Todd Browning liked Ek. He was one of his favorite and he used to let him ride

on the like uh... whatever you call the crane for the crane shot sure he used to have him sit up there and and ride him around that's how didn't are browning also direct devil Doll with the Lionel Barrymore? Yes. I'll shrink you people. Yes.

He did a lot of weird things. Lionel Barrymore sounds a lot like Simon Barcinister, the villain on Underdog. Yes. Underdog. I think we know the origin of that now. And it also in the film, there's one part where a woman is turned into a half woman half chicken. Sure I remember this. And that costume she was wearing was created, I think it was going to be a movie with Lon Chaney before he died.

Well not after he died, it would have been difficult. He created that costume and then he died and the costume was still lying on. What you're going to tell me was Edith Head. The chicken costume for freaks. I thought this was going somewhere. And also there's like, I mean, it was people were totally shocked by this movie when it came out and they were appalled by it. And also, there's one part in the movie, some versions don't have it, some do, where they've got the strong man in it, and so they get revenge on both. Because the plot is, the midget has a lot of money.

How a midget in a freak show has that much money? He invested wisely. He actually weirdly enough invested in Apple. Really? 50 years before. Short but not short-sighted. Yes. Short, but not short-sighted. Yes.

But she, the girl he's in love with, the acrobatess, or whatever you call it, was in love with the strong man. Now the strong man, at one point when they get their revenge, you just hear him singing soprano. And it's like, ooh. And it's like in some versions it just looks like they killed him. And it's like to me it's like, you know, just kill him. Please.

This is wrong. Yeah. Painful. Yeah. so much for celebrity whacking yeah so your pick is freaks I yes yeah yeah and now I was just talking right just because you just make you just talk about this in polite my my pick is earnest goes to camp and the importance of being earnest with Jim Varney.

So quick change is my movie and Freaks. And you won't get a bigger contrast between two movies folks. And now we'll go look up Johnny Eck. Gina Davis call home. If you like listening to comedy, try watching it on the internet. The folks behind the Sideshow Network have launched a new YouTube channel called Wait For It. It's got interviews with comedians like Reggie Watts, Todd Glass, Liza Slicinger, slicing driving friends with it for 10 years. One of the funniest people out there and I

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