How Did This Get Made? - Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (Classic)

Episode Date: April 28, 2026

Paul, June, and Jason break down the 1996 sci-fi thriller Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace. They discuss the jacking into cyberspace, connections to the first film, the black and white trial, Jobe��s Jim Carrey impression, the dog who uses a computer, and so much more. Plus, a shocking HDTGM first! (Ep. #258 Originally Released 01/28/2021) • Go to hdtgm.com for tour dates, merch, FAQs, and more• Have a Last Looks correction or omission? Leave us a voicemail at speakpipe.com/hdtgm• Submit your Last Looks theme song to us here• Join the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgm• Buy merch at howdidthisgetmade.dashery.com/• Order Paul’s book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of Trauma• Shop our new hat collection at podswag.com• Paul’s Discord: discord.gg/paulscheer• Paul’s YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheer• Follow Paul on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheer• Subscribe to Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul & Rob Huebel: youtube.com/@enterthedarkweb• Listen to Unspooled with Paul & Amy Nicholson: unspooledpodcast.com• Listen to The Deep Dive with June & Jessica St. Clair: thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcast• Instagram: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & @junediane• Twitter: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & msjunediane  • Jason is not on social media• Episode transcripts available at how-did-this-get-made.simplecast.com/episodesGet access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if cyberspace wasn't cyber at all and it was real? If that idea sounds super cool, then you're going to be so excited that we saw Lawnmore Man 2, Beyond Cyberspace, aka Job's War. Now it's time for how did this campaign? We're going to have a good time, celebrate some failure, not just be a hater, because you know you wonder, how did this campaign? In the mediocrity of subparart, perhaps we'll find the answer to the question, how did this get made? Hello, people of earth, and welcome to how did this get made.

I am tall John Shear, and we are going back to the well of the lawnmower man, I guess, going back to the mower. I don't know. We have a very fun, crazy way to start off the new year. And I know we already had one episode out, but this is the first episode we were. recording in 2021. And what a way to start. Lawnmore Man 2. What you have to know. Do you have to see the first movie? Do you know the second movie? No, not at all. It almost seems like they were independently written. Number two, I would say, what is this movie about? A synopsis of it would be hard for me to parse out. Honestly, it's the first time I'm incredibly stumped about it.

All I know is that a guy is in the internet and he's causing some problems and I think government is involved. I got to get into this with my two co-hosts. So let me just bring them out right away. Please welcome Mr. Jason Manzoukis. How are you, Jason? You know, Paul, I'll be honest. Having now seen Lawnmower Man 1 and Lawnmower Man 2, I don't know what these movies are about. I don't know what they're trying to say. I don't know what they're, I don't know what the themes of them are. This movie was nuts to watch. This movie was like, it really felt like perhaps a script for something else that they just repurposed for lawnmower man too. Or like in my mind, I was like, oh, maybe there's a way in which they took some sort of like cyberspace Goonies Adventure because of all the kids.

I don't understand why there's all these kids. A lot of kids. too many kids. And they just plugged it into this other preexisting property. I couldn't make heads or tails out of it. It did, though, and I wonder if you will agree with me, did you feel at all like a tremendous amount of this movie seemed just like the movie Ready Player 1?

You know, there was a large element. Kids like living in subway cars, living in dirt, and all they want is to get access to cyberspace, because that's where they really want to live. That's where they can fly. That's where they can... Not all the pop culture stuff and all that of stuff, of course.

But like the bones of it felt like Ready Player 1 to me. Well, there's so much in this movie that is hard to parse out and have a million questions about it. I will say that this movie is going to be exceptionally hard for our next guest to talk about

because not only was this an insane film, but we delayed the recording of this episode from when she initially saw it. So I'm not even sure that she remembers seeing this film, but please welcome our other co-host, Ms. June Diane Raffield. Hello, June.

Hi, Paul. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing okay. I thought your opening was, I've never heard you so defeated to describe a movie. I will agree so much so, so much so that you didn't, perhaps for the very first time in history,

say at the end of your tag, so you know what that means. Oh, I didn't? I said, oh, wow. Look at that. When you opened the episode, you were defeated. I agree with you, you do. I honestly thought you were going to cry.

I was like, oh, no, all hope is lost. If we lose Paul, let's be honest. Like, it's all over. And I'm looking to you because right now, the place that I'm in, I mean, I've already told both of you before we even started this podcast. Like, I'm pretty down as a person. I'm feeling pretty sad. And so I was looking to you, Paul, to really come in with a lot of energy, a lot of positivity, a lot of forward motion because this movie requires it. Well, you know the saying, as goes Paul, so goes the podcast.

So we're really. I cannot lift us up. I have to be totally honest about that. I'll be honest. I am hanging on by a thread. Well, I want to assure both of you that I have a genuine excitement about talking about this movie.

Let's start to hear it, buddy. Let's start to hear it. Guy, where is it? I was only, when I don't hear, so you know what that means, upswing? Because that tells me, you know what?

Got to go up. Yeah, that tells me, you know what? Don't you worry, we got this. But this one you were like, eh, and I guess it's about a lawnmower. Oh, no. Oh, no.

And then the theme song played? Yeah. You know what? I'm so sorry that I gave you that impression. I literally get nervous doing the opening in front of you. I feel embarrassed because you guys can't speak at a certain point. So sometimes I rush it. Sometimes I forget it.

So I literally don't know why I would forget it. But I do. Well, I mean, I will point out that. And I hope you actually hear this, Paul, and hear what an integral part you were to the podcast because I know we did a live show in New York and my brother-in-law came to see the live show. after the show, he said, June, you were so funny. You were so incredible.

And he said, and Jason did so great. He really made me laugh. And then he said, and Paul, you did such a great job playing those clips. Really? It was a real blow. It was a real blow to the ego to get that. And so I want you to hear how much actually your energy level and what you provide is important. I feel completely dysregulated after your opening.

Here's what I'll say, like keep in mind, Paul, like you just spoke about, during that portion of the podcast, June and I cannot speak. And so when the podcast begins, you are the engine. You are setting the tone. You are driving us forward. You're providing momentum to what we are going to do. And as far as I'm concerned, we're doomed. You see, it's so funny that you guys bring this on me because I literally thought to myself, as I recorded that opening, this is a nice, clean boom, boom, boom opening. I didn't make it re-recorded a million times. Is that what you're always trying to get a boom, boom, boom, boom opening? You know what? I'm going to redo it just to bring up your spirits. And I don't, no, no, no, not redo it.

Not redo it. I'm just going to do it here. Oh, oh. The audience is going to hear this whole conversation. I'm not cutting this out. I'm just giving you both and the audience what they need. If you ever thought to yourself, what if cyberspace wasn't cyber at all? And it was real?

Then you are going to love the film that we just saw. We saw Lawnmore Man 2 beyond cyberspace, aka Job's War. So you know what that means? There you go, a little bit better. I got, I got, you know what I realized why I got tripped up? Because I realized that I'm looking at my notes and it says beyond, it says beyond, it says, beyond cyberspace, but the, but another title for this movie is Job's War. And I remembered that as I was doing it. I was like, sheer, God damn it. You fucking caught it in the middle of the air. You made that. I was so impressed with

myself that I, I pulled something. I didn't even have prepared. I like that you call yourself sheer in your head. Oh yeah. I got to I like that you're like self up. I like that your inner your inner monologue is a is your bro. Oh yeah. I got to I got to shake myself out of it. I got to get my. You are killing. it, buddy. Shear, man, you cannot drop the ball on these two. We're in the middle of a COVID pandemic. They're looking to you for guidance. I mean, I think it's become really clear how much we rely on you because I was like,

we have to stop. We have to stop. Because I know this is the second time we tried to record this podcast. And I was like, it's, it's, the universe is telling us like, do not do this. I wonder. I disagree. If there is, if like, we are courting danger by doing this. because we tried to do this episode a week ago,

not quite a week ago, and failed, which means, at least for me, and I suspect for June, my mind has already wiped the movie's existence from, like, from my memory. I have, I don't remember, I have, I'm looking at my notes and it is gobbledygook. I don't even know why I wrote some of these things.

Look to me, I will be your Sherpa, because I literally wrote to Averill, who picks these films. She is our film producer, extraordinaire. She is the one who is behind all these films. And I said, if every... But it's hard. You seem...

Leadership has been, you know, rattled. I'm so impressed that I remember Job's War. That's why I'm at Job's War. I have... Okay, let's get into it because I do have a million questions, including what you are talking about, the fact that it was called Job's War, et cetera, et cetera. Because there's a part of me that,

is like, was this, again, was this, because forgive me. Are you saying, Jason, that we saw lawnmower one on this podcast? Well, that was going to be the question. But I don't know. Maybe perhaps June was not on that episode, and I do not know. I'm looking at it right now. But we definitely did lawnmower man one. I believe you were June on the episode.

God, geez. Which is not the actor who is playing the cyberspace person. in what we just watched that this is weirdly, right? This is Matt Fruher, right? Yes, Matt Fruer. Matt Fruer, who in this era of time is synonymous with playing, why him? Why is Matt Fruer synonymous with playing cyber characters? Because he was also Max Hedrum.

He was. I want to get into all. I have a lot to break down for both of you. I want to first reveal the first thing. June was not. on the episode of The Lawnmore Man. We were on that episode with Emily Heller and Neil Casey. And I remember this episode very clearly because it's a Stephen King novella, maybe,

Lawnmore Man. And June, just, because I want to get your take on the beginning of it because the only tie that this movie really truly has to the first film is this opening where, like, the building from the first movie, the ending of the first movie is on fire and it's, bloating. And the way that the first movie ended, and this is why I remember it, was our main, our leader in that film, who was Fahey, Jeff Fahey, who is in the internet. And it leaves on this cliffhanger because he's like, trying to get out of the internet, trying to get out of the internet. Oh, sorry. Can I interrupt you? Sorry. Yeah, please. The arc of Law and Moor Man 1 June,

just so you know, is that Jeff Fahey is a. severely mentally disabled man who is the who is the landscaper, right? Who's a landscaper? Can we just start there for one second? Yes, he's a lawnmower man. He's a lawnmower man.

Is the phrase lawnmower man a phrase? No. Like that's not, because that's not a description of, like you say, oh, my landscapers are coming over. We're the gardeners. But long, let's not get so richy about it. I think most people go,

oh, the lawnmower man is here. Is it possible, though, and forgive me if I'm wrong, did the kid refer to him as the lawnmower man? Like, was it a... Yes, I think a lot of people in the first movie. It might have been a kind of colloquial kind of like they referred to him as the lawnmower man. Because he is, he is, yeah, he's not a landscaper. Like, he doesn't work for a landscaping company. He is just a guy with a lawnmower who mows people's lawns, basically.

For money, yes. In classic Stephen, yeah, classic Stephen King's small. town, New England, blah, blah, blah. He befriends the scientist, the computer scientist guy. Yes. Who begins experiment? No, it's not Aiden Quinn. Did you think that was Aiden Quinn?

For some time. Oh, my God. Wait, you're thinking of the person in this movie was Aten? You thought that was Aiden Quinn in this movie? Well, that's just as crazy as Paul thinking Taylor Swift was in all of cats. Well, she wasn't cats. I just was confused about where she played. He didn't get.

So he befriends that scientist, that scientist starts allowing him to access cyberspace, which makes Jeff Fahey's lawnmower man character a genius? Is that right, Paul? Yes. And he gets like telekinesis, and he starts to grow very rich with his own powers. But I thought in lawnmower 2, wow, that's hard to say, lawnmower man too, I thought they said this neighbor of his- AKA Job's War.

AKA Job's War. I thought the whole thing was that the neighbor was doing experiments on him. Well, that the neighbor was the scientist. This neighbor was the scientist. Oh, but now you're saying it was kind of consensual. Well, I think he was like, hey, can I help you out? Yeah. And then he's like, okay, sure.

It was consensual. And then I believe it got out of control. And the whole thing blew up. the beginning of this movie, those building explosions, are the end of the first movie, right, Paul? Basically, yes. Basically what happens is there's another scientist who swaps out this experimental drug that Angelo,

that's his name, or Dr. Angelo is Pierce Brosnan in it. Dr. Angela has given Job this medication. Oh, wait. Is Pierce Bros? Oh, my God, that's right. So the not Aiden Quinn guy is playing the Pierce Brosnan role, and then Matt Fruer guy is playing the Jeff Fahey role? Or are they new characters? Oh, God damn it. So basically, yes.

I mean, basically, Jeff Fahey has been replaced with Matt Fruer. And that's the only recurring character except for the kid who we see in the flashback in the opening. He was like, Lawmore Mancy Birthday, blow out the candles. That kid. I did not like that relationship. I had a couple questions. The opening of the film is shot in like a TV ratio. It's very small.

It's not widescreen, which is odd to me because it is a feature film. And then when they go to the core. If I can just jump in for a second. Oh, sure. So when we, Paul and I tried to watch this the first time we were having Wi-Fi issues and we were on the TV was on like that VCR mode, like sports mode. Oh, yeah. So, you know where everything looks like shit.

Motion smoothing. Yeah. And so Paul thought that this was just like the TV. you know? I thought that too. Oh, you thought that too. When it started playing and it was on it and it was giving me a square,

I was like, oh, some setting is off. That's what I think. It's too confusing. It's confusing because it's not the way that feature films normally open. It's also not the way, it's also not the way if you were to watch those scenes

of lawnmower man one, they're not in a four, they're not in a square aspect ratio. Yeah, they're not four three. You and I did watch. an entire movie when we first started dating and we watched an entire movie

at a hotel where the brightness the Manchurian candidate the re-oh we've talked about this the brightness was literally on like the first bar oh yeah and I was like God I can't see any of these people

we were in love we didn't question things like now where I was like I need to go fix this motion I love those I love first I love those things in early on in your relationship where nobody says anything because you're like I just want to seem as though I'm somebody that rolls with things and is easy to get easy to easy breezy.

Yes. And as a beautiful cover girl. Right. When you're first dating someone, it's also like, we're excited to watch a movie together. Yeah. We're not really watching a movie together. Like we are. We were, but like we're just excited to be here together.

But we did truly watch the entire thing on. We did watch that one. Yeah. We had some. We had some. Where the actors were in silhouette. It made us. It was kind of like an old school radio presentation.

of Manjuring candidate. I will tell you this much. So what was really got to me, besides that, it was a 4-3 ratio, which is like a smaller ratio than the typical widescreen, is they do a cut to the trial. Whatever trial happened at the end of Law and More Mammon, which we were not privy to. And it's in black and white? Yes. Like, wait, why is this in black and white?

This, why did we go backwards in our technology? Because the black and white seems to tell me this is almost like 1950s newsreel footage. That's exactly what I was like saying. Why are we like, that's why it further confused me. Something is really wrong with this rental. Yeah. Amazon has messed it up. To be clear, the movie straight out of the gate makes like three to four huge choices

that are straight bananas. One is that they've replaced the lead actor. Two is that it begins in a weird aspect ratio and is quoting the last movie. Three, the black and white video courtroom drama that I was confused by, that is also makes me confused what is the timeline. And then four, when they go and they get Dr. What's his name who invented cyberspace. So you're telling me that's not. Well, I also thought he was Tommy Wiseau.

For what, I think actually the first second he came on screen. I get. I mean, I understand that. He looks a little bit like Jeff Fahey, I have to say. I was like, why did you cast to somebody who looks like Jeff Fahey? It looked a little bit like Jeff Fahey. He also looked a little bit like John Savage, who's another character actor from that era. And I was like, wait a minute, are they?

So I was, for the first 15 minutes of the movie, I genuinely was like, I don't know what. And can I just also just add one more level of just these are all things that are visually confusing. Now I'm going to add something that's mentally confusing. You replace Job, who is a character within a virtual reality world with a man who is synonymous with a character in virtual reality world. Like Matt Fruer played Max Headroom. Like there is like, why, why? Why? It's such, it's such a, I kept, I wrote this too. I was like, this makes no sense. He, Matt Fruer, most, we most know him for being a cyber character. So why draw that direct parallel now, you know?

I found out because apparently this movie was written by Farhad Man who also directed it, right? Who also directed it, who wrote Max Hedrum and directed episodes of Max Hedrum. So this is like his world. This is his sweet spot. He was locked out of the editing room by producers. who apparently the producers wanted a movie that would appeal more to their target demo, which was teenage boys.

So there seems to be a lot of issues here. But I guess going back to where you both thought I was depressed, I'm having a real hard time understanding what this movie is about and what they are trying to achieve. In the basis, in the base level, like, what's the one-liner about this movie? Like what is? Yes. Also, also like clearly, Job, the character now played by Matt Fruer, is simultaneously for the, what I think is he is both a protagonist in this movie and unequivocally the antagonist of this movie.

Right? So he is like, if cyberspace dies, then I die. so he contacts his like young friend through cyberspace to be like you have to save me if cyberspace is dying and if it dies i'll die you have to come save me and by the way we the the world that we small mormor man one takes place in a world that we know that is very familiar to us it nothing is unique about it oh like in that you know it's like it's like a stephen king small new england town it's like you know is somebody's mowing the lawn people are doing this and that. It's a very, it's not a dystopia at all. And 10 years pass, and we are

automatically in the world of Super Mario Brothers or Double Dragon, where it is trash can fire city. And we are also in a major metropolitan city. The kid that we were introduced to in the first movie who had a relationship with the Lawmore Man, who becomes the protagonist here, is older, but the world has, like, darkened. And yet, cyberspace didn't take over. The world has fallen apart in a way that previous to the last two years, I wouldn't have thought could happen so fast. And now I'm like, oh, yeah, no, I think it's very likely we could be living in

lawnmower man, too, next year. That's why I was unsettled by it. Yeah. I mean, I could very easily see living in abandoned subway cars. in the very near future. But by the way, these like, again, only a few years have passed, this kid was living in a nice suburban town, and now he is working out of a subway car

with a bunch of, you know, again, very much like that Alyssa Milano movie, double dragon, where they're just, they're kind of under the sewers. Here's what I'll say. I kind of loved the young punk's in love story. I kind of loved him and his girlfriend. and their band of, you know,

cyberpunk friends, like getting up to hijinks in this dystopia, you know, like, I didn't mind that. There were so many of them. I couldn't keep tabs on them. I did have one note, which is love that dog. So, I mean, this dog, whoa. The dog, oh, you mean the dog?

The dog that knows how to use a computer? Yeah. The dog who doesn't, Jason, the dog doesn't know how to use a computer. Well, yes, he does. Yes, it does. Yes, I was going to say, I was going to say, not only does he know how to use a computer, he literally can manipulate a floppy disc or like a CD disc. Like a mini disc.

Yeah. Yeah, and insert it into the computer. Like, when he, when that dog paw, when that dog ball put a thing. Listen to me. The dog is better with computers. That was the most realistic part of the movie. The dog is better with computers than my father. It is crazy.

The dog can execute complex computer functions better than my dad. It's like like the dog, like literally is it when they're trapped in cyberspace. So much like, again, much like Ready Player 1, the kids all live in, the kids are all like orphans. They live in a subway car. And so the only thing that gives them pleasure, the only escape they have is they steal, access codes to get into quote unquote cyberspace. And when they get into cyberspace, they can fly, they can ride bikes,

they can go to the jungle, they can experience a life that isn't the destroyed life you're living in. But I need to talk about a couple of things here because there's a couple of things. First, the way that communicate to that dog is the kid literally looks down the barrel of the camera and is like, okay,

Baxter, hit the thing, do the button. That was your old dog. That was your old dog, Paul. I know, but I was just using it as an example. I don't remember the dog. All right. Well, you have a new dog now. Meatball.

Meatball. Put the disc in. And I'm like, where, who is he addressing? Like, if you're in a virtual reality world, like, you just don't turn to. It looks like he turned to the camera. And I guess the thing that I love about this movie, because this movie isn't that old, right? It's not, like, this movie came out in, oh, what year is it? Yeah.

Ninety-six. Okay. And they're still in this like disclosure world where like the biggest idea of cyberspaces, you either standing in a room full of giant files like, you know, it's like, oh, this is like, I'm literally in my desktop. But when these kids go into cyberspace, as someone who has been in cyberspace, yes, I have an Oculus quest. Yes, I have. I've also been in cyberspace. You've been like you, this idea. I've never been in cyberspace. Oh, Jason, you would love it. we return to the to the real world. I want you to get out of it and into cyberspace at our home.

I want to, you would love the Star Wars game. There's a great Star Wars game that you will go. I've never put on a VR headset. You know what? As somebody who was really resistant to it, and I will advise, like,

do not, it's, it's tough to watch your loved ones in cyberspace. It's like sort of like watching someone. It looks like very masturbatory and weird. Like, it's better to be. Wait, you mean like just somebody doing stuff in,

Yeah, you're just walking around the house. Being in cyberspace, like it should be a private experience, I think. But I agree. I've done it plenty of times privately, and it's way better. Yeah, but. That sounds creepy. Although you have to be careful because my sister, we put the goggles on my sister, and she did a game called like Bar Fight.

And she almost knocked herself out, destroyed our TV. like you can't. She almost punched through our television. She does, though, have untapped anger reserves. That's very true. It might have just unlocked something. It's really amazing. There are, like, boundaries, and you have to pay attention to them.

Like, like, as a, like, you still have to have that disconnect in your life to be like, right. Like, when it shows me I'm in a warning zone, I have to adjust to that. But if you're somebody who's like, very, which I think my sister is, and I am too, like very susceptible to hypnosis, etc. then it could be very physically dangerous. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get that. The version of cyberspace we get in this movie, though, is part of what used to be part

of how we represented the idea of cyberspace back in the 90s, which was, it's literally as if you go inside the computer. So they're like in tunnels. They're flying through tunnels, but you realize those tunnels are fiber optic cables or those tunnels are circuit boards. And they're always flying into them. It's like they're physically inside a computer. And that's just not at all what's happening.

It's like they're flying through like the Bill and Ted's like time circuits. Yes. Why hasn't? Because I, you know, I am curious during this pandemic. Like, I know you're on Twitch. I know you're doing all sorts of different platforms and things, but why haven't you done anything in cyberspace? Like, what's going on?

I've done a show in cyberspace. But not during the pandemic. Because my big VR system is, I feel like VR hasn't really cracked it. Like, Altspace tried to do some stuff in there. That was good. Reggie Watts actually was very much at the forefront of doing comedy shows there. But it's a little, like, if you're going to stand up.

There's no way we could do a live how to this get made. in cyberspace. With like avatars, with like avatars of ourselves. And everybody could be, but here would be my question. My suspicion is not enough people have headsets. Oh, yeah,

I guess that's pretty limited. You know, it's still prohibitively expensive. Well, not Oculus Quest. Like Oculus Quest you can get for 200 bucks and it's one piece. You don't have to hook up to a big computer. It lacks some of the larger elements

that make a fuller VR experience really crazy. but it's, I think it's equally as good. I mean, I would, if it makes sense, I would 100% do a VR. I mean, this would have been a great show to do. Oh, my God. We should have saved it.

Maybe this is the reason why we weren't able to record it the first time because Job was trying to give us a message from the world of cyberspace. Stop us from recording because he's a, yeah, he's a real. I want to be very clear about something. Even if I'm in cyberspace, I don't want any of your avatars to try and touch my avatar. Wait. Why are you saying we need to be avatars?

Because wouldn't wouldn't we have to choose how we are physically represented in cyberspace? Yeah. Yeah. It would be a version of our avatar. Some something that's...

June, you would look, like my avatar look like me. But, you know, if you, June wanted, you could have wings in the tail if you wanted. You wouldn't, you wouldn't, it wouldn't be a photo representation of us. It would be some sort of... An animated type thing.

An animated character. I did a how. house party show and everyone's hanging out at the house party and was kind of playing around and doing bits with people in the audience. But there is a little bit of a, it's a little bit of a lag. But I never at any point when I put in my stuff, I never jacked in and flew through wires. Please don't say jacked in. You know, I never jacked in. Oh, especially the way you're leaning into jacked. But I mean, here's the thing. They said jacked in so many times in this. I was like, oh, my. No, thank you. I mean, they had to know that jacked in meant something back then. But when they

meet when they meet lawnmore man uh when these kids have been i mean again this is where i'm unclear on what like why is cyberspace going away like like like because it it does have the movie does at a certain point and june i know you haven't seen it hits a very big similarity with wonder woman 84 at the end where mat fruers like everybody come in i'll give you it to you all and and there seems to be this disconnect of like they're just in cyberspace but yet if you knock off the glasses they're back to normal but yet they act as if they're trapped in this world they're not they're not like physically yeah what is the what is the actual threat what is the what is the big picture threat that um joe presents to the larger world not he can access all computers is that it okay

But wasn't he building a real city? Wasn't he making a virtual city into a real city? And that was a part of it because they showed you that like glass city and like, this virtual world is going to become real. And then it was like all these castles and pillars. And it's like, okay, so what is that? And then he brings all these people into a virtual world. See, isn't that kind of ready player one?

Paul, isn't that kind of ready player one where people would rather live? People would rather live in this utopian. this cyber utopia where they go on adventures and they can race cars, they can do all this stuff, rather than lead their miserable poverty-stricken lives of the dystopia that is now, you know, the world we live in. I'm reading the Wikipedia page.

I only saw Ready Player One once and I didn't enjoy it and I didn't read the book. So I'm just going on. I read the book. The book is great. I did not enjoy the movie. It like, all right, so this is what,

okay, this is what I guess the plot is. because I know people who are listening are probably furious that we're not understanding it. It says the founder of virtual reality, Dr. Benjamin Trace, who's a guy that you think looks like Tommy Lizzo. He has lost a legal battle. Can we just very briefly describe him for a second? When we meet him, he is in full cultural appropriation mode where he is wearing Native American jewelry and items. he's appropriated all sorts of shamanistic looks from different traditions.

And he looks like he's also trying to do Indiana Jones. Yes. And he looks like the star of a Cinemax like skin flick. Like he's got that kind of bill that the hair is just like long enough, like two moon junction or something like that. Like he looks like it could have been the drip dude with Cheryl and Fend. Oh, man. I remember taping that on VHS.

But like the idea of like this, he looks like he could have been like, you know, a little too sweaty. Like it looks like the cover. Like he, if in the right light, you put him on the cover of romance novel and he's ready to go. He's ready to hammer at home. You know, that's what I think he's ready to hammer at home. So he lost the pattern. Oh, man. When this pandemic is over, man, I'm going to be ready to hammer it home.

Like he's like, so this is by the way, this movie. revolves around a character that we never met, who is like the key. Anyway, so he loses the patent. See, I thought he was the Pierce Brosnan character from the first movie. Okay. I forgot that Pierce Brosnan was in the first movie. I thought this guy was in the first movie as that part. No, I was all sorts of fucked up.

I mean, I also thought at one point that maybe he was Joe, but even though I knew that Job was not him, I was like, I'm just giving it like the benefit of the doubt that maybe this is Joe because he looks like Job. So it says he lost a patent on this. this chip. And it's the most powerful chip, the Chiron chip, which is touted as the one operating system to control all others. So it basically be like, if you had like a Mac, this chip could control that and it could also control Windows, I guess. In the wrong hands, the Chiron chip has the potential to dominate society depending or making society dependent on computers. And then a virtual reality

the entrepreneur is trying to take over the Chiron chip, and then they realize that Job is trying to also kick them out of it. So I guess that's the battle here, is everyone is trying to get this powerful Chiron chip. And the Chiron chip is explained like this. I mean, what's with this Egypt thing, Doc? I mean, doesn't he need that from you? If Job's worried about Egypt, it means he's about to use that chip to its full hideous potential. Which is? Entered every and any consistent in the world and take over through Vior. So is there anybody stop him? Or should we just start digging up all graves?

We've got to get the Chiron ship from him before he figures out Egypt. That's what we've got to do. So is the Egypt thing that is that the Chiron chip? Yes, the Chiron chip that they use an ice cube to steal. The Chiron chip is the triangular chip that allows for this whole thing to be possible. Egypt is a like a firewall. inside of the chip that is kind of protecting, that is basically protecting Job from fully taking over.

And they refer to it as, I think, a dam. Like it's somehow, it's somehow the, it's the only thing that Matt Fruer cannot access. Oh, how about the fact that when they go and they find the Indiana Jones cyber Dr. Trace. When they find Dr. Trace, he's like the guy that invented cyberspace. They can't believe it.

And they tell him all this crazy stuff that's happening. He's like, now get out of here. He then pulls out a box of computer equipment, puts it up, puts it together, turns a computer on. And then with a few keystrokes, is able to call up video footage of a scene earlier in the movie. that occurred between Job and the kid inside of cyberspace. So there's so little inside cyberspace, he's able to be like, oh, let me just watch whatever conversation they just had.

And he does. But by the way, they also go, like, we need to track him. And the way that they kind of track his tag was one of the most, like, bizarre things. Because he's like, all right, well, go back through these firewalls. And they're like looking at different insignias and turning. Like when they find out that it is Job, but they know it's Job. Yeah.

Because Job revealed himself to them. But the kid thinks Job is a good guy. Right. So it needs to be revealed that he's. So it's the scene where Job sends the train to come and smash into them where they have the train switch off, where there's a whole action sequence that's built upon the fact that both Dr. Trace and Job, all they're doing is hitting the switch to change the track of a subway train. And they just are opening and closing.

I did feel badly. There is an innocent bystandard killed in that. Yeah, and I did feel badly for that guy. I have to say, I am really impressed that you both digested so much of this movie. I mean, I found this to be not watchable. And Paul, I'm especially- You were laughing a lot because you just love the fully animated performance of Job. I mean, he was.

Okay, this is what I'll say. I actually thought that the actors in this movie did a great job. I thought Job was great. I thought that they showed up and they did a great job. So I have no complaints about the acting. And there was a line that really made me laugh when Job, someone came in and said, what happened to your memory? And he said, I forget.

And I, L-O-L. So I did have... There are moments in this where Job is straight up channeling like this era Jim Carrey. Yes, yes. You know, he's doing big Jim Carrey reactions. Would you say? Well, I said, who came first? Did Jim Carrey steal Matt Fruer or did Matt Fruer still Jim Carrey?

I think you could say like there's definitely some of Max Headroom in Jim Carrey in Living Color characters. I mean, all right, so the mask came out in, let's see here. I mean, you know, in 1994. And I would say this is a little bit more like Ace Ventura. So that came out in 1994. So in a way, it- When did Max Hadrum come out?

Max Headroom came out, let's see here. That would be my question. Because I feel like there's a little bit of Fire Marshal Bill in Matt Fruhewer. In Max. 1985. By the way, let's take a listen to I guess Job's Jim Carrey impression or maybe Jim Carrey's, well, I guess not Jim Carrey's and Matt Fruer impression here. Take a listen.

He's watching. You won't jack in. Jack in, jack off. What's the difference? Scared on a boogeyman, doctor? You can at least humor me with a point of view, can't you? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, doctor. I feel like we're almost, I'm blushing. Family. I don't think so, Joe. Don't be so sure.

Incest. The game the whole family can play. My brother's my daddy. We have a lot in common, Dr. Trace. We're both unwanted, underappreciated, and ahead of our time. The only difference is your time was then. My time is now. It's a short ride, Job.

Enjoyed while you can. Oh, I plan to enjoy it for a very long time, Doctor. You see, I found the secret to immortality in the Chiron chip. We should also, I don't know if this is, I'm about to blow my own mind, I think. We might need to explain to the audience what Max Headroom is. Ooh, that's a good question. Yeah, right?

Because I guess... I don't know if it's enough of a cultural touchstone for younger listeners to know. I guess maybe just look up Max Hadrum. Max Hadrum was a computer. It was the first computer animated character that ever appeared in any medium. And it was not. true computer creation, but it was a cyber. He was in full kind of crazy makeup and like shot on a green screen.

I believe it was initially an advertising campaign for Coke. Yes, because it didn't it. It was also Back to the Future too. And Marty goes to Cafe 80s. He sees a Max Hedrum in there. And then it was so popular. It was such a exciting thing that was happening, this crazy weird stutter talking computer character.

that they gave Max Hedrum, I think MTV had a Max Hedrum TV show. Am I right? Yes. That is, yeah, that's ringing a bell. So it started off as a British, as a character in a British cyberpunk TV movie called Max Hedroom 20 minutes into the future that came out in 1985. And then the Max Hedroom series was something that premiered in the UK and on MTV. And then it went into a dramatic series on ABC in 1987 and late 87,

where I think he was like solving, like solving crimes of other people. And then like he's been in a bunch of other books and things like that. So, I mean, like, if you've never heard of Max Headroom, part of me thinks just like look it up on YouTube because it's going to tell you a lot about, it's going to inform a lot about why we're talking about it so much. Yeah, it's a very bizarre, like, he would always be skipping and and talking. He also apparently, yeah, like, yeah, who knows.

I guess he used to like break into several broadcast signal hijacking of television stations in Chicago also like hijacked using him as a, as like an avatar. Yeah, it felt like a cool, it felt like a cool new computer thing, even though it was not computerized, it looked like it. I remember it being very cool. Yeah. So there we go. I mean, as a 12, 13 year old. And I think, you know, for the people who watch the show, all 14 episodes, they were very excited about two seasons, 14 episodes. It's a great rewatch. Great rewatch. Basically, yeah, I mean, we don't have to get the whole. Anyway, sorry, I just want because I know we're throwing that around. No, yes, of course. I think it's smart. People might not know what

hell we're talking about. I want to talk about, you were talking about great acting. And to me, sometimes, you know, as an actor, and I want to go down this path with both of you as actors, you know, a character doesn't fully come alive for me until I, until I get on the clothes and find that right prop. And I want to just applaud the senator for finding that pipe, because the way that he did that pipe work in this movie was very impressive to me. Yeah. I mean, it's so bizarre to see somebody like earnestly smoking a pipe.

In modern times. In modern times, it's so strange to see people smoke a pipe in modern times. My dad smoked a pipe. Yeah, our next room, neighbors, to smoke a pipe. It's quite a smell. It's a big smell. I remember my dad let me like try to smoke one to get me like out of wanting to smoke. I remember when you would walk past someone smoking a pipe on the streets in New York and it was like a, it was a nice smell.

You know, you can get a more aromatic. Yeah. You pack it in there. But it was very strange. And I loved that like that Job just like crashes that dude's plane into the ground and kills everyone on board. Like Job is a very violent guy. Like Job is a like Job has turned evil and it really is just to be the most powerful person. But yet he's in the internet and he seems to know nothing.

Like at one point they were revealed to him. him like, you haven't given him his legs yet. He wants his legs back. But you would think that there'd be some sort of paper trail that Job could find. I mean, if Job is like popping up into this kid's like dreams or, you know, his virtual reality, you'd think that Job would be able to read an email and said, hey, hey, let's hold off on those prosthetic limbs for Job. You know, he's still doing my business.

Why is the lead? So the lead scientist who works with Job, who works for the villain. Who looks like she's straight up out of like the 90s. in modern times 90s. And she's not from the first movie, Paul, is she? No, no one is except for the kid. Okay, okay, good. Okay.

So my question was with her, why doesn't she, what is her, what is she trying to do? Why doesn't she realize she's part of an evil plot? Like, I couldn't understand why she was, she was both so protective and supportive of Job, while Job is clearly a monster, becoming a monster. And also she hates Dr. Trace for some reason that I don't know. I think for personal reasons. I think he fucked her over in some way or broke up with her. Yeah.

So I think that's just their own personal history. Okay. But I also thought that was interesting was that she looked so normal. Everyone in the movie looked so normal. But then there was one of the scientists who looked like she was out of Blade Runner. Like short-cropped blonde. hair and she was dressed no eyebrows and she was dressed in like leather skirts like this is like a science facility by the way one of the things that irritated me so much about this movie is it all of a sudden

moves to L.A. I mean the movie the first movie seemed to be like you said New England town very simple, very easy. Now it's in L.A. And when they go to like the place, I think they're always trying to find like oh, what would be a cool building to be the home of our virtual reality entrepreneur? And it's it's the Griffith Park Observatory, which you know from Rebel Without a Cause and a million other things. But, like, they don't ever label it as like, oh, yeah, that's the old Griffith Park Observatory. It's like, no, no, this is a cool building. No one would record it. It was such a bizarre choice.

It's like, you kind of acknowledge that this is something that is a landmark that now you've just taken over. Like, there's no, there's no acknowledgement. Like, at one point you'd be like, we'll buy that. We'll buy that. And that's where, like, I think it would be a hard thing to buy as a business. Yeah, all of it. Like, and the bad guys, what is the, so the bearded bad guy, what is his plan? The businessman?

Yeah. He wants the Chiron chip. He wants the Chiron chip to have the most power in the internet. But I still don't understand the crystal houses. Like that's the other thing. Like that, that I think what we're trying to get to the bottom is for what? For what?

For what? Like what? I don't understand anybody's motivations. No. Well, maybe the idea is like it's sort of like it's a technology thing. It's like I want the technology of like, you know,

how to make an electric. car or something like that. So the idea being like... Why does Job ask the kid to save him in that opening? He's tricking the kid. He's saying, go get the founder because he doesn't have legs. So he's like, I need an outside person to mess this up. I can only crash planes and stuff like that.

So I think he's like, go get that guy so I can get him involved in the whole thing. I mean, by the way, the fact that the fact that this kid even just remembers his lawnmower man so fondly after. literally living through a dynamic hellscape. Some sort of apocalypse. I mean, and he speaks about him so nicely. I mean, this is the only exposition you get from the first movie about the lawmower man. The reason I came is because my friend Job is dying.

He said that you're the only one who can save him. You seem a bit young to know anything about the Chiron ship. Well, Job told me about it. Who's Job? He was a lawmour man back when my mom was still alive. He was my best friend, but now he's stuck in virtual reality. What's you know about it? He's building it.

He's building it? Yeah, that's what he said. So you're going to help or what? I don't live that life anymore, dear. All that technology, it just consumes this whole. Yeah, I mean, it's, I almost think it's a testament, and I, June, you didn't like it, but to their relationship, like it makes me feel like that kid made the cupcake for him,

but yet did not really question where he went or how he went evil, because it would probably be on the news, or at least the way they kind of... I don't think there's any reason for that child to have, any sort of a relationship with a grown man. That man is doing something so reprehensible by continually putting those children in jeopardy. Oh, yeah. He should say, thank you for this information.

Thank you for your help. I will now go and execute because I'm an adult and you are children. Before I do, I will make a call to child protection services to let them know that children are living in a, abandoned subway. You want to put that kid in a home, June? Yes. Yeah.

No, not in this, not in this world. Who knows it could have been very fagin-like. They could be mining or, I mean, look, that world of trash can. Yeah, that world of trash can fires. I don't think that they have like really good human health and resource services. I don't think. You're right. Yeah, I don't think.

But I do think that the reason why the kids stay involved is because it's more the other scientist, the guy who culturally appropriates Native American Garb, Dr. Trace, who kind of puts them along because he's making them like jump out in front of cars. Remember that scene where the kids like pretend to get hit by a car? Oh yeah. There's also lots of attempts at physical comedy. Yeah. With the kids.

Like the kids are sometimes treated like the dwarves in the Hobbit movies where they're like collapsing all over each other doing physical bits while Dr. Trace is trying to like help things. It's kind of like if Indiana Jones was not interested in archaeology, but future technology, but still dressed like he was obsessed with archaeology. And he had like five kids as his sidekick, which makes no sense. It's Goonies. It's Goonies meets Indy, meet the internet. Write the check for me, please. I got the movie. By the way, that is the movie.

That's the pitch. That's what you should have started your opening with. Yeah, and you know what that means. And you know what that means. See? And you know what that means? You can go further up at the end. Yeah.

And you know what that means. Okay, see, now I feel safe. Now I feel safe. Now I'm to protect it. John, I was kind of protecting guys on all different sides. I mean, this, and by the way, they steal from Indiana Jones straight up. At the beginning of this episode, I felt abandoned. Oh, wow.

Guys, I'm so glad that we talked about it. I'll openly and we didn't carry this into the episode. The idea that they steal directly from Indiana Jones, like they do a scene out of Raiders, which I still don't even understand what they're trying to do. They're trying to steal the Chiron chip, which is in a pyramid-like structure, which is kind of also the way that you can communicate with chiber crystals.

I don't want to get into that, but June, you know what I'm talking about. And they bring an ice cube in. Is that what it is? And we're talking about real chiber crystals. We're not talking about the fake chiber crystals that Quigon Jin and Obi-Wiwis. one Kenobi found on that other planet.

Okay? Yeah, these are the real ones that have messages embedded in them. And if you, you know, and, you know, even the way that it was written in the last of the new trilogy, uh, Kylo Ren was going to actually going to look at one of those chyper crystals and be the wrong person for the information. And that's how he's going to get another scar in his face from Emperor Palpatine because the messages for Darth Vader. Anyway, it's a good script.

You should definitely read it. I hate this episode. We did have, we did have a, uh, a, uh, a, uh, a cybercrac. crystal reader in our house, like one of those little pyramids. A holocron? A holocron. Yeah. And it was...

What are you talking about? You don't remember our son running around with a holocron in our house? I don't know what any of these words mean. It's a repository for Jedi information, June. June, come on. Get with the fucking program. Oh, that little, like, plastic pyramid? Yes.

It wasn't plastic. It was full of gears. And anyway, we got it at a galaxy. edge. The thing is this. They go in there with this plan to steal it. And I don't even understand what the plan is, but it's very much like Raiders where it's like, okay, we got the moment. Let's go get the thing. They're on this like deck. But that's a real, that's a physically real location that they're in, right? What do you mean? When they're stealing the, when they're stealing the crystal, but that looks like a virtual reality room. That's what was so confusing.

I thought that that room was virtual reality because that's where he looks like he went in virtual reality. Well, it's weird to, yes, it's weird to have a movie that's heavy on CG and then also in a virtual reality world. Because when they're in virtual reality, we know they are because it looks like screensavers from the time. Like, they might as well go, they might as well be in a, in a world in which the flying toasters are passing them by. You know what I mean? Like the screensaver from old computers. Like that's the level of what cyberspace looks like in this movie. It looks like old screens.

Savenerisers and is hilarious. So, no, when they are trying to steal the Chiron chip, that's the real world. That's the real world. But that at the end, when Matt Fruer is, like, having all those human beings up against the wall, like in that kind of, again, a very reminiscent of... When Matt Fruer is in the golden suit, that's cyberspace. Again, another comparison to Wonder Woman 84. That suit was strange.

Did anyone else notice? It was... it was so ill-fitting. Why does he need a golden suit? Like the shape of it was just so odd. Yeah, I agree. Like the French was almost like an egg. And why does he need to have this sci-fi type of thing to exist inside the internet?

Right, like he doesn't need protection. Because when the kids go into the internet, when the kids go into cyberspace, rather, to fly or ride their bikes or go to the jungle or whatever, they are only ever wearing the exact same clothes they were wearing in the real world. They just jack in and fly around the Amazon or whatever. So at the end of the movie, when Matt Fruer has the fight with Trace, that is in virtual reality. But I don't even understand how he could be hurt in virtual reality if he has the most power.

I mean, I don't know. That end fights and I reroute it twice. June walked in on me and she's like, what are you doing? I'm rewinding it for the parts that I didn't understand. And she laughed at one point also, Paul. I mean, it was so this, this whole experience of this movie has been so chaotic. But there was- Your microphone is pointing to the ground.

Well, Devin, can you hear me? Okay. Well, that gets better when you pointed at your mouth. Literally pointing at the grass. I can't get it to step. Oh, maybe if I, oh, this is what this does. Okay. Wow.

No, it doesn't want to... Just push it backwards. Right, I guess I'll just have to hold it. I'm not doing well. I'm not well right now. So, Paul, there were a few times where I was watching the movie because this is the other piece of it. I've had three viewings of this feature film.

One, I started watching with Paul, fell asleep. Then I woke up at three in the morning because Meatball, where we were staying, there were 40 horses, and our dog... literally was having panic attacks about these horses. Yeah, he thought the horses were giant dogs. He definitely did and was so rattled by the sight of them. And so he was, talk about not well, he was not well and kept on waking up.

So I was up at 3 in the morning where I watched 20 more minutes of this movie. During that time, Paul, do you remember saying over and over again? wait, I don't remember this. I don't remember this. There were so many scenes that you were walking into and waking up to and saying, I don't remember this. I don't remember that.

Oh, my God. This movie, the experience of this movie was like a fever dream to all of us. It doesn't help that it makes so little sense. There's so little to hold on to. You know? I mean, because it also seems like this movie, I mean, just to add it to you, if you've not seen this movie,

and I do recommend that you do see a bit, we'll get to that in a little bit, but there are, like, security cameras. You do? Well, we'll talk about it. Yeah, it's what, it's, I am, I embrace the more insane films. I'm like, what is happening? Like, there looks like there's security cameras that are also, like,

laser guns, like, that Matt Fuhrer can control. So, like, this whole, this whole facility is outfitted with, like, lasers that can just, like, gun down people immediately. Like, there's so many weird choices. but yet the technology is so antiquated that like one of the end fight scenes, they break a TV over somebody's head. And I think at that point,

I must have been broken down by this movie and I really felt bad for the person. I was like, wow, that must be, if that happened in real life, if something broke a TV over your head, that would be... Well, by the way, all those TVs that were not plugged in

were on and had footage of Job from a control room on. Yeah, Job was making his big appeal across all the television networks. Right, but those TVs were not connected to anything. Doesn't matter. Who cares?

Yeah. I think, I think, and I think the logic of the movie assumes that like, electricity is the same as the internet. Like, he can access anything that's plugged in anywhere. You know what I mean? Wouldn't that be, wouldn't that be like that other Stephen King, uh, novella where it was the, the guy who gets executed, uh, goes into electricity? Remember that?

I remember the cover box for it at, at Blockbuster. There was a guy, a guy in the, electric chair and like his spirit went through electricity. So if you plugged in something, you would become the evil guy. Stephen King is so fascinating to me. I'm not at all an avid reader of Stephen King, but he, he is so prolific that I feel like he uses the same ideas over and over and over and over again. It's like you're hanging out with him and he's telling you the same stories and you're like, oh, I already heard the story. But it's like, but he's obsessed with it. It's like, he's just obsessed with like,

killers getting the power of electricity. Like, you know, like, so you just kind of have to hear him tell that story like 10 more times. Yeah, I don't know. I mean,

yeah, that is a, that guy, remember the cover box being so scared of it. Dr. Trace puts these children in such real jeopardy. He puts them in, he brings them into a military compound

where people are truly, out to kill them and it is so blase and it genuinely feels like he should be, he's a bad guy. He's like a bad person for doing what he's doing because he's using them as

cannon fodder or I don't know. By the way guys, the movie I was talking about is called Shocker and it's a West Craven movie so get on shocker. A lot of people yelling at the radios shocker! Shocker! Shocker! Paul, Shocker! Oh, man. You know you can't get this on radios, Jason.

You can't get this podcast on radios. Serious. Aren't we being broadcast on radios right now? We are on K-97.95W. I may the day. Junior and the traffic copter, what does the traffic look like up there, Junie? I've only done a couple of them, those radio tours, they have to do like when you're really morning.

Yeah. They are talking to like, yeah. Johnny and me. Have you ever done it in person? In person? No. Johnny in the movie. To do it, to sit in a room in person with people who are at that pitch at like 7 a.m.

Is chilling. I know. I know Paul said I needed more energy from you, but I don't need that kind of energy. All right. Then tell us about that traffic then. What do you got up there? We're talking about lawmower men to Job's War. Who knew Job?

Who knew the kids? The Chiron chips out of control. Paul, what was it? I got on the internet this weekend and my wife doesn't like that at all. You know what I mean. We go, waka, waka, waka. We definitely should do an episode of how did this get made that's just drive time radio hosts reviewing a movie. You know, Molly Shannon was in this movie.

What? Molly Shannon was in this movie as a homeless person. probably one of her early jobs. Oh, wow. Oh, that's interesting. I was trying to find a picture of her. I don't know where she popped up, but she is,

I think at the end, when everyone is putting on VR, she is one of the homeless people that is putting on VR. Oh, funny. We've talked a lot about this movie. I mean, like, and we've barely even,

I don't understand it now any better than I did that. Like as much as we've talked about it. I think there was a good thing. I don't know. I don't know. the motivations of any of these characters. I don't know what Cyber Indiana

Jones wanted. I don't know what the kids wanted. I don't know if it was a, I don't know if it was a success, you know? Well, I'm going to tell you some back. No. No, no, no. The mission they were. Oh, okay. I think it was a success because

the only thing we know, Jason. I think it was a success because they got the Chiron chip and that was what they really wanted, right? So they wanted that Chiron chip and they got it. So I feel like in that way, we should give them a lot of, a lot of love. But obviously, we had opinions about this movie, but there are people out there with a different opinion. It is now time for second opinions.

Tell me what is the message. Subjective. Thank you, John Lajois, who I miss seeing on a regular basis, but I love hearing that song so, so much. Here we go. second opinions, cold from Amazon.com. I'm just going to, give me a second. I have to figure out where I've... While you look it up, I'll say, please go and listen to John L'Jois's music. Oh, yeah. Streaming service, go to Spotify or Band Camp or whatever you use by his music. He's been putting out, you might know him for doing funny songs on YouTube or on the league, but he's been doing absolutely

beautiful music in the last bunch of years that is not comedy, you know, type songs. And he's just the love-place guy. The greatest. He is really, really good. He also has been doing some cool bigger projects. Like he did a lot of music for the Lego movie, the Lego 2. The Lego second movie, yes. Yeah, the Lego 2, yeah.

Yeah, you could definitely check out his albums. There's two of them. I remembered, but then I forgot. And Perfection Nirvana, which were also released under like Wolfie's Just Fine. So check it out. He's always awesome. here we go. Lawmower Man 2 beyond cyberspace, aka Job's Warbs. A.k.a. Job's Warbs. Jobs Warbs.

Joebs Warbs. George Warbs. It could be called George Jobs. Jobs warbs. And I'd be like, fine. Lawmower to George Warbs. Hi. George Warbs. I'm the new lawnmower man. I'm in the internet. But if Law &more Man 2 is just about the next guy who most.

is Pierce Brosnan's lawn. By the way, I would like, all right, these are good t-shirt ideas. We should have Pierce Brosnan as a lawnmower man, or we should put Jim Carrey as Max Headroom. These are ideas and put it as Job's Warbs. Okay, Lawmore Man 2 has 41% five-star reviews and 18% one-star reviews. And I believe the reason why it has 41% five-star reviews is because the only way that you can purchase Lawmore Man 2 is if you buy the two pack of Lawmore Man 1 and Lawmore Man 2. So a lot of the reviews are, I love the first one.

The second one is complete trash. But this one right here is five stars from Jerry S. Jerry writes, my grandkids loved it. Five stars. This one goes here. This is from Darren Tate. Darren Tate on March 6, 2015 writes, loved the first Lamarman. Can I stop you for a quick?

second. Yeah. Did we lose June? How did this get made? Is experiencing technical difficulties? Please hold. Okay, hold on here. She's got to come in here. Okay. So just to catch people up, June disappeared off of the Zoom and has now reappeared next to Paul. First of all, nobody even noticed I was gone for a long time. June, I want credit. I noticed. I'm reading on Amazon. I'm getting my notes together here. I'm looking up at Wolfie's just fine. All right? I'm trying to do the work. is cursed because my computer just died out of nowhere. Was it plugged in? It never.

By the way, can I just say that we are traveling right now? June and I are traveling. June did not bring a computer cord, nor did she bring an iPhone charging cord. Two things I did not bring on vacation. Okay. We're not on vacation. We're not on vacation. We're just changing away from home.

Away from home. Yes. Yes. I was gone for a long time, Paul. Into the microphone. I was gone for a long time when I was trying to fix it. Sorry, Paul.

You're going to have to point that microphone at the ground for June to understand how it works. That's very, very strange. I'm very nervous that garage band. I don't know how that works, Devin, if it's just gone. No, wait. Well, this is now a bad news. This is St. Clair Part 2.

All right, we have now repositioned ourselves. June and I are next to each other, on top of each other, in a very small room, essentially a closet. And we are ready to take this show to the finish line. June, how are you? I'm not great. I continue to not be great.

Now, I want to say, I don't know why my computer shut down. I received no notifications on the computer that it was about to shut. It's a screenshot of the way that June and I are recording this episode. No, this is, I, listen, I'm willing to say, I think St. Clair put a hex on June's computer. Yes. That's the only thing. It's a new one. It's a new one.

It's what I don't understand. Oh. But I also have a friend belief that maybe it wasn't fully plugged in. Or it was plugged in, but it wasn't charging if that outlet may not be working. That's my first thought. Oh, boy. Well, I didn't receive any push notifications that it was about to go. Well, okay, I don't know if they call them a push notification.

But anyway, we'll get into that in a second. This second review is from Darren Tate. He wrote it March 6, 2015. And he writes, loved the first lawnmower man. Really good film. Second film, hmm, a bit weird? Five stars. Wow, still five stars.

All the five star reviews are very, very short. There's not a full breakdown. There's not too much to say, yeah. Yeah, there's not too much to say. And those are really the only two that I pulled, or I shouldn't say I pulled, but Nate Kylie, our man on the ground have to do all the research. He did send me a third opinion from Val. Don Rawell, who seems not to have a problem with the film, but the DVD itself, as he writes,

didn't play at all. Rip-off. That's a title. The review and the actual review goes like this. Didn't play. Total rip-off. I would send it back, but it's not worth the time or effort. Very disappointed.

Wow. One star. That seems like more about the company, less about the product. Yeah. You know. Anyway, I did want to say that I do have some research here, June seeing how I have multiple screen set up here. Do I travel with a second screen?

Yeah, I do now. Do you bring the appropriate power adapters to keep them turned on? Yeah, yeah, do the whole thing. Wait, you didn't travel with this screen. No, I traveled with this screen over here. There are three screens in this tiny room. Don't worry about it. This is the owner of the house's screen.

Yes, but that's okay. I just plugged into it. That's all I did. They did not say that, that it was available for use. I'm not using their computer. I'm just using their screen. Aren't these your things right here? Yes, but that's my computer.

They're in the same, it's the same computer. It's just using two screens. All right. Anyway, this peek behind the curtain is incredible. The tagline of this movie, God made him simple. Science made him a God. Now he wants revenge. These things don't seem like they're really at play in the sequel as much, but I guess the revenge part, I don't know.

I guess it's all there. The budget was $15 million. The opening weekend was $1.4 million. It made a total of $2.4 million. So a loss of about $13 million there. Which is a lot of money at that time. Yeah, in 1996. The top three movies of 96 are Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible.

This movie came in. Think about that for a second. Independence Day's visual graphics are terrific. Amazing. Compared to the visual graphics of this movie, which again are the equivalent of screens. Twister, Jason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Twister.

Incredible. It's great. And this movie came in 187th out of all movies of 1996. It was beaten by Space Jam, jingle all the way, Dragonheart. I'd argue Space Jam even has better effects. The island of Dr. Moreau also has better effects. Escape from L.A., questionable. the Quest, Glimberman, Kazam, barbed wire.

Wow, this is a big record year for how to this game made. Wait, did we do all of these movies? We did, except for Dragon Heart? Dragon Heart, we... Did we do every movie? We've seen all movies. Of that year for the podcast, did anything come out? Basically, 1996 was a banner year for this podcast.

It seems like... Because, by the way, I would also do Independence Day. It's not good. No, I would get on that. I would get on all of these. I'll tell you this. Oh, no. This blows my mind.

I didn't read this. Farhad Man, who wrote and directed this, also wrote and directed Return to Two Moon Junction. What? Wait a second. That movie that I just referenced, but now I'm getting the whole idea here. Hold on one second. Is this the same actor? That's blowing my mind.

Hold on. Does that also have Sherilyn Finn in it? Two Moon Junction is a movie that says Sherilyn Fen, Mila Julevich, Zalman King was the director. They don't really list the guy in. like the the the the the the impresario of soft core showtime movies yeah i don't know they don't list the male actor although he's kissing the woman a sharon fin uh there uh but return to two moon junction is a little bit more graphic the cover box he's a straight up grabbing her breasts on this one and that a star is uh melinda clark and john clayton shaffer and it says she had everything except for

what she desired the most molly shannon also in that movie. Wait, what? Molly Shannon is in Return to Two Moon Junction. She must know Farhad Man. That's the only reason. That's the only explanation. That's the only explanation.

She is Tracy in that movie. This is amazing. Two fun facts about this movie where the last two minutes of the five minute credits are completely silent. Whether there was music originally is not clear. It just seems like they just stopped putting, they just gave up at the end of the movie.

And the other thing that was interesting was that when Lawmore Man was released in 1993, at the end of the film, it said, Lookout for Lawmore Man 2, minefire in 1994. And that never happened. And this appeared two years later with a different title. If you want to something really cool, Averill Halley cut together an old commercial for that board game Crossfire with clips of Lawmore Man 2. And it's perfection. And you can check it out on all of our, how does this get made social media?

It's worth a watch. She did a great job. There. Would you recommend this movie? June, I know that you love it. So what would you say? I mean, I would, would like to explain something. Like, I don't think I've brought my best, my best, my best into this podcast episode. And technically and even just like energetically. And Paul, you have some, you have to shoulder some of the blame there. What? For setting the, setting the stage of the beginning of this episode. But I'm also, listen, I'm also, we are, you know, I don't know when this is going drop but right now we're just a week past a coup um attempted coup we are you say in a very cute

way attempted cue we are um you know the army hammer news just broke like i i am disgusted in general and this film really pushed me over the edge i did not like it i don't recommend it um i hated it I hated talking about it. I hated every attempt I made to watch it. This was just horrible. Wow. Okay. Jason, what do you think?

In this time where I am 10 months into complete isolation, again, I want to reiterate, I don't have the emotional capability to try and figure out these movies, okay? Yeah. I am reduced. We're not a well people. I am reduced to panic and anxiety when I don't understand what's going on. So this movie was stressful. Now, would I recommend it?

Yes, absolutely. People should watch this because it's cuckoo crazy banana town. And it's fun to watch and it's not too long and blah, blah, blah. And it's interesting enough. And if you go into it with the assumption from the jump that you're not going to be able to make heads or tails out of any of this, I think you might be on for you might have a fun ride even though I walked in with that Jason I walked in with that very assumption oh see I walked in with dread I walked in with dread I was like fuck I've got I've got I want to watch something that makes me feel good I want to watch Hilda or

Dairy Girls I want to watch Dickinson I want to watch something that's going to make me feel good and up because that's what I need to watch this is to feel as though my battery is being drained. Do you know? I will say this. I will say that like, you know, when I watch these movies,

I am always a big proponent of people who swing for the fences. And this is a mix of so many bad tropes and choices. And look, and like Eugene said, not bad acting. It's just,

it is just not well thought out. It feels like a movie where the director was kicked out of the edit bay. And there are so many ripoffs. There's so many references to other movies of that era. There's a director.

Indiana Jones moment. They fall down a trash shoot into a trash compactor like in Star Wars. They're ripping off all of the thing, the goonies. They're ripping off everything from that era. Yeah, it's deadly serious too. Like it's so weird. By the way, Devin just popped up in the chat and said that Matt Fruer is also in return to Two Moon Junction, which makes me feel like we must do return to Two Moon Junction. I feel like let's finish out this. If we're going to do that, we might have to watch Two Moon Junction, which I am not mad at because, boy, I had just from Twin Peaks, the most enormous crush on Sherry. Giant crush.

Oh my gosh. With the blonde hair, oh, my goodness gracious. I recommend it a lot because it's so bizarre. Hats off to everybody behind this movie. Long live, Longmore Man, too. I hope he's out there. Long live, wait. Did you just pledge fealty to Lawnmore Man?

I am in. I am in. Wait, are you elevating it to? to our monarch? Job, thank you for sabotaging June today, Job. Thank you, Lord Job. Thank you, Lord Job. Do you think Job lost?

Do you think Job is the one that lost the ballots? Do you think Job? Do you think Job is behind the tampering with the machines? Jobbed with the machines. Job, how did you get in there? Stop the steel, Job. Stop the steel. Stop the steel or steal it back.

Job, we look to you, Almighty Job. Joe bless us and it brings us to the end of this episode. My favorite thing right now that's happening on screen just for the viewers is while we're talking, June must be the first time June has set foot in this room of the house they're in. Because June is now full-blown examining everything in the room. She's in. She's in. Really picking it all apart. Oh, my God. This episode is airing here in late January.

Do we want to plug anything to anybody to watch C. experience anything at all? Gosh, I don't know. I just saw a little news story today that President-elect Biden's dog, the shelter that they got him from is going to do an official inauguration. Oh, amazing. Which I thought was just so cute. And I can't wait to get my eyeballs on that.

First rescue in the White House. At this point, you will be able to just Google that up because I'm sure it will be completely available at this point in time as when this episode comes out. This is a question. Does the dog, does Joe Biden's dog also get sworn in as first dog? Like is there a dog, is there a dog Supreme, is there a Supreme Court dog that squares in? I don't want to talk about his issues. The dog's issues are a little bit. Look, he came from the streets. He has very strong ties. And, and, and look, there's going to be a lot of bad things coming out for, for birds and squirrels. and cats in the future.

They're nervous. They're nervous. I've heard that. I've heard that from a lot of people. Cats, cats are nervous. Cats are nervous right now. Cats are freaked out right now.

My dog, our dog, voted for this dog. So that was a good thing. You know, we're happy in this house. He's, you know,

we're all on the same page. I will just say, by the way, I've been hosting a bunch of stuff on Twitch. Check it out at twitch. At twitch.tv slash Paul Shear. It's free. Just go on it like YouTube.

But more importantly, I talk to some of the ride and dies at How Did This Get Made, who have been on the message boards for many years, posting some of the best content that we use for all of our many episodes. And I've convinced them to start up their own Discord, which is a little bit more inviting because the Earwolf message boards have kind of been left to tumbleweeds. And they are starting up a brand new, How Did This Get Made Discord? And stay tuned because at this point in time, you will be able to get on there. And if you want to participate in these amazing conversations, you can.

Paul, if you wouldn't mind, of course, I know what it is. But would you mind telling some of the audience maybe what Discord is? Yes, Discord is actually a really awesome. It's, you know, it has elements of what Slack is and Geneva. The idea of it is it's a thriving message board, a place where it's basically a glorified message board with a lot of bells and whistles where you can have video talks, you can have audio talks, but more importantly, just a big conversation is the way I would describe today. So it's a forum for fans to go and talk about the show.

episode? Yeah, they can talk about, yes. So we already have this. We already have this on Earwolf.com, but it's a little bit of an antiquated system that's hard to get into and hard to post on, in my opinion, as someone who is frequenting message boards.

So I talk to them. Why are you frequenting message boards? Yeah, what's that about? Here, what's that about? Anyway, I have my own discord. You can jump on that too. Yeah, your own discord? I have my own discord for all the Twitch shows.

And what happens on it? There's a lot of conversations about a lot. We talk about the NBA. We talk about the Twitch shows. There's a lot of conversation. We politics, Wonder Woman. I'm here to say, I have never been on a Discord.

I think you have. You might not know. If you want to go on my Discord to say it's Discord.g.g. slash Paul Shear. But anyway, we have great conversations. We actually had a dating game that we ran on the Discord last week. It was fun. Anyway.

Wait, you're dating? Jason, we don't have time. We're busy. We're in a, you know, we're in strange times and I just got to look out. I think it's weird to be dating on Discord. Is that a thing? Do I need to join Discord to date? Is that how?

He didn't even know what it was. dating? Jason, what can people do? I mean, obviously, we're all in Big Mouth, which is currently airing on Netflix, which is great. You know, I don't know. In terms of like new things coming out, I don't really have much, but I will say I did a couple of episodes, I voice a character and a couple of episodes of the TV show Dickinson

on Apple, which has just released its second season. I'm not in the second season, but I love the show, so it's true. I've heard it's fantastic. Yeah, really fun, really great, really enjoyed it. Watched every episode of Bridgeton, not sure why, did not enjoy it. It's crazy. I got to get into this because Kulap was telling me about this. It's top to bottom, a straight up yikes.

I can't. It's a worthy discussion. I'm trying to think if there's anything else to plug. No, not really. Everything else is the same, big mouth, all the rest. Well, we appreciate you all listening, and we will be back with an episode not cursed by Job, and we appreciate you all being here. And we will talk to you all soon. If you want to comment on anything that you've heard here today, give us a call at the mini episode, which is 619, P-A-U-L-A-U-L-A-S-K, that 619 Paul Ask. You can ask me about your personal life, but you can also ask me about this movie. A big thank you to Cody Fisher, who is our producer, super-producer, and ahead of a lot of big things at Earwolf. I don't even quite even understand anymore. She's the big boss now, but she is awesome. and she's sick and she's here.

Devin, our engineer, who's always doing about 95 shows a week and it's surprised that they can keep them alive here at Earwolf. Molly Reynolds, who is just killing it for all of us, Nate Kiley, and our other producer, Averill Halley, all of them doing such great work, The Ghost of Craig T. Nelson, Kyle Waldron, both with the amazing art that you're seeing on all of our social media pages. Again, rate and review this show.

It does help. It actually really, really does help. So please, if you have a second to do that, we'll do it. And we'll see you next week on a mini episode, by for now. I'm just gonna be