This Had Oscar Buzz - 400 – Town and Country

Episode Date: August 10, 2026

It’s our 400th episode this week, so we had to go big. What could be more fitting than a notorious bomb with major star pedigree?! No stranger to misfires, Warren Beatty nevertheless was one of the biggest names in Hollywood that could generate buzz with any project – and more prophetically in this case – … Continue reading "400 – Town and Country"

No, the right house. I didn't get that! I'm from kind of that water. Dick Pooh. Is throwing Porter a curve? I'm an architect. How did you know he was an architect? I love to fuck architects.

Make that too. Oh no! Okay. Make it several. There's gotta be a hole in here somewhere. Dad? Oh! Tom! This is my son.

Tom. Is there any woman in this room you have a... Slep with Porter? Ah, no, no, no. Yes, no more women, okay? Fine, no more women. Give him his drink, you old muff diver. Aren't they wonderful?

Hello and welcome to the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast, the only podcast, acing our makeout audition with Dormant Mulroney. Every week on This Had Oscar Buzz, we'll be talking about a different movie that once upon a time had lofty Academy Award aspirations, but for some reason or another,

it all went wrong. The Oscar hopes died and were here to perform the autopsy, I am your host, Chris Fyle, and I'm here, as always, with my cellist with a lower back tattoo that makes her look like the cello. Joe Reed. I hated that tattoo so much. Like, just at, from the very beginning, I was like, this movie's already pissing me off. I started the movie, and I'm like, oh, beautiful vistas of Manhattan.

What if I like this movie? Not three seconds later. A lower back tattoo on a fully naked Natasha Kinski. as she's playing a cello that it is the lower back tattoo of the little, you know, the little cutouts of a cello on her lower back.

I was like, nope, it's not going to happen. I hate it. Guess what? The rest of the movie proved that to be true. People don't, and I think a lot of this is a function of the fact that, like, I don't think this movie was available to watch for a long time. People don't talk about how insane this movie is.

Like, it really is fucking insane in many, many different. ways. There's a garden variety like problem with this movie that we'll get into the reasons of why that like no single scene in the movie

is in conversation with another scene. It's like they're filming them on different plans. Time absolutely doesn't exist. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Different dimensions. But that everything about it is so so, so, so. It seems

to take place in the span of both a weekend and a year like it's it's fucking crazy it also like it's a movie that exists to just like make all the female characters say the most foul things that you can possibly imagine because it's like

a bunch of it's like a bunch of middle age and older men in a room like how are we going to make these female characters funny like how can how what can we do let's make them say sexually explicit things for no reason. Oh, I know. How about Andy McDowell's accent changes from scene to scene? That's the other thing that I think is tremendous

about this. Because she can't remember where her character is supposed to be from because she filmed this movie in three separate years. Well, and also her character is an absolutely alien from space. Like, that is just... One of the first things that she says is I love to fuck architects. It's crazy. On an airplane, she says this. To a stranger. to a stranger who then, either six months or two hours later, she runs into in fucking Sun Valley, Idaho. And from a chairlift, it's like, hey, I recognize you from that flight to Mississippi we took.

And it's like, what the fuck is going on here? Like, is she an effigment of his imagination? Like, that's only one. She is believable as the child of Marion Seldies and Charlton Heston, though. That is true on like a like triangulation of DNA kind of a thing. Sure. We'll talk about poor. Poor Mary and Saldi is I hope was able to like file for some sort of workman's compensation.

Boy howdy. In short succession, which if listeners saw the trailer to this movie, they will know she says muff diver. In like the span of maybe five seconds, she says muff diver. she says muff diver, cock sucker, and then something else. I wrote it down. And I'm just like, leave this woman alone. She says the old muff diver, you old cock. She calls her husband, Charlton Heston.

First of all, she says take your finger out of your bunghole, Peregrine. She also says swinging dick. I wrote down. She says swinging dick. And his limp carrot is the other thing. She tells her husband, Charlton Heston, take your finger out of your bunghole, Peregrine. She calls him an old muff diver. She then calls their like,

butler, you cock sucker. And then she refers back to her husband, Charlton Heston, and his limp carrot. So... It's a lot. And this woman, we met this woman literally three seconds

before she says all of these things. And she says all these things while she's like whirligging around on her electric wheelchair. She's on a rascal. That she is absolutely no control over. Like, and if this were a movie that had any, control of its tone whatsoever.

That could have been a like genuinely very funny scene. Well, it was still been elder abuse. But, yeah, no, you're right. The comedic sensibility of this movie is like a meeting of the minds between a preschool room, but only the boys. There are a small handful of moments. There are a small handful of moments in this movie that did produce laughter from me. Oh, Goldie gets a good line in this movie.

Goldie gets a good line. There's a moment... There's a moment where Gary Shandling rolls off of a bed that is lofted, then falls to the ground that I did laugh at. Because I'm a simple, simple person. And, like, man fall down, like, okay. But, like, none of them are, like, stitched together well or contribute themselves.

We'll get to the whole of Gary Shandling's character and how none of that makes sense. And we should say up top that the concept of this movie, us doing this movie for this show is like, this movie gets a green light, that's immediately like the potential for this movie because of Warren Beatty's involvement. Well, the other thing that I think is somewhat fascinating is watching this movie, you would come away with the impression that these stars all hated each other. but like Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty were exes who from what I understand weren't particularly acrimonious exes. Diane and Goldie were like besties. Goldie and Warren. Co-workers and former lovers.

Oh, were they also in real life former lovers? That makes sense. So like none of that tracks. And yet like this is absolutely the work of a dysfunctionaliener. functional set and you would... Warren Beatty claimed Gary Shandling as his best friend. That's the other thing is Gary Shandling and Warren Bady were like super close. So like...

I don't know, dude. He's there because it was originally supposed to be Girard de Partu, but the original delays to the... I know. Like, we can't even get into that actual rapist being in, potentially being in this movie. But like, because like that is insane where this character goes. though it's like some of that seem, some of the stuff like this character is closeted.

That seems like a Buck Henry ad based off of what I was reading. Well, this is the other thing is like this right. This comes from a Buck Henry script. Now, listen, we have covered movies before that have been written by Buck Henry and felt fairly like current and like in tune with the times and human behavior, specifically to die for I'm talking about. But like, that's not the case. That's not the case here.

This is, this, and this also has the feel of like, this was an idea that we had in the drawer from 1972. And we finally sort of like blew the dust off of the cover and like juzed it up a bit and then put it into production. But yes, I think for better or worse, everything that has the involvement of Buck Henry from like 1990 onwards has the feel of like retro, like doesn't this just feel like a relic of bygone times? And certainly Buck Henry and Warren Beatty teaming up to do a mainstream movie that also involves

Goldie Hunt. Like the whole like the shampoo gang, you know, is back together. The heaven can wait folks are back together. Like it's, it's Warren essentially like reuniting with all his. old co-stars from between the years of 1975 and 1981. And it's like to do this sex farce that to me felt like it was trying to fill the void that like the post scandal slash pre-scandal, Woody Allen years were had vacated, right? That like post-deconstructing Harry, Woody stopped really making.

relationship comedies. And of course, this thing was in the works for far long before that. Kind of post Monica Lewinsky, too. Also that, yes. It just felt like it was trying to fill a void

that ultimately people didn't really have a ton of interest in seeing filled at that moment and also did it poorly. Like, there are so many things about this movie that make me think, oh, this is trying to do Woody Allen a little bit. And I understand that, like,

sex farces existed before him. But like the soundtrack is very... Making of it, they pivot and they're like, we need to do Austin Powers. Like, this is almost like a frat house comedy. It's like the type of jokes that this movie delivers, you know? It's really like body, sex forward words out of these people's mouths that they would never say in the upper west side.

I agree with that. Well, it's the Upper East Side for sure, because like it's very disqualify. side of the Upper East Side, as opposed to Upper West Side, and we'll get into that. Well, right, right, right. In the Hamptons, no one says things like Muff Diver, you know. Correct. But the other thing, but, yeah, so, like, that is the execution, but the setup feels very much like, you know, again, like, it is sort of, it reminds me a little bit of,

like, deconstructing Harry. It's just like, why are all of these people committing adultery? And it's like, well, we needed to have something to make a movie. about, you know what I mean? Where, like, literally, Warren Beatty's character commits adultery because somebody brought it up to him that he hadn't yet. You know what I mean? And it's like, okay. And I, but, like, the score is all very, like, self-consciously Woody Allen to me. And obviously, like, once you put Diane Keaton in a movie, it's going to make you sort of think of that anyway. Diane Keaton, by the way, who is fully in hair, makeup, and wardrobe from

hanging up through the entirety of this movie. Like, she's like on break. Between the first two blocks of filming, because part of the reason for the major delays for this movie is they have all these movie stars that they have to have together in these scenes and their schedules

have to align. So it's like when they have to do reshoots, it takes, oh, a full calendar year to make those reshoets happen. And Diane Keaton, no, quite literally, they had to like, I almost said rush, but like they went way over schedule with this movie.

Their first block filming took like six months. We'll get into it. We'll get into Warren Beatty. Yeah. That like they were like working and filming up to the deadline of she is under contract to film hanging up. And then once hanging up is done and done with its breast cycle or close to done with its press cycle, they can get Diane Keaton back on set. Yes. It's the perils of working with actors of this stature,

and also working with a director who might as well be like a paper, a cardboard cut out of a person, like the Ted Danson thing in Three Men and a Baby, when it's just like, yeah, like Warren's running the show here. Like, you know, we all do this. Who is who even is? Even if he's abdicating the throne in that way, everybody else around this production is acting like he is the final say on

everything. Even if he doesn't, you know, take over control or have some type of ego. I'm, of course, skeptical. But, like, that's a two-way street, too, right? Sure. Yes. That's why, like, Peter Chesolm, who'd only done smaller movies, like, the Mighty beforehand and, you know, productions overseas.

It's like you cast that type of director who, all respect to Peter Cheslom, who still went on to make successful movies after this. and also and the search for happiness well sure put some respect on serendipity's name how dare you

I didn't say anything about serendipity nor did I say anything by the way about Hannah Montana the movie which was successful so there you go

by the way it looks like his name should be Peter Cheselm but literally it's spelled Chelsam what the fuck is going on there what the fuck is going on there England

like Jesus type of, he's in the position of a director when he was brought on to it when it was like, this was going to be a $20 million movie. It wasn't going to be some. But then you get Warren Beatty and you get all of these other people on and like things just, it will get into it. But that's the type of director who's in the position for someone like Warren Beatty to run roughshot over him. Yes.

Yes. Like there was no, there's, I can't imagine anybody had any illusions as they were entering into this movie as to who was going to be in charge of this thing. The movie is so interesting, derogatory, regarding Bady's green persona, right? Because it seems at once fully aware and avoidant of Bady's reputation. Aware yet, not aware, yeah. That he is, he is like the most notorious Hollywood womanizer alive.

Right, right. And is it the gag here that like somebody's like, he's a rock. He would never cheat on you. He's never cheated on you. It's like, is that supposed to be like the gag that like, ugh, Warren Beatty, not cheat? But he's such like a hapless womanizer in this movie. It's like he stumbles and falls into having sex with someone. Well, this is sort of, again, what made me think of the Woody Allen thing.

Because in so many of these Woody Allen movies, the whole idea, and like, I think that is part of the joke in those. just like, these people are constantly sort of tumbling into bed with each other, despite having, like, no real heat between them whatsoever. You know what I mean? It's just sort of like, people just have sex out of, like, a sense of duty or whatever, where it's just like, well, I suppose we should just fuck up our lives now. And that's just sort of how it's just like, there is no real sense of, like, you know, heat or sensuality or, like, romantic attraction, despite the fact that. Like, all of these people are still at stages in their life where they're, like, very attractive. Goldie Ha'Hon is, you know, still got it at however old she was. Oh, she's gorgeous in this movie.

But it's also the thing of, he's a real, like, dumbass in the movie. Oh, yeah. Like, an intelligent man. Like, yes, for being a brilliant architect. Even by, like, sex-fow's terms. Right. He is stupid. It is a protagonist who you do not believe is very intelligent.

And yet, he is. architect. Do you ever see him doing architect? No, and this is the thing. It's full like aspirational career, like in movies in the 2000s where it's like, I'm a book editor. You can absolutely make somebody wealthy and just make them have like inherited wealth or something. Like you do not have to go through the absolute motions or the farce of this idea that like, oh, he's an architect. Like the fuck he is. Like I would not step, would never step into. The one in New York that's collapsing. Yeah, exactly. That is his building. He's, he's, he's, he's, he's a little. He's, he's, he's, he's, he's an architect, she's an interior designer. And it's just like you really did not give a second

thought to who these people would be if those are the careers. Like, of course, like, those are very late 90s, like signifiers of wealth career. He's an architect, she's an interior designer. And it's because when they wrote this movie, probably the last two people they encountered were their interior designer for their fucking condo and an architect that they met. at the Hamptons or something like that. And so, yeah, like... Well, the first screenwriter on this movie, over many, only two of which who would be credited,

Michael Loughlin, you want to know what's crazy. This is where you get into the, like, the giant web, her web connects them all, Warren Beatty being you know a sexual because I imagine he and

Nastassi Kinski also have like a sexual past together right? Michael Loughlin by the time this movie was made was divorced from Leslie Caron who had a major affair with Warren Pardtby. Right, yeah, yes. That makes

all the sense in the world, absolutely. So have we mentioned that this is our 400, episode yet? Happy 400. Happy 400, Chris. 400 episodes. It's kind of insane. But here we are and very happy and very proud to have gotten this far and to be. Very blessed to have a listenership who sticks with us. That is incredibly true. And so we like to for these sort of, you know, round number anniversary years or whatever, every anniversary that would be commemorated by a precious metal of some sort for the, you know, the jewelry and gift industry

and whatnot. And in fact, I had people being like, your 400th, what's it going to be, like that kind of a thing. And so we chose town and country. We had something different planned based off of a release schedule that did not stick. That did not pan out. And so we'll eventually do that. We'll eventually do that movie. but town and country appealed and I think once it was suggested I think the both of us were like oh yeah let's do that one

because this is really we talk about like a quintessential like this had Oscar Buzz movie a like an absolute a movie whose case for Oscars exists on paper and then like spectacularly falls apart sometimes even before it hits theaters

but like certainly does not survive the scrutiny of people actually seeing it And also the fact that this movie was, and I keep saying this, and maybe it's just a thing that only exists in my mind, but I do feel like for a long time this movie was not available to be seen in any kind of way. It was not streaming anywhere or whatever. You would have had to have gotten your hands on a DVD. On a DVD copy of it. Now it is streaming. Now I was able to rent it for a few dollars on VOD. I got it from my local library. But it's one of those movies that is like, it's not just a bomb, it's a notorious bomb. It's not just like a squandering of like A-list talent.

It's a pretty notorious squandering of A-list talent. Like this was a movie that I feel like people were anticipating for several years because it was in the works for such a long time. That like, well, once town and country hits, you know, you got to save room on your best actress and actor ballot for Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty. You never know. and then of course it turned into this huge flop. I want to, by the time it was approaching theaters, the word had gotten out on this and it was pretty bad. I found, I tracked down what I believe is the blurb from Entertainment Weekly's 2001 spring movie preview

because this movie came out in April of 2001. Read it for us. Set the stage. So it's just two paragraphs, so it won't take very long. Cue the finger pointing, exclamation point. Since 1998, New Lines, Town, and Country has spawned multi-million dollar rewrites, costly reshoots, one missed release date after another, bad buzz of epic proportions, and perhaps an executive firing. Shooting began in June 98 with an unfinished script and the comedy about midlife marital crises became a fevered work in progress.

Then, when the original ending tested poorly, rewrites ensued through 99, while Chelsam waited until April 2000 to reassemble his busy cast. Now, with the film in the can... Yeah. Now, with the film in the can at a reported final budget of more than $80 million, up from an initial $55 million, the blame game kicks into high gear. Will it land on perfectionist Beatty? His camp swears that he was just an actor for hire. He makes several of... official comments to the press.

I like statements to the press. Some of them via his lawyer. All Chelson will say is, I've never, ever gone over budget or schedule on any film I've made. I'm a cheap filmmaker if asked to be, and I'm very fast. This film is a complete exception, aka, please hire me again. But all is not necessarily lost.

Quote, there is no question it was a very, it's a very, there's no question it was a very difficult film, he says. I believe this is still chelso. It would be very depressing if the results were not good, but they're good. Ron Howard aside, they were not. So, yeah. When he was hired onto the production, it had a $19 million budget. And it turned into 80?

Jesus. No, depending on who you ask, it's closer to 100. Liz Smith, at the time of release, this is when one of one of the big, many public statements. She, like Liz Smith, famous gossip columnist, like nationally syndicated. And I believe she was probably one of those people who like, just like Warren had on, you know, on Locke and was just sort of like would call and plant stories and whatnot. Granted gossip columnist.

She reported that it was $120 million to produce this movie. Ooh, boy. A budget skyrocketed to 120 and Warren Beatty made her publicly apologize. It's great. I mean, you can believe it because it probably goes from what is just a New York City, Hampton's movie. And then when Warren Beatty gets involved, he has all of these ideas. Suddenly, they're also filming in Idaho. Yeah.

And South Carolina, like, it goes to many, many locations that it's just kind of ridiculous. And then when you're talking about all of these people are famous, including Warren Beatty, who has his own fee. and like, you know, you got to pay people's scale to that because of egos, et cetera. Yeah. But then you're doing several rounds of reshoots in addition to a production that has had to, like, hot scotch around the country and shoot in different locations. No wonder this movie costs that much money, like... Well, and when you're doing that for a movie who, like, at the script level, is quite bad.

They go into production without a complete script. which is not, especially today in the age of Marvel, not new. But for like a comedy, you know, an ensemble comedy. A comedy of manners, a comedy of like social mores and whatnot. Like, dear God. Right. And it's not the type of thing of what's the action set piece going to be and how we get there. Right.

It's different when you're doing a comedy. And it's not a locked script because what's the exact tone? what are these relationships? Yes. What, like, what's the dynamic? And when that's constantly moving, and you have someone who likes to go at their own pace and make sudden rash decisions about the tone

and set up of things like Warren Beatty, it's a recipe for disaster. Care to take a guess as to what film about three women was on the cover of the spring movie preview in Entertainment Weekly, 2011? Oh, was the hours on there? No. No, no, no, no, no.

No, this movie was a very different tone than the hours. I'll say that. Three women in 2001, three women in 2001. Three young women. What am I forgetting? What am I forgetting? It's a movie that was not well received, but has since been reclaimed. Josie and the Pussy Cats?

Josie and the Pussy Cats. Very good, yes. Also, the top banner on this issue, Tom and Nicole. what's next? The split that shocks Hollywood. What indeed is next? What indeed. So, yeah, we hope you are geared up for this episode. We hope if you've never heard of a little film called Town and Country, that you'll fall in love with it from, you know, in this little episode that we have for you, our 400th.

I do think maybe if you love this movie, you should never tell anyone that. Yeah, or just like voluntarily comming. yourself to a like five-day psych-a-val or something like that. It maybe gets you put on a list if you're like, I love that movie. That is true. Yes. Just us talking about it in a way that is being picked up by NSA microphones is probably going to end us on a list.

If you say you love this movie, you definitely don't love your wife. What if like, can you, I imagine that like married couples of a certain age, back when they still bought tickets to movies. You imagine a good handful of them probably went and saw town and country, of the few people who did see that. You probably had, like, well-to-do Manhattanite, you know, older married couples. Like, it's a Saturday night date movie or whatever. And, like, imagine the looks on their faces walking out of this movie.

Just bewilderment and... Imagine your parents watching this movie, Joe. Harold, he was working on the weather vein. That's just I imagine their conversation at the end of it. It's just like, why was he working on the weather vane? Are they still married? What's going on? What's happening?

But like, nice. Imagine are my parents going to see this? No. Your parents. No. No. I can't. I can't.

I won't. I can't. I won't. This dirty movie. That's, this dirty movie. No, I was going to say. Dirty movie. No.

Certainly, if you're not turned off. off by the cavalier infidelity among friends, you would certainly be off of the train by the time you get to Andy McDowell in her preserved little girl bedroom full of like... Like a dog in her childhood bed. Yeah, yeah. It's bad. Here's the other thing. It's really bad.

Here's the other thing. We're going to take a little trip into Joe and Chris talk about movie posters, because town and country the poster the fact that at the center of the frame are Diane Keaton

and Goldie Hawn on a like love seat on a rather sort of like old classic looking kind of shittily upholstered if I'm going to be honest with you like love seat

Are we looking at different posters I see Diane Keaton sitting next to Andy McDowell That's what I said what did I say You say Goldie On Okay no it's Diane Keaton and Andy McDowell. Sorry.

It would make more sense if it was Goldie Hawn. But so, right. So it's Diane Keaton and Andy McDowell on this sort of like shit brown colored, probably velvet love seat. Sitting shoulder to shoulder,

but facing away from each other in a pose that suggests that they are equal and opposite in this film. And two, flanking them on one side are Goldie Hawn and Gary Shandling as the soon-to-be broken-up couple. And on the other side, these are both standing, both these pairs are standing. On the other side are Jenna Elfman and Nastassia Kinski as like the other two women that

factor into this. And then behind them is a window, a sort of, you know, rather tall window, looking out on the New York City high rises that, you see that Christ, you see that Chrysler building back there. And hanging from outside is Warren Beatty with a white dinner jacket, his pants around his ankles, and little heart boxer shorts. Novelty boxers. Novelty boxers. Now, semiotically, is semiotically the right word? Symbolologically, whatever. This suggests to me, if I don't know anything about this movie, Diane Keaton and Andy McDowell are equal and opposite rivals for Warren Beatty, who is positioned in the middle of them and is sort of bouncing between the two of them in a sex farce that peripherally involves Gary Shandling and Goldie Hawn and peripherally involves Jenna Elfman and Nastassie Kinski. Now, Andy McDowell is in this movie about as much as Nastassia Kinski is.

like if not like not much more and is also never an actual rival for warren baidie's affections in any real way whatsoever you never even get the sense that he sees her as like somebody who he'd who like the one that got away or like somebody who he's like ever actually seriously pursuing beyond the fact that he like goes to her like parents house at this one point um i don't that bugs me And it's- She has third billing on this poster, too, which- Well, this is, yes, it is almost certainly a thing of billing, but like, just do, like, floating heads. Like, don't do floating heads.

Nobody should do floating heads on posters. That's a, I take it back. I would never say such a thing. But- No, instead, you get Warren Beatty's floating something else. Well, yeah, sure. Well, but, or it would be if you, if it in any way looked like he ever actually was posed that way whatsoever. Like there is, I am going to bet one million dollars that I don't have

that Warren Beatty never actually put his arms up and posed for this. Like, this is absolutely a, we are going to like, like, Elmer's glue in Warren Beatty's head onto a model's body. It's insane. It's insane. I would wager that she has very close to equal time, scream time, as Goldie Hawn. As Diane Keaton? As herself. As Diane Keaton. Well, yeah, and I'm pretty,

it was sort of advertised as like Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn. And was kind of, when you watch the TV spots, it was more advertised as seemingly a love triangle between Keaton,

Beatty, and Han, which it also really isn't. Because ultimately, you don't ever really understand why Goldie Hawn has sex with Warren Beatty in this movie, besides the fact that, like, oh, she's grieving her marriage or whatever.

This is a movie about how people decide to have sex with other people in order to make themselves feel better about their circumstances in life or whatever. I don't want to sound prudish or sex negative in some kind of way in describing this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. And please, for the love of God, listener, I hope you haven't. But I do also hope you watch this movie because there is. something divinely enjoyable about watching such a fiasco. Yeah. But I don't want to sound like it's bad because it's about, because it's a sex farce in some way. Agreed.

Because these are people who have worked together in other, these are people, Diane Keaton made looking for Mr. Goodbar. Right. Right. It's a shampoo reunion. But when you're talking about those movies, there is a level of frankness and taste that those movies approach sex with, and this movie does not have that. It also suggests people having sex with each other because they want to, whereas in this movie, it does feel like obligatory.

There is no actual, again, no heat or chemistry. There's a moment when they reference that, like, male sexuality is like a biological urge. And it never feels that way in that movie. The only people who I would buy on a narrative point of view, that feel actually attracted to each other are Gary Shandling and his lover who get like a trans woman. Well, I don't think this movie has any idea

what the characterization of that character. So like I don't think we can say that with any degree of confidence. You know what I mean? Because the movie never even approaches that. And in one level, I am glad because like as soon as I saw that character, I said we are bullet training towards a slur

and we never really got that. So that is good. But no. Maybe there was a previous version that there was. I do not, I have no confidence in being able to say that that is a trans woman, that that character is a trans woman, because that character could have been

one of eight bazillion different things that the movie has absolutely zero interest in even attempting to define. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's the only character who to me expresses any degree of like being genuinely

like attracted or enraptured by a person who genuinely feels to be like, even when you get to like the end and like Bady has that little monologue where he essentially convinces Diane Keaton like that they'd be better off just like not getting divorced. But he's, he wins her back over to the degree that he does, not by talking about how much he's, you know, attract to her or enamored of her or whatever, but just sort of how much he admires her and how much he, by contrast, does not admire himself. And it's like, okay. Yeah, it's a weirdly, like, sexless movie. Very. It's a sexless sex farce. Yes. Like, this is a, this is a movie made in the time of tongue rings. And do you think Joshua Hartnett's

character has a tongue ring in this movie? Joshua. Joshua. It reminded me of, like, uh, friends when Rachel was dating Tate Donovan's character, and she kept saying, she kept calling him Joshua. And he's like, not Josh. She's Joshua. In the credits, Josh Hartnett is billed as Joshua. Joshua Hartnett. The first moment in the movie, I was like, oh, that's how long this was in production for. It's also Joshua Hartnett on like the very first baby step stages of growing out his.

Still has the H2O. The faculty, H2O hair. But it's not quite. has like, it's a little, little, little bit grown out. A little bit grown out. He's also dating somebody who looks exactly like his sister, and that is never addressed once in the movie. Absolutely crazy.

Also, who also kind of looks like Diane Keaton's daughter in First Wives Club, and that's also not addressed. So I don't know, maybe just Diane Keaton has on-screen children who look like that. Who the hell knows? Joe, let's go. get into some boilerplate so we can get into the plot description and we have some business to do and we'll get back into it. As is the case when we do these milestone episodes, we do have a lot of business to get to, yes. Buckle up, listener, we're here celebrating 400. This is a marathon episode.

Yes. Joe, before we do any of that, would you like to talk about our Patreon? Yes, as is befitting a podcast that has gone for 400 episodes, we have a Patreon that you, if you are not, already subscribed to, you really should, because for the low, low price of $5 a month, you get two full-length bonus episodes every month. They drop on the first Friday of the month and the third Friday of every month. On that first Friday, you will get an episode that we call an exception, which is, in the style of flagship this had Oscar buzz, where we talk about a movie for the whole time, we will be talking about a movie that, yes, had great expectations for Oscars and disappointing results, but

technically they got nominated for an Oscar or two. And thus, we can't really cover them on flagship Oscar Buzz, because as you know, if you listen to us for any length of time, we are rigorous. But we let some stuff slide on

turbulent brilliance. And so we cover exceptions, such as Brian De Palmas the Black Dahlia, Rob Reiner's, the American president, Nicholas Winding Refins Drive, bizarre misfires like Mary Queen of Scots and Hitchcock. Secret bangers like Molly's game. Not so secret bangers like my best friend's wedding.

And interview with the vampire. Earlier this month, her name is Joy, by the way. Jennifer Lawrence in David O. Russell's Joy, a movie about a mop. A movie about a miracle mop. Then the second episode of every month, we get an episode that we call an excursion. where we don't talk about a specific movie, but we fall down the rabbit hole of a topic that sort of has to do with movies or the awards race,

and we kind of go nuts with it. We talk about, speaking of old Entertainment Weekly fall movie preview issues, we will watch an old award show and go over that. We will talk about Hollywood Reporter roundtables earlier this month. you got a history of the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice. Was that earlier this month? I'll be sure that that is, that sounds good. It'll be after this episode.

Okay. So not earlier this month, but later this month. A history of the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice episode. Also, by this point, you'll have also gotten a bonus episode that I don't, yes, that is definitely going to have happened, right? where we had our crossover fun with our friends at the Ancler, at Prestige Junkie, and we did a draft of who we think is going to be the next first-time Oscar winner, and we had kind of a banger time doing that.

So more fun on the way, more bonuses like that on the way. If you sign up for This Had Oscar Buzz, Turbulent, Brilliance, you can do that by going to patreon.com slash this had Oscar Buzz. Fabulous. Yes. Joe, Town and Country, a movie not intentionally named after a magazine.

Isn't that even like a conservative magazine? I genuinely have no idea. I imagine Town and Country is probably a movie that has a lot to do with architecture and interior design, so maybe that is why they decided to make those two characters, occupations for those characters. I don't know. My grandparents, particularly my grandparents on my mother's side, New England,

sort of New England transplants to Western New York. So their particular degree of sort of quasi-patrician, you know, stuff, they had like Yankee Magazine, or they would have, I'm trying to think of what, they were, they were magazine folks, but it was like Yankee Magazine. I believe they subscribe to the New Yorker for a while. But then it was also like National Geographic and Readers Digest and stuff like that. The point is they were not town and country people.

They were perhaps good housekeeping people, but they were not town and country folk. So there you have it. If you subscribe to Town and Country magazine, do not get at us. Or do. I want to know what's going on. Yeah.

We like magazines too. What's the tone? What's the... Chelsum. Chelsum. Written by credited. Yes. Michael Lof Lennon, Buck Henry,

among numerous other people who worked on the movie, including Gary Ross and Paul Anasio. That's fun. Movies. Stars, Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Gary Shandling, Andy McDowell, Natasha Kinski, Joshua Hartnett,

Jenna Elfman. We have not, even cracked the lid on Jenna Elf. We'll get into the Dharma of it all. Don't worry. This movie subscribes to the Dharma Initiative in that it cast

Jenna Elfman. Charlton Heston, Marion Selties, and Buck Henry himself. The movie opened wide on April 27, 2001, and then 9-11 happened. Movie caused 9-11. No, opened after

12 rescheduled opening dates. 12. Incredible. Incredible. It's incredible. Yeah. The movie went into its original production in 1998. Opening box office, this movie opened in seventh place with a $3 million opening weekend, barely above Twink classic The Forsaken.

Saw that movie. I've seen The Forsaken. I have seen The Forsaken. But it's a movie that exists only as a cast to me. And by cast, I mean Bevy of Twinks. The forsaken I mostly remember because it was Kerr Smith, who was on Dawson's Creek at the time playing the gay guy on Dawson's Creek. But it's also Brendan Fair, who was on Roswell. Simon Rex was in this movie, but I don't think in a particularly big role.

And Jonathan Sheck, of course. Jonathan Sheck, who is giving vampire mouth at all times. So, like, that makes a ton of sense. Jonathan Sheck, who had been in that thing you do. and the Doom Generation and stuff like that. I want to talk about this top five, though, because I am, as you know, sort of making a haphazard run

through the films of 2001, and it was one of those projects that it was easier to do with the beginning of the year than it is now that, like, also there's a lot of movies that come out in a calendar year, and it's hard to, it's not just one a week, guys. It's not just one of week.

You mean to tell me you're not talking up, you're not going to be catching up to the number one movie of the, of 10th. and country's opening weekend. Driven. See, Driven, I actually might give a whirl. And just like, because that's the other thing.

Sometimes watching these movies is like real, like, goes down easy where you can watch it. And also, like, update your spreadsheets for the movie Fantasy League maybe while you're watching. But so Driven was number one. Bridget Jones's diary and its third week was number two. Spy Kids in number three. I watched that for the first time via this little project. A weirder movie than it gets credit for. Alan Cumming is kind of amazing in that movie.

I believe it. Spy kits, much like Pokemon, I am like exactly too old to have been involved in that. It's stylistically, I mean, Robert Rodriguez is really going for it in a very kind of like, it kind of does Mugatu a few months before Mugatu, which is interesting and sort of like trying to. but anyway and then in number four along came a spider which was Morgan Freeman's second Alex Cross movie that is

a good time at the movies if you don't really like pay too close of an attention it doesn't do the same thing that Kiss the Girls does which I liked it's not the same kind of a case I sort of expected it would be like Alex Cross once again trying to solve

like another abducted woman story or whatever. It is a movie that it is that is very, very interested in, like, getting through every plot point as quickly as possible. Like, it's not a brief movie, but, like, everything happens. It's just like, all right, now the next thing,

now the next thing, now they do the next thing, and, like, now we're done. It also involves Michael Wincott as the bad guy. As a bad guy who kidnaps a child in the first, like, 10 minutes of this movie by revealing that like, because he's like been hiding out as a teacher

in a boarding school for apparently two years and wearing like a full on like the barons like you know in the Simpsons where Simpsons were Rimmill House is like this one's a job for the Baron and me and it's like this like costume kit where it's just like you paint on

like or you like paste on beard and and eyebrows and all this sort of stuff like full on prosthetic like fake face for two years and then like takes it off at the end and it's Michael Wincott. It's insane. It was a good time. Good time had by all.

Even more insane. In fifth place, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. I don't anticipate watching that. At least a decade too late to be doing Crocodile Dundee sequels. Yeah. I do not anticipate watching that one. So you would rather watch Driven than Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. Yeah, why not?

Driven. I bet Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles is a more interesting object. In terms of like, I'm not sure if I gave me your police work there, Lou. Why are we doing this in 2000? Well, sure. Driven, I remember being like, because Driven came out in the same year as the Fast and the Furious, those two movies got compared to each other quite a bit.

Driven is a Rennie Harlan movie. Now, listen, Renny Harlan, when he's bad, is sometimes sort of interesting. I also would love to be able to just get a look at what a movie that stars Sylvester Stallone and Bert Reynolds at the same time seems, it looks like? Like, how does that work? I bet that that set was very nice. chill, very chill and normal. Yes.

Everyone was having a good time. Kip Pardue was billed third in there. Isn't he one of those actors who is like now like a dentist or something like that? Or am I thinking? No, I'm thinking of Matt Kiesler from the, from last days of disco and nowhere and whatever, who is like legitimately like, I think like a pediatrician or a dentist or something like that and just like living the life away from Hollywood. Anyway, Joe, I propose that before we do, that we've done the boilerplate, I propose before we get into the 60 second plot description, we do our little bit that we saved for 400 because we forgot a six timers quiz.

Oh, do you want to do six timers and then the plot description? Yes, just to not make the episode too wonky. But we also have a topic for discussion. here. Oh yeah, let's get into that. Okay, a little bit of slight business. This is our 400th episode. We're both in the mindset of clearing some cobwebs on the show. Yes. And we, we realize we forgot Joaquin Phoenix's six-timers quiz when we did come on, come on. Yes. We've realized this is maybe a good time to sunset the Six-Timers Club. Yes. Here's the thing.

A, we're getting to the point, as we have mentioned before, where we've done so many movies that, like, the number of actors who are on the cusp of six-timerhood is so great that we're just, like, staring down the barrel of, like, week after week after week of, like, a different six-timers quiz

every week. I have sort of flailed about trying to find different formats which are all sort of cumbersome and research intensive in their own way. And also, it doesn't sound like they've gone over super well with everybody, where he's constantly sort of being like, bring back the old six-timers. So we did bring back the old six-timers for this one. The other problem for me who receives the six-timers quiz is you've done enough of the same people

who've been in similar movies. Yeah. Sticking to the same quiz got to be too easy and less fun. Too easy, less fun. I think a little dull. I think if we don't do any more six-timers and allow ourselves space to on the fly, when the mood strikes us, to come up with little games for each other, that to me is a better use of our time. It is a better use of your time. As listeners, we don't want to get in, you know, we don't want to have a stale segment every few episodes. be a part of our show. Yes, that's the thing. That is our promise to you. Games will always be a part of this show. But this particular tradition, the six-timers quiz, that we really, when we began,

we certainly, we had no idea the monster this would become. So, but yes, one last time, bringing back the old classic six-timers-quist format for you, Chris, to talk about the six Joaquin Phoenix movies that we have covered up through Come on, come on, which was in episode 393, seven full episodes ago. So the answers to these questions will be one or more of the following movies that we have covered. Reservation Road, episode 126, to die for,

aforementioned Buck Henry written to die for, episode 166, Mary Magdalene, episode 238, The Sisters Brothers, 284, Joker, Foliadu, episode 383, and then come on, come on, on episode 3993. Are you ready to answer some six hundred episodes? What an interesting set of movies. What an interesting set of movies, I agree. Which one of those interesting set of movies is the longest?

Joker Folliott, too, right? At 138 grueling minutes, yes. Which one do you think is the shortest? To Die For is pretty short. Come on, come on, is pretty short. Is it Come on, Come on, Come on? It's not Come on, Come on. I would have guessed that as well. to die for? No. Wow. Mary Magdalene, did they trim the hell out of that thing?

No, they did not. Wow. Reservation Road? Reservation Road is 98 minutes a lot of that thing. Yeah, yeah. Which of these had the best Rotten Tomatoes percentage? To die for.

No. The Sisters Brothers. No. Come on, come on. Come on, 94% at Rotten Tomatoes. Which one had the worst rotten tomatoes? Joker Folly Adieu.

Yes, 31%, a higher percentage than I would have expected for that movie. Which one had the biggest box office, worldwide box office? I didn't feel like separating them out between worldwide. Joker Folli Adieu. Yes, 208 million worldwide. Again, more than I would have thought. Loest box office was? Reservation Road.

Reservation Road, 1.5 million worldwide. All right, which is the only one of those six movies, not based on true events or a novel? How do you class is this a trick question? How do you classify Mary Magdalene? Mary Magdalene is based on, well, I guess not enough, a book, whatever. Like, the Bible is a book. So yes. Describing the Bible as a novel is something that, like, would be a very funny line for somebody in a movie. But like my favorite novel is the Bible. No, so it's not Mary Magdalene. It is come on, come on, in fact, yes. I counted to die for as being based enough on the Pamela Smart thing to, to, to, to, to, to, It's also based on a book, right? I don't think so.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Which are the only two of these movies that were not written by Oscar nominees? Reservation Road is written by Terry George, which I do believe Hotel Rwanda was a screenplay nominee. But Henry, obviously... Who wrote Sisters Brothers Brothers? Well, we can at least guess that it's not... Wait, there's two, though. Mary Magdalene, for sure.

Yes, Mary Magdalene written by Helen Edmondson and Philippa Goslett. Then I'll say the Sisters Brothers. Nope. Jacques O'Diard is one of the credited screenwriters on that, and Jacques O'Diard was nominated for, among others. Indeed. Yes. Then I guess Reservation Road is not written by Terry George,

but directed by Terry George. No, it is written by Terry George in part. Oh, fuck. Oh, wait, it is only one. I forgot. Slat myself in the face. I forgot Mike Mills got nominated for 20th century women. Yes.

Okay, so yes, only Mary Magdalene then. That would have been an even better question had I phrased it correctly. Which two of these movies were written by Oscar winners, written or co-written by Oscar winners? The Sisters Brothers. Yes. What does Jacques Odieard's only Oscar win? Original song for Amelia Paris. There you go.

There we go. Yeah. Did Buckhead, I don't think Buck Henry. Buck Henry doesn't have an Oscar. He does not. Is someone else credited to Joker Folly Adieu? Joker Folli Adieu is credited to... Then does Todd Phillips?

Todd Phillips and Scott Silver. I'll look up Scott Silver, but I do not think that Scott Silver has. Did Terry George win an Oscar for something? I'll say Reservation Road. It is Reservation Road. Terry George won an Oscar for short film. Oh, there you go. So there we go.

Sorry, where was I? Back to Joaquin. Too, too, too, to, too. Okay. Which movie was composed by Danny Elfman? To Die For. Yes. Which movie has two Oscar-nominated composers credited to it.

Mary Magdalene? Mary Magdalene credited to Johann. Johansson who posthumously accredited and then Hildur, how do we pronounce? Oh, Guna's daughter. Guna's daughter is also credited. So, yes. Two Oscar-nominated composers. Which movie has the same cinematographer as Project Hail Mary?

Who shot that? I will just guess the Sisters Brothers? No. No, that's York Liseau, I think. Sisters Brothers Cinematographer is... Well, actually, I'm not going to say because there are other questions. Oh, okay.

Joker Folly A-Doo. It is not Joker Foll you do. I'll give you one more try and then I'll tell you who does. Is come on, come on, Robbie Ryan. I don't think he shot Project Hail Mary. So I'll say Reservation Road. It is not. Mary Magdalene was shot by Greg Fraser

who shot Project Hail Mary. Which movie has the same cinematographer. as climax. That's York Liseau. It is, or is it not Yorke Liseau, but it is the same as sisters. It is the same. It's Benoit Dibi. Oh, Benoit Debbie.

Yeah, that's, uh, Casper Nauys, dude. Yes. Which movie had the same cinematographer as American Honey. That is Robbie Ryan. That is, come on, come on. Correct. Very good. Which two of these movies played the Venice Film Festival?

Sisters Brothers Brothers and Joker Fully do Very good Which movie opened during Ares season So that's the spring That is Mary Magdalene Yes, April 12th Get those Easter bucks That's right

Which three of these movies Were filmed primarily outside the United States And for a bonus point say where? Primarily Mary Magdalene Australia? Italy Oh sure

Sisters brothers Italy? Oh, no, wait. Sisters Brothers is Italy. I believe Mary Magdalene was like Romania or something like that. Or it's the other way around. But anyway, yes. Those two, and then one more. Reservation Road, Canada? No, I believe Reservation Road was Connecticut. Sure. Jokerfollyadu, London? No, Joker Folli You, I think, is like real New York locations. Yikes. Yikes. then I guess to die for Canada To die for Canada, yes To die for Canada A movie I will That's the movie that will make about this year's Toronto Film Festival

And it is awesome I don't want to die in this year I would die for Canada I would die for you Canada Which movie was the only one to be a Golden Globe nominee Die for Canada Which one was the only one to be a Golden Globe nominee Come on, come on.

No. And was in fact a Golden Globe winner. Oh, to die for. Duh. Nicole Kimman won. Which two of these were BAFTA nominees. Come on, come on. Yep, for Woody Norman.

And the Sisters Brothers? No. To die for. To die for, Nicole Kidman. Which of these movies was a costume designer's guild nominee? Hmm. The Sisters Brothers? No.

Joker Folly Adieu? Yeah. Yeah. Which of these movies was nominated by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists for Movie You Wanted to Love but Just Couldn't? To Die for? No. Reservation Road?

Reservation Road. Yes. Sure. Movie you wanted to love but just couldn't. Which movie was a nominee for the California on location awards for Assistant Location Manager of the Year feature film? Come on, come on. No.

now I'm going to venture that just because they are the California On Location Awards does not mean that they are only for on location for locations in Los Angeles. The Sisters Brothers. No. Wow. Joker Falli Adieu? Joker Follow You Do? Yes. I imagine as a thank you for not filming anywhere else.

Which two movies feature stars of Cold Mountain? To Die For? Yes, Nicole Kinman. And trying to run through the John C. Riley, I don't think is in Cold Mountain, but it would have made sense if he was. Yes. Mark Ruffalo isn't. Jennifer Connolly isn't. To die four also has, is Ileine Douglas in Cold Mountain? No, but that'd be hilarious.

And men, come home. Chiotel Ogeophore is not I just have to say John C. Riley and it's sisters brothers. It's not sisters brothers. No one from sisters brothers. Maybe who's in Joker Folly to do again? Connor's story as a child.

It wouldn't be Catherine Keener. It wouldn't be God, who the hell else is in that movie? Is Scoot McNary in Cold Mountain? No, but that has the ring of truth to it, doesn't it? Right. Yeah. I think this is a genuine stumper.

Just maybe guess one of the movies and see if you're right. To Died For. No, it's Joker Folly Adieu. Brendan Gleason, of course. Of course. is Ruby Fuse's father. Which two movies feature stars of the hours? To Die for him.

Yes, DeKaltern. And the Sisters Brothers. John C. Riley. Which two movies feature stars of Destroyer? To tie for, Nicole Kippman. And is Sebastian Stan in one of these? Movies. Campy and Mary Magdalen.

Who else is in Destroyer? besides Sebastian Stan The This is rough So I may just have to guess a movie Yeah And I will say I'll say Joker Folly Adieu again

No, come on, come on, Scoot McNary Is in Destroyer Which two movies feature stars of secret in their eyes? Nicole Kidman to die for Yes And she would tell Egya for a Mary Magdalene. Very good. And which two movies feature stars of Beautiful Girls?

Um, ooh. Um, are any of, is Catherine Keener in Beautiful Girls? No. Hmm. It's Jennifer Connolly in Beautiful Girls. No. No. Oh.

But? But Mark Ruffalo is in Beautiful Girls? No, but. Someone else from Reservation Rose is in Beautiful Girls. Who else is in Beautiful Girls? even in that movie that we did in, like, episode eight. Mir Sorvino. Oh, right.

Mir Sorvino. I will say that the other person is the person who plays Mirr Sorvino's significant other in Beautiful Girls. So a man. A man. A man. A man. Maybe try to triangulate when Beautiful Girls came out. It's got to be to die for.

It is. Who do you think? Matt Dillon? Matt Dillon? Matt Dillon. I'm going to die for. All right. Which movie opened the same weekend as the house with a clock in its walls?

Oh. The Sisters Brothers. Sisters Brothers. Which movie opened the same weekend as Ghostbusters Afterlife. Come on, come on. Come on, come on. Which two movies feature a woman fervently dedicated to a man who is being persecuted by the state for Messianic rabble-rousing. Mary Magdalene.

Uh-huh. And Joker, Fully. And Joker, probably a dude. Yes. You know, really the same story there. That is the end of the Joaquin Phoenix. Six-Timer's quiz and the last Six-Timers Quiz. Recipes to the Six-Timers Club.

We love you very much. You've served us well. Maybe you can't use your utility. Yes. We will still have games. We're hitting this landmark, so we're looking for opportunities to clear some cobwebs. That's right. Maybe re-establish some fun new fave.

Yeah. So don't think that we won't be having games. We'll be having games. Agreed. But here we are. Here we are. Bye to the Sixthamers Club. All right. And hello to your 60-second plot description for town and country. Are you ready? Sure, yes.

Then your 60-second plot description for town and country starts now. 20 years after Reds, Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton have left the Bolshevik Revolution behind and are now Porter and Emily Stoddard. He and architect and she and interior designer, both of them fabulously wealthy on New York's Upper East Side. They share their massive Park Avenue apartment with their two adult children, various significant others, and wait staff who the film portrays as varying degrees of jungle savage. Their friends, Gary Shandling and Goldie Hawn,

enter into a marital crisis where she catches him cheating on her with who she thinks is a red-headed, red-headed cisgender woman, but is in truth a person of unspecified gender identity who the film miraculously defines to identify with any kind of slur. Warren's character is apparently up until that time never cheated on Diane, but Shandling's experience seemingly inspires him to give infidelity a whirl which he does with Nastassia Kinski's free spirit and then married cellist. Meanwhile, now separated from Shanling,

Goldie wants to reclaim her family's plantation home in Mississippi, so Diane sends Warren down to a company here to check out the place, and since no one can resist the sexual allure of spending the night in a dilapidated antebellum monument to human cruelty, Goldie and Warren end up having sex, as tends to happen in stories like these, things spiral out from there. Diane discovers Warren's infidelity with the cellist and kicks him out. Goldie keeps almost confessing to her best friend

that she too slept with Warren but never does. thinks he's gotten to Stasi Kinski pregnant. So Warren and Gary Shandling flee New York to spend a spa week, not spa, spend a weekend in Warren's cabin in Sun Valley, Idaho, where it sure seems like Shandling's going to confess his homosexuality and probably make a move on Warren, but that also never happens. Instead, they run into Andy McDowell, who Warren had previously met on the plane to Mississippi seemingly weeks before.

She invites Warren over to her parents chateau, where he meets Marion Seldies as her follow-mouthed wheelchair bandit of a mother, and her father, Charlton Heston, rifle in his cold, not yet dead hand. Also, Warren and Chandling meet Manick-Pixie bait shop employee Jenna Elfman, who invites them out to a hip-young Halloween party where she dresses up like Marilyn Monroe, and Warren dresses up like a polar bear while stumbling back to the cabin after the party, Warren's son Joshua Hartnett and his girlfriend catch Warren and Jenna in a compromising position, and it's almost exactly like the scene in Mermaids where Cher kisses Joe and Charlotte freaks out,

except in this case Warren never kisses Jenna, and Joshua Hartnett doesn't let his sister get drunk on wine and nearly drowned in a creek. Back in New York, Diana's being honored at, I shit you. you not an awards dinner for interior designers, where after red wine spill, she's ends up in the ladies' room with Goldie, Nastassia, Andy and Jenna, all fucking four of them, with none of them knowing the others have all slept with Warren. Meanwhile, Waring and Shandling crashed the event and get thrown out, though not before Shandling shouts out to Goldie across the room that he's gay. Warren and Diane proceed towards a divorce, but while dividing up assets, Warren makes a heartfelt

plea towards a suddenly arriving theme about being old and not knowing what kind of man he is, and this whole absurd sex forest ends in a place where Diane realizes that she's off taking him back than going through the hassle of a divorce. So they end up kind of married but separated. And he's repairing the weather vein on their Hampton's house, which they also have because they are very wealthy. The end. One minute and 50 seconds over. Honestly, less than I thought I was going to do.

Two minutes and 50 seconds of explanation connecting all of these plot threads, which I'm positive is more time spent than anyone creating this movie of trying to connect. that this movie. Thank you for mentioning the overt racism that this movie has towards their service staff that this movie evades any type of

bad queerness to it. It does not in terms of race. If I were to ask you, like, is this movie bad about race? Yes, it is. If I were to ask you to name 100 white people who you think would

like, who it would make sense that they have an antebellum slavery, plantation in their in their family history would you ever land on goldie hond does goldie hans scream anything but california to you like what in the fucking world like that's so insane have andy mcdell be the one with the plantation hope have goldie hond be the one with the fucking charles and heston is her shotgun wielding father there's like two seconds of his screen time where he's not holding a gun you're

halfway you're three quarters of the way there my goodness like oh my god also that whole cabin trip which why is the sun just magically there? Right. The Jenna Elfman stuff is when it's really just like, oh, they were just throwing shit at the wall with this movie. Also, if you told me that Natasha Kinski and Jenna Elfman were not involved in any reshoots, I would believe you. Because their characters are so utterly extraneous to any of the action. You bring up a good point with the cabin. because from my recollection of the movie,

it seemed like it was Shandling's cabin because isn't there a point where Warren Beatty is like, what are there no, like, is this all that there is to sleep on? And like, and Shandling's like, yeah, there's a lofted bed and I can sleep on whatever. So it seems like it's Shandling's cabin. And yet, why would Joshua Hartnet like be showing up at Shandling's cabin? Regardless of whose cabin, it's absurd that he is there.

But also us being like, wait, whose cabin is this? is us asking that question more than anyone involved in the making of this movie. Also, am I the only person who thought that they were going to do the symmetrical thing? Because when Goldie Hahn goes to sleep with Warren, he's sleeping in the like bedroom in the plantation home. And all of a sudden she's like there and like leans over him in bed or whatever. And then you cut to the cabin where it really does seem like they're walking up to Gary Shanling being like in love with Warren Beatty. Certainly to confess that he's gay. And at some point he like crawls into the loft mattress with Warren and I'm like, oh, so they're going to have like Gary Shanling kiss Warren Beatty now in the exact same like, you know, framing as Goldie did.

And they don't. And I wonder if like that was ever in the cards and they chickened out. Or because like, am I crazy for reading like sexual tension into any of those scenes? No, I mean, part of the whole reason this movie exists is, is, does. Doesn't everyone want to fuck Warren Beatty? Right. Like, you know, and there's been several movies that that is the threat to the movie. And there have been successful movies.

Yeah. And it's truly the reason why this movie exists is because, like, that is a thing. And that is a thing that was proven, you know, interesting to audiences that people will show up and pay their money for. I'm glad that, like, because I did feel like I might taking crazy pills in here. Also, like, the whole. I mean, that cult character, the Shanling character, is a total mess anyway. But again, is the only person who honestly, in the whole course of the movie seems to sincerely, like, convince me that he's legitimately, like, infatuated and in love with the person he's with at any moment. Right.

He does seem happy by the end in his little, you know, antique shop or whatever, or whatever by the end. Like, good. I'm glad one person in this fucking movie ended up happy. Also, Goldie Hawn never... Diane Keaton never finds out that Goldie Hawn slept with Warren, right? I think, but it's kind of glossed over. But they also had that whole conversation of, you know, affairs don't matter too, right? Because Goldie Hauteehan said that she had that one affair with the guy who they never spoke the same language, so it didn't count or whatever.

I would have maybe appreciated a little bit more of a sense of, like, finality to that, of like, So that's settled. We're just not going to, like, because while I think in real-life circumstances, that's probably for the best. If this were real, that's probably for the best that they just sort of both move on and continue being blissfully unaware of this brief thing that happened. But in a movie, it just seemed like wasn't the whole, isn't the whole point of that whole thing is that these two women are like best friends. And it also just like takes. Because at some point, Diane Keaton just gets taken out of this movie altogether. And she's nominally the female lead, but ultimately...

There has to be hijinks. There has to be adventures. Why would you cast Diane Keaton in a role that is this free of any kind of sparkle? Like... I mean, I will say, I think, you know, may she rest. But the degree to which she makes her scenes watchable, and she does bring that kind of quintessential Diane Keaton charm and ease. Yeah. It's really impressive in a movie like this where everything is such an abomination.

And I would say that's also true for Goldie Hawn because I think Goldie Hawn is, you know, equally a very different style and vibe. But I think equally like skilled at making things seem natural and breezy. There's a seem. There's a scene where Diane's making a sandwich in the kitchen, seemingly for him, where he starts to make a sandwich. And she's like, you don't, she's like, you have bad knife skills to slice a tomato. She's just like brandishing a knife. Sit down. And so like, she makes this sandwich. And then she starts eating the sandwich with the knife, this like giant carving knife still in her hand, like sandwich and also knife somehow in hand at the same time to like, which is like the whole idea is like, ha, ha, ha, you know what I mean?

Isn't he afraid that she secretly knows and is going to, like, cut him or somewhere? But, like, no, she's just being, like, I guess, Daffy, you know, Diane Keaton, who's just, like, eating a sandwich. And at the end, she's just like, oh, my God, that sandwich is delicious. You should have one. And I'm like, oh, okay, like, this has the general flavor of comedy that I would enjoy. But you don't get enough of that. And you certainly don't really get the most out of having.

Diane Keaton in the movie, or certainly Diane Keaton and Goldie Haan, together for the first time in five years after the First Wives Club. Particularly after that was such a huge hit, and they didn't get a sequel to happen, and part of the belief behind that is that Bet Midler was not the most willing participant. That has the ring of truth to it. I want to talk about the domestic help that they have in their apartment where they have a housekeeper. Part of like, they have a housekeeper, the daughter is dating.

Again, as with Gary. As with Gary Shandling's significant other, they introduced her boyfriend, and Diane Keaton's like, he speaks to. Turkish or Arabic or Farsi or something. And so we kind of never really quite get like what nationality this person's

from. So he ultimately becomes... And it's supposed to be so funny that no one can tell. Like, vaguely foreign and just sort of like vaguely Middle Eastern. And then the housekeeper has a husband who's just sort of like wandering the house or is this person just an

independent handyman or whatever who like is first introduced fully shirtless and in his underwear is he in his underwear in the very first time we see him

I feel like the first time we see him he's got slacks and has no shirt and Diane and Warren have never seen him before in their life and all of a sudden there's this shirtless man and they react to him as like what's going on here as opposed to like why is there a shirtless man we don't know

in our apartment and then the explanation for it is like, oh, he's like a like jungle revolutionary and he never wears a shirt because like he lives in the jungles of fucking like Panama or something like that. And I'm like, what the fuck are we doing right here? Like I understand that in 2001 we were a less sensitive people than we are now. But even I imagine by the standards of 2001, people weren't literally writing like jungle savage into. their like word processors. It's bad and it's also just like it's so vague. It has no payoff. You don't even know the joke they're trying to tell

so they just look like bumbling racist. Right, right. Like yes, there's no point in which there is a joke in which I'm like, you know, I would be a... This is an example of like kind of what runs through the movie that it's just the idea of making something as ridiculous as it can be but it's not grounded in anything. like every once in a while, like, Warren will run into one of these people in the kitchen

in the middle of the night when he's, like, making himself a snack. But, like, there's no payoff to any of this. You know what I mean? Like, here's an example. We talked about as good as it gets when we were on screen drafts recently. That is a movie with a racist joke in it where Jack Nicholson, uh, essentially just like, it lays into Lupe Anteiros and says the thing about like, where do you, they teach you to talk like that at some Panama City, sailor want a hump hump bar. And I'm like, this is a racist joke. It is delivered with humor and good timing and I feel bad for how much I'm like, that's funny. You know what I mean? Well, and Lupe on Tavares is an actual character. She's only briefly in the movie, but there is enough, like,

and because she's a character, she sets it up well, because she does the line about like, open his curtains and let him see the glory that God has given him, and he'll know that this too happened for a reason. So you do kind of want to see her get a little, get, you know, tweaked a bit because, like, that's a, that's an asshole thing to say. Don't bring God to a stranger. Right. That's a, well, and also don't say that God, you know, got this guy gay bashed for a good reason. You know what I mean? Like, so, like, she has a coming to her a little bit. It's, he gives it to her in an awful way possible. Not in the way that he gives it to her. But like, I, and here, I'm not saying, like, there's a right way to wrong way to give a racist joke. But I'm just saying that, like, there is skill involved in what

James Al Brooks and Jack Nicholson and Lupio And DeVaros were doing. And there is, that is not present in town and country, I will say. So, yeah. Yeah, it's a real, real mess. Yes, it is. It is. It sure is. What other things that I, I feel like I, like, took a tour through everything. Nastassia Kinski. The Maryland and Row, the Halloween party. Okay. Jenna Alf doing here. Jenna Alfman is introduced as this, again, I call her a manic-pixie bait shop employee, because, like, that's the whole of it.

That's the entire thing. She's just like... She's another thing that it's just like, well, we just do the most ridiculous thing. Let's cast this... At this time, I believe she would have still been on Darmine and Gregg. I believe Darmine and Gregg began in the early,

or the late 90s and went through, like, the early 2000s. And she got, like, cast in a small handful of movies. I remember her being... Keeping the faith. Keeping the faith. Can't hardly wait. She shows up towards the end of that movie.

But anyway, so she's like the token young person who's not like their kids, right? The token young person who you would imagine would tempt either Gary Shandling or Warren Beatty,

but Gary Shandling's gay. And Warren Beatty is a husk of a person who like doesn't seem to exist. That's the other thing is once we get past the point where he has sex with Goldie Hawn and he thinks he's gotten Nastassia Kinski pregnant and he gets freaked out, he shows absolutely, the whole Sun Valley misadventure, he shows absolutely no sexual allure to either Andy McDowell or Jenna Elfman. Like really, even though he ends up in compromising positions.

You're an architect on site, let's go. Like, that's... Right. He ends up in compromising positions with both of them, which is in the, like, it's kind of the same thing. He ends up in a compromising position with Andy McDowell and Charlton Heston walks in on them. And then he ends up in a compromising position while dressed as a polar bear with Jenna Elfman

in the snow and Joshua Hartnett and his girlfriend catch them inexplicably. But yeah, Jenna Elfman exists to... be a person who at the end of the movie is like your dad's a good dude to Josh Hartnett and is like, well, A, you kind of don't know that. You spent one weird evening where he was mostly in a polar bear costume the whole time. We, the audience, have spent more time with this man,

and we know that he's not. Well, or like, we kind of don't know anything about him because really, like, we have no in with this guy whatsoever. We have no real sense of who he is. We didn't before he started fooling around on Diane Keaton, and we didn't after. So, like, there is no actual, you know, there. It's so interesting that, like, the Warren Beatty process, that this character was reconfigured to make it a fit for Warren Beatty once they got him to agree to do the movie. and that like

rewrites are like trying to make it more appropriate for the person that you have it's crazy that this is like maybe the least distinct Warren Beatty performance I've ever seen it just there's nothing it is Warren Beatty and he has a certain type of delivery but they're so

like not even broad strokes to this character there's so much minimal character detail that it's like all you really have to hang on that would make Warren Beatty right for it is like we know that he sleeps around. How well do you remember rules don't apply? That is a more distinct Warren Beatty performance.

I'm not saying it's a good one, but I'm saying that that is more, there is more going on to that performance. I'm going to grant you that because I really don't remember either way. We'll eventually, we'll eventually do that. Again, here, this is what we do here. We come through the back door. We don't do rules don't apply. I've heard that about you in various social contexts.

You know what, bitch? No, we don't do the obvious thing. We do the less obvious thing first. Yes, yes. No, to me, this is the obvious one. To me, I'm like, oh, what's the one Warren Beta you should do on a movie about failed Oscar buzz? Town and country with a bullet is my answer.

You know what I mean? but that's why you listened to the two of us lunatics because we are the only two people who are like town and country. Yes, absolutely. Got it. Like 100%. 100%. What other things?

It doesn't feel, you know, beyond the idea of winking at or poking fun at his star persona in a way. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't feel like there's much to... offer him as an actor in this role. It's so... And maybe it's just one of those things that you tinker with something so many times, so many times. It loses all personality.

All of its flavor. Yeah, yeah. It's, yes, it's chewing gum that you've been chewing for far too long. And there's no detail to this. The flavor is gone. It's become too tough and, like, not malleable, and the texture is bad. Like, it's the...

I'm going to stick with this metaphor. It is... chewing gum that has been, you've been chewing on this chewing gum since 1998, and now it's 2001, and you've been chewing it for far too long. Yeah. You're turning violet, violet. Someone's turning blue in this movie. Yeah. But it, I think also it should be a lot easier than this movie makes it look, you know?

It should just be a simple sex comedy about middle-aged married people, and it just Let these incredibly charming performers loose on a script that just allows them to say funny things to each other. You know what I mean? Like the more basic and boring movie is not as fascinating, grimly fascinating as this, but it doesn't create, you know, the disaster that this movie. Also, it's not like this movie grinds itself into dust in the effort to try and make a point. As I said in my plot description, the movie really, that it has to come to some sort of a statement

or theme about two minutes before the movie's over. Like, it genuinely, like, it's that late in the game before Warren Beatty's characters like, and here's what I've learned through the last two hours. And it's like that was not thought of when this movie began.

And definitely this is still, even after years of being in production and multiple rounds of reshoots. Yeah. It's still, a salvage job. This is what they had to work with. It's crazy.

Could we take a brief moment to play a short little game that I thought of for our 400th episode? Yes, please. This is episode 400. I thought, okay, this is, it's a big number where, like, there are not too many things

that, like, get to number 400. in like the rankings. You know how like, I don't know if where you grew up, you had like a classic rock station or some sort of one of the radio stations who like every July 4th weekend was like the top 500 songs of all time and whatever. And it's like it's just like a whole weekend long marathon

that would inevitably end with stairway to heaven at number one. So I thought, okay, I'm going to find a few things that rank either two or past 400. and then I'm going to have you, 20 question style, try and guess what movie was ranked 400. Now, you understand the sort of the rules of 20 questions, right? Sure. You ask questions that are designed to, like, ever more narrow the field until you get to a point where you can, like, specifically guess what we're talking about. So we'll start with one question, and then depending on how long this takes us, I've got a couple others that we could do.

So in 2008, Empire Magazine ranked the 500 best movies of all time. Okay. What movie was number 400? And you have 20 questions to get to it. Yes, no questions. They have to be yes or no questions. Yes or no questions. Yes.

Is this movie, was this movie released after 1960? Yes. That's what. Was this movie release post 1990? Yes. Was this movie from the 90s? No. Is this movie from the 2000s?

Yes. Four questions. Is this an American movie? Yes. Is this movie a comedy? Yes. Is this movie a buddy comedy? No.

Seven questions. Is this movie? movie, a golden globe nominee? I am almost certain that it is, but I'm going to double check just to make sure. Yes. Okay, so you wouldn't

have known off the top of your head that it was a globe nominee, so it's not like bridesmaids. It's not a buddy comedy, so it's not super bad. Is this what other... Is this movie

animated? Yes. Okay. Is this Finding Nemo? No. Is it Pixar? Yes. 11 questions. Is it Ratatoui? No. From the 2000s. Is it Wally?

No. Is it Monsters Inc? No. 14 questions. Is it Toy Story 2? No. What other Pixar are my kidding.

That's not a yes or no question. I'm asking that to myself. It's got to be the only Pixar that I have not mentioned. Five questions left. The Incredibles. Yes, the Incredibles. Very good. All right, so you got that on your 16th question.

All right, that was quick enough that we can do another one. I looked up on Box Office Mojo. The rankings of the top. worldwide box office of all time. What is the 400th movie on the worldwide all-time box office rankings? I believe those are not adjusted for inflation. Okay. Is this post-1990? Yes. Is it post-2000? Actually, let me pull this movie up so I am getting the right stats. Hold on. So your first question was, is this post-1990? And I said yes. Your second question was what? Is this post-2000? Yes.

Is this movie from the 2000s? No. Is this from the 2010s? Yes. Four questions. Is this movie animated? No. Is this a action movie?

Yes. Is this a franchise? Yes. Is this a MCU movie? No. Is this a Harry Potter movie? No. Is this a Fast and the Furious?

No. Ten questions. What other franchises are there? Is it the DCU? No. Is it... Okay, so what other franchises do we have from the 2010s? Is this a sequel?

Yes. Okay. Is this a mission impossible? No. 13 questions. Narrow this town. How else? Was this an Oscar nominee?

I am pretty sure, but I'm going to double check. Yes. Was it nominated for visual effects? No. 15 questions. Kind of sidetracks my next franchise, but is it a transport? movie. No.

How many questions do I have left? Four. Okay. Not nominated for visual effects nominated elsewhere. And it's a franchise movie from the 2010s. It's a sequel.

And it's an action movie. I guess all of the obvious franchises. What franchises were they kinder to? Is it a Star Trek movie? No. Three questions left.

Okay. I'm guessing that this is going to be in the sound categories, or I guess editing is possible, but sound sequel nominated. Maybe it's also makeup. up is it's not DCU

no so um damn this is also hitting me in the sweet spot that I am less likely to get this

I feel like I need to branch out this is box office mojo from the 2010s is was it released 2010 to 2015 yes okay

Did the original movie or the first in the franchise come out prior to 2010? Yes. Okay. Wait. Yes. Sorry. That was not me wondering whether that was, that was me thinking that you had asked a question with only one answer. Right, right, right.

Okay. So now you only have one left, so you have to guess what it is. And an Oscar nominee. It's not going to be like men in black. it's not going to be rush hour but when did Rush Hour 3 come out? Okay, okay.

The Bourne Ultimatum. No, that's a really good guess though. Tron Legacy. This is where the franchise question sort of drove you, I think, to the wrong place because you don't really think of the Tron movies as a franchise, even though at three movies are more. I always forget that Tron was nominated for sound effects

editing, not score, not visual effects. Yeah. Would you like to go for one more? Yeah, let's do one more. All right, one more. So you've got one right and you missed one. So this is a, this is the rubber match. Okay. So I went to then the letterboxed top 500.

So what is the number 400 movie on the letterboxed top 500? Is this movie released post-1950? Yes. Is it post-1970? Yes. Is it post-1990? Yes. Is it American?

No. Have I logged this movie, or have I given it a rating? Hold on. It's a really good question. I like the way you're thinking. I feel like you wouldn't give me something I don't know? Yes. Okay.

Is it European? No. Is it Asian? Yes, seven questions. Is it post-2000? Yes. Is it from the 2000s? Yes.

Nine questions. Is it a period film? I don't believe so. That's not a yes or no answer. I haven't seen it. I'm giving you more information. I'm going to call it the wiki. I am.

Free information. Thank you. You have not seen it. I know. I know. I know. I know. reading, it does not indicate that it is a period film.

So that's 10 questions. And you did get a bit of free information. A temporary movie from Asia in the 2000s. I've seen it. You haven't. Yes. And you're halfway there. Was this an international feature nominee? No. Was this an action movie?

No. Okay. So it's going to be like a contemporary drama. Probably not a comedy I don't know if country of origin is going to help me It could also be an action movie

I didn't ask that right Is it a drama It is a When you specify Be more specific Okay Is it Things can be dramas

But And other things Right Is it a horror movie No Okay From what I am looking at As described

Is it an action movie? You already asked that, and I said no. Yes. 13. Genre is tricky with this one. You said no, but it was a non-confident no on horror. Is it a fantasy movie? No.

14. Is it animated? No. 15. Yeah, neither... Is this a famous director? Just to clarify, neither IMDB nor Wikipedia describes it as horror.

Okay. Sorry. Is it a thriller? Yes. Okay. 16 questions. I interrupted you before, though. You were going to ask a question. Is this a famous director? Yes. I know that's brought. Okay. Yes. Is it Bongchun-ho? Yes. Is it memories of murder?

No, and you have one question left, so now you have to guess what the movie is. But it is Bon Joon Ho. Yes. Is it mother? It is mother. You get another 20th question. Yeah, that's not a horror movie. Yeah.

No, it's described as a neo-noir psychological thriller. And it is contemporary, right? Yes. Yeah, okay. That was fun. I liked that. You got that right at the end there. Maybe we'll do one of those again sometimes.

Yeah, that was a good time. All right. Okay. Back to town and country. Less fun. The 400 things that are in a bomb. nomination about town and country. I wrote down

gun-toating Charlton Heston, not since Gore Vidal has this man been so unwittingly dunked on. Do you agree? Do you agree that they cast Charlton Heston in a role that was like inherently a parody of his reputation at this point as... Yeah, what's the chicken or the egg of this situation? This is just before bowling for...

With the shotgun, or did they get Charlton Heston and then made it more appropriate for him? It comes out the year before Bowling for Columbine, and that's the movie where Michael Moore, like, remember, goes to his mansion and, like, he refuses to meet with him and whatever. And that's the one that includes the clip of him at the NRA meeting, holding the rifle aloft and being, like, from my cold dead hand. But by then, he had already become to amass a reputation as, like, an NRA spokesman and a gun nut and all this sort of stuff. I'm standing by that. I think wherever Gore Vidal was, and I'm pretty sure he was still alive by this. point. He must have had a chuckle, had a good chuckle at that, I will say.

Poor Marion Saldives. Poor Marion. Honestly, the disrespect. The absolute disrespect. Oh, this was the thing I was going to say about Upper East Side versus Upper West Side. When I talk about my fantasy of living in New York as a wealthy person, it is very specifically an Upper West Side fantasy and not an Upper East Side fantasy. and it is for this very reason and I can't really exactly go into more detail than that

but like I don't want to, my fantasy does not put me in proximity to the Guggenheim. It puts me in proximity to the natural history museum. Do you know what I mean? And it's not, this is not a

qualitative thing about either museum. This is just geographically and spiritually. You spiritually are more natural, natural. history museum than you are in Guggenheim. Yes. And I am more spiritually Fox Books than I am

the Interior Design Awards that Diane Keaton goes to is the other thing. So I don't know why I described myself as more Fox Books than necessarily the shop around the corner, but you know that that is also true that I am more Fox Books than the shop around the corner. I don't know if that's necessarily true. You don't think so? You would like a cute little shop. I would.

No, you actually, that's a good point. You would never go to the shop around the corner because it's specifically a children's bookstore, and you don't want to be wrong children. I'm not, I'm not opposed to, I'm not one of those people who hates children. I hate pets. That is my curmudgeonly thing of choice. I don't really hate children. I don't really have a ton to say to children who are not my relatives. But like, no, I don't really hate children.

And you know what? If the children are well behaved, I enjoy. watching other people sort of like be with their children in public. I will smile at a passerby with like a cute baby in a stroller or something like that. I am not one of those people. I am not. Now, if you bring your dog into a bar, you're going to get a scowl and... That poor dog.

Listen, I agree with you, that poor dog. Don't do that. Don't do that. Come on. Speaking of that poor dog, should we talk a little bit of background on Warren Beatty? Well done. Yes. Yes, let's. Warren Beatty, I guess I'd never connected the dots that one movie after the other, Heaven Can Wait and Reds. He got the same four nominations for picture, director, actor, and adapted.

And of course, the director nomination on Heaven Can Wait is a little fraught because he kind of took over those directing duties, so it's a double. Heaven Can Wait was originally, was that original? No, that wasn't originally Elaine May, was it? He and Buck Henry have co-directing credit on that, but I also don't think Buck Henry was the original director on that, was he? Oh, God, hold on. Let me pull this up. Heaven Can Wait. A movie I watched for the first time when we did our 70s spectacular a couple years ago, and I was less enamored of it than I thought I would be, particularly because there's football in it, and I thought I would have enjoyed that part of it. And there's Diane Cannon in it, and I thought I would have enjoyed that part of it.

Other than Jack Wharton, it wasn't really my favorite thing. I really liked Jack Wharton. Maybe I'm misremembering. I'll at least just scratch whatever I just said because I can't quickly. Yeah. No, Elaine May is on the screenplay. And Elaine May was, it was him and Hoffman took Ishtar away from her, kind of, right? Ishtar is its own

kind of beast Like they try They They They The two biggest egos in Hollywood With a very specific director They did ultimately

Kind of I think it's her version of the movie Is the one that we're seeing But they made it very very difficult for her Got it Got it Got it Um

So yes Warren Beatty is sort of like legendarily, you know, a womanizer, yes, but by the point, by the time that we're getting town and country, we're a good decade into the Annette Benning era. And like, of course, like, and this is a sexist way of looking at it too. They had their own bomb and love story. Right, right. It's a, it's a sexist way of looking at it, but it has always been framed as, you know, like Annette Benning tamed the, you know,

the notorious coxman Warren Beatty or whatever. But then go and watch Dick Tracy again. Dick Tracy is a movie about a dude who just like wants to settle down. Like that is the point of that movie. I mean, to advance another sexist

notion, we could just as easily say that like Madonna, you know, ended the reign of Warren Beatty the womanizer by essentially like, you know, beating him at his own game. You know what I mean? And like

that is, I mean, that's the movie to make. Honestly, when they're all gone and you can make that movie without having to like deal with like, the movie about Madonna and Warren Beatty and that very brief but very telling romance because the thing about that romance isn't necessarily

that it's particularly interesting in and of itself. It is ultimately one in string of celebrity romances for both of them. But what it represented as like a culture clash and as a like, you know, an evolutionary step in the, in the ways in which celebrity existed. And this is all through the crucible of obviously, truth or dare. You see it all in that movie.

National landmark documentary. Truth or dare. But, like, just generally, like, that, that to me feels like, that is a rich, that is a rich subject, and I would watch that movie. But, yeah, like, Dick Tracy is a movie about a man who wants to quit his regular life and default to domesticity. Reds is also really interesting because it's, like, it's all through a historical, political context, but, like, you stripped that from that movie. and it really is a movie about a guy who just, like, wants to do his own thing until it kills him. Yeah. And, of course, you know, that's what he wins his Oscar.

Yeah. Yeah. That's the movie that wins him as Oscar. He wins the directing Oscar. It's an incredible movie. He deserved to win that. By the skin of its teeth, that movie is a masterpiece because that movie could fall apart at any minute. And he was reportedly a Madman making that movie.

I have no particular animus towards Chariots of Fun. but I do feel like Reds should have also won Best Picture that year. I love Diane Keaton's performance in Annie Hall, but Reds, I think, is the acting achievement of her career. Although, again, I also love her in looking for Mr. Goodbar. Like, Diane Keaton, this is the thing. Because I sort of made the joke about, like, why would you, you know, hire Diane Keaton for a movie like Town and Country and not have her sparkle?

Diane Keaton has that side of her, that, you know, bubbly, ditsy, flighty, you know, la-di-da, you know, whatever, version of her, the First Wives Club version of her, the, you know, we love that, the Something's Got to Give version, we love that Diane Keaton. There is a woman of steel spine in there, too, and that comes out in Reds, and it comes out in the Godfather, and it comes out in looking for Mr. Goodbar, and, like, that version of Diane Keaton somewhat like necessarily we get less and less of through the years because there are fewer and fewer roles for women as they get older that have that kind of metal to them. But I think that's something, and again, it was sort of brought back again when she died.

A lot of people brought up Reds. Reds was probably the movie that got brought up the most, maybe second to like First Wives Club from younger people or whatever. but people really remember her for that movie and I'm very grateful for that because that's a movie worth being remembered for and that shot of the two of them on the train platform and whatever at the end of that movie.

Tremendous, tremendous stuff. And that is a movie that is not like the most obvious candidate for being the kind of movie that people default to as a like movie to remember people for it's long it's politically not really aligned with the kinds of mainstream

movies it is a movie that is like very outwardly pro-communist pro-Bolshevik and and yet that is a movie that really resonates with anybody who has seen it and will and people will evangelize it as I am doing right now

but I think that does get a little bit lost in the Diane Keaton thing is how multifaceted she could be and how much she could really dig into a role. And if anything, watching Town and Country made me be like, oh, I should turn this off and watch Reds. You know what I mean? I mean, if anything, you know, she, like many, you know, movie stars with long careers, did make bad movies.

But I think if anything, watching her in this movie, She has that kind of rare quality on top of all of the amazing things that is like, you know, that really endure in performances like Reds and Annie Hall and, you know, the other examples you gave. But, like, it also does take a really skilled performer to like polish a turd to the... She's really watchable in bad movies. Yeah, she's incredibly watchable in this movie. And I feel like she's the person who maybe closest achieves a character in this movie. And it's broad and it's a little like Not to use this pejoratively

But it's a little like sketch comedy You know which like is great in sketch comedy But like in a movie when you have to play a full person It's you know Because she's like this heartbeat She like goes to these high heights When she like realizes he's having an affair But then it's also this super broad comedy of like

Which of these two fabrics do you like I just can't choose and I can't I just won't be able to be calm until I choose between two fabrics. Yeah, yeah. The fact that she can make that not be the most annoying thing in the world, which, respectfully, is not something Warren Beatty is able to pull off in this movie, because that character is absolutely obnoxious.

And I hate using this term about movies, but he is unlikable in this movie. Yeah, and not for being, he's unlikable while not being reprehensible. I think he's mostly unlikable because he doesn't give you anything to counteract the rather pedestrian ways in which he is a shit. You know what I mean? Like, he's, he's, like, because the things he does. There's no real reason to be spending time with this guy. The things he does are the kinds of things that in the movies, that movie audiences tend to forgive if they're charming or if they, like, have enough of a character that counteracts that. And in this movie, uh, he does these kind of.

like ultimately like shitty but mostly benign things like you know news alert Upper East Side couple is unfaithful to each other you know what I mean like ultimately I think they'll get over it but but everyone else is

more interesting than he is like Gary Shanling struggling to come out is more interesting than it is the movie doesn't really care about it very much struggling to have multiple affairs Diane Keaton struggling to pick two fabric is more interesting than... How do you think Goldie Hawn fares in this movie?

Here's the thing. I love Goldie Hawn so much, and she has just like this completely unique charisma that, like, I will watch in anything. I don't think I come away from this movie, knowing who this woman is in any real way, much like the Warren Beatty character. I do think she got the biggest laugh out of me in the whole movie. Which was one in one. After Gary Shandling comes out and does the whole thing, and she at this point is not speaking to him.

You know, they're only speaking through lawyers, blah, blah, blah. So she's pretending to not even hear that this is happening. And after all the hubbub goes out, she says, did he say gay? She's good with that kind of a thing. She is. We mentioned, oh, can I say something? You know what's the craziest thing? What?

Do you know what's the craziest thing about this? long production and the like stops and starts Warren Beatty wins his fucking honorary Oscar in the middle of the production for this

I remember I remember thinking that because it doesn't I sometimes I get American beauty ceremony so it is very pregnant wife Annette Benning is very close to winning

that evening is that the speech where he does the like sort of light motif of like keep returning to the phrase I'll do better or I can do better or something like that. I thank my profession for giving me freedom and access,

the freedom to live a much fuller life apart from the movies and the access to get out and get to know the world and then come back and go back to making movies. Please forgive me for not making more of them. I'll try to do better. Thank you so much for encouraging my voice in public affairs. Please forgive me. if I've used it stridently, or, in fact, not often enough.

I'll try to do better. I remember, I've talked a lot about that Nicholson, Cecil Biedemille's speech, where he just, like, cracks the whole room up, and he's sort of like, and Beatty's there sort of like, because he had presented it to him. And so standing off there, and Nicholson's kind of like, you know, busting on him and stuff like that. And it's like, oh, Nicholson's so much better at this than Warren is.

Like, Warren's really good at a lot of things. But, like, that's not that. And it always makes me think of that, of course, years later, the, you know, the moonlight spot or the moonlight la-la-land thing. I'm like, it's because, Warren's, Warren's not good at that kind of a thing. And he never really has been. So, yeah, yes. But yes, yes, the fact that this movie, this production totally encompasses that is,

it's a landmark, certainly. That I remember, that moment, really kind of emphasized how much younger she is than him. And by that point, and that Benning was no longer like this young chick or whatever. She was, you know, a woman in her prime of her life or whatever. But like she was an adult, an adult, you know, woman playing this real estate agent or whatever. But I was like, oh, Warren just looks certain to look old. But I thought, I don't know. I mean, like, obviously the, the snafu is not great.

But remember, he notices that something's wrong, and Faye Dunaway just, like, kind of charges through. And then he also is, like, trying to explain what went wrong. I think he comes across well in that moment. Oh, in the La La Land moment? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Yes. I think that my maybe controversial opinion with the La La La Land thing is nobody did anything wrong except for the unattentive person who allowed Warren and Faye to get the

to get the wrong envelope the person who was like taking selfies backstage remember that whole thing were like the one Oh sure yeah the person who was in charge of the envelopes in charge of like handing out the envelopes That's the only person

popping cashews backstage Warren was befuddled and ultimately didn't know what to do. Faye read the title of the movie as she saw it on the envelope. You know what I mean? I remember like at the time...

But he did try to point out that something was wrong. He did. Like, but I think at the time people I think were just sort of like casting about for blame. They wanted to blame you know, they wanted to blame Warren.

They wanted to blame Pricewaterhouse. They wanted to blame, you know, I remember at the time even, I was like, shut up Jimmy Kimmel. And I'm like, mostly you're just like, you know, there's no real villain here. There was people were mad at Jordan Horowitz, remember, for, for being too sanctimonious in his like, Moonlight, you won best picture and that whole kind of thing. And it's like, no one, no one did anything bad. Damien Chazel was fine.

You know what I mean? Like, everybody was doing the best that they could in this, like, genuinely odd situation. and, you know. Faye down away was like, what, what? I don't know what's going on. Well, Faye ultimately was just like, I'm getting out of here. Like, I don't need this business. I haven't, I haven't, a gay assistant to berate back at home.

There's a gay little boy that I have to verbally accost. Homosexual little boy. That homosexual isn't going to humiliate himself. Homosexual little boy. Yeah. I don't know. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I know, I feel like I've laid into Warren Beatty, uh, in this episode, but I do have, so, like, I love Dick Tracy so much.

You do. You're like the biggest Dick Tracy fan that I know. Yeah. Well, that was like, I had that VHS and like wore that shit out as a child. But like, I watched it a year or so ago. It's so good. Yeah, I got to watch it again. It's been forever. Movies used to look like that. I know. I know. I know. I know. now. Also, Bullworth comes out roughly in the period of the first production. Starting to...

Starting production. Yeah. That first, like, six-month shoot. Bullworth is one of those movies. Gets an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Yes. Doesn't like make a ton of money. It does gift us with ghetto superstar.

It's most enduring legacy. The thing about Bullworth is it's amazing that that movie ever got made. And then that Warren Beatty was rumored to be considering a presidential run after it got made and before the town and country hit theaters. I afraid. He was like he was teasing running for president a lot.

Like he would do that periodically, which is why, I mean, not to bring this guy into it, but like there's a reason why nobody took Donald Trump seriously for very long. And it's because people used to just do that. People used to just do the thing where they were pretended like they were going to run for president, including Donald Trump many, many times before 2016, had like had exploratory committees and had like declared himself as a candidate, whatever. Like it wasn't just that like people were asleep at the switch.

This kind of thing would happen every once in a while that some rich asshole would just be like, I'm going to run for president. Warren, you're not an asshole. I like you. and people would be like, okay, like yeah, yeah, yeah. Sort of like how we treated Kanye. In fact, the more unusual thing was the period of time where we all got very, very afraid of a Kanye West presidential run. Because Trump had made us think that now all of a sudden, this kind of thing is going to be how people get elected president from now on.

And then we were all like, we can't let Kanye get too far down the road or else we're all going to. going to be sorry. And anybody whoever was like, it'd be really funny if Kanye ran for president. And people would be like, no, you cannot say that. That is how we ended up in this mess. You are not allowed to say, like, we have to take this seriously and we have to end this. And now, many years later, after the fact, we're like, no, that was fine. We could have all joked about that. Like, that was never actually going to happen. So if Kanye West has elected president in five years, nobody is allowed to bring this back up and rub it in my face. Nope, nope, let's rub it from the archive.

Thank you. Warren Beatty, though. Gave us Bonnie and Clyde. Well, one of the people who gave us Bonnie and Clyde. Oh, I was going to say about Dick Tracy. Would you compare it to Bram Stoker's Dracula in... Oh, those are really interesting parallels. Right.

Just in the, like, baroqueness of those movies. Right. And that's the fact that, like, only, like, six or seven people in the world could have made those movies. Would have been allowed... Would have been allowed to make those movies. Okay, so when you watch Dick Tracy, too, it's Warren Beatty trying to get in on that good Batman money. It's Warren Beatty being like,

I know what the kids love. They love franchises and they love action blockbusters, where there's pop stars involved. So let's do this. But that must have been in production. 1920s radio serial in an adaptation, a comic strip that was on the radio, and that's what the children are all about.

And honestly, he was right. But that must have been in the works. So wild. So much sooner than when Batman came out. I mean, maybe like the productions, you know, the production announcement. But he wanted to like make a blockbuster like that. He did want to make a blockbuster for sure. He wanted to get in on the youth audience.

And he does like the stodgiest, corneous thing. And the movie fucking rule. One of the things I'm always, um, most amused and fascinated to keep relearning. You know how these things was just like, oh, right, and like it takes, you're reminded of it, is the fact that, like, youth culture didn't really exist until the 1980s.

That, like, youth culture as a economic force, youth culture as a thing that had to be sort of catered to by the market, didn't really exist until the 1980s. And so you weren't really making movies that like pandered to youth audiences, certainly not in the same way. Teenagers specifically, not just like children with anime. I mean, Disney obviously had been around for a long time.

You were making movies back then for like, you were making maybe kids movies, you know what I mean, but like the idea that like a movie would be able to be the number one movie in the world solely by marketing to teenagers was kind of ludicrous up until like the 1980s and like the second half of the 1980s.

And that is fascinating to me because you do then see that kind of shift in something like Warren Beatty's going to make a movie for the youth audience. And what is that going to turn out to be? It's going to turn out to be Dick Tracy. The most grandpa

blockbuster and I say that fully complimentary because it's just like it's this corny. Yeah. Like, old school, like, it, it doesn't, like, update any of the, like, old comic strip radio stuff. Right. To, like, modernize it, you know?

The modern thing is that Madonna is there, but she's doing Stephen Sondheim songs. She's doing old, like, showgirl music. Well, it's the other thing is I do feel like a movie that Dick Tracy is indebted to very much is who framed Roger Rabbit. because it's a movie where it's like, we can make the sets look actively cartoonish. We can have a woman look like a human, you know, cartoon. Like, there's a lot of Jessica Rabbit in Breathless Mahoney in that. So a fascinating time in general,

that's sort of like late 80s transition into the 90s in terms of blockbuster. Because, like, the 80s as a whole, kind of has earned its reputation as a bit of a bum decade for movies, just in general. But things really did start to get pretty interesting towards the end there, and with certain movies

like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Batman, and Dick Tracy. Anyway, what else did I want to bring up? Poor Nastassia Kinski in this movie, who is essentially in about three scenes, more or less. she's in the scene where she and Beatty end up in bed together. She's in the scene where she tells him that she's pregnant. Four scenes, I guess.

There's the scene where she's, like, getting into a cab to leave town and is like, isn't it great? I'm pregnant by my husband. And, you know, sort of like letting him go. And then the ladies' room scene, oh, that's what I wanted to bring up. And that's, like, the closest thing to having an idea, I think, that the movie gets, is that, like, well, it's just, everyone's cheating on everyone, and that's not necessarily what they're chasing. You know, she just wants, she wants to have this domestic life. Yeah.

And it's like, we don't know, conceivably it could be her husband's child, but like, right. The idea that other people are having a, the, the mistress is actually having the affair. And she's an artist, too, right? Like, she's an artist, she gets to be, you know, she gets to be an artist and also a wife and have this relationship. and also have casual sex with other people if she wants to, and all of it seems to work out for her,

and she's not fraught and she's not ruined by the end. But that scene in the ladies' room does feel like, if you told me that that was the first scene that was written for the movie, I would believe you, because it does feel like some version of this movie, we were going to lead up to that scene as the like end point to all of these very, unmanageable strands of Warren Beatty's life, and they were all going to meet up in the ladies' room, and they were all going to converge, and they would either all find out in a farcical scene, or the way they do it in this is they don't find out, and the joke is sort of on the audience, but in this sort of way where it's just like, isn't it interesting? They were all there, and none of them were the wiser about each other. Even though then the movie sort of backs out of that, because then on the stairs to this gala or whatever, Diane,

you know, figures out Nastassi Akinski and then Jenna Elfman walks up to them. So there's really no structure to it. What the hell is Jeddah Elthman doing there? She very... She very clearly flew from Idaho. She works in a bait shop. She flew from Idaho on her right, her bait shop salary to New York City, got into this gala somehow just to tell Josh Hartnett that his dad's a good guy. She's just in town to go see Aida, you know, like...

But you would... But you would imagine that there would be in a different version of this movie. Some kind of sort of like devilish glee or like enjoyment out of getting these five women in a ladies room together at this fancy gala where like they keep telling Diane Keaton to use different things to scrub out this red wine stain until it turns this like awful electric piss color. Like it looks like her like a bruise. colostomy bag sort of like busted open on, you know, on the side of her or something. But this scene with these great actresses, and I am going to even include Jenna Elfman, Scientology's own Jenna Elfman in... Really?

No, no, I'm being generous. I'm just saying, these five women, you know, in this movie. No, I didn't know she's a Scientologist. Oh, yes, she is. I think she might have married into it, but don't quote me on that. But, like, I think her husband is, like, a big-time Scientologist. Give me a second to make sure that I'm right and that I'm not slandering somebody and thinking of somebody else. But I'm pretty sure.

Hold on. Personal Life Scientology. Elfman was introduced to the Church of Scientology by her husband, and she is now a practicing member. By 2001, she had attained the state of clear, and by 2020, she was on the OT7 level, which I think is the one where they tell you about the aliens, but I'm not entirely positive. But yes, Jenna Elfman, Scientologist. But anyway, you get this scene, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Andy McDowell, Nastassie Akinsky, Jenna Elfman, hijinks, or something will ensue. and the only thing that interesting that happens is that Diane Keaton's red wine stain

gets turned yellow. And like, so it's a real fucking letdown. Like, it writes itself, and yet nothing happens in this scene. Truly nothing. And it's one of those things where we're supposed to chuckle because we know more than these characters

in the movie do, even though, again, the structure is off, the symmetry is off, because it's not that, of them know who each other are because Goldie knows who one of them is, right? She knows who Nastassi Kinski is or something. And then when they all sort of reveal themselves at the end, but they don't because Andy McDowell doesn't and Goldie Hawn definitely doesn't.

Like again, like it all, it's, it could, the mathematics are off. the like, you know, the structure, the parallels are off. And it's not satisfying. And it's all just sort of like ragged and messy. And not satisfyingly ragged or messy either. It's just sort of like this was not properly tended to or cared for. We only have about 40% of the information that we're supposed to have. There's a precision to these kinds of things.

There's a precision to comedy. There's a structure. And this is like what I said at the top of scenes not being in dialogue with each other. I imagine that a lot of these character details were discussed on set, but it didn't make it into the script, which doesn't make it into the movie. So that lack of specificity means that it's not funny. We don't really understand the stakes. Everybody is kind of their lowest common denominator of themselves.

Like really all that we know about Warren Beatty is that he is dancing around infidelity. Like there's nothing else to really know about these people. Dancing Around Infidelity was the original title of the film playing by heart, and then they changed it. Speaking of movies that we're going to do in the future. Yeah, things that are coming down the road. All right. Do we want to do our episode 400 milestone awards? Looking back at our year in the show.

Right. We do this every 50 episodes. episodes, 50 episodes, 10 works out to, and a weekly show works out to more or less a year's worth of our podcast. So we take the time to evaluate the 50 movies that we have done since the last time we did one of these rankings and give out our awards in the categories of best picture, best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress derived from these movies. Now, I'm going to very quickly give the rundown of what these movies are so that our listeners aren't coming into this totally blind. Are you ready? Deep breath. The War of the Roses. Freaky Friday. Mama Mia. Best in Show. Punch drunk love. The fountain. The deep end of the ocean. The light between oceans. The last thing he wanted. The boxer. Ocean's 11 used people. Super 8. Bones and All hanging up foe.

Mumford, the devil all the time, I'm thinking of ending things. Looper, the founder, the nutcracker in the form realms, uncut gems, book smart, my own private Idaho, are you there, God, it's me, Margaret, the Iron Claw, Being Flynn, Amsterdam, the company, happy endings, get low, Joker, Folly, adieu, jarhead, Billy Bathgate, Contagin, Ain't Them Body Saints, La Chimera, the Manchurian candidate, Le Miserob, the BFG, Robin Hood, come on, come on, queer, insomnia, the Stupford Wives, the thin blue line, short-term 12, lovely ampersand amazing, and town ampersand country.

What should we do next week that has an ampersand in it? Sugar and Spice? That cheerleader comedy? Also from 2001, also that I watched for this project thing. Anyway, all right, Chris. I tried to be eclectic in mine, but I also, like, there is a sick, demented part of me that feels guilty if I don't pick the exact five most worthy. So there is some disgusting part of me that's like, no, if you do something that's purely for show, people will know, and it won't be real and it won't be authentic.

I try to also do some kooky categories. I've always tried to do something like additionally fun and whatever. I love this. But I did come up with three bonus categories. Would you like them before we get into the real ones or fake ones? Let's do the real ones first and then we'll end with frivolity. What category would you like to start with?

I mean, we got to start with supporting actress. The best category that there is. The one where I had the most fun maybe, I think, digging through these movies. but also, again, these are the five best. In alphabetical order, Christine Baransky and Mamma Mia, Emily Blunt in Looper, Jane Lynch in Best in Show, Rachel McAdams in Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret, and Emily Mortimer in lovely and amazing.

All right, I have selected. Christine Baranski, Mama Mia. Yes. Carol Duarte, La Chimera. Nice. Jennifer Ely. contagion. Oh, that's a good one. I like that one. Kira Knightley, the Nutcracker, and the four...

I knew I could count on you. I knew I could count on you. And Rachel McAdams, are you there, God? It's me, Margaret. I knew I could count on you to do Kiranitli. I thought you might also do more a tyranny in the Iron Claw, because she came very close for me. But you had some really good ones. Jennifer Ely and Contagin is one I wish I would have thought of, because that's a really, really good one. Love that performance. All right. Why don't you lead us off with support. By the way, I love that we were both, the two that we converged on were Christine

Baransky and Mamma Mia and Rachel McAdams, and are you there? God, it's me, Margaret. Like, that's fucking perfect. Just starting off supporting actor coming in hot. Elliot Gould, Oceans 11. Oh, wow, good one. Mark Rylance, Bones and All, Jason Schwartzman, Quea. Nice. Lekeith Stanfield, Short-Term, 12. And Fred Willard, Best in Show. Okay, we were very far apart, and then we come in very aligned. So I have Skylar Gisando in Booksmart, Holt McAllenny in the Iron Claw, Woody Norman in Come On, Lekeith Stanfield in Short Term 12, and Frederick Willard in Best in Show.

I had a real, real temptation to just do like five for five best in show here because John Michael Higgins was on my runners up. Eugene Levy was on my runners up. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Punch Drunk Love was very hard not to select. Matt Damon in Ocean's 11 was very hard not to select. But I like your pick of Elliot Gould. That's a really good one. I like that one. All right.

I will lead us off with, I'll lead us off. with actor, and then you can lead us off with actress. Perfect. Best actor. George Clooney in Oceans 11. Josh O'Connor in La Cimera. Joaquin Phoenix in Come On, Come On, River Phoenix in my own private Idaho, and Adam Sandler and Punch Drunk Love.

We have a little bit of overlap. I have Zach Ephron, the Iron Claw. He has a runner up for me. Josh O'Connor, La Cimera. River Phoenix. my own private Idaho, Jesse Plemons, I'm thinking of ending things,

and Adam Sandler, uncut gems. I had a feeling you'd throw Plemons in there. Yes. Wait, who was your own? Zach Efron was also one of my runners-up. One of my runners-up, Matt Damon, Contagion.

I had Chalamey, Bones and All. I had JGL for Looper. I had my dear friend, Al Pacino for insomnia. All right, best actress. The category. Okay, I had Jesse Buckley, I'm thinking of ending things. Remember my whole 180?

I'm thinking of ending things? That was fantastic. Jamie Lee Curtis in Freaky Friday, Caitlin Deaver in Booksmart, Brie Larson in short-term 12, and Michelle Pfeiffer in the deep end of the ocean. I'm surprised by the one overlap that we have here. Okay, let's hear.

I have Anne Hathaway, the last thing he wanted. Ooh, that's a spicy meatball right there. I love that. She's incredible in that movie. The movie doesn't work, but she's great. All right. Catherine Keener, lovely, ampersand, amazing. Very good.

Lisa Kudrow, happy endings. Very good. Our overlap, Bree Larson, short-term 12. She's fantastic. Emily Mortimer, lovely ampersand amazing. Oh, so you had her as elite. That's certainly very defensive. That's a me thing that I...

No, that's a very different. That's a very me call that I'm like, she's elite. I'm putting her in. No, I like that. I like that. Best actress was kind of, I'm not going to say thin, but I had a very easy time with my top four. My top four I locked in. I'm kind of very surprised that Jesse Buckley didn't make it for as much as you really love.

I considered her. I consider her, but I was staking claims elsewhere. I re-listened to that episode that we did on and I'm thinking of ending things. That was a really good episode. We were really on the ball of that way. Why are you torturing yourself by going back and listening? Because I wanted to be like, I couldn't quite remember. I was like, I really liked that movie as much as I thought I did, right?

And then I listened back and I was like, yeah, I did. All right. It's your top ten. I did a top ten. I ranked, these are in ranked order. These are not in alphabetical order. I don't know how you did yours. I did alphabetical.

Okay. Would you like me to do alphabetical or were you like? No, you do it however you want to. All right. Ranked. My number 10 movie is Darren Aronofsky's The Founder. My number nine movie is Sean Durkins, the Iron Claw. My number eight movie is Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

My number seven movie is Kelly Freeman Craigs. Are You There, God? It's me, Margaret. My number six movie is Aliche Rovockers, La Chimera. My number five is Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love. My number four is Destin Daniel Cretton's short-term 12. My number three is Steven Soderberg's Oceans 11. My number two is Christopher Guest's Best in Show, and my number one is Gus Van Sance,

my own private Idaho. My 10, alphabetically. Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret. Yes. Best in show. Bones and all. Nice.

La Chimera. Contagin. Nice. Lovely ampersand amazing. My own private Idaho. Ocean's 11. Punch drunk love and the thin. line. Very good. I can't argue with any of those. I can't argue with any of those. A really good

solid set of movies. What a fun year. Here, let me ring in with some randomness. All right. I have three categories for you. Yes. One of them is a real category. The other two are really fun stuff. All right. Do you want the real category first? Yes, I do. I decided to do best score. I thought this was a good year. Best score. All right. John Brian, Punch drunk Love. Absolutely. David Holmes, Oceans 11. Absolutely.

Daniel Lopaton, Uncut Gems. Uh-huh. Clint Mansell, the fountain. Fuck, yeah. And Trent Reznor and Atticus, Ross, Bones, and all. That's an, you're right. That is an excellent set of scores. I love that.

All right. What are your silly ones? Now do a silly one. Best punctuation. Hmm. Yeah. Question mark, apostrophe, comma, period. Are you there?

goddess mean Margaret. Question mark, apostrophe, comma, period. It does end with a period? Yes. Like Emma period? Very. All right. Excellent. That's very good. All lowercase. I'm thinking of ending things. Yes. Accent over the A, but not for the colon, Joker folia do. Amper sand, lovely and amazing. Uh-huh. And exclamation point, mamma mia. So ampersand for lovely and amazing, but not for town and country. I support this. We're not. We're not getting town and country. You're not doing that. So, um, snubbed

would be the apostrophe in Anthem Body Saints. The people really thought. Did you say the exclamation point in Mamma Mia at the end there? Yes. Okay, good. Snubbed the, uh,

no, I think you got pretty much all the, you got them all. You got the, much like the Pokemon. well no the apostrophes in come on come on really do have a little bit of a of a case to be made here snubs double snub excuse me double snub a real double sub the bfg are those punctuated by periods or is that not no punctuation very important important to know okay final fake category can we include best punctuation in our superlatives for next year but then we have to do it for regular movies No, but that's what I mean. Like episodes.

In our superlatives for our year-end awards. Sure. We can add us to the superlatives. Okay, thank you. All right. Last fake category I have for you. Yes. Best fake thing that should be real.

Oh, okay. The Captain and Cookie, beg for it, exclamation point. The fake album of dog songs from Best in Show. Uh-huh. A stick that makes you find treasure and maybe the afterlife, La Cimera. Maloha Snake from the company. From the company. Nice.

The four rounds, the nutcracker in the four rounds. Uh-huh, of course. And I can do better from the Stepford Wives. Best make thing that should be real. Wait, I can do better. Well, the book. The show. Yes.

Or the show, right, yes. Um. Oh, oh, the show where that's where Mike White shoots her. Yes, okay. What was the title of Bet Midler's book in that movie that we only talked about a few weeks ago? I love you, but please die. Yes. Yes.

I have one on the fly, silly category. Best food and drink. Lay it on us. The chocolate milkshake and the thin blue line. Of course. The blizzard type thing in. from the Tulsi Town in I'm thinking of any things. The ayahuasca tea in queer.

Everything that Brad Pitt snacks on in Oceans 11. And finally, the bones from bones and all. I mean, natural winner. Yes. FYC Maloha Snake, listener, thank you for a wonderful year. Thank you for putting up with us. Thank you for sticking with us. Oh, my God.

As always. These are fun little recaps of the year that we've had. We've been doing this for a long time. We have. You know, when you start these things, I don't think you really think that far into the future. You think of like maybe the pie in the sky best version of things. But I think at this point and at this point in my life, I'm just very grateful to still be doing the show and that people still listen. So we really appreciate you.

we really appreciate you supporting the Patreon. Yeah. The fact that your support allows us to do this in a way that makes it makes us be able to continue doing this and make us be able to do this as a fully independent, you know, project that we put a lot of our time and work into is not unappreciated. by us. We want to make sure that you all know that. So thank you for all of that. Thank you for eight wonderful years. We have more coming. Yes. And counting exactly. We're charging forward. Like I said, we might be doing some cobweb clearing. We might be introducing some new ideas. We have to figure out what those might be. What those ideas are. Yeah, exactly. Maybe we'll be going through three years of reshoots that I have to

send a No, thank you. By my lawyer saying that the delays had nothing to do with me, nothing whatsoever, even though my contract had all script approval, even though I'm like, but I'm not producing.

I just have the right to say yes or no to everything. Uh-huh. Maybe that. Maybe that. All right. Can I read you? We've said enough mean things about this movie. Yeah.

Filled with people that we like. Yes. Including Warren. lady. Yes. I had to go to the words of, you know, if we're going to be haters, I need to go to the Supreme Hater herself and I pulled up Lisa Schwartz-Bom's town and country review. Let's hear it. All right. Let's hear it. I just had to read. You know, when you go to a pan for a bomb, we used to have the written word. We used to have, we used to have, we used to have wit. And for that, I can only go to Lisa.

Got it. Lisa says, But the premise withers before our eyes in the screenplay by Michael Loughlin and Buck Henry, a script apparently made of stapled together, help me, banners. You can practically hear someone suggesting, how about voiceover narration? And another guy saying, yeah, and how about a scene in a divorce lawyer's office with Henry as the attorney?

Directed with a white flag of surrender by Peter Chesell. These are middle-aged mannequins. of hearts, brains, and courage, not to mention dramatic incentives, a decent plot, and dialogue that's more than a string of sight gags or punchlines. Wow. Lisa, come back to us. Come back to us. Man, an on-target evisceration by Lisa Schwartzbaum.

Fantastic. I mean, I know that he's the credited director, but I do have to kind of say that, like, Peter Chelsen's just, like, catching a stray. Well, I mean, at some point, that is also... I feel like it's his fault. I hope he got paid well for this. I hope some of that $100 million budget went to poor Peter for having to endure this. We don't want to give the Razies any more airtime,

but the fact that the Razies nominated him for worse director, but they didn't nominate town and country for worse picture. Yeah, that's tough. That's just rude. That's just rude, you know. Should be the other way around, for sure. Yeah. I will say.

I can't with any kind of clean conscience recommend this movie. I would say I wouldn't I would welcome commiseration on this movie. If you end up watching this movie out of some sort of morbid fascination, let us know. Hit us up on social comment on our Patreon thread. I want to share in this.

this Google-eyed fascination as what was going on here. I would definitely recommend it as an object. As like an object of abject failure. An object of abject failure. I like that. Because it should be this perfect, like, send-up of Warren Beatty's persona. And I don't even think it succeeds at being that. No.

Yeah, very, very fascinating. fascinating and awful. Yes, fascinating and awful. Genuinely awful. One of the worst movies we've ever done. And that is 400. Joe, would you like to explain the IMDB game? Would I ever? Every week we end our episodes with the IMDB game

where we challenge each other with the name of an actor or actress and we try and guess the top four titles that IMDB says they are most known for. If any of those titles are television shows, voice-only performances, or non-acting credits, we will mention that up front after two wrong guesses, we will get the remaining titles release years as a clue. And if that is not enough, it just becomes a free for all of hints. All right. How are we doing this? Are you giving or guessing first? I'll guess first. How about that?

All right. For you, I have chosen the one, the only, Annette Benning. Yes. Wow. Not in several years. Not in a while. Okay. Annette Benning, American Beauty. Correct. Annette Benning, 20th century women. Correct.

Very good. The kids are all right. Also correct. Are you going to get an Annette Benning perfect score? Interesting. Now, she has two other Oscar nominations, which are the grifters in being Julia that have, for various reasons,

are not the most intuitive selections for IMDB game because of either their age or their meager box office stature. But where else would you go for for like a... Oh, you know what?

I'm going to guess the American president. The American president is incorrect. That makes me mad. I feel like this happens a lot where we feel like the American president should be in... And it really is not. It really is not ever. Okay. Well, then I'm just going to say being Julia.

Being Julia is also incorrect. Okay. What's my year? 1990. Is the Grifters. Okay, there we go. Yeah, yeah. It would have been funny if it was postcards from the end.

And one should be an Oscar win. Yes. So there we go. Yes. Excellent. We love her. you and that. Okay, for you, I delved into the Bullworth of it all. Sure.

The Bullworth cast, and I selected the man who plays the cocaine hoovering campaign manager in that fine, fine, bizarre film, Oliver Platt. Okay, Oliver Platt, here we go. This is going to be hard. Yeah. Platt, who is, like, in very similar roles for, like, a chunk of time. And now, isn't he on, like, a cop show or an investigator show? Isn't he on, like, NCIS or something? Oliver is on currently Chicago Med.

Sure. 219 episodes of Chicago Med. He has also crossed over into Chicago PD and Chicago Fire for various things. But, yes, Dr. Daniel Charles in Chicago Med for two. The first thing that's coming to mind is three to tango. Not three to tango. I love that that's the first thing that comes to your mind. Sorry.

Listen, we didn't have a lot of gay media back of the day. So we had to have movies with straight men pretend to be gay so that they can date Nev Campbell. Pieces of April. No. Good guess. Two strikes. All right. Your years are. 1993, 1993, also 1999, and 2009. This is a really hard one now that I'm looking at this. I'm sorry I did this to you. But they're all...

That's okay. That's okay. They're all guessable under free-for-all of guesses. 1999, but not three to tango. Oh, was that also 99? That's fascinating. Yes. Okay. Okay. You said 2000 what? Nine. He's only on the poster for one of these.

Oh, God. Which makes sense. He's Oliver Platt. Oliver Platt's not going to show up. 2009 is 2012. Yes. Wow. How'd you remember that?

That's crazy. That's the last one I think I might have thought of. I think that's the last movie that I like remember him being in. Wow. God, it's the most recent one is known for. Okay. That is not the one where he's on. the poster though um all right so one nineteen ninety three and two nineteen ninety nine's which one is he on

the poster for the nineteen ninety three okay um well let's go there um nineteen ninety three so this is he's in a time to kill it's before a time to kill so that's ninety six yes it is um There are six people, by the way, on the poster for this movie. Oh, so it's like an ensemble movie. Mm-hmm. So six people on a poster. Mm-hmm.

Is it like a... For 93. Is it like a thriller? No. This isn't going to help you at all, but I do have to make this observation that this movie has an and credit that is also rendered as an ampersand, which is also the case with Goldie Hawn in town and country, and it bothered me on that poster, and it bothers me on this poster. It bothers me that she has the and credit for town and country. But if you are, yes, but also,

if you're going to do that, it should be the word and, like, what are we doing? Okay, anyway, no, not a, what did you say? Not a thriller. Not a thriller. No. But is it an action movie? Yes, it is a movie where the action is amended by another. It's an action blank. Sci-fi action. No. Think of an alliterative term. Action.

Adventure? Yes. What the hell would he be in? That's like people go in places, finding treasure. Well, it's not really that. To me, the term action adventure is a stand-in for there are sorts. So this is a sword movie. Yes.

Oh, no, he's in the Three Musketeers. Yes, there you go. Yes, he's in the Three Musketeers. Sword gave it away. Yes. Yeah, sorry. But like that is sort of what I do find that like, when people say action to venture, I'm like, so there are swords in it. Okay, I get it.

Okay, two movies from 1999. He is not on the poster for either, but here's what I will also say. Oh, no, wait. there is a human person on the poster for this, but there is more prominently a non-human. And then the other poster is also a non-human. Like a robot? Him and a robot?

Well, it's not him and anything, because he's not on the poster. A person and a robot. Well, no, but that's the other one. One of them has a robot on the poster. One of them has an animal on the poster. Oh, God. Is it like one of those monkey movies?

Like, is it Buddy with Renee Rousseau? It is not, it is very much not the tone. That is not the vibe of this movie, nor is it the, um... Oh, so it's like a scary animal. Yeah. 99 Lake Placid. Yes. Wow. Well done. Yeah.

There's somebody swimming in the foreground, but it's mostly. that giant fucking crocodile in the background. Another movie where an old lady is forced to save Foulthings. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Marion Salis and Betty White actually had a support group back in the day.

Okay, 1999. Robot on the poster. Robot movies from 1999. One of the people in this movie just recently died. Passed away since we were recording. Who was most

recently passed away. Trying to think. Not an American, but recently passed. Gosh, I'm already forgetting this news. Beloved actor from the Southern Hemisphere. An Australian? Um, I don't think so, but you're like real close. New Zealand?

Yes, I think so. Yes. Although, oddly, born in Northern Ireland, I am seeing now, but was like raised in New Zealand. Oh, Sam Neal. Yeah. Who was not the like top-billed star of this movie, but like he's like one of the main characters. Sam Neal and a robot.

Yes. The robot is the main character. Robots the main character. Yeah. 1999. Yeah. Is it Bicentennial Man? It is by saying.

I was just about to say the person who played the robot is also dead. Yes. Bicentennial man. I thought, I guess I might have. I don't remember Sam Neal in that. I don't remember Oliver Platt in that. Sam Neal's the like... That movie was closer to when AI artificial intelligence came out.

Sam Neal's the like the guy who has the bicentennial man made. The Chippetto. No, he's no, Oliver Platt's the Chippetto. Sam Neal is the person who like, he's the like father of the family that like gets the bicentennial man. Can I tell you? I've never seen bicentennial man. But like this is...

But you love that. Celine Dionne song. I sure fucking do love that Celine Dionne song. Anyway, I think the idea is that Sam Neal's daughter grows up to be M. Beth Devitz and then she grows up to

write, okay, here's what I'm going to guess, just by looking at the names on the cast list. Sam Neal and Wendy Cruzen are a married couple with a little daughter, Hallie Eisenberg, and they buy a bicentennial man robot. That they have, as the girl grows up.

And the girl grows up and becomes M. Beth Davids. And during that time at some point, the robot falls in love with M. Beth Davits and then becomes a real person. Like... And then she grows old, and of course he doesn't. And then she so, like, dies of old age. A second movie where Mbeth Davids dies of old age

through the course of a movie because old Right? I forgot she's in old And I think like Robin Williams by the end is like Well I am alone and a robot At the end of the movie I think I think

Really celebrated a bicentennial man Listen we just Yeah they Okay The fact that nobody produced a movie Called Bicentennial Man and a half For this year Is a fucking

travesty. Of all that everything else that was a fucking travesty about the 250th with what's his nuts in office, that also, travesty, travesty. Anyway, on that's our 400th episode. If you want more This Head Oscar Buzz, you can check out the Tumblr at this had oscarbuzz.com. You can also follow us on Instagram at This Head Oscar Buzz and on Patreon at patreon.com slash this had Oscar Buzz. Joe, where can the listeners find more of you? letterboxed ampersand blue sky at Joe Reed Reed spelled R EID I'm also at Vulture Doing Vulture things including the upcoming Movies Fantasy League it's coming Yes And you can find me on letterbox and blue sky At Chris V file that's F EIL

We would like to thank Kyle Cummings for his fantastic artwork Dave and Salis and Cavnavius for technical guidance when we need it And Taylor Cole for our theme music Please remember to rate like and review us on Spotify Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcast. Five-star review in particular really helps us out with Apple podcast visibility. So as soon as you are falling off of your roof

no longer hanging with your heart-shaped boxer shorts for all to see in the window, give us a nice little five-star. That's all for this week. We hope you'll be back next week for more buzz. Heart-shaped boxer shorts is my favorite Nirvana song. That's all I'm going to say. Happy 400!