Catherine O'Hara: Our Top 5 Characters (#1054)

fied bio doc about Froh Williams. But we decided to drop it into the film spotting Feed earlier this week as a standalone episode, so by the time people are hearing this, Josh, hopefully they have already heard that what I thought was a fun conversation with Morgan Neville, even if it really was just the two of us, it turns out two bass players geeking out about how good Paul McCartney is.

net slash episodes. Time now to talk Catherine O'Hara, and I know that we are despite the sad occasion, we are excited to talk about Catherine O'Hara, to share these characters, to share these scenes, and I don't think it's going to be a surprise, despite the great many of characters she's played in a great many wonderful films. We are going to have a fair amount of overlap here, and I think we probably have a fair amount of overlap with most people listening to this show, Josh.

each maybe ended up with two outliers. But yeah, to your point, that means there are three consensus, and more tellingly, I think the three consensus we all have ranked within the top three. So it seemed like something that might be more more fitting for a general conversation and then we can talk about where we actually placed these characters. But yeah, Catherine O'Hara, definitely you have one or two faces that come to mind right away, for sure. How do you want to get started?

want to say out of proportion. Definitely not out of proportion with the talent, but maybe out of proportion with the stature in the sense that she wasn't really a star in the traditional meaning right where she had all of these films built around her. She never anchored a movie exactly on her own. So some of the legends we've been talking about in the last year who have

passed away, she was in a different stratosphere. Yet for a lot of us, I think it felt like as monumental as a loss, just sort of emotionally and instinctively, it was like, ooh, one of those And so I was curious, you know, what was that? And I sent out an email asking this when I was asking for people for their favorite characters, and I got this back from Jacob Allen, which I wanted to share because I think he's onto something that also speaks for the nineties kids.

Because this is an Ohara character I don't think either of us are going to include. But Jacob shared this about why losing her felt so monumental. I wonder if because so many of our earliest associations with her is as the devoted mother in Home Alone, she feels like the motherly matron saint to the film community. It sounds odd to say, but I feel so comforted by her screen presence, just as the presence of my own bomb puts me at ease. That's my favorite performance of hers

has to be that of Gail in After Hours. So yeah, I think we might hear more about Gail in just a bit. But thanks for that, Jacob. That gets us to nod to Home Alone as well. But I do think raw emotionally speaking for a certain generation, maybe maybe he's onto something here. Yeah.

that face, it might have been home alone. Now I had seen Beetlejuice before that, so ald in that way instead. But yes, it's possible that, certainly for a lot of people listening it was home alone. And so there is something comforting about thinking about her as Kate McAllister, and and in your subconscious you will always think of her

in that way. I do like that sentiment as well, you know, for me, as I was especially going back through these characters and considering different people and watching different scenes, I was thinking about a line from a character played by another person who we very tragically lost this year, who we haven't paid tribute to yet, but I believe we have plans to later this year, and that's Rob Reiner.

He plays a character in the film Bullets Over Broadway who famously, or maybe even infamously says, an artist creates his own moral universe. Again, watching all of these scenes, I feel like with every character Catherine O'Hara plays, she is consistently creating her own moral universe, and not just moral universe, just her own universe, she is operating. Her characters are always operating by their own set of principles, moral, ethical, you know, you name it, any framework for the world.

They will never be denied. They are completely individual and idiosyncratic, and I think that's what makes them, part of what makes them so memorable.

and Judith is a particularly prickly wild thing. For those who haven't seen this, it's a live action adaptation of the Maurice Sundeck children's book about a kid who runs away to a land of furry monsters. And it's just one of our most unique integration of imagination, live action and special effects. So you have Max Records, young actor playing Max, this main character, and then the wild things

are played by performers in these giant monster suits. Some sort of digital manipulation is used for their facial expressions. It's all completely seamless. If you haven't seen it, it works. I mean it's it really does work. The suit performer. On that note, I should credit for Judith. The O'Hara character is Nick Farnell, and then of course she is the voice and it's an interesting performance from her because she doesn't just go for laughs, though there are those.

There's a real threat to Judith. It looks like this three horned monster, and she's always dancing on the line between teasing Max and then being serious about eating him, which is a continual danger in the film. Just beyond O'Hara though, where the Wild a stellar example a voice casting for talent not name recognition. This is where producers always go wrong when they go for the star. Sometimes that works Tom Hanks brilliant voice actor. More often than

not it doesn't. So here you have you're going for the voice talent. You're going for James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper, Forrest Whittaker, Paul Dano, they all voice other wild Things. O'Hara is, you know, one of the standouts among them. So yeah, throwing that into the mix. Officially my number five. But starting things off with Judith from Where the Wild Things Are.

able to walk with her characters. And the reason why I'm going to say that line versus layers may go back to something I think you alluded to earlier, Josh, which is not that in any of these roles that we're going to talk about her. In any of these movies, she's not playing a significant role, obviously, but she usually is part of an ensemble or she is a supporting character as opposed to the lead in the film, so she doesn't necessarily get a chance to show all of

these layers over the course of a huge narrative character arc. Right, she has to come in and deliver in a brief scene sometimes or an extended scene, but she has to walk various lines. She has to give us different different shades, and her ability to do that is something It's going to come up again and again in my picks, and we're going to start with number five. I already mentioned this movie, and I was sure when we did this.

I love I mean, your picks are great, so I don't begrudge you, and I'm glad I get to include it now as my outlier. But I know that even though I really like this film, you like it even more. I know that, even though I really like this director, you like this director even more. I am going with Delia Deets from Beetlejuice. And it's been ages, Josh since

since I've seen this movie, certainly in full. I have seen a few scenes from it here and there when it's popped on TV, and it usually is fun to watch. And I enjoyed her to some extent in Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice as well. I'm gonna give credit to O'Hara for that,

even if I really didn't like that movie. But what struck me rewatching scenes for this top five, and it really shouldn't have surprised me, is not how good O'Hara is at making Delia the vampy, kind of evil step mom character, this unhinged, self absorbed artist that we get to laugh at. Of course those elements are there. Maybe I did assume, Josh because it's been so long that it was a little bit more while hilarious, a little bit more one note like that, and it's so not right.

You get that in moments that really deliver, for instance, the incredible side eye then turn of the head that she gives Charles, her husband, when they first show up at the house and you know she's already looking to redo all of the decorating, and he says to her that she'll finally be able to cook a decent meal in the kitchen. That look, no words, The look says everything that she gives him is so perfect and watching it is it that he insults.

not O'Hara playing Deliadiads. It's O'Hara playing Deliadiads, who is playing the best slash version of herself.

and out of it. It's you know, it's like Delia doesn't just suddenly get possessed and starts singing. It's like it happens and then she comes out and recognizes asks what's happening to me? And then goes back in and the deafness O'Hara has in that sequence, yeah, I think is among her best scenes for sure. It's interesting what you say. I think we're going to come across this repeatedly in that they're our roles she's been given, which basically have one clear comic signifier to them. And I

think you could say this to Delia too. And then the magic is what O'Hara weaves and rings into making this character even more than that, as you say, without necessarily the most screen time among the ensembles, she still manages to pull it off. Yeah, my other outlier I actually have ranked quite Let's let's be anire. I could do that, or I could just go to number four.

H huh I could. I had to do it. I just had to do it because this is especially the sentimentality of doing this list now after her passing, and the joy to know that near the end of her career she was given an opportunity like this, a multi season opportunity to delve into all her improvisational comic gifts, create a character over a long series of time. This is an ensemble show, too, Adam, but in a way,

this is her lead role. This is the one that maybe she didn't get in film throughout her career, And yeah, I just thought it had to be recognized here. I think my list would have been paltry without it. This is on Netflix if people haven't caught up with Shit's Creek, So right now, we're about halfway through our rewatch. We

watched it when it first aired and loved it. Moira Rose is basically the disgraced former actress who's trying to rebuild her life with her spoiled family after they are forced to move to a small town having I'm not going to get to into the plot. Basically, they've lost all their wealth. Her husband here a name that's going to come up a lot Eugene Levy get to have them working off of each other and man, Adam your description at the top of her creating this own moral universe or.

tipsy and slurring her speech. Maybe I mean to give you a sense of this. There is a super cut on YouTube her just pronouncing baby as Bebe. It's throughout the series, Yes, I seen. I think the accent work here is you know, is just a tour de fouresid its own. It's no idea of.

don't know. Maybe you know, especially now as we're as we're picking up on these nuances she brings to characters. I'll be eager to watch these last two seasons or so and see if I missed something and she might have might have snuck something in there on us to Moira as well. I wouldn't be surprised, But at the same time wouldn't be surprised if she had that that conviction to Moira's own reality.

It's the first time she was really widely recognized as a comedic performer on screen.

is the embo of chaos. She absolutely takes to another level, helps escalate the already highly escalated absurdity of this night for Griffin Dunn's Paul character. And how does O'Hara play her. I wasn't able to rewatch the entire movie, Josh, But I don't know if Gail's heart rate gets above like one oh five. It's just it's just pretty steady and calm the entire time. She does not play the comedy. She doesn't play the chaos at all. She just plays Gail.

And in just one scene which I think is probably universally the most famous scene of hers in the movie, it's the scene where she and Paul meet out out on the street in an alley.

though he didn't ask. He has no interest in what she does for a living, right into accommodating do you need a pencil as he tries to write down a phone number, then right into playing the jesture, saying random numbers out loud to discombobulate him so he can't remember the numbers that he's supposed to dial.

with this woman. And I just think if you saw SCTV and then you went to the movies, the new Martin Scorsese movie, and you saw Catherine O'Hara on screen, none of this maybe would have surprised you about her, right you would have said, oh, of course, I expect this transition to movies. But if you never saw SCTV and you just went out to the movies and saw this woman playing Gail, I think my first reaction would

have been something like, how have I missed her? Because surely this comedic actress has been in like twenty films already. She's just too polished and too funny.

follow them. Now, that might be a dangerous proposition with Gail because it could go potentially to some very dark places, but it could go to some fun places too. It could be some ice cream involved. I mean, really, who knows? It would have been a wild, a wild ride when it comes to Gail. All right, So I think here's where we'll have some splitting of hairs, of ranking but

shared shared characters. Because Sheila Albertson in waiting for Guffman, wants her time in the spotlight and deserves her time in the spotlight. She's not paired O'Hara's not paired here with Eugene Levy. Even though this is a Christopher Guest mockumentary, this time it is Fred Willard Ron and Sheila Albertson, the overly confident travel agent couple who you know have some performance experience and they are very eager to be

part of the community theater production. At the heart of this film, their audition.

But oh my gosh, the comic chaos. She again, like Gail induces with it.

of his the cringe comedy. You know that he specializes in friendship. That was the Paul Rudd. I think a movie from last year, just a guy who walks into a scene is as weird as possible and doesn't understand why people are reacting that way. There's a there's a variation of that happening here in this sequence, and I think in a lot of the scenes with O'Hara characters. Yeah, it was a delight to just watch some of these waiting for Guffman sequences. Again, I haven't watched it in

years and years. I think the key to this movie is really that this production they're trying to put on isn't that terrible. I mean it's bad, don't get me wrong, it's bad, but it's it never pushes. The movie never pushes beyond the comic familiar ribbing, you know, into something that's that's just kind of ripping them apart for their idiocy. It never goes that far. And I think that O'Hara, even in a scene like that restaurant, manages a shred

of idiosyncratic dignity to Sheila. That is crucial. It's the only way, that's the only way she can act like she's being the completely normal one. Adam, you hear Scream seven and you might think, come on, how many of these do we really need? Well, if I look at my Scream ranked list, I actually have the two most recent Scream films twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three,

kind of high up there. I have them as number three and number four of the Scream film So all that to say, might be worth checking out Scream seven if you are interested in the franchise, if you're interested in horror in general, and you know we all know horror, you've got to see in a you've got to see this with a crowd. You want to scream alongside others. So if you want to do that, have that experience

with Scream seven. You could have it for free with Regal Unlimited Regal Unlimited is the all you can watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Right now, Regal is offering film spotting, listeners, endless movies for less. If you sign up for Regal Unlimited using code film Spot twenty six, you're gonna get fifteen percent off now. Regal Unlimited is the only truly limitless movie subscription pass. You can see any standard two D movie anytime.

There are no blackout dates or restrictions. And with Regal Unlimited, you won't just save money on tickets, you'll also save on snacks. Members get ten percent off all non alcoholic concessions. Sign up now in the Regal app or at the link in our description and use code film Spot twenty six to receive your discount.

is always kind of Fred Willard, right. But if you think about the three characters we're going to mention with Catherine O'Hara, she's she's not remotely the same person. She's

not remotely playing the same character. That's probably true across the seven or eight or however many it is different characters that we're going to mention over the course of this list, and I think that just speaks to how talented she is now in every case here that I'm I'm going to mention, and I think maybe maybe so far other than you know, where the wild Things are, she is coupled with a man, and there is never an impulse, it seems for us as viewers watching her,

there never seems to be an impulse to be anything but supportive, and I mean supportive in the way ensemble and improvisational comedy has to be that anyone of any gender has to be within that type of environment. There's just a complete absence of ego. There's an understanding, and in this case, you know, it's that Fred Willard is Fred Willard, and both his persona and this character are predicated on being blowhards who are going to ramble on

a bit. They're going to make every conversation and every moment about themselves, and he'll be hilarious and she's going to set him up. Or like in the scene that I want to single out, which is the.

But you just really can't laugh. You can't laugh at Sheila or I think most of, if not all, of O'Hara's characters, because not only do they have the human part that we've talked about, they're just and this is true certainly of Sheila. I think they're just so damn earnest. They're so earnest. You you just you you you like them and you can't laugh at them. And that's that's what I felt anyway, watching Sheila in this scene, which still just cracks me up every time I watch it

and think about her. Less is more approach to acting.

our shared number one. So I'll save that and maybe I'll move to my number three because this element of a co star and supporting them and still making room for her own comedy is not only crucial to her character. I think it's crucial. This is the one I rewatched for this list. I think it's crucial to best in Show. Overall. I liked this. I've always liked this movie, but I liked it so much more this time. I think because I realized that there were certain couples who we meet

who are going to this dog show. Some are just terrible for you each other and terrible to each other, right, and those are funny, But the ones that stick with us, uh huh are those who we get to know that it's more about how they're there for each other. And I think Cookie, Cookie, Cookie, Google's Cooky, She's Cookie. Yeah.

Cookie and her husband played by Eugene Levy in this case, of course, are so wonderfully supportive of each other in some very awkward situations, most of them due to the fact that we learn along the way, as her husband does on this trip to the dog show, that Cookie had a lively romantic life before they married. And this is this is an example, Adam, I think of like the one note I was talking about, like.

know what's coming. And here's what she does. Every guy who comes up and recognizes her and shares their memory with her, each guy is different because of how she responds, and each situation is different because of how she plays it, and you get a sense of their particular relationship, which is unique every time. Doesn't she look fantastic? Well, thank you? Well you've got that right, good one.

all her attention to these men. There's and this too she gives variations to depending on Jerry's reaction, how how like mortified he is, she'll alter her response. It's just that she acknowledges his discomfort. So this is some of the nuanced some of the layers she brings to it. Can we just also say, I don't know what O'Hara did with her leg, but after Cookie sprains her knee just before the climactic final show competition, uh huh, and

she's wobbling in a circle around that backstage. I don't know how she did that physically, but it is disturbing and it is hilarious. And I don't know how much physical comedy we get from from O'Hara, but but she definitely throws them out there in this movie and it works quite well.

The single best joke maybe in all of the the Christopher Guest universe, is one that belongs to Eugene Levy in the scene Well Levy and Christopher Guest, and it's when they're talking about how they met on the dance floor and how he's protesting, no, I can't dance.

that anything could happen here. And when he says, you know, I have two left feet, and when the camera pauses that the reality could be that he actually has two left feet, and the pause allows for that. And I actually set out loud on my couch, even though I've seen this movie before, I set out loud, don't do it, like like, no, you're not, actually you're not gonna do it. And then he's in right is right after I finished

the word it. But I wasn't in the slope pan down and Josh, that alone, that alone, that sort of interaction with the audience, and the notion that he actually has two left feet, the slope pan that that could be enough. That's enough to make it brilliant. But of course they take it to another level. They had a nickname for me. They called me Loopy because I walked in circles. I mean, I I just I don't know, I don't know if it could be topped.

go to Larry Miller's house. They stop off at Larry Miller's house, there is that scene where they just disappear. They just disappear in the house. And I don't think he was like showing her as bowling trophies, you know, like, I think we know what they were getting up to in that scene. But but you mentioned this, and I do think this is what makes the character work so well. And it is about it's about cutting that sort of edge of the one note. It's about adding in the

real human element that we've talked about so much. Do you ever feel like, you know, you talked about the characters who support each other. Do you ever feel like despite this, despite in any real marriage, any any man really you know, obviously being even more disturbed by this and you know, not allowing it. Do you ever feel like Cookie is using Jerry for something? Do you ever feel like she's she's using him for his money or

just some kind of stability. No, it seems like she genuinely loves her husband and she's she's taking no pleasure in cooking him in this way. She just has a voracious sexual appetite and and I think, I think it's the end scene for me, Josh, because here again you think how many different variations on this joke, but also her response to it. Can she give us and have them still be as frish and and as brilliant as as the last one? And they're in this they're in

the recording studio. They're singing the Terrier song. And by now you think, maybe you know, he's been triumphant, he won, right, he won for them. Maybe maybe this is behind them now, you know, maybe maybe he'll have some more respect and maybe some some of these men won't. You know, this is a part of the film, but you're just thinking, maybe you know, he's got some status and he can move on with his life and this won't haunt him anymore.

Cookie and Jerry. I think of where Michael McKeon and John Michael Higgins as Stefan and Scott like you just realized for it.

but delivering that support. I think her performance is Mickey in a Mighty Wind is to me the definitive Ohara character, and you know, really a distinctive performance in the way it it pumps the breaks on the comedy a little bit, not saying that she isn't quite funny in a Mighty Win. She's one half of Mitch and Mickey. So Eugene Levy is the other half. Christopher guest again and they're a folk duo who they separated years before professionally and romantically

and have now been reunited for this memorial concert. And I think both of them, I think Levy two, they're really layering their improvisational genius with a feel for fully formed characters. It feels like this is something they've been working towards as collaborators on screen, collaborators through some of the movies. We've been talking about and Mitch and Mickey are just something special. I actually had them as my number two movie band when we did that Top five

that was episode five oh three. And yeah, I think with O'Hara here you can see how she's maybe it's calibration, right, it's not choosing one thing over the other, it's where am I going to modulate? And I feel like here she's going slightly more. She's slightly privileging sincerity overhumor while allowing both to be part of every moment that she's in. And I think there's a dexterity there that's quite special.

And then to put over the top you have you know, their climactic performance at this reunion concert of kiss at the end of the Rainbow. I think here is where

O'Hara is going for sincerity and it's funny. At my notes after watching this again are so in line with what we've been talking about because that sequence, we're all waiting to see if they're going to kiss at the end of the song, right, this is what they used to do traditionally the audience is waiting for We now vicariously as movie viewers, are waiting to see if they're going to do this and watching it this time, I think I realized that Mickey was giving that kiss as

a gift to Mitch. So it wasn't this romantic thing between the two of them. It was more of a one side It struck me this time as more of a one sided gift, knowing he needed it even if she didn't. And so it's not even a romantic need Micky's fulfilling here. But this is a gesture of affirmation, which I think is something quite sophisticated to try to perform and a choice rather than just going for that romance. But I think it's true to to who this character is,

who Mickey is through throughout the movie. And I want to real quick before I thought to you, share something from a listener Luke Standaway, because I saw his letterbox review of A Mighty Wind. Must have watched it after O'Hara passed, and he said this, Catherine O'Hara can make you laugh your pants off and then with the faintest expression, break your heart. And if yeah, there's no reason or there's a clear reason he wrote that for a Mighty Wind.

After watching A Mighty Wind, right, I think that's absolutely what she does here.

mighty wind at number one. And a big part of it is that you you said it, Josh, is that this character, even though she is part of this duo, it's wrestling with this very notion of supportive or being fifty percent of a whole versus being one hundred percent of yourself, and that that's what the character's wrestling with. And we see, you know O'Hara then getting to kind of bring that out in her performance. This character is singular,

and I think that that separates her. She she's not there just to support Levy, certainly for most of this film. She's she's separated and thus separate and and she's not defined in any way as wife of right or partner of and I think that that that is a distinction, that that matters, and even at the end when we see post kiss, and that's what really matters to me.

As good as the kiss is and as amazing as it makes me feel watching it, even watching it again just on YouTube, the aftermath is what really gets me, Josh, and what I want to talk about. And and you know she's playing Is she playing the harp? One of those it's not a harpsichord.

so good. It has to be right, It has to deliver for us to believe that this movie is going to build to it, and that all the characters think about think about what Guest has to pull off there,

not only musically but emotionally. If if the entire film hinges on, we have to believe that all those people backstage are going to come to the side of the stage and look, and we as viewers to everyone in the audience, everyone watching the screen and everyone watching from the side of the stage, we're all looking for the same thing. And we're all listening to that music and being moved by it.

go all the way. It's what she says, you know, like this this nineteen fifties view of teenagers dating or something like, it's so stupid, right, but it's also in a way accurate, you know, it's accurate as in, if all the way actually meant falling back in love, you know, reuniting, you shouldn't have kissed him if you weren't willing to commit to being all in with him, if you take it to mean that it has a serious component to it as well as in everything that kiss could could pressage.

So here again with O'Hara and with Guest, we get after a punchline comes from real pathos, right.

a few times prepping for this top five. What I love about the end of this film post kiss, and their individual explanations of what it means and where they are now as individuals, is that the film structure by putting Nicky first, that that order creates the impression that she's the reasonable one. She's the one who sort of set a boundary. She's the one who doesn't feel the same way about Mitch that he feels about her. She is the She's not the one who took the kiss seriously,

while Mitch might have. And so maybe when we watch him explaining to us that he that he wasn't moved by it either and it didn't mean anything, and he feels sorry for her because she.

It was just performance and that was it. Or is the ambiguity there to make us consider And I'm going to argue that I think we have to that it's quite likely that Micky took the kiss no less seriously than niche, and she's also rationalizing just like he is. I think the ambiguity leaves the door open that you know, both are really tender people, both are too scared of what the kiss could mean. Both are maybe protecting themselves, both are protecting each other, or maybe it's only one

of them, Josh. But maybe it's Micky not Mitch that feels the way we all think, Mitch, does you know what I mean? Like, I think the ambiguity is there, that we read it a certain way because Nicky talks first, but maybe that's not the way we should feel about it.

of the kiss being a gift. Is her understanding that maybe this isn't a chance for us to rekindle our romance, but this is a chance for me. This would be Mickey thinking to end things well where I didn't before. And I'm basing that mostly again in O'Hara's performance in the actual kiss scene, in the actual moment where where she's she's walking a fine line there too, both as

O'Hara performer and as Mickey performer. Right. But of course, to your point, like you have to allow those ambiguities, for this to even be envisioned as an either or in terms of its scripting or it's performing, would have ruined it, right if you want, you want all those human complications to be at play, And I think you see that on the part of both performers to allow us to ask these questions. Yeah, for sure.

And I said, I said, despite the brilliance of the lines above, and I quote I quote John Michael Hughes his character when he said, Wow, what a what a line deliverer, A comedic line deliver when he says, there had been abuse in my family, but it was mostly musical in nature. My father used to lock me out a way. My father used to lock me away in a room with nothing but the Percy Faith recording of Bim Bam Boom and then send me to bed with

nothing but dessert. Okay, So I said, despite the brilliance of the lines above, I can't say Wind is quite as funny as Best in Show or Guffman. And actually I'm not sure I still feel that way. I need to revisit all these films. But it is certainly more poignant. Everything hinges on the Mitch and Mickey performance to your point, Josh and that kiss, past and present collapsing and colliding,

which Levy and O'Hara nail naturally. Most affecting, though, is the aftermath where guest lets the former lovers each frame the moment and its meaning. If there's a more sensitive, sad example of the human capacity for rationalization and all of Guest's work, I'd love to see it. So rereading that when I say rationalization, clearly I was seeing it in at least one of the characters, the idea being

as as it's played straight. If you take Mickey at face value, it's Mitch who's rationalizing, protecting him and going, oh, I hope Mickey didn't take that too seriously, and I hope she's okay, right, and he's the one who's rationalizing. I think that's how I meant it right, not that both of them were potentially rationalizing, but I love to think about it now is maybe, wow, what if they both for what if Mickey actually is still kind of reeling from this kiss?

And you know, I haven't watched this. I don't think I've watched this twice, but I do wonder if there are maybe seeds of Moira Rose in some way in that character. So wouldn't recommend for your consideration necessarily to go catch up with. But I do think if you've seen everything else O'Hara has done and have not seen that because it didn't get great reviews, maybe check it out, because my memory is she is at least quite good

in it. And then I will mention I listened to on occasion the Julia Louis Dreyfus podcast Wiser than Me, and she had maybe a year and a half ago, maybe it was a little longer. She had Catherine O'Hara on as a guest and just to listen to these two improvisational, you know, sketch comedians to talk about all sorts of stuff beyond the business. But you know that business stuff is just gold. So I would recommend tracking that conversation down. That podcast is called Wiser than Me.

Duvall film from nineteen ninety four. She is in a scene where she's meeting Marissa Tomey, who is Michael Keaton's wife, for lunch in the daytime, and she's a former journalist herself, like Marissa Tomay's character who gave it up, you know, to kind of be there as the supportive wife to her husband, gave up her career to raise the kids, and as the camera in Marisa Tomey's point of view as her eyes keep noticing it's O'Hara's character who keeps

filling the wineglass, you know, basically up to the top in the middle of the day, you know, and she's she's a little bit of cerbic there in that scene. Let's just say she's not too happy about the choices that she has made. And in addition to Shit's Creek. From a TV standpoint, you know, she did win for the Studio as Patty Lee. And I haven't seen all

of The Studio. I haven't finished that season, but I have seen enough episodes to really enjoy her performance as Patty and that I did want to even though I

haven't seen it at all. But in a lot of remembrances of O'Hara her performance as another another Gale, I believe in the Last of Us, Josh is someone who gets called out in a fair number of you know, top ten O'Hara characters and in or on one website a list that paid tribute to her Consequence of Sound, they said this O'Hara got an Emmy nomination for her portrayal the therapist who has no interest in healing herself after the death of her husband, a death she blames

Joel Pedro Pascal for as lovely and Sonny as her onscreen persona could be the role of Gail was a powerful reminder of how much deep emotion she brought to her work. Not to mention her talent, for here's the word of Cerbic for her. For a cerbic turns of phrase. Your heart broke for Gail and you also related to her, no fucks to give any more attitude. The Last of Us both some memorable performances, and O'Hara's tender Emmy nominated

turn as Gail is no exception. So if you're looking for a it sounds like almost deadly serious performance from O'Hara. The Last of Us maybe one to check out. And once again, those are our top five Catherine O'Hara performances. You can check out our lists and the scenes we mention links to those on YouTube by going to film spotting dot net slash list.

remember how I found Film Spotting. I'm also a longtime listener of Sillier movie podcasts, The Flophouse and Doug Love's Movies, so I probably stumbled across Film Spotting on a recommendation list and haven't looked back since. One early episode I remember really enjoying was The Florida Project, because that film shot up to one of my all time favorites after

watching it based on your review. Love hearing that. Maggie Brad also shared a bit here circus twenty seventeen, What an awesome year for film I stumbled upon the pod after seeking out recommendations on Reddit. The Phantom Thread review stands out in retrospect. I was working at an independent two screen cinema at the time it was showing, and your insights and perspectives helped it climb the ranks of my personal all time favorites. Wonderful.

with a Charlie Kaufman. He's going with Charlie Kaufman, saying I love my existential dread and yeah, maybe there's a good time to note Adam that, speaking of actors passing, veteran character actor Tom Noonan news that he died and Tom Noonan appeared in two Kaufman films, Senecticky New York and A Noma Lisa, the voice of I think all the characters in a Nomaly. That sounds right. It's been a long time, pretty remarkable concept that Noonan made work brilliantly.

and for some reason I came across it recently. I think I think I actually played it, maybe Josh in a class for for some reason where I was talking about Senectic Key, New York. I played the scene if you can find it on YouTube, the scene that's the audition scene where he is playing he's auditioning to play the role of the Philip Seymour Hoffman character and how he's going to embody him.

fifty to fifty? Yes, the Joseph Gordon Levitt Seth Rogan movie. And Sam Sam notes here that last week a family member had the Gordon Levit starting. Yes, that's true, five hundred days a summer in this slot. I do remember that, Sam, And here we have fifty to fifty.

get monthly bonus shows. Just earlier this week, you got our conversation with producer Sam about a Kira Kurasawa's Drunken Angel, a blind spot for all three of us, we're all pretty happy that we did finally see that movie. Not surprisingly pretty good film with Toshiro Maffune. Yeah, we went for it spoilers. More information about joining the Film Spotting Family is available at film Spottingfamily dot com, and you can also help out the show by rating or reviewing

us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Go ahead, just take a second, just click five stars.

a former marathon titled It Bounds. He wants to be eligible, He wants it to be considered for the Pantheon. Nine total nominees is how we do it now. Six have been reviewed on the show, discussed in depth by the two of us, But then we have three that haven't.

Maybe they've been talked about on the show before and it's twenty years history but not really been dug into by the two of us and Rashomon's one of those two films, and one of those other films was John Ford's How Green Was My Valley, But we took care of that on our last show, Josh, and I'm looking at that film spotting family Discord. I don't know, it's only a couple posts, but we seem to be kind of in the minority in terms of how much we enjoyed that film.

these nine nominees actually get in. So, yeah, watch the movies that were actual discussing on the show. Heck, watch all nine if you want, if you have time and be an informed voter, and yeah, let us know what you think about how green was my value? If you've never seen it before, let us know what you think about Raschaman if you watch it a second or third time in preparation for our discussion next week, you can do that.

that's how I think. But I also know that, like Sam's probably now listening to this, going, no, you're wrong, Adam, of course, it's the characters that are more interesting, and we'll change our mind by the time we actually record the next shows.

It's almost like a character versus movie. And I think what might be more interesting for a list like this is to talk about how the movies as a whole are unreliable. Agree, and the narrator is obviously the most crucial part of that. But you know, maybe the narrator is unreliable in a different way that the movie is unreliable, and so there's just more places to go.

You can go to film spotting dot net right now and submit your official Film Spotting Ranked Choice Best Picture ballot. It is right there, a link on the main page. We will announce the winner with all due solemnity on that Oscars special. Have you submitted yours?

if you've seen Weathering Heights. So yeah, I've enjoyed that first episode. The Wathering Heights one is out now, so you can listen to these back to back if you so choose. New episodes of The Next Picture Show drop every Tuesday and you can find them wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, time now for Massacre Theater, where Adam and I perform a scene and you get a chance to win a Film Spotting prize. Last time we mascreed this scene.

in Disney. Pixar's Brave. They are discussing their daughter Meredith Kelly McDonald and there's your Train Spotting link, fierce independent streak. The funny thing is I watched this just two days ago as I decided I wanted to go back to my favorite Pixar films, and this is one of my favorite.

sure you did. McKidd also voiced the character of Fenn Rau in the Star Wars Rebels series, which features the final final battle between Darth Maul and one Obi Wan Kenobi, who, while not voiced by him there, was played in the live action pre boots of the Star Wars the Clone Wars series by Ewan McGregor, who is also in Train Spotty. Also maybe because I'm a big train I'm a big Rebels guy.

going on with my VPN. I can't access it here in Scotland. The YouTube clip that Sam shared so I'm pretty much going in half blind, half blind with no sense of tune listeners enjoy.

early and ad free. You'll also get a weekly newsletter, monthly bonus episodes, and access to the entire show archive. For show t shirts another merch go to film spotting dot net slash shop.

He's going to think it's something wrong. I'm not sure we reviewed it, so I don't know. We'll get some detectives on the case. In limited release, Pillion is expanding. I'm definitely hoping to catch up with that one. Jessica Chastain is a socialite engaged in a dangerous affair with the Mexican ballet dancer Okay in Michelle Franco's class critique Dreams. Werner Hertzog has a new documentary, How Josh Ghost Elephants?