Ben.
The movie we're reviewing this week is Good Fortune, and I think the question that most people were asking themselves after this movie. If you had everything in the world, everything you wanted, but you knew it was the right thing to do, to give it up and go back to a life where you knew it was going to be hard, would you be strong enough to be able to do it? There's a lot of questions I had throughout this film. That was the question I was left with,
and I don't know how I would answer it. And I think we're going to get into that today on answering that question and a few others, a few other ethical questions, a few other questions about the commentary that this movie made, that this film made about socioeconomical roles in our society and the way capitalism has worked. And what do they call it the economy right now?
What do they call it?
It's a certain name. Starts the gig economy.
Oh yeah, the gig economy. Yeah sure.
A lot of stuff about the gig economy in this as well.
Oh sure.
So. While on the surface this film seems pretty straightforward as a comedy, there's a lot of underthlying themes here.
Yeah, you just took the words right out of my mouth. I was going to say, not too often you walk out of a comedy movie saying, you know, I have a bunch of interesting philosophical questions that I'm going to run past you, of course the next hour. And yet here we are talking about it that way, and I think you're exactly right with it. You know what's interesting is you even gave me a heads up, and I braced myself for it, and I wasn't necessarily expecting it.
Yeah.
I didn't laugh a whole lot. And it's not to say it wasn't entertaining or I didn't enjoy it, but there were moments that I laughed out loud, and just like with a lot of movies in the Midwest, I was laughing at times when people were relatively quiet. Oh Ye'll be sitting there holding my sides a little bit
laughing at some of the things that happened. But definitely not a bust your gut laughing kind of movie, but definitely something that I think anybody between the ages of alive and dead can probably too.
Right now at least at some point in yeah, yeah, exactly.
If not right now, then definitely at one point or another, and as somebody who absolutely utilized the gig economy in the way a lot of those companies tell you to do so. I was a radio producer, while managing a property, while driving for Uber, lifting door Dash, and while having five other sources of income to kind of get this career off the ground. I can relate. And what's interesting is and that this was the thought that I had
walking out of it. I have a memory like a steel trap that life was three years ago, and it feels like it was another person's life for me. Really watching what I saw, I was like, oh my god, I forgot that. I almost I felt this way every single day while living my life because I'm in such a better mental state now. And it's uh, this is probably the third or fourth movie balky. I was joking about it with our coworker Laura. I said, I don't know why. I know it was Carly and I said,
why do we keep going to these movies? I said, I watched these movies to escape. This is the third or fourth time in the last five six movies, and I'm like, man, I'm gonna be using this for content and outside the box tomorrow. And sure enough, I started my show off today talking about Good Fortune and the messages of that movie, which is very ironic.
I I think that I got I got the phone call.
Yeah, yeah, let's we'll be right back, guys.
The other thing with this film that I noticed, and you talked about not laughing a lot out loud, Yeah, a few times you did. I felt like it was weird with the type of actor and comedian that is
he's in sorry is and his voice. Yeah, there were times where I think that you weren't meant to laugh, but it almost came off comical because he's got like this kid kid's voice, and he's super bubbly and peppy and and that, and that was a little off putting to me in this you know, where he's like, well, well, now what am I gonna do? Yeah, I'm living in my car. You know. It's like it's hilarious, but it's not, you know. Yeah, So that was a little weird for me to get used to in this film. And we'll
talk about these ethical questions in a little bit. When I was on your show the other day, one of the things I wanted to ask you about is Keanu Reeves a good actor. What did you think of his performance in this film where yes it was a comedy, Yes he had comedic moments, but I just felt it's so robotic with him. I mean, he is like a Westworld robot when it comes to acting, and I don't
know if that's by design. I don't know if he has a limited range, and yet he keeps getting gigs, Ben, Yeah, keeps getting significant gigs.
You know. I went into this looking for that because I have been not a hater of Keanu Reeves, because honestly, I like just about every single movie he's in, Like, and that's not even a bold statement, Like most movies Keanu Reeves does. Like No, that was a pretty good movie, and so like whether or not that has to do with him or not, I don't know. I went into this movie and first of all, I don't this isn't a spoiler, but the hardest I laughed. He eventually becomes
a cook era a dishwasher at a restaurant. Yeah, And there's a scene where he's saying nothing and he's smoking a cigarette and staring into the void.
Yeah. I had to do a double take him, like is he smoking a cigarette? Yeah?
And the look on his face. If you've ever worked at a restaurant before, you have seen that person smoking a cigarette outside at the restaurant. I've seen it a thousand times. Anyone has seen it. It is the hardest I laughed in the whole movie. And you know, he worked on that face and that mannerism and that approach. So that one scene, I'm like, okay, good acting. Everything outside of that one moment was this.
Why are you talking about the no Bueno scene?
Yes, okay, yes, And he's sitting there smoking and he's just like staring off into this distance. He's not even saying anything, but it's just the stare of someone that just washed dishes for five hours. As someone that was a dishwasher, I can tell you I know that's stare. I know that cigarette after the dinner rush that you smoke. I know everything about that, and I'm watching it. I'm watching that. That was the best acting he did in the whole movie. I will say, I do think the
robotic delivery he struck me. And tell me if you think this is crazy, he struck me. The character that I think he was trying to convey is an angel that has been around for so long that him engaging in English and talking to humans and like interacting in twenty twenty five America, it almost felt like a very naive like like the best way I can describe is this sounded like he was acting in a play while everybody else was acting in a movie. Yes, and I
think that's the best way that I can describe either. Yes. But to me, what I walked out it was I was trying to think of it because there's a there's a have you ever seen the TV show Community?
I have seen episodes.
Yes, there's an episode where Ahbed takes a class and the entire class is dedicated to determining whether or not Nicholas k is a good actor. And he essentially runs the gamut of all these different actors. And he describes Johnny Depp as the bad kind of good, meaning he's a great actor, but like a he seems obnoxious in a lot to handle. Keanu Reeves is the good kind of bad. I think he's very likable. I think he's
very charismatic. I don't know that he's a good actor, but his personality in every movie he's in, I'm just like, yeah, no, I'm down to ride. Let's see where this goes.
I mean, I even I was thinking back to John Wick when we were watching the John Wick movies in Ballerina. I mean he has this like halting way of stilted almost stilted, yeah, way of talking in that too, yes, which I don't know if it like. I mean, it was a little distracting in this film. I guess mostly because I thought he'd be he'd be a human, yeah, you know, which is funny because he's not human. He's not an angel.
Do you question Christopher watkins ability as an actor?
It? I don't. I don't know if this is gonna sound like this may sound hypocritical, but I feel like his is more natural.
Okay, I just it is him. It feels like it's him, but he's not acting like I think it's Christopher walking playing a scene in a movie.
He speaks the same way in almost every movie. I like his performances too, That's what I'm saying.
That's why I brought it up.
I think they're less distracting than Keanu Reeves. Really, yeah, I just I don't. I don't know. It's an interesting comparison, for sure. I just feel I don't know. I just it's it's more human with walking, you know, it's it's it was so robotic with Keanu Reeves. It is And I say it like it sounds hypocritical because they do very similar sticks, you know, and and it is what it is, Okay, So so go ahead.
I was gonna say. I will say another comparison I was making in my head. Who caught us off guard was Liam Neeson in Uh Naked Gun the remake. He is not a traditionally comical actor, just like Keanu Reeves, I think, and he felt much more natural in the position that he was in.
Yes he did. But I do think that he was chosen for that role. And I'm sure he picked the role in part because he is supposed to play it off as a serious actor, as a straight guy in a in a in a comedy, whereas I don't get I don't get that feeling.
No, not at all. That was not the point of his role in this movie.
I do like the relationship between Rogan and I'm sorry here. Yeah, they're characters, the Rogan, I mean like sort of like at the end, you get all three of these characters
sort of together briefly. Yeah, But the majority of the movie, it always seems like it's two of these guys dominating every scene where it's in and Rogan, where it's Reeves and I'm sorry, where it's Reeves and Rogan, you know, And it was different in each one, and it was cool to see, you know, them play off each other, especially Reeves, who's not a comedic guy, and the other two guys, I mean, one's a comedic actor and the other one is a comedian, stand up comedian, So you know,
they they know the value of timing, they know the value of how to deliver a joke properly, how to set up a joke where I don't think Reeves maybe he knows how to do that, but we haven't really seen it on the screen, the big screen throughout his career. That was the highlight of the acting for me. We talked about this briefly and sorry's direct directorial debut, which I didn't realize this was it. I thought it was good. I thought it was very cool. I thought the choices
that he made were not all that unpredictable. But I think he told the story the way that the story needed to be told. I think he scentuated it with certain things that you know, active viewing would have showed you like, oh yeah, this this, this really drives it
home here and and encouraging. I. I you know, I've never really been a huge I thought this season sorry, was pretty funny on Parks and racktell Yes, outside of that, I've never watched like Master of None or any of his stand ups or whatever.
Thirty Minutes or less was very funny. Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride and Nick Swartz and they put a bomb on Jesse Eisenberger delivery guy. Yeah, yes, that was actually and to be perfectly frank, essentially the same message that he's worked as a delivery driver and you know, life isn't working out the way he needs it to. And even the criminals in that movie are trying to prove themselves to their parents that they can make it economically in this society. And that movie's a decade old and
very similar ideas. For sure.
What what was the app that he was using? Task something?
Yeah, it was like it was like text or it was like there there's a there's a real like task rab Bit is the real life.
So that was a fake app, but that it's based off of a real one.
Yes, because I've up work is when I've actually been on Upward. I've heard of Upward. Yes, there's a number of those out there.
So essentially, just to set this plot up for for everybody, and sorry, is this struggling guy. I believe he has a college degree, master's degree, Yeah, but he can't do anything with it, and and so he has to take these odd jobs. He can't seem to get a job anywhere. And Rogan is the flip side of that, where he's like this venture capitalist, brilliant type guy. And then Keanu Reeves is this angel that I don't know, is it revealing too much to say that these guys live different?
So so Keanu Reeves essentially his character makes these guys do a freaky Friday. Yeah, and and then and this is what gets to be you know the question we have at the end of the movie. And this is what I was asking myself because I'm not going to say what the end result was. I'm not going to
say how they get there. But Ben, if you all of a sudden were transformed into a light where you knew you didn't deserve it, you knew you didn't work to get it, and you have all but it was, and it was at the expense of somebody else who was deserving. How difficult would it be for you and no one's ever gonna know. Oh yeah, how difficult would it be for you to switch back so to your to your old life.
Two things about this. First of all, the Freaky Friday format. What I loved about this aspect of it was in any other version of the Freaky Friday thing, there is inevitably the point where both parties involved realized they had they had it good back in their original body. This one doesn't really give you that feeling at any point in a Hollywood kind of way. You kind of feel it, but not not in a if that were you in real life, you would not be in that mindset, which
it brings an interesting dynamic. And I oftentimes say it's very difficult to be creative in in movies and even in video games to a certain extent, because so much stuff has been done that it seems like it's more like improvising on of on a formula that's already out there, which is how I thought that was a really nice twist on this that makes you think about it. And secondly, and I'll be real with you, I do not. There is an element of this that neither one of us
are going to be able to relate to. My best friend I went to a it wasn't Ivy League, but in Pennsylvania. It's a prestigious college, a big time Asian population there as well. My best friend, one of my best friends, I was the best man in his wedding, had that kind of stigma of like, you're at this school, You're Asian, You're gonna do this, You're gonna become a doctor. And he couldn't wake up before eleven o'clock in the morning, he would miss class all the time, and he ended
up not going that route in the long run. And there's a certain component of that. I myself graduated from that school into the Great Recession, and like ap and honors classes, all these extracurriculars, you expect these big, grandiose things, and I'm there bartending with a degree from this institution for a while and I'm watching it. I'm sitting there, and so you're asking someone who can literally put himself
in that position. It's like, Hey, if you could have pressed the skip button and not dealt with all that, not had the awkward Christmas dinners not had all those moments. I don't know that I'm a strong enough person to avoid all of that.
That's that's my whole thing too.
Like I'll be honest with you, like, I don't know that I could do it, except for the family aspect of it, Like the idea that I would lose my whole life along with that makes it a little bit of a harder conversation. But from the actual nuts.
And bolts, because nobody knew.
Yes, he introduced himself to all these people that he knew as his own parents or his best friends or whatever it was, that would be the hard part for me. But the actual nuts and bolts of it, the life, my life never got that bad what he was dealing with. I can tell you that I don't know that I would have the strength to do.
That's the thing. It's tough to you know. You know, you and I have never been sleeping in our car right and living not only paycheck to paycheck, but like.
Where are you brushing your teeth that morning?
Exactly. I think it's interesting that the choices that Rogan's character made when he was on the flip side of this, you know where uh, poor you know, and and he was living day to day and he didn't know where his next you.
Know, that's an important message, right, and.
That that's the thing. And then and then think about, Okay, well what happens when a guy who is normally living high in the hog and and work to get there? Right? Yeah, I mean he he knew what it took to get there, and he got there. And look at the decisions he made how he was trying to get by with money didn't surprise me. I mean, I guess maybe it did surprise me. There was a lot of the same decisions that a lot of other people make, oh sure, and that that are not very scrupulous.
Oh yeah, And I thought it was a really nice touch. At one point they had him go back like he has like some high falut and finance job that none of us could even really describe it.
He's sort of like he's sort of like an independent contractor for businesses.
Yeah.
I don't want to say he's a venture capitalist. There's probably so there's that, there's an element of that, and and he's just he's brilliant when it comes to understanding what's gonna be big and he gets in on the ground floor, and he makes other businesses better. He's a really really smart guy.
I think. I'm sorry, obviously, I don't know if he wrote it. I'm gonna have to look that up once I stopped making this point here, But but she did.
And now I think about this. Rogan did saunas, right, Isn't that how he came up? Yeah, he was a big Sauna bro. Yes, And and then that sort of parlayed into like he was in the cinemon bun business and you know, and and.
These other Yeah, a bunch of ride share as things.
Like businesses that want he, Oh, this guy's really smart, let's get him to consult for us.
Yeah. But I thought it was a nice touch though, that he eventually, like once he's in the poor version of himself, he goes to that business and uses that knowledge to try and emphasize his value and get back into the company, and they they literally want nothing to do with him. And I think that's a nice touch because while he did work for it, he had connections,
he had financial stability before he had the job. Yeah, And it's just it really hit on so many levels for anybody currently involved in the job market right now, Like I oftentimes that this is one of those movies that I came out of there and I was like, man, am I happy? I'm content where I am like it was one of those kind of movies because I don't want to deal with that right now, right And it's a very real problem that like a lot of people are facing put into this comedy that is making you
laugh about it. But I guarantee you there were a lot of people sitting there like, no, I get that.
What what is this film making a commentary or a statement on the gig economy itself? Oh? Absolutely absolutely, and saying that it's bad, like this is wrong, We're heading in the wrong directions as a nation.
Oh yeah, I couldn't agree with that more. I mean, I as somebody who did Uber and Lyft, I can tell you right now, in the four years that I did it, in the three years that I've been out here, I feel like forty percent of the of the audience that interacts with my show are driving for Uber and Lily while they're listening to it, and they'll call in and tell me I used to get this surge pay for this. That does happened anymore. I used to get this anytime a state talks.
So it's getting worse.
It's getting worse as time goes on, as it's monopolizing more. And I guarantee you anybody watching those are like, oh no, I totally understand what they're talking about there. And there is a bit I don't want to get into the ending. Let's just say there's a cartoonish kind of revelation in one of those companies that never happened.
And I'll say this too, like I don't want to say I expected what happens at the end of this film, but I will say it didn't shock me. Maybe it surprised me. Yeah, didn't shock me. Maybe it didn't even surprise me. I don't know. I guess I was not surprised at the end. There's a lot of there's a part of me that wasn't satisfied. There's a part of me that was satisfied, and maybe that's kind of a reflection of myself, yeah, or just the state of the United States right now. I don't know.
I wish we could talk about the ending, because there was one part where I was mad at first when I was watching happened, But then the more I thought about the more, I'm like, oh, from a real life perspective, they can't have this, and like, i'll tell you what it is off the air. But seeing the ending, I was disappointed about something and I was like oh, and then I'm like, oh, well, actually, if I were watching this movie and living this life, i'd be pissed if
that's how they ended it. So I understand that's not why they ended it that way, so I can appreciate that very much. To me, this movie, the best way I can describe it is if you're familiar with the term Pollyannish, it kind of I am not. Pollyanna is who it's based on, and it's like a very naive take on something. It's used in politics quite a bit.
Well the representatives are here to represent us, and it's like, yeah, okay, man, but like there's a lot of money in politics, and that's not what happens, so we can't talk about it.
That's what Pollyanna would say, Yes, okay.
This movie was very Pollyannish in the sense that Aziz was living in his car, but you know what, the beautiful woman was into him still, and he and he had this solid relationship and a lot of people in that position, that's not what they're going through. Yeah, and like there was a bit of like an uplifting presence that, in my opinion, can only come from a bunch of rich people cause playing as poor people and almost pandering
to the audience. Like That's what stuck out to me aggressively, is that if I were bitter, if I were jaded right now in my life, I'd be sitting here like, oh, come on, are you kidding me with this?
Like that?
To me, it's like that's was how I was looking at this frame. There's very pollyannish view to being poor right now, very pleasant things are working out that the employees that kick you out when you're sleeping in the in the booth also offer to give you a ride, because there were so many moments.
But I'll say that maybe that that's the problem I had with this film too, is because I mean, I think a lot of people probably identified with Thensarry's character, Yeah, but maybe not the type of people that are going to the movies to see this. Oh sure, sure, I did not identify with anybody I try to put myself in this film. Obviously I can't identify with Rogan's character. Sure, really struggle to identify with n Sorry's character for the
most part, and I'm not an angel. Yeah, and I don't have this this willingness to save souls because I can't save souls, so so to put you know, I try to put myself. I think I tried to put myself in in Sorry's shoes towards the end, but I really couldn't place myself in this movie. Were you able to successful?
Absolutely? I mean Sorry, Yeah, And I mean I even was involved in the they do a unionization plot line.
Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that too. That's sort of Keiky Palmer's role in this. Like obviously she's like the girl in this, the female lead. Not even that she's a lead, but she's the one female character we have in this that's sort of in Sorry's love interest. And her big thing is trying to unionize employees at what seems like a home depot.
Lows type of Yeah. Yeah, it's not a real place. It's not either of the hardware or something. I can't remember that, and it's a it's a major chain that screws people around. What's interesting is I was involved in that kind of process. I did the whole thing. But the entire staff was on board with it. It was management trying to shut it down. This was an entirely different conversation. And what's cool is, I don't know if you noticed it. Every single plot line was some version
of your attitude towards work. Even Keanu reeves that you said it's difficult to relate to as an angel. His whole storyline was, I feel like I'm undervalued in my position. More. Yeah, what I'm doing, which is another common.
Work, Okay, And that's not that's there's no compensation obviously, it's just a a willingness to work. It is a wanting a useful purpose. Sure, and he felt like his purpose, while useful, did not suit his capabilities.
Yes, and it was coming to Grips with maybe you are doing what you're suited for. Like, there's also that element of it. So like there was the Keky Palmer and the and the unionization and coming to Grips with it's not a glamorous life, but this is the little niche that you're trying to carve out for yourself. That's
something that people can relate to. Even Seth Rogan's character of trying to find purpose, like, once you've made that kind of money, he's all drugs and party, which is fun from the outside.
Yes, and I'll say this too, I think it's obviously very easy to play that character as an unlikable one. Yeah. I thought he's very likable even when he was rich, yes, or when he is rich or was whatever you want to say, which is.
Part of the polyan in my opinion.
Well, but okay, I just feel like the way he talked to him, sorry, and the way it was shot with only him in scenes. Yeah, he didn't come off as like this prick.
It humanized him for sure.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And he came off as like one of these guys that like he didn't see I don't think he sees people, anybody as beneath him.
I know.
I think he treated everybody the same. He put them all in the same place, even though he's a goodly rich has all this stuff and sorry, shows up at his house with like a duct tape bumper on his you know, car or whatever.
Very opposite of the vibe of parasite. If you saw Parasite back and that was they hire the assistance, and there's a very clear delineation of you are the servants and we are the wealthy people. Which this took a very different route there.
There was the season finale, season three finale, if Darryl Dixon was on this past Sunday, and there's a scene where this you know, very rich community in Spain, the wealthy there, they they hire workers and you know, to like serve them or whatever. They have this big banquet and they have servers bringing them wine and food or whatever, and they make all the servers wear masks so they don't have to look the workers in the eyes, you know. And that was the opposite of Rogan. You know, I
I don't, I don't. I don't feel like he talked down to any Honestly, the only time he became unlikable was when he became ornery, and that's when he was in a similar situation in Sorry's character. And I don't even think Danny he was all that unlikable. He was actually the most relatable, most relatable then exactly, Yeah, when he was when he was going through that. Yeah, And I mean to be frank, And that's kind of the
point of parasite as well. You should be seth rogen in that lifestyle, you know what, I mean we talk, and I say this as a media member. I've worked, I've painted for a living, I've bartended, and I've said on my show a dozen times over I could focus on show crafting for fourteen hours, I will not be half as tired as a six hour shift bartending from four to ten.
We oftimes like, oh, I gotta work, I gotta go to this meeting. I gotta go to that meeting. When his ease, I'm sorry, becomes wealthy and he's like, oh, I got a big day planned, and they go to some Japanese restaurant and they talk business for thirteen seconds and then talk about life. Yes, it's a meeting. Yes, there's large dollar amounts involved, Like realistically in the grand scheme of work, really not that particularly difficult exactly.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, if if you could give me where I have to just say yes or no on something for one question. Yeah, and then I have a two hour sushi lunch. Right, that's not.
Work, No, No, it isn't. There's big dollar sums and I I was involved in in in sales projects that were multimillion dollar sales projects, high level stuff that has like big outcomes when you make a decision, but not hard work, like by any stretch of the imagination. And they touch on that there were so many elements of this. The whole thing was was a commentary on work, finding value in yourself? How much does your job really even
define you? And so many other of those different factors that I'll be real.
How much how much does your employer see you? That's another one you know too, like what is you know? And then and then battling with this this your self perception of yourself when you know how you're being treated by everybody else yourself your own self worth, yeah, which was key. And then Sorry's evolution, his character evolution of like how do I find value in in this life? How do I find self purpose in this life? How do I find joy in this life? That's really really
hard and it's really really difficult to find those things. Oh, for sure, he needed to. He had to. I had to find a way.
I would have loved to add a scene to that movie from my own life because I like, you know, he's waiting in line, which I never had to do that kind of stuff.
Yeah, that was part of this task. App or Yeah, like someone had to wait people to pay him to stand in line for them to pick up something.
Yes, yeah, And there were times like I am very you've seen me. I'm not super phone centric. And there's a there's a real life story in my life where I was standing waiting for the food to be made that I was going to drive to someone. I was doing like a door dash thing and I stare at people, but I don't stare at them. I stare through them, like I zone out and I'm thinking, but like my eyes are directly locked.
It looks like you're staring at Yeah.
Absolutely, And I got called out by a dude like eating scrambled eggs, big scruff guy with honestly with your kind of beard, and he looks at me really grizzly, is like, can I help you with something? And I was like, I was surrounded by four other door dashers and looking at their phone, and I went, I guess not that I pulled my phone out and just started scrolling nothing because I did vating the scroll and like this felt like that kind of like there was a
montage of him having those kind of moments. I'm like, oh, I have my own this moment, and I like it's just it. It nailed me, like, I think I liked this movie. It had. I looked the reviews up before this, and people seemed to really yeah, digging it. But I think I liked this movie more than the mean, more than the average.
I think it's I think the character at least since Yeah, it was not because I never door dashed. Yeah, I've never been in a position where I was living paycheck to paycheck ever, you know, even even sure you know, in my early twenties or whatever, when I probably should have which probably should have been maybe I just didn't have enough fun. That was the other thing with Keanu Reeves looking at his first paycheck when you start that was that was very funny.
There were a couple of lines that got me hard in that movie that got me hard.
Yeah, Robots, that's it turns ben common hit me hard that movie. No, I think that like every time he delivered the line of of like and spend money on things that are fun, like I mean this is like right out of like nineteen eighty four, like some sort of like weird robot that is living among us, or just because he said it like three different times. Yeah, chicken nuggies, Yeah, and chicken nuggies the when he's eating for the first time and he doesn't know how to, like.
Yeah, this movie's actually growing on me while we're talking about it.
That's that that that Rogan you know. And that's the other thing too, is like, you know Rogan's you used to his characters used to eating it like that, that fancy restaurant that yeah ended in Sorry's character and then he just goes and and uh and to this burger place fer fries and or burger chicken, nuggies and milkshake,
and he was totally at home doing that right. And then the way that they all related towards the end of the movie, I think within the last fifteen minutes about the two things that they love most on Earth, and they all agree that's they're all three of theirs their favorite two things. Like that was that was pretty good too, So yeah, I mean there's it was fine.
I mean, I just unless we can get into the ratings, unless you have something else to say, Oh no, I'm pretty cashed out on everything I wanted to bring up.
Yeah, very simple movie, very very you know, you.
Know, and I think that the whole thing that we have to explain to people. I don't remember what podcasts we were doing, which episode we're doing. But we brought up this Good Fortune movie and you said you got to see the trailer for this, and I watch it and I agreed with you, and I said this that if there's one reason we're doing we're watching this movie is because of Keanu Reeves acting like we have to see we can't just limit ourselves to a two minute trailer.
We have to see the full one hundred minutes of Keanu Reeves pulling this off. So this is not a film I probably would have normally seen. You know, I agree, But the trailer and your recommendation of why we should watch this movie was enough. I'm glad I saw it once. I don't know how rewatchable this is. I don't think it's grown on me as much as it's grown on you. But again, it's that comes to me. Relatable characters for
me in this movie just were not non existent. And maybe that's a good thing for my for my life. Maybe it's a bad thing for how I interact with people in society.
Sure, and to be to be perfectly frank, though I also at times was pulling my phone out and scrolling a little bit. Oh really, I'm like, okay, yeah, because there were there were times I thought there were some cookie cutter yes, I founding. I found parts of the movie to be boring, but then other parts very engaging. Again, it's just it kind of wasn't very even. But again for a first effort. Yeah, I did like the.
Not knowing how these three actors would all be tied together in this movie. I mean I knew that they would be, and I didn't know how, and it was kind of cool to see that.
Yeah, I didn't either. I went in super blind into this and as I normally do, but like normally I at least have some concept of the plot, like other than weapons. I don't know that I've gone in more like completely ambiguously than I did this movie, you know, so pleasantly surprised. But I said, you're doing ratings first because five and a half, okay, I was gonna go six.
Yeah, and I felt like you were going to be higher than me on this. It's fine. This to me felt like, and maybe I'm being cynical, it felt like a movie where and Sorry could get back out there with two well known actors and Ye become a more likable guy play a likable character and people start being like, Hey, this guy's pretty fuck I remember this guy from Parks and whatever happened to him. I'm glad he's back. I'm
glad he's doing all this stuff now, you know. And I know he's done stuff since Parks and rec or whatever, but it hasn't been on this level of stage. And listen, they always say on Saturday Night Live. Not that I've ever worked there, it'd be cool to work there, they always say on Saturday Night Live. If you are in the cast and you're also a writer, you need to write stuff for yourself or you'll never get out there.
And what it in. Sorry, I don't know if he got writing credit on this, oh right, yeah, but I do know he directed it. I do know he was the protagonist of this story, more so than Rogan, more so than Keanu Reeves. So if you are if you do want to get back in the public eye and you know, and become likable again, this is a great way to do it. And he ends up directing and
starring it. He wrote it, and he wrote it, So there you go, So write stuff for yourself and to me after I saw it him like this kind of feels like it's self serving for his career. But should we all be self serving?
Oh of course, Yeah, that's ridiculous.
If you're not going to promote yourself, no one else is gonna do.
It for you one thousand percent. And I will also say so, I came out of that movie thinking to myself, you know, AZ's I'm sorry, plays the same character in every like. It's not acting, it's just he can deliver lines. Well, you know who else i'd say that about Seth Rogan. You know who else i'd say that about. It was a movie of three people that I think don't necessarily act like. You even made a comment. I don't know if it was on your show or my show, but
you said Seth Rogan basically plays a richer version of himself. Totally. I'd argue he plays himself in every single movie. I think they even make a joke about that. And this is the end. It's just the same. They have the Seth Rogan laugh in there, They do all that kind of stuff. Keanu reeves, whether he's fighting bots in the matrix or you know, freaking what is a point break or any of the bank it's the same. It's the same character and Disease is uh, yeah, I'm telling you
watch thirty minutes or less. You'll be like, oh, so he's just doing thirty minutes. He did this movie like to be frank, I think it was well written. But I also think he went on Reddit and went to a couple of them. Now now I wrote it from there.
Imagine this because I know a lot of people thought it was an interesting casting choice when Jack Black got cast in King Kong. Remember that. Oh sure, imagine a he's in, sorry, playing Jack Black's character in that movie. It'd be really weird. And it's because I don't think he has the range. Jack Black probably has the range to do something like that. But and sorry, like I don't know, man, it's just he kind of type cast
himself and that's probably what he wanted to do. Yeah, you know, and and maybe we'll see another This is probably not the last we've seen then. Sorry, writing starring and directing in his own vehicle.
But I also will say, and I don't know Disease, right, I've never met him. But I also like, I think there's some people that are in Hollywood or in music, or in any of these major high profile positions that are there because they realize it's a way to make unlimited money. Like I don't think Kevin Hart does what he does to reinvent comedy. He's like, oh, I have nine figures.
Might no, But I mean, I don't think you need to be in the business to be a game changer. I think you can just be in the business because you enjoy doing it. But people are paying you on godly amounts of money to do it.
That's just it. Though I don't think Ausease is an artist. I think Jack Black is an artist. I think he actually tries to whether or not you.
Like it or not is a different Yes, that is another Madonna for I'd even say Jim carry Jim Carris an actor in Hollywood for a little But I'm not saying you can't make money and do it.
But I'm saying he's like, no, I'm doing this the way I want to do it, and it's going to be unique to me. And however that be. Jack Black can go in those rules, Jim Carrey can go in those Adam Sandler can go and.
One too, and like, but I would make the argument that who's the guy he's in Phantom Thread. There will be blood Lincoln. Why can I not think of this guy, big, huge, Hollywood.
What's his name? Hired? Yeah, it's like three names.
Daniel, Daniel Davids, Daniel da Lewis right. Yeah, that dude will will do things where he he will only do things if he feels creatively fulfilled, yes, and and he will not he won't do other things if he doesn't. I think if he doesn't feel like he's doing something noteworthy or meaningful, then he's not going to do it. There's other people and I would fall into this category. Oh hey, do you want me to work on this movie for six months? Where comedy and like, I've done
this type of movie before. But you're gonna pay me three million bucks or whatever? Yeah, I'm gonna do it. I don't I don't feel like you. I don't feel like you have to have a need to reinvent the game, to to be in the industry, to be looked upon favorably. I don't think it hurts. You know, there's you know, if people call me a sellout, if I was doing that, yeah,
I probably did sell out. The South Park guys. I think I told you about this, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, this is years ago, probably two decades ago, and somebody asked them if they had sold out, you know, and I can't. I don't know if it was with a bigger, longer on cut movie or Basketball or or Gasmo or whatever it was. But Trey Parker basically said, look, the plan all along was to sell out, like this is what we've been trying to do, and now we finally
have the opportunity. And you know what, they're worth one hundred thousand billion million dollars now, you know.
So exactly, And there's a sweet sput I just I.
Don't And by the way, they can still do stuff that I think they enjoy that makes them feel creatively fulfilled too. To give them their own self purpose, to give them their you know, their their own usefulness in society.
There's a very famous story. A lot of people will tell you he was a dick behind the scenes as well. But in the fourth Diehard movie, Live Free or Die Hard with Justin Long and all that, yeah, Bruce Willis was behind the scenes and he would tell people, I view myself as the keeper of the lore of John mclady. He said, the directors change, the writers change, the rest
of the cast changes. I'm always here doing this, and when something would happen out of character, he'd be like, no, this isn't what he would do when we're going to do this. I get that in the fifth one, which everyone would agree is by far the worst one.
Who is in that one Y Courtney when he goes his son and daughter yeah, and he goes.
Yeah, exactly, trash ass movie. He will go out and say, yeah, that was a paycheck movie. And you can tell in the way it kind of carries, and this is what he did. Another one right, No, and that's what the big blockbuster action movie that you wouldn't assume his art, you wouldn't assume you know, it's creative. But he took it seriously. And that's all I ever asked for in movies.
And again I do not know his ease, but he seems like somebody clinging, like trying to get in there, and he'll just I'll just throw crap at the wall, Like I said, you know.
You could make the case he's trying to get back yeah, and then once he gets back in there, it's whatever he can make his uncut gems.
But something like that, it genuinely felt like an episode of outside the box and all I ever do is scour the internet for people's lived experiences. And it seems like he did that and was like, I'm gonna just write a script. Are around that and like that? To me, it's nice. It felt like he was speaking to a real thing people were feeling. But like, is he an artist? Is it is that? Is this going to set the stage?
I don't expect to see him win an oscar anytime now, you know, Like that's kind of how I look at it.
Yeah, he's the voice thing. I need to keep coming back to it. But that prevents him from doing a lot of things. Yeah, it's the popular culture and in the film and television industry, which is fine. I mean we all get and and you know what, it makes him great as Tom and Parks.
And oh yeah he was on points.
Oh my god, he was awesome that. Yeah.
So, which that's a lot of sitcoms, like who from friends other than Jennifer Aniston really went on to do anything. Nobody because they were Chandler was Chandler. Phoebe feb Well.
Matthew Perry did go on to make some some movies.
They all did some stuff, but none of them were successful. Courtney Cox was in the screen movies, you know, Yeah, well that was successful. It was fine.
But I mean, I mean you could make the case of what did Jennifer Anderson do as as an actor after Friends? I mean, I I don't really put her at a level above any of these, I guess I mean the breakup with Vince Vaughn.
Yeah, the Horrible Bosses.
Horrible Bosses. What was the other one she did with Saedeikas. Yeah, they to Harvey.
Where the Millers. Yeah, I mean it's just like that.
That's whole nine yards, that's scream, that's You're not Rob and Michelle's high school regunion. That's all the same crap. Yeah, you're not wrong, it's ed. Remember matt leb with the Orangutan?
Oh yeah, and David swim anything. He was the husband in Six Days, Six.
Day, Seven Nights. He was in that. He did the goose Bumps, uh, which was good ship.
That was so good. I didn't see the second season. This was so good. He was.
He was really good in I can't remember what season. It was a Kirby Enthusiasm where he and Larry David were the producers.
Yeah.
But as far as films go. I feel like he was in some like he had these supporting role type things where and like, you know, serious roles. You know, it wasn't comedic.
And he was the star in an AMC show that only lasted one season. It was actually pretty legit, and it was it was what's the one with the dude where he's he works in the kitchen? That's like really, oh, the Bear? It was the Bear before it was the Bear. It was called like the Beast, and it was about two brothers to try and open a open a restaurant together and they essentially use mob money to kind of get a role.
Did he play both? Was it like a twin brothers?
Not that I don't remember who the supplemental rule was. I'll have to look that up. I peaked my interest and it never got a second season, so no one else cared. But I enjoyed the show.
Yeah, but you're right. I mean for film, I can't really.
But I say all that to say so saying a member of a sitcom really doesn't have a big future movies ahead, it is actually the norm rather than it is, because I'd argue Parks and rec while very funny and very popular, It's not what Friends or Seinfel was.
Chris Pratt turned into a pretty successful movie career. Yeah, Parks and rec Yeah, it can be done. It can't be Julia Louise Dreyfus, Julia Dreyfus that you could make the cases much more popular now after doing VP.
Now she's got this Marvel deal going, which it's only going to blow her up. So I mean, yeah, it can happen. It's not going to happen for his ease, but it can happen out there. I think we're all done here.
Yeah we are.
Yeah, next week, I'll be real with you. I'm down to still do this. What's it called Badega, But I'm down to do that. I will say so. The ticket taker at the at the theater has gotten to know me and we have conversations every time I go in now and I was like, you know this, this horror season is kind of sucked, and she's like, I agree, And this is the first movie that we have seen that she has not seen it. She's like, i've heard mixed reviews on this. I can't tell you if it's
good or not. And I was like yeah. She was like, I saw black Phone too, and then and this other one, and I was like, I honestly, god, I hated black Phone one. America loved that. She's like me too. She's like this second one had some Freddy Krueger in it. She's like, it was about your dreams and it was all this. I'm like, oh. I was like, well, you can talk me into that.
So here's the thing. If you want to do that, we can't. But when we kind of decided that you didn't want to do it, I went to Wikipedia because I'm like, I don't want to suck it, and I know what happens, all right, hold on, hold on, but I read it and she's not wrong with what she's telling you. Yeah, but I'm like, god, really, this is the movie that was my reaction, Okay, And I don't know.
Well, I'll tell you what. If you're listening to this, we're not committing right now.
We're not committing. We're going to figure this out off air, and you'll get a surprise next week.
Yeah, it'll be one of those two so you can limit it down. Then we'll see where we end up going with this. But you know, it is going to be Halloween week, and I feel like we're messing up here, but we do what we want. That's Eric Balkman aka Balkey. Catch him on w s c O Ben Govno's Outside the Box w HBIS. Thanks for listening, guys, this is off topic. We'll be back next week