#59 - My Cousin Vinny

[00:00:00] Properly Howard Movie Review, SteveAnthony

[00:00:26] Today we look at the 1992 courtroom comedy

[00:00:29] My Cousin Vinny

[00:00:31] My Cousin Vinny stars Joe Pesci as a lawyer trying his first case in an attempt to keep

[00:00:36] Daniel LaRusso out of a southern jail.

[00:00:40] With me to discuss this as always is Dr. Anthony Ladon, plus special guest and legal

[00:00:46] expert Larry Barrent.

[00:00:49] Yeah we thought that bringing on a lawyer would be a good idea.

[00:00:53] I feel like we should bring in an expert for every movie that we've seen right?

[00:00:56] Like an actual werewolf when we do Teen Wolf 2.

[00:00:59] Like for Nightmare Alley we bring in an actual geek.

[00:01:03] Or a baby in a jar.

[00:01:08] So today not just Steve and Anthony, but Anthony's friend Larry.

[00:01:15] Larry, I will start with this question.

[00:01:17] When I say the name Fred Gwynn what comes to mind?

[00:01:21] Herman Munster!

[00:01:23] Alright so for those of us who missed the Munsters can you please explain the Munsters?

[00:01:31] Well the Munsters were a mid 60's TV sitcom phenomenon where I don't know what network

[00:01:37] goes on but it was a response I think to the success of The Addams Family which

[00:01:42] was a better sitcom.

[00:01:45] But Fred Gwynn was a Frankenstein's monster kind of figure who lumbered around,

[00:01:51] it was sort of a goofball, well intentioned, perfect suburban neighbor except for the

[00:02:00] fact that he had bolts through his neck.

[00:02:03] And it was sort of a play on the general 1960's fear of nonconforming.

[00:02:10] But it was a passable sitcom and it ran for years and Fred Gwynn took advantage

[00:02:16] of his height I guess he was around 6'5".

[00:02:20] It was passable, not nearly as good a show as The Addams Family.

[00:02:23] Fascinating too that when a vampire and a Frankenstein's monster procreate they

[00:02:30] create werewolves.

[00:02:33] Yes, you know I hadn't thought about the biology of all of this.

[00:02:38] That's all I think about when I think about the Munsters is the biology.

[00:02:42] I think about them constantly consummating their marriage and then creating a werewolf

[00:02:47] Is this how it is?

[00:02:48] If we go back to Teen Wolf we can trace it to Robert De Niro as Frankenstein and pick

[00:02:56] a female vampire.

[00:02:57] Was Elvira the Princess of Darkness, was she a vampire or was she just kind of a

[00:03:02] freaky lady?

[00:03:03] Mistress of the Dark.

[00:03:06] Right.

[00:03:07] So she was the Dark's side piece.

[00:03:09] Well we never saw her in daylight.

[00:03:13] We never saw her eat so I think the question is, is this open?

[00:03:17] I don't think I ever watched her in daylight.

[00:03:19] In fact I believe I left the door locked and made sure no one could hear her.

[00:03:24] Good choice.

[00:03:25] Yeah.

[00:03:26] Watching classic movies mom!

[00:03:31] So for me I didn't really have the baggage of Fred Gwynn who plays the judge in

[00:03:38] My Cousin Vinny.

[00:03:40] Is that all you could think of when you watched Fred Gwynn in this movie Larry?

[00:03:44] No actually.

[00:03:47] I thought his performance was really good but the movie seems to take pains to try

[00:03:52] to avoid stereotyping Southerners.

[00:03:56] Fred Gwynn is a pretty solid judge.

[00:04:00] He's got his, I guess it was a Harvard diploma on the wall.

[00:04:03] It was Yale.

[00:04:04] It was Yale.

[00:04:05] Well okay.

[00:04:07] Maybe I'm giving him more credit than he deserves.

[00:04:10] I want you to know that this movie is important to me and it's important that we get that

[00:04:13] right.

[00:04:14] Thank you.

[00:04:15] I'm willing to stand corrected.

[00:04:18] But he's a good judge.

[00:04:19] You know I mean he makes one serious, probably reversible error towards the end

[00:04:25] of the trial but otherwise he's solid.

[00:04:29] He gives the obligatory speech about you know that we may be living in a small town but

[00:04:37] you know we have a sophisticated system of justice.

[00:04:40] They had to do that.

[00:04:41] And there's a big book.

[00:04:42] He gives Vinny a big old book on the procedures of Alabama law.

[00:04:48] Right and in the usual stereotype that would have been the only book on his bookshelf.

[00:04:53] And he had other books.

[00:04:55] Now does every state have a big book like that?

[00:04:58] Yes.

[00:04:59] Although I mean whether it's all encapsulated in one volume or not I couldn't tell you

[00:05:03] but every state has different criminal procedures.

[00:05:07] Steve what is your history with this movie?

[00:05:11] I watched it a bunch.

[00:05:16] I saw it.

[00:05:17] I think I saw it when it came out and I was also looking at the judge as Herman

[00:05:27] Munster as well as the neighbor in Pet Sematary.

[00:05:33] Oh that's right.

[00:05:36] It's a stall I'm coming.

[00:05:40] And I actually appreciate what you said Larry about the like I mean they definitely

[00:05:44] dip into the waters like the toe in the water of they're in the south and there's

[00:05:51] different rules and definitely the two Utes.

[00:05:57] Did you say Utes?

[00:05:58] Yeah two Utes.

[00:05:59] What is a Ute?

[00:06:01] Oh excuse me your honor two Utes.

[00:06:07] Have some feelings about the situation and they verbalize them and so like yeah it's

[00:06:14] played very carefully and I think and I don't and maybe that's to the movie's

[00:06:19] benefit because then it devolves and like almost like they have to play it safer

[00:06:24] with the stereotypes in order to make it so that he can win because if it

[00:06:31] really leans too far into kind of like the good old boy network then it

[00:06:35] almost seems like impossible that he would be able to get a fair trial out

[00:06:38] of it right.

[00:06:39] I was just grateful that all the witnesses had their teeth.

[00:06:43] Yeah maybe some extras in a bag.

[00:06:47] Right it's possible.

[00:06:49] You know of course the pains the movie took to avoid stereotyping southerners they

[00:06:54] sort of abandoned that idea when stereotyping people from Brooklyn.

[00:06:59] Right yeah.

[00:07:01] But that's okay.

[00:07:02] I'm going to push back on this.

[00:07:04] I think that there's quite a bit of stereotyping in this movie.

[00:07:07] I was watching the the Siskel Ebert review of this movie and Siskel makes much

[00:07:13] the same point he says look the people in Alabama are not fools and even though

[00:07:19] Vinnie is kind of a novice to the law he's not a fool either.

[00:07:24] And so there's some sort of cultural misunderstandings that happen but it

[00:07:30] doesn't fall into these stereotypes.

[00:07:34] But I think that there's quite a few stereotypes that are being used.

[00:07:39] None of these people on the stand are the sharpest knives in the drawer.

[00:07:44] The guy who wants to fight Vinnie clearly this guy's got mental struggles.

[00:07:50] The judge for all of his is you know good sense he gets fooled he gets conned

[00:07:54] in the end.

[00:07:56] I mean these people in Alabama are not being shown in the best light in my

[00:08:00] mind.

[00:08:01] No I mean again like I said I think I think I think there definitely is

[00:08:06] stereotyping going on that's necessary.

[00:08:09] But but it could have been it could have certainly leaned into it a whole lot

[00:08:13] more.

[00:08:14] In fact I found it surprising at times that they didn't really go like yeah

[00:08:17] okay so he they play certain characters as simple but at the same

[00:08:22] time there are a few of them are fairly adept at the same tokens and

[00:08:27] you know then they play with the Brooklyn thing quite a bit.

[00:08:29] I mean it's it relies heavily on on stereotypes but I don't think it's

[00:08:36] pushing the boundaries of them.

[00:08:38] Well it's a fish out of water comedy right.

[00:08:41] And so you should expect the differences to be exaggerated.

[00:08:44] I think you're supposed to allow for a bit of that here and there and also

[00:08:50] the cultural differences kind of come up in the movie as well.

[00:08:54] I'll just play this clip here.

[00:08:55] How do you cook your grits.

[00:08:56] You like them regular creamy or al dente.

[00:09:02] Just regular I guess.

[00:09:04] Regular.

[00:09:05] Instinct grits.

[00:09:06] No self-respecting southerner uses instinct grits.

[00:09:09] I take pride in my grits.

[00:09:12] So Mr. Tipton how could it take you five minutes to cook your grits when it

[00:09:19] takes the entire grit eating world 20 minutes.

[00:09:26] I don't know.

[00:09:27] I'm a fast cook I guess.

[00:09:29] I'm sorry I was all the way over here I couldn't hear you.

[00:09:31] Did you say you're a fast cook.

[00:09:32] That's it.

[00:09:34] Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen

[00:09:40] than on any place on the face of the earth.

[00:09:44] I don't know.

[00:09:45] Well perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove.

[00:09:50] Especially one of the great yellers.

[00:09:53] Just one of the best yellers ever.

[00:09:56] It's also a terrific cross-examination.

[00:09:59] Say more.

[00:10:00] Well first of all he makes.

[00:10:02] Wait a second.

[00:10:03] I'm all the way over here.

[00:10:04] I didn't hear you.

[00:10:05] Did you say that?

[00:10:07] Makes him repeat the statement.

[00:10:11] He never says it's impossible.

[00:10:14] You could not have cooked your grits in five minutes.

[00:10:16] He just strikes it out to absurdity.

[00:10:22] This is actually one of the strange things that I found out is that this

[00:10:25] movie is practically beloved in the legal community.

[00:10:29] They use that clip is used in law schools to illustrate good cross

[00:10:35] examination technique.

[00:10:37] It actually is but it's a very effective cross-examination.

[00:10:40] I mean it's comical but he doesn't accuse him of lying.

[00:10:46] Doesn't repeat the statements that they don't come out ridiculous has

[00:10:49] him come to the conclusion that maybe he was wrong.

[00:10:52] You know I'm in the middle of a conversation with a lawyer.

[00:10:55] You know I'm in I'm in XXX eternity because I quit the practice a number of

[00:10:59] times and got dragged back into it but I never never went to court.

[00:11:04] So I can't say oh yeah this is what I would have done.

[00:11:07] But it's extremely effective.

[00:11:09] It's also it's very entertaining.

[00:11:11] This I mean for me the first half of this movie is passable.

[00:11:17] The second half of the movie around the trial is very enjoyable.

[00:11:21] So this is kind of a double fish out of water thing because Tomei and Pesci

[00:11:26] are strangers in a strange land because they're in Alabama.

[00:11:30] But in addition to that Pesci is a stranger to the courtroom and a

[00:11:34] strange to the procedures and customs of the courtroom.

[00:11:38] And so even though you might not be from Brooklyn and may not

[00:11:43] immediately identify with this person almost every person watching

[00:11:47] this movie is not a legal expert.

[00:11:49] So you are watch you are learning legal procedure as Pesci

[00:11:54] learns legal procedure.

[00:11:56] Yes you've got that absolutely right.

[00:11:59] Obviously for me this movie should have been called my cousin Vinny's

[00:12:02] fiance because without Marissa Tomei I don't see that anybody's going

[00:12:07] to watch it the second time.

[00:12:08] That's going to be the sequel.

[00:12:11] Well it would be my cousin Vinny's ex-wife.

[00:12:14] Let's be honest.

[00:12:15] Yes that relationship is let's say improbable.

[00:12:20] They enjoy each other.

[00:12:21] I'll give them that much.

[00:12:22] Larry in your legal opinion how realistic is it that a 49 year old

[00:12:27] Joe Pesci pulls a 28 year old Marissa Tomei in her prime?

[00:12:31] Well I think she was 24 so let's see if we can clearly use the

[00:12:36] twice her age.

[00:12:38] You weren't 24 when you got married.

[00:12:40] You were in the 20s.

[00:12:41] I clearly used the twice her age.

[00:12:44] You weren't fooled by that streak of gray hair in Tomei's wig?

[00:12:49] That was hairdressing.

[00:12:51] I mean that's Brooklyn hairdressing.

[00:12:54] I don't think she's trying to look older.

[00:12:57] Oh really?

[00:12:58] Okay.

[00:12:59] I mean Ralph Macchio is seven years older than Marissa Tomei when

[00:13:03] that movie is made.

[00:13:06] And I wouldn't imagine Pesci could get him either.

[00:13:09] So I want to talk about this.

[00:13:14] So Larry and I were talking earlier about the fact that the

[00:13:18] original person meant for this role was Andrew Dice Clay.

[00:13:24] Oh wow.

[00:13:25] And I've always kind of been fascinated by him not because

[00:13:29] I enjoy his comedy but because a Jewish guy who kind of puts

[00:13:36] on something of a Goomba affect.

[00:13:41] Is that fair to say?

[00:13:44] It's fair enough to say that I didn't know Andrew Dice Clay

[00:13:46] was Jewish.

[00:13:47] I guess Clay offended someone who was.

[00:13:51] I think he had some movie that came out that absolutely

[00:13:56] bombed.

[00:13:57] Oh is that right?

[00:13:58] Adventures of Ford Fairlane.

[00:14:00] Right.

[00:14:01] I mean I'm sure that Andrew Dice Clay offended whoever he

[00:14:03] needed to offend long before Ford Fairlane came out.

[00:14:07] That was not enough to keep Hollywood from putting him in

[00:14:09] a movie.

[00:14:11] You keep him out of the movie because he doesn't make money

[00:14:13] for you.

[00:14:14] So to me that would be interesting because this was

[00:14:17] kind of still the era of movie making when any kind of

[00:14:22] Mediterranean ethnicity could play any other kind of

[00:14:26] Mediterranean ethnicity.

[00:14:28] So sometimes you had Jews playing Italian, sometimes you

[00:14:33] had Italians playing Jews.

[00:14:35] Sometimes Mickey Rooney plays a Chinese guy.

[00:14:40] Well that's a different thing altogether I suppose.

[00:14:44] You know famously Arthur Franzarelli right?

[00:14:48] Right.

[00:14:49] It's like that character although of Jewish heritage

[00:14:54] if he's going to be the quirky but cool next door

[00:15:00] neighbor he has to take on an Italian last name.

[00:15:05] In other words I think at that point in time having it for

[00:15:09] Winkler to play a Jew in that affect probably wouldn't

[00:15:14] have worked.

[00:15:16] The relative paucity of Jewish greasers in the 1950s may

[00:15:20] have something to do with this.

[00:15:23] Oh really?

[00:15:25] I don't know about this.

[00:15:26] That's my favorite thing I've heard on this podcast.

[00:15:29] Billy Joel doesn't count?

[00:15:31] No Billy Joel doesn't count.

[00:15:38] I remember growing up in the suburbs outside of New York

[00:15:42] City being a Jewish kid and realizing that as far as

[00:15:49] like my musical heroes went I could never aspire to

[00:15:52] black but perhaps aspiring to Italian was within my reach.

[00:15:57] No one ever said aspiring to Italian before you just

[00:16:00] said it just now.

[00:16:02] I will tell you that's because you grew up in

[00:16:04] Sebastopol California where no one saw Italian.

[00:16:11] We just saw people.

[00:16:13] Absolutely.

[00:16:14] I mean I knew I couldn't be Smokey Robinson but

[00:16:17] Frankie Valli was perhaps within my reach.

[00:16:21] Okay.

[00:16:23] So all right.

[00:16:24] Believable that Italian kid and Jewish kid at NYU

[00:16:29] are driving across the country together.

[00:16:32] You've mentioned a huge plot point for me.

[00:16:35] One of the points where I get lost which is how

[00:16:39] in the world are two New York kids driving to

[00:16:42] UCLA via the back roads of Alabama?

[00:16:47] This is pre-map quest.

[00:16:50] I would imagine that's true.

[00:16:53] There's a lot of setup in this movie to get to

[00:16:57] the trial which is where we want to get which is

[00:17:01] where we have all our fun.

[00:17:03] The setup that this Yale educated judge is going

[00:17:08] to be fooled by Vinnie's story that oh yeah

[00:17:10] well they know me in New York by my stage name.

[00:17:15] I'll believe that.

[00:17:17] Where the judge is otherwise just you know he's

[00:17:21] sharp as a tack on everything else.

[00:17:23] There's a lot of work that's happening to set

[00:17:25] this up and some of the work is not believable.

[00:17:31] It's a movie so you have to go along with

[00:17:34] some of this but there's an interstate highway

[00:17:38] system.

[00:17:40] You can't get into the movie without the

[00:17:42] system.

[00:17:44] You don't have to drive through the soap and

[00:17:49] suds or whatever it was.

[00:17:54] Maybe you think it was a laundromat but I

[00:17:56] think they were referring to beer with the

[00:17:58] suds.

[00:17:59] I think it was yeah suds is a word for

[00:18:01] beer but I was thinking at one point

[00:18:04] Maccio says we decided to drive south because

[00:18:07] the weather would be better.

[00:18:09] It has been my experience that the weather

[00:18:12] in Alabama is not usually better than

[00:18:14] anywhere else.

[00:18:18] Steve tell me if there was a trope or a

[00:18:22] device or a cliche in this movie that you

[00:18:24] enjoyed.

[00:18:29] Well the aforementioned stereotypes.

[00:18:31] You loved all of them.

[00:18:34] Yeah I liked.

[00:18:36] I actually really enjoyed a lot of the

[00:18:42] performances.

[00:18:43] I know that's not a trope or a cliche but

[00:18:45] I mean even in terms of some of the

[00:18:48] stereotype because I thought like I said

[00:18:49] I think it was handled a little gentler.

[00:18:51] I think they didn't want to make like

[00:18:54] if they painted the south with a super

[00:18:56] broad brush that it can be done a lot

[00:19:00] then you don't have an intriguing back

[00:19:02] and forth.

[00:19:03] You don't have a logical legal foil.

[00:19:08] I thought the prosecutor like his

[00:19:14] methods his sort of like preacher style

[00:19:16] approach to the jury that was one of my

[00:19:18] favorite kind of like tropes I guess

[00:19:22] you could say because he just was so

[00:19:24] kind of down home folks but breaking

[00:19:26] down the law in such a way and kind

[00:19:28] of like meeting them where they're at.

[00:19:30] There was just a little bit of little

[00:19:32] pageantry that went with it that I

[00:19:33] really this is this leads right into one

[00:19:35] of my favorites.

[00:19:36] I love a movie with it does a little bit

[00:19:38] of etymological research on the origin

[00:19:43] of a word.

[00:19:44] You're the jury it's your job to

[00:19:46] decide who's telling the truth truth.

[00:19:49] That's what verdict means so word

[00:19:52] comes down from old England and all

[00:19:54] our little old ancestors and all

[00:19:57] our little little land ancestors.

[00:19:59] One of my least favorite things

[00:20:02] about this movie that I really

[00:20:03] disliked was they decided to make fun

[00:20:06] of a stutterer.

[00:20:08] That's very uncomfortable.

[00:20:11] Okay I have to watch as someone who

[00:20:14] does stutter from time to time when

[00:20:16] I get tired.

[00:20:18] I thought he had one of the funniest

[00:20:20] lines so I'm going to play this

[00:20:21] little bit of the end of his

[00:20:24] opening arguments.

[00:20:26] The line that I love is the last

[00:20:29] line.

[00:20:29] Thank you.

[00:20:30] That's it.

[00:20:32] What about everything we talked about?

[00:20:33] Well I get a little nervous.

[00:20:34] A little nervous.

[00:20:35] I'm getting better.

[00:20:38] I'm getting better.

[00:20:41] I laugh every time.

[00:20:45] Both of these lawyers are kind of

[00:20:47] learning as they go I suppose.

[00:20:49] Well if it's your choice if you're

[00:20:52] if you are accused of first degree

[00:20:56] murder these are the choices of

[00:21:00] the attorneys that you have that

[00:21:01] you can afford.

[00:21:02] All right so you studied law

[00:21:04] Georgetown Larry.

[00:21:06] Did they not teach procedure?

[00:21:09] Like is that a believable premise

[00:21:11] that someone like Vinnie would

[00:21:12] have no clue at all what an

[00:21:14] arraignment is or disclosure or

[00:21:16] anything like that?

[00:21:17] No no I mean there it certainly

[00:21:20] is true that law school fails

[00:21:22] to teach you a large number of

[00:21:25] the practical skills that you're

[00:21:26] going to need to practice and

[00:21:28] practice successfully.

[00:21:30] You know again I spent a lot of my

[00:21:32] legal career drafting contracts

[00:21:34] and we never never never came up

[00:21:37] in law school you know how to

[00:21:40] open up a documented word and

[00:21:42] begin to draft a contract.

[00:21:44] We certainly read a lot of cases

[00:21:45] about contracts that that failed

[00:21:48] and contracts that almost failed

[00:21:50] but there are a lot of practical

[00:21:52] skills.

[00:21:52] I mean these things the skills

[00:21:54] that Vinnie shows in created cross

[00:21:55] examination are generally don't

[00:21:59] come up except maybe in a

[00:22:02] internship or you know something

[00:22:04] along those lines.

[00:22:05] It's a major major problem.

[00:22:07] You're going when Vinnie says

[00:22:08] look you know you're going to join

[00:22:09] a firm and they're going to teach

[00:22:11] you how to do these things.

[00:22:12] Right that's absolutely right.

[00:22:15] By my faith in our legal system

[00:22:18] is a little bit less just a tiny

[00:22:21] bit less now.

[00:22:23] But I think for you know for me

[00:22:25] that's one of the best things

[00:22:26] about the movie is that it makes

[00:22:29] a comic situation you know out

[00:22:31] of something that's that's a real

[00:22:33] problem that finding you know

[00:22:38] finding competent affordable legal

[00:22:40] representation is it was a huge

[00:22:42] issue in 1992.

[00:22:43] It's a huge issue in 2024.

[00:22:46] We have not made any effort to

[00:22:48] solve it.

[00:22:49] Uh we haven't talked about Marissa

[00:22:51] Tome yet very much.

[00:22:53] She wins the best supporting

[00:22:56] actor for this in a female role

[00:22:57] for this and which which seems

[00:23:01] odd right.

[00:23:04] I don't know why is that odd.

[00:23:06] Why is she not the leading

[00:23:07] actress in this movie.

[00:23:08] Why is she a supporting act.

[00:23:10] My understanding of of your you

[00:23:12] know lead actor and then

[00:23:14] supporting actor there's a star

[00:23:16] or there's a main actor and

[00:23:18] then there's another actor that

[00:23:19] kind of follows alongside.

[00:23:21] And since this is all divided by

[00:23:24] gender then Marissa Tome would

[00:23:26] be the supporting actress and

[00:23:28] somewhere there must be a leading

[00:23:29] actress in this film.

[00:23:30] So my feeling is is that in

[00:23:32] order to like they weren't going

[00:23:34] to give her a lead actress like

[00:23:38] she didn't have a shot maybe

[00:23:39] against the lead actresses but

[00:23:40] they wanted to acknowledge her

[00:23:42] but they give her a supporting

[00:23:43] actress role and so it's just a

[00:23:44] very interesting concept that

[00:23:47] really she's like the primary

[00:23:48] female like period in this movie

[00:23:51] yet she's considered a

[00:23:52] supporting actress.

[00:23:54] Sure she supports the lead but

[00:23:56] like that's not that's not

[00:23:58] typically how the categories

[00:23:59] work it in to my understanding.

[00:24:01] Yeah I think there's also a

[00:24:03] question of screen time like

[00:24:05] depending on how much the

[00:24:06] person is on screen can they be

[00:24:08] considered supporting or not.

[00:24:12] I mean she's in a lot of the

[00:24:13] movie.

[00:24:14] The other thing I was thinking

[00:24:15] was that it's it's rare for a

[00:24:18] comedy to win any Oscar.

[00:24:21] Well especially in one of these

[00:24:22] big categories there had been

[00:24:24] like I think you would see

[00:24:25] comedies would get the

[00:24:27] supporting actor or actress nod

[00:24:30] like that it always seems to

[00:24:31] be I remember Kevin Klein

[00:24:34] getting it for A Fish Called

[00:24:37] Wanda right.

[00:24:40] You would see you would see

[00:24:42] like the it appears that

[00:24:44] the Academy doesn't really

[00:24:45] usually give a lot of attention

[00:24:47] to comedies and if but if there

[00:24:49] is a performance that kind of is

[00:24:50] a standout they will kind of

[00:24:54] put it in that supporting role.

[00:24:55] Like we're not going to get one

[00:24:56] of the big we're not going to

[00:24:57] give one of the big ones but

[00:24:58] you know we'll get we'll get

[00:25:00] some acknowledgement so I kind

[00:25:01] of feel like that was in that

[00:25:02] same strategic play by the

[00:25:05] Academy.

[00:25:06] I think she's amazing.

[00:25:08] I think she's amazing in this

[00:25:09] movie.

[00:25:09] I love her.

[00:25:10] You were reading this book?

[00:25:13] Yeah.

[00:25:13] Do me a favor okay.

[00:25:15] Don't read this book.

[00:25:17] Okay.

[00:25:18] Thank you very much.

[00:25:19] All right.

[00:25:22] Don't you want to know why

[00:25:23] Trotter gave you his files?

[00:25:25] I told you why already.

[00:25:27] He has to by law you're

[00:25:29] entitled it's called

[00:25:30] disclosure dickhead.

[00:25:35] I would love to have a law

[00:25:37] class taught by Marissa Tome.

[00:25:40] You missed the best scene

[00:25:43] you know outside of the of her

[00:25:45] performance on the witness stand

[00:25:47] which I could watch once a week.

[00:25:49] Yeah.

[00:25:49] She's happy laughing her tears

[00:25:51] every week is that she she

[00:25:55] should be known as having

[00:25:57] performed in the sexiest scene

[00:25:59] involving a conversation about

[00:26:01] a torque wrench.

[00:26:04] It's their little it's an

[00:26:06] interesting little role playing

[00:26:07] game they like to argue about

[00:26:09] plumbing but not just plumbing

[00:26:11] it's the science of plumbing

[00:26:13] that really gets them both hot.

[00:26:16] I love when she picks up the

[00:26:17] copy of people magazine

[00:26:19] pretending it's actually like

[00:26:21] the Sears catalog of plumbing

[00:26:23] equipment.

[00:26:26] It's so effective and it's

[00:26:29] the only scene in the movie

[00:26:30] where the two of them show

[00:26:31] sort of a real sexual

[00:26:33] chemistry I mean as close as

[00:26:34] they're going to get.

[00:26:35] Yeah.

[00:26:36] I love that scene.

[00:26:38] Yeah and that's sort of

[00:26:40] really on that border.

[00:26:42] It's like it's a little

[00:26:44] uncomfortable watching Pesci

[00:26:45] with this young woman and

[00:26:49] the other thing is it's

[00:26:50] uncomfortable is just

[00:26:53] just the wig like the Pesci

[00:26:55] wig that was that was really

[00:27:00] distracting the entire movie.

[00:27:04] I don't know if I I don't

[00:27:05] know if I can remember a

[00:27:06] more distracting wig.

[00:27:09] Well they have to do

[00:27:11] something to make him look

[00:27:12] different than in Goodfellas

[00:27:15] or the other movies he's

[00:27:16] typically in.

[00:27:17] Are we going to have a

[00:27:17] conversation by the way about

[00:27:19] the names of the characters

[00:27:20] in this movie?

[00:27:23] Before we get there.

[00:27:26] I don't know what you say

[00:27:28] time out you know we're

[00:27:29] done and then we haven't

[00:27:30] cut.

[00:27:31] That's kind of free flowing

[00:27:33] here but I do want to

[00:27:35] discuss the wig a little bit

[00:27:37] more here because it's

[00:27:40] horrendous.

[00:27:41] It's repulsive and I'm not

[00:27:44] sure what's happening with

[00:27:45] the side of his eyes like

[00:27:47] at one point I thought

[00:27:48] does he like have his face

[00:27:49] taped up and the wig is

[00:27:50] supposed to cover the

[00:27:51] tape or something?

[00:27:53] Did that occur to either

[00:27:54] of you?

[00:27:55] He did have kind of slanted

[00:27:58] eyes in one of his sort

[00:28:01] of profiles so it's it's

[00:28:04] possible I hadn't thought

[00:28:05] about maybe I've just

[00:28:07] never seen him from that

[00:28:08] angle before and that's how

[00:28:09] we looked.

[00:28:10] Yeah I went and watched

[00:28:12] Goodfellas again just to

[00:28:13] see like is that always

[00:28:14] the case or what's going

[00:28:16] on there?

[00:28:18] Seeing him and then we're

[00:28:19] did and I had the same

[00:28:20] feeling I think back when

[00:28:22] I first saw it which is

[00:28:23] are they trying to make

[00:28:24] him look younger?

[00:28:27] You know like is he

[00:28:28] because it's okay I mean

[00:28:31] like on one hand it's

[00:28:32] fine if he's 49 and that

[00:28:34] would actually you know

[00:28:35] sort of amplify his

[00:28:39] failure and trying to turn

[00:28:42] into a lawyer late in life

[00:28:43] or whatever but I couldn't

[00:28:46] quite tell because of the

[00:28:49] because of Marissa Tomei's

[00:28:50] age and he was certainly

[00:28:53] spry enough to like leap

[00:28:55] oddly into the air to

[00:28:57] punch JT.

[00:29:00] Yeah I mean like I don't

[00:29:01] like I don't know too

[00:29:02] many 49 year olds that

[00:29:03] can get off a one foot

[00:29:05] that way and so I didn't

[00:29:08] I couldn't tell if the

[00:29:08] wig so if the wig was

[00:29:10] like you kind of go

[00:29:11] through like a lot of

[00:29:14] different emotions about

[00:29:14] the wig like is are we

[00:29:16] supposed to just know

[00:29:17] it's a wig?

[00:29:17] You know what I mean?

[00:29:18] Because it's so obviously

[00:29:19] a wig so then it's

[00:29:20] like is that part of his

[00:29:21] thing is he trying to

[00:29:22] look is it supposed to be

[00:29:23] looking younger or are we

[00:29:25] just supposed to just

[00:29:25] assume this is fine?

[00:29:27] I don't know.

[00:29:29] I just assumed and I'll

[00:29:30] take your word for it

[00:29:31] Larry that this was sort

[00:29:32] of style in Brooklyn in

[00:29:34] the early 90s but I just

[00:29:35] assumed that they tried

[00:29:36] to put that streak of white

[00:29:38] in Tomei's hair to make

[00:29:40] her look older and then

[00:29:41] gave him that black wig

[00:29:43] to try to make him look

[00:29:44] younger.

[00:29:46] Neither worked if that

[00:29:48] was the intention.

[00:29:50] True.

[00:29:52] Anyway their chemistry is

[00:29:53] off the charts even with

[00:29:56] that major problem and I

[00:30:00] think it probably mostly

[00:30:01] has to do with Tomei.

[00:30:03] I agree she was terrific

[00:30:05] in this movie.

[00:30:06] She could have easily sunk

[00:30:10] into some kind of a you know

[00:30:12] a cliched lower middle

[00:30:14] class sort of like a bimbo

[00:30:18] kind of a figure.

[00:30:20] And instead we have this

[00:30:21] feeling of somebody whose

[00:30:23] intelligence and talents

[00:30:25] have barely been explored yet.

[00:30:29] Well and she falls into

[00:30:30] that kind of non-traditional

[00:30:31] the non-traditional thing

[00:30:32] has played up when she

[00:30:34] becomes the automotive

[00:30:35] expert right.

[00:30:37] Right.

[00:30:39] You know the unwitting

[00:30:41] unwilling automotive expert

[00:30:44] but she's also got that

[00:30:46] she can combine that with

[00:30:47] that scene where she's

[00:30:49] stopping her foot on the

[00:30:51] porch and talking about

[00:30:52] the thinking of her

[00:30:53] biological clock and it

[00:30:55] all works and it's all one

[00:30:56] person and it's all

[00:30:57] believable.

[00:30:59] And she's just she's a

[00:31:01] delight to watch.

[00:31:05] It kind of plays a little

[00:31:06] bit with some of the

[00:31:08] many films around this time

[00:31:10] I think portray this

[00:31:13] these types of people

[00:31:14] in a mafia setting

[00:31:17] right whether it's

[00:31:18] whether it's played

[00:31:18] seriously or for laughs.

[00:31:20] So we see but so it's

[00:31:21] kind of it's a fun

[00:31:24] little twist in a way

[00:31:24] especially because it is

[00:31:25] peshy to be playing

[00:31:28] it and they're the

[00:31:29] side of justice.

[00:31:31] And so they get

[00:31:34] to have a little more fun

[00:31:35] with some of the

[00:31:35] the tropey things where

[00:31:36] like OK like she

[00:31:37] she kind of comes off

[00:31:38] like we've seen in

[00:31:39] movies like Married to the Mob

[00:31:41] and things like that.

[00:31:43] Yet she's there

[00:31:45] there's much more

[00:31:46] interesting aspects to them

[00:31:47] other than just sort of

[00:31:48] this underworld there

[00:31:50] they're trying they're

[00:31:51] just trying to figure

[00:31:51] things out so they just

[00:31:52] actually just people

[00:31:54] and just trying their

[00:31:56] best.

[00:31:56] And I think that that's

[00:31:57] kind of a fun angle

[00:31:58] and so we get to

[00:32:00] to see the kind of

[00:32:02] the mob boss wife

[00:32:05] but in a more nuanced

[00:32:07] way in a way that is

[00:32:09] it has more depth

[00:32:10] and has more personality

[00:32:12] and a lot more agency.

[00:32:13] And I'm glad you brought

[00:32:15] in the mafia part of this

[00:32:16] because I think this movie

[00:32:17] doesn't really work

[00:32:18] unless you have a history

[00:32:21] with this particular

[00:32:23] kind of culture.

[00:32:26] I kind of feel like

[00:32:27] if you are living outside

[00:32:28] of New York in the 80s

[00:32:31] and early 90s

[00:32:33] the only actors you've seen

[00:32:35] take on this affect

[00:32:36] and put on this

[00:32:37] particular kind of performance

[00:32:40] are in gangster movies.

[00:32:42] And so it's kind of

[00:32:45] funny to see that person

[00:32:47] in this new context

[00:32:49] but there's no suggestion

[00:32:51] that these are criminals

[00:32:54] they just happen to

[00:32:56] work at this

[00:32:58] her dad's car shop.

[00:32:59] So this is kind of this

[00:33:01] honestly this was kind of

[00:33:02] a revelation to me

[00:33:03] because most of the Italians

[00:33:06] I had seen in film

[00:33:07] up until this point

[00:33:09] were in movies that I loved

[00:33:10] but they were basically criminals

[00:33:12] or they were either criminals

[00:33:15] or not too bright.

[00:33:17] So that was sort of

[00:33:19] the typical and I think

[00:33:20] that there's something

[00:33:21] about the accent

[00:33:22] that reads as not

[00:33:26] well-educated I suppose.

[00:33:27] And hygiene plays a role.

[00:33:33] All right so Larry

[00:33:34] let's hear about

[00:33:35] the names of this movie.

[00:33:37] You've got Vinnie who

[00:33:39] as far as I know

[00:33:40] is the only character

[00:33:41] in the movies who's

[00:33:43] named after both a gangster

[00:33:45] and an airport.

[00:33:46] He's Vincent

[00:33:47] with already a gay beanie

[00:33:50] and I had to go online

[00:33:51] to remember oh it was Gambeano

[00:33:54] was the was the mobster family.

[00:33:59] And Mona Lisa Vito

[00:34:02] we don't I don't think

[00:34:03] we hear her name

[00:34:04] that full name

[00:34:05] until later in the movie

[00:34:09] but it's perfect.

[00:34:11] I now regret I never dated

[00:34:14] the girl named Mona Lisa.

[00:34:17] I just think it should have

[00:34:19] been part of my experience.

[00:34:21] It's too late now.

[00:34:25] Then the Jewish kid

[00:34:27] I guess they decided

[00:34:28] that Rosen and Rothstein

[00:34:30] weren't sufficiently Jewish names

[00:34:32] so they came up with Rothenstein

[00:34:34] which I didn't even think

[00:34:35] was a real name

[00:34:36] I had to go look it up there.

[00:34:38] It's not common

[00:34:40] but it sits there.

[00:34:43] I guess you know he's Jewish

[00:34:44] and he once says the word putz.

[00:34:47] Otherwise otherwise

[00:34:48] I don't think he does anything

[00:34:51] demonstrably Jewish in the movie.

[00:34:52] I don't know about that.

[00:34:53] Like I there were a few times

[00:34:56] when he's discussing

[00:34:57] the the ineptitude of Vinnie early on.

[00:35:02] He wants where he.

[00:35:04] Yeah a little bit

[00:35:05] but also I mean

[00:35:07] to me he's believably Jewish

[00:35:09] in not just in terms of like

[00:35:11] the way he's whining

[00:35:12] but also a sense of humor.

[00:35:14] Well the only person

[00:35:15] in the movie that complaints

[00:35:16] about the lack of Chinese food

[00:35:18] in Alabama is Rosatome.

[00:35:21] I didn't even know Italians

[00:35:22] like Chinese food.

[00:35:24] This is a revelation to me.

[00:35:26] It's like I consider myself

[00:35:27] to be culturally enlightened.

[00:35:31] That's the cleanest prison

[00:35:33] that I've ever seen in a movie.

[00:35:35] The prison where is is top notch.

[00:35:40] It's fantastic.

[00:35:41] Everything's white.

[00:35:42] It looks like the thing

[00:35:43] that was just built like two days ago

[00:35:46] and the Italians in this film

[00:35:48] love to sleep in the prison.

[00:35:49] That's really the only place

[00:35:50] that they can sleep.

[00:35:54] That's a good joke.

[00:35:55] I love that.

[00:35:57] I absolutely love

[00:35:59] to see a prison movie.

[00:36:01] Like I love to see

[00:36:03] like the inside the prison

[00:36:05] what the prison culture is like.

[00:36:06] This movie does none of that.

[00:36:08] For all we know

[00:36:09] the prison was the safest place

[00:36:12] in all of Alabama.

[00:36:13] Well the throw against surrealism

[00:36:15] in here.

[00:36:16] Defendants before a criminal trial

[00:36:18] are not generally held

[00:36:19] in a state lockdown prison.

[00:36:23] But for murder.

[00:36:26] Even for murder.

[00:36:26] Really?

[00:36:28] It's not the usual thing.

[00:36:30] There's usually a county jail

[00:36:31] it's going to be more convenient

[00:36:34] while we're at it.

[00:36:35] The fact that Joe Pesci

[00:36:37] initially visits the two youths

[00:36:40] in their jail cell.

[00:36:41] That doesn't happen.

[00:36:42] Well you had that

[00:36:43] little misunderstanding

[00:36:45] poor Rothenstein feels like

[00:36:47] Pesci is there to dominate him.

[00:36:51] That's pretty amazing.

[00:36:52] That joke goes on

[00:36:53] a little bit too long?

[00:36:55] Yes it goes

[00:36:57] it shouldn't have started

[00:36:58] it was too long.

[00:36:59] I mean again that's another

[00:37:02] you have that in the

[00:37:03] and then the stuttering

[00:37:04] public defender word.

[00:37:06] Two scenes I just

[00:37:07] gripped my teeth through.

[00:37:08] I mean oh please.

[00:37:10] I don't have to see this again.

[00:37:12] I kind of liked it

[00:37:13] when he said I think

[00:37:14] you should show me a little gratitude

[00:37:16] and Rothenstein says.

[00:37:19] Boy the ego on you.

[00:37:21] All right I'll write

[00:37:24] the dissenting opinion on that scene.

[00:37:25] Okay right Larry was there

[00:37:29] a trope a cliche or device

[00:37:32] in this movie that you enjoyed?

[00:37:35] Oh that's a really good question.

[00:37:41] I think actually the trope

[00:37:42] or cliche I always enjoy is

[00:37:45] when the camera will cut

[00:37:48] to the face of an affirming

[00:37:51] black character to let us know

[00:37:53] that yes what we just saw

[00:37:54] was this was something good.

[00:37:56] Yeah sure.

[00:37:57] Like the camera would

[00:37:59] occasionally cut to the black

[00:38:00] bailiff in court rope

[00:38:01] and if he would smile or nod his head.

[00:38:05] The bailiff in this movie is

[00:38:06] it could be like could host

[00:38:08] his own children's program.

[00:38:10] He's totally happy

[00:38:12] his mustache is perfect

[00:38:14] and he almost has like

[00:38:17] a moonlight graham smile.

[00:38:18] It's like when he smiles

[00:38:20] you could almost imagine

[00:38:21] a little like ting

[00:38:23] like twinkle in his eye.

[00:38:25] The same thing comes up

[00:38:26] when Marissa Chabet mentions

[00:38:27] Alabama mud on the you know

[00:38:30] in her testimony

[00:38:31] and they cut to the jury

[00:38:32] and all the black jurors

[00:38:33] are nodding up and down saying

[00:38:35] yep we know what you mean.

[00:38:39] I mean it's very cliched

[00:38:42] and it just totally works for me.

[00:38:45] For me it's a cliched way

[00:38:47] of efficiently telling the audience

[00:38:51] this is effective

[00:38:52] this is landed

[00:38:53] this is true

[00:38:56] because the white character

[00:38:58] has gotten across something

[00:39:00] to a black character.

[00:39:01] So it must be effective communication

[00:39:03] to have gotten over the racial barrier.

[00:39:06] Also I think that there's

[00:39:08] for a lot of folks

[00:39:09] the southern accent

[00:39:11] you know you're not sure

[00:39:12] that you can trust it.

[00:39:13] Like how many times have we seen

[00:39:15] the southern accent in a movie

[00:39:17] that is voiced by a villain?

[00:39:20] So if it is a southern lawyer

[00:39:23] maybe we need that additional affirmation.

[00:39:27] Well we've got southern accents

[00:39:29] versus Brooklyn accents

[00:39:30] in this movie

[00:39:30] and I think I think Brooklyn won

[00:39:34] in sense of being

[00:39:36] being less trustworthy

[00:39:38] more exotic

[00:39:40] and potentially less intelligent

[00:39:43] or more ignorant.

[00:39:46] And of course having practiced

[00:39:48] in New York City

[00:39:50] with people who had New York accents

[00:39:52] I know the efforts

[00:39:54] that folks went through

[00:39:55] to lose those accents.

[00:39:58] Oh that's interesting.

[00:39:59] I mean I would imagine

[00:40:00] the Jewish neighborhood

[00:40:01] had a different affect

[00:40:03] than the Italian neighborhood

[00:40:05] versus the Puerto Rican narrative.

[00:40:07] Not that different in terms of accents.

[00:40:09] Accents were accents.

[00:40:10] But when those kids got law degrees

[00:40:13] and they walked into a courtroom

[00:40:15] did they put on a more

[00:40:18] transatlantic or?

[00:40:21] I know I made it

[00:40:22] I still speak with a little bit

[00:40:23] of a New York accent.

[00:40:25] I know that when I moved to California

[00:40:27] I made an effort to try to get rid of it.

[00:40:30] It was simply not going to serve me.

[00:40:32] I mean unless you know

[00:40:33] unless I was trying to look

[00:40:35] to sound tough or something

[00:40:36] which never worked

[00:40:38] no matter what accent I used.

[00:40:42] Steve is there a tweak

[00:40:43] that you'd make to this movie

[00:40:44] to improve it?

[00:40:47] I don't necessarily need to see

[00:40:49] Joe Pesci's undercarriage

[00:40:52] in the shower photo.

[00:40:56] Oh no you don't like that?

[00:40:59] Less is more in this case.

[00:41:03] Larry was there a tweak

[00:41:04] you would make to this movie

[00:41:06] to improve it?

[00:41:07] It's the fact that this movie works

[00:41:10] for me is so improbable

[00:41:12] that I'm afraid any kind of tweak

[00:41:14] that I would do you know

[00:41:15] might spoil the magic.

[00:41:18] I mean we complain about Joe Pesci

[00:41:19] and being 49

[00:41:21] but he's able to pull off

[00:41:24] being both the best

[00:41:25] and the worst lawyer

[00:41:26] you've ever seen you know

[00:41:28] in the same movie

[00:41:29] sometimes in the same scene.

[00:41:31] I can't I don't know

[00:41:32] anybody else who could have done it.

[00:41:35] You're not a fan of legal dramas?

[00:41:38] The American Bar Association

[00:41:40] actually has a list online

[00:41:42] of the best legal drama movies ever.

[00:41:46] This movie came in number three.

[00:41:49] Do you remember what one and two?

[00:41:52] Just that?

[00:41:52] Yes number one is

[00:41:54] To Kill a Mockingbird

[00:41:56] and number two is 12 Angry Men.

[00:42:01] Okay all right.

[00:42:02] To beat number three.

[00:42:03] Not Jerry Doody with Polly Short

[00:42:05] or is that like?

[00:42:06] I don't think it made any of those lists.

[00:42:10] To be number three on this list

[00:42:12] is to be like saying

[00:42:12] okay you're the third greatest

[00:42:14] you know heavyweight

[00:42:16] after Muhammad Ali

[00:42:17] or you know Rocky Marciano.

[00:42:19] I mean it's you might as well be number one.

[00:42:23] This movie is like a favorite

[00:42:25] this movie is cited by

[00:42:27] by Merrick Garland.

[00:42:29] He talks about it.

[00:42:31] There are a lot of things in this movie

[00:42:34] that I would probably change

[00:42:36] and make it worse.

[00:42:38] You'd probably get rid of the implied

[00:42:40] sodomy and stuttering right?

[00:42:42] Yes yes.

[00:42:42] Or at least put those both in the same scene.

[00:42:45] Yeah yeah.

[00:42:46] Well and then yes

[00:42:47] and then make the scene shorter

[00:42:48] and then cut it out of the movie altogether.

[00:42:50] Those would be great changes

[00:42:53] but you know again

[00:42:55] I mean I look at you know

[00:42:57] poor Ralph Macchio

[00:42:59] 31 has to still play some kind of

[00:43:01] you know beardless college student

[00:43:04] disappears from the movie really

[00:43:05] after you know 10 minutes in.

[00:43:08] All right a little fun fact about me

[00:43:13] is that when I was

[00:43:16] in eighth grade

[00:43:18] I had that exact haircut

[00:43:21] and I looked a little bit like Ralph Macchio.

[00:43:26] I would insist on photographic evidence.

[00:43:28] All right I can provide.

[00:43:31] Now I should let you know

[00:43:34] that at the same time across town

[00:43:38] my wife Sarah had a crush on Ralph Macchio.

[00:43:42] Now I look much more like Joe Pesci

[00:43:46] and my wife never had a crush on Joe Pesci.

[00:43:50] She hasn't grown into it.

[00:43:55] All right now I know you don't want to talk about this

[00:43:57] but I feel like I ought to mention it.

[00:43:58] So I went to like a top 50 legal dramas of all time list.

[00:44:04] Oh no what did you find?

[00:44:06] I found that all 50

[00:44:10] and I'm not going to name them

[00:44:11] because that would take forever

[00:44:14] not one Jewish main character.

[00:44:18] If you think of like the major

[00:44:19] these major movies like The Verdict

[00:44:21] or A Few Good Men

[00:44:23] or you know these sort of

[00:44:24] these very very celebrated legal dramas

[00:44:29] the lawyers are never Jewish.

[00:44:32] At least the sort of the head litigator

[00:44:35] or the trial lawyer

[00:44:37] or the person who has the most screen time

[00:44:40] never given to a Jewish crew.

[00:44:42] Cruz versus Kevin Pollock.

[00:44:44] Yeah right so Kevin Pollock is easily the third wheel right?

[00:44:48] You've got Tom Cruise and then Demi Moore

[00:44:50] and then Kevin Pollock right?

[00:44:52] I'll mention one.

[00:44:54] All right I was hoping you'd know.

[00:44:56] You'd almost have to have read the book

[00:44:59] it's The Keen Mutiny.

[00:45:02] The attorney that defends Steve Merrick

[00:45:08] against the mutiny charges is Jewish

[00:45:12] and in the book after winning the trial

[00:45:17] shows up drunk at the victory party

[00:45:21] and talks about how you know the Captain Queegs

[00:45:24] were the people who saved his Jewish relatives from Hitler.

[00:45:28] Oh interesting.

[00:45:30] In the movie the character is played by Jose Farrar

[00:45:36] going back to a Jewish character

[00:45:37] not being played by a Jewish actor

[00:45:40] but I'm never going to object to Jose Farrar

[00:45:44] playing a law enforcement.

[00:45:45] It's only going to make us look better.

[00:45:47] I've never seen it. I probably should.

[00:45:52] It's one of the better legal dramas

[00:45:54] although in my opinion

[00:45:56] although I don't know if it necessarily makes the list

[00:45:59] the military legal dramas

[00:46:03] some of them are on the list

[00:46:04] you know a few good men things like that

[00:46:08] but you're right and I honestly can't help

[00:46:13] but think that's a conscious choice

[00:46:16] to try to avoid a cliche or perception

[00:46:19] or trying to make the lawyer more sympathetic.

[00:46:21] It's weird because there's just so few Jews in Hollywood.

[00:46:24] Yeah Larry have you thought about

[00:46:26] trying to get more Jews in the media to fix this problem?

[00:46:33] You know there's one of those great questions

[00:46:36] that no matter how I answer that it would be dangerous

[00:46:38] and so I'm going to just pretend I didn't hear that.

[00:46:41] That's right we are the world's most dangerous podcast.

[00:46:44] I mean I guess I mean this movie you could probably forgive it

[00:46:47] but list of top 50 movies

[00:46:50] and it's hard to find a Jewish main character.

[00:46:54] I mean it definitely struck me as odd.

[00:46:59] Steve is this movie better worse or on par

[00:47:03] with a Ron Howard film?

[00:47:05] I think it's a Ron Howard plus two.

[00:47:09] Just to remind our listeners and Larry

[00:47:12] because he hasn't taken place in this process before.

[00:47:16] The acknowledgement here is that Ron Howard makes good films

[00:47:20] so if it's properly Howard it means it's a good movie.

[00:47:25] It doesn't mean that all Ron Howard movies are just good

[00:47:29] like some are great, some are not so great

[00:47:32] but he's dependably a good movie maker

[00:47:36] and that's kind of the premise to this.

[00:47:38] So Ron Howard plus what'd you say?

[00:47:41] Two.

[00:47:42] Plus two interesting. Tell me why.

[00:47:47] On one hand I think that there's a lot of this movie

[00:47:49] that Ron Howard could have done similarly.

[00:47:54] I mean I think obviously there's a good script,

[00:47:56] good enough script in terms of the legal side of it

[00:47:59] to have it rank high amongst legal professionals opinions

[00:48:03] but I think the performances are really good

[00:48:04] and I think there's something to be said for that.

[00:48:09] That maybe I mean I think Ron Howard does

[00:48:11] like I think we've talked about before is that

[00:48:13] it feels like Ron Howard doesn't always maybe get the most

[00:48:17] out of his like the star studded cast

[00:48:21] and this isn't necessarily star studded

[00:48:22] but the stars are amazing

[00:48:24] and the supporting roles are so strong

[00:48:30] and I almost wonder if a director

[00:48:34] with maybe a little less foot on the gas

[00:48:36] and letting the actors really chew it up

[00:48:39] is maybe why maybe put up a little bit higher.

[00:48:44] I also mean the pool and chicken bar for example

[00:48:50] shot on location.

[00:48:52] The only actor in that scene is the one who he's arguing with JT.

[00:49:00] The guy with the neck brace isn't an actor?

[00:49:02] They're all everybody else's locals

[00:49:05] and even the guy that

[00:49:06] I totally believe that guy was wearing a neck brace.

[00:49:07] Even the guy that sucks the chicken right off the bone.

[00:49:11] In fact he basically demonstrated his ability to do that

[00:49:20] to the director and the director's like yep

[00:49:22] and made it a prominent scene in there.

[00:49:25] Showed a little initially.

[00:49:27] I'm not saying that Ron Howard wouldn't.

[00:49:30] I'm not saying that Ron Howard wouldn't let the guy

[00:49:31] suck the chicken right off the bone

[00:49:33] but I haven't seen it in a Howard movie before

[00:49:38] so I'm giving an extra two bumps for the chicken scene.

[00:49:44] This was a little bit slapsticky this movie.

[00:49:48] Not all, not all the time

[00:49:51] but there were a few scenes like any scene involving mud.

[00:49:57] I really laughed hard when the owl hoots

[00:49:59] and he runs outside just haphazardly shooting

[00:50:03] at everything and nothing.

[00:50:06] I laughed hard at that.

[00:50:09] I don't think Ron Howard really does slapstick.

[00:50:14] At least he's not known for doing that.

[00:50:18] What do you think Larry?

[00:50:20] You want to play along?

[00:50:21] You want to play along with the Howard scare?

[00:50:23] I'll play along.

[00:50:26] I can't think off the top of my head of a Ron Howard comedy.

[00:50:31] Well probably Parenthood would be his sort of most celebrated comedy.

[00:50:37] Night Shift.

[00:50:38] Oh Night Shift was his.

[00:50:40] Okay I do think there was something spontaneous about this film.

[00:50:48] Steve I agree with you that some of these elements were found.

[00:50:54] I give the business about the two utes.

[00:50:57] Evidently this was something that Joe Pesci said to the director in a conversation

[00:51:02] and the director didn't understand what he meant.

[00:51:04] And then said okay we have to include that in the movie.

[00:51:10] I shouldn't say this.

[00:51:11] I don't know Ron Howard.

[00:51:12] I don't know his work that well.

[00:51:14] It doesn't strike me as something he would do.

[00:51:16] He seems so earnest.

[00:51:20] I would say you know Ron Howard plus one.

[00:51:23] All right I like it.

[00:51:27] I'm going to agree with Larry on this.

[00:51:28] Ron Howard plus one.

[00:51:30] I do like this movie.

[00:51:32] I think it's kind of quirky.

[00:51:34] I don't really know anything about the law so I can't really appreciate it on that level.

[00:51:40] But I laugh every time I watch it.

[00:51:42] And I think this is pretty close to a Ron Howard comedy.

[00:51:51] Comparing the two we just mentioned.

[00:51:54] So I'm going to give it a Howard plus one.

[00:51:56] Now I will mention while we're talking about this.

[00:51:59] I just recently watched a Ron Howard documentary on Jim Henson.

[00:52:04] Have either of you seen this?

[00:52:06] No.

[00:52:07] It's pretty good.

[00:52:09] Ron Howard has done a few documentaries in recent years.

[00:52:13] And they're not my favorite but this one in particular I learned a lot about

[00:52:17] Jim Henson that I had no idea about.

[00:52:19] Very much worth watching if you are at all interested in The Muppets or

[00:52:25] you know history of that era of TV.

[00:52:29] Steve is there a half the battle one to groan moment in this movie?

[00:52:35] Well my biggest takeaway and I haven't had a chance to really put it into practice yet.

[00:52:40] But it's try dipping your corn in beans.

[00:52:46] He never done that.

[00:52:48] He just went right to it.

[00:52:49] Like here's the thing.

[00:52:50] You talk about a fish out of water thing and I don't know much about

[00:52:53] Italian culture.

[00:52:55] But he just takes that corn cob with such confidence.

[00:52:59] Just rolls it in the beans as he's eating it.

[00:53:03] And I'm like that is I got a lot to think about about that one.

[00:53:09] All right.

[00:53:10] Was there a moral of the story to this movie Larry?

[00:53:14] It would have something to do with classic cars that would.

[00:53:17] Well I mean we haven't talked at all about the limited slip differential and the posit

[00:53:25] traction you know and the improbability of two early 1960s you know plastic cars.

[00:53:34] The moral of the story I think is that they should bring back metallic mint green cars.

[00:53:41] I would totally buy a metallic mint green car.

[00:53:44] I would like to buy a Hyundai IONIQ 5 in metallic green.

[00:53:53] That may not be everybody's moral to the story.

[00:53:56] All right.

[00:53:56] I got to ask have either of you ever owned a convertible?

[00:54:01] No.

[00:54:03] Does that appeal to you?

[00:54:05] It's like one of those things that I'd probably love to own a convertible

[00:54:11] and I would probably never take the top down.

[00:54:13] Yeah that's me.

[00:54:14] It's convenient.

[00:54:15] I'm going to get a sunburn.

[00:54:17] I forgot to put on the sunblock but oh I absolutely would love to have owned

[00:54:23] a convertible and then would have felt guilty for the rest of my life.

[00:54:26] That I basically drove it with the top up.

[00:54:28] So when I was in my early 20s I owned a Celica

[00:54:32] and it was sort of like an early 80s Celica and it had a sunroom.

[00:54:38] It actually had a moon roof right.

[00:54:40] It's sort of like the more depressing version of the sun roof.

[00:54:45] Because it just kind of popped up two inches.

[00:54:48] Served no purpose at all.

[00:54:51] So I decided that I was going to get smart and I was going to take it off at the hinges

[00:55:00] so that I could like take off the glass

[00:55:04] and just put the glass in the back and it would be a legit sun roof.

[00:55:11] Which worked well for about a week and then when I put it back on.

[00:55:17] No usable silver wool parts inside.

[00:55:20] When I put it back on I didn't put it back on well enough

[00:55:25] and it flipped off and shattered on the freeway

[00:55:29] and I think that Marguerite and Silver was in the car Steve.

[00:55:34] Oh wow.

[00:55:35] She kind of freaked out which you know as she showed

[00:55:39] it and I kind of played it off like that's fine.

[00:55:45] Celicas be like that sometimes.

[00:55:47] I'm going to play you one more little thing just because it's

[00:55:50] one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever

[00:55:54] and I don't know if I'm going to get a chance to play it another time.

[00:55:57] And there was this man he would never talk he would just sit there all night

[00:56:01] not say a word so they said to him what's the matter with you don't you talk

[00:56:05] don't you say anything he says what am I going to say that my wife two times me

[00:56:11] so she says to him shut up you're always talking

[00:56:17] but in Italian it sounds much nicer.

[00:56:19] Luda can dance.

[00:56:21] What's up?

[00:56:22] Luda means he's content to be a jerk.

[00:56:25] He doesn't care who knows it.

[00:56:28] Did Tom ever tell you about my painting?

[00:56:30] No.

[00:56:31] She's got the painting ready under the table.

[00:56:33] Look at this.

[00:56:36] I like this one the dog one dog goes one way and the other dog goes the other way.

[00:56:39] Well that's going east and the other one is going west so what?

[00:56:42] And this guy saying what do you want from me?

[00:56:44] He's got a nice head of white hair.