186. My Spy (2020)

[00:00:35] Hello and welcome to SpyHards Podcast, where your hosts go deep undercover into the world of spy movies to decipher which films make the knock list. But remember, there's information strictly for your ears only. I'm Agent Scott.

[00:00:50] Alexa, play something soothing.

[00:00:53] The station, relaxing piano radio on Amazon Music.

[00:00:58] And I'm Cam the Provocateur.

[00:01:03] Oh Cam, I'm so tranquil now. Thanks for that.

[00:01:05] Right? So when I'm watching the movie My Spy the other night, there's a part where David Bautista, and I'm calling him David, I'm going very formal there, Dave Bautista.

[00:01:14] Oh, Davey boy. Big D. What's going on, Big D?

[00:01:18] Yeah. But Dave Bautista says, you know, Alexa, play something soothing. And it set off my Alexa in both my room and my living room.

[00:01:29] Did it play anything soothing on there?

[00:01:31] Yeah, yeah, it did. Yeah. On both of them it started playing music so I had to turn them both off.

[00:01:34] I mean, this, and we'll get into the film in a second, but like this film is not only littered with that, but there is a ton of product placement in this film.

[00:01:42] Scott, I can't talk right now. I'm eating some delicious Oreos.

[00:01:46] Oh, I'm eating a packet of Doritos right now. Can't you tell?

[00:01:51] Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:01:53] The packet is also facing the camera so you can see the label.

[00:01:57] I mean, nothing goes down better than a nice Oreo and milk at the end of a hard day.

[00:02:02] Yeah. Unless you want some Doritos too.

[00:02:06] I mean, the crunch.

[00:02:07] And you can get them at your local Kroger or Costco or anything like that really.

[00:02:12] Although I will say, Scott, given the state of most movies nowadays, I guess two obnoxious product placements is probably pretty conservative.

[00:02:20] It's actually pretty good. I mean, to be fair, we still work a product placement into every episode in the midpoint.

[00:02:25] Right. That's true. But if you turn on like a Michael Bay movie, for example, it'll just be wall to wall throughout the entire thing.

[00:02:33] That's largely how he pays for his movies. There's these huge cuts, obviously, the studio gets by just like filling a Transformers movie full of product placements.

[00:02:40] So this was actually pretty tolerable.

[00:02:44] Well, it's in the spy movie DNA going back to the Bond films like they were putting product placement in the 60s.

[00:02:49] That felt cooler somehow.

[00:02:51] Smirnoff vodka, I think, was the first one, wasn't it?

[00:02:53] Didn't that somehow? There's also the champagne, I think, as well.

[00:02:56] Could be.

[00:02:57] Bollinger?

[00:02:58] Yeah, yeah. That was very common.

[00:03:00] But I mean, that felt classy.

[00:03:02] Whereas like, I don't know, characters eating Doritos and facing the bag to the camera doesn't feel quite as classy.

[00:03:08] Not quite so much.

[00:03:09] But, you know, it does sort of fit the character that was eating the Doritos.

[00:03:11] But we are getting way, way ahead of ourselves.

[00:03:16] We need to introduce the film, Cam.

[00:03:18] What are we talking about?

[00:03:19] We are talking about 2020's My Spy starring Mr. David Bautista.

[00:03:25] Big D. Go call him Big D for the rest of this episode.

[00:03:28] That's right. That's right.

[00:03:29] I think he probably enjoyed that too, to be fair.

[00:03:35] Yeah, I mean, it's one that has been on our list for a long time.

[00:03:39] It's recently, very recently had a sequel that came out and no one spoke about it.

[00:03:43] That's right.

[00:03:44] That's why we are actually talking about My Spy.

[00:03:46] Because we realized, less so My Spy, but we realized My Spy Part 2.

[00:03:51] I can't remember the name of it.

[00:03:52] Emerald City or something like that.

[00:03:53] That's right.

[00:03:54] Is going to be forgotten yesterday.

[00:03:56] So we need to cover it soon.

[00:03:58] Yeah, and I heard some mildly good things about My Spy.

[00:04:02] I went in quite positive, quite optimistic.

[00:04:04] And if you haven't explored My Spy, here is your synopsis.

[00:04:11] And much like Dave Bautista's co-star Chloe Coleman, this one's also very short.

[00:04:17] Oh, okay.

[00:04:18] How refreshing.

[00:04:19] My Spy, almost totally in control.

[00:04:23] Wait, wait, wait, wait.

[00:04:24] What?

[00:04:24] What?

[00:04:25] I don't get it.

[00:04:26] I was hoping the rest of it would fill out why they're saying that.

[00:04:28] But almost totally in control.

[00:04:30] I guess Bautista's not particularly in control.

[00:04:33] Okay.

[00:04:34] And so they're saying she's in control?

[00:04:36] I think so.

[00:04:37] Okay.

[00:04:38] Or the baddie is.

[00:04:39] Or the fish is.

[00:04:40] Who knows?

[00:04:41] If you are marketing a movie to children, is that the best tagline?

[00:04:45] No.

[00:04:45] But then also the poster has Dave Bautista with a kid's...

[00:04:50] Like band-aid?

[00:04:51] Like plaster on it.

[00:04:52] Band-aid, yeah.

[00:04:52] That's what you guys call it up there.

[00:04:54] Yeah.

[00:04:54] And I don't think that ever happens to him in the film.

[00:04:57] No, it doesn't.

[00:04:58] They were like...

[00:04:59] They were reaching for...

[00:05:00] I would suspect that there was not a ton of money put into their marketing.

[00:05:05] No.

[00:05:05] Especially given when this came out, which we will get into.

[00:05:08] But people have been left with bated breath.

[00:05:10] I haven't finished my synopsis.

[00:05:12] Yes.

[00:05:13] Almost totally in control.

[00:05:16] A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious nine-year-old girl having

[00:05:23] been sent undercover to surveil her family.

[00:05:26] Yeah.

[00:05:27] I mean...

[00:05:28] That's the setup.

[00:05:29] I'm sure that was like what they pitched when they were in the room.

[00:05:33] Good use of the word surveil, by the way.

[00:05:34] Nice to see.

[00:05:35] Yeah.

[00:05:36] Although I wouldn't really say hardened CIA operative.

[00:05:39] I mean, that's...

[00:05:39] No, they make a point to say how bad he is.

[00:05:41] Yeah.

[00:05:42] He's new to the CIA, really.

[00:05:43] He's a hardened former Special Forces operative, but he's not a CIA operative who's hardened

[00:05:50] yet.

[00:05:51] No.

[00:05:52] And nor does he become one?

[00:05:54] No.

[00:05:55] No.

[00:05:56] He has...

[00:05:56] You know, he's like a hard outer shell with a gooey center.

[00:05:59] Just like us.

[00:06:01] Actually, no.

[00:06:01] We have a soft outer shell with a gooey center.

[00:06:04] We're just...

[00:06:05] We're like the blob.

[00:06:06] We're just like...

[00:06:07] We're just chocolate in a microwave, let's face it.

[00:06:10] We are bubbling on a sidewalk in the sun.

[00:06:14] Being scraped off by the bin men.

[00:06:16] Exactly.

[00:06:17] We are the ice cream that's been plastered to the side of an elevator.

[00:06:21] It's like grown like some green mold on top and it's been forgotten about.

[00:06:25] And people can't even be bothered cleaning up.

[00:06:28] They just look at it, shake their head sadly and walk away.

[00:06:30] Spit on it a little bit and just really maybe stamp it in a little bit and rub it in a bit

[00:06:35] more.

[00:06:36] Thanks.

[00:06:36] Thanks, people.

[00:06:37] And people look at it and go, well, I'm sure it was delicious once.

[00:06:40] Yeah.

[00:06:41] Once.

[00:06:41] They had one good day maybe.

[00:06:45] Hmm.

[00:06:45] Hmm.

[00:06:47] But, you know, it's a lot of good things going into this.

[00:06:51] I mean, I'm a big wrestling fan.

[00:06:53] So seeing Dave Bautista in a film is usually a good setup for me.

[00:06:57] Someone I can look to and see how he's doing.

[00:07:00] I've been watching his career quite sort of passionately really since he started acting

[00:07:05] and I've been really impressed with what he's done.

[00:07:07] Well, can you talk about him as a wrestler?

[00:07:10] Sure.

[00:07:10] Because I don't have any of that context.

[00:07:12] So, you know, when he signed on to do like Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, they're

[00:07:17] like, oh, you know, former wrestler.

[00:07:19] And I'm like, okay.

[00:07:20] But it means nothing.

[00:07:21] I think actually the first time I saw him might have been in Man with the Iron Fists, maybe.

[00:07:25] Okay.

[00:07:25] But, yeah, like I didn't know anything about him.

[00:07:28] So could you just talk a little bit about his wrestling career?

[00:07:31] Sure.

[00:07:31] I mean, he didn't have the longest wrestling career.

[00:07:33] He came out of the same school that produced John Cena, that produced Brock Lesnar.

[00:07:41] They all basically were in the same class together.

[00:07:45] And he was a former bodybuilder.

[00:07:47] I think he may have played football at some point as well.

[00:07:50] Mixed martial artist as well.

[00:07:52] And he basically just was jacked.

[00:07:54] That was his gimmick.

[00:07:55] He was huge.

[00:07:57] Yeah.

[00:07:58] Huge muscles.

[00:07:59] That was it.

[00:07:59] He was the Lothiathon, Dave Batista and then Batista eventually.

[00:08:03] Although he was introduced as a deacon in sort of a pastoral gimmick for a little while,

[00:08:08] but they got rid of that.

[00:08:09] Oh, wow.

[00:08:10] Okay.

[00:08:11] He was the deacon Batista and had like a dog collar, like a literal dog collar instead

[00:08:16] of the white collar.

[00:08:17] It was very odd.

[00:08:19] And he like he had his sleeves off.

[00:08:22] Why would he be wearing a dog collar if he's like a pastor?

[00:08:25] I don't know.

[00:08:26] Oh, you mean like the like the the priest kind of collar?

[00:08:28] Well, that's what I think they were referencing.

[00:08:30] But he was wearing a genuine dog collar instead.

[00:08:32] Oh, it was very odd.

[00:08:34] It didn't last very long.

[00:08:35] That sounds like a mixed metaphor.

[00:08:37] Yeah, they got they kind of got rid of it and repackaged him as like just a beast who

[00:08:40] like and he was he was basically introduced into the WWF maybe at the time.

[00:08:45] No WWE most likely as part of a stable called Evolution, which featured Ric Flair, Triple H,

[00:08:51] him and Randy Orton.

[00:08:52] And it was about like the future and the past of wrestling.

[00:08:55] And they were basically like running the company for a year or so.

[00:08:58] And that really catapulted him into the main event.

[00:09:01] And, you know, he spent a good few years on top and then eventually left and wanted to

[00:09:09] pursue acting, came back for a little bit and then left again.

[00:09:11] And I think that's about the time he bagged Guardians of the Galaxy.

[00:09:14] And the rest is history, really.

[00:09:16] But he was a multi-time world champion and stuff like he did.

[00:09:19] He did really well.

[00:09:20] OK, that's going to be my question, because like when I don't know that much about wrestling.

[00:09:23] So when I think of like the top tier guys, it's like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena,

[00:09:29] people like that.

[00:09:30] Would he have been up like in very high rankings?

[00:09:34] He never he never had the cultural penetration of someone like Hulk Hogan or The Rock.

[00:09:39] Yeah.

[00:09:39] But like if there was a tier below that, sure, then he was probably in it at that time.

[00:09:44] And like the early 2000s to like 2010, 2012, 13, 14, maybe that was his time.

[00:09:51] Like Million Dollar Man.

[00:09:53] Sure.

[00:09:54] Well, a Million Dollar Man is still going.

[00:09:55] Like he's had a quite a legacy.

[00:09:57] What?

[00:09:58] Yeah.

[00:09:58] He's not dead?

[00:09:59] No, Ted DiBiase is still going.

[00:10:01] He's got to be like 97 years old.

[00:10:05] No, no, he's not actually that old.

[00:10:07] But yeah, the Million Dollar Belt is still around.

[00:10:10] Comes out from time to time.

[00:10:11] Yeah.

[00:10:11] Everyone's got a price.

[00:10:12] Everyone's going to pay.

[00:10:14] Wow.

[00:10:15] I'm absolutely shocked that man is still around.

[00:10:18] I mean, yeah, he some became a wrestler and didn't do very well.

[00:10:22] Yeah.

[00:10:22] Quite a story.

[00:10:23] But yeah, but Dave Bautista, like he was he was the one because there's quite a few

[00:10:28] wrestlers that have made the jump from wrestling to film.

[00:10:32] Hulk Hogan being one you referenced, but also The Rock, John Cena.

[00:10:37] There's been a couple of other ones that have tried, but they were the main four, really.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:41] There's been a few that dabbled, but never really crossed over.

[00:10:46] Yeah.

[00:10:47] But yeah, he was the one I was quite keen to see what he would do because he made the

[00:10:50] he took the odd jobs, odd choices.

[00:10:54] You know, he obviously turned up in Spectre as Hinks as a villain there.

[00:10:58] But yeah, he was doing Guardians.

[00:10:59] He did, you know, Blade Runner 2048.

[00:11:02] And he did actual acting roles, whereas you would often see like The Rock doing the tooth

[00:11:06] fairy and John Cena doing, I don't know, probably a sequel to the tooth fairy.

[00:11:10] Well, John Cena's done a lot of comedy.

[00:11:12] That's what he got really good at.

[00:11:13] Yeah.

[00:11:14] Yeah.

[00:11:14] And he's kind of gone that way.

[00:11:15] And I like where John's gone.

[00:11:17] I don't really like where The Rock's gone.

[00:11:18] Hulk Hogan.

[00:11:19] Yeah.

[00:11:20] I've got some unkind words about him, but I think Dave Bautista has been the most interesting

[00:11:24] career post wrestling.

[00:11:26] Yeah.

[00:11:27] I would agree because I was also thinking like what other wrestlers went into acting?

[00:11:30] I know Goldberg did for a little bit.

[00:11:33] Randy Orton, CM Punk.

[00:11:35] Stone Cold Steve Austin.

[00:11:37] The Miz.

[00:11:37] Did a few things.

[00:11:38] Yeah.

[00:11:39] Triple H was in Blade 3.

[00:11:42] Yeah.

[00:11:42] And some other really bad films.

[00:11:45] Yeah.

[00:11:45] That WWE paid for.

[00:11:47] Typically like kind of generic action movies.

[00:11:50] Kane did See No Evil.

[00:11:52] Oh yeah.

[00:11:53] And Hornswoggle did Leprechaun Origins.

[00:11:56] Yeah.

[00:11:57] Oh yeah.

[00:11:59] That's a moment in time right there.

[00:12:00] I remember those.

[00:12:01] I remember them trying to plug that on television.

[00:12:03] That was a hard one.

[00:12:05] Yeah.

[00:12:05] A lot of these are terrible movies that people have frankly not even really heard of.

[00:12:09] Do not track them down.

[00:12:10] But Dave Bautista has had an interesting career.

[00:12:13] And you know, I think Guardians was really his coming out party.

[00:12:17] Yeah.

[00:12:17] And that was, I mean, Drax was a character designed for him.

[00:12:21] And I know he's tried to like backpedal a little bit and say like he wants to carve

[00:12:26] his own path.

[00:12:26] But I say own it, brother.

[00:12:28] Like you did a good job with Drax.

[00:12:30] You got in a bunch of Avengers films and three Guardians films.

[00:12:34] And just own it.

[00:12:36] Yeah.

[00:12:36] I mean, he's now I think 55 years old.

[00:12:39] And he's recently like dropped a lot of muscle.

[00:12:42] A ton of weight.

[00:12:43] Yeah.

[00:12:43] Yeah.

[00:12:44] And wants to just focus more on acting now.

[00:12:46] So, I mean, all the power to him.

[00:12:47] But I mean, I saw him in Knock at the Cabin, the M. Night Shyamalan film, which it was okay.

[00:12:53] It had some strengths.

[00:12:54] But he was fantastic.

[00:12:56] And it really carries that entire movie on his shoulders.

[00:13:00] So, I think he's capable of giving great performances.

[00:13:04] I'll be curious how it, you know, shapes up for him in the future.

[00:13:07] Yeah.

[00:13:07] And, you know, all the power to him for betting on himself and giving it a try.

[00:13:12] Because a lot of wrestlers will go out and try and do that or try and do something different.

[00:13:15] TV, maybe that sort of stuff.

[00:13:17] Or other endeavors.

[00:13:18] Music, for instance.

[00:13:19] And then it won't go the way they want.

[00:13:22] And they'll come crawling back to wrestling.

[00:13:23] And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[00:13:24] You know, you tried and you failed.

[00:13:26] That's fine.

[00:13:28] But, like, a lot of people will, like, try and burn bridges on the way out and then come crawling back.

[00:13:31] You know?

[00:13:32] Well, I remember when he was cast as Drax the Destroyer.

[00:13:35] And Drax is a character I was very familiar with from reading Silver Server comics, like, all of my young years.

[00:13:41] And so, when they cast him, I was like, oh.

[00:13:45] Oh, it was, like, former wrestler and, you know, a guy who was in Man with the Iron Fists.

[00:13:50] I'm like, oh, well, that's not that exciting.

[00:13:53] And then, you know, I wouldn't have known this.

[00:13:56] But then you go into the movie and they're like, we've hired this, you know, former wrestler to play the character that's, like, the comedy relief largely.

[00:14:04] And also depends entirely on vocal delivery.

[00:14:08] Not something you typically hire wrestlers for.

[00:14:10] But he was, like, such a, you know, multi-threat there because he could do all the physical stuff.

[00:14:14] And he was also brilliant at the comedy.

[00:14:17] It's a great proving ground for comedy and improv is professional wrestling because a lot of it is adaptive.

[00:14:23] Like, you have to just pivot at any given moment.

[00:14:27] And in terms of, like, you know, acting, the whole thing is pantomime.

[00:14:30] The whole thing is acting.

[00:14:31] So a lot of wrestlers find it quite easy to make the transition.

[00:14:33] But a lot of the time they just don't get the roles to necessarily flourish.

[00:14:37] Yeah.

[00:14:38] And so often you get a lot of generic stuff like The Rock and Hulk Hogan.

[00:14:41] But I appreciate it when actors do weird choices like John Cena with Peacemaker or, you know, Drax with Dave Bautista.

[00:14:49] Well, Bautista feels in some ways like he's taking a page from the Schwarzenegger playbook.

[00:14:53] Which is, he does the roles that get him a lot of attention.

[00:14:57] You know, obviously Drax got him a lot.

[00:14:59] But likes to work with interesting people.

[00:15:02] Yeah.

[00:15:02] And in unconventional ways.

[00:15:03] Like Schwarzenegger, people will say, well, he just made 80s action movies.

[00:15:07] But he was working with James Cameron.

[00:15:08] He was working with Paul Verhoeven.

[00:15:10] These were people that were, like, molding what he could do into really interesting projects.

[00:15:14] And you'll see Dave Bautista, you know, showing up in, you know, the second Knives Out film.

[00:15:19] You know, because he wants to work with Rian Johnson.

[00:15:21] He will work with interesting directors.

[00:15:23] You know, you mentioned Blade Runner 2049.

[00:15:25] That's another example.

[00:15:26] It's like he's always looking for directors who are interesting.

[00:15:30] And being obviously very appealing to those directors.

[00:15:34] Like a Denis Villeneuve with Dune.

[00:15:35] I was going to say, well, that was Blade Runner as well, was Denis Villeneuve.

[00:15:39] And he came back as Rabanne.

[00:15:41] And that's perfect casting for Rabanne.

[00:15:44] Yeah.

[00:15:44] And I think he was great in that role.

[00:15:47] And again, it's sort of a, like, it almost feels like Denis was taking a bit of a chance on him.

[00:15:52] Because you could have got quite a named actor at that point.

[00:15:54] Not that Dave isn't a named actor.

[00:15:55] And we're kind of spiraling away from my spy.

[00:15:58] So I'll bring us back in a second.

[00:15:59] But just, I think it's interesting seeing the trajectory of his career.

[00:16:03] He just brought a new film out with Sofia Batella.

[00:16:05] I don't know much about it.

[00:16:06] Yeah.

[00:16:07] But, like, that's what's causing him to drop all the weight.

[00:16:10] So maybe that'll get him some different roles.

[00:16:12] Because he was really kind of known as the big guy.

[00:16:14] Well, and you look at Spectre, right?

[00:16:16] Where he's cast as the villain.

[00:16:18] Or as the henchman.

[00:16:20] Mr. Hinks.

[00:16:21] And that's cast at a different time period for Bond.

[00:16:24] If he's cast in the 1980s in a Roger Moore film.

[00:16:27] They're like, yeah, we just need a muscle guy.

[00:16:29] That's all we need.

[00:16:29] But when you get to the more modern Craig films, they're looking for actors.

[00:16:33] He's showing up in the Bond film that is coming right after Javier Bardem as your villain.

[00:16:38] And now you've got Dave Bautista and Christoph Waltz.

[00:16:40] But Dave Bautista has to carry a lot of the screen time.

[00:16:43] Because Christoph Waltz is more around the periphery of Spectre.

[00:16:47] He doesn't get much time in it.

[00:16:48] But the bit he's in is quite full of emotion and drama.

[00:16:53] He does a lot with a very short scene, I think.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:58] But let's get back to My Spy.

[00:17:00] And we can talk a bit more about Dave Bautista and his performance in this film in a minute.

[00:17:03] But I'm sure there is a story here.

[00:17:06] So how on earth did we get My Spy?

[00:17:08] There's always a story, Scott.

[00:17:10] Always a story.

[00:17:11] Give it to me.

[00:17:13] So this was made by STX Entertainment.

[00:17:17] And they're kind of a fledgling studio.

[00:17:20] They've been around for a while, but they tend to work in lower budgets.

[00:17:24] And they wanted to focus on cranking out some low-budget star-driven films.

[00:17:30] And so they could hire interesting talent, give them a little more creative control,

[00:17:35] not spend a lot of money, and hopefully have some hits.

[00:17:37] And so they brought on Dave Bautista, who produced the film as well.

[00:17:40] So they were very much working with him.

[00:17:43] And they had a script by the Hobart brothers, John and Eric.

[00:17:47] Do you remember the Hobart brothers?

[00:17:48] Because we've talked about them a couple times.

[00:17:50] I don't.

[00:17:51] I feel like I should, though.

[00:17:54] So they wrote the two red films.

[00:17:56] Oh, okay.

[00:17:57] That's primarily what we would have known them for.

[00:17:59] But they got their start in the late 90s, working on kind of a Tarantino riff movie called Montana.

[00:18:06] But where they kind of made their names was they did a movie in 2009, a Kate Beckinsale film called Whiteout,

[00:18:11] which was an adaptation of a graphic novel.

[00:18:14] They did Red, which was a hit.

[00:18:17] Whiteout, not so much.

[00:18:19] Obviously, better to focus on colors, not shades.

[00:18:21] Sure.

[00:18:22] That worked out a little better for them.

[00:18:23] Sure.

[00:18:23] They were an army of writers working on Battleship for Peter Berg.

[00:18:29] They worked on the two Meg films, Meg 1 and Meg 2.

[00:18:34] And also recently, Transformers Rise of the Beasts.

[00:18:38] And they also returned for My Spy, The Eternal City.

[00:18:43] So they are very much kind of studio, franchise-friendly writers.

[00:18:48] But this feels kind of in line with what you might expect from them.

[00:18:52] Well, given what I know about Red, I have seen Battleship, but I don't see much of their work in that.

[00:18:59] I mean, who knows with that one?

[00:19:02] That film is a mess.

[00:19:04] I mean, I don't know much about its history, but just watching it, it's a mess.

[00:19:07] Yeah.

[00:19:07] Oh, it's terrible.

[00:19:09] Terrible.

[00:19:10] Yeah.

[00:19:10] But no, okay.

[00:19:11] I didn't know the lineage goes from Red to this, but you can see the DNA for sure.

[00:19:17] They're like thinking, old spies worked really well for us.

[00:19:22] What about young spies?

[00:19:24] What's next?

[00:19:25] Middle-aged spies?

[00:19:27] Oh, is that a film about us?

[00:19:29] Or just James Bond?

[00:19:31] Oh, I was more excited about us.

[00:19:33] Oh.

[00:19:34] It's like guys who are dealing with mild medical issues.

[00:19:39] They're sorting out their pensions.

[00:19:41] Getting close to that time.

[00:19:42] One of us buys a motorcycle.

[00:19:44] Sobbing into their hands at night.

[00:19:46] Yeah.

[00:19:47] I mean, what you do for lubricants is your business, Cam.

[00:19:50] But please continue.

[00:19:51] So this was directed by Peter Siegel, who started out writing and directing a 1987 short called Bikini 2.

[00:20:01] The saga continues.

[00:20:02] The saga continues.

[00:20:04] Oh, I wonder what happened to Bikini 3.

[00:20:06] Did the saga end?

[00:20:07] I don't know.

[00:20:08] What about Bikini 1?

[00:20:09] Was there ever Bikini 1?

[00:20:10] I somehow doubt it.

[00:20:12] Well, bikinis are a two-piece, so it has to end at two.

[00:20:15] You're right.

[00:20:16] You're right.

[00:20:17] Unless there's multiple people, then you might have four or six.

[00:20:19] Oh, like multiple bikinis.

[00:20:20] What if someone is wearing a one-piece?

[00:20:24] You've thrown everything out of whack.

[00:20:26] This no longer works.

[00:20:27] This is cinema.

[00:20:28] This is cinema, Cam.

[00:20:29] You can't call it Bikini.

[00:20:30] Yeah.

[00:20:31] I suppose you can't.

[00:20:32] It's swimsuit.

[00:20:33] Yeah.

[00:20:34] A bikini, the swimsuit chronicles.

[00:20:37] I'm guessing this was a comedy short that he made.

[00:20:41] Because he was then brought on to oversee multiple Tom Arnold TV specials.

[00:20:46] He did like three or four of them.

[00:20:48] Right.

[00:20:49] So I thought that was kind of fascinating.

[00:20:51] I'm like, wow, was Tom Arnold cranking a lot of TV specials in the 90s?

[00:20:55] Because I certainly don't remember them.

[00:20:56] I have no bearing on Tom Arnold's career apart from True Lies.

[00:21:01] That's the thing.

[00:21:01] I mean, True Lies, when he was cast in that, it was actually quite controversial is a strong word.

[00:21:07] But people were like, really?

[00:21:09] Outraged.

[00:21:09] Yeah, they were outraged.

[00:21:10] The New York Times.

[00:21:11] How dare they?

[00:21:12] They were picketing in the streets.

[00:21:14] It was like that movie.

[00:21:14] I don't even remember what it was where they had signs that just said unfair.

[00:21:17] It's like Benedict Arnold.

[00:21:21] But yeah, like Tom Arnold, when he was cast in True Lies, people were like, are you serious?

[00:21:27] Why would you cast Tom Arnold?

[00:21:29] And he proved himself.

[00:21:30] He was great in that movie, but people were genuinely surprised.

[00:21:33] And he was not particularly popular at that point in time.

[00:21:36] So I'm not sure what the market was for Tom Arnold TV specials around that time period.

[00:21:41] I mean, to be fair, we had Rick Friedberg on the show who directed Spy Hard many years ago.

[00:21:48] And he cut his teeth doing straight to DVD Leslie Nielsen golf comedy videos.

[00:21:53] So there's obviously an audience for these things out there.

[00:21:57] You say straight to DVD.

[00:21:58] No, it was straight to VHS.

[00:21:59] Straight to VHS.

[00:22:00] I'm sorry.

[00:22:00] It's like mail order, this stuff.

[00:22:03] Yeah.

[00:22:04] Straight to Betamax here in the UK, obviously.

[00:22:07] Right.

[00:22:08] Yeah.

[00:22:09] So Peter Siegel's big break came when he was handpicked to direct Naked Gun 33 and a Third,

[00:22:15] the final insult, by Zuckers and Abraham.

[00:22:17] Keeping up with Leslie Nielsen there.

[00:22:19] There you go.

[00:22:19] Yeah.

[00:22:20] So Zuckers and Abraham had overseen the first two Naked Guns, but didn't want to direct the third one.

[00:22:25] And so they produced the film, but brought on Peter Siegel to direct.

[00:22:29] Okay.

[00:22:29] Yeah.

[00:22:30] And there's also a true lies connection in this film, apart from the Tom Arnold connection.

[00:22:35] There are a lot of Arnold connections in this film.

[00:22:38] A lot.

[00:22:40] So Peter Siegel goes on, and he has a pretty notable comedy directing career.

[00:22:45] You may not love all these movies, but you'll know what they are.

[00:22:47] He directed Tommy Boy with Chris Farley and David Spade, which was obviously a hit.

[00:22:52] He directed My Fellow Americans, which was a James Garner, Jack Lemmon comedy.

[00:22:57] He did Nutty Professor 2, The Clumps.

[00:22:59] Oh boy.

[00:23:00] Then he teams up with Adam Sandler and directs Anger Management, 50 First Dates, and The Longest Yard.

[00:23:06] Some good stuff there.

[00:23:08] Okay.

[00:23:09] 50 First Dates.

[00:23:10] Pretty good.

[00:23:11] Pretty good.

[00:23:12] Then he directs the Get Smart film with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.

[00:23:16] Okay.

[00:23:17] Sounds like somewhere we should get on at some point.

[00:23:19] Yeah.

[00:23:20] And then his career kind of gets a little rough.

[00:23:22] He does, in 2013, a movie called Grudge Match, which was a De Niro-Stalone boxing comedy

[00:23:28] that, to the best of my memory, it was released at Christmas, and nobody went.

[00:23:33] It was like a real lump of coal at the box office for Grudge Match.

[00:23:36] So it went down in the first round, right?

[00:23:39] I don't even know if it made it into the ring.

[00:23:40] It may have tripped when the entrance music kicked in.

[00:23:44] It tripped on someone's soda on the way in, and everyone just looked away awkwardly.

[00:23:48] Like, oh no.

[00:23:49] Like, flailing on the ground.

[00:23:51] Like, help me.

[00:23:52] It slipped on the floor like water, and it's like, oh, I can't get up.

[00:23:56] And someone just dragged it out by its leg.

[00:23:59] Like a shepherd's crook, just like pulled it out.

[00:24:03] And, you know, the fail horn from Price is Right kicked in.

[00:24:06] Oh, yeah.

[00:24:07] Which was originally going to be our entrance theme.

[00:24:10] Of course.

[00:24:11] Of course.

[00:24:11] Yes.

[00:24:12] And so then he did a lot of TV work after that.

[00:24:15] He also actually directed a Ken Jeong TV special.

[00:24:19] So that may also explain why Ken Jeong is here.

[00:24:23] Like, there would have been a relationship between him and Peter Siegel.

[00:24:26] Sure.

[00:24:26] I mean, the way you say that implicates that, like, Ken Jeong shouldn't be getting work.

[00:24:30] And the only way he gets work is through, like, connections.

[00:24:33] I feel bad for Ken Jeong because I think he's quite funny.

[00:24:37] It's like, the only way clearly he could get this job is if he knows the director.

[00:24:41] Fucking hell, Cam.

[00:24:42] No, no, no.

[00:24:43] That's not what I'm saying.

[00:24:44] I'm saying that, like, you know, it's so much is about relationships that I think if you've worked with a director previously,

[00:24:50] he probably contacts you and is like, hey, you want to be in my movie?

[00:24:52] Sure.

[00:24:52] Because this is not a big role.

[00:24:54] This is basically a cameo.

[00:24:56] Cam's backtracking right now.

[00:24:57] So hard.

[00:24:59] Not at all.

[00:24:59] Not at all.

[00:25:00] I'm actually a real fan of Ken Jeong.

[00:25:03] So, biggest fan who ever lived of Ken Jeong.

[00:25:05] I love him.

[00:25:05] He's the best.

[00:25:07] Jeong.

[00:25:07] Jeong.

[00:25:08] Jeong.

[00:25:08] I'm wearing a t-shirt right now.

[00:25:10] I'm a Kenny.

[00:25:10] I'm a Ken.

[00:25:11] I don't know.

[00:25:12] What's a Ken Jeong fan?

[00:25:14] Jongs?

[00:25:14] Ken file?

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

[00:25:16] Ken.

[00:25:17] You want to go with the file straight away?

[00:25:19] Okay.

[00:25:19] Yeah, sure.

[00:25:22] I'll leave you to you in the fan base.

[00:25:23] You can get on with that.

[00:25:25] Sure.

[00:25:25] And so this was actually Peter Siegel's follow-up to the 2018 J-Lo comedy Second Act,

[00:25:31] which I feel like came and went because I had to look it up.

[00:25:36] Just like her marriage.

[00:25:37] Oh, topical humor from Scott.

[00:25:40] This plays really well in 2027 when someone catches up with this episode.

[00:25:43] Yeah.

[00:25:44] Yeah.

[00:25:44] She may have got married and divorced again.

[00:25:46] Who knows?

[00:25:46] Oh, maybe it's the joke that just keeps on giving, perhaps.

[00:25:49] I know.

[00:25:50] I know.

[00:25:50] Yeah.

[00:25:51] Future-proof, as they say.

[00:25:52] Yeah.

[00:25:54] And so, yeah, you had like some established talent working on this one.

[00:26:00] And there's not a lot on behind the scenes, but Chloe Coleman, who was cast obviously as

[00:26:05] Sophie in the film, had a quote I saw from an interview.

[00:26:08] She's the only one that did press for this movie.

[00:26:10] Like, no one else talked about this movie other than her.

[00:26:13] I think because of the release, right?

[00:26:16] Probably.

[00:26:16] It was a pandemic release.

[00:26:18] So I think that's why.

[00:26:19] But she just had a quote.

[00:26:20] She said,

[00:26:21] I grew up loving spy movies, so I was so excited to be in this movie about spies.

[00:26:26] Sold.

[00:26:27] I mean, it's not often you see like a child actor say how much they love spy movies.

[00:26:32] That's kind of odd in itself.

[00:26:33] She's like,

[00:26:34] Timothy Hutton in The Falcon and the Snowman is my guy.

[00:26:37] I love that film.

[00:26:38] She's like, what?

[00:26:39] So I dug up,

[00:26:40] I actually found another interview where she named her two favorite spy films.

[00:26:43] Oh my God.

[00:26:44] I was joking, but what are her two favorite spy films?

[00:26:46] Wait, can you, can I like guess?

[00:26:49] Sure.

[00:26:50] Can you give me like a decade or something?

[00:26:52] No.

[00:26:53] Oh.

[00:26:55] Um, are they, are they Bond films?

[00:26:57] No.

[00:26:58] Okay.

[00:26:59] I'm going to go with Three Days of the Condor.

[00:27:03] Okay.

[00:27:04] And,

[00:27:07] hmm,

[00:27:08] Three Days of the Condor.

[00:27:10] And,

[00:27:13] uh,

[00:27:15] an 80s film or something.

[00:27:17] Uh,

[00:27:17] oh,

[00:27:17] Spies Like Us.

[00:27:19] Okay.

[00:27:19] No,

[00:27:20] the answer is The Emperor's Candlesticks and The House on 92nd Street.

[00:27:24] You had me for a second.

[00:27:26] I was like,

[00:27:26] what?

[00:27:27] What?

[00:27:30] What world is this?

[00:27:32] I really loved M. Butterfly.

[00:27:34] Shut up.

[00:27:36] I just loved,

[00:27:38] listeners,

[00:27:39] you didn't see the look on Scott's face when The Emperor's Candlesticks,

[00:27:43] came out of my mouth.

[00:27:45] His eyes just widened.

[00:27:48] This nine-year-old sitting and watching William Powell comedies.

[00:27:52] On YouTube,

[00:27:53] probably.

[00:27:55] Spy Heart Specials.

[00:27:57] She's a big fan of the show,

[00:27:59] I hear.

[00:28:01] No,

[00:28:01] I don't know what her favorites were.

[00:28:03] I'm going to guess Bond in Mission Impossible.

[00:28:05] Oh,

[00:28:05] you didn't even get that quote.

[00:28:06] You made that all up.

[00:28:07] No,

[00:28:07] the quote was real.

[00:28:08] Her thing about growing up watching spy films,

[00:28:10] but I filled in the two favorite spy films.

[00:28:12] Oh,

[00:28:13] what a shame.

[00:28:14] What a shame.

[00:28:15] Because I think like,

[00:28:16] what would a kid have been watching?

[00:28:17] Maybe Spy Kids as well?

[00:28:18] Yeah,

[00:28:19] it could have been Spy Kids.

[00:28:21] I would have said GoldenEye around her age.

[00:28:23] No way.

[00:28:24] Or Casino Royale,

[00:28:25] maybe.

[00:28:25] No,

[00:28:26] Casino Royale.

[00:28:26] No way.

[00:28:27] She's born in like 2012 or something,

[00:28:29] isn't she?

[00:28:31] Yeah,

[00:28:31] I know.

[00:28:31] But like,

[00:28:32] it's like when kids now like watch something and they're like,

[00:28:35] oh,

[00:28:35] I found,

[00:28:35] I watched this really old film the other day.

[00:28:37] It was called The Matrix.

[00:28:38] Right,

[00:28:39] sure.

[00:28:39] Like,

[00:28:39] oh,

[00:28:40] you die a little bit inside.

[00:28:42] I think maybe,

[00:28:45] it's got to be Mission Impossible.

[00:28:47] Those are just so much more,

[00:28:47] I think,

[00:28:48] accessible to young kids.

[00:28:49] Yeah,

[00:28:50] probably.

[00:28:50] It's probably Fallout and,

[00:28:52] yeah,

[00:28:53] maybe Spy Kids.

[00:28:54] Yeah,

[00:28:55] because I just think like the Craig era Bond films aren't as kid friendly.

[00:28:59] No,

[00:28:59] but Casino Royale had a very wide,

[00:29:01] a Skyfall could be in that contention too.

[00:29:03] I just remember my,

[00:29:05] my friend Par showed her,

[00:29:07] her son,

[00:29:08] Casino Royale,

[00:29:09] because she really loved that movie.

[00:29:11] And she said like,

[00:29:12] and he'd seen the Connerys and he'd seen the,

[00:29:15] the,

[00:29:15] the Roger Moore Bond films.

[00:29:17] I'm not sure about the Dalton's or Lazenby,

[00:29:19] but he just was so confused by the end of Casino Royale.

[00:29:23] Like he didn't understand the plot of it at all because it was quite adult.

[00:29:26] They're talking about like betting on 9-11 and stocks and all that sort of thing.

[00:29:30] It's not the villain with a plot to take over the world and,

[00:29:34] you know,

[00:29:34] put everything underwater or take,

[00:29:36] you know,

[00:29:36] everyone to space.

[00:29:37] Yeah.

[00:29:37] It's not an Austin Powers film.

[00:29:39] No.

[00:29:40] And so I remember her son really just struggled with it a lot.

[00:29:43] The Johnny English films are quite approachable for kids as well.

[00:29:46] Oh,

[00:29:46] that's a good example.

[00:29:47] Yeah.

[00:29:48] Johnny English.

[00:29:49] It's like,

[00:29:49] it's like the,

[00:29:50] the family friendly Austin Powers film.

[00:29:52] Yeah.

[00:29:53] Not as big in North America,

[00:29:54] but that doesn't mean they didn't see them on TV.

[00:29:56] Yeah.

[00:29:56] No,

[00:29:56] but the first one certainly did all right.

[00:29:58] I think.

[00:29:59] And you know,

[00:29:59] that's a nice little breather after watching the Emperor's Candlesticks.

[00:30:03] Right.

[00:30:04] You're like,

[00:30:04] what's the deal with those candlesticks?

[00:30:05] Oh,

[00:30:05] who knows?

[00:30:06] But let's talk about John Malkovich being the King of England.

[00:30:09] Sure.

[00:30:10] Sure.

[00:30:10] Maybe red.

[00:30:11] Maybe she was a big fan of the red films.

[00:30:13] And that,

[00:30:13] and then she was like,

[00:30:14] Peter Siegel.

[00:30:15] Oh,

[00:30:15] I can't wait to be directed by him.

[00:30:16] He did red one and two.

[00:30:17] That's both her films.

[00:30:18] No,

[00:30:18] he didn't.

[00:30:18] No,

[00:30:18] he didn't.

[00:30:19] Oh,

[00:30:19] he didn't.

[00:30:20] Damn.

[00:30:20] Who was the,

[00:30:20] oh,

[00:30:21] the writers.

[00:30:21] I'm sorry.

[00:30:22] It was the writers.

[00:30:23] Oh,

[00:30:23] no,

[00:30:24] that,

[00:30:24] that joke fell flat.

[00:30:25] Like most of my do.

[00:30:25] That's right.

[00:30:27] So this movie was delayed.

[00:30:30] Actually,

[00:30:30] it was supposed to come out in August,

[00:30:32] 2019.

[00:30:33] But they ended up pushing it to July,

[00:30:37] 2020.

[00:30:37] That was the plan.

[00:30:39] And they pushed it because there was two reasons.

[00:30:42] The Dave Bautista,

[00:30:44] Kamail Nanjiani film Stuber came out in the summer of 2019 and they want to

[00:30:48] distance it a little bit.

[00:30:49] Sure.

[00:30:49] Just so you didn't have kind of back to back press tours with Dave Bautista and

[00:30:52] audiences getting confused.

[00:30:54] Yeah.

[00:30:54] And also STX wanted to put all of their kind of push behind Hustlers,

[00:30:59] which was something they saw a lot of potential in,

[00:31:01] which is the JLo.

[00:31:02] That did quite well,

[00:31:03] didn't it?

[00:31:03] Yeah,

[00:31:04] it did.

[00:31:04] And they were hoping it would get some Oscar attention.

[00:31:07] It didn't,

[00:31:07] but I think it deserved a little bit.

[00:31:09] Actually,

[00:31:09] I thought Hustlers was very,

[00:31:11] very good.

[00:31:11] And so they,

[00:31:13] I think at that point we're putting their somewhat limited marketing muscle

[00:31:17] behind Hustlers as opposed to distracting themselves and kind of aiming in

[00:31:21] separate directions,

[00:31:22] trying to promote My Spy.

[00:31:23] I think they have different audiences for sure.

[00:31:26] Well,

[00:31:26] I mean,

[00:31:27] this movie cost $18 million.

[00:31:29] So I don't think the marketing budget is very high.

[00:31:31] I don't think they're spending a lot on marketing.

[00:31:33] And my guess is they have limited income for this.

[00:31:36] So they're probably like,

[00:31:37] let's put all the money behind Hustlers right now and focus on My Spy later.

[00:31:41] Well,

[00:31:42] I mean,

[00:31:42] clearly like I saw tons of trailers and posters for Hustler when that film came

[00:31:46] out.

[00:31:46] I never saw the film,

[00:31:47] but like I felt its presence.

[00:31:49] Oh yeah.

[00:31:50] Yeah.

[00:31:51] I mean,

[00:31:51] it was one that was definitely being pushed as a major film as opposed to

[00:31:55] kind of a,

[00:31:55] you know,

[00:31:56] modest release in a busy weekend.

[00:31:58] I mean,

[00:31:59] this is the definition of the mid budget film.

[00:32:02] It doesn't exist anymore.

[00:32:03] Yeah.

[00:32:04] I mean,

[00:32:04] this is actually low budget,

[00:32:05] 18 million.

[00:32:06] That's like nothing.

[00:32:07] Sure.

[00:32:07] This is low budget,

[00:32:08] but like,

[00:32:08] you know,

[00:32:09] Matt Damon did that famous interview where said like these films don't exist

[00:32:11] anymore.

[00:32:12] This is an example of those films.

[00:32:14] Yeah.

[00:32:14] This is,

[00:32:15] this is more rats.

[00:32:16] Totally.

[00:32:17] Yeah.

[00:32:18] Right.

[00:32:18] That,

[00:32:19] that it's not a,

[00:32:20] it's not a indie film.

[00:32:21] It's not that sort of thing.

[00:32:23] It's also not a major motion picture in the sense of like $20 million,

[00:32:27] but you know,

[00:32:28] 20,

[00:32:29] sorry,

[00:32:29] I mean,

[00:32:29] $200 million,

[00:32:30] but $20 million in this case,

[00:32:32] I think is enough money to make a competent film and have a wide release,

[00:32:36] which it was supposed to have had.

[00:32:38] Exactly.

[00:32:39] Cause as you said,

[00:32:40] right there,

[00:32:41] they're supposed to have had the pandemic started.

[00:32:44] And so they just realized that releasing my spy was not going to happen in July of 2020.

[00:32:49] So they sold the distribution rights to Amazon,

[00:32:51] which is why it was in North America only shown on Amazon.

[00:32:56] On prime.

[00:32:57] It did have an international release in some territories.

[00:33:01] So as I said,

[00:33:01] the budget was $18 million domestically.

[00:33:04] It made nothing because it wasn't released.

[00:33:06] Yeah.

[00:33:07] International $10.2 million for a worldwide total of $10.2 million.

[00:33:11] I mean,

[00:33:11] whatever the rights they got for the North American distribution,

[00:33:14] plus that money,

[00:33:15] I'm sure they probably covered their bets.

[00:33:17] Exactly.

[00:33:18] Yeah.

[00:33:18] And I'll get to a little kind of footnote on that in a second,

[00:33:21] but it was number 113 for the year between street dancer,

[00:33:26] 3d and a hundred percent wolf.

[00:33:29] Is that the prequel to wolves on Apple TV plus now?

[00:33:33] I don't know what it is.

[00:33:36] It's a hundred percent though,

[00:33:37] whatever it is.

[00:33:38] It is a hundred percent.

[00:33:39] You don't want to watch like 62% wolf.

[00:33:41] You don't want a fake wolf.

[00:33:43] You don't want a half wolf.

[00:33:44] You get full wolf here.

[00:33:45] That's a pretty good title.

[00:33:46] Actually.

[00:33:48] It depends what it is.

[00:33:49] It's either a good title or a terrible title,

[00:33:51] but either way.

[00:33:53] Well,

[00:33:53] if it's a,

[00:33:53] if it's a,

[00:33:54] if it's a family comedy,

[00:33:55] it's a bit of a terrible title.

[00:33:57] If it's a film about wolves,

[00:33:58] then maybe it's okay.

[00:34:00] Let's see.

[00:34:00] I'm going to look it up right now.

[00:34:02] Oh,

[00:34:02] Cam wants me to vamp while I see Google something.

[00:34:05] A hundred percent wolves.

[00:34:06] It's not even showing up.

[00:34:07] Oh,

[00:34:08] here it is.

[00:34:08] Here it is.

[00:34:09] I got it.

[00:34:10] Um,

[00:34:11] oh,

[00:34:12] oh,

[00:34:12] okay.

[00:34:13] It's actually an animated kids film.

[00:34:15] Okay.

[00:34:16] That got no attention,

[00:34:18] obviously.

[00:34:18] Uh,

[00:34:19] and it is,

[00:34:19] it looks like getting some now.

[00:34:21] We are giving it attention.

[00:34:23] It looks like it's actually a hundred percent North American.

[00:34:25] I think.

[00:34:26] Okay.

[00:34:27] But it has voices by Samara weaving,

[00:34:29] Jai Courtney,

[00:34:30] and Jane Lynch.

[00:34:31] What's the synopsis,

[00:34:33] please.

[00:34:33] It is.

[00:34:34] A hundred percent wolf centers on Freddie Lupin,

[00:34:37] heir to a proud family line of werewolves.

[00:34:40] Positive.

[00:34:41] He'll become the most fearsome werewolf ever.

[00:34:43] Freddie is in for a shock when his first war thing goes awry,

[00:34:47] turning him into a ferocious.

[00:34:49] Poodle.

[00:34:50] Sounds like a howl.

[00:34:51] Hmm.

[00:34:53] Yeah.

[00:34:53] Well,

[00:34:54] it barked its way to,

[00:34:55] some,

[00:34:55] do you call it wolf things when they transform?

[00:34:58] I've never heard that term before in my life.

[00:35:00] No.

[00:35:01] Let us know folks.

[00:35:02] Is,

[00:35:02] is a transforming werewolf called a wolf thing?

[00:35:05] Wolf thing.

[00:35:06] Wolf thing.

[00:35:08] Yeah.

[00:35:09] W A L F.

[00:35:10] Okay.

[00:35:11] We're going,

[00:35:12] we're going way off the rails here,

[00:35:13] but yeah,

[00:35:14] that's a weird one.

[00:35:14] But yeah.

[00:35:15] Okay.

[00:35:21] I wonder if it was Australian because it's got a couple Australian actors doing voices there.

[00:35:25] So either way,

[00:35:27] either way,

[00:35:28] a hundred percent wolf made a little bit less than my spy.

[00:35:31] Not a great time for family films when no one's going to a theater.

[00:35:35] Just ask Mulan.

[00:35:36] Right.

[00:35:37] Exactly.

[00:35:37] Also straight to streaming.

[00:35:39] Yeah.

[00:35:39] Or not a family film,

[00:35:41] but like black widow was also,

[00:35:43] you know,

[00:35:43] in streaming.

[00:35:44] Yeah.

[00:35:44] And quickly forgotten about.

[00:35:46] Hmm.

[00:35:47] Yes.

[00:35:48] So the top three for the year,

[00:35:50] of course,

[00:35:50] this is the pandemic year.

[00:35:51] So it's going to be some movies you're not necessarily familiar with.

[00:35:54] Number one,

[00:35:54] Demon Slayer,

[00:35:55] Kimetsu no Yeba,

[00:35:57] the movie Mugen Train.

[00:35:59] Of course.

[00:36:00] What else?

[00:36:01] Which was a Japanese anime film made at a crap ton of money,

[00:36:05] like over $400 million.

[00:36:07] So it did pretty well.

[00:36:09] Number two was the 800,

[00:36:11] which was a Chinese historical epic.

[00:36:12] And number three was bad boys for life.

[00:36:15] I still never seen that or the sequel.

[00:36:17] They're pretty good.

[00:36:18] Pretty good.

[00:36:19] Actually.

[00:36:20] Yeah.

[00:36:20] You wouldn't think so,

[00:36:21] but they are actually pretty good.

[00:36:23] Fair enough.

[00:36:24] Something to watch on a rainy day.

[00:36:25] That's right.

[00:36:26] And the final note.

[00:36:29] So a sequel was announced to my spy extremely shortly after streaming release.

[00:36:34] Okay.

[00:36:35] Due to the impressive viewership numbers.

[00:36:37] Sure.

[00:36:37] Like less than a month after my spy hit Amazon prime,

[00:36:40] they were like,

[00:36:41] we got to get a sequel going.

[00:36:43] Okay.

[00:36:43] The fact that it took four years is kind of surprising,

[00:36:45] but they really were invested in the my spy universe.

[00:36:51] So,

[00:36:52] I mean,

[00:36:52] it's actually kind of shocking.

[00:36:53] They didn't crank one out in like one year or two.

[00:36:55] Considering it's quite low budget and small in cast.

[00:36:58] I think you could have done it quicker,

[00:36:59] but maybe there was just like,

[00:37:01] maybe Dave was just busy.

[00:37:02] Well,

[00:37:03] I mean,

[00:37:03] I guess also just pandemic restrictions in 2020 when they're putting this out,

[00:37:07] they're not like we can rush into production tomorrow.

[00:37:10] No.

[00:37:10] It probably took a little bit to get it going.

[00:37:11] And I imagine like a lot of films got held over for actors like Dave Bautista and Ken.

[00:37:16] I don't,

[00:37:17] I don't know who else is in the sequel,

[00:37:18] but I imagine it was a scheduling thing.

[00:37:20] They probably shot it in 2023 and obviously came out this year.

[00:37:23] Yeah.

[00:37:24] Kristen Schaal is also in the sequel.

[00:37:27] Okay.

[00:37:28] Sure.

[00:37:28] Is that,

[00:37:29] is that the,

[00:37:30] the dossier on my spy?

[00:37:31] That is a dossier on the film.

[00:37:34] That is my spy.

[00:37:35] Okay.

[00:37:35] Well,

[00:37:36] it's an interesting one because this is a bit of a mishmash of genre in the sense of

[00:37:40] it's a family film.

[00:37:41] It's also a comedy.

[00:37:43] Um,

[00:37:44] it's kind of spy kids esque,

[00:37:45] I suppose.

[00:37:46] It's kindergarten cop.

[00:37:48] Well,

[00:37:48] it's like beat for beat kindergarten cop.

[00:37:51] It's,

[00:37:51] it's kindergarten cop.

[00:37:53] Kindergarten spy is what I wrote down.

[00:37:55] Yeah,

[00:37:55] it is.

[00:37:56] Yeah.

[00:37:56] And I only watched that for the first time this year.

[00:37:58] Oh,

[00:37:59] okay.

[00:37:59] I mean,

[00:37:59] I saw it a couple of times as a kid and then I watched it when I did the Arnie

[00:38:03] getting podcast.

[00:38:04] So I'm fairly up on my,

[00:38:06] um,

[00:38:07] uh,

[00:38:07] kindergarten cop.

[00:38:08] Okay.

[00:38:09] And,

[00:38:09] and yeah,

[00:38:10] it is mostly beat for beat.

[00:38:11] Even like the love interest with the mom,

[00:38:13] everything like that.

[00:38:14] The partner even looks the same,

[00:38:16] uh,

[00:38:17] similar type.

[00:38:18] Yeah.

[00:38:19] It's interesting.

[00:38:20] Like,

[00:38:20] um,

[00:38:21] a lot of these wrestlers go through these films.

[00:38:23] These like kid comedies,

[00:38:25] family friendly films.

[00:38:26] Like you got two fairy for the rock.

[00:38:28] I'm sure John Cena has done a couple as well.

[00:38:30] Yeah.

[00:38:30] He did the one about,

[00:38:31] was it like fireman recently?

[00:38:33] Sure.

[00:38:34] I'll take your word for it.

[00:38:35] With like young kids.

[00:38:36] I don't even remember.

[00:38:37] I think it was called playing with fire.

[00:38:38] Maybe.

[00:38:39] Sure.

[00:38:40] It sounds like a straight to DVD video for me.

[00:38:42] Um,

[00:38:43] yeah,

[00:38:44] it's interesting.

[00:38:44] But like of all those ones I've listed,

[00:38:46] this is probably the best of the bunch.

[00:38:48] Well,

[00:38:49] yeah.

[00:38:49] I mean,

[00:38:49] I think it started with kindergarten cop.

[00:38:51] It was such a huge hit for Arnold.

[00:38:53] And so then it became this like almost like lazy,

[00:38:58] um,

[00:38:58] thing that action stars would just do.

[00:39:00] They're like,

[00:39:00] well,

[00:39:00] now I have to do the kid comedy and kindergarten.

[00:39:03] And kindergarten cop is like pretty well made.

[00:39:05] It was directed by,

[00:39:05] um,

[00:39:06] Ivan Reitman.

[00:39:07] Yeah.

[00:39:07] There's some muscle behind that one.

[00:39:09] And it,

[00:39:09] and there's some pretty good shootouts and stuff at the end.

[00:39:11] Like it's got,

[00:39:12] it's got some like credibility.

[00:39:14] Yeah.

[00:39:15] It's got some solid action.

[00:39:16] Arnold's very good.

[00:39:17] And then,

[00:39:17] he's like,

[00:39:18] he's like legit,

[00:39:18] very good.

[00:39:19] His comic timing is like kind of at its heights in that film.

[00:39:22] And also the kids are great.

[00:39:24] Like it relies upon that too.

[00:39:25] The kids are solid.

[00:39:26] And then,

[00:39:27] you know,

[00:39:28] that movie is a huge hit.

[00:39:28] And so I think a lot of agents look on paper and go,

[00:39:33] well,

[00:39:33] action star with kids.

[00:39:34] That's the formula.

[00:39:35] It's not about the filmmaker.

[00:39:37] It's not about the film itself.

[00:39:39] It's just about that formula.

[00:39:41] And so that's how you get like the pacifier with Vin Diesel,

[00:39:44] which was horrendous.

[00:39:46] The tooth fairy with the rock,

[00:39:48] which I never saw,

[00:39:49] but I heard was pretty lousy.

[00:39:50] Triple H did one as well.

[00:39:51] Like he did a,

[00:39:52] uh,

[00:39:52] like I'm going to look it up,

[00:39:54] but like Triple H did one with kids.

[00:39:55] They tried to do that and didn't work.

[00:39:57] Yeah.

[00:39:57] Hulk Hogan had Mr.

[00:39:58] Nanny,

[00:39:59] uh,

[00:40:00] which I appreciated as a kid.

[00:40:02] I don't know if I would appreciate now.

[00:40:04] Um,

[00:40:04] the chaperone,

[00:40:05] it was called the chaperone.

[00:40:07] Oh God.

[00:40:08] Okay.

[00:40:09] Um,

[00:40:10] Jackie Chan had the spy next door,

[00:40:11] which we'll tackle at some point in the future.

[00:40:13] Yeah.

[00:40:14] Uh,

[00:40:14] it just became the go-to thing,

[00:40:15] but none of these movies really had any sort of like a muscle behind this,

[00:40:20] behind the camera on them.

[00:40:22] No,

[00:40:23] but I would say like,

[00:40:25] if we're going to pivot that into my spy.

[00:40:27] Yeah.

[00:40:28] I think this,

[00:40:30] well,

[00:40:30] I'll,

[00:40:30] I'll just jump in.

[00:40:31] I found this to be an utterly charming film.

[00:40:33] Mm.

[00:40:34] I mean,

[00:40:34] okay.

[00:40:34] Yes,

[00:40:35] it is playing with kindergarten cop,

[00:40:38] like basically beat for beat.

[00:40:39] And it's like riffs to other films and their spy game.

[00:40:42] True lies.

[00:40:42] We've got nods in this film,

[00:40:43] but I mean,

[00:40:45] it's,

[00:40:45] it's 90 minutes basically from the credit to the beginning to the credits.

[00:40:49] Yeah.

[00:40:49] And I don't think I had a boring moment.

[00:40:51] I don't think I ever really looked at my watch.

[00:40:53] I found Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman to be great together.

[00:40:57] They had some great chemistry.

[00:40:59] And I think a lot of these kids films that have kids in them rely on the child actors.

[00:41:03] And I think she was a great find.

[00:41:04] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:05] She really helps this film move along.

[00:41:07] And,

[00:41:08] you know,

[00:41:08] the,

[00:41:08] the,

[00:41:09] the secondary cast and they want,

[00:41:10] you know,

[00:41:10] not to sniff at either,

[00:41:11] but I think the joy in this film for me comes down to the chemistry between Bautista and Coleman.

[00:41:18] And I,

[00:41:19] whenever they're just like going back and forth,

[00:41:22] I think it's great.

[00:41:23] I mean,

[00:41:23] the,

[00:41:23] the film maybe sags a little bit when the plot has to come back in,

[00:41:26] in the last 10 minutes.

[00:41:27] Yeah.

[00:41:27] Because they have to do that.

[00:41:29] But,

[00:41:29] you know,

[00:41:30] the,

[00:41:30] the other 70 odd minutes where they're just,

[00:41:32] you know,

[00:41:32] one upping each other and being sassy with one another and stuff.

[00:41:35] I think it's just great.

[00:41:37] I appreciated the chemistry of the two leads in this movie.

[00:41:40] Okay.

[00:41:41] I think that is a very tough thing to do is to,

[00:41:43] you know,

[00:41:43] we've seen it.

[00:41:45] We have seen,

[00:41:45] we've just named several examples of bringing precocious kids in and putting them next to an action star.

[00:41:51] Spy Kids 5.

[00:41:52] Sure.

[00:41:53] Yeah.

[00:41:53] But I,

[00:41:54] I remember the pacifier like that was awful.

[00:41:57] That movie.

[00:41:58] Um,

[00:41:58] and so,

[00:41:59] you know,

[00:42:00] that could be just like a recipe for absolute disaster.

[00:42:02] And I thought that like Chloe Coleman walked a very fine line.

[00:42:06] Cause this kid could be maddening in a different film.

[00:42:10] Absolutely obnoxious in a different film.

[00:42:12] Yeah.

[00:42:12] Yeah.

[00:42:12] And I thought she was actually quite good and paired very well with Dave Bautista.

[00:42:18] Like,

[00:42:18] I think he is really strong here and that's kind of,

[00:42:23] what the entertainment is for me with this movie,

[00:42:24] because this is a movie that is going through the motions in every sense of the word.

[00:42:29] Everything from the script to the direction to everything is just like,

[00:42:34] it's,

[00:42:34] it feels like it's just perfunctory.

[00:42:36] It's like,

[00:42:36] yeah,

[00:42:37] yeah,

[00:42:37] just follow the beats,

[00:42:38] follow the beats.

[00:42:38] Who cares?

[00:42:39] Who cares?

[00:42:39] It feels so uninvested in its set pieces or anything like that.

[00:42:44] It's just relying entirely on us liking the two stars.

[00:42:48] And because of the fact we do that,

[00:42:51] I walked out of the movie going,

[00:42:52] Oh,

[00:42:52] that was,

[00:42:53] that was charming enough.

[00:42:55] But I mean,

[00:42:56] it had,

[00:42:56] let's just say,

[00:42:57] if I'm to make a list of negatives and positives,

[00:42:59] the negative list is very,

[00:43:00] very long.

[00:43:01] It just so happens that Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman are propping this thing up with her Herculean effort.

[00:43:08] I say,

[00:43:08] I,

[00:43:09] I mean,

[00:43:09] I can definitely see where you're coming from.

[00:43:11] I don't think I will,

[00:43:11] I don't think I'll find any point you make in terms of detractors that I will butt up against,

[00:43:16] but I,

[00:43:16] I just,

[00:43:17] it's one of those things where I think if you can get me on board with the characters,

[00:43:22] I'll forgive a lot of sins.

[00:43:23] Sure.

[00:43:24] And so like,

[00:43:25] I was just kind of with it.

[00:43:26] Like I just wanted to hang out with them.

[00:43:28] And so I didn't really fuss about it being a,

[00:43:31] you know,

[00:43:32] a copy of kindergarten cop.

[00:43:34] Like it,

[00:43:34] it just,

[00:43:35] it is,

[00:43:36] and that's fine.

[00:43:36] And it is going through the motions.

[00:43:37] And this film is full of cliche.

[00:43:40] Oh yeah.

[00:43:40] It's full of tropes.

[00:43:41] Like,

[00:43:42] I'm pretty sure like a year one screenwriter could,

[00:43:45] you know,

[00:43:46] pump this out.

[00:43:47] Yeah.

[00:43:48] Yeah,

[00:43:48] exactly.

[00:43:49] And I mean,

[00:43:49] the thing is like,

[00:43:50] had Bautista and this kid not meshed well at all,

[00:43:55] this would have been a horrible experience.

[00:43:56] This would have been one of the worst movies we've tackled on Spy Hearts.

[00:43:59] I think I would have been like,

[00:44:01] oh my God,

[00:44:01] I got nothing.

[00:44:02] But I mean,

[00:44:03] Dave Bautista is pretty much on camera the entire film.

[00:44:07] And he's a legit strong actor.

[00:44:09] It's not like in the past where you had someone like Hulk Hogan,

[00:44:12] you know,

[00:44:13] occupying center frame for the entire film.

[00:44:15] Hulk Hogan's not a strong actor.

[00:44:17] Yeah.

[00:44:17] And Dave Bautista is.

[00:44:19] And so when you're asking me to buy into the,

[00:44:22] like the trauma,

[00:44:24] this man's gone through losing his team in the field a lot.

[00:44:26] It works.

[00:44:27] Yeah.

[00:44:28] I believe him as someone who's like slowly opening up and connecting with this kid.

[00:44:32] And even it made the absolutely absurd romantic subplot somewhat work.

[00:44:38] This is a thing that,

[00:44:39] I mean,

[00:44:40] how often in life is it like children setting up their parents in movies?

[00:44:44] Like it's the most like old hacky trope and something that in real life would never work.

[00:44:49] But I'm like,

[00:44:50] when,

[00:44:50] when that started like happening,

[00:44:51] I was like,

[00:44:52] oh God,

[00:44:53] please,

[00:44:53] God,

[00:44:53] no,

[00:44:54] not again.

[00:44:55] Well,

[00:44:55] I mean,

[00:44:55] you could see like every single twist in this film.

[00:44:58] You see from a mile away.

[00:44:59] Oh,

[00:45:00] from a mile away.

[00:45:01] I didn't mind.

[00:45:03] Yeah.

[00:45:04] They're all heavily telegraphed.

[00:45:05] But when you have that kid taking that role,

[00:45:08] I'm like,

[00:45:08] this is like the hackiest thing I've seen in some time to go back to this trope that was like worn out in the 1980s.

[00:45:14] Yeah.

[00:45:15] But like,

[00:45:16] I felt like Dave Bautista and even like Parisa Fitzhenley,

[00:45:20] who plays the romantic interest,

[00:45:21] they were pretty good together.

[00:45:22] So I wasn't even like crawling out of my skin watching it.

[00:45:25] I was like,

[00:45:25] oh,

[00:45:26] you know what?

[00:45:26] These two actors are kind of charming.

[00:45:27] So it did,

[00:45:29] massive amounts of effort in terms of kind of paving over things that should have been really grating to watch.

[00:45:36] Well,

[00:45:36] it just also goes to show like,

[00:45:38] this is how important casting directors are.

[00:45:40] Yeah.

[00:45:41] No kidding.

[00:45:42] Because,

[00:45:42] yeah,

[00:45:43] if you just put a bunch of names into a hat for each of these characters and just drew them out randomly,

[00:45:49] this film is a complete roll of the dice.

[00:45:51] Can you imagine if this has like Stone Cold Steve Austin in the lead?

[00:45:55] Oh yeah.

[00:45:56] I just wrote about halfway through,

[00:45:57] I wrote down such a cliche,

[00:46:00] Batista lifts it up,

[00:46:01] but this could be any actor in the role.

[00:46:03] Yeah.

[00:46:04] And I think like Dave Bautista being a producer on this film also knows how to kind of tailor it to his strengths.

[00:46:11] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:12] And so like,

[00:46:13] he seems like someone who has a very strong sense as to what makes him work on screen and what his strengths are and how to play to them.

[00:46:22] Because like,

[00:46:23] had he had no control in this movie,

[00:46:25] I question whether they would have delivered something that made him look as good.

[00:46:30] Well,

[00:46:31] you'll note there's never a moment where like,

[00:46:32] he's in a tutu.

[00:46:34] Right.

[00:46:35] Yeah.

[00:46:35] And you know what?

[00:46:36] You know,

[00:46:37] actually,

[00:46:37] this is a point for the movie too,

[00:46:39] which is,

[00:46:39] they set up that whole thing of talking about him having a tea party with her.

[00:46:43] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:44] And later in the film,

[00:46:46] when you know,

[00:46:47] there's the false crisis,

[00:46:48] she gives him like the picture of them having a tea party.

[00:46:52] Yeah.

[00:46:52] And that's the payoff.

[00:46:53] We don't get a scene of Dave Bautista having to sit there and talk to stuffed animals and drink imaginary tea.

[00:46:59] No,

[00:46:59] it's the Samuel L. Jackson not wanting to run.

[00:47:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:47:04] Like,

[00:47:04] don't display the weaknesses.

[00:47:06] Okay,

[00:47:07] he might look silly and you want your character to look,

[00:47:09] your lead character who is your main spy,

[00:47:12] look strong.

[00:47:13] And okay,

[00:47:13] he's being,

[00:47:14] he's,

[00:47:15] because the problem is,

[00:47:16] like,

[00:47:16] in concept and in,

[00:47:18] you know,

[00:47:19] his entire,

[00:47:20] his agency is sort of removed because he is such an inept spy that he is outclassed by a 12-year-old girl.

[00:47:27] Yeah.

[00:47:28] So immediately as a viewer,

[00:47:30] you're like,

[00:47:30] well,

[00:47:30] this guy's no good.

[00:47:31] But because everyone's so charming,

[00:47:33] you're willing to forgive all these sins.

[00:47:35] And that's,

[00:47:35] I think,

[00:47:36] playing to the strengths of Dave Bautista and obviously the rest of the cast.

[00:47:39] And I'm glad they did that because I think,

[00:47:42] yeah,

[00:47:42] this could be really upsetting.

[00:47:43] In another direction.

[00:47:45] But let's,

[00:47:45] let's look at the things that we did like,

[00:47:47] because I've,

[00:47:47] I think my list is probably longer than yours.

[00:47:49] Go for it.

[00:47:51] I mean,

[00:47:51] I,

[00:47:51] we've spoken about their chemistry,

[00:47:53] but I'll just jump on it for a second.

[00:47:56] Kid actors are,

[00:47:57] it's potluck.

[00:47:59] Yeah.

[00:47:59] You know,

[00:47:59] you know,

[00:47:59] like you,

[00:48:00] I mean,

[00:48:00] for every like,

[00:48:01] Chloe Coleman,

[00:48:02] there is an Anakin Skywalker.

[00:48:05] Sure.

[00:48:06] Right.

[00:48:06] Wizard.

[00:48:07] Nothing against.

[00:48:07] Yeah.

[00:48:08] Let's try spinning.

[00:48:10] That's a good trick.

[00:48:11] Uh,

[00:48:11] yeah.

[00:48:12] I think I could quote that movie ad infinitum,

[00:48:14] but it doesn't mean it's a good film.

[00:48:16] To be fair though,

[00:48:17] it comes down to direction and dialogue too.

[00:48:19] Cause I don't know.

[00:48:20] That poor kid,

[00:48:21] Jake Lloyd was not getting strong direction or dialogue.

[00:48:24] No.

[00:48:24] And there's plenty of other,

[00:48:25] like,

[00:48:25] even the kids in spike it's five.

[00:48:27] We recently spoke about not great.

[00:48:30] And that,

[00:48:30] and Robert Rodriguez is a good director and has directed kids to good

[00:48:34] performances.

[00:48:35] Yeah.

[00:48:35] So like there's something missing there.

[00:48:37] Right.

[00:48:37] Yeah.

[00:48:38] Um,

[00:48:38] and I,

[00:48:39] and so like,

[00:48:39] I'm glad they found Chloe and I,

[00:48:41] I'm glad she's back for the sequel.

[00:48:42] I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the character moving

[00:48:44] forward,

[00:48:45] because again,

[00:48:46] she's got that sort of smart Alec.

[00:48:48] Like she can fix anything.

[00:48:49] And that could be like a real,

[00:48:51] like busy body annoyance in some films.

[00:48:54] Whereas this is just,

[00:48:54] you're actually just charmed by her.

[00:48:56] I'll go back to the word charming.

[00:48:57] You actually want to see her like,

[00:49:00] uh,

[00:49:01] undermine Batista because it actually provides some comedy.

[00:49:03] And there's a lot of moments where like,

[00:49:05] she would just like throw in these like cuts at him and he's like

[00:49:09] fragile male ego.

[00:49:11] And like,

[00:49:11] you just hear him go,

[00:49:12] Jesus Christ.

[00:49:14] And it's like,

[00:49:15] I mean,

[00:49:15] obviously that's not written for her.

[00:49:16] There's not Chloe coming up with those things,

[00:49:18] but actually like,

[00:49:20] it's quite witty at times.

[00:49:23] Yeah.

[00:49:24] I liked that.

[00:49:25] She very much had the upper hand on him.

[00:49:27] And they say that one of the,

[00:49:29] like the keys to getting a good child performance is a strong director who

[00:49:34] knows how to work with kids or also,

[00:49:36] you know,

[00:49:37] or,

[00:49:37] and also a,

[00:49:38] um,

[00:49:39] leading actor who's with them that knows how to work with them.

[00:49:42] And I know that they said like Bruce Willis was invaluable in the sixth sense.

[00:49:46] And Amright Champlin is actually very good with kids as well.

[00:49:49] Um,

[00:49:49] and so Haley Jo Osmond really gets to shine there.

[00:49:51] He's a great actor,

[00:49:52] but he also is being given so much support to really perform at a high level.

[00:49:57] And I think here,

[00:49:58] um,

[00:49:59] I don't really know if like Peter Siegel has a long history of directing kids given the credits I named there.

[00:50:04] But I think Dave Bautista knows how to work with kids really well.

[00:50:07] And perhaps part of the reason,

[00:50:09] you know,

[00:50:09] when you get to the third guardians film,

[00:50:11] they've got Drax with like an army of kids and Dave Bautista,

[00:50:14] you know,

[00:50:15] getting them all like laughing and joking around with them.

[00:50:17] So he clearly has that ability.

[00:50:19] So I think it was just a very good,

[00:50:22] you know,

[00:50:23] merging of talents there and his ability to play off of her was great.

[00:50:27] And putting her in that position of having the upper hand and realizing that that would be funny.

[00:50:33] Yeah.

[00:50:33] And I think that will sort of bring me into my other like is I genuinely laughed at this film.

[00:50:39] Okay.

[00:50:39] Which is actually more than I can say for some of the comedies we've tackled.

[00:50:43] I think I laughed once.

[00:50:45] Okay.

[00:50:46] Uh,

[00:50:47] it was the scene where the pigeon got,

[00:50:48] uh,

[00:50:49] taken out by the hawk.

[00:50:50] Yeah.

[00:50:50] Yeah.

[00:50:51] Yeah.

[00:50:51] Yeah.

[00:50:51] That was fun.

[00:50:52] Um,

[00:50:52] I mean,

[00:50:53] I'm not going to sit here and like make everyone listen to a podcast where I point out the funny moments in the film.

[00:50:57] That's,

[00:50:58] that sounds like torture,

[00:50:59] but like,

[00:51:00] I just think I was either in the right mood for this film or it was working for me,

[00:51:06] but it like the,

[00:51:07] I think whenever they were Chloe and Batista were on screen together,

[00:51:11] it just,

[00:51:11] it was fun moments.

[00:51:12] And I,

[00:51:12] I go back to the actual,

[00:51:14] like the barbs between them.

[00:51:15] A lot of the time is where I found a lot of the comedy.

[00:51:17] Right.

[00:51:17] Yeah.

[00:51:18] and,

[00:51:18] and it's also interesting that like the comedians in the film,

[00:51:21] uh,

[00:51:22] famously,

[00:51:23] uh,

[00:51:23] Kristen Scowl and Ken Young are mostly playing it straight.

[00:51:28] Yeah.

[00:51:28] Like,

[00:51:29] um,

[00:51:30] yeah.

[00:51:30] Uh,

[00:51:30] Kristen Schall plays a little bit,

[00:51:32] um,

[00:51:33] kind of wacky.

[00:51:33] Like she's definitely very similar to the partner in,

[00:51:36] yeah.

[00:51:36] In kindergarten cop.

[00:51:38] Very,

[00:51:38] very similar.

[00:51:39] Yeah.

[00:51:40] Um,

[00:51:41] and they give her the Jamie Lee Curtis scene where she drops the Uzi down the stairs.

[00:51:45] The Uzi down the stairs,

[00:51:46] which I thought was a nice touch.

[00:51:48] I was like,

[00:51:49] really?

[00:51:49] We're bringing that back.

[00:51:50] The moment that everyone hates in True Lies.

[00:51:52] Okay.

[00:51:52] Fair enough.

[00:51:53] Right.

[00:51:53] Yeah.

[00:51:53] I mean,

[00:51:54] they,

[00:51:54] they play it like a little bit better in the sense of like,

[00:51:57] is that,

[00:51:58] is it better?

[00:51:58] I don't know.

[00:51:59] it might fit this material better because it's a kid's movie.

[00:52:04] Whereas in True Lies,

[00:52:05] it felt,

[00:52:05] it felt too cartoony in that movie.

[00:52:08] And True Lies is pretty straight.

[00:52:10] Yeah.

[00:52:11] Yeah.

[00:52:11] And also you're trying to give like,

[00:52:13] Jamie Lee Curtis all this agency.

[00:52:14] And then she picks up a gun and goes,

[00:52:16] and then drops it down the stairs.

[00:52:17] Whereas Kristen Schall has no like field experience.

[00:52:21] And she points it out like several times and then drops her gun.

[00:52:26] Yeah.

[00:52:26] Yeah.

[00:52:27] Like I feel like in True Lies,

[00:52:29] that's the moment where you want Jamie Lee Curtis to show some strength

[00:52:32] and then like undercut her.

[00:52:33] Yeah.

[00:52:34] Versus here.

[00:52:35] Yeah.

[00:52:36] It's someone who's incredibly cocky,

[00:52:37] but has no experience whatsoever.

[00:52:39] And so that's kind of the joke.

[00:52:41] Yeah.

[00:52:41] Which is more us.

[00:52:42] But,

[00:52:42] so I gave two,

[00:52:43] but what's it like you have?

[00:52:46] I thought that,

[00:52:48] that you had a couple of supporting characters that actually worked.

[00:52:51] I thought that Devere Rogers and Noah Dalton,

[00:52:56] Danby playing the gay couple living in the apartment complex,

[00:53:01] who kind of pop in and out of their,

[00:53:03] you know,

[00:53:04] story were actually really fun.

[00:53:06] And I liked that one half of the partnership,

[00:53:10] Todd is a therapist and he's a very good therapist and never speaks the entire film.

[00:53:16] Just grunts.

[00:53:17] He's very monosyllabic.

[00:53:18] Yes.

[00:53:19] Every scene,

[00:53:19] it is the Carlos half of the equation,

[00:53:22] interrogating people or asking questions while Todd just sits there silently in stairs.

[00:53:26] I thought that was actually a really funny dynamic.

[00:53:27] And I got to be honest,

[00:53:29] if we're going to talk about how much this movie is telegraphed in every other aspect,

[00:53:32] I didn't see the twist with them coming.

[00:53:34] You didn't see it coming?

[00:53:35] Wow.

[00:53:36] I didn't.

[00:53:37] I don't know why I didn't.

[00:53:38] Okay.

[00:53:39] Listeners who haven't watched the film,

[00:53:40] but want it to be spoiled.

[00:53:42] Here is the spoiler.

[00:53:43] If not,

[00:53:43] skip ahead 20 seconds,

[00:53:45] but the gay couple are freelance spies who are hired to also get the MacGuffin that they're chasing.

[00:53:52] Yeah.

[00:53:52] That really didn't occur to me because this felt like a non-assignment.

[00:53:57] Like that was kind of the point of the movie is that it was low grade.

[00:53:59] It was very low grade.

[00:54:01] Like the villain is after plans for like a nuclear weapon.

[00:54:04] And so they're sending all the,

[00:54:06] you know,

[00:54:06] the primary agents out into,

[00:54:08] you know,

[00:54:09] places like Berlin and Paris to track the actual villain.

[00:54:14] Whereas Dave Bautista,

[00:54:15] basically it's babysitting duty for like the niece of the villain,

[00:54:20] just because they might be factoring in somehow.

[00:54:23] So it didn't occur to me there would be other spies there because I thought,

[00:54:26] well,

[00:54:27] this is babysitting duty that we know is going to turn into the main event.

[00:54:31] But the other characters don't know this.

[00:54:33] So I really didn't expect other agents to be involved at that level.

[00:54:37] I mean,

[00:54:38] you could argue that twist is just in there for the sake of a twist.

[00:54:41] It is.

[00:54:43] And that's definitely an argument that I would be willing to hear.

[00:54:46] But I,

[00:54:47] they just seemed like they were given too much time to not have a,

[00:54:51] some sort of import on the plot.

[00:54:53] And so I knew something was good.

[00:54:54] The ball was going to drop at some point with them.

[00:54:56] I didn't necessarily know how or whose side they'd be on.

[00:54:59] Like for a lot of the time,

[00:55:01] for me,

[00:55:01] they were actually sent there to like watch over them by someone else.

[00:55:05] Right.

[00:55:06] Instead of like being a long con.

[00:55:08] But either way it works,

[00:55:09] but yeah,

[00:55:10] they were,

[00:55:10] they were a delight to watch.

[00:55:13] The,

[00:55:13] the,

[00:55:14] the silent partner,

[00:55:15] if you pardon the pun,

[00:55:16] Noah Dalton,

[00:55:17] Danby is Todd.

[00:55:19] Reminded me a lot of that actor who played Hercules in the Thor film.

[00:55:25] I'm forgetting the name of Brett Goldstein.

[00:55:27] Yeah.

[00:55:28] Um,

[00:55:29] he has a similar style of character in everything he does.

[00:55:33] Um,

[00:55:33] including Ted Lasso.

[00:55:34] Oh,

[00:55:35] okay.

[00:55:35] He reminded,

[00:55:36] this actor reminded me of a young David Fincher.

[00:55:39] He,

[00:55:39] he just looks like David Fincher a little bit.

[00:55:41] Oh,

[00:55:41] okay.

[00:55:41] Right.

[00:55:42] There's a physical thing here.

[00:55:43] Right.

[00:55:43] Okay.

[00:55:43] Fair enough.

[00:55:44] Yeah.

[00:55:44] I kept looking at him.

[00:55:45] I'm like,

[00:55:45] why does this guy look so familiar?

[00:55:46] Did he direct alien three?

[00:55:48] What's going on?

[00:55:49] I'm going through his credits and I'm like,

[00:55:51] I don't really know him from very much at all.

[00:55:53] Why do I recognize him?

[00:55:55] And then I was like,

[00:55:55] Oh no,

[00:55:55] I think it's because he looks a little bit like David Fincher.

[00:55:58] Well,

[00:55:58] how many times he's heard that?

[00:56:00] Um,

[00:56:00] I think he would take that as a compliment.

[00:56:02] So hopefully many.

[00:56:03] Have you ever been told you look like a director?

[00:56:05] Director?

[00:56:06] No.

[00:56:06] Uh,

[00:56:06] just,

[00:56:07] uh,

[00:56:07] Rami Malek,

[00:56:08] I think it's,

[00:56:08] and Fred Savage.

[00:56:09] That's what I've heard.

[00:56:10] Rami Malek,

[00:56:11] you've said to me before,

[00:56:11] and it's actually uncanny when I sort of like put my eyes,

[00:56:14] I put my eyes together a little bit and squint.

[00:56:16] And it's like,

[00:56:17] Oh Christ.

[00:56:17] Yeah,

[00:56:17] he does.

[00:56:18] Yeah.

[00:56:19] I was mistaken for him in Las Vegas.

[00:56:21] And then,

[00:56:21] uh,

[00:56:22] when I said,

[00:56:23] no,

[00:56:23] I'm sorry.

[00:56:23] I'm not.

[00:56:24] He said,

[00:56:24] well,

[00:56:24] are you his twin brother then?

[00:56:26] Cause he does have a twin brother.

[00:56:28] And I was like,

[00:56:29] no,

[00:56:29] sorry.

[00:56:30] Sorry.

[00:56:30] I should have signed something that would have been funnier,

[00:56:32] but,

[00:56:33] yeah,

[00:56:33] you should have just been like spelled incorrectly,

[00:56:35] like Malek EK or something.

[00:56:38] What I should have done is said,

[00:56:39] I am Rami Malek and then behaved incredibly,

[00:56:41] like bizarre,

[00:56:43] like just wildly bizarre.

[00:56:44] Give me money.

[00:56:46] Start like dancing.

[00:56:50] $20.

[00:56:51] Keep going.

[00:56:52] Like go Rami,

[00:56:53] go Rami.

[00:56:54] I'm like dancing in place.

[00:56:56] It's like,

[00:56:57] yeah,

[00:56:57] this guy definitely is Rami Malek.

[00:56:59] Jeez.

[00:56:59] He's like clearly out of his mind.

[00:57:01] Yeah.

[00:57:01] He's not.

[00:57:02] What's going on?

[00:57:04] Um,

[00:57:05] in terms of other likes,

[00:57:06] uh,

[00:57:07] I mean,

[00:57:07] there's probably a few other things I could dive into,

[00:57:09] but,

[00:57:10] um,

[00:57:10] one thing I will give this film credit for,

[00:57:13] although your,

[00:57:15] I don't want to say like dislike of it,

[00:57:17] but maybe lack of enjoyment of this film,

[00:57:19] maybe disproves my point.

[00:57:22] But one thing we lambasted the later spike is films for was having a lack of

[00:57:27] appeal to other ages.

[00:57:29] Hmm.

[00:57:30] Yeah.

[00:57:30] I think this is played right down the middle and I don't think parents would be

[00:57:35] pulling their hair out if they watch this with a kid.

[00:57:37] I thought the same actually that I guess is a bit of a like in that.

[00:57:41] Yeah.

[00:57:41] When you watch a lot of kids movies,

[00:57:42] they're very juvenile.

[00:57:43] Like if you watch the pacifier as an adult,

[00:57:46] you're a masochist.

[00:57:48] Like why would you do that?

[00:57:49] Coming in hot on the pacifier cam?

[00:57:50] What is this?

[00:57:51] Oh,

[00:57:51] that one just lingers in my mind is like the worst of those kinds of adults,

[00:57:56] action hero and kid movies.

[00:57:57] Uh,

[00:57:58] although I haven't seen a few of them.

[00:57:59] So maybe if I,

[00:58:00] when we watch,

[00:58:01] you know,

[00:58:01] the spy next door,

[00:58:02] I'll feel the same.

[00:58:03] Who knows?

[00:58:03] But,

[00:58:04] um,

[00:58:05] yeah.

[00:58:05] So I always think of that one,

[00:58:06] but those movies are just aimed at like,

[00:58:09] I don't know,

[00:58:09] six year olds.

[00:58:10] It feels like only it's like minions films.

[00:58:12] Like,

[00:58:12] it's just like,

[00:58:13] it's just making noises at people.

[00:58:15] Ro.

[00:58:16] Although people seem to like minions at some level.

[00:58:18] So I don't know.

[00:58:19] I've never watched a minions movie,

[00:58:20] so maybe I shouldn't take a swipe at them.

[00:58:22] Me either.

[00:58:23] Maybe.

[00:58:23] Yeah.

[00:58:23] Maybe I shouldn't either.

[00:58:25] Yeah.

[00:58:26] I've seen one of the despicable me's,

[00:58:27] I think.

[00:58:28] Um,

[00:58:28] that's about as close as I've gotten.

[00:58:30] Okay.

[00:58:30] Yeah.

[00:58:30] I've seen the first two,

[00:58:31] but they're like vanished from my mind completely.

[00:58:34] Uh,

[00:58:35] it's weird.

[00:58:35] You didn't say you look like grew.

[00:58:37] I look like a minion.

[00:58:39] Well,

[00:58:40] banana,

[00:58:40] banana.

[00:58:41] I just thought my screen was really yellow.

[00:58:43] I don't know.

[00:58:43] That's strange.

[00:58:45] Yeah.

[00:58:46] Um,

[00:58:46] but this movie had a few lines that I was kind of surprised by.

[00:58:51] Uh,

[00:58:51] uh,

[00:58:52] or I go,

[00:58:52] huh?

[00:58:53] Like he,

[00:58:53] like at one point,

[00:58:54] Chloe Coleman's character,

[00:58:55] Sophie,

[00:58:56] uh,

[00:58:57] you know,

[00:58:57] saying farewell to them and says like,

[00:58:59] farewell to your lesbian partner,

[00:59:01] Bobby.

[00:59:01] And I was like,

[00:59:02] did I just hear that?

[00:59:03] Yeah.

[00:59:03] And I rewound it and went,

[00:59:05] I did hear that,

[00:59:06] uh,

[00:59:07] that I didn't expect to hear,

[00:59:08] uh,

[00:59:09] in a kid's movie.

[00:59:09] There was also some violence that I went,

[00:59:11] huh?

[00:59:12] Like there was a part where,

[00:59:14] um,

[00:59:14] the villain like stabs someone and it's bloodless,

[00:59:16] but it's still pretty intense.

[00:59:18] And I thought,

[00:59:19] really?

[00:59:19] I mean,

[00:59:20] I guess if you go back to kindergarten cop,

[00:59:21] that movie is actually very violent.

[00:59:23] Especially the end bit.

[00:59:24] Like in,

[00:59:24] when the,

[00:59:25] when the guy storming the school.

[00:59:27] Exactly.

[00:59:27] Yeah.

[00:59:28] Like he's a pretty scary,

[00:59:29] violent villain.

[00:59:30] So I guess they are,

[00:59:31] I mean,

[00:59:32] they are following the,

[00:59:33] uh,

[00:59:33] the notes of a kindergarten cop pretty much to a T.

[00:59:36] So they kept that element as well.

[00:59:38] And that they made the violence often a little more intense than you'd expect.

[00:59:42] Whereas like,

[00:59:43] I remember the pacifier was going very home alone and bad home alone.

[00:59:47] Like those straight to video home alone sequels,

[00:59:50] holiday heist.

[00:59:51] Am I right?

[00:59:52] I can't say I've seen any of them other than like home alone one,

[00:59:55] two,

[00:59:55] and three.

[00:59:56] I'm in the same boat,

[00:59:57] but I've seen little clips of the straight to video ones.

[00:59:59] Okay.

[01:00:00] He's,

[01:00:00] he's coming in hot on the home alone sequels and the pacifier.

[01:00:03] Folks,

[01:00:04] watch out family friendly films.

[01:00:05] Cam is not friendly with you.

[01:00:09] Yeah.

[01:00:11] We interrupt this program to bring you a special report.

[01:00:13] Red alert,

[01:00:15] spy hearts.

[01:00:15] We are shaking things up over on the Patreon page.

[01:00:19] That's right.

[01:00:20] We are launching an exclusive new show where we tackle the exploits of the small screen's greatest secret agents like Jack Bauer,

[01:00:27] George,

[01:00:28] smiley,

[01:00:28] and beyond.

[01:00:30] And don't forget every month you also get two agents in the field episodes where we decode the adventures of your favorite spy actors in their biggest non-spy movies.

[01:00:41] But Cam,

[01:00:42] tell the people what we have coming up next.

[01:00:45] Folks,

[01:00:46] bid October and the spooky season adieu by catching up with our latest Patreon offerings.

[01:00:52] That's right,

[01:00:53] reviews of The Exorcist and Shaun of the Dead,

[01:00:55] plus the 2017 Taken TV pilot.

[01:00:59] A Taken TV show without Liam Neeson?

[01:01:02] Now that is scary.

[01:01:04] So strap on your Condor Man wings and soar into the future with us over at patreon.com slash spy hearts.

[01:01:12] But before Big O zaps us with a red pulsating laser,

[01:01:16] let's get back to the spy jinx.

[01:01:19] Alright,

[01:01:20] dislikes.

[01:01:21] Sounds like you've got a bag full of them,

[01:01:23] Cam.

[01:01:23] Why don't you drop one on us?

[01:01:24] I don't really have a bag of them.

[01:01:26] It's just an overall template thing where it just feels like...

[01:01:29] And I'll seg into it now.

[01:01:31] This movie so often just feels like it's going through the motions.

[01:01:33] Yeah.

[01:01:34] Like,

[01:01:34] it's very non-committal.

[01:01:36] And that it would set up a comedy set piece,

[01:01:39] and you're like,

[01:01:40] okay.

[01:01:40] And then it would just kind of like burn through it in like five seconds and be like,

[01:01:44] you know what?

[01:01:44] We can't be bothered.

[01:01:45] We can't be bothered.

[01:01:46] We got nothing.

[01:01:47] Like,

[01:01:47] I think of,

[01:01:48] I'll name two.

[01:01:49] Dave Bautista going skating.

[01:01:51] They're like,

[01:01:51] what's gonna happen when Dave Bautista goes skating?

[01:01:56] We see him like fall down twice,

[01:01:58] or we see a stuntman fall down twice.

[01:02:00] And they're like,

[01:02:01] well,

[01:02:01] that's that.

[01:02:02] Moving on.

[01:02:02] And I'm like,

[01:02:03] really?

[01:02:03] You built it all up for that?

[01:02:04] Okay.

[01:02:05] Like,

[01:02:05] they clearly had no ideas whatsoever.

[01:02:07] They were just like,

[01:02:08] okay,

[01:02:08] the script says he's gonna go skating.

[01:02:11] Should we come up with some funny gags?

[01:02:13] Try to come up with an original idea?

[01:02:15] Nope.

[01:02:15] Just burn it through real quick.

[01:02:17] Mm-hmm.

[01:02:18] Sure.

[01:02:18] Go on.

[01:02:19] The other one is the date night with the mom,

[01:02:23] Kate,

[01:02:24] who,

[01:02:25] again,

[01:02:26] pretty decent actor performing that role.

[01:02:28] But we get to the club,

[01:02:30] and you have,

[01:02:31] this is a trope that drives me crazy,

[01:02:32] when it's people like doing surveillance on a date,

[01:02:35] or you have other characters like cheering them on

[01:02:38] and watching them on a date,

[01:02:39] it's the worst.

[01:02:41] I just,

[01:02:41] and this is something that like,

[01:02:43] I'm not judging this movie too harshly,

[01:02:45] because it wasn't that unbearable in this movie,

[01:02:47] but I remember like seeing,

[01:02:48] was it Failure to Launch or something?

[01:02:51] It was a Matthew McConaughey movie,

[01:02:52] where you had like all of their friends

[01:02:54] sit there and watch surveillance tape

[01:02:57] of their like dates.

[01:02:58] And I'm like,

[01:02:58] do these people have no lives?

[01:03:00] And it was so unfunny and painful to watch

[01:03:02] that it just,

[01:03:03] it just,

[01:03:03] ugh,

[01:03:04] I get chills when that trope pops up.

[01:03:06] But here,

[01:03:07] nonetheless,

[01:03:08] you set that up,

[01:03:09] where you have the surveillance of them.

[01:03:11] And they're like,

[01:03:12] Dave Bautista's gonna dance.

[01:03:16] And you get nothing out of it.

[01:03:17] I'm like,

[01:03:18] okay.

[01:03:19] He like busts a funny,

[01:03:20] a couple sort of half-hearted funny moves

[01:03:24] and we cut out of there.

[01:03:26] And I'm like,

[01:03:26] why did you bother doing any of this

[01:03:28] if you didn't have some sort of comedy set piece

[01:03:30] you were gonna commit to?

[01:03:31] I'll ask you a follow-up question.

[01:03:34] Although I do agree,

[01:03:35] I think that especially that dance scene

[01:03:36] is a bit cringy.

[01:03:37] Obviously,

[01:03:38] it gets a callback at the end.

[01:03:39] I couldn't believe when they said

[01:03:40] it got a million hits on YouTube.

[01:03:42] I'm like,

[01:03:42] get the F out of here.

[01:03:43] I mean,

[01:03:44] if you put it on TikTok,

[01:03:45] I could see that happening

[01:03:46] just because people will watch anything.

[01:03:48] A million?

[01:03:49] I mean,

[01:03:49] I don't know anything about TikTok,

[01:03:51] maybe.

[01:03:51] But I'm like,

[01:03:51] on YouTube,

[01:03:52] I'm like,

[01:03:53] get out of here.

[01:03:54] A million people are not watching

[01:03:55] just like this kind of large,

[01:03:58] unassuming man dance.

[01:03:59] I mean,

[01:04:00] you could be entirely right,

[01:04:02] to be fair.

[01:04:03] Like,

[01:04:03] I don't know.

[01:04:04] I think TikTok may have gone viral,

[01:04:06] but anything can go technically viral

[01:04:08] just accidentally sometimes.

[01:04:13] Like,

[01:04:14] more of an elaborate joke.

[01:04:16] Well,

[01:04:17] like,

[01:04:17] you're building this up.

[01:04:18] You have characters all sitting there watching it.

[01:04:20] So what's funny about it?

[01:04:21] He's making a fool of himself.

[01:04:23] But they don't stage in an interesting way.

[01:04:26] Anyone could do this.

[01:04:27] You could take any actor and be like,

[01:04:29] oh,

[01:04:29] just bust a couple funny moves.

[01:04:31] Okay.

[01:04:32] So it goes back to my note earlier

[01:04:33] where anyone could be inhibiting this role.

[01:04:35] It's so noncommittal.

[01:04:37] They have nothing.

[01:04:37] They're just like,

[01:04:38] oh,

[01:04:39] I don't know.

[01:04:40] What if Dave Bautista dances funny for a second?

[01:04:43] Like,

[01:04:43] there's just no imagination

[01:04:44] going on with the screenwriting,

[01:04:46] the staging,

[01:04:46] the direction,

[01:04:47] anything.

[01:04:48] Like,

[01:04:48] no one is trying to make anything interesting.

[01:04:50] They're just like,

[01:04:51] hit the beat,

[01:04:52] move on.

[01:04:53] Yeah.

[01:04:53] I mean,

[01:04:54] I can't quiver with your point.

[01:04:56] I think that probably is the effort they put into it.

[01:05:00] But I just didn't have a problem with it.

[01:05:03] Somehow,

[01:05:04] I think the charm of this film

[01:05:05] just sort of swept me away.

[01:05:06] But I know what you mean.

[01:05:07] And I remember,

[01:05:08] like,

[01:05:09] when he was saying how he couldn't dance,

[01:05:11] and I just knew there was going to be

[01:05:12] an awkward dance scene coming.

[01:05:13] Yeah.

[01:05:14] Like,

[01:05:14] you don't say that without having to do that bit.

[01:05:16] Yeah.

[01:05:17] And so,

[01:05:17] like,

[01:05:17] I was just sort of,

[01:05:18] like,

[01:05:18] waiting for it to happen.

[01:05:19] And so,

[01:05:19] I cringed a little bit and moved on.

[01:05:22] But I know what you mean.

[01:05:23] Maybe your expectations were probably a bit high

[01:05:26] for this film.

[01:05:27] Oh,

[01:05:27] I expect a comedy to try to be funny.

[01:05:29] Yeah.

[01:05:30] Yeah.

[01:05:31] That's what I hope for,

[01:05:32] generally.

[01:05:32] You know,

[01:05:33] if you're going to ask an audience to pay money.

[01:05:35] I mean,

[01:05:35] in theory,

[01:05:36] they want people to pay money.

[01:05:36] And you're going to be like,

[01:05:38] oh,

[01:05:38] let's give some comedy sequences.

[01:05:40] Let's try.

[01:05:40] That'd be nice.

[01:05:41] I am.

[01:05:42] I've been,

[01:05:42] I've been slapped in the mouth by a camera,

[01:05:44] and I will sit back down.

[01:05:45] That's fine.

[01:05:47] I'll give you another one.

[01:05:48] I'll give you a third one.

[01:05:49] Okay.

[01:05:49] And it's not a comedy thing.

[01:05:50] The villain.

[01:05:52] What the hell was this?

[01:05:53] That's my next note.

[01:05:55] Okay.

[01:05:55] Let's roll into yours then.

[01:05:56] Yeah.

[01:05:57] I mean,

[01:05:57] my main dislike is there is no villain in this film.

[01:06:00] It's complete milk toast stuff here.

[01:06:03] Like this is,

[01:06:04] I don't know his name.

[01:06:05] I barely know his plan.

[01:06:07] And I don't know the actor.

[01:06:09] I just sort of like,

[01:06:10] he is in the background for 90% of this film,

[01:06:13] turns up in the last 20 minutes,

[01:06:15] and then gets killed.

[01:06:16] I made a note.

[01:06:18] He showed up at the 43 minute mark,

[01:06:21] you know,

[01:06:21] where he actually did something.

[01:06:22] Uh-huh.

[01:06:24] And then he doesn't show up till about the end.

[01:06:27] This character is,

[01:06:28] this is the most forgettable character

[01:06:30] in the history of Spy Hearts.

[01:06:32] There is no question to me in terms of villains.

[01:06:34] No one could ever compete with this guy.

[01:06:36] I'm just trying to think if there's anyone else

[01:06:37] that I would pick,

[01:06:38] but no,

[01:06:38] I think you may be right.

[01:06:39] I mean,

[01:06:40] there's been ones where we were like,

[01:06:41] oh,

[01:06:41] the villain's kind of generic

[01:06:42] or the villain doesn't really pop.

[01:06:43] But like,

[01:06:44] this isn't even a character.

[01:06:46] This is barely an actor.

[01:06:47] I mean,

[01:06:48] Greg Brick,

[01:06:49] I'm sorry,

[01:06:50] you may have done some things

[01:06:51] that are half decent,

[01:06:52] but like,

[01:06:53] there is just absolutely nothing here.

[01:06:56] I was honestly shocked

[01:06:57] that this passed

[01:06:58] in like a major motion picture.

[01:07:00] This seems like the kind of thing

[01:07:01] that would happen

[01:07:01] in like a straight to video movie

[01:07:02] because you just can't be bothered.

[01:07:04] Well,

[01:07:05] I just think that it had nothing.

[01:07:06] I mean,

[01:07:06] you talk about having nothing for a set piece,

[01:07:08] which I understand your point.

[01:07:09] I'm not sure I necessarily agree

[01:07:10] with some of the set pieces you listed,

[01:07:13] but I think they had nothing for the villain.

[01:07:15] No.

[01:07:16] And you think,

[01:07:17] and if you're sitting here

[01:07:18] comparing notes with Kindergarten Cop,

[01:07:20] which I don't think we necessarily should have,

[01:07:21] but a film that relies upon that film so much,

[01:07:23] you can't help yourself,

[01:07:24] but look at it.

[01:07:25] Yeah.

[01:07:26] I mean,

[01:07:26] I can't remember the actor who played the villain,

[01:07:28] but I remember the villain.

[01:07:29] Sure.

[01:07:29] He had like the ponytail

[01:07:30] and he was really intense.

[01:07:32] Yeah.

[01:07:32] Yeah.

[01:07:33] And his mother was like a bit much too.

[01:07:36] Yeah.

[01:07:36] Yeah.

[01:07:37] There was kind of a Hitchcockian thing going on.

[01:07:39] Yeah.

[01:07:39] And there was like a shootout in the shower.

[01:07:41] Mm-hmm.

[01:07:42] Yeah.

[01:07:42] Yeah.

[01:07:42] I remember all this.

[01:07:43] I mean,

[01:07:43] I've only watched the film this year,

[01:07:44] so both were quite fresh in my mind,

[01:07:47] but yeah,

[01:07:48] they had nothing when it came to the villain.

[01:07:51] And then you build to this like reveal of the gay couple

[01:07:54] being like,

[01:07:55] we're independent agents.

[01:07:56] We're after this.

[01:07:56] And then I'm like,

[01:07:57] oh,

[01:07:57] oh,

[01:07:58] this was smart.

[01:07:59] They pulled the rug out from us under us.

[01:08:01] They like presented this incredibly generic

[01:08:04] with capital letters villain

[01:08:06] for like,

[01:08:07] you know,

[01:08:07] a handful of minutes.

[01:08:08] And then we're like,

[01:08:09] oh no,

[01:08:10] these are the real villains in plain sight.

[01:08:11] And they had charisma and chemistry

[01:08:14] and that's really smart,

[01:08:16] but that's not the case.

[01:08:17] They pivot back to the really generic guy

[01:08:19] and he gets the whole finale

[01:08:21] where they are verbally mentioning Raiders of the Lost Ark,

[01:08:24] which is a real bad idea.

[01:08:26] Don't verbally mention one of the all-time greatest

[01:08:28] action set pieces when you're showing this.

[01:08:31] Yeah.

[01:08:32] That's another one of my notes,

[01:08:34] which I'll get to in a second.

[01:08:34] But like in terms of the gay couple

[01:08:38] trickery.

[01:08:38] Yeah.

[01:08:39] I actually thought the same

[01:08:41] and I was,

[01:08:41] I was thinking they were going down

[01:08:43] the path of Cloak and Dagger

[01:08:44] where you have this like conglomeration

[01:08:46] who have this set of like these plans.

[01:08:50] Yeah.

[01:08:50] But they're trying to get back

[01:08:51] and then there's this old couple

[01:08:53] that look after the kid,

[01:08:55] Henry Thomas,

[01:08:55] and then turn out to be the villains

[01:08:57] and then they become the villains

[01:08:59] for the rest of the story.

[01:09:00] They're the ones working for the company

[01:09:01] and they're the ones

[01:09:02] that you sort of focus upon.

[01:09:03] And so I thought that was a really good twist

[01:09:05] because that caught me off guard

[01:09:06] when I first saw that film years ago

[01:09:08] and we talked about it.

[01:09:09] But it's the same thing here.

[01:09:10] They could have,

[01:09:11] and I think they would have had more

[01:09:12] to work with if they'd gone

[01:09:13] with the gay couple

[01:09:13] as the final boss of the film

[01:09:16] as it were.

[01:09:17] Yeah.

[01:09:18] Like I really thought

[01:09:18] that that would have been

[01:09:19] a strong direction to go.

[01:09:21] Mm-hmm.

[01:09:22] And you know,

[01:09:23] you don't have to have them

[01:09:24] being like hurled off a cliff

[01:09:26] into a fiery wreckage at the end.

[01:09:28] Like you could have them

[01:09:29] blown up on the plane.

[01:09:30] Sure.

[01:09:30] Or you could have them even arrested

[01:09:31] or and brought back in a sequel

[01:09:33] because they're so much fun.

[01:09:34] Mm-hmm.

[01:09:34] So that would make sense as well.

[01:09:35] And I think they do pop up

[01:09:36] in the sequel actually.

[01:09:38] Okay.

[01:09:39] But yeah,

[01:09:39] like you could have

[01:09:40] if you loved those characters

[01:09:41] set it up for them to come back.

[01:09:43] But it's just like

[01:09:44] so weird to put that much attention

[01:09:46] into a villain who

[01:09:50] there's nothing like it.

[01:09:51] It's so,

[01:09:51] it's not even,

[01:09:52] you can't say it's underwritten.

[01:09:53] It's not written.

[01:09:54] No,

[01:09:55] there's nothing.

[01:09:55] There is nothing there at all.

[01:09:56] And I think

[01:09:57] like those listening

[01:09:58] will just hear

[01:09:59] a sort of smacking down

[01:10:00] the character.

[01:10:01] I kind of want to give people

[01:10:02] listening a tangible

[01:10:03] like how will you fix it

[01:10:04] or what you do with it.

[01:10:06] And I think

[01:10:06] the main thing you do

[01:10:07] to fix this villain

[01:10:08] is give him more screen time.

[01:10:09] I'm not saying

[01:10:09] it's the actor's

[01:10:11] problem or fault

[01:10:12] with the performance

[01:10:13] or it's more

[01:10:14] with the material given.

[01:10:15] He's given no screen time.

[01:10:16] He's not given any time

[01:10:17] to build up any menace.

[01:10:19] There is no threat.

[01:10:21] So when he turns up,

[01:10:22] you're like,

[01:10:22] okay,

[01:10:23] but Batista's here

[01:10:24] and he's proven

[01:10:24] to be good enough.

[01:10:25] He'll take care of it

[01:10:26] and he does.

[01:10:27] And also

[01:10:28] when I look at Dave Bautista

[01:10:29] and I look at this guy,

[01:10:30] not too scared.

[01:10:32] I mean,

[01:10:32] in a fist fight,

[01:10:33] sure,

[01:10:33] but like if you give guns,

[01:10:34] it doesn't matter

[01:10:35] how big you are.

[01:10:35] That's true.

[01:10:36] And you would say

[01:10:37] the same in Kindergarten Cop

[01:10:38] because Arnold was

[01:10:39] a pretty large man himself,

[01:10:41] but there was like

[01:10:42] a genuine menace

[01:10:43] to that villain.

[01:10:44] And he was in the school

[01:10:46] without Arnold being there

[01:10:49] because Arnold had been

[01:10:50] off the case at this point,

[01:10:52] much like Dave Bautista was.

[01:10:53] But like,

[01:10:54] there was like a sense of like

[01:10:56] the kid was in peril.

[01:10:58] And also the kid

[01:10:59] in Kindergarten Cop

[01:11:00] didn't have any agency.

[01:11:01] No.

[01:11:02] The kid was basically

[01:11:03] subject to whatever

[01:11:04] the villain wanted to do.

[01:11:06] Whereas in this film,

[01:11:07] you know,

[01:11:08] Chloe Coleman's character,

[01:11:09] much,

[01:11:09] you know,

[01:11:09] she didn't really actually

[01:11:10] do much in terms of spy work

[01:11:12] actually when you look back at it.

[01:11:13] But,

[01:11:13] you know,

[01:11:14] there are some moments

[01:11:14] of Dave Bautista

[01:11:16] teaching her tradecraft

[01:11:17] and stuff

[01:11:19] and that could have been used,

[01:11:20] but they didn't do any of that.

[01:11:21] But you don't get the sense

[01:11:22] that she's ever in any danger.

[01:11:24] Yeah.

[01:11:24] No,

[01:11:25] she gets the one up on him

[01:11:26] at the end with her

[01:11:27] like lie detector breaking skills.

[01:11:30] But also,

[01:11:31] when you go to Kindergarten Cop,

[01:11:33] the mom role in that,

[01:11:35] this is a woman

[01:11:36] who was like in an abusive marriage.

[01:11:37] So there's an extra tension

[01:11:39] that comes from that,

[01:11:40] like her fear of this ex-husband

[01:11:41] coming back

[01:11:42] that really works dramatically

[01:11:44] in the movie.

[01:11:45] Yeah.

[01:11:46] Whereas like here,

[01:11:47] I think one of the fixes

[01:11:49] is you establish a relationship

[01:11:50] between this character

[01:11:51] who's the uncle

[01:11:52] and them.

[01:11:53] There's nothing.

[01:11:55] Like,

[01:11:55] they feel almost like strangers.

[01:11:58] Here's,

[01:11:58] okay,

[01:11:59] I came up with an idea.

[01:12:00] Let's see if it works.

[01:12:01] Let's workshop it.

[01:12:02] Two non-screenwriters

[01:12:03] workshopping a screenplay,

[01:12:04] right?

[01:12:05] Perfect.

[01:12:06] Here's how you do it.

[01:12:08] So throughout the film,

[01:12:09] you have clips of this.

[01:12:11] So for those who haven't seen the film,

[01:12:13] the relationship is as such.

[01:12:15] The mother of the child,

[01:12:17] well,

[01:12:18] the father of the child

[01:12:19] is the brother of the villain.

[01:12:20] Yes.

[01:12:21] Okay,

[01:12:21] so it's her,

[01:12:22] it's the kid's uncle,

[01:12:23] basically,

[01:12:24] is the villain.

[01:12:25] Okay?

[01:12:26] And he is running rampant

[01:12:28] throughout Europe

[01:12:28] trying to get hold of

[01:12:29] another half of plutonium,

[01:12:30] I think,

[01:12:31] to put a bomb together.

[01:12:32] It's a little vague.

[01:12:33] Or to sell parts

[01:12:35] or something like that.

[01:12:36] But basically,

[01:12:36] nefarious means.

[01:12:37] He needs the plans.

[01:12:39] The plans.

[01:12:40] There is a box

[01:12:41] that has something in it.

[01:12:42] It has a flash drive in it

[01:12:43] that has the plans.

[01:12:44] I think that's the gimmick.

[01:12:46] That's the MacGuffin.

[01:12:47] Right.

[01:12:48] Okay,

[01:12:48] so there is another plot

[01:12:49] within this film,

[01:12:50] where Chloe Coleman's character,

[01:12:52] I keep referring to her

[01:12:54] as the character,

[01:12:55] let's just go by Sophie

[01:12:55] as the character's name,

[01:12:57] knows that Dave Bautista

[01:12:59] is spying on the family

[01:13:01] to keep them safe.

[01:13:02] whereas the mother

[01:13:03] has no idea.

[01:13:05] Okay?

[01:13:06] Here's where you add a layer.

[01:13:09] The mother

[01:13:10] is in contact

[01:13:11] with the uncle

[01:13:12] the entire time.

[01:13:13] Mm-hmm.

[01:13:14] Yeah.

[01:13:14] And she's getting phone calls

[01:13:15] from him

[01:13:16] and he's saying,

[01:13:17] I'll be there soon.

[01:13:18] You better have the place safe.

[01:13:21] Don't let my brother down.

[01:13:23] And this sort of stuff.

[01:13:24] You add it in

[01:13:25] and there's a danger

[01:13:26] that she's facing

[01:13:27] that no one else knows about.

[01:13:29] Yeah.

[01:13:29] So both the mother and daughter

[01:13:30] have their own secrets

[01:13:31] from each other.

[01:13:32] Mm-hmm.

[01:13:33] So when he turns up,

[01:13:35] there's already a sense of menace

[01:13:37] and dread that she's feeling

[01:13:38] that you as the audience

[01:13:39] as the surrogate feel.

[01:13:42] And I think that's a better way

[01:13:43] of delivering it.

[01:13:44] Yeah.

[01:13:45] I mean,

[01:13:45] they want the reveal

[01:13:46] of where the plans are,

[01:13:47] which is the dog's collar,

[01:13:49] which I didn't really think worked

[01:13:51] because...

[01:13:51] I didn't get it.

[01:13:52] I didn't get what it was at first

[01:13:53] until he booted it up

[01:13:54] on the laptop.

[01:13:55] Also,

[01:13:56] I changed my dog's collar

[01:13:57] every month or two.

[01:13:58] And the movie,

[01:13:59] if it wants to dangle a mystery

[01:14:01] over you,

[01:14:02] doesn't work

[01:14:03] because it's not like

[01:14:04] I was spending the whole movie

[01:14:05] trying to figure out

[01:14:05] where the plans were.

[01:14:06] I never really thought about it.

[01:14:08] No.

[01:14:08] It wasn't asking you to.

[01:14:10] No.

[01:14:11] So,

[01:14:12] yeah,

[01:14:12] even a case where it's like

[01:14:13] the mom's in contact

[01:14:15] and is like,

[01:14:16] I will give you

[01:14:17] whatever.

[01:14:18] The family statue

[01:14:19] or something like that.

[01:14:20] Don't worry.

[01:14:21] I'll get it for you.

[01:14:22] Like,

[01:14:22] I know where it is.

[01:14:22] I'll find it.

[01:14:23] Yeah.

[01:14:23] Don't come here.

[01:14:25] Send it to you.

[01:14:25] Yeah,

[01:14:26] yeah,

[01:14:26] yeah.

[01:14:26] Don't harm my daughter.

[01:14:27] And he calls and goes like,

[01:14:29] I know your daughter goes to

[01:14:30] blah,

[01:14:30] blah,

[01:14:30] blah elementary.

[01:14:31] I've been watching her.

[01:14:32] And you're like,

[01:14:33] oh,

[01:14:33] okay,

[01:14:33] this is sinister.

[01:14:35] Yeah.

[01:14:35] Yeah.

[01:14:36] And have the mom be kind of

[01:14:37] secretive from Dave Bautista

[01:14:38] and find it out slowly.

[01:14:39] That would work better

[01:14:42] because it's just

[01:14:44] anything to do with the villain.

[01:14:45] I just at a certain point

[01:14:46] was like,

[01:14:46] what's the point?

[01:14:47] Like,

[01:14:47] why are we even wasting time

[01:14:48] with this?

[01:14:49] Well,

[01:14:49] you need something to top off the film.

[01:14:51] You need a set piece.

[01:14:51] That's why they get there.

[01:14:53] Yeah.

[01:14:53] Um,

[01:14:53] but it would feel more earned

[01:14:55] if you cared.

[01:14:56] Exactly.

[01:14:57] Yeah.

[01:14:57] which you don't.

[01:14:58] And I want to add

[01:14:59] in terms of that set piece

[01:15:00] sort of letting the side down

[01:15:02] a little bit.

[01:15:03] This film relies on CG

[01:15:04] a couple of times.

[01:15:07] Yeah.

[01:15:07] And I'm,

[01:15:08] I mean,

[01:15:08] you know,

[01:15:09] 18 million,

[01:15:10] modest budget.

[01:15:11] Yep.

[01:15:11] I'm not gonna,

[01:15:12] I'm not gonna dunk on it too much,

[01:15:13] but I would sooner

[01:15:14] they don't do something

[01:15:16] instead of trying to do it

[01:15:17] digitally badly.

[01:15:19] Are you talking about

[01:15:20] the villain death at the end?

[01:15:21] The villain death,

[01:15:22] there's also a lot of like

[01:15:23] face swapping Batista's face

[01:15:24] onto people.

[01:15:25] Oh yeah.

[01:15:27] Um,

[01:15:27] and like a lot of like

[01:15:28] the background's very blurry,

[01:15:30] uh,

[01:15:30] and,

[01:15:31] and like drop in shots

[01:15:32] with like plates in the background

[01:15:33] where they insert like

[01:15:34] the background of things.

[01:15:36] Um,

[01:15:37] and if you're not,

[01:15:37] if you're gonna do that,

[01:15:38] do it well,

[01:15:39] or make it possible.

[01:15:40] And this film doesn't do

[01:15:41] any of that.

[01:15:41] And that's,

[01:15:42] it's the visual stuff for me

[01:15:43] that really pushes me

[01:15:44] out of a film

[01:15:44] when I see CG like that.

[01:15:46] And I just think

[01:15:47] there are practical ways

[01:15:48] to achieve this

[01:15:49] that might seem longer,

[01:15:52] but in the end

[01:15:53] are worth it.

[01:15:54] Like the $18 million budget

[01:15:56] is gonna speak to the quality

[01:15:57] of the CG there,

[01:15:58] but I will say like

[01:15:59] the villain death,

[01:16:00] it didn't look good,

[01:16:01] but I was impressed

[01:16:02] at how over the top

[01:16:03] his death was

[01:16:04] in a kid's film.

[01:16:05] Sure.

[01:16:06] I mean,

[01:16:06] you don't see anything.

[01:16:07] You just get pulled

[01:16:08] off the side of a cliff.

[01:16:09] I mean,

[01:16:09] who puts a cliff

[01:16:10] at the end of a runway?

[01:16:11] And they make that joke,

[01:16:13] but like you actually see him

[01:16:15] plummeting into the fiery explosion

[01:16:17] and I was like,

[01:16:17] huh,

[01:16:18] huh,

[01:16:19] that's interesting.

[01:16:20] Yeah.

[01:16:20] I just,

[01:16:21] I just think like

[01:16:22] it's a weird situation

[01:16:24] with the villain.

[01:16:25] I think,

[01:16:26] people don't go into these films

[01:16:27] for the villain.

[01:16:28] I don't necessarily think,

[01:16:29] I mean,

[01:16:30] you want a memorable villain?

[01:16:31] Look at the Spy Kids films.

[01:16:33] Every one of them,

[01:16:34] regardless of how good

[01:16:35] the movie is

[01:16:35] in the Spy Kids universe,

[01:16:37] every villain

[01:16:38] has like a unique,

[01:16:40] interesting angle to them.

[01:16:40] Yeah.

[01:16:41] Stice,

[01:16:42] Sly Stallone

[01:16:42] and his three clones.

[01:16:44] Yeah.

[01:16:44] Jeremy Piven's TikTok.

[01:16:46] Alan Cummings

[01:16:46] as Mr. Floop.

[01:16:48] Steve Buscemi

[01:16:49] as the Professor

[01:16:50] or something or other?

[01:16:52] He wasn't the villain.

[01:16:53] He wasn't the villain

[01:16:54] of the second one.

[01:16:55] He was like a helper.

[01:16:56] I think they thought

[01:16:57] he was a villain

[01:16:58] and then he wasn't a villain.

[01:16:59] Yeah,

[01:17:00] they made,

[01:17:00] was it the,

[01:17:02] was it Mike Judge

[01:17:03] was revealed

[01:17:04] to be the villain

[01:17:05] I think of the second one.

[01:17:06] Oh,

[01:17:06] like yeah,

[01:17:07] yeah,

[01:17:07] yeah,

[01:17:07] yeah.

[01:17:07] And then I can't remember

[01:17:08] the fifth one

[01:17:09] who the villain of that was.

[01:17:11] Yeah,

[01:17:11] I can't remember that either

[01:17:12] actually.

[01:17:12] It's completely gone.

[01:17:14] Oh,

[01:17:14] oh,

[01:17:15] oh,

[01:17:15] it's Magnus,

[01:17:16] um,

[01:17:17] it's the guy,

[01:17:18] it's the guy in No Time to Die.

[01:17:20] Oh yeah,

[01:17:20] Billy Magnuson.

[01:17:21] Yeah,

[01:17:21] of course.

[01:17:22] Yeah,

[01:17:22] yeah,

[01:17:22] yeah,

[01:17:22] yeah.

[01:17:23] Yeah,

[01:17:23] it was a tech quiz.

[01:17:25] That's right,

[01:17:26] yeah.

[01:17:26] Yeah.

[01:17:26] Yeah.

[01:17:27] We got it.

[01:17:27] We did it,

[01:17:28] folks.

[01:17:28] Yay,

[01:17:28] we can end the podcast there.

[01:17:30] We're naming good kids films

[01:17:31] and bad ones

[01:17:32] when we go through

[01:17:33] the Spy Kids franchise,

[01:17:34] but,

[01:17:34] but we were like

[01:17:35] scratching our heads

[01:17:36] for the last couple

[01:17:36] of those films.

[01:17:37] Fair enough.

[01:17:38] But like every one of them

[01:17:39] had a villain

[01:17:41] with an angle on it.

[01:17:42] Yeah.

[01:17:42] Whereas like this had,

[01:17:43] this was all rounded edges.

[01:17:45] For sure.

[01:17:46] Um,

[01:17:46] and just a shame.

[01:17:47] I feel like it's a,

[01:17:48] you know,

[01:17:48] you write your own script

[01:17:49] for these films

[01:17:50] that you could do a lot with it

[01:17:51] and,

[01:17:51] and I,

[01:17:53] they could have done something

[01:17:54] to make him interesting.

[01:17:54] They just didn't.

[01:17:55] They had no interest

[01:17:56] in making him interesting,

[01:17:57] which is a shame.

[01:17:58] Yeah.

[01:17:58] Any other dislikes

[01:17:59] you want to bring up?

[01:18:00] I don't think so.

[01:18:01] I mean,

[01:18:01] it just,

[01:18:02] the one thing I'll say

[01:18:03] is it looks pretty,

[01:18:05] pretty low budget

[01:18:06] and it looks like

[01:18:08] a 2020s streaming film

[01:18:09] even though it was intended

[01:18:10] for theatrical distribution.

[01:18:12] It looked like

[01:18:12] Cats and Dogs 3.

[01:18:13] Yeah,

[01:18:14] it had that look.

[01:18:15] I mean,

[01:18:15] it was all shot in Toronto

[01:18:16] and it had that

[01:18:17] low budget movie

[01:18:18] shot in Canada

[01:18:18] kind of look.

[01:18:19] Yeah,

[01:18:20] it was,

[01:18:20] it was meant to be like

[01:18:22] Chicago,

[01:18:22] I think.

[01:18:23] Yes,

[01:18:24] that's right.

[01:18:24] Yeah.

[01:18:25] And I had some like

[01:18:26] establishing shots

[01:18:27] of the bridges

[01:18:27] and things like that

[01:18:28] in Chicago,

[01:18:29] but yeah,

[01:18:29] it was all shot in Toronto.

[01:18:31] Yeah,

[01:18:32] I mean,

[01:18:32] that is what it is.

[01:18:33] It was a budgetary thing.

[01:18:34] I get that.

[01:18:35] Yeah,

[01:18:36] although we say

[01:18:37] it's budgetary

[01:18:38] and then you put on

[01:18:38] like a Blumhouse

[01:18:39] horror film

[01:18:40] that costs like 4 million

[01:18:41] and it looks way better.

[01:18:42] True.

[01:18:43] True.

[01:18:43] So,

[01:18:43] I don't know.

[01:18:45] Final notes then

[01:18:46] before we,

[01:18:47] might spy our way

[01:18:48] out of here.

[01:18:48] I've got a few things

[01:18:50] actually.

[01:18:51] Okay.

[01:18:51] There's a part where

[01:18:52] like Dave Bautista

[01:18:53] is mentioning catchphrases

[01:18:55] and he says,

[01:18:57] chill out

[01:18:57] and jingle all the way

[01:18:59] to hell.

[01:19:00] Two pretty on the nose

[01:19:02] references to

[01:19:02] Arnold's Mr. Freeze

[01:19:04] performance

[01:19:04] and of course jingle

[01:19:05] all the way.

[01:19:06] I was like,

[01:19:07] that's not the two movies

[01:19:08] I would have thought

[01:19:09] to pay tribute to,

[01:19:10] but okay.

[01:19:11] Interesting.

[01:19:12] Well,

[01:19:12] there was no chopper

[01:19:13] to get to.

[01:19:14] That's true.

[01:19:15] That's true.

[01:19:16] If we're talking about

[01:19:17] nods in this film then,

[01:19:18] there's a good nod

[01:19:19] to Spy Game,

[01:19:21] weirdly.

[01:19:22] I think one of the writers

[01:19:23] must quite like a spy film.

[01:19:24] Okay,

[01:19:25] what's the nod

[01:19:25] to Spy Game?

[01:19:26] Okay,

[01:19:27] if you cast your mind

[01:19:28] back to Spy Game

[01:19:29] when Robert Redford

[01:19:31] is teaching Brad Pitt

[01:19:33] tradecraft,

[01:19:33] they go out

[01:19:34] to have a bite to eat

[01:19:35] or maybe a coffee

[01:19:36] I can't quite remember

[01:19:37] and he tells Brad Pitt

[01:19:38] to go up into someone's house

[01:19:40] and get on the balcony

[01:19:41] in the space of 10 minutes

[01:19:42] and he's like,

[01:19:43] no problem

[01:19:44] and then goes and does it

[01:19:45] and then the joke is

[01:19:47] in this film

[01:19:47] that Chloe Coleman

[01:19:49] has no problem

[01:19:50] doing it at all

[01:19:51] and goes to several

[01:19:52] people's houses

[01:19:52] so they sort of

[01:19:53] one-up Spy Game

[01:19:54] but it's a nice little nod.

[01:19:56] Yeah,

[01:19:56] it felt like a nod

[01:19:57] to that

[01:19:58] but also Leon,

[01:19:59] the professional

[01:19:59] in some ways

[01:20:01] where you had

[01:20:02] Natalie Portman

[01:20:03] being trained

[01:20:03] in the ways

[01:20:04] of being an assassin

[01:20:06] and yeah,

[01:20:07] it had a similar

[01:20:08] kind of dynamic.

[01:20:09] Yeah,

[01:20:10] far less sordid.

[01:20:11] Far less sordid

[01:20:13] but like Dave Bautista

[01:20:14] is kind of the quiet

[01:20:15] kind of hulking guy

[01:20:17] and Jean Reno

[01:20:18] is a very quiet

[01:20:19] kind of big guy

[01:20:20] and then

[01:20:20] this diminutive

[01:20:22] young female

[01:20:23] aspiring agent

[01:20:25] slash assassin

[01:20:26] learning the skills.

[01:20:27] Yeah,

[01:20:27] this is the

[01:20:28] unreal life version

[01:20:29] of that story.

[01:20:31] Yes.

[01:20:32] A few more notes

[01:20:33] I had.

[01:20:34] Sure.

[01:20:34] They take a shot

[01:20:35] at Mickey Rourke's

[01:20:36] Iron Man 2 performance

[01:20:37] They do.

[01:20:38] on the top of the screen.

[01:20:38] And I was like,

[01:20:39] how dare you?

[01:20:40] He's so much fun

[01:20:41] in that movie.

[01:20:42] I'm sorry.

[01:20:43] What's he say

[01:20:44] about his boyd?

[01:20:44] Is he's boyd?

[01:20:45] Yeah,

[01:20:46] my boyd.

[01:20:47] My boyd.

[01:20:47] Yeah.

[01:20:48] It's great.

[01:20:49] Great.

[01:20:50] There's a scene

[01:20:51] where we have a car chase

[01:20:52] off the top

[01:20:52] where Dave Bautista

[01:20:54] is outrunning bad guys

[01:20:56] and fumbling

[01:20:58] with the radio dial

[01:20:59] playing pop music.

[01:21:00] Mm-hmm.

[01:21:00] They have the same gag

[01:21:02] in Spectre

[01:21:04] a few years previously

[01:21:05] where you have Bond

[01:21:06] turning on,

[01:21:07] I think it was like

[01:21:07] Frank Sinatra or something,

[01:21:09] but Dave Bautista

[01:21:10] is chasing him

[01:21:11] in that sequence.

[01:21:12] Very true.

[01:21:13] And another note

[01:21:14] I wrote down

[01:21:17] jumping off of that

[01:21:18] opening sequence

[01:21:21] with the music

[01:21:22] is before that

[01:21:24] the sort of swap

[01:21:25] and exchange

[01:21:25] feels eerily similar

[01:21:27] to the opening

[01:21:28] of Die Another Day.

[01:21:30] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:21:31] That's true.

[01:21:33] Like a diamond exchange

[01:21:34] with your spies undercover.

[01:21:36] I thought also

[01:21:37] of Mission Impossible

[01:21:41] fallout, I think.

[01:21:42] When they're in the tunnels

[01:21:43] and they took their hand

[01:21:43] over the nuke.

[01:21:45] Yeah.

[01:21:45] Yeah.

[01:21:46] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:21:47] A lot of nods in there.

[01:21:49] Can't blame them

[01:21:49] too much for that.

[01:21:50] Go on.

[01:21:51] It was also a lot like

[01:21:53] the ending

[01:21:54] of The First Red,

[01:21:56] which I don't know

[01:21:57] if you remember,

[01:21:58] but same writers.

[01:21:59] And it felt very similar

[01:22:00] to that,

[01:22:01] where you had like

[01:22:01] Julian McMahon

[01:22:02] showing up

[01:22:03] as like a politician

[01:22:05] or something.

[01:22:06] Doing what?

[01:22:08] Richard Dreyfuss was there

[01:22:09] and there was like

[01:22:10] an exchange.

[01:22:11] Sure.

[01:22:12] Yeah, I know

[01:22:13] it's a little fuzzy.

[01:22:14] I don't blame you

[01:22:14] for forgetting.

[01:22:16] But no,

[01:22:17] I mean,

[01:22:18] I quite like some

[01:22:19] of the references

[01:22:19] in this actually,

[01:22:20] to be fair.

[01:22:20] Like the spy game

[01:22:21] one really got to

[01:22:21] pop out of me.

[01:22:23] Mm-hmm.

[01:22:23] Mm-hmm.

[01:22:24] This has another trope

[01:22:25] I can't stand.

[01:22:26] You have Ken Jeong

[01:22:28] calling,

[01:22:29] you know,

[01:22:29] our agent on the carpet

[01:22:31] and showing video

[01:22:32] that is clearly

[01:22:34] footage from the movie.

[01:22:35] It's like,

[01:22:36] who filmed this?

[01:22:39] That's,

[01:22:39] yeah,

[01:22:40] that's a,

[01:22:40] that's a classic

[01:22:41] money-saving move

[01:22:43] that television

[01:22:44] and film likes to do.

[01:22:45] And I don't think

[01:22:46] there's any way around it

[01:22:46] apart from the fact

[01:22:47] that it was just

[01:22:48] to save money.

[01:22:49] Yeah.

[01:22:49] Yeah.

[01:22:51] And I think

[01:22:52] the last thing

[01:22:52] I had was

[01:22:54] that,

[01:22:55] I thought the sequence

[01:22:56] where he went to

[01:22:57] like special friends

[01:22:57] day at the school

[01:22:59] was,

[01:22:59] you know,

[01:23:01] mildly amusing,

[01:23:01] but also like

[01:23:03] the ultimate ego trip

[01:23:04] for Dave Bautista,

[01:23:06] producer of the film,

[01:23:07] and that like

[01:23:08] every mother there

[01:23:09] is absolutely

[01:23:10] in love with him.

[01:23:11] It's a real Tom Cruise

[01:23:12] in The Mummy,

[01:23:13] right?

[01:23:14] Uh-huh.

[01:23:14] Yeah.

[01:23:15] Or every woman

[01:23:15] is just falling

[01:23:16] over themselves,

[01:23:18] including the teacher

[01:23:19] who looked significantly

[01:23:20] younger.

[01:23:20] I mean,

[01:23:21] there is a running joke

[01:23:23] behind the scenes

[01:23:25] of wrestling

[01:23:26] that Dave Bautista

[01:23:27] has the,

[01:23:28] well,

[01:23:29] is well-equipped

[01:23:31] for situations,

[01:23:32] if you know what I mean.

[01:23:34] Okay.

[01:23:35] Was he producing

[01:23:36] those episodes

[01:23:37] of WWE?

[01:23:38] He was not.

[01:23:39] That was more

[01:23:40] of a backstage rumor

[01:23:41] that went on

[01:23:42] for many years,

[01:23:43] so much to the fact

[01:23:43] that people in interviews

[01:23:44] often get asked

[01:23:45] how big his

[01:23:47] equipment is.

[01:23:48] This is not

[01:23:49] the sort of topic

[01:23:50] you would expect

[01:23:50] to come up

[01:23:51] in a My Spy podcast,

[01:23:52] but here we are

[01:23:53] nonetheless.

[01:23:54] It's really not.

[01:23:55] I made sure

[01:23:56] to skim around

[01:23:57] the words

[01:23:57] and use euphemisms

[01:23:59] so people can pick up

[01:24:00] on what I'm talking about.

[01:24:01] But yeah,

[01:24:01] that was a genuine thing.

[01:24:03] And the last thing

[01:24:04] I had,

[01:24:04] you mentioned

[01:24:06] turning on the radio

[01:24:07] and a goofy song

[01:24:08] playing.

[01:24:09] Yeah.

[01:24:10] What would be

[01:24:10] the goofiest

[01:24:12] song to hear

[01:24:13] on a spy's radio?

[01:24:14] Yeah.

[01:24:15] Okay,

[01:24:15] so in this

[01:24:16] we had like

[01:24:17] 99 Balloons.

[01:24:19] We had the Titanic

[01:24:20] song,

[01:24:21] My Heart Will Go On.

[01:24:22] Oops,

[01:24:22] I did it again.

[01:24:23] I think it was a

[01:24:24] Britney song.

[01:24:25] Hit Me Baby

[01:24:26] one more time.

[01:24:26] Hit Me Baby

[01:24:26] one more time.

[01:24:27] Yeah.

[01:24:28] There was another one

[01:24:28] and I can't remember

[01:24:29] what it was,

[01:24:30] but hmm.

[01:24:32] They were very

[01:24:32] over time though,

[01:24:33] those.

[01:24:33] They were all like

[01:24:34] 80s and 90s pop.

[01:24:35] Yeah.

[01:24:36] Yeah.

[01:24:37] Sorry,

[01:24:37] the question was...

[01:24:38] Yeah,

[01:24:38] the question was