Tribute to Flo from Progressive

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. We missed. We loaded. We edited. Sometimes we get so deep into conversation that we have separate segments worthy of their own place in the sun.

[00:00:29] Here is a reshuffled mini episode. I think I saw something you wanted to talk about Flo too, but I wouldn't have a lot to say. Yeah, sure. That's a great suggestion. We've owned it. Let's go. Get on with it.

[00:00:46] I'm talking about Stephanie Courtney, best known for being in over a thousand ads as Flo and the progressive TV and radio ads since 08. She was a member of the comedy troupe, The Groundlings, and then became part of the 30-person main company in 04, where she married the lighting director.

[00:01:13] It's all uphill from here. I've seen her on just so many TV shows. She's been in everything. Angel, everyone loves Raymond, The Man Show, ER, The Comeback, Celebrity Deathmatch, the infamous Caveman sitcom. Oh, wow.

[00:01:36] The Jay Leno Show, House, Minimus Ernege, and various iterations of that awful YouTuber Fred. Two Broke Girls, Comedy Bang Bang, has had recurring roles on Mike Tyson Mysteries, You're the Worst, The Goldbergs, and played various people on Tenacious D and The Mr. Show. Recently, she played a doctor on an episode of Major Crimes, that spinoff of The Closer, which is really funny.

[00:02:08] She has been in movies such as For Your Consideration, the Christopher Guest movie, where she plays a boom operator, as well as Blades of Glory. Yes, The Reporter. Yeah. Been in infamous movies like The Brothers Solomon and Fred the Movie, but hey, you know, you might have seen it. She definitely works a lot with David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, because she's in that 2017 Netflix comedy he did called Girlfriend's Day, which is funny.

[00:02:40] I don't know how many years she's been doing that commercial. Since 2008. Since 2008. They've started like the last year or two or more, they've been putting in more people with her. Yeah. I love the one with that other guy who's always a jerk and everything. Where is your husband? Where they're doing like a 40s style. Well, they got the newer, you know, like the one of the group is a girl who doesn't seem to really care about the job very much. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:11] I love that. And she'll play other people, too. And it's fun seeing that kind of. She's essentially talking to herself. Yeah. She plays like six family members. She was on the Adult Swim show. Hilarious. Yeah. She played various people on Tom Goes to the Mirror, which I did see a lot of in early days of Adult Swim. That was crazy. Yeah. We're talking about Stephanie Courtney still, or is that the other? Oh, sorry. I was just. Yeah.

[00:03:41] Stephanie Courtney still. But yeah, the gal she's with is a great match. And the other guy, I think, plays off her perfectly. I don't know. You know. Hell. Who are the progressive co-stars? Her. Yeah. Her. And the Thanksgiving ones. It's all her. That's. Oh, yeah. The Thanksgiving ones are great. Okay. Australian counterpart is Holly Austin. And Jim Cashman plays Jamie.

[00:04:10] And the other employee, Mara, is played by Natalie Paladimis. Palamedis. I guess. I don't know how to fucking pronounce that. Yeah. If you're Palamedis. It goes on for more than four hours. Please. Who's up there, Doc? I was going to say. That sounds like a venereal disease. Get some Pepto-Bismos. Whatever it is. The Boston Herald referred to her as the commercial break's new sweetheart and said that she was attaining TV ad icon status. Oh, yeah. And there's even a Halloween costume of her.

[00:04:40] So, who would you say is more popular than her? Or what's her name from the AT&T ads? Oh, yeah. I like her. Milana. The girl plays Lily. Yeah. Man. She was actually supposed to be in a Marvel product, too. A squirrel girl. I remember that. Yeah, I heard about that. Yep. And she's in Werewolves. Yeah, they scrapped it.

[00:05:10] She was in Werewolves Within. And she's done a few other. I did see that movie. Pretty wacky movie. She's done some other writing. So, I guess to answer your question, like, I think everyone recognizes the AT&T gal, but everyone remembers Flo's comedy more just because she has so many zingers. Mm-hmm. And, again, I'm not trying to belittle either. Like, they're both. They've found their bread and butter. You know? Mm-hmm. I like the one with it. The Toyota ads. I like her, too. She's funny, but...

[00:05:39] Oh, yeah. She's very likable. Yeah. Oh, my God. And trust me, there's plenty of other actors who I've seen, like, they were kind of the go-to commercial actor for a while. And I guess Progressive was just a step up, just because after a while, I got tired of the Geico Gecko's new voice. I was just like, okay, throw something new at me. And Progressive and Geico were both trying to come up with just way wackier stuff after a while. And I think they've...

[00:06:09] I think hats off, though, to Eider Corporation in terms of acknowledging their fans by even doing... Allowing fans to vote for their favorite classic ads. You know? You know, Geico had everything from the screaming squirrels to Don LaFontaine playing himself. Both our cars are totally underwater. You know? And Flo just had the whole, like... I just loved it. I loved it when they animated her, kind of like Charlie Brown kind of style, and like

[00:06:37] she's getting thrown out of, like, a football... No, basketball court. And she's like, you can still save, you know, 20% on your car and Gerards! She's to that point where I wouldn't mind seeing her do, like, a stand-up act or... You know? I'd watch it. Shit. She should direct a comedy with other comedy friends of hers. Do it. You know? She's got money. Well, I kind of wondered if, like, the co-stars she had later on with the progressive, if

[00:07:07] they were groundlings as well. That... I think you're right. So, according to a Forbes 2015 ad about who are the six people who made the most from a commercial, Flo has made a net worth of $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. I saw that she did a lot of theater acting growing up, including one of the Crucible, and she

[00:07:36] first worked in a Bud Light ad back in 99, played it during the Super Bowl, but... And she had only a little part in it, but when she got paid, she thought she had made it. She quit all her day jobs, and then six months later was like, I need my job back, please. Oh, man. She appeared in spots also for McDonald's, Quaker Oats, Weiser Schnitzel, Skittles, and Toyota. So, most of her income came from commercials. Yep. Yep.

[00:08:06] Yep. Hey, heads off to anyone who can make that work. Make that work. But no, I was thinking, I don't know why, but I was thinking that her name is Milona Vitrob or something. Yeah, yeah. She was in a... She was in a show, I can't remember what platform it was on, but she was in a show... Oh, Other Space. Other Space. Other Space, yeah. That was on Yahoo. And that had the guys from MST in it. Mm-hmm.

[00:08:33] So, she kind of became part of that family for a while, and... Well, it had Joel and Trace in it. Yep. Yep. Yep. That was a fun one. I wish they'd put it back up on Hulu or even add it to the Gizmoplex. They got money. I would love to see it available somewhere because I'd want to buy it. Ed, welcome to the club, my friend. I've been looking up now that no one uses DVDs anymore. I'm like, okay, what are the best ones to add to your MacBook and then rip any region DVD?

[00:09:05] Show me how I can make all the stuff I love digital now that I can have it be playing anywhere. Yeah. Yeah. Please. Please. I gotta think Flo, Thanksgiving commercials where she plays every part is, might be inspired by the clumps, Eddie Murphy. Oh, it has to be. It does the same thing. Because who else was doing, imitating Eddie Murphy where they were playing multiple roles? It wasn't Adam Sandler.

[00:09:34] There was like some other comedian who did that and made that kind of his thing for a while. A black comedian maybe? I can't. Okay. Comedians who play multiple. Well, Eddie Murphy. You're right. But I was trying to think of who was emulating him. Rone Atkinson and Hugh Glory did that for a bit. Peter Sellers. Martin Lawrence. Martin Lawrence. Peter Sellers. That's right. Peter Sellers is what? Three or four characters? I know.

[00:10:04] I'm thinking of Mike Myers. Okay. Oh, okay. Sure. I mean, you play free people for free movies. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And I got the three chicks at the same time. Because I'm evil. Oh, shit. I knew we weren't going to be PG. Not that I would ever want to be. But sorry, kids at home. And I'm looking at how much Dean Winters, you know, mayhem from Allstate makes.

[00:10:32] He makes $4 million, according to the richest. So you're ahead of them, Flo. They should do a crossover. Just split the bill. Yeah. Well, and then they had the. Or better yet. Do an Anchorman style. Battle Royale. I'm the best. Spokesperson. No, I am. Yeah. That'd be. I love it.

[00:11:01] Have funnier die. Produce it. Yes. It'd be a win for everybody. I'd watch it. I also love. The flow tryouts. That was a good breaking the wall. And I think that just reminded us why she has that just catchy persona. It's like, you just. You got to just have no soul to just not even smile once. Like, this is clever. This is.

[00:11:33] Well, I think they got that inspired by them trying to, you know, do a show with Elvira where she's getting. Oh. You know, where she's trying people out for taking over the role or something. Oh. I can't remember what it was called, but it was a show. That's a deep cut. Yeah. Elvira contest show. The search for the next Elvira. Yeah, that was it. That was back in.

[00:12:01] I was on the Fox reality channel and that was on 0708. Yeah. I vaguely heard of it. Entertainment Weekly talked a shit ton about it and it lasted only four episodes. Shit. So much like the who's the next director one with Spielberg, they must have just not promoted it too well. That sucks. Or they just couldn't find a new Elvira. Yeah, there you go. April Fool's. You can't find a new one.

[00:12:29] It takes somebody to really fill up those big cups. No window folder. It'll be like Ryan Reynolds says to Wolverine. You'll be doing this till you're 80. Oh, shit. Oh, man. Well, unlike Crystal Waters, you got to do it with 100% pure love. Sorry.

[00:12:59] I'm an electronic dance head. Oh, yeah. I'm surprised she hasn't been in more stuff. But hey, again, you're with all these other well-known sketch show and comedians and a reasonable amount of screen time. I'm sure she's had offers and been like, no, that's not a good use of my branding. She has every right to do that and say, it's just not funny. Nothing personal.

[00:13:28] Or maybe the commercial thing gives her what she needs and she doesn't try to search any further. Yeah, she does that too. Yeah. I do think she's a decent person. Steady work is always good when you're an actor. So if you catch that wave, then... Yeah. Because, yeah, I mean, even, you know...

[00:13:54] Like I said, like AT&T girl, she hasn't done a lot outside of that commercial business. She's been developing stuff behind the scenes. But yeah, that's the day job and the instant fame. And even the most cynical person likes you. That's pretty cool. You know, I just thought we'd give a hat off because we've talked about so many other comedic personas and slogans and TV bumpers and retro stuff.

[00:14:21] I was like, you know, let's give a hat off to, like, the number one TV commercial spokesperson right now. Absolutely. I mean, yeah. Somebody had to take up the mail from David Leisure. Or the Where's the Beef Lady. Where's the beef? Clara Peller. Boy, that's a... That's a deep cut. Whose voice do you feel like you hear the most other than McConaughey or Ving Rhames? Or...

[00:14:52] Or doos. Or me. We are the moots. But he has, like, two other ones. That was more like Bane doing an army. Oh, now I want to see Ving Rhames play Bane. Yeah. I want to see Tom Hardy do the Bane voice for her. Or are we commercial? Do you think this two for five deal is for you? No. I'm serious.

[00:15:17] There was a voiceover guy in the 70s or 80s. And it was very kind of little... Because we care. You know? Yeah. I think... I remember that. Yeah. Yeah. Taking our time to make a quality product. Because we care. It took me years. I called it. But then when it finally got confirmed online, I was amazed that the Mucin XB was Antonio Banderas. Really?

[00:15:48] No. No. And I had to check the woman in the new Crest commercial is not Sarah Silverman. Wait. She did the Crests for a while? I had no idea. She did? Why? Because I Googled it. Apparently they're going for that. But it's not actually her. I'm not... When you get Sarah who? Sarah Silverman.

[00:16:18] Sarah Silverman. It's not Sarah Silverman. When you get Sarah Silverman from Timu. Now we got to look. I don't know. I use Timu a lot. How about just say wish.com? Craigslist. Okay. Perfect. Back page. Oh. Really went downhill there. Yeah. So Dr. Garcia. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't really seen those. So I've heard of them.

[00:16:47] But I... Gigi Sao Guerrero is apparently... I think... She apparently does TikTok stuff. Yeah. Wow. She's also a director. Wow. But she really wants the grip. Hey. I'd rather be the guy grilling people too. There's a Reddit. Is it just me or is it Dr. Garcia and the Crest? Yeah.

[00:17:16] It's the one I'm reading too. I don't know stupid questions. Oh God. Hey. It's fun to know all these people. It's not like you can put this on your IMDb. Just put it on your resume. You're allowed to go off on tangents here. No. Flo had to lead the way and it allows us to talk about some of our other favorite ad people. Because I don't have to like what you're selling. I just have to like you.

[00:17:48] Hey, Thomas. You know, Padgett Brewster. Padgett Brewster. Have you listened to the Thrilling Adventure Hour at all? I have not. That's one I definitely want to... I think we talked about that a bit. Paul F. Yeah, we did talk about it in an episode. Paul F. Tompkins and her do a duo. Yes. In some of the, you know, episodes. I can't remember the characters, but it's a pretty funny listen. Paul Tompkins is just...

[00:18:17] He should be doing commercials too. Like he's just... The dude can do no wrong. He's just dynamic. And oddly enough, I think it's Paul F. Tompkins and Padgett Brewster had minor roles in two of my favorite sitcoms. Parks and Rec and Community. Yeah. Definitely on Community. Let's see. I liked your part in Two and a Half Men.

[00:18:47] Yeah. She's on Friends briefly. Criminal Minds. She's wearing a very tight dress. Yeah. Another period. Did you ever see that one? Oh, I'm sure I did. Oh, no, I did. Yeah, that's the... That's where all these comedians and it takes place in Victorian times or something. Yep. Yep, I did. Yep. But I'm trying to remember who's in that.

[00:19:21] Shoot. Oh, yeah, that. Sorry. I don't know. I don't know. Well, there's a comedy duo in there. Hmm. Okay, Beatrice Bellacourt is played by Ricky Lindholm and Lillian Abigail Bellacourt played by Natasha Legg.

[00:19:45] I guess I was confusing her because Ricky Lindholm, she did a duo singing thing, comedy singing thing with someone. And I can't remember her name, but she was in like Raising Hope. Oh, Martha Plimpton? No. Damn it. Was it Kate Malichy or Malichy? Oh, Kate Malichy, probably. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, that's it. There you go. Hey, yeah. She's on the healthcare. Yeah, Garfunkel and Oates.

[00:20:15] Yeah, with Marilyn. She was on Mr. Show and Larry Saunders. Yep. Yeah, I applaud all these people because like they have all the stuff that we mentioned about like they. Even if you're just coming in and just seeing them in these shows that are syndicated now versus the serious ones they're in like they they have no shortage of range and they have. Multiple avenues like you see them in one you want to see them in other stuff they've done there.

[00:20:42] Even if you don't necessarily always know their name, you're like that person was awesome. You know, I just. And I've seen it where a lot of like comedy actors can really do well in drama, whereas, you know, a lot of drama. Actors don't really make the transition to comedy very well. Absolutely. You know, James Berardinelli. I like his reviews, but he would always bash Jack Black in every movie he saw him in. I'm like, good grief, dude. I think Jack can act. He just hasn't done too many dramas, but that's true.

[00:21:13] There are some comedians that you see all the voice actors who talk about how some of them have just fessed up is like, yeah, I can't act on screen. I can act in a booth and vice versa. I can do both, but I. I'd rather not. Yeah. Heads off to anyone who can make this their living and. Not be bugged on the street.

[00:21:42] We're at the grocery store. Penn and Teller should do a bullshit on the Thanksgiving commercial bullshit. It's the same actress. Yeah, there you go. Any movie where someone is playing multiple roles, you're like, there's no way that's a different person. I don't buy it for a second. And in fact, Penn and Teller, we were talking about in another episode, like they would have the right to ruin a movie for me.

[00:22:09] Like they've earned it like that. They're the voice of reason. So I'm I'm cool with wherever they want to go versus a comedian who went too far or who just came off as a jerk after having too many margaritas. You know, I was like, yeah, Penn, Teller, you got this. I'll let you have this one. I can I can see them doing like a mystery science theater shadow thing where Penn is doing all the comedy jokes. And Gillette's like doing the shadow, you know, movements and stuff and making fun of them that way.

[00:22:39] Oh, anything. I would love it if Teller was just face palming while watching a crappy doctor show. And I would love it if Penn was watching anything from like a history period piece thing to a cop show to some other gangster show where he's like, yeah, no, the coppers would have arrested you by now. You're in the middle of the day throwing out a body into the lake. You know, it'd be just funny to see them. Yeah, they can do those.

[00:23:07] You see on YouTube where they got those people who shows their reaction to watching certain things on screen. Yes. And you can do something with. Yeah. Yeah. You can do something with Teller doing that. They Penn and Teller ruin every HBO or Netflix show for you. This won 20 Emmys. What in hell's name? And Penn and Teller destroy Hollywood. Yeah. There you go. Penn and Teller versus Hollywood. Yeah. I love it.

[00:23:34] And in all fairness, like even when Penn curses, like you're just looking forward to him saying it as opposed to, oh, you know, put the kids to bed. Like, it's like, that's just fucking funny. That's great. That's all what we're all thinking. So he just finally validated us by saying it finally. After all that buildup, he just finally let it out. Bullshit. Bullshit.

[00:24:01] In the pilot episode for BS, he's like going on about how, you know, he says, well, pardon us for all the language. But funny enough, you know, we could be sued for saying certain things about these people, but we can still call it bullshit. Yes. Or call them assholes. You got to like what you do instead of just, I just want to talk shit.

[00:24:30] Kudos to anyone. Kudos, kudos. End of summer. We're getting, we're tired, aren't we? Way to date the episode. What was that? I got to look it up. But what was that Penn and Teller movie? Penn and Teller get killed or something? I haven't seen that. Yeah, yeah. That's from 89. And it still comes in English. I think you'd like it.

[00:25:00] It comes on Showtime quite a lot. Every once in a while. Does it? Three years. Because I have never seen that. I wanted to check it out, but I didn't know it was any good. Yeah, it's, it's fun. It's just. Think of it as a blueprint for all the other wacky shows they do. Kind of. I forget what they are. I've got, I've got it. I've got pictures to Hollywood. And believe me, it's going to be bopful. Penn and Teller do Rosencrantz and Guildenstain.

[00:25:31] Rosencrantz and Guildenstain. I mean, I'd, I'd watch it. I'd watch it. Oh. Well, aren't they dead? No, but they'll bring it to life. There was a movie called Rosencrantz and Guildenstain. Are dead. Yes. That's where he's going. Yes. I mean, so they've already done Penn and Teller. Oh, that was Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. Okay. Roger Ebert totally missed the point on that. And it was like, good grief, dude.

[00:26:03] I hate, hate this movie. Oh, okay. I've got that book here somewhere. I hated, hated this movie. And yeah. And yet Roger Ebert wrote. Beyond the Belly of the Dolls. Yep. Which coincidentally enough, did not get an X rating for sex, but for violence. Because of a graphic decapitation in the middle of the movie.

[00:26:29] And the famous line that was revamped or redone for Austin Powers, it's my happening, baby. And it freaks me out. Okay. Oh, I promise we will cover Austin Powers in the future on this podcast. And that just reminds me that you guys just said the movie Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. That was actually directed by Russ Meyer, which was not a film that he had anything to do with writing. Yeah.

[00:26:59] You got it. It's called Progression, baby. Well, I think it's the only one he did that he didn't direct that I know of. Yeah. I mean, that he didn't write. Only drive-in movie where, yeah, you had someone else to go off of. And he got some mainstream appeal briefly. The first time I ever heard of Roger Ebert, he had an article in Reader's Digest probably taken about why would any parent drop their kids off to see Night of the Living Dead?

[00:27:26] He was just seeing how horrible it was. And, you know, he saw it and there was kids in the theater and they were crying and stuff. But, you know, that was 1968, 69. Yeah, 69. Well, maybe Al and Peg Bundy were their parents. Yeah. I think he'd call them a little bit on criticizing movies like that. Maybe the preppers were taking the movie legit seriously. I don't know. Yeah. Maybe they were educating them on racism, man. I don't know.

[00:27:55] Gee, not only did that, that would tell us all about zombies. Zombies. They have to prepare for the zombie apocalypse, which is coming around the corner. Woo-hoo. And, Thomas, if you haven't seen it, you need to see Blair Thumb. Blair Thumb. Oh, yeah. The thumb. Oh, the Blair Witch. Is it a Blair Witch thing? Yeah. It's a parody on the Blair Witch with people using thumbs and they got faces on their thumbs. Oh. Faces and eyes. They're talking.

[00:28:23] My favorite by them is still Titanic. In fact, that's where, in fact, I think it was Blair Thumb where they're like talking to the cameraman. They're talking to the cameraman and that's where you get these two hillbilly types. And they're talking about, you know, they're talking about, that's where they said, do you know Ned Beatty? You really like Ned Beatty? We like Ned Beatty. He sure do got a pretty mouth.

[00:28:54] His first movie. His first movie. Wow. What do I have to do in the movie? And the worst part about it is he squeal like a pig. Yeah. The worst part about it is he got paid scale. Oh. Oh, man. Bullshit. I knew what I was going to say eventually. Blads. Bullshit. There's five of them.

[00:29:23] There's five of them you need to look up on. There's five of them you need to look up on YouTube. But there's Thumbtanic. Yes. There's God Thumb. Star Thumbs. There's Bab Thumb. Star Thumbs. Huh? Thumb Wars. Thumb Wars. Thumb Wars. Yeah. And it just made me forget what. Frank and Thumb. Frank and Thumb. Yeah. So the 90 minutes ago, like through the whole. 30 minutes. Yeah. We would play those on repeat.

[00:29:52] They were funny. Oh, my God. I got. I got. I originally remember when like a lot of the video stores were opening up for DVDs and stuff like that. I got like all five. They were DVD favorites on I film. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, if you haven't seen it by now, you need to. And I'm pretty sure they're going to be on YouTube. Yeah. We could do a special even on our favorite Star Wars specials.

[00:30:21] Hey, make Penn and Teller be Star Wars bartenders. I'd watch it. Well, you know, Star Wars specials. I like the family guy stuff. Oh, yes. Yes. Where they're on this. Leah and Luke are in the forest hijacking the racers and they just go by Pee Wee Herman randomly on his bike. Yeah. Hell. Why were Penn and Gillette not on Hubie's Playhouse? That'd be great.

[00:30:53] They meant to do that. Lawrence Fishburne demanded more money. Do you think they could have done a kid's program? I think so. I mean, especially given how they were in just their adapters. You tell them, hey, this is PG. They can still sneak in some stuff for the adults. They. They're just kind of invincible, like Penn could be. He's not going to be outspoken, but let's say he was in a chat.

[00:31:23] No one would give a shit. They'd be like, I respect him so much. He's too intelligent as a person for me to care what the media thinks about him. You know, he's that kind of dude. And Teller. Yeah. First place. I will. This is why you don't do the pre-basic. This is why you don't do that. Well, so they're rebooting The Office, which I'm not really looking forward to.

[00:31:48] But I'll tell you, if they had Penn Jillette as the new boss, I'd watch the shit out of it. Yeah. I'd love you the third time around because it was British and American. Oh, now we're doing the other. There's something on Peacock that's like set in like the Dunder Mifflin version. Well, the one thing about the British version. Maybe five. They're original. No. But I don't. Yeah. True. And maybe five if we want to count Parks and Rec.

[00:32:18] You know, it's in there somewhere. Yeah. There's actually part of the. There's actually part of the. The Greg Daniels verse. Exactly. Oh, man. Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. In my mind, it was always Rashida Jones left under Mifflin to go to Parks and Rec. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And dumb Andy, who was a. Yeah. Who went on to be. Who went on to be Star Lord.

[00:32:47] Right. Yeah. And brought half of them with him. Yeah. Oh, man. Oh, this has been fun, y'all. And I blow being another movie. We will see it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, comedy short. We'll see it. Do it. I mean, the current one she's done where it's set in the 80s where she's like, my room, it just got raided. It just got robbed. And the other guy plays off her so perfectly.

[00:33:18] And she's like, I still got my place robbed. She looks to me like someone who should be in movies like 40 year old virgin or. Rat Boy. Yeah. Or what is that movie? This is 40 or something. Jed Apatow kind of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Judd Apatow kind of stuff. I'd go see a movie with the flow family in it. You know, all five of them. Maybe. Oh, I got one for you. The Cable Guy 2. Or better yet, just call it The Cable Gal.

[00:33:48] Cable Person. No. I got something that'll work even better. Here it is. Here it is, my dude. The flow lady. She does all the characters in the family and they're doing fast and furious. The Cable Man. You know what? I'd see that. That'd be the second Fast and Furious movie I've seen in the theater and probably the first one I really like. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. I love it.

[00:34:16] Have her play an alien on a Star Trek show who's selling commercials to and ripping people off in other places of the galaxy. That'd be funny. Female Ferengi? Yeah. Or better yet, she's ripping off Ferengis and they don't know it yet. And they're just following everything she does because Ferengis, they like women. Especially smart ones. I don't know what she's saying, but it's fair she knows everything she's doing.

[00:34:44] I don't know why I'm sounding like Beavis. Yeah. Yeah, they should have some Ferengis on there that sound like Beavis and Butthead. Yes. Oh my God. There was one time when we would do interactive learning games, but you could change the names of the people. And me and my brother, we got in some deep shit because our parents were in the room.

[00:35:10] And we started renaming all the people in the learning games and appropriate names in Beavis and Butthead. Oh my God. And they're like, hey, that is not meant to be abused and used that way. I'm like, oh, come on. It's fun. Friendly fire in a video game. It's fun. That numbers suck. Playing by the rules. Please. Here's one.

[00:35:38] They do office space or falling down like inspired dark comedy, but have Flo be the main person. Can you imagine her as like a lumbered type boss or a defense type asshole going around causing chaos in LA? I want breakfast. No, I can see her being like a really pushy agent for like a talent agent. Yes. There you go.

[00:36:06] The, the, the talent supervisor or something coming to Fox this fall. And yeah. Produced by Mindy Kaelin. Will Ferrell. Yeah. There you go. And watch it. And like the two, the two people from her commercials. Yes. They show up. Her underlings. Yeah. One of them could be like the district manager and they could probably have some other inside jokes to their. The other one's the receptionist that doesn't really do her job. There you go. And the first.

[00:36:34] And the guy who plays Jamie playing, playing a hard ass. There you go. Hell. I want her to be a Kramer equivalent on like a Seinfeld knockoff sitcom where she just walks through the door very awkwardly. I kind of see her. I kind of see her being more like Bob Newhart in a way. Bob Newhart. Okay. Reacting to all the chaos around her. The house is burning down and it happened. Oh, and to Tom's recurring point.

[00:37:03] He loves doing these impressions. What if she did a Morgan Freeman type impression? No way. You need to do it. Morgan Freeman. It's pretty hard to do me. You need to do Thomas. Or I mean, Morgan Freeman the way Flo would do it.

[00:37:27] It was said that she could save 20% on her car insurance by switching to progressive. But progressive. It was at this point that the claim was turned into the longest claim of his life. I got to say, I do like the current ones. You're turning into your parents. Those are kind of funny too. Yes. Oh my God. Yeah. What's the other one she did?

[00:37:56] The talking in the elevator bed and the... The elevator bed. Rodney was one of the other guys. Yeah. And I like how it's, again, it's an insurance squad. So it's... I like... There's one recent one they did four months ago where they questioned if she's really the boss. You know? And there's another one on Hidden Gems where they talk about nature. Wasn't there one where she was like singing to like animated characters, making fun of like

[00:38:27] Technicolor kind of... Yeah. Musical animation. Yeah. From the 50s. Yeah. She's doing a Gene Kelly. Again, whatever it is, I'll watch it. Like, it's just such a likable persona. Doesn't Little Tomlin do a takeoff on that too in 9 to 5? A fantasy sequence about killing the boss? Yeah. Well, they play that up in all... There's even a sequence like that in Not Another Team movie.

[00:38:57] Hey. Look at you. Yeah. I'm sure they play that in a few other things I can't think of. There's always an animated sequence. There's always one. It's just easier to write. Even crap like Movie 43. Oh! Oh my God. You know, it had all these name actors in it and I wanted to laugh so hard, but... Oh man. Just wasn't in the cards. When... When...

[00:39:26] What's their name? Hugh Jackman and... With the balls on his chin? Yeah. They took over Jimmy Kimmel and they showed a censored clip from that scene just to talk shit about him for the next hour. Oh my God. They're like, what were you thinking when you did this movie? It's like, no one was thinking. No one was thinking. It's just a meme-able... ...sequence. If anything, bad movies just become memes.

[00:39:57] I did kind of like Gerard Butler as a leprechaun. Yeah, well, you know, he's got to be a leprechaun. They're not to me meeting Lucky Charms. Gerard Butler, I would see set the Eiffel Tower on fire and I would still like him. I did a funny meme where I was just asking everybody, who would you like even if they did the worst thing ever?

[00:40:23] Like, if Denzel Washington shot a guy allegedly in self-defense... Yeah, I saw that. I didn't know how to answer that. I'm the worst. If Tom Hanks got someone in a headlock because they were being a dick in a bar, would you still like him? If he went all Forrest Gump for real, would you like him? I don't know. I saw that post out there and I'm like, there's no way I can answer this. I'm the worst.

[00:40:51] The thing is, I can't really say anything about that because I actually like Craig Ferguson. Yeah, I'd like him even if he shouted, dude. Yeah. I mean, the guy does Hitler jokes. And he mentioned the fact that Hitler had a great ass. I haven't really watched Craig Ferguson since the Drew Carey show, so... Oh, well, you know, that's where I knew him was being the boss who was very zany.

[00:41:19] How about Joel Hodgson? If Joel Hodgson had to strangle a dude because he was being a dick at an MST3K concert, I'd still like him. I don't know what that says about me, but damn it. I'm just giving examples here. Yeah. What about Wayne Brady? If he choked a bitch for real, I'd be like, method acting, baby. He's been in the zit. Well, you know, because I'm thinking the worst thing a person can do is either rape or murder. And I'm like, oh.

[00:41:50] Yeah. Hey, you know, I'm just sticking to murder for now, I guess. I don't know. Well, Albert Brooks... For now. For now. Oh, man. Albert Brooks kind of did that in Drive. All of a sudden, he's a psychotic mobster. Yeah. Oh, my God. Although he never really plays likable characters in his movie either. He's always playing kind of an asshole. He's just always out there, yeah. But that's what's funny about him, yeah. Yeah. If Whoopi Goldberg tripped a producer who was talking smack, I'd let her out of...

[00:42:19] She gets a good Al Jell-free card. If Robin Williams wants to come out of the dead and slap a comedian who's unfunny, that's cool. I don't know. That's the heavens talking there. At that point, it becomes divine intervention. That's exactly what it is. Does he get rid of a crappy comedian who pisses everyone off as well as a canceled comedian who's still mouthing off on Twitter? He'd be like, shut up, dude. Just shut up. Find a different profession.

[00:42:49] Work at McDonald's. Don't be a comedian anymore. If Ryan Stiles ran for president but fucked up the election, guess what? He's getting my vote. I don't give a shit. I'd be like... I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Every time he's come to Des Moines with those... Who's live? Who's live? I love it. Yes. I see him. Becky and I see him all the time. I wanted to take a few people to one, but it was on Mother's Day, and I could not get them to get off their ass and go to it.

[00:43:18] I'm like, come on. Let's go to this. When are they going to be in town next? Greg Proops, that'd be awesome if he was on a talk show and just shot a dude. You're mouthing out for me. Then there's the guy who does the music. Please don't stop the music. There was two guys on the show, but there's one guy doing it live who's done it in my order. We're doing it live.

[00:43:46] Well, and then there's Bill Murray's brother's been in some whose live is it anyway shows. Brian Doyle Murray? Is it Brian Doyle? He was an American gods in an episode, but he's done live shows. Isn't Brian Doyle Murray the one that passed away? I think so. Also, Joel Murray. Yeah. Is that? Okay, yeah. I have seen him in those ads.

[00:44:16] And then even the guy from News Radio. Dave Foley. He did it one year. Or not Dave Foley. Yeah, the other guy. No, it is Dave Foley. It is Dave Foley. I think I... But wasn't the other guy who's often like in all the businessman skits? The fat-faced one, I think. Steven Root. Steven Root. Not Steven Root. Now, you're thinking of News Radio. I'm talking about kids in the hole. Oh. What's his name? He was in Superstore.

[00:44:46] Was it Mark McKinney? I haven't seen him do Who's Live. Okay. I think it's someone else. I don't know. I don't know what I've been told. Hey. Well, I mean, at least for the shows that were in Des Moines, I don't know if he was involved in anything outside of that. I'll just say yes. I believe you. I believe you, Gil. You've been to more of them than me. Here's one for you. Flo gets her own Pixar movie.

[00:45:18] That could be funny with the animation. She doesn't even have to play Flo, but just give her a wacky character. I think she can carry the movie, honestly. Like, watch it. Be like a Ted and do a stuffed pet. You know? She should work with Seth MacFarlane on Ted or the Orville. That'd be funny. I'd be surprised if she has at least done a voice. I'm not seeing it.

[00:45:47] I don't know that she has or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did. She also just has a great smile. I'm just saying that. Yeah. Melvin Goes to Dinner is also an underrated comedy she did with just a bunch of other comedians. She was the best thing about the failed Cayman sitcom. I never even got a chance to see that. Did anybody find it funny? No.

[00:46:16] Yeah, some stuff should happen. I don't know why I'm whispering. I thought, there's no way they can mess this up. And I'm like, cricket, cricket, cricket. Like, just seeing it for free on YouTube was enough of a time still. I'm like, that's how bad it was. I'm like, why'd you do this to me? Why'd you do this? You just made me waste my time. Right. I have only myself to blame, which makes me bad for me.

[00:46:50] Yeah. Here you go. Here you go. Flo does a John Wick knockoff. Oh, yes. Or better yet, she's still friends with Bob Odenkirk. How about she be brief rolling Nobody 2 or Free? I don't know. I know they're working on sigils. She could reboot The Matrix. Oh. Well, kudos to her if she can. Part 4 was so bad. I'm sorry. I avoided that movie by accident.

[00:47:19] And it was a good accident. I'm not complaining. That was a well-earned accident. And it's so funny. My sister was excited. My parents were kind of morbidly curious. And then Thanksgiving happened. And we got busy. And we somehow just forgot. Like, there was just so many movies coming out straight to streaming. Or in theaters and on streaming. And next thing you know, I was like, 10 more days till it finally leaves HBO Max. You know, I get on it. And like 10 minutes in, I'm like, reject.

[00:47:49] Mental reject. I'm like, nope. This isn't working for me. I love you Neil Patrick Harris. But why do you even bother with this? I have never seen The Matrix. Not even with Rift Tracks? Not any of them? None of them. I think I started watching it. And the dudes with the sunglasses showed up. I said, this is just dumb. I don't know. I just couldn't get into it. I heard about it. It's okay, dude. Like, you love what you love.

[00:48:17] I am not here to be a passing judgment show. I look forward every day when we record. And we just only saw our different puns. And I'd be a fascist to be like, you can't like that. You can't hate that. What am I to say? I'm just another asshole who has a mic on. It was just too cool for school for me or something. It's just, I don't know. You know, there are movies. I'll put it this way.

[00:48:46] There are movies I've liked, but I give it six shots. Free at the minimum. And if I can't endure it, any of those viewings, I'm out. I got to say the last two. Sorry, go ahead. I was going to say the last two Matrix, I wasn't that into. No, that's fair. That's perfectly fair. And I think it helped for me that I had the ending spoiled by high schooler snobs.

[00:49:14] So I didn't get disappointed by that angle of it. I saw all the cool just kind of becoming Superman angle stuff. And I don't know. For me, it was kind of like all the other Westerns and cop shows. I didn't look at it as just one person doing all the carrying. I kind of looked at it like Star Wars, where it's a giant ensemble. And some people who you like die along the way. But I get it. You know, it's cyberpunk is unfortunately still very hard to adapt, as many studios have shown

[00:49:44] in the past. Like some of it just works better as a comic or as a book just because you have less creative interference and less visualization. No pun. And I'm sure the progressive ads when they've marketed them in like the development room were probably hard to greenlight, you know, because you've got to hire someone who whose first language is comedy.

[00:50:10] Like they can sell the product and say all these outrageous, very witty lines, you know. And can you imagine that? You know, just being because I mean, it took a while for them to embrace ads and then for the Internet to take over and for people to seek out. Like even non sports people like me would sit down and suffer for a Super Bowl just to see the hysterical ads sometimes, you know, it's just. Yeah, that is.

[00:50:38] I can't even imagine the amount of pressure for, hey, you're going to do these hysterical ads and kudos to them that none of them were risque or didn't have any questionable language. They were able to just do the oldest trick in the book, just be witty. Just be kind of curious about, you know, like these ads, like the ads with her and other ads, for example. I mean, yeah, to go on YouTube and see how many hits they would have had.

[00:51:06] I'm sure it's got to be out there somewhere low before she was famous. And I'm sure all of them, even if she's not crazy about them, you know, hey, you put your foot in the sand. And you get you got to have a blueprint for what later becomes your your persona. And I have no doubt that Progressive definitely was inspired by Geico. Geico kind of started the whole rebooted the whole hysterical ads for the late 90s, early 2000s.

[00:51:36] And then like, hey, is your refrigerator on me? You know, they would do all kinds of figure speeches and other play on words and mix it in with just other nutty stuff. And they kind of went to the next level and all stayed for the longest time. I would get mixed up with Geico because they had other just kind of physical comedy with the mayhem ads. So I'm just like, yeah, I mean. It's fair game at this point.

[00:52:06] I like to even I don't know anyone who's used their insurances, any of these free, but I'm sure there's ads littered throughout any firm that works for them. I don't know. Has anyone ever been by a building that houses one of those insurance companies? I used to work in one. Yeah, I forget which one that is.

[00:52:33] I'm sure they got various, you know, ads of their various spokesperson from all the different years. I think there's a progressive office on 28th Street in town here. The 131 exit. I remember driving by that when I was took on that route to work. Oh, nice. I'm thinking about the Matrix again. It was Vanilla Sky. Is that Cameron Crowe's The Matrix?

[00:53:02] It was a remake of The Matrix. Is that kind of a brain twister movie? I thought it was Minority Report was Tom Cruise's Matrix, but what do I know? Yeah. I think I might be confusing that with another movie where it involves- My glove. I don't know. No, him and his wife in a movie and it involves sex. I can't remember what the movie was called. Oh, Eyes Wide Shut. The Cooper's wife movie? Eyes Wide Shut. Eyes Wide Shut? I like Dwight Shut. That's it. That's it. People. So here's a question. Is it a good Christmas movie?

[00:53:32] Eyes Wide Shut? Yeah, because it takes place on Christmas. Oh. I don't think anyone really wants to watch it at Christmas. I saw it in the theater and I forgot about it. You know, just, you know. Well, seeing his wife with her clothes off was kind of a Christmas bonus. Hey-o! Jim Carrey did one, too. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Wasn't that kind of a Matrix-y movie? Oh, well, that and Truman Show. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:54:02] So, those in the cable guy, whenever people say Jim Carrey can't act, I say, say again? Come again? I just, I mean, it's all three of those movies. Then I bring up the Sonic movies. I mean, come on. It's got to be more than just a payday to coax that man out of retirement for another Sonic movie. Is he retired? He was. And now he's coming back to film Sonic 3 again. Hey.

[00:54:31] I'm with it, man. I'm with it. I thought he kind of went out of the business because he kind of went off the deep end a bit. He was, he had a few other controversial takes. He's very woke. And at the same time, here's an irony. He's also an anti-vaxxer. So, yeah, it was weird. But I, hey, you know, he's done too much right for me. I can't, I can't, I can't hit the guy. I can't hit the guy. If he did an ad, I would, I would buy whatever he was selling.

[00:55:00] I can still remember watching, you know, I'd go over to my mother's and do my laundry when I got my first apartment. And I'd be watching TV over there and be watching In Living Color. Yes. And my mom absolutely hated it, which made me think, oh, well, this is perfect then. I've been there and that I have been in those situations, unfortunately, question mark, where it drives everyone up the wall. And that only reminds you how much you love it.

[00:55:29] So you just go in another room and just enjoy it by yourself. Like my, my brother's fiance likes horror movies. My brother, not so much. So whenever he comes back from a movie, he can't stand. That only tells me I'm probably going to really like it a lot. Oh, then I'm betting she took him to see Thanksgiving and I. No, no, no. No, nothing, nothing morbid like that.

[00:55:56] It was more like the forever purge, which I thought was a lot of fun, but I get it. Not everyone likes that action sci-fi kind of horror mixture. I don't know. I still remember seeing Jim Carrey decades ago doing standup where he would contort his face to look like. Yes. Clint Eastwood. That's the first time I've ever heard it. It was just fascinating. Mr. Clayface. Yeah. You can find some of those. Do you guys know what movie he did with Clint Eastwood? The Deadpool. Okay, damn it. Oh, he's in there?

[00:56:25] And Pink Cadillac. Okay. Two. Because he did that thing where he looked like him on the stage thing. I'm sure that had a bit to do with it. I think he did say something like that where he got intimidated. He's like, I hope this guy doesn't punch. Dennis Leary had another one like that too on a hysterical, funnier type thing. I'm doing this movie called True Crime and I'm in a scene with Clint Eastwood and I feel like the back of my fucking skull is going to melt.

[00:56:53] But I have never seen anybody else do that though. He actually changes. I don't know how he did it. Mr. Rubberface. Yeah. He's a great contortionist. I guess. Yeah. He's just, he and Bruce Campbell and Jackie Chan are the, and all the other classic comedians are the physical comedy masterminds. Oh, I would have paid. Here's one. If they redo the Free Stooges again. Jim Carrey as Mo.

[00:57:24] You can have Jackie Chan as Larry. And then Curly can be Will Sasso again. See what I did. Yeah. I was going to say, Will Sasso did a pretty good job. I was going to jump in and say that. If it's not Frank Caliendo, get Will Sasso. Some other mad TV guy we all like. Hell, have it be the one fat guy from Modern Family. I think he'd be okay.

[00:57:51] And Flo could be, I don't know, just the main, it could be a meta movie where it's like, what if the Free Stooges are a traveling comedy act in modern day? And she could be like their talent manager who's like, yeah, you know, you want to have a good green room all to yourself or something. I never, I never saw the Three Stooges movie, but I swear when the trailers came out, I thought it was James Gamble Feeney. I remember you telling me that. Yeah. I had to look again.

[00:58:20] It was way better than any right to be. If you can get past some of the stupid cameos, it really was a lot of fun. Like the actors were really into it. And I know Sean Hayes on SmartLess has talked about it a lot since then. It was just a very growing experience for everyone involved. Well, I mean, the way they told the story, especially for a modern movie, was kind of odd. But I still enjoyed it. It was odd. But I mean, who else besides the Farrelly Brothers should have held it? And I got a trivia question.

[00:58:49] What kind of, what Marx Brothers movie appeared in the 90s without really having the Marx Brothers? Whoa. I can only think of the awful 80s Three Stooges movie. No, it wasn't a Three Stooges movie. Right, right. That's what I'm thinking. I'm Marx Brothers. I actually started up in the 90s. In the 90s. And it has, what's his, it has Jesus from, oh shit. Now I'm drawing.

[00:59:19] Oh, from Jim Caviezel? No, it has, from, oh. I don't know. I know what you're talking about. I'm going to cheat and look it up. You know, the bowler. The bowler. Oh, I know. Jeff Bridges? The Marx Brothers movie, but what's, oh, the Big Lebowski. Big Lebowski. Wait. Why couldn't I bring that up? The Marx Brothers are in that? But it has that guy who plays Jesus in that, in this movie I'm talking about. Oh, man. Oh. Oh, John Totoro? John Totoro? John Totoro, yep.

[00:59:49] John Totoro. Was it a remake of a Marx Brothers? Oh, yes. The one James had talked about. It wasn't even a Marx Brothers movie, but they are acting like Marx Brothers. Yes, yes. It's from like 92, Dennis Dugan, Brain Donors. Yeah. James has brought that up. Yeah, Brain Donors. Yep. Yep. Oh, okay. I'll have to check it out. The third time we have brought it to you. I bet it's getting love happy. What?

[01:00:18] I bet it's better than love happy. I was talking about that. Oh, my God. The last Marx Brothers movie isn't very good. Yeah. Well, I was just surprised because I'm watching it going, like, these guys are acting like the Marx Brothers, but it's not a Marx Brothers movie. Okay. Yep. Directed by Adam Sandler. They have a mute character in it, like Harpo? Kind of. Kind of. Yeah, I think they do. I can't quite remember. Bob Nelson is not quite mute Harpo.

[01:00:47] Mel Smith is an English Chico, and John is Groucho. Yep. Okay. What's it called again? Brain Donors. All right. I'll donate my brain, but not to science, just to you guys. You're going to have it as a power backup when your main brain dies. I don't know. Hire a scientist, fuck it. Yeah, and if you think about it, it's only a half hour of your time for each one, but check out those thumb movies, too.

[01:01:16] Yes. We'll return after these messages. Hey, it's Brent Pope, the host of Breakfast with Brent Pope. You've seen me on some of your favorite TV shows saying things like, give it up, Jimmy. You got to sink this put to win. On Breakfast with Brent Pope, I sit down with guests for the entertainment world, and we do it all over breakfast. Or should I say breakfast? Every week on Breakfast, you get inside Hollywood info and tips, great breakfast wrecks and booty debates. Most of all, you get the most delightful 30 minutes of your week. So dig in.

[01:01:46] It's Brentfist time. Listen at Brentfist.com, Apple Podcasts, or wherever fine podcasts are found. Welcome to the Better Call Daddy Show, the number one podcast where we admit no matter what happens, daddy has the advice we need to fix our problems. Introducing my dad, Mr. Wayne Friedman. That was good. It would be nice if you could also sing a song. What would the song be? You love Paris in the springtime. I just made up some words to it. I love Rena in the springtime.

[01:02:16] I love Rena in the fall. That's right. That's good enough. What I do is interview people of interest, share it with my dad and get my dad's advice. My dad is my hero. Nobody's got my daddy. Oh boy, let's go to grandpa. You like to be a little rebel. I tried to rein you in. I have a daughter named Rena that acts just like I did. She's got a son that is not only just like me, but it's just like her. I'm your host, Rena Friedman Watts.

[01:02:45] Invite your friends, subscribe, and I'm excited to take this journey with you. Let's dive in. She was teasing this guy with the sword and she accidentally cut his dick. Oh my God, I'm dying. And then he started to enjoy it. I started going down the phone sex rabbit hole. You've got the wankers and you jerk off in five seconds and then they're done because A, they don't want to spend money and B, they're quick. My stepfather had mania. If I'm yelling at one of my kids, that fear, that rigid fear. Mom even said to me, I hope you have a kid just like you.

[01:03:15] There are lots of people that are being bought and sold right now for profit. If you think you're going to kill yourself, shut up and kill yourself. If you're not going to kill yourself, then shut up, smarten up, and it's all on you. The bullshit has to end. Wow. When I was 11 years old, I was raped and molested over the course of a year. What Jeffrey Epstein had was a sickness inside of him. I am Evan Castrilli Carmichael. I could do anything that I believe that I can. I'm so excited too. Let's go.

[01:03:42] Next, I'm Better Call Daddy with my mom and my grandpa. Stay tuned. Follow us on the web on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple, and anywhere else podcasts are available. Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites.

[01:04:11] Thanks a million for listening. It's a Jacked Up Review Show.