Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This week we got a movie from RuPaul and also a movie from Paul Rue.

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Paul Roo. Oh I think he means Paul Rudd. But yeah, we'll be discussing stop exclamation point, that exclamation point, train exclamation point, and power ballad, but no exclamation points.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

And we're actually out of town this week, so this is a shortened episode. But we just finished all of Spider Noir, so you can check out uh that full compilation that should be also out by today.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Excellent. Anyway, we'll be back with newer stuff again next week.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

But in the meantime, this is we should watch that mini episode 13.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

That was pretty synchronized.

Movie Review: Stop! That! Train!

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Our first film today is Stop That Train, directed by Adam Shankman, who you might know from Hairspray or Disenchanted. And this one is a full pivot into camp disaster comedy. It's an action comedy from World of Wonder, the studio behind RuPaul's drag race and all of the many subsidiaries. It stars an absolute stacked drag ensemble. You've got RuPaul, you've got Ginger Minge, Juju B, Brooklyn Heights, Latrice Royale, Simone, and Marsha Marsha Marsha all in there. And the plot follows two best friend trained stewardesses, Tess and Dee Dee, who trade their dreary shifts on the stank rail for the glamorous Glamazonian Express. But then a massive storm called, of course, the Stormaza threatens to derail the train straight into Los Angeles. The coach crew has to team up with the snobby first-class attendants and President Gagwell, played by RuPaul, to save the day. So what you think, Sush?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Okay. Well, I know it might seem weird for a straight dude who doesn't really watch drag to talk about a movie starring mostly and definitely led by uh drag queens. So feel free to judge me. But if I haven't mentioned it before, I was raised by a single mom for most of my life, and most of my closest friends throughout my life have been women. So I honestly think one of my favorite forms of entertainment has been watching my mom and aunt or my women friends chat cattily about others.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Which I feel like drag culture is taken to a whole nother level as a playful art form. Even if sometimes we uh can tell it might come from a real place. Hopefully the explanation makes sense as far as why I have any interest in seeing a movie like this when on paper it might suggest otherwise. But beyond that, I'm a child of the 90s and a longtime dance music fan. So I probably first really was aware of RuPaul from when she released the song Supermodel, You Better Work back in '92. I mean, I did grow up near Chicago where house music was regularly heard on our local pop radio stations. So if you didn't catch it on the radio like I did and you were alive back then, then I gotta assume it's that house music wasn't as big where you grew up.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Uh also considering how big of a drag race fan you are. Actually, I've definitely caught a few episodes and I can say it's really entertaining. And uh it was personally really awesome to happen to watch the show the season where a drag queen from Taiwan, Nymphya Wind, won the entire competition. That was cool. But beyond that, I came to realize how involved drag queens are in the entire creative process for their personas, from costuming to choreography to performance, and was just so impressed at how, especially at the level of those competing on the show, uh drag queens managed to accomplish and deliver such a high level of, as we'd put it, quality entertainment.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Uh so getting back on track, seeing the teaser trailer already sold me in the movie. I mean, we had RuPaul and some hilarious drag queens. We also got so many cameos from actors and comedians from different levels of notoriety outside of drag too. While I was surprised to see a lot of them, I definitely didn't think it would be unheard of that they'd work with RuPaul. And she's been around for decades and has long since broken into mainstream pop culture. So yeah, that teaser trailer was just a rapid-fire montage of hilarious moments from the movie. Uh looking into it, I actually don't think we ever saw the full trailer that was released because it literally provides the entire story.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Yeah, and what I'd say are some of the best moments of the movie. But even with that said, if you love physical comedy and, like us, feel like it's become way less commonly seen in theatrical releases, I really think you'll get a lot out of this movie. And that's a perfect transition into my thoughts. I've personally never seen anything director Adam Shankman worked on previously, but just looking him up and seeing that he has a background in theater and dance and has produced some music and dance movies I've personally seen. School of Rock and the Step Up Films being the ones that I noticed. Uh, I really get a sense that he had a good grasp on movies that crossed over talent from some other kind of art or music-related subculture into a film. So even though I had no awareness of him, what he's worked on in the past and being aware of how well-made those films have been, I think it makes sense that I still ended up really enjoying this movie. Even though I'm not an avid Rue Paul's drag race viewer or fan, and though I probably knew next to zero drag personalities in the movie by name. Honestly, you really don't need to know that much about drag nor related subcultures to really enjoy this movie. But I'll say, as someone who had some context, it certainly helps for the jokes to hit that much harder. I felt like the majority of the laughs were less references to niche interests or even pop culture and more rooted in physical comedy. So yeah, no need to know who's who at every moment to really enjoy it. In talking about physical comedy, I'm gonna go out of my usual order and talk about the design elements next because I think they definitely contributed to enhancing the physical comedy and in general, how enjoyable this movie was overall. Even with my limited drag knowledge, I felt the music set and costume design and hair in this movie really zeroed in on a bright, bubbly, almost bubblegum characteristic and occasionally really luxurious aspects of drag. I think that translated and fused well with a lot of the humor in the movie. The stunt work and VFX were obviously low budget for this movie, but I really do think that this is one of those movies where they lean into it and it kind of adds to how funny the movie is, at least for me. So while they definitely look like they were made in some late 90s 3D design program, if anything, uh it only made the movie funnier for me and better overall. Uh so rounding back to talk about the cast, I thought Ginger Minge's Tess and Juju B as Didi were phenomenal in their roles. Both of them contribute so much from physical comedy to elaborately choreographed song and dance numbers that it really was a great reminder of how multi-talented drag queens are. After them, the ones that probably have the most screen time are Brooklyn Heights, Marty Lauder, and Simone is Amber, Allie, and Ashley. You know, spelled out weird. They were all great in the roles and also contributed significantly to the elements of physical comedy and song and dance performances as well. After that, as far as the drag performances go, I really had a great time seeing Latrice Royal. I thought she was hilarious in this. Unfortunately, that's all I can say, so I don't spoil her in volcanic. If you caught any of the trailers, you're probably aware of how deep the cameos go, as it's definitely not limited to drag. You'll see some pretty well-known names from film and TV covering several decades, as well as other notable people from entertainment and pop culture. The list is too long, but I personally enjoyed seeing Paul Schear, June, Deanne Raphael, uh Natasha Liguero, Joel McHale, Chris Parnell, and Sarah Michelle Geller. Uh, as far as expectations go, this is another movie where I feel like the trailer did a great job giving us a taste of how the movie would look and feel, but also again, ended up being considerably better than expected. Uh, though I will say I probably was more hopeful about how good this movie would probably be, just because I know how drag queens that have made it to the level of appearing on a drag race are likely just all-around great performers. So going into my ratings, I gave this a four and a half for enjoyment and a four and a half for quality.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, I had such a blast seeing this movie. Again, I knew I'd have fun because even with only really experiencing drag in Vegas at the Drag Race live show, I was well aware of how drag performers know how to create a really fun atmosphere for all of those who are watching them. So that combined with a simple and absurd, silly premise, and so many fun appearances from recognizable faces across different areas of entertainment and the weird balance of both really polished sets and performances alongside purposely bad CG and costume elements were what contributed to my high enjoyment score. Uh, I honestly only deducted half a point because I can name probably at least half a dozen people who were in this that I would have liked to have had more screen time.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Ah, yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah. And I'm probably sounding like a broken record by now. Uh just this movie having leads and the most important supporting cast that are drag queens and knowing uh how much care they put across the board into making sure the whole package they're presenting as entertainment is done to perfection, even if it's not always what most would consider perfection. I think that contributed a lot to how high the quality rating was for me. I'm not the target audience, so maybe my assessment is a little off. But seeing that the critic and audience reviews of I've come across and seeing it have both been fairly high, I don't think it's a mistake to feel like this was a really high quality movie. I think I only took off half a point because I felt like sometimes there are moments or bits that dragged on a bit long for my taste, but I'd say those moments were pretty rare. As for recommendations, I guess I'll stick with movies Adam Shankman directed and produced, only because I was really surprised to see this title on it. And it's a really weird movie that, especially if you like bad movies, uh, you should see at least once The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel is a Navy SEAL lieutenant turned babysitter.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

That is not what I was uh expecting.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Yeah, it's wild, but I will say that from what I recall, Shankman was able to at least make Vin Diesel likable in this movie. Oh, even if this was definitely outside of that dude's uh pun intended, I guess, wheelhouse. So yeah, uh Ashley, what'd you think?

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Oh my god. I mean, I think I need to start out by saying that this exceeded my expectations by a lot. Like, I'm a drag race fan. I'm not a watch every international season attend live shows fan, but every few seasons I've been watching it for the start. I know the queens, I know the references, I'm familiar. And the thing about being a drag race fan is you've seen the acting challenges, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The ones that are famously, notoriously a lot, like they're fun, but there's also drag queens being thrown into a warehouse sketch with $40 and three hours of prep. So, you know, I was like, okay, what am I coming into with this movie? And I thought I knew what level they were operating at here, but I was wrong. It's so much better, even than what I expected. I think that's because writers, Freel and Wright, along with the director, seem to understand that the queens aren't the joke, they're the talent.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

And that really turns out making all the difference. I think the best example are the musical numbers in the movie. So if you don't watch Drag Race, Rusicles are one of the show's recurring musical challenges where the queens sing, dance, act, and essentially build entire performances from scratch. Actually, Shankman has choreographed and shot some of them over the years. So he definitely understands what the performers are capable of. There's one number in this movie featuring Ginger Minge, Simone, and Marsha Marsha Marsha that I loved because it has this tribute to one of my favorite drag race moments. So in season 12, Jada Essence Hall is asked a question by guest uh Jeff Goldblum, and she can't think of an answer. So instead of fumbling over what to say, she immediately just pointed in the distance and yelled, Look over there. It was so funny. I do it actually every once in a while too with sushi. But it's like if someone with ADD distractions sometimes feels like a superpower. So it's one of my favorite moments. Then in the movie here, this song starts and then it begins with, Hey, you look over there, while everyone points in random directions around the train. It was so good. I started whispering furiously at Sushi, trying to tell him why it was exciting. And that's kind of the whole experience of this movie. It feels like it was made by people who genuinely love drag and understand why fans love it too. You know, you were talking about it as well. But these queens are so talented. They are not just people in fancy dresses, they are singers and dancers and actors and writers and comedians. I mean, heck, they're costume designers. They're full-blown, multi-hyphenate artists. I mean, you can look at some of the success that they've had. It's incredible. And this movie just celebrates that. Honestly, getting to see it celebrated in a theatrical release was really exciting, partly because I've been watching Drag Race for long enough to see a lot of these performers outgrow the box people want to put them in as they start being reality TV show contestants, musicians, et cetera. So it was really satisfying to see a movie that fully understands that evolution, too. Also, it's so strange that a drag has become political. Um, people talk about it like it's dangerous, but at its core, it's an art form built on creativity and confidence and performance and community. So getting to see a movie like this, I think right now in theaters meant a lot to me. Okay, now let's get to the leads. Uh, because Ginger Minge and Juju Bee were so good.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

And I don't mean like great for a spoof movie.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

No, it's good.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

They're great. They're funny, grounded performers. Juju Bee has this sweet vulnerability and like uh lovesickness to her. And Didi just is immediately likable and confident because their friendship feels real when the movie puts it under pressure at certain points. You actually care. So having that affection for the characters and the performances makes a difference, even though it's a spoof. Because yeah, a spoof where nobody feels real doesn't land as much as this one does. I think the best example is there's a fighting scene. Now, I won't get into the specifics of it, but the way the two characters play out both the physical comedy and the real emotional stance was amazing. You're laughing, but or genuinely invested. And RuPaul, hilarious. Every facial expression she makes lands, every line reading. She's got some mysterious background that gets funnier every time it's mentioned. Oh my God. And you've got Matt Rogers. He is amazing. He's in the recurring line that you hear in the trailer, tell it to me straight. And then tell it to me gay. And no matter how many times they did it, I was like on the floor. But also, on top of the cast and all those amazing cameos, everyone really commits. Also, the movie looks fantastic. Like everything on this is just firing on all cylinders. The costumes are gorgeous, the interiors look fantastic. The drag makeup really translates well to the big screen, which I think in some ways is harder than it sounds, but they sort of soften it a bit. The exterior shots, okay, they aren't quite as strong, but overall the production design is really great. But what really stayed with me wasn't the production or the jokes or even the bigger musical numbers. It really was like the performances. So I loved this. And getting into my ratings, I'm right there with you. Stop that train, gets to 4.5 for enjoyment for me. I laughed constantly. I love spending time with these characters. I was tackling at all the references and weirdly invested in people who are on a Glamazonian Express during a Stormaganza. You know, that's something. For quality, I gave it just a smidge lower than you did. I went with a four, and that's mainly just because some of the visual are stronger than others. I think some of the exterior shots looked a little wonky. But other than that, everything else was fantastic. And I had an absolute blast.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

So that's uh quality entertainment.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

That's what I was gonna say. Yes, we got a QT award here today.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

So hopefully we get a sequel.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Yeah, for sure. All right. Stop that train.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Stop that train.

Movie Review: Power Ballad

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Our next film is Power Ballad from John Carney, who's the guy behind the movies once and Sing Street. So if you know his stuff, you already know what kind of movie this is gonna be. We got music, we got emotions. It stars Paul Rudd as Rick, a pastus prime wedding singer, and Nick Jonas as Danny, a fading boy band star. And the two of them bond over music after a chance gig leads to a late night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick's songs into a hit that relaunches his career, Rick decides he wants credit. He feels he's owed, even if it costs him everything and everyone around him. Yeah. So what do you think, Sush?

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Well, I think this was actually one of those movies where I weirdly found out about it from the poster before I even sought out the trick.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Oh, yeah, true.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Yeah, I remember pointing it out to you. Uh but yeah, it's got Paul Rudd with shades on and a leather jacket, and you swing in the guitar. Oh my gosh. I also was surprised to see Nick Jonas's name on the poster. So I actually followed up and looked for the trailer on YouTube. I remember that I thought the first trailer seemed considerably sillier than the second. And honestly, since it's pretty much a given that any movie with Paul Rudd is at minimum going to have him doing something funny. I think actually his more dramatic acting that sold me on the movie. I never finished the Netflix series Living with Yourself that he starred in, but I remember that.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

Yeah, really enjoyed the dramatic acting from that. So I was interested to see how far you went with this character and stories. Beyond that, I didn't really watch any other content dealing with the movie leading up to seeing it, but I want to mention that I did kind of feel like the marketing for this movie was interesting. Given that I don't recall seeing a trailer for this movie until well into April, and even then it was rare that we'd see it before another movie. I just thought there wasn't any promotion behind it. Uh but I do remember coming across special QA screenings for this movie and looking into things after seeing the movie. It seems like they really wanted to zero in on an audience that either was a good crossover for a movie center around songwriting and music. Music. So they seemed to focus on premiering it at film festivals, and the fact that the US premiere was at South by Southwest really seemed to be an ideal kid.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Or just those audiences that really sought out this movie specifically, since I found out there were a few QA screenings that both Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas appeared at across the country. Yeah, one last note, potentially a confession before I get into my thoughts during and after seeing it, as a musician who joined Azcat back in high school. I find it kind of wild that some dude who made it as far as he did as a musician, one thing to keep certain songs to themselves, or at least just the band that they were in. Sure, I get that people let their guard down or whatever when they connect with others, especially when it comes to creative and artistic pursuits, but I don't know. Shout out my high school orchestra conductor and electronic music teacher, Mr. Davis, because honestly, the moment my band started even showing up on public access shows, I made sure we got our royalties from that shit.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Ooh, side note, I want to look for that that uh public access taping.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Yeah. We aren't talking big bucks here, and I'm obviously no longer a working musician. So it was just weird to me that someone who is still a working musician in in the movie wouldn't be more protective over their creative contributions. Especially a song that he's apparently been writing, as he specifically mentions in the trailer, for years. So seeing the movie, I felt like the direction and writing was way better than I expected. This is one of those rare instances where I just had to know who worked on it. And I'm not at all surprised to find out that it was written and directed by John Carney, mostly because we saw another music-focused family movie from him that we loved from a few years back, Flora and Sun.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Yeah, I think they both share a lot of the same characteristics and vibes. So yeah, really made sense that this came from him. Also, that's a good lead-in to my notes about the cast since Jack Rayner, who was also in that movie, is also in this. And he's pretty hilarious, too. He plays Mac, who's the manager of Danny Wilson, Nick Jonas's character, and Nick Jonas. I think I uh missed the typical age cutoff for Jonas Brothers awareness. Uh I wasn't expecting a lot from him, but I do think he plays Danny in a way that makes him actually feel human and not just a shell who wanna touch former boy band member, even if that does somewhat describe his character. Paul Rudd was great as Rick Power, uh, he really gave life to this character, and I personally felt like this was one of my favorite, more dramatic roles that he's played. He definitely lent a lot of heart to this character, but beyond that, I think it was cool how he almost uh played the character where even though things were falling apart around him, as he seemed so hell-bent on getting his due, as a viewer, I just felt like I still wanted to be a part of that journey because he's likable in a way where you want to believe that it's not just the stubbornness that's driving everything.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

And even though I haven't seen them in anything else, I feel like Marcella Plunkett and Beth Fallon, who played his wife, Rachel, and daughter, Aja, both contributed a lot to making Rick's character feel like a genuine family man.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Nothing too crazy with the design of this movie, but I do think that the sets where the musical performances take place, uh, small and large, and the character homes were really well done and contributed to the scenes that they took uh that took place in them, feeling more genuine. And obviously the music was a huge part of the story and featured pretty prominently. Uh it was cool to find out that Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, they not only each perform a version of the original song, How to Write a Song Without You, from the movie for the soundtrack, but that the soundtrack has the covers for the songs that they cover in the movie as well.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Yeah. Like our other review for this episode, while I think the movie ultimately did a good job delivering what we expected. Seeing the trailer, this also definitely ended up being a case where the movie ended up being significantly better than we expected. Uh so for my ratings, I gave this a four and a half for enjoyment and a four for quality.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Yeah, I thought this movie was great, especially for anyone who might work as or is just interested in what it's like being a music producer, composer, or performer, because it includes portrayals of musicians at different stages in their career who cater to different audiences. Even though Rick's career has become something that's much quieter and less edgy than it was before, I like that the movie shows you that people can otherwise earn a living as working musicians, even if you don't end up achieving high fame and fortune. Beyond that, I really thought the aspect of the story that contrasted the roles of family and true friends against people you partner or collaborate with to create art or generate income, and how those roles genuinely change or can easily be blurred and misinterpreted was really what gave this movie some depth. I also thought that Paul Rudd was great in this role, but was admittedly surprised at how good Nick Jonas was in this too. Uh, which leads me into my quality rating. I really thought it was up there, and I really only dacked a point from it from giving it a perfect quality score because I honestly think this movie could have been even better by dedicating a little more time to some of the supporting characters so we kind of understand their personalities a bit more and what really motivates them to care about Rick's whole situation, feeling the song was stolen from him. Also, and I'm sorry if this is really vague, but I just don't want to give away any spoilers talking around this. Uh, I did admittedly feel like it took a while to get around to digging deeper into a certain motivation for one of the characters, which I felt caused it to feel slightly less genuine and maybe a bit twisty when it becomes clear what's at the core of it. Uh, but other than that, and what I mentioned before about extending the runtime slightly to flesh out some of the characters a little bit more, I really thought the movie was solid.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Yeah, as far as recommendations, I know both Ashley and I love Flora and Sun. We saw it during an advanced screening years ago, and I feel like it didn't get a huge amount of press, probably because it is locked to only one provider, Apple TV. Oh, right. So yeah, we totally understand how it could deter some people from seeing it. But with that said, I think you can access it through Apple TV as a prime video channel.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Which I think is available for most of the world, actually. And you can often do a seven-day trial for free or for cheap for a longer duration sometimes when they have a sale going on, which might even be happening now because Prime Days is going on.

SPEAKER_00 29:32

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

But probably worth checking out, especially if you end up seeing this movie and enjoying the family aspect of it. Yeah, Ashley, what'd you think?

SPEAKER_02 29:42

I really liked it. One of the things I kept thinking about was it's funny that when I was younger, I think I could have looked at Paul Rudd's character and thought his life was tragic. Yeah. Here's a guy who's clearly talented, he had dreams of making it big, he moved overseas, but he never became a famous musician. Now he plays weddings with his buddies and sleeps in bunk beds after gigs. Like 20-year-old me, you might have looked at him and thought, like, what happened? But now, 40-something me, I look at this guy and think, man, this guy's one, you know? He's got a family he loves, he's got friends he gets to make music with. It's a community that cares about him, and he gets to spend the weekends playing songs with people he likes being around.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Yeah, and he even has the cool memories of like doing what he did before, even if he didn't make it big.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

Absolutely. Yeah. And I think like that's part of why Power Ballad worked so well for me because I can see see his situation from two different perspectives. And I think he, as the character, is also seeing it from two different perspectives throughout the movie. The basic premise for this is simple. Paul Rudd plays the lead singer of a wedding band who crosses paths with a famous musician played by Nick Jonas. They bond over music, they drink, well, and then things get messy from there. But this is a John Carney movie. So John Kearney doesn't really make movies that are just about the music aspect or the song aspect. He makes movies about relationships. That's what Once did and Sing Street, Florida and Sons. This one too. The music matters, but I think it's the people behind the music that matters more.

SPEAKER_00 31:25

Right.

SPEAKER_02 31:26

One thing that I thought was kind of interesting. After I watched the movie, I went back and listened to the song again, the sort of famous song at the core of everything. And the first time I heard it, it didn't really hit me as hard as some of the music in Carney's other movies. But the more I listened to it, the more I realized that the actual song melody, that isn't the powerful thing. What becomes powerful and makes it stick with you is that as the movie goes on, we learn more and more and more about why the song matters to Paul Rudd's character. We learn where it came from emotionally and who it's about. And we learn why it's he's been carrying it around for so long. And that's why I think the central conflict of the stolen song hurts so much because Nick Jonas's character, he doesn't just steal a song, he steals something deeply personal. He's not taking notes off a page, he's taking the emotions and relationships, all that meaning that was tied up in that song for Rudd's character. And what I thought was really fascinating too is like I don't think Nick Jonas' character just wants a hit.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:35

I think he wants what the song represents too. He wants to be the kind of person who would have written a song like that. Yeah. And the movie does this nice job of making him much more complicated. He's not a simple villain like I thought he might be when I saw the first trailer. He understands the pressure he's under, how much he wants the validation and his loneliness. So I thought that was so great, the way they add that extra depth. So that way you understand when the song comes into his life why it means so much. And the tragedy is yeah, he can steal the song, but he can't steal the thing that made the song worth writing in the first place. Right. Also, oh my gosh, I loved his relationship with his wife and his daughter. They had such a fun dynamic. Then his band cracked me up. Honestly, his bandmate Sandy is like the ultimate ride or die friend. He's amazing. And there are multiple points in the movie where I'm like, oh my God, let this ruin these relationships. So it was awesome how invested I felt. I think that's something that like the director is really good at. Like the situation spiraled, but it doesn't feel manufactured. In watching it, I actually watched it with my parents last night. One of the things I noticed is how often the movie talks about things being real. Like, oh, you know what? You're not a just a boy band guy. You seem more real.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Later in the movie, someone in LA gives a compliment. You're so authentic, you know? And I think that that is sort of what this movie is getting into, the real emotions of music and the relationship. Yeah. And I think that relationship that he has with his music, how he writes it, but also how he interacts with his family around music. He's always trying to play music for his daughter. He's connected to his friends. The music is that connection. So I think that's ultimately what the movie's about. It sort of asks you is success worth it if you lose those relationships that gave your art the meaning anyway. So I loved it. I mean, I'm talking about it as if it's super deep, and it is, but it also is very funny. There's just so much to like about this. Okay, getting into my ratings for enjoyment, I gave it a 4.5. I was totally invested in these characters. I laughed a lot. I got emotional and uh I just really wanted things to work out for them. For quality, I gave it a four. I think the writing's really thoughtful, performances are excellent, the music works. Um, damn, you know what? I was just thinking about it. I gotta bump it up to a 4.5 for quality. Because when you think about every aspect, I think that the setting, it feels getting back to real, it feels really Irish and really ground level. The bars feel real, the places feel real. I but then you see in LA how everything looks so heightened in a way that feels familiar. The music is great. By the way, it's written by the director and writer as well as with one of his uh songwriter friends. That's amazing. The acting's great, it's funny. So yeah, 4.5. So we got another QT souch.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Well, it this is a short episode, but a good episode for movies for sure.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

Yeah, I'm glad uh these were the ones that we didn't happen to review sometimes. So yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_02 36:18

I had so much fun sort of visiting them and thinking about them again.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

So yeah, same.

What We're Watching Next

SPEAKER_00 36:27

Yes. What are we watching next?

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Next week we'll be seeing Supergirl and Jackass Cullen best and last, and perhaps even the invite. You know, the movie with Seth Rogan and Olivia Wilde as a couple that has their neighbor couple played by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton over at their house, and like, you know, it's probably about swinging, or that's what it seems like anyway. I don't know. Uh the trailer's weird, guys. It's just one of those ones where they don't tell you anything, and one couple's giddy and nervous while the other one's cool and mysterious.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

So okay. So it's basically about swinging. Yeah. Okay. And for TV, well, nobody came through with the early access for the season three premiere of Silos. So unless someone does between now and the middle of next week, I guess we need to do a special segment until the following week.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

But yeah, we'll be listening off and discussing our top summer blockbusters. I'm purposely not saying a number in case we go too long after discussing five of them. So yeah, somewhere between top five to top ten.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Five or more.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Well,

Outro

SPEAKER_02 37:39

thanks so much for listening, everybody. We really, really appreciate you hanging out on this little teeny little mini episode.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

Yep. And make sure, as always, to subscribe, rate, and review positively, like how Danny's song was reviewed by critics, you know, after that no good son of a bitch stole that song from Rick in the movie Power Ballad.

SPEAKER_02 38:03

Damn, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

Uh follow us on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. You know the social media stuff. And uh, other than that, just thank you. And yeah, we'll see you guys next week.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Bye guys.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Later.