Million Dollar Baby (2004) / Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch

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In 2004, director Clint Eastwood
and star Hilary Swank gave the

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world a poignant picture of a
man broken by the weight of his

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love.
In 2023, we try a whiskey that

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tries to carry that weight on
its shoulder.

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The film is $1,000,000 Baby.
The whiskey is monkey Shoulder.

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And we'll review them both.
This is the Film and Whiskey

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podcast.
Welcome to the Film in Whiskey

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podcast, where each week we
review a classic movie and a

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glass of whiskey.
I'm Bob Book.

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I'm Brad.
G.

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And this week we are revisiting
Clint Eastwood's 2004 Best

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Picture winner, $1,000,000 Baby.
$1,000,000 Baby.

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Brad, this was the fifth ever
movie that we reviewed on the

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Film and Whiskey podcast.
Holy.

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Cow.
I went back and listened to our

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season 1 episode on this movie
and I have to say before I go,

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before I go any further, what
we're doing this season is we

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are going back and re reviewing
all of our season 1 movies

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because we were just babies.
We didn't know what we were

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doing.
We didn't know how to podcast

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and we.
Definitely were not worth

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$1,000,000.
No, not at all.

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I have to say, man, of all of
the Season 1 crappy audio

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adventures I've had, this was
unlistenable.

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I don't know what happened, but
like, you know, I do this thing

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sometimes where like when I make
my s s, I kind of whistle a

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little bit and I have to try to
edit that out and post.

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And in Season 1, I was like,
let's do the opposite of that,

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let's turn that bad.
But I sounded like freaking

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Jiminy Cricket given a little
whistle.

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It was like I had to turn it off
after 10 minutes.

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I don't even know what we said
about this movie.

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Or like the Gopher and Winnie
the Pooh.

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Oh my gosh, it was worse than
that.

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It like, truly, I'm so glad that
we are redoing this just so I

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can eliminate that audio from
existence.

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Yeah.
If anything we should just take

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a transcript from that and just
re re say all the same things.

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It probably was OK content but
just the worst audio you've ever

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heard.
Hideous to listen to.

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All right, so we're revisiting
$1,000,000 baby.

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And I have to say in the 10
minutes that I listened to that

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episode, Brad, I have very
different thoughts on this movie

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than I did in Season 1.
And so I'm, I'm really, really

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glad we're getting the chance to
redo this, man.

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Bobby Book coming in with a hot
take.

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He likes this movie now.
I do I this.

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Is a good movie.
Oh my gosh, Bob, I am here to

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tell you that this movie is
dope.

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It's really good, man.
It's.

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Really freaking good dude.
I have so many more observations

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than I did back in Season 1.
Before we go any further, I on

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Hilary Swank and I don't know
what I was thinking because she

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is like, I get you can debate
whether the character is well

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written.
She freaking knocks it out of

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the park.
Man.

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She is so good at this movie.
Yeah.

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And I I was reading that they
almost chose Sandra Bullock for

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this.
Nope.

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But the Yeah, it.
We'll get to that point in a

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second.
Her production schedule for Miss

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Congeniality 2 got in the way.
I just needed everybody to.

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Know hate when that happens.
I just needed everybody to know

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that fact about this movie.
You should have saved that for

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two facts and a falsehood
because I would have been like,

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there's no way that's true.
That's ridiculous.

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But yeah, so that's why she
didn't make it.

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And let's just talk for a second
about how terrible she would

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have been in this.
Role Listen, I like Sandra

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Bullock.
This this role required.

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In order to keep this role from
being a complete caricature, you

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have to get perhaps the best
actress of her generation to

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play it.
And Hilary Swank just nails it,

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man.
I mean, we've we've talked, you

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know, we talked back in Season 1
about this, but the obvious

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talking point here was the
physical transformation, the

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fact that she did the like,
Robert De Niro, Raging Bull,

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gaining 30 lbs of muscle thing.
And yeah, I mean, you can see

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it.
She looks incredible.

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But it's so much more than that.
Yeah, you, you can tell that she

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lived in this character.
Like it, it is such a, this is

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my favorite word to describe my
favorite performances.

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It's such a sincere performance,
Bob.

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Like the authenticity is oozing
out of her that she understands

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this character and and and this
character's psyche on an

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incredibly deep level.
Brad, I think we have a lot of

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good things to say about this
movie, but before we get into

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any of them, we need to hit
pause so that we can introduce

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our first segment of the day,
America's favorite segment,

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which we call Brad explains.
Brad's going to give us the

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movie plots with only 60 seconds
taken on the clock, so let's go

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ahead and do your take with this
little segment that we call,

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Brad explains.
Brad Explains is the part of the

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podcast where Brad breaks down
the plot of the movie that he

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has just seen, often for the
first time.

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Which is not true at all this
season.

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That's no, not at all.
Like, not even one time.

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I don't even know why I'm saying
the whole thing.

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Yeah, I think you did.
A Brad explains on this.

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In Season 1, we had already,
like, even by season or by

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episode 5, we had said, like,
all right, go ahead and explain

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the movie.
I can tell you with certainty it

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was not 60 seconds long.
I was going to say, can we just

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talk about how long the Gone
with the Wind explanation was?

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It was a solid 9 minutes.
Of me talking and I remember it

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ended with me being like, and
that's intermission.

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Like we got to the halfway mark
and then we were like, you know

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what, if you just want to know
about Gone With the Wind?

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Just go watch it.
Yep.

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I'm so glad that we implemented
the 62nd timer here.

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That might have kept the podcast
alive.

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All right, Brad, we are.
So listen, if you have not seen

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$1,000,000 Baby, it has been
over 20 years at this point

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since it came out.
I'm sure that someone in your

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life has spoiled it for you, but
if you have somehow managed to

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not have this movie spoiled, you
need to keep it that way.

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Yeah, it's a great boxing film.
Go watching and nothing else.

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Right.
And nothing, nothing else.

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Brad is going to spoil this
movie in his breakdown of the

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plot, so if you have not seen
it, go watch it and then come

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back.
Brad, you have 60 seconds on the

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clock.
Spoil this movie and go.

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Hilary Swank sucks, Clint
Eastwood helps her not suck, and

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then she falls and breaks her
neck and he pulls the plug on

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her.
Wow.

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Boom.
I like how you said Hilary Swank

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sucks, not in like her character
like Hilary Swank.

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The human being sucks.
Yeah, she's terrible.

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All I could ever think about
whenever Hilary Swank comes up

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is that often episode.
You know what, man, I got to be

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honest with you and like I, I
don't mean to be the wet blanket

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here, but it, it really bums me
out that Hilary Swank, you know,

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I'm watching her like do TV
shows and stuff now.

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And I think the fact that she is
not necessarily, like, the most

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conventionally attractive
actress, even though, like, you

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know, that episode of The Office
where people are talking about

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her, like, as if she's actually
ugly, I have never thought that

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she is an unattractive person.
Like, you don't get to be in

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movies if your face isn't a
little bit symmetrical, you know

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what I'm saying?
Like, yeah, I, I, I really do

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think that not just that Office
episode, but that kind of rumor,

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whatever you want to call it,
really chased her for a long

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time.
And I think it kept her from

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having the kind of career that
she deserved to have.

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She wins two Oscars in a five
year span and then just kind of

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goes away and like, yeah, it's
not fair to her.

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She's such a good actress.
Yeah, I know she she is a great

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actress.
I feel like there are certain TV

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actresses or actors that like,
make their way to Hollywood for

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a few films and then eight years
later you see them back, like

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headlining ATV show.
You know, that makes sense for

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them.
Doesn't make sense for Hilary

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Swank man.
No, I'd like.

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I think everybody thought that
she was going to be the Meryl

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Streep of her generation, and
those opportunities just never

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really ended up presenting
themselves to her, and it really

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sucks.
Meryl Streep of her generation.

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That's a That's a bold claim,
Bob.

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Two Oscars in five years, man.
She wins an Oscar.

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Oscar.
In in 1999, going into 2000, it

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was the movie Boys Don't Cry.
That was her first, her first

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Oscar.
And then, you know, like she

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wins an Oscar before Cate
Blanchett ever does.

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She wins an Oscar before Kate
Winslet ever does.

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I feel like these people that we
look at as like, oh, they are

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the actresses of their
generation.

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It was Hilary Swank before it
was either one of them.

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And I think that, like, you
know, just to reiterate, it

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really sucks that we don't laud
her as much as she deserves.

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Yeah, well, I'll tell you this
right now.

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I've never heard of that movie.
I I can't even remember the name

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of it right now.
And you just said it 10 seconds

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ago.
It's called.

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Boys don't cry.
Go look at those Don't cry this

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episode.
But we have an episode to

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discuss right now, Brad.
We're talking about $1,000,000

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baby.
I think the obvious point of

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comparison, and I don't know if
you want to do it here or do it

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after the break.
We're going to have to talk

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about how this is Clint
Eastwood's Unforgiven Part 2

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Electric Boogaloo.
Like it it kind of, you know,

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Unforgiven is Clint making his
grand statement where he he

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first really starts to dig his
heels in on the effects of

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violence and the the effects of
violence in his own story and

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legacy.
And I think it's it's following

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him through all the way to this
point.

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You know, we've done a few Clint
Eastwood movies on this podcast

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now, and even just from Mystic
River, a movie we watched for

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this show coming out the year
before this, to this movie, I

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got to be honest with you, man.
Like this movie just feels like

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it.
It goes so much deeper and

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achieves heights that he really
hadn't hit since Unforgiven.

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Yeah, 100%.
He has an ability in this film

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to tap into the depths of these
characters that are written on

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the screen.
And you're not distracted by bad

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soundtrack the way you are in
Mystic River.

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And you, you don't have, I don't
know, you don't have the

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spectre, you know, not to get
too dark or anything, but you

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don't have the spectre of like
childhood sexual abuse hanging

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over the whole movie.
They're like, it's a it is such

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a uplifting film for the first
half.

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And then, you know, you get to
the back half and you understand

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the pain of what Clint's
character goes through because

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of how uplifting the first half
was.

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Like, you see what an incredible
guy he is in the way that he

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takes care of Big Willy, you
know, the first boxer.

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And you see the way he takes
care of Hilary Swank and and you

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understand the love that he has
for this, this girl, this dot,

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you know, faux daughter that he
has.

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And it's all because Clint is
willing to give his characters

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heart and depth and and allow
the camera to sit with them.

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So after I watch this movie,
there was one thing that really

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blew me away, and it was the way
Clint uses the camera in this

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movie.
I think that if there's one

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thing we've really talked about
across all of our Clint Eastwood

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movies, it's at the
cinematography is often quite

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beautiful, but that he doesn't
really use the camera in

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inventive ways.
It's pretty static.

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It's.
Because he only uses 1 take.

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The first hour and a half of
this movie is a very uplifting,

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albeit conventional rise to
stardom sports movie.

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And yet like it has some of the
best in the ring choreography

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and camera movement that I've
ever seen in a boxing movie.

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And like, we've watched Raging
Bull for this for this podcast,

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we've watched Cinderella Man.
I was shocked at how like Clint

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went handheld with a ton of this
camera work in this movie.

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And you really, it really feels
like you are in the ring in a

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real fight.
And I got to give it up to Clint

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for the ability to have a movie
that has so much energy in it.

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Yeah, well, and you, you feel
the power that Hilary Swank

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brings into the ring.
I, I I keep calling her Hilary

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Swank.
What's, what's her character's

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00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:02,360
name?
Her.

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00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:04,080
Name's Maggie.
Maggie.

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00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:08,920
Fitzgerald yeah.
So Maggie, like, fights with

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such passion and power, and he
uses the camera to illustrate

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that.
I I I'm with you, man.

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I think the other part of the
the cinematography that I really

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loved and I remember talking
about in Season 1 was the

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00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,440
lighting.
Like the way he uses light in

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this film, for me is reminiscent
of like a Citizen Kane, where

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there's really strong contrast.
Yeah, yeah, contrast, but not

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00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,600
just like a gradient, like it's
like a sharp line between the

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shadow and the light.
And it's a brilliant choice with

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00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:52,400
a movie that ends with such a
Gray moral area, to use so many

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sharp lines, because that's how,
you know, Clint's character

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00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,480
looks at the world and these
sharp lines of black and white,

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00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,480
right and wrong.
And so you see that through the

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00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,560
use of light.
But by the end of the film,

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00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,760
there's nothing black and white
about the decision he has to

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make.
I'm going to pull us out of that

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00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,400
moral quandary for a minute to
talk more about Clint Eastwood

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00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:17,080
on a on a very superficial
level, you know?

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00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:18,920
Brad, he's still, he's still
pretty good looking.

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00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,720
That's listen, here's what I'm
going to say.

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00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,240
We don't usually talk about like
people's looks and especially

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00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,400
their physique on this show
because we just don't typically

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00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,160
say things like, you know, I
really like her body.

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00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,600
Like it just makes us sound
dumb.

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00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:37,320
However, I have been really
impressed watching these Clint

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00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,960
Eastwood movies where the man is
like, but somewhere between 70

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00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,480
and 80 years old and most of the
movies we're watching and he

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00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:45,800
doesn't have an old man physique
at all.

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00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:50,880
Like the dude's chest is so like
he's like washboard like he

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00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,640
doesn't have, you can't see like
defined pecs, but he doesn't.

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00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,680
He also doesn't have saggy old
man boobs.

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00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,880
And it's it's kind of insane how
good of shape he's in in this

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00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,760
movie.
Yeah, I, I mean, when I think

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00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:07,480
about what Clint Eastwood eats,
I feel like he just eats like a

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00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,680
can of baked beans and a salad
every night.

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00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,400
I I don't know, He, he doesn't
strike me as a dude to just get

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00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,120
fat because he's eating junk all
the time.

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00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,640
He looks incredible.
And you said that he's between

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70 and 80.
I think he might be between 70

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00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,440
and 180.
I'm not quite sure what age he's

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00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,120
at at this point.
Oh man.

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00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,040
But yeah, the dude looks
incredible.

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00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,880
I, I am with you 100%.
I, you know, I'm over here

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00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:36,800
trying to talk about his skills
as a director.

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00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,520
But sure, Bob, we we can talk
about his looks.

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00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,320
Let it be known that one of the
first people I've ever fond over

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00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,720
on film and whiskey is 76 year
old Clint Eastwood or however

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00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,160
old he was in the making of this
movie.

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00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,680
I'm just saying, man, if either
of us look half that good at

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00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,840
that age, like we have done
something right.

286
00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,400
Yeah, no, 100%.
I mean you, you have the height

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00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,520
to to to look like him.
I'm not.

288
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,120
But not the physique.
Not, not quite.

289
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:06,800
The physique I I might have the
physique.

290
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,400
Well, between the two of us.
We will look as good.

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00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:11,280
Clint Eastwood.
Yep.

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00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,400
All right, man, I do want to
talk about these performances a

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00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:16,760
little bit.
We've already talked about

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00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,720
Hilary Swank.
This might be the best Clint

295
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,360
Eastwood performance.
And I said that with Unforgiven,

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00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,560
and I said it with Gran Torino.
And I think it's crazy how you

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00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:33,720
get various shades of the Clint
Eastwood persona, but that he is

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00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,680
he's really camping out within
those silos in each of those

299
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,200
movies, like the Unforgiven.
Will money in Unforgiven is not

300
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:43,760
the same character as this
character.

301
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,360
And his character in Grant
Torino is very different than

302
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,040
this character.
And, and honestly, I think what

303
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,840
I really love about this
character is that he's the most

304
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:56,280
openly loving person in this
movie that he is in in any of

305
00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,000
these three films.
Like once, once she cracks

306
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,560
through his kind of, you know,
hard exterior, he is like he's

307
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,280
head over heels for her.
And that's what leads to the

308
00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:09,640
tragedy of the movie.
But to see that kind of warmth

309
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,160
coming from Clint Eastwood is
something that you don't

310
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,319
typically see.
And it was a really welcome

311
00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,880
departure for me here.
Yeah, 100%.

312
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,560
And you kind of see it early in
the film when you know he's

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00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:24,280
talking to Big Willy and you
know, he, he pays to have the

314
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,440
guy's car taken care of.
And, and the brokenness that you

315
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:35,400
see him feel when Willy leaves
him as his trainer is so deep

316
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,360
and heartfelt.
And it sets the stage for the

317
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:42,040
rest of the film.
And I, I think that maybe the

318
00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,280
first time I watched this, I
felt like they spent a little

319
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,640
bit too much time leading up to
Clint's training.

320
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,880
Maggie.
I thought it was just the right

321
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:52,760
amount of time on this watch
through.

322
00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:54,600
Yeah.
I mean, I think we are going to

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00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,840
get into talking about the
script and the issues that I

324
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,080
still have with this script.
That might be a good

325
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,200
conversation to have on the back
end of this episode because I do

326
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:07,600
want to emphasize, like overall
this movie is wildly successful.

327
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,400
And I think that I let the
deficiencies in the script

328
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,440
really weigh my score down.
In Season 1 I think I only gave

329
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,800
this like a 7 1/2.
You give it a 7A.

330
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:17,960
Seven.
Wow.

331
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,520
Yeah, that was dumb.
However, I will say, I mean,

332
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:22,840
even at this point, I will say
this.

333
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,280
If we're comparing this kind of
directly to Unforgiven and as

334
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,040
kind of like, you know,
spiritual cousins or whatever, I

335
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:35,440
think that Unforgiven is still
more successful at identifying

336
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,560
the point that it's trying to
make and then like directly

337
00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,800
targeting everything it does in
the movie to address that point.

338
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,960
Like, I think there's still, I'm
still kind of muddied on exactly

339
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,960
what the point of this movie is.
Like what is the underlying not

340
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,120
just the theme, but like, is
there a lesson to be learned

341
00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,520
here or is the lesson that there
isn't a lesson to be learned?

342
00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,840
And I I just I think that Paul
Haggis is trying to do a lot of

343
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,360
things at once with this script.
And so, you know, the the actors

344
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,480
are doing everything they can
and they're doing an incredible

345
00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,600
job.
But there are certain things to

346
00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,360
get back to your point about the
lead up to even training Maggie,

347
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,720
the Catholic priest in this
movie is only in this movie

348
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,120
essentially to fulfill the role
that he fills in the final scene

349
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,120
he has in the movie.
Like, and I don't know that we

350
00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:29,440
need 8 scenes of Clint kind of
fucking with him just for, you

351
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,600
know, kicks and giggles to
establish that character because

352
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,000
the character really doesn't add
that much to the overall movie

353
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,560
except for like, he's
representative of the church's

354
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,520
ethical code and Clint disagrees
with it.

355
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,320
And like, you kind of could have
gotten that if you introduce the

356
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,440
priest for the very first time
in that last scene.

357
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:51,960
And so like, I do think they're
just things about the way this

358
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:56,000
movie is structured and set up
that that keep it from being,

359
00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:02,640
for me, as perfectly tuned as
Unforgiven was.

360
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,200
Yeah, I mean, you could have
established early in the film

361
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:11,160
that he goes to mass by having
Maggie, like bebop her way on up

362
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,080
and ask him to train her again
as he's like walking out of

363
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:15,560
mass.
Like, like and.

364
00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:19,520
And boom, he's Catholic, he goes
to Mass and then at the end of

365
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,160
the film you show him with the
priest and that's it.

366
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,640
So no, I'm, I'm with you 100%.
I, I think that there are parts

367
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,640
of this film that feel a little
bit extraneous.

368
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:35,280
I I think that our big critique
of the film the first time

369
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:40,840
through still stands like the,
the, the white trash of it all,

370
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,520
if you will.
You know, Maggie's family is

371
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,040
white trash.
And, and I'm not calling them

372
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,360
that because I'm reductionistic.
I'm calling them that because

373
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:56,160
Clint Eastwood, like if there is
a flaw for him as a director,

374
00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,760
now that I've watched a decent
amount of his movies, the man is

375
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,720
not a subtle person, doesn't
have a lot of nuance, right?

376
00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,720
And you see that very obviously
with Hilary Swank's family in

377
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,240
this film.
And I I just feel like like he

378
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,440
could have gotten it across that
they were white trash but also

379
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,600
real people in a in such a
better way than he does.

380
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,520
Yeah.
I feel like we're already kind

381
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,600
of tipping into what we want to
talk about in the second-half.

382
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,920
So if, if I may, let's press
pause on that conversation so

383
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,320
that we can talk briefly about
the third lead of this movie,

384
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,560
Morgan Freeman.
And I kind of, I kind of started

385
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:38,840
to broach the topic of the
script because you can't really

386
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,400
talk about Morgan Freeman's
character without talking about

387
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,240
the script because most of his
role is done in voice over.

388
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:46,160
He is the narrator of this
movie.

389
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,320
And you find out at the end of
the film that the reason he's

390
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,280
been narrating it is that he's
writing a letter to Clint

391
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,000
Eastwood's estranged daughter.
I think that part of why I

392
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,240
don't, I still don't love this
script, Brad, is that it tries

393
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,560
to be too cute sometimes and it
tries to leverage how much we

394
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,320
liked Morgan Freeman as a
narrator in Shawshank and then

395
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,960
say, like, what if he did that,
but like twice as much?

396
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,000
And I will say Morgan Freeman,
Morgan Freeman's fantastic in

397
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,360
this movie.
And I I even noticed, you know,

398
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,640
like he's doing a different
voice than he normally does.

399
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:21,920
And I think it works really well
for him here too.

400
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,480
But the thing that I'm saying
about Shawshank is, you know, in

401
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,080
that movie, there's a few scenes
where he will have a clever

402
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,160
little cute punchline that he
delivers at the end of a scene

403
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,360
and then it like helps you move
to the next little episode in

404
00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:39,280
Shawshank.
And in this movie, Paul Haggis

405
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,160
tries to make Morgan Freeman's
character do that in every

406
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,520
single scene for the 1st 2/3 of
the movie.

407
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,920
Like he'll, he'll make a comment
at the that the start of the

408
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,160
scene and he'll say something
like Maggie always did, like

409
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,040
knocking him out in the first
round and then the scene will

410
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,000
play out and she will do
something.

411
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,960
You know, that's the scene where
Morgan Freeman's character tries

412
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,880
to introduce her to a new
manager and she shuts him down

413
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,320
and walks out and then he comes
back on and says Maggie always

414
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,120
did like knocking him out in the
first round.

415
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,720
And you're like, OK, I get it.
Like that's cute.

416
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,520
And it works really well the
first like 4 times.

417
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,080
But after the 11th scene where
he structures it exactly the

418
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,400
same way, I it really got on my
nerves.

419
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:24,360
And it sucks because they don't
use Morgan Freeman on screen as

420
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,040
much as they should and the
narration gets a little

421
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,800
overbearing for me.
And so I, I struggle to like,

422
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,080
give him the props that he
deserves because he's really

423
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,880
good when he's on screen, but
the narration really takes away

424
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,920
from it for me.
I I think the other part of the

425
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,240
script that took away from
Morgan Freeman's performance was

426
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,080
he's like the perfect character.
Like, there's nothing wrong with

427
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:51,800
him, but I can't stay away from
those ponies, you know what I

428
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,800
mean?
Like, it feels just a little bit

429
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:59,000
forced in there where he's like,
Clint, you have to keep my money

430
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,800
from me and give me just enough
to live on so that I don't waste

431
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:08,600
all my money on gambling.
And it just feels a little bit

432
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,360
forced.
I, I, I don't know how did how

433
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,160
did that interact with you?
Yeah, I mean, they try to give

434
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,600
him some flaws and he talks
about like how he was too

435
00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,320
stubborn of fighter and then he
lost his eye and he should have

436
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,720
listened to Clint.
And you know, and again, I don't

437
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,120
mean to get like racial about it
or anything, but he's like the

438
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:26,560
only black person in this movie
aside from the person who

439
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:31,480
paralyzes Hilary Swank.
And like his job is basically to

440
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:33,760
like be of service to everyone
in the movie.

441
00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,400
Like he's literally the janitor.
But then he's also there to like

442
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,400
pick up all of Clint's emotional
baggage.

443
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,640
And he's there to be the
emotional support for Hilary

444
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,120
Swank.
And he's there to let Clint vent

445
00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:46,640
to him and, and tell him that it
was his fault.

446
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,520
And you know, like, it just, it
doesn't seem like he's a real

447
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,320
person.
I totally agree with you on

448
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:53,640
that.
And even within that, I think

449
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,160
Morgan Freeman freaking kills it
from an acting standpoint.

450
00:24:58,160 --> 00:24:59,520
Yeah.
And, and I think part of that

451
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,320
reason, and I will, I will say
I, I will give Clint credit

452
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,120
here.
Morgan actually originally

453
00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:08,280
auditioned for the role of
Frankie Dunn.

454
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,280
But.
After reading the script, he

455
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:16,760
asked if he could play Daddy the
the janitor.

456
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,680
Yes.
And so I I will say like Morgan

457
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,520
chose this role.
This is who he wanted to play in

458
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:29,360
this film and when he is on
screen, he's incredible.

459
00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:33,600
The interactions between him and
Clint are pitch perfect.

460
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,120
Oh, and like significantly
better than they were in

461
00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:39,400
Unforgiven.
Morgan Freeman wins the Oscar

462
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,160
for this movie and he totally
deserves it here.

463
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,240
You know, and, and we had issues
with his character in Unforgiven

464
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,480
and I think they're definitely
remedied here.

465
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,960
Yeah.
And if I can talk super quickly

466
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,760
about one other character, I
don't know if we mentioned him

467
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:56,880
at all the first time we
recorded this, you know, on this

468
00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,600
movie.
Jay Baruchel as danger in this

469
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:05,200
film ripped my heart out.
This time through I like.

470
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,280
So here's the thing though, is
he good?

471
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:11,120
And and like, I like Jay
Baruchel, I've seen him in a ton

472
00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:12,320
of things.
You know, he's the voice of

473
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:17,080
Hiccup in How to Train Your
Dragon, but like, the character

474
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,040
sucks.
And also, I don't believe that

475
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,760
Jay Berryshell is a
developmentally disabled and B

476
00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,200
Southern.
And so like none, none of that

477
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,840
performance.
And I think I also am being

478
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,000
unfair to him in some ways
because, and I was going to

479
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,520
bring this up in the
second-half, what is the purpose

480
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,680
of his character?
Is he is he a parallel to

481
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,920
Maggie?
Is he, is he a carbon copy of

482
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:44,880
Maggie?
Because it seems like the point

483
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,120
this movie is trying to make is
that the world is a really cruel

484
00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,440
place to innocent things.
And he is like the most innocent

485
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,640
thing, right?
But the way that the their their

486
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,720
two paths diverge, Maggie and
him is like he's able to come

487
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,240
back from what the world did to
him and Maggie is not.

488
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,080
But I don't understand, like,
what's the point of that?

489
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,600
Like, what's the point of having
a second character just like

490
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,480
Maggie?
Is it to give us a little bit of

491
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:12,840
hope at the end of the movie?
Like, I don't know.

492
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,240
I just don't understand what
he's there for.

493
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,920
Have you ever read the book of
Ecclesiastes?

494
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,720
I I have Brad, yeah.
Wow.

495
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,040
Wow.
Yeah, I, for me, I think he kind

496
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:27,400
of represents the capriciousness
and randomness of the world that

497
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:32,160
like, he and Hilary Swank are
both innocent, earnest, eager

498
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,480
people who are seeking to become
better boxers.

499
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,480
He has been disadvantaged and
isn't able to do what Hilary

500
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,800
Swank can do, and the world
punishes him for that.

501
00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:47,840
And yet even Hilary Swank, who
can rise to the the peak of her

502
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,000
profession, is still punished by
the world.

503
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:57,080
And I, I think that there's a
reality that a, a large portion

504
00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:01,680
of the meaning of this film can
be found in biblical text.

505
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,560
The rain shine, the rain pours
on the rich and the poor alike,

506
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,320
on the, on the Sinner and the
righteous alike.

507
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,800
And, and I think that that's why
I really enjoyed dangerous role

508
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,520
in this film, because it kind of
illustrated that point.

509
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,240
Like, man, there's, there's
times in your life where

510
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,720
everything's going great and
there's other times where

511
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,880
everything's going poorly and
we're not always sure if we're

512
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,480
the ones making it great or
poor.

513
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:30,760
I like that.
Well, thank you for enlightening

514
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,200
me, Brad.
And now let me enlighten you

515
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,960
because we are going to drink a
whiskey that I am still quite

516
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,560
fond of that I hadn't tried all
the way since season 1.

517
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,160
And that is Monkey Shoulder.
So what do you say if we get

518
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,000
into drinking that?
Yeah, let's just pull the stool

519
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,520
out, sit down and have a drink.
Ouch.

520
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,200
All right, everybody, today we
are drinking Monkey Shoulder, a

521
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:07,040
blended Scotch that we really
were impressed with back in the

522
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,280
day as like a starter Scotch.
And I'm, I'm curious to see

523
00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,600
where we're at today, Bob.
Yeah, Brad, I can't really

524
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,000
remember much of my Scotch
drinking journey way back then,

525
00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,720
but I have to imagine this is
one of the very first Scotch

526
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,120
whiskies I'd ever tried.
And so I think, honestly, we

527
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,640
were very blessed that this was
kind of our gateway into Scotch.

528
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,760
Because I think to this day,
it's still one of the ones I

529
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,120
recommend to people who are
looking to get into the world of

530
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,280
Scotch.
It's not super expensive because

531
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,600
it's not a single malt.
It's a blended Scotch and it's,

532
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,080
you know, it's low enough of a
proof that you can use it as a

533
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,360
mixer, but it stands up pretty
well.

534
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,040
Neat.
I will say, though, I have not

535
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,600
revisited it since Season 1.
So like, I'm really, really

536
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,560
excited to see a like, has my
palate changed in the last X

537
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,240
number of years?
But also, like, does this hold

538
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,160
up as well?
Like, would I still recommend

539
00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,480
this as a starter Scotch for
people?

540
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,480
And yeah, let's see what we come
out to.

541
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,320
Yeah, so getting right into it
on the nose for me, it has a

542
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,280
really nice citrusy touch to it
and almost like an orange zest,

543
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:17,000
orange peel kind of feel.
There's some honey going on and

544
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:22,840
then I get a nice vanilla Y
cream soda freshness kind of pop

545
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,760
at the end that I I really liked
Bob.

546
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,160
I'm sitting at a 7 out of 10 on
the nose.

547
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:32,160
Yeah, Brad, I'm at a 7 1/2 and I
was really impressed that this

548
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,000
had as much going on as it does
on the nose.

549
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,960
Like I kind of let it mellow out
in my glass a little bit, and

550
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,160
every time I went to nose it, I
was getting new things on it.

551
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,920
It started off with just kind of
that nice honeyed note that we

552
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:48,640
get on a lot of blended scotches
and some Irish whiskeys as well.

553
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,280
But then it got into like the
melon territory.

554
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,520
And for me, it really reminded
me of like when you're eating a

555
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:58,160
honeydew and you get like right
down to the rind.

556
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:03,120
Like it's not quite the really
sweet flesh of a melon as much

557
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,400
as it is like cantaloupe rind,
honeydew rind.

558
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,000
There was some mint going on in
here, which is a note I usually

559
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,400
only get on like rye whiskey's,
some nice maltiness.

560
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,440
And then like you said, there
was citrus here.

561
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,720
I wrote down lemon zest, but
there was that kind of like nice

562
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,600
tartness to go along with all of
it.

563
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,440
Super complex for a $35 blended
Scotch so it gets a 7 1/2 for

564
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,720
me.
Yeah, when I got into the flavor

565
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:33,440
of this, the the actual palette,
it turned really spicy for me.

566
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,560
There's some like baking spices,
clove, almost like a Christmassy

567
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:41,800
kind of spice mix.
The vanilla turned from a cream

568
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:45,200
soda into almost like a really
rich vanilla cake.

569
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:51,880
And then the orangeness turned
tart for me and almost moved

570
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,280
into like a black cherry
territory.

571
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:58,520
I'm I was like genuinely kind of
blown away by this.

572
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,680
I give it an 8 out of 10 on the
flavor.

573
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,280
Yeah, I'm pretty close to you.
I'm at a 7 1/2 again.

574
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,080
For me, the first things that
really manifested, I wrote down

575
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,640
ash and char.
And it's really hard to talk

576
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:13,240
about something tasting ashy or
really charred because with

577
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,280
Scotch, we kind of expect some
of that bitterness from the malt

578
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,560
and we expect some smokiness to
it as well.

579
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,480
But honestly, for me, it kind of
reminded me of when we drink

580
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:27,200
Woodford Double Oaked bourbon,
there is a very particular like

581
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,400
double oaked flavor.
It's not just like barrel char,

582
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,440
it's double char.
And this, this really reminded

583
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,520
me of that.
There was a really like deep

584
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,880
char note to this, and I think
you were kind of talking about

585
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,560
vanilla cake a little bit ago.
I think cakey is a really good

586
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,320
term for this because there's a
sweetness underlying it, but it

587
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,400
never tasted sugary.
It almost reminded me of like a

588
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:55,920
shortbread or like a pound cake.
Like just sweet enough that it

589
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,520
kind of adds that layer of like
fat to your mouth that

590
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,720
everything else can kind of
dance on top of.

591
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,080
Brad I like is this a really
great whiskey that we just I

592
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,520
have been sleeping on.
I think it is Bob like it's I I

593
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,800
I will say the the finish is a
little bit short.

594
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,320
It's very sweet.
The spices I got on the palate

595
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,520
lingers for just a few seconds.
The vanilla really sits for a

596
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,160
long time, which I I'm totally
fine with.

597
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,520
I gave it a 7 out of 10 on the
finish.

598
00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,960
Yeah, I came down to a 6 1/2 on
the finish.

599
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,840
This was the low point for me as
well, but I'm at a completely

600
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,400
opposite camp as you.
I wrote down that this kind of

601
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,520
sits a little heavier than I
would like it to.

602
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:40,320
Not that it like camps out in my
chest or anything, but that note

603
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:44,360
of char I think really tips
bitter towards the end and I'm

604
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,440
left with that as kind of my
final note.

605
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,120
It gets a little bit char heavy
for me.

606
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,000
So yeah, I'm just in a 6 1/2.
However, when I think about the

607
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,920
balance of this at a $35 price
point and at a fairly low proof

608
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,280
blended Scotch, this is a pretty
phenomenally balanced whiskey.

609
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,840
There was nothing that really
stood out in a super negative

610
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:08,760
way about this.
I think I'm going to give us an

611
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,520
8 out of 10 on balance, Brad.
Yeah, I, I'm close to you a

612
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,800
little lower.
I I think that for this to

613
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,840
really stand out, the finish
would have to come up a little

614
00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:22,080
bit, but it's a really solid,
well balanced whiskey.

615
00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,760
I, I don't know if we said it,
this is sitting at 86 proof.

616
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,199
So at a, at a nice low proof,
you're getting a lot of

617
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:30,520
complexity.
I give it a 7 out of 10 on

618
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,400
balance.
All right, so let's talk price

619
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:35,840
because at this point the price
has been raised.

620
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,440
I don't know whatever the
percentage is on this now, but I

621
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:42,120
think when we first tried it, it
was around $30 and it's up to at

622
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,600
least 35 now in the state of
Ohio.

623
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,199
Yes, $35.
I still think this is a pretty

624
00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:52,520
good value at 35 Brad.
I think this is a great value at

625
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,480
35.
You can get a lot of blended

626
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,440
scotches cheaper than this.
There's not a lot that I would

627
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:03,160
think would be as complex as
this and stand up as well meat

628
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,000
as this one.
You know, when I when I thought

629
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,320
about the price originally I was
like I can get some cheaper, but

630
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,600
now that I'm looking at it, I
actually think I'm going to give

631
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:15,840
this an 8 out of 10 on value.
I'm I'm right there with you, 8

632
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,120
out of 10.
This is a incredible value in

633
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,760
the world of Scotch especially.
I'm going to come back to where

634
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,920
we started, you know, 17 seasons
ago.

635
00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,560
Bob, this is the best starter
Scotch.

636
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,880
I agree.
Like I I can't think of another

637
00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,840
one for the price point and the
flavor that I would recommend to

638
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,200
somebody.
I will say the price is starting

639
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,680
to approach the level where part
of the benefit of it before was

640
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,880
like you're not sending someone
out to buy a single malt and so

641
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:49,920
they won't have to feel bad if
they don't like it.

642
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,040
Because I think when you're
like, when you're talking about,

643
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,560
oh, it's a single malt Scotch,
there's a level of like people

644
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,440
think that it's.
Pretentiousness.

645
00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,400
Not even pretentiousness, but
like, like intimidation.

646
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:02,400
Do you know what I mean?
Like, oh, I have to like this

647
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,280
because it's like a really fancy
whiskey.

648
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:07,400
And so then when they don't like
it, there's there's still like

649
00:36:07,720 --> 00:36:09,840
the the shame factor built into
it.

650
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,160
This one is kind of just like
it's.

651
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,000
Not just a bottle you have to
get rid of, but also a box that

652
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,280
it comes in.
Right.

653
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,200
Well, and this one was like,
hey, it's 30 bucks and if you

654
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:19,680
don't like it, you can mix it
into stuff.

655
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:22,960
But it's approaching the price
point now where it's kind of

656
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,560
like you can't just dump it into
stuff and call it good.

657
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,800
You're still going to be like,
if that if you don't like it,

658
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,160
you dropped $35 on it.
That's not a cheap whiskey

659
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:34,920
anymore.
So I think it's still definitely

660
00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:39,640
worth the price, but with the
caveat that like, we're

661
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,200
recommending it as a starter
Scotch because we think you will

662
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:47,160
like it, but you can no longer
feel 100% guilt free about

663
00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,400
dumping it if you don't.
Unless you're fantastically

664
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:53,880
wealthy.
That's that's very true.

665
00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,520
Then you could just buy it and
pour it straight in the drain.

666
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,680
Well, on that note, Brad, I
recommend not doing that.

667
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,920
And you know what's funny is we
usually say, do you recommend

668
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,120
buying, do you recommend trying?
And for most whiskeys in this

669
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,640
price point, I would say, sure,
go ahead and buy it because it's

670
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:13,880
35 bucks.
Don't waste your money trying

671
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,160
it.
The funny thing is, I needed to

672
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,120
drink this whiskey for the
podcast today.

673
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,760
I only had a limited amount of
time and I wasn't going to go

674
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:23,000
tried it.
I wasn't going to go buy a

675
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:24,960
bottle.
So yeah, I went to a local bar,

676
00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:28,720
they had $5 pours and it was one
of the best 5 bucks I've spent

677
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,040
in a long time.
Man, it was absolutely worth a

678
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,920
$5 pour.
Yeah, no, I, I'm with you.

679
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,040
I would say try it.
I would say buy it.

680
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,440
And yeah, this I'm, I'm very
glad that we revisited Monkey

681
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,080
Shoulder Bob.
I'm coming out to a 37.5 out of

682
00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,000
50.
If I'm being honest, Brad, I

683
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,880
think I actually feel more
positive about it than even that

684
00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:52,120
score would indicate.
Yeah, I came out to a 37 out of

685
00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:54,360
50, so I'm right there with you.
Cool.

686
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:59,680
So we're at a 37.25 out of 50 or
74 1/2 out of 100.

687
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,400
This is well above average.
I think it's like a genuine

688
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,440
crowd pleaser and it kind of
goes along with the $1,000,000

689
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:12,600
baby, you know, the the rousing
crowd pleaser of 2004.

690
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:17,280
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
There's nothing absolutely sad

691
00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,600
about this movie.
But Bob, I think it's about time

692
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:25,080
to pull the plug on this segment
and move on to the rest of the

693
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:26,240
episode.
What do you say?

694
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:34,600
Oh man, let's get to it, Brad.
All right, everybody, that was

695
00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:38,480
Monkey Shoulder, a whiskey that
I would gladly have on my

696
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:40,480
shoulder any day of the week,
Bob.

697
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,720
Don't need to get that monkey
off my back, Brad.

698
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,240
Hey, there it is.
You know what?

699
00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:48,800
Monkey, we need to get off of
your back.

700
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:51,760
Bob, the losing streak that
you're on and two facts and a

701
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,360
falsehood, Brad.
Is going to try to stump your

702
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:59,800
ball. 2 are right and what is
wrong?

703
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,880
2 facts and a falsehood. 2 Facts
and a Falsehood is the part of

704
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:09,280
the podcast where Brad presents
three items to me as fact, one

705
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,360
of which is a complete
fabrication, and I have to

706
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:15,760
figure out which one is the lie.
Brad, I love how you just assume

707
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:18,680
I'm on a losing streak.
Yeah, no, we we actually haven't

708
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,120
at this moment recorded the
other movies yet.

709
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:25,600
I'm just, I'm just speaking into
existence here that on a losing

710
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:28,040
streak, so.
Hey man, Oprah told me that I

711
00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:29,720
could imagine it and it would be
true.

712
00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:31,680
So, well, let's here we are.
She's wrong.

713
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:36,400
Brad, I assume you have three
good supposed quote UN quote

714
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:38,680
facts in front of you about the
making of this movie.

715
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:41,280
So hit me with your two facts
and a falsehood.

716
00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:45,880
Fact number one, This is one of
two times when the presenter

717
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,320
handing Clint Eastwood an Oscar
was Barbra Streisand.

718
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:52,280
Yep, she previously handed him
the Best Director Oscar for

719
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,400
Unforgiven before giving him the
second movie award.

720
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,160
She said.
I would be very happy to do this

721
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,560
again for you, Clint.
Fact #2 The This is the first

722
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:08,240
Best Picture Oscar winner to be
released on both HDDVD and

723
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:12,480
Blu-ray.
Fact #3 Mike Coulter, the actor

724
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:16,000
who plays Big Willy, actually
boxed throughout his teenage

725
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,240
years and nearly became the
state boxing champion in his

726
00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:23,240
home state of South Carolina.
These are good ones.

727
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:28,480
Number one is true because I
remember watching the Oscars and

728
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,840
they let Barbra Streisand come
out and do best picture.

729
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:32,880
And Brad, I've never talked
about this before and.

730
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:36,520
Bob I I believe it's Streisand.
Streisand.

731
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,120
No Streisand.
Haven't you seen Licorice Pizza

732
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:41,600
Bob?
That movie is so good.

733
00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,080
All right, so she comes out to
do Best Picture.

734
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:47,400
I don't know if I've ever talked
about this before, Brad, but I

735
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:52,000
have like an irrational dislike
of Barbra Streisand.

736
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:54,320
I just don't get it with Barbra
Streisand.

737
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,240
She sucks, dude.
I never got it either.

738
00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:58,440
I've never gotten it.
It doesn't make sense to me.

739
00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,200
And I get like physically upset
when I see her doing things.

740
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:06,000
So anyway, she comes out to give
best picture out and, you know,

741
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:07,880
they do.
And the Oscar goes to and they

742
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:11,160
open the envelope and instead of
just saying the name of the

743
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,640
Oscar, she does the thing.
Like she steals Clint Eastwood's

744
00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:19,560
moment and says, like, Clint,
I'm so glad to be giving this to

745
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,040
you again.
And then everyone has to just

746
00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,920
infer, oh, OK, it's $1,000,000
baby, you know?

747
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:26,440
And then she says, Million
Dollar Baby.

748
00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:29,640
But it's like, you know what,
Barbra Streisand read the name

749
00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:31,520
of the movie.
And then when he comes on stage,

750
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:34,360
tell him, I'm so glad that's a
moment for you and Clint.

751
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:36,400
Like, don't ruin it for the rest
of the world.

752
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:41,640
Babs got me so angry.
Dude, I don't even care that you

753
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:44,960
know that that's a fact.
I'm so happy to hear that story.

754
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,880
Dude, like nothing gets me more
upset than people doing stuff

755
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,080
like that anyway.
Yeah, no, it's true.

756
00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:55,520
It's definitely the that moment
of like she is making it about.

757
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,840
Her.
And and that like, it's Kanye

758
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,800
getting up on stage and dissing
Taylor Swift.

759
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,360
It's like stuff like that where
you're like, you are already a

760
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:09,400
wildly famous person.
Stop trying to get the spotlight

761
00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:12,640
on you, Barbara.
Barbra Streisand Colon, the

762
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:18,800
Kanye West of the 1960s.
All right, number one's true #2

763
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:22,640
sounds like it could be true #3
sounds like it could be true #3

764
00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:26,560
was the one about boxing, right.
And #2 yeah, you said #2 was

765
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:28,880
HDDVD and Blu-ray at the same
time.

766
00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:31,880
Yeah, the first Best Picture
winner.

767
00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:38,480
Do you remember HDDV DS Brad?
I remember DV DS, I don't know

768
00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:42,040
if I remember like HDDV DS being
a thing.

769
00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:45,560
So yes, they were a thing for
just a little while and they had

770
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,840
like a like Blu rays had the
blue cases.

771
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:51,600
HDDV DS had similar sized cases
but they were like a dark red,

772
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:54,320
like a maroon color.
I do kind of remember that.

773
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,040
And I remember reading an
article about them at the time

774
00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,760
that like Blu-ray looks like
it's going to be the winner.

775
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:04,160
HDDV DS are actually better.
And it was kind of like the old

776
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:09,920
VHS versus Betamax thing.
So anyway, I remember seeing

777
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:14,640
like, I think the Departed got
an HDDVD release, but that came

778
00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:16,640
out after this.
So I have no idea if that's true

779
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:22,720
or not.
I'm going to say 3 is the

780
00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:25,720
falsehood, but I wouldn't be
surprised if it was 2.

781
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,960
That, see, here's the thing, I
could tell you whatever I want

782
00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:32,520
then, because that like I have
the power here and I could just

783
00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:36,560
lie to you.
It's true, but I'm not going to

784
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:38,840
and you are correct Bob #3 is
the false.

785
00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:40,640
Right.
The only reason I ended up

786
00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:43,560
guessing 3 is because I just
asked you have you ever seen an

787
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:46,120
HDDVD and you said no.
So I was like well clearly he

788
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,080
didn't make up that fact.
Like I didn't even know what

789
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:53,200
they were until just now.
Dang it, I shot myself in the

790
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:58,680
foot.
Lawyered for real though, man

791
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:01,120
that was sneaky.
Let's talk about $1,000,000,

792
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:02,880
baby Brad.
And I think it's finally time

793
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:04,920
for us to talk about the things
that don't work for us.

794
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:09,280
We could get really nitpicky
about it, but we did that in

795
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:11,160
season 1.
Like I talked about the white

796
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:13,320
trash thing.
I talked about Paul Haggis being

797
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,920
the most obvious screenwriter.
You know, even in the first half

798
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,360
of this episode, I talked about
how I don't like that he

799
00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:22,640
continually puts a button on
every single scene at the end.

800
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:27,560
And yet, like, it's, it's still
just a really well made movie.

801
00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:29,360
Like I can't argue with too much
of it.

802
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,160
And I, I sat down and I started
to realize, Brad, I think the

803
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,360
thing with this movie that I
have always pushed back against

804
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:41,640
is that it is making a very
complicated and complex moral,

805
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:44,240
not even complex.
It's making a moral argument in

806
00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:47,320
a time where like there was very
little support for this right?

807
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,880
Like euthanasia.
I grew up Catholic dude.

808
00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:53,400
Like it was starting to become a
thing when I was like right

809
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:55,680
around this age.
Like the the church debates

810
00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,880
about euthanasia.
Well, wasn't it a like Terry

811
00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:00,920
Shivo?
Yeah, Shivo.

812
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,600
Yeah, that like that was a huge,
huge story, right?

813
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:06,800
So I mean, this is a hot button
issue.

814
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,160
And so again, like I grew up
Catholic.

815
00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:11,800
This was not something that I
was taught was like an OK thing

816
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,800
to do, right?
And, and I think when a movie

817
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:18,520
challenges your worldview, it's
a good thing.

818
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:20,280
It's a good thing to have your
world view stretch.

819
00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:22,800
It's a good thing to learn about
experiences from other parts of

820
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:24,800
the world or from other walks of
life than your own.

821
00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:29,000
But I think in a lot of ways,
when you're watching a movie

822
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,200
like that, for the movie to
really be effective at what it's

823
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:34,800
trying to do, it needs to
present a clear argument.

824
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:38,920
And Quint was making an argument
against the majority of the

825
00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:43,240
American public at this time.
And I, you know, it seems unfair

826
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,000
in retrospect to say, like, why
didn't you convince me better,

827
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,120
Clint Eastwood?
Because it's not his job.

828
00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:52,240
But I do think that ultimately,
the point of this movie is not

829
00:45:52,240 --> 00:45:55,000
entirely clear.
Frankie's actions are kind of

830
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,920
clear.
Frankie obviously thinks this is

831
00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,800
the right thing to do, and he's
clearly struggling with it

832
00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:01,480
beforehand.
He has this great scene with the

833
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:03,720
priest.
And the priest says, like, you

834
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:06,560
know, if you do this thing,
you'll be lost, and you'll be

835
00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:09,360
lost so deep in a place that
you'll never be able to come

836
00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:12,360
back from it.
And real quietly, under his

837
00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:14,880
breath, Clint Eastwood just
says, I think I already did it.

838
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:19,960
And you don't know if he means,
like, I'm already lost or even

839
00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:21,400
in my mind, I've already killed
her.

840
00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:23,920
And I'm looking for permission
to do it, you know, so that I

841
00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:27,680
don't feel so guilty about it.
It's nice that there's some

842
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:32,120
ambiguity to it, But I also just
think that Paul Haggis is trying

843
00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:34,960
to do too many things at once
with all these characters, like

844
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:40,800
Danger and Scrap, and it kind of
loses the overall point of these

845
00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:45,200
two characters and their tragic
love story in the mix of all

846
00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,520
these other peripheral things
he's trying to do.

847
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:52,960
Yeah, well, and and also he's
trying to like, really prove and

848
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:56,960
hammer home a point that, like
the priest is wrong because, you

849
00:46:56,960 --> 00:47:02,120
know, Clint Eastwood terminates
her life and then just ends up

850
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:05,480
hanging out at A at a pie bar.
He's like, you know what I need

851
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:08,720
right now?
Need a good slice of pie?

852
00:47:08,720 --> 00:47:10,040
God.
Bless it, I just killed

853
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:12,280
somebody.
Boy, could I go for a slice of

854
00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:16,760
lemon meringue pie right now?
Yeah, that will take care of all

855
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:19,920
of life's issues in this.
Moment that just felt like a

856
00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:25,880
really weird ending.
I don't know, like it just I, I

857
00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:29,040
don't want to say it felt
unearned because there there is

858
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:31,280
a certain sense of resignation
to it.

859
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,440
Like, you know, he he's like,
oh, I'll never quit boxing, but

860
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,000
if I did, I'd go buy myself a
little diner.

861
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,840
And so it's kind of this this
like, all right, this was his

862
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:42,360
final act.
This is all he had left to get.

863
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,760
So I get it kind of works, but
it also just felt a little

864
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,760
insensitive.
Well, and one of my favorite

865
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:54,000
things about this movie is they
keep repeating, always protect

866
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:55,360
yourself.
That's the rule, right?

867
00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:58,920
And the the entire point of this
movie is that both Maggie and

868
00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:02,120
Frankie failed to do that.
And scrap has this really great

869
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:04,840
line in his narration where he
talks about like, oh God, let me

870
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:05,560
just read it.
Hold on.

871
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:09,760
Before you say that line, Bob,
can I just say I don't think I

872
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:13,520
ever once caught that Morgan
Freeman's name was scrap.

873
00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:15,800
Like coming out of the movie.
I don't.

874
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,640
I couldn't.
You could put a gun to my head,

875
00:48:19,080 --> 00:48:22,160
you could threaten to pull out
my life support and I would not

876
00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:25,560
be able to tell you what his
name was in that movie.

877
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:28,680
Hey, Brad.
Yeah, his name was Scrap.

878
00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:32,000
Oh wow, thanks man, I appreciate
that.

879
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:35,320
Welcome dude, he says.
All all fighters are pigheaded

880
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,600
some way or another.
Some part of them always thinks

881
00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:39,280
they know better than you about
something.

882
00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:43,160
The truth is, even if they're
wrong, even if that one thing is

883
00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:46,920
going to be the ruin of them, if
you can beat that last bit out

884
00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:48,560
of them, they aren't fighters at
all.

885
00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:51,440
And so it's this, it's this
thesis statement about like,

886
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:53,520
their stubbornness is what makes
them fighters, right?

887
00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:56,760
And they they want to, they know
that they should protect

888
00:48:56,760 --> 00:48:59,280
themselves and they still don't.
And that's what makes them

889
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:01,920
fighters.
And yet I still kind of feel

890
00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:05,880
like, is that the ultimate point
that this movie's making?

891
00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:09,160
Like, I don't know, man.
It just gets it gets a little

892
00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:13,000
too muddied for me at the end.
And I wish that it had a clearer

893
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,680
resolution.
We, you know, we knocked Mystic

894
00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:18,720
River last week for going
overboard with the like very

895
00:49:18,720 --> 00:49:23,160
obvious resolution.
But for all the places that this

896
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:25,880
movie is too obvious, I think
that's probably why I'm

897
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:28,840
reluctant to say that it's like,
oh, it's really smart that it's

898
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:32,560
ambiguous because it's like,
well, it's very obvious in other

899
00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:35,320
parts.
So I don't want to just assume

900
00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:38,440
that you're like a genius
screenwriter, Paul Haggis,

901
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:40,840
because there's other areas of
the script you could have

902
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:42,960
really, you know, toned it down
on.

903
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:46,080
Oh well.
Also, like, I'm just going to

904
00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:48,120
give Eastwood props where
they're due.

905
00:49:48,560 --> 00:49:52,080
The fact that he could pull off
ambiguity at all is very

906
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:55,840
impressive because that that's
not exactly his strong suit as a

907
00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:58,520
director.
Brad I don't know.

908
00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:00,720
I I feel like I've said what I
need to say about this movie.

909
00:50:00,720 --> 00:50:03,720
I think my issues with it are a
little bit more systemic than

910
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:05,000
they are.
Like, oh, I don't like this

911
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:07,880
thing.
I don't like this thing and.

912
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:11,400
The cinema studio system is at
fault for this.

913
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:13,120
Exactly.
That's right.

914
00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:15,440
Warner Brothers Pictures is at
fault.

915
00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:18,800
Do you have anything in
particular that you want to get

916
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:21,320
at before we get into our last
segment of the day?

917
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:27,240
Honestly, I don't think so.
Like overall, I, I believe I

918
00:50:27,240 --> 00:50:30,240
gave this a nine out of 10 in
the first season.

919
00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:32,640
And not like I think I was
right.

920
00:50:33,240 --> 00:50:35,880
I think I did a good job last
time, summit it up.

921
00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:39,400
So yeah, I'm pretty awesome four
years later.

922
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:41,400
All right, man.
Well, let's see if you're

923
00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:44,640
equally as awesome at picking a
double feature for this movie

924
00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:46,320
with our last segment of the
day.

925
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:49,200
Let's make it a double.
We're near the end of the

926
00:50:49,320 --> 00:50:52,840
episode, so thanks listening to
the film and Whiskey show.

927
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,600
Let's have another film with
this one, even if it's struggle.

928
00:50:55,600 --> 00:50:57,000
It's the final segment of the
day.

929
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,960
Now let's make it a double.
That's right, Let's Make It a

930
00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:03,280
Double is the part of the
podcast where Brad and I pick a

931
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:07,040
movie to pair with this one to
make the perfect double feature.

932
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:11,120
Brad, I will let you go first.
Mr. Awesome, Mr. Purveyor of

933
00:51:11,120 --> 00:51:12,200
everything.
That is awesome.

934
00:51:14,120 --> 00:51:18,760
I might have the best pairing in
the The History of the Film of

935
00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:23,160
Whiskey podcast Bob.
So $1,000,000 Baby is about a

936
00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:28,280
lovable underdog and how you
know she proves herself to

937
00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:32,040
somebody who doesn't believe in
her and and fights her way to

938
00:51:32,040 --> 00:51:35,280
the top right.
I am going to pair it with

939
00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:39,000
another movie that literally is
the exact same story.

940
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:42,200
I'm going to pair this movie
with Major League.

941
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:48,040
I feel like you're conveniently
leaving out like half the story

942
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:49,760
here, Brad.
You're just kind of stopping at

943
00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:52,680
the the championship, but not
the, you know, neck breaking.

944
00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:57,840
Major League is the perfect
movie to follow up $1,000,000

945
00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:01,640
Baby with 'cause you need
something to enjoy.

946
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:05,680
And also, if you just look at
the history of Cleveland sports,

947
00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:08,560
it tracks really perfectly with
Maggie's decline, too.

948
00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:11,760
We are.
We are the broken neck.

949
00:52:12,720 --> 00:52:18,000
Of American sports, Yeah.
I mean, I don't think mine's

950
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:19,920
going to be nearly as
entertaining as yours.

951
00:52:19,920 --> 00:52:21,880
I think the obvious choice here
is Unforgiven.

952
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:24,720
We've been talking about it all
podcast long.

953
00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:27,440
Unforgiven's the better movie,
and it communicates the point

954
00:52:27,440 --> 00:52:31,680
more clearly, but I also think
like, it's just these are Clint

955
00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:34,640
Eastwood's two best directed
movies, as I recall.

956
00:52:34,640 --> 00:52:36,960
You know, maybe if I watch
Letters from Iwo Jima again,

957
00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:40,200
that'll be up there.
But what he's able to do here is

958
00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:44,120
really, really impressive, even
if I have some issues with some

959
00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:46,840
of the underlying things here.
So yeah, I'm going to pair it

960
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:48,920
with Unforgiven.
Brad's going to pair it with

961
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:51,720
Major League.
You're welcome.

962
00:52:51,720 --> 00:52:54,640
And we're going to move on from
that into our final scores.

963
00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:00,800
Bob I think that this is a 9 out
of 10.

964
00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:05,120
I I think that this is a really
incredible movie that has a ton

965
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:09,120
going for it.
But there's enough little issues

966
00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:13,480
here and there that keep it from
being a transcendent 9 and a

967
00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:16,240
half, 10 out of 10.
But this is a movie I'll come

968
00:53:16,240 --> 00:53:17,880
back to again at some point in
my life.

969
00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,280
I think I'm at a nine as well.
I was actually at a nine and a

970
00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:24,560
half until those last few scenes
and I'm like, man, I wish that

971
00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:27,040
they just like brought it home a
little bit better.

972
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:31,160
Like it's just like I struggle
to find the words.

973
00:53:31,360 --> 00:53:33,920
And part of it is because, Brad,
we watched this movie like a

974
00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:37,840
couple weeks ago and and we've
watched many other movies in

975
00:53:37,840 --> 00:53:39,520
between.
And I'm really struggling to

976
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:42,080
remember exactly.
You know, I take notes during

977
00:53:42,080 --> 00:53:44,320
the movie, but I take notes
thinking we're going to record

978
00:53:44,320 --> 00:53:45,680
this tomorrow.
I'll remember this.

979
00:53:45,680 --> 00:53:47,440
Wait.
You can take notes during a

980
00:53:47,440 --> 00:53:49,880
movie.
I didn't know how I was allowed.

981
00:53:49,880 --> 00:53:52,600
To do that, yeah, What I usually
do is I go to the movie theater

982
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:55,880
and I put my phone on full
brightness and then.

983
00:53:56,120 --> 00:53:58,440
Nice.
And I just like I hold the phone

984
00:53:58,440 --> 00:54:00,960
over my head so everyone behind
me can see what I'm doing.

985
00:54:01,960 --> 00:54:05,320
Yeah, well I I so I do the same
thing, but I usually just watch

986
00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:06,040
YouTube.
Videos.

987
00:54:06,760 --> 00:54:09,520
I'm thinking about starting to
do voice notes during the movie.

988
00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:12,880
That's an incredible idea.
Clint Eastwood's really good at

989
00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:15,760
this.
In the middle you can use it.

990
00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:19,080
As an opportunity to take notes
and practice your voices.

991
00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:23,600
Yeah, exactly, which would see.
This is a 9 out of 10.

992
00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:26,120
I'm with you.
We are coming out to an average

993
00:54:26,120 --> 00:54:30,000
of a nine out of 10.
What do you guys think of

994
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:31,920
$1,000,000 Baby?
Great math dude.

995
00:54:31,960 --> 00:54:34,200
I'm trying my best man.
I had to do the quick

996
00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:38,040
calculations.
What do you think of $1,000,000

997
00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:41,240
Baby, Film and Whiskey Nation?
Is it a classic in your mind?

998
00:54:41,240 --> 00:54:43,720
Is it as good as Unforgiven?
I'd love to hear what you think

999
00:54:43,720 --> 00:54:45,840
about it.
You can find us on Facebook,

1000
00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:49,440
Twitter, Instagram and TikTok at
Film Whiskey.

1001
00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:53,840
Or jump onto our Discord.
We are on there every single day

1002
00:54:53,840 --> 00:54:57,040
talking to you, the fans of the
Film and Whiskey podcast.

1003
00:54:57,400 --> 00:55:00,080
Find the link to the Discord at
the end of every single one of

1004
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:02,400
our show notes.
All right, Brad, well, we are

1005
00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:06,240
going to come out of our malaise
here and take a very hard turn

1006
00:55:06,240 --> 00:55:08,600
into much lighter fare for next
week.

1007
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:12,400
We're going to be looking at
Billy Wilder's 1959 masterwork,

1008
00:55:12,480 --> 00:55:15,440
Some Like It Hot.
I can't wait for that one.

1009
00:55:15,440 --> 00:55:17,440
I'm.
I am so pumped for that dude.

1010
00:55:17,640 --> 00:55:18,960
All right, so join us for that
next week.

1011
00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:21,600
But until then, I'm Bob Book.
I'm Brad G.

1012
00:55:21,800 --> 00:55:22,920
And we'll see you next time.