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Ep 14 - Fargo (1996) · Popcorn and Pals

• Justin Weakley: Welcome back to Popcorn and Pals, the podcast where we talk about all sorts of movies, good and bad, and give you our completely unqualified takes on them. He's Zach and I'm Justin. And today we are talking about the 1996 North Dakota romp that'll make you want to say, yeah, you betcha. It's Fargo. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ I'm sure we'll get into some pretty offending accents during this episode. Justin Weakley: It's really fun. I feel like I've always enjoyed accents like trying my hand at accents whenever I watch movies and Fargo is a really fun one that I don't even is it specific to like North Dakota or like I don't know Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. It is. I don't know, my parents live in Wisconsin right and there's there's a good amount of that up there too. I remember when they first moved up there they were ⁓ I was like in a department store or something and some lady was like ⁓ how you doing I was like ⁓ my god okay they're real they're real. Justin Weakley: Yeah. ⁓ My boss is from Fargo. She's been down here, I think, in Tennessee for a while, so she doesn't have it too bad, but there's a certain few words. You'll get that little ting. It's pretty fun. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ really? So are you good with accents? Can you do accents well? Justin Weakley: I like to think I can, but I don't know if I actually can. Zach Wheeler: I am trash. I'll give it my old college try, but man, I as someone who's lived in the South for like 15 years, my Southern accent is no good. She is talking like I'm gonna make fun. It's so bad. Yeah, I know, right? I know when my wife drinks, she gets like more Southern as she goes. Justin Weakley: Hmm That's sh- That is pretty bad. You've been here long enough. You should be able to imitate it. It gets more more redneck. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, and so she she does good, but you know, she's been here since she was like three months old, but you know I've only been here since I was 15 so Justin Weakley: Yeah, well, my parents are, yeah, my parents are deep south. My dad says Warsh and he's, pretty. Zach Wheeler: No, your dad is hardcore. Yeah, both your both your parents the fact that you or your brother don't have an accent really your brother more so than you but Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. It's interesting, but we are. Zach Wheeler: Do you find yourself like morphing when you're like within family events? Justin Weakley: Hmm, not really. If anything, it makes me want to like talk like you Just kidding. No, I mean, there's I don't know. I think it's it's weird is It's like my brain turns it off. I don't even hear it So it's that's why I think it's really fun when you watch movies like Fargo and you hear an accent that you're not used to hearing daily Because it sticks out. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: You Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: Like even like British, I don't know, British kind of washes over me. It doesn't even really faze me. But when you hear that North Dakota, North Dakota, it's a very specific, it sticks out like a sore thumb. But how we doing? I feel like ⁓ we haven't been able to record in a while. How are things? Zach Wheeler: Yeah. North Dakota. Yeah. Yeah, our last episode, my wife had to step in and we did Harry Potter, which was fun. I would love for five minutes to get your take on the Harry Potter franchise. Because we've been friends long enough that we saw some of it together. Yeah. Justin Weakley: Cool. Yeah, they were big events. Like I remember going in high school. We went to a lot of the movies in college. I remember going to Deathly Hallows and just, ⁓ man, that was like prime time. We were so excited. Yeah, no. Zach Wheeler: Well, we were like the perfect age for it, right? We were 11 when the movies came out. It was 11 when they were starting Hogwarts. Like, we like hit it at like the right time, I feel like. Justin Weakley: Hmm. We grew up with them. I feel like we were the Muggles to their Wizarding World. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, I think in because I had to do your introduction and ⁓ I said in it like a movie that made like every 11 year old go check his mailbox on his 11th birthday to like every millennial to go check their 11th their mailbox on their 11th birthday looking for their Hogwarts invitation. Yeah. Justin Weakley: Hmm. It's good one. It's gonna be very interesting to see ⁓ how the show goes, because I don't know how I feel about it. mean, you know, it's similar to like somebody else trying to play Luke Skywalker. It just feels off right now, but maybe after we watch it, if it's really, really good, it'll be. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. We were talking like what we wanted to see like because like we had the sequel right and the sequel superlative and we were talking like but like it obviously has a lot of sequels spin-off series and you know, it's such a franchise Hell's got theme parks and whatever and I'm like, well like I Don't care about the sequel to The Sorcerer's Stone or whatever. We've already seen it Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: But like, what do you want to see now? And for me, I'm like, I just want to see them older, you know, maybe because I am older and they're my age, like. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's an enticing aspect because we know them as kids, but yeah, seeing them as like us, like parents with children and yeah, it'd be pretty cool, but it'd be interesting. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I want to say. I don't want a remake series. Get out of here. Get out of there. Get it out of there. Anyways. That's funny. Justin Weakley: I don't wanna see these little shits. Yeah, well, yeah. Zach Wheeler: But anyways, do you want to go real quickly? get into the, before we can, we can chat some more, but before we get too far, I'm going to try for my, ⁓ my like synopsis, it might get a little offensive. So I'm gonna try my best, okay. Just might offend some North Dakotas, North Dakotians. Justin Weakley: I hope it's the most offensive thing that you've ever said. Let's go. Zach Wheeler: No, it's more like my... I'm gonna try and do an accent with it, okay? So it's gonna get rough. It's gonna get rough. I was like practicing it before. I'm like, no good. I am just not good with accents. But you know what? North Dakotans, preemptively apologize. So here we go. ⁓ don't you know? In the cold North Dakota town, you got you. Justin Weakley: I'm excited now. Zach Wheeler: Three real bumbling criminals trying to pull off a whole mess of crimes. But don't you worry, because you got the nicest, friendliest Midwest cop you've seen here to fix him to stop him and bring about some justice. You betcha. Or you betcha. I told you I'm not good at accents. No, I'm not. It's trash. I like floating in between Southern and like, it's not good. You know, you can't do it. Justin Weakley: Yeah, you're really not. You kind of... Yes, you were floating between like southern Georgia in there a little bit or something. I don't know what that was. Yeah, we'll work on it and then you can come back and try it again. ⁓ man, yeah, no, great synopsis. ⁓ Terrible accent. Zach Wheeler: I know right? I'm like some really sad pathetic guy fixing a car. That's what I am. But. I just like, just... I was like, maybe I can do it. Carly's good at it. I should have had her come do like a celebrity synopsis, synopsis read, because she was like, ⁓ I can do it. She's like, she was just off the cuff way better than I was. Justin Weakley: Hmm. That's really funny. ⁓ hey, props for trying. You get an A for effort. That was really good. Zach Wheeler: How's your daughter doing now that she passed all the sickness? She's fully healthy, kicking down doors. Justin Weakley: ⁓ Zachary you have no idea the hell that we have been through it's been a week so my daughter got it Wednesday stomach bug viral for anybody who ⁓ Doesn't know ⁓ I got it Thursday inadvertently went inadvertently went to the ER ⁓ Not because of the stomach bug, but I apparently I had a very sizable panic attack and I didn't know it ⁓ Zach Wheeler: ⁓ no! ⁓ Mmm. Justin Weakley: So that was fun. I mean, like, we had an ambulance come. I it was the whole nine yards. And here's here's the crazy thing. You know who ⁓ walks up up the stairs while I'm sitting butt naked on the toilet? ⁓ Chris Campbell. You remember Chris Campbell that we went to high school with Chris and Sarah? He's the empty. He walked in. He said, Hey, Zach Wheeler: ⁓ wow, shit. Yeah, yeah. So he was the EMT? We'll edit his name out so he doesn't have to... No, no, no, no, no. I'll bleep it or whatever. It's fine. That's really funny. Justin Weakley: Yeah, sorry, sorry. Don't not trying to dox anybody. Yeah, but yeah. Yeah, so an old acquaintance in high school came rolling up and we had no idea. Zach Wheeler: Ha Justin Weakley: ⁓ so anyway, yeah, so I got it Thursday, ⁓ Hannah got it Friday, and then my mom got it Sunday. So it just tore through us like a freight train. It was bad. Not, I mean, really not. Zach Wheeler: So you couldn't do the pot, is that what you're saying? Justin Weakley: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I don't know. I've never had I don't think I've ever had in my collective memory had a stomach bug like anything like that. I've had times where like, you know, you might eat something bad and like have a couple hours where you're like, this isn't good. But no, this was like an all day event. So it's floating out there. We we have tried our best to trace it back. I feel like what's the What's the movie that everybody went back and compared COVID to that had ⁓ Matt Damon in it? What's it called? Zach Wheeler: Yeah, it was with Matt Damon and like Gwyneth Paltrow. It wasn't outbreak that was before that it was like Cantagion contagion. Yeah Justin Weakley: Yeah. Contagion yes, yes, you know like they have like all the montage where they're trying to trace it back who's who's patient zero Yeah Yeah That's what we're trying to do The only thing that makes sense is that she got it from that birthday party that Hannah took her to was it ⁓ Turner's Turner's birthday. Yeah Zach Wheeler: Yeah, when they get back to like, it's like a monkey, it's like a monkey at a restaurant or something that she like, what do, yeah, yeah. ⁓ Turner. Yeah, my nephew's birthday party. Yeah, but mean, ⁓ no one that I know of at the birthday party got it. Justin Weakley: That's the only play. Yeah, so like we didn't take her anywhere. She didn't go anywhere except for grandparents house ⁓ Sunday through right before she got it on Wednesday. And none of our grandparents got it when she did. So we're like. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, it must have been at that play place. ⁓ Justin Weakley: That's the only thing we can think of, but I mean, there's literally no telling. Kids are so gross. They stick their hands in their mouth and yeah, so it was rough, but we survived. Zach Wheeler: No, they're wiping their boogers on people's faces and yeah Shit your your daughter was playing with like some other kid that was not part of our party. So just saying Justin Weakley: That's what Hannah said. There was some little girl like leading her around holding her hand. Zach Wheeler: Like took, took, yeah, took like, took little G under her wing, you know? So now I'm blaming that kid. It was not my nephew. Justin Weakley: Yeah. No, I mean, it doesn't matter. We'll never know. But it is, it's apparently the ER doctor told me he was like, yeah, there's a viral bug. And we've seen a lot of people for it. That made me feel better. Like I wasn't such a sissy that I was the only one. So I guess it is floating around on top of hantavirus and Ebola and everything else. So be, be careful. Watch those kids. Zach Wheeler: All the good stuff, yeah. Yeah, I'm going out of the country next month. And so was like looking at all the warnings and they're like, okay, this area you can't go to, this area you can't go to. So I'm like, I'm getting versed in like all the diseases that are going around right now. I'm gonna go to Argentina. Yeah, no, so after we had our... Justin Weakley: ⁓ Where are you going? ⁓ like for vacation? Zach Wheeler: Starship Troopers episode, I was like, well, I gotta go on vacation to Buenos Aires now. Justin Weakley: Shut the fuck up. Nice. Nice little tie in there. Zach Wheeler: No, no, actually going for work. We just hired like a, yeah, we just hired a team down there. And so we're going to go down there and hash out what working with our, with our team is going to look like with their team and kind of stuff. So, yeah, that'd be fun. think Carly will come in maybe a few, a few extra days afterwards and come see Argentina. I don't know what there's a lot to see in Argentina, but you know. Justin Weakley: Really? pretty cool. Yeah. See if... Yeah, that's pretty cool. If you, ⁓ Zach Wheeler: I'm told it's very taboo to bring up like the Nazi thing, so I'm not gonna do that. Justin Weakley: ⁓ yeah, no, you should, you definitely should. They're there, or they were there. I'm a firm believer, I think. I love, yeah, I love. Zach Wheeler: I don't think it's much disputed. There's like towns in Argentina that speak German because of it. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. all about the, I guess it's not really a conspiracy theory because it is proven that there's, anyway, sorry, we're getting on down the tangent, but sounds very fun. We should do a different podcast on that. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, it'll be... Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you all about it and see what ⁓ Justin Weakley: Yeah, bring back some relics, bring back a coin or two or a death or a death's head, you know, whatever, whatever you find. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Okay. Yeah Justin Weakley: So yeah, Fargo, what'd you think? How did it go? How was your viewing experience? Zach Wheeler: Let's, ⁓ before we get into our chat, let's do real quickly. I know we're like out of practice, because it's been a little while since we recorded, but let's just real quickly, for people who haven't seen it, I'll do a quick synopsis and then I'll go over ⁓ the structure of the podcast just for context. But from a synopsis perspective, Fargo, it follows like kind of two main characters. There's William AIDS Macy, who's like a husband who needs money, who's gonna... ⁓ Justin Weakley: Mmm. Zach Wheeler: hire two criminals to kidnap his wife and then use the ransom money that she gets from her wealthy father to I guess like pay off his debts which we don't really ever learn what his debts are which is like one of the one of the I don't know if there's a hole in the movie but it's like it's almost like the writers were like well that's not important right like it's something that happened before the movie started and he's got debts like I don't know who he owes money to well we'll get it in the epics Justin Weakley: Hmm. Mm-mm. No. Zach Wheeler: But I'm like, don't know who he owes money to. ⁓ And then there's the other main character who's the cop kind of investigating all the events that happen around Play by Frances McDormid. And she's great in it. I'm just, that's my feelings about her. She's awesome in it. ⁓ And really like the two ⁓ criminals that William H. Macy's character, Jerry ⁓ Lundgaard, or Lundgad, ⁓ hires. Justin Weakley: Mm. But yeah. Zach Wheeler: What was it, Justin? Justin Weakley: I Lundegard, right? Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Lundegard, thank you. Yeah. Yeah, but Jerry hires like basically just go on a murder spree and it gets way escalated ⁓ And and so as she's investigating all these murders is kind of slowly unravels for for for Jerry until he basically the jig is up he goes on the run and ⁓ Frances McDormand solves everything and He ruins his whole life over, you know, because he couldn't ask his father-in-law for some money. Justin Weakley: Yeah, he couldn't put together a good business proposal about a parking lot. So he has to do this. No, very, very well summarized. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. It's like, it's a fun movie, but, and then from a podcast structure perspective, first, we're going to chat about the movie, which we're about to start doing. We'll compare some notes. We'll go over some superlatives. We'll kind of give, you know, best scene and so forth. And then finally, we'll rate whether or not we think this movie is a classic. Alright, so let's get into our thoughts. You go first. First note, first thing you want to talk about. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. well, so my relationship with this movie, I... Benefits of having an older brother who is five years older than you. I have memories of watching this movie as a very young child. ⁓ As messed up as that sounds. Specifically, the scene... ⁓ Not digging into anything crazy in our discussions for later, but the scene where Carl gets shot in the face and he's like holding his face. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Justin Weakley: I have that burned into my memory as a child. ⁓ But I have no idea how many times I watched this movie when I was younger. Can't believe my parents let me. ⁓ If they even knew about it, I don't know. But ⁓ this was my first time going back and rewatching it as an adult. ⁓ And for me, I don't know. I think we have a lot of thoughts that we will talk about. You kind of touched on... ⁓ Zach Wheeler: You Justin Weakley: think kind of like the bigger picture with this, I think there were a lot of ideas that went into this movie that didn't fully pay off or get fleshed out. ⁓ But I think for me, I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It's a very good movie. I think what's there that's entertaining is Fargo in and of itself. That, I think... Zach Wheeler: Yeah, it's like the city or the, it's really not Fargo, because the whole movie takes place over a bunch of places in North Dakota. But it's really like North Dakota is a character in the movie. Justin Weakley: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's- Yeah, it's like that exploration of like the microcosm that is North Dakota. Everything from like their culture, their accent, their mannerisms, all these things that's on display. think that is the true star of the show. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: Have you ever been to North Dakota? Like have you ever been up there? Justin Weakley: Never. And I don't know if I ever want to. It seems, I don't know, it doesn't seem like a place I'd want to visit for any specific reason. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, I mean you really have to be intentional. I think about like or it's like you're on there for business or something, right? I I don't know my like I said, I told you my parents are as you know, and like I just mentioned my parents are in Wisconsin. I had some really good friends that lived in Iowa, which I feel is more close to North Dakota. ⁓ But I don't know. I feel like. North Dakota gets like done dirty in this movie. Like they really make this place seem miserable to live. And the people are, yeah like every other than the police officers like everyone is a dick. Justin Weakley: They make it. It seems like a shittle. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: And like everyone is the worst. either complaining at a restaurant or at the car dealership or they're owning or they're the, you know, the employees at the dealership are terrible. And it's the, just makes, and then there's like the cops, which apparently are like the nicest cops in the world. They're so friendly, but it's like, it just makes, and just makes it feel brutal, cold, stark, which I don't know if that's fair. Like I've been to Des Moines. It's definitely. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: It's definitely, you know, got farms, but it's also like, it's got like people. It's not, it's not an... Justin Weakley: Yeah. I think it, I think everything was like hyper intentional with this, right? Cause they, it's like, it takes place in the dead of winter. So many of, I guess just like the, Zach Wheeler: Yeah, right. Justin Weakley: so much of the atmosphere. ⁓ anytime that they are in a car driving, it's usually on a country road that almost looks like it's in a snow globe. Like it's snowing, it's foggy, it's hazy. There's almost virtually no landscape whatsoever. It's just a road that seems like it's just in the middle of nothing. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: and it makes it feel desolate. I think that was probably their intention with it. Like this is not a fun place that you want to be. ⁓ But yeah, I don't know. What was, I mean, is this your first time seeing it or had you seen it before? Zach Wheeler: Yeah. So this is the first time I've ever seen this movie. I've seen a lot of Coen Brothers movies before. I like, it's funny because I come like probably at this from like an opposite of how most people our age approached it or maybe even a little older than us. Because this movie is a little older than us, right? Like it's, we were young when it came out. But I watched the FX series before I've seen, I saw this movie. And really that first season has a lot of similarities to this story. I loved the show. I thought the show was great with Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton and so forth. And I watched the first two seasons. didn't like continue it on, but. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: So I came at it from like I Had a sense having seen Coen Brothers movies before Having seen the show that has a lot of the same tones So I came at it like It felt very familiar even though it was something I had never actually seen before also you to your point. You've seen the scene where ⁓ Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Steve Buscemi gets shot in the face. You've seen this scene where he's getting shoved into the wood chipper, right? like you've you know, there's enough pop culture I think in this movie that you've seen enough of it to to be familiar ⁓ and again, like I've seen the show and stuff so it was new but it was like Yeah, it was like, you know, okay. I know I know what's going on. I know this like it's it's it wasn't Shocking or surprising but it was good. I enjoyed it a lot Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now you bring up something, hmm? I was gonna say you bring up ⁓ like the TV show. I have a big talking point at the end when we get to, if this is a classic that ties into the TV show. ⁓ Because I do feel like it's very, it's an interesting piece of ⁓ film because I can't really name a whole lot of other movies that have spawned like. Zach Wheeler: How are you? Go ahead, sir. No, go ahead. Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: full-blown TV shows that have run for multiple seasons and all the things, but I there were a lot of ideas with this movie that probably didn't get explored. It's like they planted the seeds, but somebody out there was like, this would be a great TV show if we could flesh it out more. ⁓ But we'll talk more about that. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. No, it is interesting. You talk about like, yeah, like Harry Potter, like we talked about last week, right? Or aliens or ⁓ Star Wars or other things that have spawned franchises. And this movie does not scream like IP, you know, IP product right here, you know, make it into television series. Let's go get a sequel going. Let's talk about, you know, prestige television. But Justin Weakley: Mm. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like the television show, I'm with you. I watched the first two seasons. think I stopped after that. Not because it was I loved it. And I think from when I was doing research on this, I mean, every season of that show has gotten crazy good reviews. Like they're all consistently really, really good. ⁓ But yeah, Fargo, like you watch the movie, nothing screams like franchise. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: This is the next big hit TV show. It's very interesting. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. No. This is I this is IP worth owning, you know, kind of thing. What what are have you watched a lot of Coen Brothers? Justin Weakley: I mean, like I know I have, I'm just trying to think of what some of their other big movies are. Throw them out there. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, so can. So Big Lebowski. Which we should put on our list. I've never seen it either, and I think, you know, it's iconic, right? Like the only the closest I've ever seen it was at a brewery and they had it like playing on the wall. So I got like a lot of context from it, but I didn't. I haven't watched it. ⁓ brother, where art that which I love? I think ⁓ brother, where art those great? No country for old men. Justin Weakley: Never seen it. Yeah. Mmm. Yeah, it's a great movie. ⁓ love it. It is dark. It's a dark movie, but great movie. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, dark. ⁓ True Grit. Did you see that one with Jeff Bridges? And Hailee Steinfeld as like a young 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld. ⁓ Inside Lou and Davis with Oscar Isaac. It's good. ⁓ And then like their most recent movies. They did that ⁓ Netflix movie Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Yeah. Justin Weakley: yeah, I didn't know they did that. But yeah. Mm-hmm. Never saw it. ⁓ I love the ballad, it's like an anthology. ⁓ Also very, really, really, yeah, very weird and very dark. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like a kind of like little menu. That's super weird. They're very, they're very stylized and have like a dark humor about them. They remind me a lot of like a much more palatable version. I this is that's gonna sound wrong. They remind me of a much more main. That's also gonna sound wrong mainstream. ⁓ Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. you Zach Wheeler: They're like a ⁓ less quirky version of like ⁓ Wes Anderson. Like they have like a kind of a style. It's a little bit like tilted. It's a tilted at a different angle than you're used to. But it's like a, but it's much more digestible. We're like Wes Anderson, you either like it or you hate it. But it's like he's, his angle is like full 90 degrees. It's odd, you know? And they're odd, the Coen Brothers movies. They're dark. Justin Weakley: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Yeah, yeah. Zach Wheeler: They're kind of, but they're, know, they also have like some normal structure to them that makes it much more approachable, I feel like. Anyways, some of their other movies that I've never seen, like Lady Killers, that's like a Tom Hanks movie. He like plays like a Colonel Sanders looking guy in it. And then there's that, they did that Burn After Reading with Brad Pitt and also Frances McDormand was in it. And it's not very good. I didn't like that movie. It was kind of odd. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, I never saw either of those Yeah Zach Wheeler: But they have a pretty good, robust filmography. Justin Weakley: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I will say hearing that whole list, because I mean, I don't know why I can't remember what movies are theirs, but it kind of goes all around the horn, right? Like you using the comparison of like a Wes Anderson or, you know, other prolific filmmakers out there that have, you know, specific marks on their movies. All of those, some of them are wildly different. Like, ⁓ brother, where are there thou? Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: crazy different from Fargo or Buster Scruggs. I mean, but they do have a style to it. And I feel like... Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah, they share like a cadence, right? There's like an editing cadence, a speed at which the characters talk, at which the... Their plots move very slowly and then really quickly, and then very slowly and really quickly. like, I don't know, there's like... Which I kind of enjoy, because you get to learn a little bit more about the characters, like they can breathe in moments, but ⁓ yeah, it's a great... And then no country for old men is just like... Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. is that movie, it sounds so bizarre. That movie made me, okay, you know how like the running joke is that like when we were kids, ⁓ we thought that quicksand and the Berytta triangle was gonna have much more of a role in our lives, right? After seeing No Country for Old Men, I was terrified of silenced shotguns. I thought that like that was going to be some huge threat in the future. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You You're it. Justin Weakley: I just remember thinking like, holy shit, I didn't know that that was like a thing. Zach Wheeler: No, it's like James Bond, that movie, like silencers were everywhere. they're like, you're never gonna know when you're gonna get shot, because it's gonna be dead silent. Justin Weakley: Exactly like it unlocked a new level of fear with firearms. ⁓ my god. Zach Wheeler: That's really funny. Yeah, no, I like them. They're like never like I would say none of their movies are in my top 10. I think my favorite of theirs is ⁓ Brother, Where Art Thou? Just because it's kind of like the music's really good in it. ⁓ The the Klan scene, I think is like one of the funniest scenes in like all movies with with What's His Name? Justin Weakley: Hmm. Damn. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ my god, why am I drawing a blank? The guy from Roseanne. Justin Weakley: ⁓ yeah, John Goodman. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, John Goodman. But yeah, he's great and it's like, I don't know, it's just like a very fun movie. And I think my wife, it was like one of the first movies that my wife and I like watched together when we were dating. So there's probably a lot of nostalgia in it for me. But. Justin Weakley: Mm. Yeah. It's memorable too. think so many of us, maybe because we're Americans and it's rooted in American history, but I know when I'm old and senile with dementia, I will remember, I'm a man of constant sorrow, I will remember all the lyrics to that song. still do. I still sing it from time to time. I'll be in the shower. Hit that belt and out. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Hahaha Yeah, you'd think my accents are bad, wait till you hear my singing. Justin Weakley: Eugh. Zach Wheeler: Oh, I was gonna, let's see what else I got. Okay. How do you feel about movies that claim to be true stories that are completely made up? Justin Weakley: Yeah, it's such an interesting thing because I Yeah, I I don't understand what compelled them to do it I mean because clearly I feel like that has to be something that You can joke around with I guess your brother and say like wouldn't it be funny if we say it's based on a true story but like Zach Wheeler: It's an interesting choice, right? You Justin Weakley: In the back of your head you have to know like, well somebody's gonna fact check this so we need to be prepared to either say like, no we're lying or what, but very interesting tactic by the brothers. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, I literally wrote when they said it's a true story, I was like, I gotta fact check this. This is too crazy. Like what is going on? And it's like, nah, it's completely made up. I was like, okay. Justin Weakley: Yeah, exactly. You have to. I remember ⁓ watching the very first season of the show and it starts off the same way based on true story and thinking like this is so absurd. How did this actually happen? And yeah, I mean, it's just one big, I guess, gag. I don't understand. What's the point? I don't I don't get it. Zach Wheeler: Hmm Well, it's like the movie... Did you watch that movie Hitman with... I think it's called Hitman, right? Not the... Oh my God, what's the name? The guy who's in Twisters. Who's like... He just did Running Man. Glenn Powell, thank you, God. So did you watch... Is it Hitman? Or what was that movie called? Yeah, it's like a Netflix movie. Justin Weakley: ⁓ yeah, Glenn, Glenn. Yes. Yeah. I know what you're talking about. I never saw it, but yeah, yeah, yeah. Zach Wheeler: So like the whole premise of that movie, which it's also, it's based on a true story also, like in quotation marks, like true story. ⁓ I think there's more, there's actually like, least the people are real in it. Now whether or not the movie's real is different. But the whole premise of that movie is like, what this movie does, like what the hitman for hire or the kidnappers for hire kind of thing. It's like, it's not a really a thing. And so the movie, that movie, Justin Weakley: Mm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: keep calling it Hitman, which I think is, that's like the, that was the other Netflix movie, right? Where he was, aw. Yeah, hang on, we gotta look this up, we gotta. Justin Weakley: It's like the hit, it's like the Assassin's girlfriend or something. I know what you're talking about. Cause I think I want to say Hannah and I watched it. Cause I don't think it was terrible. Zach Wheeler: I'm glad... super handsome hitman It is called... I was just called the hitman. was literally the hitman. Okay. Justin Weakley: I see you hit it. You nail on the head. You got it. Zach Wheeler: Well there's, cause there was the other Hitman movie that was ⁓ There was the other Hitman movie that was ⁓ what's his name? Magneto. That came out too, at the same time. Yeah. Yeah dude, I am... So, I went to... This is... Guys, you're not getting my best, okay? I went to... My daughter had a ballet recital tonight. Justin Weakley: ⁓ yeah, Michael Fassbender. Dude, you are off on your names tonight. You are... you're sloppy. You Zach Wheeler: So three-year-old ballet recital, like, look, I love my daughter. And it was very cute. They were in bumblebee outfits, okay? But they did not move. They like got up there and stood and then like their teacher danced around them. And it was like, I mean, it was very cute, but like performance, it was not. It was very cute. Justin Weakley: kind of say it sounds pretty adorable and future future god Zach Wheeler: But it was like, and after doing that. I say after going through that I was like, alright, let's go out to dinner. I might have had two beers. Okay. I might be drinking my third one right now. Why would recording this? So you're not getting like my 100 % best. I'm not at the sloshy stage yet, but I am at the maybe my memory is not the greatest. Fastbender, Michael Fastbender movie. ⁓ God. There was like, and that one was directed by ⁓ Justin Weakley: Yeah, I will pick up. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Zach Wheeler: Fitcher, right? So it was, I think it's also called The Hitman, isn't it? Or Hitman? Yeah. Justin Weakley: Yeah, that was like a... Yeah, something like that. I remember that one had a lot of hype around it. ⁓ But yes. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, yeah. But anyways, the whole premise, the whole reason I brought this up was because Hitman, like, or Kidnap for Hire is like not really a thing. So when I was watching this, I was like, man, this is a true story. Like, who are these people that are just for hire to go kidnap a woman or whatever? for, I mean, we'll talk about the amount of money they wanted for it and everything. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. you Yeah. Yeah. No, it's an interesting tactic for sure. at the end of the day, it's kind of like along the same premise of like, you no presses, bad press, because it gets people talking about it. I mean, it makes you invested into it. And it gives you I don't know, it sticks in your head. Like, I will always remember the movie that said it was based on a true story when it wasn't. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, right. Yeah, it's an interesting tactic. I mean, it made me go like, I literally was like, I got to figure out this is a true story. That's crazy. And like, I spent more time with the movie than I probably would have because like, let's go reflect back on this. Like, this is crazy. Justin Weakley: Mm. You Yeah. Zach Wheeler: I'm definitely there's definitely people stupid enough in this country to think up. I'm going to kid that my wife for money scheme, but. Justin Weakley: God, I can't imagine like when this came out back in the 90s when people didn't have, you know, cell phones in their pockets to check. I'm sure there are people that were probably flabbergasted, probably still believe to this day that it was a real story, which is kind of, I don't know. I think you can make the case that that's actually kind of reckless that you would plant that in people's heads that this actually happened. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You Yeah, exactly. Alright, want to get into our, do you have any other thoughts before we get into our superlatives? Justin Weakley: No, no, let's hit it. Zach Wheeler: Let's hit it. Okay. So, so, Perlatives. Here's our categories. Also, I think we should add, would this make a good bar? Cause I'm like, I'm not quite sure, but potentially. All right. So we got best scene, best character, worst character, age the best, age the worst. I'll throw in the bar after age the worst. ⁓ then we'll do WTF are they talking about? Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: what would be a sequel or what would happen the next day. And then finally we'll go over our hot takes and nitpicks. So let's start with best scene. Do you want to throw a contender out there? Justin Weakley: ⁓ I do because I only have one but I think it's a strong one that's the I tried to settle on one because I didn't want to meander. ⁓ My favorite scene in the movie is when Carl and ⁓ boy I am going to mispronounce his partner's name Gare I think is his name I don't I don't know if that's it's pronounced but it's spelled G-A-E-A-R Gare Zach Wheeler: Okay. Yeah. Justin Weakley: ⁓ Anyway, they kidnap Jerry's wife. are they get pulled over. But the scene when they when that really is just like that whole scene. ⁓ Because up until this point, I think the movie is relatively harmless. Like during the kidnapping scene, it kind of gets just a pinch uncomfy. ⁓ You know, it starts to kind of hit home that like, ⁓ these are kind of bad dudes. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah, when she like falls, the kid I've been seeing is pretty funny when she's like running around with the curtain. Honestly, it's a pretty, like the movie's pretty funny for how dark it is, you know? But yeah, continue, sorry. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. But yeah, like there's there's a little bit of, you know, some kind of squeamish stuff during the kidnapping scene. But when they get pulled over, it's the the tense drama escalates significantly, or at least it did for me. So it's already tense because you have the wife tied up in the back of the car and they are like yelling like, don't you say a fucking word or whatever. ⁓ Carl is trying to bribe the cop. to get him out of like, you know, getting a ticket or whatever doesn't work. So then they kill the cop and you're like, ⁓ my God, okay, now we've hit the point of no return. They just committed murder, right? ⁓ And then it gets even worse. It compounds when the group of random people drive by and see them when Carl is trying to move the body. So then it's like, what do you do? You can't let them go. So then they chase him down and now they've committed two more murders. So, but like that whole scene, because it goes from like playful early moments of the movie into very serious territory of death and murder and everything just gets ratcheted up with that scene. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, no, it takes like a scheme into like, yeah, like high crime. You know, it's going into a whole different realm of, and the thing is too, like, William Macy's character has like no idea that this is happening. He's just like, he's trying to get his wife not kidnapped. like, ⁓ I can get a million dollars for a parking lot. Like. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. You Yeah. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: His thought into the scheme that he's trying to propose and like the level of like Disaster it can head into potentially is not at all crossed his mind, which is so interesting in that moment ⁓ I had that and like I had the kidnapping scene Followed by the car pullover scene is like my first two ones. I noted as like these are pretty good Justin Weakley: Mm. Now. Mm-hmm. Yeah, what else did you have? Zach Wheeler: ⁓ I loved, okay, wait, on, before I get too deep into this, ⁓ Margie, okay, I keep calling her, I have to take this. I'm gonna pause real quick, sorry. I have to take call. Justin Weakley: Yeah. did not. you Zach Wheeler: Sorry about that. My aunt has, she hasn't told me yet, but she just got diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Yeah. And so that was her first time calling me since the diagnosis. And I knew about it from my mom, but I wasn't supposed to know. I was like, well, I can't ignore her on this one. Yeah, sorry. So thank you for dealing with me. I had to give her time too. I probably should have been like, let's just reschedule this. Justin Weakley: You're good. Yeah, yeah. the hell? you're good. ⁓ I'm sorry to hear that. Zach Wheeler: I'm sorry. Alright. Yeah, it's not great, but hopefully, you know, there's new stuff. It's... My grandfather died of it. The same exact thing. Pancreatic cancer. And, um... Justin Weakley: Mm. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: I don't know, there's debate in my family about what it was because like, you know, no one listens in my family. So I don't know anyways. And so it's either liver cancer that metastasized to the pancreas or pancreatic. Everyone's always debated, but ⁓ so I don't know. She's, she's definitely scared and everything, but I hadn't talked to her forever. And I knew that's why she was calling me. So I can't, I couldn't be like. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: for that sorry yeah I'd be like hey you good alright see ya Justin Weakley: Call you back tomorrow. Yeah, no, you're all good. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: Anyways, alright, let's bust this out so we can get this done. Since I took 20 minutes of our time. 25 minutes of our time. Alright, so we were talking about best scenes. So let's just, I'm gonna add, I'm just gonna like do a clean cut to a new scene and we'll just, I'll just edit around it. So my next scene I wanted to nominate was, I just think... Justin Weakley: best scene. Zach Wheeler: They're so cute. But the first time you meet Maggie and Norm and they're at their house and he's making her eggs and she's like, gotta get out there, you know? And like... And I just, so that was like their little scene with their little pillow talk and him making her breakfast. I don't know. There was great introduction to her character and kind of like just, she's like steady Eddie, you know? Just, I don't know. I love, well not to spoil the best characters, but I did love her character and I thought that scene kind of was like a great... like introduction plus it leads to like when they go investigate. I think that was my next scene too is like when they're going to investigate the murder scene and she like throws up and he's like, are you okay? He's like, Oh, just a little bit of morning sickness. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah, you don't know if it's like because it's a grisly murder, but she's like, ⁓ no, I feel much better now. Zach Wheeler: I think it's so funny they made her pregnant. The whole movie. Justin Weakley: Yeah, yeah, it is really funny. Yeah, it's like an extra little twist. I don't know, because it gives you the sense of like, ⁓ man, I hope like nothing bad happens to her. She's pregnant, ⁓ but she's super capable. Zach Wheeler: Nah, It is. And then that like leads into my other scenes that I think my last couple of contenders was like her interviews with people are so great. Like when she interviews the strippers or when she interviews, it's just no one is helpful. They're like, oh, he's a strange looking fella. You know, she's like, anymore. They're like, no, just strange. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, funny, funny looking guy. Funny how? I did enjoy that running gag not to butt in there. But yeah, so many of the interviews, they're like the two guys and one of them was real funny looking. Funny how? Zach Wheeler: Well, you know, just funny, you know? Well, it's just funny, you Yeah, so I like I just loved her interview scenes. I loved her introduction. I loved her and when she was investigating stuff Yeah, so those are those are some of my contenders Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Any other, I know you said you only had one scene. think the only other one I had was like the final scene when she sees the ⁓ car, the maroon car, right? like, is he's, ⁓ I forget, what was his character's name? You said it earlier, Gaird. Gair? I was like, I don't know. just. Justin Weakley: tune. Gayer? I think it's Gayer. Zach Wheeler: Peter Stormé is like what I know him as. But when Peter Stormé is like, that's sometimes the problem with having more famous actors, or especially actors who became famous after these movies too, really. ⁓ Like the scene just where he's shoving him in the wood chipper and she's coming around the corner with her. He runs off into the lake and she shoots him in the leg or whatever. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. And yeah, yeah. Zach Wheeler: It's another really good scene. was like, that scene, I was just, I wrote down, I was like, Maggie, you're pregnant. Wait for backup. It doesn't matter. It's like, wait for backup. Don't go. Justin Weakley: Yeah, I had that as one of my nitpicks is that she approached a known serial killer while pregnant watching him chop up a body in a wood chipper. Margie is very capable. Zach Wheeler: You Damn. Yeah. So I think I'm in agreement with you though. I think the best scene is definitely the car pullover scene. It like changes the whole dynamic of the movie. like takes a turn. You don't see it coming in a lot of ways. It's yeah, it's a good scene. Justin Weakley: No, it's fun. Well, not fun. It's just, it gets your drilling kind of pumping a little bit. Zach Wheeler: There's still like a humor to it though because even when like the you're like, oh no There's like the couple that passes in the car and he's like dragging the body and he's like, I don't know what that you know Steve Buscemi just sounds I don't know what to do He's like just trying to work so hard to get that body moved and he can't do so There's just like that dark humor that even even in that scene while it's harrowing Still has it because he's you know, bumbling through the cop interview and he's like trying to bribe them and Yeah Justin Weakley: You Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: All right, let's get into characters. So let's do best character first. Who's your first nominee? Justin Weakley: Margie, easy. She's such a good protagonist in this movie. think, yeah, her being pregnant makes it just kind of funny to watch her waddle around in the world. ⁓ But like all while being an active duty cop who's chasing down these murderers. Zach Wheeler: No, her demeanor, her accent, the fact that she's pregnant, all of it is very like, I'm approachable. But then she's like, ⁓ that doesn't make sense, know? And she's like, ⁓ shit, she's gone me. Yeah. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah, she's, yeah, like she's, she's super, she's super smart. But like every, I don't know, I feel like her character is just so well done, like all the way down to like the little details, like how she had to keep her ⁓ police uniform untucked because of her belly. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: And like, but yeah, like her first intro scene, like after she has breakfast with her husband, and she's noticing like the different footprints while looking at the dead bodies in the snow. And she's like, it's, she throws up, she's like, it's just the morning sickness and the passage, she's like, I'm hungry. Zach Wheeler: I know Justin Weakley: This is really funny. ⁓ But ⁓ I also, did think it was really funny how like pretty consistently throughout the entire movie, her character is always eating or she's always excited to eat ⁓ because she's pregnant. It was just. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. ⁓ yeah, we both have had those pregnant wives, right? we know, or at least I don't know how, how, I don't know how Hannah was, but Carly was like every morning, like. I had to take her to Einstein Bagels, get a cinnamon sugar bagel with cream, like with walnut cream cheese on it or something. Cause it was like what she had to have when she was pregnant. was like just those cravings, right? I think it does a really good job kind of humorizing that and like making her approachable. it's a great place, like I think to talk about like, cause there's like, she, cause Frances McDormand wins best actress for this movie, right? And ⁓ Justin Weakley: You No. No. Cause it- Hmm. Or I think, ⁓ yeah, best actress, yes. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Yeah, so it's like I mean I think You know, sometimes the Academy doesn't get it right, but I think like I don't know who let's see who who was she against for this one Let's see, 90, 96, right, it was 96. But it was like, I mean, she's just so great in this movie. Alright, she was up against... And she's won multiple Oscars, right? Because she won for... ⁓ Have you guys ever seen three billboards to outside of Edving, Missouri? She plays a cop in that one too. No, she doesn't, sorry. She plays a mother of someone who... ⁓ Her daughter was killed. And ⁓ she's like pestering the cops the whole time in it. Justin Weakley: I've always heard of it, but I've never seen it. Mm. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: to keep the investigation alive. But she's great. Justin Weakley: Yeah, character is just, yeah, Margie is so, she's the last person I think that you would expect to be like the police officer investigating this. Cause we've seen God knows how many TV shows or movies with like hardened detectives, but I can't think of another one where it was a ⁓ pregnant woman. It was a very interesting choice. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, and who she's up against in 96 I know the actresses, but I don't know any of these movies. She's up against This person I'm not familiar with Brenda Belthine for Secret and Lies. I'm probably butchering that one. Diane Keaton for Marvin's Room. Don't know that movie. Kristen Scott Thomas for The English Patient. I've never seen that movie. Emily Watson for Breaking the Waves. Another movie I've never heard of. Not from, I guess, a cultural standpoint. She's like the only, I think, iconic character coming out of those five nominees. But I think the only other movie that's probably as popular was the English Patient, but I don't know. Anyways, all right, well that's not very helpful. Sorry. Okay. Good content. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. No, but yeah, think Margie was my favorite character. Because yeah, there's, I don't know, there's a lot of characters to, well, they're all very well acted, right? Like I feel like we had a similar conversation about Steve Buscemi as Mr. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Yeah, he's great. I think he's just he's basically Mr. Pink in this movie. Justin Weakley: Yeah, yeah. And I mean, like, you know, you can make the argument that like he's he is a phenomenal character, but I don't know. Yeah, yeah. Coming down to it, Margie is my favorite for sure. Zach Wheeler: He's a phenomenal character actor, for sure. Nah, she's the best one. Like, sh- Great, you know. ⁓ maybe the restaurant owner who like saw Steve Buscemi bragging about killing someone or something. That one moment, you know. Some of the strippers are pretty fun. ⁓ but, ⁓ or I don't know if they're strippers or hookers or whatever, right? Prostitutes or sex workers, whatever we call them, but, yeah. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: But I mean, she's clearly like, I think Norm's good too, even though he becomes, you know, the Zodiac in Zodiac, but he's great too. But I think like, she's easily hands down. I don't, you know, I want to talk about the other actors. I think like, I mean, we've got, you know, probably three other main characters in William H. Macy. Steve Buscemi, Peter Stomair, and even though he doesn't really say a ton in that movie. ⁓ And then we have ⁓ the dad, who's the dad from Family Man. Forget his name. ⁓ but the father-in-law. Justin Weakley: ⁓ yeah, Wade. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, Wade, thank you. Those are probably like Harvey Preece now, I think is how he says his name. But I don't know, Maggie's the best character by far. She's great in this movie. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: not ⁓ you don't want to nominate The guy she goes on that date with by accident. What was his name? Mike. Yeah, you know, know my name Mike. Justin Weakley: ⁓ Mike. Yeah. No. We will get to Maggie and Mike later on. ⁓ No, but I do, I've got, ⁓ in my opinion, a pretty damn good left field pick for worst character. Unless you have more best characters. Zach Wheeler: Okay. No, I mean, I think let's not let's not linger on it. She's the best character by far. So let's go. Let's go with worst character. We can either do like most evil character or worse actor or just the most annoying character. You know, let's see what's your nomination. Justin Weakley: Okay, follow me on this little journey. All right, you've got the obvious choices, right? From like, I'm talking about like pure characters in the movie, not the actors playing them. You have... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Zach Wheeler: Alright. Sure. No, I think everything is well acted. This movie is impeccably cast. If anything, it should have won an Oscar for casting, but they didn't have that yet. You know, so. Justin Weakley: ⁓ Like you have the obvious choice of Carl and Gare because they are the murderers and they're the bad guys quote unquote. You can make a really good case for Jerry because all of his activities and his motivations and his involvement. mean, he zero ⁓ regard for his family's well-being, particularly his wife. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah, he's a of shit. You Justin Weakley: No, my pick for worst character is the dude in the red jacket who is driving the car that drives up on Carlingare after they murder the policeman. This man driving this car drives off the side of the road, flips the car. We don't know who it is, but there's a woman in the car with them. So it's either... Zach Wheeler: Okay Yeah. Justin Weakley: wife, girlfriend, maybe a sister, maybe a friend, but clearly somebody that he knows who is still alive in that car. And he gets out and he runs. He leaves her to die. He takes the cake, in my opinion, for worst character in this movie, because I don't know how you get more cowardly than him. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. ⁓ You No, that's a really good point. mean, like, just keep your cool, man. Don't flip the car off the road. You just gotta make it to town, right? Make it to a police station. Just keep driving, you know? And you just, a, the amount of panic that that guy had to have where he can't handle anything. Justin Weakley: I mean. It's wild. mean like because Like, I wish I would have gone back and rewatched the scene, but like, I wanna say, when Carl is pulling the ⁓ dead body, the policeman, I think you see the car drive by slowly. I do think you see two people in the car. I think you do. But like, when you see ⁓ Gare like pulling up on him, ⁓ and you see the car flipped and then you see him running. Zach Wheeler: That's a good pick. Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: You just assume that like the passenger had to have died because why else would he be running away and leaving whoever that is? And then when they look in the car and they see the girl in there and she's very much alive, you're just like, ⁓ my God. But yeah, he gets my pig for worst character. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. That's a really good pick. I like that answer. I don't know if I can beat that, Justin. mean, like, you know, we can nominate William H. Macy's Jerry, just the worst, you know? Justin Weakley: They're all, yeah, they're all really, really bad. ⁓ There's not, yeah, outside of like Margie and her husband, and I guess probably some of the other cops, there's really not a whole lot of like good characters. Mm. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, like Shepp Proudfoot you can argue maybe not a great one, right? The cops are so nice. They're inept, right? Except for her. Like luckily there's Margie out there doing stuff. They're like... But you know, ⁓ but yeah, I like your pick. Let's go with your pick. you've sold me. That guy is the worst. Justin Weakley: Yeah. ⁓ Zach Wheeler: Just abandon people. can't handle any type of, you know, he just had to drive. He was on a straight road. Just had to drive. Just keep going until you get driving to a police station. Justin Weakley: ⁓ my god. ⁓ Yeah, could you imagine flipping your car and leaving Carly in there just trying to save your own skin? Absolutely not. Yeah, exactly. Zach Wheeler: Wow, look, I don't need to have any fights with my wife about this. I'm just saying the car's upside down and she's not getting out. mean, like, what am I gonna do? Help her? You know, you gotta... Justin Weakley: Yeah, yeah, look out for numero uno. You and him. We'll get you a red jacket this winter, Zach. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, right. The character's name, I was looking it up on the credits. It's Victim in Car. So me and Victim in Car. Or Victim in Field, sorry, that was his name. Victim in Car is the girl. Me and Victim in Field. No, no, I like your answer. That's a great pick. Let's go with Victim in Field. Number one worst character. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Hehehehe Hmm. Zach Wheeler: Alright, so let's get to ⁓ what's aged the best for you. Justin Weakley: Mmm, you go first because I feel like I've taken the last two. Zach Wheeler: I think the setting of the movie really adds to the despair and the kind of dark humor of it. You put that in California, it's just not the same. I think the setting of the movie really aged well. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: I think with that comes the way it was shot. Their cinematography, know, these kind of like really wide angles really let you absorb the bleakness of the city or of the cornfield they're in or whatever. It really works. think the cinematography is great in the movie. Justin Weakley: Thank Yeah, that was my age of the best as well. It's like the snapshot into the world, everything from, we talked about like the accents, the environment, all the things, but it really does paint such a very unique picture. ⁓ I mean, I think that's what makes this movie. It makes it stand out, because there's been so many murder cases and all of the crime movies set against how many backdrops, but like this is... It sticks out. It is a unique atmosphere for sure. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. I also had the world's nicest cops. Just great. I just enjoyed being with those cops, you know? I'm like, Maggie and her team, I'm like, ah, they're just some nice cops, you know? No, I'm not moving to the bleakest place on the planet, but honestly, you know what? I can live with the cold. I can get into cross-country skiing and some ice fishing, you know? Justin Weakley: Yeah. you ready to move to North Dakota and go? Maybe it's really nice in the summertime. I don't know. Zach Wheeler: If it's like Wisconsin, Wisconsin is beautiful in the summer. Way better than the swamp ass place we live. Justin Weakley: There you go. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: And then I had my last two where I just Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand are just they're treasures of cinema and they're so great and they're just great to see them young and and doing their thing. It's great. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, they're phenomenal you you hit the nail on the head the casting in this movie is Incredible. ⁓ I will say for all of the things that like I feel like I had issues with No, the casting was flawless. It's perfect Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah. Well, she got each the best. Justin Weakley: That was it. The atmosphere. That was it. Zach Wheeler: Okay. The atmosphere is good. It's good. I only have one age the worst. but it's no, think it's yeah, I think it's great. I think the atmosphere of the movie. I think the casting is incredible. I think just having some nice cops. It's nice. It's nice to see cops that you can trust, you know. Yeah, I feel like so much in cinema today. It's like all about just corrupt cops and Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: We watched what's the LA confidential right? You're like God is the worst You know you're like You're like go take North Dakota's the police department. Okay and put that in LA and we can you know, maybe maybe we avoid some things in the future, you know, so Yeah, right Yeah, yeah All right, you want to get to age the worst then So the only thing I have Justin Weakley: All of them corrupt. Yeah. Yeah, might actually get some stuff done with some nice competent cops. Yeah. You go first. Zach Wheeler: They reference the Sears Tower. Not a thing anymore. No, it's not the Willis Tower, but yeah, they were talking about like. Justin Weakley: Oh, I didn't even catch that. How did you, how did you, you and these, no, you and these subtitles. I feel like you always pick up on extra details, Mr. Subtitle. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, I'm like, that's not going to age well. don't, people won't know what Sears Sears is anymore, you know, but what about you? What do you got? Justin Weakley: Yeah, yeah. Okay, well mine's a little bit more critical, I guess. Mr. Sears Tower. Okay, so it is important. Zach Wheeler: Okay, now you know hey that was that was that's important, you know, gotta get that stuff, correct Justin Weakley: Okay, you touched on it earlier about like the dark comedy aspect of this movie. And there are some scenes that I think it does work really well. Like you mentioned the kidnapping scene is really funny watching her. Yeah, I do think, I think some of the... Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. The kidnapping scene, yeah. That's probably, think, where it works the best, where it's like the humor. Justin Weakley: quote unquote dark comedy elements didn't really land with me and granted I don't know I feel like dark comedy is a very different form of comedy ⁓ and I feel like the people that really like it probably it's maybe an acquired taste maybe I don't have that taste like for like for me specific I have a very specific example is Carl's character so Carl's character I think he is intended to be Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Justin Weakley: like an inflection point of that dark comedy aspect, right? Like he has so many scenes that help lessen the threatening nature of his character. So. He talks too much and he rambles. There's that whole scene where the gay or doesn't want to talk to him or give him like one word answers, right? ⁓ He slips up so many times during the kidnapping scene that it almost doesn't work. She almost gets away. ⁓ He's constantly inadvertently leaving clues about himself that help point the police right in their direction. Like all of these things are supposed to be like silly. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah, in the car. Yeah. Justin Weakley: and funny and humorous but I think in my opinion they just make him seem totally inept and competent ⁓ which so and again we'll get to like the TV show I think when you compare you know Carl's character Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Justin Weakley: to say Billy Bob Thornton's character in the TV show, they are like two completely separate, different beasts. Like Billy Bob Thornton in that show was fucking terrifying. He was an ex, yeah, right? He was excellent, right? He was a villain. Carl seems like he's gonna trip over his shoelaces at any moment. And like, I think... Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. No, he's menacing, yeah. Justin Weakley: Like there are so many different aspects of the dark comedy in this movie that I think do work really well, but just some of them didn't. Like Carl's, I don't know, him and Gay are supposed to be not like this menacing force, but like they are supposed to be kind of like you're bad guys. They're the guys you don't want to mess with. you know, like it just didn't, I was never afraid of them at any point because they were just so goofy. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, they might kill you, but they are not. They're inept, to your point, to use your word, right? That's what I said in my joke synopsis. I included ⁓ Jerry in the criminals, but it's like three bumbling criminals. They're just kind of like, even when the one Peter Stomay's character is supposed to be this more menacing, like this guy could really kill you kind of thing, he's still like... cannot handle shit. He's like, gotta, he's going to kill the wife because he's like, she's whining or something, right? Like he can't handle anything. Steve Buscemi's character is way over his head. You know, they're trying to be tough, but they're just not capable. And William H. Macy's character is not capable. They're just, well, yeah, to your point in the show, Billy Bob Thornton's character. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: while maybe, you know, probably should have given up at some point in the series where he was just getting deeper and deeper into the tying up loose ends plot of that show. But ⁓ he's terrifying. Much more akin to like No Country for Old Men than Fargo. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, he feels much more like a person that you don't want to mess with. Whereas like, you know, when Carl is calling Jerry on the phone threatening him like you need it, where's my money? I need my money, Jerry, like all the things I wouldn't be afraid of you. I would laugh at you. mean, but like also. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah, Jerry's more worried about like trying to navigate his stepfather or his father-in-law than he is trying to like navigate these criminals. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah, and I think you could probably make the argument that like, well, you know, because they're an app, that's how they got in and over their heads. But all of the story beats make you feel like they are capable of handling this, right? Like they murdered people and it was just like, well, shit, I guess it's escalated now. Now we need more money, Jerry. You know, it didn't shake them to their core. you know, these... two-bit criminals who accidentally killed somebody. I mean, like they were very much prepared for it. I mean, to your point, Gayer killed Jerry's wife because she wouldn't shut up. I mean, like clearly they are, you know, yeah, right? Zach Wheeler: Killers, yeah. Well, that's the part about the movie that I found most challenging and not the like step on nitpicks. I don't know if you have this in your nitpicks, but like, are they believable as killers? Because they're so callous and so willing to do it, yet they're so bad at being criminals. Like how did they get to this point where they're so comfortable being killers, yet? There's no way that they would ever survive any killings. They would be in prison. They would be, like in this movie, shot and killed. They're so incapable of actually committing the crime all the way through successfully because they're so stupid. There's no way they get to this point of quote unquote like bad assery or murder and callousness that they are succe- like they're so comfortable with it. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: You'd almost imagine like, they're only in Fargo because they've committed 16 crimes in eight other states and they just have outrun the police so far. Because there's going be eight other precincts looking for them because they're so stupid. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah, it really it feels like the film is at odds with itself in this this capacity because it's like it in certain aspects it wants them to be scary, know, murderous bad guys. But on the other hand, it's like, well, we also want them to be kind of goofy and funny so that you get some giggles out of it. And it's it just doesn't mesh up the way that I feel like they probably wanted it to. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like the iconic scene at the end of the movie where you're shoving, you know, Steve Buscemi's character through the wood chipper and you're like, what are you doing, dude? You're blasting blood everywhere. How are you going to clean that up? You're hoping there's a snowstorm in a day or something? what are you doing, man? Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. Like, the whole area is littered with DNA and like, you're just waiting for somebody. I mean, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like none of it. just doesn't. What? Yeah. Zach Wheeler: put a trash bag on the end of the output so you can clean it. Like, I don't even know. It's just the shock value of the scene, but it's completely. Yeah, I, I, I, I, I get what you're saying. I think the humor has to work for you and the, the, the ineptness of kind of the, criminals, whether that's a nitpick or age, the worst are, agree with your, with your statement. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: Anything else you got? Okay. All right. WTF are they talking about? ⁓ no, we were gonna do, should this be a bar? Do you think you could have a Fargo bar? I feel like there's enough drinks that you can make for it, but like, what would you put in the bar, you know? Just like moose heads and... Budweiser signs, you know? Justin Weakley: No, that was really it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I guess I would make it, I guess I would. Yeah, like a lodge. Have you ever been to ⁓ Sportsman's Lodge here in town? Yeah, that'd feel like I'd make it feel like Sportsman's Lodge. Dark, old, dank, dusty, and just like. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. It's got a, it's got like a stuffed bear in it, but the bear's been there for 40 years and is missing half of its fur, you know? Justin Weakley: Yeah, exactly. Deer antler light fixtures everywhere, from chandeliers to table lamps. All deer antlers. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, exactly. I think we have you been to the one that's in downtown Nashville? So where you're part of town. Yeah, the one downtown is like much more dive barry kind of it's got a whole different vibe equally as much a Fargo place. It feels like it feels like a Fargo bar. That's a ringing endorsement for Nashville's. ⁓ Justin Weakley: No, only the one in Franklin. Yeah. Mm. Mm. Yeah. You Zach Wheeler: Sportsman's Grill, right? Go there. It's actually pretty, it's not bad. It's a good time. But you know, so if you're in Nashville, you want to go see something that locals go to, go to Sportsman's Grill. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Dude. Funny tidbit about, like that's my dad's favorite restaurant. So we go there somewhat regularly. The next time you go there, if that ever happens, read the back of their menu about the history of it. It will blow you away because... Zach Wheeler: No, I think I've looked at it right. Yeah, like about like where they got all their logs from and where the yeah, yeah, that's crazy Justin Weakley: Yeah, and the chandeliers are like historical. It's wild. I always think to myself, clearly this is a passion project by some rich person who owns it because there's no way that they haul in that much money to stay afloat for this long. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ Yeah Yeah, so for our 25 listeners that we have, ⁓ this sportsman's grill in Nashville, it's like, if you've ever been, there's this really famous hotel out in Arizona that's like built into a mountain. And it's like a lodge for hunting. It looks like an old Huntsman's lodge in like Colorado or something. It's got antler. chandeliers made out of antlers. It's got like the pillars and the structure of the building is made from full, full S trees, right? Like the cores of redwoods and, maybe not redwood, but you know, some type of cedar, some type of really old tree. ⁓ and so you do, when you walk into this place, you feel like, yeah, it's like, you need your double barrel shotgun. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: and a bourbon, right? It's that kind of atmosphere. Dark, woody. Justin Weakley: It actually does a very good job of like, yeah, it kind of like transports you into like a different place. It's super bizarre because right across the street is hibachi. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Bye. Yeah, it's like it's in a it's got a parking lot next to the interstate and the hana-baji grill. It's completely different, you know. But you transport it when you're inside, you know. Justin Weakley: It's so wild, man. Yeah, you feel like you're up like, yeah, in a hunting lodge to your point. Man, how did we get on this tangent? Wow. Zach Wheeler: You Well, that's our ⁓ bar. We're just going to change the name on the outside to Fargo's. Yeah, there you go, Fargo's. Justin Weakley: That's our bar. Yeah. Far, just Fargo's. Let's go Fargo's. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ Every all the waitresses have to wear a little police outfits ⁓ Justin Weakley: Eww. with it. There you go. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ All right, so let's do WTF are they talking about what are they talking? Justin Weakley: ⁓ Hmm. All right, Mr. Subtitles, how many do you have? Zach Wheeler: The one I got, when they're in the restaurant, her, and Norm are eating something and they have like, you know, kind of the local town residents coming up to them. And one of them asks her, how's her fricassi? It's like some food dish. I don't know. I had no idea what it was. It's some old English like 16th century food dish, kind of like a... Justin Weakley: Hmm. Hmm. Zach Wheeler: potatoes and meat in a stew kind of thing. Never heard of it. Justin Weakley: Hmm. Diving either. That went over my head during the movie. didn't see that or hear it. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Frikasi. The, ⁓ and then at the end of the movie too, when, this is what I loved about Maggie's character though. It's like, she just like solved a huge crime, multiple murders, and she's like more interested in her husband's like postage stamp article or whatever he wrote. But the whole three cent postage convo, what they were talking about, I have no idea. Other than just collecting stamps, I guess. I don't know, but. Justin Weakley: Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: or getting his artwork on a stamp, I don't know. It's kind of lost to me. But it was, so that was the only other one. was like, I just thought it sweet that she's like so interested in his art being on a stamp when she's like doing much more important things, which is very endearing to her character. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, absolutely. I only had really one that stuck out to me. ⁓ When the prostitutes are being interviewed, they say that Gayer looks like the Marlboro man, which obviously I know Marlboro's cigarettes, but I don't know who the Marlboro man was. I think that was probably what like a 90s. I'm assuming like an ad, but it's not the it's not the Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Mm. ⁓ really? Okay. Yeah, 80s, 70s thing. Justin Weakley: Like know the, I thought Marlboro had the camel. I feel like I remember the camel. ⁓ Joe camel. I thought that was like Marlboro. Zach Wheeler: No, that's Joe, Joe, you're talking about Joe camel. Yeah, and he was, he's not, I don't think he's Marble. Joe Camel. Yeah. No, the Marvel man, he looks like ⁓ Sam Elliott. Justin Weakley: No, because you're right, they're camels. So who? Now I feel like I need to just pull up the Marlboro Man. Zach Wheeler: It's just like a mustached guy. Justin Weakley: ⁓ wow, yeah. Also, Gayer did not look like the Marlboro Man. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ Like a cowboy, you know? Justin Weakley: But yeah, was the only thing that stuck out to me, because I was like, I've never heard that before. Zach Wheeler: Like I always kind of picture it like a modern day version would be like Sam Elliott, you know, the, the he's just, yeah, kind of cowboy guy. Justin Weakley: You know, gruff, rough person. Real man's man. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. I always love in Nashville because we're like synonymous with country music, cowboy hats and all that stuff. And like the one thing you can tell someone's like not from Nashville because they're wearing a cowboy hat. Like no Nashvillean wears them. It's like I see like the Marble Man and it just reminds me of like all the tourists with their cowboy hats on and their big like fur jackets. And they're like, look, I'm a Tennessean. And I'm like, guys, we are. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. You Zach Wheeler: If you want a real Tennessean, put on a camo hat and a cut-off t-shirt and like... You know, I'm like Budweiser's and you're fishing in the lake. That's like a real Tennessean right there. ⁓ No, we don't wear cowboy hats. We're not Texas. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, not these posers with the hats. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ yeah, so I'm good. That's all I got to you know, it's not too old of a movie. nothing's too crazy in it, but it was a Fricassee. I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna make some Fricassee. Justin Weakley: Let me know how it is. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, I'll have to get like a... Recipe off online or something off like Martha. I think Martha Stewart was so good. Look at her She got a recipe or something. All right nitpicks Let's get into it Justin Weakley: I've got several good ones. Zach Wheeler: Okay, let's start. Justin Weakley: what was the point with Margey and Mike in their subplot? What, I didn't understand what was the point of any of it. Like, so they meet, Mike calls her in the middle of the night because he sees her on TV and he's like, ⁓ I remember you Marge. Zach Wheeler: You Justin Weakley: And then they meet for dinner and drinks. He confides in her that his wife is dead and he's so lonely and he just wanted to see Margie. And then Margie finds out that Mike was lying about the whole thing. And that's it. What? Zach Wheeler: It's just some crazy guy. I don't know if this is supposed to be like... Because I think, I don't know if we're like, we're supposed to feel tension that's just not there, right? She goes and sees him like, well, what are you doing this Margie? You gonna cheat on Norm? No, she's just nice. And she's like, okay, yeah, I'll see. I'm in town. Sure. No probs. You know, kind of thing. And you see, is it supposed to demonstrate like even when she's uncomfortable, she's still going to have her Midwest niceness, I guess. I don't know. But I'm with you. It's like... Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. Maybe so. I just... Yeah. I feel like... Zach Wheeler: can be cut out of the movie. It is completely unnecessary. There's some humor in the phone call when he calls her in the middle of the night. She's like, ⁓ no, yeah, you were, you were, you ⁓ yeah, no, you were, yeah, ⁓ yeah. You know, kind of thing, but. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah, it just felt like they wanted Margie to have more to do ⁓ outside of her chasing them. And it just, I don't know, it was the most. Zach Wheeler: Sure. I agree with you, it definitely does not need to be in there. It's not a long movie, which is nice, but you could cut out five, six minutes from the movie. Justin Weakley: Yeah, just very, very bizarre. Zach Wheeler: Just the motivation of the two criminals is one of my biggest nitpicks. They're doing this for like 20 to 40 grand, which is fine. That's a lot of money if you're going to do a fake kidnapping and then give her right back, right? But they're starting to kill people and you're like, I know they asked for more money, but it's still, it's like even 80 grand. I'm like, you just murdered three people and then you go murder two more later. Justin Weakley: Mm. Zach Wheeler: when you're picking up the money, I'm like... Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. you Zach Wheeler: This is a really big commitment. would be like, this is a big commitment for not super life changing money. You know, it's like, it's a year's, it's like a year's salary, you know? So it's like, maybe you do one of these a year, but I'm like, ah, just... Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, he's... Going back to our conversation earlier about it, it gives the impression that they're hardened killers and that they're willing to do all of this for not a lot of money, which, yeah, it just, I don't know. There are certain things that don't line up, but I agree, yeah, a lot of effort for very little amount of money. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. That was my biggest like, man, this is a lot of, yeah. The other one I got, which I'm not, it might be resolved in the movie, but it's not clear in the context of it. So when Margie and the other cop like show up at the crime scene with the bodies, they're the only ones there. They're like, ⁓ yeah, it's too cold. People don't want to come out here and look at it, you know, kind of thing. And then, and they're like investigating it, you know, they're moving stuff around. There's not a lot of forensics going on, right? You know, Justin Weakley: Mm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: It's just kind of some good old fashioned, you know, true grit police work. And then they just leave. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Did the coroner show up? They didn't tape it off. There's no other police there with flares to move traffic. know there's not a lot of traffic, but I'm like, we best get out of here. We got to go talk about other things. like, this is an active crime scene. Where's the photographer? I'm like, this movie takes place in the 80s. It's not that old, right? Justin Weakley: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ Margie says that she's hungry and it's just like, okay, let's go. It just doesn't. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Zach Wheeler: No photographers, no corner, no like, no nothing. I'm like no people cleaning up the scene, you know, no fire department out there. I'm like, okay, I guess. Justin Weakley: I've got three more, so bear with me here. When Jerry lets Wade take the money to go meet Carl, ⁓ if you were Jerry at this point in the movie, you know that Carl and Gare have killed three people so far, so they are clearly unstable. Zach Wheeler: What else you get? Okay. Justin Weakley: How on earth do you not fight harder for your father-in-law to not go deliver that money? If you know that your father-in-law is walking into a situation with murderers, he doesn't know that, but you do, I just don't understand it. mean, and plus also too, if you're... Zach Wheeler: Yeah, we didn't spend a lot of time on Jerry during Worst Characters, but he's so selfish, right? Like, he can't get past, like, his own involvement in this and also, mean, Wade's a prick, but like... Justin Weakley: Yeah. He is. Like also, mean like, okay, outside of just Wade's personal safety, if you're Carl, you also have to think too, like as soon as Wade shows up, they're gonna be like, where's Carl? And like, you can't trust these guys. They're probably gonna tell Wade about your own involvement in it. Like he puts up the flimsiest of efforts to try to get Wade to not go. Of course Wade goes, but I just, yeah, I could not get over Zach Wheeler: Nah, it's not a reason Jerry's just the worst. It's the worst. Justin Weakley: Yeah, he just he barely put up a fight and Wade just walks all over him. ⁓ OK, so speaking of Wade meeting Carl, Carl's meeting point to get the ransom money was awful. don't know who if Carl picked that location. So they're on top of a parking garage in the middle of a downtown area surrounded by tons of skyscraper of these buildings. Right. And granted, it's. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Justin Weakley: at night, so at least there's that, but you're in a city area. You gotta imagine there's going to be some people who are in those buildings and granted he Zach Wheeler: No, you took my next one. Because it's mine is like, why are they always meeting garages that have attendance like manning the garage? You mean in the garage, they don't have an arm with a guy who has to take your money. Like they all there's like three or four times they go to garages with attendance that they have to give money to while they're doing their crimes. I'm like, pick a different location. There's nowhere in Fargo that doesn't have like a free place to park your car behind a warehouse or something. Justin Weakley: Yes Yeah. Yeah. I like, granted Carl thinks that he's going to meet Jerry there. He doesn't know that he's gonna meet Wade and that it's gonna turn into a shootout, but still, why would you have it on the top floor open for anybody to see your face, to see Jerry? I mean, you're just asking for witnesses at that point, but I digress. ⁓ Okay, my last. Zach Wheeler: Sure. Justin Weakley: My last nitpick. And this is probably my favorite one. Who is watching Scotty? This entire movie? Who is watching Scotty? Zach Wheeler: Okay. No, right? Like that kid, that kid, that kid's just on his own doing his thing, His sleepovers all day, baby. Justin Weakley: He is. And so they imply, they imply that Scotty, if for anybody who has not seen this movie, Scotty is Jerry and I forget Jerry's wife's name, but he's their son. We don't know how old Scotty is. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: Mrs. Midwest herself. Justin Weakley: It's implied that Scotty is young enough that I think they ground him from playing hockey or something. Or they don't allow him to participate in some sport. I'm pretty sure it's hockey. But I mean, like the actor, he was 16 at the time of filming. He looks even younger than that, in my opinion. He looks like he'd probably be like 13 maybe. I don't know. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Yeah, 14. It's definitely middle school, early high school age. Nah, he's not driving himself. Justin Weakley: Exactly. He is not a grown man. ⁓ Jean, that's his wife's name, Jean. After Jean gets kidnapped, Jerry is gone, like all the time. He is. mean, there's one scene where like Jerry comes home and Scottie's like talking about how he's scared or he's worried about his mom, whatever. But Jerry's gone a lot. And then after Jean dies, Jerry just. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Justin Weakley: he's out he's on the run like what he just leaves scotty i mean maybe there's grandparents on the other side or something but jean's dad is dead so he doesn't have a grandparent in that capacity um but yeah it was just really funny because the whole time i forgot scotty was even a character in this movie um i think until i started looking up like the cast i was like oh shit i forgot they had a son Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Hehehehehe Justin Weakley: Eww. Zach Wheeler: No, it is true. he's just we're just movie doesn't care about him. So we were not supposed to either, I guess, but. Justin Weakley: You know, Porsch Gotti. That's all I have. Those are my, those are my, uh, my nitpicks. Zach Wheeler: What's Wade's business partner's name? Justin Weakley: No, I forgot his name. ⁓ If you said it, I would recognize it, but I don't remember it off the top of my head. Zach Wheeler: Is it Stan Grossman? Is it Stan? Let's see. Larry Brandenburg is the actor who plays Stan. Justin Weakley: Could be. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, it's Stan. That's the character's name, Stan. So, Stan Grossman. So, we didn't do the sequel, but like, Stan's taken over Wade's business, right? Stan's the one like making out, he's the one that's like getting ahead in all of this. Because I'm like, Jerry's going to jail, his wife is dead, Wade is dead, all the criminals are dead or in prison, he's, you know, like... Justin Weakley: Huh. ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. I would assume so. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Zach Wheeler: It's either ⁓ Stan's getting the business and like, you know, ⁓ all the inheritance is going to Scotty. those are the two that are making out from this whole situation. There you go. Justin Weakley: Yeah. There you go. I mean, honestly, Scotty's in a way better situation. His mom was probably nice, but his dad, god. Zach Wheeler: She's almost like, I don't know, you don't spend a lot of time with her character, but she's so Midwest, she's almost a caricature. right, she's just, it's like, the accent is so thick, she's so oblivious, it's like, she's not even a real character, she's just like a plot device, right? So anyways, like the... Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: the sex workers have are more characters than then then ⁓ then gene is gene one guard lean lynde guard ⁓ now all right so anything else you have from nitpicks as all mine Justin Weakley: Yeah. No, that was all mine too. Zach Wheeler: Alright, well let's just rate this if we think this should be a classic. Justin Weakley: ⁓ you go first, because I have a tail end on mine. Unless you and me go. Zach Wheeler: Huh? Okay, mine's simple. just thought had a good time in the movie. I thought it was fun. I thought it was good. I thought it was really cinematic. There's a lot of iconic kind of still shots in the movie. I wouldn't say there's like any iconic scene, but there's a lot of good still shots. think Frances McDormand is great in the movie. Like she clearly should have won best Oscar. ⁓ I think it's really too bad there wasn't a casting category. I this movie is impeccably cast. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: I think it establishes kind of, it's not the Coen Brothers first movie, but it's probably their first big movie. Establishes them as, you know, true auteurs or whatever. So yeah, I think it's a classic. had a really fun time with it. I think honestly, maybe not the most popular opinion, I think the show was better. But ⁓ I really enjoyed the movie. Had a good time with it. Short too, which is nice. I love short movies. Justin Weakley: Yeah, I know. Well, we've watched so many that are like, ⁓ hey, this is a breezy five hours. I'm kidding. Zach Wheeler: Yeah, we're never gonna watch Florence of Arabia for this for that reason it's four and half hours get out of here I've tried ⁓ God's brutal Justin Weakley: Yeah. yeah ⁓ okay so i yeah i have thoughts on it for me short answer specifically the movie i don't put it in the classic territory like i said at the start like i said at start i did not dislike this movie i just i didn't love it it just yeah exactly i mean i was just it's fine to to me now that being said not to ever compare Zach Wheeler: Okay. I respect that. It's no good fellas, you know? Yeah. Justin Weakley: one thing to another because it's like comparing apples to oranges but I do think that this is kind of a specific scenario where there was a tv show made about it. Season one borrows so much from this movie. I mean it is not a one-to-one recreation. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. No, it's a different story, but it's got the same thing. Local town guy hires criminals to help him commit a crime, gets over his head, gets out of control kind of thing. The plot's the same, just, you know. Yeah. Justin Weakley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Exactly. It borrows heavily from it. so that's where I think that like it is worth talking about because I think this movie, we've kind of touched on it a lot. I think this movie had so much that it wanted to do that it didn't do. Whether they just didn't have the time, they didn't have the money, whatever the case was. But it's like it planted all these seeds that just never came to fruition. Zach Wheeler: Mm-hmm. Justin Weakley: I feel like the show fully capitalized on that and it fleshed out so much more and it did things in a way that felt like it paid off the way that the movie wanted it to pay off. So for me personally, the movie is not a classic, but if anybody ever asked me like, hey, I really want to watch Fargo, I would say definitively go watch season one of the show because that feels like the better. version of Fargo as a whole. ⁓ Which that's why this does not fall into classic territory for me. Now, that's probably blasphemous because I don't know, I don't like comparing two things, but when they are so similar, it just, I don't know, it feels like the better option out of the two in my opinion. But. Zach Wheeler: I agree with you full-heartedly. I think the show's better. So I do like, I liked the movie a lot. I thought it was a great time. re like, for what I, I thought the plot was okay. I think William H. Macy is okay. I think ⁓ Martin Freeman kind of in that same, like I'm a piece of trash guy who's trying, you know. Justin Weakley: It's just, the show is so good. Zach Wheeler: either murder my wife or get my wife kidnapped or extort money out of people, kind of like local North Dakota guy. ⁓ Martin Freeman was a much better version of it, I thought. ⁓ I think from the criminal perspective, Billy Bob Thorne's much more menacing in the movie. The woman who plays the cop in the show, I forget her name. She's good in it. I think Frances McDormand beats her. So if there's anything that beats the show, it's Frances McDormand. ⁓ It's Maggie. ⁓ But the show is great. So I think like this movie for Frances McDormand's performance alone is a classic. For if you want to like watch Fargo. Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: Two both, but if you can only pick one, I would agree with you. I'd recommend the show too. Justin Weakley: Yeah, it's a very, it's an interesting, it's an interesting scenario because like we talked about, I feel like there's just, there's not a whole lot of examples where there was a movie made and then they made an entire show, but it's like they expanded upon it, the original work. it really truly feels like ways that, you know, the brothers wanted to in the movie, but they just couldn't. Zach Wheeler: Yeah. Justin Weakley: Anyway, that's my thoughts. Zach Wheeler: Alright, that's it. So it's not a classic, it's a classic. Divided house this week, you know? Justin Weakley: Yeah, but I think we both agree if you have not seen the show you need to watch the watch watch both but yeah Zach Wheeler: The show is incredible. It's so good. Yeah, it was so it was just it's it's an easy breezy like five or six episodes I think and ⁓ It's got all the same cold existential dread of Fargo that this movie has Just I think with a much better and much better antagonists Justin Weakley: Mm. Zach Wheeler: if both of those characters are called that. And the protagonist, the cop in that movie, I forget the actress's name, but she is, ⁓ she's good in it. It's not like she's bad, right, in the show. ⁓ Just, you you're comparing her to an Oscar winning performance by Francis McDormand, which is, ⁓ you know, maybe not fair, but anyways, yeah, show's good, movie's good, classic, not a classic, it's up to you, but. ⁓ Justin Weakley: Mm-hmm. Zach Wheeler: go watch the show. So. All right. Well, I think that takes us to the end of the episode. Let's have any other thoughts. All right. Well, everyone, thank you for listening. If you want to email us, we do have an email account. It's popcorn and pals at gmail.com. You can tell us. Justin Weakley: No, no. Zach Wheeler: You know, your thoughts on Fargo or maybe what movies we should watch in the future. You can complain about the way I say the word like every other sentence. I'm working on it guys, I promise. I'm trying, I'm trying to get better, you know. Justin Weakley: You do it really good. Zach Wheeler: And then we also have a YouTube channel and it's just got our podcast on there with some shorts to help promote the podcast us But if you want to check us out there, that's really appreciated and in the meantime everyone thank you so much for listening and Keep popping that popcorn Maybe I'm trying to stop it. Justin Weakley: Damn it, Zachary. Zach Wheeler: It's frat- it's not here. Justin Weakley: ⁓ no. Zach Wheeler: I don't know what it's doing. Stop recording. Justin Weakley: Will they get like messed up if we just leave? Zach Wheeler: It says it's trying to reconnect the internet here to make sure that you're stable internet connection. Let me just, let me let it do its thing for a minute. Justin Weakley: Hmm. Have you started reading book eight, Zachary? Zach Wheeler: I'm still on 6. Justin Weakley: ⁓ my god, you nerd. I tell ya, I think that's about the only thing that got me through last week. Zach Wheeler: ⁓ yeah. Justin Weakley: I'm almost done with it. I'm... yeah. Zach Wheeler: Hey, hold on one second. I'm gonna end the session for all.