Apex Mountain on The Rewatchables
49:14 – 52:01… and I videotaped. I'm going to show you later. And then finally, a James Earl Jones cameo. Oh, what a great scene. During like peak James Earl Jones. I mean, Apex Mountain of James Earl Jones. Field of Dreams, Sandlot, this movie. Like he would pop up. It was like fucking being handed a hot fudge sundae. Two of our. It's like, oh, thank you. Two of our ringer pals are like the perfect example of what I was talking about at the beginning about what this movie can be. Because when I told Van that we were, I was like, oh, I'm doing rewatchable tomorrow. And he's like, what are you doing? Van's jealous. And I was …
The whole segment, as transcribed
I have a very short rewatchable scene that I'm going to talk about later now for this that's just for me that I was fascinated by and I videotaped. I'm going to show you later. And then finally, a James Earl Jones cameo. Oh, what a great scene. During like peak James Earl Jones. I mean, Apex Mountain of James Earl Jones. Field of Dreams, Sandlot, this movie. Like he would pop up. It was like fucking being handed a hot fudge sundae. Two of our. It's like, oh, thank you. Two of our ringer pals are like the perfect example of what I was talking about at the beginning about what this movie can be. Because when I told Van that we were, I was like, oh, I'm doing rewatchable tomorrow. And he's like, what are you doing? Van's jealous. And I was like, sneakers. He, he gasped. Yeah. He was so excited. Right. And, um, but Rob, our pal Rob Mahoney had not seen sneakers. He went to go see it in rep last week for the first time. He had never seen it because he was like, Joanna's obsessed with this. I'm going to go see it. It's in rep. Um, you bullied everybody. You're just bullying ringer staffers left and right. What I do best. And he's like, it played so well. He was like the way the crowd lost it when James Earl Jones showed up at the end of this movie. I was like, yeah, it's such a good movie. I feel every, every time I watch it, Bill, it's like, all right, the crazy heist that happened. They get back. Now let's just roll the credits. And then it's like glass breaks. Oh shit. It's James Earl Jones music. What is he doing here? And he comes in like firing. He's doing like, when Bish is like, come on one day. He goes, no, he sounds like Darth Vader. He's so good. Yeah. I'm trying to think who is James Earl Jones now? Like who could just pop into a movie out of nowhere with eight minutes left. And you're just like, oh my God, this guy. I didn't even think that person. Well, I hate to say like another like old black guy, but Morgan Freeman has the voice and everybody loves them. And like, there's some of that going on a little bit, but it's not like James Earl Jones. Yeah. There was like, it's funny. Cause I just watched Field of Dreams again recently. I don't know if it was like the 85th time or the 70th time or whatever, but I just love him so much in that movie. It's one of my favorite performances. He's just so great. He's so happy. Yeah. As soon as he's on the trip. He can be so intimidating too. Right. When, when he turns the van around and he's standing there and he goes, moonlight Graham. Oh shit, I just pissed myself. So in that scene, in the, in the loft at the end of it, when he's just like, I'm going to be sick. I like, it's, it makes me so intimidating. It's like, he's my, my grandfather. And I'm like, I did something wrong. He's so great. That scene is so good. The requests are really funny. Winnebago. Ackroyd wants a Winnebago with burgundy interior. That's great. Sid wants to take his wife to Europe. And Tahiti. And Tahiti. And Tahiti. Yeah. I'm Carl. I'm married. River Phoenix just wants a phone number from the kind of sneaky hot F by. FBI, whatever she was. And then, uh, Whistler wants peace on earth and goodwill toward men. And then James Earl Jones says, none of this happened.
55:42 – 58:30… dating. It's computer dating. Right. He's a computer. Which is a very different. But this was computer dating heyday for movies. Yep. It could possibly Apex Mountain because Singles has a whole plot around it. Sure. And then See a Love with Pacino. They do the phone service dating thing. Yeah. Now, this is why Craig didn't resonate with this movie. He didn't understand the dating. Zuckerberg saw this and was like, I'm going to come up with Facebook. Yeah. I got to come up with better. Yeah. I actually have a, I have that in What's Age the Worst. When Ben Kingsley's, when Cosmo says a computer matched …
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Now would you be manipulating what? What would it be now, Craig? Tinder? Yeah. You could still use the dating service. Bumble or Hinge or something? Sure. Bumble. Yeah, it'd be Bumble. And it's not even internet dating. It's computer dating. Right. He's a computer. Which is a very different. But this was computer dating heyday for movies. Yep. It could possibly Apex Mountain because Singles has a whole plot around it. Sure. And then See a Love with Pacino. They do the phone service dating thing. Yeah. Now, this is why Craig didn't resonate with this movie. He didn't understand the dating. Zuckerberg saw this and was like, I'm going to come up with Facebook. Yeah. I got to come up with better. Yeah. I actually have a, I have that in What's Age the Worst. When Ben Kingsley's, when Cosmo says a computer matched him with her, I don't think so. I'm like, actually, bad matches happen all the time. Right. Dating. That's why he's Sir Ben Kingsley. Yeah. He lives above. He doesn't need to use a dating service. Most 1992 thing, hiding something in an answering machine? Mm. I mean, I had a major plot point about an answering machine. Another one about a car phone. But my answer was, in the actual Siskel and Ebert episode, where they did the TV show on this, Gene Siskel introduces the movie by saying, starring Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, and Timothy Busfield from 30-something. Like, holy shit. Wow. He jumped over Dan Aykroyd, who was in Ghostbusters, and Mary McDonald's, and Dancing with Wolves. And the producer's like, no, Gene, trust me, 30-something's big. You got to make sure you get Busfield in there. That's stunning. You got to stump for Busfield. I had one more. The movie ends with a national news report announcing the sudden bankruptcy of the Republican National Committee. Yep. And that simultaneous large donations were made to Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the United Negro College Fund. It just felt very 92 to me. Yeah. That they picked those charities. Yes. And then we had a national news thing. What's age the best? Mm-hmm. All the Republican barbs are pretty interesting in the 2025 context. Like, pure sucker punches right to the bridge of the nose. And I don't remember there being any conversation about it. Like, now there'd be picketing, and there'd be James Woods tweets, and everyone would lose their minds. Yeah. Like, that's... I don't know where. It is funny, because this movie comes out right as everybody was really turning on the Republicans in 92, and Clinton was rising, and the election's about to happen, and it's... There's that George H.W. Bush dig, right? Where, like, the homeless man's like, they're taking my home, and he's like, ask him, and he points to a Bush poster. Yeah. I'm telling you, in college, it happened fast. Yeah? It was going great for Bush, and then all of a sudden, people are like, he's out. Clinton's in. We're like, okay. The guy doesn't like one stem of broccoli, and it's all over. What do you have for what's age the best, Joanna? I would say information age paranoia, and emotionally stunted men in Silicon Valley trying to run or ruin the world. Mm-hmm.
92:52 – 96:43… were like, your wife can meet Robert Redford if you do this favor for us. It's great. It's a great trick to have. We'll take one more break and then we'll do Apex Mountain. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. Want to be as confident behind the wheel as I am about a movie nobody else will admit as a top five all-timer? Get the Mazda CX-50 hybrid. It comes standard with a suite of proactive safety features and lets you explore far and wide. With an EPA estimated 38 miles per gallon combined in electronic all-wheel drive. Mazda, move and be moved. Visit MazdaUSA.com. Discover how confidence comes standard. …
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And it reminded me of, I don't remember if you guys said this on the Tin Cup rewatchables, but it reminds me of the story of like how they got all the golf, the actual golf guys in Tin Cup. Is that they just trotted Costner and Don Johnson around to all of their wives. Oh, yeah, yeah. That is true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this is what they were like, your wife can meet Robert Redford if you do this favor for us. It's great. It's a great trick to have. We'll take one more break and then we'll do Apex Mountain. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. Want to be as confident behind the wheel as I am about a movie nobody else will admit as a top five all-timer? Get the Mazda CX-50 hybrid. It comes standard with a suite of proactive safety features and lets you explore far and wide. With an EPA estimated 38 miles per gallon combined in electronic all-wheel drive. Mazda, move and be moved. Visit MazdaUSA.com. Discover how confidence comes standard. Mileage will vary based on vehicle condition, driving habits, and other factors used for comparison purposes only. Actual results will vary. Apex Mountain, Redford, obviously not. No. It's probably not for River Phoenix, but what is River Phoenix's Apex Mountain? Stand By Me? Or My Own Private Idaho? Idaho. Running on empty? I would say Idaho. Yeah. Sidney Poitier. No way. 1967. Great in the movie though. Absolutely killing it. Actually one of the best Apex Mountain years anyone ever had. 67. Yeah? Won the Oscar. He had like two of the biggest movies. Like he was just… Killing it. Yeah, crushing it. Act right now. Weird Ben Kingsley performances. Act species. I still think species, right? Species. He's fucking nuts in species. But that movie is… He tries to lock Madsen and Mark Elkeberger in the glass case. Keep them in there. Murder them. This movie is about guys who sneak around in the banks. That movie is about a woman's tongue goes through the back of somebody's head. Like it's got to be that. I saw that on HBO way too young and I just… It changed me forever. It's one of the classics. Walking one inch per hour to evade security sensors. Sure. This has to be it, right? Sure. And yes. Scrabble tiles? Yes. The name Cosmo in a piece of pop culture? I'm going to still say Seinfeld. Got to be Seinfeld. Although there was a Cosmo renaissance here in the early 90s. Yeah. Geese sounding like a cocktail party. They stole that from it. Unparalleled. That's in a different movie as well. They took that from a different movie. Okay. But I love it. I did not write it down. Mary McDonough characters. Half-ass internet research for you. But would you watch it? Would you do a double feature of Geese sounding like cocktail party? Yeah. I need to be covered on all things sleeper. So yes. Absolutely. I'll text it to you later. All right. Please. Mary McDonough characters being seduced by old flames. Probably this over blue chips. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Mary McDonough now at Stance with the Wolves. How about Braille Playboy? Seen Braille Playboy? Oh, Braille Playboy. Awesome. In a movie before? That's how we were back then, Bill. I would have looked at a Braille Playboy just to get my hands up. I don't even know what it means. These are the pictures. Whoa. Whoa. This is great. This feels like one. And then helium voice jokes. The answer is no, but this movie reminded me how much helium voice humor is just going to get me every time. It's key to the 90s. What is it about helium voices? It's like the whoopee cushion of performance art. It really is. It's the stupidest, dumbest gag, but it's always funny. Craig, it still plays in 2025, right? 100%. I've done it many times. That's eternal. It's fun to do. It is. It's great. Transcends generations. I don't know. Is it, how bad is it for you? I think it's horrible. Is it terrible or is it okay? I think that's why Kanye went crazy. Is it like whippets? Craig, how often are you doing it? It's like whippets. It's just mini, it's a mini whippet. Yeah. I don't know. I've probably done it five times in my life. I think it'll be okay. That's what happened to Kanye. He did too many helium balloons. Too many helium hits. Cruise or Hanks? This is Hanks.
99:42 – 102:30… I'm going to start doing that. I love that. At least you're not doing it hoping the sounds of the lambs cop isn't bleeding to death over the elevator. What's Apex Mountain for ceiling vent climbing? And is it the scene in Jurassic Park when Lex falls to the ceiling and it's clearly her stunt double and she looks up and they've like CGI replaced her face with a little girl's face. But she's got the guns of a... The mad guns of a... Ceiling vent falls all time. Yeah. Well, I mean, I just think ceiling vent, I think just come out to the coast. Yeah. Have a few left. Great point. I think it's got to be that. …
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I always do that. Every elevator? I do it all the time. You do vent checks? I do. You check your escape routes? Could I McLean this thing if I had to? I'm going to start doing that. I love that. At least you're not doing it hoping the sounds of the lambs cop isn't bleeding to death over the elevator. What's Apex Mountain for ceiling vent climbing? And is it the scene in Jurassic Park when Lex falls to the ceiling and it's clearly her stunt double and she looks up and they've like CGI replaced her face with a little girl's face. But she's got the guns of a... The mad guns of a... Ceiling vent falls all time. Yeah. Well, I mean, I just think ceiling vent, I think just come out to the coast. Yeah. Have a few left. Great point. I think it's got to be that. McLean. Oh, I'm a jump. Yeah, I think that's fair. Fair. Marty never tried to find Cosmo ever. Never tried to make sure he was dead. Just never gave it up. Oh, he must be dead in prison. Okay. If you heard somebody died in prison, would your first thought be maybe he didn't? Was he friends with Cosmo's parents? Did he check in? Did he... No, he's underground. He's on the run. Cosmo's accent. We discussed. Disaster. Why did Cosmo... Why did he want the black box this badly? Because the government can't have it. If the government has it, then he can't do what he wants to do, which is steal everyone's money, question mark? What's his plan? That's my thing. That's where I'm getting. What's his plan? What's his plan? I don't know. Just to disrupt? Or did he want to be rich? Because then he says, I don't want anyone to be rich. I think he just wants to take the money and distribute it evenly among everybody, which is insane. It doesn't make sense. So he cares about all people, but is also threatening people and shooting them and telling people to be murdered? You can't say, I want a socialist communist utopia and have mini sharks in a tank in your office. Yeah. You can't wear loafers that are too expensive to run in. I don't understand the character at all. Yeah. He's evil, but he's not evil. Yeah. But he's thinking about everybody else. Yeah. But then he's murdering his best friend. What's going on with Cosmo? Yeah. What he should do is spend the money on a treadmill and a trainer so he can learn how to run. Right. But that's... Or loafers that have better grip. Yeah. Yeah. Let's get him some new balance. You just scuff up the bottoms of those loafers. My last pick and knit is Redford and Mary McDonnell have the exact same haircut and it's disorienting if you really study it. It's very feathered. It's the exact same. It's very feathered. In fact, they could have switched hair during the movie and you wouldn't have even noticed. This is two years after Demi Moore's haircut in Ghost and it was showing up everywhere. It was a very, very hot haircut. It's very flowy. We've seen it. It was in vogue. I'm not surprised that it shows up in this movie.
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