Wednesday, April 26, 2017

F This Movie! 383 - You've Got Mail

Margo Donohue of the Book vs. Movie Podcast returns so she and Patrick can make typing faces.



Download this episode here. (41.2 MB)

Subscribe to F This Movie! in iTunes.

Listen to F This Movie! on Stitcher.

Also discussed this episode: Christine (2016), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), Mildred Pierce (1945), Bone Tomahawk (2015), The Doors (1991), Jackie (2016), Soaked in Bleach (2015), Arrival (2016), Life After Manson (2014), Scent of a Woman (1992), Romeo is Bleeding (1993), A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Find more Margo Donohue online:
Book vs. Movie Podcast / @bookversusmovie
Brooklyn Fit ChickFit Bottomed Girls Podcast / @brooklynfitchik
The Best Neighbors Podcast / @bestneighbors

49 comments:

  1. Every time she's on it's like a version of shitting on the (kind of) classics and I get bummed out.

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    1. We're all grown ups. We can listen to conflicting opinions. I think Margo is a great guest. I love You've Got Mail. There's no reason to be bummed out.

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    2. Yeah, I mean, a little validation can be nice but I live for conflicting opinions - especially when it comes to art. If I'm really firmly in love with something I find it hilarious when someone shits all over it. If my opinion is more tenuous sometimes a differing opinion can change my mind which is also great. No need to get bummed out!

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    3. The only thing out of line in this podcast, I think, was all the hate for Dreams by the Cranberries. That song is awesome and everyone is wrong for not liking it.

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    4. I like that song too. Perfect music for nature preserve walks.

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    5. I'm not opposed to aversion - rather just pointing out a pattern. Just with 3 times in a row it got to be a little bumming here.

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    6. Obviously you're entitled to how you feel about these shows, but I don't think it's fair to characterize Margo's appearances as just shitting on things. We always point out a lot of positives. We do it on this episode. We just also point out some of the things that are kind of fucked up about some comedies that we previously took at face value. I get it if you're not into it, but I just want to be fair to our guest.

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    7. I do want to hear you two on Larry Crowne though. Scooter gangs!

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    8. Yeah but it's Ben's birthday and all he wanted to do was hear this podcast about his favorite movie.

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    9. I mean I still love you all, and I should quote:

      "The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something."

      :)

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    10. Yes! One of the movie's many good lines. See? POSITIVE! We love you too.

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  2. Aw Ben--I don't mean to bum you out. Next time I am on I will heap praise on a very praise-worthy film. Sending you a hug to cheer you up!

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    1. Darn typo... I meant to say:
      Margo is a joy, this episode had me laughing out loud!

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  4. Finally, a movie I can get the fiance to watch with me haha. I'll have to squeeze this in on Friday night before I listen to the show. Looking forward to it.

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  5. You guys, Ian Malcolm, one of all literature's great characters, is coming back in his perfect avatar of the Goldblum and I am BEYOND EXCITED. This is a day for international celebration and goodwill to humans! Who's with me?!
    #2Jurassic2World

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    1. You bastard! You vicious, hearless bastard! We lost Jonathan Demme today.

      'Sides, Ian Malcolm —SPOILERS— dies in Jurassic Park the book.

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    2. ^ And promptly and casually un-dies in The Lost World the book. I can do Ian Malcolm facts all day, bro. ;)

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    3. So he does. I erased that book from my memory, or thought I had, on account of its sheer awfulness. It's Crighton's equivalent of Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs sequel Hannibal Rising as far as I'm concerned.

      The movie adaptation of "Lambs" (a game my little boy Eric loves to play with his toys in the basement, incidentally; he's so sweet) was directed by Jonathan Demme, as you might remember. My "hearless bastard" remark stands.

      That's right: hearless!

      It's "broette", by the way.

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    4. ^ Apologies! I heard the Ian Malcolm news last night, was delighted, and woke up happy. Still am. Not sorry about that. ;)

      And Crichton's The Lost World is not a bad book at all! I like how low-key it is compared to the movie's much more bombastic story.

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    5. You don't have to apologise. I was just messin'. 150,000 people die every day; if we wallowed in misery over every one of these deaths, nothing would ever get done. Jonathan Demme lived and died. So did Shakespeare, so did Adolf Hitler.

      We'll have to agree to disagree about The Lost World. These things are subjective, anyway. I thought it was hastily written crap with little of the science that made the first one interesting. Plus, there was already a book about dinosaurs with this title, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I imagine the atmosphere in Heaven becomes a little frosty whenever these gentlemen arrive at the same cloud party.

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    6. Oh, I'm a big fan of Doyle's Lost World, and I agree Crichton should have modified the title, like the movie did. But I appreciated how he explained that Isla Sorna/Site B was the factory floor island, and Isla Nublar only the showroom. That made total sense to me.

      And while I'm not a religious guy, I'm not at all sure Crichton would be going on the Up escalator even if there were one. :P

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    7. I'm too stingy to donate to that site and too lazy to disable my ad blocker, El. I might turn it off tomorrow to read your post.

      I haven't read Crichton's The Lost World — do you know, I think we may be a little off-topic here — since it came out. I'm almost tempted to give it a revisit because of your recommendation. Damn my susceptibility to advertising. I seem to recall being irritated by the shoehorning in of a couple of children. I know there was only one in the film, but in my memory of the book there were two, and it felt like a plagiarisation of the 1990 classic.

      Was Crichton an arse? Is that why he wouldn't be welcomed into the warm, glowing, warming glow of Jesus's bosom? Conan Doyle rejected his religious faith, although embarrassingly he continued to believe in all sorts of nonsense up until his death. Okay, then, the parties they attend in Hell will be frosty. Hang on, the combination of the extreme heat down there and the rime... it's gon' be like a sauna at those shindigs. I love saunas. Sign me up, baby! I'm going to eat nothing but bacon and shellfish from now on just so I'm ensured a ticket to perdition.

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  6. Have any of you guys seen The Devil and Miss Jones from 1941? It stars Charles Coburn, who won an Oscar for his performance as a cantankerous businessman who goes undercover at a department store he owns in order to bust nascent attempts to unionise and starts to become a person when he meets Jean Arthur. It's really good, and tangentially related to You've Got Mail, I guess.

    Regarding the movie trope of dogs interrupting amorous activity, sometimes these animals can bring a couple together, as one does in Spanking the Monkey. Now, that is a sweet romantic comedy about a star-crossed pair of lovers whose charming relationship is threatened by the forces of political correctness.

    All the hate for a song, Brian Crager? What about traducing the 852,000 denizens of San Francisco? Yes, they apparently like to inspire their own flatus, but still. I don't imagine Margo will be getting the key to the Golden City anytime soon.

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    1. *Brian Sager.

      Sorry, Brian.

      I've always been a Nintendo fan.

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    2. The 49ers play in San Francisco, so I'm on board with it. Let them all sink into the Bay.

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    3. Technically they play in Santa Clara.

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    4. Get rid of Santa Clara too. Let's take Sacremento also, just to be safe.

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  7. Mr Bromley, i love how you said Bon Mots. which was totally wrong, but still cute.

    it's a french expression, the literal translation is Good Words.

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    1. I listened to this cast a couple of hours ago and do not recall Patrick saying this.

      If the pronunciation is what you're talking about, well, we English speakers do not say "Paree".

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    2. You're talking to someone with a whole four years of high school French here, kunider. I promise I mispronounced the expression on purpose.

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    3. Mr. Bromley, gotcha.

      I am french-canadian, so, you know, when i hear americans butchering french words, i'm not always sure if they're kidding or not.

      Do The Burbs next

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    4. I for sure would have butchered it had I pronounced it correctly, which is why I bailed and went for the joke pronunciation. I am a coward.

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    5. Whoa. I would be so excited if you guys talked The 'Burbs! If you do, you gotta bring back Heath Holland for it!

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    6. Hey, if Canada can survive Elric Kane's pronunciation of Denis Villeneuve, I'm sure we'll get through this.

      Rewatched The Burbs about a month ago and it totally holds up (and begs the question - why didn't America fall in love with Rick Ducommun - not fat enough?) - I'd love to hear a podcast on that!

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    7. Hey, some of us have big appreciation for Rick Ducommun. haha

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  8. Did you know that there are ways of making an ordinary kiss, thrilling and exciting? Would you like to know the secrets of the perfect kiss, so you can keep him coming back for more? Did you know that a kiss can be more than a kiss depending on the circumstances and the surroundings? What makes a kiss perfect has been debated and tested repeatedly. Only one thing is certain; How To Kiss A Man To Make Him Fall In Love Review when it comes to the perfect kiss, practice is what makes it perfect between a man and a woman.

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    1. I feel like you're trying to rickroll us. Plus, my kiss game is on point.

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  9. This was my first Margo co-hosted podcast and she is - to use a word I normally reserve for when I'm antiquing in Vermont - delightful! The last time I watched You've Got Mail was almost certainly on VHS so I don't remember it well enough to contribute to the discussion but I'm sure your criticism is well-deserved - I may have to check it out again soon, if only as a curiousity from a bygone era.

    Very fun listen - thanks!

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  10. What a great discussion! I personally really enjoy this movie, and I liked hearing Patrick's defenses here. I think a lot of Margo's criticisms were a little unfair, but hey I enjoy hearing different points of view. Always happy to hear her on the show! However, 'The Shop Around the Corner' is definitely better.

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    1. Also Patrick, when you were talking about New York I couldn't help but think about the line in They Came Together, "Are saying New York was like another character in your story??"

      Such gold.

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    2. Thank you so much! I love doing this show!

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  11. Okay, now that everyone is over this thread and no one will look at this, I thought this was a fantastic podcast and I loved listening to Patrick and Margo talk about one of my top 5 least favorite movies of all time and still the only movie that I walked out of the theater on :) I mean it though, it's more rewarding most of the time to hear others thoughts about a movie I don't like than to simply share the love. Always looking for new perspectives.

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  12. Just to comment on a couple of things Patrick said. I think What's Eating Gilbert Grape deals with the whole boxstore putting mom&pop shops out of business a little bit with the whole Super Grocery store moving into a small town sub-plot. Also, with Patrick's contempt for people in movies commenting on how awesome it is to be in New York city; I'm from Toronto, how do you think I feel when they say how much New York is awesome, they're usually saying it while being filmed on a Toronto street masquerading as NYC.

    Food for thought. Love the show.

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  13. I loved this episode. You two broke down this movie perfectly. I got to share this movie with my fiance and we were shocked by the last half hour. It's just something that wouldn't fly today, but somehow it worked for audiences back then. I love how you guys ripped the soundtrack and I wanted to add my own little story.

    My fiance and I were in the car the other day and I was telling her how I've been listening to this Stevie Wonder hits collection. I played her a few songs and I mentioned how I was amazed how many of his songs that I knew, but didn't know that it was him before. I've heard so many of his songs on movie soundtracks especially. I put on 'Signed Sealed Delivered' and she really didn't know it, which I couldn't believe, and I said to her, 'this song is in like every romantic comedy ever made', just as a joke, ya know. Fast forward to last night and we're watching 'You've Got Mail' and sure enough, 'Signed Sealed Delievered' is in there! It was the first time I'd ever watched this one, I had no idea, and it was a really funny moment for us.

    Anyways, we thought the movie was pretty outdated, yet found enjoyment in it nonetheless. There is no doubt it is flawed and Meg Ryan's character is underdeveloped, but it's serviceable...what am I saying? It's Tom Hanks...yup, Tom Hanks got me through it. He's just too damn likable. Looking forward to the next Margo show for sure!

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  14. Regarding Joe Foxx maintaining the duel identity ruse with Kathleen Kelly after he finds out she's Shopgirl, I think there is logic behind it. First, by the time the movie gets to the point where both characters dislike each other offline, before they arrange their first NY152/Shopgirl face-to-face meeting, that meeting is likely to be a disaster, more so from the perspective of Kathleen than Joe. It's Kathleen's business which is about to be squashed by Joe's business. That doesn't make Joe a villain. This is just normal marketplace competition. But Kathleen's feelings toward Joe while this is happening are understandable. To find out in that meeting that Joe is NY152 would probably be crushing to Kathleen, whereas Joe is merely rattled. Once Joe resolves that he is in fact interested in Kathleen, after her business has gone under, his NY152 alter-ego is of no positive use to him in developing a relationship with Kathleen, until he knows that Kathleen actually really likes Joe Foxx. If Joe just outed himself as NY152 to Kathleen, while she still disliked him, she'd see this act an attempt on Joe's part to convince her that she should like him, simply because she likes NY152, and he is NY152. And this would be perceived by her as a selfish disregard for what she's gone through with her business. That said, the end of the movie presents the awkward inevitability that Kathleen will realize that Joe has known she's Shopgirl since that initial planned meeting (presumably weeks prior), when Joe pretended to have just run into Kathleen by happenstance, and did not reveal to Kathleen that he was NY152.

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