Show Rundown: In this week’s episode, Juan Uriarte from the Instant Ramen podcast joins us to talk about “Car 3” and the Pixar’s film track record. Is “Cars 3” a hit like “Inside Out,” or is it more of a “Cars 2?” We talk about that. In our second segment. we review the first big comedy of the summer, “Rough Night,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Kate McKinnon. And finally we end our show with what we’re dorking out about this week. We’ve got a lot to talk about, so let’s get this podcast started.
Topic 1: Cars 3 and the Decline of Pixar
Chris' Intro: In my movie going life, I have witnessed three game-changing developments in film which tower above all others. The first was Star Wars in 1977, which lead to the corporatization of blockbusters which reverberates to this day. Another is the release of Iron Man and the idea a movie can not just live on its own, but a series of different movies can create a greater whole than the sum of its parts. But in between these two events was another, no less magical arrival. It was the 1995 release of Toy Story by Pixar, and the revelation to the world the Pixar Animation Studios has been. From the first Toy Story, Pixar’s ability to create delightful, wondrous, endearing and often meaningful was something unseen in Hollywood since Walt Disney first revealed Mickey Mouse to the world.
Let’s just consider this run. 1995 saw Toy Story. Next was Bug’s Life, then Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall E, Up, and Toy Story 3.
But everything beautiful that begins has some end. While Pixar seemed to have invented a system to pump out classic after classic, with the arrival of Cars 3, to say nothing of The Good Dinosaur or Monsters University or Cars 2 or, or, or… it’s apparent the glory days of Pixar are over.
So we have come to talk about Cars 3, praise Pixar, and discuss what this studio means to us, and how it might regain its glory.
Topic 2: Rough Night Review
Sonia's Intro: “Rough Night,” starring Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz, Ilana Glazer and Jillian Bell, is the first of two comedies this summer about a bunch of women going on a trip and going wild. “Girls Trip,” starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah, comes out in July.
“Rough Night” is about a group of college friends are reunited for a bachelorette party. But it’s not all drinking and silly bachelorette party games when they accidentally kill a stripper. It mixes body shots with a dead body. It’s like 1998’s “Very Bad Things” but it’s not nearly dark. “Rough Night” is way goofier than that. I went with my sister and one of my best friends. We are the target audience for this movie, and we were disappointed. It just wasn’t funny enough.
I don’t want to say that women want certain kinds of movies and men want certain kinds of movies, but after this movie we all thought the same thing, which was we wanted to see this movie without the accidental murder of a stripper. That part of comedy just didn’t work for us. But we really enjoyed the beginning of the movie with all the friends getting together, joking and drinking and being ridiculous. We enjoyed the part about college friends getting together as adults and trying to party like they used to. The murder plot line just didn’t work for us.
“Rough Night” only earned $8 million this past weekend, which is far below expectations. I think part of the reason this movie didn’t connect with the audience that made “Bad Moms” a sleeper box office hit last year is that stripper movie plot. I think the target audience for “Rough Night” isn’t interested in a goofy comedy about women accidentally killing a stripper. Of course, I can’t speak for all women. That’s just what we thought. Smith, what did you think of “Rough Night?”
What We’re Dorking Out About This Week:
Joel Schumacher Apologizes For ‘Batman & Robin’
The Official Reason for Star Trek Discovery’s Delay: ‘World building is hard’
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-official-reason-for-star-trek-discoverys-many-dela-1796237580
Dorking Out's 40th Anniversary Show
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