Hanksgiving, Vol. 3: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

0:00 Hey, everybody. Welcome into the film and whiskey podcast. I'm Bob book, I'm Reggie, and we're coming at you today with another special bonus episode. It's hanksgiving. It's Thanksgiving, it's hanksgiving. It sure is. And I love that you that you used A Christmas, Carol fernet bad I guess there aren't any Thanksgiving songs are there. Yeah. Yeah. As I said there's like three Halloween songs and yet somehow people try to convince To themselves that they can have like, a whole Halloween playlist, there's no things going songs. Although some of the Christmas songs I believe Jingle Bells, I could be wrong there.

0:42 That's like the deep in the recesses of my mind is actually, was originally a Thanksgiving song. So, interesting side. I know that some Christmas carols. Originally were like, Thanksgiving songs, but but now there's not really any in the modern understanding of the word. Well, in any case we are celebrating Thanksgiving. So, first of all, filmin, whiskey Nation. Happy Thanksgiving to you. We're glad that you chose to join us today as we continue a series that we started. I think this is the third year. Now, Brad, we're on Thanksgiving. We watch a Tom Hanks movie and we call it hanksgiving. I'm freaking pumped. Hanksgiving was the best idea we've ever had Brad easily. We're going to keep doing this until we get Tom on the podcast for a Thanksgiving episode. Oh my gosh.

1:26 Did you ever there's a whole podcast about that if you seen this Cast. It's like oh it was a guy I can't remember what the podcast was called but it was a guy that was like Tom Hanks rejected me or something and it was all about like how he read for a part or something and then didn't get the part and it like screwed with his psyche for forever and it was like a joke and he started it with just him and his friends and then it took off and then eventually Tom Hanks came on the on the podcast and that was like the last episode was like him. Recounting this with Tom Hanks. All right, we're going to hit the rebranding room immediately. Following this episode Bob that's like we're only gearing this podcast towards Tom Hanks movies? No yeah I'll if we're gonna go after a Tom that I think I hate to say it. I really want to get Tom Cruise podcast. I never and I never knew the extent of your love for Tom Cruise until lately like you have mentioned him on every episode of this podcast for probably the last four months. You know.

2:25 I think that my fandom for him has grown over the years. But as I've gotten older and honestly, as we've done this podcast and watching more and more films than more, I'm just like damn it. If I don't love me some, Tom Cruise, we're not here to talk, it's not Cruz giving, man, it's hanksgiving. Should we should we do bonus episodes called Cruz miss Christmas? Yes, that's alright. We're coming at you next month on Christmas Eve cruise missile, Eve. Tom Cruise - all right. So Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. We're in part 3 of hanksgiving and we decided to watch a very recent movie in the Tom Hanks, Louvre. I asked Brad what he wanted to do. I think we were kicking around the idea of that thing you do and Brad said, no, I want to watch a beautiful day in the neighborhood, which is his 2019.

3:19 Mr. Rogers biopic. And I said, absolutely because, you know, I watched it in the theater and I loved it. I watched it at least a couple times at home with my wife and we both really like it. It's Been probably a year year and a half since I've watched it last and Brad, I remember liking this movie, but not totally being on board with some of the more artistic flourishes of the movie and thinking like, you know, it's probably like a 77 and a half out of ten. It was a good movie but not as good certainly, as that Mister Rogers, documentary that came out a couple years ago and I got us a man watching it back this time, I'm growing to appreciate this movie more and more, the more frequently I watch it.

3:59 I think this is Really great movie. I think it was slept on, I think a lot of people evaluated it probably the way I did the first time around, but it really holds up to repeat viewings. And I'm a much bigger fan now than I was three years ago when it came out Bob. I've drank just enough whiskey and the whiskey were drinking tonight is wildly high-proof so I've had enough of this whiskey to become pedantic and say that you've ra-ra refers to the works of AR. Artist painter composer or author but not that of an actor. So I think you need to take it back. Sure.

4:39 The Tom Hanks catalog the Tom Hanks filmography. Hey those are great words. Bob the threat was a great. I appreciate the diction. Thank you very much. Thank you. We urge. All right. So yeah yeah, talk about the movie man. I remember watching this with some Hands that like Haley. And I are really close to, and like, the scene when Tom just makes him stop for. I'm pretty sure an actual. Yeah. It's a full moon literal, 60 seconds. Which I love when movies are, like, we only have 30 seconds to save the planet and then, like, four minutes later in movie time that like they saved the planet. But in this case, they actually take a literal Sixty seconds to examine like, think about the people who have made us who we are who loved us into becoming who we are and Tom Hanks just looks directly into my soul.

5:43 Yeah, and I look around and everybody's just kind of like silently shoulders shaking sobbing including myself and I'm just like oh this might be like a top, ten like single Movie scene for me that I've ever seen. I, one of the things I love about this movie and Brad. If you don't mind, I think we should just really just jump right into talking about the movie and what we loved about it because these episodes are not usually as long as the full film in whiskey episodes. What whiskey are we going to drink today, Bob? Okay, yeah, you teased it but we haven't talked about it. All right, so these are from Two Souls Spirits, which is a new I guess what they call themselves.

6:27 Is a bottler. Of craft whiskey so they select barrels. They bottle it under their label and then they release it. There's a few Brands doing this right now. Two Souls is a new one based out of Gainesville Florida and their first two products are a four-year bourbon that comes from Watershed distillery in. Oh yeah, let's go and an eight-year ride from Yahara Bay distillers, in Wisconsin and Brad. This is going to be jogging your memory here. But last season, we tried whiskies from a producer called Good water. And all of those came from Yahara Bay, I believe. So we had uehara Bay whiskey before but this one's an eight-year rye.

7:09 As you said these are very high proof whiskies. They're both Barrel proof. The bourbon comes in at 120 3.0 for proof and the Rye comes in at 140 7.18 Proof. So this might be Brad. I think our first they call this Hazmat when something is over 70%, I think this might actually be our first has Matt Whiskey on the podcast. And if it's not the first, it's maybe the second. Yeah, I was going to say, I've only I think it has to be our first because I've only ever had one, Hazmat designated whiskey before, and it actually was a watershed whiskey. Oh, wow. Okay, so yeah. So this is, I'm pretty sure our first one on the podcast and having drink it already. I will say it's a good whiskey.

7:53 It is very has. Matt Gregory has Matic. So let's get back into talking about the movie though. Wanted to say that. One of the things I love about this movie is the way that the script brings in elements from Fred Rogers life that didn't necessarily happen, you know, at this exact moment in Fred Rogers life but things they needed to touch on and they weave them in really beautifully. It's a really well-done biopic and to be fair, it's not really a biopic of Fred Rogers, but, you know, he is a character in it and it is a pretty accurate depiction of what he was like. And so bringing in that famous Moment where I think he was accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys and he did this from the stage. He stopped the whole, you know, Emmy telecast to make everybody in the audience sit there and think about the people that helped to get them to that moment. And it is a really famous clip.

8:45 I'm sure a lot of you have seen it on YouTube and I think the choice to include that in the movie is, it's a really bold choice and it's a really great touch and they do a few of those throughout the movie, you know, at one point somebody asked mr. Rogers weren't you like a sniper? In the war and he debunks that theory and you know, it's little things like that that we've all heard about mr. Rogers. But those of us who maybe haven't seen the documentary or haven't read more about his life. They do a good job of weaving. Those in to answer those questions. I think the question I need answered most is one that my wife pointed out. Do you think that mr. Rogers wore a speedo to swimmin. Hmm, I'm a little concerned.

9:27 That that was the question on your wife's. Mind that. That was the one question she and I both got out of this movie. Yeah. Where I was like, you know, old people do weird things, so, it wouldn't surprise me. But that, yep, that was it, man. That was the one question we had coming out of this film. I'm not going to answer that because I don't want to think about mr. Rogers wearing a speedo but you will think about Tommy. Yeah I will. I will see that in all its Glory. Oh, man, I guess if we could start with just a few of the things that I struggle with Matthew Rhys, I believe you would pronounce his last name.

10:15 Is he like a C+, Edward Norton. So I mean I guess we can just get into this right away. The first time I saw this movie, I was like he's really solid and he's a very good actor. He was on a show on FX for a number of years called The Americans, which is a really highly regarded show won a ton of awards. He was the lead actor on that and again, like the supporting role is mr. Rogers. And he's the charismatic one and it's Tom Hanks, so you've got the mega wattage star in this movie and Matthew, Rhys has there to be sad and Then to not be so sad. And I watched it this time Brad. And I have to say, man, like, Matthew Rhys has the best actor in this movie, and I don't know. He's, he's a better actor overall than Tom Hanks. His performance is outstanding, dude. And and again, maybe it's because I've seen it three times.

11:06 Now, he plays every moment of this movie Perfectly. I'm like, I could not believe how good his performance was in this movie bread. Alright? So maybe the reason I don't Enjoy him as much as because of my second nitpick. I just feel like he and Susan. Watson have literally the smallest amount of chemistry if it exists at all of any romantic pairing that I've seen in a movie. And I just, I just feel like they have zero on screen presents together where I can, like hardly believe that they would ever be.

11:48 Married in the first place, that's so funny. Yeah. I think again, maybe this is where we're going to come down on different sides of this movie. I think the movie does a really good job of placing you in the middle of a marital conflict or a life conflict, like they have just had a baby so they're super tired. That's, you know, Brad you and I both know this like new baby time is not the most romantic time in anyone's marriage. Like you're doing what you can to find some equilibrium and I think they play that really well. I think he does a really great job of playing a guy who has repressed emotions really, really well. And and this this anger that bubbles to the surface, anytime he's challenged on that and man, he calls himself a broken person in the middle of the movie.

12:35 And that's I mean that's in that same scene that you were just referring to where they're in the Chinese restaurant. And Mister Rogers, tells him that I don't think you're broke. And I think that you have a really good gauge on what's right and wrong, and, Man, I don't know. I think he does such a fantastic job of playing a guy who is in the most vulnerable spot. He's ever been in his life and doesn't know how to Grapple with that and his performance. Just wowed me man that that is. I don't know man, that's fascinating me. I just walked away from this movie. The first time I saw it and this time thinking to myself. Wow that series was just okay. I think they could have done better that Those are my little thoughts, it's not that he was terrible.

13:21 Like, I think he does a really nice job of portraying the frustration that he has, but I just feel like he has this dead look in his eyes throughout the entire film. Even when he's like, starting to get healthier that I'm like, oh, he just can't really Express emotion. Well, as an actor, that more than just letting his his character, but, you know, being being hurt. Wow, well, Brad while I am I'm thankful for you on this Thanksgiving. I think I completely disagree, because even in that Chinese restaurant scene, it's the first time in the whole movie, you see him smile, and you see, you see the top row of his teeth and I was like, oh, he, this man has teeth and it's such a genuine moment of emotion, finally cracking through and and like the sense of relief and a weight being lifted off of his shoulders, you know, Brad I obviously I'm a sucker for movies like this, where we're broken people find some sort of therapy.

14:18 And they would be for what Bob, you know what? In further issues with their dad, in true. You know, man, fashion men will literally write a 10,000 word article in Esquire magazine about mr. Rogers, instead of going to therapy. Yeah. And and that's what this man does to get over. You know, his daddy issues and the movie obviously works for me on that front. But also I just think that it's really smart to not Make a straight mr. Rogers biopic. I actually don't think that would be a good movie, mr. Rogers, it's weird to say this mr. Rogers is a man with too few demons to make a compelling film like with him as the main character.

15:03 Do you know what I mean? No, 100% And I think that having mr. Rogers enter, someone's life and fix it for the better is the way to go. And I think this movie really does a great job with that, Brad. What do you say? We try this first whiskey and then we'll come back and About Hanks himself and then we'll go from there. What do you say? Yeah, I love it, man. Let's do it. Let's try this Watershed Ohio straight bourbon whiskey. Like I said, aged 44 years, it is 123 proof. I'm just now pouring it out into the glass. So Brad, why don't you give us your notes on this? Yeah, as I got into the nose on this guy, I felt like it was a lot of brown sugar vanilla and then I don't know, man, Watershed is one of the most unique. Whiskey's in that.

15:50 I think that I could pick a watershed nose out of almost any lineup you would give me. And I'm not always sure what it is. It has its own Funk. If you will its own, will it funk? Hmm, I think I'm gonna say it's like Cream of Wheat. Yeah, for me, I think I'd said this last time we tried will it like, an actual Willett product? It's not actually that funky, I just remember it as being Monkey. It's a dustiness that goes with like rose petal. It's floral and dust at the same time and like how is think about? Did you ever read that book? Great Expectations. When you were in high school or anything, we had to do that. There's a, the Jane Austen book.

16:33 It's Charles Dickens. There's a character in that book called Miss havisham. Who's this old lady who got abandoned on her wedding day, or whatever and she, like lives, in this old mansion covered in cobwebs and she wears her old wedding dress around and she liked the inspiration for Eleanor Rigby proud. Bubbly. And I just want to think about Dusty floral arrangements. I'm like, oh, this is like, probably what Miss Miss havisham's wedding, bouquet smells like. So there's a guy what's really dark brown? No, I'm just, like, I can't my mind is thinking like, what would make a floral bouquet Dusty and it's like, well, I guess Miss havisham would make it Dusty. So for her sad, so with Watershed, I think you're right there. Their usual stuff like there.

17:17 I don't know what you were. They're standard product line that you buy Off. The Shelf, has a certain nose to it but then I feel like they're Barrel picks. Have a completely different nose to them and obviously we've done a barrel pick with them. So we've sampled straight from the barrel. This reminds me a lot on the nose of the barrel that we picked Brad and it has that sort of Dusty floral quality to it. I really like it. And I'm going to give it a sip now. So I'm preparing myself for the 120 plus proof here. Yeah, yeah, on the taste for me it got a lot more. More decadent on the, on the palate. It reminded me of like warmed up. Caramel, topping. Hmm. Do you know what I'm saying? Like that?

17:59 You would put on a Sunday with peanuts. Yeah, like it's warm caramel topping, it's incredibly viscous and then there's some brown sugar and a little bit of cherry on it. That I am really intrigued by this thing like was like warming up on the runway of the nose and then Blasted off with with the actual palette. It's not super complex. I'll say that about it. It's funny that you mentioned something being warmed up, because there is like a difference in flavor when something is warm versus when it's chilled. And this actually reminded me of back in like the 50s and 60s, they try to encourage people to drink dr. Pepper hot, like to put dr. Pepper in a saucepan and warm it up and then drink it hot and I've never tried that but this this reminds me of like if you did that with Coca-Cola it.

18:48 Doesn't have that sort of like pop or fizziness to it, but it reminds me of like, if you were to take Coke and kind of make it flat by heating it up and then taking a sip of it, super simple. So, you know, a little bit of caramel a little bit of that Cola flavor. Underlying it, I like it a lot. It doesn't drink like 120 proof, it drinks spicy but it's not super harsh. The thing about all Watershed products and and I guess I should say this is a two Souls product. We're just we live right next to Watershed. We're very familiar with their products. So that's why referring it to to it so much. The thing about Watershed products is that anything they have over 120 proof drinks. Like it's like, 108, like even their Hazmat one, and I think it was like, 142 proof whiskey that I drank drank, like it was some other companies 120 proof.

19:48 If you like it was definitely on the higher end of the spectrum. But not to the point where I was like, wow, this is 15 points higher than anything I've ever drank before. So I am always very impressed with watersheds high-proof outputs and I think this is a really good place to start. If you are two Souls because it's a barrel pick from a regional, you know, distribution distillers. So it's going to places that you can't usually get Watershed right now and and like I said it's not super complex but it's definitely a crowd pleaser. I have no issues with this whiskey at all. It drank really easily for 120. Something proof. I think this would be a really good starting point for people who are looking to get into the world of barrel proof, Single Barrel whiskeys.

20:35 I'm a big fan of this. Yeah, honestly, I think I'd probably end it like, a 37 38 out of 50. Yeah, which is darn good. Yeah, which is a really solid whiskey that I would recommend. All right, Brad, let's talk about Tom Hanks on this hanksgiving. I struggle with this performance. It's a really good performance and I feel like I have to qualify that statement a little bit because there are moments in the movie where Tom Hanks is doing a very good job at impersonating. Mr. Rogers. There's moments in the movie, which are the the down parts of this performance, where Tom Hanks is doing a very bad job at impersonating, mr. Rogers and then There's this third type of moment where Tom Hanks isn't so much even trying to be mr. Rogers anymore, as he is leveraging, his Tom Hanks. Enos does that make sense?

21:30 Like I feel like there are moments where he stops trying to impersonate Fred Rogers and he just fully leans into the fact that he's like I know that, you know, that I'm Tom Hanks and I'm going to give you like the most Earnest Tom Hanks version of this. Yeah and it's almost like I don't know how to explain it. It's like a meta thing where he's, he's not being mr. Rogers anymore, he's being Tom Hanks being mr. Rogers, and it still works real. It kind of reminds me of what I was talking about with the the Jack Nicholson performance in A Few Good Men, where I don't buy him as a member of the military. But I buy him as Jack Nicholson and he's leading into like I'm gonna be the hard ass because that's what Jack Nicholson does and he does it really well.

22:17 Yeah, I think for me, one of the this might sound dumb, but one of the scenes that really stood out to me is when Hanks was underneath the castle playing, you know, Daniel Tiger and doing the puppeteering and he's like, not even just not looking at the camera but like completely focused on something else. And, you know, doing Daniel Tiger's voice and all that. There was something about that moment that I was Like. Oh, this is an incredible performance where I just love the sincerity with which he plays the character and even in a moment where it's not glamorous, he's you know, hunched over your hunche to underneath this set piece playing a tiger, you know, puppeteering a tiger and and and yet his voice comes across with such sincerity.

23:15 I don't know if it's like the voice. Acting effect that he has of, you know, having played Woody, all these years and he just knows how to work his voice. Even when the camera is not focused on him. There is something about that scene. That just really stuck with me and was like, oh man, I just I really love what Tom is doing with this character. I think there are moments where he is, he's really got the Cadence of mr. Roger's voice down, he never quite gets the accent down. And I think the worst moments of this movie, Tom Hanks was actually doing a Southern accent for some reason, and I'm like mr. Rogers didn't talk like that, but he does a very good job of nailing, the Cadence with which mr.

23:56 Rogers spoke. And it was, especially apparent to me in that very opening scene of the movie. So we'll talk a little bit about how the movie structured, but it's almost kind of book Ended as if it is an episode of mr. Rogers Neighborhood. And so Tom Hanks comes in to the set singing the song and talking about, you know, let's meet one of my friends in the neighborhood That's how he frames the story here, but you can almost tell that the director me real Heller. Kind of let Tom Hanks, I mean I don't know if she'd let him improvise there or not, but it feels improvised. It feels like he's coming up with some of these things on the spot which is very much, what Fred Rogers did like they had a script obviously, but, you know, little things would happen on set and he would just kind of talk about them as they happened.

24:41 And if he didn't tie his shoe, the right way, he would take an extra beat during the song to tie his shoe, correct way. Way. And if the zipper on his sweater wasn't working it, you know like it was always fluid with mr. Rogers. And he wanted it that way. He wanted it to not be a perfect production. And I think that that especially that very first scene, I was like, oh this director and this actor, get what mr. Rogers was about. Yes, and I love that it didn't feel like a perfect polished take of that scene and that made it a perfect scene for me. Yeah. And if it Been a perfect polish take that I think Tom Hanks would have lost about 30 pounds for the role.

25:21 Yeah, which would have been really hard because I'm sure Tom Hanks was, I'm sure Tom Hanks is taller than mr. Rogers was, but mr. Rogers very famously kept his weight at exactly 143 pounds for his whole life because, you know, the numbers 143 correspond to the numbers of letters in the phrase. I love you. And so, he always kept his weight at 143 and You know, Tom Hanks is never going to be 143 pounds. Even at his most fit, when he was in Castaway. I think he said he got down to, like, 170 something. So like, you know, I don't blame him for not being a Grimm as mr. And he certainly likes still not pudgy like he's in pretty decent shape for a man in his mid 60s but but you're right like there are some physical differences between him and mr.

26:11 Rogers. And I will say, as the movie ends and the credits are rolling and they Start playing an actual clip of Fred singing. Hayley and I just looked at each other and we were like, Tom Hanks is great. But nobody can do mr. Rice. Like, he is a unique talent for being a terrible, good singer that. I just don't understand how he did it but the way he lived his life led to the point where everything he said, just made you feel loved even if it's him singing in a mostly on Ki voice. I just can't explain it.

26:58 Bob how, how perfect he was at being himself. Well, and I think that that is ultimately the downfall of Hanks trying to do this, right? And this is nothing. I want to say this like, by all accounts, Tom Hanks is the nicest guy in Hollywood. That's like his brand and he seems like a really decent person in real life. But they go to Great pains in this movie to talk about how people refer to Fred Rogers, as an actual st. And His wife in the film Joanne talks about how it's a practice that he does. Like it's like a spiritual practice, he's like a monk that goes through these rituals to keep himself from from letting his anger over take him or whatever. And when you watch Fred Rogers, do an interview like a, you know, a YouTube clip of an interview or when you actually watch mr.

27:44 Rogers Neighborhood. No matter how good of an actor you are, there is like something behind the eyes of mr. Rogers. Then that just emanates Truth. Yes, sincerity sincerity. And like yeah, reflecting a life that is authentically that and as good of an actor is Tom Hanks is he like you and I Brad are not practicing this stuff to the extent That Mister Rogers did and it it shows through like he's doing a really good impression but even at even at his most authentically, Tom Hanks e he's still not hitting Fred Rogers levels if that makes sense. Us. And I think that should go to show how special Fred Rogers is. Yeah, because I'm with you 100%.

28:32 Tom Hanks is one of the greatest living actors we have and not only that, he is one of the greatest human beings. That is also an actor that we currently have. Like, he's an incredible man but even he couldn't quite capture it and it. But I will say, I think that's why the final scene of this movie is really meaningful that You know, you have him finish the episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood and he kind of goes off and he's saying goodbye to everybody and he sits down he's playing at the piano and he does his, you know, what he said earlier in the movie, he bangs the, some of the bottom Keys, real hard, because he's angry, and there's something about that final scene, that, that it's not Tom acting anymore. It's just a human being internalizing. Some of His frustration and engaging. In a, in a spiritual discipline of this is how I will express my anger, I'm gonna pound the bottom keys of a keyboard. And I think that that seen among a few others felt the most authentic to me.

29:44 And really was, like, why I love this movie. All right, Brad what? We'll come back from our second whiskey. And I want to talk a little bit about the direction of the movie. The Script do that. The nitty-gritty stuff we get into before we give final scores, but let's try this Hazmat Rye. What do you say? Let's get to it. Alright, so we are checking out, this Yahara Bay 147 proof rye and I have to say Brad on the nose, it certainly doesn't smell 147 proof. I expected this, you know, to have the Sex Panther by Odeon effect on my nostrils and stealing the nostrils, but it's not doing that. And it reminds me a lot on the nose of the barrel of MGP Rye, that we picked from Western Reserve. Yeah.

30:32 So this is very weird because The Watershed smelled like the Watershed we picked, this smells like the Rye we picked. I have a feeling that the guys at two Souls have very similar pallets to you and me, I don't know about similar but incredible. Yes like spectacular palette. I don't know if there's a good as ours but they're pretty, darn good. Yeah, Bob I will say if you are ever drinking Hazmat quality whiskey I would encourage you to drink 123 proof whiskey right before. Or it. Hmm because I think if you tried this without having drink, the water shed product first, I think it would come across a little stronger but, you know, we're warmed up. We're ready to go.

31:17 Whoo. Yeah Dad. I just drank it. Okay. So whole I'm gonna try to walk you through this real quick filming. Whiskey Nation really sweet on the first pass. It goes down and it starts to get spicy on the back of your palate and you're like okay and then it heats up. A little bit more. And you're like, oh yeah, this is definitely Barrel proof, and then it shot all the way back up my tongue. Like a, like the fuse at the beginning of a mission impossible movie and it hit it. Landed on the tip of my tongue and then was just like, hey would you like to be on an episode of hot ones? Like it just like it is real spicy and there. But the cool thing is like it pairs with the Rye spice. So it in it has the pepperiness of a awry. But then also like straight alcohol burn like this is definitely 147 proof but it manifested that alcohol differently than I would have thought. Yeah for me the nose gave off not just Rai but like a freshly baked loaf of rye bread like really really fresh rye bread with a little bit of like cardamom and and if few other baking spices, Isis and it didn't lead me to believe that I would get what I got on the palate bro. It is brown sugar.

32:42 Sweet vanilla and I almost got like a butterscotch pie. So interesting like Justin is that a thing is there butterscotch pie? Bob. All right. Forget the rest of this episode. The next time I see you, I'm going to bring you Haley's, butterscotch, pie. Is this something that you eat at Thanksgiving? It's freaking killer, honestly, it would be a good Thanksgiving dessert. I don't know if it's like a traditional Thanksgiving dessert. All I'm saying is it's freaking delicious. Yeah, yeah. This is good, man. This is incredible. I like the, the Finish has a little bit of, oh, can dry it with Mixed with that butterscotch.

33:24 That just lingers for a really long time. Yeah, I think that's one of the things I love about Barrel. Proof whiskies is how long they sit on your, on your palate. And your flavor wheel for like, 30 minutes afterwards, like I the last, I drink this. This whiskey was like 30 minutes ago and I can still like taste a little bit of it on my palette and I just man, I'm a really big fan honestly dude. I think I would probably give this one close to like a 40 to Two out of 50. Yeah, this is really good. Both of these are fantastic picks. And like if this is the kind of level that two Souls is going to be operating on. I think they're going to really make a name for themselves quickly because like yeah, easily really really good pics here.

34:07 All right, Brad. So we will say thank you now to two souls for both of these samples because they're fantastic. Let's talk Marielle Heller and the direction of this movie. So Heller had just come off of a movie, that was nominated for a few, Oscars called. Will you ever forgive me? Which got an Oscar nomination for Melissa McCarthy in the lead role. That was a really good movie and she does like she likes to operate in. I don't know how to explain this like the way that this movie has almost like a Grime Enos to it or a dinginess to it in the New York scenes like that's kind of what will you ever forgive me? Looks like the whole movie. She likes to kind of get down and dirty with her characters and reflects that in the visuals.

34:50 I really loved the way that she uses The techniques of filmmaking to get a lot of her points across in this movie, especially with the look of the film. And I really stuck out to me. There's the scene where he's first on set watching the mr. Rogers thing happening and it's what you're talking about. So scene where he's filming Daniel Tiger and Lloyd is watching. You know, from behind the scenes as Fred Rogers performs and they had this like brilliant shot, looking at him watching Tom Hanks and in the background everything is really warmly lit. It like the whole studio has this like homey, yellow E Light to it, it just looks very comfortable but where Lloyd is standing is off to the side of that.

35:33 And he's standing in this like almost sickly green, fluorescent light. And for the first third of the movie first half of the movie, almost, she does all these incredible visual things that just emphasize the point that, like he is not a part of the neighborhood quote-unquote. Like he has not embraced what mr. Rogers is about. He doesn't consider himself worthy of that because of all this baggage, he's like actively looking for ways to undermine it or expose it. And there's another great shot right before that where they where he's looking at the model of the neighborhood that they show at the beginning of the each episode and he's looking down on it like a judgmental. God, like his face is just in the background of it. And again, it's this way of of conveying, he is not a part of this.

36:19 He's judging it. He's looking for a way to ruin it. It if he can't because that's what he's coming here to do is find some sort of flaw or crack. And I just really loved the way that they conveyed that visually in this movie. And I think that is the greatest strength of this movie is that movies are always a product of their time and you can you know, you can watch almost any film and use it as a commentary on the culture and you know, the decade that it came out of and I think that this movie coming out Out in was it was a two dozen 18 or 19. I think it was 19. Yeah, so that, you know, this movie comes out in 2019 and I think that in a world of massive, political upheaval and questioning about what it means to be a human being and a world where there was a lot of disbelief in traditional moral figures, right?

37:16 Like Bob you and I, you know, are a part of the Christian culture, there's been a lot of really crappy. Be pastors out there who have fallen from Grace if you will. So like in a world of 2019 where we're questioning all these things. Any of us would approach a mr. Rogers type figure and be like. Yeah. There there's something dirty here, there's something behind the facade and this movie is is making the claim like mr. Rogers life made the claim? No, there there are some pure people out. There that have their flaws, and they will admit to them, but they engage in such a lifestyle that they are pure. Even at, you know, even amongst the fact that they're still Sinners, if you will, they're pure. And there's so pure that they can turn the mind of the deepest cynic.

38:15 And I think that's where this movie really, really succeeds. Because even, I, somebody who believes in mr. Rogers, Rogers lifestyle as a way of life for anyone to to live into, even I would watch some of mr. Rogers stuff and be like, is he really that good? No, I totally get it man. And I think that again if there's a fundamental flaw with this movie and it was the thing I struggled with the first time around, its kind of the Flights of Fancy that the movie takes and having like the model buildings and the model airplanes and reflecting some of the the more fanciful. Of the Mister Rogers, Neighborhood TV show. And there's this extended dream sequence in the middle of the movie.

39:01 And if that was always the part of the movie that I struggle with the most, I just, I don't, I never liked dream, sequences and movies anyway. But this one was, especially jarring because it really pulled me out of the movie. And I think that this time around, you know, I knew it was coming. But something had to be the point where Lloyd's character broke because he flies back back to Pittsburgh at a really crucial moment where his estranged father has collapsed and is in the hospital dying and he kind of like walks out on everybody and leaves. He gets to Pittsburgh and collapses and has this like crazy fever dream. And when he wakes up from that dream, he is like ready to be a new person.

39:43 There's like something changed about him, his demeanor is different. He starts accepting that he is a broken person that he needs to be made whole and so that, that dream. It serves a really important function in the movie and I don't think you could cut it. I don't think you could just go from him, leaving New York and going to Pittsburgh to him waking up in that bed and being a changed man. But it's also like, if this was the best way to convey that then I think there might actually be like a flaw with the movie because it still doesn't work fully. Even if I understand why it's there. But I will say you, you claim to not like you know, dream sequences in movies and yet we just came off of a episode of you, loving a movie.

40:29 That is one giant dream sequence. What's that Eternal Sunshine? Oh yeah, the entire movie is a dream sequence, that's true. I mean, that's the Saudis are. Yeah, either needs to be all of the movie or none of the movie. Yeah. Can't you see? Can't just be part of the movie. You gotta go all in and okay? Just want to be clear on your feeling right about. I don't know. What did you think of that that moment of the movie for me that is like the weakest moment of the movie even if it's like a necessary part. It's rough. Yeah and and I think that it's rough because I think as we're talking about this, what I'm honing in on is I think that the It can be the weakest part of this film at times and it really comes to bear in that dream sequence where I don't know if it's Reese's delivery or just the lines themselves, they just feel put on and like like they're not a normal person delivering them and I think that's the struggle. I mean we haven't really talked about Chris Cooper at all. I think he does fine in this but there's definitely moments where I'm like, Chris Cooper is A great actor, but the lines that they are giving him are just so stale and stereotypical that. I struggle to believe them.

41:59 Yeah. For me, they worked. I mean, II would say, 98% of this movie works for me and even like I said, even that dream sequence. It doesn't work great, but it's a functionally necessary part of the script. And so I kind of give it a pass. I don't know. Brad, I'm ready to give a final score on this movie and I am way higher. On this movie than I thought that I would be. I think this is a pretty brilliantly structured movie. Well acted really well directed with a very smart script. I'm going to give this a nine out of ten. I really enjoyed this this time around. I honestly, I feel like I've spent this whole episode just kind of crapping on the movie, which is, is not actually how I feel about it. I was gonna say, where's your Thanksgiving Spirit, man? Man, I don't know, I love this movie. Gee, I think it really illustrates the power of living, a disciplined life and how someone, who lives a disciplined life can learn to just love people into being that for Lloyd Vogel at the end of his life.

43:08 Or, you know, let's let's be honest about it for Tom, junod, at the end of his life if he took 60 seconds to think about the people who have shaped Him, I would imagine Fred Rogers would be in the top three, and it's because of the the sincerity with which Fred believed in his convictions. And man, I could only hope to live such a life like that where I believe so deeply in the beauty of humility and honesty, and loving your neighbor as yourself that man, I hope I could have Affect people in the way that Fred Rogers did.

43:49 So I I like the movie a lot. I'll give it an eight and a half and I, yeah, man, I think that Tom Hanks does a really, really nice job of presenting the sincerity of it. Even if no one can ever actually imitate it, if you've never read the essay that inspired this movie by the writer, Tom junod, in Esquire. It is one of the best pieces of magazine profiles, I've ever ever read. Like it is, it's one of those things like you read it and you're like, I'm gonna remember reading that for the rest of my life. It is just an incredible piece of writing. Do yourself a favor, you know, before the the carb coma sets in after Thanksgiving dinner, while you're sitting around with, not much to do, pull that up and read that Esquire article because it is incredible.

44:37 I want to say once again. Happy Thanksgiving filmin. Whiskey Nation. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brad G. Yeah man. It is so good to spend a little bit of time with you here on Thanksgiving. I'm here on Thanksgiving. Hey Brad, I'm so we're recording this a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. My birthday is on Thanksgiving this year. So not only is it Thanksgiving? It's my birthday right now. That's right. And you need a butterscotch pie. I sure do man. So I will be expecting that delivery on my birthday / Thanksgiving day so hopefully filmin whiskey Nation. As you listen to this Brad will be on my doorstep bringing me pie so we'll be back on Monday with another regular. We scheduled episode but until then I'm Bob book I'm Reggie and we'll see you next time.