Raising Arizona / Lagavulin 16

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0:43 If you're ever checking out, docks line up and see a white label is a really good chance that that's the only time you'll see that bottle. So, make sure you snatch it up. Doc Swensons has been offering just phenomenal finished and Blended whiskies for quite some time. Now, you can find them online at Doc's, whisky.com. Mom. That's doccs whisky.com. In 1987, the Coen brothers and star Nicolas Cage. Gave the world a wacky Heist. Caper that aimed to steal your heart in 2023. We pair a long awaited movie with a long-awaited scotch whiskey, the film is Raising Arizona. The whiskey is lagavulin 16 and we'll review the both. This is the film and whiskey podcast. Welcome to the film and whiskey podcast, where each week, we review a classic movie and a glass of whiskey. I'm Bob book, I'm Brad G and this week we are looking at the Coen Brothers. 1987, madcap comedy Raising Arizona madcap. Madcap, Brad madcap.

2:08 I liked your use of wacky. Wacky is a really good word for this movie. It is just, you know, I was reading our friend Ian Nathan's book about the Coen brothers and he kept using the words a me to describe this. Hmm, I think zany works. It reminds me of the Animaniacs they used the word zany and this seems like it would fit right in with an anime T acts cartoon. It is essentially a Woody Woodpecker cartoon come to life and I love it. Yeah, Woody Woodpecker makes an appearance many times. It ain't in a tattoo. Yeah. And and and Nicolas Cage's hair. Yes, very obviously. Do you remember watching Woody Woodpecker growing up. Oh, yeah, I mean, okay. I feel like it was always part of like, other shorts, you know what I mean?

2:52 Like, it was never like a whole half-hour of Woody Woodpecker, but they don't sneak one in every now. And then, and I always liked the Road Runner cartoons in theory, but the like the gag ran Dry for me after 5 minutes 4 year old Robert. I think. Yeah, there's no dialogue and Lisa was good when I was two. No, it's just like, you know, you watch him run into a wall and you're like, ha ha, ha. And then it happens for more times in your like, bro, you're dumb? I hope to men. Yeah. I was a big fan. All right. Well cool. Then I hope you liked this movie because this is, again, this is the equivalent of that. It It is similar to that. That is the truth.

3:36 All right. So this seems to be one of those weeks where Brad's going to have a very different opinion than me. And I, you know, I've been batting pretty close to 1,000 this year. I've been flying too close to the Sun is I guess what I'm going to say because I pick movies and I worry that Brad is going to hate them and then most of the time he does but this season I mean, Brief Encounter, really threw me for a loop. I did not expect that at all. So if you Like this movie, I guess I'm kind of do for one, but no, I was really building this up in my mind because I thought you would love this movie. You know what we should do? We should do a season where instead of, so season five was me picking just, you know movies, I love that might not be Classics and you doing the same, we should do a season where I create a curated list of 15, movies or 16 that I think you will. Would love.

4:35 And then you do the same for me and we judge how well, we know each other's movie taste by the end of the season. I like that. Yeah. We could do one of those things where it's like, you know at the beginning of college football bowl season, they always have a ranked by like confidence M like who's gonna win? Yeah. Like most confident that Brad would like to least confident. And I'm telling you, dude, if we did that this year, Brief Encounter would have been way at the bottom. Yeah, I I can't believe it. Yeah, I love Brief Encounter. Great, great movie Raising Arizona. If you're, if you're ready for my take, Bob, I never. Once had a, let's hear your initial thoughts. I do want to hear initial thoughts there. I did have a moment of epiphany after I watched this film and I realized that this podcast is, it's a, it's a vehicle for you to talk about movies and not to say that. I don't love it.

5:36 I absolutely love doing this with you Bob, but everybody knows from the start of this. This was your idea. You wanted somebody to talk about movies with and yeah, don't sell yourself short. It's not like not like I'm just using a mannequin sir to sit across from me, to give up higher and some someone to talk to that. I appreciate that but I realized that if each and every episode is partially just to make you feel good and help you enjoy your life and you know, enjoy a hobby with a good friend. Sure. Every once in a while I need an episode where It is solely for my enjoyment, to make you hate that episode died. Things to me, man, I think that the first instance of this was the assassination of Jesse James by the coward. Robert Ford.

6:28 The second was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the third was Raising, are has all my gosh. You hated it that much, Bob, I literally, you can ask Haley. I was sitting there watching the movie she's sitting in In our living room on the couch, I'm in, are in my computer room watching it and I just let out the biggest sigh and Haley Goes, what's wrong? I was like I just looked and there's 40 minutes left and right. Brothers movies like 85 minutes long. It is so fast-paced. I can't believe I hated this movie Bob, like when I say hated I am genuinely talking about assassination of Of of jet. I can't even say the full name.

7:15 I'm so frustrated with this movie. I hit that point that I've hit. So very rarely in this podcast where I literally thought to myself, I need to make Bob pay for making me watch this movie. Can I tell you how sad this makes me right now? Like more than assassination of Jesse James more than what was the other one, Eternal son, Eternal Sunshine. I watched this movie for the first time a year ago, and I was immediately like this might be the only Coen Brothers movie that I would give a 10/10 to And I like the Coen Brothers. Yeah, and I laughed my ass off.

8:01 I thought this was a perfect American Comedy and then the last seen that closing narration is so poignant and so beautiful. And I was like, oh, and dessert. Just shut up. And let me make my point. Hey, this is how sad I am. I watched it this time and I was like, I think I'm getting emotional at the end of this very dumb movie. And and then I started reading. We're going to have an author on the show next week, and she talks about like religious parallels in the Coen Brothers films. And I started reading her take on this movie and I was like, wow, like Brad. And I as Christians, I was like, man, what an incredible way for me, to take the back half of this episode and talk about how this movie touches me, deeply as a Christian and lying. I was like, man, there's so many parallels like to the concepts of Grace.

8:52 I was like, man, this is gonna be such a good episode. Brad, literally if I could take, if I could take back everything, I said about Brief Encounter and you could just be like, it's the dumbest movie ever. And I love that movie. I wouldn't care as much as I do right now about this movie. I was so looking forward to you watching this movie. Yeah. I like I'm so upset right now. I'm sorry, man. I'm not sorry. But I'm a little note, nor should you be? But once again, your Unpredictability strikes at just the most inopportune times, where like strikes at the core of your being. I mean, if I had to bet money at the beginning of the year on like hey there's probably five movies Brad hasn't seen here, you know, or let you know, there's more than that. But like that Brad wouldn't have even known about which one of the five, do you think he'd like the best? I have been like, oh, Raising Arizona, like that's gonna be, he's gonna love how Goofy and dumb and silly this movie is we're going to have a great time. I will say you you told me that the opening ten minutes might be the most perfect comedic opening to a film. Is that how you described it?

10:05 Yeah, it's like yes, I think you're wrong. It is the wait wait wait wait wait wait. Hold up. Funniest part of the movie. Okay it's how you started that statement as if you were going to try to soften the blow like you can see me over here bummed and you were like, hey, I will say Say and then he went, I think you're wrong about that, too. Like you just rub salt in the wound. Yeah, a little bit of iodine flavor note that we might get on the lagavulin 16 later. The only reason I'm still here for this episode Bob, is because you paired. One of the worst movies I've ever seen with one of the greatest Whiskey's I've ever drank.

10:46 I am not trying to say that like, this was me being arrogant. And I, because I was trying to like, hey, maybe Brad won't like this quite as much as me. But don't like it enough that he can he can be nice about this movie and also you know, he's been waiting to do this log of oil and so I'll pair up the movie that I'm most excited for with the whiskey. The he's most excited for and you have ruined that too. Why can't we ever have nice things? Brad G. I've prepared my ass off for this episode. I was like, man, we're going to hit all these cool points and I can just tell it's going to be one of those where you're like, yeah, cool. After every point I make, can I tell you? The one part of the movie that I actually legitimately chuckled at, hold it for now because we have to get into the actual like, like structure of this episode. Okay.

11:35 Okay. Okay. I'm popping my whiskey right now and we're going to segue into a segment that we call Brad explains. But before we get there, as soon as this might be our last episode ever, I don't even know why I'm plugging our patreon, but I probably should if this is your first time listening to us, I deeply apologize. If it's our 300th time, listening to us than that, you know, what's up? This is par for the course of this point. We want to encourage you to check out our patreon support. This podcast at patreon.com slash film whiskey, where you can support the podcast at three different tiers, a three dollar, a five dollar and a seven dollar a month tear at each one of those tears. You get a lot of bonus perks.

12:16 We literally were just posting in our Discord server for patrons earlier today. Brad and I are on there every day, interacting with the public and our patrons. He's at the five and seven dollar a month tear. You get uncensored episodes, which really might come in handy this week cuz I'm about to haul off on this guy and at the seven dollar a month to your, you get episodes that are just for patrons, we are. We've been making bonus episodes all season, that only go out to that small group of people. So check us out on patreon, consider, making a donation and subscribing to us. Brad. It is time for Brad explains the part of the show where you break down the plot of the movie that you have just seen. Jean often for the first time. I'm so bummed I can't even but my heart is not in this anymore. It's gonna happen is gonna hang up, hang up, my Spurs and walk away like this like John Wayne at the end of the The Searchers yes man.

13:12 All right all right man you have a minute on the clock to break down the plot of this movie and go Raising Arizona is a film about a couple who meets because the gentleman is a convict and And the lady is a police officer. They fall in love, get married and find out that they cannot have children. And so in order to alleviate them of this problem, she decides that, you know, they're not able to adopt because of his checkered past. And so the she decides that when a famous Furniture salesman has quintuplets five children that they should just steal one of them because they have way too many on their hands, so they go and steal a child. Old and they take terrible care of it and high. The male characters, friends from prison escape like a birthing scene, and it's disgusting. And they come to his house and ruin his life and he punches a guy who wants to be a swinger with his wife and they returned the baby's baby to the other babies. And there's a biker, who's weird? I'm so sad.

14:29 I don't even know what to do. All right, man, tell me the part of this movie that you enjoyed, or that you chuckled at. Yeah. I thought I will say there were a, the dot the Coen Brothers dialogue at certain points of this film, were was still sharp. Like, you can tell that the Coen Brothers, just know how to write a script. And the moment that actually got me pretty good, was when Ed and high are having lunch with you know her friends the respectable folk and she's telling them about all these shots that they need to get and finding a pediatrician and all this stuff and eventually they returned after a terrible visit with this you know this friend of hers and the convicts upon hearing that the baby needs to get his shots. The convent goes, what is dip-tet that that like it was so Unexpectedly funny especially based on the previous 30, 40 minutes of the film that had actually got like a legit laugh out of me just the the irony of a convict. Knowing what shots this child needed to get that. That was highly amusing to, there you go. One point for that.

15:46 So it's gonna get at least a 1 out of 10. We're that's, we're off and running now baby. Yeah, I think, before we dive into performances because I don't want this to just devolve into like, Like us both being uninterested in this conversation. I'm highly interesting, man, that's good, because I don't know if you remember, like, when we did the assassination of Jesse James episode now and granted that was so early on in the podcast that yeah, I don't feel like we even had a rhythm yet. And so it really threw a wrench into trying to eke out an episode. But you also, you hated that movie, so much that you just like, checked out of that whole episode. You were just like I did. I don't know what to say, you know, Bob I, uh, Still remember, I know I mentioned on that episode there was just a certain point of that film where I just felt this fire in my belly and anger in my soul that you were making me watch it. Honestly, like I don't even mind that part of it so much. It was the fact that you came into the episode, it would just like crossed her arms and you're like, I don't even care. Like, this is an audio format.

16:51 You can't just be silent the whole time. Just kicked us be so Sullen toddler in the corner. okay, so I guess I would like to hear Comparing this movie to O Brother. Where Art Thou and I don't just mean like one was funnier than the other whatever like think about the Aesthetics. Think about the overall Vibes of the movie, what is it about O Brother? Where Art Thou, that makes that feel like I guess I'm more cohesive experience for you. Like, what made that movie work? That made this movie feel sloppy? I don't know if that's even a word, I want to use because I'm not sure if you would describe it that way, but clearly something about this one didn't work for you.

17:31 So well yeah, go ahead. Bob you are again. You're honestly describing exactly the the issues I think that your comparison I hadn't thought of this until you said it. Your comparison of this film to Animaniacs like was like the light of Heaven. Shining down upon my soul. I was like oh this movie is a cartoon like percent the the way that Nicolas Cage is like crawling under the car as He's trying to get away, dude. The face that he makes so good. It's so dumb. And like the way he does, it is so disjointed and stilted and fake and just feels cool. Okay, and like stop insulting.

18:19 It just answer the question though. Like I am in hell right question and that's that's the issue with the entire movie. It just feels disjointed and if like it's Stylistic in trying to present itself as a cartoon. That it feels like the Coen brothers are like winking at each other. Like, we're just making a stupid movie, but nobody's gonna catch on. You see her doing there and like it just the way that Leonard Smalls walks into the Arizona furniture store, and it shows like a match just appear in his hand and a cigarette up.

19:01 Here in his other hand and just all of the stylistic choices they made with the camera. Just made me want to claw my eyes out. All right, so here's what I'm trying to figure out at this point. Like does it need to be like like TV stations during an election cycle where you're like mandated to have equal give equal opportunity to both sides. Like you can't just show ads for the Republicans or the Democrats. I mean like if I should Our conversation right now. So I'm saying I don't know if I should keep because I'm trying to like actually understand your point of view. But I'm also realizing that the more I let you talk, the more you're going to turn off anyone from ever checking out this movie that, which I legitimately think is a great movie.

19:46 Yeah, then that's fine. That you have you are, as if you are a longtime listener as producer, Eric used to say, you are entitled to your own wrong opinion, correct? Here's another, I This will help some it up a little more. It has the comedy in this has too much of a Family Guy, feel to it and the scene I'm thinking of is when John Goodman and whoever the heck played, his brother are being birthed out of the ground, almost like a farcical Shawshank Redemption, they're clawing their way out of the ground.

20:30 It's a very His birth metaphor and they just scream for 4 minutes straight. And I like when it first started happening I was kind of like oh yeah there it's a birthday thing, that's kind of funny and he's yelling, then he rips his brother out and there he's yelling and it's funny because babies scream when they're born and and and that was the whole movie for me it was just all over rot and overdone and I think that in a show Like Family Guy. It can work for me because I like the the the humor that they're going for but in this movie it just clashed with the content of the film and you get to the end of the movie.

21:16 And there's this really poignant last what, eight minutes of the film nine minutes of the film, where they have, this really incredible conversation with Nathan Arizona. And I was sitting there and I could feel myself being emotionally moved and I was like, damn it. This movie doesn't deserve this and then I legitimately started thinking about that phrase and I was like, oh, like not just in a me being angry way, but like, this film literally doesn't deserve this. None of these characters have acted this way except for add will get to add later. She is a, she's a lot to stand aside from all of the criticism, I hurl at this film. But none of the characters deserved the ending that they got Nathan Arizona.

22:01 Like was a snake oil salesman the entire movie and all of a sudden, he's this great old wise purveyor of wisdom and mercy and Grace. Like no that's not the character that you gave us throughout the entire film. And I land and it's just such a sudden abrupt shift in tone. I just couldn't do it, man, couldn't do it. Are you? Here's the dilemma I'm facing once again. Okay, I will restate the Dona but You're doing a really good job of articulating, what didn't work for you and why for you? It didn't work and I really feel like I have no powerful argument to make in my favor other than just like yep, all of that worked for me.

22:49 Do you know what I mean? Like, I think in a lot of ways that's kind of what this movie boils down to is like, are you okay with a movie that is unabashedly, silly and not for most of it not striving. For anything more than being unabashedly silly. And if you recall last week, this is kind of my complain about O Brother, Where Art Thou, which is that there are elements of it that try to be really silly, but it's all kind of in the trappings of a Prestige film. I've always wondered like, why did they put so much effort into the aesthetic of this movie? And like, it's just a silly little film that they dressed up to look really nice and that's not it again. Like that's not a bad thing. It's just always confounded me.

23:31 Where is this movie? Just kind of like, you know, the camera work for lack of a better word is kind of ugly on purpose. They use these wide angle lenses that make everybody look just a little bit grotesque. It's the same kind of lenses that like Stanley Kubrick used in a lot of his movies and you'll see. I mean you see it a lot especially in that late 80s. Early 90s period. Tim Burton was using a lot of this kind of camera work. If you've watched like Beetlejuice or, you know, the Pee Wee movie, like there's a lot in that, and I think it really works for the store. they're trying to tell like this is just a zany little movie and also I think it still fits in really well with the Coen Brothers, kind of overall I don't know their bag. Like, they're always telling these little American fables about either dim-witted people or ordinary people who get in over their heads and get, you know, pulled into a story of crime and there's a moral Redemption Arc for somebody. Or there's at least a moral to be learned. I think it really does fit in super well with that. And it's set in this kind of only only slightly exaggerated kind of like touristy version of the Test. That would make a lot of sense for people in the late 80s watching this.

24:46 It's like, I don't know how to explain it. Brad, it reminds me and the movie I was going to use for my make it a double at the end of the day was it's a mad mad mad mad world and how and how that movie is like a really great poster for the late 50s, early 60s and that sort of like weird capitalist moment of the late 50s, and how you meet these characters who are cartoons throughout that movie and you and I I know both love that movie. Oh yeah. This movie If I Could sum it up and this is what I was going to go for at the end of the episode was like, this movie is, it's a mad mad, mad mad world. If you introduce crystal meth into the equation, like it. How this it again, I think it fits right in with that late 80s aesthetic and and we know that Brad G is a noted hater of the 80s. Do you want to know something crazy? What's that?

25:40 I was going to choose mad. Mad. Mad mad world as my make it a double where are you really 100%? Wow, my choice. That's awesome. Okay, yeah, there's a couple more questions I have and I do, I mean, I wouldn't let you get your thoughts out here because I think you are making good points. I disagree with all of them like I'm I am going to give this movie a 10 out of 10 and you're probably going to give it like a 1 or 2 out of 10. And so that makes me, I want to just say to filmin Whiskey Nation. I don't care if Brad's making a more compelling argument than me, I kind of hope this becomes the most-watched movie of our season because I really want to know what people think. It's honestly, it's really rare that we are this polarized on a movie Brad and that makes me want like, you know, I'm sure that you wouldn't wish this movie upon your worst enemy. I'm wishing it upon my worst enemy. I'm telling everyone out there like, go watch it. Because at the end of the day, like I said, it's not even 90 minutes long again.

26:37 It is not a long movie, even if it felt that way to Brad, it sure did man. Some of the points you were making. You were talking about how stylized it was and how that didn't work for you. And this was an argument, we made in our Scott Pilgrim episode weeks and weeks ago. And that movie didn't work for me at all. Like I really didn't care for that movie. What is it about a movie? Like Scott Pilgrim and the world that it's building that helps that movie hold together better than the world. This movie's building. Hmm, that's an interesting question. I mean part of it. I will say I did not give Scott Pilgrim at 10 at 10. Dad. 10 is a very, very high, high compliment to give a movie.

27:21 I think that. Hmm. Why does Scott Pilgrim work? Raising Arizona doesn't or I guess maybe a follow-up / clarifying. Question is like, do you even if you hate the world? The ugly little world that this movie builds? Does it still feel like they built out a fully-realized world in this movie the way that it did in Scott Pilgrim? They, they definitely built out a fully-realized world. I think that for me, the scene that really turned me off to the film Umm, was the opening Baby scene. Okay, like what? Like when Nicholas Cage is stealing the baby that like it was the most pointless scene of the film. I actually agreed that I'd like and it's played for laughs but it goes on way too long.

28:15 It goes on way too long and it like it's I guess I'm realizing the reason I hate this movie, it stretches the idea of even within the world of Movie. It stretches the ideas of reality so far that I just completely, check out. Even in a farcical comedy, even in a dark comedy. Like this is the idea of him not just picking up one of the babies and leaving like it, like what is he doing? Why is he setting them on the ground in a circle on the floor and then freaking out? When one of them is crawling towards the door and then putting them back.

28:58 In the crib and that it is. So beyond the bounds of my suspension of disbelief that I was just like this is this is this is bad and I think that the movie just continually does that throughout. I think the entire character of the the motorcycle guy Smalls Leonard Smalls I think completely checked me out like He hi has this dream about this man of the apocalypse and it just goes on for like ten straight minutes of him, riding around shooting bunny, rabbits, and lizards and having small children's shoes, tied to his belt, like it just stretches, the imagination.

29:47 So, so far that I'm just like that. Like, even within the world that they've built its way, beyond my willingness, to go as a viewer with my, Suspension of disbelief, this movie had a profound emotional impact on me. And it left me at the end, wanting to talk about how we extend Grace to each other and how Nicolas Cage talks about. Like, you know, we even we could be good, we could be good too. And in the spirit of that, I'm just letting you make your points and I thanks, man. I feel like I am, I am Rising above the muckety-muck that you were trying to drag me down into and you take ever moral Victory, you need, I'm gonna have to side. Yeah, boss.

30:33 Oh my gosh, dude, let's take a break. Let's drink some whiskey and then we'll come back and we'll get into like the regular meat and potato stuff. I do want to talk about the performances and what which which ones we liked which ones we didn't like, but let's at least agree on a good whiskey here. Brad. What do you say dude? I am so ready for this lagavulin. All right, everybody. We are transitioning away from talking about that movie and worked on that movie. That was your most like 90s radio, DJ Opening Ever bobbin. Brad in the morning. Hey, We're drinking lagavulin 16 year. We have never had a whiskey from The lagavulin Distillery before. This is a big deal for us because Brad and I both really like lagavulin and this, the log of 0, and 16 is a special occasion whiskey if ever there was one like I've had a poor of this on my anniversary before, I know, Brad is either had it like on his birthday or is anniversary. We've talked about it with each other before. I'm really excited to do this, man. I actually think that the first Lagavulin I ever had was do they make like a 23-year though?

31:48 They might, when I don't worry. Listen. If they do, I've never seen it in the wild. I'm sure they do. But like the, you know, I think I can't handle, like, Mom and Pops Liquor Store in Akron, Ohio and find lagavulin 23:23. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But no, this is. So this is shout out to one of my really great friends. Who's a police officer down in Columbus. He donated this sample for us and I am in Had to be thankful. And as you said Bob, this is like his once-a-year. I buy a bottle of this and I drink it on, you know, special occasions or just times where I really desperately need, one of the best whiskies I've ever drank. So even in looking up, you know, trying to find tidbits about this and a little bit more into like the production of it, things like that.

32:38 The thing that keeps coming up about lagavulin is that it is the P deist of all Pete and I again, I I've not seen like the charts. I know that I've seen charts before they talk about like how much you know parts per million or whatever of of the whiskey is Pete. Maybe lagavulin is the P deist one. I feel like we had that debunked when we talked with our friend cam from Ardbeg the one time. Yep but right now I'm reading off of a website called The Whiskey exchange, which I get a lot of good information from and it says probably the most pungent of all I love malts. Lagavulin is not for the faint-hearted but inspires fanatical devotion in its many Followers Brad. I'm nosing this right now, and I don't mean to jump. You know, jump into the nose before we really give the details here.

33:22 But it's PD, but it's so much softer than a lot of PD Whiskey's that we've had. Yep. And I don't mean that, it's like less PD. It just has a lot of really nice floral and sweet notes underneath that. Mmm, this is not an especially pungent, whiskey, I would say now. No, I don't know what people are getting when they called the Deus. Because for me as you spend time on the nose and on the palate and let it sit there and have an enjoyable finish. I like there is Pete throughout, don't get me wrong, but I think that the Laphroaig lure we had had more people in this. I think that some of the Ardbeg Expressions feel prettier than this.

34:06 This to me is an incredibly smooth experience and I like yes, there's Eat throughout but it's so tasteful and it it adds to the experience of floral fruity like stone fruit iodine. It's a much more experience for me. It's a much more caramely version of p.m. are you know before we get too far down the rabbit Trail here. Let's just say this again, this is a 16 year old single malt whisky from lagavulin, which is an I'll uh Scotch Ila is a region in Scotland that is known for its very PD. Scotches Pete is Organic matter that has decomposed in bogs.

34:47 It's used in the malting process, it gives these scotches and especially Smoky and sometimes, Briny kind of thing going on. You know, when people say that it smells like a cigar has been extinguished in your whiskey. That's what they're talking about. So, if you've, you know, if you are not a fan of scotch, it may be because you started with PD scotches, not all Scotch, smells like this. And as I say if that's the case, go drink Quinta Ruben, right? Yeah, get yourself. Some acclimated with like a Highland scotch or space speyside scotches. Like Anyway, the Ila ones are the ones that you're probably thinking of these. Are there. Really nothing to mess around with if I'm being frank. But, but again, even among those, I think this one Brad is, is much softer much more inviting. It comes in at 86 proof, and I think we should Dive Right In Here, man.

35:37 Give us your nosing notes. Yeah. On the nose, a, it's incredible, the be theirs. Honey, there's some charcuterie meets. There is obviously a decent amount of Pete. I got a little bit of that. Nice, iodine saline, feel to it. And then the longer I spent with it, the more the honey kind of came out along with like sweet mint and grapefruit. Yeah, yeah, I love those notes man. It definitely has a little bit of mint on it. Definitely honey forward for me instead of grapefruit. It's more of like a cantaloupe. I get a lot of melon on this. Yeah, there's something about, you know, when they make like soaps or candles that they say are like, like called they're called, like by the sea or something, and it just smells like, yeah, like fresh. It's meant to evoke like fresh wind or something by on the beach.

36:29 And this kind of has that like, this reminds me of, like standing by the ocean a Mist coming off of it and again, then kind of what Tyler region of Scotland is like. But this is very very bright for something as PD as it is and I really Really like that about it. I'm going to give this a nine out of ten on the nose bread. Yeah, I'm at a 9 and a half out of ten. Bob. Now it is worth noting. It is worth noting that Brad like speeded scotches. Probably more than I do. I'm not opposed to them, but this is one of your favorite types of whiskey. Yeah. Yeah, I and I will always say it peated. Scotches are not like what I think about drinking first. I don't like on a random night when I'm like, I just kind of need a What should I pour?

37:15 I don't often just go up, let's go the pita drought but every time I do I never regret it. All right man, let's talk about this flavor profile. Now I will say, I'll go first here because I just took a sip. I'm a little disappointed. Coming off the nose just because there isn't a ton of that sweetness sticking around. It turns, pretty bitter. Pretty quick. This is a definitely a medicinal whiskey when you hear that phrase being Tossed around. Yeah, and I don't mean like it's not souring at all, but it's kind of like yeah, you know, when you take a pill that's like an uncoated pill and it starts to dissolve in your mouth a little bit, this is what that tastes like it's medicinal and right around the edges of my tongue.

38:00 I get just a hint of that melon and honey. But this is not really well balanced in terms of like sweetness to Medicinal ratio. Hmm. Yeah, I mean for me I think that you get a lot of Pete throughout the the palette and then there's a lot of honey and melon I did move from a grapefruit into more of a melon on the palate and then it was a little bit. Okey there was some pine nuts coming through, and then B of vegetal notes that that kind of rounded out the experience. For me this is one of the most Not necessarily High complexity, but the complexity that it has is a perfect marriage of flavors.

38:48 And so there there's a it's a complex palate that has sweetness and vegetal and some nuttiness paired with the peat and the oak. I think this is a 10 out of 10 on the taste but I know you're going to love this one. Yeah, I just prefer mine to stay just a little bit Sweeter Than This. The second sip definitely was an improvement. Like my palate had acclimated to it a little bit. I get a lot. Lot more like raw barley or even like a like a breakfast cereal version of like honey smacks or something like that. Mmm. There's definitely some of that cereal coming through here. It's just not quite sweet enough for me. I could take that medicinal flavor. If it was balanced out a little bit better, I'm just going to give this one, a seven and a half on the flavor, the finish here.

39:32 Long smooth, it leaves like that. Smoky campfire, taste in your mouth, honestly, it was like an hour hour and a half drive to Drink it and I could still just barely have feel that in my, in my throat. Absolutely loved it. As I was drinking it though. Really a lot of stone fruits. Came out at the end, some like, figs and prunes along with the oakiness and the smokiness. Yeah, on the finish. I think some of that complexity comes back, the referring to the honey is definitely still there. I like how you called it oakiness and smoking, as I think it's a really good. It reminds me of a really good charcuterie board. Like I'm getting some almost like some peach or apricot jam coming up a little bit like mixed with a really good like prosciutto, some sort of like ass like a salty ham, it's all there.

40:23 It's really really good significantly. Better than the palette was for me. I'm going to give this like an eight and a half on the Finish. Yeah. I'm at a 9 and a half on the finish and then when we get to balance Bob, it's a 10 out of 10 for me like, like, what is there not to like about this? Experience. It is complex. The flavors are all on point. They all balance each other out really well. And enhance each other, I think lagavulin is easily knocking it out of the proverbial Park here. Yeah, I'm gonna disagree. Just because I did think that the palette was a big step down from the rest of the experience for me brat, like a big surprise Bob disagreeing with Brian. Oh my gosh. Yeah, if only, if only you could disagree with me and still give everything, an average of like an 8 out of 10. And that's what I'm saying here.

41:11 Like I don't like this as much as you, but this is a good whiskey. This is a really good whiskey. I'm gonna give it a seven and a half on the balance. Okay, so value in the grand, beautiful, incredible state of Ohio. This whiskey will set you back $95. Yeah, I think that I think that I actually for flavor would prefer the Ardbeg Udall to this. I liked that better than this is a good whiskey. That one is also. I think that one's like almost Barrel proof right. Isn't that like 110 or 115 proof or something? I remember one of the our bags is Barrel proof. It probably is a good.

41:55 All in any case I would prefer that to this, it's roughly the same price point. So do I think that a six Year. I love Scotch retailing for $95. Is a good value. Absolutely. I do. It's not my favorite one among that price point, but it's not a bad value, I'll give it a 7 out of 10. I will give it a 9 out of 10, Bob, like I think the fact that this will cost you less than $100 is is pretty impressive and it's a good price point. If this was like 7999, I think I'd be up at the 10/10 range. All right, so where are you coming out? Brad because I actually have a really great score and you I know that you are much higher than me. So Bob this outside of the barrel. Seagrass, this might be my second highest rated whiskey of all time.

42:44 I'm at a 48 out of 50. My gosh, dude. Yeah, I think this is truly incredible. I mean, I don't want to like dampen your spirits hear any of it. Like it is. Not that good dude. Like it's good. I'm coming to a 39 and a half. So like I'm almost at a 40 out of 50. I really like this. And that's somehow still not good enough for Brad and I did this is everything I want out of a peated scotch. We're at an 87 Point 5 out of 100 or a forty three point seven five out of 50 like it's a damn good whiskey folks. Yeah yeah I mean I think that like 43 44 out of 50 is like a very fair score to get this 39 and a half.

43:30 You know, it's a little low but when you know, we can let it Skip by dude. Wouldn't have been funny. If we had been as split on this whiskey, if we're going to be on that movie, you're at like a 19 out of 50. All right, man. Let's see if I get it talking about Raising Arizona. Oh, I suppose so we can do it. Bob. Let's get through this. All right, everybody that was lagavulin 16. A whiskey that we have consensus on one of the greatest Whiskey's and film and whiskey podcast, history, it's a really good whiskey. It is no honestly, I can respect that like all joking aside. I know that it's not necessarily everybody's cup of tea and I'm with you.

44:16 I think the ooga doll was an incredible whiskey. So I, that's, that's fine, man. It doesn't make me upset that you like that. Or all right man you are delaying the inevitable here. And when we talk about the inevitable, I mean my crushing defeat that comes every week at the hands of Brad G at a game that we call to facts and a falsehood to facts in a falsehood is where Brad presents three items to me all of them presented as fact, one of, which is completely made up about the making of This film and I have to guess, which one is the fabrication Brad? I'm on a two-week winning streak. You are But something tells me that as I've already put all my eggs in the basket of hoping you would like this movie like karma is just not going to be kind to me this week.

45:01 It's gonna catch up. Yeah, I will say, I was a bit malicious with this week's two facts in a falsity. Yeah, you are not going to like it but awesome. Thanks. Yeah, you're welcome. But I will say, honestly, I chose the falsehood that I did mostly because As of the facts that I was reading in the IMDb page for Raising Arizona, there were like six or seven different facts, that the same person must have gone in and entered, because they were so weirdly specific. And they were things that I had never seen on a fax page for any movie before. And I was just like, well forget it. We're just we're just going to do that. So our with all that as a preface, are you ready, Bob? Let's do it.

45:51 Man fact, Number one, the Striking Adobe home of the Arizona's was was the historic 1925 joke. Aqu�� en on North Phoenician Boulevard which is now incorporated into the Phoenician Resort 6000 East Camelback Road at the foot of the Camelbak mountains in Scottsdale Arizona. Fact number to the gas station. That h. I likes to continuously Rob throughout the film. After Lee named. The shortstop is now a Circle K and is located at 372 North High Street in Scottsdale Arizona. Fax number three, escaped convicts scale and Eva laughs notes. Set out to rob the farmers and Mechanics Bank of LaGrange taking with them baby Nathan Junior. The bank was actually a restaurant, the now-closed Reata past Steak House located at 2020, 7,500 North Alma School, Parkway south from East Dynamite Boulevard, North of Scottsdale towards Carefree.

46:52 Arizona, why would why did she do this? I don't know. I don't like what kind of sick twisted satisfaction? Are you getting out of this? It is like impossible for me to know any of that. Like usually with two facts in a falsehood. You're like, oh yeah, like Mark Hamill during Star Wars took a lunch break with Alec Guinness and they talked about Cary Grant, and I'm like, okay, that sounds plausible. Like, you know, now you're like, do you know your Scottsdale landmarks? I hope so. Like I said, Bob, if you go. On the IMDb page trivia page for Raising Arizona. There's like seven different facts that are just that literally have addresses in them. They're like, you know, this place in the movie, it's now this at this address I was like why did somebody do this? And then I realized this is a grand opportunity. Here's my took it.

47:48 Here's what I'm going to do. I'm just going to say to is the falsehood and I have absolutely no reason to believe that. Except That I have no idea where Circle K's Geographic Landmark or Geographic footprint ends, mmm, but I'm pretty sure Circle-K started in Canada. So I'm just going to say if if it ends anywhere like Arizona seems like a pretty good stretch so I'll say to false and that Circle. K, doesn't stretch that far and that's my answer Bob Circle. K does stretch that far but you are right that okay. I am, I am racking up the moral victories today, you sure are man. I'm very proud of you.

48:32 All right, dude. So with my three wins in a row, let's carry that Goodwill into talking about these performances and really Brad. I mean, we can knock out some of the smaller performances. If you want there's a, you know, there's a great early John Goodman role in this one. But there's really two people we need to touch on for sure. And that's Holly Hunter and Nicolas Cage and it sounds like you really liked Holly Hunters. Moments more than about everything else in the movie and I think we should start there. Yeah, she was the only believable character in this entire film. Yeah, and when I say believable, I mean, even within the world of this story, she made the most sense to me and was true to who her character purported itself to be throughout the whole film. And I thought Holly Hunter was was really a great performance in this.

49:29 She really anchors the whole movie and you know, there are scenes where she's crying and supposed to be hysterical and it's played for laughs and then there's other scenes where it's it's her and Nicolas Cage in the car. And they're having like really quiet conversation about their hopes and dreams or whatever. And you just see the hurt in her eyes as someone who can't have children and it's like, you know, even as a guy who thinks this is like a perfect comedy. It's the Performance where it's like, man. I don't know if this movie deserved this good of a performance like it. She took this thing really seriously, and she just knocks it out of the park, man. It's easy to see why she goes on to win an Academy Award and you know, and then becomes mrs. Incredible.

50:11 Like that's just like the career Capper but she's fantastic in this movie. Yeah, I think that like you said what she brings is just authenticity to the role and I love the way that she interacts with the people around her. Like if anything she is like the stand-in for me where I'm just like what the f is going on right now. And why is it happening and the moments where she like kind of engages in the comedy and and like, you know, at the start of the film, like the fact that she agrees to marry a chili is pretty ridiculous. Yes.

50:52 But at that point in the film like it because it's a montage with narration, you haven't seen her as a character enough to like realize that she's the only sane person and so it's like, yeah, sure. Like this is a funny setup and you know, I'm okay with the idea, cop former cop former convict, let's see what happens. But the rest of the movie, She's just incredible. All right, let's talk about Nicolas Cage. I actually really like Nicolas Cage in this movie because The movie is so wild. And I have seen so many Nicolas Cage performances, especially in the last 10 years where he finds a gear that I didn't even realize Nicolas Cage had like, he is so unhinged in some movies that I actually was surprised at how grounded he felt in a world as wild as this one. Does that make sense?

51:46 Like it's not like the most unhinged version of Nicolas Cage. Yeah, that's that's true. I would agree with that same. It is not the most unhinged version of Nicolas Cage. It is. However, the most Jimmy Stewart version of Nicolas Cage. Oh, what do you mean by that? We've ever gotten the way he talks throughout the entire film? All I could think about was Jimmy Stewart. Like the the way he slurred his words and it felt like me who is not an Actor, trying to sound like Jimmy Stewart. Interesting. Okay. So what'd you think of the performance? It was to zany it. Half the time.

52:26 He's trying to be serious and then the other two half the time he's just so wacky and off-the-wall that it betrays each other. That you can't take the serious stuff seriously. And you can't take the funny stuff with enough humor because you don't know what he's going for and I don't know if I would put that on Nicolas Cage. I think I would put that The Coen brothers because that's the complaint I have about so much of the movie. So I think I would say that. I think cage probably did what they wanted but what they wanted, wasn't very good. All right, before we clock out of here for the day, I just want to say, I found this movie hilarious and they were certain lines in this movie to your point like the Coen Brothers, writing. And I think I told you to watch this movie with the captions on, because I really thought that a lot of Of the narration, especially had some some lines where it's like. Once you see it printed, it's even funnier like in the opening monologue where they first find out that she is Barren. She can't have kids Nicolas Cage's, character decides to describe that by saying the doctor explained that her insides were a rocky place, where my seed could find no purchase like if that is not the perfect encapsulation of how weird, and Over-the-top and wacky. This movie is about to be like, it didn't work for you Brad. It worked for me.

53:56 I giggled my ass off throughout this movie. I think we should move into final scores here, but we do want to reiterate, we both already picked our movie for. Let's make it a double. We would pair this up with. It's a mad mad, mad mad world. I think also like, I talked a little bit about the visuals and how their everything looks kind of asked you in this movie and I think that does pair up really well. With some of those early. Tim Burton movies. Like, if you wanted to just have a really weird 80s movie night you could watch this and Beetlejuice and I feel like those but those would line up pretty well. Brad. Is there any other movie that you could think of that you would pair this up with besides the one we already mentioned?

54:36 I've actually already used this as a movie but it literally just popped in my head so I'm going to say it. Logan lucky Mmm. Yeah I feel like it has a little bit of a similar Vibe partially just you know the main characters are a little bit as You have said, many times dim-witted nice. So yeah, maybe maybe Logan lucky. All right, I like it. I think that it is time for us to give final scores. I am going to give this movie a 10 out of 10 and I feel very weird because I don't feel like I have mounted any sort of passionate defense of this movie. But I feel so strongly that this is a really good movie that I almost don't feel like, I need to Brad. I've Loved. I have let you speak your piece.

55:17 The only 10 out of 10 is not really good. Territory. Yeah, I think it's like, a, a perfectly made American Comedy. There are very few movies that I find to be like, as funny as this while. Also building a world. You know, we talked about Anchorman really briefly last week, Anchorman is a really funny movie with really quotable lines and the whole time you're watching it, you don't believe for a second that you were in the 1970s. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's just it's like an extended SNL sketch where all the Is look fake and all the wigs, look fake. And it's like that's part of the joke, this movie, for any of the drawbacks that you might see in it.

55:57 Like you said, it creates a world and you are living in that world for 90 minutes. And if it works for you, it works really well. And if it doesn't, it apparently does not work at all. It worked really well for me, again, I'll say that the ending of this movie really impacted me, emotionally, I love that closing narration where Nicolas Cage is talking about having a dream and, and kind of looking forward into the future. And seeing an old couple in his dream and it's so it's so touching because he puts it so simply and and you said this already, he's kind of a simpleton. So he puts things simply, but he said and the old couple wasn't screwed up and neither were their kids and grandkids and I don't know, you tell me this whole dream, was it? Wishful thinking was I just fleeing reality. Like I'm liable to do but me and said we can be good too and I just Movie works for me, and I'm going to give it a 10 out of 10 that ending scene, deserves a better movie to attach it to. I like, I was truly Blown Away the, the monologue by Nathan Arizona, the monologue by H, I like genuinely was a phenomenal ending to just a bad film.

57:16 And so I that literally brought my score up one full point. The, the ending of that movie, I will give this movie a five point five out of ten. Wow, that is much higher than I anticipated. The I the adage of this, the average of our scores is not going to be a five. I thought it'd be a five. I will say the first thing that tipped me off to how wrong you were going to be was when I like, I went on the IMDb page for like, you know, just for some reason to look something up and I noticed I was like, oh, this has a 7.3, like most movies, we watch our 7.5 and up.

57:57 Sounds like someone three like Bob's and talk about this, like it's 10/10. I I'm a little worried now like this is 76 78 out of in the yeah, sure this is 73. I was like, oh, Bob's off his rocker. You know, this movie did get really mixed reviews when it first came out, I think there's been a bit of a critical reappraisal one of my favorite critics that you know we follow him on Twitter and we interact once in a while. His name is Bill JB re he gave he thinks this is the Coen brothers. As best movie ever, he gave it a 10 out of 10. And I saw that right before we hopped on tonight and I was like, dude, we should have invited him on the show. And now, I really feel like we should have invited them show because I would have had someone in my corner this whole time. I know, we're at the end of the episode but like I actually like what made this movie go from a nine and a half to attend for you because like that's like 10 out of 10 is special. I think that the ending is what puts it up in that eat it, you Me, like, with comedies.

58:58 I really struggle. If it doesn't have anything deeper to say, and I feel sometimes like I'm unfair to comedies because sometimes being silly is enough and and that's really hard for me though. And so I thought this movie maintained the silliness, it it kept itself, pretty light and Breezy, it's a really fast-paced movie. It's a really short movie. It knows when to get in and out and then to tack on at the end, it gets really poignant. And I think it has a lot to say about Parenthood and like, Raising kids in a really messed-up world and evaluating yourself in the face of that and trying to measure up and then realizing like, hey we are all effed up in a lot of ways and we can all be good if we choose to be.

59:40 I just I really think that it does exactly what a comedy is supposed to do. When I give it a 10 out of 10. It doesn't mean, I think it's a better movie than Lawrence of Arabia just because I gave Lawrence of Arabia 9 and this attend, do you know what I'm saying? Like, but I think this movie is as good as a movie like, this could possibly be, and that's what makes it a 10 for me. Yeah, I mean, I will give you Bill Jabari 10/10. I'm just going to put it out there. Just just saying Roger Ebert one and a half Stars. Yeah, he did not like this movie so I don't think I'm in, you know before poor Community here. Alright, next week we are going to be watching The Big Lebowski and the reason I put the Big Lebowski at the end of this miniseries is because I've only seen The Big Lebowski once and I did not like it.

1:00:32 I feel like about that movie the way you felt about this movie and so I want to give it another chance and we're bringing on an author named Kathleen. False oniy next week. She's written. A book about the Coen Brothers, she is going to help me cope and parse out this movie that I do not understand. And Brad, have you seen The Big Lebowski? I have not. I know that. What is it? The dude rules? The Dude abides the Dude abides. Sorry. And I know that it made white Russians popular. It is the T-shirt. I know. All right man. So we'll be back next week. We'll see if Brad likes that movie more than this one but until then I'm Bob book, I'm Reggie and we'll see you next time.