Body Double: Hanks — Rewatch Index

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Podcast episode#369No. 380 overall

Movie year19841980s release

Tomatometer79%No. 64 of 128 tracked

Metacritic69View score

Roger Ebert—No review recorded

State of the raceHanks led by 317–14 · 0 ties

FROM THE CONVERSATION

What they said about the movie

The episode treats Body Double as a hyper-stylized, horny, funny, and deeply De Palma movie: a satirical erotic thriller built around voyeurism, LA artifice, and cinematic excess. The hosts admire its visual invention and rewatchability even while mocking its absurd plot, weak protagonist, and intentionally outrageous ending.

Based only on this episode’s transcriptTimes approximateSpeakers were clearly identifiedExplore the connections

In this conversation

Bill Simmons

Chris Ryan

Sean FennesseyCraig Horlbeck

WHY IT WORKS

What made it rewatchable

01De Palma's camera work, visual gags, and the sense that you miss details on each viewing make it a 'rewind the scene' movie. Opening minutes
02The LA locations and artificial spaces are themselves fun to recognize and revisit. About 24 min
03The porn-industry detour is treated as an almost separate movie that is sensational and brilliantly staged. About 48 min
04The movie's ridiculous set pieces, especially the drill murder and 360-degree kiss, are memorable and extreme. About 40 min

WHAT DID NOT WORK

Their main criticisms

majorThe plot is silly and full of holes, especially Sam's murder scheme and the reservoir finale. About 1:12
moderateCraig Wasson's lead performance is awkward and hard to spend two hours with. About 8 min
minorThe acting-class scene is important but does not work well for them. About 16 min
majorThe Indian caricature has aged badly. About 1:04
moderateThe noir/erotic-thriller world is so stylized that some viewers may find it impossible to connect with. About 16 min · medium confidence

SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO

Standout moments

critical

Girlfriend cheating discovery

Jake walks in on his girlfriend with another man; the hosts read his reaction as deeply emasculating and funny.

About 8 min

mixed

Acting-class sardine exercise

The method-acting scene is mocked but recognized as important for establishing Jake's trapped psychology.

About 16 min

Favorite

Neighbor's nightly strip routine

The telescope reveal of the dancing neighbor becomes a running delight and a key example of voyeurism.

About 16 min

Favorite

Rodeo Collection stalking sequence

Jake follows Holly through the mall and elevator, with camera movement and claustrophobia making the sequence iconic.

About 56 min

Favorite

360-degree kiss on the beach

The rotating kiss is treated as a wild, almost dreamlike De Palma flourish.

About 40 min

Favorite

Drill murder of Gloria

The murder by drill is one of the episode's most discussed set pieces and a top-tier movie kill.

About 40 min

Favorite

Porn trailer / Holly Does Hollywood segment

The in-movie porn trailer and video-store material are praised as hilarious, fully realized, and influential.

About 48 min

critical

Reservoir finale

The ending is called ridiculous and the weakest part of the movie because the murder plan makes little sense.

About 1:12

WHERE THEY DISAGREED

The biggest debates

They agreed Opening minutes

Is Body Double secretly a satire/comedy or mainly a thriller?

Chris Ryan
It's a funny, twisted movie full of absurd details.

Sean Fennessey
It is satire and a deliberate rendering of horny, high-toned violence and sex.

Bill Simmons
It's also a thriller, but the tone is so ridiculous that the comedy is inseparable.

They partly agreed About 16 min

How much should the movie's plot holes matter?

Bill Simmons
The plot has many nitpicks and the finale does not hold together.

Chris Ryan
The details are flawed, but the movie is still a delight to revisit.

They agreed About 48 min

Was the porn-industry sequence too much or perfectly integrated?

Bill Simmons
It works as a major set-piece but is wildly over the top.

Chris Ryan
It is the best integration of porn-world imagery into a mainstream movie.

Sean Fennessey
De Palma clearly studied porn and MTV to make the sequence feel precise.

They partly agreed About 8 min

Could a bigger star have played Jake?

Bill Simmons
Not really; a bigger star like Travolta or Pacino would make the part wrong.

Chris Ryan
Tom Hanks or maybe Kurt Russell could work, but the role needs an ordinary guy.

17 People discussedActors, directors, writers, and producers

very favorableBrian De PalmaBill Simmons: Praised as a master filmmaker, a stylish provocateur, and an unapologetic interview subject whose movies are highly cinematic. Opening minutes favorableMelanie GriffithChris Ryan: Admired as perfect casting and credited with reviving her career; the hosts love her 1980s run. About 8 min

mixedCraig WassonBill Simmons: Seen as weirdly cast but somewhat fitting for a dweeby, emasculated lead; his performance is divisive. About 16 min

neutralDeborah SheltonChris Ryan: Her performance is criticized, but the dubbed voice and striking looks are noted as part of the movie's uncanny effect. About 16 min

favorableHelen ShaverSean Fennessey: Praised for the sultry voice that replaced Deborah Shelton's dialogue. About 16 min

favorablePino DonaggioChris Ryan: His score is called beautiful and effective during the stalking sequences. About 56 min

favorableRoger EbertBill Simmons: His review is cited as a great piece of criticism that salutes the film's pure filmmaking. About 56 min criticalPauline KaelBill Simmons: Referenced as someone who disliked the film and, more broadly, fell out of step on some 1980s movies. About 56 min

neutralJohn LautnerBill Simmons: Referenced as the architect of the Chemosphere house used in the film. About 24 min

favorableAnnette HavenSean Fennessey: Discussed as a real porn performer who influenced the role of Holly Body and consulted on the film. About 1:20

neutralLinda HamiltonBill Simmons: Mentioned as the actress De Palma wanted for Holly Body before she chose The Terminator instead. About 1:20 neutralJamie Lee CurtisBill Simmons: Mentioned as another casting possibility for Holly Body. About 1:20 favorableKathleen TurnerChris Ryan: Suggested as a possible Gloria Revelle and praised as a potentially perfect fit. About 1:36

favorableGreg HenryBill Simmons: Seen as the ideal De Palma 'that guy' and especially effective as the villain in disguise. About 1:04

favorableDennis FranzSean Fennessey: Highlighted as one of De Palma's recurring favorite performers. About 1:12

favorableStephen H. BroomChris Ryan: The cinematography, especially diopter and moving-camera work, is praised as key to the film's pleasure. About 56 min

favorableBarbara CramptonChris Ryan: Her early scene is remembered fondly as part of the movie's B-movie and horror lineage. About 48 min

10 Conversation takesSpeakers shown only where the transcript identifies them

Sean FennesseyLoved it

Brian De Palma's style

Frames De Palma as a Hitchcock-obsessed pervert genius who makes cinematic, horny thrillers with great craft.

Opening minutes

Chris RyanLoved it

Body Double as a rewatchable film

Says the movie is delightful, funny, twisted, and packed with details you can keep discovering.

Opening minutes

Bill SimmonsMixed

The film's plot

Admires the style and satire but keeps stressing that the story is silly, flawed, and full of nitpicks.

Opening minutes

Sean FennesseyLoved it

Cinematic emphasis over dialogue

Argues the movie is built to be visually experienced; dialogue and plot are secondary to image and structure.

About 8 min

Chris RyanLoved it

The opening stalking and mall sequence

Loves the long stalk through the mall and says the camera movement and tension make nothing happening feel exciting.

About 56 min

Bill SimmonsLoved it

The drill murder

Treats the kill as one of the great movie kills and loves its absurd, tongue-in-cheek escalation.

About 40 min

Chris RyanLoved it

The Frankie Goes to Hollywood / porn-video sequence

Says the porn-video segment is the best integration of MTV-style energy into a film and a perfect needle-drop moment.

About 48 min

Bill SimmonsMixed

Craig Wasson as Jake

Thinks he works in the first act but would not fit if the movie needed more star power later.

About 16 min

Sean FennesseyLoved it

The film's LA setting

Says the movie's locations are celebratory, artificial, and central to how it works.

About 24 min

Chris RyanDid not like it

Jake

Keeps returning to how pathetic, passive, and creepy the protagonist is, even while enjoying the movie.

About 8 min

5 ThemesThe larger ideas in the discussion

Voyeurism as cinema

The hosts see the film as about watching, stalking, and the viewer's complicity in looking.

About 8 min

Cinema versus television

They contrast De Palma's image-driven filmmaking with modern writer/showrunner TV that they say is more like radio plays.

About 8 min

LA artifice

Los Angeles locations are celebrated as fake, designed spaces that fit the movie's theme of illusion.

About 24 min

Porn as part of Hollywood

The movie is read as collapsing the gap between mainstream Hollywood labor and porn labor.

About 48 min

De Palma as Hitchcock-plus-horniness

The episode frames Body Double as a shamelessly horny Hitchcock remix, but also a showcase for formal craft.

Opening minutes

22 Facts and referencesProduction notes and other movies mentioned

Production note

Deborah Shelton's voice was dubbed by Helen Shaver.

About 16 min

Production note

The film reportedly lost money on an $10 million budget against an $8.8 million gross.

About 56 min

Production note

Craig Wasson's lead role is his best-known film part and he later became an audiobook narrator.

About 1:12 · medium confidence

Production note

The set for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood sequence was reused in Fright Night.

About 1:36

Production note

De Palma claimed he studied porn and MTV to shape the film's visual style.

About 48 min

Production note

The killer's disguise makeup reportedly took three and a half hours each day.

About 1:12

Production note

De Palma reportedly cast Melanie Griffith after knowing her from a Trivia Pursuit game with cocaine-anonymous actors.

About 16 min · medium confidence

Rear Window

Used as a major comparison point for Body Double's voyeurism and stalking structure.

Opening minutes

Vertigo

Referenced as part of the Hitchcock-inspired DNA of the film.

Opening minutes

Dressed to Kill

The hosts treat Body Double as a horny successor to De Palma's earlier work.

Opening minutes

Blowout

Mentioned as one of De Palma's strongest later films.

About 24 min

Scarface

Cited as part of De Palma's 1976-83 hot streak and as a major career success.

About 8 min

The Untouchables

Referenced as another De Palma hit and a point of comparison for his career stature.

About 8 min

Boogie Nights

Used repeatedly as a later film that clearly borrows from Body Double's porn-world material.

About 48 min

Hardcore

Compared as another movie about pretending to be in the porn industry; George C. Scott is singled out.

About 48 min

The Terminator

Mentioned because Linda Hamilton turned down Body Double for it.

About 1:20

Working Girl

Used to illustrate Melanie Griffith's later success.

About 16 min

The Chemosphere

The famous house used in the film's LA location work.

About 24 min

Barney's Beanery

Referenced as a real LA spot where Jake drinks and the hosts joke about the scene.

About 8 min

Rodeo Collection

The indoor-outdoor mall where Jake follows Holly.

About 56 min

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Their song 'Relax' powers the porn-video sequence and is praised as a perfect 1984 needle drop.

About 48 min

Scream

Referenced only in a sponsor ad for Paramount+, not as part of the Body Double discussion.

About 40 min · low confidence

11 Running jokes and short linesRecurring bits captured from the conversation

Horny De Palma ranking

De Palma is repeatedly characterized as cinema's top horny pervert and a master of erotic thrillers.

Opening minutes

Craig Wasson comparisons

Wasson is compared to Bill Maher, Brecken Meyer, Dreyfuss, Minshew, and other dweeby archetypes.

About 16 min

Pussy Flick Theater / Sid Goldberg bit

The porn producer/show-host material becomes a playful recurring impression and fake-programming gag.

About 48 min

The Indian/claustrophobia impressions

Chris imitates Wasson's panic face and the hosts joke about the killer disguise and the protagonist's fear response.

About 1:04

Body-double / cucked / peeping-Tom vocabulary

They keep using transgressive shorthand to describe Jake's humiliation and voyeurism.

About 1:04

LA-location spotting

Recognizing real LA places in the movie becomes its own game, with the hosts naming malls, houses, and restaurants.

About 24 min

Chris Ryan

“number one pervert”

Opening minutes

Bill Simmons

“I love how that lady looks”

Opening minutes

Chris Ryan

“It's a freeze frame movie”

Opening minutes

Bill Simmons

“I thought she stopped drinking”

About 1:36

Sean Fennessey

“very cinematic”

About 8 min

MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT

Where to watch

UNITED STATES

Checking where Body Double is available…

WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

Movies to watch before and after.

Three movies to watch before Body Double, and three to watch next.

Finding six movies…Three to watch first and three to watch next.

ON THE MIC

3 voices made the call

Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties

Chris Ryan77 tracked appearances · 36 H / 38 C / 3 ties

Sean Fennessey35 tracked appearances · 15 H / 17 C / 3 ties

CATEGORY CONTEXT

How its genres lean

Thriller34 movies7 H · 23 C Erotic6 movies1 H · 4 C Mystery9 movies4 H · 4 C

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