THE REWATCHABLES · February 24, 2025
A 2004 drama / crime movie directed by Paul Haggis—and decision no. 44 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The Ludacris/companion opening is cited as attention-grabbing and structurally important even if broad.
About 16 minUsed as an example of the movie’s overblown, almost comedic symbolism.
About 8 minA favorite scene in which Peña’s tenderness gives the movie genuine feeling.
About 32 minThe locksmith argument is highlighted as one of the film’s most memorable and quoteable sequences.
About 32 minSeen as the movie’s most realistic conversation and one of its strongest scenes.
About 40 minRecognized as devastating and effective, even if the surrounding movie is absurd.
About 16 minMocked as implausible redemption and a hero-music payoff the film has not earned.
About 32 minAcknowledged as one of the film’s more effective emotional subplots.
About 48 minUsed to show the film’s overdetermined, sermon-like ending structure.
About 1:04WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Van LathanIt is more of a hate-watch than a true rewatchable, though individual scenes are memorable.
Bill SimmonsIt is watchable enough to function as a nostalgic rewatch, even if the full movie is bad.
Van LathanSandra Bullock’s character is the worst human being in the film.
Bill SimmonsMatt Dillon’s cop is the best worst-person choice because the film’s fear of police is so extreme.
Joanna RobinsonRyan Phillippe is also a plausible worst choice because the character is badly cast and morally ugly.
Van LathanA black director could not have made this exact movie because its logic is too racially blunt and historically thin.
Joanna RobinsonA white director could make it in 2005, though it would be unlikely today.
Bill SimmonsHe thinks the film’s perspective and framing are obviously white-coded.
Van LathanThe Cheadle/Fichtner scene is the best and most rewatchable.
Bill SimmonsThe Michael Peña/daughter and locksmith material is the strongest rewatchable material.
Joanna RobinsonThe Thandiwe Newton crash scene is iconic even if painful.
Joanna RobinsonRyan Phillippe is miscast; Heath Ledger or others would improve that role.
Bill SimmonsJohn Cusack in Matt Dillon’s role would make a much better movie.
Van LathanThe cast is strong overall, but the writing is the bigger problem.
Calls it a weirdly watchable but not truly rewatchable movie that works more as a hate-watch.
Opening minutesSays the film’s reputational significance comes from the Oscars upset, not from quality.
About 8 minArgues that the movie is so ham-fisted and heavy-handed it becomes unintentionally comic.
About 16 minCalls Bullock’s character worse than a simple Karen and morally unredeemable.
About 32 minTreats the office scene as one of the few legitimately great, realistic scenes in the movie.
About 40 minFinds the Michael Peña domestic and locksmith material to be the movie’s best material.
About 32 minLikes Bullock as an actress and enjoys her willingness to play against her usual romantic-comedy image.
About 1:12Mocks the genre of movies where white characters redeem racism for the audience.
About 32 minSays Crash beating Brokeback Mountain was a major Oscars travesty.
About 8 minSays the movie is emotionally manipulative and badly edited, though some scenes work in isolation.
About 56 minThe hosts argue the movie lets viewers feel enlightened without challenging them deeply, especially white audiences.
About 16 minThe episode frames the movie as famous because it won Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain and triggered a major awards-era backlash.
About 8 minThey see Crash as a product of a time when movies could be collectively argued over before instant online pile-ons.
About 8 minThe hosts see the film as an indictment of the LAPD and police misconduct, though often in a blunt way.
About 32 minThe cast’s mid-career or pre-breakout status gives the film a weird time-capsule quality.
Opening minutesThe film was inspired by Paul Haggis’s real-life Porsche carjacking in 1991 on Wilshire Boulevard.
About 40 minThe movie had a relatively small budget and became a major Oscar winner despite modest domestic box office for a Best Picture winner.
About 40 minOprah’s endorsement and DVD screener strategy helped propel the film’s Oscar campaign.
About 40 minPaul Haggis later left Scientology and became a major public controversy figure.
About 40 minThe hosts mention that the film won Best Picture, screenplay, and editing, while only Matt Dillon was nominated among the acting ensemble.
About 40 minThandiwe Newton wore protective underwear for the assault scene.
About 1:20The movie was one of the first Best Picture winners to be widely pushed through DVDs to guild members.
About 40 min · medium confidenceThe hosts note the film is very 2005 because of landlines, smoking in Los Angeles, and no camera phones during police incidents.
About 48 minThey jokingly refer to the character name as ‘Shaniqua’ while discussing Loretta Devine’s final scene.
About 56 min · medium confidenceThe Oscar rival Crash beat for Best Picture.
About 8 minReferenced as a more recent version of a movie that reassures white audiences about race.
About 16 minUsed as a contemporary example of a film that provokes divided reactions.
About 16 min · medium confidenceCited as one of Van’s “white people solve racism” examples.
About 48 minIncluded in Van’s list of race-reckoning films.
About 48 minUsed as another example of a white-savior race movie.
About 48 minVan names it as the top white-people-solve-racism movie.
About 48 minUsed as a comparison for ensemble, interconnected structure and Cruise casting possibilities.
About 1:12Mentioned as another interconnected ensemble film people forget.
About 1:20 · medium confidenceReferenced in the cast-discussion around Matt Damon availability.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceReferenced in a casting discussion involving Matt Damon’s 2005 availability.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceUsed while discussing Thandiwe Newton’s career and visibility.
About 40 minMentioned in relation to interviewing Nona Gaye and her career.
About 40 min · medium confidenceReferenced to describe Don Cheadle and Philip Seymour Hoffman-style casting ideas.
About 56 min · medium confidenceCited as a movie Van strongly dislikes in a Nolan-related aside.
About 1:20 · medium confidenceA recurring joke about revisiting Oprah’s endorsements, including Crash, Oz, and Dr. Phil.
About 40 minVan invents a comic category for films where white characters are positioned as racial saviors.
About 48 minThey joke about Van needing Los Angeles to keep his racial commentary fresh.
About 8 minThey repeatedly mispronounce and mock Ryan Phillippe’s name.
About 24 minThe episode ends with a brief bit about a signature sound effect from another show.
About 1:20 · medium confidence“Maybe we call it the hate watchable.”Opening minutes
“It’s an unbelievable and powerful movie of the year.”Opening minutes · low confidence
“Everyone's a little bad.”About 1:04
“There are no human being behaviors”About 1:44
“We all collectively lost, I think, as a culture.”About 1:44
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Crash, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Van Lathan36 tracked appearances · 11 H / 23 C / 2 ties
Joanna Robinson9 tracked appearances · 7 H / 2 CCATEGORY CONTEXT
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