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THE REWATCHABLES · August 22, 2022

Scent of a Woman

A 1992 drama directed by Martin Brest, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.

Drama1990sDirected by Martin Brest

ON THIS EPISODE

Overall episode#270Source sheet order
Movie year19921990s
Tomatometer82%Critics’ score
Metacritic57View score
Roger Ebert—No review recorded
DirectorMartin BrestDrama

FROM THE CONVERSATION

What they said about the movie

A lively, mostly affectionate breakdown of Scent of a Woman as a big, overlong, highly rewatchable 90s studio movie built around Pacino’s maximalist performance, with lots of praise for its set pieces, but also recurring criticism of its excess, implausibilities, and dated politics.
Based only on this episode’s transcriptTimes approximateSpeakers were clearly identifiedExplore the connections

WHY IT WORKS

What made it rewatchable

  1. 01The movie is packed with standout set pieces that are easy to drop into when channel surfing. About 8 min
  2. 02Pacino's fully committed, large-scale performance gives the film its lasting energy. About 8 min
  3. 03The boarding school, New York, and courthouse sections create multiple mini-movies in one. About 8 min
  4. 04The Thanksgiving dinner, tango, Ferrari, and final hearing are singled out as memorable sequences. About 8 min
  5. 05The film is viewed as an iconic 90s movie that fits the era’s bigger, more event-like studio filmmaking. About 8 min · medium confidence

WHAT DID NOT WORK

Their main criticisms

  1. moderateThe movie is too long and could lose significant runtime without harming it. About 8 min
  2. majorThe blind Ferrari-driving sequence is wildly implausible. About 48 min
  3. moderateSome scenes feel padded or repetitive, especially in the second half. About 56 min
  4. majorThe movie’s politics and behavior would be badly received today. About 16 min
  5. moderateThe school disciplinary process is unrealistic and overly theatrical. About 1:04

SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO

Standout moments

Favorite

Airplane seduction speech

Slade gives Charlie a crude, memorable monologue about women and the flight setting.

About 24 min
positive

Oak Room / hotel drink setup

The hosts like this as a plotting scene that sets the film’s next movement in motion.

About 24 min
Favorite

Thanksgiving dinner

Slade detonates the family dinner with insults and chaos, which the hosts cite as one of the movie's best sequences.

About 32 min
Favorite

Tango scene

Slade and Donna dance, and the hosts praise it as a classic surprise dance scene.

About 32 min
critical

Ferrari test drive

The blind driving sequence is admired as a set piece but mocked for its realism.

About 48 min
Favorite

Charlie saves Slade / crying scene

Charlie confronts Slade emotionally and the scene becomes the movie’s iconic dramatic peak.

About 48 min
Favorite

Boarding school hearing and flamethrower speech

Slade's courtroom-style attack on the school is treated as hugely entertaining even if logically shaky.

About 1:04
positive

Final redheaded teacher flirtation

The film ends on a small comedic note with Slade landing one more flirtation.

About 1:04

WHERE THEY DISAGREED

The biggest debates

They partly agreed About 8 min

Whether Pacino's performance is underrated or overrated

Bill Simmons

He sees it as a cornerstone performance of Pacino's later career and one of the reasons the movie matters.

Chris Ryan

He thinks the performance's cultural afterlife overshadows the movie and that the role is more caricatured than nuanced.

They partly agreed About 8 min

Pacino versus Denzel for the 1992 Oscar

Bill Simmons

He acknowledges Denzel may deserve the win in hindsight but says Pacino's career achievement mattered in context.

Chris Ryan

He agrees the Denzel case is strong and that the Oscar fix could have split lead and supporting categories.

They partly agreed About 8 min

How much of the movie should have been cut

Bill Simmons

He thinks the film is too long and several scenes could be removed.

Chris Ryan

He accepts the excess as part of the movie's appeal, though he still agrees some scenes are padded.

They agreed About 1:04

Whether the final hearing is convincing

Bill Simmons

He enjoys the speech but questions the logic of the immediate unanimous verdict.

Chris Ryan

He also finds the process implausible and more theatrical than credible.

They agreed About 1:28

Whether Charlie should have been played by a Black actor

Bill Simmons

He thinks it would have been interesting and perhaps better in 2022, though less obvious in 1992.

Chris Ryan

He agrees it would have changed the movie in an interesting way and notes modern casting would likely go that route.

19 People discussedActors, directors, writers, and producers
very favorableAl PacinoBill Simmons: Praised as the engine of the movie and of Pacino's 1990s renaissance, though his performance is also seen as heightened and slightly gimmicky. About 8 min favorableChris O'DonnellBill Simmons: Viewed as surprisingly strong and essential in the emotional scenes, especially the crying confrontation with Pacino. About 48 min very favorablePhilip Seymour HoffmanBill Simmons: His early performance as George is admired as a revealing early sign of his talent. About 24 min favorableMartin BrestBill Simmons: Described as a wildly idiosyncratic filmmaker with a tendency to fight over runtime and creative control. About 8 min neutralBo GoldmanBill Simmons: Mentioned as the screenwriter behind the film and other prestige scripts. About 16 min · medium confidencefavorableDenzel WashingtonBill Simmons: Referenced mainly as the runner-up in the 1992 Oscar race and as a performer whose turn in Malcolm X aged well over time. About 8 min neutralRobert Downey Jr.Bill Simmons: Mentioned as another 1992 Oscar nominee and part of the crowded field. About 8 min · medium confidencefavorableDustin HoffmanBill Simmons: Used as an example of great character work in the school scenes and as a 'rich douche' type in other films. About 24 min favorableBradley WhitfordBill Simmons: Praised for his explosive Thanksgiving dinner performance as the bully teacher. About 40 min
favorableGabrielle AnwarBill Simmons: Liked for the tango scene, though the hosts think her career never fully matched early promise. About 32 min
neutralJack NicholsonBill Simmons: Discussed as a possible Colonel Slade, with speculation that the movie would be darker with him. About 1:28
neutralSly StalloneBill Simmons: Mentioned as another reported reject for the Slade role. About 1:28 · medium confidence
mixedChris RockBill Simmons: Referenced in a casting anecdote; he wanted the role of Charlie and later argued Charlie should have been black. About 1:28 favorablePaul Thomas AndersonBill Simmons: Mentioned for saying Hoffman’s scene inspired Scotty J in Boogie Nights. About 32 min neutralRobert DuvallBill Simmons: Referenced in connection with a tango movie and 90s dance trends. About 32 min · medium confidence
favorableThomas NewmanBill Simmons: Praised for the score, which the hosts treat like a major character in the film. About 1:12
favorableJames RebhornBill Simmons: Seen as a classic 'that guy' and a strong presence in the movie. About 1:28 favorableBill HaderBill Simmons: Referenced for a Pacino impression that helped define how later audiences hear Pacino. About 1:28 neutralStephen A. SmithBill Simmons: Named in the title of the hottest take award category. About 1:28 · low confidence
10 Conversation takesSpeakers shown only where the transcript identifies them
Bill SimmonsLiked it

Scent of a Woman as a 90s movie

He loves the movie despite flaws and sees it as a quintessential over-the-top 90s studio film with memorable peaks.

About 8 min
Bill SimmonsLoved it

Al Pacino's performance

He argues Pacino's performance is a key part of why the movie and the actor's later style mattered.

About 8 min
Chris RyanLiked it

Al Pacino's performance

He thinks the popular caricature of the performance has outgrown the movie, but the character remains indelible.

About 8 min
Bill SimmonsLoved it

Thanksgiving dinner

He treats the Thanksgiving scene as one of the movie's best and most rewatchable sequences.

About 32 min
Bill SimmonsMixed

Ferrari driving sequence

He enjoys the scene as a set piece but finds it absurd and hard to believe.

About 48 min
Chris RyanLiked it

O'Donnell crying confrontation

He is moved by the emotional confrontation and thinks O'Donnell hangs with Pacino.

About 48 min
Bill SimmonsLiked it

Boarding school hearing

He likes the catharsis, but also questions the realism of the hearing process.

About 1:04
Chris RyanMixed

Scent of a Woman's Oscar status

He thinks the film is part of the era when Oscar debates became a real cultural sport, but that Pacino's win may have been overreaching against Denzel.

About 8 min
Bill SimmonsLiked it

Chris O'Donnell

He thinks O'Donnell was extremely strong and perhaps better than people remember.

About 48 min
Craig HorlbeckDid not like it

Scent of a Woman

Craig says he did not enjoy the film and thinks Pacino is actively bad in it.

About 1:28
6 ThemesThe larger ideas in the discussion

Pacino's late-career persona

The film is framed as a turning point in Pacino’s 1990s run, with this performance feeding the louder, more self-parodic style that followed.

About 8 min

Oscar culture

The movie becomes a case study in Oscar discourse, with debate over whether Pacino won for career achievement or the right performance.

About 8 min

Class and prep-school hierarchy

They appreciate the movie's handling of old-money prep school dynamics and status games.

About 24 min

Male friendship and mentorship

The film is treated as a bonding story between Slade and Charlie, with emotional payoff in the final scenes.

About 48 min

90s movie excess

The episode repeatedly celebrates and critiques the era's big, showy, high-concept studio style.

About 8 min

Blindness as movie device

Pacino's blindness is discussed as a performance challenge and as a source of comic and dramatic power.

About 16 min
23 Facts and referencesProduction notes and other movies mentioned

Production note

Pacino's role won him the Oscar for Best Actor and the hosts describe it as a belated career crown.

About 8 min

Production note

The movie is said to have made about $134 million on a $30 million budget.

About 32 min

Production note

Bill says Martin Brest took his name off TV versions because of cuts.

About 8 min · medium confidence

Production note

Chris O'Donnell reportedly got advice from Pacino not to marry an actress.

About 1:12

Production note

Chris Ryan notes that Anwar later claimed Pacino did not attend tango rehearsals.

About 32 min

Production note

The Baird school scenes were shot at the Emma Willard School in New York.

About 1:28

Production note

Pacino worked with a school for the blind and a lieutenant colonel to prepare for the role.

About 1:28

Production note

A cut cameo involving Trump and Marla Maples at the Plaza is mentioned by O'Donnell.

About 1:28 · medium confidence

Heat

Used as the benchmark Pacino collaboration and a favorite episode memory.

Opening minutes

Dog Day Afternoon

Cited as one of the other classic Pacino modes besides the loud Scent of a Woman persona.

About 24 min

Glengarry Glen Ross

Referenced as a better, more nuanced Pacino performance from the same Oscar year.

About 8 min

Godfather Part II

Cited as the major Oscar omission in Pacino's career.

About 8 min

A Few Good Men

Used in comparisons about military-officer courtroom drama and the 'disgraced officer' trope.

About 1:28

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Used to compare rich-douche characters and as a Hoffman touchstone.

About 24 min

Boogie Nights

Mentioned because Hoffman in this film inspired Scotty J.

About 32 min

Twister

Referenced as the performance that made Hoffman recognizable to audiences.

About 40 min

The School Ties

Referenced as part of the early-90s boarding-school cycle and casting landscape.

About 16 min

Dead Poets Society

Mentioned as part of the boarding-school movie run.

About 1:12 · medium confidence

Rain Man

Used as another example of the 'Oscar performance' trend.

About 1:12 · medium confidence

Pulp Fiction

Referenced as one of the 1994 Oscar debates that intensified the culture around awards.

About 1:12 · medium confidence

The Dark Knight

Mentioned by Craig as a candidate for a future rewatchable re-do.

About 1:28 · medium confidence

The Fugitive

Mentioned by Craig as an all-time rewatchable candidate for a redo.

About 1:28 · medium confidence

Three Days of the Condor

Mentioned by Craig during his travel watch list.

About 1:28 · medium confidence
10 Running jokes and short linesRecurring bits captured from the conversation

Pacino impression / 'hoo-ah' cadence

They joke that modern Pacino impersonations trace back to this movie's shouting style.

About 16 min

'Do less, Phil'

Bill and Chris repeat a joking note about Hoffman overdoing parts of the performance.

About 1:28

Old-money prep-school douche bag chat

They repeatedly riff on rich-kid cruelty and the Baird boys' status games.

About 24 min

Holiday-dinner nightmare riff

They compare Slade's Thanksgiving chaos to a personal family-dinner disaster.

About 40 min

'Blind guy can do everything' joke

They repeatedly marvel that Slade can smell, hear, and navigate like a bat.

About 1:28

Bill Simmons

“I'm in the dark here!”
Opening minutes

Bill Simmons

“No mistakes in the tango, Donna.”
About 32 min

Bill Simmons

“I'd take a flamethrower to this place.”
About 1:04

Bill Simmons

“I don't know whether to shoot you or adopt you.”
About 48 min

Bill Simmons

“The day we stop looking, Charlie, is the day we die.”
About 1:12

MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT

Where to watch

UNITED STATES

Checking where Scent of a Woman is available…

WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

Movies to watch before and after.

Three movies to watch before Scent of a Woman, and three to watch next.

Finding six movies…Three to watch first and three to watch next.
Includes a Rewatchables episodePosters from TMDB.

ON THE MIC

2 voices on this episode

Bill Simmons headshotBill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris Ryan headshotChris RyanThe Rewatchables

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