THE REWATCHABLES · August 25, 2020
A 2005 comedy / romance directed by Judd Apatow, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The opening retail scene introduces the ensemble, sets the workplace tone, and produces the repeated Michael McDonald joke.
About 32 minThe card-game scene is praised for its writing, awkward sexual talk, and comic realism.
About 24 minThe waxing sequence is treated as an iconic gross-out set piece with real physical pain behind it.
About 24 minPaul Rudd’s porn-hand-off and mixtape gag are singled out as especially quotable.
About 32 minThe speed-dating and bookstore sequence shows Andy following Rudd and Rogen’s advice to comic effect.
About 24 minThe support group scene develops the social awkwardness and camaraderie around Andy’s secret.
About 32 minThe ending resolves the story with a silly musical number credited to Garry Shandling’s idea.
About 32 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsTends to think some documentaries and long comedies can overstay their welcome.
Sean FennesseyDefends maximalist length and says he wants all the material.
Bill SimmonsQuestions how the movie would function in the incel/social-media era.
Sean FennesseySays the sweetness and lovable oddball quality keep it from feeling like that kind of movie.
Bill SimmonsPrefers the poker game.
Chris RyanLeans toward the poker game but notes chest waxing and the bag-of-sand line are iconic.
Sean FennesseyAlso points to the poker game as the key scene.
Bill SimmonsInitially leans toward Apatow and later settles on him.
Sean FennesseySays Apatow is the winner because of his lasting influence and authorship.
Chris RyanAgrees Apatow is the right call.
Calls it really enjoyable, sweet, and adorable, and frames it as the start of a major comedy era.
Opening minutesDefends maximalist runtimes and argues viewers should get all the material and judge it themselves.
Opening minutesArgues the film captures a new big-movie improv style where scenes are built from the funniest version of many jokes.
Opening minutesTreats the chest-waxing sequence as one of the defining comic set pieces and compares it to classic gross-out scene construction.
About 24 minSays Carell’s part is more detailed and nuanced than a broader comic type and anchors the film’s sweetness.
About 8 minExplains Carell’s character as a functional good guy with one missing life strand, making him both odd and sympathetic.
About 8 minSays Apatow perfected the contemporary version of men busting each other’s balls in a workplace setting.
About 16 minCalls the poker-game sequence the personal favorite because it is perfectly written and the quotes are enduring.
About 24 minArgues the movie works because the gross material is offset by Andy’s sweetness and the supporting idiots around him.
About 1:12Says the film still holds up as a sweet, funny, well-structured comedy with great performances despite some dated elements.
About 1:12Credits Apatow with establishing a personal style and becoming the center of American movie comedy for years.
About 1:12Says Malco nearly owns the movie and deserved a bigger career after it.
About 16 minThe episode frames the film as a key moment in the rise of improv-driven, ensemble comedy that shaped the next decade.
Opening minutesAndy is presented as a good man stalled in suspended childhood, and the film follows his move toward adult connection.
About 8 minThe film’s workplace ball-busting and male chemistry are treated as a core Apatow signature.
About 16 minDespite the gross-out material, the hosts emphasize the movie’s warmth and romantic sincerity.
About 8 minBest Buy/Smart Tech is treated as a realistic environment for weird coworkers and absurd customer-service behavior.
About 24 minThe film began as a sketch Steve Carell performed at Second City.
About 32 minUniversal initially paused production because executives thought Carell’s character seemed too much like a serial killer.
About 32 minUniversal also thought Paul Rudd was too fat and wanted him thinner.
About 32 minThe production used over a million feet of film.
Opening minutesThe chest-waxing scene used five cameras and really waxed Carell’s chest.
About 40 minGarry Shandling helped devise the ending musical number.
About 32 minThe American Humane Association withheld its approval because several tropical fish died during filming.
About 1:12Leslie Mann’s drunk behavior for her scene was modeled on footage she shot while actually drunk.
About 1:12Used as a near-predecessor and part of the rise of Apatow-era comedy.
Opening minutesCompared as another ensemble comedy built on a let-them-cook premise.
Opening minutesMentioned as part of Steve Carell’s path before this movie.
About 8 minDiscussed as being influenced by Carell’s film persona and given more runway by the movie’s success.
About 1:12Compared to the film’s lovable-doofus structure.
About 8 minSean cites it as a Steve Martin-era predecessor to this kind of lonely-comedy character.
About 8 minUsed to contrast Apatow’s later, more slice-of-life work and to note a Munich joke.
About 8 minBrought up repeatedly as a 2005 Oscar film the hosts think is overrated or disappointing.
About 40 minCited as an Oscar contender that the hosts think comedies were unfairly competing against.
About 40 minReferenced as part of the 2005 awards field and with Catherine Keener’s other work.
About 40 minListed as one of the 2005 Best Picture nominees.
About 40 minUsed as a comparison for comedies that should have been more Oscar-recognized.
About 48 minReferenced via the idea of characters being fake and not judged as if real.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceMentioned to describe Catherine Keener’s indie-acting background.
About 48 minReferenced in the bookstore advice joke about acting like 'David Caruso and Jade.'
About 24 minThe Best Buy manager repeatedly plays the same Michael McDonald DVD and threatens violence if he hears the song again.
About 32 minThe hosts repeatedly interrupt themselves to dunk on Munich, turning it into a running digression.
About 40 minThe awkward breast-feel line becomes one of the episode’s most quoted bits.
About 24 minPaul Rudd’s porn-and-R&B compilation is treated as an enduringly funny detail.
About 32 minThe hosts acknowledge the joke’s datedness while discussing its comic function.
About 1:12They keep returning to whether long comedies are a feature or a bug of Apatow’s style.
Opening minutes“if I hear Yamo be there one more time”Opening minutes
“It feels like a bag of sand”About 24 min
“Boner Jams 03”About 32 min
“David Caruso and Jade”About 24 min
“Let's get some fucking French toast”About 1:12
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
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ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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