The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
20 winners · 10 left open
Who won the movie?
DeclaredRebecca De Mornay
They explicitly name Rebecca De Mornay as the movie's winner.
Apex Mountain
Apparent consensusSeattle in 1992-93
Across the Apex Mountain chatter, Seattle's pop-culture moment and De Mornay's peak both come up, with Seattle treated as the broader winner.
Open the full ledger28 more categories, in podcast order↓
The Floyd Gondoli, butter on my ass and lollipops on my mouth award for something I just enjoy, I can't speak
Apparent consensusJulianne Moore being an unapologetic bitch in this movie
The hosts just settle on Julianne Moore's fully committed, unrepentant performance as the thing they most enjoy.
Bonus smoking category: The Sean Penn, I brought my own pack award, excellence in on-screen smoking combined with the Edie Falco and Copland award for the character that got three times hotter by smoking
DeclaredJulianne Moore
They explicitly award Julianne Moore for the movie's standout on-screen smoking and the way it enhances her character.
What stage is the best? Evil nannies?
DeclaredEvil nannies as a genre
They agree the evil-nanny movie is a fun, valid genre and should be allowed to exist.
What stage is the best? Asthma wheezing
Apparent consensusAsthma as a character weakness
They treat asthma wheezing as an effective vulnerability that gives the heroine a built-in Achilles heel.
What stage is the best? The horny husband friend that comes over and sees the nanny for the first time
Apparent consensusThe horny husband friend
They praise the obligatory horny friend character as a staple of this kind of movie.
Great shot order award
No consensusNo clear winner
They discuss several strong visual moments, but never settle on a single winner.
Best use of food and drink
DeclaredThe green apple
They clearly pick the green apple as the movie's best food-and-drink detail.
Chess Rockwell, Brock Landers Award for best character name
Apparent consensusPeyton Flanders
They toy with Marlene Craven, but Peyton Flanders emerges as the name they really land on.
The Billy Batts Jock Jock Waltz Award for most biting and scalable insult
Declared"When your husband makes love to you, it's my face he sees."
They single out that line as the film's sharpest insult.
Butch's girlfriend Award, weak link of the film
Apparent consensusMarty Craven
The room settles on Marty Craven, with Matt McCoy briefly floated as an alternate issue.
Vincent Chase Award, are we sure this character was actually good at his or her job?
No consensusNo clear winner
They debate Claire, Michael, and Solomon-adjacent concerns, but never pick one clear winner.
What's age the worst?
No consensusNo clear winner
They cite several dated details, including references, real estate, and a few physical beats, without choosing one definitive loser.
Hans Gruber scale for villain ranking
DeclaredPeyton Flanders
They rank Peyton as an 11-level villain, just below Hans Gruber.
Ruffalo Hannah Rubin and Partridge overacting award
No consensusNo clear winner
They mention Marty Craven and Ernie Hudson, but do not fully agree on a single overacting winner.
The CR thinks Luke Wilson should have been Harrison Ford award for the hottest take
DeclaredPeyton as wife material
They endorse the contrarian take that Peyton would actually make a stronger wife than Claire.
Casting what ifs
No consensusNo clear winner
They run through several alternate casting ideas, but the discussion stays speculative rather than decisive.
Best stack guy award
DeclaredJohn Doolan
They clearly identify John Doolan as the best stack guy in the movie.
Dion Waiters Award
DeclaredJulianne Moore
They give Julianne Moore the Dion Waiters-style award for making a small role feel huge.
Recasting couch, director, or city
No consensusNo clear winner
They pitch alternate settings like New Orleans, San Francisco, and Boston without settling on one.
The Marion Cabretti pizza cutting award for Why Didn't Anyone on Set Stop This
DeclaredClaire's inhaler use
They agree the movie's fake-looking inhaler usage is the most obviously botched production choice.
Picking nits
No consensusNo clear winner
They pile up several continuity and plausibility complaints without a single resolved pick.
Sequel, prequel, prestige to be all podcast or untouchable
No consensusNo clear winner
They note a Dr. Mott prequel idea exists in development, but no definitive winner is chosen.
Is this movie better with Wayne Jenkins, Fergie The Flora, Zane Lowe, Robert Evans, Dr. Charles Nichols, or somebody else?
Apparent consensusRobert Evans as Peyton's admirer
They land on Robert Evans as the funniest alternate-world fit, with Byron Mayo also mentioned.
Unanswerable questions
No consensusNo clear winner
They raise several movie logic questions, including Peyton's past, the Sonics, and the ending, without resolving them.
Memorabilia you'd want or not want from this movie
DeclaredAn old Volvo wagon
They jokingly reject the movie props and instead agree the Volvo wagon is the thing they'd actually want.
Coach Finstock, Mr. Miyagi, where best, worst life lesson?
Apparent consensusDon't hire a hot nanny / don't let a hot woman into a power position in your household
They treat the movie's main lesson as avoiding hot nannies and other dangerous household temptations.
Best double feature, Trace?
DeclaredSleeping with the Enemy
They settle on Sleeping with the Enemy as the cleanest double feature pairing.
Could this be a better movie?
No consensusNo clear winner
They end by talking through how the movie might be reimagined, but the discussion is really a final defense of De Mornay's performance.