Luke Wilson – This Had Oscar Buzz

307 – Brad’s Status

Underdiscussed in the Mike White oeuvre is 2017’s Brad’s Status, the story of a father reflecting on his own formative college years while taking his son on a college visit. With Ben Stiller center stage, the film examines privilege and maleness with White’s exacting but humane eye for detail, resulting one of the most emotionally affecting works of his career without sacrificing his penchant for characters who aren’t always likable. Arriving the same year as both the White-scripted Beatriz at Dinner and the Stiller-starring The Meyerowitz Stories, this dramedy was yet another victim of Amazon’s mishandled marketing.

This week, we talk about Stiller’s recent years without of major acting roles and what makes this performance one of his best. We also talk about Austin Abrams’ performance as Brad’s son Troy, White’s other portraits of class, Stiller’s upcoming return in TIFF opener Nutcrackers.

Topics also include daydreams, Annapurna Pictures, and 2017 Original Screenplay.

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148 – Concussion

Finally, we are telling the truth! In 2015, Will Smith took on another biopic with Concussion as Dr. Bennett Omalu, the forensic pathologist whose research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy experienced by football players found opposition with the NFL. After premiering at AFI Fest, the film received middling reviews and opened on Christmas Day only to be gobbled up by the storm that was The Force Awakens, resulting in one of Smith’s paltriest openings.

Will Smith’s strong performance landed him a Golden Globe nomination, but missed out of the Oscar lineup on nomination day, becoming one of the most cited performances in Oscar So White conversation. This episode, we discuss whether or the film goes easy on the NFL and their attempts to silence Dr. Omalu, and how it takes on toxic masculinity in football culture at large. We also look at the abysmal 2015 Best Actor race, how this film showed up in the Sony hack, and how Albert Brooks can sell a crass line about his anatomy.

Topics also include 5 disk CD changer technology, how Avatar 2 is just Mare of Easttown 2, and Concussion’s MTV Movie Award nominations.

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027 – The Family Stone (with Tara Ariano)

This week, we invited over Extra Hot Great co-host Tara Ariano to discuss our problematic Christmas fav, 2005′s The Family Stone. It may be one of several love-it-or-hate it holiday movies, but spoiler alert the three of us are super fans. Oscar and critics however, were a different story. Once thought a potential play for the goodwill lingering from Diane Keaton’s Something’s Gotta Give nomination, the awards tally for the Thomas Bezucha film made its largest dent with a Globe nomination for Sarah Jessica Parker – not to mention playing into the ascendancy of Rachel McAdams.

Topics include the 2005 Supporting Actress lineup that introduced several Oscar favorites, the film’s cozy/prickly authenticity in depicting family dynamics, and the return of our favorite random movie award: the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards!

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