Ep. 2 - Internal Affairs (1990)

[00:00:00] All right, then keep your secrets. Get that frog out of your pants. I'm the guy, the real guy. Where do all these movies come from anyway? Just fucking ding-a-ling. I will take the ring to Moldor. Though, I do not know the way.

[00:00:24] Hello and welcome to Episode 2 of The Complete Works Season 5. A deep dive into the career and films of actor Elijah Wood. My name is Mike Smith and joining me on this journey there and back again is my friend, co-host, and fellow Elijah Provida. Mike Truchia. How you doing today, Mike? I'm doing great. Better now, honestly.

[00:00:52] Do you like that one better than last week when it was Woodpecker? Woodpecker? I do like Elijah Provida better. I still think we can workshop it. Okay, fair enough. We'll go back to the drawing board on that one. Both of these intro word combinations were submitted by Kyle Cullen, our theme song producer slash just producer of the podcast. He was giving me podcast ideas the other day, like actually doing like producer stuff.

[00:01:23] And I was like, yeah, we should probably start calling him producer Kyle and strip Colin of his name. Unless Colin wanted to start doing producer stuff. I don't know. Yeah, yeah. A decade in and you'll be deproducered. Yes, exactly. That's what you get. In favor of the person who is actually producing. The actual producer. Elijah Provida came from Kyle. So, yeah, if you hear that and you want to hear it again, sound off in the comments and let us know.

[00:01:52] Let us know you want Elijah Provida to stick for the Elijah Wood season. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think we referenced this last episode also, but due to the fun podcast time travel, it's going to be a while before we get any feedback. I think we're planning to bank like at least eight episodes before we start releasing them. So it could be like two full months before we start hearing what people want to do. So it could be a we could be swapping them out for a while. We'll see what happens. We'll be we'll be testing them out and see what see what sticks.

[00:02:20] Yes. So Mike, here's something that I bet you didn't realize while watching today's movie. OK, what's the what do you think I didn't know? Well, this film actually has a connection to a previous complete works movie, Mike. What? Yes. So way back in season two, we talked about a movie called Deep Cover with Jeff Goldblum and Lawrence Fishburne. I see your face. I see you're wondering where I'm going with this. Because isn't there another connection to a season one movie?

[00:02:51] Actually, yes, I think you're right. And I'm blanking on what that is now. Oh, actually, yes. So, yes. No, you're right. Mike Figgis directed this movie who also directed Leave in Las Vegas. That's not what I'm talking about. That's not what you're talking about. Now I don't know what's happening. Different connection that I'm going into. So way back in season two, we watched Deep Cover with Jeff Goldblum. That is a movie about a cop who goes undercover as a drug dealer to expose a major crime ring. That movie's original draft was written by Henry Bean, who also wrote today's movie.

[00:03:18] But not only that, the original draft of Deep Cover was actually written as a sequel to today's film. What? Yes. That's crazy. This is Deep Cover 1. Mike, that we're talking about. This is the original. It kind of makes sense now that you've said that. Yes, it makes sense. Both films are thematically pretty similar. Both follow cops losing themselves in their work. Seedy underbellies, massive corruption, lots of sleaziness.

[00:03:47] The difference is that today's film features about three seconds of little kid Elijah Wood. Yeah, it does. And since Elijah Wood is in it, we've got to talk about internal affairs. I think most people want to be bad. It's because it is bad. Oh, we have cops. Except the cop's the guy who wants to do it with Savone. Don't, don't.

[00:04:17] Hands up. Did I mean? Internal affairs is the most important division on the force. We have to be better than the other cops. What do you think he's doing? Could be a lot of things. I want you to kill my mother and father. What? You go after Dennis Peck right along and you don't get him. You're dead in the department. And if you do get him, it could be even worse.

[00:04:48] We're in trouble, aren't we? Do you know anything about this kid, Brain and Avila? You have a very pretty wife, don't you? Do you have to kiss every single person at the party tonight? A little skinny for my taste, but they say skinny ones get good. Hey, sergeant! Hey, run, talk to me about it. Who'd you have lunch with? Who'd you have lunch with? Do you have enough for a formal complaint? No. Then shut up! All those friends you have on the force, you don't have them anymore. Police officer! Richard Gere.

[00:05:18] I'm gonna take care of things, don't worry about it. Andy Garcia. He's a dirty cop. You testify against Dennis Peck, we'll grant you immunity. Did he contact you? Lock the door. Are you alright? Yeah, lock the door. Yeah! Don't say anything. Take it along! Internal Affairs. Can I trust you? Of course you can trust me.

[00:05:47] So Elijah Wood appears as Sean, the son of Penny, the abused wife of Van Stretch. Penny is played by Faye Grant from the sci-fi series V, and Van Stretch is a central figure in the film, a corrupt cop, played by William Baldwin, the same year he appeared in Flatliners. The film centers on Dennis Peck, though, a corrupt cop slash hitman, played by Richard Gere. I just love that that's an added element to his character. Yeah. Very casually introduced into the movie. Yes. Richard Gere plays Dennis Peck.

[00:06:17] It also centers on Raymond Avila, an internal affairs officer obsessed with bringing him to justice. And he's played by Andy Garcia, who was also in Godfather 3 this same year. His wife, Kathleen, is played by Nancy Travis, who in more recent years played Tim Allen's wife on Last Man Standing. And his partner, Amy Wallace, is played by Laurie Metcalf, who was already on Roseanne at the time. From there, Peck's wife Heather is played by Annabella Shora, who we remember from Romeo is Bleeding. How could we forget? Of course.

[00:06:47] Grieve is played by Richard Bradford, the police chief from The Untouchables. Dorian Fletcher is played by Michael Beach from movies like True Romance and Saw 10. Chief Healy is played by John Cappadice from movies like Speed and Independence Day. Stephen Arrakis is played by John Capellos, the janitor from The Breakfast Club. And Rudy Moore is played by Xander Berkeley from movies like Terminator 2 and Heat. So the movie was written by Henry Bean, who also wrote Deep Cover and Basic Instinct 2. And it was directed by Mike Figgis, his second feature and his first American film.

[00:07:16] So this was two years after his first film, 1988's Stormy Monday, a neo-noir with Melanie Griffith, Sean Bean, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sting, which I've never seen, but sounds fucking sick. That sounds rad. Hell yeah. Sounds rad as hell. And it was one year before his next movie, Liebestrom. So Mike Figgis, best known for directing another movie we covered on this podcast, 1995's Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage. His most recent narrative film was 2012's Suspension of Disbelief.

[00:07:43] The last year, he just released Megadoc, which is a making-of documentary about Francis Ford Coppola's Megadoc, which I have seen. You have not, correct, Mike? Correct. Haven't seen it. I haven't seen Megadoc either. So I'm kind of waiting, I guess, till I watch that before watching the Megadoc movie. I would recommend watching Megadoc first just so you can get the most out of Megadoc. And also because Megadoc is fucking wild and it's crazy. It's a crazy ride. That's what I've heard. Yes. And I really enjoyed Megadoc.

[00:08:11] If you watch Megadoc, it's very funny. It's very funny to see like, you know, there are other in-depth documentaries about the making of Francis Ford Coppola films. Very famously, there's at least one other big one, Hearts of Darkness, Making Apocalypse Now. And that is a movie in which Francis Ford Coppola is like descending into madness while making Apocalypse Now, kind of reflecting the journey of that movie. And Megadoc is weirdly similar. It's weirdly like, and here's this old man who sold his winery and put everything into

[00:08:40] this movie to create his art. And he's being tortured by Shia LaBeouf the entire time. It all tracks, honestly. Yes. Very, very fun. So Internal Affairs was released on January 12th, 1990, where it opens number four at the box office. Opening to number 11 that weekend was a horror sequel. Do you want to guess which horror sequel came out on January 12th, 1990, Mike? There's so many to pick from, though.

[00:09:10] That is true. This is a threequel, if that helps. It's the third film in the franchise. Oh, man. No, Laurie Metcalf won't be in a scream for a couple of years. No, I don't know. I got nothing. What threequel came out? Yes. The threequel that came out this weekend, and I guess bombed because it opened at number 11 at the box office, was Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. Never in a thousand years when I've gotten to Texas Chainsaw. Yeah, fair enough.

[00:09:40] Number one that weekend was Born on the Fourth of July, in its fourth week at the box office. The rest of the top ten included The War of the Roses, Tango and Cash, Steven Spielberg's Always, The Little Mermaid, Steel Magnolia's, Glory, Back to the Future Part 2, still hanging it out in the top ten. We talked about it last week. And Driving Miss Daisy, rounding out the ten. The letterbox plot synopsis for internal affairs reads, Keen Young Raymond Avila joins the internal affairs department of the Los Angeles Police.

[00:10:10] He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck, whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed, Peck is involved in any number of dubious or downright criminal activities. He's also devious, a womanizer, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila. Do they have user-submitted plots and off-seas on Letterboxd? Because that sounds pretty user-submitted to me. That felt a little user-submitted.

[00:10:36] Yeah, like we've said before, I'm going to Letterboxd now instead of INGV. Maybe I should just check out both and see where they're both at. Yeah, fascinating. I don't know. Yeah, but in any case, internal affairs, Mike. This is a movie that neither one of us had seen before going into this movie. And as far as the films of Mike Figgis go, I've actually only seen Leaving Las Vegas and Megadoc. And you've only seen Leaving Las Vegas. Is that correct? Yeah, as far as I know, I haven't seen or yeah, I haven't seen Megadoc.

[00:11:04] But yeah, I don't know what else he did after in between those two other than the last narrative film he made in 2012. But no, I've never seen anything else, I don't think. Right. So we really didn't know too much about this movie going in other than Elijah Wood is in it. And also that had Richard Gere and Andy Garcia. This is actually the same year Richard Gere is in Pretty Woman. So it's kind of a comeback year for Richard Gere in a very different kind of movie than this one. So yeah, going into internal affairs, Mike, what were you expecting and what are your overall

[00:11:34] thoughts on this film? Yeah, I didn't really know necessarily what to expect. But I kind of, you know, you hear it's internal affairs. It sounds like it's about crooked cops or whatever. It's 1990. Probably got some sleaze going on. Richard Gere, like they're probably some weird sex scenes are going to happen in this movie, you know? Yeah. I also don't know where this is in the kind of Andy Garcia career because I don't remember. When does Untouchables come out? That's a couple years. Untouchables is 87. That's a few years before this.

[00:12:04] Okay, that makes more sense because I was like, he's kind of doing the same thing, but like he's also very young in Untouchables. Yeah. And so yeah, internal affairs, it is definitely that. It is definitely a sleazy cop movie. And I had mostly pretty, a lot of fun with this movie. However, it's like a full two hours long and that's, we could shave 30 minutes off this baby. And if we did that, we'd be cooking. Yeah. You know, I've talked about this a couple of times, this kind of thing in.

[00:12:34] Other episodes and stuff. Like I kind of have a, it's like problematic fave territory for like this kind of movie, you know? Just like a sleazy, dirty cop movie, like deep cover. Well, I guess it's not like a dirty cop, but like the blur the lines kind of thing in that movie. I talked about gang related a bunch in my top, my just top 10 discoveries of last year. Yeah. Which is with Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur as dirty cops from the late night, later nineties.

[00:13:00] Um, and like, we've sort of evolved beyond the need for these kinds of movies, um, like new ones. Uh, but I guess even the rip sort of is like, it could be in this kind of territory. Um, yeah, absolutely. The rip, which just came out on Netflix, new Joe Carnahan movie, uh, which I think we both were like, yep, it's pretty solid. This is pretty, it kind of rips. It kind of rips. Um, and so, uh, but I have a lot of fun, like going back and watching these movies. So once this movie gets cooking and we start, you know, with, uh, William Baldwin and all

[00:13:27] this stuff and like, we're kind of uncovering this mystery here and then what they're doing and all that. I was like, man, this is kind of real. This is a lot of fun. This is like scratching the itch of this kind of like genre for me. Um, Andy Garcia and Laurie Beck half, like what a duo, they should have been 25 of these, um, the continuing adventures of the, the internal affairs team. Um, and that would have been awesome, but I mean, I guess that was the plan probably if they were making deep cover, uh, internal affairs too. That's true. I forget. Yeah, exactly.

[00:13:55] So, but I think there, there's like a huge action set piece chase scene that happens in the middle of this movie. Uh, and I was like, okay, well, this has gotta be like near the end. And like, you know, you jiggle the mouse and look at the progress bar and you're like 45 more minutes. Like, um, and I was kind of like, all right, I think we're, I think this movie may be like worn out for me. Um, so it ends up being, I think just a little too long, a little too, the investigation sort of just like happens. I don't know.

[00:14:21] There's too many scenes I think where it's like, and suddenly I, I, I now have to explain to you that I've uncovered something. Like we don't see anybody uncover anything. You know what I mean? Um, like as part of their investigation and it's like, I've looked at a computer and now I know how much real estate they own. You're like, what do, do more. Um, uh, and then that kind of just like drags on the, I think that last act after that action scene, I think that sort of just runs out of steam, um, in the investigation part of it.

[00:14:49] And it becomes more about like the psychological cat and mouse, whatever stuff. Um, and like, that's fine, I guess, but I'm here for the sleaze action, the dirty cop stuff, whatever. So, um, yeah, ultimately it's like pretty good. It's pretty fine. It's a movie that I definitely would have never, I mean, I guess never heard of, obviously, um, probably wouldn't, wouldn't have gotten around to otherwise for the podcast. So that's fun. So yeah, internal affairs. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Good. Thumbs up. Like, but yeah, fine. Yeah. No, I think I'm right there with you, Mike.

[00:15:18] I think this is very, very solid entertainment. Uh, I don't think it's great. Uh, but I feel like it's like kind of close to being great. If, if like a few things were different, like if maybe, if maybe it is just like cutting it down to like a more workable runtime or whatever it is. Cause like the elements are there. Like I really love sleazy Richard gear in this movie. He's a killing it. Uh, he's, he's having so much fun. I love Laurie Metcalf in this movie. Yes. Uh, absolute MVP. Uh, she's like the lesbian partner of Andy Garcia's character, just totally straight laced, no nonsense.

[00:15:48] Uh, and she's so much fun in this movie. Just like having her, she's an unusual presence for this kind of movie. And, uh, I really liked her in this. Yeah. Yeah. I mean the movie, even like, uh, I was like, holy shit, are they not gonna, cause there's the scene where they like both check out the same lady. Uh, and then they're like, uh, like look at each other. Um, and like, it's like, yeah, that's right. And they, they, it's like, holy shit, is the movie not going to like acknowledge or say any, like not going to do anything. It's just a fact of her character is that she seems to be into ladies and that's very

[00:16:18] cool. And then the last 30 minutes, they just like throw, start thrown around like slurs about her being a lesbian. And you're like, oh, God damn it. You were so close. We were almost there. Yeah. Son of a bitch. Uh, yeah. But I think that speaks to just, uh, how reprehensible all the other characters in the movie are. Everyone except for Laurie Metcalf. Oh yeah. Who is, who is pretty like, you know, great and buy the book and all that kind of stuff. Um, but your, your main like trio of characters really are Richard Gere, William Baldwin and Andy Garcia, all of whom just do horrendous things throughout the movie.

[00:16:48] Andy Garcia, the least so. But even then he's like, you know, his, his marriage is deteriorating because of his obsession with the case. And he's like yelling at his wife. Uh, and he's the one who's like throwing the slurs around about Laurie Metcalf and all, all that kind of thing. Right. Yeah. Uh, so it's, you know, you're watching reprehensible people do reprehensible things, which it's a movie and it's very fun, uh, to watch that, you know? For sure. And, and I think Richard Gere especially is having a lot of fun in his role.

[00:17:13] Uh, as again, he's a, he's a corrupt cop who, uh, like as the movie starts, it's very clear he's a corrupt cop. Uh, I think, I think it opens with like him, uh, somebody like accidentally shoots someone and he's like, and he like plants a gun and it's like, all right, it's your word against theirs or whatever, like that kind of thing. Like he like tells them like how to get off of this like potential, like, you know, murder charge. Yeah. Yeah. It starts. And it's like also before that you can't, they're like rating, uh, like a drug dealer's house or something like in that opening sequence or something.

[00:17:43] Yeah. And it kind of seems like a, cause they're all just regular uniform beat cops that are doing this. And it seems like they're robbing this guy. It's not like they're arresting him. Uh, and then they shoot that guy as he's running away and it's like, okay, well now this has turned into something out. Like now we have to frame it like where, and then we were trying to arrest him and he plants a knife or a gun or something on him. Yeah. And he's like, I've installed all of us kid to the guy. And it's like, Oh shit. Like, and then the title card and you're like, Whoa. Yeah. Basically. Yes.

[00:18:11] And so, uh, you know, the whole movie is Andy Garcia investigating Richard gear because he's not doing a very good job of hiding how corrupt he is. Uh, everybody knows. Yeah. Everyone knows like what a sleazebag he is. And you know, he's also a hit man on the side and he's killing people at night. Uh, all that stuff is happening. Meanwhile, William Baldwin, also a corrupt cop, uh, and you know, uh, an abusive piece of shit. Uh, you know, he beats his wife at home and that's the scene where Elijah Wood comes in. We'll talk about that in a second.

[00:18:38] He and Andy Garcia are kind of friends, I think, or Garcia is like went to the academy together. Yeah. Yeah. I went to the academy together, but like he does end up because Andy Garcia is like, you know, a good cop. Uh, he's the internal affairs cop. The movie starts with like a speech about internal affairs cops. Yeah. Uh, and being like, you know, if cops are better than people, then we gotta be better than cops or that kind of thing. Right. Like, you know, if you, you, if cops are held to a higher moral standard, perfect world, then the internal affairs officer is like, they're held to an even higher moral standard because they have to police the police essentially. Right. Right.

[00:19:08] Yeah. And it's funny. I actually just happened to see, it's one of those weird, like, um, you know, you, you don't notice the thing until you pay attention to it. And then you're like, you see it everywhere. Um, I saw, I happened to see a whole like thread or whatever on police guy. I think that was, uh, just like talking about like copaganda and just like the way that like pop culture shapes, you know, our perception of the police and all that stuff. And, uh, they were talking about internal affairs, like bureaus or departments always being

[00:19:34] portrayed as this, like, like stick up their ass, like police, the police, uh, make sure, you know, that whole speech basically that he, the captain or whatever gives. Yeah. Um, but meanwhile, we've just watched like a steady stream of cops murdering people for the last 10 years. Uh, and not as like nobody ever gets indicted ever and nothing ever happens to them. And it was like, yeah, but we all still think internal affairs matters. Cause I was like, holy shit, that's crazy.

[00:20:01] Like I happened to just watch this movie called internal of like this whole thing. Uh, and, and yeah, like obviously the whole thing is, uh, a sham basically. Yes. But to the movies, yeah. And to the movies credit, like William Baldwin is also portrayed or not William Baldwin. Andy Garcia is also portrayed as like, he's not corrupt in this movie. And it's like, he is investigating, but he is not a, a moral compass in the movie, I guess. No, he's not well adjusted. Uh, yes. Yeah, for sure.

[00:20:28] He definitely, he's, he's like two beats away from turning into Gene Hackman and French connection. Right. Like that's kind of, yeah. I mean, yeah, it turns into, he's going to kill Peck, uh, you know, and it's like, well, okay. And they try to throw it a little bit like at the, I mean, we'll get to it at the end, I guess, but like Peck forces his hand into that. Cause he does like shoot him in the leg first and all that stuff, but he gets back up and keeps coming at it with the knife. So he has to keep shooting him in there, but he doesn't seem that upset that he's had

[00:20:57] to kill this guy, you know? Yes. But so, so general, like, you know, general plot of the movie, William Baldwin is also a corrupt cop. He gets arrested by the internal affairs guys, uh, Andy Garcia and Laurie Metcalf. Uh, and they are willing to like give him a deal, uh, if he will testify against Richard gear. And so as a result, Richard gear ends up killing William Baldwin, uh, in a great scene where he just like strangles him to death on the side of the highway. Uh, and then, and so William Baldwin dies halfway through the movie.

[00:21:27] Uh, and then they, and also he's fucking, uh, William Baldwin's wife too. Uh, so there's a lot of that going on. There's a lot of that going on. I think he also fucks Andy Garcia's wife in this movie too. Right. Doesn't he? Uh, or like lets it seem like he is, you know, he like beats her in a restaurant at lunch when he knows he's being tailed by Andy Garcia. So he'll see them together. And yes, yeah, absolutely. Uh, so yeah, there's a lot of, a lot of that going on, a lot of psychological warfare and Richard gears part.

[00:21:54] Then the back half of the movie is like post William Baldwin's death. Like how do we take down Richard gear? Uh, and uh, yeah, no, it's a, it's a solid crime thriller. Great performances all around. I wish it was like you said, like 20, 30 minutes shorter. It would be like, you know, it would turn a three-star movie into a four-star movie probably. Uh, but, uh, I had a good time with it. It's pretty fun. Basically. Yeah. That's basically it. Yeah. Once it becomes, cause I liked that tension of William Baldwin is like a fuck up, right? He's a, he's a Coke addict.

[00:22:21] He's like, he gets caught by the internal affairs people about something completely unrelated, like, like a, uh, uh, like use of force thing. Like he like beat up somebody and just in interviewing him, he's like so erratic and stupid. He like, like, they're like, Oh, something else is happening. Like something else is going on. He's clearly using drugs. And then they look into, uh, I forget what it is. His income is tax or something.

[00:22:47] And they're like, well, he's filing, he's like saving way more money that he's making. So like, how is this? And they dig into it and they connect him to Peck to Richard Gere's character. And yeah. And then, so it's like that whole, all that's great. All that stuff, the, them killing, you know, the setting up William Baldwin to die and like, all that is awesome. The action, the chase scene with the gunman and all that is cool. And then, yeah, when it's just becomes like a, and now it's, and now it's the battle between Andy Garcia and Richard Gere's like a psychological stuff. It's like, Oh, come on.

[00:23:17] We had a lot of juice going. We had a lot of momentum. And then, yeah. And then they uncover some kind of real estate deal or scam or something. And it's just like, okay, whatever. Lex Luthor from Superman. Like, yes. But Elijah Wood is in this movie, Mike. He sure is. Yes. So he plays William Baldwin's son, Sean. I believe he's William Baldwin's son. He's at least the son of William Baldwin's wife. I'm not sure if it's implied that he's like the stepdad or something like that or anything like that. Yeah. I don't really know. He's on screen for, like you said, three seconds and then literally never talked about

[00:23:47] again. I think they do mention him once. I feel like, I think in the scene where, uh, which is my favorite scene of the movie, the scene where, uh, William Baldwin calls his wife and she's having sex with Richard Gere. Yes. Yeah. You know, while they're on the phone together. Uh, I think he mentions Sean in some way. I think you're right. Something like that. Yeah. Um, but otherwise, yeah, he's not mentioned again. Uh, and the wife is like still in the rest of the movie. Uh, so you would think he, you'd think he'd come up at some point. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:15] Once, once William Baldwin dies, I was like, oh, well, okay. That'd be like, you know, I guess that plot, like, I guess he's gone. There's no chance. And then the wife keeps coming back. And I was like, okay, wait a second. Where are we still talking about Betty? Where's the kid? Uh, but what did you think of Elijah Wood in the three seconds that he's on screen? He's fine. I guess. I don't, I mean, he, he kicks the door in or opens the door and he's like, get off of her. And then he jumps on William Baldwin. Um, I mean, that's probably, it's an intense scene, but I feel like, like, you know, for

[00:24:44] a young kid could be like in that, like we need to protect the child actor thing. Like, could be fun. You know, they're kind of like all just like wrestling around, you know, and then Richard gear also comes in and they're all wrestling around. Uh, yeah, but yeah, I don't know. That's really it. He's, he's gets, it gets a nice little chokehold there on William Baldwin and that's kind of it. Yeah. That's pretty much the scene. Yeah. No, I think he's a, he's definitely serviceable in this, in this role. Uh, but yeah, it is such a small thing. It's hard to judge.

[00:25:11] Uh, but this kind of thing does like, I, I do wonder about that with child actors sometimes, you know, you have, uh, like the scene from back to the future too is a very easy, like, you know, a non traumatizing scene, I guess, to have to act out as a child. Right. Uh, like Elijah would at this point, this is 1990. He was born in 81. So he's probably eight to nine years old, uh, shooting this scene. So not, not like a five or six year old certainly has like more like cognitive

[00:25:38] abilities, uh, as at that age, uh, and can maybe kind of suss out different things. But I, I feel like, you know, you have to, like you said, you kind of have to protect the kid in some way. Uh, and you know, it can be traumatizing on a child actor who doesn't maybe fully comprehend, uh, the scene that they're watching, uh, that they're partaking in, you know, and this is a scene in which like his mom is being abused by his dad and he has to come in and like defender and stuff like that. Uh, and, uh, yeah, I just wonder about that with kid actors sometimes.

[00:26:07] Like how does that like affects them psychologically going forward? And it seems like Elijah Wood is well adjusted. Seems fine. Seems fine. Yeah. Um, yeah. I mean, I just, you hear about that with other like more intense, I'm thinking like horror movies or whatever and stuff. It's like, oh, we didn't even know. Like, you know, you hear the like stories were like, I didn't even know it was a scary movie yet at the time. Like later on the person, the actor realizes that, or, you know, like they shielded them. Um, so yeah, I mean, I have no idea what none of that stuff, but could definitely be, I

[00:26:34] see potentially in very intense and he's fine. It's, it's sort of one of those things where like, oh shit, that's Elijah Wood. Like for 30, like for the three seconds he's pops up. Uh, you barely have time to register that it's in before he's gone. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Before it's just a scrum of adults and also a little boy. Yes. So I was, I was looking ahead at like some of the other films that we'll be talking about in the next few weeks and stuff like that. As we have child Elijah Wood next week, he's a starring role. So we have that to look forward to.

[00:27:03] But I think what's interesting about some of these films and I think most of them, uh, is that he is often doing roles that feature more mature themes or he's like kind of dealing with like more intense situations. Then say like Macaulay Culkin, who's also a child actor around the same time. Granted they were in the good son together, which is a thriller, but like Macaulay Culkin best known for movies like home alone and Richie rich and like movies for kids about kids. Kind of thing.

[00:27:29] Uh, and Elijah Wood as a child actor, uh, I think has more varied roles, uh, and has a couple of movies that are like geared towards kids, but is often doing movies that, uh, you know, have more like intense stuff going on in them. Uh, which I think is interesting considering how much like as an adult, uh, post Lord of the Rings, especially like he's kind of like been like, I really like horror movies. So I'm going to go do some weird horror shit and produce some movies and stuff like that.

[00:27:54] He's, it seems like he's in a lot of movies that would have the, uh, MPAA or whatever MPA, whatever it's called now rating thing of like thematic elements, whatever that means. Uh, he's Elijah Woods all over it. Yes, absolutely. Uh, so my next question, uh, as always is how do you think this fits into the Elijah Wood roles we've seen so far, Mike, uh, compared to his performance in back to the future part two, how do you think he plays in this?

[00:28:20] Well, you know, I guess it's, uh, he's got a sweet spot so far out of these two movies and that is a single line, uh, dialogue for five seconds, um, kind of thing. So it'll be fun. I mean, if he's already starring in a movie next, next episode, I think you said, right? Um, yes, a TV movie, but yeah, he's the star of it. Yeah. So that's, that's interesting. Um, cause I feel like there could be, I mean, I mean, I guess there will be a lot of these kinds of roles, but it seems like, you know, pretty soon he's going to be at least supporting.

[00:28:47] I mean, I don't know how far out the good set is, but it's. That's 93 and this is 90. So yeah, that's, it's only three years away. Uh, and yeah, even before that there's radio flyer. I think he's a lead character in, which is 92. Uh, so yeah, pretty soon we're talking about starring Elijah Wood roles. It's not, there's not a ton that are just like quick, you know, blink and you miss him appearances. Right. Yeah. So that's, that'll be interesting to see how fast that, to track that, that happens. And this made me think of what's the movie was the shider movie with a Jackie or Haley for

[00:29:15] like, they get break into his apartment and he's in a season for five minutes. The outside man, the outside man. Yeah. Like my number four Roy Scheider movie. I think, I think I placed it above sorcerer. Yeah. Which is crazy. Um, but that's like, it's funny that that, I mean, Jackie or Haley is also a famous child actor. Uh, and it's like, Oh, and here he is just, he's got, he's in a five minute scene. Cause they happen to break into his family's apartment. Yeah. I could, I could see a lot of, uh, potential Elijah Wood in that situation.

[00:29:42] Also like that kind of size role at this part, but we'll, we'll see how fast he becomes like leading boy. Elijah Wood. Yes. I was just listening to a screen drafts, the seventies sports draft, uh, which, uh, as you know, I'm like eight months behind on all my podcasts, except for screen drafts where I'm four years behind. Uh, um, but I was just listening to that one and, uh, the top two movies were both Jackie Earl Haley movies on the, uh, on that draft. That's right. Uh, bad news bears and breaking away. Uh, yeah.

[00:30:09] Major presence in the seventies and in the, you know, into the two thousands he was, he was Rorschach in these words. Yeah. And he was the new Freddy Krueger in the nightmare. No street. I think he's, he's been around. Yeah. I don't know if people talk about that. Yeah. Less so than I, I feel like, you know, there was, there was a bunch of those like platinum dunes, like horror remakes around that time. And like two of the big ones were the Friday the 13th remake and the nightmare. No street remake. And the Friday the 13th remake was actually pretty good. That's what I've heard. Yeah. Liking that one. I saw that one in theaters. I had a blast with it.

[00:30:39] Uh, and the nightmare. No street remake. I have never seen, but I've heard nothing but bad things. Yeah. That's also what I've heard too. Yeah. So that's a interesting kit to compare the two, I guess. But in any case we have not remade internal affairs yet with Jackie or Haley playing Freddy Krueger, but what if we did? Jackie or Haley as Freddy Krueger in internal affairs. I like that's what I'm saying. Yes. Uh, but what are the scenes or moments that stand out to you in internal affairs, Mike?

[00:31:05] I guess the big action scene that I've referenced a couple of times, um, which is the fallout of, um, Richard Gere's character has set, uh, William Baldwin up because after that they offer, like we said before, the, uh, internal affairs team offers him a deal to like testify against Peck and we'll give you immunity. Even though we know as the audience, they actually can't make that deal. It turns out. Um, right. But he, uh, tells Peck like, Hey, this has happened, but like, I'll never write on you. Don't worry, man.

[00:31:35] Like, you know, whatever. And, uh, Peck won't take that chance. So he sets him up. Basically they, they find this van parked on the side of the road at night, like off behind some warehouses or something. And, um, when William Baldwin, uh, opens the door and somebody's sitting in there with a shotgun and blows him away. And it turns out there was a second person hiding in the van that Gere didn't know about the whole thing. So there's like a section of the movie that's like, it's all out manhunt for what, like from

[00:32:01] the police as like a cop kill, you know, we have to find this cop killer. Um, but, uh, it's Andy Garcia and Laurie Metcalf need to find him to keep him alive so he can testify so he can find out what happened. And I think that's great tension. That's great cat and mouse stuff. And that's really intense. And they enlist Andy Garcia's cousin, who's like a low level criminal guy or has contacts or whatever. And they, they find them and it's this big warehouse chase scene, like dock dock yard thing, uh,

[00:32:30] that somehow the SWAT team found out and they get there first. And it's this whole big shootout. It's crazy. Awesome action. Um, and of course the guy doesn't understand what's happening and he, he backs up to a window or something or a ledge, uh, just for a SWAT sniper to shoot him right, right before he had like, it begins to trust Andy Garcia. Who's explaining to him what's going on. Uh, and it's just like, fuck. And it's just an awesome, I think the action scene is just a really cool, cool sequence. Cool. The whole, whole thing from when William Baldwin dies to when that guy dies.

[00:32:59] So it's like, Oh man, locked in, here we go. This is a crazy climax. And then this 45 more minute or 40 minutes or whatever's left at the end. Yes. That, that whole sequence I had, I had a lot of fun. That was when I was like, Oh baby, you know, like rubbing my hand, like the, the sickos at the window saying yes. Like I was in and I do love William Baldwin's death scene too, where, uh, you know, he, he is dying and, uh, Richard gear like comes up to him and, uh, you know, William Baldwin seems like, you know, I think we're like, he thinks Richard is going to help him. Right. Uh, essentially.

[00:33:28] And then instead Richard gear starts choking him out, uh, and you know, make, make sure he's dead before the paramedics arrive. And I love the way that that moment is like framed. Cause you it's, it's like shot looking over Richard gear shoulder and you could see the ambulance siren, like the flashing lights way out of focus, way in the background. The whole time he's slowly choking him out as they're getting closer and closer. It's like, Oh shit. Intense. Yes. Yeah. All that's fantastic. Uh, yeah.

[00:33:54] As I mentioned before, I think my favorite scene in the movie is, uh, the scene where William Baldwin calls his wife and she answers the phone and she, you see her getting into bed with Richard gear. And that's like a big reveal, uh, that he's been sleeping with his wife, uh, that whole time. Uh, and she's just like carrying on the conversation, uh, while like slowly getting undressed and like Richard gears, just like in his sleazy evil face, uh, doing his thing.

[00:34:20] Uh, yeah, it's, it's just really like tense, great reveal in the movie, uh, which is a lot of fun. And, uh, yeah, I also really love the scene where, uh, Richard gear beats up Andy Garcia in the elevator. Yeah. That's intense. Yeah. Yeah. Great overhead shot of like Andy Garcia, just like on the floor. Uh, all that it's, it's fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I really liked, um, earlier in the movie where I think it's before William Baldwin is killed. I don't really remember exactly, but they confront each other outside the courthouse and Peck

[00:34:49] thinks he's got the upper, like it's him, it's him running up on Andy Garcia's character and be like, I felt there was time we met face to face and all this stuff and, you know, smooth things over and all that shit. And Andy Garcia beats the shit out of him. Like, like it's revealed that Andy Garcia used to be a boxer or something like that. Um, and it's like, Oh baby. And then, and then once everything's starting to go wrong and Garcia's family, like his wife is like, things are starting to unravel for him. And then Peck beats the shit out of Garcia.

[00:35:16] And it's like, well, like, you know, it's, it's all like hashtag analysis, you know, who's got the upper hand at the moment, um, beats the shit out of each other. Basically. Yeah. Then, uh, Andy Garcia goes to confront his wife about, uh, sleeping with Peck. Uh, and you know, it's like at a work function or whatever. And you know, they, they have it out at this, you know, huge restaurant kind of thing. Yeah. Eventually they do reconcile. They do get back together, uh, towards the end of the movie. Uh, and then Laurie Metcalf gets shot, uh, which is a bummer. And I, I, you know, I think her scene is great.

[00:35:44] It leaves it kind of ambiguous on whether she lives or dies. I don't think you get like a, you know, we see her get into the ambulance. She's still alive, but, uh, yeah, or actually I think, I think, I think he does say they didn't hit anything that was actually like matter. Like she would be fine. Um, the, yes, they go to the, um, which that whole sequence too in the house, like, it's like, like silence of the lambs almost like them tracking through the house. Uh, or I guess I was thinking of manhunter actually, manhunter, I guess would have been a couple of years before this. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and uncovering the dead bodies of the other people.

[00:36:13] Um, and then, uh, yeah, they, they go to, they're at the hospital and the surgeon or whoever like comes out to Andy Garcia and is like, you know, she's, or ask, is she a fighter? And he says, yeah, like the best side or toughest I know. And he's like, then that's our only hope, uh, or that's our best hope or something. Right. Yeah. So like, yeah, it is kind of ambiguous, but like, she's seems to have pulled through, but not, it's not definitely like, and then they never returned to that. So yeah, it seems like maybe she'll live, but we know she's such a bad-ass. Of course she'll live. She'll live. Yeah. She's awesome. She's great in this movie.

[00:36:43] She is high fives to Laurie Metcalf all around. She's awesome. But yeah, so she gets shot and then you have the, uh, kind of climactic moments in the movie. Uh, the janitor from the breakfast club shoots Richard gear in the foot. Yeah. After he's sleeping with his wife too, I think. Uh, and then, yeah, it's like a chase between Andy Garcia and Richard gear eventually into a house, uh, where Richard gear eventually dies. Roll credits movie ends. It just stops right there. Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:37:08] I mean, they, they uncover, um, because his current wife, old ex-wife, I don't really know. He like maintains a network of ex-wives. I think he has like several wives. Yeah. That's a, and that's like part of, part of his like wheelings and dealings, like his financial stuff is all tied up in all of his wives. Uh, but the one we meet is, uh, Annabella Shore's character. Yes. Yeah. Who, um, they uncover that his wives all have real estate holdings far exceeding what they should be able to afford.

[00:37:35] Um, and that's the scene where I was like, it's, it's just Laurie Beck Calf had a computer who then turns around and explains that to Andy Garcia. And you're like, okay, like we did nothing to earn this part of the investigation. Um, right. But that's the, you know, they kind of hit a dead end. They're not really sure, but that wife had taken a message from, uh, Caracas or whatever his name, the guy, uh, Carapas or whatever. Um, and, and, and here's the name on the news that they like, Oh, the parents of whatever have been found dead.

[00:38:01] The, this couple and she, she remembers having taken a message from that guy and like she, she uncovered, you know, gives them the tip that Peck and that guy had, had contact. And so that's how they figure out that he's also hit man on the side and, and yeah, all that stuff. So it's good. It's, it's good. It's twisty turny. It's fun. You know, it kept me mostly engaged, but I just think that, uh, the back half is like, okay. Yeah. It loses some steam, uh, which is unfortunate because otherwise it's pretty solid crime thriller, but yeah. Otherwise I mean, I think that's, it's pretty much internal affairs.

[00:38:30] Do you have anything else that you want to say about this movie, Mike? Any other scenes or thoughts about, uh, this movie that stand out to you? I don't know. No, they really stood else. Like scene wise stands out to me, but even this movie, um, you know, we used to have movies. We used to have movies with a deep bench of like guys, just dudes, you know? And even if there isn't any like crazy, uh, like directorial flourishes or whatever, like it's just like a really well made, like this is a sleazy fucking movie. That was a wide Richard Richard gear, but like, you know, I don't know.

[00:39:00] We used to have movies like this, which is crazy. Yes. Richard gear the same year he made pretty woman. Uh, so, you know, kind of back on top. I think, I think pretty woman was kind of considered like a big comeback movie for Richard gear at the time, uh, cause he was in a lot of movies in the eighties and, uh, sort of in a similar vein, not necessarily to this kind of movie, but he was in a lot of erotic thrillers in the eighties. Right. Uh, and so I think he had had a few flops in the late eighties and pretty woman kind of revitalized his career, uh, and kind of put him in a romantic comedy kind of light.

[00:39:27] Uh, you know, one of the, uh, sort of, sort of it pretty, pretty, one such a weird movie. Uh, cause it is like on the, on paper, a kind of a sleazy movie. It's about a guy in a process. Like he, you know, he hires a sex worker. Uh, to be with him for a week and all that kind of stuff. But you know, it's, it's ultimately a love story between the two, two of them and stuff like that. I've, I saw it for the first time, like two years ago and thought it was fine for the first time. That's crazy. I had never seen it until a couple of years ago and, uh, it's okay. I thought it was fine. Wow.

[00:39:55] Uh, but like to have that movie and this one come out in the same year, uh, I think speaks to the range of Richard gear, I guess. Um, because he's in a very different mode in this movie than he is in pretty woman. Yeah. And I think much better in this movie than a pretty woman. I think he's kind of boring and pretty woman. Whoa. I think that's a hot take. I mean, I haven't seen pretty woman in like forever, but he's very charming from what I remember. Isn't he? That, that seems to be the consensus. I thought he was relatively boring in that movie.

[00:40:22] Uh, and I was trying to think of like the, uh, any other, I think the only other time we've talked to Richard gear on this podcast was the cotton club. Yeah, that's right. You know, which of course he's the star of, which is a movie we talked about twice because we also talked about the director's cut in a separate episode, but yeah, no, I think he's a really fun, really sleazy in this movie. Andy Garcia also really solid, but just, just to have Richard gear, Andy Garcia, William Baldwin, Laurie Metcalf all in one movie, uh, you know, and all, all delivering really great performances and a really good stuff in this.

[00:40:50] It's a, yeah, it's a good bench of characters to use, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And all the other cops and stuff are great. And the, like his cousin and the low level criminals, they're like, are all great. Like, I don't know. It's just cool. Like, you know, there's just lots of guys, lots of people in a movie. It's not 10 people in a, then the volume, you know, which I think everybody looks like now. Yeah. That, that is, I think what you're getting to is like, we need to get, we need to abolish the volume is correct. When I run for president, it'll be to abolish the volume.

[00:41:19] I will fix no other problems, but I will fix this one. Exactly. Perfect. All right. Should we move on to letterbox reviews, Mike? Should we see what the people have to say on internal affairs? Yes. Do people even know about this movie? Yes. Certainly. There are a few people who have logged it. I mean, it's a Mike Figgis movie, so there are people who have, who have seen it and a few people that I know who have logged it. But here we go. Here's a two star review from Will Menneker, which reads Andy Garcia is the wife guy.

[00:41:47] Richard Gere is the wife fucker. Yeah. Beyond the law, there is only the deadly game of cuck and bull. Jesus Christ. What could have been a pretty cool movie about an insanely dirty cop and police corruption just becomes a movie about a guy who has to defend his home from men who loves fucking other guys' wives. This was part of the guy trying to fuck your wife thriller craze of the early 90s. Unlawful entry, Pacific Heights, malice, et cetera. I've always found Richard Gere vaguely ridiculous, and this movie is certainly no exception.

[00:42:18] Yeah. Yeah. I guess there was a whole slew of a guy trying to fuck your wife movies, huh? Yes. And on the opposite side, you know, woman trying to fuck your husband movies around the same time, right? There was also, it was a fatal attraction, one of those, I think. Yeah. And all that kind of stuff. Like, yeah, they're all kind of in that, in that same ballpark. Uh, here's a three and a half star review from Scott Tobias, which reads, love Richard Gere in this movie. Oh, internal affairs is sniffing around. Let me do the complete opposite of laying low.

[00:42:47] There is that too, which is very funny to think about. Yes. Like he gets tipped off that internal affairs is, is looking for him. He could lay low and he chooses not to. He chooses to just keep on murdering and wife fucking. Yes, absolutely. Uh, here's a three star review from cinema strikes, which reads, I swear, I don't think Andy Garcia blinks once in this movie. Whoa. Also, he is a terrible husband. When a suspect threatens to seduce your wife, maybe, you know, warn her or something instead

[00:43:16] of just staring at everybody with your creepy, creepy eyes. It's one of my friends, um, least favorite things about movies sometimes is when, but then it's one of those things where like, then the movie doesn't happen, but it's like, if somebody just talked to somebody else and just, if there was just any communication, none of this happens. Yes. It's like, yeah, but then the movie doesn't happen, but right. Exactly. But, uh, and the movie does kind of establish like, you know, the there's boundaries between Andy Garcia and his wife as the movie goes on. Right.

[00:43:44] There's, there's, you know, they're, they're having a difficult time. They're not communicating as well. Exactly. Yeah. I got one more review here, Mike. It's a three star review from lucky hoss, which reads another deranged entry into the cocaine noir cannon within the first moments of this film. I had to assume that every man in this movie's performances was informed by a secret backstory of we all used to fuck. There's, there's so much homoerotic posturing between all the male cops cutting eyes and coolly evaluating all slapping the shit out of each other and then firmly at tenderly

[00:44:13] holding each other's faces. This feeling only intensified once the plot becomes an unhinged proxy sex war of cooking and seduction. No wife is safe. Truly wild. Yeah. Yeah. There is a lot of that for sure. Yeah. There is a lot of that makes for a fun watch. It's a good time. Uh, if it was a hat, if it was a half hour shorter, we'd be talking about it as like one of the great nineties cop movies, uh, as is it's still pretty fun. Uh, but all right, that's internal affairs. That's episode two of the complete work season five. Mike, we did it. We did it. Yeah.

[00:44:43] It came for the, uh, Elijah Wood stayed for the Laurie Metcalf, you know? Yes, absolutely. Uh, who is unfortunately ineligible for season six, uh, works now, which is a bummer. We could have finally talked about scream too. Nah, on the podcast. Uh, all right. Mike D where can we find you online this week? You could find me at MD film blog on letterboxed and blue sky. You can donate to support the show on our Kofi page, Kofi.com slash Mike and Mike pods, where you can donate $50, pick a topic here on the boat.

[00:45:12] Uh, actually no, on the bonus episodes, Mike and Mike go to the movies. It's been so long since we, I've been doing complete works. I messed up my, my patter there. Um, uh, what, what, what's a movie that can make us watch this, this week, Mike for $50. Let's see. I was trying to, we, we already talked about lady bird for Laurie Metcalf. Make us talk about scream too. I'm the scream too. We double dog dare you. Yeah. Uh, Mrs. Loomis, great ghost face. Um, and you, you want merch? We got merch on our red bubble, Mike and Mike pods dot red bubble.com.

[00:45:43] There you go. Uh, speaking of all the, uh, you know, cucking in the, in the movie, uh, speaking of all of that and the, and the wife having sex with and all, all that kind of stuff. I was just re I just, something just popped into my head. Uh, there's this, I had the craziest weekend. Yeah. Uh, no, back when I was in college, I took a film. Uh, it wasn't even a film history class. It was just a history class. But part of the class was that, uh, the teacher would also show us a movie every week. Nice.

[00:46:12] Uh, because it was like, it was 20th century history and it was like a movies that kind of like reflected the time period. He was a strong believer. And I agree with this, that like, you know, movies of the era kind of can tell us about that period in some ways and stuff. Uh, and so one week we watched the Godfather and you know, we would always talk about the movie after the movie was over. Uh, and I had seen the Godfather already and I was watching it for the class. And, uh, this one girl, uh, was like, Oh, Hey, what'd you think? And she was like, well, this Michael Corleone guy is just fucking every damn body.

[00:46:43] Every time I turn around, he's got a new wife and a new kid. I mean, and, uh, that, that has stayed in my head for years. Anytime I think about the Godfather and that just pops into my head, right? I like it. That is basically what's going on. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, you can find me online. It's a M Smith film blog on Twitter and blue sky. Mike Smith film on letterbox radio. Mike sandwich Instagram. Thank you so much for listening to the complete works. I'm Mike Smith. That's my decretio.

[00:47:11] Don't forget to rate and view the show on Apple podcasts or any other podcast app. And if you want to contact us, go to blue sky at complete works pod. You can find the rest of our podcast and rapture press alongside many other podcasts, all kinds of comic books and movie news and all that good stuff. Our theme song was created by Kyle Cullen producer, Kyle Cullen, let's say, uh, who you can reach for your own podcast themes at Kyle's podcast themes at gmail.com. And our logo was designed by Mac V or at fearless guard on blue sky next week.

[00:47:37] We'll be talking about Elijah woods first starring role in the TV movie child in the night, uh, which I believe is some sort of psychological thriller. I think Joe Beth Williams from a poltergeist and Kramer is in it. Uh, so yeah, looking forward to checking that out. Sounds intense. Yeah. Young Elijah wood must be a thriller. Yes, exactly. That's what we're saying. Uh, that or back to the future part two, I guess. Yeah. Uh, and remember to check out our other podcasts. Mike and Mike go to the movies for all kinds of other movie related stuff, including recent

[00:48:06] releases, ranks, lists, general discussions, and a lot more. Thanks so much for listening guys. Join us next time. Would you?