Ep. 5 - Paradise (1991)

[00:00:00] Alright 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 5 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 good son, Mike DiCruccio. How's your day, Mike? I'm doing just great. What a pleasant, it's like a nice little compliment. You pay me every episode now. Exactly. We're both good boys. Yeah, we're good sons. So I think this is the second time I've used that one. So now is it, uh, you think we're sticking with that?

[00:00:54] It's grown on me. Yeah. Okay, nice. I know we did, we did Woodpecker, we did Elijah Provida, uh, we did Carpenter, and then Goodson, I guess, was the, uh, the fourth one. And so now this is episode 5. We've now reused one. It feels like it's solidifying in our minds. It feels real now. Yes, absolutely. Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith, weird history between the two of them. This is my intro for the podcast today.

[00:01:21] Okay, just hard pivot into the movie. Yeah, sure. I feel like I'm about to learn something. Yes, so, uh, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, uh, first met on the set of a film called The Herod Experiment, uh, which was released in 1973 when Melanie Griffith was 14 years old and Don Johnson was 22. Uh, oh no. Not that I know anything bad, but I'm scared. Sure, uh, the two of them got engaged, uh, on her 18th birthday, so a few years later, um, which again,

[00:01:51] feels really- On her birthday? On her birthday, on her birthday, they got engaged, uh, in- Don't like that. Yeah, in 1976, uh, and then they got married, only to get divorced six months later. Uh, huh, so, yeah, again, strange, weird, weird, torrid history between the two of them. After they got divorced, they each had several high-profile relationships throughout the, uh, 70s and 80s. Uh, Johnson was, uh, dating people like Tanya Tucker, Sybil Shepard, and Barbra Streisand. Uh, Melanie Griffith got married to

[00:02:20] Stephen Bauer, who played, uh, Don Lattio on Breaking Bad. Uh, yeah. Yeah, who was also in, I think, one of the direct-to-video Roy Scheider movies that we talked about. Uh, I want to say Plato's Run. That sounds right, yeah. And then, Melanie Griffith and Stephen Bauer actually separated in the late 80s. Uh, she ended up having to go to rehab for substance abuse, and when she came out, she and Don Johnson reconnected, and the two of them got back together, ended up having a baby in

[00:02:45] 1989, that baby, of course, being Dakota Johnson. They got married again in 1989. Wow. They remarried several years later, and they stayed married until 1996. So this marriage lasted seven years as opposed to six months. Uh, around that time, they got divorced, and Melanie Griffith got married to Antonio Banderas. Wow. Yes. Again, a torrid affair between the two of them. Just like so many, like, so many curveballs that are being thrown at you. Hollywood be crazy. Yes, it do be crazy,

[00:03:14] but during the time of their second marriage, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith made a few movies together. Yeah, good for them, I guess. Yeah, and one of them is the movie we're talking about today, Mike. Oh, is that why you told us the story? This is the lead-up to getting in today's movie. Uh, today's film is a remake of the 1987 French film The Grand Highway, and since Elijah Wood is in it too, we've got to talk about paradise. In everyone's life, there is a time that will always

[00:03:41] be remembered. How long is this kid staying? Not long. Don't expect me to entertain him. For a boy named Willard. Sit down and I'll make you a really nice lunch. That time is now. What are you listening to? Rap. Rap? He kills the common man's struggle for survival in a hostile environment. What? He's discovering what it means when two people drift apart. Can't make up my mind. Are you sick of me,

[00:04:07] or are you just dead inside? And what it takes to bring them back together. How come we always do that? What? Make everything so hard. That's a good question. That's a very good question. They gave him a summer he'd never forget. Don't we love them anymore? He gave them back the love they'd lost. Ben thinks you're beautiful. Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, and Elijah Wood in Paradise.

[00:04:35] Paradise. All right. So Paradise stars Elijah Wood as Willard Young, a young boy whose mother sends him to go live with her friend for the summer when she gives birth to her second child. Or she's like in the third trimester of her pregnancy and she's like, I can't deal with my kid right now. I have to pawn him off on somebody else. So her friend is played by Lily Reed, or sorry, her friend is Lily Reed, played by Melanie Griffith, and Lily's husband is Ben Reed, played by Don Johnson. Elijah's mother,

[00:05:02] Rosemary Young, is played by Eve Gordon, which makes this our very first Elijah reunion, Mike. Whoa. Yes. Five episodes in? Five episodes in. She was in Avalon. She was one of the ants in Avalon. Yes. I think the character actor, Kevin Pollack's wife in Avalon, was her character in that movie. First ever Elijah Wood reunion of what I'm sure will be many. I have no idea how often he reworks with people. I know there's at least three movies where there's

[00:05:30] going to be a lot of people that are recurring throughout. They're kind of all in all of them. Yes, exactly. Elijah Wood also befriends a girl in the town his own age, Billy Pike, who is played by Thora Birch, the younger sister from Mike D's favorite movie, Hocus Pocus. How could you not know who Thora Birch is? Come on. Yes, absolutely. Another kind of big child actor of the 90s. Billy's mom, Sally Pike, is played by Sheila McCarthy, who was the news reporter

[00:05:55] in Die Hard 2. Wow. So there you go. And then from there, Louise Latham from Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie plays Catherine Reston Lee. Comedian Greg Travis, who also played the tailgate driver in Lost Highway that Robert Loggia beats up, plays Earl McCoy. What a credit to have on your resume, by the way. That's incredible. And Sarah Trigger, who played the Princess Joanna in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, who's also in the Nicolas Cage movie Deadfall, by the way. She plays Darlene

[00:06:24] Pike, Billy's older sister. Sure. Yeah, absolutely. It's been so long since we've watched Deadfall that you can be forgiven for not remembering that. She's also in 45 seconds of screen time in this movie. Yeah, I think it's mostly just I think they spy her when she's like get like naked and ironing her clothes in the in the window, which is crazy to see like this PG rated movie just suddenly boobs. Just boobs. Yeah. Wild, which does happen occasionally. Airplane

[00:06:51] was also PG Titanic, PG 13, but still. And then, yeah. And then you also see a scene where like she and Elijah Wood are sneaking in and watching her have sex with her boyfriend in the barn or something. Right. Yeah. And then she's also at like a birthday party for the mom, I think. And that's yes. Yeah, there it is. The movie was written and directed by Mary Agnes Donahue in her directorial debut. She had previously written the 1988 movie Beaches, which is kind of a cult hit in the late 80s, probably best known today as the movie

[00:07:20] where Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings comes from. Plays from that movie. Yeah, absolutely. Another one of those songs that Bette Midler did not win an Oscar for. Isn't it funny sometimes where like a song is from a movie and you just have no idea it's from a movie? Yeah, I think we talked about that in the Goldblum season and thank God it's Friday. Yes. Last Dance by Diana Ross is from that movie. But it's a song that has like totally eclipsed the movie it came from. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I think Wind Beneath My Wings probably in a

[00:07:47] similar boat to that one. Yeah. I mean, I think of like Live and Let Die also, which I mean, that's also I feel like a famous Bond movie. But for most of my life, that was a song that played on the classic rock radio station. And then you're like, there's a Bond movie? Wait a second. And once you learn that it's a Bond song, you're like, you know what? The breakdown in the middle of the song makes a lot more sense now. Now that it starts sounding like a James Bond

[00:08:08] thing. It really does. Yeah. It goes. It's bizarre. Yes. So Mary Agnesonahue also wrote a few movies after this, but only directed one other movie in her career, which is the 2015 romantic comedy Jenny's Wedding with Katherine Heigl, which was only finished thanks to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. This was the era when movies got to be crowdfunded for a couple of years.

[00:08:31] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was probably post the Heigl, like a rejection by my pop culture. I mean, Katherine Heigl was in 85 rom-com. Yeah, true. Absolutely. Just like spitballing that number out there. But obviously in like the post knocked up and post Grey's Anatomy, right? She was on that show and I think spun off into her own show, right? Was she private practice or something like that? I have no idea. I'm not sure if that was her, if that was somebody else on Grey's Anatomy.

[00:08:58] Um, but obviously she was on Grey's. She had knocked up. Uh, and then suddenly it was just like, okay, she, she's in like this Gerard Butler movie and she's in this other Gerard Butler movie. And she's in, she's, she had like four or five rom-coms every year for like five years. The vast majority of them were not that good. I think what happens in Vegas was one, was that her and Ashton Kutcher? I want to say, uh, the ugly truth was one with her and Gerard Butler. You know, it's, it's kind of a lost art. I think a little bit, uh, the, the rom-com when it's pulled off

[00:09:27] successfully, that can be great. That, that kind of a theatrical release for a rom-com is, has died out a little bit, even though, you know, the movies that Catherine Heigl was, were making weren't like well reviewed, but they would pretty consistently hit. They would usually do well at the box office. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what was the last big one? I mean, whatever that, that Blake Lively movie, was that a rom-com? I don't even know, but that was the last one I could think of the one with all the controversy around it. Yeah. I think that was more of a rom-drom,

[00:09:52] but, uh, that was, uh, that was, it ends with you. It ends with us. Uh, that was based, that was based on the Colleen Hoover, uh, book, uh, which is, uh, she's like the new Nicholas Sparks. Like they're just doing, they're doing like 85 another, they're just doing a lot of Colin, Colin Hoover movies. Like there's been, I've seen trailers for basically since that movie came out, like every six months, there's been a new Colleen Hoover adaptation. Uh, and so I've never had like a break from trailers for Colleen Hoover movies. There's never not been a Colleen Hoover movie.

[00:10:21] Yes. I know, uh, it was anyone, but you was the Sydney Sweeney Glenn Powell one a couple of years ago. And that was a huge hit, like a huge, like kind of surprise hit took people by surprise. Uh, and I saw that movie and it's not very good, but people went to go see it. There's a, there's a theatrical audience for these movies is what we're saying. It's time for Catherine Heigl to make a comeback is what we're saying. She could upgrade from the, uh, active wear women's pads or whatever commercials that she's doing all the time now. Is that what she's doing right now? Yeah.

[00:10:52] She's like, remember when Jamie Lee Curtis was doing all the, like the, the yogurt commercials. It's like that. Yep. Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. I'm like actively looking up what, like the last movie Catherine Heigl was in now. Uh, just out of curiosity, I got to know. Uh, yeah. Grey's anatomy. She was an under siege to dark territory. I didn't know that. Uh, she's also in bride of Chucky. Uh, so a lot of good movies in the early, in the early part of her career. Uh, the last time, uh, Catherine Heigl was in a movie was 2021. So it's been five years. There's a psychological horror movie called fear of rain,

[00:11:21] which I have not seen. She is in an upcoming movie written and directed by Nick Vallelonga, the writer of green book. Uh, it is a musical romantic comedy starring John Travolta, Catherine Heigl and Christopher Walken. Uh, wow. Very curious as to what that's going to be. The Heigl sounds starts now. Yes. Oh, wait a minute. Uh, as of February, 2026, the movie continues to exist in production hell and remains unreleased. So this started filming in

[00:11:49] 2022. Jeez. Uh, yeah, there is, there has been lawsuits. There's been a lot of things happening over the last few years. So yeah, maybe this movie won't ever come out. I don't know. Sorry to Catherine Heigl. Yes. Sorry to Catherine Heigl. Uh, we hope that something comes around. Grey's anatomy is still on the air. She could go back. Yeah. We also need to reiterate Catherine Heigl, not in this movie. Yeah, no. Around this time she was starring in under siege to dark territory.

[00:12:15] Uh, true. So no, yeah, she's not in this movie, but paradise got a limited release on September 20th, 1991, where it opened to 18th place at the box office. It did like expand a little bit, uh, over the next couple of weeks. I think, I think it climbed up to like number six. Um, but when it opened 18th, uh, opening to number two, this same weekend, I kind of want to make you guess, Mike, but I don't think you'll get the title of the movie. Uh, but it's a sci-fi

[00:12:42] film from the director of Buckaroo Banzai. Oh man. Who remembers who directed that? Um, is it a sequel original, anything, any, any extra, uh, it's an original movie. There's no way you're going to get it. I'll just, uh, okay. I'll let you know, but, uh, directed by WD Richter, who also wrote invasion of the body snatchers from 78. We talked about Buckaroo Banzai, of course, on the Jeff Goldblum season. Uh, and he only directed one other movie, which is this one. It's called

[00:13:06] Late for Dinner. Uh, so not a thousand years. Yes. Uh, and then opening to number four was the comedy Live in Large. Uh, but number one in its second week at the box office was a horror sequel, Mike. Horror sequel from 91. From 91. I believe it's the sixth film in the franchise. Oh man. I, uh, what Halloween came out in 91? It's not a Halloween, but you're in the ballpark. You're in

[00:13:32] the right kind of slasher territory. I don't know. All I, all I can focus on is that I was born two weeks later, October 91. That's a good point. And that's really what we should be focused on. Actually. So interestingly enough, uh, Wikipedia told me the release date of this movie was two weeks later. No way. Uh, and I, I went back to like that, that was the wide release expansion to paradise. So I went back to the limited release, but we could have been doing this on your birthday. I didn't even realize that would have been crazy. That would have been wild. No, uh, number one in

[00:13:59] second week of the box office was Freddie's dead. The final nightmare. Ah, yes, yes, yes. Never got there to that one specifically. Of course. Of course. The rest of the top 10, uh, consisted of dead again, Terminator two, and it's 12th week of the box office, uh, doc Hollywood, the commitments, hot shots, Robin hood, Prince of thieves, and it's 15th week of the box office and the doctor. Wow. Yeah. Some good movies there. It's a solid lineup, a 12th week and a 15th week. That's

[00:14:26] literally unheard of. Now we used to have movies, you know, we, we used to have movies like Robin hood, Prince of thieves, uh, which granted I've never seen. Uh, I think maybe it's good. I don't know. Costner. Yeah, whatever. I've seen it. I don't really remember anything about it. Yeah. I, I have seen Robin hood men in tights much more frequently than I've seen Robin hood. Yes. Uh, the letterbox plot synopsis for paradise reads a 10 year old boy spends a summer in the

[00:14:54] country with a childless couple and a precocious girl. And there you go. That's it. Yeah. I mean, yeah, pretty much we got it. That's pretty much the movie right there. So, uh, might D going into paradise. Uh, what were you expecting from this film and, uh, what are your overall thoughts on the movie? Um, yeah, going into it, I had never heard of this movie, but looking at the cast and the poster and stuff, it kind of has like, doesn't really exist vibes. I don't know how to explain that. It's melody Griffith. It's Don Johnson. Uh, it's like, okay, this is, must be a real movie.

[00:15:22] It had a theatrical release, but I guess most movies did then. Sure. But, um, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up having like a pretty okay time basically is sort of my reaction to paradise. It really puts into contrast the kind of performance that Elijah would, uh, is able to deliver that we've kind of been talking about the last couple episodes and last week with Avalon. And it's like, Whoa, actually, but one, like, you know, he's very clearly the main kid in this movie

[00:15:51] compared to Avalon where we're like, Oh no. Oh, he turned, what a pleasant surprise. Right. He turns out to be the main kid in Avalon, but this one it's like, yeah, he's the guy. He's the one that you're. Yeah. And, and even he gets like third billing cause Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith are the big stars of the movie, but you're pretty much following the kid's perspective the whole time. Exactly. Yeah. But for notorious child haters, Mike and Mike, this, you know, these movies are, it's like a risky proposition for us, but I think, I think it's ending up being like, Oh, actually he's just really great. Uh, even at 10 or whatever, however old he is in the real life,

[00:16:21] uh, when filming this and then you get Thora Birch who's, who is doing the like annoying kid thing that I hate. It's like, just like, I don't know. I don't even know how to describe it other than her, that her character is like really, uh, precocious as written. Um, but she's just doing the thing. I don't, I don't know. I don't even know how to describe that. Maybe you felt a similar way, but overall I think this movie is pretty slow at times, but it also is like sort of the point.

[00:16:46] It's the summer vacation for this kid who's been kind of expelled from his home. You know, his, his father is, uh, from his point of view, missing. Um, you know, he's a, he works on a boat or something. I forget, or he's in the Navy or something. I forget they, there's something that he does that they're using as a lie to explain to it. Right. His character, why he's not around. There's something like that. It's a recurring theme in the, the Elijah Wood films of, uh, his father is on boats or it's like, it's, you know, peer adjacent or whatever.

[00:17:14] Exactly. And like you said, his mother is in her third trimester with a new baby. We learned through her conversation with Melanie Griffith that she thinks her husband has run off with another woman. And so that's really part of why she can't do this right now. Like I can't be this pregnant with him around. Um, can you take him for the summer basically? Um, and so then it's just kind of him putzing around this like Southern town. There's there's they're shrimping. They're

[00:17:40] doing, uh, like South Southern stuff. I don't know. Like they're kind of hanging out. I don't know. So it is really summer coming of age, slow, just discovery kind of movie. But ultimately I think it ends up being a pretty heartwarming and heart, uh, you're heart wrenching for a little bit. You know, that I was kind of annoyed with the characters like Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith's like relationship. And like, we learn why they're like this to each other and all that stuff.

[00:18:05] But it's like, okay, man, like, okay, just fucking be normal. Like, why can't you just be like adults? Um, granted they've got their very traumatic thing and we'll get into that and all that. But by the end, when they get over, they get through that, they were healed by the presence of Elijah Wood basically. Um, and then it's like, Oh, this is actually really fun and pleasant. So I ended up like not having a terrible time. Like I thought maybe I'm not would hate this movie or whatever, but I might just be like, Oh, this is a slog. And it ended up not being that.

[00:18:33] So it's like, Oh, this is fine. Thumbs up. A thumb up, you know? A thumb up. Yes. No, it's a, it's, I think it's a weirdly, it's a weird movie to describe because it's the kind of movie that existed a lot back in the early nineties. I feel like there were a lot of this kind of movie, uh, which would be just about, you know, a kid, some adults, you know, maybe the kid learned something from them. Maybe the adults learned something from the kid, you know? Uh, maybe he gets struck by lightning and turns into

[00:18:59] light like in powder, you know? Yeah, exactly. Uh, so it could be any of those things. And I feel like there were like this kind of like schmaltzy, you know, movie existed a lot in the nineties. And it feels like something that, you know, even if it came out in theaters and didn't hit, like it would exist on VHS and your local video store. And it would just like suddenly become a big thing. Like people would just start finding this movie. And I feel like people would see it, you know, I mean back then, if something was released on video or DVD, like it would almost

[00:19:27] certainly turn a profit, like no matter what, uh, you know, that was just like how the ecosystem worked. And so if it was on VHS and your local blockbuster or your local video store, whatever it was, you would find paradise and you'd take it home, have a family movie night and you'd have a perfectly pleasant time. It's a, it's a movie that kind of strides a line between like, it's kind of boring, but also like it's pleasant. It's pleasant enough, you know? Yeah. There's enough here that works. I think a lot of it is the fact that Elijah Wood actually does anchor this movie. I think he's really good in it. Uh, I'm actually, I, I think

[00:19:56] I liked Thor a Birch a lot more than you did in this movie. Maybe. Yeah. Sounds like it. I don't know. I was just really like, I don't even know annoyed. That's not even the right word. I don't know. It's just kind of like, I'm a little surprised by that because you're such a big hocus pocus guy. Uh, and so I thought that might like translate and I am not a big hocus pocus guy. I, I think that movie is, I think I've grown to think it's fine, but I was pretty, I was pretty anti hocus pocus for many years. Yeah. Cause you're a monster. So yeah, exactly.

[00:20:24] No, no, no. I think she's, I don't remember exactly when hocus pocus comes out, but she focuses 93. So it's like two years after this, two years later, but she seems like a, like, I'm just going to say an adult, but obviously not, but she's, it feels like a teenager in that movie compared to this movie. She's very young, uh, in this movie. I don't know. Fair enough. But I, I found their like presence, like their like, um, connection, Elijah Wood and Thor Birch, like their friendship, very charming.

[00:20:48] You know, I like when a lot of the movie is them as kids, like kind of pretending to each other that they know how the world works as like, you know, they know, you know, what, like how adults operate and like, you know, they talk about adult things as if they know what they are, but they don't, they clearly don't, but they're like pretending to the other one that they do. And so they're kind of just like making up absurd things. And the other one's like, yeah, totally. That makes sense. Yeah. I think that stuff is really, really great. Um, and then the Don Johnson,

[00:21:14] Melian Griffith stuff is fine. It's okay. Uh, and you know, there's some kind of overwrought drama there and the two of them are good in it. Like, I, you know, I liked Don Johnson as an actor quite a bit. I like Melian Griffith quite a bit. Uh, and they're both doing solid work, but it's just like what they're given is I think less interesting than, uh, just watching Elijah Wood, uh, be on his own for the summer, you know? Yeah, no, I, I think I do agree with that, that they're, the drama is, is like melodrama. It's like, you know, we're one step beyond like throwing

[00:21:40] everything across the room, like possession or whatever. Like, you know, it's like, uh, we're, we're almost there. Uh, not quite, but you know what I'm saying? And, uh, I think, I think, I think the movie really gets by on the, just like the charisma and star power of Melian Griffith and Don Johnson and even the charisma of Elijah Wood. Um, cause otherwise this would just be like, Oh sure, I guess, you know, but it's like, no, actually, Oh, lean forward a little bit. Like, you know, you're kind of interested. Yeah. So Elijah Wood, what did you think of his performance,

[00:22:08] uh, in this movie, Mike? Um, I think he's really good. I think he really is able to portray that sort of, uh, conflict like you were just talking about where that, that desire to be an adult that you have when you're that young and be like, Oh, I know what that is. I just forgot for a minute, you know, like I feel like that whole thing, but then also he's just a boy that wants his parents that like, you know, they, his dad is out of the picture. His mom seemingly has rejected

[00:22:36] him, you know, like from his point of view. And he's just desperate for that kind of like love and affection. Uh, and I think he's able to portray that, like, like that, that, uh, the facade of being really tough and I'm a, I'm a adult and I can handle this stuff, but also like I'm a baby, you know? Uh, and I think that really comes through and, and that all those moments where, you know, the ice around Don Johnson's heart starts to thaw when it's like, fuck man. Like,

[00:23:02] yeah, let's go fly that plane. And you're like, yes, please. Yeah. I mean, one of the first things that you see in the movie, it's like Elijah Woods at school and school's getting out for the summer kind of thing. And, uh, you know, he asked this kid like, Hey, what are you guys doing for the summer? And the kid's like, Oh, I think we're going to my mom's beach house or something, you know, whatever. Where are you guys going? And Elijah Woods says like, uh, we're going to Africa, me and my mom and my dad, we're all going to Africa together. And, and the kid's like, what?

[00:23:27] Oh, why? Right. He goes to like this, this private preppy school kind of thing. And you get that right away. You could, well, I guess when he walks home, you see that like, Oh, he, he's not from this class, you know, sort of he's, and you find out he's on a tuition, on a scholarship there, like kind of thing. Yeah. And then like he and his mom get on the bus to a paradise, the name of the town, which is also the name of the movie. Uh, and maybe it's, you know,

[00:23:52] a metaphor name for the, you know, just throw that out there. Um, but yeah, and it's like this incredibly long bus ride. It's like, you know, hours and hours and all that stuff. And he's just sitting there and he's like a nine year old kid and just bored on the bus. Uh, doesn't have anything to do. And then they get there and he immediately just like goes off running and like finds Thor a burst and they start playing together, uh, and all that stuff. Um, yeah, no, I think he's really great in this movie. I think again, he's kind of the center of it. Uh, he gets a lot of dramatic,

[00:24:19] uh, stuff to play in this movie. I think when terms of like, uh, both kind of his relationship to his father, uh, kind of connecting with both Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, especially kind of being like a father figure to him, uh, during some of those scenes, uh, the stuff where they go shrimping together and all that. Uh, and then all this also the stuff with Thor Birch, who, uh, also has like a father who abandoned her. There's a scene where like they go to try to find her father. Like they believe her father was like running like a roller skating rink in the next town over. And so they, and so Elijah Wood has

[00:24:49] to kind of play with that. Uh, and like those emotions with somebody else's character. Uh, and yeah, no, I think he, uh, you know, he's at the center of pretty much like 90% of this movie, uh, and does a pretty admirable job, uh, kind of holding it all together. Yeah. Yeah. It's, um, it's funny. I, did you, I watched, uh, Elijah was recently on a YouTube channel called last meals, uh, where he was promoting ready or not to, um, you texted me this video and I didn't watch it. I forgot to. Yeah. Yeah. But it's funny because so they, they,

[00:25:17] you know, it's a, they have guests on and they, they create, you know, uh, their last meal, uh, and then they go through it together. And the first thing that he picked was a, uh, like sushi plate. They created sushi rolls based on different parts of his career, um, basically. And so they had one, I forget exactly what they are off the top of my head, but the first one was, but it's like his child acting career phase. And then, you know, it's, uh, the faculty phase and Lord of the Rings and blah, blah, blah. And he's talking about his early phase of his career when he's like, yeah, I was in like, you know, just a lot of like kids movies,

[00:25:47] like family movies, not that much like genre stuff. And I'm like, wait a second. Everything we've done is a bit about like a tragic, um, like family broken home. Like does it does not stick? Wait, hold on. Um, so it's pretty funny because this would be another one of those, uh, you know, the tally in that column for the, you know, genre of Elijah Wood's childhood career is fucked up house. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. I think, uh, you know, we, he, I think we've been

[00:26:14] discovering he, his movies as a kid tend to deal with heavier subject matter than a lot of other kids movies around the era or like movies starring child actors around the era. Uh, and this one involves like a dead child, like, uh, you know, uh, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, like the tragic backstory in their lives. And the reason their marriage is like sort of falling apart, uh, is that they had a kid, uh, and then at the age of like three or four, uh, that kid died kind of like suddenly and tragically. Uh, and you're kind of learning more about that kid's death and how it affected,

[00:26:43] uh, the two of them as the movie goes on. And I think Melanie Griffith like feels like guilt about it because she had heard him like crying or something that night and like didn't go in and check on him and that, that kind of thing. Uh, and so it's, you know, they, they both like kind of share like a shoulder of the guilt and the burden and all of it. And so their marriage at the beginning of the movie is like really fractured. Uh, and Don Johnson wants nothing to do with Elijah Wood partially because he didn't even know he was coming. Uh, and, and partially because, uh, you know,

[00:27:11] it reminds him of his own child, you know, his, his own boy. Right. Yeah. And it's got that stuff in it. And, and eventually, you know, like through the power of love, Elijah Wood heals them sort of, um, uh, brings them together. Um, but also like all the thoroughbred stuff in her family life and home life is, is very, uh, I'll say fraught, you know, there's like we said that her father abandoned her, uh, if that's even her father, right. There's sort of like, from like thoroughbred doesn't, you know, we don't really know. That's just the story. The mom told thoroughbred.

[00:27:41] Which is character. She's the mom character is always talking about her bad luck with men. And, and she's got more, you know, she's got an older sister and all this stuff or older daughter, I guess from the mom, all the weird, like sex stuff just as like questions, you know, it's like you're nine. Why do you know about these things? But it's less more, it's more, it ends up, you know, I think ends up being about, uh, just sort of being, um, abandoned, not, not, not literally abandoned, but like her mom is a waitress and has to be at the diner all day. And so she's just kind of around her older sister who is a teenager or

[00:28:11] young adults. And we don't really get a age, I don't think, but she's got to, yeah, I think she's in her twenties at this point. I'm just guessing. Cause I know that actress was in Bill and Ted's bogus journey and was probably like 20 at that point. Right. So yeah. Yeah. She's definitely playing like older high school or college age character. I don't really know. She's like, like we said, she's in three scenes. Um, right. But it's kind of just like around and not really paying attention to her younger sister and all this stuff. So yeah, there's, there's just like a lot going on and there's that, the scary old witch

[00:28:38] lady who's like, uh, right in the, off in the woods that they kind of interact with. And yeah, I don't know. It's got just like a, uh, all the character, it has a, uh, like living world kind of thing going on where you're like, Oh, there's just passing moments passing by other characters that they just bump into on their, you know, summer misadventures, stealing rowboats, uh, the lake and stuff like that or the river. And I don't remember where the beginning of that point, Oh, it's just this kind of intense home life stuff that is coming, comes up in all of

[00:29:07] so far, almost all of the movies. While at the same time, I think, uh, you know, and speaking of like, how does this fit into the Elijah Wood roles we've seen so far? I think it's sort of similar to Avalon in that it's like a lot of it is like, you know, you're dealing with some heavy subject matter, but a lot of it's just like a kind of slice of life drama with these characters, you know, uh, where it's somewhat plotless. Like there is a overall arc and an emotional arc the characters go through. Um, but a lot of the movie is just Elijah Wood and Thor Birch hanging out in the woods, uh, or like, you know, hanging out with Don Johnson. It's,

[00:29:37] it's, it's kind of a hangout and I kind of appreciate that about it. And so it feels like a little bit listless in a way. And like the movie's a little less than two hours long and it feels kind of long. And again, like I said, at times it's kind of boring, but in the way where it's like sometimes a lazy summer can be boring a little bit, you know, like that, that kind of thing, right? Like when you're a kid. Yeah. Yeah. And, and it's, it's the ways that I think it's very effectively depicts the ways that like a child, you know,

[00:30:02] 10 or whatever, uh, would like interact with these very adult things where it's like in passing, right? It's like, you'd walk into a conversation that the adults are having about this thing and they would stop because you're there. And like, that's sort of like the kind of thing that happens in this movie a lot. There's at least sort of towards the end ish, um, maybe sort of in kind of the boring section when they kind of air out backstory of, of the one, Melody Griffith, uh, confesses sort of, sort of speak about like having heard the baby crying

[00:30:30] and not checking on him when he stopped and all that stuff or the kid crying where it's, it's Elijah Wood, like sitting at the top of the stairs, listening to them argue on the first floor. You know, it's like, it's stuff like that where, you know, that happens. I feel like in Avalon a lot, maybe not literally that kind of thing, but you know, do you sort of like in passing tangentially connected to this very adult stuff that you don't really even know is going on? Uh, you're just lighting firecrackers off in the basement or whatever. Right. Yes. Uh, or like there's a scene where like Thor versus mom is talking to Melanie Griffith,

[00:30:59] uh, and she's like, you know, talking about, you know, all the men that she's slept with over the years and like, you know, how she's like, you know, she's had her fill of fun and adventures and she's ready to settle down with like this boring guy that she hates, uh, and all that stuff. And like Elijah Wood's like in the room and she's like having this conversation and like talking about the sex that she's had. But then like the moment she like is about to say the word fuck, she like covers his ears or something like that. Yeah. She earmuffs them so she can say like, uh, you know, I forget exactly like the great

[00:31:28] sex I've been having basically. Yeah. Something like that. Yeah. I doubt she says the word fucks. I'm pretty sure this movie is PG, but there is boobs there. That is true. Yeah. So anything's on the table. I guess. Yeah. Uh, any other, uh, answer to like, how do you think this fits into the Elijah Wood roles we've seen so far, Mike? Um, well, I definitely think it's a interesting progression, you know, I think notable progression from something like, um, child in the night.

[00:31:54] Yeah. Uh, which is granted, like we said at the time, it's a TV movie. It's more heightened. It's dealing with like hypnosis and repressed memories and like all this weird hook and captain hook. Yeah. All this weird stuff. Um, but I feel like his performance in that is like on 11 almost, you know, he's a lot of like running around yelling about captain hook has got me tied out, whatever. Yeah. But he's, but he's playing that. Like it makes sense with the character right. Uh, in that movie. But in this, he's just like a normal kid and it's like totally

[00:32:23] believable. And he's just like a kid on, on summer vacation who's bored, uh, and feels left out or, you know, um, and so I think it is a progression towards like a, uh, uh, a groundedness. That's like, I feel pretty impressive for a young child actor to have that intent and to not have it tip over into the precocious thing, which is annoying. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, what are the scenes or moments in this movie that stand out to you, Mike? Anything that we haven't talked about yet that you feel like we should bring up? I don't know. I

[00:32:52] think really stood out to me though. One thing that really stood out to me is all the, I guess, socially acceptable slurs that are in this movie at the time from 1991 product of its time, but also all of them feel when they happen. Cause it's all like, I think all Elijah Wood says them. It feels in character with the, or in keeping with his character to be like, no, I'm an adult. I can, I can, I say these things. Yeah. I say these things, um, because they feel weird. Uh, not even in like, I think like, oh, you

[00:33:18] know, social mores have changed or whatever, but like, I don't know. It stands out. You know what I'm saying? No, I understand that. Um, yeah, I, uh, I wanted to give a shout out to, uh, the Don Johnson introduction scene, um, which is when they, uh, when they first show up in town and, uh, you know, like the, uh, they pull up like Elijah Wood and his mom like pull into a diner. She's like, Oh, ask them where, you know, one, two, three, three way is or whatever, like, you know, whatever the house, wherever the house is, ask them where that is so we can go get it. And he goes in there and asks for the address.

[00:33:47] And then, uh, Don Johnson like is there in the diner and he's like, why do you want to know where they are? It's like, Oh, we're visiting some friends. And it's like, ah, who, what friends? And he names that like the leads or whatever, the reads. Uh, and he's like, ah, the reads. And it's like, well, you don't, you don't like them. Nah, I've got some trouble with them or like, he like makes up a thing like how he, he and the family like don't get along or whatever. Uh, and then of course they go there and then they're hanging out with money Griffith and then suddenly Don Johnson walks in, uh, and you know, it was clearly

[00:34:14] messing with the kid. Um, but it also like foreshadows like, you know, the fractured relationship between him and Melanie Griffith. Right. Which I thought that was interesting. I mean, they sort of throw in a, Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you in person. I think like they went to high school together or something. The, the moms, you know, Melanie Griffith, the mom character. So like the mom wouldn't recognize, doesn't recognize Don Johnson as her best friend's husband. Like, but so it's like, huh, wait a second. Yeah. I think

[00:34:42] she's not in the diner. I think she sends Elijah Wood in to go. She is outside, but you see like she's standing in the window watching Elijah Wood ask like for the directions. But yeah, so, but they throw in some light. It's just like had a moment where I was like, well, wait a second. She wouldn't recognize, but it's like, Oh, I don't think she's been in like home in town for a decade or decades or whatever. Yeah. Something like that. But, uh, that is, that is a very funny scene because then he shows up and Elijah Wood is so scared and she,

[00:35:08] he's like, my mom said, I can't talk to you anymore. It shouldn't, I forget. I shouldn't see you anymore or shouldn't talk to you. And he's like, well, that's a problem. I live here. Like, yeah, that's, that seems great. Uh, that's very solid. And I liked, uh, you know, all the stuff with him and Don Johnson bonding. I think that's some of the strongest stuff in the movie, I think is, uh, you know, I think he, part of, uh, Don Johnson's arc in the movie is like he and Melanie Griffith obviously have like, you know, they're still lived together, but they've really been drifting apart since the death of their son. Uh, and you know, they really can't communicate with

[00:35:38] each other. And he spends all his time like out of the boat, like fishing, shrimping, doing all that kind of stuff. Uh, and when he, Elijah Woods, like kind of wandering through the house, he discovers like this, uh, you know, old model airplane that he had built with his son and it's a through line for the movies, the model airplanes. Yes, absolutely. And so they find the model airplane and he gets Don Johnson to go out and like take it out with him and play with it and all that stuff. And then he invites him on the shrimp boat and they start talking about him and Melanie Griffith. And he's like, why do you guys fight all the time? And he's like, just really getting into like the,

[00:36:07] the psychological headspace of, uh, of Don Johnson. Don Johnson says something to the effect of like, oh, but she's a very beautiful woman or something. And then they get back. He like, he's like, oh, he says you're beautiful. Right. Like, oh, people, we are still in love. Yeah. And so they like, that's the beginning of like the kind of rekindling of their relationship, uh, all through, uh, the precociousness of Elijah Wood's character. Uh, which, you know, is, is very solid. It's, uh, you know, it's schmaltzy, but it works in this movie, I think. Yeah. And I think there's a fun, um,

[00:36:35] dynamic they have with Don Johnson and Elijah Wood just like together. They're cool, fun. You know, it's interesting watching them together, but, uh, the characters where Elijah Wood is on this scholarship to this, you know, prestigious, uh, rich kid's school and he's very smart. And there's lots of moments where he, you know, is explaining, uh, the history of Mary, Queen of Scots. And like, really, she was kind of silly if she, if she didn't realize that the queen was going to kill her. Like all that. And Don Johnson's like, what are you talking about? Um, and, uh, explaining

[00:37:04] that rap is like, uh, important part of modern day poetry, expressing the struggles of the common man against like a capitalist society or something like that, he says. But my favorite one of those is when they're towards the end, when there's like been some rekindling, but they haven't had that full catharsis yet between Don Johnson and, and Melody Griffith. And he goes to find Don Johnson on the boat and they play poker together. And, uh, he's like, well, do you know how to play poker? And he's like, oh yeah, my dad taught me a lot. And it's like, he just like completely schools him on

[00:37:34] like schools Don Johnson. He's like, well, really the, this is the purest form of poker. And, uh, yeah, I only need one card please. And Don Johnson's like, how am I going to, how am I going to, you sure you don't want more cards? And I just thought that was such a funny, like a moment where the power has completely flipped where it's Elijah Wood is, is like card sharking him. Yes. Yes. That was really fun. Uh, and then, yeah. And again, the, the scenes with him and Thora Birch, I think are really like fun. Again, I, I think I liked her performance more than you did,

[00:38:03] but I like their like kid dynamic. You know, I liked the scene where they are sneaking into the barn and watching her sister have sex. I think that was very funny. Very funny. Yeah. And then there's, I mean, I mean, all, I mean all the kind of hijinks they get up to one, it all sort of feels believable in the, in the, um, one child just trying to impress like a new friend or like make a new friend and is like, Oh yeah, I'm not afraid of this lookout tower thing. We could climb up here. And, and Elijah Wood's terrified of heights. Uh, and all the other, they steal the rowboat. Like I

[00:38:31] said, they're, you know, they're catching frogs. It's like Huck Finn's shit they're doing. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, which speaking of that, we'll be talking about Huck Finn in a few weeks. Um, look at that. So there's that. Uh, yeah, no, I think, uh, all that stuff is really fun. I really like, uh, I think it's when they first meet, she says something to the effect of like, uh, you know, my mom used to date this guy and then he gave her the clap or something. It's the sister. Yeah. As the sister. And she's like, you know what that is. Right. And he's like, yeah, of course I know what the clap is. I think that's the way he says like, yeah,

[00:38:59] I forgot for a minute, but I know. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um, yeah. And then like later, like he and Don Johnson are having like a moment on the boat. Uh, and he says like, Hey, can I ask you something? And Don Johnson's like anything kid. What's the clap? It's funny. It's a good bit. It's that is a good bit. Yeah. And I like that, uh, button on that at the first time it comes up is like, yeah, you get it from cheating on tests. Uh, very funny,

[00:39:28] right? Like this is like the kid, like version of understanding what this is kind of thing, which is very funny. And then, yeah. And then the movie, the last like 20 minutes of the movie, Elijah Wood has like gone missing. He's like kind of run off and, uh, Don Johnson and Melanie, they're trying to find him. They're like searching all over town. And eventually they find him kind of up on this, like lookout tower or whatever it is. He's on, he's on lookout tower. Yeah. And they eventually, they, they get him down. He's okay. They get him down, but he climbs up on the railing and just like he was, but he was afraid to do in the beginning of the movie with

[00:39:54] thorough birch, but now he's got nothing left to live for or something. Yeah. What was the context behind that? It was just like, I think, uh, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith were going to break up again. Like they had another big fight, I think. Yeah. Well, so this is definitely in the down part of the movie I'll say where I may have zoned out. So there's, there's the birthday with the mom. She announces thorough birches mom. Uh, she announces that her and her boyfriend who sucks are getting married. She's going to say, they're going to say, and thorough birch runs off.

[00:40:23] Right. She's pissed off. Then Elijah Wood finds her and they have like a falling out where it's like, I hate you. I, I should, you should have never come here. You're not my best friend anymore. And yeah, that kind of like all spirals into, um, I've looked up for my phone and Elijah Wood is on top at this lookout tower. So I'm not really sure what happens in the 10 minutes in between, but, uh, he goes missing at some point. I don't really remember. But, and it's also happening around the time where it's like, it seems like Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith have rekindled their relationship, but then they have a big fight again. Uh, you know, they're still like kind of

[00:40:53] fighting about both Elijah Wood and their son and everything, but they have to put aside their differences to find Elijah Wood. And they do, they get him down from lookout tower and then, uh, he goes home with his mom and, uh, yeah, everyone's happy. And he has a new baby sister. Got a new baby sister. Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson finally kiss at the end. They rekindle their romance. They can, they can learn to love again. Um, and roll credits basically. Yeah, absolutely. And that is paradise. I mean, it's, uh, you know, it's a solid little, uh,

[00:41:20] dramedy from, uh, 1991 that, uh, feels like something that if I were at a video store in 1991 and needed a family movie for family movie night, this seems like the kind of thing that we would probably have watched, you know? Yeah, for sure. For sure. It's, um, I don't know. It's just one of those things also from 1991, like you can feel the like summer Southern heat. Like, I don't know, it's got that it's on film. Like, I don't know. It's got this, like this texture quality to it that like, you're just thinking about movies from today just are too shiny. Yeah. I mean, that,

[00:41:48] that is sort of a, you know, when you watch this, it really feels like the kind of thing that like, we used to get this kind of movie a lot back in the early nineties and we don't anymore. Like we don't get these like kind of like kid centric dramedy movies kind of made for the whole family sort of thing. Uh, you know, like the kids centered movies that are coming out now are the super Mario galaxy movie, you know, that's it's extremes. It's either baby movie

[00:42:14] or superhero action movie. There's like no like normal drama family movie. Right. And yeah, it's the kind of thing that is, has sort of been lost a little bit, uh, just in terms of like the consolidation of the studios and the, you know, everything has to have a huge budget and everything like that. Uh, you know, it's the death of the small, uh, mid budget movie, you know? Right. Uh, and, uh, that is a shame, but, uh, paradise, it's pretty solid. It's not bad. Yeah. Pleasantly surprised by this one. Yeah. I thought I was really going in gritting my teeth

[00:42:41] expecting to just be like, Oh my God, fucking hurry up. You know? Uh, and I didn't have that reaction for most of it. So that's great. So what a surprise. Yeah. Can't beat that. All right. Should we move on to letterboxd use Mike for a paradise? Yes. What do the people have to say? Does this have a lot of law? You should, we should look how many, I feel like this isn't a movie that must have. Yeah. There weren't that many. I'm not sure about the number of like people who have logged it. I think as far as like reviews go, there are like 70, uh, something like that.

[00:43:07] So yeah, not, not a huge amount, but the first review I got here is a two-star review from Jordan Falk, which reads boring. If you're going to make a movie about a troubled young Elijah Wood temporarily living with a new family and a picturesque location in which he romps to the forest and climbs trees and teaches a mother who's lost a child to love again. And the climactic final moment is only barely saved from falling from a large height, at least at a psychopathic Macaulay Culkin to life and

[00:43:31] things up. Yeah, true. At least minimum, you know, which, uh, the more and more we kind of talk about these, uh, these movies, they really feel that the good son really looms large over the child actor of Elijah Wood career. Uh, that, that portion of his career. Um, I don't know how it in like terms of just like talking about this podcast with people just like anecdotally, like talking to people like, oh yeah, we're recording Elijah Wood episodes now. I have had like two or three different people ask

[00:43:56] me, did you get to the good son yet? Uh, I think that is the one that is the sushi role in that YouTube last meals, uh, that like his child actor phase. I think it's based on good son, whatever that makes sense. Yeah. And, and to just clarify, uh, 1.6,000 people have, uh, okay. Over a thousand, 1,600. Yeah. That's something. Yeah. We certainly had Scheider movies that, uh, got a lot less than that. 20, I think it was a Simon Munich.

[00:44:25] Yeah. I think that's right. Yeah. Uh, here's a three star review from Ian Edgar, which reads if you want to, if what you want is a great big bowl of cheese, it serves that up to you. Little Elijah Wood is an impressive tiny actor. Yeah. Agreed. It's true. He's very good in this. Him and his little bowl cut against the world. Yeah, exactly. Uh, and one more, it's another three star review from Susan Mangin. Thora is a star. I'm with Gene and Roger. Redo this movie from that kid's perspective. And we got something. Whoa, that'd be a much more

[00:44:53] twisted movie. That would be a lot more twisted movies that that's, I mean, both families are kind of messed up in, in certain ways. And I feel like it'd be tough to explain Elijah Woods situation. If you're just going from Thor Birch's perspective, just a rando kid that joins this town. Yeah. It's like, okay, wait, so you're a kid who's in another town whose mom is pregnant and dropped you off with her friend. Yeah. Like there's a lot of baggage to get through there. Um, but still, uh, yeah. And I guess that's what Gene Siskel and Robert Roger were saying, uh, in their review as

[00:45:22] well. Interesting. But, uh, yeah, there it is. That is paradise for 1991. We did it, Mike. We did it with episode five. It's, it's a real season now. Yes. Yeah. It wasn't a real season until we did five episodes. Once we get to the five episode mark, then we're locked into doing the rest. Right. We could have bailed out at any point up till now. We could have pulled the roof guard, but now we're locked in. Now we're locked in. We are doing the full Elijah Wood season. Uh, and so we'll be talking about some more stuff pretty soon. I'll tell you what

[00:45:49] we're watching next week in a minute, but in a minute, but first Mike D where can we find you online this week? You can find me at MD film blog on a letterboxd and blue sky. You can also donate to support the show on our Kofi page, Kofi.com slash Mike and Mike pods, where you can donate $50 and pick a topic on the bonus episodes. Mike and Mike go to the movies. You got hocus pocus. I don't know. Uh, I was going to say another season for hocus pocus right now. It is March. By the time we released this episode, who knows when it'll be. No,

[00:46:19] I'm kidding. Um, imagine if it was eight months between recording and dropping. That'd be crazy. That would be crazy. No, it might be, it probably June. Hocus pocus did actually release in like July. Like that's when it came out in theaters. So I guess that would not be a bad time to do crazy. I don't know any other thorough birch movies, $50, uh, on the Kofi page. We'll do it. Um, and if you want merch, we have merch available on our red bubble, Mike and Mike pods.redbubble.com. That's right. You can find me online at Ms. Smith film blog on Twitter and blue sky, Mike Smith film on letterbox radio,

[00:46:48] Mike sandwich and Instagram. Thank you so much for listening to complete works. I'm Mike Smith. It's my decretio. 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 orcs pod. You can find the rest of our podcast and rapture press alongside many other podcasts, what kinds of comic books and movie news and all that good stuff. Our theme song was created by Kyle Cullen, who you can reach your own podcast themes at Kyle's podcast, themes at gmail.com. And our logo was designed by Mac V or at fearless

[00:47:13] guard on blue sky next week. Elijah Wood stars with Joe Mazzello from Jurassic Park in Richard Donner's radio flyer. Uh, so I'm excited to check this one out. This is, I think a similar, like nostalgic coming of age kind of movie, uh, with Elijah Wood and Joe Mazzello. Uh, I recently listened to, because I'm four years behind on this podcast. Uh, the 2022 episode of screen drafts, uh, which they recorded when Richard Donner died. Uh, so it was the, the Richard Donner

[00:47:40] super draft and radio flyer made the list. Uh, it was, it was on there. So this is a movie that I have not seen, but I like Richard Donner in general, Superman Goonies, uh, the omen lethal weapon, a lot of big movies. Uh, and this is one that's a lethal weapons or radio flyer direct line. Can't wait. You know, I would bet, honestly, I think this comes out in 92 and which I think is the same year or maybe no, I think it's in between lethal weapon two and three, but I think there is sort of a direct line there if we're going to get

[00:48:08] into it. And granted, I haven't seen radio flower yet. I don't really know the tone of the movie, but I'm guessing it's, you know, pretty family friendly, you know, nostalgic kids, all that kind of stuff. But the lethal weapon movies, uh, I don't know if you've seen all four of them, Mike, uh, but they get not since being an adult, you know, uh, they get progressively like not family friendly, I guess, but like sillier over time, I guess is maybe the way to say it. Uh, and, and more focused on the family. They were really like

[00:48:34] the family action franchise before fast and furious was, uh, I, I once went to at the Alamo draft house, uh, Justin Liberty program this back in the day at the one of Yonkers, a lethal weapon marathon. And it was all four lethal weapon movies. Uh, and I had never, I had only seen the first one at that point. So I watched all three sequels for the first time in one day. Uh, and they get very, very silly. Uh, and you know, they add it by little weapon four ends with like big family photo of like Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Danny

[00:49:01] Glover's family, Joe Pesci, Renee Russo, Jet Li's in the movie and he's a bad guy, I think. So he's probably not in the photo, but like Jet Li's in there. I think Chris Rock is in the photo cause he's in the fourth one, you know, it, it all becomes like about the big family thing. So maybe radio flyer is a direct line to the, the more sanded down on edges of the lethal weapon sequels. Who's to say we'll find out next week. Exactly. Remember to check out other podcasts, Mike might go to the movies for all kinds of other movie related stuff, including recent releases, ranked lists, general discussions, and a lot more. Thanks

[00:49:30] so much for listening guys. Join us next time. Would you?