‘Scream’, ‘Hubie Halloween’, and ‘The Babysitter’ make up a special spooky spread in this episode with Susie Youssef and Alexei Toliopoulos.
Horror classic ‘Scream’, Netflix Premiere ‘Hubie Halloween’ (starring Adam Sandler) and contemporary slasher homage ‘The Babysitter’ make up a frightening feast in this special spooky edition of The Big Film Buffet.
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Alexei Toliopoulis:
Sandler has got three voices in my opinion. The sweet Sandman. Like that. And then we've also got the angry Sandler, like. Which I love. And then we've got Cajun Sandler, which is.
Susie Youssef:
I mean, the differences between them are subtle.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Hello, my name is Alexei Toliopoulis.
Susie Youssef:
And my name is Susie Youssef.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
And this is The Big Film Buffet.
Susie Youssef:
Where we serve up a three-course feast of movies inspired by today's film.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Hubie Halloween.
Susie Youssef:
Now, instead of eating a Muesli bar as you run for the train, we begin each week the way you would a proper meal with a classic starter to prepare the palate for our film du jour.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Then we delicately dab our mouths with napkins, ready for the Netflix premiere feature as our main course.
Susie Youssef:
Then we throw diabetic caution to the wind and finish with a highly recommended film for dessert.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Susie, this is our Halloween spooktacular, if you will. Or spook Dracula, if you want to get even more heavy in that pun area. I want to know, what was your first scary movie?
Susie Youssef:
I have been haunted by a film called The Peanut Butter Solution since the early nineties. I've thought about it most days since.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
You've stumped me. I've never heard of The Peanut Butter Solution.
Susie Youssef:
Which I can't believe that I've seen something you haven't seen. But it's this old Canadian movie where a kid has a fright and loses all of his hair. And then some ghosts arrive in his house and put peanut butter on his head and he grows hair nonstop for the rest of his life.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
This is up there with the Aronofsky fever dreams of horror movies. That sounds terrifying.
Susie Youssef:
I wasn't even sure that it was real until we Googled it before to match it up. What about you?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
My first experience with a horror movie, I was with my buddies when we were like 11 or 12 years old and we heard Candyman was the scariest movie ever made. And we're like, "We got to go see Candyman." So we walked up to the video store. We go, "Candyman, Candyman, Candyman." We won't say more times, but we were like, "We want to see Candyman." They gave us a box. We go home. We're excited to see our first scary movie. It's our first scary move for all of us. We open up the case with the tape in and Candyman is not on the tape.
Susie Youssef:
What was it?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
The movie was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers The Musical.
Susie Youssef:
I mean, similar.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I mean, it changed us, changed us for life. We all work in the arts now after watching that movie. It was a sleep over I'd never forget.
Susie Youssef:
Gosh. All right. Well, it's time to snuggle up to your sweetheart or cling onto your body pillow and get ready for a terrifying trailer. Roll it.
Speaker 3:
Well, hello, my ghouls and goblins. I know you got your costumes picked out for the frightful festivities. And I hope you all get more treats than tricks.
Hubie Dubois:
Halloween's upon us.
Speaker 5:
Is he a good guy?
Speaker 6:
Hubie Dubois is the nicest guy in this town.
Hubie Dubois:
Here are some Happy Halloween word searches. You can pass it out to the kids.
Speaker 7:
Thank you so much.
Hubie Dubois:
As a trained volunteer, I know what it's like when your spooky fun gets out of hand. What were you thinking? The supermarket's selling expired bacon. Janet at the library has not been herself lately. I heard a voice in the sewer.
Speaker 8:
I'm sorry. I didn't recognise you.
Speaker 9:
It's pretty impressive how long he's been a loser.
Speaker 10:
Aww, messing with Hubie Dubois.
Hubie Dubois:
Murder.
Speaker 11:
A Salem tradition.
Hubie Dubois:
You got to expect a scare here or there.
Speaker 12:
There's something off in this town.
Hubie Dubois:
Mr. Neighbor? Mr. Neighbor? Is that you? Oh, no.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I actually saw this trailer first, unrelated to work, in my Adam Sandler group chat where it's me and other comedians that just talk about Adam Sandler.
Susie Youssef:
Okay, so if you ever were curious as to what Alexei is like as a person, you've just had the perfect summary right there.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
And one of our best friends Will [inaudible 00:04:22]. Sent it to me going like, "Bro, you got to see this one". But I'll be honest with you, the Sandman, second only to Mike Myers, is my comedy hero. I made a call on the record four years ago that Adam Sandler would win an Oscar within a decade. I got so close last year with Uncut Gems.
Susie Youssef:
You got so close.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
People call me little Alexei Nostradamus okay over here that I was this close to the thing.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. So if Adam Sandler is listening to this episode-
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, no.
Susie Youssef:
... Which he probably is, what do you want him to know? Have you lost hope?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Sandman? I will always back you. Sandy, I'm in your corner the entire time. I think you will win an Oscar. And not only that, I'm going to go on the record again this time, Susie. Sandler will win an Oscar for Hubie Halloween. I'm serious, Susie. I'm calling it now.
Susie Youssef:
I know you're serious. I am terrified.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Well, this week on the podcast, because it is our Halloween special and we're looking at Hubie Halloween, one of those genres of cinema that is most dear to my beautiful beating heart is the horror comedy. Two genres that both have a very express purpose in mind to generate a very specific emotion in the audience, the opposite emotion they're trying to elicit as well.
Susie Youssef:
I feel like they're kind of a horseshoe so that they're close to each other, but on very opposite sides of the spectrum.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Very well put. Comedy, it's express purpose is to make you laugh. The horror movie, it's using cinematic technique to elicit the feeling of fear to bring up scares within you and having both of those in one thing, it's all about creating like this delicate balance between the two.
Susie Youssef:
Both of these genres use something that we love to say on this podcast, which is tension.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Because it's all about relieving tension with either a joke or relieving tension with a tremendous scare. And I would say these genres have always been kind of linked. Like you look back at like the classic universal monster movies, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein always had like this campness around them that was so fun and delightful. But I think the first like true example of like a mainstream horror comedy that's left its mark is, tied to that, is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Susie Youssef:
Yes.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It basically is a horror movie where all the monsters meet up, Dracula, the mummy, the Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster and then you've got just the bumbling duo of Abbott and Costello living in this horror movie.
Susie Youssef:
The one that came to mind for me was Hocus Pocus. How the genre was kind of shaped by these amazing comedy actors, you know, Bette Midler, your favorite...
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Kathy Najimy.
Susie Youssef:
Love Kathy Najimy. Sarah Jessica Parker also brilliant in the film. But then over the other side of the world, you still got like the Simon Peggs and the Nick Frosts doing Shaun of the Dead.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, yeah of course.
Susie Youssef:
And then you head South and you've got Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby doing What We Do in the Shadows. So this whole genre fusion works all over the world.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
There's this idea of this balance, where we swing one way and go heavy into the comedy with something like What We Do in the Shadows. Or we move into another direction that's heavier into the horror with stuff like Get Out or the movie we're going to be talking for our first course. We chose this one today because we thought we should balance out this feast for us. Hubie Halloween is much more on that comedy side of the flavoring. So this one is a little spicier. It's a little spookier.
Susie Youssef:
It's still got the comedy flavors, but it definitely leans on the thriller, spooky, terrifying, nightmare quality. So let me just start with one of the movies that has haunted me for decades, our starter today is Scream.
Speaker 13:
Do you like scary movies?
Speaker 14:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Speaker 13:
You never told me your name.
Speaker 14:
Why do you want to know my name?
Speaker 13:
Because I want to know who I'm looking at.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Wes Craven, the master of horror. His film Scream from 1996.
Susie Youssef:
And I've thought about it every day since 1996. So this is the synopsis with Scream. It is a year after the murder of her mother. Teenager Sidney Prescott and her friends are tormented by a serial Ghostface killer. As she tries to find the murderer, the rules of horror movies play into a deadly mystery where everyone becomes the suspect.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Gosh, I love this movie.
Susie Youssef:
I was too young to watch this movie. That's where the mistake came here. I should not have gone in. My parents told me, "No, do not watch this."
Alexei Toliopoulis:
You're talking about right now, right? When you watched it this week.
Susie Youssef:
I'm too young right now. I can't do it. When I rewatched it, I did this thing with all the movies that we're going to talk about today, where you have to pause it when it gets too much or mute it, or just take a little walk at different moments. But what happened was, when this movie came out to the cinemas, I stole my sister's ID to get in to watch it.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
No, way.
Susie Youssef:
I was so scared. I was absolutely terrified, but I was determined because Skeet Ulrich was in the cast. I loved him so much. He's that super hot, scary version of Johnny Depp that I just can't get enough of. And so I had to see it. Now I don't want people to think that this is Alexei overdoing it. This is a hundred percent on point how you feel.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I'm not kidding here. Scream, top 10 favorite films of all time.
Susie Youssef:
I don't know if you know what 10 is.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Numbers are meaningless to me, okay? I didn't go to fricking math in high school, okay? I took my Game Boy Advance and played poker instead of studying math, okay? And that is true. I got a lot of trouble for that.
Susie Youssef:
I believe that the only thing you've been doing since the moment you were born is watching every movie you possibly can get your hands on. So this is really one of your favorite movies.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah. I probably watch this every three months. One of the things I love about this film is the villain. It's Ghostface.
Susie Youssef:
Yes.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
You know, all the other slasher icons are either super charismatic like Freddy Krueger or like this monotone monolith monster just heading forward like Jason from the Friday the 13th films. But in this film, Ghostface is just like, it feels real. It's why it's so scary because he's like bumbling around and falling over and like this reckless kind of killer. And there's this great moment, it's my favorite scene in the whole film, where there's this cubicle and someone's sitting on top of the toilet and they jump down and you see their boots and you see jeans. You're like, "okay, it's just a normal person. I don't have to freak out." Then like the tendrils of that cloak fall down next to it. And you're like, "Oh, so Ghostface is just another person in this film." That's a really good horror moment.
Susie Youssef:
I will never forget it because you see the jeans and you're like, "Oh, it's going to be okay. It's just a person." And then that slow frayed cloak that has become so iconic throughout horror movie history just slowly drops down and I'm like, "No, it's not going to be okay. It's never going to be okay." So it starts off as a lot of horror films do with a famous cameo. So you get that Drew Barrymore moment. She nails it. She's heaven.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah. This hearkens back to Psycho, the original proto slasher, where we've got Janet Lee as the lead and then something may happen and she's no longer the protagonist of the film. And this is like a great example of that and how this movie is this take on horror and horror history and how we think about horror films. And that first scene with Drew Barrymore could be the best horror short film of all time.
Susie Youssef:
It's perfect. You know what I found funny was Rose McGowan's character Tatum. She's this mega babe. She gets stuck in the roller door of the garage. And that, spoiler alert, is her end. It's conceptually so funny, but terrifying to watch.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I think that's what makes this movie so special by having Wes Craven, the master of horror from Nightmare on Elm Street and Last House on the Left, so many great genre classics, the scripts, which I've read, it reads funny. And it's easy to make this into a comedy, but I think Wes Craven saw how powerful this film could be by directing it as a horror movie and having the comedic moments seen, in their own way, when it's necessary. The clever thing about it is that the deaths are always scary.
Susie Youssef:
Yes.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
The deaths are never a moment for humor, whereas like that on the page is funny. But in the moment it gives you a moment to feel the fear for that character and give them a moment to live as a real person. Like Henry Winkler is a great example of that as the principal. He's so funny. There's even a moment where he has a Fonzie moment in front of the mirror and then 10 seconds later he's dead. But in that moment, it's so scary.
Susie Youssef:
Another thing that I noticed for the first time was that Wes Craven is in Scream. It's just after Henry Winkler does his little Fonzie moment in the mirror. And then he looks out into the hall trying to find out who's knocking on his door. And there's this janitor who has Freddy Krueger's hat and Freddy Krueger's sweater.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah.
Susie Youssef:
And just looks up. And I think grunts. I don't even know if he has a line.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
There's another horror classic cameo in this movie as well. This is a real blink and you miss it one, too. There's a journalist in this film, a reporter.
Susie Youssef:
Not Courteney Cox.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I'm talking about Linda Blair. Blink and you'll miss it, but Linda Blair is there.
Susie Youssef:
He has all the cameos in this movie.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yes. I'm talking about Regan from the Exorcist. She is in this film. But I think what makes this film special, it is that meta element. It's speaking about horror films.
Susie Youssef:
Yes. It literally sets up horror comedy rules in one of the scenes where Jamie Kennedy's character Randy says that, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to survive a horror movie." And he lists them out. So he says, for instance, "Number one, you can never have sex." And everyone at the party boos, "No."
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah. Sex is awesome. I love to do it.
Susie Youssef:
He's like, "It's a big no. Sex equals death." Then he says, "Number two-
Speaker 15:
"You can never drink or do drugs."
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, but I'm a party animal. I love that stuff, please.
Susie Youssef:
Don't stop the fun, Randy. Then he goes to number three. The third rule to survive the horror film is-
Speaker 15:
"Never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, 'I'll be right back.'"
Susie Youssef:
Because you will not be right back.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It's true. It's true. All of these tropes are subverted in this film.
Susie Youssef:
Because at a certain point, the audience catches on. We know what's going to happen. You're not going to scare us anymore. So the only way to keep scaring is to subvert and then to subvert the subversion.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Wow. That's a lot to think about. I think I'm going to have to take a minute to think about it myself actually.
Susie Youssef:
Okay.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I'll be right back.
Susie Youssef:
NO!
Alexei Toliopoulis:
That brings us on to our premiere flick, Hubie Halloween.
Susie Youssef:
Neighbors mock him and the cops ignore him. But Hubie has got a hunch that Halloween in Salem is going to be extra scary this year.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
This cast includes Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Ray Liotta, Noah Schnapp, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Buscemi and Maya Rudolph, directed by the great Steve Brill. It's interesting to compare and contrast this with Scream because Scream is a horror comedy that's quite nasty. It's quite scary. It's quite brutal. Hubie Halloween's a little bit gentler, but still has some teeth.
Susie Youssef:
Hubie is a different game.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yes, it is M for immature audiences, if you will.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, it's more family friendly.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I'm watching it with my boys, my girls and my ghouls. Okay, listen. I'm going to lose my mind on this episode. I'm going to say it right now. I have studied film for a long time, extensively over many years. I have reviewed movies for also many years.
Susie Youssef:
You are legit.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I am legit. My credentials speak for themselves.
Susie Youssef:
But in case they didn't, we have now listed them.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
But I will tell you right now, hand on heart, Adam Sandler is one of my favorite comedy stars of all time. I love him. He's one of my heroes. I grew up watching him. I will die watching him. And I hope that it is not soon because I want to get many, many more Sandler movies in before I reach my zenith.
Susie Youssef:
I grew up quoting Adam Sandler films. Like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer... Quotes from those movies are the way I communicated for like a decade. I'm not even joking. It definitely, that completely shaped my sense of humor. I love that Adam Sandler swings from like the sweet, sensitive, romantic guy to like the ludicrously, angry within the sentence. Like, I'm not talking, "Oh, one sentence happy. One sentence sad." It's not that. It's within the same moment it goes from like, "Tap it in" to "Are you too good for your home?" I love that.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, I love that too. One of my fondest memories of childhood was at a party. I would have just been hitting those puberty blues and this older woman, a friend of a friend of my mother's, came up to me and she said word for word, "I'm really good at this. And I'm always right. Do you know who you look exactly like? Adam Sandler." I was thrilled because I'm like, "Oh, that's my hero." Until I realized that she was thinking I looked like the 40-year-old guy that played Little Nicky, which is more accurate. I don't know if I looked that much like Adam Sandler.
Susie Youssef:
I have to admit when I first met you, I thought you were Adam Sandler and it definitely influenced our friendship. There's already over 60 Adam Sandler films out there. Is that enough?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I think we need a few more. Not quite 70, but as close as they'll let him get.
Susie Youssef:
So you're saying like, we'll get to 68 and then just one more and just, "Tap it in."
Alexei Toliopoulis:
That was a true Adam Sandler joke that we just laid out there. This is probably my favorite Adam Sandler broad style comedy film in recent years. At least since The Ridiculous 6.
Susie Youssef:
This is a big call.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It's a big call because I've also positively reviewed every single one of the movies that have happened since The Ridiculous 6. But I think that this captures what I really want from a Sandler movie. I want that sweetness there. I want that nasty humor. I think this movie does it in a really, really delightful way and it kind of sung so true to my little Sandler boy heart that I was just pleased by it. And I have wanted to see him tackle a horror comedy for ages. I think he did it so well. You got scared during this, right?
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. It's no secret. The horror genre, not exactly for me. I don't want to break your little heart.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh.
Susie Youssef:
But this is not my favorite Adam Sandler comedy. It is still hugely watchable. It's still very funny. But I think because the genre is something that I still struggle with. I do dabble with comedy horror because I think that the tension payoff is huge. And I love the seeds of expectation that horror films plant. I love that you kind of go, "Oh, is this going to come back? Those sweet Sandler seeds." But with a modern horror, as we mentioned before, it's the tropes that you don't expect to be subverted that really make the film great.
Hubie Dubois:
Ghosts, scary. But also the key to Halloween safety. The G. What could the G stand for?
Speaker 16:
Go home?
Hubie Dubois:
No. Give. Give to the less fortunate. Does anyone know what less fortunate is?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, I love Hubie Dubois's voice. Sandler has got three voices, in my opinion. The sweet Sandman is like [inaudible 00:18:40]. Like that. And then we've also got the angry Sandler like [inaudible 00:18:46]. Which I love. And then we've got Cajun Sandler, which is [inaudible 00:18:51].
Susie Youssef:
I mean, the differences between them are subtle.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
They are subtle differences. And I think that this is right in the sweet Sandman spot. I think Adam Sandler is a phenomenal actor. He will do something crazy. Sometimes he'll pull it out of the bag. Sometimes it's going to be something really special. You know it's going to be something with Sandler.
Susie Youssef:
So what do you think the difference is? What do you think changes him from film to film?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I think that it's this idea of rage. Sandler's rage is what is key to his performance. Directors can access that differently and help him access it differently. You've got stuff like Punch-Drunk Love. We've got Paul Thomas Anderson working it out there. And then you've got Judd Apatow doing Funny People. Then you've got the Safdies elevating it even more so ever with Uncut Gems. And his performance in Uncut Gems is one of my favorite Sandler characters. We must give a big shout out to Steve Brill and Sandler's co-writer on the film, Tim Herlihy. They're experts at capturing that part of his comedic persona. Herlihy and Sandler have been collaborators since his SNL era.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Lots of the best Sandler sketches from Saturday Night Live were co-written by Tim Herlihy, as were all of his great comedies. I'm talking Billy Madison, 1995. That's them. Happy Gilmore, 1996. That's them, too. The Wedding Singer, one of the greatest romantic comedies produced in the year 1998-
Susie Youssef:
Without a doubt.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
... Is them. Of course, we have got The Waterboy.
Susie Youssef:
1998 was a busy year.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah. Two of the best movies of the year. Same team putting it together. 1998. Waterboy.
Susie Youssef:
Do they sleep? No.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
No. And did they sleep when Big Daddy came around? They were up all night. And not only that, Steve Brill also most recently directed Adam Sandler's Netflix special 100% Fresh, that I have basically washed on a loop for the last two years. Like I'm a gangster rapper with Scarface, just playing on a TV non-stop. They're experts at accessing that Sandler rage.
Susie Youssef:
And also maybe putting a lid on it when they need to.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yes. And that lid is a beautiful thermos that he keeps at his side at all times at this movie.
Susie Youssef:
We do have to mention the humble thermos. It is given the spotlight that it deserves.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It's like a go-go gadget accessory that he's got in this film.
Susie Youssef:
And it has to be pointed out that you yourself, Alexei, carry around a thermos that I can only assume carries some sort of minestrone in it.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah, we've got a minestrone in there much like Sandler. I'm always sipping on that soupy, baby.
Susie Youssef:
You love it.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I love it.
Hubie Dubois:
When I was your age, I made some huge boners. Boners that I wish I could get back now.
Speaker 17:
I don't think he knows what boner means.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
This is a film where Sandler's character deserves to have this rage because he's bullied. He's kind of the mockery of this town.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, relentlessly.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Relentlessly. He never lets loose because he's this kind-hearted character.
Susie Youssef:
And I think that tension is what makes this horror film work. And you can tell from the get-go that they're not messing around. So this is set in Salem. You know that from the very first moment we have this really strong radio voice come, this spooky kind of radio commentator, come over the speaker. And I think that when you set a horror film, even if it's a comedy horror film, in Salem, you know that this is going to be spooky.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
You hit such a good point with that radio announcer. I think it's a great little trope for world-building where someone's just kind of giving this poetic, exciting narration for what's happening in the town and getting people up to speed. It works really well in this kind of like broad horror comedy. We've got this cast of Sandler regulars and they're doing something a little bit different because we are now in this horror comedy zone. We've got Kevin James playing the cop in this movie. Steve Buscemi-
Susie Youssef:
Beautiful Steve.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
... Is heaven in this movie.
Susie Youssef:
He's so gorgeous.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
There's something going on with Steve Buscemi as this strange neighbor. And I think it's one of his best performances in a Sandler movie since Big Daddy, really.
Speaker 18:
If you ever hear some commotion coming from my house, it's nothing to be concerned about. So you don't need to come over and check on me or anything. In fact, it's important that you don't.
Susie Youssef:
I was a little bit surprised at the number of stunts in this film that they pulled off.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah, it's not just pratfalls, is it?
Susie Youssef:
No. It's not just pratfalls. It's borderline action.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yeah. It's crazy. There's all these things where he like flies over fences. And it kind of reminds me of You Don't Mess With the Zohan, where Sandler got super abbed up and ripped for it to do all these crazy stunts. And here it's the same kind of thing where he's just like silly yet a huge expert.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, and instead of getting abs, he just has this incredible thermos.
Speaker 19:
Does it turn you on?
Speaker 9:
How is sucking on fake fingers supposed to turn me on?
Speaker 19:
Well, imagine that they're your fingers.
Speaker 9:
They're men's fingers. What, are you saying I have men's fingers?
Speaker 19:
Okay. Look, I was just trying something, okay? Something different.
Speaker 9:
Jeez, man.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
My two favorites in this film is a husband and wife duo a played by Maya Rudolph and Tim Meadows.
Susie Youssef:
Maya Rudolph who is my absolute angel from heaven.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
And Tim Meadows one of the great SNL alums ever. They play a husband and wife duo that torment Hubie. And there's this great scene with them in the car that is my comedic shining moment of the whole film.
Speaker 19:
Remember we used to come here in high school?
Speaker 9:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). It feels exactly the same, too. We got Hubie Dubois spying on everybody. I've got to say, it's pretty impressive how long he's been a loser.
Speaker 19:
I've got a great idea. It's kind of evil, but stick with me.
Speaker 9:
Now, that turns me on.
Susie Youssef:
I think I know the answer, but who should watch this movie?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I think that this is an absolute must watch for any diehard Adam Sandler fan. There's so many Easter eggs in this movie, you get the scream out of O'Doyle Rules, which is a family of bullies that say it every time in Billy Madison.
Susie Youssef:
Yes, which makes this film, along with all other Adam Sandler films, endlessly quotable.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Also this film starts with this huge glorious yolky Easter egg that is one of the most delightful cameos I've ever experienced in my entire life.
Susie Youssef:
Yes, we have the return of another member of the Adam Sandler classic movie history family coming in. And I have to say, I loved it.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It delighted me so much. I honestly think that if I was in the exact right mood, I might have wept watching that moment.
Susie Youssef:
You're tearing up right now.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
I'm tearing up thinking about it. This movie made me feel like I was a beautiful little boy once again, falling in love with Adam Sandler's comedy.
Susie Youssef:
And it was that moment where you go, "Okay, I'm going to have to start ticking off all of the Hollywood appearances" because people in Hollywood clearly adore Sandler and want to do his films.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Follow The Big Film Buffet on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you get those new episodes as soon as they drop every single Tuesday. And don't forget to comment, rate, review, tell your friends. Podcasts live on the idea of word of mouth and your word is your bond, baby. It is time for our palate cleanser. We're going to play our favorite game. The game is called Film or Movie?
Susie Youssef:
Where producer Michael gives us the title of a motion picture and Alexei and I decide whether it's a film, which is...
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Largely art and pretension...
Susie Youssef:
As opposed to...
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Movie comfort. Popcorn. Me like movie. Michael is in the room today. He's going to give us the title. Michael, what is it?
Michael:
It's another Adam Sandler classic. The title is Big Daddy.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Big Daddy is a film. And I believe this to my being.
Susie Youssef:
[crosstalk 00:00:26:26].
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Susie Youssef, it is a film, okay? Look at this. We have got the idea of fathers and parents. He is also trying to raise this child to be his own, in his own image, to give him a better life in the struggling city of New York. This is also truly, I would believe, the first time that Adam Sandler grapples with the existential nature of his man-child character.
Susie Youssef:
All compelling arguments. And yet let me place a few of my own on the table.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Okay.
Susie Youssef:
I'm going to fight that it's a movie by using the poster as my first piece of evidence. Your honor, if I may approach the bench.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yes, you may approach the bench.
Susie Youssef:
It's two dudes... One little dude, one big dude... Pissing against a wall.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Allow my counterpoint. These are two people grappling within themselves, expelling the demons from within, against the city of New York City.
Susie Youssef:
Okay, sure. But the tagline is, "Nature called. Look who answered." This movie also made $234 million at the box office. And the climax of it is a kid yelling, "I wipe my own ass."
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Susie, the kid may be yelling, "I wipe my own ass" at the climax of the film, but let me ask you this, were you not moved? Did you not cry?
Susie Youssef:
Dammit. I actually did cry in that moment.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It's one of the most sensational moments of film history that packs an emotional punch like no other.
Susie Youssef:
But we can fight till the cows come home. It's not up to us. Producer Michael, is this a film or a movie?
Michael:
This is a title that made $234 million worth of people realize they have daddy issues. It's a film.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Yes, yes. Alexei's on top. Adam Sandler, I will pray to you tonight because you are a film icon and a film god.
Susie Youssef:
If you're like me and you prefer a treat over a trick any day of the week, then it's time for dessert. And we recommend this film...
Alexei Toliopoulis:
The Babysitter.
Speaker 21:
Do you even know what an orgy is?
Speaker 22:
I'm guessing it's something sad people do because they want other sad people to like them. And they can forget for one minute how sad they are in general.
Speaker 23:
That's actually a pretty good answer.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
This is a film that's on Netflix right now. It is directed by McG, who one of the best three-lettered directors that there is. When Cole stays up past his bedtime, he discovers that his hot babysitter belongs to a satanic cult that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, boy.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
And this movie has such a hot and exciting script. It was on the Hollywood blacklist. So you know that it was all about subverting genre tropes and stuff like that.
Susie Youssef:
I'm just going to have to pause you there. What is the Hollywood blacklist?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, the Hollywood blacklist is basically this list of the greatest unproduced screenplays in Hollywood year by year. And so they're more kind of written to be read in this exciting way to kind of get people on board and start writers careers off with like a bit of a boost. Because they're written to be read, they don't always land so well when they would get adapted into a film. But I think this one really nails it. This is a horror comedy in a different balance of the ones we've been talking about. It's definitely scary. You can attest to that.
Susie Youssef:
Is it a horror comedy? Because I thought it was more about self-empowerment, self-realization, self improvement. It's more a coming-of-age film. And it just had like a dash of that brutal mutilation by sexy devil-worshiping teens that, honestly Alexei, scared the absolute shit out of me. Like in fairness, even Hubie, as I mentioned, made me a bit jumpy, but I had to mute and look away a number of times. I know I'm a child. It was too much for me. I was delighted that Samara Weaving is in this film. So Hugo's niece. We love him. We love her. She did a, pardon the pun, killer performance.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
She is incredible in this film. Between this and her breakout lead performance in Ready or Not last year, I think she'll be heralded as the great scream queen of the future.
Susie Youssef:
She's perfect.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It also shares the B-movie horror shenanigans of Hubie Halloween.
Susie Youssef:
It does, but again, it must subvert. But this one subverts and then subverts and then subverts again.
Speaker 22:
Why is she shirtless?
Speaker 24:
That's your first question?
Alexei Toliopoulis:
It's the spooky season so we thought we'd recommend a few extra tricks and treats for those in need of flicks that go bump in the night. One of my all-time favorites is The Ring, in my opinion, the single best and freakiest horror movie to watch at home on a TV. It literally feels like it's built for that exact atmosphere.
Susie Youssef:
And if you can get through the whole film, well, good luck to you, my friend. I only got to 10 minutes and it scared the absolute hell out of me. Another absolute classic horror comedy is, of course, Shaun of the Dead.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, I love that movie. And then actually another movie that Hubie Halloween reminded me of was Halloween. The four decades later sequel to the horror classic Halloween. It really does feel like that is a movie that Hubie Halloween is parroting.
Susie Youssef:
And if you want something a little bit more family-friendly, then a great entry into the horror genre is a terrifying classic The Witches.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Oh, the Roald Dahl classic. I think you're right. It is probably my favourite first entry for young people into horror.
Susie Youssef:
Anjelica Huston will haunt me forever.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
Great performance. Susie, let me empty our little jack-o-lantern bucket full of candy and count all the things we've collected today. Our starter was the all-time classic Wes Craven Scream. Our main course was Sandler's Hubie Halloween. And The Babysitter was our dessert.
Susie Youssef:
That's it for another week. I am full and satisfied.
Alexei Toliopoulis:
As am I, even though I can never get my fill of motion pictures. If you're hungry for more movie talk, I host the weekly film podcast Total Reboot, all about reboots, remakes and rip offs.
Susie Youssef:
And get ready for next week where we move away, sadly, from the horror genre and into the courtroom drama that is The Trial of the Chicago 7. This episode was written and hosted by the erie Alexei Toliopoulis and Susie Screams Youssef, produced by the mysterious Michael Sun and Anu The Horror Hasbold, edited by the ghostly Geoffrey O'Connor, and executive produced by the terrifying Tony Broderick and the morbid Melanie Mahony.