iTunes Exclusive Episode The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

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My name is Robin.
I just love this time of year.
I said it for all of a sudden.
Joining me in the studio for this.
A couple of gentlemen.
First of all, to my left is a man who owns 3D glasses that he purchased today.
He is chat.
Leave me and my 3D glasses.
I didn't say there's anything wrong with it.
I just stated a fact.
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Okay.
That is a documented fact.
And to his left is a man who is
not only an integral part of this show.
He is the fact checker for this show.
And 99 times out of 100.
If we do corrections, it's him that catches him.
I get the other one percent.
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The two is exclusive.
First things for having me in, but you know, the music.
It's a living part of this show.
It really is.
The music and the music that underneath the show is a character and an untoots.
And for the first time ever, I didn't think it was possible.
You're able to make me laugh to this song, which I love dearly.
I love this song.
I love it.
But I never thought I'd ever laugh, but I heard it.
But what's the show?
It's, which is a living part.
You made it possible.
But you did the impossible.
Wainsworld changed this song forever for me.
I loved it.
Before.
I did love it before.
But now I can see his wainsworld right here.
Oh, no.
Whatever we do in art, you deserve it.
There's usually a reason for it.
And this reason, of course, we're going to be reviewing another movie.
That by the time you hear this, we'll be available to you in theaters.
And it is a remake of a film that starred Danny K.
In 1947.
Here in 2013, we have a new version of it.
It is called the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
It stars and was directed by Ben Stiller based on the short story by James Thurber.
It also stars Kristen Weag Adam Scott.
Shirley McClain.
And the great Sean Penn.
The three of us got to see this early courtesy of our friends at Allied Integrated Marketing,
who we are huge fans of.
And we thank them for the opportunities they give us as often as they give them to us.
So let's start talking about this film.
Let us talk first of all about the story itself.
Chad, we're going to start with you.
What did you feel about the story of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
You get caught up in it relatively quickly.
You know, and it's...
Get nice.
Well played.
You're welcome America.
Great song too.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
The only thing that kind of took me out of the story itself was the...
It's almost like a pre-work was it Ben Stiller Convention, which is what.
That there always has to be these moments where he's...
He's in a moment that makes him feel awkward and uncomfortable and he projects that onto everybody watching it.
But I don't think he did that as often as he's done in the past.
No, but he's kind of made a career out of that.
And I was like, really, we got to do this again with Stiller.
Okay.
I guess it's part for the course.
But that's also the character too.
Well, Walter Mitty as a character.
Because I watched the original as a kid and I loved it.
How you can make a two-hour movie out of a short story.
Still it mases me in this day and it happens a lot more than you think.
But it's still a mases me.
The character of Walter Mitty, if you don't know,
Walter Mitty is a guy who works for Life magazine.
And this in Carnation.
Yes, yes.
He is a negative processing manager, which means he takes negatives of film and...
Processes them into...
And so what happens is, we are approaching Life magazine doing their final issue.
Because they're getting bought out and going online,
and Adam Scott plays the director of the transition.
And so they want this last cover of the last issue of Life magazine
to be the quintessence, which is a word that's thrown around a lot in the film.
From a photographer named Sean O'Connell.
She did.
She did.
It's O'Connell.
It's O'Connell.
Played by the great Sean Penn.
And if you know me, I don't say that very much about that name.
And we're going to get to that here in a minute.
So O'Connell sends them a canister of film.
And frame 25 is supposed to be the one that's going to be the cover of the last.
Issue of Life.
Except for one small problem.
Frame 25 is not there.
Oops.
It's not on the wall.
And so Walter, who spends a lot of his time day dreaming,
that he is all of these things that he is not.
Kind of zones out.
And that kind of plays a part of the film.
And leaves in the dream world.
Right.
He decides that he's going to find this frame.
He is over 16 years of working for Life magazine,
developed a very good rapport with O'Connell,
even though they've never met.
He is always respected,
and many for the work he's done.
And so many goes on this adventure to find this frame of film.
All the while trying to figure out how to woo over.
Cheryl Milhoff played by Kristen Week.
And there's a nice subplot in there with Matt with eHarmony.com.
And I'm not going to go into you to need to see in the film.
And for the record.
And for the record.
I called that as soon as I heard the voice.
I guess for me,
that was the awkwardness is part of the MIDI character.
It's that whole,
I mean, if you're going to have somebody be a modern day Walter MIDI,
I think that stillers a good choice.
Because he encompasses that
I can be meek,
but I can still make a difference kind of a film.
Well, you know who was originally pegged for this thing?
No.
This thing has been in development hell.
For years.
I know they've been trying to remake it for years.
And since 94.
Oh yeah.
Carry.
I wouldn't have been okay with him in this role.
I would have been fine with it.
I think I think carry would have been two over the top.
Well, but you know,
this is also 1994 carry.
Who?
Kind of.
Sasha Baron Cohen was attached to us.
Yes, he was.
Owen Wilson was attached to it.
Yo Hanson was the front runner as the female lead for a while.
Do you know,
Gore for Benzki was going to direct it in,
whenever he was attached in June of 2010.
But remained on as a producer because we caught that in the credits at the end.
He was always considered as well.
So this thing's just been through very nice.
You're welcome.
That was your welcome internet.
You know, and then it kind of got passed over from Samuel
Goldwyn to John Goldwyn to, I guess,
Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
It just kind of got handed around back and forth in the family.
Because the original producer Samuel Goldwyn produced the original.
So it kind of came full circle.
I'd like this.
I'd like, I'll go ahead.
Sorry, don't please.
My initial thoughts.
I saw the trailer along two-minute trailer.
Uh-huh.
In a trignee, especially that shot with Sean Penn from the picture saying,
Come on.
Very, very force gumping in some of the effects.
Yeah, but I was really intrigued by the trailer.
So I was really kind of, I got to see this kind of film.
And it's not exactly what I expected from the trailer
or what I thought it would be, but I was very intrigued
and I did like what they did with it.
I would, I think, Ben Stiller,
I think he was the right guy for the film for this role.
I will say that right now.
My thing with it was, for it to be the secret life of Walter Mitty,
there wasn't enough of the day dreaming.
Where that was more of the focus in the original with Danny K.
But I thought the movie flowed very well.
It did not seem long to me.
It did not seem boring.
Well, it's not very long.
It wasn't too out.
Yes.
But I think it flowed well.
I think a lot of this movie I think was done right for what it is.
It's a very, when you think about it, I say this after the screening,
but you guys is that it's a very kind of simplistic plot,
but they made a great story out of it.
I will say this one thing I have to say to people who are like me,
who love shots in incredible scenery.
You got to see this film on that.
That's going to segue us into Stiller as a director.
But before we get to that, somebody that Chad mentioned last night,
and he's like, where have I seen that guy,
who's kind of his sidekick, Adrian Martinez.
He was in kick ass.
Okay.
Okay.
I had a very understated but great performance from him as well.
I mean, this guy's got a lot of skins on the wall,
going back almost 20 years.
So, I know that was bucking you last night.
Yeah.
It was driving me nuts.
So that's segue that into Stiller as a director,
because I want to separate Stiller as the director and
Stiller as the actor.
Because he does tend to direct himself a lot,
especially in the last few years.
Don, let's start with you.
What did you feel with Stiller's vision of the film?
I, I was surprised he's able to direct it and
Starr as much as he did in his film.
You know, it's not unheard of,
but he's done that as far back as reality.
Yeah.
And, but the thing about this film,
I can't say it enough.
I love so many of the shots they did,
so much of the scenery they did,
so much of the special effects that they did.
And that during most of the film,
I'd say 90s, some percent of the film.
I did, I was feeling like there's no CGI even though
he could tell there's a couple shots of CGI put in there.
But if you like the panoramic stuff,
incredible film,
I thought it full good for a short,
for short story.
It kept you for a simplistic plot.
It kept me really into the film.
And I was really pleasantly surprised on the thing.
I thought Stiller's direction was very good.
I wouldn't call it great,
but I would call it very good.
I think that he understood the vision that he wanted for it,
and I think that he translated that well.
It is even though he's done it a number of times.
One of the toughest things that I've read about,
and Hollywood,
is to direct yourself,
because you're not,
you can't watch yourself
as you're filming yourself.
So you have to rely on having a good director of photography.
That's going to help you out.
That's why I'm looking up.
Chad, how did you feel about Stiller's vision of the film?
I'm kind of in the same boat with Don to where I was kind of expecting
a little bit more spectacle.
And I think that you have every right to be,
because the trailer really makes it look,
again, it makes it look very forced,
and you didn't,
I don't think you ever truly got that.
No, I mean,
you got a couple of whiz bank scenes
that you got totally caught up in
one involving a toy that I was very fond of in my youth.
Yes.
Stiller's photography was by a Stuart Dryberg,
who you would know him from,
he did an episode of Lock,
which is a great show.
I don't know how she does it.
Texas killing films.
He did an episode of Boardwalk Empire.
No reservations.
Young flu.
You're welcome.
Really do.
Yep.
He was, he was director of photography
on Bridget Jones's diary,
runaway bride,
analyzed this portrait of a lady,
the piano.
The guy's got skins on the wall.
That seemed like this has been his,
I don't know,
the most grand scale film he's done.
Could be,
you could see it that way.
You know, just,
the shots of the,
the volcano and that,
that, that sequence was amazing to me.
Again, that was,
that was one of those set pieces.
We were like, okay,
this is what I'm,
this is what I've been waiting for.
And things really truck.
But,
but I think Stiller was looking more from the human aspect of it.
I think that's why.
That's why I liked about it.
It is a real human story to it.
About the sky has been so,
in this little world,
the not really experiencing anything
who just goes,
Kapoo and does,
would stuff that a lot of people don't do their lifetime within a month.
But I think if you,
when you aim something as a Christmas day release,
you got to kind of bring your A game.
And,
this isn't a bad film.
By any stretch of the imagination.
It's not a bad film at all.
But,
I don't know,
it just,
it's just kind of lift me.
Wanting more.
Fair enough.
Well, then let's start with you on the performances.
It's,
it's Stiller being Stiller.
You know,
he tends to,
recycle his performance.
I definitely did not see him immersed in the role.
No, he was, he was been Stiller.
He could have been the same guy he played
and not at the museum,
as far as I'm concerned.
Which is getting another installment,
by the way.
I've got no problem with it.
I enjoy those films.
Uh,
but,
the one that really shocked me,
and did,
didn't he?
Is the week.
You know me,
I have a crush on you.
And I'm not really a fan of her.
comedic work,
but then I haven't seen the Bridesmaid.
Some people tell me you really can't judge her body of war.
Wonderful.
Fairly unless you've seen that.
Uh,
but she took a character that could be fairly flat
and one dimensional.
And she kind of breathes some life into it.
And I didn't think somebody like her
was capable of doing.
Well, she, she brought it.
How can I say it?
She brought it to a human level.
Yeah.
And you didn't get enough of her in mind.
She could be downed downed side to her performance.
And so I don't think you've got enough of it because
goodness knows he spent the majority of this film trying to impress her.
And you know,
there's a scene that involves a very great song.
um,
played on a 12 string guitar,
by the week,
and I would be surprised.
You truly played that.
I would be a cruises incredibly talented.
Um,
and you're like,
this is what's driving him.
And I just don't feel like you got enough of her constantly
Constantly driving him you know this you've got little bits and pieces of it
I just I don't think she she got to really shine and I think she was really trying to I didn't it didn't feel for
She was the voice of low-lobunny on the the new looney tune show
Did I know that I will say that's about your point about driving him I think it's some more of not just the
Kristen we character pushing him but it's just himself to
This one thing I'm going to know, but she is but she's the driving officer
Yeah, I mean, she is the inspiration behind it. She is I have to vote evasion
But I will say
Technic stint and some parts some parts I respectfully disagree because I think this guy here has been so sheltered
Said this one thing I'm going to do
I'm going to do this no matter what I have to do no matter where I have to go
No, it was a personal drive of him to finally just break out
I'm gonna do this one thing
I agree with you, but
There's a specific moment in the film
Where he even says later in the film
This is what drove me to do this. That's why by that happening then this happened then this happened then this happened
I thought her performance was amazing. Yeah, I love the week anyway, but to me it wasn't
It wasn't above par for me for her because I hold her to a high standard
Because I've watched her for so long
Her as comedic actress. Yeah, but but I've never seen her do see her do something with heart and and for that
I would take you back to her final epist the final sketch in her final episode on SNL
Where it Mick Jagger was the host and
The the basis of the sketch was he's playing with a band on a stage and
As they open the stage
Each member of the cast comes out in dances with her for just a few moments as they kind of
Pass you as it's kind of her send off right?
There was so much heart and that sketch that you saw come from her
Especially at the moment that suit date this comes up to dance with her
It it broke me down. Well, it but at that point isn't really a sketch anymore
But but it showed how she could convey that emotion into a way that you could see it visibly
Yeah, but she wasn't faking it. That was true wrong, but but again though
Some actors can't pull that off on raw emotion
Because there's some people are just so guarded they don't want people to see that side of them
The fact that she's willing to be that vulnerable showed me that she could do it on an acting front
Well, but see and in a situation like that is she acting or is she reacting
But again the fact that she's willing to convey it on camera and show that vulnerability tells me that she's she's willing to take it there
She doesn't strike me as a kind of person that would keep herself that guarded in a in a moment like that to where she's like no
I can't I can't show this show this much of myself. I will say the downside of the acting to me
And as much as I like this guy
Adam Scott didn't do much for me in this film. He's just he's just kind of played your
And I like Adam Scott. I truly love him for barks. I love him on parks and right. I've seen him in other things
His his character to me if you're going to be an antagonist
I need to see more from you
Anybody could for that for the payoff and I don't blame Adam Scott. I blame that script because I
Needed to hate him more than I did so that when the payoff comes and the antagonist gets the better or the pro-tag honest
It's the better of him. I
Want to feel more more vindicated than I did I will say one thing and I look back at it
They had
For Sean Penn's character
He said the right things and had it for the he almost he almost stole the film for me and he have a lot of opportunity to do it
But he ain't pretty almost did it because considering it's always been through pictures, but I'm not going to be spoiler or anything
He was in there. I think the perfect amount of time and said the perfect things and played perfect part for what it is for me
I'm not a huge Sean Penn fan. I find him to be very pretentious
And but in this film
Even important yes in this film the way he played Sean O'Connell
I was able to put all of that to the side and to see that moment that
He has I
Again almost steals the film tries real hard
Um
He almost steals it and in about three minutes and I told you I said I could very easily have seen depth playing that role
And then I see for Benzki's name come up and I was like oh wow
They probably could have it one well then but then I just read why for Benzki didn't do this
What was he directing? They came out this year with Johnny. Oh, yeah long-range or torpedo that plan
Sorry about that. No, I think pen was perfect. I think they got a good pick with absolutely great job. Great job
Okay, final analysis
What we do on this show
We like you more than just to give you the generic thumbs-up thumbs-down
Here's a number here's a star system
Uh, you're the Empire. You hold us to a hydrogen in that and we're gonna reach that standard
The way we give you final analysis on what we're gonna try real hard
The way we give final analysis on this show it is a two-prong process the first question is would you see this film again?
If the answer to that is no we move on if the answer to that is yes
I would like to know personally how would you watch this film again?
Would you watch it from the concept of an evening show?
Would you see that it's quite light show a matinee show?
Would you wait for it on DVD? Would you wait for it on cable?
So don't we're gonna start with you?
Did you like this film? Would you see it again? Yes, I did like it. You would see it again. Yes, I would. How would you see it again?
I think I like this more than you you two did overall. Okay, and I just really fell for this and I
It's gonna take a long time for me to really know and find out why and let's think in but I would I would see it
As
For me racing movies especially at night, it's not very often but I'd say a matinee or maybe a four or five
A clock or but yeah, but I would recommend it full screening for everybody else. Okay, chat
I'm I'm more along the lines of I'd wait for this on
Netflix or stars or something. I'd see it again, but I wouldn't rush out to see it again
for me I would see it again
I'm like you though. I think I might wait for it on cable
It'd be kind of a nice stay at home moving night with the lovely and talented Mrs Irvine. Yeah, I think she would go ahead. I do too
But I don't know that I'd see it in a theater again. There's nothing that really warranted me seeing it in a theater right again
But if it was on I'd stop down. I wouldn't turn it off. No
I'd watch it again just to see maybe there are things that I missed. Yeah
Because that's the kind of film that I think you probably did
It's pretty dits and and another thing that we forgot to mention
I will own the soundtrack
Yeah, oh yeah
Wonderful wonderful soundtrack. Yeah, you may never hear the human league again the same
But
When I think the soundtrack really is
Character just like in the show
It just it carries the story in times where nobody has to say anything
But one thing we had to say
DOSBOOT
DOSBOOT makes you the parents in this film and I don't mean the movie. I mean if you've seen beer if you've seen beer fast
It's a rock so that if you've seen beer fast by ball one thing I haven't done yet
I you know
Since we're getting to the end of this thing. I want to think you're by the allied
They are friends and we love them
Totally think I want to think you're ready for them. I miss and things for the great year with them
And we want to thank you the listener part of the empire for subscribing to our show on iTunes
We know
That sometimes we do this show for us. Let's be honest
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We greatly appreciate that we do this for you
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I am Rob at the clubhousepodcast.com. I am Chad at the clubhousepodcast.com
So until next time that you we get to spend some time in your year
For Chad for Don
I'm Rob the clubhouse is closed and I think a Brittany Palmer appearance in this film might have been a good thing
You
The preceding was a sooner orgator production get a moment ago why because I have to