iTunes Exclusive Episode Dont Worry He Wont Get Far On Foot
Rob and Don review Gus Van Sant's "Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot," a film about cartoonist John Callahan, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who becomes paralyzed and navigates addiction recovery through 12-step programs. The film features strong supporting performances from Jonah Hill as his sponsor and appearances by Jack Black, Rooney Mara, and Udo Kier, and Rob predicts it will be in year-end critical discussions.
About this episode
Key takeaways
- Joaquin Phoenix delivers career-best work, fully inhabiting the role of John Callahan with emotional depth throughout his recovery journey
- The film explores addiction and 12-step programs without graphic depiction, focusing on consequences and the recovery process rather than sensationalism
- Jonah Hill gives some of his best work as Callahan's sponsor, with strong ensemble support from the recovery group members
- The pacing is tight with no dragging; the film balances heavy subject matter with moments of levity and humor
- Based on Callahan's own book, the narrative spans approximately six to seven years after the accident that paralyzed him
Q&A
What is the film's runtime?
Just under two hours, approximately 155 minutes
When does the story take place?
Late 1970s to early 1980s
Is the film based on a true story?
Yes, it is based on John Callahan's own book
Does the film show graphic content about the disability?
It's not graphic, but pulls no punches about drinking and its effects; it focuses more on addiction than physical disability
Read Transcript
Oh yeah! Greetings Empire member and or members. If you're hearing the sound of my voice, it means you subscribe to the Clubhouse podcast and your favorite podcast app and we appreciate you doing so and make sure everybody you know does because we're going to be live to tape for a while.
We don't want anybody to miss anything. Welcome. We are your one stop shop for all things pop culture.
My name is Rob. I'm the executive producer of the Clubhouse podcast and it's time to do another review because it's time to talk about a movie in one of our iTunes exclusives. Number 403 for those of you playing the home game but I'm not alone joining me across the desk as he does from time to time is the official fact checker of this show and a man he knows art.
He's not afraid to talk about it. He is, he may know him as fond, don't go but his mom and him don't want to call him don't for to welcome sir. Yeah he works at the local Walmart down the road art.
He might. I don't know. Not at mine, maybe a church.
Yeah. Whatever we do one of these of course it is to review something this is no exception. Gus Van Zant is back and we're going to talk about don't worry he won't get far out of foot.
But we're going to start this whole thing? Yes sir. Can everybody have pawns PR?
We love our vendors. They let us see movies early so we can talk to you guys about them and you can make the best possible decisions for your entertainment dollar. Here's what you need to know.
This is the story of John Callahan. Now John Callahan was a guy who kind of reckless. He's played by the great Joaquin Phoenix and due to some unfortunate circumstances he becomes paralyzed from the chest down and it's part of it.
This is a story of addiction. This is a story of perseverance. This is a story about it really does focus a lot on the 12 steps within a 12 step program to help people understand what different addicts go through.
His sponsor is played by Jonah Hill. This takes place in the late 70s early 80s. Also in this film Jack Black who has a very small role but his role is very important in this.
Rooney Mara Joaquin's real life girlfriend is in this. She plays his romantic interest in this as well. And for the second time this year we have an Udo Kira parents really.
We saw him in American animals earlier this year. This movie runs right at just under two hours right about 155. Was he the simple lawyer on the lawsuit?
No. Okay. No, no, no lawyer.
Is he having a name or is he just loyal? This movie is amazing. Really?
There's no punches pulled in this. This is heart wrenching. He ends up becoming a very famous cartoonist and he's published all over the country and all different very controversial and the title of the film actually comes from one of his cartoons where it looks like you're in the desert with two Wild West sheriffs and there's an empty wheelchair and one of them says don't worry he won't get far on foot.
Okay. But a lot of his cartoons very controversial. He lives in Oregon.
Yeah, he did some songwriting too. Yes. He actually has a song on the soundtrack that's performed by somebody else.
You don't hear me say what I'm about to say very very often, okay I'm getting ready. Get ready for this film to be talked about at the end of the year. Really?
And I'm not talking about just me. Okay. I'm talking about don't be surprised if there's not best picture talk.
I'm surprised this came out when it did and not later in the year. This may get a re-release in the fourth quarter. To try to get the push out for it.
Don't be surprised. Walking Phoenix for the second time this year blows me away after you were never really here. Okay.
Which I saw earlier this year. This film, if it wasn't for the little, the little like scar that he has between his nose and his mouth, there were times where I completely lost him in the role. He's that good.
Jonah Hill? Yeah. Best work I've ever seen him do.
So are you talking best supporting actor not possibly? I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, it's that good.
Because that's the thing about Phoenix. I was going to say it about the guy. I saw that documentary that he proved and he looks like he's mentally about four cans, five cans short of a six-pack.
But they always say there's that fine line between genius and insanity and how he could be such a guy out there, but be such a great actor sometimes may not be that surprising. I mean, he's so good in this, like to show the emotion that Callahan went through because again, he's, I mean, we'll just talk about it. He had a drinking problem.
Yeah. And he starts the film by saying, the last day I could use my legs, I wasn't hungover because I was still drunk from the night before. And it walks through that day.
Well, a lot of it's told in flashback because he's, and from different whether he's talking in front of an AA group or whether he's talking in front of an auditorium full of people or he's talking to his small group, his support group because Johnny Hill's character is his sponsor. Yeah. It bounces back and forth because the speech is basically the same, but he walks through the entire process.
It's just nothing short of mind blowing. I mean, now you say it pulls no punches. I mean, is it, is it gritty on like the wreck?
Does it show? No, no, no, it's not, it's not graphic. Okay.
Let's put it that way. It's, but there's just nothing sugar coated here about the drinking in the cause of, in the effects afterward and all that in the, how much of a drunk he was before and all that stuff. And because it walks through his, his rehabilitation process.
And there's a lot of great light moments, there's, there's moments that I laughed out loud. Okay. I hate to compare it, but Gleason.
Disappointing. Apple's in oranges because the thing is, well, Gleason pull no punches about the disability and showing him like in the bathroom where you can't go to the bathroom on self and there's, is it kind of that same thing? There's a little bit of that.
But this is more, this is more a story of addiction where has Gleason, there's, there was nothing he could do, but it was just, that was just an affliction he had. This is more about a man who's, who has consequences of his actions and how he deals with it and the, the deeper seated issues that come with that. Now, how much of a timeframe in his life does it mostly deal with you?
I know a flashback. I would say probably, is it more probably six or seven years from the wreck on the, the, the, the morning of the wreck. Okay.
That's as far back as it goes. Now, there's a couple of little flashbacks to when he was a kid, but they're that quick. Now, it does, it mostly stay with the, after the wreck and it flashes back to the wreck.
Yes. Okay. So it's, it's more of a film of, here's my predicament.
This is what I'm going to do with my life now that I've kind of screwed some certain aspects up. Yes. Okay.
Absolutely. Now, um, I, if you say how great this film is, I got the big question. You know what's going to be?
Watch Gage. Thirty five minutes. Okay.
That's a prize. It's an hour 50. Okay.
Because it's saying how great the film is in saying thirty five. That's good. But I think that the reason it was what it was.
Yeah. Was mainly because this is a week where we had four screenings. Okay.
And this was number three. Yeah. So it's getting a little tired.
So it's not an indictment of the film because it's an amazing film. Like I said, this is going to be in discussion at the end of the year when critics are doing their choices and voters are casting ballots to nominate films and people in them for their performances. Okay.
I mean, this movie, Jack Black has a small role in it, again, very pivotal, but he's only in it for about five minutes. Rooney Mara, a walking's real life girlfriend. So that kind of sells the romance that she's doing it.
She's great. No, she's okay. Okay.
Mara's Mara. Yeah. She's amazing anyway.
Okay. This film just, it's one of those movies that I won't say it's not to feel good movie of the year, but it's very, very heavy. And it's subject matter to see what this man goes through.
And I was having a discussion recently with somebody about addiction and I think people that haven't been exposed to addiction enough, I think we'll get a really good feel for that process with this film because it deals a lot with 12 step programs. But it's also deals with Calahann being very like I'm going to the meeting so it's like I'm doing this, but I don't really have to do it because I'm, I'm cool and I don't have to, you know, I don't need all of this and then he finds out that he does need it. Okay.
And the process he goes through there and to, and there's some great performances by people that are in, in his group as well, Beth Ditto plays Reba. She's really, really good in this Mark Weber playing Mike Udo Kier as I mentioned earlier, Kim Gordon. The people in his small group, a great group of people in this as well, Tony Greenhand plays Tim, his caretaker, very small role, but he's also very good.
Ronnie Adrian plays Martin Gayle. I can't get that right. He's also part of that small group and it's just, once he starts learning how to draw and starts putting his cartoons out there and you can see how his cartoons really do reflect things in his life.
And it's, it's heart-wrenching and wonderful and sad and funny and it's just, this movie is so great. What about the pacing? Right on.
Okay. No issues with the pacing. No dragging, there's no, like dragging for a big payoff at the end.
It doesn't come. Okay. No, no, no.
It's, this is another one of those cases that the less you know about the story, I think the more you'll enjoy the film. Do you think this is more, would they probably did a ton of research into 12-step programs to do this thing? No, it was based on his book.
Okay. He wrote, that's the name of his book. Okay.
So, I think that they just, basically, I mean they might have done, like the actors may have done some research. But this is his story. I wonder if he does a cameo in this at all or if he, how much the real life person had in this thing.
Kind of tough for that to happen. What do you mean? He passed away in 2010.
I was trying not to give that away, but that's okay. That's okay. We can edit that out.
But this, this film is just amazing. It's so good. I cannot say enough good things about this movie.
There's one thing I know you like about films when you do that. And I want to know if they did this. The showing real pictures or like real video of the real person at the end of the film.
There's one picture. That's it. Okay.
Okay. And I think if they had done that, it might have taken some of the effect out of it. Because walking looks enough like him to pass, but not enough that I would have been like, oh, that's the same guy.
I'm glad I didn't have pictures of him or anything because I really, it helped me sell walking in the role. And then when I saw the picture of him at the end, I was like, okay, I mean, there's some similarities there. But certain things you can't, you weren't going to be able to nail because they're just different people.
Okay. What's your biggest gripe of the film? There's a couple of things and I don't, I don't want to spoil anything.
There's a couple of aspects of his recovery because they say, you know, when you're an alcoholic, you're always an alcoholic. Oh, yeah. You're always recovering alcoholic.
Yeah. There's some aspects of his recovery that I wish they would have gone into a little bit deeper, but I can understand for a time's sake why they didn't. Okay.
So it's not, it didn't take me out of it. I just, and that's just me being wanting more information. You know what I mean?
Yeah. There's their times, like, remember in the movie Step where there's those, like, that one girl who just keeps shooting herself into foot and you're going, oh, Lord, they're like weener. Is there times where you look in this story, you're just looking at this guy going, oh, Lord, why do you keep shooting yourself in a foot?
Is there any part of that? Leading up to the accident, yes. Okay.
Once the accident happens, watching him go through everything, it's, it's a less of that. It's the only way I can put it. Okay.
Without, without going too deep, because I really want people to see this movie and feel that impact for themselves. Okay. Anything else you want to know?
Nope. Alright, let's get to the final analysis. Let me do the final analysis on the show.
We're not going to give you thumbs up, thumbs down. We're not going to give you letter grades, numbers, cartoons, anything like that stick figures. Uh, we're going to talk two questions.
Question number one is, what I see this film again, if the answers know, then we're done here. But if the answer is yes, how far am I willing to go to see it? From the best of the best of the worst of the best, full price of the theater down to a matinee, or down to a twilight showing down to a matinee down to early morning on a weekend, down to second run of the dollar theater, down to actually leaving the house and getting it from red box, down to Netflix, and down to cable.
Rob. Yes, sir. Requiring mine's one or no.
Uh-huh. Would you see this film again? Absolutely.
Now, how far are you going to, uh, see this film? I would pay full price for it. Give me a cup of it.
It's that good. Okay. What about a chance of being your top ten or honorable mention?
It's definitely, there's no way it's not going to be the latter. It's still too early to talk to the former. Okay.
But it's got a shot. Okay. Okay.
I mean, in Gus Van Zant, amazing job shooting this film, some of the best work I've seen him do. What was it? Oh, gorgeous.
Absolutely. Absolutely. It is.
Don't worry. He won't get far and foot. Pardon this whole thing?
Yes, sir. Again, we are, I think, our great friend Brad and everybody at Fonts PR. Hey.
We love our vendors. Our vendors give us the opportunity to see films in advance so we can talk to you guys about them. And so we can give you our opinions and help you spend your entertainment and your entertainment dollar in the best way possible.
That being said, let's do the plugs. Visit our website where you can also find my written review. It is www.theclubhousepodcast.com.
Find out everything you need to know and some stuff you don't. Follow us on social media. Twitter is at ClubhouseShow.
Everything else is the Clubhouse podcast. All three words in that order or you will wind up somewhere else. You can follow me on social media if you would like.
Everything is yes to that Rob Urban that has spelled ERVIN. My normal co-host for this show is Chad Womack. You can follow him at ChadNPG69.
I'm at Fonts. Don going Twitter. Two ways of getting three hours a day and also email me at Don at clubhousepodcast.com.
Email Don for questions on how we can come do a live show for you. We love doing live remote shows and hanging out with the Empire. You can email me questions, comments, concerns, something to go pound, sand.
I am Rob at theclubhousepodcast.com. Chad is Chad at theclubhousepodcast.com. Charlotte Parker is on Pinterest because we're morally obligated to say that.
Jules Womack hanging out with her husband, Faith Ford waiting on hers. Our normal weekly show, check us out, subscribe, rate us and review us. Please help us out.
The Clubhouse podcast, look at all three words, get the word out. So until next time for Don and the Empire, I'm Rob. Clubhouse is closed.
Brittany Palmer could have been one of the nurses in the hospital, I'm just saying it.