iTunes Exclusive Episode The Meyerowitz Stories New And Selected

Greetings Empire member and or members.
If you're hearing the sound of my voice, it means the following conditions have been met
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You have checked out the clubhouse podcast live every Sunday night, seven Eastern for Pacific
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But it also means you like to check us out on your favorite podcast tab because it is
time for iTunes exclusive 321.
Wait a minute.
321 contact is the secret is the moment that everything has its contact is the answer
to the questions.
Okay, or to the reasons I think is what that actually is.
Some of you will get that and some of you won't and that's okay and if you do, God bless
you.
My name is Rob.
I'm the executive producer of the clubhouse podcast.
It's always all about family homes, just how we do it.
But I'm not alone for this particular episode joining me across the desk as she tends
to do from time to time is the lady of the house.
And a woman who's got a lot of family, she keeps up with them all is that's how she does
it.
She is general welcome friend.
Hello everyone.
Whenever we do one of these things, it is to review something.
This is no exception.
We're reviewing a film today, but kind of a different deal because this is not a film that's
going to be seen theatrically.
This is a film that will be debuting on Netflix October the 13th.
It is called The Myerwitz Stories, New and Selected.
We want to send a shout out to some of our favorite people in the world, allied and a great
of marketing.
Bianca over there and Eric did a great job at the screening the other night.
Thank you guys for having us out.
You are some of our favorite people and you know that.
Let's get into this.
Noah Bombak.
You know him from such things as the Squid and the Whale.
You also know him from Mistress America, without a couple of years ago.
He writes and directs this film and really the only way to truly define this is it's just
about family in New York kind of a mixed family.
As you have the Patriarch of the family, Harold played by the great Dustin Hoffman, who
I said in my written review located at www.theclubhousepodcast.com was only a hat and a pipe away from
being the sea captain and the Simpsons in this very true.
He is the patriarch of the family.
He is a retired college professor and a retired artist who works in sculpture.
He would have ordered that the other way around.
Well, you know, tell you roles.
He has, we deal with two children from the same mother.
That would be Joan and Danny played by respectively Elizabeth Marvel and Adam Sandler.
And then their half brother, his name is Matthew and he is played by the great Ben Stiller.
And kind of, it's more of a slice of life thing with his current wife Maureen played
by the great Emma Thompson and it's when you're at a transition point in your life, looking
back at parts of your childhood that formed who you are now.
Are you happy with that or do you want to change that?
And this is a, this is a Starfield cast outside of who we've already mentioned.
Rebecca Miller, Sigourney Weaver, Judd Hirsch, Candace Bergen is in this.
And Sigourney Weaver plays herself.
She does.
And she does very good job playing herself.
She's the best Sigourney Weaver I've ever seen as Sigourney Weaver.
So this runs about an hour 50, right in that neighborhood.
This is one of those things that you can see at one point, perhaps it was going to
be a stage production and kind of evolved itself into a film because there's not a lot
of camera movements.
There's a lot of dialogue that happens very, very quickly.
And there's a few scenes that they go back to the same, back to the same, back to the
same.
And it's basically, when it says the Myrwood stories, it's really what it is.
You get different scenes basically centering on different characters and their journeys.
Not necessarily like the same scene from different points of view, but it's a linear
story, but the focal point of the story changes as it goes with title cards and things
like that.
And you can see how some things intertwined and how this led to this and later you find
out this.
Oh, that's why that was this and it's almost like watching a documentary, but it was
not a documentary.
I kind of see that.
I got out and I was like, I want to research his art, and I'm like, wait, this was
fiction.
This wasn't a biopic.
You also have a fairly newcomer, Grace Van Patten, who is the half niece of the great
Dick Van Patten, if I did my math correctly on that doing my research today, but they
are related in some way, shape, or form.
Very strong performances here.
Adam Sandler can act.
I have said this before and you finally see it.
Probably the best dramatic role I've seen him do.
Yes.
Not a fan of Punch Drunk Love.
I enjoyed Spanglish, but that wasn't as dramatic, but this role for him, number one, father
time is undefeated.
Yes.
So he is now, father time is starting to catch up to him.
So he's taking these more mature roles, even though he does the goofy stuff because he
has a contract with Netflix, and so he's done some stuff here and there, but this role
for him really suits him well at this point in his life.
Great work between him, not only between him and Hoffman, but him and Stiller.
Oh, that was so much fun to watch.
And it was fun to see Stiller be serious again.
You may catch a glimpse of a blue steel.
I think there was one time he threw a blue steel out there.
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood.
I know that's a different film, but it's like to say that.
Same actor.
It's just, it's just fun to see him be more, I like him better in the more serious
things.
I do too.
And the two of them interacting, it actually becomes believable.
They really could be brothers the way they, well, and I read that doing this film, they've
now become much, much closer friends because of it.
Good.
And you, and you really, the kind of interesting thing to me is they don't really even
get into the same scene until probably halfway through the film.
Because one of them leaves the other one comes back because Stiller's character lives
in LA and comes out to see their father.
And if you, that actually kind of fits on another level that once you've seen the film,
I'll be happy to discuss with you.
Great performance.
So I love Dustin Hoffman in this.
He is, he is becoming old man Dustin and he's fully embracing it.
I know, but I kept seeing to see the later years.
Well, I, yeah, I can see that.
There's a scene with Ian Ben Stiller in a restaurant that's just absolutely riotous.
And it shows the dysfunction of a family that turns into the unity of a family, which
I really talk about.
It's dysfunctional, but at the same time, they still love each other so much.
And I can pick on you and you can pick on me, but don't mess if you're outside of our
little unit.
Don't mess with us.
And Elizabeth Marvel, who you might remember from law and or special victims unit, trust
me.
You don't recognize her in this.
You're like, I know who that is.
And at a certain level, I felt that same way with Emma Thompson because she has this big
mound of hair and the glasses with the glasses.
I was like, is that going to be Penny Marshall?
And then I realized it wasn't, but it was kind of almost a penny Marshall film director,
her director, look that you think it was like a penny Marshall, Diane Keaton kind of a
crossbreed.
Yes.
Some hippie love going.
Yes.
Great performances all around.
I mean, there wasn't anybody in this film, but I felt overshadowed anybody else.
Everybody worked together really, really well.
I really just.
It was just great.
I wouldn't say, you know, get ready, come award season or anything, but these were great
performances that that kept me motivated because to continue watching.
Because this is not one of those films that you can just put on its background noise.
Like you have to sit down and really, it wants you to commit to it.
My issue comes in the script itself.
Bomb buck for me, he's one of those guys that his stuff works or it doesn't.
And I will give you an example.
When he did Mistress America two years ago, I could not wait to get out of that theater.
Okay.
See, I have it because of because of having been a listener, a part of the empire at that
time and having listened to the review, I chose to skip it.
I'm not a huge Greta Gerwig fan.
I think she's passable.
But the way that film was done, it just, it didn't feel organic.
Like I said back then, like one of the scenes was like, I can't find my pants.
I'll help you find your pants.
I still can't find my pants.
I found your pants.
Great.
Let's go out.
Like that was that whole film for me.
It just, it wore me out.
But I think with this cast being so strong, they were able to kind of cover up some of the
they carried it.
Yeah.
Adam Drivers got a small role in this as well.
They were able to carry it to a point where it didn't bother me as much as with some of
the dialogue being for lack of a better term, a bit vacant.
But these guys and gals carried the emotion so well as the film progressed that it made
me kind of relax a little bit more than I would have otherwise.
And there's some of it that I like, I want to know where that storyline led to.
Where did that thread go?
What happened after the movie ended?
But we're finding that a lot more in films now where boyhoods, a prime example, where
they want it to really mimic real life so much that because life doesn't always finish
up in a nice little bow.
Right.
This film, you kind of go, okay, that was a thing.
It's like, wait, it's over.
I will tell you, as Eric said at the screening, this is an unrated film because it's Netflix.
Correct.
But this would be a hard R.
Oh, yes.
Make no mistake.
If not pushing the smidge and pass that line.
Yeah, there were a couple of scenes that I was like, did that just happen?
Am I the only one that saw that?
So this is not a family film.
Why any stretch of the imagination?
No, make sure the kids are not in the house because if they're in the house, they're going
to come in during one of those scenes that you don't want them coming in during.
And you're going to have to answer a lot of questions you don't want to.
Trust me.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
I know I'm trying to think of her fly that doesn't give anything away to it.
Don't, just don't, just no trust us on this, roll with us on this.
I will say, of course, there is some music in the film.
And Sandler did help at right at least one if not more of the songs.
And they weren't like, they were like goods like Poppy kind of just fun songs.
It was kind of like the Thanksgiving song.
I mean, the lyrics are good.
The song is good.
He's not being opera man when he's singing it.
Right.
All the one of my favorite characters.
It's a great character, but it wouldn't have fit in the movie.
But he's actually singing the song and it fits.
When I felt it, it probably could have been 10 minute shorter.
There were times when things dragged out a little bit for me.
There were a few places that I was thinking, okay, that's because it is Netflix.
That's where I'd take my bathroom right.
Yeah.
That's where I'd go grab food or a drink from the kitchen.
And then there's other points like, I'm so glad I witnessed that because that was funny.
And there's so many different levels of things in this film when it comes to the relationships
between people and how one thing leads to another.
And it really did interest me a lot.
It just didn't, from a story standpoint, it didn't hold me.
And I think that's where my issue comes in.
I didn't see you watch check.
When did you watch check?
35 minutes in.
And I was at 55.
So, wow.
So you've actually beaten the record.
Well, but yeah.
And you and I are usually pretty close on the watch check.
Yeah.
I, you know, I, there's sort of like, I want to make sure, like, when this seems
over, I'll check my watch.
Kind of a thing.
And that's where it didn't and that's where it wound up.
I mean, it, it's paced well.
Oh, yeah.
I just think that there's probably 10, maybe 15 minutes that could have been trimmed out
of it just from, from a content standpoint.
Yeah.
There were some things that were in there that it's like, okay, that doesn't really,
okay, yeah.
Later on, it may, it didn't.
I felt like it was in there to be in there.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
But I mean, other than that, again, as I said in my written review, located at www.theclapospodcast.com.
That's our website.
I've seen worse films this year.
Yeah.
So this year that there's a Terence Malik film involved, it's always going to be better
than that.
This isn't even in my bottom half at this point, but it's just not a great film.
No, it's not a gone with the wind.
It's not an award winner, but I don't feel like I wasted my time.
Yes, I got to hang out with my friend Rob when I went and that's always a good thing.
So I appreciate it.
But, and it always, you know, it's always good to be with friends.
But, you know, you can go to a movie and you're like, I just lost two hours of my life.
I will never get back.
I don't feel like.
I don't feel like this year.
I don't feel like that.
And there were some things I learned.
I watching them interact with each other.
It's not always perfect, but it's family.
And that's what it is.
And right now, people, there are people in this world that could use the reminder of,
you've got your family.
Family is important.
And if you have to, and family is not necessarily blood, you have to make your own family sometimes.
Now, when it comes to films like this, and I said this also in my review, if you want
to film like this,
I can recommend a film that I preferred over this in The Hollers, which came out last
year with John Krasinski and Margot Martin Dale and the Anna Kendrick.
And that's, I think that was a better film than this one, but that doesn't mean this is
a bad film.
Now, this is, this is a serviceable film.
Yeah.
It's a possible film.
It's just not a great film.
My only concern is it's coming out now on Netflix when all the new TV fall season stuff
started back up, whereas if this had been in the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas,
when all the shows are on hiatus, it might have been better received at that time.
That's fair.
That's a fair.
And plus, you're also releasing this two weeks before something like Stranger Things season
two.
Yeah.
So I think there, I think there's like a balance that they want to strike there.
They want to appeal to as much of an audience as possible.
Well, and hopefully it will last through the holidays because I could see some viewing
over the Thanksgiving.
Oh, it's, it's their films they can give as long as they want, so that's the beauty
of things like Amazon and Netflix that they can just, it's theirs, they can do whatever
they want.
Right.
I don't know that they would rotate it out just because their names on it, but well,
no, but I mean, they only, they have to make room for the new thing so every month something
goes and something comes on.
Obviously, how that works out, because I'll be interested, especially if it's a Netflix
film, if they would do that.
I don't think I don't think they would, but that's just me.
But it's also going to depend on how long and how many more films they do.
Yeah.
So if they have three, four hundred films, you can rotate.
I mean, they got to make room for glow.
Come on.
Season two of glow.
I got to get my next season.
They're in training now.
Let's do the final analysis.
The way we 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 a letter of grades.
We're not going to give you numbers.
We're not going to give you city blocks, any type like that.
What we're going to do is we're going to ask two question.
Question number one is, would you see this again?
It be answers know that we're done here.
This is a little different.
Because if you say yes, there has to be the follow up question.
But since this is going straight to Netflix, you're kind of already there.
So I guess we would have to, and this is the first time we've ever done anything like
this.
Right.
We did review Okja earlier this year, which went straight to Netflix.
But it also had a couple of screenings around too.
So I guess the question becomes, where would you put this in your queue?
Is it that or is it with or without distraction?
Now I say, where would you put your queue?
Like would you put it towards the front?
Would you put it towards the back?
Like I still want to see it, but would you see this again?
Yes.
Because there's things I know I missed.
Ok.
Where would you put it in your queue though?
Probably the four day weekend of Thanksgiving.
When I know I've got four days where I'm not at work, and there's going to be a time slot,
I'm going to need to fill with something.
So you would put it in your queue?
Yeah.
Wait again, but I wouldn't put it in my queue.
It'd be one of those if I'm sitting around and, oh you know what, let's just queue that
up again.
Yeah.
And I guess that's why I'm saying Thanksgiving would be a good time because that's going
to be where I'm just going to be searching for something.
Again, good film, not a great film.
It is the MyroWitch Stories new and selected directed by Enwritten By Noah Bombak.
Thanks again to all of our friends at Allied Integrated Marketing.
To take care of us like they do, we're such huge fans of you guys, go check out this
film.
And let's do the plugs.
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You can find him at fawn F-A-N-D-O-N-G-O-O, fawn Don Go.
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We love doing live remote shows and hanging out with the Empire.
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Safe travels.
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Until next time, for Jen and the Empire, I'm Rob.
Clubhouse is close.
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