Episode 45

Gilbert talks about his favorite film that he likes to watch on this Valentine's special episode and honors a loved one of his life. 

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Alright, guys, and uh welcome to the podcast. Um, so today we are actually going to do a um well since Valentine's Day is coming up, and last year I didn't even get a chance to do a uh a Valentine's Day episode. Today I might actually do it. I mean, I mean I wish I did it uh last year because Valentine's Day fell on a Friday. But there was just so much uh going on with um the editing for like other episodes and uh uh I I don't remember too too much, but I just remember like the editing issues and then having to push everything back um a week late to the point where it's like I can't even do this anymore. But um anyway, so we are going to do um we're still gonna do a Valentine's Day episode, except it'll be on a Friday the 13th, and I know people are gonna be like, Well, you can do a Friday the 13th episode. Uh turns out there's a lot happening this year. Uh there's a I mean there's three Friday the 13th uh happening this year. So eventually I'm probably gonna talk about one of them uh after this. So um regardless, I probably will do a Friday the 13th episode. Um, but I want to do a Valentine's Day episode again. I get a chance to, and I really want to. This also might be my only one, too, to be honest with y'all. And um, so yeah, let's uh let's do this one. Now for the record, it's not gonna be like top five favorite films I like to watch on Valentine's Day or like favorite kinds of romantic films. These are just more of like um I'm gonna talk about two films that um what's the word? Um that I I don't really entirely watch around uh around Valentine's Day or on Valentine's Day. Um I'm more I watch them year round, but I kind of like this can be a um like two rom coms that because they're rom-coms. Uh these are two rom coms that I actually do like watching. Um and you know, I could put them on I could put them on around Valentine's Day, but uh I'm gonna talk about a third film eventually that um I do watch on Valentine's Day. Um, but I kind of want it to be like, oh, let's um let's talk about two rom-com films that I kind of like to watch a little bit within the year, but you but I can even like watching it on uh Valentine's Day, and then talking about um a uh a film that I watch on Valentine's Day, and that one I I want to dive a little bit more deeper within the other two films. Um so I'm not gonna do sections of like I'm gonna talk about this film, take a break, I'm gonna I'm gonna talk about this film, take another break, and then to my Valentine's Day film. I want to talk about two the two films together just because I'm not gonna get too much of a deep dive into the two films as I'm gonna get to the third one. So, um, yeah. So I'm I'm just gonna talk about uh two Roncom films that I actually do like watching. Um one of them is you're gonna guys, I don't know how you guys are gonna react to this one. So one of the films I like watching, uh RonCon film I like watching is uh Sweet Home Alabama. Um now visually, um, and I mean really visually, some parts uh probably wouldn't go well in today's standard. I personally do not care. Um, I mean this was the 2000s, come on guys. It's not like every film's gonna age well, but but I really did enjoy this one. Um, I remember my uh my my mom and my sister liked watching it when it first came out. Um I rem I don't know if anybody remembers this. There used to be like not DVD rental, what was it? It was basically like you buy a copy of um of a DVD, but then eventually you can only watch it like once or twice because then it develops like some type of burnt mark where and that's about it. Like you could get them at like the the corner stores and stuff like that. It's it's so weird. I don't know if anybody remembers this, but um, yeah, that's that's how I remember watching Sweet Home Alabama. Um, but I I for a while I didn't remember the movie until it would start coming up again on like Freeform, which is technically where I tend to watch it. Um Freeform, I think Tubi or um Roku might have it. Uh I gotta look it up. I remember watching one of those two, I just don't remember um which one. But Sweet Home Alabama I enjoyed um mostly because I'm a fan of Leonard Skinner, which when I know I made a Freddie Krueger pitch, but if anybody wants to do a movie about Leonard Skinnard, I am so open to that. Like I can direct, I could get somebody to write it down because I need someone who knows Leonard Skinner a lot more well than I do. I I know about I know about the plane crashes and the stories behind many of the band members, but if anybody's out there listening and you want to do a Leonard Skinner uh movie with me, let's get it, let's get it rolling. Like come come come with me. We could get this this we could get this crap going. But yeah, um aside from that, I mean, yeah. Aside from that, um, uh yeah, so again, big fan of Leonard Skinner, even though at the time I didn't even know who wrote the song. But yeah, uh, I like I do like Sweet Home Alabama. Um Reese Witherspoon is really funny in this film, how like you know she could separate her at her like this the southern accent from the modern-ish kind of accent. Um and like the the cast is really great. So for if anybody's never heard of the film, um, I don't even know if you should call it a film, because there's a difference between a film and a movie. But if you've never seen it, um, it's basically like a woman is trying to get a divorce from her husband so that she can marry another person. And oh man, I'm gonna let y'all know, like I'm not a political person, but this one fires on the Democrat Party in a comedic way, not like in today's standards, but in a way where it's like it's it's easy to make fun of you and we could all just move on and forget it. Can't do that anymore, unfortunately. But um, yeah, no, it's it's super funny. Um, and like it's not heavy on the romance kind of, it's just more of like I don't even know how how to say it. It's like it's it's like when you separate from someone for such a long time and you have like such a distinct relationship, deep down inside that that feeling you have towards them, it's still gonna be there. And when she develops like you know, her feelings back for her for her husband or ex-husband, um, yeah, you you kind of see it, and then when you know about the backstories of the characters and stuff like that, it's not perfect, guys. I know it's not perfect. Like you want, like I think it's got like a 30 something percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Um, it's not the best, guys. I'm I'm gonna be honest with you. It is it's just one of those movies where you just watch it just to have a good time, get yourself entertained for about two hours, then you can move on. Um, it's also funny when it's like when you get when you get to like the deep, deep south stuff. Um, nothing like racist or anything, as far as I'm aware of. Um, but nothing deeply racist. I mean it's just funny. Um, especially because like I think we have one character or um who's like the the friend of Melanie, and I think the actress is like from New Zealand or Australia, but like she can pull off a southern accent. Um, but yeah, no, um Sweet Home Alabama is definitely like that one movie that I like to watch around it. And not not specifically this time of the year, but um a lot uh throughout the year. But maybe who knows, maybe I'll actually watch it this uh this Valentine's Day. Um but yeah, Sweet Home Alabama, love that one. The other one is uh pure nineties, I think it's nineties, I think it came out in '99. Um, yeah. Uh Pure 90s. Um, it's uh Ten Things I Hate About You. Again, yes, pretty of a generic pick, but we'll still kind of talk about that film. I think it will have like its 25th anniversary two years ago, though I think we all kind of forgotten about that, but um, but yeah, um Ten Things I Hate About You is uh first of all, I didn't even know that this was kind of inspired by a um what is it? A Shakespearean play called Taming of the Shrew. Um and I mean you get a lot of like references. You like when you watch a lot of 90s and even early 2000s um comedies, you find out that of that um they're based on plays or short films. That's pretty funny. But um, yeah, uh Ten Things I Hate About You, I mean that's where a lot of the world knew Heath Ledger, R. P. Heath Ledger. Um, this was before he became you know the Joker. Um, I know he was he did some acting uh in Australia because that's where he's he was from. And plus he does play an Australian in this film. Um I know um Brad Williams did make a joke about like you know, when you hear somebody with an accent, even the straight man go gay. Because when I heard his accent, oh boy, like uh he was good looking. Uh his electric was such a good looking guy. But it was like it was him and um damn, I forgot her name. Julia Styles. There you go. Julia Styles. Um, which is funny because I think around that same time she did uh one of those reimaginings of a Shakespeare play that takes place in modern times, so like Romeo and Juliet with um Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Um it was with Hamlet, and I think she played Ophelia. That's why my my brain was like mixed up because I was thinking of an O somewhere in there, but I'm like, there's no O in her name. Julia Stiles played Ophelia and um Hamlet that started in Hawk. It's again those um modern takes, though it's not not modern, modern, because this was the 90s, but it's one of those like earl like out-of-the-era takes. I'm gonna have to start calling it that. Out of the era takes a 90s take on a classic Shakespearean play with the same dialogue and everything. Um that that is it's it's interesting how like she does that Shakespearean and then she does the other one that's inspired by a Shakespearean play. Um, but yeah, um, I know some people want to blame what was who was it, the bully? I forgot his name at this point. Um well, I mean, was he a bully? He kind of uh man, he was a bully. I mean, would you call him a bully though? But to my point, the sister was kind of the main villain in this one. Can anybody else agree with me on that? It's the villa it's the sister's fault that like Julia Styles' character gets played. Because all she wanted to do was go out and get a date, but her father won't like her father won't let her unless her sister goes on and starts going out. But her sister is like the most unlikable person at the high school, so um, yeah. Uh huh. And then yeah, you know, everything's changing. I mean, you see like Joseph Gordon Levitt, dude. That guy was so young. I don't know. I feel like he hasn't it looked like he hasn't aged, but he also looks like he ages, like his face still looks the same after so many years. But um, yeah, so it was uh it's like one of those. I remember watching that a long time ago because we had the VHS copy and my sister would constantly play it. And by my sister, sometimes me too. Um, but um, yeah, uh, I remember watching it. I mean it still comes out on free form. Um, it has a pretty good cast too, cuz it's G Gabriel Union, I believe, is in that one. Joseph Gordon Levitt, Heath Ledger, Julia Styles, David Crumholt, I think that's that's how you say his name. Um, no, yeah, so that has a pretty uh good cast. Um, but yeah, it and this obviously this film I think did inspire Heath Ledger's career. Um he became uh you know, he became an Oscar nominee after that movie uh was broke back mountain, and then we know how it eventually turned out with um the Dark Knight, with his unfortunate death. But he did his performance did eventually earn him an Oscar. I do wish he was around to like you know accept the award. But um, yeah, it's like every time I watch that movie, not not not the dark night, but I mean even the dark knight, but every time I watch Ten Things I Hate About You and I look at his letter, I was like, man, there's so much he could have done. Um, but I mean not not not to make this into a sad uh episode, which we'll eventually get to. Um, but the um Ten Things I Hate About You, I think y'all should give it a watch if you haven't seen it. Um where can you find it? Hulu or somewhere? I think you can find it on Peacock. I wonder if you could find Sweet Home Alabama on Peacock. I don't know, but also like both have really banger um music. Um what what was it? Because like Ten Things I Hate About You was the first time I heard of that uh Can't Get My Eyes Off of You. Um that was originally written by Frankie Vale in the four seasons. Um what was it? I don't give a damn about my bad reputation. I mean the 90s the 90s movies has had some pretty interesting uh pretty some some pretty awesome bangers is what I'm trying to say. Um, I don't know. Which uh if we're talking about 90s music, hey NFL, next year can you get like Pearl Gem to perform? Because I mean I'm not gonna not gonna get into the whole bad bunny thing because I just saw the performance. But next year, come on, give us some rock and give us some metal bands, give us Metallica. We've been wanting Metallica for a long time. U s uh rant over. Um so Sweet Home Alabama, 10 Things I Hate About You. Two really cool rom-coms I I enjoy watching. I'll probably continue to watch. Um, so if you've never given either or watch, I highly, highly recommend them. Um, I mean, you'll might like one more than the other. Most likely you'll probably like 10 things I hate about you more than sweet home Alabama. And you might not like both. Um, it's and that's fine with that. Everybody's got their own opinions. I just hate peop when people have opinions and they say don't go watch this movie, it sucks. Um, no, you can just say I don't like this movie, but you should watch it for yourself and not say the other thing, because well, I mean, who are you to say you shouldn't watch this? Um, but that's again low rap. But um, y'all should check them out. Um, but uh we're gonna go on break, and once we go on break, we're gonna dive deep into the movie that I actually do watch around this time of the year. So we're going on break. Alright, guys, and we're back. Okay, so what is the movie that I watch around Valentine's Day or on Valentine's Day? Um, I haven't done it for about three years, um, um, just because it's like school, but I'm gonna try to do it again. Um, but um the the movie that I like to watch around this time of the year, and I know some people are gonna are gonna like react and kind of think this is weird, but I mean let me explain why. So, what I watch around this this year is the 1972 classic cabaret. Now, let's get a lot of things clear out of the way. As I've said in the past, I'm not an ally. Um, I understand that there are people out there who can probably are gay or straight or bi or whatever it is out there. I love you folks. Y'all cause y'all are people. I love people. I don't cite it politically. That doesn't make anything better, I can tell you now, but that's just where I am. But I got many relatives and friends that are gay, and we can and we've talked about this multiple times. We still love and respect each other, but I can't politically because so much has been happening throughout the years. But if you ever want to talk, I'm open to discussion. Now, in mine, yes, I get that is very heavy um around this movie. It wasn't as heavy in the original play, which I will also be talking about a lot more, but in spite of that, it's the uh visual aspect that I enjoy about this movie, not specifically about the the thematics of queerness, which is um what is said in this or or what is around with this film is the I mean, I mean, because it's not really like queer cinema, and I don't know if I'm allowed to say queer to be honest with you, but it's like there's so many words that I can't like say that I don't know at that I'm not allowed to say because I'm a straight guy. And it's like and it's like you know, you get so I get so much hate or I don't get hate mail, but it's like if anybody says something um that the LGBTQ uh Q community hears and then they get a flood little hate comments and they're like I was not aware of this, nobody's told me this. I tried to be aware of this, but nobody's giving me any answers. This is where I'm at. So if I get a flood of comments for saying queer or gay or anything like that, just know that nobody's told me anything. So y'all could blame yourselves for this. But keep in mind that yes, this is one of those films that's like regarded as part of queer cinema or gay cinema. I don't know what you would say, but that's it's not just that, it's more of about living in a dark time that or not even just living in a dark time, seeing the rise of a dark time that's happening in a country that uh you've uh you've either been living or that you're just visiting and you're seeing like how bad things are gonna get. Um, that's what it was really about. So let's get so let's talk about cabaret. Okay. Cabaret, if you've never seen it, it's based off the musical. Um, I forgot who created them. It's based off a 1966 musical. Um, at the time it was considered the gayest musical ever. I believe that's what it was. But if you watch it, you guys are gonna be like, it's not as like um gay coded, I guess you could say, as you sing. Well, you gotta understand this came out in 1966, so it's a little bit cleaner than what it would be. But throughout the years, it's evolutionized. Um, Joel Gray plays the character called the MC. The MC is a uh what do you call it? So uh MC, we all know stands for the Master of Ceremonies. That's his name. He's not like a main main character, he's a care he's a character that introduces the audience to this world. So um it takes place in nine early 1930s Germany, and the MC is introducing the audience to the world, but also to the cabaret because he's the MC of the show, he's also the MC of the cabaret. And if y'all don't know what a cabaret is, a cabaret is a men's club, and um there's a lot of like show girls and stuff like that. So he shows the world like who who we are in the cabaret, what's happening in Germany, and it ends with the Master of Ceremonies telling the audience A Vita Sen, Abianto. Um both mean see you later or goodbye. That's in German and in French. Um, and it it just depends because there's so many variations of um the play. So let's start with the movie first, because that's how I was introduced to it. Um, the movie Cabaret um is kind of similar to the play. There's it's a big difference from the play. So um again, it has uh Joel Gray. Joel Gray is the first person to win an Academy Award and a Tony Award for playing the same person. Um Joel Gray wasn't going to be part of the original movie because Bob Fazie, who directed the movie, didn't want anything to do with the original play. He wanted to kind of create his own version while kind of um still including include songs and some of the thematics of the play. But he didn't want Joel Gray to be part of it because you know he's considered part of the original. But like the producers and everybody else that was involved with the movie wanted Joel Gray to um be part of the to be part of the film, and Bafozi said, okay. Um but yeah, uh Bafozzi uh allowed Joel Gray and thus for he became an Oscar winner and uh Tony winner. He's also the father of Jennifer Gray from Dirty Dancing. And Eliza Manel Liza Minnelli is also in this film. Um she um she also she also won an Oscar for this film uh for Best Actress. It's her only win, and I think it was her only nomination. And Bob Fozzie would eventually win best director for the movie. Um it win best picture, that was the year of The Godfather. So I mean I think Cabaret was pretty close, but I think um I'm I don't know too much about what was the politics of the 1970s LA specifically. But I feel like some people were just like, I don't really want this gay film to win best picture, which uh it's kind of hard to say when eventually that happens and like another 30 years was Brokeback Mountain losing to um what is it, uh crash. Um but anyway, um so the play so the play. Well I'll say I'll talk about the play, but the movie is um basically about a Ger uh not German writer, a British writer named uh Brian Roberts, played by I forgot his name already, so give me a second. Yeah. Um it's Michael York. Um if if you've ever seen Michael or have you ever seen uh Austin Powers, the I guess the leader of the what was it, British Intelligence. It's been a while since I've seen Austin Powers, but the leader of the British intelligence that recruits Austin Powers, that's Michael York. Um and who else? Uh he also came out in uh it's a Jesus miniseries. I'm gonna talk about it uh towards the end of the uh the podcast. I mean, not towards the end of the podcast, but towards the end of the season. Um but he played John the Baptist in that one. Um he hasn't done a lot. I know he's been sick or he had been sick. It's been a while since I ever caught up with uh Michael York. But Michael York is also in this film, and he plays a British writer who uh moves to Germany during the start of the rise of when Hitler um took power, and he meets uh an American girl who works at a cabaret called the Kit Kat Club, and it explores the theme of like uh Cliff Roberts um what what was it? Like his uh orientation. Um it's speculated that he's probably a bisexual, um, or just bicurious, because there's an emphasis where he did hook up with a rich German man, though I don't know if um if it was actually confirmed or not, considering that like that the rich German person that he hooked up with also had uh like relationships with uh Liza Minnelli's character. Um, but he he shows up and to and towards the film he starts to see like um what is it? Um like how Germany is becoming like like he just moved right when the start of Nazism came. And I'm sorry guys, I know certain platforms are gonna be like you you have to censor this. Specifically, I can't. So I don't know what's gonna happen if I keep saying it. But saying Yahtzee just doesn't sound right. So if I can lower it, I could say Third Reich or the German army, but if I end up saying it, I I it's just you know, this is history, I can't stop. But anyway, um seeing this seeing the rise of the Third Reich, uh, I'll put it like that, um, he just realized like this is no longer a place I can be associated with. But uh Liza Vinelli's character, Sally Bowles, um, there's she says there's really nothing for her outside of Germany because she's always wanted to be an actress or a star. Um and it starts to get quiet. Like literally, I'm not saying that like it's quiet in War Record, no, I'm saying it's it starts to get quiet because when uh Cliff Roberts leaves, um I mean he left for other reasons. One of them being, and this is also in the play too, um Sally gets pregnant towards the end of the the film, um she doesn't know who the father is because aga again they had the same relationship with um Max, I think that's what his name was name is in the film. Um Yeah, yeah, Maximilian. He's a character for the film specifically. Um, he's not in the the play, but she doesn't know who's like who's the father. I mean, that's a weird Maury episode. And then eventually, like, she gets an abortion. Um, uh yeah, uh I'll I'll just say right now, I'm pro-life. That's all I gotta say. Um, yeah, I'm pro-life, but I'm not gonna get into this argument. She eventually gets the abortion because she feels like she's not fit to be a mother, um, which is usually the normal argument there. But to my point being, uh, she gets it, um, Brian just can't live with that. So they've made their peace with each other and they say their goodbyes. And then at the end, um Sally performs one last song at the Kit Kat Club. Well, we don't know if that's the last song in the universe of the film, but we know it's the last song in the movie. Um, and then eventually Joel Gray's uh DMC just says, you know, where are your troubles now? Forgotten, I told you so. We I might end up just saying the entire line. It says, We have no troubles here, here life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful, even the orchestra is beautiful. And he says, Towards the end, Aviat is in, Abianto, he takes a bell, runs behind the curtains, and then it pan, and then the camera pans to this weird reflection mirror, which we start off in the beginning of the movie, and it's just like so quiet that you start seeing the many of the audience audience mayor uh many of the audience members having swastikas on their arms because it starts off like pure comedic and you know people having a good time, and you just see a bunch of laughs and stuff, and then as soon as like the notes just start getting darker and darker, you just see that there's there's no there's just stillness in the audience and seriousness. Because like even the MC, the MC starts off in the movie smiling towards the audience, but then at the end, he has a straight he has a straight face indicating that shit's gonna go downhill. I'm I'm sorry for my language, but that's pretty much how it goes. But yeah, that's that's eventually it. So I would love to still see a remake of this film. I know that's weird, but again, willing to open to do it, I'll do it. But I'd be changing a lot. Um, because the difference is is that um there are characters that are in this film that they're not excluded, they're just don't have a big um they're not as present in the movie as they are into the the play. In the play, there's uh Fraline Schneider, I think that's who it is. Hold on. So here where is it? Hold on, so cabaret. Alright, I just looked it up too. John Cander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff are the creators of the original cabaret play. So yeah, here it is. Yeah. So Fraline Schneider, I believe, is the um, what is it? She's the she's like an innkeeper of this place in Berlin. She has an uh um I think she has like a a love for I think it's her schultz. So give me a second. Yeah. So it's Frallein Schneider and Herr Schultz. Their story in the the play isn't as isn't really like there in the movie. So the story is that Herr Schultz is a Jew. Um, I think it's a fruit stand uh vendor or shop owner's been a while, and she's in love with uh or he's in love with Fraline Schneider, who is not a Jew. Um, and then Fralein Schneider has another in uh another tenant called Fraulein Coast who is basically like bringing home a man every night. Um, but yeah, so there those characters are aren't very prominent in the movie as they are in the play. And and I I would like to if I was to do the movie, I would like to actually put that story back in. But um it's uh yeah, I mean, I'm I'll probably I'm gonna be spoiling a lot of this, so I do apologize. But um, yeah, there's this story where they're supposed to get married in the play, but this uh but this uh German officer who's not in the movie, um, I think he's like there's a character in the movie that's supposed to be him, but he doesn't turn off he doesn't turn out evil or anything. He's not even um he's not even a German officer. He ends up becoming he ends up t it turns out he's a Jew as well. And there's a love story in him and this other woman who's also a Jew, who's being harassed also. Um yeah. So uh to the point, yeah. So the German officer is Ernst Ludwig. I think that's how you say his name. So yeah, so Ernst Ludwig is the uh is a German officer, though we don't know this until uh towards the end of the first act, when you can see the politics of it all. Uh, because it starts off like very um, what's the word? Very happy and energetic. Um, even the songs are very happy and energetic. Go listen to the play, or even just the the soundtrack. Um, because like Wiglemann, um, which is the opener, is a very happy and like upbeat song. Um Wiglemann, I think it I think it means uh welcome in German. And the MC is like welcome to the cabaret, like like to the audience breaking the fourth wall, welcome to the the show, to also the the club patrons, welcome to the cabaret, welcome to the Kit Kat Club. Um, after the second or as soon as the second act starts, all the songs don't really seem to have that upbeat energy and stuff, except if you can see her through my eyes, but even that song, and that's also in the movie too, but even that song still has um what is it has a darker meaning. So um it's gonna sound racist, but I'm gonna say it anyway. So if you can see her through my eyes is um the MC is performing with uh I think it's a cap one of the cabaret girls, because there's cabaret girls and cabaret boys um in the show, and he's performing as one of the cabaret girls dressed in a monkey outfit. And at this time, the German army did not see not see any um Jews more than human, they saw him as animals. So he's basically saying, if you can see her through my eyes, like if you're seeing somebody that's not human, then that's the problem, because I don't see a monkey or an animal. Because even it starts off saying, I know what you're thinking, you're wondering about why I chose her out of all the women in the world. Um, but yeah, again, I know some people are gonna be like, Gilbert, you watched this on Valentine's Day? Yes, I know there's some romance, but it's it's a it's more of a realistic type of like how the world goes, especially like if you're trying to find romance back in those days, back in early 30s Germany, during the start of it, because it gets dark, like the play gets dark towards the end, especially if you're watching the Alan Cummings version. Um so because like the the ca the MC of Cabaret changes a lot. Um so like he starts off with Joel Gray's version. Um, it's just he's a guy who wears makeup and wears a suit, and he likes flirting with all the women. Um and yeah, that's pretty much it. But uh it gets a little bit more sexualized um as the play progresses, not not like as like the play itself is moving forward, I mean like when the when they start to not rewrite the play, but like starting to change the play up. So when Alan Cummings, um, if we if we all know Alan Cummings for people like me, um, we know him as I was about to say Fruit Loop. Um was it loop? It's been a while since I've seen give me a second. Floot loop, flute loop, give me a second, um, give me a second. I'm trying to look at it. I'm trying to I forgot his name. Floop, that's who it is. If you're if you're someone like me, you remember Alan Cumming as Floop from Spy Kids. Um, he also played Nightcrawler in X-Men 2. He also played Loki in Son of the Mask. I think he's coming back as um Nightcrawler. By the way, I don't know if he's gonna do his cabaret spit, because he's hosting BAFTA this year. So I don't know if he's gonna do his uh his cabaret opener, probably not, but I would love to see that. But anyway, uh when Alan Cummings took over the play and this and this eventually this version of the NC became the more popular one. Um he's like he's barely closed, like he's mainly wearing suspenders and some tight pants, and that's it. And he's again, he's like flirting with all the cabaret um girls. He's also flirting with the cabaret boys. This is when they actually added uh boys to the mix, and this is where the gayness actually got ramped up. Um so and it's implied, it's always been questioned if the if the MC was a queer character or not. Most likely he could have been a by-character. We don't really know because like the character of the MC is a mystery and he changes like every adaptation or every like so-and-so years. So, um, but the Alan Cumming version of the character is the kind of the more popular one. And other and like yeah, other care or other actors have played that character on Broadway. Um Michael Seahall, yes, like Dexter himself has played this character. John Stamos, again, yeah, John Stamos has played the character. Um Neo Patrick Harris wouldn't be that big of a surprising because a lot of gay folks have actually played him. Actually, Joel Gray came out as gay, I think like 20 years ago. Um, so it's always been it's always been like played by a lot of queer actors, a lot of gay actors or bi actors, um, some non-binary actors too. Uh, because most recently, what's his face? Billy Porter became the first black person to ever play the character. And Eddie Redmane, when he was cast to play the character, his MC was so weird. Like it's it's almost close to um Cummings character. Um but uh I mean there's just there's just so much to it. They added like a party hat. His they they still have like the tight pants, but his suspenders are now like um uh like a vest, I guess you could say. But um, yeah, it it changes a lot. And the dynamics of the MC, the character dynamics of the MC changes depending on which one you're watching. Because like the MC will always be wearing the um if we're going by the traditional MC with Joel Grace, he'll always be wearing a suit and tie, because that's how it usually goes. Um he'll always be wearing a suit and tie, except for this um this little dance routine that's in the um that's in the play. He'll just be wearing a dr like he'll be was he'll be wearing whatever the cabaret girls were wearing. Um because that's just him being fun. That's the character that's the point of the MC. Um, but yeah, the Alan Cummings version of the character, um, I think sometimes he's not wearing clothes, but at the end of the movie, or not the end of the movie, but I mean there is a there's a there's a video recording out there directed by Sam Mendes actually of the of Alan Cummings like introduction as the character. But he'll end up playing when he plays the MC at the end of the play, um, he uh takes off this robe that he's that he's wearing and he's wearing a concentration camp uniform. And it has the Star of David, uh, which is you know, if if you know um about the concentration camp, the star of David will identify a prisoner, I'm calling them prisoners, that this person was a Jew. He'll also have a pink triangle. A pink triangle back in the day was a prisoner who was a homosexual. Because remember, the Holocaust have different kinds of priorities who were deemed like unfit to live in Europe, not Germany, Europe. So it was anybody that was Jew, gay, um, uh gypsies, oh sorry, Romanis, um, anybody disabled, Jehovah's Witnesses, uh communists, like anybody that was deemed not not fit to live amongst the normal Europeans. So normal no most of the time he'll end up w he'll end up where uh a concentration camp that has a star David and a pink triangle because um yeah the MC is become is questioned to be a queer character because there's a song in dance routine called Two Ladies in the first act, and in the original it is actually two ladies, um, but in the I guess like the rebooted version with Alan Cumming, it's one lady and one of the cabaret uh boys in a drag, but it's still called two ladies, just it's it's it's more of like a fun act, I guess you can say. And yeah, like I said, chick it's dark um in this play. And it would get even darker if we remade this film, if I was to remake this film. I will tell you, like, if I was to do this, like two actors that I would think would be an interesting MC, like if I'm going straight with Alan Cummings, I would think Harry Styles, just because you know he always wears a dress on stage. Um, if I want to mix the two, like if I want to create my own MC, maybe Timothy Chalamy. Um, it just depends on like because like what are you going for in this film? You get what I mean? So there's a lot of differences between this between the play and the film. Um going back to the film, um, as I said, like Sally Bowles is uh American. Well in the play, she's actually British. And Cliff Roberts in the play is that name is actually uh um Brian Roberts is the the male character in the play, but I mean in the movie. In the movie it's Brian Roberts, but in the play it's actually Cliff Bra uh Bradshaw. Cliff Bradshaw is the American. They they changed him up in the movie in the movie. Um there's also like most of the there's there was a lot of songs that were omitted from the the play because they because of certain storylines and stuff. Like one of the the they wanted to keep all the songs in the cabaret at the club in the movie. The only song that wasn't in the club was a song called Tomorrow Belongs to me. Tomorrow Belongs to me is basically like when things are getting serious. It's basically like it was um I'm gonna say it again, it was in the movie, is it was considered the Nazis um anthem. Tomorrow belongs to me, like tomorrow's gonna belong to you know the third reich. It's kind of similar in the play, I think. It's been a while, but um, or at least in the first act towards the end of the first act, that's what tomorrow belongs to me stands for. Um, and it's like it's the same thing, basically. It's like the character of the male character, regardless if we're talking about Brian Roberts or Cliff Bradshaw, he can't stand the politics that's happening. Now, here's an indication. I'm gonna tell you this. Um, if I if I was to do this, um it's I'm gonna start off saying that the Nazi Party is a socialist movement because it was. It started off that way. So if you remember history, uh Hitler did not start the fascist party, it was Mussolini. Once Hitler became friends with Mussolini, he moved his entire party to the fascist party. But so at this time, this wasn't fascism, it was socialism. And then they eventually moved it like towards the late 30s, I think towards the late 30s. Actual historians correct me if I'm wrong, but I know because I know it started off the it was a socialist movement and then it became part of fascism towards towards the end. But um, that's that's how I was started off with. But um, yeah, no, so cabaret. I know again, I know I'm talking about it like Gilbert. Again, you watch this movie on Valentine's Day. Yes, it's it's a it's an interesting romantic love story that's real, especially in a government time or tri-time that like even if you're in a a straight relationship, you don't know like how this could last. You get what I mean? Even if like you're in a straight um Gentile, I'm gonna have to say it like that, a straight Gentile relationship because none of the characters were you know, the the main characters weren't Jewish. Um, you you get what I mean? Like you see like things aren't padding out, and you think like I cannot stay here. You get what I mean? So that's that's kind of like why I like watching it around this time. Like how like you know, um, like Valentine's Day movies don't always have to be about like the guy and the girl get together at the end. Um, you can watch Brokeback Mountain on Valentine's Day, and you know how that story ends. Um, if you've seen the movie. Or Titanic, which for the record, I don't I don't care about the whole two two of them could fit on the door. That's just an old story, guys. That's just an that's I don't know why you guys are so obsessed with that. That's just how it was written. Just accept that and stop worrying about oh, they both could have fit on the door. Just shut up with that already. I'm done with that. But Titanic could have but to my point, Titanic could have been a Valentine's Day movie, if you have the time to watch it, because that's a very long-ass movie. Um, I don't know what y'all watch around this time. Some people can watch horror films. I know people watched uh Hard Eyes last year, which I have yet to see. I'm probably gonna watch it uh during the week because I want to see the the kill count before um or I want to see the movie before uh James Janice releases the kill count. It just varies, guys. Um, so yeah, um cabaret is the Valentine's movie I watch. It doesn't have to be a love no, it doesn't have to be a love romantic story. It could just be a story that where love is the focus of it, and sometimes maybe the characters don't get together, but they still hope for they still have hope for each other. Um heck, I mean a Lala Land. Y'all know how that movie ended. Um, and y'all know how the Oscars ended with that one, but yeah, I'm gonna take a break right now and uh yeah. Alright guys, um, I know there was um I know there was pause last week. R. Like there was pause um, you know, before or what I'm trying to say is I know there wasn't an episode that came out before this one. Um, and there's a reason for that. Um a couple of weeks ago, um my grandmother had unfortunately passed away. Um she left this earth and now she's she's with the Lord now. And it it was tough. Um there was just um I I just didn't feel like doing another one or doing an episode around this time. I I just wanted to focus on my family. So it like if you've been following me personally, not not with tough love pictures, but personally then you know why. Um and I do appreciate you guys' um for understanding why I haven't released it. Um I never even made an update about the the previous release because uh the the night that I finished editing the episode was the the night I found or actually that morning I found out about it. Uh I found out about my grandmother's passing. Um yeah, um she was uh she was 81. Um she was uh my dad's she was my dad's mom. I was uh her I was her only grandson. By definition, that means I was her favorite grandchild. Um she uh because my dad and my aunt they both had uh two daughters, two being my sister, and then uh my cousins. She had five grandchildren, um, cutting me actually, and then two great granddaughters, um, my cousins' kids. And she was just well loved. Um Grandma. I remember all the the times we had together. Times I've helped you moan your lawn. I helped stuff around your house. Uh I missed um the pool that you and Phil owned many years ago. Um I remember swimming that swimming in that pool so many times. I was so excited to go to your house when I was a little kid. And um we were there for each other when my dad passed. I I I I remember I remember the tears we've shed and the the times we've talked about this, but um and I wasn't there when your husband died. Um just because I've already been through so much that I couldn't go and you understood why. Um and and for the record, guys, um this was a different husband. Um she was re she her her and my grandfather split. Um I think when my dad left high school and she got remarried a lot not long after, but um both both guys were both people she's met she's married uh were my uh were my grandfathers. And she was there when my grandfather passed. Um, you know, she was there for support for all of us. And uh I know you've made your peace with him. And I know you get to re-reunited with your phone, my dad. To Juanita Garcia, this is your grandson speaking. I'm gonna miss you. Thing. Whew, thank you all so much for your understanding, for your prayers. I hope you guys have a great night, day, morning, whenever you're listening to this, signing off.