Grit And Heroin

A movie can win Best Picture and still feel like a brick wall if you hit it on the wrong night. We watched The French Connection and immediately ran into the big split that makes classic films so fun to argue about: one of us loves the dirt-under-the-fingernails realism, and the other gets stuck on how dark, violent, and character-crowded it can feel without a roadmap.

So we build that roadmap. We walk through the true crime history behind the French Connection heroin smuggling operation, from Turkish opium supply to Marseille refining to North American distribution, and we explain how the real investigation by NYPD detectives inspired the film’s procedural rhythm. We also dig into why Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle works as an anti-glamour lead, and how the film’s New York locations make the whole thing feel uncomfortably real.

Then we go full film-nerd on production stories, including the legendary elevated-train car chase, undercranked camera tricks, and the reputation for aggressive, sometimes borderline guerrilla filmmaking choices. To cleanse the palate, we end with a sweet-and-savory Honey Buddy honey butter skillet corn recipe, plus a quick detour into The Odyssey and why ancient storytelling still resonates today.

If you like movie debates with real history, practical filmmaking details, and a little kitchen chaos, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves crime films, and leave us a review with your take: does The French Connection hold up for you?

Transcript

Cold Open And Movie Reveal

SPEAKER_02 0:27

We could name you Frederica. We're not gonna relax.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

I was just about to say why, but then I stopped myself from talking.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

So this week on Critique Oplis, The French Connection, I was so excited to have you watch this movie only to learn that you hated it. I was really excited.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

I didn't like it.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

It didn't resonate with you.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

So for any of people out in TV land who are listening to us, I finally have a honey based recipe. We'll get to that later. I just want to let you know I did my due diligence. I found one. But again, that'll come up later. What we have to talk about right now, oof. Every time I toggle off of Google, it has to re restart. So, oh, and I forgot to turn the timer on. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

So I've been picking a lot of big, historically big movies that have a ton of chatter and workups done about them in the past. So I always feel like even with Silence of the Lambs, when I talk about this, you know, on our 45-minute little drivel,

Why Classic Films Are Hard

SPEAKER_02 2:00

we're not gonna cap capture everything. But I'm gonna I'm gonna make, I'm gonna give it the old college try. And we'll find out what Luis's misgivings were. So as always, you did the notebook on this.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

I did.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

And you know what we could do? We can do the we'll have me take the heroin quiz that notebook generated a little bit a little bit later. But just to give any of you a background here who have not seen this iconic movie, I'm gonna just go through what you you cooked up here. Provided sources document the French Connection, a notorious mid-20th century heroin smuggling operation that transported narcotics from Turkey and Indochina to North America via Marseille, France, through the Corsican mob. The text that we pulled up detail real-life investigation led by New York detectives Eddie

The Real French Connection Case

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Egan and Sonny Grasso, which eventually resulted in a massive narcotic seizure and inspired the Academy Award-winning 1971 film. Materials also highlight the global reach of the crime syndicate involving Corskin gang leaders and American mafia families until the network was dismantled in the 70s. Additionally, the excerpts provide a comprehensive guide to filming locations used in the cinematic adaptation, emphasizing the grit and authenticity of the production. Together, these sources explore the intersection of organized crime histories, police procedure, and the movie's lasting cultural influence. This is why the conversation about this movie is going to be tough. Because Eddie Grasso or Eddie Egan and Sonny Grasso were based on, were they actual people or were they?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yes, actual people. So the two police officers.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Oh, the police officers in the movie. Popeye Doyle was based on Eddie Egan.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Thank you, yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

And Popeye Doyle was played by none other than Gene Hackman, who was not Studio's first choice. He was way down the list. But our director, William Friedkin, wanted someone who, let me see if I'm gonna get this right. Wanted someone who looked like he lived on bad food, was not in great shape, and looked weathered. And I swear to go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

He did.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

I swear to God, when you look at Gene Hackman, did that guy ever did that guy was that guy ever young? My God. That's such a really good So this this movie was filmed in the late 60s, early 70s. It was released in 71. And he already looked like he was 50.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Yeah. And he's always looked like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Let's see. Where should we start? The historical smuggling scheme? Sure. To give you the breakdown. I we are gonna get to what Louisa didn't like because she I had to run home earlier today, and she when I told her we were gonna be recording, you just had this look on your face, like, oh my god, you really didn't like it.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Oh, we're I had a look on my face like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

So you're saying you saw that look like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

I saw that, and I'm like, oh my god, there's gonna be a lot to talk about. Uh let's let me break it down here. The French Connection was a massive international criminal scheme responsible for smuggling the mass the vast majority of heroin into the U.S. between the 30s and the 70s. And up until the 70s, it was kind of overlooked. We didn't have very sophisticated methodologies to to bust drug smuggling. And in the movie, this smuggling scheme was just kind of detected by Popeye Doyle and Sonny Grasso because they are out in a nightclub and they see someone who is a player, a relatively low-level player in organized crime, throwing money around with bigger, more influential people, and it just seems out of place to them. And they start tailing a couple of the people involved. And our write-up here just points out how exhaustive their surveillance operation was. This took place in the winter, and they were in they surveilled people from outside their apartments, sitting in cars and standing out on the street for hours at a time, drinking coffee and eating pizza. And I can just imagine how when this was pitched, it would have been it would have been a tough sell.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Very nothing about it is uh what do you say, charming?

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Yeah, and it's gritty. It's New York in the late 60s, which was, for lack of a better word, dump.

unknown 7:16

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

No pretty colors. I don't know if we'll get to it here, but I your notebook was titled Um, where does it go?

SPEAKER_01 7:26

The French Connection, Real History, Locations and Yeah, Locations.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Was any of that brought on by I mentioned to you that maybe about a year ago I looked at some of I found a website

New York Grit And Locations

SPEAKER_02 7:40

that detailed the locations of this movie and what they look like now. And in one of the first scenes, Grasso and Doyle bust a guy in a bar and he takes off running, and they track him to this open field, which there you could tell there was a building there, but it had been completely destroyed and it was just rubble, and they they have to run, they have to chase him down through this field. That field eventually became a hospital. And they corner him in this like in an alley of a bunch of abandoned buildings. That's what Queens looked like. Or the Bronx. I don't they were in one of the two, but that's how much of both of those areas looked at the end of the 60s. So when anybody outside of New York mentioned New York, they they talked about it like it was a wasteland of you know, if you weren't down, even in Times Square, it was pimps and hustlers and drugs and yeah, different. All the commerce that happens there now, it's it's yeah, different then than it is now. It's not as pretty as it is now. Mm-hmm. Right. But getting back to the the smuggling route and the logistics of the actual source material, production happened of of the heroin from Turkish farmers who sold excess opium to the underworld. These Turkish farmers had license to produce, I guess, medical

How The Heroin Pipeline Worked

SPEAKER_02 9:19

grade opium for pharmaceutical companies and for morphine and such. And any of the excess was just kind of given or sold off a discount to people in the underworld. And it found its way to Marseille, France, which became the global hub for refining. And the course, the Corsican grease monkeys and chemists were renowned for producing high-quality heroin. At that point, the refined drugs were transported to the US and Canada using concealed methods, and what this movie took advantage of in this particular in this particular story was using a false bottom car. They hid the drugs in the rocker panels. Let's see, at least in the the action in the actual source material, one of the most famous historical methods involved a 1960 Buick Invicta. In the movie they used a Lincoln, which had a body construction that allowed for detection proof traps in the fenders and undercarriage. Where in the movie they used the rocker panels for the Lincoln because they were so long.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Oh, yes, okay. I do remember that.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

In the record settings, C 1968 seizure authorities found 246 pounds of hidden heroin in a Citroen DS transported on the SS France. And then as far as distribution, drugs hit North America, often via Montreal or New York City, they were distributed through alliances with the American mafia families. So, let's see. I want to break out of this a little bit. And it's having a hard time with the mind map. This might be a good section to oh wait a minute, I might have it back here. Hang on.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

That's a really good mind map.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

Wow, this is detailed. Robin Moore produced wrote the book. Let's see, the real life key figures. This is gonna be I'm gonna have to just give you the highlights here because we have a limited time on this movie. There's a lot here. Eddie Egan and Sonny Grasso, known in fiction as Popeye Doyle and Cloudy Russo. For detectives who initiated the case based on a hunch after observing low-level mobsters spending lavishly at the Copacabana nightclub. Marcel's This is why this is the problem I'll always have with languages outside of English. Did you know how to say that?

SPEAKER_01 12:22

No, I don't do that well.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

At the organized at the organization level, Currer, the director of the OCR T I S in the 60s, was the key American file who brought worldwide prestige to the French narcotics unit. I'm surprised this oh, these are the actual people. Yeah, these this is the story. Yeah, from the real life story now. Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Let's see if Yeah, these people you're not gonna get this from the movie, but it's worth reading because It helps. Well, yeah, the our listeners aren't gonna see this. But if you want to learn about the actual story, you should read the book. I think now's probably a good time. What you tell me, because I d you know I have a hard time with keeping all of my keeping all of my windows up on this phone. You told me yet uh this morning that you didn't like it. What specifically bothered you?

SPEAKER_01 13:40

So I think I'll preface this by saying I was tired

Why The Movie Did Not Land

SPEAKER_01 13:44

from the week for sure. Because it was art fair and the weather was odd, and so I think that was part of it. As we typically do, we start movies really late and um and we have to watch them like three different times to finish them. Um but I think I was so that threw me off. And then um it was just a dark, violent movie and I didn't really understand. Yeah, that would be a good word for it.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Um Well, here's here's what I was wondering that, but then you liked heat and he was violent.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah. I only added the violent commentary because um they talked about that on the podcast that we made. Um but I mean I like the things that I like. Um I like that it was based on a true story, and I think that also threw me off because I th I didn't have that background. Um I think just watching the movie by itself, like going in kind of blind, um, which I guess is what you do with most movies, but that didn't help.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

Like, would it have been better if we had reviewed the source material first?

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Maybe, uh I don't know why in this case, but it just it's an intricate story for sure.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

And then move in as it's in a two-hour. What was that? Oh Lord Hold on. No, that was me, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Oh, okay. Sorry. It it was just complicated and there were a lot of characters and I didn't really I couldn't differentiate between I couldn't differentiate very well between who was who.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

I mean I know it and I knew it watching it, but can you think of a specific in like the two characters who you got mixed up?

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Like for example, um there was a scene in someone's house or office, um, like in a living room, and there was um the uh like those folding screens at the edge of one of the rooms. You know that scene?

SPEAKER_02 16:28

You're talking about when they're testing the drugs.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Yes. And I understood the testing of the drugs, but when it started with that scene, I was really confused.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Oh, because he was pouring the mineral oil and he's doing the actual It was the it was the conversation before that.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

I don't know, there was something that like I in my head I thought I was watching something else, and then you know what's funny?

SPEAKER_02 16:57

I remember seeing that scene when I was very young and being confused as to what was going from one to the next because I believe just before that the cops were surveilling I can't r recall his name, but the guy who owned the candy shop with his wife.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Right.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

And I think you know what that's alright, it's then he was he was one of the people in the room. There was the chemist, him, and the money guy, Weinstein or w Weinstock.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yep, yep, definitely. I know exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

And I think too And because he's very plain looking. He was a very plain looking dark-haired guy.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

I think that what you just said that the jump from the scenes in the candy store with the light and he was like, and then they come back. And then they I mean sorry, and then they go to that.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

Then they go to that and he's wearing a suit and a little bit more dressed up. Um That's actually one of my favorite scenes in there because the chemist who's testing it, he's watching the thermometer rise and he's grading, yeah. And he's grading each degree that it goes up, like good housekeeping seal of approval, Google Junk of the Month Club, US certified sirloin steak, absolute dynamite. Yeah, I can't I actually look that guy up. He was a bit player, he was in he was in some spaghetti westerns, but he his g he wore those glasses a lot, or he wore it I wear. He didn't have a lot of roles, but that just that scene has several they've clipped out a number of YouTubers have made have made clips of that scene. But I digress, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

No, I mean I think that's about it. I mean again, not my favorite. Um but there were some really good performances. I did really like seeing Gene Hackman in this role because I don't really think I've personally seen him in a lot of roles. I mean, of course, like I know who he is, and everybody knows who he is. I mean, I feel like could be wrong, but I think he's been a voice actor in some animated movies that I've seen. Um, so that's where and how I know him. Um, but he did do a really good job. Um, and he also, like, like you were saying earlier, you know, it was a very gritty film. It wasn't like all Hollywood, beautiful, like I um that's the thing I think pleasing to watch like attractive to watch.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

That's a a difference between you and I in that I've got a few years on you, and I I there's something about a movie that's not when it's not too commercialized, yeah. When it's got a little bit of it's got a little bit of dirt under its fingernails. It's got a smaller company producing it. I cause I know was it MGM that picked this up, but it was produced by a smaller studio.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

I honestly don't know or remember.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

In any event. Like those kind of things, especially from the 70s, they they engage me. And I can absolutely understand because you don't necessarily have the same you have eight years past me.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

So you may not you could watch these and you don't really have a frame of reference, and it's yeah, that's true. I can understand why it wouldn't and you you like softer movies anyway.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Yeah, that's true. I also think it's interesting because um, well, not because um there's a second movie, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Yeah, French Connection 2. Yep. Where Popeye Doyle actually goes to Marseille to trade you know, I should point this out. It's slight spoiler, but it's not really a spoiler. This movie's fifty years old. So at the end of the movie, when they're making the bust, and

The Ending And French Connection 2

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Charnier is the French guy who's act is the character name of the guy who's bringing the heroine in. They're doing this across the bridge, I think, in New Jersey, at like an industrial area in a warehouse that housed some kind of some kind of factory that has since been abandoned and it's falling apart. And he makes his way through the Charnier makes his way through the rubble and And seems to escape, and Popeye chases after him, goes into a room where he thinks he's hiding, you hear a gunshot, and the movie ends. And you are left at that point in time in 1971. That's what's called a trigger ending. You don't know if he got him.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

If Charnier killed Popeye Doyle or what. But come to find out in French Connection 2, he escaped. Popeye Doyle goes after him, goes to France, and becomes, I believe it was another pseudo ending, uh trigger ending at the end of part two. Because he has the opportunity to shoot him from a distance while Charnier is on a boat. I don't and I can't really remember how that transpired. But in part two, Doyle is abducted and then he's forced injected heroin. He gets addicted to heroin and he is rescued by another cop, I believe, and comes off it.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

But uh I know even for not liking this movie, I'd still watch the second one.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

Would you really?

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Oh, I wasn't even gonna suggest that because I thought you were that put off by that point.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

I would almost sometime in the future watch this again.

SPEAKER_02 23:52

Really?

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Because yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

Because now you have the backstory about it?

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Yeah. And I think that that really helped. And I probably said this already, but I do really appreciate that it's based on a true story. Mm-hmm that makes it more real, you know. I mean, you're watching the movie version of it.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

We should revisit this in several months.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah. I wouldn't be opposed to that.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

To see if you actually like the the violence would doesn't at that with you when you're armed with the backstory, it doesn't feel so mindless.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

And then to what to actually watch French Connection 2.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

I totally would.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Okay. Alright, we're gonna put that on the list then. Let me see what else it has here about. Oh, we should talk a little bit about the production about what a nightmare that was. So William Friedkin, I thought this was interesting. I I heard rumors of this, but I kind of needed it confirmed.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:56

That there is a scene where Doyle is walking back, they're taken off the case. Do you remember this? They've been they've been surveilling these

Friedkin’s Wild Production Choices

SPEAKER_02 25:07

guys and they haven't gotten anything concrete yet. And his captain, in I think I mentioned this to you while we were watching the guy with the curly white hair.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

That is the actual Eddie Egan.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

He is the person who actually lived this experience. So they they cast him in this movie to be uh the the lieutenant. And he has pulled Popeye off the case, Pope and uh and Cloudy off the case. Right. And Popeye is on his way back to his apartment, and in a previous scene, Charnier has traveled to Washington to meet with, you gotta look up that guy's name. Okay. The guy who went to the candy store. But he's traveled to Washington to get out of New York, meet with the candy store guy, because they're trying to decide when they're gonna make the switch away from the prying eyes of the NYPD. And on the flight back, Charnier says to his number two, his hired assassin, who's with him all the time, that he has to get rid of the cop, which you would think like now you're cut gunning down detectives, and it doesn't seem like the best move for somebody who's trying to make a large heroin sale and then get out of the country. But to get back to the scene with Popeye, he's on his way back to his apartment, and that number two assassin takes a shot at him and misses, hits a bystander, and that sets off this chase through New York to try and tag that to apprehend this guy. And part of that chase, Popeye commandeers a car, a Laman, and have you found that guy's name yet?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

No, I'm still looking.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

He is chasing this assassin who also has a name. If you find that, let me know.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

To it's really hard because that was one of the things that I struggled with.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Is who all the names?

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah. And like what side they were on. That's something I wrote down.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

Popeye is trying to apprehend this sniper. The sniper commandeers a and I've lived in Chicago for a long, long time. I'd call it the L train, but it was an underground train that at this there's a section that comes out of the ground and becomes an elevator train, and Popeye is chasing him with a commandeered car. And when they're filming this, they didn't have all the permits to close down 26 city blocks. So they filmed it illegally, and they had his camera guy turn down the frame rate in the camera, so it took less pictures. It took like it's a 24 frames per second, took like 13 or 17 or something, which when you play it back, it it speeds up the pace of the film. So he's driving through underneath this elevated train and he's frantically trying to catch this guy. He has to break a bunch of traffic laws in order to do so. But when you play the film back, it looks like he's going 110 miles an hour.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

It does.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

Because it it's it's but it's the the frame rate is slowed down, which speeds up the playback. Because the the frames play at twenty-four frames per second, but it's been shot at 13 or 15 or whatever. So Freakin was have you ever seen him interviewed?

SPEAKER_01 29:12

No.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

That guy doesn't pull any punches.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

He is he is he is a raw direct from the hip.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

That does not surprise me.

SPEAKER_02 29:25

Directed by William Freakin, the project was famously rejected by every major studio twice before Richard Zanek at 20th Century Fox provided a rel a relatively modest one and a half million dollar budget. Wow. That's nothing. But by the standards of the day, that was pretty sizable.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Method preparation. This is an interesting sidebar. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider spent weeks with their real-life prototypes detectives, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grasso, accompanying them on actual police raids to learn how to properly risk or frisk suspects and navigate the streets. Uh-oh. Oh, and this is the the other side piece that I just wanted to mention. Fernando Ray is Alan Charnier. Ray's casting was a total accident. Freaking wanted a rough-looking Corsican he had seen in the movie Belle de Jour, whom he mistakenly identified as Ray, but by the time he realized he actually wanted Francisco Rabal, Ray was already hired. Oh, and that the car chase scene was under the Benson Hearst Elevated Railway and considered one of the greatest in cinema history, though its production was famously sketchy. Technical innovations. Owen Roysman undercranked the camera to 18 frames per second. The crew pioneered the use of Motorola walkie-talkies, which weighed 10 pounds at the time.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

To coordinate the dangerous sequence.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

It's a long time ago.

unknown 31:16

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 31:17

Real world, real world risks. Much of the chase was filmed not entirely legally.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

I know when I heard that, I was like, What a stub. What a movie.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

Some of the accidental collisions with civilian cars were kept in the final film. And I w on the podcast that What did you say just say?

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

Some of the accidental collisions and with civilian cars were kept in the final film. And on the podcast, they said that freaking just he went to the owners of cars and just said, like, don't call your insurance. I'll pay. I'll just buy your car. I'll pay for all the damages. Yeah, sorry. We're filming a movie here. You just threw money at it. Must be nice. That's the that was the interesting. It was a I'm sure parts of Hollywood are st are like that now. They're given this huge budget just to get something accomplished. Yeah. And if they can do it on a shoestring, but they have a larger budget, they can just throw money at whatever problem arises. Gorilla film making the crew often resorted to unauthorized task tactics such as staging a fake car breakdown on the Brooklyn Bridge to block traffic for a specific shot. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 32:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

Let's see. Authentic locations. If we had more time to talk about this, I'd like to.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

I know the location thing is really cool. That is something about movies in general. Sorry, not to interrupt or cut you off.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

The scene where the sh scene where Hackman's chasing Charnier in the subway system, and he's not sure if Charnier has figured out if he knows

Subway Scenes And Authentic Places

SPEAKER_02 33:04

he's being tailed. Mm-hmm. And he goes to that that fruit and and drink stand.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Mm-hmm. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

I looked that space up. That's been completely renovated. Okay. And I remember all of those machines that they used to make like the grape drink and the and the yellow drink and that's what they called them. Mm-hmm. Like it was just all chemicals and Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

That was yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

Because you wouldn't you would find like an enclosed thing in a subway system now. But now it was it back then it was just all open. It was a hair's breadth away from being like a farmer's market down there.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Um let's see. Production used all in India. Yeah. Production utilized 30 real world locations across New York, Marseille, and Washington, D.C. Notable spots included Ratners Restaurant on the Lower East Side, Roosevelt Hotel, and the Wards and the Wards Island Factory for the final shootout. So I'm I'm actually kind of tickled to hear that you'd watch this again. I thought you were just totally revulsed by it.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

No, I wouldn't say that.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

But if you understood it, now that you understand the backstory and if we saw it at a time when we we both weren't falling asleep and we can do it all in one go, it'd be a different thing.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

And you'd watch part two.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 34:38

Okay. Alright. We'll uh we'll do a review on that one another time. Would you say it's time for my recipe? I would I would say it is.

SPEAKER_01 34:50

Let's do it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:51

Alright, real quick. You do it. I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Okay. I'll just say yes, but I already know what's a yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

So I guess I'm gonna kind of apologize, but but I'm not really great at doing

Honey Butter Skillet Corn Recipe

SPEAKER_02 35:10

doing these consistently. As anyone who listens here knows. I just lost it, I gotta do it again, I gotta do another search for it.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

Well, I will say it involves honey. And it is also delicious.

SPEAKER_02 35:29

Oh no. I'll tell you what. I'm gonna ramble for a second here to see if I can get rid of Instagram and then recreate it. So I I swear to you, anyone listening, I had a recipe.

SPEAKER_01 36:25

You didn't have a recipe yet? I know.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

And Ooh, okay, wait a minute, maybe. I might have done it. Maybe I don't know if I've gotten it yet. Okay, I'm gonna put corn in here. It was some kind of corn butter butter with I was gonna use Ooh, there it is, I got it. Alright.

SPEAKER_01 36:51

Okay, great.

SPEAKER_02 36:52

Alright, so I'm gonna make it shut up. So this is called Honey Buddy Honey Butter Skillet Corn. I'm going to tell anyone listening, this is not good for you, but it looks scrump diddlyumptious. Sweet, buttery, skillet corn glazed with golden honey and a touch of creaminess. And by touch, that means probably two cups. This quick and cozy side dish and rich cup is rich, comforting, and the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Translation, lots of cholesterol and or fat.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

So not good for you, but here it is anyway.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

I'll go through the volumes here. Three cups of corn kernels. I would suggest going to a farmer's market and getting the fresh stuff. It's just gonna taste better. Way better. Noticeably. Two tablespoons butter, that's plenty. Two tablespoons honey, not enough. I would suggest hey honey cinnamon, because cinnamon and corn, believe it or not, actually works. What is this? A quarter cup? Heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste, and chopped parsley. So, not that many steps here. Heat the skillet over medium heat to melt the butter, add the corn, cook for five to seven minutes or until tender and slightly caramelized. I'll say that you should boil the corn first and then cut it off the cob and then throw it in the in the skillet. Then stir in the honey, heavy cream, mix well, season with salt and pepper, and simmer two to three minutes until glossy and thick. These times might be a little you might have to play with them a little bit. Because when I made you fried corn, it took longer than eight minutes. It took some time.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Yeah. But then we But it's way worth it. I like to delicious.

SPEAKER_02 38:53

I like to fry it up so you get it gets blackened all the way around.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

Let's see. Macro summary. Eight grams of protein, that's not a lot. 36 grams of carbs, plenty. 14 grams of fat, 280 calories, that's not actually bad. Fifteen minutes. I would give yourself 20 to 25 if you want to get it. Especially that's not I don't think that time is accurate because if you're using how much corn did it say? I feel like that's a lot. Three cups of corn is a bunch.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Yeah. I feel like it's kind of rush.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

Use a big skillet. And it says it's one serving. Three cups of corn. Good lord. You'll be regular for months. So that's it. That's all we got for you. French connection. Honey butter skillet corn. Louisa hated the French connection, but she's willing to give it another try. Alright, not hated, but we have to uh we have to adjust the environment for her to get the most out of it. Do we uh what else have we not covered? Um Was that everything?

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah, I think.

SPEAKER_02 40:14

I'm surprised how much I can get out in 40 minutes. Um what's what are we what are we reviewing there? With this is 101 or 102?

SPEAKER_01 40:25

Yep, that's right. 101 or 102. I couldn't tell you which, maybe two.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

We went and saw the Odyssey.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

I was that was the tip of my tongue. It's a big epic movie of the summer of the year.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

I don't even know if

The Odyssey Tangent And Wrap

SPEAKER_02 40:42

I'm comfortable reviewing that because since we saw it, I've been watching videos on what the actual happens in the actual poem. And it's long.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 40:55

And there's a number of trials that were not that Odysseus encountered that were not in the movie. And I think I showed you the map of his actual trek. That guy was pushed all over the Mediterranean. It's no wonder it took him ten years to get back to Ithaca.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

I know it seems like such a long time, but you know, you think about where we are with the with technology now, where we were, I don't know, 20 years ago, 40, it's just like it's mind-blowing that he did. He that he made it home.

SPEAKER_02 41:34

Like if he lands on an island where he has no frame of reference, the people there don't speak the language, uh I don't know how you get your bearings. I can't imagine even if you're a seafarer that I can't imagine. It's so the like um I understand why it's such a when I first heard about the Odyssey and people saying, Oh, it's such a tremendous work, I'm like, yeah, but it's so old. But like the narrative pieces, they don't really change. I mean, you know they don't they don't change from like generation to generation, in as far as this guy is tasked with something horrendous, he has to go and do it, and then he encounters all these problems that keep him from attaining what he really wants, which is to get back home. But when he gets back home, during all the trials that he has to in that he has to withstand to get home, he it slowly dawns on him what he did during the war. And that's a you tell that what's I think what's amazing about storytelling is it's an amazing story 2,000 and 5,000 years ago. It's an amazing story now.

SPEAKER_01 43:06

Yeah, I I just I think that I think that's like that what you just said. I that's like fascinating to me that something from so long ago can still resonate, right? Am I saying it correctly? Through like now. And I I kind of agree with you, like the Odyssey in the Idl in the Iliad Iliad. Um, I mean, I'm not gonna lie, you can't be like, um, let's study these in school, Louisa. That sounds like fun because nope, that really isn't it. You can spend a month on that stuff now that I'm older and an adult, like I can really appreciate it. And I and it and these specific stor poems aside, I just think that's like very I think that's fascinating about um like old history. I don't know, what would you call it, better words, um like ancient history, I guess. I just think it's so amazing that I don't know, sounds kind of silly to say, but like that they knew what they knew back then.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

Like You mean as far as like navigating their world or about telling a story?

SPEAKER_01 44:19

About all of it.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

Like it nothing's really n um I don't want to say nothing's changed, but like well technology gets updated, but how people interact is it's really pretty pretty much the same.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

I mean, I I know I brought brought this up yet yesterday, but um, like in Italy, all that history, like of all those towns and ancient ruins and things that they uncovered, and like I mean it's just like it's j it's just fascinating to me that um we discover people like research this archaeologists and then we like I don't know we distill it down to a movie. Well, no, not really, like just that we can go like visit these places and that people once like again it sounds silly to say, but like walked these, you know, for sidewalks and things like that. Like it just and I mean I've I've traveled a lot in my life to different places and countries, and I mean I saw the same thing in Japan. Um, like all the ruins, like people all over the world are the same, but or very similar, I should say, but like they all have different stories. I don't know, I just think it's very fascinating. I thought the Odyssey was great.

SPEAKER_02 45:53

Yeah, the it made me wonder from what I from what I remember people comparing the Iliad and the Odyssey, it's almost like the Odyssey was told was marketed better in that people would say it's a much better story. The Iliad is Yes, I would agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

I've felt that way.

SPEAKER_02 46:12

They would say that the Iliad is a little slower and it's their isn't that their journey to Troy? I don't I don't really know, but I think I want to say it's the precursor to the Odyssey.

SPEAKER_01 46:23

Yeah, I would agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 46:25

You know what a story I think would be interesting is if I should really read both of those, but I would be curious what oh, it's go time. I'd be curious about uh Jason and the Argonauts.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Because that came up on my research when I was read when I had time when I was doing laundry today. I was look I was looking up Odyssey and then Jason and the Argonauts was referenced. But more on that later. We gotta go.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Hugs and kisses. We'll decide what we're gonna talk about. I don't know if we're gonna do the Aussie or not, but we're gonna do something soon. Hugs and kisses.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

As always, thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_02 47:09

Tootles