The Review Review
Hosts Ben and Paul welcome special guests from all walks of life to watch, rate, discuss, and RERATE the films close to their hearts. You'll laugh (hopefully), you'll cry (maybe), you'll reconsider everything you have ever known! Welcome, to "The Review Review"
The Review Review
O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Wild Hogs Can't Be Broken (Guest: Jessica Erin Martin)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
It's finally 'Ben's Birthday Bash 4: You Want Some More?!' and we are joined by requested Guest: Jess(ica) Erin Martin to review Ben's pick "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000 Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen). The episode tells a story about a story about a story with a horny toad, a Cyclops, sacred cows, singing into a can, psychos, sirens, suitors, Soggy Bottom GIRL, and how no matter how hard you ride them... Wild Hogs Can't Be Broken. BONUS! - An advance listen to the trailer for Ben's short film "Rough Ways." 6/23!
MORE WITH JESSICA:
**All episodes contain explicit language**
Main Artwork - Ben McFadden
'Review Review Intro/Outro' Themes - Jamie Henwood
"What Are We Watching?" & "Whatcha Been Doin'?" Themes - Matthew Fosket
"Fun Facts" Theme - Chris Olds/Paul Root
Lead-Ins Edited/Conceptualized by - Ben McFadden
Produced by - Ben McFadden & Paul Root ("Shelf Help" - Paul Root)
Podcast/Program Concept - Paul Root
Wait till you s I gotta wait till you sit down. It's gonna be a squeaky chair.
unknownNot even here.
SPEAKER_03Yep, there it goes. Great. Now I've got the burps. I've already forgotten what I'm supposed to say. It's okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna let me here we go. Here we go.
SPEAKER_04Hello and welcome to the review review. Nothing seven nothing under seven years. No sequels. No sequels.
SPEAKER_03This is the ASMR version of uh the review review. Okay. We're off
Guest Intro
SPEAKER_03to a great start. Got some water right here.
SPEAKER_05Um, okay, hi everyone. Venner texting saying never again.
SPEAKER_03This was a mistake. Um, I'll forget.
SPEAKER_07Okay, here we go.
SPEAKER_03Hi everyone. I'm Jess, and this is Shannon, and we are guest hosting the Review Review, a podcast about movies, where movies have to be at least seven years old, and has to be a movie that we have seen before, had big feelings about, and are re-watching. And the movies that we choose cannot be sequels, they have to be the original. That's
What You Been Doin'?
SPEAKER_03right, not part of a sand a franchise, a sandwich. A sandwich franchise, and they can't be remakes. Is that also correct? That we know of. This is why I have you here. Teamwork. Yeah, so this is a special episode, which I have been bothering them, Ben and Paul, about for quite some time because I was like, you know what? Move over, guys. It's almost International Women's Day, and uh, I think some gals should have a turn here. Oh, yeah. And um, what better movie to talk about than a horse girl movie? Mm-hmm. We did it. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Friends and folks, um, we are gonna be talking about Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. Applause. I had to take a second. Applause.
SPEAKER_05Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. Jessica, we've been talking about watching this movie for a very long time. Yeah. I don't know how we first discovered that we both love it.
SPEAKER_03No, it was because when you were a guest for the Willow episode and you like pitched a few movies that you wouldn't mind talking about, and I saw that list. You know, they try to keep it from me, but I saw it. And then I saw that Wild Hearts can't be broken on there, and I like flipped a table and I was like, get out of my way. We're talking about this movie. And that was that was a while ago that you did Willow. Yes. Sometimes it takes a long time for your dreams to come true, but here we are.
SPEAKER_05Perseverance of hope. And you know what? Thematically, I think that's perfect for our film. Wow.
SPEAKER_03We have a a thorough list of things to talk to you about, and I'm just trying to make sure we're on track here because I don't want to get kicked off as my first day as a guest host. So it says that we have to do a quick catch up. Do we need to talk about ourselves really quick? Like, no, we need to go down farther. Are we just saying what have we been doing? Oh, yeah. Producer Paul, he helped us. Um, hey, Shannon, what you been doing? What you've been doing.
SPEAKER_07What have you been doing?
SPEAKER_05I'm Shannon Corbet. I'm an actor. I was just on set. I booked a nice network co-star that I've been actually for the a TV show that was my very first television audition back in 2017. Oh, my goodness. And so I finally booked them. You finally cracked it. This is coming out, this episode's coming out in April. I think so. So my TV episode won't be out on. But they can look forward to it. But they can look forward to it, I think May 9th. Can you say what it is or no? Can I? I don't. It is on my actor's access, but it's not on IMDB yet.
SPEAKER_06Guys, I'll give you the inside scoop. It's N C I S. Hell yeah. I did it.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_05I booked N C I S and it was so fun. They're so nice. They're really nice over there. They're so nice. They all seem to love that job. I love when that happens.
SPEAKER_03Well, congratulations.
SPEAKER_05Thank you. That's really uh in this day and age. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I think I'm gonna have three TV episodes come out this year so far. Wow. Yeah. I booked another one that I shot in December that won't come out until October because that's how soaps work. And then I booked another one that shot during the strike. It was a SAG after a interim agreement. And they shot their season, but they have only been releasing four episodes every Halloween. So it hasn't come out yet.
SPEAKER_03Is it this Halloween though?
SPEAKER_05My episode should finally be this Halloween, 2026. That's wild. I know.
SPEAKER_03You have to wait a long time to see the fruits of your labor in this business. And then all of them are gonna come out this year and you're going straight to the top. That's right. That's how it works. That's right. Oh, I'm I'm Jessica Aaron Martin. What have you been up to? So I am uh going to, you know what? I'll just say it. This is coming out in April. I am gonna be doing my solo show again at Hollywood Fringe. I've been doing all that paperwork, making that happen. I'm doing a reading of our Time Machine play in uh in Pasadena this month. It's you'll have missed it. Don't worry, guys. And then I'm also working in sustainability now, which is my other passion. So I'm I'm pretty stoked about that.
SPEAKER_05Listeners, I just reached out and grabbed Jessica's hand. I'm so excited because bless this Jess that's it is so wonderful. You're all gonna want to see it. Oh, thanks.
SPEAKER_03Um, I will say there's gonna be a new ending. Ooh. So if you've already seen it, come back. So that's what we've been doing. And what have you been watching? Oh my goodness.
unknownWhat am I watching? What am I watching?
SPEAKER_07What are we watching? What are we watching?
SPEAKER_03Um, Bridgerton season four. Of course. Several times now. Of course. Um Benedict has always been my favorite. Meet Bridgerton. This is my favorite season. Yeah. Favorite season. Yerin Ha, Queen. The writing, some of the best acting moments of the entire series. Yeah. And it's pretty. It's so pretty. It's so sweet. It's so like sincere. It doesn't stress me out. No. That's all I want. Rudy loves it too. Rudy the Cat. Also, um, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Yes.
SPEAKER_05Okay. I was late getting into it. Okay. And everyone was like, you have to watch it. It's a good thing.
SPEAKER_03Wait, wait, are you late getting into a knight of the seven kingdoms or just Game of Thrones as a whole?
SPEAKER_05A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Okay. Yes. I read Game of Thrones before the show came out. Yeah. Like the ones that had been released anyway. Right. And so I finally started watching and I was like, oh, you're right. This is really sweet. So I got my boyfriend to watch with me. And we started, and I was like, no, you gotta watch this. It's such a sweet show. And we watched the battle episode.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And the credits start rolling, and he just looks at me and he's like, You have violence in your heart. You're sick. You and your family are sick. What's the matter with you? That is not a sweet show. And I had to laugh.
SPEAKER_03But the relationships are sweet. It's very sweet. These two characters are so cute. They're so dang. And the behind the scenes, I can't get enough of it. I know. Um we've adopted Dexter, who plays egg. Um, he's our son now. He and Rudy are our biological sons. I understand. So we we love it. That I think it's it's my favorite Game of Thrones content that's been out there. It is really well done. It's really I do love the dragons, though. I love dragons specifically, which really relates to horse girls. That's true. Yeah. What else have you been watching?
SPEAKER_05I just got caught up on Paradise. Oh, we need to watch that. The second season. Second season did not have to go as hard as it did. Uh Dan Fogelman. Uh no spoiler. It's such a spot but uh it's been a long time since a TV show brought me to tears. I cried on one of the episodes. Full tears sitting alone in my room, down my face, you know? It's uh I'm ready. It's great writing.
SPEAKER_03Did you not cry in Bridgerton season four, part two? I did not. I was a mess. It was a mess. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I know everything that's in the books.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I know roughly what happened. So there are a few surprises, but it was it was very touching, I will say. Yeah. Great. We did that. So many great things to be watching right now. So many. Um, Shannon, why don't you tell us about the movie we just watched? Let's talk about Disney's Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.
SPEAKER_07Archaeology is the search for facts.
SPEAKER_05A 1991 film, and I'm gonna get back to this later, but in a real golden age of Disney live action. Yes. Like the same time as The Rocketeer and Iron Will, these films that are about hope and believing in yourself and uh good dancing over. The 90s were great. I'm really sorry you missed them. 1991. 1991. So this was a Disney film along with Silver Screen Partners 4 and Pegasus Entertainment. Usually we just type Gift together. And it is an hour and 28 minutes. Perfect length. Perfect length. Yeah, really. That's a good 90-minute film.
SPEAKER_03Really good.
SPEAKER_05Mm-hmm.
unknownTell us.
SPEAKER_05Tell us about the money.
SPEAKER_03Oh, we're gonna be able to do that. I feel like maybe what the budget was. I think that's what that means.
SPEAKER_05We don't know the budget. Opening weekend in May of 1991, May 27th, specifically when it came out, it made $2.7 million. And the final gross for North America was $7.3 million. Final gross worldwide. We don't have it. 2.7 plus 7.3. That's just 10 million.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I don't know. That that might not be right. You don't add those numbers.
SPEAKER_03But you know, that's theatrical. And I bet this movie crushed in the in the in the VHS market. Hell yeah. I want those numbers.
SPEAKER_05Not only that. This movie got people to back in the 90s, kids, you had to purchase the Disney Channel if you wanted to watch
What Are You Watching?
SPEAKER_05Disney movies. On like Disney Channel specific movies, yeah. Anyway, that might be irrelevant.
SPEAKER_03It was just movie, we would have had to go into a newspaper. We would have had to go to the pages where it had the movie theaters to see the movie times. And then we would have to go to the movie, purchase our tickets with a person. Yeah. And then no reserve seating. You get what you get. Moving on.
SPEAKER_05But I do wonder what those numbers would be accounting for inflation. Prezer Paul. What's 2.7 million in 1991? He's working on it. Compared to today. So that week in 1991, other releases were Backdraft, Hudson Hawk, Only The Lonely, and Thelma and Louise. Wow. That's a that's some stiff competition. That's a big deal. Backdraft really upset me because my dad is a firefighter. That it scared me bad. Weekend top five, backdraft. What about Bob? That one we laughed as a family. Hudson Hawk, Thelma and Louise, and Only the Lonely. Other films from 1991. The Perfect Weapon. Defending your life. Kindergarten Cop.
SPEAKER_00You're not so tough with that your car, are you?
SPEAKER_05Good Fellas, Out for Justice. New Jack City, Drop Dead Fred. Okay, producer Paul, yes.
SPEAKER_01In 1991, $2.7 million in 2026 is $6.4 million.
SPEAKER_03$6.4 million. I thought it would have been more. Okay, which is another six million. Three million in VHS sales.
SPEAKER_01And the worldwide and North American gross are the same. It didn't have an international release. Oh, interesting. So it did make 17.4 million adjusted for its final gross in North America.
SPEAKER_05Okay. I wonder what the budget was. What was the budget for a 1991 film?
SPEAKER_03They're really keeping that locked away. Mm-hmm. Um, there's some scores? What do you call these? The letter boxes. The letterbox averages. Uh-huh. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_05Review, reviews. Letterbox gives it a 3.3. Is it out of five? I'm not on the letterbox. It's out of five. Okay. That's too low.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they're wrong. Um, oh, also follow the normal hosts of this show, uh, Paul and Ben, at Run B-E-E-M-C and at Paul Acts Badly.
SPEAKER_05Which is not true.
SPEAKER_03Which is not true. He's a very good actor.
SPEAKER_06Because Paul just booked something fun too, guys.
SPEAKER_03He's a working actor.
SPEAKER_06You know he you know he didn't do bad acting to book that job.
SPEAKER_03Hey Shannon, are you on Letterboxd? No. Uh okay.
SPEAKER_04Are you and you just said you're not no, I know.
SPEAKER_05I I can't do like another thing.
SPEAKER_03I can't. There's so much. But I do love to read a good, a good letterbox review.
SPEAKER_05I do.
SPEAKER_03I like it when it's like uh a threads or like an Instagram post of a letterbox review. Yeah. I'm a grown up. I like it currying it for me like that. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down. They're wrong and clearly not the right audience for this film.
unknownIt's wrong.
SPEAKER_05All right, Rotten Tomatoes was 73%. I think that's critic score. Critic score and 89 popcorn. And Metacritic didn't even bother. Um major award wins and nominations, non-applicable. Like, people slept on Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.
SPEAKER_03They were sleeping hard. You know what? You know who was not sleeping hard on this? Us. Us, horse girls. Us, horse girls.
SPEAKER_05Like this is Lil Girls with a dream.
SPEAKER_03Okay. We're watching this movie. Hope in our hearts. That's right. All right. So I'm gonna tell you a little bit about the the filmmakers. So it was directed by Steve Minor, who after watching this film, was I was very surprised to learn that he directed Friday the 13th, part two and three, Halloween, H2O, Lake Placid, and Soul Man. It's called Range. It is Range. You know, I feel like he with this movie, he's like, I need something nice for my heart. Yeah. It was written by Matt Williams and Walker Payne. Umly Sasson. Also, it's based on the book, right? Like the Correct. Yes. Producer Paul, let's get that info. Oh, we have it. Oh, we do have it. Yes. It's coming. Okay.
SPEAKER_05Sonora, so it's based on a real woman who named Sonora Webster Carver. Spoil alert. Uh, and her book was called A Girl and Five Brave Horses, and she was a real diving girl. I need to get that book. Okay.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna check my local library.
SPEAKER_05It's in your local library because last night I just put it on hold. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_03Okay, oh, I'm so excited. Okay. Um, back to um the music was by Mason Daring, who did Lone Star, Dogfight, Eight Men Out. Cinematography by Darren Okada, who did Mean Girls, Baby Mama, and Movie 43. The cinematography in this, well, I'm gonna I'm about to talk about it, but producers, Matt Williams, um, who did Bernie, and then Robin Clark, I don't know how to say that one, and Sarah Brock. Um, it starred Gabrielle Anwar, who played Sonora, who was in the Tudors, and I never put the two together until last night.
SPEAKER_05Tutors was great. Um, but she plays um Henry's sister, and she's so expressive in it. Her that her role, her character, and the faces that she made as that character, um, who was a princess who was married off to a much older man. Classic tour seared in my mind. And then as soon as I started re-watching Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, I was like, no. And I looked up on IMDB and I was like, it's you!
SPEAKER_03I couldn't believe it. She's one of the most beautiful women on the planet, and she is radiant in this. Oh my god. She glows, literally glows. Um, she was also in Scent of a Woman, Body Snatchers for the for love or money. Um, Michael Schaufling. I think Shuffling? Shuffling? I'm not quite sure how to pronounce that. So sorry, Michael. Um he doesn't mind he retired from acting. No, I I know. He played Al. Um, he was in Sixteen Candles, Vision Quest, and Mermaids. We'll talk about him a lot more. Um, Cliff Robertson, who played Dr. Carver, he I was in the midst of watching this again last night, and I was like, wait a second, wait a second, how do I know this man in my heart? He played Uncle Ben in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies with uh Toby McGuire. So if you know this man's work, he has left an imprint on a generation. Yeah. He was also in Star 80, Brainstorm. You have Dylan Cussman, perhaps? Kuzman, um, who plays Clifford. He was in Flight, Jack Reacher, Dead Poet Society. He's so cute. So cute. Kathleen York played Marie. She was in Nightcrawler, Protocol, Crash. Frank Rinzuli played Mr. Slater. He's in The Fighter, The Hidden, The Last Dragon. Nancy Acheson played Arnette. She was in Fried Green Tomatoes.
SPEAKER_05She was in Fried Green Tomatoes. Oh, I love that movie. That's another episode for us.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Um, okay, The Prince of Tides, The Yearling, and Lisa Norman played Aunt Helen. Um uh, she was in the new Mike Hammer, and Grim, Grim television show is how I met producer Paul, you guys. That's how this all started.
unknownWere you?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. The same episode. We were we were Bigfoot hunters, and we found Bigfoot, and Paul got dead really fast.
SPEAKER_05I spoilers, I need to go watch that episode. Grim is such a great premise for a film. It was really fun.
SPEAKER_03TV show. It was in the middle of the night in a in an Oregon forest and it was freezing cold, and we're gonna circle back for talking about this. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_05But the cast really was remarkable, really strong. If if if you take you know, if you understand that this was the 90s and so everyone um is white, and that's unfortunate. There is there's no diversity, but they did find just picture-perfect actors for each little role, including me and Aunt Helen. Tell us some fun facts. Okay. I will.
SPEAKER_00Fun facts, fun facts, everybody. It's fun fact time.
SPEAKER_05We mentioned this. This film is an adaptation of real-life events that occur in the memoir of Sonora, um, who lived to be 99 years old. She died in 2003. Her memoir is called A Girl and Five Brave Horses. And I don't think we've talked about this. This film is about a diving horse diving show. So, so Dr. Carver created horse diving wherein he built a 40-foot tower, had a horse run up a ramp to where a girl was on the top, she jumped astride the horse, and the horse jumped off
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Facts
SPEAKER_05the 40-foot tower into a pool of water. And and this was a carnival show. Yes. And Sonora really did that for decades. And so did Arnette, her sister. Um I didn't know that. Arnette ended up being a diving girl too. Oh. They got to go and when the film came out, they went to the theater to see it and had some thoughts about it. Oh, I bet they didn't. Um, so there were definitely But did they like it like a little bit? Yeah, she she said, Well, they got right the fact that I was a diving girl and um that there were some incidents, you know. Um w w spoiler, spoiler alert. Medical, some medical things happened.
SPEAKER_04And she said that's about it.
SPEAKER_05So Oh shoot.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I Don't really want to see a movie about my life either, but definitely romanticize it. Well, let speaking of romance, let's talk about this next fun fact.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, Mr. Sheffling. Um, so this was the last acting work of Michael Sheffling, who plays Al, the charismatic son of Dr. Carver, and the romantic interest of Miss Sonora Webster. He quit the film business in the early 90s to concentrate on his business designing and selling furniture, which I love that for him.
SPEAKER_03Does that make him even more sexy? Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I love that for him. Yeah, he's a cutie.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. We're gonna talk about animal rights and the welfare of the horses.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna talk about horses in this horse girl movie.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, we are. Um, they jumped off of 40-foot towers to film the movie. Correct. The humane society who has to be there on sets to ensure the welfare of animals, said, Yeah, I don't think so, but you can do 10 feet. Yes. So they cheated the the jumping in the film. There were some shots where I was like, How'd how'd you get that shot? Disney, huh?
SPEAKER_03So we can we can go through that um because I read the Humane Society report saying I have it on my computer right here in front of me. Um, but essentially they they achieved the shots with some some very clever editing of the horse running up a ramp, and then they would just kind of park at the top. So in and then they cut to, you know, seeing horses like jump off of a block. Right. Um, so they film that little shot, and then they have a like a mechanical horse and rider doing the fall. Okay, great.
SPEAKER_05In the like super water that made sense because it doesn't do as good of a job as a horse does and really starts to like go ass over tea kettle. And I'm like, that's that's not good if that's a real horse.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this is not quite. Yeah, it wasn't a it was a mechanical, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Sonora maintains that no horses were harmed and that the horses loved to do it.
SPEAKER_03So in the Humane Society report was that so I think there were five horses in this film, four or six horses, four of them were trained to do the the diving. Um, they selected those horses because they liked to swim, they liked to be in water. Great. So they tested a lot of horses, they did, you know, camera test the test for the horses, and we know that process. We know that. Um, and so these horses particularly enjoyed swimming. Great. So like great. And then they uh, you know, slowly trained them. It used to, you know, they would jump off just one foot, two feet, and eventually they had to close off the pin where their training uh, you know, ramp was with the pool because they would just do it all the time. Adorable. Adorable. So that's what they tell us. So I'd like to believe that the horses actually did enjoy it.
SPEAKER_05There was in real life, Dr. Carver's show uh did some dives into the Pacific Ocean, and there was one horse that drowned. So I know So that's not great. I know, and it effed him up. Dr. Carver? Yeah, he was like really desolate about it. They really loved their horses and they had to trust them. Yeah. Um, you can't have horses and girls dying in front of your crowds. So it really puts an end to your show.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Anyway, uh, speaking of Dr.
SPEAKER_05Carver, Bert Reynolds was offered the role, but he turned it down. I'm kind of glad he did. I loved uh, was it Cliff? Cliff Robert Robertson. He reminds me a lot of this is so upsetting. We were just talking about our concern about our memory. That's right.
SPEAKER_03We'll come back to it because I want to talk about Cliff Robertson's performance more. Should we let it and you can just like interrupt me at any time? Yeah, get your notes out. I am gonna mention um producer Paul found this, uh quoted from AFI that a minor incident involving a dining being horse was reported on this film. Activists got involved. Uh, they said they wanted a boycott for the the film, but then uh the Humane Society said that you know there wasn't any injuries sustained. So there was some um controversy regarding this film. We talked about the height of the live-action Disney movies. It was kind of the height of live-action animal movies. Like there were so many, like Milo and Otis. I mean, that was years prior to this, but goodness how many animals were killed on that production. Don't look it up. And birthed. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Live birthed. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, a lot of animal stuff happened with Milo and Otis, which was also one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_05No, the animals died. Yeah. On my Milo and Otis. Somebody, please, they got the chest. Homeward Bound came out around this time. If you want to make me cry, have Shadow come over the hill. Oh.
SPEAKER_03But animals were used a lot in a way that we do not see them used now because of how just our connection to them has grown, our understanding of them has grown. I'm a person who loves horses. Horse stunts and horse actors really make me nervous because I used to be a horse owner. And so I know how fragile babies they are.
SPEAKER_05I think all horse riding should be done bitless. I agree. And when I see a when I see a bridle like with a bit, I'm like, well, you don't love your horse as much as I love your horse.
SPEAKER_03But things are changing. We're moving in the right direction. Well we'll we're gonna be talking about animal rights this whole time. So the log line. Hold on. Kurt Russell. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05You got you did Cliff Cliff Robinson reminds me of Kurt Russell. Yes, I see that whom I love and have met and had a fun conversation with. That's lovely. He's the best. But just that, like the kind eyes, the like sparkle in the sparkle, yeah, you know. And the character of Dr. Carver is one who can be really harsh, but also really loving and tough.
SPEAKER_03Okay, the log line. Okay, the log line of this film. Thrilled by a performance she sees at a
FUN Facts
SPEAKER_03fair, Sonora Webster tries to land a spot as a daredevil who rides horses off of high dives. That's actually not a good idea. That's not true. That's not true, right? That's not true.
SPEAKER_05She was not thrilled by the performance that she sees. I mean, she did see it.
SPEAKER_03She did, and she was thrilled.
SPEAKER_05But it's the ad in the paper that sends her off searching for this job.
SPEAKER_03So clearly, marketing department wrote this. Wow. And before they saw the film. Men.
SPEAKER_02Happy international.
SPEAKER_03Not all not all men.
SPEAKER_02Producer Paul. You're great. Not all men.
SPEAKER_03Um yes, she does see a thrilling performance at the fair, and then she does try to land a spot as a daredevil who rides horses off of Hive Dive. So they got that part right. They just missed the first part of it where she finds an ad in the newspaper, which begins her heroine's journey. That was a real ad. That that really happened before the real Sonora West. Wow. Um, this is brought to you by someone. Are we doing an ad break?
SPEAKER_01I assume it's horse, horse jumping, horse falling, horse dancing.
SPEAKER_03Horse dance!
SPEAKER_05This is brought to you by horse dancing.
SPEAKER_03We'll be back.
SPEAKER_05Um let's go ahead and take a quick break uh to thank our sponsors.
SPEAKER_01The following is a Review Review Universe approved message. Young people from all over the globe are joining up and subscribing to guarantee a better Review Review Universe future. We've just begun to produce what the hosts are calling Big Help, or the Review Review Shelf Help. It's an ugly show, a physical media sycophant fandom show, a show as hostile as well as overwhelmingly confusingly positive about physical media and helping you decide what belongs on your shelf. If you'd like to know more, listen to our surprise surprise sneak episode celebrating the 60th American football champions of the world, Seattle Seahawks, and tune in to our upcoming and exclusive channel that will have shelf help episodes of Under Siege, Kindergarten Cop, Clueless, Starship Troopers, and even more. Would you like to know even more? Then keep listening. Like, share, and subscribe to the Review Review wherever you listen, and assist in the rapid expansion of the Review Review Universe.
SPEAKER_00Nothing bad can happen, it can only good happen.
SPEAKER_01Back to the program.
SPEAKER_00Welcome back.
SPEAKER_03Welcome back from the break, Shannon. Thank you. Um So we're gonna do a little game called Cinephile. And um so I'm gonna have you uh cut it like a tarot deck. Oh, I think it's this one right there. I think so. Oh yeah. If a card jumps out, yeah. Okay. Um wait, I said I know how to do this, but how many movies do we have to guess? This is maybe we keep going until one of us can't. You said you didn't know how to do this. And then, okay, Julia Roberts. My best friend's wedding.
SPEAKER_05Pretty woman. Aaron Brockovich.
SPEAKER_03Um see, this is how my brain goes. This is why I'm an actor, is because people give me things to say. Yeah. Um okay, you said Aaron Brockovich. I did. Um, Step Mom. Oh. Great film. Ocean's whichever sequel she was in. Oh, Ocean's 11. She was in the Was she in the first one? Right. Or was it the second one? Well, we know she's in the second one.
SPEAKER_04The Oceans ones. The Ocean's ones.
SPEAKER_05I think that's because that's where yeah. Ocean's 11 because she's dating the guy um who owns the casino. Yeah. Yeah. And George Clooney needs to take him down and get the girl back. That's right. Notting Hill. Um, the one that she just did with Andrew Garfield. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_03Didn't see it.
SPEAKER_05I haven't seen it either.
unknownYeah. And I don't know the name. I don't know.
SPEAKER_03And then didn't she do one with George Clooney just soon before that?
SPEAKER_05Can I say friends? Is it only movies or can't do TV shows count? Because she was really cute in her episode of Friends. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um can you keep my I think I'm at the end of my Julia Roberts turn right now.
SPEAKER_05And what's funny is if I go to IMDB, I'll see the 87 films she's been in that I've seen. Right. And I'll be like, oh yeah. Yeah. But as soon as as soon as you're asked to come up with stuff. Nothing.
SPEAKER_03Psychologist, what's that all about? That's ADHD. That sounds
Brought To You By
SPEAKER_03right.
SPEAKER_05That's that's that. Check, check, check. Every time I read a list about ADHD, I'm like.
SPEAKER_03Um, so thanks, Julia Roberts, for stumping us. Julia, we love you.
SPEAKER_05Lovely, lovely thing.
SPEAKER_03I I want to watch Notting Hill again.
SPEAKER_05I loved her reaction to Ava Victor and Sorry Baby at I think the Golden Globes. I don't know this story. She Julia was she's a fan. She's a fan. Yeah. And uh so am I. And how exciting for your directorial debut. To get a shout-out.
SPEAKER_03To get a shout out from the Julia Roberts. I also want to rewatch Aaron Brokovich, because boy, what a movie. What a movie.
SPEAKER_05It's a great script, too. It's a great read. Yeah. If you're studying screenplays.
SPEAKER_03And as a sustainability and you know, eco-content person, that's at the top. Yep. Pretty good. Alright, so we did our Cinephile. Great. Um, so now sorry. Sorry. We're gonna focus and we're gonna talk about Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. And we are going to give our OG rating.
SPEAKER_05So that's like when we first watched it, like as children? Yeah, and I think our first time that you ever watched it. What what was your do you even remember the first time you watched?
SPEAKER_03I can't, I cannot remember the first time I watched it. I I don't know if I saw it in the theater. I don't know if we rented the movie. We were not a family that had a ton. We had like the Disney clamshell movies. Remember in the in the like white plastic clamshell? Yeah. We had those movies, but we didn't have a ton of like VHS tapes.
SPEAKER_05No, my grandpa learned how to tape from the TV. From the TV.
SPEAKER_03Oh my god, that's probably my grandpa did too. That's probably how I saw it for the first time.
SPEAKER_05So we had a bunch of those with like,
Cinephile Round
SPEAKER_05and he used his typewriter to type the titles of them onto the Kodak.
SPEAKER_03My grandpa used to write it in his like chicken scratch handwriting. Oh my god, you're like unlocking memories. That is 100% how I saw this movie. Yeah. What thank you, grandpas. Yeah, thanks, Gramps. For rest in peace. I know. R.I.P. We miss you. We love you.
SPEAKER_05But it is really cute to think of them like sitting there and being like, oh, this is coming on. I better record it for my grandpa's.
SPEAKER_03He had drawers of VHS tapes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05We had the most random, we had My Little Ponies Escape from Katrina, like a very random My Little Ponies episode, one random Lady Lovely Locks, one random rose petal place. Like he must have just one afternoon been like, I'm gonna tape all the kids' content. That's so sweet.
SPEAKER_03We we had um like original Looney Tunes. So great. I'm glad we watched it with grandpa's. Um my my original score was five out of five Atlantic Cities. Five out of five haircutting shears. Those were good shears. Yeah, they were.
SPEAKER_05They're really solid. They were, and I was really reflecting on myself and the influence that this film had on me as I had just butchered my own hair earlier and then and completely forgot that that's how the movie opens.
SPEAKER_03Wait, when did you like you saw this movie and then you went to give yourself a haircut?
SPEAKER_05No, like yesterday I was like, yes, I was like, this hair is unruly. I'll cut it myself. And then I said, oops.
SPEAKER_03For everyone at home, Shannon's hair is up in a bun right now, so I can't see any changes her hair. It looks not it's fine.
SPEAKER_05When it's but over here, there's really a a sh a round brush. Do we need some more blending right there? It can't go shorter, it can't go any shorter. I have curly hair, so it it it's pretty forgiving when it's styled because it's supposed to be. I try to do Julia Roberts, my best friend's wedding, like the different layers that she had with the curls. Can we bring back 90s curls?
SPEAKER_03There are some things from the 90s we should bring back, some things we should not.
SPEAKER_05Yes, correct. Um, but if we could bring back 90s curls, yes, for me, that would be nice.
SPEAKER_03So five out of five haircutting shears. Haircutting shears. So that was OG rating. Now, what is our current rating? I'm keeping it out
First & Current Experiences
SPEAKER_03of five. I'm I'm five out of five Atlantic Cities. Yeah, yeah. I love this little film. I love it. Oh my god. I started watching it again today. I love it. I a meeting got pushed back, and so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna watch this again.
SPEAKER_01And now, a feature presentation.
SPEAKER_03I love the music. Ugh. Okay, I gotta pull out my notes app because I started watching this. Rudy the cat and I put it on last night. By the way, he loved it. He loved it. And Rudy doesn't always like films. Zelda liked this one. Zelda Dog did not. She doesn't care for the horses.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I she understands the concept of a TV, which is for her anything with a screen. So like a television itself or my laptop or the phone. And I have to, if I tell her that something's on the TV, she'll settle. I was watching this projected onto my ceiling, and she was like, that is not the TV. That is a horse coming down through coming at her.
SPEAKER_03She's like the original people who saw that train movie. Yes. And she's like, I gotta go.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03She was like, not cool with it. Like a few minutes in because I was just watching it and like letting it wash over me and loving it. And I was like, wait, I have to take notes because I have to talk about this movie. So I do what this movie starts with some text on a black screen. And the text says, This movie is based on the true life story of a young girl who dared to live her dreams. And my God, if that didn't set me off on a path in my life, it's because of this movie and these kinds of movies that I believe I can be a stupid actor, you know? Like just follow your dreams.
SPEAKER_05Just follow your dreams.
SPEAKER_03Just go jump off a 40-foot thing on a horse. It's not a big deal.
SPEAKER_05Next time casting asks me to leave their office, I'm hooking my feet around the chair. Not leaving here until you give me a role. I want to read about that in the train.
SPEAKER_03I have the curls. So yeah, the opening line was really it hit me as a grown adult reading it for the first time in a few years. This is part of my regular rotation of what Ben and I called brain happy movies. These are movies that um helped me with some store-bought serotonin. Yeah. And so this is when in the regular rotation. I haven't seen it in a bit. I've been the Bridgerton has been hitting that for me. It's only been a few years since the last time I saw this. How long for you? I can't remember the last time that I watched it.
SPEAKER_05Although it feels like something that once it once Disney Plus added all of its classics. Is this on Disney Plus? Yeah, girl.
SPEAKER_03I watched it on a DVD.
SPEAKER_05Okay. Wow. Yeah. I've had that little guy for years. When I moved into my tiny house, I got rid of my DVD collection and my DVD player.
SPEAKER_06And now I think that might have been a mistake.
SPEAKER_01The review review shelf help. A physical media sycophant fandom show.
SPEAKER_03Well, if anyone has been to our house, you know, we very much believe in physical media. Um that was one of the sweetest gifts that Ben got me. Because my my DVD player, we lost the the remote in like the all of the moves, you know, and and so he found one on the internet, and now I can have a remote for my I I used to have to like go up to it and press the things. I can't, I can't. That's too much. Um so now I have a remote. So this movie is set in 1932. And so in 1991, you know, that's 60 years. So for context for us, that would be the 60s, right? Is that math? That is math. Yeah. So like watching it in the 90s is like if well, watching it today is like if it were the 60s. In the 60s. So still very much a period film, even in the 90s, and definitely now. Yeah. I just want to take a second to talk about the style of filmmaking of this film. They literally do not make films like this anymore. First of all, shot on film, shot on 35. And everything on location. Everything on location. There isn't like 15 million types of coverage and shots. You're lucky if you get one wide. Sometimes they stay in the wide, and that's the scene. And sometimes your coverage is just two mediums. They just let the scene play out, and they're very selective with inserts. The inserts are pretty much always with the horses. Or her um when she started putting her feet around the chair. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or when she was getting the rock out of the horse's hoof in the beginning.
SPEAKER_05For the horses, like those close-ups with the horses in the end with lightning when she is really tuning in the hands. Yes. The hands reaching, like all the trick.
SPEAKER_03The inserts were very uh thoughtful, thoughtful. And it's just it was very peaceful to me. You know, like they just let it play out. Yes. They just let it play out. And it was so so beautiful. They have some craneshots. There's two specific crane shots in this film. And you know, that that's back when there is a person up on a like giant crane moving the camera, and you like see the movement happening because now we have like robots, right? That do it and move as they're programmed. These sweeping crane shots as she comes into the fair to see Dr. Carver the for the first time. Um, and then uh what was the second one? Oh, I think it's it's the the final dive that she does. There's a a crane shot there that is just like incredible. Um, so really beautiful filmmaking that I don't think this got credit for. I think people saw it as a a movie for girls. This is a girls uh kids' movie, horse movie, but this was a stunning film as from a filmmaker. The costuming, the sets, obviously the animal actors and uh the acting company, you know, it's just it really is a wonderfully made film.
SPEAKER_05It is, it's so textured, especially, you know, it it takes place right after the Great Depression. Well, it's right after they're still they're recovering from it, but they're still hurting from it. So you hear the creak of the wooden floors in the different houses that they're in, or in the little shop in the beginning. Like there is no squeaky door. You know, like there's no reason to be in that shop. But they built this beautiful set or found some shop.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the squeaky well, I mean, back back then there is more soundstage, you know, like standing sets existing, you know, they've all been uh well, not all of them, but a lot of them have been torn down at this point in time, uh, in the present. Yeah, but really, yeah, beautiful filmmaking and the foley in this film is really which you talked about the the um floors and the squeaking. So in that first scene, so that first horse is also called Lightning. Um I always wanted a horse called Lightning too because of this. Um I don't have haven't had one yet. Um, but she now what was I saying?
SPEAKER_05I'm talking about horses and I get let's so we begin we begin at the beginning where Sonora and Arnette are orphans living under the care of their Aunt Helen. After their yes, and there are so many quick ways where we learn that Sonora is a wild heart that can't be broken, certainly not by Aunt Helen. She chops off her hair to try to look like one of the ladies in the ads for Atlantic City in the magazine. Her aunt makes her wear a paper bag on her head and is like, you know, Sonora's running late for school, and she gets into even more trouble.
SPEAKER_03So the the school so she sees their horse lightning. It's a a big draft horse, like a Clydesdale type horse, and he's limping. So of course she goes over to him and you know, what's wrong? And she sees that he's got a rock in his foot, so she helps get it out, one of those close-ups. And you know, she's loving on her horse, and the school bullies walk by and they're like making fun of her, and she's defending her horse. She's like, he can jump so high, and they're like, Yeah, prove it. And so she does, and ends up they jump over a fence, but they break the fence and the cows get out. Yeah. So she has to then get the cows back in. She's very late to school. And the teacher's pissed at her. Teacher's not nice, and then the the bully's still going at it. And she punches her in the face, punches her right, which is great. Um, but then she gets expelled from school.
SPEAKER_05So go back to the and so her aunt sells lightning the horse, sells lightning and decides to give Sonora up to the state. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Not Arnette, her little sister. The little one's doing fine. She gets to stay with the family. Sonora, you're out of here. You're out of here. You know, that was that was a moment, because you know, as a child watching it, being like, oh my god, selling lightning. Yeah, selling lightning, and then also like kicking her out. What do you mean? But then, you know, watching it as an adult
Start The Movie (conversation)
SPEAKER_03where you were a person barely getting by, you have your own children, and you're trying to take care of your deceased sister's children. I probably want that teenager to get the hell out of my house as well. And she's like causing an Aruckus, and um and so Sonora decides to run away. To run away in the night. Yeah. And she she's got that ad. She's found that ad. Wanted a diving girl. That's right. Must. Um, so she she runs away in the night, packs her photo, her few clothes that she has, and her um the magazine illustration of the woman in Atlantic City. All your dreams come true in Atlantic City. And she runs away to the state fair where this ad says that a Dr. Carver is waiting to find his new diving girl. So uh we come into this fun fair, we meet Clifford, who's created a contraption to cook the hot dogs. It's like a on a bicycle chain, and the like hot dogs are like going around.
SPEAKER_05I wasn't sure how this medical advice holds up today, but he burns himself on the hot dog spoke. Yeah. And so Sonora runs up to him, spits on him, and then rubs dirt on the burn. Yeah. She says that the mud will help with the blistering. Yeah, I mean, maybe. That's their meat cute. That's their friendship meat cute. And he gives her a hot dog. Yeah. Because she hasn't eaten and she's very hungry. You could see that she's very hungry, and so he She's biting her lips, watching him first, and that's how she sees him get burnt. She also, she's very observant and cunning. She sees Al get into some trouble. Our first time seeing Al, he's in a bit of a dust-up. He's been cheating at cards and he's caught out, and they're like, I know you got that ace in your hat. And they shove him over, the hat flies off, and the ace flies out of the hat, and Snora sees it first and steps on it and hides it. Yeah. And then the guys They're like, Well, he's not here.
SPEAKER_03I guess we're wrong. Yeah. Which I which I appreciate. Yeah. You know?
SPEAKER_05It's true. Yeah. They they walked away from that. Yeah. He's like, hey, I was wrong. And sorry about that. Yeah. Um, and Al's like, Yeah, you were wrong.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, bitch. I gotta go. Um, and uh, and she she pockets the card. She does, which she brings back uh a little later, and then she goes to see Dr. Carver for the first time. I know we probably shouldn't do a blow by blow of this whole movie. We can't do the whole thing, but but this meeting, this scene is so good, and I think you can watch this film and be like, God, Dr. Carver, he's such like a hard ass, he's just so gruff and mean and like this nasty old man, and in a in a like um mean way, not like a gross way. But he is tough on her, but every scene, and again, watching this as an adult, he really cared for her and he really tried to take care of her.
SPEAKER_05Both of the men see her grit and decide to give it a chance. Now, Dr. Carver at first is like, nope, get out get out of here. You're a child. We'll talk about her age in a second. Yes, we will put a pin in that. Al was also like, get out of here, kid, except that she revealed the ace. Yeah, and he's like, Oh kind of o'er one. Yeah. So she's taken on first just to be a stable hand. Right. But her tenacity is what gets them to get is what convinces Al to help her train to um be a diving girl. Yeah. And you know, when she's able to do it, they both show respect. And she steps in when Marie gets hurt.
SPEAKER_03And cause because Marie did something she shouldn't.
SPEAKER_05When you're around horses, Marie did not respect her tenacity. No.
SPEAKER_03And she did not respect that horse. She did not. Marie got on to so okay, we missed a part where Sonora is on the farm, she's shoveling literal shit, and um, Al brings back a new horse that he won. That he won in a poker tournament. Al has a gambling problem. He really does. Um, but it works out. We get lightning, this beautiful gray horse, but it's wild. It's this is an unbroken horse. So he and Sonora in secret train this horse. This horse and Sonora have this bond, they create this bond, and she starts to understand lightning's. She also names this horse lightning for her first lightning. She understands the boundaries of this horse. And then Marie, once they reveal that they have trained this horse, Marie's like, Great, I'm gonna get on him. I'm gonna show you some things. And Sonora's like, hey, now, like he doesn't like that. She's like, You don't know anything. And the horse reacts and rears, and Marie falls off and dislocates her arm. Yeah, is that right? I think her shoulder or something. And um, so they've got a show in three days. You gotta respect the horses, y'all.
SPEAKER_05Gotta respect the horses, and also Marie was not a girl's girl. She was not. Here is her chance, and there was like a really cute scene where Sonora's laying on the bed watching Marie get ready. Marie's beautiful. Yeah, she's a beautiful lady, you know, and Sonora's this stable hand with this wild haircut, like clearly has not had a feminine influence, a loving feminine influence. And Marie is Marie never, yeah, she's a diva. She's she's a typical like villain diva.
SPEAKER_00Here's a reality check diva.
SPEAKER_03And karma comes for her. Yeah, she tells Sonora, like, um, you need to like work on your looks and put some more effort into what you got going on here. And then laughs at her when she does. So Sonora goes to the beauty parlor and maybe doesn't get the best hairdo, but she was trying, and Dr. Carver and Al did not laugh at her. They did not say a thing. They just kept the cream dinner. Yeah. And and Marie starts laughing at her. No. Not a girl's girl.
SPEAKER_05Okay, we need to talk about that. We need to talk about that. We need to talk about that. We're at the point where we have to. We can't continue any longer. Okay. In real life, there was a 20-year age difference. Really? Between Sonora and Sonora and Al. But she was not a child when she showed up.
SPEAKER_03Because in this in this film, we think she's about 17.
SPEAKER_05Let's be generous. I know, like, because she's in school and her aunt is talking about how she's gonna go to the state until she comes of age. Right, which is pretty soon.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So we could say 17.
SPEAKER_03We're trying to say 17. Maybe, maybe she's 18 by the time this has happened. Maybe. But he is older.
SPEAKER_05The actors had a tenure age difference. And let me double check that.
SPEAKER_03They never say his age in the film.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_03But but they're sort of like, yeah, let's put that on the bottom. Maybe um mid-twenties in the film? When we when they meet? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Younger to mid-20s? I I think he's meant to be mid-20s and she's maybe 17.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, that's right. Um I know it was 1932 and they did things real different back then.
SPEAKER_05Like back then, you were just looking to get married.
SPEAKER_03My grandma got married at 18. Um, my granny, she was married at 18. The day after her high school graduation.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So things were different. We do things differently now. Yeah. Gabrielle was 20. Okay.
SPEAKER_05She's filming this. So he was 30. She was 30. Okay. So there's that. You know? And I okay. I I really went down. I should have I should have written down my findings. I was like, well, it's just in a few hours, I'll remember. Surely I'll remember. Okay, she was born in 1904. Started diving in 1923. So she was 19. Okay. IRL. Well, he's 20 years older. Oh, 20 years. So he's 39.
SPEAKER_03That's a big difference. That's a big yikes from me.
SPEAKER_05They got married uh five years later. So they got married when she's 24 and he's 44, you know. Yeah. But then again, they stayed married until he died. That's so cool. So they knew. And also, um, when Sonora went to see this film, take in the film. I don't know if if that uh experienced the film. Experience the film. I mean, spoiler alert at this point, we're all here to discuss this film. She is going to the real Sonora Webster Carver hit the water with her eyes open on a dive and detached her retinas and was blind for the rest of her life, but was able to continue diving. So I I want to use the correct language for um people who are vision impaired. Do they go see a movie? To go watch a movie. Isn't that interesting? Take in a film. She did say commentary about um some of the portrayals, you know, because there's a moment where Al and his father get into an argument, and Al grabs like a board, a board from the fence to like go to hit him, you know, and snores like, I don't appreciate that. That never happened with my husband and father-in-law. Let's not, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so there's a very contentious relationship in the film between Dr. Carver and his son, Al. Yeah. And Al's mother, uh, Dr. Carver's wife have has left them many, many, many years ago. She sees two men. Yeah, so Al leaves. He does. They have they have this big blow-up argument, he and his dad. Yeah. And so Al gets out of there. But Sonora says, you know, write to me and he says, Yeah, I will every day because they've had this kind of sort of a love connection happening. Which still feels too too. When I was watching it, I was like, Oh, I don't remember that this happening so ideally. I um watching it, so so there's this scene where they're swimming together and they get and he starts kissing her. Yeah. And you can she's uncomfortable and she leaves the situation. Yeah. And I was like, good for you. Yeah. You didn't like that, you didn't consent to it, and you got out of there. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And it was it was right after the makeover.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Which felt like both men were like, Okay, nobody ruined this for this little girl who's trying to be, and then he kisses her.
SPEAKER_03Oh, but then right after that, Al comes in the house, and Dr. Carver's like, You leave that girl alone. She's young. He knew what was going on, and he's like, You leave her alone. She has a future ahead of her, don't try anything. Yeah. And Al was like, I haven't. And he's like, Good. Um, and then you know, they have the mouse back in the house.
unknownThat's right.
SPEAKER_03So I I appreciated both that Sonora got out of that situation, and also that Dr. Carver stood up for her, yeah, was always looking out for her. Even sometimes when it felt like he was being real tough on her, yeah, he he never pushed her farther than she could go. That's right.
SPEAKER_05And I will say, Al wasn't just trying to make a pass at her. That's right. Al was in love with her. He was. He writes to her every day. Every day. Near every day. Near every day. And his father keeps the letters.
SPEAKER_03They never get to Sonora. Which goes out.
SPEAKER_05He burns them, he throws them out, he hides them.
SPEAKER_03She checks the mail every day. She asks him. She asks, and he says, no. Yeah. It's pretty rough. It's pretty rough. So, like a significant amount of time goes by. We don't know how much. It doesn't really say. Right. But in this time, Sonora has become the lead diving girl. They're touring, they're doing the shows. Yes. Marie leaves. Right. Because she is mad that. About shared billing.
unknownThat's right.
SPEAKER_03And she wanted a raise.
SPEAKER_05She wanted her own dressing room. And so she leaves to go become a real actress. That's right. Dr. Carver leaves for a few days to go and secure some shows. And while he's gone, uh Lightning gets very sick.
SPEAKER_03He does. Now, in this moment, as as a former horse owner, thank God I never had to deal with this situation. But for those listening, Lightning is colicking. Yeah. Which is very, very serious. And Sonora is by herself with this horse as he's colicking. So signs of a horse colicking is they're pawing the ground, they're laying down, they won't get back up. And you really want horses to be on their feet. She tries to call for help, but the phone line's not working. She can't get any help. And I watching it this time around was just like so stressed. Um, because colic is deadly. So essentially, horses can't throw up. Um, part of their just biology, horses can't do that. And so if they get a tummy ache, so they're bloating or they are constipated or whatever, if they can't pass their manure, really bad things can happen. And an impaction can happen, which has to be um repaired through surgery, and this all happens very quickly. Essentially, it's like a torsion of their intestines can happen, which cuts off blood flow, which uh they can try to repair it with surgery, but often it's it's a death sentence for a horse. So when we see that she's just laying next to him through a whole entire night, I'm like, oh my god, this is such a movie because if this were real life, yeah, this horse probably would not have made it. Yes. So it's a very situ a very serious situation that lightning is in in this moment, um, that Sonora is having to deal with by herself. You know, she she sleeps in the barn with him. He's it's very sweet. And then who walks in the next morning? Oh, hi Mark.
SPEAKER_05Al to the rescue. Al, right in the nick of time. He knows exactly what's going on, he knows exactly what to do. We gotta get this horse on his feet, we gotta get water in him.
SPEAKER_03Yep, and they they like pull once. The horse gets up and they walk, and and then everything's better.
SPEAKER_05Well, it's a Disney movie, and thank goodness, because I was very stressed. So it's like nice um to know that they're like, and then lightning lived happily ever.
SPEAKER_03And then it was over. Thank you. And then he had a nice poo and it was great. Yeah, we don't see that, but you know, he's better.
SPEAKER_05Now, of course, he's not completely recovered. Um, so Sonora can't dive on Lightning, and they have now made it to Atlantic City. More news that Al comes home with. That's right.
SPEAKER_03He has secured a residency at Atlantic City because he knew how much Atlantic City meant to Sonora.
SPEAKER_05Where all your dreams come true.
SPEAKER_03He went there on his travels, talked to uh Mr. Slater, yeah, uh an event uh organizer, the guy there at Atlantic City on the boardwalk and said, I got a show for you. And then so they all of their work had dried up for the horse show. And so this Atlantic City gig was like their saving grace. So they're they're getting in the car, they're ready to go, and one of the most beautiful sequences of the film. I was just gonna pass right by then. Sure. I repress it every time. Autumnal it like it was golden light. Um, they're driving to Atlantic City, and Dr. Carver starts rubbing his chest and trying to apologize to Sonora. Sweating, and he's apologizing for his wrongs in his life for for hiding the letters from owl. And um and says, you know, like maybe I'm gonna let's pull over, let's have a little stop. And she's like, Great, we'll have a picnic. And Dr. Carver goes off by himself, sits under a tree, sits under a tree, he knows what's going on.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and a fatal, a fatal breeze blows past the picnic that only Sonora senses.
SPEAKER_03And it was so poetic and beautiful because we see Dr. Carver under the tree, we know what's happening. We see the breeze hit Sonora, we see her look towards him, and then we swipe to reveal the funeral. Yeah. And we have the funeral for Dr. Carver. He passed away from a heart attack on the way to Atlantic City, where his son is taking over the show, you know, like it was this reconnection moment with his son, this dream of his, and he doesn't get to go the rest of the way with them. Yeah, but he did get to have catharsis with the people he loved. He did, so that's nice. So we have a funeral, and they have to go, they have the show must go on. So they have to go to Atlantic City. And as you said, Lightning was still recovering from his um from his colic, his serious, not so serious colic. And so they have to use red lips. Red lips. It's Al's.
SPEAKER_05So Al is now the showman, he's the announcer.
SPEAKER_03Like Al's first show. Al's first show. He's very nervous, he's very nervous, very nervous. He's never done it before, he's always his dad.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, he does a great job. Yeah, um, he also throws in a special surprise. He sure does. And I appreciate okay, here's how I feel about proposals that are in public. Cause this happens a lot. You see this, you know, commentary about like a woman wins an Olympic medal, and that's when her fianc or you know, her boyfriend proposes. Like you need to propose when it's your Olympic medal moment, like when you're in your award speech, your big moment. Um, maybe not your partners, unless you guys have discussed that. But I like that he he takes this. Opportunity to propose to Sonora live in front of everyone.
SPEAKER_03She's climbing up the ladder to do the jump. Yes. And so she runs down and she says, Yes, of course. And everyone's cheering. This is her first show in Atlantic City. They've just gotten engaged. She's about to do the dive on a horse she's never dove with that we've seen.
SPEAKER_05Yes. We've Marie dove on Red Lips a lot. Um Sonora's always been on Lightning, and none of them are used to having a grandstand band. Yeah. Um and so, yes, on this dive right at the top, bang of the cymbals, Red Lips gets startled and stumbles. They topple down, and Sonora hits the water with her eyes open. Redlips is not injured. That's like the first thing she asks. Is he okay?
SPEAKER_03Um and Clifford and Al are like, no, are you okay? And she's like, Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Because her we see uh in a very cool camera moment, uh, like her eyes are like blurry, but then come back. And so she had her vision, at least in the film. Yes. For a little because like a detached retina.
SPEAKER_05I don't know. So in the not a doctor.
SPEAKER_03Because in the film, she goes fading a couple days and it fades, and then finally it's lights out. And so they have a doctor come in and say, you know, you had this impact, there's a there's a blood clot, and you didn't see a doctor right away because she said no. Al tried to get her to a doctor, she said no, and so in that time her retina detached and it was permanent. I don't know if medically now they could have done anything, but back then they certainly couldn't. And yeah, the real Sonora Webster Carver did go blind. Fully blind, yeah. Detached retinas in both eyes.
SPEAKER_05And so this is the first time that Sonora's having a moment of doubt and she's in denial about going blind, losing her vision. She keeps saying it's gonna come back temporary. And then as she's starting to accept it, she's like, We can't get married. I don't want you taking care of me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And we see Al being very sweet of like, I love that moment where he he takes her hand and he is like showing her where her clothes are in the closet. Like, these are the blue ones, these are the green ones, these are the white ones, and really trying to make their home more accessible for her. Mr.
SPEAKER_05Slater's like, we gotta I'm gonna shut you down. I can give you a week. I understand that your family's going through something, but this tower was expensive. Yeah. And so they bring back Marie. They sure do. Marie comes back to do the diving. There's a moment where Marie is um taking new publicity photos, and they want her to get on lightning, and she's like, No, no, I'll just stand next to him. And one of the photographers comes over to Sonora is like, honey, you're in the picture. Can you get can you get out? Yeah. Blind girl, shoo. Brutal, brutal for Sonora.
SPEAKER_03That was rough.
SPEAKER_05Sonora decides she wants to dive again. Al's like, uh I don't think so. I don't want you to get hurt. And she's like, I'm doing it. And he's like, Okay, here we go. I have to respect you. Another training montage, another training montage, and she keeps falling and falling and falling. And Al is like, honey, it's over.
SPEAKER_03But Sonora, she doesn't stop. She's a wild heart that can't not be broken.
SPEAKER_05Wild hearts can't be broken, Al. You can't break this wild heart.
SPEAKER_03Um, so during a lightning storm, she goes to the barn and she has her moment with lightning. Yeah, they mind meld. They mind meld.
SPEAKER_07Usually we just type a bunch of catches.
SPEAKER_03Then it's like magically the next day. And also Clifford is like Clifford's company. He believes. And so Clifford uh they they have this whole plan. Yeah. And Clifford locks Marie in her little trailer. Yes. And Sonora's in the audience. Yep. Nearby the um the tower. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So you know, Al's like, okay, honey, sit here for the show. Are you okay? She's like, I will. She starts stripping in the seats. The man next to her is like, what is and then she makes her way, counting her steps to the tower. Yes. Climbs up. Clifford releases lightning. From the stable. That seems very far away. Lightning's like, hell yeah. He's like the horse. In the film, you know, just running circles to jump again.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. He's like, I gotta get to I'm gonna go jump. He runs across Atlantic City. Yeah. Runs up, but he also he's very polite. He waits at the Sonora to do the wave. Yeah. And then lightning trudges up there. A child is like, Look, Mom, there's a girl climbing the town.
SPEAKER_05And everyone's like, oh, and it's like, no, Sonora, no. She slips at the top a little bit on the ladder. Yeah. Um, climbs, climbs up. Here comes lightning. These are the hand inserts. Like, like her reaching for the harness in the saddle. She gets on. She dives. Success.
SPEAKER_03It's a perfect dive. Perfect. And she goes on to do it for decades. Yes. Her and Al get married. Do get married. Do they have children in real life, or do we know? Um, I don't know. Not that you have to. I don't think that's a good one. But just curious. And I also love that it's so 90s. It's just like a freeze-frame ending. I know. It was a very abrupt ending. It really was. I wonder if there was more to the script, and they just like it's gotta be 80 minutes, guys. We gotta cut this thing. We ran out of money. Lock it in, guys. But it's a very sweet, like, embrace. And then, you know, Sonora's voiceover comes over and is like, and my life was great. And we got married, and I I continued diving for years. Mm-hmm. And that was an hour and 28 minutes. Yeah. It's so just uh it just goes, you know, like it's a one of those films that where there's nothing wasted. Yeah. Very economical with the storytelling. Yeah. Um, I will say it is kind of a tragic wig on Cliff Robertson as Dr. Carver.
unknownHuh.
SPEAKER_03I don't know. I'm really picky about wigs. This is fucking too hard. I didn't notice you in mind it.
SPEAKER_05I was taken in by those twinkly eyes. Well, yes. For me, Cliff. Cliff was just Clifford, the character, because Dr. Carver was played by a man named Clifford Robertson. Clifford. Clifford, the little inventor. Yes. The little sidekick, his motorcycle cage. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I'm always like his death-defying stunts. Yeah. Which again, another dream that came true. That's right. Lots of dreams coming true in this film. It's a Disney movie. You really love to see it. But it's also a film where there's like real stakes, and it's not just like, I have a dream to climb a mountain, and then training montage, and she's on top of the mountain. There are real stakes, and you see tragedy, you know, like human experiences.
SPEAKER_05A young female orphan in the 1930s. Yeah. Trying to make her way in the world. What a fun way to do it. If you want to be an actor, you know, a showman. You're like, Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, what a life. What an origin story.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I do have to shout out to the costume department because I thought the costumes were incredible. That's so good. The um I wonder if these were rental pieces or if they built them because they look so perfectly distressed and so paper thin. Like they've been worn so much you can see through them. Sonora's dress really was threadbare, you know?
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_03Um, so she had so many cute her writing lights, those high the jawed purse with the beret hat and the tank top.
SPEAKER_05If you see me wearing that, I know just deal with it. I was like, on a bad hair day, I need to be wearing that hat. Why do we get rid of it?
SPEAKER_03I mean, I'm like watching this film and I'm like, my hair is literally hair. I mean, didn't did my dream come true of being Sonora Webster? Webster.
SPEAKER_05Sonora Weaver, where'd that come from?
SPEAKER_03Oh, Webster. Yeah, Webster. Um, but like her wardrobe is what I want to wear. That little, um, she had like a blouse with butterflies on it. Did you catch that one? And with these like teal pants, and I was like, I'll wear that right now. I just I wanted all of her writing. All of it. Yeah. One of my um hyper fixations right now is like color analysis. Okay. And so I believe she's in autumn. And I love that they dress her to her palette, and I think that's why it looks so good because sometimes they don't and it doesn't look good. And you're like, I don't, I can't tell why. And it's often because it's the wrong palette of that actor.
SPEAKER_05Well, and specifically when Snora, because Sonora is riding horses, she is getting dirty, she's not wearing makeup. You're like, yeah, each time she has her makeup done, it looks inappropriate on her. It looks almost garish, you know? The it in the same way, like the first time she does her dive, she's afraid to take a bow. And she's asking, right? She's actually like, I won't bow. She has to bow. I also loved when she's like, What if I can't do it? Will you hate me? And he's like, Mm-hmm. Yes, I will. Um, but yeah, her silly bow is how I feel about you know, her red lipstick.
SPEAKER_03Like, yeah, she's trying, but it's but I will say uh the it was the the Atlantic City shows that she got makeup the growth, you know, from to match herself, which is I think when I was like, oh my god, the color palette, because she's wearing a dark green bathing costume, and she has a lip that is right for her, whereas when she dressed up, she's wearing like this light powder blue dress and this makeup that is not the right color for her, and and so it really stands out, and you're like, this doesn't look good, and a lot of that is because they played with the colors of it, which um means you have a really good design team. Um it is no, just the whole texture and look of it, it just looks so real. It looks like it was and the
Meet Me Halfway (through the movie)
SPEAKER_03suits of Al, like those big shoulders and um his uh the shoes. Yes, the shoes with the um what there's like the two colors. What are those called?
SPEAKER_05I'm like Mary Jane's saddle shoes?
SPEAKER_03No, not for men. Whatever the male male zoot suit shoes. Yeah, so really yeah, fun. And and the costume journey from you know where they started to going into these fancy zoot suits of the Atlantic City and um and that big costume piece of course that was Dr. Carver's signature piece, the fringe jacket that was a gift from Buffalo Bill Cody.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so the real Dr. Carver, a true showman, had had a couple of different types of shows before his diving show, and claimed that he was born in 1840, but was probably born in 1850. He told many tales. Uh, he told he told many tales, and historians have had to sort of piece together which among them were true and what was real and when exactly events transpired and everything, but was definitely like in the mid-1800s in Sioux territory.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so it could be an authentic jacket from the region, but maybe not from Buffalo Bill Cody. I don't know. That was part of the lore script, you know. I don't know, I don't know what's real, and but a really fun uh costume piece. Is this a female gaze film? Utah! Yeah, give me two. This is a female gaze film. I really think it is, yeah, and it was made by men, so like good for them.
SPEAKER_05It is so rare. Whenever I see a male screenwriter and a male director on a teenage girl project, it doesn't feel good. I'm like, what are we doing? We'll be careful. Yeah, it is That is dangerous. It can it can be really bad, it can be really yucky, really weird. These guys nailed it. I think because they they um the director uh Steve had read the book or was given the book and was like, oh, this would make a great feature film.
SPEAKER_03Oh, so it was the director that optioned the book. Let me see if that's correct.
SPEAKER_05Producer Paul. But I believe so.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, that it's it's such a tricky thing to do. There's so many times where I've seen female stories told that we're not uh representative of them, we're not female gays, but and also because this is um the romantic element to it, it's about a young girl following her dreams, and all of it was, you know, she she was given the she was kind of in the driver's seat of all of it.
SPEAKER_05Because so often a quote strong female, a strong female lead is stubborn and feisty in a in an obnoxious way, not in in a um what's the word when you're actually kind of judging someone looking down on them? Like judgmental? Haughty it it this happens a lot because I've I've always been a big reader and and I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy, and so many fantasy novels and stories will have someone who where she's supposed to be strong, but she's actually just really obnoxious because Sonora Webster was determined and her stubbornness was grit. It wasn't just for the sake of being stubborn, it wasn't to be an antagonist, it wasn't to be troublesome, it was to reclaim her power. And I loved this version, like I loved this heroine, but her teacher didn't love her, her aunt didn't love her, you know, they didn't they didn't recognize the grit and determination, they didn't they wanted her to be small and meek, and she was strong and courageous, and that's where her stubbornness came from. It it wasn't just for the sake of being rebellious, yeah.
SPEAKER_03It was like she didn't fit in that world, you know, like she was bigger, she was being stuffed into a smaller box, right? And you know, it was her teacher was kind of probably the biggest representation of the patriarchy and standards in this of the time. And then Sonora got out of there into a place that was bigger where she could be her full self and was supported by these lovely men. And also, we never saw because you know, a lot of times you'll see a strong female lead, and then she's having like a meltdown, or she's having, you know, some relationship with a man, and you know, she she has a sexy look, right? She's walking around in panties or something. You don't have that here, they're very respectful about how she's dressed, and even when she tried to be sexy, it was actually one of the most covered-up costumes that she wears.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and you know, they yeah, they never ogle her when she's in her diving costume, no, not at all. Like, that's her work uniform.
SPEAKER_03They respected her, they absolutely did, and she was doing dangerous stuff. The relationship with Al, like he was constantly asking, like, how are you? Are you okay? It was like a relationship based in care, yeah. Um, and not like a physical uh element to it. Yeah, he admired her. Are we getting the rap? Is that what that's I don't know?
SPEAKER_01I want to be the supportive person with the information. Oh, thank you.
SPEAKER_05Oh, producer Paul.
SPEAKER_01Producer Paul. Steve Minor did not option Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. Disney optioned the book and then hired the writers and the directors. So this was like a Disney engine kind of thing.
SPEAKER_03So the development department of Disney.
SPEAKER_01I also have a comment and a couple questions. Okay, producer Paul, get in here. Ratings.
SPEAKER_05Great, great.
SPEAKER_01Comment. I find it interesting that Jessica has brought a couple movies about horse diving.
SPEAKER_03Oh my goodness. You should um listen to our episode about the fall. Which I still haven't seen. Shannon, I know it right now. Yeah. It's one of the the most one of the best movies ever made.
SPEAKER_01I think it's I mean, visually and on so many levels, it's like I want to rewatch it, but like it's a special, special movie. Couple questions. One, the Zooch suit shoe. Is that the spectator? Like the black and white like this is where I failed you. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03Producer Paul knows shoes.
SPEAKER_01And then Has anyone seen Point Break?
SPEAKER_03A long time ago.
SPEAKER_01I've always felt like that's a movie from the female gaze. It is a Catherine Bigelow.
SPEAKER_03It is a Catherine Bigelow.
SPEAKER_01And like it's like Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. I mean, Keanu Groano Reeves from a specific point of view, and I just find the movie so fucking fascinating.
SPEAKER_05Keanu Reeves is the female gaze. Keanu Reeves is the female gaze. But I'm not sure that the rest of the film.
SPEAKER_01Point break is I mean, it's very machismo, too.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and just what they are all fighting for is a little silly. I'm not gonna argue with Catherine Bigelow's work.
SPEAKER_01But there's so much like hero worship, like love from Keanu Reeves toward their chemistry is just off the charts.
SPEAKER_05Is it also a little bit savior complex, though? It's been a minute since I've seen it.
SPEAKER_01I I don't know. I would be interested to hear your thoughts about it. On that note, I want to give you two a chance to wrap up. I've outlived my usefulness.
SPEAKER_05And yes, it does appear that the spectator shoe is the zoot suit shoe that we're looking at.
SPEAKER_03That dual tone. I'm glad producer Paul game through on that. Um, so you all can do your spectator shoe shopping. Um, but it sounds like we need to do an episode on um point break. Like we need to come back for that. Um, okay, so Shannon, what is your your final rating now that we've talked about this for a really long time?
SPEAKER_05I'm still giving it five out of five haircutting shears. And I'm glad that there has been so much conversation about animal conservation and and welfare. You know, this this is a film we can't remake, nor should we.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um, I am also gonna give it five out of five Atlantic Cities. I would give it more if I could, probably. I just I I love this film, it makes me so happy. Yeah, I just love everything about it. It's so pretty, it's so inspiring. And yeah, and just to remind us that animal actors need to be really taken care of, and that maybe we should not do some things how we used to, or rethink how we could use uh an animal actor. Bitless bridles, baby, bitless bridles. There is a movement of bitless dressage, neck rein only. It's it's really cool. I love really love horses, guys. Yeah, me too. They're really cool. God, I wish we could have a horse guest with us.
SPEAKER_05I love horses.
SPEAKER_03We really goofed up.
SPEAKER_05I love them.
SPEAKER_03Where's our horse guest?
SPEAKER_05Producer Paul? They're so sweet. Oh god.
SPEAKER_01Me, that I don't know where that one is gonna go.
SPEAKER_05Um, where can we find you online, Jessica?
SPEAKER_03Well, probably more places than I want to be, but um, on Instagram, you can find me at Jessica Aaron Martin. Great. It's just my name. Mine is also my name at Shannon Corbet. Wow. And you people need to follow you so they can know when your TV episodes are coming out. That's true. All three of them that are coming out this year. It's true.
SPEAKER_05We'll talk Hollywood Fringe because I've been trying to decide if I want to bring a new one woman show. And I had so So much fun doing the time machine with you guys last year when I did Napoleon's Horse Sister. I'm like, maybe we gotta I know it's so much fun.
SPEAKER_03One woman show. Go see live theater, everybody. Go to the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Yes. Go see women in in shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Come see us.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, or just us. Your normal, your regular hosts at Run BMC and at Paul Acts Badly.
SPEAKER_03This is just a special, special little interlude. That's right. Where two gals just want to talk about a horse girl. Just a couple of horse girls.
SPEAKER_05Just a couple of horse girls.
SPEAKER_03Trying to talk about horses. Can you tell us a little bit about the music we're about to hear? Okay, I would love to. Um the music is by Jamie Hinwood, Chris Olds, and Matthew Foscett. I think we did it. Bye.
SPEAKER_06Goodbye. Goodbye.
SPEAKER_03Goodbye, everyone.
SPEAKER_06Goodbye, everyone. Thank you so much for coming.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
With Gourley And Rust
Matt Gourley and Paul Rust
How Did This Get Made?
Earwolf and Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas
Blank Check with Griffin & David
Blank Check Productions
The Rewatchables
The Ringer
Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein
Brett Goldstein | Daylight Media
ActionBoyz
Jon Gabrus, Ben Rodgers and Ryan Stanger
Scriptnotes Podcast
John August and Craig Mazin
Unspooled
Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson | Realm
The Yada Yada Podcast
Eric Driscoll and Celina Stillman