4.07 My Eurotrip With The President's Daughter

Connor and Jordan go backpacking through the Eurotrip of your dreams, meeting bald misogynists, bohemian bungeejumpers, and one very sexy secret service agent as they discuss Chasing Liberty, starring Mandy Moore.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

not the first daughter going to Europe for literally 24 hours and like learning about social responsibility. Hello, welcome back. Jay, what did we tell them this episode was going to be about? Do you remember? Doesn't matter because it was wrong. And this is actually an episode about Chasing Liberty. Yay! This is a Chasing Liberty episode. I'm Connor. I work in television marketing in New York City. Hi, I'm Jordan. I'm a writer in New York City. And you're listening to Second Showing. Okay, welcome to the Chasing Liberty episode. This movie came out on January 9th in 2004. It's featuring Mandy Moore. If you've been joining along with us, you know that we're going back and forth for our Mandy Mania season between Amanda Bynes and Mandy Moore. I got to say this from the top. Amanda Bynes is blowing me away. Mandy Moore is featured in an episode in between the Manda Bynes episodes. Actually, I will say this. Every longtime listeners of the podcast will know that every season we have a Winning London episode, which is like the movie that is our favorite movie. That is the reason we chose the headliner. That is the reason we chose to pursue this line of questioning. And this season we have two headliners, Manny Moore and Manda Bynes. We just did last episode... She's the Man, which was 100% our Winning London episode. But I would venture so far as to say that because we have two headliners, we can have two Winning London episodes because this is definitely going to be the best Mandy Moore movie. Yeah, I think it is. I love this movie. A part of it is Matthew Goode. If you guys are Matthew Goode heads. A huge part of it is Matthew Goode. Let me put you on right now to his new TV show, Department Q, on Netflix. I just finished it. That whole thing took me, it blew I probably benched it in a weekend. It's so, so good. He's still so sexy 20 years later. But this is the exact storyline of... First Daughter, if you're a Katie Holmes fan out there. So if you've seen that, you kind of know what you're in for. Much better. Much better. No, no, no. And also First, I believe. I'm not trying to dog Jay out. Like, I too love this movie. I hope she's good in it. What I think is Matthew Goode is hot in it. That's what I think is going to be true when we watch it. Jay stays rooting for Mandy Moore. And movie after movie, she continues to really not show up for her job, in my opinion. And yet Jay is holding holding that torch she's lighting the way meanwhile I'm looking ahead to the Amanda Bynes flick every single week and that's just the difference between us she is an unrooter for the underdog I will say I have to commend you okay what the fuck was going on in January 2004 I'm gonna take you guys through the context corner which is where I'm gonna tell you what was going on in the world when Chasing Liberty hit our screens and here's the number one thing that I have noticed is that actually we've Here are some things that were going down. The L Word premiered on Showtime. The world's largest ocean liner made its maiden voyage, and guess who owned that shit? You're guessing correct. It was Queen Elizabeth. We were landing on Mars with the NASA Opportunity Rover, where we received the first color images of another planet, something we are definitely not doing now. That's very cool, but we were not landing on Mars. We built something that went to Mars, correct? Yes, NASA Opportunity Rover. Guess who's not even building things going to Mars in 2025. It's all of the corporations that we have paid to take NASA's place. Yeah, was released by Usher. ushering in an entirely new generation of pop fans pop culture the song yeah ushered in a new generation of pop fans connor yeah is america's favorite song i'm gonna have to take your word on it for it if you turned on the radio right now in 2025 there's a station with yeah would be playing it is 20 years later and i don't think a day passes that yeah doesn't play the largest cultural phenomenon of our childhood happened in this month, Connor. Are you ready? Okay. What? Britney Spears wed and divorced childhood pal and future stalker Jason Allen Alexander. Married for 55 hours. I honestly think she was like sprung from jail for those two days and was like, this is what I want to do. I have to take back my control. But it was very shortly thereafter that they pointed to it as like the exact erratic behavior that like... Honestly, I feel like in her memoir, she talks about it and she was like, I was fully like 22 and bored. And I I thought this will be funny and guess what it was yeah and I I think she was probably really surprised that people gave a shit it was just like we were just at the very beginning of like we know everywhere you go all the time and we have commentary about everything you do but truly if she'd been any other 22 year old with a bunch of money it would have been funny because she was bored but oh Brittany you gave us so much and we took so much and we gave you back so little so little okay Billboard top 100 number one with a bang if you told me right now to guess what the number one song was I would still say it's this it's hey y'all by outcast oh yeah my god yeah um number two is the way you move by outcast which fuck yeah this is like right after that album yeah I know the love below yeah um we've got milkshake by keyless and number three my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard it's giving mean girls number seven we know it's sugar sugar so it's like sugar sugar how you get so fat that was a great track for sure number eight also great track three doors down here without you i'm here without you and you're still on my lonely mind honestly creed gets so much shit that three doors down has miraculously dodged i have to say it is a christian rock band oh there you go you nailed it there you go explain um number nine is slow jams which is off the uh college dropout kanye west album It's Twista. Wow. We're already in Kanye West College dropout territory. For sure. And then this is the weirdest one. This is when I was like, I actually can't explain this. Number 10 is a Beyonce song that I'm not kidding you. I looked up on YouTube and didn't know. What is it? It's called Me, Myself and I. Wait, I remember this song. Do you know that song? Yeah, I do remember this song coming out. Me, myself, and I. That's the Billboard Top 100. Should we talk about what was happening in the box office? Are you ready? Yeah, let's get into it. Big Fish is number one. Hey, McGregor, we love you. Love that movie. Lord of the Rings, Return of the King. I think it's the second one. Is this the third one? I don't know. Lord of the Rings, Cheaper by the Dozens, starring Tom Welling, Ashton Kutcher, Hilary Duff, Alison Stoner, whatever that girl's name is, Piper, Parabo, or whatever. Cold Mountain, I do remember that's Renee Zellweger. Actually, Jack White's in that movie. and i feel like it was like it it was like the blockbuster of the summer in our house yeah okay number six wait for it it's our very own chasing liberty a lot of movies we've watched this season have been on their like respective box office top yeah like actually mandy moore was a huge box office draw she was yeah she was and i do think you're right that this came out before first daughter but barely and we will fact check that just because it feels like one we should you know we hate to do it but we will um I feel confident. I feel confident too. I was at least aware of this one first and it is definitely a much better movie. There's like truly no argument. I've recently watched First Daughter. Do y'all know that's a fucking Forrest Whitaker joint? Did you know literally Forrest Whitaker directed First Daughter starting Katie Holmes? Katie Holmes and our man Mark Lucas from the famed Summer Catch. Here's the thing that is the crucial difference between why this movie is good and The President's Daughter is bad. Or First Daughter. What's it called? First Daughter? It's called First Daughter, yeah. Why First Daughter? Not to be confused with the other movie, My Date with the President's Daughter, which is also good. No, because this movie, while it does have a secret, secret, secret service love story angle, is actually very crucially about studying abroad and falling in love. Like backpacking through Europe and having that be a cast of characters that changes your life. And that changed the brain chemistry of white girls in America permanently. For You're still seeing the ramifications of that. I think there's literally no other take. You're 100% correct. Also, a main difference between that movie and this movie, I'm sure we're going to talk about it. I bet we talk about First Daughter all up and down this episode, honestly. But, um... You don't know until she knows that Mark Lucas is actually Secret Service. In the movie we're going to watch, Chasing Liberty, this week, you as the audience, you know the whole time that he's lying. And I think I kind of prefer it, but maybe it's just truly a better movie. Okay, number seven is Something's Gotta Give. That would be Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson on the beach in that big-ass Nora Ephron beach house with Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peete. Number eight is Paycheck, a movie I low-key love, and we do not talk about it enough. It's so genius. Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman. I'm pretty sure, um, Paul Giamatti, Lambridge, big fat liar. Um, number nine, we've got Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, KD. The last one's the last samurai. I've never seen it. That's the top 10. Jay, tell me a little bit more about what you remember about chasing Liberty. Um, I already touched on the number one thing, which is truly the way it made me feel like going to Europe was gonna feel. The second thing I remember is that the entire like impetus of her going to Europe, like stealing away on her backpacking journey is that she's going to the love parade. I didn't remember the parade thing. I know she was like traveling all around. I remember the Million Dollar Man stickers, which was like a 1960s show that I'd never heard of, so I did not know what they were. I remember the like payphone conversation where the audience, where she finds out that he's Secret Service. I remember they spend the night on a rooftop in Paris. I know the whole thing is about like giving her parents like... Like they install him because they can't keep her from like shaking them. She keeps trying to give them a slip. Whereas like with Katie Holmes, I feel like she knows she's with Secret Service and they just install like an extra layer of Secret Service in her like dorm TA. But like with Mandy Moore, they like want her to think that she's given the Secret Service a slip. Like they want her to think she's alone, which in some ways I think is like a little more effective, maybe better parenting. I don't know. Yeah, I think debatable. I think that it definitely is clear that he isn't supposed to fall in love with her, which I do think is essential for movies like this to flourish. If there's any hint that the idea was that she would have a crush on him and that would allow her to go on with it, then it's like, the romance is ruined. You can't be tricking girls. You cannot be tricking teenage girls. We, yeah, actually... I think he maintains this idea that he's kind of annoyed by her for most of the movie. He does, yeah. Which is way better, actually. Now that you say it, they didn't install him in her life to be a romantic interest, where they paid Mark Lucas in the Katie Holmes movie to pretend to like her. No, it's an essential part of the movie that he's constantly like, Don't do that. Let's go home. And she's like, no, I'm going to do it anyways. And you're following me around because you're in love with me, even though you're acting like you're upset. And he's like, is falling in love with her. He has integrity. But he's also like, I'm not in love with you. Like, you're so annoying. I'm just worried you're going to like get hurt. He's like falling in love with her, but he's aware of the HR violation in a way that the Katie Hames movie is not. He's like, this is actually my job. But actually, if it weren't my job, it's just so dishonest and creepy. So creepy. But actually, I love it. Also, it's before 2010, so falling in love at work is not yet taboo. It's actually completely expected. You saying that just literally threw a memory into my brain from the fucking extreme HR violation of this movie because there is a B-plot line of the other two Secret Service... people that are like following her around on the train and one of them is Jeremy Piven I want to say and he's actually just harassing his co-worker and he's harassing the fuck out of his co-worker about like how hot she is why she doesn't bang him like why doesn't she give him a ride and I actually remember this vividly because there's a part in the movie where she finally like throws it back to him and is like you're sexually harassing me at work literally constantly and it is like a brand new concept to him and he can't believe he's in trouble and low-key it was to me too I remember being like actually yeah wait I just thought you guys were falling in love yeah wait like i just have seen this play out in narratives and on tv over and over and over again and it's like he's so aggressive she he deserves her and like actually listen does the movie still wrap up with the two of them in love for sure you guys it's 2004 get real be fucking for real for one second uh it's a ride though it's a fun time we're gonna have fun talking about it i just remember that major that major insane workplace set sexual harassment lawsuit they'd have on their hands at the white house and i cannot wait to get into it jay do you have anything else you want to add uh no that's it i can't wait to watch this movie it's gonna be the perfect summer movie okay we're gonna get into it i'm connor this is jordan and you're listening to second showing so Okay, so before we get into this episode, we're going to be talking about Chasing Liberty. We love this movie so, so much. You will hear all about it very shortly. We have some announcements because this is our very last episode. This is episode 49. It's our very last episode before our 50th episode, if you can believe it. I can't believe it. So you guys, listen up. We've got some shit to tell you before we get there. Please, please, please pay attention to our socials, mostly Instagram. We're going to be posting a bunch of polls in the next coming weeks. We want to know who you guys think is the best heartthrob. We want to know what your favorite season of the last four, count on one, two, three, four seasons we've done in the last two years. We want to know which actor or actors was your favorite headliner, your favorite movie. from what season. But we really, really, really want to know what you guys think we should do next for our next headliner. We already know who we think we should do next, but we're going to go through it all. We're going to unpack it all in the 50th episode. We're going to give you guys our impressions of your suggestions. And hey, who knows? One of you is very, very, very capable of talking us right out of our next season and into what you think we should do. We know that 50 episodes is just as much about you guys as it is about us, and we want to celebrate that as well and if you guys want to be on the pod you can send us a voice note at us at second showing.com spelled with a two and we will play it on the pod if it is fit for our listeners ears and we yeah be cool guys send us something cool something we're going to want to play on the episode but if you have a thought you have an opinion if you just want to tell us you love us we truly do not tire of hearing it record a voicemail and email us us at second showing.com it's you us, us at SecondShowing.com. Put in an email. You're going to hear it literally in the episode. Five-star reviewers, are you listening? Have you left us a five-star review yet? Have you not left us a five-star review yet? Now is the time for the 50th episode. We are going to be doing a giveaway of any piece of merch of your choosing for one lucky five star reviewers. Here's what we want you guys to do. Write a five star review, screenshot it and DM it to us. Email it to us at that email that I just told you guys 32 times. It's us at second showing dot com. Send it to us in a DM. Get in touch with us in some way because we have no problem. way of knowing who you are if you just write a five star review. But one of you is going to get any piece of merch that you want shipped directly to your door free of charge just for being our number one fan. Speaking of merch, we are going to do a special 50th episode merch drop. You guys are going to be able to get key art from any season, any of the last four on a tote bag, on a T-shirt. And if there's anything you guys want on a bag, do you guys have like a favorite line? Do you guys are you guys like there is such an obvious piece of merch that you're not doing again dm us email us and lastly we have some fun stuff happening on the patreon jordan we are gonna have some special goodies on the patreon so make sure that you sign up before the 50th episode we're gonna have like a little bit of lead up content we are working together we are working to put together a special playlist of all the absolutely insane needle drops that we have collected over the past four seasons all your favorite songs from all four seasons we're gonna put them in one place we're gonna be dropping extra seconds thoughts content we know you guys are eating that up since we've been dropping it it's gonna be robust guys it's gonna be stuff about us when we were kids sisters memories of watching the movies maybe you'll get some direct-to-camera action but if you sign up for the patreon for the 50th episode you could really be in for a surprise make sure you tune in for the 50th episode we're so excited to celebrate with you guys we can't believe it's been this long and now we're gonna get into what you all have been waiting for chasing liberty all right you guys we have had a really big week um since last time we recorded this we have a new Democratic candidate for mayor in New York City. For mayor! So exciting. So, so exciting. Best city in the world. Actually, so excited. It was a really fun week. It was my first time voting in New York City. I actually registered a co-worker today at work who was like, I vote in Connecticut. And I was like, not anymore, girl. Give me five minutes. I'm going to make a Zoran voter out of you yet. For the general election? Yeah, for the general. And I was like, wait, is this my entire personality now like Connor it's very exciting does the DSA know about you and the work that you are doing I know do they know about me such a good question um a lot of stuff is going on it's also 100 degrees in New York City we know you guys are experiencing a heat wave everywhere there so stay safe out there stay cool it's definitely a nightmare it's definitely a nightmare I know I'm like other people are experiencing a heat wave but I don't live other places so it's the worst it's ever been here we're having a horrible time literally actually what you said um jay i mean i have so many thoughts about this movie top line thought i really need to know do you love it is it as good as you remember honestly yes top line thought honestly stunning stellar 10 out of 10 would watch it again tomorrow good it's so good jokes in it that are like grown-up jokes that they like let her say okay the absolutely when i knew it was gonna be a different movie than i remembered or that like perhaps a lot of it had gone over my head mm-hmm is from the very beginning her date he is driving in his car and I swear they did like a nose wipe and I was like oh he like does cocaine like they're saying he does cocaine that seems so odd like I was like this is a different movie and maybe they weren't but it was like I've seen enough movies that are for grown-ups to know that I was like huh and I said I know a driving fast Porsche nose wipe scene when I see one yes yes yes yes no JJ literally I was like oh they're doing a thing but I did I thought this was the best we've seen her. I thought the only part of it that was good is when she's visibly upset about to cry, which has been consistent with all of her performances. I still find her so annoying. And maybe I'm just not as big a fan as I thought. It's like whiny voice. Also, I think she's so rich in this and spoiled that I find her even more irritating the entire time. I don't know. I think you're just a hater. I don't know what to tell you. This is objectively the best that she's done. She was cute. in this she pulled off her lines she was like giving character in a way that i don't know she's ever done before which definitely her character was like rich but she was yeah no jay there is no other conclusion to draw you're right i'm a hater like i was giving myself credit for being a bigger mandy more fan than i am be like i'm just barely making it through these this she was good in this she was cute in this and the chemistry between the two of them were like well it's like i've got to double down now that you've been so negative but i do think she was good in this i think this is the best we've seen her the chemistry between them is the chemistry now the chemistry is a different thing the chemistry is a different thing it's all him to me he is really good an anti-feminist i literally refuse to give many more as a female lead an ounce of credit like i will not listen connor actually actually i'm gonna hold your hand when i say this this is you projecting your jealousy for her study abroad experience onto her being a bad person and it's just not appropriate and actually you need to look deep inside your yourself for those of us who aren't first timers on the pod and if we reviewed the material I think you'll find that I said Shane West was incredible which he was I think it's undeniable everyone agrees and she was mid I think I said last week I couldn't believe how good Trent Ford is and let's be honest he was fine and now I'm like nailed it undeniably Matthew Good is incredible and like goes on to have like a really amazing career and stuff but it's like okay on the one hand yes I'm willing to accept that I'm a hater that's just it can't be denied at this point but I also do think she has they've been setting her up with 10 out of 10 leading men and we'll call Trent Ford a 6 out of 10 you know but like listen he was good we were impressed don't go back on it we were impressed but like it is she is weaker than the male leads like they are putting everything behind her they're betting on this pony and I kind of feel like she didn't have it man I hate to say that but you know what do I hate to say it's the undeniable truth she's charming I just think she's not doing anything too offensive I do think that we can take a second to say that this was the first instance of a long career of Matthew Goode taking absolutely nothing and spinning gold oh I mean just taking no prisoners like truly although I have a lot to say about him too do you have any top line thoughts I'm like I'm too ready to get into it because I have a thought about every moment of this movie but yeah I mean my top line thoughts were that I absolutely loved it it was as good as I remembered it being and honestly maybe even better because I was fully expecting it to be like silly and not that good yeah but it was just straight up a good time perfect summer movie perfect summer vacation movie if you're on a plane this is the movie for you um It got me hyped to go on a vacation I'm literally not going on. I was like, let's get out of the city. I know. I loved it. The beats that I remember hitting absolutely still hit for sure. I think I would have toned down the whiny. by like half. It's like, you know how people find it really hard to watch War of the Worlds because Dakota Fanning is screaming the whole time? I just like didn't even notice this. I think you're just a hater. Or like, you know how people find this fifth season of Buffy really hard to watch because, oh, Michelle Trachtenberg. Oh, I'm sorry. Dawn is like not a beloved character. Yeah, that's so funny. But you get it. It's like if I could have dialed that down, I might have been having more fun. But I am absolutely not going to yuck your yum. You're too right. This movie is so fun. Here's my other top line. thought and honestly it's been my top line thought about this movie for a long time and I feel like I came down even more on a specific side this watch than I ever have before in the past because I'm older and I know a little bit more about what happens when you go to Europe but um I thought you were gonna be like what happens when you fall in love what happens when you go to bed with the man when you're like no no that's part of it too that's all the same thing do they before she finds out. No, no, no. We're going to get into it. No, we're going to... I'm so glad you brought it at the top because listeners, keep an eye on this question. Do they fuck? I'm going to tell you where I come down on it right now because you deserve it. It's the top of the episode. You've already listened to 30 minutes of Yap. I absolutely think they fuck. I can't be talked out of it. I think it is a reasonable stance to not have the opinion that they fuck. The opinion that I hold is absolutely that they do. Before this would have said... I don't think so. I think they get close, you know, in the words of Dan Humphrey, everything but. Yeah, I mean, a little shirtless hug action. You know, after this watch, I was like, I mean, come on, two plus two equals four. They absolutely fucked. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we're older and wiser and like, there's just no way. Yeah. Did you notice that the mom is the same mom from The Princess Diaries? oh my god no i didn't i knew it jay when i tell you i had to google for my life to figure out who she was and it was staring me right in the face and i was like i bet jay didn't notice she has blonde hair and she's the first lady but there was something motherly and familiar about her where i was like i just know she's like she's not just the mom and something she's the mom and like a really really classic something you know and i i was yeah the princess so there's a huge land bridge yeah wow a girl really can just So as this movie proves over and over again, if you change the color of your hair, you are unrecognizable even to your closest loved ones. I know. Absolutely. Your closest loved ones, the audience of your early autism. Okay, I say we get into it. Did you remember that she was blonde at the beginning of this? Because when I tell you... Yes, I did. Because she has a wig. Okay, it is a bad wig. And you know, if me and Jay are nothing else, we are critics of a bad wig. Or some bad extensions. Yeah, of which there are some really bad examples in this movie. Literally. Anyway, side rant. And in case you aren't a subscriber of the Patreon, what you're missing is we just went on a second thoughts rant. And if you want to know what it was about, you'll have to subscribe to the Patreon. Ooh, that's awesome. a good one I do want to shout out the one girl where we were like you guys need to comment what you guys want the upcoming seasons to because we did get a little suggestion and it was for Hilary Duff so be like that girl if you want to hear a season about someone find us on socials email us at us at suckandjoin.com do your thing do whatever message us tell us what you want the next season to be about we know what the next few seasons will be about but we are fully willing to change course if we get it loud enough we could be fully lying about that yeah you'll never know you know how fickle we are we were literally wrong about what this episode would be about this week okay tell us what you want the next season to be out okay for the first 30 seconds of this movie I fully was like oh she's blonde in this movie and I don't remember which is insane considering like you know the cover of this movie but I was like why did I think she had dark hair in this and then I was like it's a wig this is a setup it's a wig yeah yeah also she's already post her like how to deal makeover and it's like she's already discovered that like chocolate brown is what her color is Yeah. Like, we're never going back. So it opens to, like, an Amer... Yeah, I was an American girl. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. The soundtrack to this movie is so fucking good. It's really good. There are so many good bangers. It's killing it in this opening montage. We're opening on a getting ready for the date montage, which is so Mary-Kate and Ashley of us. We're like trying on all our different outfits. She's dancing. She's dancing to American Girl, which is like hilarious and so on the nose. I had to fall in love with it immediately. I was so obsessed. And she keeps looking in the mirror and being like, of course you can kiss me. Of course you can kiss me, which I'm taking to mean she has never been kissed at 18 years old. Jay, I wrote the meanest note at this part. Are you ready? She's dancing. She's dancing on the bed. She's throwing the clothes around. And I said, they really said this is all she can do. And kind of, yeah. Girl, why are you even... The amount of dancing on the bed, getting ready for a date montages we have seen in this... in the four or five seasons, however many seasons, of this podcast. And this is the first time you're going to be like, actually, montage is corny. Like, you actually need to chill and you need to get your head screwed on right. I didn't say montage is corny. How could I possibly feel that way when I love this movie and there's no less than 13 in this movie? No, they're all good. They're all better than the last. And like half of them are sad, which we'll get into. But actually, half of them were sad. That was actually crazy. OK, here's my other note. The White House reveal, because of course, during this montage, They pan out and she's in the White House. She's in her bedroom at the White House. It's kind of giving CGI passport to Paris in that moment. OK, I was like, I also wrote the date pulls up and he's like, got to go through Secret Service or whatever. He's in his Corvette and he seems funny and cute and he's like down. He's a good sport. And he was like, I bet you guys don't get a lot of dates to the White House. And then he goes, maybe not during the Clinton administration. And they're like, get out of the car. We have to search the car. And he's like, that was a joke. I'm sorry. And I literally was like, it was a good joke. Like, that is a funny ass joke. They probably wouldn't laugh, but... Justice for Monica Lewinsky. No, absolutely. We are Monica Lewinsky. We're on her side a thousand percent. But this is when I was like, oh, this movie's got rated R jokes. No, exactly. This movie's got real jokes. And it's aware of the social consciousness and popular culture. You know who Bill Clinton is. endorsed and it wasn't our guy Zoltan it was yeah I mean I got news for you guys the Clintons are not progressives no a hundred percent and if that is actually news for you welcome to 2016 like I don't know what to tell you for real so here's my question to you though yeah yeah yeah because they check him and they send him through and he pulls up and it's kind of a bummer because he had this beautiful bouquet of flowers for her that then it's all torn apart because it's like oh social security had to like check it or whatever but they also do this like zoom out of his like hair on messed up and he's like really like wide-eyed when he pulls up and the flowers are all torn apart and I was like is this a cavity search joke yeah that's what I thought maybe I was like is this supposed to be that seemed like a bridge too far but honestly if he's doing cocaine I think it's a grown-up movie like I will say that I think so too no no no that's what I'm saying like I think so too also Connor I He pulls up. He's like, hey. And she's like, hi, Grant. And she does a little wave. And I literally wrote down in my notes, Connor's going to hate her little wave when she says hi. I hated it so much. I just hate how she always leans into like, girly baby it's just not for me actually I as your loving co-host on this podcast if you do the if you Connor do the baby voice one more time I'm canceling the episode I know it's awful it's like you need a different co-host like you actually need to fire me okay here's a joke I really loved that she said though because he's super apologetic that the Secret Service fucked up his flowers and he's like I'm sorry they would have been nice and she said it's okay they died for our country then a Rooney song kicks in girl an absolute needle drop yes is that what you I was like okay so land bridge number fucking two although we haven't seen mom yet so technically it's land bridge number one yeah Rooney is in it Rooney the band from the princess diaries and this is where we find out that from like a voiceover from our first introduction to Jeremy Piven who is her like personal secret security like security secret service guy and he says like liberty has left like liberty has taken off so her co name is Liberty and I gotta be honest I don't think I knew that before this watch but I was like okay we're like chasing Liberty while she's like chasing her own Liberty like cute click click click click oh my god also you might have to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to the Weiss and Morales scenes because I fully was like I can't take a single note I can't like oh every single every single note I took is filled with rage yeah I mean but it won't be kind to Jeremy Piven was I rooting for them by the end I don't know I'm sick in the brain she's sitting on her date her whole outfit is kind of whack to be honest but he's kind of dated he's dressed like a Republican too they are and you can take that how you will I do think like she tried on a bunch of outfits in the montage and I think that is supposed to be kind of like I'm gonna say you guys I'm the most annoying like an overarching theme of the movie right is like before she has this life experience she doesn't like know who she is so she tries on like a slutty red top she tries on like a dumb little page boy hat she tries on like all these different things and then when she eventually does leave the house she's wearing the most like Republican Republican coated pearl cardigan outfit, but that's not her heart. She's truly a brunette at heart, you guys. Yeah. Weiss and Morales are the two agents that have been assigned to her case. You're going to get really familiar with them. They like tail her this entire movie, but they also have their own subplot happening. A lot of what it is is sexual harassment, but the movie would have you believe it's like a beeline rom-com romantic storyline. It's criminal. It's criminal. It's actually literally criminal. Like it is a crime. The first instance of it in this scene, he says something about her her blouse and she's like it's a sweater and he goes take a compliment and i'm like yeah literally that's a red flag if anyone tells you to take a compliment just back away slow he's like watching her on a camera inside a van like um it's like in the restaurant and he's like using his job to spy on her and like zoom in on her you look nice it's so fucked up you guys it's so gross here's my next question for you where she's on this date they're having a good time like they're smiling they're laughing you're supposed to think the date's going well yeah it is People keep coming up to her like a old divorcee and her like two kids and stuff keep like everyone in the restaurant like recognizes her. To like take photos and stuff and it's like I bet this is what it was like for Malia. Well so I know but that was what I was going to say. I do not think you are able to just walk up on them and somebody get Malia and Sasha on the phone they'll know better than anybody but it's like I definitely don't think people were running up on Sasha and Malia. After 9-11 she's not Taylor Swift. She is like a political entity and I can just imagine she's like always in a back room somewhere with like a layer of security between her and any divorcee that's trying to get her autograph I have seen Malia Obama out at brunch at a table and it was not while her dad was actively the president but it's like I just I don't know there's nothing crazy about it but it's like we never got any photos you know what I mean Yeah, no, no, no. That's true. That is true. That's true. I don't know. It didn't flag to me as weird. I will say, though, when that guy comes up to take her photo and goes for a reach and everyone jumps him, I'm like, yeah, they should have jumped that guy. Of course. That would have been crazy to do to anyone if you weren't a famous person to walk up and say, let's make this night memorable and reach into your jacket. You'd be like, I'm going to get shot. Like, that's crazy behavior. Yeah, no, I totally agree. And it's like, you know she's the president's daughter. Like, you know there's 18 people surrounding her with guns. And like, it's a camera. It's okay. It's like, okay, you're in idiot before that guy comes up and ruin essentially ruins her date um we do get the first instance of her being like i have this theory about on honestly i don't even remember what her theory was about oh i didn't even notice it the first time but she she'll do it a lot where she's like just a theory i have i think they're trying to be like she doesn't have that much life experience exactly that's what i think too and then over the course of the movie she starts to kind of be like actually it's not a theory yeah like actually i know this to be true and you're like okay she's coming into herself she knows what what top to wear to dinner now I think it works for me I like her little just a theory I love it I think it's cute so she comes home I mean they have a little conversation on the sidewalk where the guy's like sorry you're a great girl but like I'm not gonna deal with all this which I'm like what man show me the man that'd be like that wasn't like thrilling and insane and like the hot daughter of the president that looks like Mandy Moore doesn't want to go out with me apparently the guy that pulls out the camera he says like they're my friends and then he's like I gotta wait for these guys to get out and I'm like I don't understand what your plan was then anyways like maybe you're not a good dude yeah I mean maybe his friends were like crashing his date because they knew where he'd be and his friends aren't very nice guys like that to me seems more likely but no I feel you who knows I mean here's where I wrote it's a me thing but I can't enjoy a movie where a rich skinny white girl has it hard like I just can't and I try tried like but when she's there she's like dad you ruined my date and she goes running into the meeting and stuff like hear me out because i do have another side of this where it's like i think her dad was super reductive about our emotions and i did not like it i thought he was super rude to her but it's just the like it could have been anyone it's not many more's fault but like making her storm around about like her date and i'm like you're in a fucking mansion in the most like whatever and not even a mansion you're in the first house you're in the house of america and I just can't I can't I can't sympathize with her we'll get to a point maybe where I sympathize with her exactly once and I wrote a note where I said in this moment I sympathize with her I feel like the setup of the movie right is that like she doesn't have the freedom to like explore herself and she needs to like break away and learn it and I gotta be honest you're just gonna have to come along yeah I know and I will have a like if you have a deep-seated problem with like American imperialism you're just gonna have to set it aside no I will and I will and I heard like note taken like I will like I get you I get where you're coming from I'm just saying like yeah we're on the train we boarded the bus yeah so she goes in there and interrupts his meeting and my favorite one of my favorite lines from this movie and I remember it from when I was in a teacher she screams at her dad I'm gonna die at this rate I'm gonna die before I get to third base and he looks at her and she goes I mean second base and I literally was like that is so fucking funny And then she turns around and there's like all these like other diplomats and reporters and stuff in the room. And this is what I really don't like from him. He's like, no, no, no, guys, by all means. I know we were just talking about like the war in the Middle East or whatever the fuck. You've had a bad day. My daughter's had a bad day. And I was like, OK, listen, I understand your job's important. I understand you were doing something and she interrupted. You can check her on that. But like you don't need to puff your chest out like she's irrelevant and nothing like embarrass her in front of all these people. She's already embarrassed enough. No, I totally agree. Yeah. I was like, dad, just fucking chill out. They're trying to be like, dad's funny. And sometimes I'm like, people think making fun of teenage girls is funnier than it actually is. And that is the thesis of our podcast. Literally cut it, clip it, put it on a t-shirt, tattoo it on your face. I couldn't agree more. Additionally, this scene is where I realized that this entire movie is a odyssey for Mandy Moore to have sex. She's 18 years old. She's about to go to college. It's not a crazy odyssey. And frankly, I'm rooting for her. she's upset about her date ending sort of she's mostly upset about the fact she didn't get to third base she's upset about that that guy didn't want to hang out sort of she's mostly upset he didn't ask her to kiss I was like okay we have a woman on a mission she's horny and I respect it this whole movie is about how she's horny and there's another great line from dad here where they're like they're having this fight in the hallway after the meeting and he's like sir the vice president is still waiting and he goes uh the president is still the president and I literally was like okay dad's a prick but low-key he's a well-written prick like give him more lines this is this is gonna be my you live in a mansion Mandy Moore every single time the dad was like I'm throwing my weight around I was like classic American I know president overstepping the bounds of the constitution yeah that's American masculinity for you but like they're on a jet in the next scene playing Scrapple I thought this scene was cute it was cute Jay it was so cute it was so cute my only note was not her bitching on a private jet I'm like anywhere but the PJ girl She's whining in the Oval Office. Now she's whining on a fucking PJ. I literally was like, not for me. But she's negotiating while playing Scrabble with her parents, Connor. It's cute. It's cute. And her mom, that's also Mia Thermopolis' mom, is better at Scrabble than everyone. And it's a detail I enjoy. See, this is something that was confusing to me. On one hand, I do feel like they're on the PJ. She's complaining. But then the mother is like, yeah, how dare he do this to you? So the mom is like completely on her side, which in a way is nice. Thank you, Mrs. Thermopolis. But it's like, I do kind of like not think it makes sense for the mom to be coming at the dad so much like, because isn't there like a legitimate security issue? No, there is. But let me break it down. And it's like, I don't even think it's that deep. I think they're doing a gendered thing where it's like the older brother, nobody fucks my sister I'm a I'm a father and he's and she's going calm down you're throwing your masculinity weight around a little too much she's a person that's what I think they're doing girl it's 2025 that didn't even occur to me I was literally like he's the president she's in danger because I hear you but that's why she's taking up for her because it's like she's not your little girl anymore they're just doing a gender thing because it's 2006 she asked if she can go to the opera with her friend Gabrielle who is the like daughter of the prime minister or whatever yeah and he's like like and he's like oh I don't know like I don't think that's a good idea like I think you're gonna need to take like a thousand secret security people and the mom says something like he's the president and she says I'm not asking the president I'm asking my dad which I was like she's doing good yeah she says do you promise and mom says don't ask the president to promise and she said I'm asking my dad that's a good line that's like a good it's like a good way to sort of set up the movie but you do learn that her friend Gabrielle is like so so wacky the way she talks to the president is actually whack in a way that it's like you wouldn't even say this to your friend's dad because they show up in Prague and they're all at this party she's like allowed to drink because they're in Europe and they're drinking champagne and you can tell that it's like these maybe are who her friends are the other kids of other diplomats like that's who she's allowed to hang out with yeah and she's like oh it's such a drag to be like with my parents whatever and they're talking all together and the president says what's that in your mouth Gabriella and she's like it's a piercing and she he was like why would you get that pierced which I'm like dad mind your own fucking business like people make style choices you weirdo although I can't see a dad asking that and she was like some guys say it makes for better and Mandy Moore's like oh cuts her off I'm like no chance even a French person I'm sorry no shade to the French but even the French would not say that to their French dad and the French are catching strays as well I know the Clintons and the French are really taking L's um Honestly, Gabrielle is wild from the beginning. I present nothing against her. I think she seems fun. But she walks up and the first thing she says is, for some reason, the Secret Service had to take turns searching me. Gross. This is presumably an 18-year-old girl. Ew, I missed that. I totally, ew, I hate that. And then I've got to say the dad was like looking at her the whole time. And I know that he was like disdainful of her like slutty, wild French ways, which I already think is stupid. But the way he was looking at her, I was like this, the vibes of this are so bad like he's like staring at her tongue he's like hi Gabrielle you've grown up and I was like actually don't speak to her president Mr. President like and the whole point of it is to be like dad thought she was gonna be some like 12 year old girl like she was the last time he saw her but instead she's like grown into this like whore and he doesn't want me anymore to associate with her anymore the way you said whore really hit me hard like a ton of bricks and I want you to say it softer next time you say it I'm so sorry I mean it only to say in a like disparaging way the way I think this man was supposed to be thinking about this 18 year old girl I was like offended at the way he was like looking at her and like with disapproving eyes yeah but but like Were they? You're saying he was leering. The president of this United States was leering at a young woman. Now, Jordan, that's just too far. Now you've suggested something that's completely out of the realm of possibility. No, yeah, it's weird. I mean, the whole thing is weird. It was gross. It was totally gross. So she's they're talking about how they want to go to the love festival. She's all into EDM music, I guess you can assume. And Mandy Moore's like, yeah, exactly. Again, strays. And she's like, not that like liking EDM music is inherently an insult. But to me, I just instinctively was like, it is. So Connor, not a raver, not a raver. So they're like, OK, we got it. We should go. We should totally go. Blah, blah, blah. And she's already gotten permission to go to this like opera. This it's not an opera. It's a it's say um no no it's at the opera that's how she's tricked her dad her dad thinks she's going to the opera but it's like at the opera house but so before they go she's like I just am so tired of everyone looking at me and Gabriella's like girl I have the meaning to say that you are brunette at heart and she takes her upstairs she chops off all her hair and she dyes it brown this is the best thing that Gabriella ever does this is absolutely yeah and it's like okay in a world where she's not allowed to go on a date without 50 people you're telling me they got into a bathroom and dyed her hair but Jordan you know what you've said yourself get on the bus and we're we're on and we're on and she borrows some cool clothes it was fun yeah and she does feel like she looks more like herself like I'm like they let me anymore have a hand in the styling I'm like I've seen her in this music video she looks cool honestly the the outfits in this are the y2k people dream of today yeah the outfits in this are not bad well so she comes out and the dad immediately says oh good Gabrielle found another trashy friend and the mom's like that trashy girl is your daughter and the dad's like and I was like everything thing about this has been appalling and the mom's like maybe women aren't types maybe we don't organize them into categories for exactly this reason maybe don't talk about 18 year old girls that way just actually at all like what if at all yeah just skip it what if actually you close your eyes and your mouth sir so they go to this big raver party and everyone's having fun and the music is good but I am left to draw the only conclusion I possibly can which is that this is the first time Mandy Moore's character has ever heard music before because I think you're right Kristen dancing and I'm just like oh god I'm mortified like the way like she's so excited I know it's like she doesn't get let out a lot and I need to be nice but surely she's danced and by the looks of the scene you wouldn't be led to believe that let me tell you I do think this is her first concert also yeah that's true roots concert which sounds very cool super fun it sounds very cool at a roots concert in Prague but they are having fun Jay until she realizes what what does she know oh that the dad lied that it's actually there's hella stacked with there so he promised her when she went she would just have to take Weiss and Morales and he was like oh boy that they are buried under years of paperwork for sexual harassment I'm gonna need to take a lot of backup the promise was that it would just be two agents and in this moment Mandy Moore looks up and realizes fully like she's Jason ass born that there's 50 agents planted yeah there are and it's like this is an important thing to note for what's coming but they're swimming the place is swimming with them they're everywhere and And they are in plain clothes, which is also an important thing to know. And actually, the movie acts like this is kind of a reasonable response that it's like unfortunate, but you understand why dad did it. But I don't understand why dad did it. So I'm just going to go ahead, say it one more time. The reason he swarmed the place with security is because he took one look at that 18 year old Gabrielle and he was like trashy. And my daughter needs 50 more Secret Service. Like, what was she going to do? Like, It's just the whole thing is gross. In response to this, Gabrielle, for a second time in an hour, has a disguise plan. Yeah, 100%. Actually, does the CIA know about her? Yeah, exactly. Master of disguise. She goes in the bathroom and there's a wasted girl in there. They also kind of take advantage of this wasted girl. But she has the same haircut as Mandy Moore. And she's like, I have an idea. You guys are going to swap jackets. Which at first, I think when I was a kid, you couldn't have told me they didn't completely switch outfits. Now I realize they just swapped

SPEAKER_01: 49:47

jackets.

SPEAKER_00: 49:49

They just swapped jackets. girl and they have like the cooler leather jacket and she comes out Gabriella comes out with the wasted girl to like distract the agents and be like we're together and Mandy Moore and Gabriella have made a plan to meet up at like a cafe after so she's completely on the run like she's on her own and I don't like the way it's like this will show my dad because it's like well now you're alone you're not even out with your friend like why would this be I guess they hope to loop up like immediately after or whatever but it's like I guess She doesn't think it'll take that long for Gabrielle to meet up with her. Like we were saying, the place is swimming with agents. They're all in plainclothes clothing. And she runs out of the bar into the most beautiful English man you've ever seen in your life leaning against his motorcycle or his moped, I guess it's fair to say. It is Europe. And she's like, hey, can you help me get out of here? And it's like, okay, first of all, Jay, where do I begin? We don't have– these podcasts are long enough. We don't have enough time for me to talk about how insanely a bad idea it is to walk up with a person– Yeah, don't worry. With a vehicle and say, can you take me away on this vehicle? I know nothing about you. I wrote down, don't trust strange men unless they're dead sexy. Don't get taken to a second location unless it's on the back of Matthew Goode's motorcycle. And I think that those are lessons every girl going to Europe needs to just write down and have on you at all times. Unless it's Matthew Goode's motorcycle. Unless it's Matthew Goode. And actually, like, pull up his face on the internet right now, memorize it, commit it to memory. And here's the thing. Morales and Wise come running out presumably with other agents and are like, stop right there, stop right there. What we find out later, of course, we've told do it's been spoiled Matthew Goode is an agent and she happened to run up to someone that was an agent and that's how this like whole plan sort of hatches but what I don't understand is why Morales and Weiss wouldn't be shouting his name it is interesting it's just convenient that they're not like agent Coulter or whatever his last name is yeah it is convenient but I don't think it's that big of a stretch he is a European agent that they have hired out he's not like on the team he's freelance this is like his first time working with anybody so it's like so I think it's not even that weird that they're like which one is that we have to call in to find out his last name you know what i mean like they don't know who it is so she's right on the back of that moped and they're zipping around town and it's a chase scene and i have to say the chasing goes on for a long time and they do kind of a silly thing where they stop more than once like they stop and she's like thanks for the ride and then the agents come around the corner she's like do you mind and he's like hop back on and it's like they didn't need to do it sort of like three different times but they do so the first time they stop yeah they think they've shaken the agents and then the keep going he keeps going the second time she she's kind of like getting her bearings she says do you have a last name and she says no it's just Anna like pink and I was like oh my god remember when pink was a reference literally any other generation of time they would have said like Madonna I know I had that I was like they're doing like pink because it's 2006 pink yeah but I'm gonna start saying that it's like pink but I like that they get on get off get on get off because it's like pretty quickly we're like for some reason they keep they're like he's willing to go along you know what I mean it's like establishing this like that's a big comment I have because I think that could have almost been a top line thought for me I'm not ready to get into it yet but there well actually I'm ready to get into it are you ready there is a major plot hole in this movie and I will discuss it as it comes up and it is why he would stick with her if he doesn't like but I don't think it's a plot hole I think it's a function right because it's like I think a big thing going on in this movie is like who knows what win in a sort of like classic Shakespeare comedy kind of way who knows what when right but I do think that it's like that's because the real driving factor is that they're both dead sexy so it's like she is like oh he's like kind of annoyed with me but she doesn't think he's leaving because she thinks he also has clocked that they're both well and that makes sense that makes sense until they get to the train which is why I was like we're just gonna have to talk about it as we go and she's like you have a crush on me and he's like no I don't once he starts to actively reject her advances it would be confusing for to her and it is they show that it's confusing to her but it's like they could they should have done one extra thing or one extra narrative device or something for them to be a reason that they're stuck together when he's like I really wish I wasn't here I hate being here I don't have a crush on you I don't like you but I'm not just going my own way I've like been conscious of that before but this time I watched it it really didn't bother me because I think that's the tension of the movie right is like he's not that insistent that he doesn't like her he's just not touching her and And she is not convinced that he doesn't like her. She thinks he's being flirty. And frankly, he is being flirty. He is, but he does rebuff her absolutely unequivocally with his words more than once. And you would start to go, what is going on? And she does. And she has a fully valid crash out. It doesn't, it still doesn't make sense. I mean, he follows her on multiple trains. He refuses to, and then he's like, but I wish I didn't have to be here it's like then come up with a better honestly Jay the whole thing would have made more sense if he did just pretend to have a crush on her obviously he does have a reason for doing all of this stuff and it's that he's literally been hired it's his job but the tension between them is enough to convince her that he's just sort of like playing a flirty game with her and it's like I think it works I think it worked and it happened one night and I think it works here it doesn't work for me it's just not there's not enough reason for him to stick around with the way he's like god this is so you're so much work you know it's like work for who we're strangers well let's get into it because I think that's the charm of this first night is he very much is starting out they go to the bar where she's supposed to meet her friend Gabrielle and he's like bought her a beer and she's drinking it she's getting kind of drunk and he's sitting there and he's getting close he's getting real close to her he is throughout this night acting kind of like I'm having to like chase you around you're like kind of drunk like this is kind of silly he is acting like this is more of a chore but throughout the night he starts to smile more they start to talk more totally she wants to see the opera they talk about the opera they they do start to connect over this night that it's like by the time he's following her on the train he's no longer like upset at the things she wants to do he's just trying to keep distance between them i actually have exactly the opposite opinion i think the first night it seems like they're kind of cool they're close they're flirty it makes sense that he would side of like make sure she gets home right so long as they're in his hometown where he lives and it's just one fun night we spent the night on the roof it's fun all of that makes total sense to me once he's following her to the train getting on the train going to the wrong place being in the wrong city refuses to leave her to me he seems increasingly irritated by the fact that he has to follow her on the train she's skinny dipping in the water like i mean the skinny dipping in the water is the first night i agree i think he is annoyed with her in that and then they put the clothes on and he makes the joke about like well i was a lot happier before i was wet and chafing yeah yeah she wants to climb up on the roof i think there are two things going on here right they There's what he is presenting to her in order to get her to like create this false sense of security. And then there is like actually the journey that the Ben character is going on. He doesn't he doesn't want to be there in the beginning. And then the longer it goes on, he does want to be there and falls in love with her. And I think you can tell through Matthew Good's acting that he is putting on a sort of like, oh, God, here we go over here. But it's like still mostly charmed. Even though he is verbally rebuffing her because he knows they can't hook up. No, I know that I get that it's like he wishes they could and they can't. And that all comes out and he reveals it. It wasn't enough for me for it to make sense to her. I feel like they did it scene by scene in a way that was believable to me. When he would rebuff her, she would be like, what the fuck? And then he would smile at her and she would be like, okay, you're kidding. I thought you were kidding. I'll bring it up every time I mention it. But like, it was a plot hole for me. So he she tells him about the bar that she's trying to meet Gabrielle at. He calls somebody he calls a friend for directions. And I was like, this is so hot, like so early 2000s. But he's not actually calling a friend. He's calling the secret agents to tell them where they're going. Oh, I didn't clock that either. And that's why they meet him outside. But so then he takes her to the bar. She's having beers. She's drinking maybe the first beer she's ever had. She's having a great time. She's basically like, fine, you caught me like I'm here with my rich parents. And I just got to I couldn't have another like four course meal. and he's essentially drags her he's like yeah it sounds horrible you're like rich parents are taking you all over like all the sites you know nothing about my life it's like I don't know man you just told me enough to know that it's pretty charmed yeah and I was like and I like that part of it too because it's like do drag her like these are pretty white girl problems. I feel like at this point when they're at the bar and she's getting drunk on beer, I was like, I'm going to need somebody really quickly to tell me how old Matthew Goode is supposed to be. 23, don't worry. Yeah, we don't find out until after they have sex. Oh, wait. No, no, no, no, no. We find out because the dad, the president, asks, like, what's the deal on this kid before they even come up with a plan? And they're like, 23, youngest guy in the blah, blah, blah. That's not true because I was listening so hard and they say he's the youngest agent in Europe, but they don't mention his actual age until later. They don't say his age. Oh, my God. When did they say the 23? I think it's after they hook up, but I'll keep you posted. Also, I 18 and 23. Like, I think I wrote it down to you. Right. We'll see. It is like five years. My boyfriend in college. I was 18 and he was 22. Freshman senior. Yeah, but it's at the end of the world out of college and freshman in college. But hey, she's not even a freshman in college. So I don't love it, but we're going to keep it rocking. You know, we're going to keep pushing. This is the smoothest. This is why this movie. This is why. First Daughter will never be this movie. This is why this movie has so much more riz and charm. The way he rolls out of that bar, she has to go to the bathroom and pee. She sees Secret Service and he's like, why don't you go in the bathroom and hide? He walks out of the bar and the way the just like wind changes when he sees Morales and Weiss and is like, what took you two so long? It's such a good reveal. It's so cool and casual and you're like, oh my God, I'm in on it. Like, holy shit. Because it's like this movie has best of both. You do get a little time where you don't know and that's really fun so that you have the reveal twice but the way he rocks up to them like they're all co-workers and they're like I was just like oh god I love it so much he's so calm cool and collected the whole time and I'll also say this no offense to the president's daughter and Mark Lucas who is a friend of the pod but here's the problem that you could so easily fall into with this storyline is making him like too much of a cop like making him too goody two shoes trying to get along with Morales and Weiss but the way that he's like immediately giving them attitude the way he's immediately like what was I gonna do cause a scene in front of the photographers like if you guys were better at your job I wouldn't even have to be here like this is a day job for me I'm really a photographer and I was like hot hot hot it's like he's the least cop cop I've ever seen and for that we have to applaud yeah he doesn't want to have to babysit her to your point I think he probably thinks she's like kind of like out of touch or whatever he's like he's a freelance agent like we said I feel convinced he was doing perimeter he never expected yeah absolutely oh my god and the way you said doing perimeter is so confident I know are you a cop oh my god no but this whole thing starts to take shape because they're updating the president and they're like she thought that this free this like freelance agent was somebody else and she ran away from us but thank god like luckily my lucky scrunchie luckily he

UNKNOWN: 1:01:33

is one of us and he's got her and the dad's like wait a second so she doesn't know that who it is mom says she at least needs the illusion of independence and he's like wait wait before we pick her up let's like roll with this and I do think the mom expresses some concern about lying to her like should we do this and I think she is right I will say at one point he was like this is genius diplomacy and I'm like also kind of right like truly fucked up but it is a great idea like if you don't care about

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:03

your daughter or her emotional fallout which clearly he does not

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:06

it is a really

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:07

really good idea like he also says to him on the phone when he's telling him the plan that you're gonna like take my daughter out around

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:13

Prague he's like

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:14

it is essential that she never ever ever find out about this I know and I do think that that comes up several times like throughout the movie where it's like the way to get her to do what you want or the way to explain this or the way to make this all better would be to kind of like explain yourself and he is like unable to at several points in the movie yeah okay that's a good point I actually feel like that's a good point to my that he's like it's also so important she not know but I do think it would have been a less it's unethical either way because it's a lie but it would have been less unethical if it was a female companion if she had like made a really good friend and she was skipping around but it's like the way they know she's going to be into this because it's a hot young man is really not great it's really not cool I think that's the mom's like immediate hesitation is she's like this seems like it could get messy but also it's like you know she they come she comes out of the restaurant because even though he thought his job was over he now realizes okay I'm in it they're gonna let me stick with her he's wrote back in she has no guilt about how worried her parents would be I noticed it's like even if she's not the president's daughter they don't know where she is and she's not coming home it's like I would have a little bit of like damn do I need to put them through this like even if she called them and we're like I'm not gonna tell you where I am I'm not coming home but I am alive and I'll see you tomorrow I know you're right I'm doing too much huh Anyway. I love that she comes out and she's like, finally, I finally get to experience the real Prague. And I was like, bitch, you're 80. Yeah. Like, have you been not experiencing the real Prague all this time? Yeah, I know. Like, weren't you just at a Roots concert? Like, holy shit, we should all be so lucky. So they go into like a little piazza and there is like a public projector movie or whatever. And she just decides they're getting on Roots. Well, first she goes skinny dipping. Oh my God. The most annoying. Here's like, she's drunk and in public. It's like, there's tourists like eating dinner and shit. And it's like, this is the stuff where it's like, I can't sympathize with her. This is such like entitlement behavior to me to be like, I'm experiencing the real Prague. And I get that she's drunk and don't get me wrong people. I appreciate what it is like to be like 18 and in Europe, but like getting naked and skinny dipping in front of a public venue is just like, you suck. Like you suck. Also what city body of water should you be skinny dipping in? I can tell you right now, none not one Morales and Wise have to buy all the cameras back because people are taking pictures of her skinny dipping and that will come up later they're trailing them the whole time that's part of the plan is they're like his backup while they're buying them back he's like actually honey can we get a shot together and he makes his business partner stand next to him and pretend to be his wife while he takes photos with her like they're on a date just another example of the ways he is behaving completely inappropriately with a woman who literally only showed up to work today he's pushing things on her that it's like can i just do my whatever you guys get it we don't like it um so they go into a piazza and they're like projecting a movie and she just decides we're getting on roofs and it's like okay and it's like but okay here's the here's the tension for me and i totally am gonna go with it but it's like he either is excited and he has a crush on her and he's like we're climbing on roofs or he's going i'm not gonna get up on a roof that's doing too much i'm sorry but like it was nice to meet you good but what happens is he has to do both where it's like he can't let her out of his sight but he doesn't want to get up on the roof so he's just like grumpily following her and it does it's just he's having fun I'm stopping he's having fun he's having fun yeah it's like I think you're taking grumpy and it's like and I do think at this point he's kind of like I'm having to do all this shit because I'm getting paid to but he's playing it more nonchalant than he is like upset or angry or unwilling he's just being kind of like an aloof hot mysterious guy it's not that nefarious I'll give it to you I'll give it to you but I do you think also crucially he's got to be the one that knows how we got up on the roof she doesn't know so he's figuring it out he absolutely said this way madam I've been up here before he said I always watch from these seats these are my seats um okay here's the one part of the movie where I was like okay empathize like this is your finally explaining yourself you know what I mean and it's because they're up there and she's doing that thing again where I'm like I cannot listen to a rich white skinny girl complain um but she's like he's like how can you rely be that hard it's like it sounds like you get to get the opera because he notices like he thinks he's telling her about the opera they're watching on the projector screen but she knows everything about it which i actually really liked because he was like see that actress she thinks this but actually and amanda more is like well she's doing that because of this and she knows the whole motivation for it and i was like fucking i love that little detail I love that too because I feel like it does an essential thing that so many rom-coms forget to do where they just throw people into situations and they're like, because they're in this situation, they're in love. And I feel like so often rom-coms forget this essential scene which took like two seconds and two lines. They should have something in common. Which is give them something in common. Oh my God, give them something to talk about. I liked it also because it's just like, oh yeah, you would be cultured. Why wouldn't you be? Because you're a teenage girl and our brains are assuming the worst of you. I loved that it sort of reset. Remember who she is, where she comes from. Yeah, she's going to have the best education in America. because she's literally the first daughter. She goes to Harvard later, guys. So he says, your life can't be that bad. And she says, I never said it was bad, but it's very lonely. And I was like, oh, you know what? And I am going to say, fair. I bet it is deeply lonely. And when you come at it from that angle, I'm lonely. I can't have real friends. I can't have real connections. I can't have dates. I can't fall in love. Let's talk about lonely, and I'm listening. I think that's the whole point. And I think it does the same thing to him. right like he's like actually I'm listening so yeah oh did you notice they start to play Paolo Nutini when they wake up on the roof oh my god no I didn't but simply of course they did I was like Paolo I recognize him anywhere yeah here's the other thing when she wakes up she's like I need to call my parents like I think this is like girl you are in someone if it was our parents like you know the fucking police Interpol would be out there like it's so insane so she calls them their under reaction would be so such a big tip off knowing what she knows about them and that he sent like 50 agents to the bar when he promised only like all this shit the way he's like hey you know what I lied to you and I shouldn't lie and next time you know what and she's like wow you're being really cool that is where I'd start to look around at the people around me look around and see if someone was hiding on the bus next to me it's too weird this is where I realized that they all like Matthew Goode the dad Morales and Weiss they all think this is a one night plan and it's over now Oh, yeah. And she's going to come home.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:51

And I was like, that makes this make like a lot more sense to me that this was the plan. Of course, she's never going to find out. Of course, she's not going to fall in love. They did one day. Why would she? Yeah, exactly. She's not going to fall in love. But basically, while they're on the phone, the dad receives all the photos that they bought off the tourists while she was skinny dipping. And he sees these naked pictures of her in public. And he starts to freak out on the phone. The switch up is immediate. He's basically like, I know you're in the train station. Do not get on a train. And she's like, I can't believe you traced my call and I was like you can't I know what the fuck do you mean you can't in all kinds of international laws this is my you're just an annoying rich girl you're just an annoying president of the United States I'll trace what I want to trace is not the take you think it is sir that's the Patriot Act and it's prime yeah I mean she you didn't come home last night in a foreign country like you're using everything at your disposal girl like get you need to get for real honestly so honestly she does immediately get for real because she hangs up the phone and she gets right on a train she's like I'm running away away again and she doesn't even think he's gonna come with her she's like this has been so nice thank you so much I've got to go to Berlin she tries to shake him actually to that point she tries to shake him more than once like over and over and over again she's like I actually have to run he says I'm not gonna trace you through Europe and she says okay bye she says is this the train to Berlin and someone says yeah and she takes their word for it honey she just says he seems like he knows what he's saying she gets on of course you find out the wrong train but Matthew Good follows her on the train this is where Jay I'm telling you I'd be worried I was being kidnapped this is where I'd be like okay and I guess yeah but it's cute instead she looks at him and she goes you got a little thing for me huh yes and I was like that is of course what you would think that is of course what you would think the movie makes total sense to me up until this moment where he's like no I don't he says no I don't we're just traveling in the same direction and as he does that he scoots closer to her stares deeply into her eyes and smirks at her and it's like okay I don't know this whole time on the train yes maybe it felt like he was like holding something back or he wished he could like get closer to her than he could but he seemed irritated to me the whole time I don't know so basically she is sort of like fine then like get off the train and he's like it's a moving train I can't get off the train and crucially he is literally smiling at her as he says this he is flirting with her as he delivers the lines and she's essentially like well then fine when the train stops like we'll just go our separate ways and he's like okay and then he very gentlemanly gives her a little bit of toothpaste to rub on her teeth. Offers a little bit of toothpaste and her little tantrum where she sticks out her finger is so stuck with me from when I was a kid about like she's like I'm mad at him but like I would love to brush my teeth with my little finger. I would love to brush my teeth. It's so cute. And I personally have used that hack several times while on trains in Europe I can confidently say. Because I saw this movie. We jumped to Weissa Morales who did get on the train to Berlin so they're on the wrong train and in this moment girl it's this is the worst and it doesn't get better but this is the worst he goes god this is the most mickey mouse assignment we've ever been on because he's irritated they're on the wrong train and he she says listen i just do what i'm told and he goes oh yes strip naked and stops to like look at her and she lays into him thank god the only reason i can watch this movie is because she finally fucking is like what are you doing stop like it's not cool it's not cute and if only the at the perspective of it was we are co-workers and this is sexual harassment it's not it's also a good point but it's not a complete point that she makes where she's like this is just neanderthal ridiculous annoying behavior and it's not attractive and you're not going to attract a person this way and it's just stop yeah i agree and i do think it does get to him in the literally most annoying way and then he continues to be like a little baby about it oh my god it's insane it's actually so much more annoying than when he's sexually harassing her that he's like you hurt my feelings because i'm not allowed to sexually harass you but i do like that she calls his brain uh the construction site lunch break that is your brain i was like your personality your personality i was like thank god someone had to say it okay here's what i want to get to i think this is such a take are you ready yeah the next scene where we meet mcgruff they have a little third friend mcguff who like is following around for certain on and off for parts of this I think this is my most romantic part of the movie I think this is most poetic part of the movie I'm so obsessed with him he's like a poet the whole time I said he the million dollar man guy he's a keeper I literally know sorry to spoil this for you that he does rob them he ultimately is a pickpocket and it doesn't change my opinion of him and frankly it doesn't change Manny Moore's opinion of him either he gives this whole spiel about how he's just like running through Europe and at one point he like leaves and says have you ever made slow love on a high speed train and I'm like the way that I was just ranting about the sexual harassment happening on the other train and this line tickled me pink I was like that is so fucking I can't handle it I love it he goes just me my rucksack in the open road ahead of me and Matthew Goode is like and your sandals because he has his like bare feet up on his leg the whole exchange is so funny but here's what I want to talk about he is investing in a global community and here's how he's doing it this stuck with me as a kid so much I like wanted to do it I wanted to see one I wanted something like this to be real he's got a backpack full of stickers it is totally And there's stickers from The Million Dollar Man, the 1960s show, which I think I mentioned in the upfront. Yeah. He said, you know, you take some stickers, you take some stickers, and they're like, okay. And he was like, they're not just stickers. Here's what you do. You're going to walk around the whole time you're in Europe. You're going to post them up. That's all you have to do. When you see a spot for one, put it up. And they were like, okay, and then what? And he was like, and then nothing. You forget about the sticker. You go about your life, whatever. But one day you're going to feel down. You're going to feel sad. You're going to be very far away in life. You're going to look up and you're going to see an sticker and you're gonna know that you're not alone and that like you're a part of a global community and I literally was like I'm crying he's a poet like the the way it's like everyone I've ever touched Eventually we'll be everyone if we keep going. You know what I mean? And he doesn't– I don't feel like he explicitly is like, and then you can give the stickers to your friends or whatever. It's just the people he gives them to, which I feel like is even more insane because then as a person that might see that sticker again, you know they ran into McGuff. You know what I mean? But he does give them– a huge amount a handful and they do throughout the movie give them to other people so it's like I do think there's supposed to be like a pay it forward element to it and I do think he says like and then you realize like we are all one we're all connected oh I was just like wait do I love McGuff like he can pickpocket me too actually he's a keeper for sure but also I was like not the first daughter going to Europe for literally 24 hours and like learning about social responsibility global community no exactly but I will say he's very well cast he's extremely true even though he's totally neurotic and annoying it's just like every line out of his mouth is poetry and I really love him as a character no I do love him and I do think he's like a huge asset because he brings into the movie this whole kind of like European Eurotrash backpacker like culture of like discovering yourself through travel and he represents that like to a T yeah it's also hilarious because it's like wow the hostels really do be full of just like oh my god exactly this guy British Eurotrash Like they would have done a disservice to the movie not to have like a character like this. This is also the point where we find out that they aren't going to Germany. They're going to Venice. McGruff is like, when we get to Venice, this will happen. And she's sort of like, oh, fuck. Morales and Wise literally are on the train to Berlin. So they're in the complete opposite direction. When the dad finds this out that they're on the trip to Venice and he's been alone, he's pissed and he immediately calls off the entire operation, which I think is important because it's like from this point on, Matthew Goode thinks he's doing what the president has asked him to do and is in fact rogue completely rogue here's what doesn't make sense to me too though is like they put Weiss Morales on a train back to follow them in Venice which is silly because they're just going to end up in Berlin in a couple days anyway and my thought is wouldn't the president of the United States have people on site in Venice that could be there in 20 minutes they do bring that up to the president he's like we can have people swarming her in 10 minutes yeah but he still doesn't want to like reveal that she's being tailed that they know where she is yeah she's being tailed so they do a cute little montage of the three of them hanging out there with McGuff they go shopping she needs a change of clothes like bad so they all go shopping and they're hanging out and stuff but here's another point where she's like she comes out of the tattoo parlor with McGuff and she's like pretended to have gotten a tattoo and then she's like just kidding and he's like god damn it you had me really worried there and again it's like the movie forgets what she knows and doesn't know it's like she accepts that he's her hold on hold on she accepts that he's her caretaker and that he would be mad if she got a tattoo he's a stranger It just doesn't make sense. I mean he clearly feels responsible for her he says that he's like you know you're alone in Europe you don't know anybody and like I caught up with you and now I'm like kind of feel responsible for you and she's like okay well don't worry like I'm a grown-up and he's like okay like you're clearly not so it's like they have had a conversation where he's like I don't want to like leave you alone to the wolves but also it's like they're having fun I know I'm talking now they're having fun they're like running around the city they're taking photos they're hugging they're taking they go to dinner together like they go shopping together he they make this she makes this joke with him about the tattoo and he at first is like oh fuck and then they walk away laughing like it's just not a chore for him anymore he's still playing it kind of aloof but it's like they're enjoying themselves she feels very close to them both at this point to me maybe it's just because i know too much information it doesn't make sense that she'd be like i'm gonna go freak out my keeper it's like why is he your keeper this doesn't make any sense if he's such a stick in the mud why are they i know but it's like because she thinks he's hot this just isn't right to me I feel like I'm like he's smiling at her he's doing everything she asked him to do he's that cute I'm like of course she thinks they're falling in love um I kind of like that they give them a third friend during this because it's like a buffer it's like they get to have fun and it's not romantic and it's like not you saying it's a buffer when literally that's the like no homo way he robs I know oh my god exactly no no no we jump back to Weiss and Morales and this is what you're talking about earlier where he's being a little baby bitch and he's mad she called out his misogyny he's literally like And she's like, what? He's like, you said I have the personality of a construction site. And she's like, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. And then he's like, yeah, you did. And she's like, yeah, actually, I did. And thank God. Thank God. She was like, yeah, I did. And here's where the situation we're in now is not only is she, frankly, the only one paying attention to the job. I know. He's just been complaining and hitting on her and falling asleep under her movie. And staring at her ass and shit. Yeah. She has to be doing all the work, taking all the notes. And now she's got to be babysitting his fucking ego on top of all of that. Not to mention the harassment. She's already undergone. Yeah. Free this woman. Yeah. And here's the gay panic moment back with the three of them gallivanting around Venice. He's like, I'm going to go get ice cream for us all. But like, can I have a hug first? He invites the guy to hug and he's like, we got a chicky buffer. And he's like, what's that mean? He was like, it means it dispels any panic of like two men touching each other because there's a girl here too. For 06, it's kind of funny. It does make me sad in a 2025 way that that's what we had to do for men to hug. It's just so silly. Especially European men. I was like, European men be hugging exactly I will be to I do want to divulge this one anecdote that was when I studied abroad in Italy in Florence in 2012 I was a sophomore in college and I did have a friend that met friends out at the bar we were at and we all went home and he ended up staying with them and they spent the whole evening together it was like five people they went to another bar after the first bar they all said he had made friends and at the end of the night the like sun is coming up and they're walking around and he said they turned a corner and ran into like five more of their friends and they very calmly were like give us all your stuff and your wallet and stuff and he was like damn like i bet at some point in the night they were like this is just like an easy mark and we're not going to get out of this night without getting this guy's money but like how what a trip to hang out all night and be like we were friends you know so yeah i mean it's crazier things have happened for sure completely i think like I think everybody like knows of a story where something like that has happened people sort of like leading you to another location under the guise of friendship like I do think this is something that people have to be worried about and as like a someone who's no longer a teenager watching like this 18 year old girl traveling solo alone being so open with you know what I mean like being like and these are my best friends now when we go everywhere together it does sort of like get that getting that panic up yeah it is too bad though because it does feel like you know this is what you're there for to like meet strangers go hang out with them, go to parties. And I have met a lot of wonderful people. Me too. Here's a good rule though. Make sure there's a woman with them. I don't even know that that would fully save you. My rule would be make sure someone else knows where you are. Yeah. Okay. Both good rules. So they have a hug and then he goes off to like get ice cream or whatever the fuck he said he was going to do. And Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode have a romantic dinner on the canal. Yeah. But you know what's weird, Jay? McGuffer, McGruff, he doesn't come back right away. Hmm. He doesn't come. Yeah. actually the sun fully goes down yeah it's so crazy what could be taking so long mandy more comments as much where do you think he got off to he is taking pictures of the canal while she's having dinner and she's kind of like ragging on him for not wanting to like sit and have dinner with her she's like you are being so silly like sit down we're having dinner and he is like trying to keep this distance between them because he's trying to keep it professional and right in him a little bit and then this leads into her reaching into her bag and realizing that not only does she not have a wallet, she only has like a handful of Million Dollar Man stickers. And Matthew Goode's like, relax, I have a wallet. No, he doesn't. He also has a pocket full of Million Dollar Man stickers. He has the president's daughter on him. He could send up a flare. He could call someone on the phone. Like he could, but before he gets the chance, she panics because as she's like freaking out about not having her wallet, people start to recognize her and say her name. And she's like, I'm so sorry to like stiff you. But I've got to run. And she literally takes off running down the street. So they're in the most American tourist place in the world in Venice. Jeff Bezos is getting married just down the street. Yeah. I did not understand this because why can't she just be recognized as the president's daughter? She doesn't want Matthew Goode to know she's the president's daughter. She doesn't want to get swarmed. She doesn't have any security. She's alone and she's an 18 year old girl. By the way, she has a crush on him. You'd think they'd be getting closer and she'd be like, well, now is as good a time to any since these three people from Iowa recognize you to tell me who I really am. That would have been cute. They never do do that. Actually, you know what? I'm having this thought in real time in this moment that she does not tell him who she is the entire time either. Um, no, I didn't notice that she doesn't, but I feel like the whole point is that she's trying to run away from that. Yeah. She's trying to figure out who she is outside of that. So she takes off running and he takes off running after her and And the maitre d' and about 10 waiters take off running after them. And so it's a whole fucking scene down the street of Venice. All of them running because she can't afford the bill and she doesn't want to get seen. They hide underneath a bridge and this is where we meet both the best and the most cartoonish character in the entire movie, the gondola driver. The gondola guy is like, oh my god, my first couple. And she is like, oh my god, this is the perfect getaway boat. It's like the Disney ride that goes through the entire city if they get on that gondola. And they have to pay for it. But I feel like that's why they want to get on it is this is like a classic Venice thing that's so cute. And also like it's fun. Oh my God. Like who doesn't want to get in the gondola with their hot boyfriend that is acting like he doesn't like them. Before they get on the gondola, they have to sweet talk their way onto the gondola. And I think it's so cute. She has like a real kind of like making it up manic energy on the fly where she's like, uh, we're honeymooners. Uh, we don't have any money. And every single time she does, he is like... backing her up 100% with the most charmed smile on his face and you can tell she doesn't think he's gonna go along with it until he's the one that's like fully selling it and he's like we tried to stay apart but it's just no good we have nothing but we have everything and she's like oh my god he acts like they're on the lam from their families or something or like they didn't want them to get married just to like really elevate the story and I feel like he is like you said he's very cartoony so it's like of course he would be so into romance and he would be swayed by romance because he's a gondola driver or whatever which you find out he was like a accountant the week prior and he just bought this boat and like fucked off the rest of his life because he really wanted to be a gondola driver I can't imagine that's a job people want people that live in Venice or pays

SPEAKER_01: 1:26:11

very

SPEAKER_00: 1:26:11

well yeah no kidding and this job pays not at all because eventually he's like you swayed me they get in the boat wait I love he says if sweet stories were pasta you would be very fat already and then he's like okay you can get in blah blah blah the boat is very formative for me this is a standout memory for me from the movie because it's like again he's been like grumpy sour puss acting like he doesn't have two feet under him and walk can walk away at any moment all day now they're in the boat and she's really excited he kind of went along with their little lie because it like it's a reason it's a fake dating trope you guys we all love a fake dating trope even mandy moore and he tells this story that i fucking love the details details like this that make the movie good is like he tells this story about his dad being in being whatever not an agent but something I can't remember what he says he's just like a workaholic we know that his dad was also an agent but he's like you know my mom they got divorced because she waited around and waited around and she wanted him to make the big gesture and he never did and Mandy Moore's like what's the big gesture and he says you know I'll quit for you I'll stay home for you whatever and he just he didn't do it And Mandy Moore was like, oh, that's sad. And he's like, yeah, I agree. It is sad. So they broke up. He says he says not only did he not do it, he said people don't really do that, do they? Which I think sets up kind of another like element of their relationship where it's like Mandy Moore has been ragging on Matthew Goode for being like closed off to fun, like not curious about the world. And it's like we know that he's at work. But this sets up another element of it where it's like he is burned by his parents relationship into not looking at the world in like a romantic way. way the way that Mandy Moore is like determined to on this trip yeah and she has no experience with anything she probably believes life is more romantic for regular people you know what I mean so it's like she's 18 and he's 23 but they do kiss here it is mentioned in this moment right before their lips lock which I was like a choice made by the movie and I'm glad of it but so the waiter and the owner of the restaurant come running over one of the bridges they're about to go under and so in order to hide her he leaned over covers her and they kiss they kiss and it's a good kiss and she shook and they go under the bridge and the waiter and the cafe owner can't find them and they give up and they walk off the bridge here's what i don't love about this they come apart she knows they ran out on the bill and i feel kind of bad he doesn't let her in on the fact that like oh we're hiding from the bill somehow kissing her and then not telling her although i know i mean i know he actually wanted to kiss her too but part of it was this little plan and I feel kind of bad that she thinks it's like a genuine a fully genuine moment I do think it's partially genuine but he does keep that in his back pocket to whip it out at the least opportune moment later yeah I do hate that honestly like this gondola scene is the crux of the moment where it's like okay this is like becoming real like for him yeah it's been real for her the whole time yeah but it's like but this is like the softest and the sweetest and the closest they've been are yeah like um they talk about how she's like oh like you know i'm just like some crazy girl you ran into on this trip and he's like no you didn't need me like you would have been fine on your own which is the first time that he has kind of admitted that admitted that he sees her as like a capable person or a peer you know what i mean she takes that to heart that means a lot to her and i'm like you would think she's just not wrong you you would think he was falling in love with Liu. Like, you would think it was on, like, Donkey Kong. I'm standing on business that why the fuck are you following me around across multiple countries except that you have a crush on me? Finally, you admit it, if anything. You know what I mean? Like, you would have been fine on your own, blah, blah, blah. I wrote down, like, I know he's, like, kissing her for the, you know, to hide her, and he's, like, following her around because he's being paid to. But then I was like, but at a certain point, like, you are solving all of your own issues with boyfriend solutions. Yeah, that's so true. Like, you could have just tucked your head. You could have just pointed some other way and you guys turned around behind you. Like, you could have done a million different things. Let's hide together. No, he's looking for a reason to kiss. Exactly. And also at this point in the movie, I realized that this is the exact plot of another Mandy Moore movie called Tangled. Tangled the cartoon? Mandy Moore is the voice of that? Yeah, she's the voice of the, like, princess. Wow, that is a fun fact I truly never knew. And it's like she was perfect casting because she literally already did every single beat in this movie. Wait, no. to be a bitch but i actually loki can't believe mandy moore was cast in a movie where you can't see her that shocks me i can't she's really good at it she's a disney princess and she sings oh but literally it's like a handsome man she like runs into her but he has ulterior motives but she convinces him to like take her to the festival she's always wanted to go to and he's like kind of debating whether or not he's doing it for the right reasons or not. And then they kiss in a rowboat. That happens in Tangled. That's so fucking funny. So their ride ends. I have another question for you about this kiss. Sorry to harp on literally the best scene in the movie. Do you think this is her first kiss ever? Yes. It must be. Because she's never been kissed before. at the date we don't know conclusively she's never been kissed at the date but i think they want you to think that i think they're suggesting that and i think this is her first kiss maybe not because later she's ready to go a haul the way so maybe she has at least kissed in about five minutes listen the plot of this movie is that mandy moore's trying to fuck that is her yeah she is horny this movie it makes me really like her it's a wholesome goal i mean i don't mean that ironically so they're like let me take you to your hotel the bride is over you guys are adorable The little boat guy Loves the kiss As much as we do And they're like Oh that reminds us We don't have a hotel And he is so concerned that they don't have a place to spend their wedding night. He's like, but where will you? But where will you? And it's like, you have to come home and sleep in my bed. And Manny Moore is like, bed. They go home to his house where he lives with his mother. Did you recognize who the mom was? Yeah, it's the nurse from Romeo plus Juliet. It's the nurse from Romeo plus Juliet. She's well cast in this too. She plays kind of the same character. She does. They're letting you sleep in their bed for free. So, I mean, there's a quick... Stop over at the other two agents where she's like, oh, you trimmed your hair. Your bald head looks sexy, whatever. And it's like, oh, why are we rewarding this behavior? But it's like I think in 2006, this is our like he's growing. He's changing. He knows he was wrong. And it's like he doesn't. He isn't. He is just like literally doing the absolute bare minimum. He's trying to make himself more fuckable to her. And that's it. Yeah. so fuck them we're moving away from them they it's like i'm not gonna be lying to say it doesn't work on me that them getting together feels sweet because the propaganda of the movie is just working but like it's just not a great storyline and it like blows my mind they get so much of this movie um that you're supposed to find it all very endearing and it's just i'm hard pressed but we move to the gondola driver's little abode um and where his mother lives and they've gone to bed and mandy moore has taken a shower and she's She's entered in their little honeymoon suite. They've set up for them, which is actually just like the gondola driver's room. He's delegated to the couch and she is in a towel. Let me say, I did not remember the towel. I did not remember the, like how naked she gets in this, but she's like, okay, we kissed on the gondola. Now I'm in this towel. Here's what I hated for her. He's like, okay, I'm going to sleep on the ground and you can take the bed. And she's like, I mean, the bed is huge. Like, You don't need to sleep on the ground, which even if he's like, OK, I don't think we should hook up like whatever. That's all fine. I hate there's nothing I hate more than when someone sleeps on the ground. It is not an overtly sexual thing for two people to share a bed. Grow up. It is a queen size bed. Build a fucking pillow fort between you like that TikTok sound or whatever if you have to. But like the idea that someone sleep on the ground, the most uncomfortable sleeping thing a person can do. It's just so silly. It's so dramatic get in the bed we could just be having a conversation about the fact that mandy more needs to put clothes on like obviously i don't want to sleep in this bed with you when you are butt ass naked yeah that's the thing he could be like i'm uncomfortable like i'll wait for you to change or whatever it makes sense to me that he's like you're the president's daughter i'm being paid to protect you like oh totally i'll sleep in between you and the door like i'll sleep on the floor like that is a boundary that makes sense with the information that he has he has yeah no i do but obviously she's not with the information she has but here's what killed me even if he isn't working for her dad, even if he isn't secretly Secret Service, Do not get on the floor next to him. On the ground. He lays down on the ground while she's in the bed and she gets out of bed and lays down next to him on the ground in her towel. I've never been more mortified for anyone. I've never been more humiliated. I literally wrote down, girl, stop hitting yourself in the face. Laying down on the ground. And it's like he's trying to, I hate to use the word reject her because we know he likes her, but he's trying to- buffing her exit yeah we're buffing her as gracefully as possible and she is just saying what dignity where oh my god when she got on the ground I was like I mean I guess it is like she's never it doesn't have a lot of experience she's 18 but like and her stated goal is she's trying to fuck I know but you just don't come back from that even if he likes you like getting on the ground I just was like you're better than this is she like reach she lays down next to him he's kind of like what the fuck is happening she reaches over him again she is just in a towel she reaches over him to like spoon him and he literally springs up because he's flustered as fuck he's freaking out and he's like you need to just go to bed and she goes i thought i was trying to go to bed and it's like no you didn't girl like no you didn't well i mean i don't think no you didn't i think she means i'm trying to go to bed meaning the same way that the gondola driver was where will you sleep like yeah she is trying to go to bed like i understand why she said that like i'm trying to this is what i want you know and then he gives her this spiel about how they she needs to get on board with the fact that they're just two people traveling in the same direction and again i write in all caps dude you're following her i mean he's not following her she has invited him to every single step of this trip like she wants him to be there but this is the point where after this morning after this night the next morning she's like we are not like you something is up with you you are not into me fuck you and she tries everything she can to get away from him at this point she's leaving him in the dust but before they go to bed basically he's like letting her down and she is like but you kissed me on the gondola and this is where he pulls out like no I didn't like you're crazy like obviously I was just hiding you from the waiters and she is like oh so you like didn't feel anything and he doesn't know this but I believe it to be her first kiss and here she is like naked finding out that even that is like a lie like it's heartbreaking and I think she plays it really heartbreaking this is the best she does yeah she does really well in this scene at one point she like drops the towel and he like picks up a blanket in between them and she's like really hurt and confused yeah and she crashes out after this but personally like as a rom-com lover this is the kind of scene that I'm watching the movie for the like she doesn't know that he knows that she doesn't know and he has to act like and it's everybody's being tortured everybody's yearning and everybody wants to make out she really will deliver if it's let me be crushed for a moment on screen yeah she does a great job and she climbs in the bed and she says the absolute worst line in the entire movie which is uh virgin safely tucked away and I was like shut up shut up girl he did not know that I know and like stop giving it giving it all your cards away so they wake up the next morning they come out of the room she's pissed the mom is like you guys were so quiet like what happened and Mandy Moore honestly is like fully crashing out and she's like well he finds me repulsive so whatever the mother gives the best piece of advice she says you want a happy marriage you gotta kiss her every day every day cause she wants him to like kiss performatively in front of her yeah It's a fake dating trope. You have to kiss performatively. Honestly, it's so funny and it is so Shakespearean because it's like he has a... He's got, he's keeping up a ruse. Like he wants to hook up, right? But he's keeping up a ruse of not wanting to hook up to keep his job. But now he has to, in his ruse of not wanting to hook up, have to keep up the ruse of wanting to hook up in order to secure themselves a place to stay at night. Like he is just weaving like a really tangled web right now. He is just weaving like a really tangled web. And you know what? You gotta stop. He needs to just let the chips fall where they may. Fall where they may. They are both lying though. I stand by this. She's not telling him who she is. He's not telling her who he is. She's just not lying about her emotions. Yeah. And she isn't lying about her emotions. Twice. Doubly over. He's lying. Yes. Truly. I actually have to say Weiss and Morales catch up to them and like you know they're long gone but they show up at the gondola driver's house and I totally forgot the whole we think they're married misdirect but I really like it. Secret agents Weiss and Morales show photos to the nurse from Romeo and Juliet the gondola driver's mom and And she's like, oh, you mean the married couple? So now they're like, okay, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. You can tell they're kind of stressed. And I forgot about it, but I really like it. So at this point, the dad thinks they're married. They're not married. Dad thinks the mission has been canceled. Matthew Goode knows they're not married. Thinks the mission is still on. Oh, I never put this together. The president thinks that his agent went rogue and married his daughter. Manny Moore doesn't know any of this. Thinks nobody knows anything. And then she says a crush on a boy that doesn't like her back. And she's crashing. We've reached the crash out portion of this movie because now the gondola driver drives them across the border to Austria. But what, I have to ask, what the hell kind of shoes is she wearing in this scene? They're stomping across Austria and it's like clack, clack, clack. No, because she is wearing a pair of ballet flats and real Y2K girlies, the girls that were there will know. By the end of this scene, she is limping with and you can tell she just has like the mother of all blisters like she is reaching bone and i was like and yes and did and you would and it's like there's not even a half an inch of heel on those no no no it is just that like tight curve of the back of those plastic ass ballet flats and it's like and we've all been there and we've all got scars yeah for sure she's like don't talk to me we're in a fight or whatever and this fucking truck with a group of like burly men in the back in the bed drives by because the the gondola driver was just like i can just get you over the border and like best of luck to you so they're on foot and then to get away from matthew good she hops in the back of the bed of this truck with these guys and i'm like you're such an idiot even if you're a normie ass bitch are you stupid two burly guys a third one in the truck you don't have any money you don't know where they're going This is fucking scary. Do not do this. And I was just like, Mandy, I'm trying to root for you. And yet you got on the ground in that towel. And now you've gotten in the back of the tread of this. And it's just it's you're taking L's left and right. Like, where is your brain? So they drive away. And then here's the sad montage. This is the part of the movie that's the sad montage. They're both walking down the street alone. Truck, the cabbage truck even like turns back around, like it drops her off wherever she's going and it turns back around. And Matthew Goode is like, oh, she came back for me. Yeah. And then as it passes him, she's not in the back anymore. And he's like, oh, fuck. And like takes off running literally on foot. I mean, he's fucked if he loses her. As a human person, regardless of mission, she's in a ton of danger to get in the back of that car. And he's very hot because he can run at full speed for a very long time, which we love to see. He finally comes across a kid who he talks into giving him a bike. I don't know what he trades that kid for his bike. Stickers. He gives him a bunch of the stickers. Oh, that's so cute. That's so cute. I love the stickers. So Mandy Moore comes across a bridge in her sad limping. You know what I mean? And people are bungee jumping. I think you call it base jumping off of the bridge this is my worst nightmare I look so fun in this movie though I was like I would do it with Matthew Goode low-key this scene encapsulates like exactly what I've been talking about from the beginning where it's like it paints Europe as this like medieval fairy tale land where you're just wandering around and running into like playground kind friendly bands of magical people doing fun and adventurous things and they'll take you in and that'll be like a little like side quest for your whole trip there is a world where this is a condensed version of like a big long trip and you can come across a lot of fun things, but probably they won't invite you to go brace jumping with them for free. But as she approaches the bridge, she recognizes someone on the bridge and the group of people. Who is it, Jordan? It's McGruff. He also is going base jumping for free. She starts to run and she's like, McGruff, what the fuck? He's all strapped in. He's about to jump off the bridge and she's like, what the hell? You robbed us. And he says, I needed it for scratch. Which I think he means drugs, right? I don't know. but I hate that it's like is he a drug user or not do we need to know I didn't want to know it can be a mystery yeah but we know knowing him how he is it's like he also just met these people probably he like came down from Venice and ran into them that's actually the funniest part right is like she's only like a half a mile behind McGruff on like his travels I know and it's like oh so like this movie would have you believe there's one road in and out no exactly but this is what I'm saying that it's just like the whole thing is like like a playground yeah where people just keep running into each other yeah he jumps over and this is when matthew good kind of rolls up on the bike he's finally been able to catch up with her thank god again apparently there's only one road so there'd be no other way to lose her she's like jealous and it looks cool and she wants to do it so when matthew good starts pedaling up she's got the harness wrapped in to go over herself which again i'm like this guy fucking robbed you you don't know these people i know first of all let me posit this you know for sure you cannot trust that guy not even just take anything out of it on a base level he betrays yes so you're gonna let him and a bunch of people who you know even less than the guy you know for sure you can't trust yeah strap you into a harness to throw you off a bridge i mean get a grip and this is when matthew good finally catches up to her and comes strolling up on the bike i live for this jump dude it still hits so much she's like i'm going over and he's like yeah well I have to go where you go so he and they kind of have a jump cut to both of them being strapped in and they're facing each other and like a hot hug and I was like this hits this is so good and she's like clearly very nervous and he's like if you're so scared why do it and she's like I have this theory that the things you're most afraid of are the most worthwhile and then she's like actually that's not a theory my dad taught me that I know I love it it's such a good line because it does two things right this is where we have the the flip where she's like i'm things are no longer a theory for me like i'm testing things out and i'm learning from them and i am like learning that i do want to be a brave person and alternatively it's the theme of him being like closed off people don't do big gestures it's not worth kind of like putting yourself out there and her being like no no like it is that's how you like live a life that is full and meaningful and he's like huh i didn't think of that and they go the fuck off that bridge together they fall they choose to fall together it's so good and they like slow-mo it and he like taps the water on the way up and it looks so so fun I was like I've never I'm not a skydive person it never has made any sense to me why people want to do it I'm not a jump off shit person this looks so fun with like your boyfriend a big hug and a jump and a leap I love it so much they come they get cut down loose into the water and they're celebrating and they're like that's so fun and romantic yeah and then it cuts to that night now they're just camping with this like wild band of bohemian bungee jumpers and like it is so medieval you're right this is like a fucking episode of game of thrones where it's like and then it's like they're all around a campfire that evening like they're inviting them to eat with them like i guess they're gonna spend the night with them so this is the best part of the whole movie because this is when somebody finally gets a little real they don't get all the way real but they get kind of good matthew good finally gets a little real so they're at the campfire and she's like so you don't want to make out with me but you You like chased me for hours on foot down a back country road. Fair fucking point. And she again is at this place where it's like, there's no other explanation except that you like me. Which again, yeah. He still is kind of like, nope, just a worried bystander. And it's like, this is so lame. And I actually thought this was really like realistic. The first time I saw it, I thought it was like, this would never happen. Who would ever walk up and do this? But then I've like been to Europe and there's one of the other guys, base jumper guy. like walks out I guess his name's Gus Gus and he has like a van with an awning and like a whole camping set up he's like in charge of the yeah bohemian bungee jumpers and honestly Gus Gus is a nice guy he's letting them crash with them for the night whatever and he's like they don't appear to be a couple he walks up to her literally gestures towards his hut and looks back at her and winks and is like you up for it and she's like no and he's like okay and he's like enjoy your evening away walks away and I think the first time I saw this I was like my jaws on the ground that's so ridiculous it's so silly but like no it's really not he was perfectly polite he had a proposition for her and he was respectful of the answer to that proposition and he moves on yeah it's very cute I love that Matthew Goode is like you're not really attracted to that walking out and it's just like a really fun little interlude of Matthew Goode being like really jealous but this is his like last little thread of like trying to hold on to what he knows he should do no it is his last threat of resistance and she's like okay fine if you're gonna be this annoying I'm gonna go talk to Gus Gus then and he gets up and he's like don't do that which like I think this two things I didn't remember exactly how this went down so I was really surprised that this moves into his like big confession that he would be jealous of Gus Gus and like he can't stop thinking about her because it's also true that if he delivers back the president's daughter no longer a virgin and she lost it to a guy named Gus Gus in Austria he's also in very serious trouble for that and maybe the president would never know that but when I was watching watching it just from everything else that had happened in the movie I did think that was his motivation like the same way I can't let you get defiled by the two guys in the back of the truck I can't let you go off with Gus Gus but Actually, Jordan, that's not his motivation. No, Connor, he actually says one of the most romantic lines. I just want to like go through it with you. Go, go through it. Basically, he chases her down and he's like, the thought of you with Gus Gus makes me like want to lose my mind. The thought of you with anybody makes me want to lose my mind. She's like, oh my God, it's happening. And he says, the truth is, before I met you, I was determined to live my life as a solitary adventure. But ever since I met you, those terms seem mutually exclusive. Meaning you can be solitary or you can treat life as an adventure. And I was like, that's so romantic. And it like aligns perfectly with her earlier comment of like the things that are the most, that scare you the most or the most worthwhile. Finally, finally. And she's like, oh, thank God that time I crawled down on the floor next to you and that towel didn't turn you off. Thank God. But it's like, again, even in this moment, I know he really likes her. I know it's honest, but a small part of me was like, is this his spiel to keep her away from something dangerous? And the answer is no, because he kisses her and then the phone his phone rings which he like finally got to work while he was running through Austria and she's like oh she's honestly not even impressed she's like oh you need to like take a phone call and he throws the phone into the water and I was like okay now we know we're breaking the rule now we really are a man who has taken the president's daughter and fallen in love with her and I think I'm glad they did it I'm glad they did it because I needed it because I did like I said I had that small thing where I was like is he just saying anything it takes and he's desperate now when he threw that phone I didn't see it coming like I just didn't because he's acting to some degree in this entire movie except in the moments when he's talking to Weiss and Morales so you're not really sure what he means until he throws the phone and he still isn't telling her the full truth he's just being honest about his feelings but he throws the phone to let you the audience know that he has fully said go fuck my job it's real yeah and I was like damn he did that and this is the conversation we need to have about whether they did it they did it yeah they did it she's naked under the sheets she's in his underwear he's got his boxers on it's the phone next morning and I love that he crawls out in his underwear to actually go find the phone I do think that there is a faction that could argue that he always knew he was going to go find the phone but I like to think the next day he was like okay shit now with this in the light of day like I need to kind of like figure out the situation and he's and also it's like he does care about her and he cares about the people that care about her and he does not want someone to think she's unsafe so he does go call Weiss and Morales and he's like listen I've got her it's fine and this is where they tell him that he actually was not supposed to go anywhere with her since Prague and he's like like oh I had no idea yeah again it's like what does that matter if it wasn't communicated to him then like okay you guys didn't tell me I didn't know that so I was on the same mission as I knew it no he got hired for a job and the job has been cancelled he's not getting paid he's actually deeply in trouble with the American president like this has become a shit show and he thinks all along he's doing what he's being paid to do but Weiss and Morales are who boffed it. Weiss and Morales got instructions that they didn't carry out, not Matthew Goode. They are also following instructions. They've like lost contact with him. Right. They lost contact. But it is like the first time that he is learning that he has been going against the president's wishes this whole time. And instead of being like, oh, fuck, he's like, well, in for a penny, in for a pound. That's my girl now. And you can find us in Berlin. Yeah, I'm going to Berlin. Deal with it. But so he walks back to the bed the sleeping bag she's naked they did it it's confirmed they just want to stare into each other's eyes a little bit before they go to the love parade we also find out that she's like McGruff like you're on the outs with me like fuck you I can't believe you stole our money and McGruff tells the story that he needed the money because he's been searching all over Europe for a girl that he locked eyes with at a party and like he's in love like it's a mythical love and he's gotta find her so he needed to take their money in um like pursuit of true love and frankly this completely works on Mandy Moore she's like okay I forgive you for everything and I trust you with my life again I mean Matthew Good makes fun of her too he's like you would like you would hug him right now all over again wouldn't you and she's like sorry I can't help it and I'm like whatever she's naive she's a kid let her believe there's good in the world before she finds out the truth very soon later today but then it's like they get to Berlin quick huh they're going to the love parade it's an EDM festival which I love how they just don't really mention in this movie because it's embarrassing to like EDM that's right I said it but there are pride flags all over the parade so happy pride you guys happy pride yeah it's it's July now when you're hearing this but you're reading this but when we're recording it when we're recording it it's pride yeah and the song like you're free what you want to do is playing and it's so fun it looks like the most fun parade you've ever been in at your life and she immediately runs up on her friend Gabby and it's like in what world Are you ever finding her? Especially before find my friends or cell phones or whatever. You don't even have a cell phone. But she's like, oh my God, you're glowing. Is it sex? And she shakes her head, nope. it's love and points to him and that I think is also when me and Jay were like okay so do they not fuck but we are sticking with that what she means is it's not the sex making her glow it's the love but they did fuck I was watching it and I was like you haven't seen your friend in days she's like what's going on with you like give me the update and your update is you point across the love parade at Matthew Goode standing there with his arm up on the phone like the flex of that you don't know what's going on with me girl and what's going on with me is I found Matthew Goode and he's in love with me I bagged Matthew Goode he did like grump around and stop around for 48 hours before he admitted it and that's inexplicable but we got him now girl we got him Gabby meets McGruff who's with them and he's like starstruck by the beauty of Gabby then he's like oh my god she's so gorgeous and Gabby's like who me who gets this for sure all the time and of course Mandy Moore does this bit about like what about the girl you in love with that you were following all over Europe and it's like Mandy Moore he's lying he's lying to you to get off the hook he's lying to you so that you're not mad at him he's lying to you so that he's in another position to steal from you get with it and why would you then leave your friend alone with him I would like it better if he was like Like this is her. Like I met her. It's like this girl is the girl that I've been looking for. I would have liked it too. That would have been like a cute and it honestly would have worked more with the themes of the movie. Missed opportunity. Definitely missed opportunity. McGruff introduces himself to Gabrielle and she's like, hi, like I'm Gabrielle. And he says to her, I know how to make a woman feel like she's wearing laundry fresh out the dryer. Which I love. He's always like just left of truly crude. Like I can't. can't tell you how much have you ever made slow love on a high speed train doesn't offend me but so while they're having their little moment mandy moore's like i'm gonna go find my man he is this is the visceral memory we all have and i think it's part of why this movie is so much more successful than first daughter because yeah the way that this happens is where you don't know she's learning until she's already learned is so good he's like okay here yeah I'm gonna finish up here and in an hour I'll meet you at a drop point and you can do you can have her back like whatever and then he looks up and she's behind the payphone and she's like what the fuck let me tell you something that never occurred me until this watch I think she's realizing in this moment that he's secret service that she's had an agent with her the whole time and that her dad lied to her but that's not clear from what he says it never occurred to me before that she thinks she's being kidnapped she's literally like what all she hears is him be like yeah yeah I've got her I know exactly where she is we're gonna enjoy this I'll meet you at the drop point yeah she looks terrified and it changes the whole scene for me completely she says to him who are you yeah exactly it's terrifying it's really effective and scary but I can't decide if I would rather he said something about the the Secret Service or the president so that it was clear that the betrayal is like more clear. Like the fact that she's just terrified of him for a few months, I think I enjoyed less. I think it's really effective and it's like I would hear the argument that like it's too serious for how not that serious this movie is. Like I hear that it is a very heavy thing. I do think it's heavy and it's only for a split second so I don't think it's too heavy for the movie. I think it's effective that it's scary. I just think I want the emotion that we're getting from her as the audience to know that it's about the betrayal of him and not multiple things, which is I'm terrified for my life. I don't know what's going to happen to me. And I'm betrayed by him. Like, I wish it got its own moment. You know, I like it the way it is. I feel like it's effective that she is scared in this moment and she doesn't know what's going on because there have been several times in this movie already that we've all pointed out where it was like, bitch, I can't believe you got in the back of that cabbage truck. Like, this is dangerous. That's a good point. And we're Like a reckoning with her for a moment. While she's on this journey of doing things for the first time and trying to embrace fear in order to live a worthwhile life, this is the other side of that in a way that I do think adds a good amount of gravity to the movie and the message of the movie where it's like, you could get hurt. It is dangerous what you're doing. And you should do it, obviously not some of the things she does, but in terms of embracing life like you should do it anyways because it is worth it but there will be downsides and this is that moment kind of like encapsulated and she is ultimately fine you know what I mean like yeah she is just a secret service member but she does knee him in the balls and run in the opposite direction which I think is the only like response yeah it is the only response he is like running after her trying to explain and he's like I'm not just like a crazy person like I'm secret service he is like got kind of that manic energy of like freaking out that she's gonna walk away from him again because like now his his heart is on the line too. And she's scared of him now. She's scared of him. And that feels terrible. But she does then immediately find out that he is Secret Service. And she runs off. She's like, I don't care. I don't believe you. Like, whatever. She runs off in the other direction. And then she's swarmed by people who are being aggressive with her. They push her to the ground. They're making very lewd comments. This is something that only happens in movies. It's like, it's again, the medieval thing. I do think it's very Shakespearean. The like leering jesters who come out of the shadows and like Circle her. It's so silly. And I do think it's effective, though, because it's like this is the underlying fear of every woman traveling alone is that you're going to find yourself in a situation surrounded by people who mean you like a very specific kind of harm. Totally. From this, he starts punching people out. He picks her up and he's already called a helicopter and he delivers her to safety. And he yells that as he as as he's body checking while the helicopter takes off. He's literally like, you're safe now, like it's okay it is a sad moment where the other secret service officers like stop him from getting to her like he's gonna follow her on to the helicopter and they're like no and it's like a realization sort of for him as he's like been traveling with her um but so she's back on the pj she's on air force one and i was like i just can't it's hard to like i know it's a sad montage they do sad montage number two here but it's like she is on her pj being like fed ice chips by her mom under a mink blanket and i'm just like okay it's all good though basically now we're just in like a sad montage where she's like at Harvard oh my god Jay let's just talk about the whole back of this movie they did this so wrong here's what you do cut to black and write one year later like the way that there's 30 minutes of this movie of like in the spring she goes to Harvard here's a scene in the spring in the winter she goes home for winter break here's a scene in the it's like there's a whole back half of this movie that's just her living life for a year that we just didn't need like it can be like she's sad for a while and she gets a letter she's sad for a while and then she's reminded of a photo of how happy they were together or something it's so it's just wasted time to me I'm with you we could have skipped time I like that it takes a certain amount of time for her to get over it because I do think it's a like wild amount of betrayal like you would not immediately be over it and I like the thing that does get her ass moving again is at Harvard she sees one of the million dollar man stickers and it's the perfect way back in it's So great. I know. And it's like, okay, you're right. That was worth it. Thank God. If they hadn't done it, like what an insane waste of that whole spiel. I literally love the spiel he does on the train about the stickers and about community and the fact that it's full circle here. You're right. It is effective and it is worth it to see her. I mean, Weiss and Morales are like a couple now and they're assigned to her at Harvard. I hate all that. I can't even speak about it. They have her like reading bridal magazines while she's in the Harvard library and I was like, I would rather die than see this woman subjected to this. So then... the scene during winter break I do think is a huge waste of time like the dad being like hey did you ever think about that Oxford program and it's like what like it's just so heavy handed and clunky the only reason he brings that up is because Matthew Goode has quit the service and moved to London and he's trying to figure out if she has any interest in knowing that information and it turns out after she sees the million dollar man sticker she does have an interest in knowing that information because she studies abroad at Oxford and she goes to find him in London so when she does go to London eventually after learning that he's quit the Secret Service because obviously this had a huge impact on him as well she shows up because he's no longer in the Secret Service he is working as a photographer at the opera the thing that they both love so she walks in and immediately someone recognizes her and is like that's the president's daughter that's the president's daughter and it makes its way all the way around the theater until you see him in front of the stage and somebody whispers oh my god the president daughter just walked in and of course that means something different to him than it did to everybody else in the theater and he immediately looks up and turns around and she's walking up to him she's like he's like what are you doing and she says I'm making the big gesture and it's very sweet and they kiss Jay I have such a tangent here I think they did it wrong I don't understand and cannot believe that it's not him saying I'm making the big gesture he's the one she believes betrayed him he's the one that was lying he's the one that quit his job for her so it's literally mirrored to the story he told about his dad he's the one that is like that he does have some penance sort of to pay here and the idea that she's like I thought about it for a year and I actually got over it and I came to tell you I got over it to me isn't as effective as him going I didn't think used to think people made the big gesture I always thought my parents didn't get together because my dad wouldn't give up his job for my mom here i am i have the choice let me make this up to you by making the big gesture it's an excellent line don't get me wrong i love everything about the line what are you doing i'm making the big gesture huge excellent crying love it i just think it comes out of the wrong character's mouth i think we needed him making it up to her to be the big resolution or at least him making it clear this is how far i'm willing to go for you this is how far i wasn't lying this is how far it wasn't a joke to me and at the end for him to do none of that never see her again and her to go find him to me it's getting on the floor in the towel again i just disagree i feel like that's why we have the conversation with the dad in the white house where he tells her that he's quit the force that he i guess like that's his you know found something was more important yeah like the dad has the conversation with her and she says you know and all that i learned on that trip was what you were always trying to tell me which is that people can't be trusted and the dad says i never wanted you to learn that lesson and then she goes home she goes back to Harvard and she sees the sticker and all of this is a like impetus for her to be like what happened was real and the most important thing is that I want to be the kind of person who lives the brave life that I want for myself so I need to like go find him and I was scared out of it for a second but ultimately what I got out of this trip is that leading with that kind of energy does pay off yeah so she goes which it's her coming of age story you know what I mean I guess I'm disappointed that she just like thinks about it for a year and then decides like I know it's the information from the dad all that shit it would have been so cool for him to show up and be like let me prove to you how much I wasn't a lie and it kind of gets it by quitting his job it's fine I would have loved I'm making the big gesture from him I also like maybe this is just the like millennial girl bossy shit I was like raised in but it's like I like when the girl me too makes the gesture at the end like of a rom-com like this like we're so used to it being the the guy's decision that it makes me like the Matthew Goode character more that he like really let it be like she comes to him decision I'm not mad at that take like I I see what you mean but I guess I still feel he owes her a little more than he gave we ended on a really cute callback where he is like okay sweet and then he goes so uh you got like a little bit of a thing for me don't you which is of course what she said to him on the train yeah and she goes no no I got a big thing for you And it ends on a kiss. Oh, actually, it ends on them mopedding into the sunset. Actually, I did have one thought here, which I know is like so silly and like suspend your disbelief. But like no world where he's still single. It's a year later. Connor, he's in love with her. I know. But I was just like, oh, girl, you are so lucky you showed up. And he isn't like, come on, like on the market. Like, come on. OK, so I'm going to give this a watchability of like an A seven maybe Like a seven Or an eight Like a high Like a high seven Like not a Not a like bad seven Like I think it's a seven I think she's the she's the best she is so i'm gonna give her i have to say an underrated ashley score of seven i'm gonna say seven oh wow connor look at you wow i'm really proud i don't think her 10 is ashley's 10 but i think if we're looking at the mandy more underrated ashley i do want to root for her you guys i do love her and i think she did well in this she did she did a mandy more well she did good i am I'm going to give it a solid eight. I think this movie, I knew I loved this movie. I think on this rewatch, I didn't realize the little things they were doing that I do think makes it literally a quality movie. I think it's the best Mandy Moore movie we've watched so far. And I think that that also translates into her underrated Ashley scoring, which I am also going to give a seven because I think she's getting better every movie. I think she's not... at Amanda Bynes caliber. Like it's a different score for a reason, but this is the best we've seen her. And I really do think she's enjoyable in this movie. She's cute. She's personable. I believe everything she's going through. I think this is the most an individual character. that we've seen her play so far. And I enjoyed the shit out of it. So come back next week because we have our 50th episode next week. Right, Jay? Yeah, absolutely, you guys. 50, if you can even believe it. So it's no movie. We're going to take a break from movies, although we will be coming back with Hairspray after our special 50th episode. But we are super excited. We can't believe we've made it through 50 episodes. We can't believe you guys listened to us. Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap. We would do it whether you were here or not, but we'd so much rather do it with you here. We'll catch you for the special episode next time. Chasing Liberty was directed by Andy Kadiff and written by Derek Gooley and David Schneiderman. This episode of Second Showing is produced, recorded, and mixed by Connor Riley and Jordan Riley. Art by Connor Riley and music by Lee Rosevere. You can follow our podcast on TikTok, Instagram, and X, formerly known as Twitter, at SecondShowingPod, spelled with a number 2. Send us a DM and we can mention you on the pod. You can join our Patreon for exclusive content and stream Second Showing anywhere you find your podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a interview.