The hello and welcome to the extra credits of Sam Raimi Send
Help starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien.
I'm Trey and I'm Kelsey. This movie is a ton of fun.
I'm so excited for people to see it.
It releases wide this weekend. It is A2 Hander Island survival
story that starts off as a workplace comedy and mutates
into this like deranged sun kissed campy horror romance.
What did you think about Sent Help?
We saw it like a week ago now. Yeah, I mean, it was a lot of
fun. Like, I'm actually really
surprised at the huge positive response that it's getting from
general audiences because we went to see it because it has
both of our boyfriends, Dylan O'Brien and then Rachel McAdams,
obviously. And so like, I knew people would
go to see it probably more so even for Rachel McAdams, just
for like broader audiences. But we walked out and we were
like, that was fun because we love the people in it, right?
Like didn't love the movie, but whatever.
Like it was not a waste of time, but people are loving it and I
and I love that for the movie. I love that for Rachel McAdams
and Dylan O'Brien. Yeah, I think the people also
love Sam Raimi and his unconventional heightened style
and he hasn't made a horror movie in quite a while.
And obviously he is the the fame director of the original Spider
Man films from the 2000, the Tobey Maguire movies that are
amazing that we also love quite a bit.
Yeah, if you like Sam Raimi, his like, let's say, absurd, campy
visual style and even dialogue that he likes to have in his
movies where everything's a little bit exaggerated and
playing with genre and tone, and you like Rachel McAdams or Dylan
O'Brien, you'll probably love this movie.
So I think 2/3 of that really worked for me in this film.
So therefore I thought it was a weird, genuinely fun experience.
I think our theater loved it. So I was a little bit curious to
see what it would be like to hear from mass audiences because
we saw an early screening. But I also completely understand
the response because I think that, you know, a few years ago
we got a fun satire starring Ray Fiennes and Andy Taylor Joy and
Nicholas Holt called The Menu, which this movie reminded me of
quite a bit. Oh yeah, that's really
interesting. Comedy.
I definitely, I mean, as we talked about Dylan O'Brien
today, I think Nicholas Holt is an interesting comparison of
like different career trajectories for like these type
of men that are that's a broadcast in Hollywood.
Yeah, that's fun. OK, to start off today's pod, I,
I want to get in a little bit into what our January has been
like because we we haven't done an episode in a bit and also
what February looks like because it's a little bit of a thinner
movie month. Let's start with a fun question,
OK? How would we do on an island
like this? Before I answer, listeners,
yeah, in the comments, let us know.
Please let us know who do you think would survive?
Because give us your best guess. I feel like this is always, you
know, something, especially since we are maybe not like the
prime survivor generation, although, yeah, you are, I guess
like you are maybe a product of like your parents watching it
all the time. So you watched it all the time?
Boston Rob, baby. Yeah, I grew up with Survivor.
I don't know what that is. It's OK.
OK, so I, I, you know, watch, end up like watching Survivor
for the first time, even though obviously like I knew about it.
We grew up in like, the game show Fear Factor generation,
certainly of like people doing crazy shit and eating bugs on TV
and like sitting in a coffin of snakes.
I was more Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor.
I was more in those spaces. OK, I was more American fear
factor and then whatever other like MTV games that they played
to like kind of a, you know, gamified hot people survival.
Your yeah, your shows feel like they're into like, extremities,
and mine were like, into like social competition.
Yeah, I mean, I think Survivor is an interesting concept.
We watched a couple seasons during the pandemic, right?
Like we really got into it. I was having a a really fun
time. And I think so, you know,
there's a there's a different question of like who would
actually win Survivor the TV show, which is very pivotal.
And I love about send help in terms of Rachel McAdams
character. But the question is, would I,
you know, be the one who survives in Survivor the show or
in a barooned island castaway send help situation?
Because I think those are two different.
Questions. It's a great clarification.
Let's do both. OK, Starting with Survivor.
Yeah, Starting with Survivor listeners let us know Trey's
going to win Survivor. I'm out.
I can't build a shelter. I can't start a fire.
I would obviously do a lot of like YouTube prep, right?
Like I would I I can really study.
I'm a great study. We're not.
Going to be on Survivor together though, right?
This is like our individual seasons, like we have other
groups of people that. Were I guess so, why would we?
Would we? Are there survival?
Couples. They have that.
That's awesome. I feel like we could do a great
job with that. We would be very, I mean, we
have a podcast like people know our our dynamic, I guess sort
of, but I mean, we would certainly get into some fights.
Like we are both very strong headed when it's like we need to
do something that maybe like an amazing race kind of thing, like
we need to, you know, do this task.
We both feel a certain way about it.
So I feel like we could we could make some entertaining TV in
terms of our individual seasons. I'm out in like 1 of the first
rounds possibly. I feel like I'm akin to the the
guy who made White Lotus. No, I think you're
underestimating how like of an enjoyable experience it is to be
around you while also feeling kind of like a non threatening.
Oh, like I'm going to speak up on people.
Yeah. And you, I mean, you remember
probably some of the seasons that we watched during the
pandemic where there was like a there was one season in
particular where this guy, forget what who he was or what
season it was, but he won like 70% of the competitions got to
the last two carried this like older person with him.
It was an older woman or man. And then they yeah, they ended
up winning the woman. The woman, Yeah.
Spoiler alert. And like, I think it's probably
fun, but he was like fake happy for her.
Yeah, he was acting. That performance deserves extra
credit for that Survivor season because he we watched the like
cast reunion thing and like the work, the the effort in that
performance of being like fake happy nice guy.
I'm like, I actually won this shit.
Like how in the world? Yeah.
I think teachers or people in service jobs or counseling or
even like HR, anything where you could deal with complicated
personalities 24/7 and teachers in particular do like 5 jobs at
once. Like I think they would do
extremely well in social status survival games like Survivor.
I do forget. Yeah, like people vote for you.
I just think that I wouldn't like, yes, I, I would be fine
with that aspect of it. Like I, you know, I can put up
with with all types of people, but I do think in terms of being
an asset on the island, there's just really not a lot I could
do. My thing would be creating mini
alliances with all these people who hate one another.
That would be my goal. I mean, I think that you would
win the show. I I don't think I'd win because
I think that I would. I would probably get overly
competitive in the games, make make myself a threat.
I'd become a threat by getting third or second or first place
too many times in a row. They're like, well, that one
guy's won too many medals. He we can't vote him out at the
tribal thing. So like, I guess we'll just get
Trey this week. I feel like that would that
would happen to me. It would be like one of the the
unexpected. Like I can't believe they they
voted them off. Right now, if we go to the
actual disaster scenario. But but so you OK, so you do not
think you'd win survivor the game either?
But who do you think would make it further, me or you?
It'd definitely be. You would make it further.
That's what I'm saying. I think that unless you are a
freak athlete and like incredibly like extraordinarily
good at puzzles, which happens to be like one of every two
games in Survivor, then you probably are not going to make
it into the top three or top 4 because you need that immunity
or whatever it's called. And you can find them like the
hidden things around the forest and stuff like that.
It's been a minute since I've watched Survivor but I grew up
with. It I would definitely dedicate
all my time to that. I would just be looking in the
forest. Like I feel like that's the only
thing. I'm just thinking you're you're
underestimating how much of a good hang you are and how much
people would want to keep you around, even if you're
physically like not into the competition And you just like
we're like, I'm not going to do it today.
Like if you're just like in the back, like don't worry about me.
And like we shouldn't vote. We shouldn't waste a vote to get
Kelsey out this week. You just keep going.
Keep. You know, whatever that I
something that I do think is a a strength of mine is that I do
like tell people when I when I appreciate them, you know, and I
do think that there are a lot of thankless pieces of this
survivor team. You know, whoever's building the
shelter, whatever. Like I would certainly like Trey
makes us dinner every night. Like I'm always like, this is
like the best fucking meal I've ever had.
Like not to not to make you feel great.
What's a different different example besides maybe like?
Thank you so much for cooking. Thank you so much for my
porridge. Food.
No, I mean more like if someone does something that I think is
like good, I'll tell them, you know, So I would definitely
like, you know, tell people all the time this fish fucking
amazing. Great job, Greg.
And you know, I would I would just I would make it known.
So maybe, you know, they have a soft spot in their heart for.
Me. My only concern with both of us
is I don't know if either of us are great at group projects.
You in particular are not a group project person.
If you're better at things than anybody else in the group,
you're like, I'll just do it. Oh hell yeah.
In fact, that's sort of our love story, which will I think hold
off on the main feed to put that out there.
We'll talk about that on. The page that's also for a long
time listeners the origins of mine and James's friendship as.
Well, yeah, that's true. Wow, getting back to send help
in this island that Dylan O'Brien and Rachel McAdams find
themselves on. Would you survive with whoever
your biggest op is on an island for weeks?
I don't think I would survive more than a few days.
I would certainly die very quickly.
I think, you know, sun exposure. I, you know, we, we live in
Colorado. We just recently like went to
Florida and I essentially like just could not deal with the
heat. I was like, I'm dying.
I think that, I think just that one example is, is, I mean, I
could pull it together obviously if I'm in a survival situation,
but yeah, I would just suck it fishing and and doing all the
things I need to do. Yeah, we're not really.
We're not outdoorsy people. It's weird to say that now that
we've moved to Denver. Like I've never been camping.
I just, I've never found an interest in that.
That's not really interesting to me.
I don't really want to go camping.
So I think I would die pretty quickly in this.
I think I would go find a cave and then I would probably get
fucked up by that boar in the movie.
And that's that's how I'd go out.
Yeah, the wild animals scare me. I, I, yeah, I don't know either
of us would do well. Like a depressing death.
Yeah, like, oh shit, that's we. Need a Rachel McAdams?
Yeah. OK.
So we weren't originally planning on doing a full episode
on this. We just did 10 minutes on
Survivor. So I apologize about that if you
came for sent help. But we're doing this movie
because it is blowing up. We did have a good time.
I think we both have a lot to say about the actors and some of
the story that we liked in this. But also January's just been, I
think, a thin movie month. I think February is pretty thin
too. I recommend people again go see
28 Years Later Part 2, The Bone Temple, if not because I think
we both agree that's one of our favorite horror movies in quite
some time. Definitely been two very fun
theater experiences in a horror movie. 28 years later Part 2 and
then I guess this is sort of AI mean people.
It was marketed as a horror movie, but I wouldn't
necessarily call it that, but still a very fun theater
experience. A lot of reactions.
Yeah, I think a camp horror comedy is what I would call send
help for February. Our Patreon listeners voted for
us to cover Sinners, which is currently the most Oscar
nominated film of all time with 16 nominations.
Pretty wild. We didn't even discuss the Oscar
nominations. We do not have to do that right
now. I'm sure we will on Patreon
because we're not really an award show.
It's not really thing a thing that we care about too much.
But obviously the the Academy still has a lot of like
significance. And so we'll we'll certainly
talk about that on Patreon because we are also in February
doing our first extra credits cup if you're curious what that
is. So are we because we are
creating a well, I guess I am creating an Olympic style movie
competition designed for just Kelsey and I on Patreon.
I'm going to keep the details, I guess private from you from.
Me as well. But that episode is coming later
in February. As for February episodes we
might see on the main feed. The big one on paper is
Withering Heights. I think that's what it's called.
Directed by Emerald Fennel, who has quietly or loudly, depending
on how you look at it, became one of the most like
entertainingly divisive film makers working today with only
two movies promising young woman in Saltburn movies that I think
we liked a lot more than most people, especially Saltburn as a
sort of like modern talented Mr. Ripley riff with weird
subversions of like period cinema, like period piece
seminar cinema. She I I like that director.
I like her as a writer too. I think she's interesting.
And so I'm I am curious to see this movie.
I'm not loving the trailers. I'm not liking the scenes that
I'm seeing. I'm not loving the discourse
about the casting that I wasn't aware of from this.
I think it's Bronte. Yeah, the Bronte sisters.
I haven't read this book and I, yeah, I I'm not like familiar
with the Bronte sisters, honestly, even though I was an
English major. But but yeah, like so obviously
a lot of like valid conversation about the casting and Jacob
Laurie. But I mean, just like in
comparison to her other movies, I think there have been
interesting things that she gets like a lot of hate for in, you
know, promising young women and then woman singular and then
Saltburn. But you're right, they always
have like, I feel like she's doing something interesting
versus here it feels a little bit more straightforward.
I don't know if it's just because it's an adaptation.
Like a romantic drama period piece.
Yeah. I think there be some surreal
stuff that happens in it. Yeah, based on the trailer, that
looks a little like more maximalist than usual, more
hyper sensual than usual. So even though I'm not expecting
her like sexual provocations and it just being like straight up
sex scenes, I think she'll do something.
I'm sure. Yeah, time.
It looks like they're doing something with time because I'm
seeing a Lordy dressed in different fits throughout the
movie, like different classes of people or being with different
classes of people. So I can't really tell what's
going on. Yeah, I don't know.
But I mean, it's I guess in comparison to her other movies,
it feels a little like less like something that I'd normally.
To go see, I doubt we'll cover it, but if we do, it's because
we love Margot Robbie. That's why we'll cover it
because she's like one of the goats.
Also Scream 7 at the end of the month.
That's basically it. And Scream Seven I'm like
genuinely conflicted about because the Scream movies
fucking rule. But the way that studio handled
firing Melissa Barrera and her kind of support of Palestinians
and that humanitarian crisis and like the studio looking at it as
something that she should be cancelled for.
I know hundreds of artists are working on that movie.
So we should go and support a film that hundreds of artists
work on. But I do feel sort of strange
giving that movie any oxygen considering how they handled
that. Which now with the rumors that
Mark Ruffalo, which I, I'm going to say all caps rumors that I
saw recently that Mark Ruffalo might have been laid off or
something similar from Marvel as the Hulk.
Again, I don't know how true that is, but if we continue to
see shit like this, I'm just going to try my best, like not
see these movies in theaters hoping they lose money because
the Scream is such an important IP to me.
I'd rather the studio just like, trade it to somebody else.
I don't know what the rights look like for that.
But yeah, that's really disappointing.
So there's not really a lot to cover in February.
It is a, it's a bit of an empty month.
Our main feed will be back more consistently toward the end of
February, beginning of March. We're trying to do a Best of
2025 episode in late February, early March.
Unlike most outlets, we actually want to our listeners to see all
the movies first before we do a ranking episode of our favorite
movies. I don't know if listeners relate
to this, but every movie, movie, podcast or like critic or outlet
will put out their favorite movies of 2025 and discuss them
in detail. And most people cannot see half
of the movies that they're talking about.
And I find it to be like intensely frustrating because
they're all competing with one another and not really competing
for any demand. Like I sometimes I wonder if
it's just like film critics consuming each other shit and
not actually mainstream audiences because who like, how
can you, some of us see these? Like the Testament of Anne Lee
just came out like, you know, a couple days ago for us at least.
And it was on so many top ten lists and nobody could see it
like a month ago. So we have a lot of movies to
watch throughout February. We'll make a list then.
And also, I mean, you know, we are in a position where we're
not doing this like as a commercial, you know, like
project. So we also like want to see all
the movies and we usually like tend to go a little bit more in
depth because it's later on in the year.
I mean, it makes sense, obviously, to do like best of
movie lists in January when the year ends, but especially since
the Oscars is around the time that people are kind of like
catching up on all the movies that are nominated.
It's just like, I think the best time to talk about it.
Yeah, I agree. We did catch up on some things
that we missed Splitsville. We did.
Which was one of the best comedies I've seen in a year or
two. Yeah, so surprising.
When I saw the trailer, I was like, this feels kind of like
streaming movie that is whatever, a dry comedy.
Yeah, but it is so good. Like it's it's wild to me that I
feel like I'm hearing people talk about friends we or people
we meet on vacation. The new Netflix movie.
Did you watch? That I I tried to watch some of
it and like respectfully to people who I know a lot of
people are liking it. I and also that has to do with
like people reading the book, but I could not get through it.
Like it opens with we're going to do Harry Met Sally today and
it opens with like a Harry Met Sally situation where they meet
and they go on a car ride and like don't like each other.
And it is just like one so cringy and the performances are
bad and it and the story isn't interesting and it's so it made
me sad. I tried again, even on like a
different night. Couldn't do it.
But Splitsville, I think is what I mean to say like if you were
like, you know, like friends on vacation was OK.
Why is everyone talking about this?
Go watch splitsville. It is so good.
It, it actually like made me laugh throughout the whole
movie, even with kind of I, I think that the trailer itself
had a lot of like comedic things like these two men fighting or
whatever that felt like too out outsized for the movie in the
trailer itself, where I was like, oh, this is just like
another comedy that's like doing something.
But it fit perfectly. But it was actually like so
funny throughout, like the and. It was like original.
It felt really unique. Like I think I saw one of the
best action scenes in since John Wick four in the middle of this
romantic comedy. Yeah.
Or like marable comedy. I felt like if this is 40.
I know whoever styled movie graphed the the fight sequences
really deserves extra credit there.
Audra Arjona and Dakota Johnson also have like never acted
better. I think these are their best
performances I've ever seen in these movies and Dakota Johnson.
I really love Dakota in. This I know when she starred in
materialist, which was a huge quote UN quote ROM drum ROM com,
more romantic drama. Obviously that was pretty bad
from Celine Song earlier this year and we talked about that
already and it was weird to see a whole like $100 million movies
surrounding around Dakota Johnson from a great director
like Celine Song kind of falls short for most people like us.
And then I saw her in this, you know, Splitsville ROM com that
was under scene and she's maybe giving her best performance I've
ever seen. Yeah, Well, I mean, I think
that, you know, Dakota Johnson like is we we've talked a lot
about her and talked about her on the materialist episode, but
is often cast as like play this mysterious hot woman who's like
shockingly hot for being a quote UN quote older woman in
Hollywood, You know what I mean? Like that's like basically the
role that she gets is like just emphasize how how sexy you are.
And here she like is able to do that, but she obviously is able
to break past that and actually have a character.
And it was actually really refreshing to see because I, I
think it's such a boring role that she is often asked to do.
And Arjona is like fucking unreal in the movie, like, and
just genuinely one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen
in a film. To the point where I was like,
why is she not in everything? And I know that she was just in
Hitman and she was an and or and so she's been in some stuff, but
I was like, why is she not in the next Knives Out?
Why is she not starring in the Ocean's reboot?
Like why is she not a major superstar right now?
And I hopefully she becomes one this next year or two.
Some other things. I saw the RIP from Netflix.
Don't recommend it. How was it?
How was it?
If you like movies where they
tell you the plot of the film every 20 minutes because they're
worried that you're on your phone while watching it, welcome
to the streaming hell. Introduced to introduced to us
by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. I guess in the RIP, a movie that
if they made in 2005, they would have called SWAT, but it would
have had a little bit of heart at least.
Have you seen that movie SWAT OK with Colin Farrell?
It was. It was pretty soulless.
And I love Matt Damon and I love Ben Affleck and it was pretty
soulless. It was very disappointing.
You know, what's weird, though, is, you know, I feel like when
we were growing up, you know, we had a lot of like, TNT movies,
right? And it wasn't like a streaming
situation, but it did feel almost like, yes, they had a
theater release, but it was essentially like a straight to
TNT. We usually use Tony Scott as the
example Man on Fire. Something like that.
But it's so weird that like, why can't we just do those again and
like, and now behind, I mean, they don't have to have the same
politics as like the 2000s movies, But but in terms of the
the style and like the quality of of the movies that it's like
it kind of knows what it is, but it's not like, you know, spoon
feeding the audience, it's plot. I mean, they literally had Tiana
Taylor and Stephen Young delivering lines that felt like
they're written by ChatGPT. I was like, I can't believe that
this is happening. I'm glad everybody got paid, but
maybe not I. Don't know Tiana Taylor, we're
in the movie. Yeah, they both tried their best
with what they were getting. Yeah, and then I watched The
Running Man with Glenn Powell. Oh yeah, how was that?
Entertaining mess. Michael Cera.
Is I came downstairs. A lot of fun.
Downstairs is like Michael Cera's in this movie.
Yes, I kind of wish they just. I mean, I like Glenn Powell in
the movie, but I wish it was someone different.
I think it would have been cool to see Edgar Wright, who I like,
do something similar and do something that's a little bit
tonally ambitious like this movie, that it just falls flat
if they cast somebody that was a little bit more emotive and gave
us the movie a little bit more stakes.
Cause a lot of Glenn Powell's acting emotionally feels just a
bit stunted for me. If somebody like Dev Patel was
starring in the Running Man, I would have been like, let's
fucking go. So I think if I honestly think
it was a little bit miscast, but yeah, that's about it.
We've been watching The Pit and that's amazing, obviously.
So check out the pin on HBO. Yeah, I think we can get into.
Send help though. Yeah well we re watched season 1
and like I was surprised how much we had just watched it so
recently and it really hit again.
We, I mean, we cried every episode or at least I was
stopping on my side of the couch.
I, I actually don't ever look at you after I'm like during while
I'm crying. I just assume you're not crying,
but I cry in like every episode of the pit.
OK, send help. Spoiler alert.
So this movie rules. When it does rule, it rules
because of its two actors. So let's start there.
Let's start with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien.
Rachel McAdams, at 47 years old in this movie, is asked to run
around basically half naked on a beach with a basically half
naked Dylan O'Brien who are increasingly throughout the
movie, both confusingly and disorientingly trying to kill
each other and also possibly love each other.
And they both fully commit. And there's a lot more plot,
like there's a build up with a whole ROM or not.
It's not a ROM com, but it feels like it's playing with genre in
that way where it's a workplace political drama at the beginning
of the movie, and but then it turns into this like disaster
beach horror movie. But McAdams in particular in
this film, I was sort of floored by because I didn't like, I know
that she is Regina George. I know she can play in a
heightened genre sandbox. I know she can kind of ground an
absurd movie like Game Night, but still be silly enough and
kind of like OG enough or oh golly enough where it kind of
feels like she can play in multiple worlds at once.
But she holds this movie together to the point where I am
excited to rewatch it because I think it might be more
interesting on rewatch because she is not doing the same
cartoonish thing that Dylan O'Brien is doing, which in his
own right. I like what Orion is up to in
this, but I was kind of shocked walking out of it being like
while McAdams is being underutilized.
I mean, so is Dylan O'Brien in by Hollywood at large right now,
but especially McAdams at her age?
To be doing something like this, almost 50 years old and playing
somebody who's like 15 years younger and playing in all these
different tones, I was just surprised.
You know, I I didn't think about it like that in terms of she's
always asked to to have this endearing quality.
Who's she's sweet, she's funny. She is someone who feels like a
good hang and you want to like keep spending time with on
screen. But you're right.
I feel like this movie is maybe the most similar to a Regina
George where she's just she's just on one like her character.
And you're waiting for her to get hit by a bus.
Yeah, like you don't really know where you are.
She feels like, you know, she is possibly like being and and I
want to be careful too, because like the movie itself, I didn't
love like, so how I'm talking about it is I guess in the logic
of the movie of her like coming off as like manipulative or
whatever, right. But she's able to perform that
so well where it feels like it's making fun of like a trope
instead of completely falling into like a sexist trope or
something. But anyway, she yeah, she is
able to to create fear, I think in Dylan O'Brien.
And that is something that is so Regina George asked that that I
don't think I've seen in a really long time from her
performances. So that that's so true.
I didn't think about it that way, but yeah, she's awesome.
She is kind of like owning the scenes.
And I love Dylan O'Brien, just kind of like making noises off
and on screen. A lot of reaction shots, yeah,
off screen. Or yeah, IA lot of improv I'm
assuming from Dylan O'Brien here, but you feel like feels.
Like he's playing himself sometimes when he's making those
screaming noises, even though he's playing somebody.
He's very much not like him in his interviews in this movie as
a character, but those noises feel very specific to him and
his real life. Exactly.
Yeah. But you really feel like he is
in the palm of her hand and she knows it.
Yes. And and she just like is so, so
great. Yeah, I mean, with McAdams, I've
been saying this a lot on TikTok.
By the way, we're back on TikTok.
Follow us in the description of this episode.
But I think McAdams is her generations.
Meg Ryan mixed with Julia Roberts, right?
And she's one of the most genuinely reliable genre actors
we have. I'd like to explore more about
like her top 10 performances. I did a TikTok on that already.
But like with you. It was so fun.
At the end of this episode, or maybe in about time later on our
Patreon. We'll figure it out probably
yeah, we'll figure it out. It depends.
I I feel like it's probably best to do it on about time, but if
we have. Time at the end today.
Yeah, maybe we could just like do it really quick at the end
today and then we'll deep dive it a little bit more.
We'll debate it on the Patreon. OK, Dylan O'Brien, I feel like
you've recently become a Dylan O'Brien truther.
Long term, long time listeners know that I have, since the
start of this podcast, have felt a kinship with Dylan O'Brien.
I've been watching him since, obviously the Maze Runner days,
but even before that on his television series Teen Wolf.
Is that what it is? Yeah, Teen Wolf.
I definitely saw some of that. But I started seeing him a lot
in the 20 tens in his interviews and how funny he was.
And just his his like the young millennial masculinity where
you're just constantly just matching the energy of other
people as to not be threatening. And the sort of de escalation of
his personality is something that I really relate to.
And so to see him blow up now in his mid 30s in this kind of
resurgence of him post Maze Runner is fascinating to me
because I feel like he's always been who he is right now.
But it's interesting to see now with Twin List, which we haven't
seen yet, but I'm really excited too.
And now this movie and now rumors that he might be starring
in the new X-Men film for Marvel, a Cyclops.
There's a lot of rumors with that.
The fact that he's like going to have another renaissance is just
kind of it's kind of shocking to me.
It's amazing. But it's a little bit surprising
because he's he's moving into like he looks like 35 year old
Dylan O'Brien, but you had him when he was hot in 27, like in
not OK or movies like. That yeah, when he was in five
years ago, what what people were like, I guess reserving for a
younger Glenn Powell in that like the specific era.
Yeah, that's. I mean that's really
interesting. I yeah, hadn't really seen his
like interviews before. I mean, you show me like the
funny ones and things of him dancing, but I think you're
right. He like captures the the kind of
like Zelenio, like younger millennial spirit of, of
basically like not growing up with cameras on you like all his
dancing edits on TikTok. You know, like, feel of like a,
a generation that grew up with cell phones but wasn't like
afraid they were going to be filmed at every moment and put
on TikTok. And so there's something that
feels free about him that I absolutely love.
He's OK to be a little bit silly.
Silly, Yeah. And yeah, I am in love with him.
So he's one of the the very few men that.
He would say that about. That I would say that about that
I would want to spend time with and honestly like that I that I
would maybe date or something like.
One of the. Very few men in the world.
Yeah, OK. Hopefully.
I mean, do you not feel the way? No, no, I'm I'm definitely on
the like I am team Dylan O'Brien, right?
I, I think it's not an accident that the 2 white boys of the
Century and Logan Lehrman and Dylan O'Brien are in movies over
the past year that are both about these two men being tied
up by two beautiful women. And in the movie Ohai now in
sent help because people just have such a strong connection to
the kind of the kindness of these two guys in their
personalities and I guess in our parasocial relationships to
them. Again, that non threatening
masculine vibe. I guess they're best friends too
in real life, which is cool. But you know, I I agree with
you. I think the the Dylan O'Brien
Internet personality is very strong.
And if you're aware of the algorithms Kelsey's talking
about, then then you probably love Dylan O'Brien too.
What I was surprised about in this movie is that he has one of
the most like distinctively evil movie movie characters that I
can remember in a long time. He's so evil in this film, like
cartoonishly evil and he knows it.
He like explains his whole sad white boy sob story at one
point. He's like, I'm accepting it.
My Neppo baby status. Right.
And I think it's funny that don't O'Brien's doing this to
play against type because he's he's like turning into like a
Looney tune short sometimes in this movie.
Like there's there's a moment in this film where he's running
away with a raft that he had secretly built off camera for
the whole movie. And he's like screaming,
laughing, laughing. Does not work at you.
Lola comes out of absolutely nowhere in the movie, but it's
so funny because it is Dylan O'Brien.
Like making a run for it, like out of left field poisoning her.
Yeah. It's just I, I'm glad he's
getting to do this stuff like he was in Saturday night a few like
a year or two ago, like he's playing into more comedic roles
now. He's been on in interviews.
Rachel McAdams being like my favorite movie is like what are
the hot chicks? Hot chick.
Yeah, Hot Chick. And then also Wedding Crashers.
Like, he grew up with 2000 studio comedies and, you know,
obviously those are problematic movies, but like, if you did
grow up with those, there's something funny to you probably
about stunted adults, especially like man children.
That was a huge yeah like, theme of comedy, right, Growing up
like stepbrothers. Yeah, like the Ron Burgundy
like. But it feels like he's entering
an era where he could reclaim some like a mold like that in a
non problematic way. He could certainly.
I mean there could be like an updated Ron Burgundy character.
Which I I think he could do. Yeah, I think he could do.
He talked about recently how his favorite actor is Jim Carrey,
and that really gave me an insight into like the way he
sees his performances, which is really.
Yeah, it's really interesting. You know, we, we should say he
was in Saturday night, but we looked it up.
He has never hosted Saturday Night Live.
He'd be so good. Yeah.
Wow. Yeah, I can't believe it.
Yeah, not that, you know, 30 year old white men in Hollywood
need more, you know, movie roles or anything like that.
But some of the clout that Timmy's getting I do think has
been like somehow transferred like Space Jam style from actors
like the Dylan O'Brien mold over the years, which is interesting.
Like Pattinson's probably in that in that space too.
Well, I guess maybe the reason I feel so passionately about Dylan
O'Brien is that there are a lot of other men who are like, in
that space that are get a lot more attention, like a Jacob
Allordy, like a Austin Butler, like Glenn Powell that I have
been on, you know, on the podcast, on the record of being
like, stop trying to make this happen.
Stop trying to make the Brad Pitt, you know, a vacation and
George Clooney, you know, stardom power happen again with
people who are fine like whatever.
And, you know, and I just, I just enjoy the, the Dylan
O'Brien experience. I I honestly just think it's
height like guys, just, you know, except a 510 silly queen
in Dylan O'Brien, he did. He doesn't need to be 6 two and
jacked. You know what I mean?
I think that's a big part of it. But if he was a little bit
bigger, I mean, I guess Shalom is as The only exception there.
But I think O'Brien is just like, he is a little bit of like
that Tom, He's a bigger guy than Tom Cruise, but he's a little
bit of that Tom Cruise young electricity, if that makes
sense. Like it feels like he's popping
out of your screen sometimes. And only Tom Cruise and Denzel
can really do stuff like that. And I feel like O'Brien has
moments of that kind of scattered throughout his career.
Our our bias is coming through 'cause I'm saying some big
names. Yeah, I mean, he's definitely, I
was going to say. Yeah, he's not those actors.
He's not those actors. He is not those actors, but
there is, but in his interviews is those actors.
Yeah, well, in this, no. OK, all right, let's talk.
Let's talk more about the movie. OK, So are we.
Going to start at the top. Yeah, let's start at the top.
So Send Help starts in a place that is more familiar plot wise.
It's like a corporate satire comedy about office politics and
nepotism. I didn't know what I was walking
into with this. We saw again, like we saw an
early screening. I think I'd only seen one
trailer and it played like a gore horror fest from Sam Raimi,
so I don't know if it's going to like drag me to Hell.
I didn't know if it was going to be like the scariest moments of
like a Spider Man movie. I don't know if it's going to be
Evil Dead. I wasn't quite sure what to
expect but I was surprised to see like the kind of office
party vibe. Yeah, I certainly, from the
trailer alone thought we were going to have them on an island
for most of this. Yeah, trying to like hunt each
other essentially. Which is the last two acts of
the film? The first, the first act is just
them in an office or at home with Linda.
Linda Little, played by Rachel McAdams, great name for the
screenplay, is introduced as a kind of strategist for a
financial firm. I guess that's where her job is.
Yeah, unclear. But she is an accountant, sort
of, sort of, well, I think she says I'm a, I'm a strategist.
Meaning OK, so meaning she has like the the.
He keeps calling her an accountant.
And she's. Like fuck off, yeah.
So she she is basically, yeah, like mapping out what this
company is going to do major player.
She's trying to be an executive. Yeah, so basically the the whole
thing is that Dylan O'Brien's father, who I don't think we
really meet, passed away. Question mark.
Yeah, OK Died. And then he gives the the job
over to Dylan O'Brien and he's got a.
Great introduction scene. Yeah, which we'll talk about in
a second, But I think we like open on it ultimately with her
and she is giving like a report right to this guy who is his
like slicked back hair blonde. Like an American.
Psycho yeah exactly yeah goes in you know The funny thing of like
taking off the the post it note that says she did the work
taking credit for her her hard strategizing.
But you know, the, the, really the part of this, this section
of the movie that sticks with me is like, I didn't love the the
weird kind of like trying to make Rachel McAdams ugly and
who's a part of the character. I was like, it just felt weird.
Like the the movie again, like felt like it was playing into a
lot of like strange tropes about women and this, I don't know, it
just like didn't it felt awkward.
The the thing that did stick with me was the tuna, tuna fish
sandwich that was shoved into not a drawer, OK, was shoved
into like the filing section of a cubicle to smash it in there
forever. And that has that has stuck with
me. Yeah.
It's stuck with me more than Rachel McAdams hair being pulled
off her head or Dylan O'Brien like trap of being bitten into
or. Or Dylan O'Brien pushing his
finger into her eyeball. Her, Yeah, her whole eye being
closed in. 15 minutes later, her eye is healed.
Yeah. But anyway, that yeah.
To the campiness. Of this movie image, really,
you're right, sticks with me. The other thing though, like
that does it was funny besides all that, 'cause I was like,
like, OK, what is this movie going to be?
The humor is like, fine, but now it feels a little strange.
Like this, this woman alone. Like watching Survivor.
I was like, that seems like a great fucking night, OK, Like my
bird. The wine with.
The bird watching survivor. But anyway, when she gets the
tuna fish that was on the side of her mouth and it's on Dylan
O'Brien's hand, that is a true nightmare for me.
Oh, for you. Really.
Yeah. OK, let's talk about him then
when he was introduced. OK.
Because I get why that's a nightmare for you.
But the whole thing is her boss promises her a promotion.
As he said, he dies. His son Bradley, played by
O'Brien, takes over full evil Jerry Maguire when he walks in.
More evil Kendall Roy energy he's giving.
I thought First off, when the camera gets closer and closer to
Dylan O'Brien and like, he looks good.
Like he like, like he looks thin.
And the camera kept going, going closer and closer to his face.
I was like, did they digitally remove the bags from his eyes?
Like, why does he look five years younger?
Like, I know Dylan O'Brien does not look like this.
When we got to the island, he looked more like he looks now.
But I was like, what? Did you see that too?
Like there was like almost like a digital effect over here.
Oh, I didn't realize. Maybe I just.
I mean, you spend a lot of time watching him, so yeah.
I OK, yeah, I do spend a lot of time watching Dylan O'Brien, but
yeah, he just looked beautiful. And you immediately were
clocking. OK Are we seeing this from
Linda's POV? And so there's a little bit of
an unreliable narrator thing going on where I'm like, I
wonder if they're going to try to make Linda fall in love with
Bradley throughout the movie immediately as soon as we see
him because the way they're shooting him is like, the camera
is in love with Dylan O'Brien. Yeah, And we learned that his
character is like, sexist, insecure, while she is like,
deeply competent and prepared. She earned her position, whereas
he got this job through his father.
And he's like, basically Bradley's the stunted little man
who got dragged to the top by his dad.
He's going to bring his boys along from his fraternities in
college and give them the promotions for executives over
Linda. And Yeah, I guess with with
Linda before we go on the plane, before he kind of like tricks
her to come on or not tricks her, but is trying to convince
her to not leave. Right.
There's that like section that has to be taken care of and and
he kind of like in that scene where she comes in, which I
actually thought was a pretty good scene and saved the first
part of the movie when she kind of barges into his.
I was very worried. Yeah, I was like, oh, no.
But I think that scene kind of saved it for me when they are
first talking and she's like, here's what I like.
Deserve whatever he says. You know, you can prove yourself
itself and maybe I'll give you a shot.
You can. I want you on this like plane.
But really, we know he's like manipulating her to get this
difficult piece of this report done so that can save his ass.
And then he's going to ship her off somewhere else.
So that way the tuna sandwich isn't the smell, isn't in the
office. But I, yeah, I I really like
that scene when he's like golfing, whatever.
And I like that we, you know, just skip ahead to plane crash.
Like we, we just get into it. I I will say, just to give
McAdams for credit here, even though they do try to like
thinner hair make and like give her, you know, bags on bags on
her eyes or give her more wrinkles or whatever and, and
kind of make her look a little frail.
She's doing a good job of it reminds me of the performance
from Michelle Pfeiffer and Batman Returns.
It's actually this movie reminds me a lot of a Tim Burton like
Batman Returns kind of energy where you have a stunted man
Batman or Bradley in this case, and you have a Michelle Pfeiffer
as Selena Kyle, who is this like underutilized woman in the
workplace who the sexual politics of that workplace seem
a little complicated and also is then pushed out of a window by
her boss and Batman Returns. And so there is a sort, I, I
feel like there is a there's a connection there.
I I saw a lot of misery, but also maybe just some Stephen
King influences. And so she's doing a good job of
like balancing a lot of performances that of the genre
that I think audiences are familiar with.
So even though they they do some stuff with her looks, I was like
happy with what she was up to in the first act.
But the movie really starts to take off when the airplane
sequence happens. How did you feel about this
airplane sequence? It's how I feel about a lot of
Sam Raimi films, Like, like practical and digital effects
are sometimes volatile and inconsistent.
And so it creates this, what some people might identify as,
like bad effects. For me, it creates this like,
intentional, disorienting, unsettling vibe and creates
this, like, kind of chaotic energy.
And so with the plane and the guy with the forks and the fork
going into his, oh, yeah. Was it his eye or his nose?
I forget how she stabs him to get him off, get him off her.
I, oh, I forget where he's getting sucked out of this train
and he's like, his head is hitting the window and it's
played a comedic effect and our theater was laughing.
The best part of it, Like, yeah. I liked all that.
Number one, so OK, so I guess the, the plain scene, you're
right. Like I agree, although I, I
think you're more attuned to like Sam Raimi's style.
But yeah, like I, I felt like the special effects were kind of
shitty, but I was like, you know what?
It's fine. Like let's embrace what this
movie is, but I I think also think like the IT added to the
camp of it where him getting, you know, held up by his tie and
then like hit against the window and him like crawling like onto
her being like give me your seat.
Like the the kind of cartoonish entitlement of like a character
like that was was funny. But I will say that, you know,
I, I wasn't sure like where I stood in terms of the
characters. I felt like it was kind of
strange just entering into this world.
But the minute they threw on Rachel McAdams survival audition
I was on her side. I was like fuck them.
I was like how dare they. I agree she should be on
survivor #1 she's done all the work she has all her her
highlighted tabbed books on the shelf watching Survivor putting
the hours in every night. But also I just I was like oh I
hate them for that. Even though it was like
obviously cheesy, like Dylan O'Brien literally looking back
going ha ha ha ha like looking making icon with her.
He does such a good fucking shit, he'll laugh.
Yeah, so. You can tell he's just been in
the room with the most annoying rich people.
He's just been copying the most annoying rich people.
He's been waiting for this role. You know, this role reminded me
of because of what you're saying.
He like does the self aware rich thing where he's like making fun
of rich people or the the wealthy laugh kind of he reminds
me of like a Roman Roy in succession and you like said
more so Kendall, but I I felt like it was a Roman Roy of like
him being like haha. I was thinking of like Mike
Myers, like Austin Powers. I was thinking of like Nicolas
Cage, his most absurd or yeah, I don't know, just like some guy,
some actors who can be like electric but seem to have lost
their shit in movies before, like an Alec Baldwin, you know
what I mean? Like, yeah.
Anyways, just a very strange energy.
He's he's coming out with. Yeah, with the survivor thing.
I think that pissed me off. And I was like, I'm on Linda
side until she starts really losing it halfway through the
movie and I'm like, OK, I'm on no one's side here.
And this has become more fun that it's not formulaic and
you're like this this like oppressed, you know, invisible
class of woman in the workplace is like coming back to kill her,
her misogynistic boss. I was like, OK, I've seen this
before. I'm still going to have fun with
it because it's Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien.
But then you're almost there's a point in this movie.
I'm not sure where it happened. So I'll be curious to break down
the plot with you because I wanted like spot where it
happens, where you sort of start going on Dylan O'Brien's
character side where you're like, OK, this has gone too far.
And I think it's as soon as we learn that she kills the Beyoncé
and we're like, now I'm weirdly siding with Bradley.
I don't think she kills him. That's you.
Don't think she kills the wife. Oh.
The fiance. Oh, her husband, I was saying
you. Think she left him on the
island? What?
No. No, no, sorry.
I thought you were talking about the fire scene when she says
like, I gave my husband who abused me like the keys.
Oh, no, OK. I was like, I don't know.
I don't know if she killed him because that's that's basically
what the movie. And then like Dylan O'Brien
implies that he thinks like, Oh my God, she's a murderer.
So then it it like flips us to be like, should we be suspicious
of her? But then you're like still not
because you're, you know, still on her side.
But yes, certainly the fiance thing is where you're like, oh,
like there, there is that moment where she's like, I need to stay
here a little bit longer when she sees the first boat right in
that like alcove or whatever that part is called of an
island. But she is, she sees the boat
and she's like, I need to stay here a little bit longer.
And you know what, I get it. You want to go back to
capitalism. So I was.
Going to ask you that is that is this movie playing with the idea
that America's obsession with Survivor is that Survivor has
become a symbol of like capitalist anxiety in the 21st
century, where Americans have a fantasy of wanting so badly to
get out of their nine to five that they would rather be on a
deserted island with their worst enemy than go back to their desk
job? Is that the pieces of the film?
I think. So I think so.
That's a. Great, That's a great pitch.
It's an interesting screenplay. But then it gets a little bit
sidetracked. Yeah, it does.
It's killing the fiance where I'm like, whoa.
I do think I did not know she didn't need that.
I think it would have been actually more interesting if
they would have kept her like quote UN quote, morally pure,
and they could have just still played with that, that shifting
of allegiances with the audience, like who they
connected with most especially after that drunk sequence.
Yeah, also then it could be like she is then the whole that that
kind of like message of of the movie that's under lying that we
were just talking about. She could be like, I'm not going
back. Yeah, yeah.
You know, like that would be more interesting and funny.
Neither are you. Yeah, in an exaggerated way
where he doesn't have to be like, you know, I am hunting my
boss who sucks. Yeah, it could just be like, I
am not participating in this system anymore and you're a part
of it, you know? There's a moment in the movie
going back to her looks and the way they play with Rachel
McAdams and her just like her organic beauty because she still
looks like Rachel McAdams as opposed to a lot of you know.
I mean, did we see that waterfall scene?
OK. That's what I mean is the
waterfall scene is where Rick McAdams looks at her own
reflection and she falls in love with herself again.
And then the camera pans up to her and she looks completely
different than she's looked for the rest of the movie.
And she looks like the Rachel McAdams that you're sort of
familiar with over the last 25 years.
And it's supposed to play as like, this is like a radiant
looking new Linda. But it's also campy because
that's not how she's looked at all.
But I just, yeah, I think that that's all the movie needed to
do. But it does hard pivot,
obviously, into the nonsense, which is, you know, it's same
Remy. So he still makes it fun.
OK, so when it comes to the the story, as the plane crashes and
Bradley washes up on a desert, she discovers him, his legs all
fucked up. And it goes from corporate
satire to the survival horror comedy that's absurd.
And it gets a little bit more Looney Tunes with the aesthetic
as she fights a bore and there's buckets of blood everywhere.
I was, I was. There were so many times in this
movie. I feel like I was getting
whiplash in this movie of like I didn't go in with like high
expectations or anything, but I was like OK, is this movie good?
OK, I'm back in this movie. Weird.
Like why is she fighting a bore back in I?
Accepted it. I accepted it for what it was.
I think this might rub people the wrong way who loved the
movie. I think this might be the best
three star movie I've seen in a long time to use letterbox lingo
here. I feel that way too.
And I just mean that in a way that where it's like really fun,
entertaining. I'm glad that we all get to
appreciate this in theaters. My only problem is the reason we
don't get more of these is because apparently the budget
tells me that this movie cost $40 million and there's no
fucking right that this movie should cost $40 million.
And it might be a reason why we don't get these kind of movies
anymore. Like I understand inflation, but
that's insane. Like there's no way that this
looking at this movie that it should.
The island is fake. Like we don't we're they're not
on, you know what I mean? They're on location.
So I, I don't understand how that happens.
And I'm not saying save the studios money.
I'm just saying if we want more of these, they got to cost like
15 to 20 a pop in order to make a profit.
Because I'm not sure this is going to be a $40 million
success, but maybe hopefully. Should we just hit the like
Major? Scene.
Yeah, I'm sorry. So, so basically right, she she
finds him leg is bloody. The the leg looks good.
I'll say the bloody leg looks good and he's passed out, drags
him up right, builds a little like shelter over him.
I love that she's like, let's get started.
You know what I mean? She she gets the leaf.
We see her making all these like, which honestly, I will use
these things if I'm ever in this situation, but the like puts
coconuts, you know, hollowed out, digs them in this.
Situation. Yes, I'm going to use some of
her tactics and, you know, take some leaves to she knows it's
going to rain soon to like gather the the drinking water,
create shade and and then Dylan O'Brien wakes up and he's doing
his like boss shit, right. He like, still thinks we're in
the office and. Well, where does the survivalism
begin? And then the shenanigans start.
Or like, when does the survivalism end and the
shenanigans start? Does that make sense?
Like, when does she discover? Like, when did she stop getting
water from those coconuts? So she starts getting water
from, you know, whatever rich water that rich people have.
Oh, I see. Does that make sense?
Like when she comes with a fish? Yeah.
When did she first? I was like, how did she kill
that fish? Like that's pretty impressive.
Say like, I'm going to go explore because she oh, you're
right, she kills the boar. Right, so she does do that.
She does do that when is seeing. That yeah, 'cause I was like,
you know what? Sorry, Linda, we're doubting
you. Sorry, Linda.
I apologize but. Also, I was like for a second I
was like, wait, did she get that meat from the house?
But no, we saw her kill a boar. So, OK, so I probably after that
because like once we get once we start getting introduced to like
the sushi spreads, they're like, how is she doing this?
I guess they tell us at the end, the first time she sees a boat
and she turns around. She doesn't turn around.
She sees the. Right, Mansion, yes, right.
Yeah, like we're we're, you know, not included in the
reality of the the movie at that point.
Yeah, 'cause the movie The the mansion is just like a a small
pivot to the right. All right, sorry.
So yeah, Dylan O'Brien still bossing her around.
Still bossing her around and she's like, oh, no, no, no, like
we're not in the office anymore. And he he kind of like doesn't
really understand what is happening in terms of what she
is doing to keep him alive. But there's two things going on
here, right? One is the, the workplace, like
hierarchy drama. And two, he's like, shouldn't we
like be putting out SOS signals? Right.
So you're sort of on his side, but also he's a piece of shit.
So you're like, stop talking to Linda like that.
But also, yeah, Linda, it's weird that we're not doing SOS.
Why aren't we doing rafts? I think that actually that part
of the movie is like, really what keeps you guessing because
you're. Yeah, I I think like from the
Survivor video on, I'm on Linda's side.
I understand why she doesn't want to go back, even though
it's a little like questionable for the character of like, OK,
you want to stay on this deserted island.
But hey, I get it. Like, you don't want to just go
back to sit in a cubicle for the rest of your life.
Like, you want a little vacation.
Hey, it's paid, I'm assuming on the company's dime, right?
They earned a plane wreck. And so I like I thought that was
all funny, but like you start to get skeptical of her character a
little bit at in terms of just like wanting to stay on the
island. But when it's the the hilarious
thing though, is when he says that you're like shut up, Dylan
like SOS thing. She's like taking care of you.
She's like making sushi and she's grateful.
Yeah. And so the.
And it's funny the way they're shooting him too, because it's
all like him being powerless on the ground, just like at his
mouth open, like hoping for her to like throw some water in his
face. And he's doing a great like,
just like like praying that like this goddess will help him.
And he's and he also has like this resentment, like every time
she gives him something, she walks away.
He does like this side eye at her where he's just like like
this fucking asshole. Like he perfectly captures that
sort of inversion of power that makes him uncomfortable.
Yeah. And then I, I start to get a
little worried in the movie when I'm like, she has this whole
shelter built, which is like amazing starts like weaving hats
and shit to like and a purse. Like she's like making all these
things and they get in this fight right?
Because because of what we're just talking about in terms of
like her being like, I'm, you know, you're not my boss.
Like, I think you should like, probably realign yourself with
what's happening here and like, be grateful.
And he goes out on his own, eats a bug that got a huge reaction
from our our theater. I didn't like that either.
Yeah. I mean, it was very fear factor
to to be in line with the kind of survivor televised things.
Yeah, but. Linda Brown, great facial
reactions in this movie, like that moment, the moment where he
finds that his wife is dead or his fiance and he cries for like
a 15 seconds too long. And it then becomes kind of
funny and serious. Like it's a hard thing he's
being asked to do in this movie. Yeah.
Which is like limp and then only react to things for like 2
hours. Exactly.
But then we we end up getting to the the fire sequence where
she's like, want to get drunk? I like, made toilet wine or
whatever. And they're around the the fire.
So many tonal shifts in this movie where he's like, yeah,
like, my parents hated me and I hated them.
And you're like, I guess I feel bad for you, but not really
because you're, like, rich and you're going to go back to being
rich. So yeah, you know, we only have
so much sympathy. Well, it's more like, it's more
like she's like, here's this domestic abuse that I went
through, right? And then he goes, yeah, he goes,
yeah, I can totally relate. My mom was mean and my dad
wasn't home and you're like, all right, so.
But they have good chemistry in that moment.
So it is a little bit confusing. You're like, are you?
Yeah, exactly. That's why I like the tone in
this movie is so strange throughout and.
I was like, wait, are Dylan O'Brien, Rachel McAdams going to
have sex in the Yeah, I was. Like, what's happening?
So then but then also when she says, like, you know, I ended up
giving my husband the keys. I thought in terms of the movie
language, even though I wasn't on the page, I thought that they
were trying to make the audience be like, Oh my God, she killed
her husband, which is like, not, you know what I mean?
And then also Dylan O'Brien being like suspicious of her
when in reality I was like, OK, I'm like still like kind of like
on Linda's side. But yeah, I guess when when we
get the the sequence of her shouldn't kill his fiance at
this point. But basically Dylan's like, oh,
there's a huge like rainstorm. It like flushes out their camp,
right. Well, this is still they're in
The Cave. So this is where I was like, oh,
a. Romance.
Is going to happen. So, like, this is a subplot.
The next morning after they get drunk, she wakes up hungover,
right? And they keep alluding to how
she has a knife on her side and so that she's trying to keep
that knife. And so I think you're thinking,
oh, we stole the knife. She he ran away.
She gets up. He's just washing himself.
We see Dylan O'Brien's ass on screen and he's doing kettle
bells. Good job.
Or, or is that stare stepper? You tell me.
He's that stare stepper. Is he Oh, you're saying off
screen I was like, what's he doing?
I thought you meant he like. No, I'm saying Dylan O'Brien's
the person. I was like, he looks good.
Yeah, I don't know. I honestly the butt wasn't
memorable to me. OK, after a year of talking,
like after the past few months we're talking about Timothy
Chalamet's ass and Marty Supreme, I feel like Dylan.
I wasn't like saying. He deserves his five seconds of
thing. Yeah, great shape, but sure.
Yeah, Dylan, you know, keep doing that stair stepper.
I see you trying to do the stair stepper frequently myself.
Let's go. And so he, she's like, OK, they
can work with this. And then they go to The Cave and
they have a Hunger Games moment where they sort of like, cuddle
up. Yeah, Pita, pita situation.
And you're like, wait a second, who's Pita in the situation?
Who's being tricked? Like, who's Katniss?
Yeah. And then?
The the knife, she still has a knife when she grabs for it,
right? And this is like what we didn't
know at the time, but he's building the raft while she is
sleeping. Which is amazing.
Which I, I feel like at that. So then he also is like, hey,
you know what, like I understand.
Let's stay on the island to her right.
And and he's like, let me make you dinner for once.
And she agrees. And and again, there's like this
like budding romance kind of feel and but you're still kind
of what's happening. And by the way, you're only,
you're only questioning because Dylan's great, but you're only
questioning because Rachel McAdams is so committed to the
absurdity of any screenplay that she's given.
There's a there was a great side.
There was a great interview with Sam Raimi about why he cast
Rachel McAdams in this movie. And he said in Doctor Strange
Multiverse of Madness, which he directed the 2nd Doctor Strange
movie, she has a bigger part in that film opposite Benedict
Cumberbatch and she has to fight a ghost at one point at the end
of that movie. And he was like, did.
We see that. Movie we did, yeah.
I think it's all you need to know about Doctor Strange.
Multiverse madness. That you'd ask.
That yeah, it's very sad that she has such a forgettable role.
In that well, actually might have been the last good Marvel
movie that I've seen. But so she what was I saying?
OK, so so he was like, hey, you're going to fight a ghost
like a demon ghost is going to jump on you in this movie.
And he was like, I was expecting her to go OK, like this is
Rachel McAdams. Like she's not really in it in
these movies for this probably meaning for money just to play
like a that non superhero character is like a nurse, a
doctor. She's like one of the most
underwritten leads or superstars of the MCU.
Yeah. And she goes, well, OK, how much
does a ghost weigh? And is it going to be in that
corner is going to be over here? And he was like, immediately.
Yeah, he's like, immediately she was thinking about the physics
of the scene because she just is so immersed into any absurdity
of any screenplay that she's given.
He thinks that's like an under, you know, sung talent of her as
an actor that you can play in any genre.
Anyways, I'm just saying all this because the only reason you
believe that Linda believes that she can fall in love with
Bradley or be in love with him is because of McAdams.
That's fair, yeah. And I and I think in that
moment, though, I also sort of believe Dylan O'Brien.
So the. Interesting.
The poisoning. I turned to you and I was like,
it's the berries from earlier. The poisoning, yeah, that he he
finds on the berries where she makes him hike up, hike up this
like mountain with a an injury. But but yeah, so like that, that
poisoning and then getting on the raft and be like, ha ha,
like into the into the sunset. It makes it was so out of left
field. Like it I was like, where should
this come from? To me, at least in the movie, I
was like watching at at that point, I felt like we needed a
little bit more suspicion from him to like lead us up to that
moment so it didn't feel so abrupt.
But that is a very like, you know, small issue in a movie
that has that's just kind of all over the place.
Yeah, yeah, the fuck you, Linda. Definitely made me laugh a lot
in the theater. I think that's what he said.
And then when he gets hit by the wave.
Yeah, on the and he's like, and she's like, and then then the
next morning when he's like depressed, she's like, Oh yeah,
like you should have added this extra, you know, layer to the to
the raft and she's like, but I didn't teach you that one.
Right, well, let's rewind just a little bit.
When she rescues him out of the ocean and she throws up in his
mouth for 30 seconds. That was disgusting.
That also got a huge reaction from our theater.
So he wakes up the next morning. She paralyzes him with octopus
venom. Oh, right.
And you think, and this is where the movie turns, This is where
the movie turns for me, where I was like, oh fuck, we're in a
different movie. And I wish, I actually wish that
this is where the movie went, where she is like she's what do
you, I guess, castrating him right as punishment.
And it is outrageous. And it was so upsetting and
uncomfortable, but also kind of deeply symbolic.
And I liked that. And I thought that dismantling
him was like a funny thing in the in the middle of what was
about to be a romance. So I was like, oh, this is about
to go. So Kathy Bates, James Caan,
Misery, shout out Rob Reiner because I thought that was like,
this is how she, like, keeps him on this island.
And then when she chose the rat, that she could have rat open.
I'm like, this is such a silly film.
Like, you can't take anything too seriously or else it's going
to get you. It feels like the movie is
constantly trying to wink at you and then just at the last second
decides to keep looking off camera.
And then as soon as the end, the movie ends and Rachel McAdams
looks at us in her car and winks at us, the audience.
I was like, OK, Sam Raimi was having fun with us.
So yeah, she kills the fiance. She killed a guy helping.
Her and I also was I think the the interesting part about
casting Rachel McAdams is that like, not only was I in
disbelief that the character was doing this just cuz she feels
like a a regular like person who yeah, like maybe spends who has
spent a little bit of time alone and you know, whatever.
But it's a, it's a, it's an issue of a trope of, you know
what a woman character in this movie.
But for Rachel McAdams, like in terms of her career history,
you're like, wait, I can't believe that this character, but
then also Rachel McAdams is going to let someone fall off a
Cliff, you know? So I think that was also a part
of the the layers of the movie that made it fun because I was
like, I can't, I couldn't believe she murdered him.
Yeah. Bradley.
They fight, right? He rips part of her hair out.
Like we said, she bites. His like muscle off this whole.
Sequence. Is wild.
And he gets stabbed, so he flees, but he's struggling, he's
bleeding out, and he finds the beach house, which is awesome.
It reframes the entire story. And this is where we learned
that she's been getting fruits. She got the knife.
She was like, you got a knife like this just washed up on the
beach, you idiot. Well, the first, I guess the
beginning of the whole time there when she had the sushi
line up and he was like begging, you know, for the food.
And he's still like again, side eyeing her when she's looking
away, which is amazing acting. I was like, this is funny
because she is that prepared for Survivor.
But then when it came to the beach house reveal and you're
like, oh, this is even funnier if you're a survivor fan because
there have always been rumors about contestants getting
catering or snacks off camera. And I took that as a great like,
I don't know if it's intentional or accidental, but like met a
joke For me personally, I was that's.
Good. A challenge that we had watched.
And if you win the challenge, you get to go to a restaurant to
eat a meal. That's a pretty normal thing
they do on the show, Yeah. They'll be like, come to this, a
deserted island, one person of your choice.
There are rumors, yeah. Yeah.
OK, that that that was happening, I think.
Some confirmed. I think somebody was sneaking
someone like snicker bars. One season I'm pretty sure that
happened. So Linda gets a shotgun, she
goes to kill him, he steals the shotgun because he starts using
his like sad hot white boy charm where he keeps trying to like
get her to feel bad for him because of his parents.
I'll stay. I'll stay with you like I love
you. Your companion and still for a
moment I'm like, I don't believe him, but like this movie so
strange that I guess they could this could do it.
And as soon as he steals the gun and he tries to shoot her and
it's not loaded, she's like, I'm done with you.
And she kills him with, you know, the elitist Golf Club
symbol of everything he once valued, which I thought was
pretty awesome. I totally forgot that was how
the final kill happened. Yeah.
I just loved how she was watching him on all the.
Security cameras. It's a good match cut of him,
like smacking his face with the 9 iron and then going to her
actually playing golf and talking about her documentary.
She wrote a book. Yeah.
Yeah, the book. About how to survive, Yeah,
that's so great. But yeah, I mean, this and this
particular and sequence of the movie, like it was such a funny
reveal with the house. I liked her being this kind of
like menacing figure behind all these screens, like watching him
just go throughout the house in shock and also panic.
But the the sequence at the end where it was painted as if she,
like wanted to stay on the island to trap him, to love him
because she's a lonely woman who eats tuna sandwiches along with
her bird and watches survivor. That I was like boring, like,
you know, like such a boring idea of like just motivation
that seems so unrealistic for like a woman.
It just it felt like a very tired trope that we've seen.
But in terms of the the actual like house and horror sequence
of, of it all and the kill at the end, like that was that was
fine for me in terms of yeah, the the mechanics of of the
movie. It made it fun and I liked at
the end how how she, you know, becomes this, this person who's
essentially she takes Dylan O'Brien's job.
Yeah, it is doing a little bit of like the most because of like
it was already fun and satirical, but then it's like
now we're talking about consumable, you know,
entertaining trauma and making it like into a book or
documentary or signing into movie rights.
And I was like, I this this movie is like a little bit like,
it's just too silly for its own good.
It doesn't take itself serious enough for me to actually think.
It's like something, I guess serious, I don't know something.
It's. Successful enough for.
Me. An OK movie to me, yeah, that I
had a lot of fun watching. Yeah, it's effective as a camp
horror, but I feel like camp horror, I guess I'm trying to
say, has a very low ceiling for me.
And this hit that ceiling as like high as it could, if it
makes sense. Yeah, extra credits.
I liked how the, I, I guess I liked the will they won't they
chemistry between the two of them.
I was a little bit curious going into this.
Like will Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien have chemistry?
Because O'Brien is like closer to our age and probably had a
crush on Rachel McAdams growing up, like how most of us did, or
at least I did. And I think he's confirmed that
interview since. But I guess he has to say that.
But like, I I'm sure he did, considering how much of AA fan
he was for early work. Yeah, and walking out, I was
actually pretty convinced by their fake romance, and so I was
surprised by their chemistry. So I'll say extra credit to the
chemistry for me. Interesting.
OK, yeah. I mean, I guess I was surprised
by like how they were meshing in the movie because they feel like
opposite off screen presences. Yeah.
So that that makes sense. I'm going to give extra credit
to Dylan O'Brien. Just like giggling.
Like, not he's not giggling, He's going.
He's panic laughing, tackling panic.
Laughing. Yeah, or making like cries like
that are essentially like high pitched cries.
There's a squeal that Ryan Gosling does in The Nice Guys.
Yeah, that reminded me of what he's up to in this.
And then were Rolster crows like he's going to break his arms.
Like no, no. Totally.
So that really like I think just brought brought me back to the
movie at all times when I was like, what are we watching right
now? And then Rachel McAdams kind of
like her. I I don't know exactly how to
describe it, but when she's like chewing slash, like she she gets
in like almost like like a coach, you know, look at Dylan
O'Brien like get together or she she's kind of like smirking at
him. Like those moments in the movie
where where she's like she kind of like shakes her head in
disbelief that he's in a different reality than she is.
Like the things that she is doing to make me be on her side
of I guess a character that like wants to stay on the island for
in the movies logic of like these wild reasons of wanting to
keep him there. Anyway, I just I really loved
her performance. Like it was so fun and I and I
didn't take the character obviously seriously because this
movie is super silly, but I did like at moments take what she
was doing like seriously enough for me to buy into the stakes of
the movie and surface level terms, if that makes sense.
That's a good way to frame it though I guess it did remind me
of like an army command, like a, an army grunt with their
commander and then being disappointed in them not being
able to do their their duties. I guess we just watched A Few
Good Men recently and I was kind of thinking about that.
Yeah. I, I guess I ultimately, I love
that they don't fall in love. I love that they recognize
themselves and each other. And they're like more mirrors.
And I, I like that that Bradley sees what's her name Linda.
And it's like, it is unbearable what I see in you that is saying
a lot about me. So I I need to kill you or get
off this island? I wish it be the only thing.
I wish we got like a flashback or something because we see her
find the house right and like see the deliveries and
everything and because the person isn't home.
I wish we got 1 scene of flashing back to her like
sitting on the couch watching TV, like eating, like having a
snack. I just think it would have been
a fun little addition. Yeah.
Did you like the zombie scene with the fiance or no?
The jump scare Very same Remy. I kind of forget.
Where she sees the smoky, foggy beach.
Oh yeah, that's fine. For Rachel McAdams career
because I think we're heading to the end of our episode now
again, I talked a lot about this on TikTok already on our YouTube
recently what we're about to do in about time deep dive on
Patreon, which. Yeah.
So we'll talk more about it there.
Super excited about you. Just want me to read you my top
ten. You can just tell me what you
agree with or disagree with, OK? I'm not going to explain these
because I already have, so you can go listen to the
explanations elsewhere in the description of this episode #10
Southpaw #9. Wedding crashers #8 Red eye #7
Send help. Number six.
Are you there? God, it's me.
Margaret #5. Spotlight #4.
Game night #3. The notebook #2 About time
number one. Get in, loser.
We're going shopping. Mean Girls.
Regina George. Wow, yeah, I think, I think Mean
Girls is I, I definitely agree in terms of performances.
Like what she's doing there is crazy.
I think literally the greatest comic performance of the 21st
century is Regina George. And while it's obviously like a
hugely celebrated movie, an underrated performance, an under
celebrated performance in Rachel McAdams.
There's a lot missing off that top ten, obviously.
The Family Stone The Vow. Morning Glory Midnight in Paris
I. Don't really remember the vow,
but I think I think as we talk about this more with About Time,
I'll probably argue for the Family Stone being on there.
Yeah, even though it's a weird movie, I still watch it every
Christmas. Yeah, kind of a holiday movie,
The. Holiday.
Yeah. I mean, I like that list.
OK, I'll think about it. All right.
Yeah. No hot takes about.
Send help at number. Seven I I was thinking that's,
that's pretty. High, but she she.
Like has a lot to do in this, you know.
Let me ask you this, you just recently watched Red Eye, which
is the only other horror film she's been in, I believe.
Do you think that that is 'cause that performance is a little bit
more like Final Girl? Russ Craven?
Well. Yeah, that's what I was going to
say. That's what I was like kind of
wrestling with is that. So Red Eye was a really fun
movie. A better movie than Sent Help,
so if you haven't seen Red Red Eye in a minute, watch that
again. And Kelly and Murphy's great in
that too. Like just watching them like
basically in a room for most of the movie on a plane.
Kind of similar, like are you guys going to fall in love or
are you going to kill each other?
But there's more of a clear total distinction of what
happens when the reveal happens. And A and a more like, I guess
truer horror movie. But she was asked to do this is
where I was like kind of going back and forth.
She's asked to do this like innocent woman who was scorned
but is still like, sweet, you know, kind of thing from that
particular era that I, yes, she's great in it.
But like, I enjoy what she's doing a little bit more and send
help that feels a little bit more zany.
So I understand. Yeah.
OK, let me think about this and I'll have like more.
I just love those plots that are like, you picked the wrong woman
to fuck with. You thought she was being nice
because nothing's ever happened to her.
In fact, she is a survivor. And good fucking luck.
Killian Murphy. And she also, you know, shows us
in game night. God, I love that performance.
I love that performance so much. Her and Jason Bateman are, like,
amazing together. And yeah, yeah.
You know, on the About Time episode I didn't like.
Oh. My God, he's dead.
Oh no. What am I going to shoot this
gun bang? But I want to ask you like who
your favorite, I guess chemistry of like her acting opposite too
is when we get there. Oh, let's do that on about time.
Yeah, that's what I. Yeah.
OK. Yeah, that's a deeper
conversation. That's a great question and I'll
ask you that as well. OK.
That was the extra credits of Sam.
Raimi's the question is really, who can match her?
But yeah, extra credit of Sam Raimi.
I guess just Gosling, I don't know.
That's a that's a hard one. That was the extra credits of
Sam Raimi's send help again. We won't be back for a bit.
I would assume you'll hear an episode with just me speaking to
writer director Adam Vollerich about his movie Drink and Be
Merry coming out very soon on our feed, but is out right now
for you to rent on Prime or elsewhere.
And then I think we'll have like an Oscars episode the end of
this month or best of 2025 episode, the end of this month
of February. I mean, so look out for that.
And don't forget to see 28 Years Later Part 2, The Bone Temple in
theaters. If you have to go a second or
third time, please do. We will do that as well because
we really want to see the third movie and.
Listen to our episode about why we love that so much and also
Part 1, which we loved. Yes, and don't forget to follow
Letterbox, TikTok, Instagram, all that in the description of
this episode. Peace out.
Bye.