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‘Basic Instinct’ Live From SF With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, and Van Lathan

April 14, 2026 · Basic Instinct (1992) · Drama · Mystery · Romance · 1:55:41 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Bill's Most San Francisco Movies Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore · Bill Simmons · ▶ 3:37

  1. ·Basic Instinct (1992)▶ 3:39
  2. ·Vertigo (1958)▶ 3:40
  3. ·Bullitt▶ 3:37
  4. ·48 Hours▶ 3:44

Mallory's Most San Francisco Movies Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore · Mallory Rubin · ▶ 4:50

  1. ·Bullitt▶ 4:50
  2. ·Zodiac (2007)▶ 4:54
  3. ·Basic Instinct (1992)▶ 4:55
  4. ·Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)▶ 4:57

The Erotic Thriller Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore · Bill Simmons · ▶ 5:25

  1. ·Body Heat (1981)▶ 5:25
  2. ·Fatal Attraction (1987)▶ 5:26
  3. ·Basic Instinct (1992)▶ 5:27
  4. ·Unfaithful (2002)▶ 5:28

Van Lathan's ranking of who got him through puberty

Ranked list · Van Lathan · ▶ 9:33

  1. ·Emanuel Queen of the Desert▶ 9:33
  2. ·Emanuel in Space▶ 9:34
  3. ·Black Emanuel▶ 9:36
  4. ·Emanuel in Bangkok▶ 9:36
  5. 4Sharon Stone▶ 9:41
  6. 3Robin Givens▶ 9:44
  7. 2Janet Jackson▶ 9:47
  8. 1Pam Grier▶ 9:50

Categories

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 29:34Doesn't state a definitive pick, but supports Basic Instinct's significance, noting it created a new type of powerful femme fatale character archetype
Bill Simmons▶ 1:33:59Runs the rundown: Michael Douglas — no; Sharon Stone — yes; Joe Eszterhas — yes; erotic thrillers — yes; ceiling sex mirrors — could be; San Francisco movies — probably not; elevator murders — Dressed to Kill instead; Jeanne Tripplehorn's apex is The Firm.
Chris Ryan▶ 28:22Starship Troopers (for Paul Verhoeven), noting it has a better reputation than Basic Instinct in retrospect
Chris Ryan▶ 1:34:47Agreed 1992 is right on Jeanne Tripplehorn's apex ('would be like on the apex') with The Firm right after; otherwise mostly riffing along rather than making his own picks.
Van Lathan▶ 28:30Basic Instinct - 'not even close,' calling it his magnum opus due to its cultural impact and star-making power for Sharon Stone
Van Lathan▶ 1:35:16This is the apex of 'white butt competitions' (Douglas's gratuitous ass shot beats Gibson/Costner/Willis); adds Ice Picks, fucking-your-therapist, women on top, and not wearing underwear as things this movie is Apex Mountain for.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 39:41The opening murder scene leading into the police investigation dialogue, including the 'cum stains all over the sheets' and Johnny Boz lines

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 41:16Jokes that getting ice-picked while climaxing amounts to a 'triple cum shot,' and ranks Johnny Boz's death (sex followed by murder mid-orgasm) as a top-three way to die
Chris Ryan▶ 41:51Explains excessive semen via the sheets/blacklight scene by theorizing they had sex multiple times that night — 'Johnny Boz's fuck of the century'
Mallory Rubin▶ 41:31Doesn't buy the volume of ejaculate shown as realistic ('I just don't think the human body contains that much ejaculate at one period of time'), and separately notes the maid being ruled out as suspect due to her size is 'pretty fucked up'
Van Lathan▶ 40:54Attributes the volume to Johnny Boz's porn-star-level talent, comparing him to Peter North — 'we're talking about a fucking fire hose'

Den of Thieves Benihana Award

Bill Simmons▶ 43:12The nightclub with the impressive deck and landscaping (from Basic Instinct, not Den of Thieves - appears to be a mislabeled/different movie discussion)

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:36Hazel Dobkins character being pointless/confusing in the movie; also separately flagged the scene where Nick attacks Nielsen in front of 30 cops and is inexplicably not arrested/jailed hours later when Nielsen turns up shot
Chris Ryan▶ 1:10:39Hazel Dobkins' unclear purpose in the movie (jokingly floats the theory she's secretly the mastermind/'the Joker')
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:12:56The DNA evidence plot hole—despite DNA evidence existing since the 80s and every murder scene being covered in bodily fluids, police can't identify the killer; also questions Hazel's absurdly short 9-year sentence for killing her husband and three children

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:26Nick Curran is the single worst cop performance ever by a cop in a movie
Chris Ryan▶ 1:22:59San Francisco is the best movie city (self-aware 'pandering to the audience' safest take, framed as his hottest take)
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:23:09Catherine is a pretty generous murderer — her victims get to orgasm before/during being killed with the ice pick
Van Lathan▶ 1:23:41Scratching someone's back during sex is a dealbreaker/turn-off ('you scratched my back during the f*** section, it's over')

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:30Lists actresses who turned down Catherine Tramell (Kim Basinger, Meg Ryan, Geena Davis, Ellen Barkin, Mariel Hemingway) before Sharon Stone won over Demi Moore; also notes Nick Curran was originally written as a lesbian cop for Kathleen Turner, Paul Verhoeven left Black Rain for Total Recall, Verhoeven wanted Tom Berenger for RoboCop/Basic Instinct (he declined), and Milos Forman was originally considered to direct
Chris Ryan▶ 1:25:46Notes Emma Thompson auditioned for Catherine Tramell as the funniest casting what-if, and that Linda Fiorentino was considered for Beth and Brooke Shields for Roxy

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:28:18Roxy (from Basic Instinct) gets the Dion Waiters award for a hall of fame heat-check performance
Chris Ryan▶ 1:28:24Agrees Roxy deserves it, jokes she needs an Instagram hype video set to a Drake song like athlete highlight reels

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 1:45:55Picks Ryan Rucco doing play-by-play announcing on Catherine's driving/ice pick scene
Chris Ryan▶ 1:44:53Does a Nick Curran / Wayne Jenkins impression riffing on the movie's plot, and imagines Wayne as Gus commenting on Nick's situation
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:45:22Prompts Chris Ryan to do Wayne Jenkins bit and sets up the scenario, doesn't give her own definitive pick

Just One Oscar

Bill Simmons▶ 1:46:15Sharon Stone (referred to as 'Stone, Jared Stone')

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 1:49:34It's worth it to risk it all for the fuck of the century - Nick comes out ahead in every way (girlfriend, out of murder investigation, rid of coworkers, and she's rich).
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:49:56Wash your sheets.
Van Lathan▶ 1:49:59What Nick's friend Gus/Haas said: 'That's her pussy talking, it ain't your brain.'

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:50:51Sharon Stone won the movie, no question
Van Lathan▶ 1:51:45Implied San Francisco itself 'won' as it functions as a character and elevates the film

Movies Referenced (51)

Dirty Harry (1971)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 3:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fatal Attraction (1987)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 5:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Game (1997)

5 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 3:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Total Recall (1990)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 8:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin▶ 3:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Showgirls (1995)

4 mentions · Van Lathan▶ 15:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Starship Troopers (1997)

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 18:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Foxy Brown (1974)

3 mentions · Van Lathan▶ 9:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Star Trek (2009)

3 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 4:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Wall Street (1987)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 19:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Action Jackson (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 8:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:43:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (10)

Paul Verhoeven

13 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for RoboCop, Black Book▶ 18:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kevin Costner

3 mentions · Van Lathan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves▶ 20:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mel Gibson

3 mentions · Van Lathan · Known for Braveheart, Lethal Weapon 3, Conspiracy Theory▶ 20:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Cable

2 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons · Known for Basic Instinct▶ 43:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Spielberg

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 45:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Corner

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Saint, Open Your Eyes▶ 25:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jack Daniels

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:34:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mary Works

1 mentions · · Known for Contact▶ 1:54:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Milos Forman

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus▶ 1:26:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 1:01:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (63)

Catherine Deneuve

44 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, Chris Ryan · Known for Belle de Jour, Dancer in the Dark▶ 10:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sharon Stone

38 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead▶ 8:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Douglas

35 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan · Known for Wall Street, Behind the Candelabra, Romancing the Stone▶ 15:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ivana Basic

17 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Rhythm Section▶ 4:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Shooter

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 33:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Seagal

6 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory▶ 15:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan · Known for Top Gun, Mission: Impossible II, Minority Report▶ 1:29:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harrison Ford

5 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Fugitive▶ 22:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Elizabeth Berkley

4 mentions · Van Lathan, Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons · Known for Showgirls, The First Wives Club▶ 12:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Caan

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Thief, Rollerball, Misery▶ 37:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

LaTour

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 51:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Willis

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Die Hard, Pulp Fiction▶ 1:20:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (5)

Joe Eszterhas

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Basic Instinct, Showgirls▶ 30:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Shane Black

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan · Known for Predator, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang▶ 6:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Simon

1 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:16:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 35:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Taylor Worst

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:49:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Jan de Bont

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Speed, Minority Report▶ 32:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗