‘City Slickers’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey
June 15, 2021 · City Slickers (1991) · Comedy · Western · 1:21:57 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsCity Slickers — References this movie as an ultimate Apex Mountain moment and notes it was the fifth biggest movie of 1991▶ 16:22
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsAnthony Hopkins — Anthony Hopkins should have been moved to Best Supporting Actor category instead of Best Actor, which would have solved the Jack Palance Oscar win issue▶ 20:37
Bill SimmonsLaurence Fishburne — If can't switch Hopkins categories, would give Best Supporting Actor to Lawrence Fishburne for Boyz n the Hood (who wasn't even nominated)▶ 23:01
Sean FennesseyGary Oldman — Would have gone with Gary Oldman in JFK for Best Supporting Actor▶ 23:30
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsMultiple scenes: airplane scene coming back from running with the bulls, Crystal-Tambor pizza ad scene, harmonica scene with Jack and Billy, and 'my best day, worst day' scene (which he calls his favorite)▶ 34:38
What's Aged the Best
Bill SimmonsThe midlife crisis angle, Curly's shocking death, young Jake Gyllenhaal, the one-arm push-ups Oscar moment, saying the title in dialogue, Billy Crystal's terrible one-liners, his meaning of life monologue, and normal people in Western setting▶ 39:56
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsWhy the two drunk cattle guys suddenly become threatening and evil when there was no prior indication they were bad people▶ 44:44
Chris RyanThe drunk cattle guys are inconsistent characters who are nice when sober but become threatening alcoholics, then just disappear from the story▶ 44:34
Sean FennesseyThe two threatening ranch hand characters serve no real purpose except to create artificial tension for 20 minutes▶ 44:53
What's Aged the Worst
Bill SimmonsVCR technology references, Director Ron Underwood's career trajectory, the veal eating message, and City Slickers 2▶ 46:20
Chris RyanThe Mark Shaman score with gospel music during the stampede and the overall softness/corniness of the movie's tone▶ 50:32
Sean FennesseyBilly Crystal getting one extra bad dad joke in every scene and the overall tone of these movies▶ 50:25
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsRobert Costanzo — Robert Costanza (guy speaking to kids) and Bill Henderson (older dentist)▶ 1:00:34
Dion Waiters Award
Chris RyanAgreed with the Ben and Jerry's guys choice, praised their performance in the ice cream pairing scene▶ 1:02:57
Sean FennesseyAgreed with the Ben and Jerry's guys choice, participated in recreating their scene dialogue▶ 1:03:09
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsShared trivia including: Chris got idea from TV show about middle-aged man on fantasy vacations, borrowed pot from John Wayne's The Cowboys, Billy Crystal's son Jake made film debut, Crystal's daughter Lindsay was his real daughter, 10-11 different cows used as Norman, Norman's birth scene shot in three states, river crossing was toughest scene because cows kept mounting each other▶ 1:04:38
Chris RyanParticipated in discussion but primarily responded to trivia rather than presenting research▶ 1:06:22
Sean FennesseyMade comments about the research quality and noted he didn't know Lindsay Crystal was Billy's real daughter but thought the casting looked perfect▶ 1:05:54
Movies Referenced (43)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | ▶ 38:23 |
| Home Alone (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 24:43 |
| Cape Fear (1991) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 21:43 |
| Donnie Brasco (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Chris Ryan | ▶ 56:07 |
| Smile (2022) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 4:31 |
| Dances with Wolves (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 24:50 |
| Fargo (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 27:07 |
| Friday Night Lights (2004) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:08:44 |
| Neighbors (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 2:58 |
| Running Scared (2006) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 9:08 |
| They Live (1988) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 6:09 |
| Total Recall (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 30:39 |
Directors Referenced (14)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Underwood | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 11 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | City Slickers | ▶ 2:37 |
| Andrea Bias | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Black Adam, A Simple Favor, The Intern | ▶ 0:00 |
| John Colorado | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | Hancock | ▶ 50:02 |
| Warren Beatty | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | Heaven Can Wait | ▶ 20:23 |
| Diego Pamplona | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | Triple Frontier | ▶ 1:06:35 |
| Rob Reiner | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | This Is Spinal Tap, The Wolf of Wall Street | ▶ 47:14 |
| Ron Howard | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey | A Beautiful Mind | ▶ 1:20:47 |
| Dead or Alive | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | The A-Team | ▶ 8:36 |
| Joe Dante | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Chris Ryan | Gremlins | ▶ 47:27 |
| John Cassavetes | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Chris Ryan | Rosemary's Baby | ▶ 41:42 |
| Kosta Jokic | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 1:18:13 | |
| Penny Marshall | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Big, A League of Their Own | ▶ 1:21:43 |
Actors Referenced (79)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Crystal | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 56 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally... | ▶ 2:30 |
| Bruno Kirby | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 34 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally... | ▶ 2:31 |
| Daniel Stern | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 14 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | City Slickers, Breaking Away | ▶ 2:34 |
| Charles Bronson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 11 | Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | Death Wish, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Great Escape | ▶ 58:09 |
| Jake Gyllenhaal | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko | ▶ 30:45 |
| Jack Palance | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | City Slickers | ▶ 16:11 |
| Jerry Seinfeld | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 10:50 | |
| Robin Williams | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Mrs. Doubtfire | ▶ 9:12 |
| Tom Hanks | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Cast Away, Big, Forrest Gump | ▶ 13:18 |
| Ben Kingsley | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Gandhi, Schindler's List | ▶ 20:18 |
| Helen Slater | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | City Slickers | ▶ 38:20 |
| John Ritter | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Sling Blade | ▶ 0:00 |
Writers Referenced (9)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell Ganz | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Parenthood | ▶ 3:06 |
| Joe Young | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | King Kong, Big Fish | ▶ 40:13 |
| Tommy Lee | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | Vanilla Sky | ▶ 23:35 |
| Babaloo Mandel | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Where the Heart Is | ▶ 49:20 |
| Elaine May | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Chris Ryan | ▶ 41:42 | |
| Peter Morwood | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 42:10 | |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 25:26 | |
| Taylor Sheridan | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Hell or High Water, Wind River | ▶ 45:17 |
| Taylor Worst | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 39:26 |
Cinematographers Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Grantland | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Chris Ryan | The Other Guys | ▶ 1:16:21 |