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‘Dead Poets Society’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Chris Ryan

June 12, 2019 · Dead Poets Society (1989) · Comedy · Drama · 1:45:52 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 23:11Multiple scenes including when Keating meets the kids in the lobby and does the carpe diem speech, and ripping the understanding poetry part out of the book
Bill Simmons▶ 43:14The ending — the 'O Captain! My Captain!' desk-standing finale ('If I'm flipping channels and we're right around the point where the kids are about to fink on Mr. Keating... I'm sticking around'); later calls the Keating-vs-McAllister poetry duel at dinner a borderline pick.
Chris Ryan▶ 43:25The same final desk-standing scene — 'the walk-off homer of movie scenes'; praises the guts to end on that moment with no coda.
Mallory Rubin▶ 43:55Agrees on the finale, specifically Todd screaming 'Captain, my captain' as he first climbs onto the desk — 'really, really, really amazing.'

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 29:49What will your verse be?
Mallory Rubin▶ 32:43I stand up on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. The world looks very different from up here.

What's Aged the Best

Chris Ryan▶ 58:31Converse shoes

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:21Every single scene of Knox and Chet's girlfriend - the stalking behavior and problematic romantic subplot
Chris Ryan▶ 1:00:49The Knox storyline - feels like a bad B plot on a TV show that drags down the movie
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:00:53Knox's behavior - petting and kissing the girl while she's passed out and stalking her after she told him to leave her alone

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:04:36Dustin Hoffman — Discussed multiple casting alternatives: thought Dustin Hoffman would make it darker but still good, Mel Gibson wouldn't have been bad but not as good as Robin Williams, expressed amazement at Liam Neeson almost getting the role
Chris Ryan▶ 1:04:41Dustin Hoffman — Agreed Dustin Hoffman would create a very different, darker tone and made jokes about Liam Neeson's eventual Taken persona applied to Dead Poets Society
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:05:45Liam Neeson — Made jokes about Liam Neeson's skills being applied to rescuing Leaves of Grass instead of people, and added that Sam Rockwell auditioned for Charlie

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:09:10A scene in the original script showed Keating dying in a hospital removed by Peter Weir. Keating was supposed to die of leukemia because that's apparently what happened to the teacher.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:24Part of the reason why he was... Why he has this carpe diem mantra.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:31What's up with the woman? (mentions this as one of the unanswerable questions)

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:15:40Robin Williams — argues this movie WAS his Apex Mountain (coming off Good Morning Vietnam, 'you're at the peak of your powers'; it did for him what City Slickers did for Billy Crystal); also apex for Pitts 'for sure,' and says this was probably Robert Sean Leonard's apex (neck and neck with River Phoenix after this movie).
Chris Ryan▶ 1:18:06'Certainly for Dalton' (Gale Hansen), 'not for Hawke'; on Williams he walks the timeline (Vietnam '87, this '89, Awakenings '90, Aladdin '92) and suggests the Good Will Hunting Oscar was 'the culmination of the decade' rather than fully conceding Bill's case.
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:16:59Pressed the counterpoint of what weight to give Williams's Good Will Hunting Oscar; riffs on transporting Dalton's performance to 2019 (vaping, Pornhub); notes Robert Sean Leonard 'found himself playing Puck' in theater.

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:20:18Norman Lloyd
Chris Ryan▶ 1:20:22Melora Walters
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:20:30Discusses the concept of 'belated that guy' - actors who become 'that guy' actors in reverse, using Cameron as an example

Overacting Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:17Kurtwood Smith — Neil's father - specifically the scene where he discovers Neil is dead and repeatedly says 'He's not right!'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:32Robert Sean Leonard — Suggests multiple candidates: Nuwanda moments in the cave, Dalton playing the sax, and Neil's mother in her emotional scenes with tears
Ethan Hawke▶ 1:21:19Kurtwood Smith — Neil's father - performs an imitation of the father's overacting, mimicking 'Oh, my God! Oh! Oh, my son! He's not high! My son! My poor son! He's not right!' repeatedly
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:21:52Defends the performances, particularly Neil's mother, arguing the hosts are being too hard on 1950s housewives trying to protect their children

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:38:28Robin Williams — Robin Williams - states there's nobody who could do those classroom scenes like Robin Williams could have
Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:42Robin Williams — Agrees with Robin Williams but also makes a case for Robert Sean Leonard (Neil)
Ethan Hawke▶ 1:41:16Robin Williams — Discusses how Dead Poets Society was the perfect movie for Robin Williams at the right time, breaking the spell of audiences not taking him seriously as an actor
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:38:52Robin Williams — Agrees with Robin Williams but also mentions Walt Whitman and other poets as winners

Movies Referenced (35)

Good Morning (1959)

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Ethan Hawke▶ 8:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Toy Soldiers (1991)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 12:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Field of Dreams (1989)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 3:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Hook (1991)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:15:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

School Ties (1992)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 50:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stand by Me (1986)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 0:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

What Dreams May Come (1998)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:17:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Aladdin (1992)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:15:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Good Will Hunting (1997)

2 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons▶ 1:16:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Green Card (1990)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jerry Maguire (1996)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:45:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 11:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (7)

John Keating

43 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Limitless, One for the Money, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts▶ 3:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Peter Weir

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Ethan Hawke · Known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Way Back, Witness▶ 19:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mel Gibson

5 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory▶ 0:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Andy Robertson

1 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:24:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clay Travis

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Lady Ballers▶ 26:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Logan Thoreau

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin▶ 1:39:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Spike Lee

1 mentions · Ethan Hawke · Known for Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, She's Gotta Have It▶ 1:42:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (49)

Robin Williams

30 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ethan Hawke, Chris Ryan · Known for Mrs. Doubtfire▶ 1:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Todd Anderson

27 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Vampires, The Lone Ranger, North Country▶ 13:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Josh Charles

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Ethan Hawke · Known for Dead Poets Society, Four Brothers, S.W.A.T.▶ 20:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Sean Leonard

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Ethan Hawke · Known for Dead Poets Society, The Age of Innocence▶ 6:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

River Phoenix

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ethan Hawke · Known for My Own Private Idaho, Stand by Me, The Mosquito Coast▶ 0:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Deep Dish

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 0:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dustin Hoffman

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Rain Man, Tootsie, Midnight Cowboy▶ 1:04:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kurtwood Smith

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Broken Arrow, RoboCop▶ 1:08:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lara Flynn Boyle

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Wayne's World▶ 1:02:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Omar Epps

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, Chris Ryan · Known for Love & Basketball▶ 1:10:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Billy Crystal

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Forget Paris, City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally...▶ 1:16:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Dean

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause▶ 11:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (8)

Roger Ebert

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 11:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Letterman

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeffrey Katzenberg

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Shrek, Just Like Heaven▶ 1:06:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Irving

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp▶ 1:11:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Johnny Cash

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Walk the Line▶ 37:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kenneth Lonergan

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Manchester by the Sea, You Can Count on Me, Margaret▶ 1:19:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Noah Baumbach

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story▶ 20:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Patch Adams

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Patch Adams▶ 1:17:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (2)

Michael Grantland

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for The Taking of Pelham 123, The Other Guys▶ 53:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Hunter Thompson

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 9:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗