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‘The Fast and the Furious’ With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano

January 22, 2019 · The Fast and the Furious (2001) · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:19:41 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 17:00Lists multiple scenes: first big street race, Dom's quarter mile speech to Paul Walker, Dom flipping out when accused of being a narc, the aborted truck hijacking with Vince, and the last 10 minutes
Bill Simmons▶ 34:25Brian versus Vince — the really bitter rivalry between the two dudes (with the girl a little bit involved); 'I'm in for that situation.'
Shea Serrano▶ 18:24Dom's post-race speech where he's putting on a show, walking around with arms out, establishing dominance over Brian - 'You never had me. You never had your car' scene
Shea Serrano▶ 34:17The family dinner grace scene — Jesse reaches for the food first so he has to say the prayer, Leon helps him when he stumbles — the sweet moment the franchise has stuck to most across all the movies.

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 34:25Brian versus Vince rivalry
Shea Serrano▶ 33:19The idea of family

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 35:34Jesse flaking at Race Wars (age the worst), special effects when they jump the tracks with noticeable green screen
Shea Serrano▶ 40:31Special effects - specifically the first race camera zoom through the windshield and out the back of the car

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 42:03Timothy Olyphant — Timothy Oliphant was offered Dom Toretto role but declined - calls it 'bad move' for him and 'perfect call' that Vin Diesel got it instead. Notes Eliza Dushku turned down Mia role. Says Jesse role could have been improved, possibly with Ryan Gosling as another host suggested.
Shea Serrano▶ 43:39Ryan Gosling — Ryan Gosling should have played Jesse instead of the actor who was 'a slightly less attractive version of Ryan Gosling'

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 53:54Neal Moritz — Neil Moritz for creating the multi-billion dollar franchise from a Vibe article, though also suggests Fast Five as Apex Mountain for the main actors rather than this first film
Shea Serrano▶ 53:05The Fast and the Furious — Believes this is clearly Apex Mountain for Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, but struggles to separate individual films from the franchise as a whole

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 54:57Noel Gugliemi — Initially calls Ted Levine a 'no-brainer' pick but then says 'I'm voting Hector'
Shea Serrano▶ 55:14Noel Gugliemi — Hector (supports this pick and discusses the actor's consistent appearance across roles)

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:29I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those 10 seconds or less, I'm free.
Shea Serrano▶ 1:01:46I live my life a quarter mile at a time (agrees with another host) because it's used throughout the franchise and in Paul Walker's tribute in part seven

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:14Worked through his list: whatever happened to Toretto's Market (maybe sold to fund the next souped-up car — or Leon got reassigned there); Jesse got what was coming — don't race Johnny Tran at Race Wars and drive away; Brian was a bad (not atrocious) undercover cop since he at least taught himself high-level driving at Dodger Stadium; no Corona deal — it was all gratis (per the Ringer story); plus the Letty female-action-hero Mount Rushmore (Letty, Furiosa, Ripley in Aliens, Linda Hamilton in T2).
Shea Serrano▶ 1:10:57The government repoed Toretto's Market along with the house and cars; Jesse didn't deserve to die — he didn't know he was racing Johnny Tran until the window came down, and Tran way overreacted; and his Leon theory: Leon was the crew's most dispensable member (just the scanner guy), got exposed when things went wrong, and was dumped from La Familia.

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:13:48Vin Diesel — Vin Diesel - argued that while he knew what Paul Walker would become as an actor, Vin Diesel was unknown but owned every scene and emerged as a clear star
Shea Serrano▶ 1:12:58Vin Diesel — Initially argued for Paul Walker/Brian because he was the only one in Fast 2, but acknowledged Vin Diesel was most overpowering in every scene. Settled on 'everybody wins the movie'

Movies Referenced (24)

Fast Five (2011)

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 47:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Point Break (1991)

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 3:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Proof of Life (2000)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:18:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 12:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Varsity Blues (1999)

5 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons▶ 7:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Aliens (1986)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:09:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Die Hard (1988)

3 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 9:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

2 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 58:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Phone Booth (2002)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 49:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Pitch Black (2000)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 42:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Action Jackson (1988)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 22:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Atomic Blonde (2017)

1 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 1:08:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (4)

Johnny Tran

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Tower Heist▶ 16:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clint Eastwood

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven▶ 21:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rob Cohen

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Stealth▶ 8:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Corman

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13, Little Shop of Horrors▶ 45:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (40)

Vin Diesel

40 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Fast and the Furious, Guardians of the Galaxy▶ 2:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Walker

25 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Fast and the Furious, Furious 7, Running Scared▶ 2:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ja Rule

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Fast and the Furious, Assault on Precinct 13▶ 20:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jordana Brewster

8 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Furious 7, The Fast and the Furious▶ 11:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ted Levine

7 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Shutter Island, Heat▶ 54:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Danny Trejo

6 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Predators▶ 56:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michelle Rodriguez

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Furious 7, Fast & Furious 6▶ 13:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Arnold Schwarzenegger

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator▶ 22:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Colin Farrell

4 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons · Known for The Lobster, In Bruges, S.W.A.T.▶ 49:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Willis

3 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons · Known for Die Hard, Pulp Fiction▶ 22:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chuck Norris

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Expendables 2▶ 22:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Patrick Swayze

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Point Break▶ 22:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (2)

Brian Koppelman

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Runaway Jury, Runner Runner, Michael Clayton▶ 1:14:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 11:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Taking of Pelham 123, The Other Guys▶ 1:05:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗