‘Total Recall’ With Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, and Jason Concepcion
April 7, 2020 · Total Recall (1990) · Action · Adventure · Sci-Fi · 1:33:33 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsArnold goes to Recall scene combined with Johnny cab and airport fight - the whole sequence from when he decides to get memory implants through the fight with construction site guys▶ 26:58
Jason ConcepcionAgrees with Bill's pick, emphasizes how the middle act after Recall is balls-to-the-wall constant action like The Fugitive▶ 28:23
Shea SerranoAgrees with the Recall scene, highlighting how it sets everything in motion and subverts expectations perfectly▶ 28:54
What's Aged the Worst
Bill SimmonsThe opening credits are truly awful - bad music and poor computer graphics that trap people in the theater for three minutes▶ 55:47
Shea SerranoThe scene where they give Arnold multiple sedative shots in the neck - the doctor/nurse hits him with eight shots at once, which probably would have killed him▶ 57:31
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsRichard Dreyfuss — Richard Dreyfuss and William Hurt would have been wrong for Doug Quaid, thankful Arnold took over; Robert Davi and Kurtwood Smith turned down Richter role; Sharon Stone's performance led to Basic Instinct casting▶ 59:21
Jason ConcepcionRichard Dreyfuss — Richard Dreyfuss as Doug Quaid doesn't work - mocked the idea of him in a tank top at construction site▶ 1:00:03
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsMichael Ironside — Michael Ironside (Richter) - praised for dialing it up to 15 and being the lead henchman▶ 1:01:51
Jason ConcepcionMichael Ironside — Michael Ironside (Richter) - detailed analysis of his jealousy over his wife's cover operation with Arnold's character▶ 1:02:29
Dion Waiters Award
Bill SimmonsSharon Stone — Sharon Stone - kicks Arnold's ass twice in three scenes, super sexy, quintessential Dion Waiters performance▶ 1:03:50
Shea SerranoSharon Stone — Sharon Stone as winner, but also includes the woman who pretends to be Arnold in disguise at customs▶ 1:04:33
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsThe three boob hooker originally having four breasts but producers thought it looked too much like cow breasts, so they went back to three - 'which I think was the right move'▶ 1:09:43
Jason ConcepcionRambo 3 being the most expensive film makes sense because it was set in Afghanistan▶ 1:08:43
Shea SerranoOf the 500 people who worked on the movie, 63 of them were only working on the breast design▶ 1:10:02
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsArnold Schwarzenegger — Arnold's apex is the stretch from Kindergarten Cop to T2 (14 months), culminating with T2. Also picks Rachel Ticotin for Man on Fire, Ronnie Cox for RoboCop, and Mars as a planet for Total Recall over The Martian▶ 1:11:36
Jason ConcepcionRachel Ticotin — Rachel Ticotin's apex is Total Recall. Marshall Bell (George/Kuato) and Michael Ironside both have their apex in Total Recall. Ronnie Cox's apex is Total Recall. Mars as a planet's apex is Total Recall over The Martian▶ 1:12:04
Shea SerranoArnold Schwarzenegger — Arnold's apex is T2 (Terminator franchise is what he's known for). Rachel Ticotin's apex is Total Recall as an action star. Michael Ironside's apex is Starship Troopers. Agrees Mars apex is Total Recall▶ 1:11:11
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsIt was a dream from the moment he's at recall - there's more evidence it was a dream than real, though acknowledges Verhoeven made it intentionally ambiguous▶ 1:24:10
Jason ConcepcionIt's a brain damaged delusion where he's stuck in a loop, running through the same memories repeatedly after his brain was fried by the recall process▶ 1:25:30
Shea SerranoIt has to be a real thing - he's already dreaming about Rachel at the start, meaning he's already seen her and been to Mars before▶ 1:25:13
Who Won the Movie
Bill SimmonsArnold Schwarzenegger — Between Arnold and Paul Verhoeven, but leans toward Arnold for buying the script, crafting the deal, crushing the performance, and this being central to his 12-year box office run as one of the five biggest movie stars▶ 1:28:00
Jason ConcepcionBody horror - the mainstream version of David Cronenberg style body horror including mutant designs, eye bulges, and disturbing things happening to human bodies▶ 1:27:55
Shea SerranoEye bulges - calls them the best eye bulges in movie history and says they won the movie▶ 1:26:33
Movies Referenced (37)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Rock (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 9 | Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion | ▶ 19:55 |
| Aliens (1986) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Jason Concepcion | ▶ 15:36 |
| Rambo (2008) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 22:50 |
| John Wick (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | ▶ 33:10 |
| RoboCop (1987) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | ▶ 9:33 |
| Alien (1979) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Jason Concepcion, Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | ▶ 1:14:17 |
| Basic Instinct (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 13:13 |
| Inside Out (2015) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 58:08 |
| Man on Fire (2004) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Shea Serrano | ▶ 16:57 |
| Sinister (2012) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Jason Concepcion | ▶ 1:07:26 |
| Starship Troopers (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Shea Serrano | ▶ 16:00 |
| The Terminator (1984) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | ▶ 7:54 |
Directors Referenced (4)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Verhoeven | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 15 | Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion | RoboCop | ▶ 9:31 |
| David Cronenberg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion | The Fly | ▶ 1:00:24 |
| William A. Attaway | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Great Gatsby, Beetlejuice | ▶ 23:41 |
| John Carter | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Shea Serrano | Boomerang, Friday, Men of Honor | ▶ 1:14:53 |
Actors Referenced (36)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 96 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion | Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator | ▶ 2:06 |
| Sharon Stone | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 23 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion | Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead | ▶ 13:06 |
| Bill Paxton | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano | Aliens, Apollo 13 | ▶ 1:06:09 |
| Doug Johnson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano | ▶ 21:10 | |
| Michael Ironside | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion | Starship Troopers, Total Recall | ▶ 14:57 |
| Richard Dreyfuss | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion | Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland's Opus | ▶ 59:39 |
| Donald Trump | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | ▶ 54:11 |
| Marshall Bell | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano | Starship Troopers, Total Recall, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead | ▶ 34:55 |
| Vin Diesel | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | The Fast and the Furious, Guardians of the Galaxy | ▶ 19:37 |
| David Caruso | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano | First Blood, Proof of Life | ▶ 1:07:21 |
| Dean Norris | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Jason Concepcion | Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall | ▶ 11:47 |
| Lou Ferrigno | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Jason Concepcion, Bill Simmons | The Incredible Hulk, Hulk | ▶ 6:18 |
Writers Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 23:27 |
Cinematographers Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Grantland | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | The Other Guys | ▶ 5:01 |