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Brennan: You’re listening to Dodge Movie Podcast. Your hosts are Christy and Mike Dodge, the founders of Dodge Media Productions.

We produce films and podcasts. So this is a podcast about films. Join them as they share their passion for filmmaking.

Christi: Welcome back everybody to the Dodge Movie Podcast. This is episode 174 and we are talking about the 2019 film Wine Country. This film was selected by [00:01:00] Elizabeth with a little bit of suggestion from me.

Mike: Yeah, we’ve seen this movie a bunch of times.

Christi: Yes, it’s my go to if I feel sad and I just want to laugh. I picked this one and I know what a big fan of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and kind of that whole SNL crew are and so I suggested that she watch it and so she chose it as she won one of the months last year and this was her pick.

. This is directed by Amy Poehler, who also directed Dumb Prince in 2016, Moxie in 21, and Lucy and Desilu in 22, and I did not know that she directed that one until I did the research for this.

Mike: Neither did I, and I’ve never heard of Dumb Prince, I don’t think.

Christi: I know, I didn’t either, we’ll have to go back.

Mike: But I watched Moxie, it was a decent film.

Christi: That was very good, yes. It stars Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Anna Gosteyer, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Amy Spivey, Tina Fey, [00:02:00] Maya Erskine, Jason Schwartzman, and Cherry Jones. The DP was Tom McGill, who did some episodes of The Office, of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Parks and Rec, and Angie Tribeca.

I It was written by Liz Kakowski, who did a bunch of SNL. She was a writer on SNL for two years. She did 12 episodes of Community, six episodes of Last Man on Earth, and it was also written by Amy Spivey, who did 35 episodes of Up All Night and also was an SNL writer. It takes place around Napa and wine country, including the Artisa winery that is prominently featured.

I believe it’s the first winery they go to and it has a very characteristic or very dramatic like water feature and even the

Mike: Its the high end winery.

Christi: Yes. Yes. And the synopsis for this film is during a vacation to Napa Valley, a group of [00:03:00] longtime friends reunite and revisit past choices in this hilarious. and heartfelt comedy by the director of Amy Poehler. The, I only have one tagline, I think it’s a good one. Friendship is a trip.

Mike: Oh, that’s decent.

Christi: Yeah. Yeah. This movie was inspired by real life a real life trip that these SNL stars took together to celebrate a 50th birthday. I believe it was Rachel Dratch’s 50th birthday party.

And Amy. is very similar to her character in the film. She’s a very A type personality, organized person. She’s the mom of the group, they all say, and very similar to her character Abby in this film.

Mike: And you might recall that Leslie Knope was famous for her notebooks.

Christi: Yes. And Amy is not without a notebook. Yes. She, she will cop to it. All right. Kick us off with your pickup line for this film.

Mike: So I looked at a bunch of houses and I think I found the best one. It kind of tells us [00:04:00] a little bit about the character of Abby, but not the strongest support of my theory.

Christi: Yes, more about Abby’s character than what we’re about to see.

The story yeah. Yes. Okay. What about the cinematography of this film? How did Tom McGill do?

Mike: We just talked a little bit about the planning of the trip and it opens with a planning the trip montage. So open montage like that and

Christi: Also letting us in on the characteristics and personalities of each character.

Mike: Yes. So I’m, I’m gonna say I don’t knock McGill for this, but maybe there is less budget for the camera department. So the first thing is I noticed after the house tour, they’re on the top of this hill and super sharp sun, no scrim. And I think that was probably just a budgetary thing. They didn’t have the budget to go ahead.

And in fact, later in the film, after the snake bite, there are some shots where [00:05:00] I presume they had to do pickups or something where they’re obviously green screened, and I know that they could both with lighting in the studio for the green screen and in post, they could have matched the, the, the lighting.

Of the shots that were on the hill much better. And so I just, I think between those two things, it says to me that they were constrained a little bit on budget. I don’t think the average person viewer would probably notice, but I did notice that I thought it was interesting, his choice of lighting both the restaurant.

The tarot reading are pretty noticeably underexposed. So I was thinking, you know, it’s interesting because restaurants are often not lit very well. As an aside, if we hadn’t already talked about this the reason for that Is to get the pupils to dilate because humans find a dilated pupils more attractive than constricted pupils.

Not sure why evolutionarily that [00:06:00] would be. I have other theories listeners who are interested contact me separately. We can have a conversation. So restaurants are not super well lit, but the human eye is actually pretty good at resolving that. Right. So that’s a stylistic choice to shoot it like that.

Not sure. If it worked for me and then the tarot reading also, that really bumped me more than the restaurant. Even the first time we watched this, it was so underexposed. And again, I’m sure he was going for a thing, but I don’t know if it necessarily landed. One thing that I thought was interesting is kind of not.

Not necessarily strictly the camera department, but there’s a scene where they’re in a hot tub and it’s steaming. And I don’t know that Napa nights get that cold. So how hot did you have to turn the water up? You’re about to boil like Amy Spivey at that one. And then of course, when you have those grapevines in the vineyard, perfect leading lines, you got to use them.

So that was done well.

Christi: Absolutely. [00:07:00] I noticed that too. I think it’s either the second Or third winery they go to they really make use of the characters walking in between and there’s even Almost like a gag that is so funny. It’s it’s one of the writers Liz Kakowsky, I believe, it plays kind of like one of the wine pourers, and she has a great bit about what do we call the sediment at the bottom and everything.

And then she plays a very passive aggressive kind of, you know, school marmish, kind of sarcastic or no, condescending is probably a better word, telling them to get out of the vineyard because they’re an organic winery and so we can’t have people walking around. And that’s a funny bit as well. I just love kind of her, her smarmy, kind of, okay now, walk with me, kind of.

Mike: And just my last bit on cinematography, kind of half that, [00:08:00] half humor. There’s some dialogue that talks about a drone shot, and then, there’s a drone shot. Yeah, yeah. So I thought that was fun.

Christi: Let’s just call it out, right? Yeah.The first time we watched this and I was confused. I don’t know why I didn’t think of reshoots or something.

I was confused why at times we would see them on the hill and it was clearly a practical, they were actually there. And then sometimes it would be a green screen because I was just like, but wait, if you were there, why didn’t you get it? And so there must’ve been something in like the original and, and there had to be reshoots.

Why? So I wonder if now. As a precaution, much like we do room tone, which means everybody on the set stands quiet for the longest 30 seconds of their life because you need to capture what the, the room sounded like when everybody’s quiet for you. in sound mixing. I wonder if now, okay, if we need to use this for green screen, you capture [00:09:00] 10 seconds of, you know, the wheat field with nobody in it.

Mike: Yeah, absolutely. I know for still photography, they call that a plate back in the day. And so you would set up your camera on your tripod with a thousand pounds of sandbags. So it won’t move at all. And you take some just Shots of the empty location and that way when you have Nathan Fillion and Tina Fey walk in separately you can composite them more easily later.

I assume it’s similar for Digital filmmaking now that they grab. Yeah, those those background the equivalent of room tone.

Christi: Yeah, right and I wonder if it’s even You have a B unit that while everyone else is moving to the next location. Are, are, are they tasked with, okay, get this location? Or is it, I can’t happen, I guess, simultaneously for lighting.

Mike: I’m just thinking, yeah, I would think it might be easier [00:10:00] logistically to do it before you start shooting. And do you do room tone at the same time? Basically you tell everybody like quiet on the set, stand still, we’re going to do 30 seconds of Wheatfield with sound. Right. Yeah, exactly. So we’ll have to try that the next time we make a film.

It’ll be fun, if nothing else, every time we go to a new location, make everybody stand there for 30 seconds with their finger in their nose.

Christi: Right. We might be happy we have that.

Mike: Well, yeah, I was actually thinking about this for a different film that, oh, well, should I get, This other shot just in case when I get to the edit bay, I need that, right?

So that’s like a really good point. One of those things. You may not need it, but if you do, you’ll be really happy. You’ve got it

Christi: Right. It almost sometimes could be as an establishing shot, right? . . So a couple of things from the plot. I love it. One of them says, I didn’t write down who, gee, people really talk a lot about wine around here.

Mike: Yeah, I thought that was hilarious.

Christi: [00:11:00] Dratch’s character, Rebecca, she Can, can I just say something? Right. And one of them, or no, it was, was it Cherry Jones or was it Tina Fey who said?

Mike: Tina Fey. Yeah, I was gonna bring that up. Tina Fey says, Tammy, whenever somebody says that, whatever gets said is probably what the person has always felt and the alcohol just let it out.

But so that those are two, two things that have entered the lexicon, right?

Christi: Of our family.

Mike: Yeah, and anyone who, who, who, Has the misfortune of talking to me, but can I just say something? You should always stop talking when you say that, stop yourself and don’t say what was going to come after. And the other is, can I offer you some feedback?

Which is also probably a time to stop talking. When you say, can I offer you some feedback? Just go ahead and stop right there.

Yeah, so I got a tip of the cap to Auntie Hazel years and years ago. She brought up the phrase, which I love, unsolicited feedback.

Because almost always the person didn’t ask. They don’t want know [00:12:00] yet. We all love to give advice to other people. Don’t, don’t, it’s so much easier to tell other people how to live their lives. Yes. And if they would only listen to me, their life would be better. And if it isn’t, oh well, it’s not my life. .

Christi: How about some character development of, of the different characters?

Abby definitely has a character arc. Let’s see. I’m trying to, right. So I guess in a way they all do, ’cause Anna Gastyer,

Mike: So, I mean, I remember Maya Rudolph’s very vividly, right? Yes. Because she has the She’s dealing with a health issue. A health issue, a little scare there. Yeah. Rachel Dratch, I think Oh.

She has her, her back issues.

Christi: Well, and her husband. Who none of them, we get, none of them like, but don’t, it’s not overt why they don’t like him until the end, maybe?

Mike: Yeah, now I’m getting a little confused with her husband and Amy Spivey’s husband, who I think is played by her real life husband. Which, by the way, is a good way to keep costs down if you cast people that are related to you.

Christi: Amy Spivey’s, I remember being [00:13:00] a good guy. He was very helpful with a child and he was very involved.

Mike: Okay, so it was Rachel Dratch that played video games and was generally a loser. Yeah. I mean, I think they kind of established early in the film that he’s not really a catch. So yeah, they each have kind of their character arc.

Now, I don’t really think that Tina Fey does. She’s just there to deliver some hilarious lines that she probably wrote herself.

Christi: I remember Tina had a conflicting schedule, so she was only able to be there like one day. So I think she was going to be on the trip originally, but then had to be written in as Tammy that was just there for one filming day.

Mike: And I also think Jason Schwartzman’s character is just there for comedy. I agree. But of the, the women on the trip and kind of them together it is a little bit, they’re all dealing with getting older and they have this nostalgia going back to the pizza place where they met working there. So there’s, I, I, I think a little bit in the, you know, old dogs of people dealing with [00:14:00] kind of where there are, are, and I, I think this is, you know, really interesting story topic that you can mine over and over again, because it is so different, but also so universal of when you get to that point in your life and you realize, Oh, All the coulds are gone.

They were either done or they weren’t. That was over. Now, now, now, there’s no more, Oh, I could be an artist. I could live in Tuscany for a summer. That’s all gone. And how do you cope with that? How do you deal with getting to that point where whatever Could have maybe happened didn’t and now what so I I think this deals with that in a very humorous way But I still think there is Underlying it that issue and that’s why it works.

I think For writing because there is some heart in there beneath it all.

Christi: Well, and I think also There is, [00:15:00] it’s not overt. They don’t call it out, but when you’re 20 and you’re all like, you know, hungry and trying to figure out who you are and working towards, like you’re talking about your career and everything and, and children and marriage and all that stuff, what binds you is almost like that I’m trying to think of the right word, like that hunger for the rest of your life or trying to figure out who you are kind of.

And then once you kind of get there and 20 years down the road, I think Amy’s character is trying to recapture who they were at 20, which in a way you can’t recapture because now you’re all in your 40s and 50s and it’s, it’s just different. Like you’re, the way you look at things, what’s important to you, how you spend your time.

And so she keeps wanting them to be this type 5, which I think they are.

Mike: Right, but trying to get back to what it was like [00:16:00] when they were in their 20s, which is ultimately going to fail because you’re not. Right. You’re not. Exactly. And, and so to me that, that’s done in a humorous way cause they have to wheel Rachel Dratch around in a chair cause her back was thrown out.

Yeah, it’s interesting when you said that because we were talking about some other films of the eighties. Yeah. That kind of deal with the young twenties and, and I don’t know if this is a gender thing or just a person thing, but when you talked about trying to figure out who you are. I, when I was in my twenties, I don’t think any of my buddies.

Had that concern. We all was just gonna like we’re trying to find a job. We’re just trying to get through life We we didn’t have that

Christi: right but for who a lot of people your job becomes who you are Yeah good or for real,

Mike: but it was like whatever job you could get it was and then it was kind of given to you It wasn’t this well i’m gonna find myself and I know that some people do go through that but I was just thinking Is it an [00:17:00] era like people who are children of the eighties where we all secret of my success and, and you know, Gordon Gecko’s greed is good.

Is it because that was just kind of that era was, Oh, you had to have a job. And like you said, it often did define you. And maybe in the sixties is a bit more, Hey, I’m going to find myself, man. You know, I don’t know. But I think ultimately though. What I think is universal is that trying to recapture what you’re like when you were 20.

And some people do it by getting cards with V8s and other people do it in different ways, but I think that’s a universal sensation, at least for the target demo of this film, which we land squarely in.

Christi: Right. I think the other thing that I noticed is, I don’t want to make a value judgment, but, when you’re in your 20s, Everything seems critical, like trying to find a job, trying to find a spouse, trying to find where you’re going to land, like live.

Mike: Yeah, like a matter of life and death.

Christi: [00:18:00] Right, it feels that, but then when you get to your 40s and 50s, the issues that these ladies are having, Health scare, like divorce I’m trying to think kind of like,

Mike: Amy lost her job,

Christi: Right, yeah. They feel, not trying to offend anybody, but they feel like bigger issues than when you were in your 20s.

Mike: Oh yeah, I mean, I’m more comfortable offending the poor 20 year olds.

Christi: Cause it feels like life and death. It feels like life and death. . Because now, if you’re in your 20s and you have an apartment, you just move back home if you lose your job. You could lose your house. In your 40s and 50s, if you lose your job.

Mike: And her parents may not be able to take her in. Right, and so it just, the stakes feel higher for what a lot of these ladies are facing. So, yeah, I’ve said this for many years, that when a three year old skins his knee and he cries, It is the worst thing that has ever happened to him. So when you’re 23 and you don’t get a promotion, that is the worst thing that ever happened to you.

And [00:19:00] when you’re 53, you’re so happy they didn’t give you that damn promotion because that would have been a lot more work, right? So it’s yeah, it is kind of an agent stage thing. And I bring that up that we’re the target demo. Cause I wonder if this film just doesn’t play as well outside that, you know, like 40 to 59 target demo.

Christi: Well, I mean, from the moment I saw this movie, it, it definitely is probably in my top 10. Like I said, it’s my go to if I just need to be cheered up or just want to laugh because I know it’ll happen. And I do think that I resonated because they are all in my age group. I have girlfriends. We have gone on trips.

There’s, it’s almost like filmmaking, right? Somebody told us once. When you start the film you love these people in the middle of the film you want to kill them and you just want this Whole thing to go away and by the end You’re crying and you’re sad that you’re not gonna see him again because you’re like, I love you so much Look what we did, you know, like and [00:20:00] that’s what girlfriend relationships are.

I mean throughout my entire life I in fact Maya Erskine who is in this There’s a great episode of Pen 15 where the friend comes and sleeps with her I Over the weekend and at the beginning they’re like, oh my god, it’s gonna be like we’re sisters It’s gonna be so fun halfway through she hates her best friend and wants her to leave wishes that she could Send her away, but can’t because her mom has gone away for the weekend So they’re kind of babysitting her and then by the end They’re like best friends again, and I love you.

And and that’s what my experience with girlfriend relationships ships have been and so You I think I so related to this film that over the course of the thing you’re fighting and you’re angry and why does she drink so much or you know the different things that happen to these ladies happen in real life.

So I just all that to say I very much related to this film but when I looked at the [00:21:00] numbers that we’ll go through later I I was surprised how low it’s rated because it’s such a top rated one for me.

Mike: So just as an aside, you mentioned that this captured what it’s like a relationship or a trip with a group of women.

If you recall the movie about the guys who ride scooters from Florida to Seattle, that I think captures perfectly what a group of guys on a trip is like. They do get frustrated with each other at times. Totally different though. Much. Much less like more stable or less ups and downs. Right. Very, very steady Eddie.

And it’s like, ah, they’re late again. Damn those guys. And which reminds me another aside. Remember the one guy, his challenge was he had to stop at every McDonald’s they saw and get something to eat. I would get a small order of fries. And be happy as could be every single time.

Christi: You would never get sick.

Mike: He said he got sick of them. Yeah. I’m pretty darn sure I could eat French [00:22:00] fries any time of day, multiple day times during the day. Okay. Getting back to the, that’s why I mentioned the target demo. I do think perhaps the low rating and low numbers comes from the fact that younger people. And perhaps even older people probably don’t resonate with it.

I think it’s that, I said 48 to 59, I think it’s 45 to 59 is the, I forget, somebody in, in advertising let me know. But I, I just think it kinda, it, it is for a certain time period, right? Just like, I know people of a certain generation love the Scott Pilgrim movie. And I tried twice and can’t sit through it.

So I think it’s, there’s some things that are just so, it’s a spike.

Christi: You know, yeah we were talking to somebody the other day and they mentioned the perks of being a wallflower. Yes. Is that what it’s called? Yeah. I think so. Yeah. Being a wallflower. Yeah. And I think that’s another generational one. I mean, here’s a little, uh, tease, we are going to do a bonus up on the movie that’s out right [00:23:00] now, Brats, with our friends, Dustin Morrow and Lisa Molinelli, because they have a podcast where they do a deep dive on all 80s movies.

And I think that I was talking to somebody who’s in their 40s and they didn’t know. They didn’t like the Brats movie that’s directed by Andrew McCarthy and I absolutely loved it. So I’ll stop there so I don’t spoil the bonus set but I think that there are certain movies, Big Chill, we were talking about that the other day.

Right. And so I wonder if only the Boomers relate to the Big Chill.

Mike: Costner’s best acting by the way. Yeah, because I didn’t, I didn’t respond to that film but I’m not of that era. Right. Right. I was a little younger than the people in that film. So there are, and it’s perfectly fine to have movies that are, Of that generation and era and time period and all of that.

I think of one whose name I never get right Armageddon date [00:24:00] time. That was his experience of, of a certain kind of socioeconomic class in a certain physical location, a certain point in time. I think that, that the appeal of that movie is like one. It’s too narrow, right? But that’s okay. We can have films that just appeal to that.

And you mentioned McCarthy’s documentary Brats. I think those of us who were teenagers when Breakfast Club came out, we love that crap. And people who aren’t, it’s different. They were like the Beatles to us. And I can’t stand people who wax on about the Beatles and they’re the greatest thing ever.

I’m like, no, not really. For us, right, the, the Brat Pack was huge. So each generation has their thing. And that’s where I’m curious if 10 years from now. People who are then 45 watch Wine Country at that time will they be like, oh I get this film now I like this. So, you know, I think

Christi: Yeah, I also [00:25:00] appreciated that they they gave a nod to The fact that some oftentimes especially when we go back.

I’m thinking like Class reunions and stuff. We put our best self forward and You know kind of even on social media there You know Sometimes people only put the good things that happen the trips they go on the wonderful achievements of their children We don’t often say like oh my kid got you know, a car accident today or a DUI today We don’t talk about that stuff.

And at first they were all kind of doing that. They were putting their, their, the, the outward self that they want everybody to see. But then what truly makes us At least I’ll just speak to my experience as girlfriends, is when we connect on the things that challenge us, that are difficult for us, that we struggle with, when you really put your guard down and share those challenges with people, that is [00:26:00] when I find I’ve created, like, you know, lasting bonding connections with my girlfriends.

Mike: Yeah. I can, I, I, I think that I’m the weirdo who, who would talk about his feelings. I don’t think they

Christi: I just love the grunt. Hmm.

Mike: It wasn’t a grunt, it was a huh. I was just, while you were saying that, I was trying to envision guys doing that. I’m like, yeah, I can’t see that.

Christi: Yeah, well, some guys.

Mike: Yeah, but like I said, I think I’m a weirdo.

I think I’m tolerated. I really enjoyed the moments, at least I’m going to say. say that I felt like when I saw their true personalities Amy allowed for some improv and stuff. And I felt like there were moments when you’re like, Oh, I bet that’s really how they are as friends. Like, I just felt like you got a glimpse on something that wasn’t in the script or they’re really laughing because this is really funny.

This part right here. Right. My subsequent comment here is not to decry the acting of these individuals, but [00:27:00] yes, ending it I took it as a great compliment to the actors on The Office because when it first got big, people said, did you improv that? They said, no, it was all written. That I think is fantastic acting to make it feel because there is a ton of It’s a tone, a speed, a something that makes it feel more real than performed.

You know what I’m saying? Like there’s nothing wrong with performing, but one of the things I tell the lay person is in movies, people generally don’t talk over each other cause it makes it hard to edit. So they leave gaps that you don’t in real life. Most people talk over each other all the time. I think if you’re Italians in New York, right it’s nonstop, but other people don’t.

I have a friend who actually would be great in the film because industry, because he leaves a long gap before he speaks, but most people don’t. There are those subtle differences. So I think when you have people like those gals who know each other so [00:28:00] well that there probably were moments where the cameras were rolling, where they were able to riff and there’s a different kind of tenor to the interaction.

Yeah, Amy said that she often had to alright guy, you know, like herding cats. Alright guys. ’cause everybody was cracking wise and just having fun and she had to keep like kind of getting them, alright, get over to the couch. Come on, let’s do you know there, there’s a local actor we know that can be a little bit like that and the director talks about Pastor Rainman.

Yeah. And you know, some of that’s not so bad, right, I guess. Yeah Tina Fey’s plaid heavy look was inspired by a woman that the creative team met while they were scouting locations for the film. So Tammy’s look was borrowed by that. I do believe that Cherry, oh shoot, now I forgot her last name, Cherry Jones, character of the aggressive, kind of bossy Shoot, what was your tarot card reader that was taken from an [00:29:00] event the ladies actually went through where they I think Amy brought in a tarot card reader and she was kind of a a bossy Woman, and so they borrowed that personality.

I think there was one of the characters I like this about the the writing that had the reaction to the tarot card reader that I would have no interest Not I’m not I’m not even participate. This is just not my thing, right? Go away. Yeah. So I thought that was, I thought that was a good, and I thought it was written in my opinion to show that a lot of that is, is really you know, crowd work.

It’s just, you know, magicians do that all the time. So I also thought though that it was funny how, How bossy and snarky and kind of rude she was right in what is in essence a service industry Totally totally. All right. Anything else that you want to point out? Well, I I did have a couple questions about so one preset There’s a scene where, can I offer you some [00:30:00] feedback, it’s sung, but they’re at a restaurant in Napa, and my question is, is there a restaurant in Napa that is not packed?

It was empty, except for them. Brené Brown was there. At first but near the end when when they’re at the bar and stuff There’s just no one and I just thought they would have been kicked out if it had closed I think that shows how long they were there because when they first come and sit down It’s full.

Okay, and then the other thing I I I, I don’t actually know, so I’m asking and hopefully not offending any of our audience members or podcasters. Are there tops accurate for 50 year old women? I didn’t notice any Coldwater Creek there. And there’s a great line where Rachel Dratch, I think it is, says, Put me in my finest moo moo, which is a great line.

But I didn’t know the wardrobe. Did you feel like the wardrobe was accurate or are they giving themselves a little judge? What, is that what, They would have worn on the trip they went on that prompted the film. [00:31:00] Nothing stood out to me as being I mean, I did love that Amy had t shirts made for them all.

Right. That was a hoot. Yeah, no, and I, I could, I could buy that. I think she probably did that on the actual trip. I’m like, that’s totally normal as I think about the t shirts I need to order for a trip we’re taking in October. Yes, exactly. I’m with you there. I am Amy Poehler when we go on trips. Pretty much.

I have made. What did I call it? A dossier. Yes, a dossier. For a spring break trip we took. Okay, so we talked about this that in our era when Breakfast Club came out you would say, who are you? Are you the geek? Yes, I’m the Amy Poehler. So yeah, what wine country character are you? There should be an online quiz on Facebook.

Facebook. Yes. I will put a post the weekend that this episode goes out and please go to our Facebook page at Dodge Media Productions and tell us which wine country character you are. I am clearly the Amy. Right. Or Abby. I’m wondering if I’m [00:32:00] Rachel Dratch. And it’s just that maybe throwing your back out may, I just like, so, but you do like to give advice.

I do like to offer some feedback and I could rock a moomoo, I think. So I’ll have to give this some more thought. See, who am I? I’m clearly an Abby. And I did have one last thing. Speaking of our friends on the long rewind for Dustin Morrow, I did notice when they were in the ER, some of the clocks read 4 o’clock and other clocks read 420.

So there it is. So they’re not at the quality of Dustin Morrow when That is correct. Ensuring the exact timing. Yeah. You know, it did It kind of bumped me. I didn’t go out of my way to notice it, but I just felt like Yes, you did go out of your way! No, it caught my eye and then I paid attention. But, it’s just, take the batteries out of the clock, set them all to four o’clock and be done.

And be done. That doesn’t work, though, if time [00:33:00] passes, though. Yeah, but that scene is quick enough. Even I wouldn’t be looking at the blurry clock in the background and say, That should be 401, not four o’clock. I’ve watched movies with you. I doubt that, Heidi. How dare you, Thera. All right. Head drop.

Sure. Was there any head trauma in Wine Country? I know there was some, Maya had some leg trauma. I have a couple noted. One is that Naomi falls off the piano while singing drunkenly, which is a hoot. Had to have hit her head. And then pretty much every one of them going down that hill. Oh, yes. Yeah.

Yeah. In fact, that’s one of my favorite scenes because I think all of them, but easily Paula Pell, you can tell was a stunt man in a wig. Yeah. Yeah. Which again, yeah, in keeping with the film, that’s just hilarious. Yeah. I, I have noted that five separate wine country aficionados. went down that hill. I think only one person didn’t.

And yeah, so [00:34:00] I’m going to go ahead and mark off all the head trauma for that. Let’s see. Abby gets it on with Jason Schwartzman’s character, Devin. So is there a smoochie? Smoochie, smoochie, smoochie! No notes of smoochies. I believe all the activity happened off screen. You’re right.

And is there a driving room? I do have a few notes. One, I love it, there’s an establishing shot of Hawaiian country. And it shows their 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan. And that thing is booking. It is flying on the road. So I don’t know if they sped up the footage cause they wanted to see a certain amount of distance or if they just had Dax Shepard behind the wheel.

But that thing is moving. So credit to that driver. Ding, ding, ding. Dax Shepard was in baby mama with. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Right. And he also likes In [00:35:00] N Out Burger. So we’re right there. That 2009 Ford party bus looks to be balanced for a pretty heavy load. I did make note of that, but Devin eyes on the road.

Don’t turn around. Don’t play guitar. Eyes on the road. And then I would say that there’s no year listed on the internet that I can find for that club car carry all. But nice speed on the little cart. And it’s got a flatbed for invalid friends who’ve maybe had too much to drink or fallen down a hill or been bitten by a snake.

So that’s nice to have those. If you run a winery, you may want to have like a little gator or something where you can tip people into the back and take them for help. I like the visual of tipping them into the back. Yeah. Into the back. Well, if you have a winery, there’s probably a lot of tipsy people.

Yes. Shall we go to the numbers? Let’s go to the numbers. All right, like I said, this film was released in 2019, [00:36:00] and I could not find budget numbers for it, and I wonder, it was a Netflix release? Yeah. And so I wonder if they just either keep that under wraps. It was let’s see, go to the theater at all.

No, no. It went straight to Netflix. And so Paper Kite, Amy’s production company was part of it as well as Dunshire Productions and Paper Pictures. And I’m curious if maybe they just kind of keep those numbers under wraps. So I don’t know. So sadly this one gets a 5. 5 out of 10 on IMDB. Yeah, it’s so much funnier than that.

And even worse, the search my heart to even say out loud, critics only give it a 65 and audiences it’s Like rotten for them at 32%. I can’t believe only a typo. No, I’m telling you I, I, that’s why I said it really saddened me that more people didn’t enjoy this and I don’t know if My bar is just way low. I mean, how do you even give a movie with [00:37:00] all of these, you know, super talented comedians this this, this score.

I just, I’m, I’m appalled. More people go watch it and rate it higher for our friend Amy. It is an hour and 43 minutes. Rated R. Listed as an adventure comedy drama. And I have no numbers as far as, because, you know, it didn’t really make money being on Netflix. Or at least it’s hard. to tell.

I do believe it was released in, oh no, I guess the year is when it’s released, not when it’s made. So it was released in 2019. I wonder if it had been released like in April of 2020, would people who were tired of watching Tiger King, would they have maybe gone over and watched this one and we all needed a laugh?

But I just, I don’t understand it. It was sadly didn’t win any awards either, but it got a nominee for the location team for the year at the California location. So [00:38:00] yeah, not a lot of love given to this movie, but man, it’s like I said, one of my favorites. Yeah, this, I think is something that all filmmakers need to, to maybe right on the mirror, but keep close to their heart.

Is that. There’s not really a correlation between popularity and, and whether people like your movie, right? It can have a relatively low score on a popularity, but still be a good film that a lot of people do in fact, like, and, and maybe this is a, you know, a reason to not follow these things. If you’re a filmmaker.

Because if you just looked at the rotten tomato numbers, you would feel pretty badly. But then there are people such as yourself, me, but you more, even more so who really enjoy this film. And I think of, um, Kevin Smith. One time they said something about, you know, like you, you suck. You won’t make, Films are anymore and he says absolutely well because they make the studio [00:39:00] enough money So then they’ll just ask me to make another and it’s because people go watch them They would go rent them and I think this is a film like that If you have a core group of people who love the film and will rewatch it.

It’s worth doing even if some snoozy Critic doesn’t like it if the people do if you have your your audience in it And a story that resonates, I think it’s, you know, it’s a win. So I would say to Tina and Amy and all their friends, I think this is a win. Absolutely. And I mean, there’s a long list. You’re aforementioned, Doc Shepard, when he did hit and run, it did not do well in the box office as far as the studio is concerned.

And, and unfortunately for him at first, it was not seen as a huge success, but it has become, you know, Such, you know, so many people love it. I don’t know if it would have a cult following, but it definitely almost has done better years later. [00:40:00] In this house, it’s a cult following. Oh, we talked about it in our first year.

It’s one of our favorites. I will mention, yeah, this is a 10 for me, Dax. If you’re ever feeling down about that film, you need to call me. I will tell you why it’s such a great film. And if you’re ever visiting your family again in Portland, we’d love to have you on the podcast to talk about it. Right, and I’ll just bribe you.

I’ll, I’ll pay for a track day. Track day with In N Out. I know is In N Out order. So I could go get it. Oh yeah. I mean, just imagine that Dex, a day at the track with some In N Out burger, followed by talking about some movies. I mean, how does it get any better than that? You, Take him for a spin in your plum crazy challenger.

Would you let him drive? I’d probably, I think I could see my way clear letting him drive. If he let me drive the station wagon. Yeah, but he wouldn’t have it up here. Cause he probably would fly up. I think he needs to road trip. If you know, but then he would be bring big Brown. Okay. Well, whatever it is. Yeah, I think we could work that out.

Yeah. Okay. [00:41:00] So there we go. And I would do a full Dax Shepard month. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, we’d even do that one with Dane Cook.

I was gonna say the name of it, but I can’t think of it. I don’t know if that’d be the top. Definitely hit one. Oh no, yeah. Idiocracy. Oh yeah. What’s the one? Chips. Chips, definitely, which we’ve already talked about. See, we’ve already done a lot of our Dax Shepard. Yeah Yeah, okay. We’re big fans, Dax. Just throwing that out there.

Sorry folks, you had to listen to a little production right there. All right, let’s see. I think we’re good. Let’s announce what we are going to watch Next week which is

Arsenic and Old Lace. Okay that’s a little bit older than Wine Country. It is. Also broadly drawn comedy, though. Yes, yes. Oh my gosh. So, watch that before next Sunday. And enjoy the rest of your weekend. And never forget Dodges never stop, and neither do the movies. [00:42:00] Thanks for listening to Dodge Movie Podcast with Christy and Mike Dodge of Dodge Media Productions.

To find out more about this podcast and what we do, go to DodgeMediaProductions. com. Subscribe, share, leave a comment, and tell us what we should watch next. Dodges never stop, and neither do the movies.