Binge-Watchers Podcast

Bad Romances: Success - The Jeff Bridges Deep Cut - Jeff Bridges Movies

February 19, 2020 Johnny Spoiler, Dangerous Dave and The Binge-Watchers Season 16 Episode 4
Binge-Watchers Podcast
Bad Romances: Success - The Jeff Bridges Deep Cut - Jeff Bridges Movies
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Show Notes Transcript

“The road to the Dude is paved with Success. By success, we mean the $hit that came before it. In a movie Jeff Bridges wishes Amazon hadn’t added to Prime Video.”

A meek husband turns into a tough guy and studies sex in order to succeed in business, impress his tycoon father and improve his marriage.

The American Success Company is a 1980 American film directed by William Richert and starring Jeff Bridges. It was written by Larry Cohen. Re-edited versions of the film have appeared under the titles American Success, Success, The Ringer, and Good as Gold.

Harry Flowers (Bridges) is routinely humiliated both at home and at work (the German offices of an American credit card company). Fed up, he hires prostitute Corinne (Bianca Jagger) to help him gain revenge on his quirky wife Sarah (Belinda Bauer) and her father/his boss, the overbearing Mr. Elliott (Ned Beatty) — all while enriching himself financially.

Don’t watch this movie.


Here is another movie called Seventh Son, also on a list of Jeff Bridges worst movies, but people love it because of the magic, the dragon, the witches, and Jeff Bridges being Jeff Bridges.

Here is one of Jeff Bridges’s best movies.  He sings.  He mourns an incomplete life in Crazy Heart.

Binge-Watchers is a late night show for your ears with entertainment news, film history, philosophies based on movie plots, hear the adventures and successful failures of our host, JOHNNY SPOILER joined by his buddies he has known since film school, DANGEROUS DAVE, NICKY LATES, and sometimes, their friends from TV, Film, and Music come along for the ride. One epic binge-watch after another. You could say this crew are professional binge watchers because they are movie fans that grew up to try to make some films of their own as they navigate the industry, day jobs, and real life.


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spk_2:   0:02
I

spk_0:   0:03
couldn't even read the cue cards correctly at his own roast on Comedy Central.

spk_1:   0:08
Correct. Open a coal box of wine. Opal Something cold on eyes because

spk_2:   0:13
it's the binge watches. Yeah,

spk_0:   0:39
I didn't see the whole thing again, but what I saw was like I flipping through channels and I happen to stop on like, Oh, no, I think maybe was on the recording of a bill birthing that I had on Comedy Central. Anyway, I DVR like I said it to like a few minutes before my show in a few minutes after, because I don't want to lose anything. You're in the context of the show. So I had a recording and it was the end of the Bruce Willis roast, and he was really struggling to say, I'm still Bruce Will those bitches. But then he also threw out there that the hair is not a Christmas movie Like officially, I said that What stupid joke to make want a stupid way to go, and obviously he didn't write the jokes. I really don't know how that works. I think the show probably writes the jokes for the guest, and they have, like a main writer that writes most of the jokes for the other people. But I think the people will have to bring their own writers for their own part of the roads, Right?

spk_1:   1:32
Yeah, I think it just depends on you know what type of entertainer you are like, If you're a comedian, not, you know, fear, comedian that write your own material, you write your own, or if you have no joke writers. You know, if you're somebody like it would be advised to get

spk_0:   1:49
a good joke. Writer, if you're gonna go on a roasted, be it. Be like good advice to go get somebody to write jokes for you because you're gonna look like an asshole on television.

spk_1:   2:00
Do I tell you what All those roasts I can't remember, I want to say it was one for Justin Bieber. But of all people that roasted somebody, Martha Stewart has fucking good timing. Like, you know, it comes from some people you don't suspect market

spk_0:   2:20
timing. Otherwise your brownies and fucking

spk_1:   2:23
but like, but you know what I mean. Like, have you ever seen like a celebrity that, like you wouldn't associate with being a comedian? Like we'll tell jokes but haven't and have good timing.

spk_0:   2:33
Yeah, celebrity that ended up being funny. You wouldn't necessarily think like a sense of humor.

spk_2:   2:39
Ah, I'm not

spk_1:   2:43
sure that will come to you later.

spk_0:   2:49
Not not during, like, a podcast where you, like, actually have to have an opinion and say interesting things. I'll think of the later folks and

spk_1:   2:55
to get around to your back. Thio What? Voters episode like

spk_0:   2:59
it's a conversation or anything.

spk_1:   3:01
The

spk_0:   3:01
only thing I wanted to bring up before we really like tour apart. Jeff Bridges. Well, it was like I saw this guys post on social media and it was like a lonely post. I want to bring the house down like we're in a groove right now, and I'm screwed up with feelings or anything. I just wanted to say like, dude, if you're if you're out there and you happen to come across my response to your post or you you, like, tune into this man like you're not alone, brother, like there's a reason why shows like ours exists to make a community to find like minded individuals all across the Internet. And like you're definitely not alone, brother. Like we're all sitting here in the middle of the night. You know, you don't mean in like where I think we're much more connected than we think we are. We also lost our own trouble sometimes and, like overburdened, you like bills, gas, money, responsibilities, obligations, dreams we can't fulfill getting a little bit. Owner facing cancer were like, whatever we're doing, like, you know, I don't think we're that removed from each other. Like it just they just shrug, courted me. This happened a couple hours ago. You know, like, I was, like, scheduling some of our posts for our local channels and having to see this, I think was on linked in, of all places like that's not usually a place, you see, like a very personal post, right? You know, um, on the job, social boards, whatever. But I was just like, like, that was the status update like, do you? I don't know. I mean, it's mostly means, but then every once awhile, something hits a chord, you know? And, uh, and I have lived t true. Like you just got to find your people, you know, connect with your people and things get better, That's all. And here I am dreaming a parody movies of Brokeback Mountain. You know, Uh, anyway, that's that, um, this guy did our health. I gave itto. And if you're listening, brother, here we are. Drop us a line any time. And, uh, and if you're feeling that way, just freaking hit play, you know? Well, there's 300 episodes to keep you going, All right? Hours, hours of stuff. I mean, sometimes you just need to hear, like, another person talking,

spk_1:   5:20
right? That's that comfort of Yeah, I totally get that manly.

spk_0:   5:27
What was that like? Yeah, Entertain is hell, but also could conserve. It says, like a beacon for a community. You know, I mean, could be like a thing. I mean, we talk, brother, someone. Someone like the podcast is a happy accident. Like we went to film school. We wanted to make films. We went into the film industry. The frustrations of dealing with the film industry is one of the reasons we find ourselves on a podcast every week. You know, like that weight against real life and all are everything that's going on like that, you know? You know, they mean so another thing. The guy could do is get on a microphone, start your own podcast, you know what you mean, and then maybe you'll find your people that way because maybe people will just want to hear what you have to say. And then you'll be. You'll be bringing somebody else back from the ledge. You know you're on the ledge. Well, next week you're pulling somebody back from the ledge. Who knows, right? Yeah. Anyway, speaking of ledges, Jeff Bridges character is out on a limb on this one in this movie called Success. Or if you see one of the 45 cuts of this movie director tried to release after the fact rewriting and post and having narration and trying to say, Save whatever this movie is on me. This guy was in Europe with Jeff Bridges and this other actress, So I think it's the one who actually plays a prostitute in the movie, not even the one who plays the wife, but the one who plays a prostitute. So he's in Europe trying to finance this movie, and the financing falls through. But they have, like half the sets or whatever you like half the movie, so they decide they're just gonna take the half of the movie they have. And he bought it a script from Larry Cohen of All People. And when Davis Research in it, I think you found like a full length title for the movie.

spk_1:   7:16
Yeah, I was on I Am Devi, which cannot have toe pull up again. But yeah, I had, like, a role you kept saying success of like, but I'm pulling up something.

spk_0:   7:26
It's called the American Success Company. The Ringer, Good as Gold and the Woman Prime dug out of the I Don't Know Attic of Old Move, like they went to something like Bargain Bin of movie Licensee Rights and pulled it out is just success. The success version was released like four years after the American success company, the original Cut the Africa, huh? It's a director's cut, and he went back and had Jeff Bridges record a bunch of narration like See, I thought the movie was playing out like somebody adapted like Somebody's dime store novel. Jeff Bridges is narrating like literally every scene, and not just every seem like there's nothing cut together in this movie. That's a scene like he literally talks over are all pretty much all the dialogue, like every scene, if every scene on average is three or four minutes long and some Caesar, 10 minutes long released feels that way. So if a scene is three minutes, he's talking for two and 1/2 minutes. If a scene is 10 minutes, he's talking for, like, a eight or nine minutes, and we're just seeing these things happen like he's doing the shuttlecock or easier. He's racing at the gymnasium where he's like in a car on his way to his job, a credit card company. I guess that his father in law runs, but there's like a corporate banking entity to the company. Um, but I mean, did you people used to go to jail for not paying their credit card bills?

spk_1:   8:54
I have no clue.

spk_0:   8:56
There's a scene move Your there's like a couple, some some mom and pop couple from Kentucky or whatever,

spk_1:   9:03
but for

spk_0:   9:03
you there on vacation of you can got pulled out of like Disneyland, Germany or something and are in front of this guy, and he and they're trying to show the two sides of the main character, and I realized after I texted you back and forth about, like how we kind of does this movie's a dog and, like neither of us is gonna like this movie. And it's like getting to leave a link for this movie because it's almost like we then be promoting this movie. I realized like, uh, you know, it's like a Jekyll and Hyde thing. Let's literally what it is like he has an ego and, like, an alter ego, and they're like, compete together because the critical character for himself to go out on the town, learn had a woman eyes and do all the stuff that he thinks would impress the father in law and make his like, basically, like dead fish of a wife react to hit, reactive him in any kind of significant, you know, sentiment away. Plus, you super spoiled in the dad realizes that at one point instead, bait, right?

spk_1:   10:03
So, yeah,

spk_0:   10:04
it's the other baby, right, Ned, or whatever his name is,

spk_1:   10:07
baby. Yeah.

spk_0:   10:08
So I thought it was gonna be cool because he was in it, you know, and, uh, and whatever it is, But here's the thing. Like if there was ever a movie that Jeff Bridges doesn't want anybody to see. Like I think we've discovered it like it's probably this movie.

spk_1:   10:24
Yeah, it's It isn't odd, huh? It is our movie. I mean, he's had other movies that kind of went under the radar like I saw one called Winter Kills. But that's a genuinely good movie. This is no, um, I think he did. He's finding it, but he has shit to work with. Yeah, like he's such a good actor that he he's, you know, the best thing in it, but it's It's pretty awful.

spk_0:   10:53
Yes, worried like the There's like these really easily polyester suits for whatever. He seems like a pimp style suit. And the guy has the scars and he takes on the ego like the guy that he thinks is is the man about town or whatever. This

spk_1:   11:09
Ugo suave Yeah, yeah, he's He's actually like I get his wife is vain and you know all that shit. But like he takes it like a couple steps too far when he's like man handling your arm like Jesus Christ like did you can shove her in the kitchen, She isn't that What the fuck to do Like there's some things was like, Okay, different times. So I'm not gonna sit here judge too harshly, but yeah, it's a little well, too far. You know, Uh

spk_0:   11:41
oh. The primordial, like cave man. Rules like,

spk_1:   11:43
yeah, like getting their cook. You're not pretty, right? Yeah. Hey, took it a little too far.

spk_0:   11:55
Yeah. I mean, like, Yeah, it's definitely movie. They can't turn Send decades.

spk_1:   12:03
No, it's I mean, even even the copy that was on Amazon felt like a first generation VHS that's been washed quite a few times.

spk_0:   12:13
Oh, that's what I think. It waas There used to be this transfer thing wasn't like reel to reel to VHS, where they played the reels and then recorded it to the disc or John. We talked to the cassette.

spk_1:   12:24
Maybe. Yeah,

spk_0:   12:25
it was like one of those jobs. And, uh, yeah, it's a terrible coffee, But I also think the film stock they used for the movie's probably terrible. There was one cheap version of Kodak that some movies used to use, like or not like porno movies. And it seems like that film stock, you know, it'd be like Kodak 200 or whatever it wasthe like. It's out of print now, but it's like a really cheap film that, like, if you had no money to make your movie like, you just use that film her, um, but the set pieces of huge, they have, like, a fake giant mansion to fake giant mansions because they go to a party with one house, they live in another house, they have this giant preparation. Then they got like, um what looks like it came from the other movies like this set with, like, all the costumes. Like where he first starts to put the identity of his alter ego together, Right? Yeah. Um, I think his name is Max. I think he called himself Max, and then he had, like, a New York Brooklyn accent, like he was literally from the Mafia or something. Yeah. Um, which is really odd how you settle on a character like that. I don't know. The movie seems that drag on for fucking ever.

spk_1:   13:35
And it's only an hour and 1/2 like this was this is the first time in a long time where I felt like watching a movie was like taking my medicine like

spk_0:   13:42
it was a chore, right? Yeah, it's like, Well, okay, um, we enjoy over sponsors here on the show. It's like when you're being forced to watch something that you then have to praise, right? Because they've bought your love, David. I

spk_1:   14:03
mean, but I mean, like we we've been kind of this month, we be a little fascinating. I chose one movie I've already seen, but like Love Hurts turned out to be a great discovery

spk_0:   14:12
that so far kind of maybe my favorite of the bedroom. It's run, but technically, success still falls into the bedroom. It's category, like

spk_1:   14:20
e mean it does, but not a good movie.

spk_0:   14:24
I mean, the contents sucks. But the problems with his wife, her problems, his problems with romantic connections in general. Also, there's a running joke of him being like a one minute man, right? Keep showing

spk_1:   14:36
the timer

spk_0:   14:36
of his sexual encounters and he can't last

spk_1:   14:38
keeps going up and up,

spk_0:   14:41
and at one point like like the, you know, lady tonight, whatever that becomes. A sexual teacher, huh? Doesn't want any human engagement, but then at one point starts act like they're Dean, and then he lets her down. Um, for a minute, there I thought. Okay, well, they're gonna do this thing. He's gonna leave the wife, and he's gonna he's gonna go out for this other lady. They're gonna tear your need in the Italian countryside. You really look like Germany. But I guess it was all in Germany, it's all over Italy, and people have attitudes. So I was like, Okay, like, you know, um, but

spk_1:   15:23
it is a very disjointed movie. It just, um there's a reason. I mean, it's it's funny, cause I've never heard of this on either, but I never heard of love hurts, but that turned out to be actually good. Yeah. You never know what you're gonna get sometimes with these movies,

spk_0:   15:44
because it's like, of course, all the big streamers they're approaches. Well, by his name moves, we can We'll offer as many titles as we can, but it's more quantity over quality. Right?

spk_1:   15:55
Well, they put out so much stuff like their shit that either I don't I don't remember is coming out or, uh, like they put us on the seat movie, which our guilty pleasures, those great little cartoons. Uh, well, like I had to find out, do that about that through other sources didn't, like advertise directly to me. Uh, it's weird, but they choose to tell you about or not. Sometimes

spk_0:   16:23
yester, um, Amazon is cleaned up their act a little bit as faras their cue, the way they've set up their things. Surprisingly, Disney Plus has a pretty easy one to operate Course they don't have a big catalogue, and in fact, like they were, they were like, There's all this talk of like them doing the new Mighty Ducks and look, I've started to share pictures on our social about the new Mike Ducks and, uh, and I bring back milieu, Estevez and, uh, Stephens. Yeah, I was watching her every time. He says. It's not estimate its step is well. I was pretty interesting anyway. Millions coming back as coach Bombay and Optical that could watch those movies where I go first went to Disney Plus guess what? They don't have the streaming rights until actually like summer of next year. So they give you a little warning. This settles not available till after June of 2021 or whatever.

spk_1:   17:21
Yeah, it's kind of weird, because with me when they started, they have like, uh, like. That's why all the Marvel movies aren't there because they still have rights. Or Netflix still has, like, the streaming rights until, like next year.

spk_0:   17:32
Yeah, but it's kind of even like you can watch Infinity War on Netflix. But you can't watch end game, which is the second part of the same story. You have to watch that on Disney. Plus, you

spk_1:   17:42
know,

spk_0:   17:42
you gotta watch another different platform.

spk_1:   17:45
Although honestly, nowadays I think most everybody has, like, what are two are two or three of like the major streamer. So he's a across over

spk_0:   17:54
there. He's gonna seriously be like Binge Watchers Anonymous, but as like, not somebody else's like. And he was a website called that or another podcast or whatever, but it's gonna be like, uh, like subscription like support groups. You know what I mean? Like instead of gambling, addiction is gonna be like binge watchers stuck in a room at a support group. That's kind of funny sketch, you know, like a Saturday Night Live video. I don't know if it's like worth of movies length worth of stuff, but I mean, it's an interesting concept, like you're there because you subscribe to him anything you

spk_1:   18:31
know, although you know it's funny, though, is because because I don't have cable TV. And I live in an area where I can't get over the antenna because we live. I have a high altitude Well, so I have to pay for, like, a live TV every year for to watch the Oscars. Well, I have the subscription, and it's like, funny. I haven't had life, TV and so long that I find myself constantly going to and finding myself get caught up in reruns of different shows. Whether it be ah, like like like cartoons are usually the ones I get sucked into like reruns of Family Guy or Bob's Burgers of practical jokers is like a big one for me, like that's gonna be in a movie. Yeah, I know I'm actually dying to see it just cause those. Sometimes I just like a cheeseburger. My diet, you know, And that's a That's a good cheeseburger show.

spk_0:   19:24
Yes, I would argue that we're also cheeseburgers, but

spk_1:   19:30
but we're a tasted cheeseburger were like a $6 cheeseburger from Carl's Jr before they were like over expects.

spk_0:   19:39
Well, if you ah, I think if you get past Texas. It's called hearties.

spk_1:   19:45
Oh yeah, that's right.

spk_0:   19:46
If you leave the West, it's no wonder called Carl's Jr

spk_1:   19:50
So Carl's Jr Our party's canceled.

spk_0:   19:53
Carl's Jr had his burger stolen by Uncle Hardy. You halfway across the West changes names, and then many is much more simple. If you go to Harvey's, but officially hard, he's had the Ghostbusters toys back in the day as you know Carl's Jr. So maybe at one point there was never a Carl's Jr and then they went out. Western had to compete with I don't know. And now that another podcast has turned into like a fast food show

spk_1:   20:19
way more fast food

spk_0:   20:22
way could do fast food movies, I mean, we could probably put together like a month of fast food movies like That's going to make sure. Yeah, we think we think we're going to do an interview associated with South by Southwest Film Festival, and that should be pretty exciting. And that's related to a movie we can't. But you know what that is yet? But what I can always tell you that we're getting ready for some interviews. If that happens, we're doing like a whole month of extreme sports, probably for March. And then, of course, we'll do our classic ST Patty's, you know, gonna rewatch one of the liver. Cod would be because I just told him. I

spk_1:   21:01
think I think we should just make that an annual tradition, like every ST Patrick's Day than excellence. Next year, I'll be a leprechaun, too.

spk_0:   21:08
Well, we've secondly, already. Don't let her come one and referenced it several times. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, well, I'm gonna take I'm gonna have to take off line conversations with Dave. All right, folks, that's been Waters for the week. You want success if you want Thio. Otherwise, what I was gonna have us do is like talking about good Jeff Bridges. Movies like this is the one. You should watch her. This is the one you should watch. Um, does.

spk_1:   21:42
It would

spk_0:   21:42
mean a lot of people hate that's on Amazon right now. It's called seven. Son. It's a fantasy movie that your purchases like a magical night and in transit kid to fight his dragon. Which ex wife or something played like Julianne Moore of all people are, But that's actually kind of entertaining. So you can watch that. Instead, we'll give you a leaf for that one. There's also crazy heart. I'll give you look crazy hurt. I love that he sings and, you know, talks about his life looking back on it, and it's unfulfilled. So watch that movie is good. But if you if you go from success to the dude, that's a long road man has got a huge learning curve in there.

spk_1:   22:25
Well, yeah, he worked is what it means. Actually, I think this was a dick because he usually he's a great actor. He's done a lot of good stuff before this, but this was a little different quality right there. Yeah, but everybody's got I think this

spk_0:   22:37
is the movie he wants to forget.

spk_2:   22:43
Wait.