‘13 Going on 30’ With Bill Simmons and Juliet Litman

The Rewatchables

Bill Simmons and Juliet Litman revisit the 2004 romantic comedy '13 Going on 30' to discuss its enduring legacy. The episode explores how th

Key takeaways

• The film's popularity is bolstered by TikTok, where mothers and daughters share 'adult Jenna' costumes.
• Jennifer Garner's performance is praised for its accessibility and lack of 'baggage' from other roles.

Main topics

• 13 Going on 30 retrospective
• Jennifer Garner's career arc

Notable quotes

I mainly love Jennifer Garner. She is like the second person in Hollywood I would take a bullet for.

Conclusion

A nostalgic celebration of a mid-2000s classic that remains culturally

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:06) The Rewatchables is brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network. We're my co-host today, Juliet Lipman, who hasn't been on in a while for a variety of reasons. Maybe we'll discuss them later. You can find her in Jam Session. You can find her in the, what do we call the reality pod now? We changed the name. Speaker 3 (0:21) Reality Hangover. And Speaker 2 (0:22) we're having Speaker 3 (0:23) a lot of fun. Speaker 2 (0:23) Used to be Bachelor Party. It was Bachelor Party forever. Speaker 3 (0:26) Yeah. Going way Speaker 2 (0:26) back. Now it's Reality Hangover. Anyway, you've brought this movie up to me a bunch of times. And now we're going to do it. 13 going on 30 is next. This episode of the rewatchables is presented by Mazda. One reason why Mazda was named consumer reports, safest new car brand confidence. Isn't an upgrade. It's a given take the Mazda CX 50 hybrid. It comes standard with a suite of pro active safety features, Mazda move and be moved. Visit Mazda USA.com and discover how confidence comes standard. Consumer reports does not endorse products or services. Visit Mazda USA.com. to learn more. Speaker 2 (1:23) You love this movie. Speaker 3 (1:25) I mainly love Jennifer Garner. She is like the second person in Hollywood I would take a bullet for. She is so important to me and I'm just delighted to be talking about her with this movie. Thanks for having me. Speaker 2 (1:37) Who's the first person? Sandra Speaker 3 (1:38) Bullock, Speaker 2 (1:39) of course. So I would take a bullet for you rankings? Is Sandra Bullock one, Garner two? Yes. Am I in the top ten? Speaker 3 (1:46) I'm going to put you at number four. Keri Russell is number three and then we get to you. Speaker 2 (1:51) Keri Russell. Another icon. Speaker 3 (1:53) Absolutely. Speaker 2 (1:54) Jennifer Garner said recently about this movie, 13 Going on 30. We were so little when we shot that movie. I mean, she was like 32. I don't know what she's saying there, but the entire movie I feel like is just re-centered in the zeitgeist over the past couple of years. I've seen both Judy Greer and Mark Ruffalo recently. And we talk about it every time we see each other. Like, are you hearing more about 30 Going on 30 than when it came out all those years ago? And the answer is yes. It's weird when this happens, but it definitely 100 % happened with this movie. Speaker 3 (2:23) For sure. I think there's a few reasons. Usually, you know, in this era, one of the answers is always TikTok. And I do think that contributes here. When I was prepping for the pod, I was like, let's see what people are saying about this movie over there. And there's a lot of... like 30-ish year old moms and their teenage daughters doing Halloween costumes together, where one is young Jenna and then there's adult Jenna. So I think this has very firmly become a family movie that is intergenerational and, you know, people can watch it together. So I think there's part of that. I think also Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, like both, you know, kind of had a big moment with this movie. And then they're both sort of back for various reasons. Jennifer Garner is ubiquitous, not just for being an actress, though. And I'd love to discuss that with you. Yeah. Because her career is so fascinating. And so I think there's just a lot of entry points for this movie. And in rewatching it, I was actually just like really taken by how family friendly it is. And there's not really anything that like your 10-year-old can't really see. Maybe some stuff they wouldn't get, but it would all be like above board. So people can just gather around this movie and watch it together. And then there's Speaker 2 (3:30) a Speaker 3 (3:30) bunch of iconic things from it. Like the fashion, the hairstyles, a few lines. Like there's many things that have transcended the movie that I think also can grab you. Speaker 2 (3:39) Great timing. 04, right as she's about to date, start dating Affleck, which we can talk about. She's on Alias, which is a hit show. And she kind of needed that one movie to push her into the zeitgeist a little bit more, which is what happened with this. I remember there was, it was such an unabashed big ripoff. Which is funny. The writers be like, oh no, we were influenced by a lot of movies. Like, no, this movie's big. But, um, but it was such like, it was, it was like critically, I wouldn't say beloved, but I think as the years passed and I watched it in my family, cause my daughter was born a year after this movie and my wife and daughter absolutely loved this movie. And so people are wondering like, why is this on the rewatchables? It's like, this has been on in my house for 20 years. Definitely. Speaker 3 (4:25) You know, Speaker 2 (4:25) and. I get sucked in, I get sucked out. There's a lot of fun parts, but for the most part. Just a really happy movie. Yes. It's just a fun hang. Even when we hit the part where it's like going to, you know, every rom-com at about like the one hour, 10 minute mark, something has to happen where we have to play the sad music. And in this case, the sad music is Vienna by Billy Joel. It's like one of the best scenes in the movie. And I think Vienna is another big piece of this movie. Yeah. And I have a lot of Vienna thoughts later, but that became... A big part of why this movie, I felt like just had a second, third, fourth life. But now you have people like my daughter, who's now in her 20s, who loves this movie. And then when she has kids, if she has kids, I assume she will, she will pass this movie down to her. And I just feel like that's what's going to happen now for the next 50 years. Speaker 3 (5:16) Definitely. And in nine years, Zoe will watch this movie when she's turning 30 and be like, it all comes together. And it's funny to watch it as a young person. and then come back to it like when 30 or older. And Jennifer Garner's performance of, you know, she's, I think you said she was 31, I think when she filmed it. And a 31 year old playing a 13 year old is like a very funny thing to consider. And she does it so well. But I think that's another reason why it's so popular is like 30 and flirty and thriving is something people have been saying since 2004. And when you turn 30, you want to watch the movie to remember why she says that. And it's very, it's very fun. Speaker 2 (5:54) Yeah, we should talk. Well, let's talk body switch movies first, then we'll talk Jennifer Garner. Okay. It's crazy we've made so many of these. Speaker 2 (6:04) This is a premise that can't exist in real life. And there's probably been 50 of these made. They get made all the time. When Big came out, there were like three other versions of Big that were out. And they're all competing with each other in the body switch space. And then when this came out, it was right after Freaky Friday had come out. And it just feels like we keep going in waves with this person's now in this person's body, which is an absurd premise. This would never happen. Speaker 3 (6:31) Yeah. It can't hold up to logic, and yet people keep returning to it. Like, when Jenna goes back at the end of the movie and she remembers everything that happened, she then has to live, like, her second life with the memories of what happened in her first life. Like, that makes no sense. Yeah, Speaker 2 (6:48) and do you Speaker 3 (6:48) learn, and how Speaker 2 (6:48) do you remember everything? Do you learn from the experience? Craig, what body switch, who would you want a body switch with if you had to body switch with anybody? Would it be Chris Collinsworth? I was going to go Speaker 1 (6:59) Steph Curry, but Collinsworth is top five, probably. Steph Curry. So you're just switching bodies with Steph Speaker 2 (7:05) Curry, just murdering the 22 Celtics. Speaker 1 (7:07) Yeah. And then learning some lessons. Specifically that year. Yeah, exactly. Learning some lessons after. Speaker 2 (7:13) I ranked body switch movies, but I really did the comedies because if it's not comedies, then you get into like, there's a whole bunch of, there's been horror movies, science fiction stuff. So I'm ruling out face off. Okay. I'm ruling out Freaky, which I actually really liked with Vince Vaughn in 2020. And movies like Kevin Can Wait and Down to Earth. These are just the pure sitcom-y, almost like comedies, switch things. I'm also ruling out a movie I never heard of when I was researching this, Nine Lives in 2016. Speaker 3 (7:47) It's vaguely familiar, yeah. Speaker 2 (7:49) Kevin Spacey, dad of a family. becomes trapped in the body of his family cat, Mr. Fuzzy Pants? I don't remember that one. Is Speaker 3 (8:00) that the version of Hollywood Jail that Kevin Spacey was sent to? Maybe Speaker 2 (8:03) he Speaker 3 (8:03) was Speaker 2 (8:03) trying to tell us something. And then another movie that I think I blocked out of my mind, 2015, The Cobbler. Speaker 3 (8:10) Adam Speaker 2 (8:10) Sandler walks in people's shoes. Speaker 3 (8:13) And that's where I even heard of that. Speaker 2 (8:15) Yeah. I think that one kind of... Everyone thinks the Sandman, who I love, has just been batting a thousand, and he just hasn't. There's been a couple whiffs, and that was definitely one of them. All right. On a scale of one to ten. Okay. So I'm going to rank. I'm going to build to number 10. All Speaker 3 (8:30) right. Speaker 2 (8:30) Number one, one out of 10, The Hot Chick in 2002. Rob Schneider, Switching Bodies with Rachel McAdams. I can't believe she hasn't made enough money yet to just destroy all copies of this. Maybe she needs to do, what was the one, The Notebook? Speaker 3 (8:48) The Notebook with Ryan Gosling, her finest, maybe second finest movie. Speaker 2 (8:51) Maybe she needs to do Notebook 2 on Netflix or Amazon. take all the money and destroy things of the hot chicks. That's one out of 10. Okay. Two out of 10. Dream a little dream with the Corys. Corey Heyman, Corey Feldman. Nice. This was the rare four person body switch. It was a teenage couple switching bodies with an older couple. Really bad, but somehow made a sequel. Three out of 10. There's a whole bunch of father son versions of this, which never really worked, including 17 again with Matthew Perry and Zac Efron. The interesting set that was, by the way. Oh Speaker 3 (9:26) my God, yeah. Speaker 2 (9:27) Like Father, Like Son in 1987. Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore. How would those two be related? That's crazy. And then Vice Versa in 1988 with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage is probably the best of the three. Anyway, that's three out of 10. Four out of 10, The Change-Up Speaker 3 (9:43) with Speaker 2 (9:44) Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, 2009. Both of them were kind of like we can be in a movie poster, but none of them were having success with movies yet. And this is not a very good movie. Five out of 10. Now we're moving into the Juliet stratosphere here. Prelude to a Kiss. Meg Ryan, Alec Baldwin. What are your thoughts on this? Speaker 3 (10:03) It was like the latter days of Meg's arc. And it sort of felt like... a favor that she did it, but I enjoyed it. I mean, everything in that, everything Speaker 2 (10:12) from the Pixie Cup forward is sort of a different, a different Speaker 3 (10:15) era Speaker 2 (10:15) for her, but it's good. Speaker 3 (10:16) It's good. She didn't go Speaker 2 (10:17) to the NBA finals with this one, but she definitely made the playoffs and has good stats, but it is not a round two movie. Speaker 3 (10:23) Yeah, it's okay. Speaker 2 (10:25) Six out of 10, all of me was Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. This is just during the Steve Martin run of like really solid comedies he was making in the 80s. Speaker 3 (10:34) I love Lily Tomlin, so I'm in. Speaker 2 (10:37) Seven out of 10. Freaky Friday. Not 1976 Freaky Friday, which is a weird movie, which I saw in the theater with my mom. 2003, Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis. This is a rock solid movie. Really good. Speaker 3 (10:50) It's a Speaker 2 (10:50) great Speaker 3 (10:50) movie. It's a classic for me. Lindsay Lohan's fantastic in it. Also, I remember going on like Kazaa and downloading the songs that she sang in it. Like I wanted the music from the movie. It's legitimately really good. I understand why they did the sequel like last year. Speaker 2 (11:04) So Freaky Friday, she had the movie where she played the twins. Parent Trap. Parent Trap. And then she had Mean Girls all in the span of two years and was probably like minus 130 to win an Oscar at one point on FanDuel, which didn't exist back then. But that was the peak. Speaker 3 (11:21) Unbelievable. The year from Freaky Friday to Mean Girls followed by her music, the song Rumors. It was just like such an amazing run of like this person cannot miss. Speaker 2 (11:31) And then she Speaker 3 (11:31) missed a lot, but that's okay. We'll always have that one year. Speaker 2 (11:34) It's okay. It's okay to make mistakes, but yeah, she was really going for it. Eight out of 10, I have 13 going on 30. Speaker 2 (11:42) nine out of 10 being John Malkovich and 10 out of 10 big. Speaker 3 (11:46) That's Speaker 2 (11:46) a Speaker 3 (11:46) nice wrinkle in there. Speaker 2 (11:47) Yeah. And Speaker 3 (11:48) it's, I, I Speaker 2 (11:49) really wasn't sure if that should even be included, but I think it should be because it is, it's basically the really smart. Speaker 3 (11:56) Yeah. Speaker 2 (11:56) Highbrow version of, of one of these movies. So, but I think big's the best one ever. You agree with that? Speaker 3 (12:02) Oh, I think it's like. it's like the icon and everything else feels derivative from it. I mean, 13 going on 30 admitted to it in various ways, like in all the press and everything. But yeah, there's multiple, Speaker 2 (12:12) she's eating the shrimp at the party, throws the thing like that's, that's in there. And when she wakes up, doesn't know where she is, touches her boobs. He like looks down in his pants. The other thing with this movie, it's the tail end of the rom-com boom. And either you or Wesley are one of the two best people on the planet to talk about this. But we have this, the Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts fueled boom. And we're just making them for 10 straight years. 04 gave us 50 First Dates, Along Came Polly, Mean Girls, and 13 Going on 30, plus Garden State, Before Sunset, and The Notebook. It's crazy. So many good movies. And it kind of, we kind of ran out of ideas right around here for... for the rom-coms. And I also think we might have, we had this incredible Hall of Fame class of Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, all like these, kind of the class right after Meg Ryan. Jennifer Garner's in there. Drew Barrymore made a bunch of them. And we never really replenished the roster. Speaker 1 (13:14) No. And that was kind of it. We had some people Speaker 2 (13:17) we were counting on. I think Rachel McAdams would have been a good one. But the next class just couldn't do it. Speaker 3 (13:23) And for whatever reason, Rachel McAdams, like she, she was never like the lead. I love Morning Glory. Have you seen Morning Glory lately? Speaker 2 (13:32) You've, you've, you've tried to fish hook me with it a bunch of times. Speaker 3 (13:36) That's like her movie, but all of her other great rom-coms, she's like 50 % of the equation at most. Like Wedding Crashers is probably her best comedy movie. And she's like the number three person in that at most. And like, you know, it just sort of feels like it never really. took off for her in the right way. And I actually think it's sort of similar to Jennifer Garner. Like, I think Jennifer Garner almost came, like, a tad too late for the rom-com boom. Like, if she had had Sweet Home Alabama two years earlier, like, Reese, I think we would think about her differently. But she was, you know, a TV actress. And so as a result, like, her rom-com moment sort of stands alone, almost, where, like, it could have been more if the timing was slightly different. By 2005, like just what I think like a new set of like teens kind of take over like to the Lindsay Lohan point. Like Speaker 2 (14:25) it's Speaker 3 (14:26) like her and like Hilary Duff and like this first generation or this next generation of Disney stars starts kind of like going younger. Amanda Bynes. Honestly, some Speaker 2 (14:33) of them weren't ready. Some of them couldn't handle it. The spotlight was too bright. Speaker 3 (14:37) Exactly. And so. It ended up being like these family movies for her instead of like what we consider like these, you know, canonical rom-coms essentially. And of course the Judd Apatow era starts set in and all that. So Speaker 2 (14:49) I was going to say that. I think that was the other thing that happened is the traditional rom-com, which just exists. You just know what it is for 15 years from When Harry Met Sally. Speaker 3 (14:58) Yeah. Speaker 2 (14:59) All the way through basically to 2005. A Lot Like Love, one of my wife's favorite movies. That's kind of the end line. Sure. The Apatow generations coming in, they're taking a lot of the rom-com stuff, but then they're also bringing the R-rated comedy in it Speaker 3 (15:14) and Speaker 2 (15:14) they kind of blend it. Speaker 3 (15:15) Yeah. Speaker 2 (15:16) And that, I felt like kind of killed rom-coms a little bit because then the rom-coms were trying to be more like the Apatow movies. Like The Change-Up's a good example. That's a pretty raunchy movie. Speaker 3 (15:26) Yeah, definitely. I think they also just tried to get a little too high concept. Like I always think about The Breakup, which is a movie I really don't like, but that was like- I don't like Speaker 2 (15:34) it either. Speaker 3 (15:34) a depressing movie disguised as a rom-com because in the moment, Vince Vaughn had so much juice. And I think that sort of like men just took over comedy where it used to be a little bit more like skewing towards women and more of like family centric. But like, I think about old school in 2003, just before this as also just like a major turning point because it was so popular. Same with Anchorman. Like those were like when I was, you know, 18. Those were like the biggest movies. And there was like kind of like no time for rom-coms in the same breath. And like you could only really focus on one. And it was just like, I think Christina Applegate is like an amazing comedic actress. But you know, she's again like third Speaker 2 (16:11) most famous, third most important Speaker 3 (16:13) person. Speaker 2 (16:13) Yeah, but she could have made a bunch of rom-coms, right? Well, she did. They weren't Speaker 3 (16:16) as Speaker 2 (16:16) popular. Good ones. Speaker 3 (16:18) Yeah. Speaker 2 (16:19) Yeah, there's also these meta rom-coms that come turn of the decade. Speaker 3 (16:23) You know, Speaker 2 (16:24) where... Like the one Timberlake made, the one Ashton Kutcher made, like those ones, Friends with Benefits, those kind of ones where they're winking to the ones from the past because they know they're basically ripping them off. Totally. And they're just not as good. Five-year engagement, I think, is probably the best of that group. And I wouldn't even put it in the class of some of these. It's Speaker 3 (16:43) kind of a sad movie. You're just like, why are you guys so engaged? Right. I feel like also winter is bad for rom-coms and there's the point in the five-year engagement where it's like really cold in Ann Arbor and you're just like, why are they there? Like, give us like a beautiful city Speaker 2 (16:56) vista. Speaker 3 (16:56) He can't find a job. Yeah. His Speaker 2 (16:58) confidence has been ruined. Yeah. They get sad. They were trying to take him to the next level and that's one of the things with this movie. This movie is 97 minutes. Speaker 3 (17:06) Amazing length. Thank you so much. It's fucking happy Speaker 2 (17:08) for 92 of them. Yes. We're outside. We're in New York. New York's never looked better. She's happy the entire time. Ruffalo looks great. Everybody looks great. Yeah. This is just what, this is the model of how to do this. Speaker 3 (17:22) Absolutely. Also, I was thinking a lot about like why this movie would never be made now. And like the exposition scenes of this movie, like in the beginning when she's in Mark Ruffalo's apartment and she's like trying to figure out what happened. It's like a very artistic scene. Like we can talk about more when we get into the categories, but like there's so much craft in this tightly made 97 minute movie that like there's not a lot of wasted time. Like there's not like a lot of downtime to, you know, check your phone or whatever. It's very tight. And I also think that like everyone has a lane. Like it's both, it feels familiar, but each performance is like pretty strong. So you feel like there's like new life in it. Speaker 2 (18:02) So I was thinking the wishing dust that they have in this, whatever, that pops out of the dream house. Sure. Zoltar. And then One Wish Willow from Obsession. Speaker 3 (18:14) Those Speaker 2 (18:15) are the three versions of the same thing, this mystical. I do have some nitpicks about the house, but the premise of how they get into this, it's like, okay, she's in the closet. There was some magic fairy dust and she was wishing, all right, talk me into this. All right, Jennifer Garner, let's go. Jennifer Speaker 3 (18:32) Garner. She's 31 Speaker 2 (18:34) when she makes this movie. She looks, lights out fantastic. It's the... It's the most likable, charismatic she's ever been in a movie, I think. Perfect role for her. I can't really imagine anybody else in it. And it's a little like the Tom Hanks in Big where there's an innocence with her. There's a sexiness to her, but it also makes sense that she's not comfortable in her own body. And she just kind of nails it. And she's just a great hang for 97 minutes. Speaker 3 (19:02) It's great. I have one alt that I wanted to suggest for you, which is Cameron Diaz. Speaker 3 (19:10) is she too pretty for this? Is she too like, everyone knows who she is. But the reason I think that is I think Cameron Diaz is one of our greats. Speaker 2 (19:17) She definitely could have done this from a physicality standpoint. The Speaker 3 (19:19) physical comedian aspect of it that when she first wakes up in the apartment, I was like, this is so Cameron Diaz. Like she must have like watched her or something. But Speaker 2 (19:28) she Speaker 3 (19:28) doesn't have the same sort of innocence that Jennifer Speaker 2 (19:31) Garner is able to bring. And Speaker 3 (19:32) like. I think that's been key to Jennifer Garner's career. But that's the only other person I was thinking of throughout this movie. But here's the thing. Speaker 2 (19:37) If this came out in 2004 with Cameron Diaz, I already have spent 10 years of movies with Cameron Diaz. There's no discovery with her. One of the great things about this movie and Jennifer Garner in it is, unless you watch Alias, you don't really have a history with her. Speaker 1 (19:51) You know? Speaker 2 (19:51) Totally. Pretty Woman was the same thing with Julia Roberts. Sandra Bullock, same thing in Speed, where I don't have any baggage of other movie roles with them. And I'm just like... This is the movie where you're like, oh, I'm kind of falling for you as I watch this movie because I don't really know you from any other things. I didn't watch Alias. Did you ever watch Felicity? Didn't watch Felicity. Speaker 3 (20:11) That was her first major role. As a Felicity obsessive, I feel a lot of ownership over Jennifer Garner, which I'm not entitled Speaker 2 (20:18) to. Speaker 3 (20:18) She Speaker 2 (20:18) was Speaker 3 (20:18) only Speaker 2 (20:18) in it for a couple episodes though, right? Speaker 3 (20:19) She's in it for three. She's in it in the first season for two and then she comes back at the very end for a third. She met her first husband, Scott Foley, on the set when she was in season one. So it's sort of like part of the lore. But then I was obsessed with Catch Me If You Can when it came out. And she has a great cameo in that. So, you know, I personally brought a lot of baggage of Jennifer Garner to the movie. It was like so happy for her to get this role. Is this the first time you really saw her though? It must have been. Speaker 2 (20:46) Yeah, I was looking back at the IMDb. Speaker 2 (20:50) She basically lost her entire 20s to bad shows and movies and things that almost made it but didn't. Like she was in a show in 1998 called Significant Others on Fox. Speaker 1 (21:00) Right. Speaker 2 (21:01) And it was about a bunch of 20-somethings that live in LA and they're friends. I actually probably would have watched that show. I like shows like that. I don't even remember. Maybe I watched it and don't even remember it. So that show bombed. That lasted five episodes. Then she was Jennifer Love Hewitt's best friend in Time of Your Life on Fox where they spun Jennifer Love Hewitt off. She moves to New York to find her birth mother. Speaker 3 (21:26) Yes. Speaker 2 (21:27) And I actually did watch a couple episodes of that show because I like Jennifer Love Hewitt. And we both love Speaker 3 (21:32) Party of Five. Speaker 2 (21:34) And we love Party of Five. Had to support the franchise. But that show somehow lasted 18 episodes. I don't remember any of them. Speaker 3 (21:39) It's crazy. I think I watched all 18, but I might be the only person. Speaker 2 (21:43) Felicity, three episodes. And then in 01, Alias finally happens. But she was toiling away there for eight years. Like she was a hostess at a New York City restaurant at one point. There's a famous story where she babysat for Stephen Colbert's kids. It's crazy. So she bounced around a little bit from an IMDb standpoint. Alias happened. When we launched Jimmy Kimmel Show, it's so funny thinking back to this, but the first year of Jimmy Kimmel Show, he's on ABC, Alias is taking off on ABC, and he did this whole running bit about how he was in love with Jennifer Garner. And she came on and he did this whole, like he was like a schoolboy who had a crush on her, like an ABC crush. And that's how long ago that she hit. But Alias was the thing. Speaker 3 (22:30) Oh. Big time. It started in 01. There's like a lot of stories about how J.J. Abrams would go between the Felicity set and the Alias set. They're right next to each other on the same lot. And she then did that for five seasons. One of my favorite things about Jennifer Garner is like she stays close with the co-workers, co-stars. Yeah, you always Speaker 2 (22:51) judge that. You like when the celebrities don't stay close with the co-workers, you notice. Julia Police is weighing in with reports. Speaker 3 (22:59) Absolutely. And she is one of the reasons I love her. She's, I think, Victor Garber, I think, officiated her wedding with Ben Affleck. Speaker 2 (23:05) Yeah. Speaker 3 (23:06) They're still really close. She was recently at Mark Ruffalo's Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. She gave a speech. She's still really close with Bradley Cooper. Like, she helped him out with, like, Leonard Cohen Press when he was doing that just to, like, I don't know, she, like, moderated some 57-minute talk in a theater that I watched all of for some reason because I love her. On YouTube. I wasn't even there. And she's still really close with Judy Greer, who she just reunited with. And of course, one of my favorite TV shows of the year, Five Star Weekend. So, you know, like, it's amazing how much... Speaker 2 (23:40) An abomination of a show. Speaker 3 (23:41) But an absolutely great time. Come on. My Speaker 2 (23:43) wife devoured it with a fork and a knife and A1 sauce. Just absolutely devoured it. I was just there making jokes the whole time. Speaker 3 (23:51) I was anticipating it for about 14 months. So when it finally arrived, I was ready. And I... I had the time of my life. I had a great time. Like, I just, a lot of nixible things. But anyway, check it out. Jennifer Speaker 2 (24:01) Garner, a celebrity chef. Right? Celebrity chef. Speaker 3 (24:05) She's like an Instagram chef. She's not even a celebrity chef. Speaker 2 (24:08) Who somehow has like a $45 million house in Nantucket and invites all these women that she's friends with and maybe not friends with to her $45 billion house. Yes. And plans the whole weekend in the most anal, A-type way possible. And then shenanigans happen. Speaker 3 (24:29) Like barely. Like they just sort of like go, like not much happens is sort of the point. It just turns out there's a lot of like lies Speaker 2 (24:35) to expose. Well, spoiler, her husband dies and one of the ladies that comes to the weekend is the lady he was having an affair with that she finds out about that weekend. And Speaker 3 (24:46) they met a lot. But they all figure it out. Yeah. It's a fan. She invites a fan to her home on Nantucket where like. You need a ferry to get off. So if something goes awry, it's like hard to part. You Speaker 2 (24:57) know what I'm never doing? Inviting a fan to a vacation. I was just going to say, Speaker 3 (25:01) would you ever do that? I don't see that happening. Speaker 2 (25:04) Also, her husband was Josh Hamilton, my guy from Kicking and Screaming. I hated to see him have a texting accident. Speaker 3 (25:10) What about Chloe Sevigny as a townie? I mean, no one has ever been less of a townie than Chloe Sevigny. It was Speaker 2 (25:15) really, it was tough. Speaker 3 (25:18) Anyway, Jennifer Gardner, what I wanted to say, what's crazy to think about, she's doing, you know, 22 episodes a year of Alias. And then in her summer break, she's shooting a movie every year. That's like, that's a lot of work. That's like very hard. Speaker 2 (25:32) Driven. And she's married. Yeah. She does Catch Me If You Can in 2002, Daredevil, where she reconnects with Ben Affleck, who she'd already been on Pearl Harbor with. She's in Alias, 13 going on 30. Speaker 2 (25:46) starts dating Ben Affleck right around there. The movie career, the best movie she ever made, other than this one, Juno. She's the female lead in Dallas Buyers Club, which was respected. Speaker 1 (26:00) And Speaker 2 (26:00) I would say Danny Collins would be the other one. I really like Danny Collins. Speaker 3 (26:03) Okay, interesting. Yeah, I think this is by far her biggest credit. I think Juno, it's an interesting life for that movie. You know, it's like... It made a big impression when it came out. Culturally Speaker 2 (26:15) mattered for a year or two and hasn't held up in the same way. Speaker 3 (26:19) Also, I think it's part of the Bateman renaissance around the same time as Arrested Development and stuff. But it just doesn't really get acknowledged. I think people have a lot of flaws with it. But it was sort of like a turning point for her because she was not likable in that movie. And she's just sort of... It's kind of like the darker character of that movie. Speaker 2 (26:36) Yeah, I don't like dark Jennifer Garner. Speaker 3 (26:38) Me neither. And I don't... She did Speaker 2 (26:39) that in Peppermint too, which is basically take in or John Wick for a female who loses her child. I can't even remember the plot, but she's, it's like an action movie and it's just, I don't want, I want happy Jennifer Garner. Speaker 3 (26:51) Yeah, it's not her. Like that's not actually her personality. And I think that one of the reasons she's so charming in this, and she has said this in many interviews, is that like Jenna Rink is similar to her personality. And so she could like really connect with the character. And that Speaker 2 (27:06) obviously Speaker 3 (27:06) comes through. Speaker 2 (27:07) We should also mention the Affleck relationship coming off Bennifer, where he was in a relationship that was so famous and so gigantic that it actually got a nickname. I think that might have been the first one to get the nickname. Speaker 3 (27:22) Really? I got to think Speaker 2 (27:23) about that. I feel like it beat Brangelina by a year. I don't remember relationship nicknames. Speaker 3 (27:29) I just want to say that I read a 2017 interview where Ben Affleck says he and Jennifer Garner. fell in love on the set of Elektra. So I don't think we even have to dance around. I mean, Daredevil. We don't even have to dance around it. In 2002. Oh, Speaker 2 (27:42) they Speaker 3 (27:42) shot it in 2002. And he said that's when they fell in love. So I Speaker 2 (27:47) know. But Speaker 3 (27:48) he Speaker 2 (27:48) was with? J-Lo at the time. So Speaker 3 (27:50) it's all a little fuzzy. You know, there was Scott Foley. There was Michael Vartan. And then. Speaker 2 (27:55) So she had Scott Foley, then broke up with Scott Foley, divorced him, started dating Michael Vartan. And then there was an Affleck. Speaker 3 (28:04) That's correct. Can I read you something really funny? You know what, Speaker 2 (28:08) Juliet? Actors just fall for each other. They're on the set. Close quarters. How Speaker 3 (28:12) could you Speaker 2 (28:12) not? They're making out. They're supposed to have sparks and connections. Speaker 3 (28:16) Yeah. It's insane to think that you wouldn't. Like, if you are trying to play a part as best you can, wouldn't you, like, fall in love with the person who's also doing that opposite you, like, on these long days? I think it's completely understandable. I felt this way about Craig Speaker 2 (28:29) a bunch of times in the rewatchables. Like we spent so much time together and he's a handsome guy, you know. It's very Speaker 3 (28:36) understandable. Speaker 2 (28:39) Mark Ruffalo. Speaker 3 (28:40) Did Speaker 2 (28:40) you get all your Jennifer Garner takes out or do you have any more? You have more in the holster? Speaker 3 (28:45) Yeah, you know, I'm sure we'll get to them. I just think that she's electric. I love her. And I think we'll talk about it in her performance through the categories and stuff. I just think that she should have had a better career. And I think part of that is because she has been very open about choosing family. Because right after this movie comes out, their first daughter is born shortly thereafter. I Speaker 2 (29:03) was going to say that I think she's two, three movies short, but I agree with you. But I think it was 100 % the family thing. She just became a mom. She started raising kids and stopped working as much. Speaker 3 (29:12) Yeah. She was just like, I'm doing one movie a year when it fits in. She and Ben Affleck used to talk about how they would never film at the same time. The family would move for each other's projects. that's her choice. And I think that she seems like a pretty happy, fulfilled person. So I think it was the right move for her. But as a fan, I think she could have been more Reese level. And I don't think she's quite there. The Speaker 2 (29:31) frustrating thing when you look back at the IMDb, she just didn't get the chances till later. Yeah. Speaker 3 (29:35) Like her Speaker 2 (29:36) 20s, it probably should have happened. Like she could have easily been on Party of Five in 1995 or one of those shows or she could have joined the cast in 90210 in season six. Speaker 3 (29:46) Yeah. And then gotten Speaker 2 (29:47) the chops to start making movies from there. Speaker 3 (29:50) Imagine her as Valerie. What a life that would have been. Speaker 2 (29:54) She could have been a good Claire. Speaker 3 (29:56) Oh, interesting. Okay. I love Claire. One of my faves. You Speaker 2 (30:00) like Claire. I've Speaker 3 (30:01) always loved her. Claire hated Speaker 2 (30:03) her 90210 experience. She basically talks about it like she went to go serve in Vietnam for four years. Jenny Garth really sounds like she was an absolute nightmare. I Speaker 3 (30:12) think she was hard to be around. And I think Shannon Doherty was tough too, but she left. So it's Speaker 2 (30:15) fine. Mark Ruffalo. Yes. It's the scene a little, another one who's a little bit of a late bloomer. It's the scene in 2000 with You Can Count On Me, which is an extraordinary movie that we're going to do on the rewatchables at some point. Okay. His IMDb is awesome from that point on. It is like the choices that he makes is so much fun. He's in The Last Castle with Redford. He's in a movie called XXXY, which I cannot recommend highly enough from a to be like, just throw it on. It's one of those. There's a million of these, but this one I think is really good. And your girl Claire's in it. Speaker 3 (30:51) Oh my God. Kathleen Speaker 2 (30:52) Robertson. Speaker 3 (30:53) I got to go home and do that. Okay. Speaker 2 (30:54) I'm a huge XXXY fan. I would own it on 4K Blu-ray if it existed. In the Cut with Meg Ryan, really weird movie. We Don't Live Here Anymore, which I recently watched two months ago with Laura Dern and Peter Krause is in it. Speaker 2 (31:09) Who's the other one? Naomi Watts. It's like a weird couples might like each other. They just film it in the middle of nowhere. Speaker 3 (31:17) I vaguely remember this movie. Then he's in Speaker 2 (31:19) Internal Sunshine. And then in 04, he does 13 going on 30 and Collateral. He's filming at the