Carl Reiner - Summer School

0:01 Brad, we are in the dog days of summer. I can't help but think of all the poor kids that have been spending it at school. Did you ever have to go to summer school? No? I never had to go to summer school, but I have had to work summer school before. And yeah, and just to let you know, it isn't no longer called summer school. It is now es HY extended school year. Why the change? I think it's sound, you know, less degrading. I lest know. I don't want to go to es why. I mean summer school sounds a little more fun than es Why. Well, there's one thing that everyone will agree with about summer school is that no one ever wants to do it.

0:50 I will agree, but I don't mind watching it. So let's talk about a film by Carl Reiner, his nineteen eighty seven comedy cult clae sic Summer School. Hello everybody, and welcome back to the a film by podcast. I am Jeff Johnson and happy to say Brad Kozo is with me.

1:37 Uh, never call me that. My name is Chainsaw. As as in black and Decker's. In Texas Massacre. It's good to have you back, Brad. Yeah, And what a great fun movie to be on to. Yeah, this was your idea, like we The thing I always love is sometimes you will take you You'll pick a director that I'm like, who what you love? Going after these classic directors, these older directors that maybe a lot of our listeners are, you know, a newer generation doesn't know. But then you surprised me because the film you pick is always a phenomenal film or it's a surprising one. Like when you you know, you said Carl Reiner, I was like, I, what did he direct? And then you started giving me his lineup, and you're like, Summer School, man, let's let's talk about Summer School. Good choice. Bread. I could not wait to discuss this one with you.

2:33 Well, I think I worked backwards on this one after like feeling like a certain films that we wanted to do, but sometimes we didn't know. And perhaps we were talking about the movie one day and I was like, like, I want to look that up. And I couldn't believe that it was Carl Reiner because I would always confuse it with Summer Rental, which he also directed, so I always no, it wasn't Summer School, it was Summer Rental. And then I was like, nah, he did two movies called this, so it just kind of like it was a happy accident. It just kind of fell on your lap. I'm like, oh, wow, that's a perfect one. Well, for those of us that haven't seen Summer School, Brad, what's it all about?

3:14 Okay? Summer school is. It is the last day of school at Oceanfront High School and fun love and pe teacher mister Shoop is counting down the seconds for school to finish so he can take off with his girlfriend the Hawaii for the summer. Unfortunately, the school Summer School, where medial English teacher played by Reiner himself, has just won the lottery and baiales on his summer school assignment. When mister Shoop is given an ultimatum to either teach summer school or not have a job next year and must give up his summer to try to teach the misfits of Oceanfront High, hilarity ensues and I'm not being sarcastic at all, it really does. No. This is one of those eighties. I mean, the eighties gave us so many amazing teen and you know, some of them are are lighthearted and some of them are kind of raunchy. This one hits that sweet spot because it's it gives you the comedy that you want.

4:10 It pushes the envelope a little bit, you know, because this is it's PG thirteen and it's about as close to an R rating as you can get. I think, Yeah, there's a couple of scenes and there's some themes where I'm like, wow, that Surprises wasn't rated R. Yeah, but it was eighty seven, so you could still get away with some stuff, right. Yeah, they get I mean they got away with a lot. I mean there's one F bomb in it. But but I think that's what makes it kind of stand out because during this time, everybody was kind of throat, kind of copying that John Hughes comedy with that really turnaround, you know, dramatic moment, and this movie was just just the fun part. It was just the hilarity all the way around. Still some heart, but you know, you didn't go too deep into it.

4:58 Yeah, and even when you start to get a little dramatic in this movie, it's it's with a lighter touch and maybe maybe it shouldn't have a letter touch. And it doesn't last long. No, it doesn't last long, and I know there's a I know, thee some some things that we probably are going to have to discuss about mister Shuop and his practices as a teacher that maybe I don't They definitely wouldn't fly today. I don't think they flew in nineteen eighty seven either, obviously, but I don't. Do you remember do you remember the first time you saw this was this? Did you like? No? It was for me cable, you know, it could have been a rental. It just was one of those that was on a lot. But every time it was on, it just it would crack me up. And even during this this this viewing, I was just trying. It still surprised me how many times I had to laugh.

5:50 Well, let's talk a little bit about this, uh, this cast, because it's it's a pretty it's it's a fun cast. You mentioned just in your synopsis, Carl Reiner does this great cameo at the beginning, you know school, the kids are counting down to the final minutes of the last day of school. Carl Reiner playing mister Dera Dorian is sitting there. He's got like a stack of scratchers. Right, Yeah, which I always say, You're never gonna win with scratchers. But well he did. So here's my I used to think about this. I understand it's nineteen fift I know, I understand it's nineteen eighty seven. He wins fifty thousand dollars on a scratch off ticket and then he says, you know, no, you know, you know. He goes up to gills. The principal says, you know what this means?

6:38 No summer school? You know. Now, Here's what I'm wondering, because when I was younger, I thought you can't retire on fifty thousand dollars. But I'm this recent time I watched it, I look at it like this, and you tell me what you think. So at the time of this movie, Carl Reiner's sixty five years old, so he's he's at retirement age. So I'm I'm wondering, is his character working summer school because he's not ready to retire yet and he gets the scratch off ticket and there's his retirement, or is he working summer school because he needs the money and now he's got fifty grand so he doesn't need to work in summer school? Like, what what's your take? Is he retiring or is he just taking the summer off.

7:19 They don't really say. It could be the first one. But if that character seems like he would have tenure, so he would not have he wouldn't have been he could quit summer school and not be punished for it. Okay, So it could be you know, that extra money or you know, just think so, yeah, it's either that or yeah, maybe it was just the last little bit he needed for retirement and he's once he get fifty thousand. But yeah, but yeah, it could after I thought about it for a seconds, like, no, that actually could happen. That could have you. Know, fifty grand in nineteen eighty seven, that's probably and again depending on how long he's been in and you know his tenure, I mean he's that's maybe what like a year and a half salary, two year salary.

8:04 For no in eighty seven, that's like probably like five year salary. That's five years. Oh wow, Oh yeah, yeah, so he's retiring. I think I'm betting he's retiring. Then if he's sixty five, he's out. Yeah, you know, you know, even though Gills warns him, you know, I've seen when millions and go right back to bussing tables. They're freaking morons. Yeah, how about the nineteen eighty six is Sexiest Man Alive? Mark Harmon, mister shoop. You know it's funny that originally I agree with this too. If I was casting this movie, I think I would have picked a comedic actor, like a main, big comedic actor.

8:44 But Carl Reiner saw something in this Ted Bundy movie that he did like one of the first Ted Bundy like TV movies, and even watching it, I mean it still does really work. I mean, obviously people know Mark Harmon for NCIS for years and years and years, but I mean, he really pulls off this. I believe it when he's always like taking off his shoes because you know, or just like he does look like the kind of beach bum. He doesn't, but he doesn't overdo it. You know, they could have gone real long hair, very surfer guy type of you know, almost like Spaoholi talk. They didn't, and I think that going with that I think really makes the movie work.

9:30 Yeah, you're talking about the The Deliberate Stranger TV movie. Yeah, and played convicted killer Ted Bundy. Yeah. I gotta wonder Carl Reiner he watches that and he goes, this is my guy, this is this is mister Shoop. So you know that's that's kind of weird how he got from point A to point B there, But I digress. We also have the very lovely Christially playing Robin Harris. Now, she had just come off of Star Trek two Rath the Common playing Soavic, and she had just taken over on Cheers rights like they had just. Play is when she started Cheers. So this was a big year for.

10:11 Her, big year for her, right, and you know, she looks incredible, she's and she's a lot of fun in this movie. I think she is the perfect counterpoint to to shoot. Yes, I love it. It's a good it's a good fit. Yeah, they do that. They have that, they have that good will. They won't take chemistry through the whole thing because you you buy it. You buy them as as friends, but you also buy them as we want to get them, we want to get them together. So I think she's fantastic in this. You got Robin Thomas playing Gills. I don't know him from anything else that have you seen him anything? I can't. You know, he's I believed like a character actor, you know, I don't really know too much of his stuff.

10:55 Okay, well before we get to the kids, one one last one we got to talk to and I think this is a good segue because I guess she's an adult, but she's definitely a kid. Uh Ammy Stock playing Kim Shoop's girlfriend that's on her way to Hawaii with him. Yeah, and you know, you know where we know her from? I don't. And she did look familiar, but I don't know who she's from. Well, uh, she is a very famous step mom. Does that give you a hint? Yeah, yeah, that's Ted your mom, dude. Yeah she plays. Yeah, yeah, she's She's Missy from the Bill and Ted Movies. Yeah. I was gonna say, like, I'm thinking, like, wait, is she Bild's stepmom or she Ted steps mom? And actually she's both because of the progression of the movies. So yeah, it's and it's again.

11:51 I I've seen Summer School and then you saw you see the Bill Ted Movies. You don't put it together. But then watching again, when she comes rushing into the gym, I was like, I'm Missy, yeah mom, Like yeah, yeah, yeah, she's She's all over the place in California. She's dating all the right, guys, right, yep, I assume that she went to she you know, she goes to Hawaii, and maybe that's where she meets mister Esquire. Could could very well be, yeah, could be, could be. All right, let's talk about the kids, because you got some fun people here, and then you got some people that kind of kind of blew up because of this movie. So let's talk first Dean Cameron playing Chainsaw Rancis Grim don't ever call him that, you know, right, and one of my favorite from eighty six, Gary Riley playing Dave, So Chainsaw and Dave.

12:42 Like the quote unquote Cisco and Ebert of the film. These two together really do work. They really do have a good chemistry together, and I think that's why I've liked the film for so long. I mean, in my opinion, they are the best part of this movie. I really love these two characters. They're always funny, They've got great banter together. They they look like they have some good improv together. I love the stuff they're into. I mean, I think these are two underrated performance you know, you know, a couple together.

13:25 They definitely are, and I got, you know, you talk about their chemistry. I'm gonna blow your I'm gonna blow your mind here later on when we're talking, I got some some fun, some fun background on the movie. I'm gonna tell you who could have been chance On Dave. But a fun fact for you, Dean Cameron, while while they're looking for this movie to cast it, do you know what he's doing at this point in his career ski school? No, he got well, he gets ski school because of this movie. Ah. But he gets his foot in the door because and you mentioned this already, you mentioned the character. He's busy playing Spaccoli on the Fast Times at Richmond High TV show, ooh, could you match? Could you believe that like Chainsaw is Speccoli on TV? Mm hmm, that's crazy. I think another mega famous TV actress or she became she became very famous for TV after this movie, Courtney Thorn Smith playing a surfer girl, Pam. Mhm, What's what's going on with Pam?

14:30 She's she's a little distant, she's a little. She's a surfer girl. She's with your parents, by the way. You know what, obviously that's that's a big question. You know, you know, she gives the whole story of living with her brother, but Courtney thorn Smith. I feel has looked the exact same for like twenty to thirty years, Like she's looked like she could be you know, she says she's sixteen in air, but you could definitely believe her is like twenty three, twenty five, oh, you know, and I feel like she's looked like that forever. But I think it was on melrose Place, right, that was her. She she she explodes in fame, in popularity because of Melrose's Place, grows up there and then I guess what was it according to Jim where she played Yeah, yeah, Jim Belush's wife. I know, you love those TV shows where average looking, slightly heavy set guys have supermodel wives.

15:32 Yes, and they play them in between every commercial when you're trying to watch a NFL you know, football game. Yep. Yeah. Uh. One of my fine one of my favorites of this one, Kelly Joe Minter playing Denise. I remember her from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, but she's fun in this one. I love she's got some of the she's got some of the good lines too in the movie. Yeah, you know she. I feel like I've seen this girl in There's stuff playing like this character almost Yeah, you know, I think it was like the principal, you know, the movie with speaking of Jim Belushi. Yeah, how about Shawnie Smith playing Ronda the she's the pregnant student. Yeah, goes on to I think it's fair to say she had quite a a nice career in the horror film yeah genre, you know, most notably she plays Amanda in the Sault franchise. Right, but I know she's she's done quite a bit so, but that's that would be her famous one. And then you know, I got a couple more here, you know, I don't I know, we don't have time to talk all about all of them, right, but we would be wrong to not talk about the very lovely, very beautiful Fabiana Yudenio, who plays Anna Maria Mazarelli, the foreign exchange student.

16:59 Yes, just let you know we are recording this podcast and Anna maries on. Yes, that's good. Oh man, Uh, fantastic cast, Brad, Yes, I just lovelet you know going through the movie. So obviously, Shoot gets kind of blackmailed. U Vice Prisional Vice Principal Gills blackmails him into being stuck to teach remedial English meeting the class. I love the idea. They almost it's almost like he's one of them, you know. Oh yeahs like hey, mister shoe, are you in this class too, No, I'm teaching it. They're like go away party all the time.

17:42 And that's actually Eddie Murphy's party all the time. He's doing my Girl Wants to Party. Yeah. I'm like, I was like, he's singing the Eddie Murphy Party all the time song. Brad, I know you you have worked, uh you have a little bit of background in the in the education system. I just you are mister shoop to me, Like when I when I found out, like, yeah, you're gonna be in a classroom, I was like, Brad's gonna show up and his visor and his his wine shirt. You know it's gonna it's gonna have his bagel. Definitely be the one. I would definitely be the one to cuss in class. Yeah, this is the teacher you want, right if you're a kid, you want mister sup is your teacher.

18:25 Yeah, because it sounds like he's also the fun loving pe like I said, the fun loving guy and p so you they they all know him. They know his class is awesome. You know you know, you can just part around. But now he's stuck. You know, these kids have to pass this you know test or you know, he's not gonna have a job. You know. It's like and he's stuck. But in his defense, you know, what does he know about teaching these kids a remedial English test? You know that's pretty hard if you don't teach that specific tests. So he does have a very pretty hard job he does. But yeah, he's definitely not qualified. He even tells skills to see you know, I ain't no English teacher. Yeah, double negative.

19:12 But then again it's like, but you are, because you already caught yourself on double negative. I just yeah, you're right, You're absolutely right. He does catch himself there. So I just think it's hilarious the way it starts off. He knows he does not know a thing about what to do or how to do it, and then he's all like, hey, you guys want to get out of here, go to the library. M hm. They're like, yeah, that gives us to one of my favorite scenes, and I gotta believe it's one of your favorite scenes. Chance on Dave asking Anna Maria about the Texas Chancel massacre and giving their their ciscol neighborate review because this is not one of the best scenes of the movie, I think. I mean, when you combine that and when they actually view you know, Texas Massacre in class, which would be the greatest assignment of all time.

19:58 Absolutely absolutely. Uh. I don't know, have you ever gone up to a girl and you know that you know you found attractive and just said the first thing is have you ever seen the movie the Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You know, it's not usually the best opening line, but hey, apparently it works for Anna Maria. It does. It does. And Shoop is just you know, he I love the fact that he asked the class. He's like, well, what can we do? And I was like, we could go on some field trips. He's like, can we do that? Yeah? They all have permission slips, Yeah, Chase chains all yeah, I got I got permission slips right here. Let's talk about this for a minute, Brad. They go go kart racing, They go to the amusement park, they go to a petting zoo, and they go to the beach. So go kart racing. I know those places are all over the place.

20:56 You're you live out there, Brad, what is this amusement park? Are they nots Berry Farm? Nots Berry Farm, not's Berry Farm? Okay, so the the world the musical park in the pettings, You're probably the same place. Then, or is it there's the one there? Yeah? All that stuffs there? Okay? Did you have you taken your students to not Sperry Farm bread you. Seem to know a lot about No, I've gotten there myself. It's fun. Yeah. Well that that uh that roller coaster that they on they call it the Screwdriver that suspiciously looks like the Vortex to me from King's Island. Yeah, is it the same one? You have no idea? Oh you don't. Yeah, but not in nineteen eighty seven.

21:37 Okay, all right, all right, having a good time. And then we talked about Shoop maybe not having the best ideas, uh maybe not doing the right thing all the time. They're getting back on the school bus. Chance on day of like, hey, next field trip, we gotta go to the beach. We got to see Anna Marina bikini. He goes, guys, I understand, like, okay, I don't know about this. Man, like you know, I mean he said he was that age one time, you know. So yeah, because like when you're young watching this, like Shoop is your hero. But then the adult you're like, hey man, that's that's not cool. Come on, because the next scene they go to the beach. Yeah, the next the very next scene. Well I got some more on that here coming up. But you know, it's all fun and games until you get caught and Ikean's grandmother catches him.

22:32 But you know, the you know, the. Heat is on. Gils is going to fire Shoop unless you know, he becomes a model, unless he becomes a model teacher. And Gils gives me the idea. Gil says, all right, you get them all to pass, I'll forget about your field trips. And then the whole movie takes its its turn. These kids aren't about to sit down and learn it allout eatting something, right, So. Yeah, they do a little negotiating. Not the worst idea for maybe a teacher that doesn't teach that, you know, and doesn't want to do it himself, you know, so I think him giving them what they call so called wishes.

23:15 It's not a bad idea, just some people take it a little too extreme. But it's okay because this movie is ridiculously fun. So you have to enjoy the ride with this one. You do, now some of them noble? Right? Yes, Denise needs some lessons. Yes he's a teacher. Good good call. Kevin needs someone to work out with for football so he can get back on the team. You know Mark Harmon, Uh, I know he played football, and I can't remeber which school he played for the u c l. A Bruins he was and he was offered some stuff, but he wanted to concentrate on his academics.

23:58 There you go. Okay, so that's really him doing that. That a quarterback. Okay, so he you know, these are these are what I would think are our quality wishes that a good teacher can do. And then chance On Dave absolutely exploit him because they want chauffeur. Service to from school. Yeah they want Yeah, they want to party at his place on the beach Fourth of July weekend. Let's not forget though, that this party is is filled with alcohol and fireworks, which he obviously knows. It's not like they're fighting it from him.

24:43 Oh no, not at all. Yeah. And then you know what else, what else do we got that where he's like, you know, oh, Pam uh, Pam the surfer. Yeah, wants wants to move in, she needs a place to stay, and she's clear got a thing for him, but he's kind of oblivious to it. Yeah. Well, I don't think he's oblivious to it. I think he Yeah. And I really saw this this time around too, when Christy Ally is talking to him and saying, look, you know that girl has a crush on you. You know that it's not just gonna end. And when you tell if you let her stay here too long and then you tell her she's got to go, he's like, you're gonna you're gonna kill her. You know, it's gonna crush her. As opposed to just the she didn't do the oh no, you're sleeping with him and they had this big argument, like she knew what was going on.

25:40 I think she knew that he wouldn't be like, oh, I've got my student here and we're sleeping together. But I like how they did that as opposed to her like storming off and like him doing the run and then it starts raining and he's like come back and then he's gonna do a big gesture at the end. I love that about this movie. She kind of she she kind of gives a nasty look. He goes outside and she's like, hey, this is not my business, but what the hell's going on in there? You know? And he it's innocent as far as Shoop is concerned, but you know, yeah, Robin has to explain to him like you might think it's innocent, but she is looking at this a whole different way, and this is bad, you know. Yeah, yeah, I I don't know, Like there's just there's so many things that Shoop does that you know, even like with Chainsaw Dave, you know, clearly they have a problem with alcohol.

26:32 Oh yeah, they shouldn't have took those baby steps. Yeah, but it's speaking about like the you know, he covers for him. He tells the police, like you know, they're out there, they're drinking on the beach. He comes by roller skating and he's like, oh, that's my stuff, you know, yeah, dude, like they would have got a slap on the wrist, you know, they're miners. Like he goes to jail for his students. That's right, and I like, you know, Christy, that brings up scares. He went to jail for his students. Yeah, but again in that in that courtroom scene. He's he's touted as a hero, like you know, he went to gail for his students. Yeah, but he also didn't do anything about their their alcohol abuse.

27:14 You know, he totally just you kind of have to forget that part that I guess. You know, because even when they're there, he's trying to give driving lessons. You know, he's like, Chainsaw, you've been drinking. At what point do you call mister Grimp and missus Grimp and say, hey, your son has uh has been under the influence. You don't help. You don't call Chainsaw his dad. You know, that's the dad that beats up Henry Hill and Goodfellows. You don't want to call that guy who ended up just slammacking it to death with all that's right. That's right, that's the that's the father from uh from Goodfellas. You don't call his father. God, you're seeing one ear out the other till dad three o'clock. Uh, you know, I almost forgot. We got a couple people behind the scenes aside from Reiner, we should probably mention so and I'm I got I got a little bit of on the on the on the background, but you know, Jeff Franklin writes the script. Uh, Brad, he wrote one of our favorite films from n the nineteen eighties.

28:13 Uh you remember which one? You know? Which? What I'm talking about? M Uh? I thought I saw it earlier, but I missed it. I forgot. I'll do I'll do this anytime I can, any opportunity, I get, Brad, you don't gonna do this. Jeff Franklin actually wrote the screenplay for just one of the Guys, Which stars Which star is one of my favorite actors, williams. Zopka, williams Zovka. Yeah, exactly. H So you gotta got a great screenwriter here. Definitely great because this guy went on to become huge. He created a full house, did you know? You know? And he did. Yeah, he did a lot of TV. And that's where I think works in this movie because with TV, when you throw out those like we're saying before those little dramatic moments are you know, is supposed to be done, it's like they can't last too long because you have to go to a laugh after that. They do that a lot in this movie.

29:09 As soon as there's kind of a uh moment, you've got like you know, uh, you know, David rec big guy, you know. So it's like, as soon as there's a touching moment, that's what those television writers do. So this movie is very quick with that. Okay, let's talk about the music for a quick second. This does not this does not sound like a Danny Elfman score at all. To me. No, it doesn't. And I and I saw that, I was like, Okay, I guess it really didn't have a big score. But I mean, still very early on to his composing, you know film.

29:51 You know, he's still he's still doing he's still leading a one B ONEO at this point, right, I think, so this is eighty seven, So yeah, all right, we got that great song at the end when they're taking the test called it's a song called mind over Matter. Okay, Uh, Debbie Harry wrote it. I'm sorry, I don't know that she wrote it, but I know that she performed it. Mm hmm. They didn't. There's some legal issues they couldn't clear it. But they love the song so much. Danny Effman calls up his buddy Elizabeth Daily, who performs the song also, and they use the Elizabeth Daily. She goes up, she goes under the name eg Daily, you you've heard her voice.

30:34 She's done several she's done She's done songs for several movies. She did one for The Breakfast Club. She did one for Oh I can't remember, it's it's slipped my head right now the damn. Wait, it's somewhere very close right now, you're right now, you're. They're on fire. She did a song for The Breakfast She did one for Better Off Dead, Bringing a Bell to You. Yeah. I always feel like that's the song that's playing when they're dancing really hard in the library. Yep, is it? Okay? I believe. So. It's got that kind of sound that is the exact same, you know, kind of like feeling that you get with the mm hmm.

31:21 And if you wonder, if you're wondering, like have you seen her? Do you know her? You do? Let me let me put a face to the name before you, Brad. She played Dottie in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Oh really, that's her, the cute little blonde. Okay, Yeah, that works at the bike shop. That's that's that's Elizabeth Daily. She does the song, I guess because Elfman had done the score for Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Okay, yep, and he knows, Hey, we gotta get We got to get a good singer to come in here do this this song, mind ever matter, because we can't have the the Debbie Harry version. She comes in knock out of the park as far as I'm concerned. And the weird thing is too, I don't know what kind of legal trouble they have with this, with the situation, because if you think back to the the strip club scene where Larry the one student that's always asleep, where Shoot finds you at the strip club, it's a question about that playing a Debbie Harry song. Okay, you know what, save it for likes and dislikes, because I I know that you and I have the same question.

32:30 Yeah, and I don't know if it's a like or dislike because it's kind of a mysterious question. I'm put Okay, I'm gonna put it under. But yeah, but I think I know what you're talking about, and uh, we'll definitely have to we'll definitely have to get to that. But before we do a couple of things, you know, before we before we discuss what we like what we don't like. Brad, let me give you a couple a couple bits of information about this movie how it came to be. So we talked about Dean Cameron playing Spacoli on Fast Times, the Ridge behind the TV show. So this is something that's crazy. I think Carl Reiner is at Paramount. He's working on a film. I don't know which film. I could not find this information out, but apparently he was pretty deep into production on something or pre production. Paramount shelves it. And you can't do this to Carl Reiner. He's Hollywood worlty at this point, right, Brad.

33:35 So the Paramount brass basically say, hey, look, we'll give you your choice. You can direct any movie we have in development right now. So he goes. He gets a copy of the Summer School screenplay from Jeff Franklin, absolutely loves it. He's laughing as he reads it and says, this is what I want to do. The only problem, Brad, is that Amount has already decided that Summer School is going to be made by Amy Heckerling. Okay, this was gonna yeah, she was doing this, she was in production on this. You know, they pulled her. She was doing a little bit of TV work for the Fast Times TV show. Mm hmm.

34:15 They pull her into this, so she's all set to go. She's gonna direct Summer School and Patrick Dempsey from uh what is it? The Can't Love and Great? Well, I know I know, yeah, yeah, Grays, I know him. I know him is Ronald Miller. You can't buy Me Love? But yeah, Grey's Anatomy where he plays one of the what is he? Mike Dreamy or mc steamy. I can never I never saw the wrong the wrong person. Okay, those of you listening out there, if you're a big Grays Anatomy of fans, we apologize, and please feel free to correct us on social media. Let us know who Patrick Dempsey was on Grady's Anatomy or who he is is is the show even on Still, I don't know you.

34:58 I'm asking the wrong guy. I'm asking the wrong guy. But look here's the thing. Amy Heckerling has Patrick Dempsey lined up to play Chainsaw. So Carl Reiner comes in and says, I love the script. I'm doing this movie. I don't need that kid, though, I'll find my own. So Paramount gives Heckerling and Dempsey the boot and Carl Reiner jumps in. Now it's at this point that things started getting shaken up. So Dean Cameron comes in, he gets chainsaw and fun, fun little thing here. Gary Riley, who's awesome. He's great in a lot. You know, we saw him in a bunch of stuff in the eighties. Yeah, would it surprise you to know that he went up against ET's Henry Thomas for this role.

35:47 Surprising at all? Yeah, Elliott himself was going to be Dave, and until Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner's son, said Hey, I got this kid and stand by me. He's fantastic. You gotta check him out. And then all of a sudden, Gary Relly is playing Dave. So that's how this thing's coming together. Another weird twist. You know, you you kind of talked at the very beginning about Carl Reiner seeing the Ted Bundy movie and saying, hey, Mark, Mark Harmon is the guy, right, and you said, yeah, we want to go with a comedic actor. The original conception of this film, it was a female teacher. They were kind of going for like that Wildcat's vibe, like fish out of water and Joan Rivers, Joan Rivers was going to play Shoop. Joan Rivers as Missus Shoop was gonna get thrown into remedial English summer school.

36:39 You know, can you even imagine that movie? That does not sound like anything I want to? I don't want to. I don't want to at all. I'm so, you know, thank you Carl Reiner for watching a Ted Bundy TV movie because yeah, you know, we almost got something really off the wall as far as I'm concerned. But yeah, and then I got two other fun actually, Brad, okay, all right, and then we'll get on because I'm rambling on here. Chains On Dave, you know, they have that great moment where they scare that you know, shoot, you know, gets gets booted temporarily. Yeah, Gills brings in the substitute. You know that the classroom of psychopath scene.

37:20 Yes, yeah, so chanse On Dave. They might not be lining up to be valedatorians anytime soon, but their ability to do special effects work is unbelievable. They should be working for K and B right now, right. Well, I'd like to hope that, you know, chains On Dave have a successful you know, makeup, special effects, you know business in the future, because it's it's obvious where they're gonna go, and you know, become. But I mean, yeah, I love that. But I love that scene. That's totally. It's such a great It.

38:00 Is such a great scene. And I love that scene not because for two reasons. First off, they write a report on who the you know, what the topic is, who we admire most and why, And they give this this fantastic report on makeup artists and Creature creator Rick Baker. The fun thing here is that Rick Baker did uncredited work as a makeup artist on Summer School for that scene. Really, that is Rick Baker's special effects that we're looking at here a scene. Yeah, it's fantastic, you know, even like when they go on the field trip and they do the Bunnies from Hell thing. You know, they come out with the rabbits stuck to their face and they're ripping them off. You know.

38:43 He's like, oh, yeah, it's really good makeup. And it's funny too that they use stuff that. I mean, I had never heard of Rick Baker at that time, but it's like, yeah, ever since this movie, every time I see Rick Baker's name, I'm like Creature and creator Rick Baker. Yeah. And the Academy Award for an American Warwolf for London. We know that it is true. Yeah, it's very true. It was a it was a good report. It was a very good report, very very very very very very very very very good report. Uh. One other fun fact for you, Brad, if you are wondering about the school, the high school, and why it looks so familiar, I'll tell you why. This is the same high school that you saw them use in UH Nightmare on Elm Street Part two, Freddy's Revenge.

39:32 Yeah. And more importantly, it is the same same it is the same high school that they used in The Karate Kid, a movie about UH, an all American student named John Lawrence, played brilliantly by William Zapka, all about his h you know, his troubles and trials and tribulations, his senior year dealing with a you know, a threat. If yeah, that's two in here. Two come up to williams upgo yeah. Yeah. But funny thing about that Rick Baker makeup effect scene is that Carl Reiner was cool enough to shoot that on October thirty first, so all the actors could go out that night of Halloween parties. So they were able.

40:23 That's awesome, all that stuff on and they got to go out later that night. That's how cle That is so cool. Yeah, you know, think about this. Carl Reiner is sixty five years old when he's directing this. Yeah, and this is one of those eighties teen comedies. So for him to I gotta believe that he was probably providing like a fun dad type atmosphere instead of being like the boss. He was probably like, you know, dad's gonna let us, Dad's gonna let us do the makeup thing tonight. You know, I see him being probably I bet he was probably very protective of these kids, you know, on set and when they're you know, trying to get him going. Let's talk about some of what do you like about this movie, Brad?

41:04 You know, I know there's gotta be a lot, but you know, if you had to, you had to narrow it down to a couple of scenes. What do you really like about this movie? I think it has a lot of good scenes. Is just really well done. I can't describe it. It's like there's not really too many, you know, slow parts. There's not really really any slow part at all. Even the kind of the connection between Christy Ally and Mark Harmon, it's very brief when they do it. It's a lot, but it's so I think I like that it kind of just like flips to funny scene to funny scene. I mean even just like a scene of him walking to Lama's class with her. Yeah, and the fact that he's carrying a box of chocolate pop tarts, that he carries these things with him, and I'm just like noticing.

41:53 I'm just like, in every scene there's always a little something, even if it doesn't seem that funny, that I think is funny. And just like that, I'm like, who would take chocolate pop tarts? He would, mister Sue would. And he's eating those chocolate pop tarts like crazy in this movie. Yeah, well, what's bred if you if you've got to help figure out a lesson plan, are you are you going with chocolate pop tarts or are you going with the chocolate dials? I don't know, well, I mean or the peanut butter with the jam on it. And that's thing. He's doing a scene where he's looking at the sunset and he's thinking about girls and why you know, he doesn't have Robin, but he also doesn't have Kim. But the scene is flurrish because he keeps let the dog lick his finger and he shares.

42:38 Yeah, sharing, That's wonderful. So that's what I like about the movie. There's no there's always comedic elements in there that work with the scene. So you're not dying of laughter missing the scene. You're giggling. Yeah, yeah, shout out to wonder Mud by the way, Yes, because Wonder Mud is one of the greatest movie dogs of all time. I dig the fact that Shoop does not give his dog a name like you know, Rocky or Spiker or whatever. He gives him a superhero name. He is wonderful. Yes, I love it all right. But again, Brad, favorite scene you talked about a lot about what you like about what if you had to give me, give me a favorite scene. But I think it is the classroom of psychopaths, like you said.

43:22 Gil's were psychos. But yeah, and because Gil is just sitting there, you know, like smirking the entire time, and the woman is going just nuts, an poor teacher screaming at what she's seeing coming from grammar school. And so yeah, I think that one is my favorite scene. But there's many good scenes, you know, like, like I said, the Heim taking credit for the vodka thing, you know, for the kids and them their whole banter between each other is is some of my favorite scenes, the Chainsaw on Dave scenes, and of course when they screen Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the room, because I love that movie so much, and every time I watch Texas Massacer, I still think of summer school just but I want to think of summer school, I think of Texas Massacre. What do you like and what is the best scene according to you.

44:14 I'll tell you right now, anything with chance that that involves Chancell on Dave is probably at the top of my list. If I had to go one scene is my favorite scene, it's definitely the screening of the Texas Chancel massaker in in class for two reasons. One, it's just awesome and like you said, I can't watch the Texas Chancel Massacre without thinking about Summer school. Now. They're like they're ingrained, they go hand in hand now. But I also dig the fact that it's also a win for for for Shoop because he's, you know, he's teaching them what can happen if you if you can, you know, write a solid letter to a company that you feel as you know, kind of ripped you off, so you get the cool dude sunglasses. You know, they show up, so it's like a teaching moment. It's a win for Shoop.

45:04 It's a win for chancel on day because they're watching TCM and in class. I love their their banter as it's going on. You know, excuse me this, This isn't gonna hurt him because he's insane, you know. And the fact that it's also a win because the entire class has to do a report on it. That's yeah, right, review like homework assignment has to be. Is there is there something that doesn't work for you? Like when you watch this now, is there a scene where you're like, I don't like it or you know, I know we talked about Let's talk about the confusing scene before we talk about dislikes, because I wouldn't say it's a dislike, but it is a confusing We want to talk about that real quick. So the the scene right before this is the scene of him and Shoop and wonder Mud looking at the sunset talking about women, and he says, we need a woman that understands us and and I with intellect. So he shows up at a male strip club so I guess my question, and he says to one of the women, I'm from Playgirl magazine and I want to interview. So is he thinking go to a male strip club and ask a bunch of women things they like? Then I'll work on myself on that. Is that what he's doing?

46:18 So really, why is he there? I I've always thought that this was there's like a scene missing, Yeah, because he's not going there like a lot of people would. A lot of people assume like he's going there to check up on Larry, the kid that's always asleep, right, But he he's shocked he. Doesn't find Larry there. He's like Larry, you know, So that's he's not there for Larry. He's there. He willingly goes to a male strip club. You know, I think maybe you have the best, the best theory that I've heard now because I never put that together. You know, he's on the beach, he's trying to figure out, like, you know, how does he find the girl that he needs to settle down with?

47:00 So maybe you're right. Maybe he he goes to a strip club to to talk to women and find out what it doesn't. Worrying girls that will think like fun like him would be at a male strip club. So maybe, yeah, he's also wearing a suit. He wears a suit like three times in the movie, you know, he goes to court. The one time he he shows up to school and he's like, because he wants to be the serious teacher, he's wearing a suit. Yeah. So I just I don't know. The scene is confusing. I understand you need it so that he can find out that Larry is Yeah, I think and again when we talk about Shoop's morals, you just found out that your underage student is stripping for money. And even when even when he tries to do the right thing, and Larry is like, hey, man, if you think about when you were seventeen, if you knew then, and he's like, yeah, you're right, He's like, well, I know. So it's kind of like he's you know, it's like he's still like, is it like the next next step the phone call to Larry's mother. I just don't get because.

48:09 I think the next question would be what were you doing there? What were you doing there? I don't know, Brad what this is a confusing scene. You know, I would even probably call it one of the scenes I disliked. But what anything that you dislike, anything that doesn't work for you in this movie. No, not so much really. I mean I think it goes for as long as it needs to go. It's not too long. It's not too short either. I think the elements work in it. Yeah, obviously you can't have a party with high school students drinking, you know, at your house and stuff, so your couch on fire. Yeah, And but some of the stuff, it's you have to just kind of go with it with a grain of salt, you know. But it's I still think the movie is a lot of fun, you know, and it I feel like when it when the movie wraps up, it wraps up.

49:01 I like the scene of them saying that you know they did improve you know, and it's like, no, they didn't have a percentage before, but you made you know, you had like a thirteen and now you got like a sixty five. So I like that. So there's a lot of things that work really well in it. I'll give you that scene because yeah, the the improvement overall is there. But I also don't get like like the one like dedise, you know, zero test scores because you've always ditched them. But thirty eight and they're like, that's terrific. She's also dyslexic. Okay, yeah, you know what, I didn't remember that, and now that I do, Okay, I'll give you that one.

49:43 That's yeah, it is terrific. Then all right, I gotta tell you, I you know, as far as likes and dislikes, I'll paraphrase Dave and say, I love this film and this passion and a plucky spirit. But there's one scene where if if anyone's gonna complain, it's probably gonna be the twelve year old Jeff Johnson. Uh, first time seeing this, you go to the beach, I'm Maria yep. And then the moment of truth, she's about to take her top off and did he say, whoa, this ain't the Riviera and stops her and chainsaw on David Like that that was that was cruel. That was you know. Dave's like he's like jumbling, he's like mumble that he's incoherent. Yeah, did you so, here's here's something crazy? Uh? Did you know that they filmed like Reiner was all for like ad libbing. He liked he wanted the kids to express themselves and try some different stuff. There's a deleted scene where she does take her top off, runs into the ocean.

50:51 Chainsaw on Dave run after her and ask her to marry them. And uh, Dean Cameron who plays Chainsaws, you know, he's talking about this like in retrospect. He's like, it's funny that day on set we had more quote unquote set visits from executives than ever ever before. Like there was they were they showed up in mass like of course I I yeah, look, I'm not gonna you know, not gonna hold against him, but yeah, just don't know this movie, movies. Movie is fantastic overall, Brad. Let's talk about the guy behind it though. Let's talk about Carl Reiner. For a little bit. Well, Carl Reiner is an icon, you know him mel Brooks. I mean, this is the guy he created the Dick Van Dyke Show, you know, and introduced us to people like Mary Tyler Moore and you know, the two thousand year year old man with you know, with mel Brooks. You know, I've never heard it, but apparently it is hilarious. This is something that I would like to do, is hear some of these mel Brooks Carl Reiner like collaborations because they were best friends up until the end. You know, there was a there's a mel Brooks documentary on HBO Max, and they would he would just call mel Brooks, would just call up Carl Reiner and they'd go to their house and you know, in their like nineties and just eat pasta and watch movies.

52:16 They would still do that as at their old age. And you know that that two thousand year old man was the Aeron de Grammy nomination. I mean it's basically like sparked his career. Now what he said about mel Brooks that he said, I always knew if I threw a question to mel he could come up with. Something I learned a long time ago that if you can corner a genius comedy brain and panic, you're going to get something extraordinary. So I think that's a that's a great quote. I mean it was one of the writers on your show of shows. I mean this is like all like even like maybe our parents' time, you know, like very early time. I mean he served in the United States Army in forty two, so yes, I mean he was a part of like I think communications mm hm, like some of the performing arts thing. He was inducted to the Television Hall of Fame in ninety nine, got the Mark Twain Prize for Comedy by the Kennedy Kennedy Center Performing Arts. You know, he did the basically gave Steve Martin that film career post he created.

53:26 He created Steve Martin the movie The Movie Star. So it was like the jerk man with two brains all of me and don't wear plaid. Which is funny because now I want to watch all of these and I've only seen the Jerk and it's been a long time since I've seen the Jerk, so it's it's very foggy to me. Okay, well, let's this guy has such a long, prestigious list of credits. Let's uh, let's just zero in a couple so first first film production and he works with George Burns on nineteen seventy seven's Oh God. Did you ever see those movies? Though?

54:06 Which I which I feel like I've seen, but I can't tell you anything about them. But I feel like I watched them at a young age. I just I can't remember anything about them. We watched them when we were little kids on like Showtime. But you're right, I need to go back and review them again, because you know they did a couple of those. We need to go back nineteen seventy eight. A year later, he's working with Henry Winkler the Fonds on the one and only. I haven't seen it well, and then that leads us you kind of highlighted this already. Nineteen seventy nine to nineteen eighty four is the Steve Martin era. So we get the jerk in nineteen seventy nine, Dead men don't wear plaid in nineteen eighty two, the Man with two brands in nineteen eighty three, all of me in nineteen eighty four. I've seen all of them. I love all of them.

54:59 How about you, really, Yeah, I've only seen the jerk I have. Oh man, the man with two brains is is hilarious. That's that's the one. And you I bet you've seen it. You just don't remember it, probably, oh god. Yeah. But it's where he has. He has the brain that can talk to him. He's a surgeon, and the brain is the voice. The voice of the brain is Kathleen Turner. I have to go back, and he's kind of falling for Yeah, it's it's it's fantastic. All of Me is where he works with Lily Tomlin, where she gets trapped in his body. It's not like a body swap movie, like a silly body swap movie. It's just like they're in you know, she's in him.

55:40 So that's not silly at all. Silly, it's not as silly as she's just inside. Yeah, it's like, uh yeah, all right, Well look, he definitely without Carl Reiner, we don't get Steve Martin the movie Star, which is a terrifying concept when you think about the amazing body of work that Steve Martin has given us and what he's giving us right now because he went. He's back on television with The Only Murders in the Building, which is one of the best shows on television Hulu. Absolutely absolutely. Then nineteen eighty five, he pairs up with John Candy Richard Crenna Summer Rental.

56:20 Poor poor John Candy in that movie, poor guy. He just can't catch a break in that. Movie, Renter. Yes, Summer Summer Rental is one of those movies. I watched it all the time when I was a little kid. I don't even know why, it was just it was, well, I do know why because it was hilarious. It was funny. John Candy was funny in this movie, great supporting cast. It's just it's and it's ridiculous. And it's a little confusing too, because Colonel Troutman's playing a bad guy. You know, he's a he's a he's a jerk. And that doesn't sit well with me, you know, not at all. Man. But yeah, Summer Rental eighty five and then we're talking Summer School in eighty seven. This is for me. This is kind of where I lose track of call Rener because I know he did like, what three maybe four more movies after Summer Rental. Yeah, I can't tell you that I seen them, though, Man, how about you.

57:14 I mean a few of those like kind of snuck in on just like watch whatever comes on cable, Like things like Siblings. I remember that movie Sibling Rivalry. You know that was well Christy allity, because he did that one shortly after this one, right, yeah. It was about I never saw the I guess it would have been the spoof basic instinct called fatal instinct. I saw that and it's not good. Yeah, it didn't didn't look good. I just remember seeing copies of that old feeling just putting it away and feeling like no one's gonna buy this except maybe our parents. Yeah, it's just it's I don't know, to be fair, yeah, it probably wasn't it's probably it's probably good now, probably good, Yeah, you know, to be fair, that was not made for us at that time.

58:04 Yeah. Well, and we probably would like it now. Yeah. And I'd say the most recognized of Carl Reiner you know things is probably the Oceans films. You know, have him playing Saw in all three Oceans. Yeah. Well so that old feeling that was nineteen ninety seven and Ocean the first Oceans movie was what two thousand and one, two thousand and one, okay, yeah, yeah, so I kind of feel like he, you know, after that old feeling, he was like, Okay, I've done what I needed to do. Now I'm just gonna get in front of the camera, back in front of the camera and have some fun because I love I love his performance. Yeah, and he's great and all three of them. Yeah, yes, he is so good in that absolutely loving this is this is a guy, brad. He did it all for us, actor, director, producer, right, and when you think about how yeah, writer and when you think about how how much he's nected to so many projects, like the six Degrees scenario, there's so much we would have missed out on if it did not have Carl Reiner. Yeah, you know, for one thing, like with no Carl Rener, there's no Rob Reiner. He created Rob Render, you know, And I know, I know we're gonna talk about him here in the next couple of weeks. But just a fantastic, fantastic director. I know we we recently lost him twenty twenty, wasn't it. Yeah, just an amazing, amazing life, amazing actor. Brad.

59:32 Let me ask you, do you have a favorite car Rener film? What would be your favorite out of all out of his body of work? Okay, I'm saying this based upon that I've only seen one of those out of four Steve Martin movies, and I think it is this film Summer School. It's still made me laugh a lot. My son was trying to sleep, so I had to hold in a lot of my laughs. Had to stifle the laughter a little bit, really tough. I'm like, you can just kind of laugh inside your head certain parts. I just had to kind of let it out. The best I could so, I mean, as I really like this movie. You know, that's just a personal fun I know you like it. We we've watched it and quoted it quite a bit, you know, and still do you know so, I mean even I.

1:00:17 Mean thinking about this, this is it's so quotable, you know, not just you know, not just the chains on Dave stuff. There's a lot of you know, I love Denise, like like I say, this whole class is jammed with ignorance, and yes it is. I mean just even things like I want to use the word vomits and something. You know, I'm like, this is Vomas. Definitly clever MoMA's Yeah, there's so much. There's so many moments I can watch this. This movie holds up obviously, you know, I love it. I would, I would have to say, you know, again, I didn't see some of his his later films, like that Old Feeling, But even going up against the Steve Martin blocked that he did, I'm picking Summer School as my favorite car Runner film.

1:01:03 Mm hmm. Yeah, he'd be a good director to dig back into, you know, and he revisits him to it'd be fine. I agree, So, I you know it goes without saying we recommend this, right? Oh yeah, absolutely, where did you? I've got a copy. I got a DVD copy. I would love to see a Blu ray like with special edition deleted scenes commentary. But yeah, especially the deleted scene between the beach and the We would love that. I'll tell you, you know, I shouldn't say this, but until that deleted scene shows up, Brad, if you ever see a movie called Diplomatic Community starring Fabiano Yudenio, well, I'll just leave it at that. Just you know, you do that.

1:01:48 She's a lot of for China, that's right, Yeah, Austin Power. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for the for the Fabiana, for the Anna Maria Mazzarelli fans that that want to see more of her work or just more of her Diplomatic Community. That's that's your that's your go to there, Brad. So what did you see this though? Is this training on is on showtime anytime? So if you have showtime, you can watch this on demand on any time, okay, and I'm sure you can rent it on Prime for like two ninety nine. Anything else you want to say before we do the the clothes? Oh come on, man, were we just had a fire. You know it was getting good.

1:02:29 Good night. Well that's uh, that's gonna do it for us this time. I feel like we have talked about a teacher. You know, we talked about school school movie, school themed movie. A teacher that everybody loves that maybe isn't a good teacher. I think that's fair. Sure, it's only fitting. It's only fitting that next week on our limited series nineteen eighty six, we talk about a student that and that everybody he loves the student, the student, but maybe is not a good student. I think that's fair, right. So not John Bender, No, we're not talking Yeah, we're not talking about the breakfast Club.

1:03:12 This is ninet a six man. So join us next week because we'll get the gang together and we'll be talking about none other than Ferris Bueller's day off. Until then, you can always get a hold of us www dot a Thumby podcast dot com. We are streaming on all your favorite platforms. Give us a like, give us a review, subscribe, share rate all that good stuff. Right bred that's right, And remember one more thing. I'm Shane Saw, I'm Jeff, and we'll see you at the movie Aside and Asso