Ty Watches "DTF St. Louis"

Yesterday I watched the final episode of "DTF St. Louis". I will admit, the initial lure was the whole Saint Louis in the name. That was why I first turned it on and streamed the show. But as this first, possibly only season, who knows, wore on, I found myself intrigued by what I was seeing. The show was marketed as a "dark comedy", but this was much more dark than comedy in my opinion. And that is okay. I don't mind when a show goes dark, especially when it is done well.

For people who may not know, "DTF St. Louis" is about two friends who decide to try a hook up app in their town. The show goes down much further avenues than this, but that had to be the elevator pitch on this show. I don't want to spoil much, so feel free to read ahead. David Harbour and Jason Bateman play the two main characters. Bateman plays a local weatherman. On the surface he seems like a regular dude who just happens to be on tv. He has a wife, a couple of kids and a house with a fence. He likes to bike, in an awkward looking bike, and he seems like an active, normal guy. David Harbour comes into his life as his translator for the deaf audience of his show. He is new in town, and he and his wife, Linda Cardalini, make fast friends with Bateman and his family. Harbour saves Bateman's life during their first broadcast. There's a massive tornado that rips through town while they are doing the news, and Harbour pushes Bateman out of the way of a fast moving road sign. Their friendship blossoms after that. One day, while Bateman is hosting a BBQ, he mentions a new hookup app in town to Harbour. Harbour is a little put off at first, but then he buys in.

The show starts to go wild from there. This is where the comedy kind of leaves the show too. Harbour's character dies. This is not a spoiler. This happens within the first few moments of the first episode. The show goes on a mission to find out who, or how he died, and we get to see the whole backstory of these three people whose lives get intertwined. I'm pretty open about my wants and desires with my wife when it comes to the bedroom, but this show brought up stuff that I have never heard of before, or didn't even know was a thing. The writers of this show have much more vivid imaginations than I must have when it comes to that stuff. But Bateman and Harbour play it very well. Cardalini does a very good job too. She is so good at the stuff she does in this show. I would go from despising her to feeling bad for her in the midst of one episode. She is a very good actor, and her performance here was much needed and appreciated. Bateman does good stuff too. He is meek, but also knows what he wants. He speaks his mind and says whatever is in there. In fact, he might share too much. But Harbour was the main draw for me. He is funny, sweet, kind, weak willed and a pushover. And he does it all very well, sometimes doing all of them in one episode. I didn't know what to expect from him, but his performance really shocked me in a very good way. I rooted for him all the way through. I felt bad for him. I wanted him to get all the things he ever dreamed of. And I was devastated when he died in the first episode.

But as the show wore on I found myself getting a little less engaged. I would let my mind wander from time to time. By the end I just wanted to know who did it, why and how we got here. I did like the majority of what I saw, but I did get kind of bored near the end. The good news, it is only a seven episode commitment. I told my folks, who also watched, that if it came back for a second season I don't think I'd watch it. But I'm glad I did watch this first season. It was a fine, and quick watch. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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"Grandma's Boy" is One of the Greatest Underrated Movies of All Time

At the beginning of this month my wife had to go out of town for work. This meant that I had free reign to watch whatever I wanted after I put my kids to bed. I watched a lot of sports, but I also watched some movies that I hadn't seen in quite awhile that I used to love. One such movie that I revisited was "Grandma's Boy".

I am an unabashed fan of this movie. I saw it in the theaters. I feel like I was one of the, maybe, 100 people who did that. I then proceeded to buy it on DVD the day it came out, and then tried my best to spread the word about it. My brother Seth bought in. He loves the movie. A few of my friends, the ones who movies preferences I appreciate, loved it. My wife, then my girlfriend, thought it was hilarious.

Unfortunately “Grandma’s Boy” does not have the best of reputations. I read all the reviews and talked to some people who hadn't seen it, and it got trashed. I was very confused by this. I thought, and after a rewatch, that "Grandma's Boy" is one the best stoner comedies ever made.

Come at me.

During this rewatch, I found myself laughing as hard as I did the first time. This movie flows seamlessly from scene to scene. They don't hold on any jokes too long. The pace is perfect for this style movie. The acting is great. Yes, I said great. It is a perfect movie to just sit down, if you have about 80 minutes to spare, and laugh your ass off. The most famous person, in my opinion, from the movie is Linda Cardellini, and much to her credit, she goes for it.

The movie has a very simple story. An older gentlemen works at a video game company, he loses his house, can't find a place to live, has to move in with his grandma and her roommates, creates a game, has a conflict and wins and gets the girl. Simple. But, like the aforementioned Cardellini, all the actors go for it, and they all nail it. Cardellini plays a higher up at a big video game firm and she is brought in to help fix the company's new game. She is funny, smart and great in this role. She is so unassuming, and the scene where she sings "Push It" by Salt N Pepa is amazing. But, like I said, everyone else is hilarious.

This movie is a Happy Madison movie, Adam Sandler's company, but he doesn't flood it with his famous friends. There is no Kevin James or Chris Rock, and I like Chris Rock. Rob Schiender is in one scene, but that is it. In "Grandma's Boy", Sandler lets his less famous friends shine. Allen Covert plays the lead, Alex. He is the old man stoner that works at the video game company. He is hilarious. He has great lines and I totally buy him as a leading man in a movie like this. Nick Swardson, in one of his first movie roles, plays Alex's friend, Jeff. Jeff still lives at home, is a total momma's boy and has some great scenes opposite Shirley Jones. Speaking of Shirley Jones, she is wonderfully hilarious in the movie. She plays one of Alex's grandma's roommates. Alex's grandma is played by Doris Roberts. We all know her from "Everybody Loves Raymond". But in this movie, she is so sweet and nice. There is also a scene when she drinks pot that is wonderful. Jonah Hill shows up in this movie. This is the first movie I ever saw him in, and he is hilarious. Kevin Nealon plays the owner of the video game company who is also into yoga and getting high. He is great. Another one of Sandler's buddy's, who shows up in all of his other movies in small roles, Peter Dante plays a weed dealer named Dante. Do yourself a favor and go listen to a famous Swardson bit about working on this movie with him. Lets just say, instead of smoking fake weed, he smokes real weed. The bit is tremendous. And everyone else is perfect for this movie.

Like I said, "Grandma's Boy" is a movie that I expected to tune in, but tune out by playing on my phone. I did not do that because I found myself laughing so hard. The movie still held as much weight with me as it did my first go round. It could have been, had they made multiple sequels, my generation's "Cheech and Chong". But, I am glad they didn't make any sequels. This movie didn't need any. They got it right on the first try and they wrapped it up nicely.

Also, don't always believe what the critics say. Sometimes they go in inclined to dislike a movie because it doesn't have a super star or a big name director or they don't like the company that made it. They have preconceived notions that they will not let themselves get past.

My opinion. "Grandma's Boy" is well worth your time, especially if you like stoner comedies. This movie rules, and the fact that I am now defending it, 12 years later, should prove how funny it is, and that it still holds up. I love this movie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Other than “Grandma’s Boy” what other bad movies are actually really good. Check out our podcast where we discuss that very topic.

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Better Late Than Never on the Great Movie "The Founder"

Yesterday I finally got a chance to see the movie "The Founder". I know that I am very late to this movie, but I have 2 young kids, and as I have said many times, it is hard to get out to the theaters. So, I have to wait to see most movies when they get released On Demand or via DVD/Blu Ray.

That being said, I had heard some pretty good things about the movie, and I am always interested in historical stories about how famous businesses came to be so famous. And, there is no business more famous, and I will debate anyone on this, than McDonald's Restaurants. They are literally everywhere. I can't drive down the main drag of my street without seeing, at the very least, 3 McDonald's within 15 miles of each other. So, when "The Founder" was released, my interest was piqued.

The story was great. How the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc came to be friends, business partners and enemies, was very well told. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as Dick(Offerman) and Mac(Lynch) McDonald, were wonderful. Lynch played the soft spoken, big dreaming brother so well. He had grand ideas and he would do anything to keep them alive. He also suffered from diabetes and had other health issues that would become a major hindrance in his life. Offerman was exceptional as the more focused, business educated brother. He had a system, he kept it in place, and he'd be damned if anyone wanted to change what his vision for what a successful restaurant could be.

Michael Keaton though, as Ray Kroc, was the unquestioned star of this movie. He was so evil, so crass, so rude, so cutthroat, so singularly focused on his vision. He was amazing. When the movie started he was a lowly milk shake machine salesman, and, the more evil he got, the more successful he became. The movie was based on a true story, and I don't know much of anything about Ray Kroc, but if this movie was a proper representation of Kroc, he was a total asshole. Keaton pulled this off perfectly. I felt bad for him at first, got excited when he teamed up with the McDonald brothers, got even more amped when he started to franchise the business and then started to hate him, and I don't like that word but it is needed here, when he started to branch out and do things on his own, going against the contract that he signed at the beginning of his partnership. He became a ruthless businessman that started to take way too much credit than he deserved, and he became way, way too big for his britches. He even went as far as to claim that he had the first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois, calling it McDonald's 1. What an asshole move to make. Prior to all that though, I enjoyed hearing Mac McDonald tell Kroc about how he and his brother finally landed on a good business after many failed attempts. I enjoyed watching Kroc struggle as a salesman trying to sell his milkshake making machine.

Outside of Keaton's performance, everything else in "The Founder" is equally awesome. I loved watching the scene where Dick McDonald explained how they managed to be the most efficient restaurant in the US at the time. I loved the time period. I like most movies that take place in the 50's. I enjoyed Laura Dern's performance as Kroc's wife. She was not loved and given the attention she deserved, but since it was the 50's, she stayed with him until he wanted to get divorced. I felt horrible for her. Linda Cardenllini was great as the wife of a restaurant owner, played by Patrick Wilson, who falls for Kroc, helps him with his acquisition of McDonald's and eventually marries him. Patrick Wilson was decent in his small role as the fancy restaurant owner who buys a McDonald's franchise. BJ Novak had a very good role as the guy that convinced Kroc to become a real estate agent as opposed to a franchise manager because that was where the money was to be made. Kroc was broke before he got into the real estate business. Real estate was also his way of getting out of his contract with the McDonald brothers. Of course Novak's character and Kroc stopped their partnership because Kroc is an ass.

This was a very well made movie with an excellent performance from Keaton. Michael Keaton is kind of having a "renaissance" of sorts. Ever since "Birdman", he has been in some good stuff. He has "The Founder", and coming out this week, he plays the villain in "Spiderman: Homecoming". I am a Keaton fan, so I'm glad he is showing up in some really good movies lately. I'm surprised he wasn't recognized by the Academy for this movie. That is how good I thought he was.

If you watch "The Founder" for anything, watch it for Keaton's performance. He is electric. But, I say watch the movie anyway because it is made very well. The story flows with ease and you really get to know the three main characters very well. I enjoyed "The Founder", and I think you will too. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ready for the biopic telling the story of how Whataburger was started. Get on it Hollywood.

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