Cocoon

In this episode, Anna and Derek chat about Tom Cruise versus Wilford Brimley, casual mentions of Atlantis, and much more during their discussion of Ron Howard's Cocoon (1985).

Connect with '80s Movie Montage on Facebook, Bluesky or Instagram! It's the same handle for all three... @80smontagepod.

Anna Keizer and Derek Dehanke are the co-hosts of ‘80s Movie Montage. The idea for the podcast came when they realized just how much they talk – a lot – when watching films from their favorite cinematic era. Their wedding theme was “a light nod to the ‘80s,” so there’s that, too. Both hail from the Midwest but have called Los Angeles home for several years now. Anna is a writer who received her B.A. in Film/Video from Columbia College Chicago and M.A. in Film Studies from Chapman University. Her dark comedy short She Had It Coming was an Official Selection of 25 film festivals with several awards won for it among them. Derek is an attorney who also likes movies. It is a point of pride that most of their podcast episodes are longer than the movies they cover.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You would be students, of course, but you'd also be teachers. And the new civilizations that we'll be traveling to will be unlike anything you've ever known. But I promise you, will all lead productive lives.

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Forever?

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We don't know what forever

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means. Hello and welcome to 80s Movie Montage. This is Derek.

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And this is Anna.

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And that was Brian Dennehy as Walter talking to Wilford Brimley as Ben in 1985's Cocoon.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Cocoon! So this was a listener request and I'm I'm glad that we finally knocked this one out.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Yeah. I enjoyed Walter's pitch. And I enjoyed the movie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yeah. There's a lot to kind of mine from... In a way, the message of the movie that being old is terrible. I

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think we can all agree being old is the fucking worst. And I would literally rather leave the planet forever. than experience it.

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Kind of in a way. What the movie's about. And

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I'm willing to kill aliens to achieve

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that. Well, they didn't want to do that. They

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didn't want to

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do that. They didn't want to do that, yeah.

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They were quite reckless.

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But, yeah. Well, let's dive in because there's actually a pretty huge ensemble cast. There

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is. That

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we're going to have to get through.

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We got to keep moving so we can get to Don Amici's breakdancing.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Oh, no. No. I'm glad you brought it up now because I am not bringing that up again. That was... I had to look away. I'm going to bring

SPEAKER_02 2:04

it up. I'll bring it up again. So

SPEAKER_01 2:07

really quickly, just want to say, well, you just... mentioned one of the two oscar winners

SPEAKER_03 2:13

yeah

SPEAKER_01 2:14

for this film which is really interesting because we don't normally bring up this category just want to say so it's nominated for two oscars won two oscars meaning the only nominations they won for not like four total um got it well didn't know if that was clear but the other one was for best effects visual effects

SPEAKER_02 2:35

i yeah i mean look for for 85 they did They did fairly well, which is to say they won an Oscar for it.

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They won an Oscar for it.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

I mean, the aliens, when they were unzipping their human skin suits, were a little creepy. Their faces were a little creepy.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

They were kind of a little creepy. And they were also kind of fairies. Like they could kind of fly.

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Buzzing around.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Buzzing around. Yeah. It was interesting. Yeah. So yes, you already mentioned 1985. So we are right in the middle of the decade. And we have two writing credits for this one. Gentlemen who, I think they both were kind of doing other things because their writing credits aren't extensive. The first is Tom... Sure. He wrote Pinocchio? Oh. Okay. Yeah. And then we have David Saperstein. So he has the story by credit. So presumably he maybe originated it. And then maybe Tom came in to flush out the screenplay. Maybe. Possibly.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Who knows?

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And David himself only has six writing credits. So... Beyond this movie, he... So, I didn't know. I did not know there was a sequel to this movie. It's going to come up a lot because so many, especially the actors, they almost entirely all come back for the sequel. So, David has a credit for the sequel.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Because...

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Because he like originated the story. I don't know. Maybe he was more involved than that. And then a couple other credits I have for him, A Killing Affair and Beyond the Stars, which is kind of similar to this.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Yeah, it sounds like it.

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So before we get to the actors, this is always how we do it. We do like a lot of the main players behind the camera.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah.

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We're going to have a lot of familiar names that actually came up not too long ago. Oh,

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really? Yes. Okay.

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Because I think... Wasn't it our season opener? We did Willow.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Yes. Maybe. We did Willow.

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I think it was our season opener.

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Yeah.

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So we're back to Ron Howard. Okay. He directed that movie. He directed this movie. So... couple of these people not to take away from the achievement of this film but we're gonna kind of fly through them a little more quickly because we just talked about them to be honest

SPEAKER_02 5:28

also go listen to Willow

SPEAKER_01 5:29

yeah go listen to Willow so Howard I mean he does have an interesting filmography in that like there's There is a lot of range. I mean, he's not doing like horror or things like that, but like he... I

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don't know. There were a couple scenes in Cocoon that kind of horror-esque.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

But, you know, like he does get a little bit into action or adventure, I should say. Yeah. Definitely comedy and then straight drama for sure. But among his credits, and I have all films for him... Funny, because he kind of got his start, not kind of, he did get his start in television, but he is like solidly in the film world now. So we have Grand Theft Auto, Night Shift, which we could totally cover. We did cover Splash. That's

SPEAKER_02 6:23

a great

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movie. Love the movie. I've said it a million times. Gung Ho, Willow. Go listen to that episode. Go listen to Splash 2. Parenthood would probably be the next Howard film that I would want to cover.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Yeah.

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So that'll happen at some point.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

The Steve Martin one. I think they did a reboot. There's like a series, I think.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah, I think even more than one. But there was a TV show. I mean, none of the same characters, but it had Craig T. Nelson. in it

SPEAKER_02 6:55

oh really yeah okay I didn't

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know that I watched it for like a second but not to like no shade now we're getting to the 90s backdraft far and away I feel like in the same way that we always because I'm about to get to it like always just have Da Vinci Code on another weird comfort film for me is Apollo 13 which I just told you the other day that the gentleman who actually was responsible for putting together the very kind of MacGyver way of getting those guys back to Earth. He just passed away. In

SPEAKER_02 7:30

particular, like the retrofitted air filter.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

Yep, 95 years old. He saved those men's lives. He directed Ed TV, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and he is an Oscar-winning director. He won Best Director, and because he produced it, he won Best Picture for Beautiful Mind. Oh, yeah. He did Cinderella Man. Again.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Both Russell Crowe movies, right?

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Sure are.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. And then here we go. The trilogy of The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Inferno. Never even saw the second two, but we love The Da Vinci Code.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

Yeah. I think there was something weird about the order of the books versus the movies. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Yeah. Okay. He gets the same nominations. He doesn't win, but again, he's nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for Frost Nixon.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Hmm.

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And then a little bit more recently, he's done Rush in the Heart of the Sea, which I believe are both Thor.

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Oh, Hemsworth.

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Correct.

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Rush for sure is. I've wanted to see that. There is no reason why I haven't.

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And I'm pretty sure in the Heart of the Sea is him as well.

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I think so, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Solo, a Star Wars story. And I do remember in the last time we brought him up for Willow, a little bit talking about how I really respect him for the fact that he came into that project. Solo. He didn't have to. He's like a huge director. And he picked up the slack for what was some kind of fallout between the previous two directors and Disney. And he came in and I think we're in agreement that we both like that movie.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

It was good. Yeah. I mean, that was good. The sequel trilogy is like a whole other conversation. Yeah. It's just, it's amazing to me that in spite of themselves, in spite of their just lack of awareness of what to do with that universe, that they somehow got Andor made. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I am actually shocked that they didn't, I think it was on the roster and then it got killed. They should have done a Calrissian film because, I'm sorry, his name escapes me. He... is phenomenal as a younger Lando

SPEAKER_02 9:50

yeah he is

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yeah so

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enough of these space alien things let's get back to Cocoon

SPEAKER_01 9:54

sorry uh Hillbilly Elegy Jim Henson Idea Man and then I didn't even realize this came out last year did you hear of a movie called Eden no so that was his last film

SPEAKER_02 10:05

I how many I would say there's like at least 3,000 movies named Eden So

SPEAKER_01 10:12

maybe interesting number you call. Yeah. OK. Cinematography. Donald Peterman. He passed away. So, OK. Hey, guys, everybody listening. Because we cover 80s movies. Often enough, there are individuals who are attached to whatever film we're talking about that are no longer with us. Apologies, but they're going to be almost entirely... This

SPEAKER_02 10:39

was a real serious break. Sorry. Hey, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Hold

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up.

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I feel bad, but... The film features at that time.

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These people were like in their 70s, 80s, except for Wolford Brimley.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

But he also has passed away.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

And they were that old in 85.

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There's like two people from the cast that we're going to call out that are still with us.

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They would have needed to really get on that

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spaceship. It would have had to have been a documentary for them to still. Okay. Just saying. Good heads up. And behind the camera as well. So Peterman, he passed away. in 2011 uh not the first time that we have covered him he did have like a relationship with howard but like he didn't cover all his films or shoot i should say all his films but some of his credits include when he had a really strong filmography like he doesn't have a very extensive one but all of them are like really strong films uh and he was oscar nominated too He did When a Stranger Calls, Young Doctors in Love. So we covered him. I don't remember in what order, but we've covered him for Flashdance. He gets his first cinematography nomination for that film. He also does Splash, so we covered him for that.

SPEAKER_03 11:58

Yep.

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American Flyers, which I know you want to do that movie at some point. Gung Ho. He gets another Oscar nom for Star Trek IV The Voyage Home. I

SPEAKER_02 12:09

did enjoy that. There were a lot of whales there.

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The most recent time that we've covered him was for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

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Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

So now we're getting into the 90s. He does Point Break. Brought it up a million times. Love this movie. Get shorty. His final credit was a Howard film. It was How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Okay. Was that the Jim Carrey one? Correct. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Okay. So another person that we have very recently covered who is also part of this film, James Horner, is... He also has passed. He passed in 2015. So going to go through his credits. There was a lot of them still, but going to go through them somewhat quickly. And he was very lauded as far as the Oscars are concerned. He got a double win one year. The rest are all noms. But he composed for The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper. We brought him up for Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

The best Star Trek intro theme ever. I'll

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say it. I won't argue that because I'm just not a Trekkie, but he did 48 Hours as well as another 48 Hours, another Star Trek film. He did three, The Search for Spock, The Journey of Natty Gan, Commando. So the score that probably was ripped off from his own work on Khan, he does Aliens. That wasn't really his fault, though. I have listened to a number of podcasts myself. Cameron gave him basically no time to do this score. Really? So, like, he kept saying, hey, I need the film. I need the film. And Cameron's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not ready. It's not ready. Gave him, like, as far as, like, I don't know what would be the proper amount of time for a composer to have, but he was given very little time. But he gets an Oscar nomination out of it. So, go figure.

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Whatever he, like, changes one thing, send it.

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Done.

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It worked.

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He got another nomination for an American tale, and then he does its sequel, an American tale, Fievel?

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Fievel goes west, right? Correct.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah. I don't even really know this movie, but it feels like a spiritual companion to Cocoon. Batteries not included. Yeah.

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I have seen it. Because

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it's also aliens and friendly aliens, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Yeah. And the elderly.

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And the elderly.

UNKNOWN 14:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Maybe we'll have to cover that at some point. Maybe we should have done Doubleheader. Oh, maybe we should do a Doubleheader one day. He did do Willow. That's why we brought him up not too long ago. He also comes back for Cocoon the Return. He gets another nomination for another film we've covered. Feel the Dreams. That is a great score.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Yeah.

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Honey, I Shrugged the Kids. The one that I clearly remember bringing this up the last time when we talked about Willow. How... how I weep when I watch Glory in large part because of his score. Also because of the real things that happened, but that score really takes it up a notch. He did Patriot Games as well as Clear and Present Danger. A childhood obsession of mine, A Far Off Place. I was obsessed with that movie for a while. This score is very memorable. I don't know if it's one of my favorites, but it is Legends of the Fall.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Oh, yeah. Very, very dramatic score. And every time you bring it up, I probably bring up the fact that I can't keep that distinct or separate from A Far Off Place. They feel like they're the same, even though I know they're very different.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Very different movies. Yeah. But I understand.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Are they both dramatic movies with a lot of drama and moving music?

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah. That actually describes a lot, I guess. Legend of the Fall is definitely more so, as much as I used to love A Far Off Place. Is Tom Cruise in A Far Off Place? No. And Nicole

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Kidman? No.

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That's far and away. God damn it. But that is a Howard film.

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Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah. So, okay, now just a slew of nominations sprinkled in with a couple wins. So he gets a nomination for Braveheart. He gets another nomination for Apollo 13. Here we go. So he gets his double win for score and original song for, take a guess, Cameron film.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

Oh, Titanic. Correct. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

So those are his only wins. He does A Beautiful Mind, gets a score for that. He gets a nomination for that. Another nomination for House of Sand and Fog. His final nomination was for the original Avatar. When was that?

SPEAKER_02 16:46

That was like 30 years ago, right? Then we just got the second one out. When

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was it? Like 2008 or 2009?

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I'm honestly going to need Brian Dennehy to show up and grant me immortality if I want to see the last few Avatar movies.

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And then he also did The Amazing Spider-Man and The Magnificent Seven.

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So The Amazing Spider-Man was the Garfield one, right? I

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believe so.

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Okay.

UNKNOWN 17:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Okay, so two more figures that we really recently covered because they also have had a very– well, unfortunately, one of them has passed– but a longstanding collaboration with Howard. So for film editing, it is a true partnership between these two gentlemen, Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill. Not that– Literally every single credit they had is the same, but pretty much. So to quickly go through their credits, I think the only thing I might have for Hanley that I don't have for Hill is the fact that Hanley worked on Laverne and Trilley.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

Oh.

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But otherwise, yeah. Well, I have 20 credits for Hanley and 18 for Hill, so there's something else there.

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One other thing.

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One other thing.

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Call to action.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Call to action. What is it? Yeah. What's on my list? We have Night Shift, Splash, Gung Ho, Willow. So here we go. Like you can see those are all, well, yeah, I think they're all Howard films. Pet Sematary, not a Howard film. Parenthood, Problem Child, Backdraft, Far and Away. They did get an Oscar win because Apollo 13 won for best film editing, which they did. Okay. In-N-Out. Ed TV, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. More nominations.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

In-N-Out is, I think, a Kevin Kline movie in addition to A Delicious Hamburger Place.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

It is. And I remember it got a lot of really positive, it got a very positive reception. And if I'm remembering correctly, I don't remember if she won, but I do believe that Joan Cusack was at least nominated for that film.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Yeah, it was good. I liked it.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

So they get a slew of nominations for A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, Frost Nixon. In between those, they also work with Howard on the trilogy of the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons. It is a trilogy.

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The trilogy.

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The trilogy. And Inferno. And then they did Rush and In the Heart of the Sea. So, and... Mike Hill, he passed away very recently in 2023. And everything that I mentioned for Hanley applies to Hill. Okay. Except for now I'm like wondering what other credit? I can't like, oh, it's In-N-Out. Oh, okay. For whatever reason, Hill did not work on In-N-Out, but everything else applies to him. All right. So now we're at the stars of the film. Like I said, a huge ensemble cast. It's a lot. And it was really interesting to watch this film. I mentioned at the tail end of the last episode when we gave our sneak peek that I was excited to watch this film because I do really love when films feature older actors. I mean, still to this day, Hollywood is such a youth-obsessed industry that I feel... Hopefully, there's a little bit more of leaning into casting older actors, but... Certainly in the 80s.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Here's... Here's the thing. And it... I mean, it was obviously, like, the whole plot of this movie was, like, their age and what that meant and everything else. But I also like it when there's a movie with older individuals where they just happen to... They're allowed to exist as older people and the entire... Like, their entire existence isn't revolving around the fact that they're old.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

And... I should have realized that that obviously would have been the crux of this film, but it did hit a little differently because of that. I think that what I didn't really think about before seeing the movie is just this is such an interesting touchstone in terms of how we look at aging then versus now.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

um because when i was like kind of after the fact i was doing a little bit more research and i guess there was this like thing that went around that was kind of a comparison of brimley and tom cruise because when tom so brimley was 50 50 years it's hilarious that he's cast for this and when we get to that um when we get to him we could talk a little bit more about like I don't know. Just the circumstances. Not the circumstances, but...

SPEAKER_02 21:43

He was 49 during production.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Right! That's my point! And so

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all they did was they dyed his hair gray.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Yeah, he looked like almost a surfer because it was like sun-bleached white almost, but...

SPEAKER_02 21:57

Yeah, I don't... He... it it wasn't just the gray hair he like he legitimately seemed like he was in a shape kind of similar

SPEAKER_01 22:08

yeah because they go swimming a ton yeah like if you look at his physique

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yeah

SPEAKER_01 22:13

it anyway that's body shape um but but yes i mean when you look at like who he is at the age that he was at that time and like look it is part of a actor's repertoire to be able to age up aged like they're supposed to be somewhat like chameleon so so like i get that but when we look through the other actors who are all supposed to be peers of this character yeah and when they were actually born in real life it's really kind of interesting um i mean it's

SPEAKER_02 22:42

it's acting it's it's acting so like if he's he was the right person for that role um but yeah in terms of like him versus cruz at those ages it's it's funny but like realistically look around way more brimleys than cruises walking around at that

SPEAKER_01 23:01

age yeah yeah at that point in time or today i

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think today depending on where you are

SPEAKER_01 23:08

people definitely but when you look at like i don't know if we really touched on it a ton i think the biggest thing that i like and it's not an 80s movie is like i always comment even If it's only in my head, like when we watch Jaws and that kid's mom looks like his grandma and like the parents look so much older than their kids.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

There's something about like the style or fashion that like we associate.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

I mean, life was harder.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Yeah.

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People age more quickly. Smoking.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

Yeah, smoking for sure. Because it wasn't just that you would smoke, but wherever you would go, it was in the air. Yeah. You couldn't go to a restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

I mean, we could go down a whole rabbit hole about how the younger generation, probably Gen Z, is like, now we're kind of going in the wrong direction as far as lifespan. Yeah. But... at least for a moment in time, like we were, we've been aging better than the previous generation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:05

And,

SPEAKER_01 24:05

and I think that comes through clearly, like obviously also Tom Cruise has like everything at his disposal to, to be the healthiest he can be. I mean, I'm not even talking about the Scientology stuff. Yeah, no, that's what I was going to say. I'm talking about the money stuff.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

No, I'm talking about the, obviously the Scientology works and we should all follow it. Just look at

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Cruise. Derek, Derek. You need to clarify that, like, do the backslash S. Sarcasm. You

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know, I didn't think the backslash S was necessary there, but yes. Yes. Obviously

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sarcasm. You don't want people taking a clip of what you... Anyway.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

I'd love to think there are people scanning through our episodes like, oh, I got

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him! Breaking news. Derek Dankey supports Scientology.

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that's the clip they're gonna use damn it

SPEAKER_01 24:52

but all to say it is fascinating to watch this this film through that lens and i mean we'll get maybe we'll get to it but the scene where all the other seniors make a mad dash for the pool oh my god it's actually really sad it

SPEAKER_02 25:09

it looked like a bunch of people trying to break into a costco for pokemon cards it was wild

SPEAKER_01 25:14

it did kind of touch me on a level where I was like, Oh, this doesn't feel, I think, I think that was the intention. I don't think it was, I don't know. I don't think it was supposed to be humorous. I think it was supposed to show kind of the sad desperation of people who are, who are just grabbing at anything to feel like they once did to, to retain that youth to whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

I think that's exactly, which is why, once again, I would say that these are the chillest aliens in any movie I've ever seen because Denny, he's like, yeah, Yeah. All your friends. Way too chill. All your friends who are responsible for the death of a couple of my friends. Yes. Bring them too.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yes. And there was another really sad scene when he was like holding his friend and his friend. Jesus Christ. Yeah. Like, anyway. Don Amici. So he plays Art. He did. So the other Oscar win is for him. He won Best Supporting Actor.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

For the breakdancing.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

I think in spite of the breakdancing. And look, this is not age-shaming, but I'm just trying to give context when we compare some of these actors. He was born in 1908.

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1908.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

So when he did this movie, he was on the cusp of being 80.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

He looked great. He looked great. For 80 and 85? He looked

SPEAKER_01 26:31

great. And so this was 85. He passed in 93. So all to say, long career before this movie came along. And I love some of the titles. I've kind of mentioned titles from the 1930s are the best.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

They are so fucking dramatic.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

They are so fun. So here are some of them. Sins of Man. Dramatic. Ladies in Love. Wow. Love is News. Is it? This one. And then some of them that I actually have heard of. You Can't Have Everything. He was in the 1939 version of The Three Musketeers. He does a couple movies that I was like, oh, this is fun. They're all places. Down Argentine Way, That Night in Rio, Moon Over Miami. He was in the 1943 version of Heaven Can Wait. Okay. This one's kind of a dark title. He was in a movie called Picture Mommy Dead. Fuck. dark then we're skipping way ahead uh we brought him up before he is famously one of the duke brothers in trading places

SPEAKER_02 27:44

really that's right yeah that's right yeah of

SPEAKER_01 27:47

course yeah of course yeah uh he's in harry and the hendersons he makes a very fun cameo in coming to america same guy same is the same character yeah yep So he's the first of almost every single actor I think we have who comes back for Cocoon the Return. His final credit was Karina Karina. And in between all the many films that he did, he also was on a lot of one-offs and two-offs for TV.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

Yeah. He was amazing in this. He

SPEAKER_01 28:21

was great. I don't know if I have a favorite character, but I do really like him in this film.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

I mean, I have a least favorite character and it's not him, but we'll get to him, I'm sure. Okay. Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

So Wilford Brimley. Wilford

SPEAKER_02 28:36

Brimley.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

He plays Ben. So for a little context, he was born almost 30 years after Don Amici.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

We're going to hammer this point home. He

SPEAKER_01 28:46

was born in 1934, which still means that like, but for the 80s, like I said, he was just about 50. I mean, 34 ain't 08. It's not 08. He passed in 2020. And it feels like he kind of just was always an older actor in everything that he did. No, well,

SPEAKER_02 29:07

yeah. And obviously we'll get to Jessica Tandy, but I probably made the remark in Cocoon, like, Has she just only existed at this age? And that's kind of how I feel about Wilford Brimley is like, I don't know if I can remember ever seeing him something where he's like a young Wilford Brimley.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

And I'm jumping the gun a little bit, but to my knowledge, Tandy still holds the record for being the oldest actress to win an Oscar. So there's that. And that's great. That's great, though. Yeah. I do feel like, I guess, even though a lot of films don't feature older actors, I feel like maybe of late, more older actors are being recognized by the Academy.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

We're recognizing like half of them just with this movie.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

So, okay. Some of his credits. I mean, he did do film, obviously, because we're covering one. But I do think that to some degree, he's better known for his TV work. So he was on The Waltons. Hmm. A little bit earlier in his career. The China Syndrome. He was, of course, in the thing. I think the only time we've covered him. There's definitely room for us to cover him again. Yeah. I said Tender Mercies, right? You

SPEAKER_02 30:22

just did.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I just did. Okay. The Natural. So that's the one that I think... he would come up again for.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

Probably, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Remo Williams, The Adventure Begins. Oh my

SPEAKER_02 30:34

God, I forgot about that movie.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

I think you say that every time I bring

SPEAKER_02 30:38

it up. Well.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

But we can cover it at some point.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

We're going to have to,

SPEAKER_01 30:41

huh? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

He also comes back for Cocoon the Return. I think a certain generation knows him from Our House, the TV series. I think he's like Shannon Doherty's grandpa, I think. I am not

SPEAKER_02 30:54

familiar with that program.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

The Firm, which is a funny crossover because it's talking about how Tom Cruise is in that movie. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02 31:05

yeah. So you can just like, look at this piece of crap. And then look at Tom

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Cruise. He was in the movie In-N-Out. And then his final credit was I Believe.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

One other title that I want to mention. I did not know there was a sequel to Where the Red Fern Grows.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

And

SPEAKER_02 31:25

I'm not going to watch it because I'm also not going to ever watch the original Where the Red Fern Grows again. Ever. But he's in it. He's in the sequel.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Okay. Yeah. Moving on to Hume, H-U-M-E, Cronin.

SPEAKER_02 31:40

That's the guy I can't stand. I

SPEAKER_01 31:42

knew

SPEAKER_02 31:42

that's who you were thinking of. This guy, this guy's like, hey, what would

SPEAKER_01 31:46

you do? What a fucking bastard. Way to just show that at any age, men are bastards.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

You're healed. You're no longer sick. You feel great. What's the first thing you're going to do?

SPEAKER_01 31:56

I'm going to cheat on my wife. Yeah, what a dick. So he plays Joe and Cronin, the actor, he was born in 1911. He passed in 2003. So 2003. Wow. So, yes. Interesting character. I feel like Amici's character, he finds this newfound vigor and really parlays it into trying to achieve a better life. Like he... I think there was already some kind of spark between him and that woman. Who

SPEAKER_02 32:35

was running the activity or the dance stuff.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

But he uses it to be like, hey, I don't want to miss this chance at love again. They get married. They

SPEAKER_02 32:46

do.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

He just really wants to enjoy himself. Joe?

SPEAKER_02 32:49

Also wants to enjoy himself.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

He wants to enjoy himself. He takes it to a place where, yeah, you're kind of like, you're a real jerk. And

SPEAKER_02 33:03

it sounds like he was.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Because like, it's not the first time that he's been unfaithful. And so, yeah, he's just like he, they all go out bowling and they're like showing up whoever is there because they have old man alien superpowers now.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

Right.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

And then when Brimley is like, why don't we like, be a little discreet about what we're doing, a little subtle. He's like, fuck you, I'm going to go party. Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 33:34

essentially. So he

SPEAKER_02 33:35

basically does.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

He

SPEAKER_02 33:36

doesn't say it exactly like that, but I think that's what he meant.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Yeah. And those three are the most prominent of the cast. They are, yeah. Joe, Ben, and Art. And so Cronin, same as Amici, had a huge career before this movie came along. Did I say that Amici was? Hold on, because I can't even remember. No, it was a different film. Okay, so Cronin was in the 1943 Phantom of the Opera. He was in Lifeboat. He gets his one and only Oscar nomination Best Supporting Actor for The Seventh Cross. He was in The Postman Always Rings Twice. Always. I do remember him from Cleopatra. uh the liz taylor cleopatra he also was in the 1964 hamlet now we're skipping ahead we're already in the 80s the world according to garp oh yeah brewster's millions he's in batteries not included

SPEAKER_02 34:44

is he yeah i don't know if he's like the the main guy or if he's just like yeah

SPEAKER_01 34:51

not sure either He, too, comes back for Cocoon the Return. He's in The Pelican Brief. And then his final credit was the TV movie of A Separate Piece, which I remember I went on a long-winded tangent about that and how I really didn't like that book when I had to read it in high school.

SPEAKER_02 35:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

And also just a lot of TV appearances sprinkled in throughout his film career.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

And I do remember him. I don't know if you mentioned this. He was in 1997's 12 Angry Men.

SPEAKER_01 35:21

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

Juror number nine.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Thank

SPEAKER_02 35:23

you. Excellent movie.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

So now we are coming to, you've mentioned him, Walter. Walter the alien.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

No last names. They don't know what forever means and they don't know what last

SPEAKER_01 35:35

names mean. So really interesting casting for who they are like, you're going to be an alien. He's

SPEAKER_02 35:44

like, cool, so I'm the villain?

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Yeah. No,

SPEAKER_02 35:46

you're pretty good. I

SPEAKER_01 35:47

don't. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say is casting against type, but it was just, I think, a really interesting choice for him to be like, I don't know, the head alien. Yeah. He's good. He's good. I like seeing him in a role where he's not the villain.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

So Dennehy, he's also passed. He passed in 2020. He was born in 1938. So he's just four. He was just four years younger than Brimley. Yeah. We covered him a minute ago because we first talked about him in First Blood. So go check out that episode. There are a few other films for sure that we could bring him up again for. He was in 10. The, oh my goodness, the guy from Arthur. Oh,

SPEAKER_02 36:34

like the Bo Derek.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

Yes. So he's in that. Never Cry Wolf, which I've done another tangent about why my dad let me watch that movie as a kid. I don't know. Gorky Park, Silverado, you've wanted to cover that.

SPEAKER_02 36:49

I have. Yeah, it's a decent Western with a pretty amazing cast. Kevin Kline, Danny Glover. That's right. Dennehy, Kevin Costner. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

One day. He's in Legal Eagles, Return to Snowy River, also Cocoon the Return. But from what I read, he's just in one quick scene. I don't think he's really a prominent part of it. We just totally not part of this podcast saw him in Presumed Innocent. That's

SPEAKER_02 37:19

right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Yeah. Not too long ago with some friends. Tommy Boy, he's his dad, isn't he?

SPEAKER_02 37:24

I believe so. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

The... Leonardo DiCaprio, Romeo and Juliet. I think he's Juliet's dad.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

I have not seen that movie.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

I mean, I'm glad I saw it. I don't really need to revisit it. Was

SPEAKER_02 37:44

that a 90s movie? So is it like a 90s teen spin of Romeo and Juliet where it's like kind of that 90s vibe

SPEAKER_01 37:51

to it? Yeah, is it Baz Luhrmann? It is very... like hip to yeah like musicals and

SPEAKER_02 37:59

it's like what if hackers was romeo

SPEAKER_01 38:01

and julia yeah yeah kind of

SPEAKER_02 38:02

kind of

SPEAKER_01 38:03

that's a good way of putting it uh he was in the tv series the fighting fitzgeralds he was in the film assault on precinct 13 you probably know this he is one of the voices in ratatouille

SPEAKER_02 38:17

he is um yeah what's the rat's name remy

SPEAKER_01 38:22

yeah

SPEAKER_02 38:22

yeah he's his uh dad

SPEAKER_01 38:24

yeah

SPEAKER_02 38:25

yeah

SPEAKER_01 38:25

And then one of his final credits was the TV series The Blacklist.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Did you mention FX?

SPEAKER_01 38:32

I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 38:33

Because we're probably going to have to cover that one time too. Yeah. Where they solve crimes and somehow solve like a presidential assassination attempt with special effects.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

Moving on to... So this is actually a very interesting character. Bernie, played by Jack Guilford. So... Really quickly, the actor, also born in 1908, passed away just a few years after this film. He passed away in 1990. But he is among this group of seniors who very early on catches on to what's going on. And that somehow these other fellas that he's friends with have, like he calls it like the fountain of youth.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

And he wants actually no part of it.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

He doesn't until he does.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Right, but not for himself.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

No, for Rose, for his wife. Correct. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:30

It's a really interesting... And I'm actually really glad that there's a character there that is this character because he is... kind of the one person who's like I like our life it's fine that we're old and that actually really means something because his wife I believe has it seems like she maybe has a little bit of dementia I

SPEAKER_02 39:51

think so they wouldn't have like said it like that yeah talked about it or called it that in the 80s right but I think that's what was

SPEAKER_01 39:59

I think you pick up on that a little bit she like introduces herself to is it Ben and they were like you know Ben yeah I'm not sure if it was Ben but like she doesn't recognize one of their friends at some point so i found that really really interesting that he and then he like almost gets belligerent about it in terms of like i don't i don't want to be a part of this you can go do your thing don't try to make me don't try to make my wife and they do kind of use that against him and saying like your wife could really use this

SPEAKER_02 40:30

i mean amici's character because they're all like fired up on their eugenics or whatever it is from the pool and He's kind of

SPEAKER_01 40:38

antagonizing him. And all

SPEAKER_02 40:40

their boners. Yeah. Oh, God. The three of them getting

SPEAKER_01 40:42

out of the pool. I did not need to hear that. Talking about their...

SPEAKER_02 40:45

Hey, we're just three old dudes swimming around with their boners in the alien potato

SPEAKER_01 40:50

pool.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, he egged them on, and then he kicked the shit out of the two staff there, which it's not like... These weren't supposed to be like the staff in the...

SPEAKER_01 41:00

It's not like one flew over the cuckoo's nest. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

They weren't in the institution from Terminator 2. Yeah, yeah. He kicked the shit out of Clint Howard, I think.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Yes, which, yeah, nice fun little cameo by Clint Howard. So it is really sad, though. It is very sad. So basically what happens for anybody who hasn't seen this film. And

SPEAKER_02 41:25

if you haven't, good luck finding it.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Yeah, it's a little tough. Not easy to find. A little tough to find it. So his wife passes away. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In large part because there are cocoons that are like having to utilize the like rejuvenation properties of the water. I don't really know how the aliens made the water the way that they did. Yeah, I know. There's no way to– there's no explanation. But that's like– that's why the cocoons are in the water. They– again, sorry to kind of maybe– we don't usually do a deep dive into the story because there's kind of an assumption that people have seen it. But essentially the aliens came to Earth because at some point 10,000 years ago I think– They had to leave behind crew.

SPEAKER_03 42:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

But the crew are in these cocoons that have preserved them. They've been in the ocean. The aliens come back, fish them out of the ocean, and put them in this pool so they can rejuvenate enough to be able to make the trip home.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

Also, I think it's worth mentioning that where they were placed or where they were left in the ocean... The Lost City of Atlantis.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Yeah. Which

SPEAKER_02 42:48

apparently is just off St. Petersburg, Florida.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

When the opening credits are coming, I'm like, what am I looking at? Because it looks like an underwater city. And

SPEAKER_02 42:58

I wasn't sure if you asked that just because watching a pirated version, hypothetically, of Cocoon.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

No, I think it was intentional that there was this kind of distortion because of the water. But in any case, so what had happened is that The Secret gets out. And like I had mentioned- Almost the rest of this nursing home or assisted living retirement community, however you want to call it, they just book it. for the pool. And so now all of a sudden you have about 30 people. And the thing is, is that it

SPEAKER_02 43:31

was like people hitting up a Walmart Black Friday morning.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

Oh, it's terrible. It was like really an uncomfortable scene to watch. I

SPEAKER_02 43:36

don't know why they took a pod out and started trying to beat it against the

SPEAKER_01 43:39

side of the pool. Yeah, it was terrible. Terrible.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

If they send 30 other people, just make sure it's not those two.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

I get it that they didn't know what it was, but it was just like an awful thing to see. I thought that it

SPEAKER_02 43:50

was the pods. But it was the water that they did something to. And he tells, like, when they're renting this property, he tells them that he wanted to, like, he'll handle that. Yes. I thought it was because they didn't want someone coming in and seeing, like, these giant potatoes. But,

SPEAKER_01 44:04

yeah. So... What ended up happening, though, it was fine if it was just like the three guys, the three friends. But any time from what I picked up from the film, a human goes into that water, they take a little bit of that life force. And so because all those people came in all at once, they completely they didn't drain the water, but they drained the life force from the water. Yeah. So that put all the cocoons in danger, which is also why when Bernie tried to bring Rose to rejuvenate her. There's nothing left. There's nothing. left to rejuvenate her and it is a really sad scene because Walter watches what's happening and Bernie is begging him to help him and he just says I'm sorry like he's not saying in a cruel way he's just like I'm sorry there's there's nothing I can do and Bernie is like I'll give you anything and yeah

SPEAKER_02 44:58

he didn't he didn't want it For himself, he just wanted to bring her back. Which

SPEAKER_01 45:02

is actually making me emotional. It's really sad.

SPEAKER_02 45:05

I don't even know if it would have even worked if she had already...

SPEAKER_01 45:09

Yeah. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 45:10

Who knows how the magic pool works?

SPEAKER_01 45:12

But the actor, Jack Guilford, so his credits, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

SPEAKER_03 45:19

The

SPEAKER_01 45:20

film, They Might Be Giants, he too was an Oscar-nominated actor. He got Best Supporting for Save the Tiger. I know I've brought this up before because I think it's kind of a funny title. He was in the film Cheaper to Keeper. Man, this film keeps auto-playing and it's so lame. Caveman.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

Is that the one where at the end... No, I'm thinking of Iceman maybe.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

But it's a very similar vibe.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

Yeah, okay. Where they discover...

SPEAKER_01 45:49

Yes, and it's really... I mean, it's 80s, like, animatronic. Like, it's just... Anyway. Yeah. But he does come back for Cocoon the Return, and then over the course of his career, also many TV appearances.

SPEAKER_02 46:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Okay, so finally... He

SPEAKER_02 46:03

was also... There was one other movie that he was in that I must give you the title to. It is... Anna to the infinite power. Oh,

SPEAKER_01 46:11

thanks. We have one, two, three, four, like five, four and a half people to cover. Four and a half. Because I don't think that's a very prominent person. But anyway.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

Speed run. Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

So Steve Guttenberg.

SPEAKER_02 46:26

The Goot.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

He plays Jack. He is. Owns a boat that he runs out for stuff.

SPEAKER_03 46:36

Mm hmm.

SPEAKER_01 46:37

Seems on the verge of financial collapse.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

He seems just past the verge.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

And...

SPEAKER_02 46:43

He's on the wrong side of the verge.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

The aliens decide to tap him to help. They don't tell him what's going on, but they say, we want your boat for 27 days. I love how there's always these, like, really arbitrary restrictions in films where it's like, why 27? Why can you only be here 720? Ah,

SPEAKER_02 47:00

because that brought them up to the lunar eclipse.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Oh, okay. Fair enough. So... effort I mean I feel like it is a somewhat realistic response to finding out that they're aliens like he goes from like being on the physical defensive he's like a blowtorch stay away from me he jumps from his own boat realizes that That's not going to work. They're completely calm the whole time. They're not dangerous aliens. They're very kind. They're the

SPEAKER_02 47:33

least dangerous aliens you will ever encounter.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

Yes. And when he kind of realizes that and they basically have to explain to him what they're doing, he agrees to help them.

SPEAKER_02 47:45

I mean, it was great when Walter says it's so hard to know who you can trust and just like pulls his eyelid down a little bit and the The alien light shines out.

SPEAKER_01 47:56

Yeah. I

SPEAKER_02 47:56

thought that was probably as sinister as you're going to get with Brian Dennehy in this movie.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

And the reason why I said four and a half is because he does kind of strike up a relationship with why they name her Kitty. I don't know. Her character name is Kitty. And, you know, he's a little pervy because he is literally peeping Tom. He's peeping her while she's in her

SPEAKER_02 48:20

skin suit. And she takes off her clothes. And then she takes off her skin suit. And that is probably the creepiest, most horror-esque moment.

SPEAKER_01 48:31

Especially when she realizes that he's watching her.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

And she zooms in to where he is. That is

SPEAKER_01 48:37

terrifying. It's a little creepy. So... Gutenberg, he had a very strong 80s, very strong 80s.

SPEAKER_02 48:45

To be fair, his character saw her like that and he's like, I'm still in.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

I'm still into you. So he was in Diner, the man who wasn't there. He is mostly, especially for the first half of the franchise, he drops out after number four, but the Police Academy movies.

SPEAKER_02 49:02

Yeah, he is the Police Academy. Him in the Taggart, I think. Maybe. Not sure who the nemesis was.

SPEAKER_01 49:12

Oh, sure. I know who you're talking about. He's Mahoney in all those films. So he's in the first one. I'll give this to Police Academy movies. They do a great job of naming their sequels.

SPEAKER_02 49:21

They tell you exactly what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 49:23

And they're fun, unlike a ton of other movies that give you the worst sequel names ever. Or sometimes they're so fucking lazy, they just name it the same as the original. All those franchises know who I'm talking about. Yeah. But he was in the first one. Police Academy 2, The First Assignment. Police Academy 3, Back in Training. And Police Academy 4, Citizens on Patrol.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

Oh, it was probably Lieutenant Harris that was the nemesis. I don't know why I thought of that. That's from Beverly Hills Cop.

SPEAKER_01 49:53

Oh, that's right. He was in Short Circuit. Three men and a baby as well as three men and a little lady. He, too, comes back for Cocoon the Return. Home for the holidays. He has done TV work. He was in Veronica Mars. This I thought was hilarious. I had to call this out. He's in Sharknado 4, The Fourth Awakens. Love that. And then more TV work. He was in Ballers. This makes a lot of sense to me. He had a stint on the Goldbergs.

SPEAKER_02 50:23

I mean, you mentioned it during the movie. He is... Like it's interesting seeing him acting side by side with like a Brian Dennehy. Yeah. Is he just like a goofy, charismatic, good guy? Is that because he's been in a lot?

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I don't think he has a lot of range. I hate to be rude.

SPEAKER_02 50:46

I don't look. I don't think he does either. But what does it matter? Because he's been a fairly successful actor. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 50:53

And then he's also been in Paper Empire.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 50:56

Is it Scientology? Just kidding. I retract the comment.

UNKNOWN 50:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

Maureen Stapleton. So she is Ben's wife, Mary Luckett. She was born in 1925, passed in 2006. So here's, if I may, just really quickly, the women in this film get a little bit short shrift. I think it could be really interesting to do a reboot of Cocoon from more so the perspective of the women in it. Yeah.

UNKNOWN 51:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:22

I think that could be kind of an interesting sequel.

SPEAKER_02 51:26

Yeah, they're all side characters

SPEAKER_01 51:27

to the guys, right? Yeah, they don't have really arcs. Tandy... the most. She does,

SPEAKER_02 51:31

yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

But there's not a huge arc there for any of them, for the most part. But Stapleton, boy, was she a powerhouse. She had an amazing career. She multi-nominated and Oscar-winning actress. All her nominations and the win were for a supporting actress. She gets her first nom for a film called Lonely Hearts. She was in A View from the Bridge. Bye Bye Birdie. She gets her next Oscar nom for Airport. Follows that up with another Oscar nom for Interiors. Follows that up with an Oscar win for Reds, which we could cover. She was in Johnny Dangerously, The Money Pit, Heartburn, Nuts. She too comes back for Cocoon the Return. And then her final credit was a film called Living and Dining. Okay. Not dying, but dining. I

SPEAKER_02 52:27

just want to say I appreciate that I don't think a single time you have said that someone returned for Cocoon the Returns.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

I'm trying not to.

SPEAKER_02 52:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:36

And she also... This is kind of on par for everybody. Did a lot of TV work. Okay, so moving on to Alma. That is Joe's wife, played by Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronin's real wife. Oh,

SPEAKER_02 52:51

really?

SPEAKER_01 52:51

They were... really married

SPEAKER_02 52:54

that's always interesting to me when i mean when they're in those roles in that situation and they're like really married that because they they probably have like the um most difficult challenging relationship like between what he did to her in terms of like being unfaithful before any of this happened and then once again once he started feeling better and then you mentioned this like laying this on her like if i stay here if i stay on earth

SPEAKER_01 53:27

yeah

SPEAKER_02 53:28

i'm going to die because the remission like

SPEAKER_01 53:31

the cancer he had cancer

SPEAKER_02 53:32

yeah went into full remission But

SPEAKER_01 53:35

because of the pool,

SPEAKER_02 53:36

because of it, because of the exposure to that. But if he remained on Earth and he was going to die and he said, I want to go with them. But if the choice is living forever without you or like having six more months with you, I'm going to stay with you. And you're like, that's a lot to lay on someone. That's really unfair. It's very unfair. When

SPEAKER_01 53:56

you cheated on her, you're like, I'm going to die if you don't go with me, but that's what I'll do.

SPEAKER_02 54:02

But it also made a lot of sense for her to be in that role to deal with that. She was excellent, obviously. Oh, she was amazing. She was great.

SPEAKER_01 54:11

Tandy was born in 1909. So she actually was two years older than Cronin. She passed in 94. So unfortunately, he lived about 10 more years without her. Same as all the gentlemen, almost. She had a very long career before this film came along. She was in a film called The Indiscretions of Eve. Her and her husband did star in a number of other films together, other projects. One of them was The Seventh Cross, for which he got his Oscar nom. She was in The Birds. jumping way ahead she is also in the world according to garp she also was in batteries not included so

SPEAKER_02 54:47

they must be like the main couple in it

SPEAKER_01 54:49

must be yeah she too comes back for cocoon the return

SPEAKER_02 54:53

returns

SPEAKER_01 54:54

she at the very tail end of her career really amps it up she gets her oscar win like i mentioned still holds the record for oldest actress for driving miss daisy

SPEAKER_03 55:06

and

SPEAKER_01 55:07

She gets another nomination. I do love this film. She gets a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She's great in Fried Green Tomatoes. And then her final credit was Nobody's Fool.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

With Paul Newman.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Correct. Yeah. Okay, really quickly, I wanted to mention them, but they really don't have prominent roles. But the person who plays Art's love interest that he ties the knot with, character name is Bess, played by Gwen Verdon. She was born in 1925. Passed away in 2000. She does have acting credits, but I think she was more so maybe a dancer. I think that's why this role fit her so well.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Because she was like the dance instructor at the retirement community.

SPEAKER_01 55:51

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 55:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:52

So some of her credits, this was a musical, Damn Yankees. So right up her alley. Moving way ahead to the 80s for Cotton Club. Nadine. Also, Cocoon the Return. Alice. Alice. Marvin's room. And then her final credit was Bruno sprinkled in with a lot of TV appearances, including

SPEAKER_02 56:12

five episodes of the Magnum P.I. show.

SPEAKER_01 56:16

Oh,

SPEAKER_02 56:16

I don't know why I called it the Magnum P.I. show. I

SPEAKER_01 56:18

don't know.

SPEAKER_02 56:19

That's not what it was ever called.

SPEAKER_01 56:21

Finally, we're at. The character of Kitty. So she is the female alien played by Tawny Welch. Did not realize that is Raquel Welch's daughter. Looks just like her, though. She does. Looks just like her. Just short hair. Short hair.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Basically.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

Not a ton of credits. It seems like she probably hasn't acted in about 25 years. Besides her also... Coming back for Cocoon the Return, she was in I Shot Andy Warhol. It seems like she did a lot of Italian projects. I noticed a number of those. Okay, film synopsis. When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.

SPEAKER_02 57:10

Yeah. Yeah. That is mostly what happens.

SPEAKER_01 57:13

Yeah. It's an interesting film because, like, honestly, the first half of it, it's a two-hour movie. The first half of it doesn't have a ton of conflict. It's kind of just them living there. They find out about the pool. Yeah. Meanwhile, the aliens are kind of just doing their thing and retrieving cocoons. Yeah, they are. Like, the first half of the film is just kind of that. And then all of a sudden, you know, like, yes, there is a storyline of Joe having his cancer.

UNKNOWN 57:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:40

um but beyond oh and you know what i forgot to mention quick shout out cameo to the kid from never ending story he is ben's grandson that's right yeah yeah

SPEAKER_02 57:50

yeah

SPEAKER_01 57:51

but in any case the conflict really comes when those seniors like really overstep their bounds and in the most compassionate kind way the aliens have to be like hey like We need to protect this pool because of these cocoons. Like, these are actual beings that are in these cocoons.

SPEAKER_02 58:13

They've been there for thousands of years. They are back to try to retrieve them to bring their friends back. But in the beginning, you're not... I mean, you know what movie this is. You know it's not like a horror movie, so... I guess from their perspective, from the Wilford Brimley and crew perspective, you're not sure how they're going to react. But they're like, yeah, well, we've made mistakes before. So you and your friends can enjoy the pool. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 58:43

Yeah. I mean, they're incredibly gracious about it all. I mean, I think nowadays there would have been a lot more conflict between the aliens and the seniors.

SPEAKER_02 58:54

You would have expected it.

SPEAKER_01 58:55

You would have expected it. So, yeah, the conflict comes really at the tail end where the seniors fuck up and like the three guys, like they... especially joe joe really fucks everything up for everybody because he just literally can't control himself he in in multiple ways he can't control himself with the cheating he can't control his anger and he beats the shit out of those uh retirement home workers which of course alerts everybody to oh this is actually real like what's happening yeah and And so they fuck up. Because of that, several of the cocoons with those beings inside die. And now their trip has failed. I mean, the only redeeming factor is the fact that the seniors say, hey, we'll help you put them back in the ocean because they will... be preserved so to speak until they can come back to retrieve them again which i thought was hilarious because like are you seriously telling me that like 80 year olds who have presumably never scuba died before they're just going to throw on that equipment and go in the ocean that doesn't happen there

SPEAKER_02 1:00:03

is a throwaway line while they're getting set up uh one of the characters while gutenberg is helping him get ready is like it's okay i've gone diving before and he's like oh okay

SPEAKER_01 1:00:13

Okay. And so we're all like, oh, okay. That truly saves that scene. So it's like, look, I've gone through training. You don't just put on the gear and go in the ocean, but especially at night. So, yeah, it's an interesting film and the pacing of it and where the conflict comes in. I think for me, anyway, we've already mentioned it. The most interesting thing is just the way that the film portrays aging. And

SPEAKER_02 1:00:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:45

How the characters respond to being in that period of their lives.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:49

I mean, there's only the... Is it Bernie? Bernie. Bernie's the only one who... I don't know how to characterize it. It's like, of course, they all want to feel better. They want more time. I think having regrets or wanting to... be able to redo something or get rid of the feeling that there's nothing left for you to do. It seemed like he was in a place of peace with his life. But They almost weaponized it. There was everybody against him. He is in, obviously, the sequel, and he is still alive when they all come back. So I don't know what any of that means. I don't know if I will ever watch the sequel. I've heard that it is not in the same place as far as quality as the first one. But it is interesting. It's very much just like a fantasy movie in terms of like, hey, old people who are sick and living in this place and you're not not real happy about it. What if I told you we could go someplace where you will live forever and never be sick? And I thought it was interesting that Walter says, you will have a productive life. Like, maybe I want to chill for the rest of...

SPEAKER_01 1:02:21

I think he meant kind of you'll make a difference.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:23

Yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:24

But that's the way I interpreted that.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:26

So it felt like there was a lot of, like, here's a group of people that just... aren't satisfied with how their lives maybe have gone, or they just have this need to keep on going that literally leads them to leave the planet.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:44

And that is Cocoon. So as far as watching the film again...

SPEAKER_02 1:02:50

How? If you can find an old VHS copy...

SPEAKER_01 1:02:59

That makes me sad. That is the one thing that I wish... wasn't an obstacle still for people. So

SPEAKER_02 1:03:04

it is a movie that was made by 20th Century Fox. They were acquired by Disney. After that happened, it became nearly impossible to find. You will not find it on a traditional, shall I say, streaming service. But you will find there is the ability to stream it for those who know where to look.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:24

Who are motivated to watch

SPEAKER_02 1:03:26

it.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:27

As far as Call to Action, I guess I would just be really curious... what other people's take on the film is in regards to aging like did they get the same takeaway as us in terms of like kind of having like a super negative view of being older and not really having much going on in your life at that point and again I think things have come a long way since the 80s in that regard so

SPEAKER_02 1:03:52

yeah and it is very interesting we talked about this after we saw it how much this aligns with the story one of the stories from the Twilight Zone movie only in that The message in that was interesting because the residents there got to enjoy just like they got a glimpse of that again. And then they went back for the most part to their old lives.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:16

As opposed to space.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

So if you want to get in touch with us, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach out through Facebook, Instagram, or Blue Sky. The handle is at 80s Montage Pod, and it is the same handle for all three. Sneak peek. What do you got? I don't have a clue because I've never seen this film, but you suggested it to me. And

SPEAKER_02 1:04:39

I don't know. It might be rubbish. But Dabney Coleman, the kid from E.T., Cloak and Dagger.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:51

Cloak and Dagger.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:52

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:53

I, at this moment in time, have nothing to say about it because I have not watched it. I

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

remember really enjoying it as a kid. It's like a spy movie with old video game stuff. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. I think Dabney Coleman is great in everything. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:09

I'm looking forward to it. I'm

SPEAKER_02 1:05:10

looking forward to watching it in 2025 and thinking, oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:14

So on that note... Thank you to everybody for hanging with us. We really appreciate it, especially with all the many podcast choices you have. Too

SPEAKER_02 1:05:24

many.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:25

And we will talk to you again in two weeks time.