The Bill Murray Cinematic Universe with Nick

[00:00:00] We're raising a toast to the one and only Bill Murray, the master of mischief and melancholy. Join us and our favorite 007 aficionado, Nick, as we rank Bill's best as well as channel our inner Wes Anderson as well as channel our inner Wes Anderson and assemble our dream 90s 2000s acting squad. Who will be our go-to collaborators for quirky offbeat cinematic adventures?

[00:00:28] Stay tuned to find out. This week on the No More Late Fees podcast, we are joined by fellow member of the James Bond Superfans Club, Nick. Welcome back. I am so excited to be here.

[00:01:01] And waiting for my membership for the James Bond Superfans Club to go through. It keeps getting rejected because it keeps asking me what are my top favorite Bond movies and I keep saying the spy that shagged me and spy kids too. But like, shit, kids can deny. I really like After the Sunset. Yes. Oh my god. Classic.

[00:01:25] I feel like my role in this delightful No More Late Fees community is just, like, you just know that I can take it. You're just like, we're just gonna beat the shit out of Nick and we're just gonna keep inviting him back because we know he's good for it. He can do, like, fine. I know. I'm happy to be here. And to be here as a part of this, even if I am just getting dunked on. Well, let me just tell you, you got your lick back with this fucking movie. I'll tell you that.

[00:01:55] I can't, I got, I'm ready. I am ready. We are taking hits over here as well. No, they're hugs. These are hugs. These are hugs with bricks. If these are hugs, I don't know. I don't know. Well, we can't blame Nick for making us watch this movie because it is in our time frame and it is an anniversary. So we had to do Life Aquatic.

[00:02:24] I'm not excusing bad behavior, but that's all right. Because the way that this podcast works is that we can't just do all of our faves. Some of our best episodes are the ones that we have very cool relationships, cool, cold-hearted relationships with. Well, if you want to find out our opinions about the Life Aquatic, go and listen to our episode from earlier this week.

[00:02:51] But right now, we are going to name our best of Bill. So we're each going to take a moment and think of our top two favorite Bill Murray classics. And then we're going to rank them all from one to six. I'm done. Didn't take me long. Okay.

[00:03:17] Well, Danielle, I'm going to put Life Aquatic on my list. It is definitely my favorite Bill Murray movie. So there you go. I am tempted just to, like, I don't know, like, be the villain in this story. I want to put Lost in Translation on the list just to kind of, like, lead. But I'm not that guy. I'm not wholly that guy. So I'm going to put Ghostbusters.

[00:03:45] I'll go Life Aquatic and Ghostbusters are my top one. Number one. First one. Ghostbusters. Becky? So mine two are Zombieland. Mm-hmm. And Charlie's Angels. I knew it was going to be that one. Well, I would have gone Ghostbusters, but because Nick chose Ghostbusters, Charlie's Angels is a close third. Mine is his real best movie ever, which is Groundhog Day.

[00:04:15] Great pick. And number two, it's a television show. And it's only a cameo. But I love that he did it, which was Parks and Rec, because it's, like, my all-time favorite TV show. He plays Mayor Gunderson on Parks and Rec. And I love that for us. Okay. Okay. So we have Life Aquatic, Ghostbusters, Zombieland, Charlie's Angels, Groundhog Day, and Parks and Rec.

[00:04:47] I personally think Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day should be the top two, only because he, and Life Aquatic is the bottom of my fucking list. But those three movies, he's actually the real star. While I can say, like, Zombieland, Parks and Rec, those are cameos. And Charlie's Angels, he's a supporting cast member. And he didn't even make it to the second one because drama. As much as we love Bill Murray, he's an asshole.

[00:05:17] Yeah. Asshole. He's consistent. In real life. Consistently an asshole. Right. So he's predictable in his assholery. It is. Yes. Very much so. Okay. So I think we can all agree Ghostbusters is number one. Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're never going to give you Life Aquatic as number one. No, no, no, no. I was going to argue for Groundhog Day. I feel like Groundhog Day is sort of, like, it is.

[00:05:46] Because Ghostbusters is, like, he's kind of doing that role as part of an ensemble. But, like, Groundhog Day is, like, it is Bill Murray being Bill Murray at Bill Murray's best. And that's the driving force of the movie. And I think it stretches him, too, because, like, this is his first attempt at a rom-com. Like, we, or romantically. Because I think before this movie, we would have never really saw him as doing that.

[00:06:12] We probably would have never gotten lost in translation without him being able to kind of do this role. But he's just so good in it. And when we think of the trope, the way that that movie could have been played as a trope, he really brings, he grounds the character. He's, you go from hating him to loving him.

[00:06:37] You see the, like, transition and trajectory of his growth. I, like, hands down one of my favorite all-time movies. Yeah. Yeah. So I would argue Groundhog Day at the top. That's fine. I have no skin in this game because I've never seen Groundhog Day. I just don't know where you are. I feel like, I feel like I knew that.

[00:07:05] And I just, every time I'm reminded of that, it is still appalling to me. You know, this podcast is challenging our friendship. So I will say, Bill Murray as the main lead, not a super fan of. Like, it's too much Murray for me. Which is why I've never watched movies that really he is the lead of. Ensemble. I need someone to tone the Murray down.

[00:07:37] So. Apologies. Apologies. Number two, we've got Ghostbusters. Yes. Classic. All right. Now here's where the cookie really crumbles. Nick, I will never agree to Life Aquatic being in the top anything. So. I mean, you and Jackie can outrank me, but I'm just going to be staying with it. That, that man in that movie. I really love him in Zombieland.

[00:08:07] Yeah. It's just, it's very, it's not different. He's still himself, but like this crazy, like post-apocalyptic pretending to be a zombie so he doesn't get attacked by zombies. I just thought it was a fascinating character. And him playing a version of himself. Yeah. I really enjoyed.

[00:08:32] Which is every, like literally every movie on this list, with the exception of potentially Groundhog Day, is just Bill Murray. Yeah. Yeah. I guess that's where it gets hard to rank Bill Murray at all. And there's, there's a lot of actors that are kind of in this realm where it's like they, in the first, like, I don't know, five, 10 years of their career, they kind of like start to hone a thing. And then at some point they're just like, I'm just going to keep doing that and cashing the checks. Thank you very much.

[00:09:02] Yes. Ryan Reynolds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, I don't know. I guess it's one of those things like, so like which Bill Murray is the better Bill Murray? They're all still just Bill Murray with the acceptable, with a handful of exceptions. So fine. Put Zombieland ahead of Life Aquatic. Life Aquatic is four. Life Aquatic is four. Get out of here with your little cameos and some big things. No.

[00:09:28] I will say watching Life Aquatic, I think this is the best Bill Murray has ever looked on camera. The short gray beard? Yeah. I didn't mind it. And in that, the visual style of Wes Anderson, it kind of works? Yeah. So I will give him that. I will give this movie that. Let's wrap it up.

[00:09:54] So we've got Life Aquatic, Charlie's Angels, and Poparks and Rec. And let's call it a day. Okay. Oh my gosh. This is fun. We're having fun. This isn't a life charming movie. Bill Murray is a funny guy. We're just like, fun. Come on. Moving on. We've got a question for everyone. Wes Anderson is known for using the same group of actors in his films.

[00:10:22] Name four actors that you would have in your squad in the 90s, from the 90s and 2000s. Hmm. We might need to go a little round robin on this one because I don't think I could do four off the top of my head. All right. Jackie, what do you got? So number one, Drew Barrymore. Adam Sandler. She was going to hate that. What? She was going to hate that. She hates Drew Barrymore so much.

[00:10:52] I love Drew Barrymore. Speaking of somebody that just does the, I'm Drew Barrymore. I'm going to be Drew Barrymore. Yep. Every movie. Two is Adam Sandler. Again, same person every movie. Except, was it, I really thought he stretched himself in Spanglish. Spanglish, yeah. Punch Drunk Love. And Uncut Gems. Haven't seen that one. But it did.

[00:11:21] Three is Alan Rickman. And then my last pick is LL Cool J. I love LL Cool J. Charming? So charming. Nick, who do you have? All right. I went, like, I think I just started with some, like, heavy hitters. I went Tom Hanks. Just because Tom Hanks, I think, is just always delightful. Emma Thompson. I don't know why.

[00:11:50] When I was, like, trying to think. I was, yeah, I love, I love Emma Thompson. And it was Stranger Than Fiction was the one that popped in my head. I'm just like, when did I really, like, love Emma Thompson? And so I was like, I think I've never seen Emma Thompson where I didn't like Emma Thompson. Jim Carrey. I think is one. I don't know. I think that's a strong pick. Like, going from, like, Ace Ventura and, like, the real goofy comedy stuff. And then going into, like, Truman Show and Man on the Moon. Things like that. Like, dude, Jim Carrey. Yeah.

[00:12:21] And Sandra Bullock. Just because I was trying to think, like, who was I watching? Like, Sandra Bullock. Crash and Speed. And I don't know. She's just, I love, love Sandra Bullock. Yeah. Crash is a horrible movie. I, like, it, I feel like it was profound the day it came out. And then every year that goes by, I'm like, oh. It was profound for white people, for sure. They really thought they were cooking with that one. They were like, oh, we're really talking about race relations. You know?

[00:12:50] That's like me doing a Hanukkah special because I'm an expert. You know what I mean? Like, come on. It's fair. And it, like, that is 100% fair. And what's interesting is when I teach, I used to do this. I don't do it anymore. But when I taught intercultural communication, I would use Crash as a final. Like, I would give every student in the class a character. And, like, we would watch Crash. And I'm like, you have to talk about their experience from their perspective of that character to kind of, like, get you out of your own cultural headspace and into somebody else's.

[00:13:17] And it worked really, really, really well for, like, 17-year-old, 18-year-old privileged little babies that haven't had to think like that before. So, yeah, for that particular audience, Crash is fantastic. But that is, it's not as profound as we would have liked to have thought. Yes. Yes. Great picks. Great picks. Love it. Thank you.

[00:13:45] My list, and I'm sure I thought about it. I'm like, I probably could put the entire cast of Scary Movie on here. And that would be perfect. But Regina Hall. And the thing is, everybody on my list gets kind of pigeonholed into a particular genre. But I feel like could do other genres and do amazing.

[00:14:12] And that's what I would probably do is try to, like, switch it up. Regina Hall is probably one of the best actresses ever. One of the best, especially comedic actresses ever. I don't think she gets enough credit or love for what she's able to do. And I think when she plays in dramas, too, she's amazing. Like, it just sucks.

[00:14:37] There are so many actors where I feel like, damn, it's a shame that she's a black actress. Because if she was a white actress, she'd be cooking forever. So it sucks. But I love her. Denzel Washington. I think Denzel Washington is one of the best actors of all time. I do think that sometimes he gets, he has gotten pigeonholed and he can be a little one-dimensional with some things in his career.

[00:15:06] I would have loved to put him in more comedies because he's so funny when he gets the opportunity. And after watching The Preacher's Wife, it would have been great to see him in, like, a rom-com. I know that might be too lowbrow for him, but he would have been great in that. And he was just being respectful to his wife and his audience. Love seeing Denzel interviewed. Like, he's been doing, like, a lot of press circuit for Gladiator 2 these days. I'm just like, the man is just, he is kind and delightful and smart.

[00:15:36] And, like, just every time he opens his mouth, I'm like, what a dude. What I love about Denzel is that Denzel always stays grounded in that he is a Black man first, regardless. And will always show up for the community. There was a guy that interviewed him with a Stanley Kubrick teacher on and said, hey, you know, I always start with this. What's your favorite Stanley Kubrick movie?

[00:16:03] And Denzel went back and said, yeah, I wasn't really watching his movies. At that time when he came out, I would have probably, you would have been coming out of a Stanley Kubrick movie and I would have robbed you. Like, I didn't really start watching. He said, I'm not a film buff. Denzel Washington is a classically trained actor. He has seen the movies.

[00:16:27] But what he did in that interview was he pretty much told, like, that film bro culture is so whitewashed. And when you learn about movies, it's just like the idea that true cinema is like this certain catalog of white directors and white movies. And it's funny how people say they're a film buff, but they haven't seen a lot of foreign movies.

[00:16:53] They haven't seen a lot of Black movies because those movies are not deemed like cinema, quote, unquote. So, so him turning around, turning that around, you should have seen, first of all, the guy was gasted, like flabber gasted. He didn't know how to react to that because in his mind, Stanley Kubrick is the end all be all. And when Denzel flipped it on him, he was like, I was seeing Black exploitation movies at that time.

[00:17:22] You know, which we can say for the culture that having pimps and hoes as our representation as Black people wasn't the greatest. But that was the closest we were to having superheroes at that time. That was the height of, like, the beginning of Black cinema. We wouldn't have those movies from the 90s without it. And I just loved that he was able to kind of, like, do it in a respectful way, but really drag that boy for that.

[00:17:51] Because context, people, he's in a Ridley Scott movie. He could have asked him, what's your favorite Ridley Scott movie? Yeah. But he was speaking from a place of privilege, and I loved it. I love Denzel Washington. Long way of saying I loved it so much. If you see that interview, you should watch it because it's hilarious. Because that guy didn't know what to do with that. And I think more actors should, like, do that.

[00:18:21] Harrison Ford, we don't even need a reason. Yeah. Probably because I tried to sexually harass him on set. And Michelle Pfeiffer because she can do literally anything. Sing, dance, comedy, drama, rom-coms. She is that girl. She is amazing. Excellent picks, everyone. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Nick.

[00:18:51] Now for another round of employee picks. So as an honorary Blockbuster employee, you get to recommend three movies for our audience to watch. You don't have to stick within our time frame because this will be the third time you've done it. But apparently, upon reflection, you have chosen two movies twice. Nice.

[00:19:17] So your previous picks are Life Aquatic, Almost Famous, Out Cold, and Swingers. Wow. And by next year, we would have done three out of four of these movies. Yep. Nice. Yeah. You would think that after having been on the podcast now several times, I would anticipate this and I'd have a list prepared. I don't. I don't. I think that's why I'm repeating movies. I'm like, oh, shit. That's right. I got to pick movies. I'll just go with the ones that I know I love. Let's go Life Aquatic, Almost Famous. No. Okay.

[00:19:44] One new one that I will pick for your listeners is Pick It Up, Ska in the 90s. It is a documentary film that came out like three years ago about the third wave ska music that peaked in the late 90s. And I know I am super biased, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. It's a fantastic film. It's really a great documentary. It's a fascinating look at this subculture that was everything for like a year or two. It was huge. And then it just went away.

[00:20:13] And there's a story to be told there. Love it. Love it. Love that documentary. Check it out. It's fantastic. Yeah. Outside of that. Kids movies if you watched recently. Yeah. Okay. Watching a lot of family films. Okay. Let's throw Titan AE on that list. It was one that came out that time. And I don't know. It's not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but I think it was like, it's better than people give it credit for. So maybe go back and don't let that one fly under the radar.

[00:20:45] And let's go with Tis the Seat. Oh, no. I know this is going to air in January. I was like, let's go with Muppets Christmas Carol. No, we can't. We can still put Muppets Christmas Carol. Muppets Christmas Carol on there. Okay. Did Elf come out in the time frame? Yep. I sure did. Let's put Elf on there. Let's go with Elf instead of Muppets Christmas Carol. Okay. In honor of my daughter. Aw, Jimmy.

[00:21:17] Well, if you have hard opinions about our Bill Murray ranking or you love or don't love Nick's employee picks, hit us up at NoMoreLateFeeds on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, threads, and Blue Sky, and Lemonade. Because why not? We're on everything. We are anticipating TikTok to be disappearing.

[00:21:46] So please follow us on other apps so that you still see us. And as always, be kind and rewind.