Commit One

This is one film that needed a recall. Will, Mike and Sam take a look at another childhood-destroying film and Hollywood and Disney take an existing property with an existing story and instead make an unneeded origin story that is still disconnected with the source material in the 1999 film Inspector Gadget. Starring Matthew Broderick in the title role, the film shows what happens when you try to take the wackiness from better films like The Mask, try to make it family-friendly, and end up trimming a lot of the film to the effect that the pacing is completely off to get this mess of a film. Despite the effort, they just missed the mark by THAT much and should have just self-destructed before the release date. Don't worry though, the Commit One crew is always on duty to save you from having to waste 78 minutes of your life.

This should have been banished for Eternia: Will, Mike, and Sam return again to the 1980s with a childhood-destroying, convoluted, and confusing mess of a film that is 1987's Masters of the Universe. Starring Dolph Lundgren in only his second starring role as He-Man, this film shows what happens when you make a film based off of a toy line, mostly ignore the cartoon series based on said toy line, and drop the audience right in the middle of the action with little to no explanation before inevitably moving most of the action from the fictional world to the real world of Earth (yeah....they did that). It's corny, all over the place, and even ends with a tease for another film (which never happened), but really, what else can you expect from the Commit One crew and an 80s film?

Disclaimer: During the editing of this episode Sam realized that some of our mocking of the over-the-top acting in some scenes of this film could accidentally be misinterpreted by listeners as us mocking other aspects of those scenes such as the content. We apologize if anyone even briefly misunderstands our reactions as this was not our intent and we hope you still enjoy this episode.  

Well....at least there's good music? Will, Mike, and Sam journey back into the world of musicals with a film adaptation of a successful Broadway musical that doesn't quite hit all of the right notes in the 2012 film Rock of Ages. Despite a decent ensemble cast which includes Tom Cruise in his first musical as the rocker Stacee Jaxx and a good soundtrack consisting of covers of famous rock songs sung by the actors themselves, the good just does help the rather bland story at its core that is ultimately too overdone for a bloated two-hour runtime. It is so poorly made that even one of the stars (Alec Baldwin) disowned the film before it was even made. It really is anything but a good time, but the Commit One crew is ready to turn off their brains and sing along with the stupid.

It's all about the LAAAAWWWWW!!!!! Will, Mike, and Sam travel to the dystopian future this time with a film that takes a good comic book source and changes many of the things that made it so good to the point where it has damaged the reputation so much that when a more faithful adaptation comes along no one cares to watch it. Yes, we are talking about the Sylvester Stallone led 1995 film Judge Dredd. Despite good costumes and visuals, this film proves the phrase "turn off your brain and enjoy the stupid" with a clumsy script, poor dialogue, and a runtime that is ultimately too short to do it's source material any justice. The Commit One crew is ready to go to trial on this one (while also making fun of how the actors say "law").

Well, if you're going to rip off a film at least you got Lance Henriksen! Will, Mike, and Sam set sail with this blatant version of The Thing except on a boat, poor acting at points, stupid decision making at others, but at least come up with good practical effects with the 2015 film Harbinger Down. Starring the aforementioned Henriksen, this film (which was in a large part helped funded through Kickstarter) shows what happens when you try to pay homage to a better film only to be seen as a poor imitation by the end. A bit boring at points with a character that everyone cheers when he meets his end and enough material for the Commit One crew to make plenty of jokes, references, and rants about inconsistency gives you a film that should had just stayed docked.  

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Betty White.  

The First Lady of Television has a potty mouth! Will, Mike, and Sam start a new era of the Commit One Movie Podcast on a bittersweet, but still a happy reflective tone as they look back on their memories on the life of Betty White and one of her most memorable supporting roles with the 1999 film Lake Placid. Starring Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt and Betty White herself in a small, yet important, supporting role that many believe helped relaunch her career just boils down to yet another Jaws ripoff just with a crocodile, a quicker pace, and some jokes thrown in as well. While it the film would normally (and was reviewed as such) as a forgettable film, Betty White's role helps make the film that much better and fondly remembered by fans, and the Commit One crew is honored to remember the legendary Betty White in this form.

It's the end of an era! Will, Mike, and Sam celebrate the final weekly Friday release of the Commit One Movie Podcast with a retrospective reflection of the show from it's humble beginnings with Doctor Detroit to the many jokes, arguments, and just plain bad movies that the crew has covered over the last year-and-a-half. Listen in as the trio talks about their favorite moments from the movies themselves to the funny moments that were too good that they had to stay in as well as a "behind the scenes" look at how a few of the moments were created and even some items that have been left on the cutting room floor. While this does mark the end of the weekly releases, it is NOT the end of the show as the Commit One crew will return with new bi-weekly episodes starting January 17th! So, enjoy this look back in time as one chapter closes and another one is just on the horizon!

What happens when you take a comedy film and make a great improvisational actor, who just patched things up with the studio, more subdued in his performance? You get this family-friendly waste of time! Will, Mike, and Sam close out 2021 with a special tribute episode to the late, great Robin Williams on the year of what would have been his 70th birthday by discussing his life and impact on the lives of many people with his work and look at one of his not-so-great performances (but still passable at points) with the 1997 Disney film Flubber. Released the same year as his Oscar-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, this film has Robin be more subdued as Professor Philip Brainard even though the film still has a wacky plot yet gives the one-liners to the film screen of his robot assistant. Fairly forgettable at points and a plot that does move to fast with a character who is WAY too forgiving even before the main film begins, this is one that the Commit One crew wishes could have spent more time in the containment chamber.

These are ones that defined our Christmas childhoods. Will, Mike, and Sam sit down to look back on their favorite Christmas films and specials from their childhood (and even adulthood) in this special Christmas Day episode where the normal format is set aside for the holidays (as well as the absence of a Hater's choice which is explained in the episode). The items discussed mostly would not qualify for a regular episode so the Commit One crew thought it would be a good gift to have some recommendations. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this holiday discussion of three friends' childhoods.

Ummmm....okay......a killer snowman. Will, Mike, and Sam continue Christmas month with a holiday horror movie (that Sam was able to grab this time around) with an even worse and hokier sequel than its own original film with the 2000 direct-to-video film Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. Given the subtitle to avoid confusion with the family-friendly Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton (also pretty bad), this film proves that when you need to try to improve on the outrageous premise of the original horror film with a serial killer who is fused with snow (it's actually a lot to wrap one's head around) by setting the film in a tropical setting, introduce a psychic connection, even have rip-offs of other properties, and enough cringe-inducing gags and one-liners to make one question the sanity of the filmmakers. It is truly the definition of over-the-top nonsense, which makes it perfect cannon-fodder for the Commit One Crew.