Not Playing with Lex and Dan

In the first installment of Keanu Reeves duology, mad bomber Lex Friedman forces SWAT officer Dan Moren to watch 1994’s Speed, or risk being blown up.

Hot topics include other actors floated for Reeves’s role, Dennis Hopper taking it to 11, and whether or not a bus really could jump a 50-foot freeway gap.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Speed

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Rounding out our Harrison Ford trilogy, former CIA analyst Lex Friedman is beset by vengeful Irish terrorist Dan Moren as they watch 1992’s Patriot Games.

Hot topics include dense plotting, similarities with other Ford characters, and the complexities of the Ryanverse.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Patriot Games

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We’re flying the friendly skies once again this week, as President Dan Moren’s plane is hijacked by Russian terrorist Lex Friedman, who forces him to watch 1997’s Air Force One.

Hot topics include the evolution of the Die Hard genre, casual deaths of innocents, and Harrison Ford’s vetting processes.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Air Force One

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We’re going Dutch this week—Pennsylvania Dutch, that is, as Philadelphia cop Lex Friedman and Amish kid Dan Moren watch 1985’s Witness.

Hot topics include Harrison Ford’s star power, Amish representation, and a lot of fake blood.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Witness

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Is it nature or nurture? We attempt to find out this week when a couple of old rich white guys swaps the lives of successful executive Dan Moren and down-on-his-luck Lex Friedman in 1983’s Trading Places. (As a note: please be aware that the movie itself contains more than a few extremely problematic and offensive moments.)

Hot topics include the excellent comedic talents of the leads, a surprising season’s theme with female characters, and the racism, oh god, the racism.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Trading Places

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

There’s nothing we can’t handle this week, as cocky military lawyer Lex Friedman and his assistant (with no responsibilities whatsoever) Dan Moren go to court with 1992’s A Few Good Men.

Hot topics include Sorkinisms, the conflict over the military, verisimilitude, and a murderer’s row of talented actors.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

A Few Good Men

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Come fly the not so friendly skies with Lieutenant Dan “Gambit” Moren and his wingman Lieutenant Lex “Snuggie” Friedman as they watch 1986’s seminal fighter jet treatise, Top Gun.

Hot topics include surprising comedy, solidly workmanlike craft, and whether or not Tom Cruise will ever sing on film again.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Top Gun

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We’re back for season seven, and a whole host of popular movies that one or both of us haven’t seen. To kick things off, innocent teens Lex Friedman and Dan Moren are left home alone, and naturally start a burgeoning-if-illicit enterprise while watching 1983’s Risky Business.

Hot topics include Tom Cruise’s star power, the lack of any moral discussion, and a surprising amount of tact for an ’80s sex comedy.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Risky Business

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We’ve reached the Super Bowl of Football Season, but can we win it all? Heavenly administrator Lex Friedman takes reincarnated quarterback Dan Moren under his wing (eh? ehh?) as they watch 1978’s Heaven Can Wait.

Hot topics include Warren Beatty’s storied career, whether this is really a football movie, and some existential questions about the ending.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Heaven Can Wait

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

In our penultimate Football Season movie, unconventional coach Lex Friedman partners up with devastated assistant coach Dan Moren to revitalize a college football program as they watch 2006’s We Are Marshall.

Hot topics include the tricky balancing act of a movie about a tragedy and a movie about football, a hot take on Matthew McConaughey, and the sidelining of female characters.

Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We Are Marshall

Hosts Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.