Comments on: The "dynamic octagenarian duo"

The "dynamic octagenarian duo"

jbickers — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:35:06 -0800

Lorenzo Semple, 84, has been a screenwriter for more than 50 years; his credits include "Papillion," "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor." Marcia Nasatir, 81, is a longtime agent and production executive, was the first female VP of production at United Artists, and produced films like "The Big Chill" and "Hamburger Hill." Together, they are the "Reel Geezers," offering irresistible film reviews on YouTube. To wit: Superbad, Iron Man, Sex and the City, Lars and the Real Girl, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood.

More background on the team (they're not married, BTW, just friends brought together by a mutual friendship with Pauline Kael). More background on Lorenzo, and more on Marcia.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:55:17 -0800

Hilarious. Good post. Thanks.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:58:16 -0800

Delightful! Thanks indeed.

By: biscotti

biscotti — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:59:51 -0800

"Papillon", there's only one "i". Great post, and these folks have made some of my favourite movies.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:08:31 -0800

What a quaint idea: intelligent people arguing candidly, as friends, about something about which they are highly knowledgeable.

By: the_very_hungry_caterpillar

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:11:57 -0800

Excellent post! IMHO would be even better with added Kermode!

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:16:30 -0800

What Turtles said. In just 30 seconds I witnessed more integrity and concise reasoning than in 30 years of Rex Reed, Gene Shalit and their ilk. Bonus points for maturing well. Great post!

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:29:55 -0800

This was great. I've just watched them arguing about Dan in Real Life/Lars and the Real Girl -- both movies that I enjoyed a lot and they were almost as funny as the movies themselves. Also, Marcia's still hot, even at 81. Despite not having that ludicrous Hollywood screaming skull look you get from too many face lifts.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:36:04 -0800

Great stuff; that's a bookmarkin'

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:36:55 -0800

Their [i]Superbad[/i] review was pretty funny stuff, both of them seeming to take the position that the vulgarity weakened the thing and made it bad, but both of them genuinely appreciating how unvarnished and unsentimental the portrait of youthful sexual appetite was, and how NOT-fake the kids are in it. It's as if they liked the movie in spite of themselves and their awareness that they ought not like it. I like them! Thank you for the post, jbickers. MetaFilter gives us another one!

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:37:19 -0800

Dammit. BBCode screwed me.

By: therubettes

therubettes — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:41:52 -0800

Excellent post. Great review of SATC I pretty much agree with everything they said. Great couple, they make the idea of being over 80 a lot less scary.

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:47:18 -0800

Their Darjeeling Limited review has quite a bit of good sparring. It was like watching a more mentally-together version of my grandparents reenacting my mental dialogue of why I liked and had problems with that film. Bravo, highly enjoyable.

By: voltairemodern

voltairemodern — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:55:57 -0800

Wow, it's really fun to watch them go. The review of 10,000B.C. was particularly awesome.

By: absalom

absalom — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:12:37 -0800

I thought it was funny in the Superbad review that he was really upset with them using "Penis" all the time, but she was all "Penis is a perfectly good word!" and was upset about too much fuck. The internet seriously needs more old people.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:41:14 -0800

I found Marcia's confusion regarding the water in No Country perplexing. He goes back because he's the good guy. In fact, it is the only thing he does in the whole movie that makes him the good guy. Without that act, the film is about two bad men, one who more likable than the other. Without that act, everything he does is selfish or naive. With that act, his actions are merely naive. Anyway, I liked their rapport and most of their reviews. Thanks for the link.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:59:13 -0800

I haven't clicked any links yet. Is he dead? If so: . If not: -.

By: prefpara

prefpara — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:46:04 -0800

Love it. Thanks.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:22:25 -0800

That was wonderful. SATC review: It's very upsetting when I spent my eight dollars and seventy five cents on a Saturday morning, when I could have been shopping.

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:38:34 -0800

"Of course he's the villain. Did you see his haircut?"

By: ulotrichous

ulotrichous — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:49:03 -0800

In the Juno review, Lorenzo mentions that Ghost World is one of his favorite movies, and that the Dad in Juno, as an A/C repairman, is a classic graphic novel parent. That is one kickass octogenarian. Awesome post.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:05:58 -0800

Do all old men habutually belittle women, or just the ones I know? Otherwise, I find these very enjoyable.

By: gwint

gwint — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:09:09 -0800

I pray I'm that sharp at 80. Hell, I wish I was that sharp now.

By: wendell

wendell — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:53:07 -0800

I first saw Lorenzo Semple (Jr.)'s credit as a writer and script consultant for the Adam West "Batman" TV series. (I was 10 years old at the time) It was, to me, the most awesomely weird name I'd ever seen on TV, and suspected it was the pseudonym of some 'very serious' writer working the "Bat-scene" for giggles. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to him, especially in light of some of the names of people in the business since then.

By: Slarty Bartfast

Slarty Bartfast — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:05:21 -0800

This is really the most wonderful thing I have seen on the blue in a long time, bravo.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:01:34 -0800

Thanks, rilly triffic.

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:17:58 -0800

I really wanted to like their reviews, but I didn't. It's great that they're in such great shape past 80, kudos, and one can only hope to age that well, but still, the content is pretty weak (sometimes, as in There Will Be Blood and No Country reviews, very weak). It's only a novelty because they're old -- "look, old people doing film reviews on youtube!" If they were younger nobody would care; and for people who spent a lifetime in the business, they do seem to have very little insight.

By: killy willy

killy willy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:28:33 -0800

"nobody cares about a girl on a yacht." truer words were never spoken.