There Ain't No Rule Against It!
April 25, 2022 8:18 PM Subscribe
In which John Oliver spends ~15m talking about the (by now certainly classic but not TCM levels of classic) film Air Bud, and makes several points along the way. I am not sure what any of them are, but I did enjoy it. [dated Apr 24, 2022]
"NO ONE LIKES MOUTHS."
Hah. This is Oliver doing what he does, very well.
After watching this, I am able to put to use a completely and utterly useless fact I only know because I once narrated an audiobook about Canadian film production (Air Bud was mainly shot in B.C.): the box office gross of $28 million was not bad for a movie that cost $3 million to make.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:43 PM on April 25, 2022 [6 favorites]
Hah. This is Oliver doing what he does, very well.
After watching this, I am able to put to use a completely and utterly useless fact I only know because I once narrated an audiobook about Canadian film production (Air Bud was mainly shot in B.C.): the box office gross of $28 million was not bad for a movie that cost $3 million to make.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:43 PM on April 25, 2022 [6 favorites]
A shaggy dog about a shaggy dog.
posted by Popular Ethics at 9:00 PM on April 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Popular Ethics at 9:00 PM on April 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
So good, I was laughing pretty hard by the end of it, it's a great bit.
posted by Carillon at 9:04 PM on April 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 9:04 PM on April 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Note: John Oliver went to Cambridge.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:18 PM on April 25, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:18 PM on April 25, 2022 [4 favorites]
Note: John Oliver went to Cambridge.
Probably.
posted by Hamusutaa at 10:28 PM on April 25, 2022 [23 favorites]
Probably.
posted by Hamusutaa at 10:28 PM on April 25, 2022 [23 favorites]
I encounter "There's no rule against a dog playing basketball" as a frequent summary of legal arguments on the Supreme Court discussion podcast Amicus. So I assumed this was a veiled takedown of what is going to be a reversal of precedent in the post-Trump era court. The court scene finale leans into the judicial system, but I have to admit I'm not aware of any specific case he's upset about. Maybe that's the point, but I'm more inclined to believe him when he says there is no point and it was all a waste of time.
posted by pwnguin at 10:37 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by pwnguin at 10:37 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
I somehow got caught up in this and I wish he had drilled down more on the "There ain't no rule against it!" line. I mean, there IS at least one rule against it, right? This is a school basketball league, so the rules probably say that players have to be students of the school, and have to be in certain grade(s), and probably have to maintain a certain GPA to remain playing. And probably have to follow certain standards of scholarship and conduct such as not pooping on the basketball court.
THE DOG DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THOSE!
(I'm working on a detailed takedown of "Space Buddies" but it's too long to fit in this space.)
posted by mmoncur at 11:55 PM on April 25, 2022 [21 favorites]
THE DOG DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THOSE!
(I'm working on a detailed takedown of "Space Buddies" but it's too long to fit in this space.)
posted by mmoncur at 11:55 PM on April 25, 2022 [21 favorites]
This was excellent, thanks for posting it.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:32 AM on April 26, 2022
posted by lazaruslong at 1:32 AM on April 26, 2022
Note: John Oliver went to Cambridge.
He's a middle aged white British comedian. So 50/50 on Cambridge.
posted by biffa at 3:32 AM on April 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
He's a middle aged white British comedian. So 50/50 on Cambridge.
posted by biffa at 3:32 AM on April 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Note: John Oliver went to Cambridge.
Probably.
He's a middle aged white British comedian. So 50/50 on Cambridge.
i know it's a joke based on his joke in the video but just in case people are confused: yes, he did go to Cambridge, and was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, a theatrical / comedy club with a pretty serious former member list.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:43 AM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
Probably.
He's a middle aged white British comedian. So 50/50 on Cambridge.
i know it's a joke based on his joke in the video but just in case people are confused: yes, he did go to Cambridge, and was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, a theatrical / comedy club with a pretty serious former member list.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:43 AM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
Jon Oliver, with two of my favorite British comedians, David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade, at Cambridge
posted by ceejaytee at 3:53 AM on April 26, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by ceejaytee at 3:53 AM on April 26, 2022 [13 favorites]
For those that enjoy this, the conjecture is that this is 100% Daniel O'brien, who's been writing for LWT since cracked.com dropped all its regular talent.
As a big fan of the comedian, I was pretty glad to see he ended up in such a perfect job. Sometimes I can hear his voice coming off of a joke. In this case, it's just obviously him.
posted by es_de_bah at 4:22 AM on April 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
As a big fan of the comedian, I was pretty glad to see he ended up in such a perfect job. Sometimes I can hear his voice coming off of a joke. In this case, it's just obviously him.
posted by es_de_bah at 4:22 AM on April 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
I believe the Oxford bit is him taking the piss about Republicans who attempt to take him down online or on Fox who once referred to him as attending Oxford and it keeps getting repeated without anyone confirming.
posted by dobbs at 5:39 AM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by dobbs at 5:39 AM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
it was all a waste of time.
I feel like some helpful context for those expecting a point could be his last web exclusive, about the Da Vinci code.
posted by advil at 5:56 AM on April 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
I feel like some helpful context for those expecting a point could be his last web exclusive, about the Da Vinci code.
posted by advil at 5:56 AM on April 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
My high functioning autistic son (now 28) concluded after watching Airbud, which deeply affected him, that clowns shouldn't be allowed to own dogs.
posted by ndlxs at 6:17 AM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by ndlxs at 6:17 AM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
The Avengers, but they're dogs.
What happened to all those copies of The Da Vinci Code.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:28 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
What happened to all those copies of The Da Vinci Code.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:28 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
For those that enjoy this, the conjecture is that this is 100% Daniel O'brien, who's been writing for LWT since cracked.com dropped all its regular talent.
I was just coming into say this. Not long into this I was like, "This is awesome, it's just like an old Obsessive Pop Culture Disorder episode!" And then I remembered that DOB writes for Last Week Tonight now and realized that's precisely what it is, with Oliver performing the script. So so awesome.
posted by Navelgazer at 6:31 AM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I was just coming into say this. Not long into this I was like, "This is awesome, it's just like an old Obsessive Pop Culture Disorder episode!" And then I remembered that DOB writes for Last Week Tonight now and realized that's precisely what it is, with Oliver performing the script. So so awesome.
posted by Navelgazer at 6:31 AM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
He's a middle aged white British comedian. So 50/50 on Cambridge.
Update: I checked the stats and its actually about 2:1 on for Cambridge.
posted by biffa at 7:23 AM on April 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
Update: I checked the stats and its actually about 2:1 on for Cambridge.
posted by biffa at 7:23 AM on April 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
John Oliver could do a show about grout and it would be worth watching.
posted by The Half Language Plant at 7:24 AM on April 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Half Language Plant at 7:24 AM on April 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Ain't no rule against it.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:01 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:01 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
about the Da Vinci code .
This video makes me feel so seen. But it also explains why my one friend thought she was a "symbologist" the year that book came out because she "cracked" the code.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:12 AM on April 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
This video makes me feel so seen. But it also explains why my one friend thought she was a "symbologist" the year that book came out because she "cracked" the code.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:12 AM on April 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Oh and John Oliver fails to mention the drunken clown in Air Bud was played by the beloved Sesame Street character Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle (AKA Michael Jeter). Who is notable in our house because he disappeared from then contemporary episodes of Sesame Street and I had to look it up why due to my son's insistence and discovered that the actor had died and I had to decide whether or not to tell my son.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:07 AM on April 26, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:07 AM on April 26, 2022 [11 favorites]
This is a great bit, and mad props to John Oliver, but the first thing that came to my mind listening to the rules thesis was Nixon’s “Checkers” speech. If those two monologues went head-to-head, Nixon’s still taking the state.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:41 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 11:41 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
also no idea they put an alcoholic man who mistreats animals in a children's movie. What's going on Disney?!
On the off chance that this wasn’t just a delightfully subtle joke, you might want to take a pass on the majority of pre-1980’s Disney features, geoff.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 12:40 PM on April 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
On the off chance that this wasn’t just a delightfully subtle joke, you might want to take a pass on the majority of pre-1980’s Disney features, geoff.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 12:40 PM on April 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
This analysis is very interesting, but I think it unfairly confers to Buddy a lack of agency. Buddy was clearly looking for a way out of indentured labour as a children's birthday entertainer that had no renumeration and very poor work conditions. His plan was elaborate: After years studying children (and presumably adults) at birthday parties he realized his best way out was to manipulate a child in order for the child to become emotionally attached to him. For this he would have to carefully select a susceptible child who had recently lost a loved one. But this would not be enough by itself. He also had to convince a judge to transfer ownership to the child. In order to do this, he had to become just good enough at some endeavour that was traditionally performed only by humans - then he would be looked on favourably by the establishment. After an extensive search he, quite by chance, discovered there was no rule against a dog playing basketball - and the rest, as they say, is history. It could also be that I haven't actually seen the movie.
posted by piyushnz at 8:08 PM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by piyushnz at 8:08 PM on April 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
you might want to take a pass on the majority of pre-1980’s Disney features
I recommend The Apple Dumpling Gang that Don Knotts and The Rescuers but the fire scence in Bambi is like something from Munchs Hardware and Gristmill.
posted by clavdivs at 8:24 PM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I recommend The Apple Dumpling Gang that Don Knotts and The Rescuers but the fire scence in Bambi is like something from Munchs Hardware and Gristmill.
posted by clavdivs at 8:24 PM on April 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
[Incensed Voice] Either the rules matter or they don't.
How very British.
posted by Leeway at 8:54 PM on April 26, 2022
How very British.
posted by Leeway at 8:54 PM on April 26, 2022
Coming up with reasons to seize the property of poorer people is one of the foundations of the USA
posted by BinaryApe at 10:44 PM on April 26, 2022
posted by BinaryApe at 10:44 PM on April 26, 2022
Going back to The From Vinci Code ('da Vinci' was not Leonardo's last name: it was his hometown).
The worst bit about the blasted apple story is that Newton never claimed he saw it fall.
We only have the story of the apple because Newton started telling it late in his life, after he had already become famous and loved to fucking death by the church, not hated. He would tell it at dinner parties, to entertain guests.
The only accounts of the story he told was that he sat under a tree and looked up to the moon, only to see it obscured by an apple dangling from a branch. He then claimed that this caused him to reflect on what kept the apple up vs what kept the moon up, and that he wondered if the same laws of nature affected both.
It never fell.
It never hit him.
Those are jokes that were so weak that people forgot they were jokes and started repeating as history.
Dan Brown wrote a whole book where the primary villain was the EFF, so I am not surprised his breakaway hit doesn't stand up to scrutiny two decades later.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:13 PM on April 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
The worst bit about the blasted apple story is that Newton never claimed he saw it fall.
We only have the story of the apple because Newton started telling it late in his life, after he had already become famous and loved to fucking death by the church, not hated. He would tell it at dinner parties, to entertain guests.
The only accounts of the story he told was that he sat under a tree and looked up to the moon, only to see it obscured by an apple dangling from a branch. He then claimed that this caused him to reflect on what kept the apple up vs what kept the moon up, and that he wondered if the same laws of nature affected both.
It never fell.
It never hit him.
Those are jokes that were so weak that people forgot they were jokes and started repeating as history.
Dan Brown wrote a whole book where the primary villain was the EFF, so I am not surprised his breakaway hit doesn't stand up to scrutiny two decades later.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:13 PM on April 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
Finally watched this last night. I loved this. A big reason is that, while I really enjoy Oliver’s show (his delivery, thoughtfulness, etc), his usual episodes are often just SO FUCKING DEPRESSING. So this way I got to appreciate the things I love without the things that make me want to die.
posted by obfuscation at 3:01 PM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 3:01 PM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have a hard suspicion that this has to be partly referencing Taylor Green smirking her way through her court hearing over Jan 6.
posted by porpoise at 8:49 PM on April 30, 2022
posted by porpoise at 8:49 PM on April 30, 2022
I get the impression that Jon Oliver’s kids are at an age where they watch these movies a LOT.
He an Neil deGrasse Tyson are favorites for this, maybe they would do Space Jam as a joint venture?
posted by childofTethys at 5:48 AM on May 1, 2022
He an Neil deGrasse Tyson are favorites for this, maybe they would do Space Jam as a joint venture?
posted by childofTethys at 5:48 AM on May 1, 2022
« Older "𝒯𝐻𝐸" | Dieveniškės is in the detail Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by geoff. at 8:25 PM on April 25, 2022 [3 favorites]