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SPECIAL NOTE: SEASON 15 OF THE GOOD, THE POD AND THE UGLY CELEBRATES THE USE OF THE PRACTICAL AND DIGITAL EFFECT KNOWN AS THE SQUIB. IRL GUN VIOLENCE IS INTOLERABLE AND RENOUNCED BUT... CINEMATIC VIOLENCE WILL BE CELEBRATED IN A WAY WILL DISTURB SOME LISTENERS.

Season 15’s temporal pincer movement is inverted with this week’s pairing to present its earlier film first. So, one week early, we present to you SCARFACE (1983) with returning guest Erik Van Der Wolf from the Blood & Popcorn podcast filling in for Jack who had a boat to catch.

After last week’s meager showing with First Blood, we return to the blood-filled squib in full force in a movie whose violent reputation Erik disputes, taking a chainsaw to arguments by contemporary critics and noting the various cutaways and reaction shows in lieu of direct onscreen violence. He also makes a case that director Brian De Palma shows uncharacteristic restraint in camera flourishes. What’s unrestrained— agreed then and now—is the profanity, clocked at 1.32/minute “f’s” given, timed by some film nerd and diligently regurgitated by one of your chin beard hosts who watched the Blu-ray commentary.

Typically, we make a halfhearted attempt here in the show notes for a plot recap, but we all know the story of Scarface who’s got his word and his balls. This 1980’s remake marks a rare confluence of film and actual contemporary events as its Scarface, aka cocaine cowboy Tony Montana played by Al Pacino, is a Cuban refugee, mapping the original immigrant story of the 1932 movie onto real Florida violence. The film is also credited as giving Michelle Pfiefer her breakout role (if one discounts Grease II) in portraying coke whore arm candy. And actual Cuban immigrant and total hottie Steven Bauer plays Montana’s bestie (and friend’s sister-fucker) Manny Ray.

Blood packets explode during a hotel drug deal gone wrong and again when Montana promotes himself over his boss’s dead body and then again when given cocaine super powers at the end of the film as Scarface holds off a mercenary army of hitmen, but surprising no squib explodes when Montana shoots Ray in a fit of rage for what could be interpreted as incestual cockblocking. But you knew the plot already.

Listen as adult boys who grew up in the VHS era (and Thomas) discuss a film that guest Erik loves and the others find a lesser entry in the De Palma 80s filmography. Guest Erik brings a reread of the Oliver Stone screenplay and filmic muscle memory to recite scenes from the formative flick; Ryan stays bullish on the original black and white gangster picture (and on the film Two of a Kind, the 1983 feature that reunited John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John after Grease I), mainly wishing the De Palma film was closer to the original film’s runtime; Ken warms to the film and to Erik; and Thomas might have an opinion after his first watch but is more interested in the sequel videogame for the PS2 and prequel novels by comic book and erotic vampire author L.A. Banks.

Next week, Jack returns to discuss the school shooter film Elephant.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.
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Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias