WEBVTT
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Welcome back to season four of the battle.
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I'm Matt Sethome and this season Gentuly and I are going into the movies to try to find out the winner of the music biopic battle.
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Each round will cover a different set of criteria, so the deeper the movie goes in the tournament, the more you learn about it.
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For round one, the focus will be on historical accuracy and the lead performance.
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We've got four divisions: the all-women division, gone too soon, groups or bands, and then drugs.
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For the groups or bands division today, we will have our second matchup, which is Straight Outta Compton versus Love and Mercy.
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Jen, talk to us about Straight Outta Compton.
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Oh my gosh.
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I could talk to you all day about Straight Outta Compton.
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I love this movie so, so much.
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The first thing that I that was shocking to me was I don't I can't believe it's 11 years old already.
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Did that sound like that?
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Yeah, it did feel like this just came out.
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And I was like, 2015.
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I know.
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I was like, no, this came out in the 2020s.
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Like, but no, it was it came out in 2015.
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So that blew me away that it's already 11 years old.
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Um this movie, like so good.
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Anyone that had that phase where you went through, like, you know, your NWA, public enemy, Dr.
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Dre, like I feel like we all had that phase, or at least everybody I know did.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Like this movie is for you.
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It shows you everything.
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And you know, again, it traces the lives of the key members of NWA.
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Um, now I will say when I say key members, I'm talking about Dr.
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Dre, Easy E and Ice Cube.
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Yes, you get some DJ Yella, yes, you get some MC Wren, and you get some of the other characters.
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You know, Shoug Knight features in there, Snoop Dogg features in there, Tupac we see.
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Um, so you get some of that too, but really you can tell who executive produced and consulted on the film.
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Um the story, the story definitely centers around, you know, Dre Cube, um, and easy e.
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So you get to see that, but it's so interesting to see how NWA came together, sort of how they collectively agreed what their again, I'm air quoting like what their brand was and how they just leaned in and went hard with that.
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You know, they you get to see all of it.
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You get to see, you know, Jerry Heller coming in and and taking over management of the band through a deal with Easy E and Cube being skeptical.
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You get to see Dre's genius and you know, him early on just being obsessed with music.
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Like that's something I think you could always tell about Dr.
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Dre.
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And I love the way they portrayed it in this movie.
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Nobody could produce the way that he does without loving music the way that he does.
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And so I love that you get to see that about Dr.
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Dre.
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Um, you know, obviously then you you get into like the the the split up of NWA and then you know, the Ruthless Records, lynch mob rivalry to the formation of Death Row Records, um, into Dr.
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Dre's recording of The Chronic.
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Oh, I can't say enough amazing things about that album either.
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Um into the LA riots after the Rodney King verdict, you know, and you get to see the rivalry between Sug Knight and the trouble that he caused, not just with Eazy E, but also with Dre.
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Um, and then sort of the deterioration of Easy's relationship with Jerry Heller, kind of the reconciliation of Cube Dre and Easy.
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Um, and then, you know, it takes you all the way to the sad conclusion where, again, not a spoiler alert, most people know where Eazy E dies of um of AIDS.
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So you get kind of uh this beginning all the way to the end, at least in terms of the original members of MW of NWA and another short, you know, pretty short-lived band um in its original incarnation.
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Um so it's a it's a pretty condensed um timeline, I guess, but um we're looking at maybe, I don't know, I think we're looking at like across a maybe a 10-year timeline, something like that.
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Like it opens and maybe 10 years, yeah, yeah.
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Somewhere, somewhere around there.
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So you're it's close, but I I loved this movie.
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I loved this movie.
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I thought it was so well cast.
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I love the soundtrack, I love the way it was shot.
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I loved all the you know, the footage in LA.
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It felt so authentic.
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It felt so real.
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I felt like I was there, and then just getting to relive some of these amazing songs, you know.
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I I don't I didn't know anybody that didn't have the straight out of Compton album by NWA.
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And I'm like a white girl from the suburbs that we were listening to, you know, like let that be noted.
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It was just everywhere though.
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You couldn't escape it.
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And I think it's because whether you liked it or not, you had to admit that it was genius.
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It was genius.
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Yeah, no, it's uh I think you're right.
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I think what really hits for me is that I mean, I was alive when all this was happening, and I remember these albums coming out and these songs coming out and these characters, and I think they do a really good job of portraying what the what that was like, and and you're kind of along for the ride.
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Um, it's interesting from a casting standpoint.
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You have Corey Hawkins playing young Dr.
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Dre, Jason Mitchell playing Easy E, and funny enough, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
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playing his father.
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Playing his dad.
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It was so good to see him playing his dad.
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And O'Shea Jackson's actually done a lot of stuff since this film.
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So he's he's kind of probably the biggest name coming out of this, outside of their manager, who's played by Paul Giamatti, who also figures into our second movie today as well.
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So this is kind of a Paul Giamatti battle, really.
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Right, it is.
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Um, but no, I agree with you, and I think some of that um nostalgia is is what adds to the enjoyment of this movie, but it's also just really well done.
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Yeah.
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Um, now our they are up against a film called Love and Mercy, which I that I actually watch it for the first time in preparation for this battle.
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It came out in 2014, and it stars um actually has two leads playing the same character.
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So Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys is the focus.
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Paul Dano plays him as a young man in 19, in or around 1966, and then John Cusack plays him as a little older version in um in the 80s.
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Uh, and we have Paul Giamatti back.
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This time he's again the bad guy, Dr.
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Eugene Landy in this case.
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And then I think really the the the one who kind of stands out in this movie, I mean, outside of the lead performances, is Elizabeth Banks, who plays Melinda Ledbetter, who would who would later become Brian Wilson's wife.
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Um, but it it's a really interesting movie because you get the Paul Dano version as he's trying to produce pet sounds and try or what would become pet sounds um for the Beach Boys.
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And then you kind of see Brian Wilson later on and him suffering with his mental illness and the way he is being treated um and taken care of by his doctor um at the time.
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So so that's kind of where this m movie kind of sits, and I I think it's just really well done.
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I mean, I I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this movie and and just the way they balance the two timelines I thought was excellent.
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And um we'll get to the lead performances, but I thought both of them did a really strong job um portraying the same character, which is sometimes difficult.
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Yeah, I agree.
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And I love that this was your first watch.
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I didn't know that.
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I had seen it when it came out just because I think Pet Sounds is one of the greatest albums ever made.
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And so as soon as I heard that part of the plot centered around him like coming up with the sound um for Pet Sounds, um, I was all in.
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And so I watched it um originally when it came out and then did a rewatch um for the for the show and just loved it as much as I did the first time.
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I think this is a brilliant movie, it is so good.
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And I think that you know, when people think of the Beach Boys, people that aren't, you know, deep catalog Beach Boys fans are like, oh, I don't want to hear Surf in USA or I get around or whatever.
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And you're like okay.
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It's like you know, it's like the Beatles kind of do-wop phase before they get to, you know, rubber soul or revolver or some of their more, you know, um their more experimental things.
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And I think, you know, pet sounds is is something that if you're a beach if if you think the beach boys is all like surf and do-wop music, just go listen to the pet sounds album and then we'll talk.
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And it's one of those albums too.
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It's like start at the beginning, just listen to it all the way through.
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All the way because it is um that's how it was designed to be, you know, and and that kind of what they speak to here is Brian Wilson's, you know, we talked about genius last week with with Jim Morrison and how that can lead to mental illness.
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And I think we've got another example of that this week with with Wilson because that's that's exactly what we're dealing with.
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Well, and also some, you know, how severe abuse and trauma can also impact, you know, a person.
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Um, and you see that as well.
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I think you get um a really honest um retelling of what Brian Wilson's especially young life and early days with the Beach Boys were like and what his family life was like.
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Yeah.
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So let's get into our criteria.
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Historical accuracy on Straight Outta Compton.
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Where does this rank, Jen?
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So this one's interesting.
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Like they certainly nailed Los Angeles in like the 80s and early 90s.
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I think from a cultural perspective, this movie gets it right.
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Um, it's it's a very um, I think they spend a lot of time.
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I think the the overarching theme is that they wanted to retell the story of sort of this this amazing, unheard of cultural impact that NWA made.
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And so I think some of the details are probably a little bit, you know, some things are omitted, some things look a little shinier than they probably were.
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Um, and you're also getting it, as I mentioned in the beginning, from the perspective really of Dr.
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Dre Ice Cube, and then Easy E's widow was also one of the uh consultants and and EPs on the film, um, Tamika Woods Wright.
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And so you really, and I like to be fair, no disrespect to you know DJ Yellow or MC Wren, but uh, you know, Ice Cube did most of the writing.
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I think that Easy E, you know, in the beginning funded the band, and Dr.
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Dre is sort of this genius producer, mixer, engineer that made it all come together.
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So, in all fairness, and no disrespect to DJ Yellow or MC Wren, like they kind of are the three that started NWA or that.
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We're at least at the forefront of NWA.
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Yeah, I I don't think this movie needed to be expanded just to include their stories.
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I I think that probably would have been, you know, a a little overdone if they had tried to focus on that.
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It's really these three members that that advanced the group going forward.
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They're the ones that everybody out there still knows, just offhand.
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Um, and then that they were at the heart of the conflict, I think, too.
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Yeah.
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True.
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And you know, so I think I think that people say that like definitely the movie captures time and place, but in terms of like if you're gonna go like historically accurate and the timeline of the band or the bands as they were, you know, in this particular time period that's covered, you know, people is people say that, you know, 35 to 40 percent probably factually accurate in terms of timeline is kind of the consensus I've gotten from um from people that were also living parallel to these guys at the same time and place.
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And one of the big things I think is easy e is kind of shown as maybe down on his luck near the end there when in fact like he was he was doing pretty well with Ruthless Records after he left after the band broke up.
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So it it wasn't as if he was I think they wanted to do that to show that hey, Dr.
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Dre and Ice Cube ended up kind of on top, but I mean he wasn't necessarily in as bad a place as they made it seem.
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Yeah, that's true.
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And I, you know, that there's a lot of um speculation that they kind of made Jerry Heller, the the Paul Giamatti character, look worse than he was, um, to sign, you know, to sort of explain some of the terrible things that Ice Cube said and you know, his famous diss track, No Vaseline.
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Um you know, so I think that there were things like that.
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Like they made Jerry Heller super bad so that you know Ice Cube's anti-Semitic lyrics in that song didn't feel as anti-Semitic, maybe.
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You know what I mean?
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I think Yeah, well, and they they gloss over you know Dr.
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Dre's history of of you know, he's got some domestic abuse in his background.
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Like we don't talk about that at all, which is not surprising because he's an executive producer on the film.
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So we're we're not going to talk about that.
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We skip that a little bit.
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But it you know, it's kind of the way um I mean it it happens a lot, right?
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Like they gloss over to make to make the good parts.
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But that is that is not uncommon where it's like, you know, the person who well, what is it, the person who writes history?
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I mean, that's that's the history we're told, right?
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Yeah, winners tell history, you know.
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So I think that that's kind of that definitely I think figures in, but uh, it's also like it's not the Dr.
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Dre story.
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And um it didn't I I guess where I'm going with this is it didn't bother me.
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Like, yes, they glossed over some things, but they capture time and place so well.
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You know, we talked about this with Michael, right?
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Like they they ended the movie right before he went completely off the rails, and I think that you know, the the creators of the film just chose to focus on a certain time frame.
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And I think that's kind of what happened here.
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Like they were trying to tell the story of you know, three prominent members, but two other, like the whole band gets is featured in the movie.
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Um, and they had a, you know, they had a they had two hours to tell this whatever 10-year story, and so yes, they did omit some of the the but I think if you if you lived through it, you also see kind of where they piled some, right?
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Like I'm not saying Suge Knight was a good guy, but Suge Knight comes out of this looking like a really bad dude, you know, and Jerry Heller comes out looking like a really bad dude, and I think they took on some of the you know, some of the tarnish so that Dre E and Ice Cube didn't have to in this particular film, if that makes sense.
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Yeah, for sure.
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So shifting over to Love and Mercy, this is actually considered like amazingly accurate from a historical standpoint.
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So all the uh musicians who were in the studio while they were working on pet sounds kind of verified like, yep, this is exactly what it was like working with Brian and and the surviving members of the band definitely kind of verify that.
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At that point, I mean, Brian Wilson had had a nervous breakdown, he had stepped away from touring with the band, um, but he was still producing music and and helping them, you know, kind of with new stuff.
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And but but yeah, so Paul Dano kind of kind of nails that on that side, and and the movie stays true to that.
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And then, I mean, and this was kind of the part I was kind of blown away by that the abuse he suffered under Dr.
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Eugene Landy was pretty accurate in the 80s, and and Melinda Ledbetter, you know, verifies that.
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And if anything, she says it kind of dialed it back, which if you watch this movie is pretty wild to think about that this is actually the dialed back version because um he he really is.
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I mean, it's it's unreal how much he's being abused.
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And at the time I looked this up, they were paying Landy$430,000 a year in the early 80s, which comes out to about$1.1 million now.
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And so it's it's really like I mean, they're they're overpaying for this guy to just come in and treat him because prior to that they had had a relationship in the 70s and he had actually helped Brian Wilson get off of drugs.
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Like they like he had made him clean before, which is why he kind of got brought back into the picture.
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Um, and actually kind of, I mean, even co-wrote some songs with Brian Wilson.
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Like he it was a really weird relationship that they had, um, as as you'll see in this movie.
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But from a historical accuracy standpoint, I mean, I couldn't find much that was off in this movie.
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Same.
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You know, this is one where I was kind of digging because you do like, you know, just on a quick search, you see that everybody's like accurate, accurate, accurate, accurate, you know, like I then there were like the wildest details I would Google.
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Like, did this really happen?
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Yes, it did, you know.
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Um, was did Brian Wilson really like climb into a piano and pluck the strings with bobby pins to get the sound that he wanted for, you know, God only knows?
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And you're like, yep.
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Did he actually ask if a horse could be brought into the studio to record?
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Like all of those things actually happened.
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And so yeah, but that I I really couldn't find anything that said where there were inaccuracies or, you know, even hyperbole in the retelling.
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I read the same thing you did that actually, if anything, you know, they dialed back a little bit on the abuse because they wanted the focus to be on sort of, you know, Brian Wilson coming out of this phase of his life.
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Um, but yeah, it it was.
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I mean, you know, there are some things that are shortened a little bit.
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Like I don't think they touch on his, you know, bed years as much.
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You see a little bit of it, I think, in the story.
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You know, he talks about it when he's on one of those early dates with Melinda.
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You know, he tells her, she I think she even asks him, you know, was there a period where you stayed in bed for a year or something like that?
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Yeah, I think that was a story that was out there, and she just kind of was like, Hey, did that really happen?
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Yeah.
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I think he says no, it was more like 18 months or something like that.
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Doesn't he kind of amend it and say it was longer?
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Yeah, he does.
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He tells her that it was a little bit longer.
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But I I think that, you know, the just uh outside of just like little nitpicky things like that, I think this one is it.
00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:09.519
Maybe, maybe one of the more historically accurate films that we have, that we have in the battle this season.
00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:10.319
Agreed.
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:10.880
Agreed.
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.920
So let's talk about the lead performances in straight out of Compton.
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:29.039
Well, you know, first off, I'll have to say that I really loved, and I don't I think I'm just a sucker for this device, maybe, but I love the way that we meet all five members of NWA, all five original members of NWA, um, in the beginning of the movie.
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:36.319
Like they take you through like those, the opening, whatever, probably 15 minutes of the movie are just you individually meeting everyone.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:45.039
Like you meet Easy E in a very like he's he's you see a drug deal go wrong and he's in a house raid in in in Compton.
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.400
Then you see, again, Dr.
00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.880
Dre, probably my favorite intro to all the characters.
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:49.200
Dr.
00:18:49.279 --> 00:19:08.720
Dre listening to like all the best albums ever made, like in his room, he's laying on the floor with his headphones, and you just see like they just pan over all these albums, and you get the sense because you see Dre on the floor listening in headphones that he's listened to all of them over and over again, and like beat by beat, he's studying the music.
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.400
And I just thought that was such a fantastic intro into Dr.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:12.880
Dre.
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.119
And then it just goes through, you know, goes down the list.
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:31.839
You get to see, you know, Ice Cube has a really scary like um interaction with gang members on a school bus that again capture that time and place and what it was like, and sort of what fueled them to write this music that people that weren't living it were like, what are they talking about?
00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.559
Like, yeah, is this sensationalized or not?
00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:40.799
And I think the really smart thing, like the marketer in me comes out when I'm watching this movie as well, because they were so smart.
00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.279
And I think Ice Cube was so good about this.
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:54.240
You might even get a little piece of it in the movie, um, where he talks about like, I'm a journalist, like I'm just reporting back like what I see in my neighborhood, what I see happening.
00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:59.440
So I'm just giving you an unfiltered journalistic account of what I'm seeing.
00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:05.519
And I think that that's you know, like as scary as it was for people to hear this, I think that's exactly what it was.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:16.319
I think it was like like, yes, gangster rap went on to be gangster rap, but I also love in the movie that they choose in the very beginning before it was called gangster rap, they were calling it reality rap.
00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:22.160
And I was like, that's what it started out as is they were retelling these these true stories.
00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.880
And then, like, yes, did some people play into it that were like not gangsters at all?
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:34.000
But you know, sure, like, yes, I think it got fueled, but I I think that the the performances in this are just fantastic.
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:41.119
You do you get a a another gross Paul Giamatti, like just being a disgusting, despicable character.
00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:44.000
But the three leads in this are just insane.
00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:45.839
And watching O'Shea Jackson Jr.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.440
play his dad was unreal.
00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:52.400
Like there are times when you're watching and you're like, wait, is that is that Ice Cube or is that his kid?
00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:59.519
You know, like I couldn't, especially at the end, you know, they show you some real archival footage, and it's amazing how much they look alike.
00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:08.799
Yeah, yeah, that that part was really cool, and the fact that he's such a good actor, and yeah, I don't I don't know how many sons could play their dad so so so well.
00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:11.440
But yeah, maybe my I'll ask my son if he can pull it off.
00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.559
He's only do it.
00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:13.920
If he thinks he could do it.
00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:14.400
Yeah.
00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:27.119
Well, then there's that fun scene at the end where you know I think it's when they're all sharing the news about Easy E passing, and you see um his you see Ice Cube's wife down playing with the kids, and I'm like, oh, so he's watching himself.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:32.319
You're like, you have this meta moment where like one of the kids is probably him.
00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.440
Um so it definitely is uh very meta in that way.
00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:44.319
But like they all did their own singing, they re-recorded the entire Straight Outta Compton album with the cast.
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.680
So, and even though, you know, again, shout out to O.J.
00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:56.400
Jackson Jr., like, even though it was his dad, he had to go back and sort of relearn the way his dad, you know, his breath patterns and his um I'm not sure.
00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:58.000
Oh, yeah, the cadence, all of them.
00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.839
Anyone that thinks rapping is Easy when people are like, that's just noise.
00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.440
I'm like, go try and write a rap.
00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:12.240
Go try and write something that rhymes, that makes sense, that you know, is that they keep doing you know, Dre keeps asking the whole time, is it hard?
00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:12.960
Is it hard?
00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:18.319
You know, like I think that it's one of the most difficult forms of artistry out there.
00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.319
I think improv and rapping.
00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:21.759
Like, I can't imagine.
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.799
And it like battle rapping where you just like do it on the spot.
00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:25.519
Yeah.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:29.519
Like, I just can't even imagine having that skill or that sort of writing talent.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:37.039
And you see, as Ice Cube goes on, you know, he went on to to his acting career, he went on to write, you know, the movie Friday.
00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:44.799
Like you know, he's a great writer because he's written great things, like he's not just a rapper, he's a fantastic writer.
00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.319
So um again, I think you get all of this um in the movie, and I loved that.
00:22:51.359 --> 00:23:00.079
So talking about love and mercy, like I said, there's two leads in this Paul Dano as the young Brian Wilson, John Cusack as as older Brian Wilson.
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:14.960
I think they're both outstanding in this movie and really capture what I found really amazing, and and I'd love to hear it from both of them, was like they were even acting like each other, right?
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:31.039
Like, so not only were they kind of obviously they're studying Brian Wilson for this role and trying to pull that out of him, but even like there was a through line between the two actors, which is also like kind of mind-blowing, but those are two very high-level actors, so they could probably pull that off.
00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.880
But um, yeah, I I thought they both did such a great job.
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:43.599
And then I can't say enough about Elizabeth Banks kind of being she's the audience, I feel like, in this movie because she's looking at this going, This is nuts, right?
00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:48.319
And it's like almost expect her to break the fourth wall and kind of look at the camera and be like, No, I'm with you guys.
00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.759
Like, this is this is not right.
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:51.519
We're gonna we're gonna try to fix this.
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:52.000
Yes.
00:23:52.400 --> 00:24:06.160
Um, but yeah, I mean, just such strong lead performances in a situation where it's it's a very delicate thing because they are portraying this genius who also has some mental illness, and they're trying to balance that.
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.839
Yeah, I completely agree.
00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.799
I just think the way this story is told is so cool.
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:15.440
What, you know, where you sort of skip back and forth in time, but you're never confused.
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:17.440
Um, they do it so well.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:20.480
And I love that you said Elizabeth Banks is like us.
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:23.759
Like, yes, she's she's witnessing all this for the first time.
00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:25.440
And it's such a cool thing, you know.
00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:30.240
I think a lot of times music is used in films to sort of tell you how you're supposed to feel.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.319
But in this movie, I think her reactions validate how we're all feeling about what we're watching, right?
00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:41.039
And so it was such a cool thing to sort of see her kind of being like, is this weird?
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:42.640
And how do I handle this guy?
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:48.720
Like, we all are seeing the movie and and seeing, you know, the Paul Giamatti character, um, Dr.
00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.799
Eugene Landy, um, just being like creepy and weird.
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:56.880
And and but then you see her like trying to figure out like, how do I deal with this guy?
00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:00.799
Like, I obviously don't like what he's doing, but I don't want to be nasty.
00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.720
I like Brian Wilson, and this guy's obviously tied to him.
00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:10.000
And so I think just immediately you get her struggle of like, what do I do here?
00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:13.039
Like, do I even want to get involved in something like this?
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:17.200
Um, so yeah, I think the lead performances in this are fantastic.
00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:23.920
I think, you know, I think I will say to me, Paul Dano looked a lot more like Brian Wilson than John Cusack did.
00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:28.000
Even like 80s, Brian Wilson didn't look much like John Cusack.
00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:35.359
But again, the actors did such a good job working with each other that I think they portrayed Brian Wilson's essence.
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.480
Like they really got his gentleness and his sweetness.
00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:47.680
And I think Paul Dano did an exceptional job of capturing sort of his manic genius, you know, especially in those scenes where they're in the studio recording.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.119
Yeah, for sure.
00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:49.920
For sure.
00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:54.160
All right, Jen, which one of these is going to advance in this round of the battle?
00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:57.119
You're making this.
00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:05.599
I mean, this one's almost impossible for me to decide that the performances are so good in both, both movies are good.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:36.319
You know, I I think I think where I'm gonna land on this one is because the storytelling is so different, and I think the way they chose to sort of pair two actors playing the lead in two different phases of life, two different times, um, I I feel like I'm leaning a little bit towards love and mercy, which is so hard for me to say because I love, I can't understate how much I love straight out of Compton.
00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:37.759
I think it's so, so good.
00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:50.160
But I think just because love and mercy gives us a little bit of an interesting, a little bit more interesting retelling, whether, you know, in the device of having two actors play the same lead character.
00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:54.640
So for me, I think, I think I've gotta go for love and mercy.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:59.839
But if you I could probably be easily swayed and talked out of it if you have different feelings.
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.359
I don't.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:10.480
Um, I think I think with historical accuracy being so high on Love and Mercy, as well as the lead performances, where you could really call them out by name.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:17.279
Like we we love the lead performances and straight out of Compton, but here it's like, man, this actor, this actor, and then them playing off each other.
00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:22.880
I I just think it was a harder trick to pull off in Love and Mercy, and they really nail it.
00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.240
So I I feel like Love and Mercy is the one that should advance here.
00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:28.240
All right then, and we're in agreement.
00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.079
All right, so there you have it.
00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:37.440
Okay, it'll be Love and Mercy versus the Doors in the final of the groups or bands division.
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:42.559
Next week we get into our last division, and it is the drug division.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:46.720
Okay, we will start next week with Did you say we're gonna get to drugs next week?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:47.119
I don't know.
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.039
Okay, maybe we've talked about drugs a little bit already, but you know what?
00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:52.799
They're music biopics, right?
00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:54.640
There's gonna be drugs all over the place.
00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.960
So next week we're gonna focus on Ray versus Rocketman.
00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:00.799
So join us then.
00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:04.480
Like I said, we'll make a mixtape for every one of these episodes.
00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:08.160
But you can make your own mixtape at my dotsuperaw mix dot com.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:12.079
And of course, check us out on social media at super awesome mix.
00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.480
So we'll be back next week with another battle.
00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:15.759
And for Jen, this is Matt.
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:16.960
We'll see you then.
00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:12.240
Welcome back to season four of the battle.
00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:19.280
I'm Matt Sethome and this season Gentuly and I are going into the movies to try to find out the winner of the music biopic battle.
00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:24.960
Each round will cover a different set of criteria, so the deeper the movie goes in the tournament, the more you learn about it.
00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.960
For round one, the focus will be on historical accuracy and the lead performance.
00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:34.880
We've got four divisions: the all-women division, gone too soon, groups or bands, and then drugs.
00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:43.600
For the groups or bands division today, we will have our second matchup, which is Straight Outta Compton versus Love and Mercy.
00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:46.640
Jen, talk to us about Straight Outta Compton.
00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:47.600
Oh my gosh.
00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:50.399
I could talk to you all day about Straight Outta Compton.
00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:52.399
I love this movie so, so much.
00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:58.240
The first thing that I that was shocking to me was I don't I can't believe it's 11 years old already.
00:00:58.399 --> 00:00:59.119
Did that sound like that?
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:01.039
Yeah, it did feel like this just came out.
00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:02.880
And I was like, 2015.
00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:03.600
I know.
00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.000
I was like, no, this came out in the 2020s.
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.560
Like, but no, it was it came out in 2015.
00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.760
So that blew me away that it's already 11 years old.
00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.519
Um this movie, like so good.
00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:21.439
Anyone that had that phase where you went through, like, you know, your NWA, public enemy, Dr.
00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.840
Dre, like I feel like we all had that phase, or at least everybody I know did.
00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:26.719
Yeah, yeah.
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:28.560
Like this movie is for you.
00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:29.920
It shows you everything.
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.799
And you know, again, it traces the lives of the key members of NWA.
00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.400
Um, now I will say when I say key members, I'm talking about Dr.
00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:41.120
Dre, Easy E and Ice Cube.
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.840
Yes, you get some DJ Yella, yes, you get some MC Wren, and you get some of the other characters.
00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:50.640
You know, Shoug Knight features in there, Snoop Dogg features in there, Tupac we see.
00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:56.719
Um, so you get some of that too, but really you can tell who executive produced and consulted on the film.
00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:03.200
Um the story, the story definitely centers around, you know, Dre Cube, um, and easy e.
00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:19.680
So you get to see that, but it's so interesting to see how NWA came together, sort of how they collectively agreed what their again, I'm air quoting like what their brand was and how they just leaned in and went hard with that.
00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.400
You know, they you get to see all of it.
00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:32.000
You get to see, you know, Jerry Heller coming in and and taking over management of the band through a deal with Easy E and Cube being skeptical.
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.080
You get to see Dre's genius and you know, him early on just being obsessed with music.
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.479
Like that's something I think you could always tell about Dr.
00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:40.879
Dre.
00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.439
And I love the way they portrayed it in this movie.
00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:48.560
Nobody could produce the way that he does without loving music the way that he does.
00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.039
And so I love that you get to see that about Dr.
00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:51.520
Dre.
00:02:51.759 --> 00:03:05.360
Um, you know, obviously then you you get into like the the the split up of NWA and then you know, the Ruthless Records, lynch mob rivalry to the formation of Death Row Records, um, into Dr.
00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.280
Dre's recording of The Chronic.
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:11.120
Oh, I can't say enough amazing things about that album either.
00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:22.240
Um into the LA riots after the Rodney King verdict, you know, and you get to see the rivalry between Sug Knight and the trouble that he caused, not just with Eazy E, but also with Dre.
00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:31.599
Um, and then sort of the deterioration of Easy's relationship with Jerry Heller, kind of the reconciliation of Cube Dre and Easy.
00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:41.280
Um, and then, you know, it takes you all the way to the sad conclusion where, again, not a spoiler alert, most people know where Eazy E dies of um of AIDS.
00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:54.159
So you get kind of uh this beginning all the way to the end, at least in terms of the original members of MW of NWA and another short, you know, pretty short-lived band um in its original incarnation.
00:03:54.560 --> 00:04:05.199
Um so it's a it's a pretty condensed um timeline, I guess, but um we're looking at maybe, I don't know, I think we're looking at like across a maybe a 10-year timeline, something like that.
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.919
Like it opens and maybe 10 years, yeah, yeah.
00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:09.520
Somewhere, somewhere around there.
00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:13.280
So you're it's close, but I I loved this movie.
00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:14.479
I loved this movie.
00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:16.160
I thought it was so well cast.
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:19.439
I love the soundtrack, I love the way it was shot.
00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.240
I loved all the you know, the footage in LA.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:23.600
It felt so authentic.
00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:24.879
It felt so real.
00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:30.319
I felt like I was there, and then just getting to relive some of these amazing songs, you know.
00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:35.759
I I don't I didn't know anybody that didn't have the straight out of Compton album by NWA.
00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:43.040
And I'm like a white girl from the suburbs that we were listening to, you know, like let that be noted.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:44.720
It was just everywhere though.
00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:45.920
You couldn't escape it.
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.720
And I think it's because whether you liked it or not, you had to admit that it was genius.
00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:51.920
It was genius.
00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:54.959
Yeah, no, it's uh I think you're right.
00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:11.839
I think what really hits for me is that I mean, I was alive when all this was happening, and I remember these albums coming out and these songs coming out and these characters, and I think they do a really good job of portraying what the what that was like, and and you're kind of along for the ride.
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:14.639
Um, it's interesting from a casting standpoint.
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.959
You have Corey Hawkins playing young Dr.
00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:21.680
Dre, Jason Mitchell playing Easy E, and funny enough, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:22.399
playing his father.
00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:24.000
Playing his dad.
00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.959
It was so good to see him playing his dad.
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:30.000
And O'Shea Jackson's actually done a lot of stuff since this film.
00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:40.079
So he's he's kind of probably the biggest name coming out of this, outside of their manager, who's played by Paul Giamatti, who also figures into our second movie today as well.
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.279
So this is kind of a Paul Giamatti battle, really.
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:44.319
Right, it is.
00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:53.920
Um, but no, I agree with you, and I think some of that um nostalgia is is what adds to the enjoyment of this movie, but it's also just really well done.
00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:54.480
Yeah.
00:05:54.720 --> 00:06:02.560
Um, now our they are up against a film called Love and Mercy, which I that I actually watch it for the first time in preparation for this battle.
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:09.439
It came out in 2014, and it stars um actually has two leads playing the same character.
00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.319
So Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys is the focus.
00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:24.399
Paul Dano plays him as a young man in 19, in or around 1966, and then John Cusack plays him as a little older version in um in the 80s.
00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:26.480
Uh, and we have Paul Giamatti back.
00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:28.240
This time he's again the bad guy, Dr.
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.079
Eugene Landy in this case.
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:42.079
And then I think really the the the one who kind of stands out in this movie, I mean, outside of the lead performances, is Elizabeth Banks, who plays Melinda Ledbetter, who would who would later become Brian Wilson's wife.
00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:55.279
Um, but it it's a really interesting movie because you get the Paul Dano version as he's trying to produce pet sounds and try or what would become pet sounds um for the Beach Boys.
00:06:55.600 --> 00:07:07.920
And then you kind of see Brian Wilson later on and him suffering with his mental illness and the way he is being treated um and taken care of by his doctor um at the time.
00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:14.959
So so that's kind of where this m movie kind of sits, and I I think it's just really well done.
00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:22.639
I mean, I I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this movie and and just the way they balance the two timelines I thought was excellent.
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:31.680
And um we'll get to the lead performances, but I thought both of them did a really strong job um portraying the same character, which is sometimes difficult.
00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:32.800
Yeah, I agree.
00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:34.720
And I love that this was your first watch.
00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:35.680
I didn't know that.
00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:41.279
I had seen it when it came out just because I think Pet Sounds is one of the greatest albums ever made.
00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:49.839
And so as soon as I heard that part of the plot centered around him like coming up with the sound um for Pet Sounds, um, I was all in.
00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:57.439
And so I watched it um originally when it came out and then did a rewatch um for the for the show and just loved it as much as I did the first time.
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.639
I think this is a brilliant movie, it is so good.
00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:11.519
And I think that you know, when people think of the Beach Boys, people that aren't, you know, deep catalog Beach Boys fans are like, oh, I don't want to hear Surf in USA or I get around or whatever.
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:12.800
And you're like okay.
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:23.920
It's like you know, it's like the Beatles kind of do-wop phase before they get to, you know, rubber soul or revolver or some of their more, you know, um their more experimental things.
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:35.279
And I think, you know, pet sounds is is something that if you're a beach if if you think the beach boys is all like surf and do-wop music, just go listen to the pet sounds album and then we'll talk.
00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:37.120
And it's one of those albums too.
00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:39.679
It's like start at the beginning, just listen to it all the way through.
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:53.919
All the way because it is um that's how it was designed to be, you know, and and that kind of what they speak to here is Brian Wilson's, you know, we talked about genius last week with with Jim Morrison and how that can lead to mental illness.
00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.240
And I think we've got another example of that this week with with Wilson because that's that's exactly what we're dealing with.
00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:08.399
Well, and also some, you know, how severe abuse and trauma can also impact, you know, a person.
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:10.639
Um, and you see that as well.
00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:21.440
I think you get um a really honest um retelling of what Brian Wilson's especially young life and early days with the Beach Boys were like and what his family life was like.
00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:22.480
Yeah.
00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:24.639
So let's get into our criteria.
00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.080
Historical accuracy on Straight Outta Compton.
00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:29.360
Where does this rank, Jen?
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.440
So this one's interesting.
00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.080
Like they certainly nailed Los Angeles in like the 80s and early 90s.
00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:39.360
I think from a cultural perspective, this movie gets it right.
00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:44.080
Um, it's it's a very um, I think they spend a lot of time.
00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:58.000
I think the the overarching theme is that they wanted to retell the story of sort of this this amazing, unheard of cultural impact that NWA made.
00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:07.919
And so I think some of the details are probably a little bit, you know, some things are omitted, some things look a little shinier than they probably were.
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:13.120
Um, and you're also getting it, as I mentioned in the beginning, from the perspective really of Dr.
00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:21.360
Dre Ice Cube, and then Easy E's widow was also one of the uh consultants and and EPs on the film, um, Tamika Woods Wright.
00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:31.360
And so you really, and I like to be fair, no disrespect to you know DJ Yellow or MC Wren, but uh, you know, Ice Cube did most of the writing.
00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:35.759
I think that Easy E, you know, in the beginning funded the band, and Dr.
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:40.000
Dre is sort of this genius producer, mixer, engineer that made it all come together.
00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:48.240
So, in all fairness, and no disrespect to DJ Yellow or MC Wren, like they kind of are the three that started NWA or that.
00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:50.960
We're at least at the forefront of NWA.
00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:56.159
Yeah, I I don't think this movie needed to be expanded just to include their stories.
00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:02.879
I I think that probably would have been, you know, a a little overdone if they had tried to focus on that.
00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:06.720
It's really these three members that that advanced the group going forward.
00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.320
They're the ones that everybody out there still knows, just offhand.
00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.320
Um, and then that they were at the heart of the conflict, I think, too.
00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:14.720
Yeah.
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:15.279
True.
00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:46.480
And you know, so I think I think that people say that like definitely the movie captures time and place, but in terms of like if you're gonna go like historically accurate and the timeline of the band or the bands as they were, you know, in this particular time period that's covered, you know, people is people say that, you know, 35 to 40 percent probably factually accurate in terms of timeline is kind of the consensus I've gotten from um from people that were also living parallel to these guys at the same time and place.
00:11:47.200 --> 00:12:00.559
And one of the big things I think is easy e is kind of shown as maybe down on his luck near the end there when in fact like he was he was doing pretty well with Ruthless Records after he left after the band broke up.
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:06.080
So it it wasn't as if he was I think they wanted to do that to show that hey, Dr.
00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:12.799
Dre and Ice Cube ended up kind of on top, but I mean he wasn't necessarily in as bad a place as they made it seem.
00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:13.840
Yeah, that's true.
00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:32.159
And I, you know, that there's a lot of um speculation that they kind of made Jerry Heller, the the Paul Giamatti character, look worse than he was, um, to sign, you know, to sort of explain some of the terrible things that Ice Cube said and you know, his famous diss track, No Vaseline.
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.639
Um you know, so I think that there were things like that.
00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:44.240
Like they made Jerry Heller super bad so that you know Ice Cube's anti-Semitic lyrics in that song didn't feel as anti-Semitic, maybe.
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:45.039
You know what I mean?
00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:48.480
I think Yeah, well, and they they gloss over you know Dr.
00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:53.279
Dre's history of of you know, he's got some domestic abuse in his background.
00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:58.799
Like we don't talk about that at all, which is not surprising because he's an executive producer on the film.
00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:00.799
So we're we're not going to talk about that.
00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:02.080
We skip that a little bit.
00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:06.559
But it you know, it's kind of the way um I mean it it happens a lot, right?
00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.000
Like they gloss over to make to make the good parts.
00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:16.960
But that is that is not uncommon where it's like, you know, the person who well, what is it, the person who writes history?
00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:18.799
I mean, that's that's the history we're told, right?
00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:20.879
Yeah, winners tell history, you know.
00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:28.960
So I think that that's kind of that definitely I think figures in, but uh, it's also like it's not the Dr.
00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.159
Dre story.
00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:34.399
And um it didn't I I guess where I'm going with this is it didn't bother me.
00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:39.440
Like, yes, they glossed over some things, but they capture time and place so well.
00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:41.600
You know, we talked about this with Michael, right?
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:51.600
Like they they ended the movie right before he went completely off the rails, and I think that you know, the the creators of the film just chose to focus on a certain time frame.
00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:53.840
And I think that's kind of what happened here.
00:13:53.919 --> 00:14:02.159
Like they were trying to tell the story of you know, three prominent members, but two other, like the whole band gets is featured in the movie.
00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:14.720
Um, and they had a, you know, they had a they had two hours to tell this whatever 10-year story, and so yes, they did omit some of the the but I think if you if you lived through it, you also see kind of where they piled some, right?
00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:33.759
Like I'm not saying Suge Knight was a good guy, but Suge Knight comes out of this looking like a really bad dude, you know, and Jerry Heller comes out looking like a really bad dude, and I think they took on some of the you know, some of the tarnish so that Dre E and Ice Cube didn't have to in this particular film, if that makes sense.
00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:35.120
Yeah, for sure.
00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:43.039
So shifting over to Love and Mercy, this is actually considered like amazingly accurate from a historical standpoint.
00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:55.519
So all the uh musicians who were in the studio while they were working on pet sounds kind of verified like, yep, this is exactly what it was like working with Brian and and the surviving members of the band definitely kind of verify that.
00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:08.639
At that point, I mean, Brian Wilson had had a nervous breakdown, he had stepped away from touring with the band, um, but he was still producing music and and helping them, you know, kind of with new stuff.
00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:15.600
And but but yeah, so Paul Dano kind of kind of nails that on that side, and and the movie stays true to that.
00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:22.240
And then, I mean, and this was kind of the part I was kind of blown away by that the abuse he suffered under Dr.
00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:28.399
Eugene Landy was pretty accurate in the 80s, and and Melinda Ledbetter, you know, verifies that.
00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:40.000
And if anything, she says it kind of dialed it back, which if you watch this movie is pretty wild to think about that this is actually the dialed back version because um he he really is.
00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:43.120
I mean, it's it's unreal how much he's being abused.
00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:53.440
And at the time I looked this up, they were paying Landy$430,000 a year in the early 80s, which comes out to about$1.1 million now.
00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:07.200
And so it's it's really like I mean, they're they're overpaying for this guy to just come in and treat him because prior to that they had had a relationship in the 70s and he had actually helped Brian Wilson get off of drugs.
00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:13.120
Like they like he had made him clean before, which is why he kind of got brought back into the picture.
00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:18.399
Um, and actually kind of, I mean, even co-wrote some songs with Brian Wilson.
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:23.919
Like he it was a really weird relationship that they had, um, as as you'll see in this movie.
00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:30.159
But from a historical accuracy standpoint, I mean, I couldn't find much that was off in this movie.
00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:30.879
Same.
00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:42.000
You know, this is one where I was kind of digging because you do like, you know, just on a quick search, you see that everybody's like accurate, accurate, accurate, accurate, you know, like I then there were like the wildest details I would Google.
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:43.440
Like, did this really happen?
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:44.879
Yes, it did, you know.
00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:55.679
Um, was did Brian Wilson really like climb into a piano and pluck the strings with bobby pins to get the sound that he wanted for, you know, God only knows?
00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:56.720
And you're like, yep.
00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.960
Did he actually ask if a horse could be brought into the studio to record?
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.600
Like all of those things actually happened.
00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:13.680
And so yeah, but that I I really couldn't find anything that said where there were inaccuracies or, you know, even hyperbole in the retelling.
00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:24.720
I read the same thing you did that actually, if anything, you know, they dialed back a little bit on the abuse because they wanted the focus to be on sort of, you know, Brian Wilson coming out of this phase of his life.
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.039
Um, but yeah, it it was.
00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:29.519
I mean, you know, there are some things that are shortened a little bit.
00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.960
Like I don't think they touch on his, you know, bed years as much.
00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.279
You see a little bit of it, I think, in the story.
00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:39.599
You know, he talks about it when he's on one of those early dates with Melinda.
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:45.119
You know, he tells her, she I think she even asks him, you know, was there a period where you stayed in bed for a year or something like that?
00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:49.359
Yeah, I think that was a story that was out there, and she just kind of was like, Hey, did that really happen?
00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:49.759
Yeah.
00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:53.119
I think he says no, it was more like 18 months or something like that.
00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:55.680
Doesn't he kind of amend it and say it was longer?
00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:56.640
Yeah, he does.
00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.240
He tells her that it was a little bit longer.
00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:03.759
But I I think that, you know, the just uh outside of just like little nitpicky things like that, I think this one is it.
00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:09.519
Maybe, maybe one of the more historically accurate films that we have, that we have in the battle this season.
00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:10.319
Agreed.
00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:10.880
Agreed.
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.920
So let's talk about the lead performances in straight out of Compton.
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:29.039
Well, you know, first off, I'll have to say that I really loved, and I don't I think I'm just a sucker for this device, maybe, but I love the way that we meet all five members of NWA, all five original members of NWA, um, in the beginning of the movie.
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:36.319
Like they take you through like those, the opening, whatever, probably 15 minutes of the movie are just you individually meeting everyone.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:45.039
Like you meet Easy E in a very like he's he's you see a drug deal go wrong and he's in a house raid in in in Compton.
00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.400
Then you see, again, Dr.
00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.880
Dre, probably my favorite intro to all the characters.
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:49.200
Dr.
00:18:49.279 --> 00:19:08.720
Dre listening to like all the best albums ever made, like in his room, he's laying on the floor with his headphones, and you just see like they just pan over all these albums, and you get the sense because you see Dre on the floor listening in headphones that he's listened to all of them over and over again, and like beat by beat, he's studying the music.
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.400
And I just thought that was such a fantastic intro into Dr.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:12.880
Dre.
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.119
And then it just goes through, you know, goes down the list.
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:31.839
You get to see, you know, Ice Cube has a really scary like um interaction with gang members on a school bus that again capture that time and place and what it was like, and sort of what fueled them to write this music that people that weren't living it were like, what are they talking about?
00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.559
Like, yeah, is this sensationalized or not?
00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:40.799
And I think the really smart thing, like the marketer in me comes out when I'm watching this movie as well, because they were so smart.
00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.279
And I think Ice Cube was so good about this.
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:54.240
You might even get a little piece of it in the movie, um, where he talks about like, I'm a journalist, like I'm just reporting back like what I see in my neighborhood, what I see happening.
00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:59.440
So I'm just giving you an unfiltered journalistic account of what I'm seeing.
00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:05.519
And I think that that's you know, like as scary as it was for people to hear this, I think that's exactly what it was.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:16.319
I think it was like like, yes, gangster rap went on to be gangster rap, but I also love in the movie that they choose in the very beginning before it was called gangster rap, they were calling it reality rap.
00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:22.160
And I was like, that's what it started out as is they were retelling these these true stories.
00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.880
And then, like, yes, did some people play into it that were like not gangsters at all?
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:34.000
But you know, sure, like, yes, I think it got fueled, but I I think that the the performances in this are just fantastic.
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:41.119
You do you get a a another gross Paul Giamatti, like just being a disgusting, despicable character.
00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:44.000
But the three leads in this are just insane.
00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:45.839
And watching O'Shea Jackson Jr.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.440
play his dad was unreal.
00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:52.400
Like there are times when you're watching and you're like, wait, is that is that Ice Cube or is that his kid?
00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:59.519
You know, like I couldn't, especially at the end, you know, they show you some real archival footage, and it's amazing how much they look alike.
00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:08.799
Yeah, yeah, that that part was really cool, and the fact that he's such a good actor, and yeah, I don't I don't know how many sons could play their dad so so so well.
00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:11.440
But yeah, maybe my I'll ask my son if he can pull it off.
00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.559
He's only do it.
00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:13.920
If he thinks he could do it.
00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:14.400
Yeah.
00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:27.119
Well, then there's that fun scene at the end where you know I think it's when they're all sharing the news about Easy E passing, and you see um his you see Ice Cube's wife down playing with the kids, and I'm like, oh, so he's watching himself.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:32.319
You're like, you have this meta moment where like one of the kids is probably him.
00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.440
Um so it definitely is uh very meta in that way.
00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:44.319
But like they all did their own singing, they re-recorded the entire Straight Outta Compton album with the cast.
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.680
So, and even though, you know, again, shout out to O.J.
00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:56.400
Jackson Jr., like, even though it was his dad, he had to go back and sort of relearn the way his dad, you know, his breath patterns and his um I'm not sure.
00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:58.000
Oh, yeah, the cadence, all of them.
00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.839
Anyone that thinks rapping is Easy when people are like, that's just noise.
00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.440
I'm like, go try and write a rap.
00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:12.240
Go try and write something that rhymes, that makes sense, that you know, is that they keep doing you know, Dre keeps asking the whole time, is it hard?
00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:12.960
Is it hard?
00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:18.319
You know, like I think that it's one of the most difficult forms of artistry out there.
00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.319
I think improv and rapping.
00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:21.759
Like, I can't imagine.
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.799
And it like battle rapping where you just like do it on the spot.
00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:25.519
Yeah.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:29.519
Like, I just can't even imagine having that skill or that sort of writing talent.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:37.039
And you see, as Ice Cube goes on, you know, he went on to to his acting career, he went on to write, you know, the movie Friday.
00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:44.799
Like you know, he's a great writer because he's written great things, like he's not just a rapper, he's a fantastic writer.
00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.319
So um again, I think you get all of this um in the movie, and I loved that.
00:22:51.359 --> 00:23:00.079
So talking about love and mercy, like I said, there's two leads in this Paul Dano as the young Brian Wilson, John Cusack as as older Brian Wilson.
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:14.960
I think they're both outstanding in this movie and really capture what I found really amazing, and and I'd love to hear it from both of them, was like they were even acting like each other, right?
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:31.039
Like, so not only were they kind of obviously they're studying Brian Wilson for this role and trying to pull that out of him, but even like there was a through line between the two actors, which is also like kind of mind-blowing, but those are two very high-level actors, so they could probably pull that off.
00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.880
But um, yeah, I I thought they both did such a great job.
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:43.599
And then I can't say enough about Elizabeth Banks kind of being she's the audience, I feel like, in this movie because she's looking at this going, This is nuts, right?
00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:48.319
And it's like almost expect her to break the fourth wall and kind of look at the camera and be like, No, I'm with you guys.
00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.759
Like, this is this is not right.
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:51.519
We're gonna we're gonna try to fix this.
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:52.000
Yes.
00:23:52.400 --> 00:24:06.160
Um, but yeah, I mean, just such strong lead performances in a situation where it's it's a very delicate thing because they are portraying this genius who also has some mental illness, and they're trying to balance that.
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.839
Yeah, I completely agree.
00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.799
I just think the way this story is told is so cool.
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:15.440
What, you know, where you sort of skip back and forth in time, but you're never confused.
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:17.440
Um, they do it so well.
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:20.480
And I love that you said Elizabeth Banks is like us.
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:23.759
Like, yes, she's she's witnessing all this for the first time.
00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:25.440
And it's such a cool thing, you know.
00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:30.240
I think a lot of times music is used in films to sort of tell you how you're supposed to feel.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.319
But in this movie, I think her reactions validate how we're all feeling about what we're watching, right?
00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:41.039
And so it was such a cool thing to sort of see her kind of being like, is this weird?
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:42.640
And how do I handle this guy?
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:48.720
Like, we all are seeing the movie and and seeing, you know, the Paul Giamatti character, um, Dr.
00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.799
Eugene Landy, um, just being like creepy and weird.
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:56.880
And and but then you see her like trying to figure out like, how do I deal with this guy?
00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:00.799
Like, I obviously don't like what he's doing, but I don't want to be nasty.
00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.720
I like Brian Wilson, and this guy's obviously tied to him.
00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:10.000
And so I think just immediately you get her struggle of like, what do I do here?
00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:13.039
Like, do I even want to get involved in something like this?
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:17.200
Um, so yeah, I think the lead performances in this are fantastic.
00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:23.920
I think, you know, I think I will say to me, Paul Dano looked a lot more like Brian Wilson than John Cusack did.
00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:28.000
Even like 80s, Brian Wilson didn't look much like John Cusack.
00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:35.359
But again, the actors did such a good job working with each other that I think they portrayed Brian Wilson's essence.
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.480
Like they really got his gentleness and his sweetness.
00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:47.680
And I think Paul Dano did an exceptional job of capturing sort of his manic genius, you know, especially in those scenes where they're in the studio recording.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.119
Yeah, for sure.
00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:49.920
For sure.
00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:54.160
All right, Jen, which one of these is going to advance in this round of the battle?
00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:57.119
You're making this.
00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:05.599
I mean, this one's almost impossible for me to decide that the performances are so good in both, both movies are good.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:36.319
You know, I I think I think where I'm gonna land on this one is because the storytelling is so different, and I think the way they chose to sort of pair two actors playing the lead in two different phases of life, two different times, um, I I feel like I'm leaning a little bit towards love and mercy, which is so hard for me to say because I love, I can't understate how much I love straight out of Compton.
00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:37.759
I think it's so, so good.
00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:50.160
But I think just because love and mercy gives us a little bit of an interesting, a little bit more interesting retelling, whether, you know, in the device of having two actors play the same lead character.
00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:54.640
So for me, I think, I think I've gotta go for love and mercy.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:59.839
But if you I could probably be easily swayed and talked out of it if you have different feelings.
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.359
I don't.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:10.480
Um, I think I think with historical accuracy being so high on Love and Mercy, as well as the lead performances, where you could really call them out by name.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:17.279
Like we we love the lead performances and straight out of Compton, but here it's like, man, this actor, this actor, and then them playing off each other.
00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:22.880
I I just think it was a harder trick to pull off in Love and Mercy, and they really nail it.
00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.240
So I I feel like Love and Mercy is the one that should advance here.
00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:28.240
All right then, and we're in agreement.
00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.079
All right, so there you have it.
00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:37.440
Okay, it'll be Love and Mercy versus the Doors in the final of the groups or bands division.
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:42.559
Next week we get into our last division, and it is the drug division.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:46.720
Okay, we will start next week with Did you say we're gonna get to drugs next week?
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:47.119
I don't know.
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.039
Okay, maybe we've talked about drugs a little bit already, but you know what?
00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:52.799
They're music biopics, right?
00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:54.640
There's gonna be drugs all over the place.
00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.960
So next week we're gonna focus on Ray versus Rocketman.
00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:00.799
So join us then.
00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:04.480
Like I said, we'll make a mixtape for every one of these episodes.
00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:08.160
But you can make your own mixtape at my dotsuperaw mix dot com.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:12.079
And of course, check us out on social media at super awesome mix.
00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.480
So we'll be back next week with another battle.
00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:15.759
And for Jen, this is Matt.
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:16.960
We'll see you then.
