November 6, 2024 • 54 mins
We are heading back to August of 1984 for the dramedy Grandview, U.S.A., featuring a youthful Jamie Lee Curtis alongside the always delightful Patrick Swayze. This film captures the essence of small-town life in America, blending romance, comedy, and a bit of drama as it explores the intertwined lives of its quirky residents.
Plus, I talk about the finale season of a little iconic show: Three's Company - check it out!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:29):
Hello.
Hello.
I'm Katie and welcome to RetroMade, your pop culture rewind.
We're going to head back to August of1984 for the dramedy, Grandview USA.
Featuring a youthful Jamie Lee Curtisalongside the always delightful Patrick
(01:49):
Swayze, this film, I would say, capturesthe essence of small town life in America.
It blends romance, comedy,and a bit of drama.
It explores the intertwinedlives of very quirky residents.
It did not make a splashat the box office, but.
It's still a nostalgic look atyouthful dreams and aspirations
(02:12):
in a small town, which is perfectfor our pop culture rewind today.
If you're new to the show, welcome.
I do sometimes do solo shows as youwill see me today or hear me today.
There's just a few episodes left inseason 1 of our Ultimate Everyman.
Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze.
Stick around to see what's left.
(02:34):
There's a couple surprises in therethat we haven't gotten to yet.
But yeah, if you're new.
Retro made I cover retro moviesalong with the TV music and
other pop culture of the time.
Most of the time withanother co host guest.
If you have been with me this wholetime along my journey you know, into the
retro goodness of the 80s and 90s moviesof Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze.
(02:56):
In season one, thank youfor tuning in as always.
And here's your reminder.
If you have not provided a rating orreview, please do so please, please.
And YouTube, are you subscribed yet?
Head on over RetroMade podcast.
Okay, so we're going to open thetime capsule from August 1984.
(03:19):
This movie came out August 3rd, whichis a week earlier than another movie
that we've already covered Red Dawn.
Also with Patrick Swayze andSteve Thomas Howell, which we'll
get to so literally a week apart.
We've already covered what washappening in terms of, billboard
hits from a musical perspective,news and events from this time and TV
(03:41):
both some premieres, finales and whatwas topping those Nielsen ratings.
However.
I would like to call attention toa particular notable finale from
this season 1984 3's company.
This was its final season.
And so I think that 3'scompany deserves a little love.
(04:04):
So I'm going to expand on it rightnow and I hope you'll, you'll
join me on this little ride.
(05:53):
Interestingly, 3's company,I I'm very familiar with it.
so much.
But it was really before my time,but we'll get into maybe why, why
I remember it so well, but I'm sureyou've all seen it a bazillion times.
It's iconic for a number of reasons,but 3's company, classic sitcom.
I love sitcoms, so maybe that's wherepart of my love for it comes from.
(06:15):
It centers on 3 roommates, JackTripper, Janet Wood and Chrissy
Snow, aka Christmas Snow.
Yes, that's her.
Real full name.
They share an apartment inSanta Monica, California.
Jack is a culinary studentand he this is just wild.
The 70s because it started in the 70sbecause it's similar to bosom buddies
(06:36):
in this way, Jack has to pretend to begay to appease the prudish landlord.
Mr.
Roper.
Because he disapproves of mixed genderliving arrangements, like they're
all adults who's just, it's justwild that they had to do that anyway.
And this is even in California, butthe shows humor does revolve around
(06:58):
misunderstandings which reminds meof that friends episode where they're
watching an episode of 3's companyand Phoebe's like, Oh, is this one
where there's a misunderstanding?
Chandler's like, yeah, yeah.
And she's like, Oh, I'vealready seen this one.
And he just looks at her funny.
Cause they're all around that anyway.
It's very slapstick comedy, whichwas, a sign of its time and quite
(07:20):
a few pretty risque innuendos,particularly of the time and cast
members did change over the years.
Including the landlords, includingthe blonde roommate, but the core of
the show, the dynamic of mischief,friendship, and farcical situations
did remain throughout the wholeseries, making it a beloved TV staple.
(07:44):
I don't know if you guys knew thatJack originally lived at the Y.
M.
C.
A.
before moving in with Janet and Christy.
Norman fell we'll get into the castwho they are, but he played Mr Roper
and the early seasons he would saysomething like, after he made a joke,
he would kind of smile and look atthe, the camera knowingly, like, we're
(08:06):
all in on the joke at the expenseof another character, usually his,
his wife, Mrs Roper but so this wasan example of breaking the 4th wall,
which wasn't done a lot at this time.
So I guess it was his idea to do that.
And it's kind of thesignature of the show.
It was an ABC show ran from 1977 to 1984.
(08:27):
That's eight seasons, 172 episodes, whichI think is wild because eight seasons
now would be max like 80 episodes.
Nothing would go 8 seasons now,seemingly, but there's 10 episodes a
season if we're lucky on shows now.
So it was literally twicethat or more back in the day.
(08:50):
It is a 7.
5 on IMDb, which is pretty good.
It was a major hit when it first airedon ABC, it consistently ranked in the
top 10 of those Nielsen ratings, which Ibring up every, every retro made episode.
I would say.
Not all seasons, though particularly,you know, it took a minute to get its
(09:11):
footing and then at its peak, it wasthe 2nd most watched show in America.
During its 3rd season, so thatwas so the season of 1978 to
1979 most watched show in America.
2nd, most watch.
I'm sorry.
Again, like that combination ofprovocative plot lines, the slapstick
humor, very likable characters madeit, pop culture phenomenon, and though
(09:37):
it did kind of decline in ratings inlater seasons, they kept switching
up the cast and, but despite that,it did remain popular throughout
its entire run and became cherished.
In syndication, which is whereI found it in syndication.
So we'll talk about at the end whereyou can watch 3's company, but I
just, I remember it fondly clearly.
I wasn't around for itsoriginal run on ABC.
(09:58):
But I, I remember watching it fondly.
And only now, when I watch it, I'mlike, oh, you know, it seemed odd.
I'm like, why are theyhaving to lie about?
I don't know all the littlethings about, you know, Jack was
such a horn dog and Larry and Inever really understood why mr.
Roper never wanted tohave sex with his wife.
It was, it was wild.
(10:19):
And then we'll get to when Mr.
Furley comes along.
Don Knotts is wild.
So anyway.
3's company, I bet you everyoneknows, even if they've never seen an
episode, they know if somebody says,come on, knock on a door, they know.
Right?
So it's iconic and I love that.
(10:40):
It's.
I mean, how can you not smilewhen you hear the theme song?
(11:27):
So.
I bet you did not knowwho composed it though.
Joe Raposo composed that and he composedseveral iconic songs throughout his
career, particularly for children's TV.
He wrote the beloved themesong for Sesame Street.
Also C is for cookie and it's noteasy being green, which was famously
(11:50):
performed by Kermit the frog.
So all the same composer three's companywas created by like a team, a trio, Don
nickel, Michael Ross, and Bernie West.
They adapted the show from aBritish sitcom, man about the house.
Did you guys know that itwas originally British show?
This trio was also knownfor their successful writing
and production work on it.
(12:12):
You know, a couple of little showslike All in the Family, which was a
groundbreaking sitcom, which tackledsocial issues, as well as The Jeffersons,
which was a spinoff of All in the Family.
So there's this creation team,this writing team, they did set
the tone for this at the time,this farcical style of comedy.
(12:33):
If you think back to shows of its time,that kind of became you know, mistaken
identities, misunderstandings becamethe hallmark of this show and it was a
hit contributing to the development ofthe entire genre the late 70s and early
80s had a lot of that farcical style.
So we can kind of think Don nickel,Michael Ross and Bernie West for that.
(12:57):
Okay.
I think it's funny looking atthe ages because, okay, so the
roommates were playing people.
They're supposed to be intheir early to mid 20s.
Right?
So, like, Jack's still in school.
You know, they're, they're justgetting out on their own, but
they were all at least 10 yearsquite a bit older than that.
So, John Ritter plays Jack Tripper.
(13:19):
He was 29.
In 1977 when he startedplaying Jack Tripper.
So yeah, a little older than an early 20sand he was only 54 when he died in 2003.
I thought this was really interesting.
I mean, he goes hand inhand with Jack Tripper.
John Ritter does, but Billy Crystalwas considered for the role.
(13:43):
And I guess I can see that, but I'mglad I'm glad we had John Ritter.
I like him as Jack.
Then Joyce DeWitt plays Janet Wood.
She was 28 at the time.
Suzanne Summers plays Chrissy ChristmasSnow, and she was 31, so she was
the oldest of our original cast.
(14:06):
And they're all again, supposed to beplaying in their early to mid twenties.
Now she was in seasons 1 through 5.
We'll get to some of the otherblonde roommates in a second.
And then Larry, Larry is sort of they'relike so he's played by Richard Klein.
And I didn't even know he had alast name in the show, but Larry's
last name is Dallas, I guess.
And Richard Klein was 33 at the time.
(14:28):
And I think he was, I always assumed hewas a little bit older than the others.
Cause he like lived upstairs or,I don't know, he lived in the same
complex, but, and he lived alone, youknow, so he, you know, he was maybe a
little, little further in his careeror whatever he was, but he has this
like used car salesman, like, youknow, slick Rick style about him.
(14:49):
I liked Larry, but man.
If, you know, I thoughthe was so much older.
Again, we talk about thisall the time on these shows.
People just looked older.
I didn't, I don't think they lookedlike they were, I know they were older.
They're all approximately30 instead of 23, but.
They don't look 23 at all.
(15:09):
They look like they're 35 andthen Larry looks like he's 45.
But at any rate, that's wild.
Norman fell.
We talked about him already.
He plays Stanley Roper.
He was 53 at the time and heand Audra Lindley, who plays his
wife, Helen Roper, who was 59.
They, so the Ropers were in the firstthree seasons and then the storyline was.
(15:36):
They got a spinoff show called the Ropers.
I think it only lastedlike like 1 or 2 seasons.
But then Don Knotts comesin to be the new landlord.
Because his brother Bart bought thecomplex and so now Ralph manages it.
So, Ralph Furley, Mr.
Furley, he is the landlordfrom seasons 4 through 8.
(15:57):
The year was 1980 when he came in and hewas 56 at the time again watching this
when I see Norman, stanley Roper or Mr.
Furley.
I think they look likethey're well into their 60s.
But they're not they weren't.
All right.
Well, then we will get into whySuzanne Summers was replaced a little
(16:18):
bit later, but there was a littlebit of musical blonde roommates.
In fact, I think Nick at night evendid a cute little 3 blonde roommates.
Roommates or something like thatinstead of three blind mice.
Yeah.
So cute, but I bet you guys forgotabout the one in the middle.
So everybody remembers Chrissy.
Most people probably rememberTerry who finished the show,
(16:39):
but there was one in between.
And her name is Cindy Snow andshe is supposed to be in TV land.
She's Chrissy's cousin and she'splayed by Jenna Lee Harrison.
I think she is supposedto be a college student.
In the show, because she isyounger and in real life.
So she comes in in 1981and she was only 23.
(17:03):
At the time but even then, yeahshe looked like she was 28.
It's, it's just wild.
So, yeah, so she Jenny LeeHarrison played Cindy snow.
And so she kind of carried on alittle bit of that dumb blonde
bimbo, sort of like, silly.
Ha ha.
Look at me.
I'm just fine.
Similar to Chrissy but so JennyLee Harrison was a former L.
(17:25):
A.
Rams cheerleader and she was well likedby her coworkers but her inexperience
and a big drop in ratings, I guess, ledthem to search for yet another person
to fill the 3rd roommate position andanother famous blonde was Considered
or a finalist supposedly for this role.
(17:47):
Anyone, anyone Heather Locklear, Iguess was considered for Cindy, but.
We ultimately end up withthe role, Terry Alden.
She's a nurse.
That's the, the final blonde roommate.
She comes in for seasons 6 through8 and so she's 29 and 1982.
(18:13):
And she's played by Priscilla Barnes.
Terry is played by Priscilla Barnes.
And this is, I don't like seeing this, butshe said that her years on this show were
the unhappiest in her professional career.
Yikes.
She said she almost quit as soonas she was cast because she did
not like the backstage atmosphere.
(18:34):
So we'll get into that a littlebit more in a second, but yikes.
She's a constant professionalthough, because I loved her.
I.
Spoiler alert, she's my favoriteblonde, blonde roommate.
I loved Terry.
Or maybe it's just those arethe ones I'm more familiar with.
The later years.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Anybody?
Okay.
Who's your favorite blonde roommate?
(18:55):
Then we have one more kind of regular.
She was originally not a regular,but then towards the end she did
become a season regular in season 4.
The character of Lana.
She was supposed to be a little bit older.
I think she also lived in the complexand she was always, she had the hots
for Jack and was always, always kindof trying to get her claws in Jack.
(19:15):
And for whatever reason, I don'tknow if he wasn't interested.
I don't know why.
Cause she was very pretty anyway.
She's played by Anne Wedgeworth.
And so she comes in and season four,1980, she was 46 at the time, which
is interesting because she probablyactually looks a Like a 46 year old.
Yeah.
(19:35):
She, she's probably the only onethat looks her age, but like a
pretty, like a good, like a good 46.
All right.
I've kind of alluded to, so whywas Chrissy Snow, Suzanne Somers,
Replaced well, there's a famous feud.
I'm sure you guys have heard about it.
I'm sure you've heardtons of different stories.
I think there was like a behind the scenesmovie or a mini series about it as well.
(20:01):
But, I mean, I could literally go on foran hour about this, but I won't I will
just quickly try and summarize that.
So there's a big juicy feud behindthe scenes drama that sparked, it
was sparked by apparently SuzanneSomers demand for equal pay, God
forbid, with John Ritter in 1980.
(20:22):
So she becomes the breakout star of theshow, but she was being paid much less.
So she wanted her salary bumped up tomatch Ritter's 150, 000 per episode.
Producers refused that, offeringher just a token raise instead.
In retaliation, she began skippingtapings, showing up late Chrissy was
(20:46):
then sidelined into a brief therewas, like, maybe a season where she
was, like, Either on the phone or justremote scenes or written off those
episodes entirely for a little while.
And so tensions with co stars, especially,I guess, Joyce DeWitt, you know, playing
Janet ran really high and her, soSummer's Exit left a really bitter legacy.
(21:10):
However, she and DeWittdid reconcile decades.
Not years later, decades later, and Iguess the feud wasn't just about money.
It did expose cracks in therelationships between the cast and crew.
Her summer's bold pay demands were seenas a betrayal, particularly by Joyce
(21:31):
DeWitt and John Ritter, who kept theirdistance from her after this fallout.
And producers felt like she was becomingtoo demanding and that her husband.
Alan Hemel, who managed her career was, hewas accused of fueling this conflict, like
kind of pushing her to ask for more andbe more demanding and leaved afterwards.
And so she was ultimatelyfired and new characters.
(21:55):
Rotated into her place and, youknow, there's, you know, this
clash, what's, what's really true.
What's not true.
Lots and lots of stuff.
Suzanne Summers has referred tothe day that she got fired from 3's
company as the day my career endedin interviews, but she did go on, you
know, Thighmaster and what was the show?
(22:15):
Step.
Step by step, but but yeah, Imean, I think she probably would
have had a bigger career had thisnot happened, but That's the juicy
goss on the big 3's company feud.
Not so happy campers behind behindthe scenes, but the show is super
(22:36):
popular and it got a ton of awards.
So, let's see in terms of Emmys.
John Ritter 1 outstanding leadactor in a comedy series in 1984,
and he was also nominated forthat same category in 81 and 78.
the whole show was nominated in 78.
And Jerry Davis was nominatedfor editing in 1978.
(22:56):
Also Golden Globes, Ritter again,won best actor in 1984, nominated
in 80 and 79 Norman fell Mr.
Roper one for supporting in 79.
The show was nominated in 79.
Suzanne Summers was actuallynominated for best actress in 1977.
79 and Audra Lindley was nominatedfor best supporting in 79.
(23:20):
Also people's choice gota favorite comedy in 81.
And then I didn't know this couldhappen, but I guess there was a
tie for people's choice award.
I did not know what year, sorryabout that, but with the love boat.
I didn't know there were tie situations.
That's interesting.
And then I quite like the TV landawards because they're a little,
(23:41):
they're fun little categories.
So Don Knotts was nominated in, in both2003 and five for favorite nosy neighbor.
That was a category.
Oh my God.
The bar, you guys, the bar that theywent to was called the regal beagle.
And it was nominated in 2005 for mosthappen and hangout TV land award.
(24:02):
Norman Fallon, Aja Lindley alsoIn 2005, in 2004 for favorite.
Cantankerous couple.
That was the category.
Richard Klein for hippest fashion in2003 and Don Knotts for favorite fashion.
His ascot in in 2005.
(24:22):
Oh, TV land.
That's fun.
Okay.
So yeah, I did talk about the spinoffs.
So the Ropers, why, where'd they go?
I think they were upset because theyprobably would have rather stayed on
3's company, but at first it seemedlike a great idea to give them.
Their own spinoff show,their dynamic was funny.
But so they were promised by the ABCnetwork that if their show didn't make
(24:43):
it past its 1st season, their spotswere secure for a return to 3's company.
But because there's been offlasted a season and a half.
ABC was not obliged to bring them back.
Do you think they did that on purpose?
So they were permanentlyreplaced by Don knots.
Boy, what a cutthroat business, eh?
(25:04):
Then do you guys rememberthere was a spin off for Jack's
character called Three's a Crowd?
I've seen a few episodes, Ididn't really get into it.
But he Is engaged or married.
Yeah, the final episode of the seriesdidn't air until the beginning of
the 84 85 season when it servedas the lead in to it's been off.
(25:25):
3 is a crowd.
It, it was planned at thestart of the final season.
The producers tried to keep it a secretfrom the rest of the cast, but Joyce
to it accidentally walked in on theauditions for the part of Vicky, the
fiance or the girlfriend or wife ofJack and that caused tension on the
set between Ritter and the rest of thecast who were disappointed that series
would essentially continue without them.
(25:46):
And how Ritter was keeping it from them.
So, God, just lots of lots of perceivedbackstabbing which is, which is kind
of sad because then if, you know,that I don't kind of puts a little
stain on the show, but I just, I tryand just watch it for what it is.
Just light hearted.
Fun.
There's a couple of trivia bits thatare interesting about 3's company.
(26:07):
There were actually 3 differentaddresses given for the
apartment throughout the seasons.
Which is, I don't know why theywouldn't just keep that consistent,
but none of them were real addresses.
We talked about Chrissy'sname being Christmas Snow.
Well, her full name, and I don'tremember where we find this out,
but it's Christmas Noel Snow.
(26:28):
Wow.
In the show's opening, the beginningof the sixth season, there's a toddler.
Oh, I love the open opening sequence.
Like they're walkingthrough different areas.
They're on a sailboat.
They're at the zoo.
A she's feeding a goat.
And that toddler isJason Ritter, John's son.
I didn't know that.
That's fun.
And then the brunette again,same in that opening sequence.
(26:50):
There's a brunettewalking by the beach and.
Jack turns to look at her and falls off.
He's riding a bike and he falls off.
That person is Suzanne Summers in a wig.
Joyce DeWitt refused toever be shown bare legged.
I don't know why.
And always wore pantyhosewhen her legs were visible.
And yes, I remember that she'd wear reallyshorty shorts, but she'd have pantyhose.
(27:13):
I always thought that was weird.
I just maybe thought that was likethe style or I don't know what
people did, but her commitment tohosiery earned her an endorsement
deal with the legs brand pantyhose.
All right.
I did not know this.
I thought that Mrs.
Roper's hair was Mrs.
Roper's hair.
It's not.
Audra Lindley wore a redcurly wig to be Helen Roper.
(27:36):
Her natural hair is blonde and straight.
The exterior shots of the
Roper's apartment was an actual cornerapartment house in Santa Monica.
In a Cafe Mom video segment hostedby Suzanne Summers, Joyce DeWitt
said that John Ritter had affairswith a lot of his female co stars.
(27:58):
Both DeWitt and Summers saidthey were unaware at the time.
I mean, shocking.
If you rewatch it now, a lot ofthe girlfriend characters, you'll
be like, Oh, that's so and so.
Oh, that's so and so.
I remember one time it was, Maggiefrom Maggie Seaver from growing pains.
I'm like, oh, my God.
Yeah.
She was 1 of 1 1 of hisdates in an episode.
(28:18):
I remember.
Yeah, there's a lot of those instances.
I'm not saying that they had an affair.
I don't know.
I'm just saying I rememberedher in the 1979 episode.
The party, it's become iconicbecause when Chrissy danced with Mr.
Roper, sans bra, bouncing aroundand jiggling, she became the symbol
(28:40):
for what is known as jiggle TV,exemplified in shows like Three's
Company, Soap, Charlie's Angels,Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat.
I don't, I don't know if they still,that term, I don't think it's still
used, but I guess it was a whole thing.
Yeah.
Kind of cheap, but whatever.
Whatever.
Big shocker, big shocker.
(29:02):
All right.
Well,
3's company.
I grew up with reruns.
I think that the showfeels like a warm hug.
It's like this blend of humor,misunderstandings, quirky characters
and navigating life together.
And among the blondes, like I said, Terrystood out to me, her charm and wit added
(29:23):
a fresh dynamic to the trio in my opinion.
And we cannot forget about Mr.
Furley.
He's my favorite of the landlords.
His eccentricities and comedic timingprovided a delight, full contrast
to the more traditional Ropermaking every episode feel like a new
adventure in their small apartment.
And the laughter, lightheartedescapades, underlying friendships
(29:46):
remind me of the simple joys of life.
Now, isn't that what it's all about?
I think, again, the, the warm hug,the feeling like that, that apartment,
like I, you know, It's just, it's a,yeah, the show not only entertained,
it created extremely lasting memories,making it a classic in my heart.
And if you have not revisited it in awhile, I do highly recommend diving back
(30:10):
into the antics of Jack, Janet and Chrissyand all of their unforgettable adventures.
And you can do that pretty easily becauseit's very widely available to watch.
It airs on Pluto, IFC, andAntenna TV and then the following.
If you have a subscription,Filo or Filo, Sling and DirecTV,
(30:33):
all right.
Well, shall we get into Grandview USA?
Like I said, it premiered one weekbefore Red Dawn, which is wild
because there are two of the exactsame characters in this movie.
It's rated R.
(30:54):
IMDb is a little lower than, you know,we've been in the mid fives to mid
six lately with, with this, the lastseveral movies that we've been covering.
5.
5 we have for Granby USA.
I bet most of you have not seen this,so Here's a little synopsis with
only 1 week left before he graduateshigh school in the small middle
(31:16):
Western community of grand view.
The 18 year old dreamer Tim Pearsonis it is itching to renounce an
uninspiring scholarship stand upto his despotic father and pursue a
career in oceanography away from home.
However, before long, an unexpectedmeeting with the struggling 27
year old owner of of the town'sdemolition derby track on the
(31:38):
other side of the tracks Michelle.
Mike Cody and the speed drumsKing Ernie slam Webster will bring
Tim one step closer not only tohis aspirations, but also love.
But has anyone ever spread hiswings away from Grandview USA?
That is different, right?
It's definitely a different movie.
(32:01):
I hadn't even heard of it before.
And I just remember, because One of thefirst movies I covered on the show was
Skatetown USA also with Patrick Swayze.
It was his first movie roleand that was from 1979 and
it's just really, I don't know.
I'm like, oh, he had a SkatetownUSA and a Grandview USA.
(32:24):
And they're both strange.
At any rate uh, Randall Kleiser.
Who is the director and he alsodirected really good movies, Greece,
the blue lagoon, flight of thenavigator and white Fang writers.
Actually, it's just the 1 writerhere, Ken Hickson, and he also
(32:46):
wrote inventing the Abbots.
and City by the Sea,but he he directed Mr.
Mom with Michael Keaton.
Love that movie.
All right.
So Jamie Lee Curtis in this, you guys,she's very young and her name is Mike.
I mean, technically her name is Michelle,but she goes by Mike, Mike Cody.
(33:06):
That's Jamie Lee Curtis.
Then we have C.
Thomas Howell as the 18 year old.
Thank God he's 18 as we willget into, Tim Pearson and
Patrick Swayze plays Ernie Slam.
Webster now, those 2 were, like I said,they were in Red Dawn a week later and
also the Outsiders together 3 movies ina really close period of time together,
(33:33):
which is interesting because I don't know.
It's just really interesting.
Anyway, then we have a Jennifer Jason Leein an extremely different role for her.
I, I gotta say, I was really surprisedto see who she played in this.
She plays candy Webster.
And that's so that's Patrick's wife.
(33:55):
Yeah, they're married.
Yeah, but she's cheatingon him the whole time.
And we talked about JenniferJason Lee, you all know her, but
she was in back draft with Kurt.
So candy's cheating and herboyfriend that she's cheating.
I don't know why you wouldcheat on Patrick sleazy, but.
His name's Troy in the movie, andhe's played by Donnie Benton, and
he actually had a small role inthe Godfather part two, and he
(34:17):
was also in Crybaby, Johnny Depp.
And then Bob Cody Mike's uncleis played by William Wyndham.
He played the president.
Well, actually, so he has, he.
He kind of looks familiar, but he,you know, his credits go way far back.
I think you guys would thinkhe was a familiar actor.
(34:38):
He has 257 acting credits.
So he's in a ton of stuff.
Most notably, I would say heplayed the president in Escape
from Planet of the Apes from 1971.
And he was in to kill amockingbird from 1962 playing Mr.
Gilmer can't quite make it up.
I, I have seen that movie,but it's been a minute.
(34:58):
So I don't recall who that is.
And then we have Betty, shehelps run the speedway at 1st.
I thought maybe she was her aunt,but I don't I don't think she is.
Her name, the actress'sname is Carol cook.
She has roles in 16 candlesand American gigolo and.
Emmett Walsh he's literallyin everything and we've talked
(35:18):
about him several times before.
He plays Mr.
Clark, who is Tim's prom date, Bonnie.
He plays her father.
We talked about him in the Best of Timesepisode as well as the Silkwood episode.
So he, everybody, M, M, M.
It's hard to say though, because it'sM, the initial, and then Emmett Walsh.
(35:40):
Mr.
Pearson, Tim's dad, isplayed by Ramon Bieri.
He looks very familiar.
But he's not well known.
Bonnie, the prom date is playedby Elizabeth Gorsy and she
is also in some 80s classics.
She plays Tina in Teen Wolfand Wendy Jo in Footloose.
(36:00):
So that's Elizabeth Gorsy and we haveSo Mike has a mentally challenged
brother named Cowboy in the movieand he is played by John Philbin.
Yes, you all know John Philbin.
He's very young in this and I'mlike, Oh my God, he looks familiar.
And I, I didn't put two andtwo together until afterwards.
(36:22):
But yeah, John Philbin.
He's It's pretty well known, mostnotably playing Amos in Children
of the Corn, Nathaniel in PointBreak, and Tom McLaury in Tombstone.
And then we have both John andJoan Cusack in Little Bit Parts.
I don't even know what characters,I think they play brother and
sister in the movie, but they'rejust some townspeople, I think.
(36:43):
But yeah, the music here.
Is phenomenal.
I mean, I don't the, the,I, let me take that back.
I don't really think I remember.
A lot about the music, but the composer.
Is is very well known.
His name is Thomas Newman, and healso scored the Shawshank Redemption.
(37:09):
I think is the number 1 IMDb movie.
I'm pretty sure the Green Mile,Finding Nemo, Cinderella Man, the
HBO series, 6 Feet Under, which,That music was good also shows
really good and a lot of others.
So he's been nominated for 15 academyawards, but he hasn't won any.
So anyway, that's him.
(37:30):
They spent 5M dollars on this movieand did not quite squeak that back 4.
7 in box office.
So, like I said, I hadn'teven heard of this movie.
I, you have to let me know you guys ifyou've a heard of it and be seen it.
All right.
So, very reminiscent of the time,you know, it's early to mid 80s.
(37:52):
It opens with this allAmerican small town life scene.
Very wholesome.
Just it's, it's quite sweet.
So then we meet Tim Pearson, who isour grand view high school senior.
He actually has aspirationsfor oceanography in Florida.
So, yeah.
Despite, so he is valedictorian.
(38:15):
And so he has a scholarship toISU, so they must be in Illinois.
And he wants to like, turn down hisscholarship and go to Florida instead.
I don't know.
He says he wants to bethe next Jacques Cousteau.
So we see him in the movie scubaing like in his bathtub and in
like the local gross lake and pond.
(38:35):
And it's just like catfish in there.
You know, it's alandlocked Midwestern town.
So he's like, get me out of here.
And then there's some, there's somecute things when we like meet our
characters that are major retro alerts.
So for example, He watches MTV onhis in his room on this teeny tiny
tube TV and it's on a TV cart.
(38:57):
Do you guys remember those?
You don't see that anymore.
We also get these really strange.
There's two or three of them.
They're not dream sequences.
I think they're like Imagination sequencesof him, you know, working out what he's
thinking or feeling in a music video.
And the characters that we knoware and it's, it's different.
(39:19):
It's interesting for sure.
And then his mom, we see herin the living room again.
It's, it's bigger than his room TV, but,you know, back in the day TVs in the
living room were pretty small still.
And she's watching Richard Simmons.
As she aerobic sizes, sovery early to mid 80s.
Love it.
(39:39):
Okay.
So then so it's prom time.
He's a senior.
It's from his, his date's name isBonnie and he borrows his, his dad
has this brand new shiny Cadillac.
And he's, you know.
They make a big deal aboutdon't scratch the car.
Be careful with the car,the car, the car, the car.
So we clearly can see something'sgoing to happen to the car.
(40:00):
Yeah, so a prom they're likeparked in this, like right
by a pond in a muddy area.
And they're making out in theback seat and Oh, it sinks in
the mud and goes into the pond.
What a dipshit.
So that's when we meet Mike, a.
k.
a.
Jamie Lee.
She gets rescued by Mike.
Who's way cooler.
(40:20):
This prom date.
She, she's pretty cool, but she'svery androgynous a little bit.
She just wears jeans and like aflannel and she's got a short.
Unattractive haircut.
But she knows her way about arounda toolbox and the demolition
Derby and he's You know,starting to get the hots for her.
She owns this speed Romespeedway speed Rome.
(40:43):
I don't they call it the speed Romein the movie and I take it that her
family has had this in, you know,in the family for quite some time.
And she's having a hard time keepingup with repairs and stuff like that.
So they keep, you know, Trying to like,all the property around the speed room
has been bought up by this developerand she's the holdout and that kind
(41:05):
of becomes a thing in a little bit.
Well, that okay, sowe're at the speed room.
We meet slam slam the Ram Webster, a.
k.
a.
Patrick Swayze.
So he wins the Derby, like he's a Derbierbecause he has to get his mind off of
the fact that his wife's cheating on him.
He makes a scene, you know,it's like out in the open.
Everybody knows it.
She doesn't even really try and hide it.
(41:25):
You know, he smashes this guy's car.
You know, the guy gets shot in the foot.
It's a whole thing.
Just really quickly.
I always have to go over over my Patrick.
So it's the early 80s, Patrick Swayze.
So his hair situation as always,it kind of deserves its own
credit, but it's the early 80s.
(41:45):
And so it's sort of that not overlydone, but it's a little that early
80s kind of feathered, but short.
Hair that looks good on noone except for Patrick Swayze.
Again we, you know, same with themullet that he'll, he'll bring out
he'll haul that out in a few years.
But right now it's the short hair,the early eighties version of hair.
(42:07):
And I think you guys can picture it.
It's longer, it's short, but it's likelonger than Jamie Lee's in this movie.
She has a really bad haircut.
I don't know.
But anyway, sometimes hepulls it off as he does with
everything because he is Patrick.
And again, okay.
So because he's Patrick and youknow, he, you know, he just,
they don't make a lot of money.
Clearly money is more importantto her than looks because she's
(42:28):
cheating with somebody not nearlyas attractive and her husband's hot.
I don't know why you wouldcheat on him, but she does.
Candy, her, her name says it all.
If your wife's name is Candy.
She's probably cheating on you.
I'm kidding for all ofyou named candy out there.
It's just, you know, you, youget what I'm trying to say.
And then, so we learn that in high school,back in the day, slam and Mike, Jamie Lee.
(42:53):
So Patrick and Jamie Lee liked eachother, but Jamie Lee pretty quickly
got married and she's not married now.
So she's divorced.
And they literally say in the show,or she, one of them, I forget who
it is, She is 27 and she is referredto, I guess, in the early eighties
(43:13):
in mid, in the Midwest at 27, you arean old maid if you're not married.
So she's divorced old maid.
That's what they call her.
She's 27.
This is wild.
So anyway, she needs 10, 000 to fixthe speedway or it's going to get shut
down like I was saying, the developersand it turns out so Tim's dad.
(43:35):
Is the county commissioner.
And he's part of it.
Tim finds this out.
He finds these plans to builda country club with the land.
And so Tim is pissed that his dad ispart of this because now he's developed
this friendship and, and crush on Mike.
And , she's teaching him how to Derby.
So he's, he's upset by this.
(43:56):
He comes to Mike's trailer upset,and, you know, they talk and.
Get something to eat andthey end up having sex.
He's 18.
Gross.
He's a high school kid.
Ew.
Ew.
I don't like this at all.
Plus, plus she has already gotthis like budding romance with
(44:20):
Patrick Swayze's character.
They were supposed to goout to dinner that night.
And she ends up sleeping with thehigh school kid and then you guys
a sweet slam shows up at her trailer inthe morning with a bag of groceries to
make her breakfast and he finds out, Oh,there's a high school kid in bed with her.
(44:44):
Can you imagine this poor man?
What in the actual fuck?
He, he leaned on her and trusted her.
After he's like, Hey my life sucks.
My wife's cheating on me.
And, you know, she's like,oh, well, we're friends.
Like, oh, maybe we could havedinner, blah, blah, blah.
And now you sleep with this teenager.
(45:08):
I, I mean, I don't know.
I don't know you guys.
Yeah, I don't know.
They do.
Okay.
I won't spoil it.
So then now there's like this.
So, so now they're both into.
A, Mike, and B, derbying.
And so there's thishigh stakes competition.
(45:29):
So Tim's in it.
Tim and Slam go head to head at the derby.
Slam gets his revenge.
After the derby I mean, obviously itkind of appears as though he's going
after Tim on purpose, but he's not.
So Mike kind of gets mad.
Slam then goes back to his house wherehe, I mean, he, he just cannot win Slam.
(45:49):
He goes back to his house where hiswife is in bed with her boyfriend.
Literally, he is like eithertied or handcuffed to the bed.
And Slam finally gets his revenge.
He's just continuing to see his wifeflaunt this boyfriend in his face.
He literally bulldozes the house down withthem in it after he smashes her VW bug.
(46:15):
How 80s is that?
So as they're experiencing thisbulldozer come through the house,
they're like, what the hell?
She.
He.
He.
Proceeds to leave in what her little 90or whatever she's wearing and leaves her
boyfriend tied to the bed to be bulldozed.
What a treat this candy is.
(46:36):
Yeah, I just, I was like,oh, he finally you go.
I mean, I'm not like, let'snot do that, but I don't know.
It was finally, like, this poor guy.
I'll you can, you can putyour head on my shoulder.
Slam.
All right.
Well, then.
There's a little bitof a twist at the end.
.So Mike and Tim discover the speedway has been burned down.
(47:03):
So what are we thinking isprobably happening, right?
We're probably thinking, oh shit, like thetowns, you know, the people who wanted to
buy it, you know, something along thoselines, like they're forcing her hand
little nefarious shit going on like that.
But no, no.
It's courtesy of cowboy Mike's mentallychallenged brother and a missing gas cap.
(47:25):
He purposefully didn't putthe gas cap on something.
And it turns out he did that because Mikehas been trying to find all these ways to
raise money to try and save the speedway.
By not selling it.
So she does this cause she hadto sell a bunch of junkyard cars.
But.
Cowboy kind of considered those his carsand she didn't talk to him about it.
(47:48):
So he said he did that becausethey took his cars away.
Oh.
Nothing like a little arson to spice upthis already super strange storyline,
but it's kind of sad so now, so now Mikedecides she is going to sell the speech.
She's like, well, fuck it.
Then I'm going to sellthe speedway to Tim's dad.
So that so now all all of a sudden nomore love triangle, like Tim's cool.
(48:14):
With, you know, now, all of a sudden, Mikeand slam are just going to be together.
And so she decides to sell thespeedway to Tim's dad so that she
can start a life with slam together.
And then we see Tim, he's on a busto Chicago to go to college, you
know, he's, he didn't get his wish.
He has to take God forbid.
(48:34):
He has to take the scholarshipto go to college, but that's
not what he wants to do.
Right?
So that's where his heart is.
And so this was really sweet.
Mike, it's always hard for me tosay her name is Mike and slam.
They somehow get the bus to pull over.
He comes out and they give himthe car that they're driving in.
And the money that she obtained byselling the Speedway so they give it
(49:00):
to Tim for his trip to Florida so thathe can go pursue his dream in Florida
and become the next Jacques Cousteau.
And then Mike and Slam, they can stillbuild a life together in this little town
and, you know, just have a happy, regular.
Small town life together, and sothey're officially a couple there.
(49:20):
There's this parade summertimein in Grandview, USA.
So they're just, you know, off offmarching together into their future while
Tim's left to chase the ocean waves.
It's a very classic small town closure.
So that is Grandview USA.
You guys.
A couple little pieces oftrivia that you guys might find
(49:44):
interesting before we close.
It apparently is the 1st feature film ofproduction company ocelot productions.
1 of only 4 CBS theatrical projectsgreenlit for production in the 1983 year,
and they looked at about 40 differenttowns across the Midwest before
(50:06):
setting on filming the entire picturein the American state of Illinois in
the cities of Pontiac and fairbury.
You know, the song she's like thewind that was in dirty dancing.
Patrick wrote it.
Patrick sang it right.
Well.
That was 1987 that moviewas in this is what is this?
What is this?
(50:26):
1984?
Yeah.
So the song she's like the wind originallywritten by Patrick for Grandview USA.
This is a movie apparent.
I mean, apparently, supposedly asa love thing for the characters
played by him and Jamie Lee Curtis.
But it was scrapped because thecomedic and somewhat raunchy
nature of the film, duh.
The track would later eventuallybe used 3 years later in Swayze's
(50:49):
film Dirty Dancing, 1987.
But, you listeners, if you've been payingattention, do you remember when we talked
about in the Youngblood episode thathe shopped it around for that as well?
Remember, we talked about Rob Lowetalked about him coming to him
trying to use it in that movie too.
(51:09):
Patrick.
I love you.
I love it.
But man, he really shops this around.
I'm glad it was meant for dirty dancing.
Definitely not granted what a wasteit would have been in this movie.
All right.
So, the demolition Derby part ofit, it was a movie set construction,
which actually built and filmedon a baseball field and it costs.
(51:30):
300, 000.
A few casting what ifs.
Tim Pearson played by C.
Thomas Howell.
Which This might be a hot take,but there's nothing wrong.
I don't dislike him, but he's always flat.
He's always a character that I'm like, hecould easily be swapped with someone else.
(51:50):
And I think it's sort of like, hedid a bunch of stuff, maybe not
a bunch, like a handful of thingsin like, 83, 84, 85 and that's it.
And I think that's why, I don't know whythey thought, he, he's not without talent.
It's just, he's so, eh, I don't know.
(52:12):
I, I, I don't think he hasstar power and I, I don't know.
He was given a lot of chances to become1 and just didn't for whatever reason.
Anyway, that's my,that's my hot take on C.
Thomas Howell, but he playedTim Pearson, but Kevin Kostner,
I guess was offered the role.
Which I think would have been better.
(52:34):
I'm not like a huge Costner fan,but like I said, I'm not a big C.
Thomas Howell fan either.
So Jamie Lee Curtis was notwho they originally cast as
Mike Cody, Michelle, Mike Cody.
Apparently Cher was originallythe lead female role.
(52:55):
And according to an articlepublished August 23rd, 1983
issue of the Hollywood Reporter.
There were creative differencesbetween Cher and the producers
over the casting of the two maleleads in the movie Patrick and C.
Thomas Howell.
Now, I'm on your side Cher with the C.
Thomas Howell, but Patrick, I don't knowBut we talked we talked about Cher because
(53:19):
she was in Silkwood with Kurt Yeah, soanyway And then you know how I mentioned
John and Joan Cusack were in this?
Wow.
This is one of about 10 featurefilms that the real life brother and
sister, John and Joan Cusack haveboth appeared in as cast members.
Yeah, that's funny.
(53:40):
All right.
You guys Grandview USAagain, who's seen it.
Who's even heard of it?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Let me know.
Don't forget, you can emailme if you would like to with
comments, questions, et cetera.
RetroMadePodcast at gmail.
com or you can always leavecomments on the YouTube version.
I like that.
(54:00):
This movie was definitely an interestingone, a bit out of left field.
It is time to get off of thisquirky ride and drive ourselves
back into the present day reality.
Until next time, be kind, rewind.
Hello.
Hello.
I'm Katie and welcome to RetroMade, your pop culture rewind.
We're going to head back to August of1984 for the dramedy, Grandview USA.
Featuring a youthful Jamie Lee Curtisalongside the always delightful Patrick
(01:49):
Swayze, this film, I would say, capturesthe essence of small town life in America.
It blends romance, comedy,and a bit of drama.
It explores the intertwinedlives of very quirky residents.
It did not make a splashat the box office, but.
It's still a nostalgic look atyouthful dreams and aspirations
(02:12):
in a small town, which is perfectfor our pop culture rewind today.
If you're new to the show, welcome.
I do sometimes do solo shows as youwill see me today or hear me today.
There's just a few episodes left inseason 1 of our Ultimate Everyman.
Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze.
Stick around to see what's left.
(02:34):
There's a couple surprises in therethat we haven't gotten to yet.
But yeah, if you're new.
Retro made I cover retro moviesalong with the TV music and
other pop culture of the time.
Most of the time withanother co host guest.
If you have been with me this wholetime along my journey you know, into the
retro goodness of the 80s and 90s moviesof Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze.
(02:56):
In season one, thank youfor tuning in as always.
And here's your reminder.
If you have not provided a rating orreview, please do so please, please.
And YouTube, are you subscribed yet?
Head on over RetroMade podcast.
Okay, so we're going to open thetime capsule from August 1984.
(03:19):
This movie came out August 3rd, whichis a week earlier than another movie
that we've already covered Red Dawn.
Also with Patrick Swayze andSteve Thomas Howell, which we'll
get to so literally a week apart.
We've already covered what washappening in terms of, billboard
hits from a musical perspective,news and events from this time and TV
(03:41):
both some premieres, finales and whatwas topping those Nielsen ratings.
However.
I would like to call attention toa particular notable finale from
this season 1984 3's company.
This was its final season.
And so I think that 3'scompany deserves a little love.
(04:04):
So I'm going to expand on it rightnow and I hope you'll, you'll
join me on this little ride.
(05:53):
Interestingly, 3's company,I I'm very familiar with it.
so much.
But it was really before my time,but we'll get into maybe why, why
I remember it so well, but I'm sureyou've all seen it a bazillion times.
It's iconic for a number of reasons,but 3's company, classic sitcom.
I love sitcoms, so maybe that's wherepart of my love for it comes from.
(06:15):
It centers on 3 roommates, JackTripper, Janet Wood and Chrissy
Snow, aka Christmas Snow.
Yes, that's her.
Real full name.
They share an apartment inSanta Monica, California.
Jack is a culinary studentand he this is just wild.
The 70s because it started in the 70sbecause it's similar to bosom buddies
(06:36):
in this way, Jack has to pretend to begay to appease the prudish landlord.
Mr.
Roper.
Because he disapproves of mixed genderliving arrangements, like they're
all adults who's just, it's justwild that they had to do that anyway.
And this is even in California, butthe shows humor does revolve around
(06:58):
misunderstandings which reminds meof that friends episode where they're
watching an episode of 3's companyand Phoebe's like, Oh, is this one
where there's a misunderstanding?
Chandler's like, yeah, yeah.
And she's like, Oh, I'vealready seen this one.
And he just looks at her funny.
Cause they're all around that anyway.
It's very slapstick comedy, whichwas, a sign of its time and quite
(07:20):
a few pretty risque innuendos,particularly of the time and cast
members did change over the years.
Including the landlords, includingthe blonde roommate, but the core of
the show, the dynamic of mischief,friendship, and farcical situations
did remain throughout the wholeseries, making it a beloved TV staple.
(07:44):
I don't know if you guys knew thatJack originally lived at the Y.
M.
C.
A.
before moving in with Janet and Christy.
Norman fell we'll get into the castwho they are, but he played Mr Roper
and the early seasons he would saysomething like, after he made a joke,
he would kind of smile and look atthe, the camera knowingly, like, we're
(08:06):
all in on the joke at the expenseof another character, usually his,
his wife, Mrs Roper but so this wasan example of breaking the 4th wall,
which wasn't done a lot at this time.
So I guess it was his idea to do that.
And it's kind of thesignature of the show.
It was an ABC show ran from 1977 to 1984.
(08:27):
That's eight seasons, 172 episodes, whichI think is wild because eight seasons
now would be max like 80 episodes.
Nothing would go 8 seasons now,seemingly, but there's 10 episodes a
season if we're lucky on shows now.
So it was literally twicethat or more back in the day.
(08:50):
It is a 7.
5 on IMDb, which is pretty good.
It was a major hit when it first airedon ABC, it consistently ranked in the
top 10 of those Nielsen ratings, which Ibring up every, every retro made episode.
I would say.
Not all seasons, though particularly,you know, it took a minute to get its
(09:11):
footing and then at its peak, it wasthe 2nd most watched show in America.
During its 3rd season, so thatwas so the season of 1978 to
1979 most watched show in America.
2nd, most watch.
I'm sorry.
Again, like that combination ofprovocative plot lines, the slapstick
humor, very likable characters madeit, pop culture phenomenon, and though
(09:37):
it did kind of decline in ratings inlater seasons, they kept switching
up the cast and, but despite that,it did remain popular throughout
its entire run and became cherished.
In syndication, which is whereI found it in syndication.
So we'll talk about at the end whereyou can watch 3's company, but I
just, I remember it fondly clearly.
I wasn't around for itsoriginal run on ABC.
(09:58):
But I, I remember watching it fondly.
And only now, when I watch it, I'mlike, oh, you know, it seemed odd.
I'm like, why are theyhaving to lie about?
I don't know all the littlethings about, you know, Jack was
such a horn dog and Larry and Inever really understood why mr.
Roper never wanted tohave sex with his wife.
It was, it was wild.
(10:19):
And then we'll get to when Mr.
Furley comes along.
Don Knotts is wild.
So anyway.
3's company, I bet you everyoneknows, even if they've never seen an
episode, they know if somebody says,come on, knock on a door, they know.
Right?
So it's iconic and I love that.
(10:40):
It's.
I mean, how can you not smilewhen you hear the theme song?
(11:27):
So.
I bet you did not knowwho composed it though.
Joe Raposo composed that and he composedseveral iconic songs throughout his
career, particularly for children's TV.
He wrote the beloved themesong for Sesame Street.
Also C is for cookie and it's noteasy being green, which was famously
(11:50):
performed by Kermit the frog.
So all the same composer three's companywas created by like a team, a trio, Don
nickel, Michael Ross, and Bernie West.
They adapted the show from aBritish sitcom, man about the house.
Did you guys know that itwas originally British show?
This trio was also knownfor their successful writing
and production work on it.
(12:12):
You know, a couple of little showslike All in the Family, which was a
groundbreaking sitcom, which tackledsocial issues, as well as The Jeffersons,
which was a spinoff of All in the Family.
So there's this creation team,this writing team, they did set
the tone for this at the time,this farcical style of comedy.
(12:33):
If you think back to shows of its time,that kind of became you know, mistaken
identities, misunderstandings becamethe hallmark of this show and it was a
hit contributing to the development ofthe entire genre the late 70s and early
80s had a lot of that farcical style.
So we can kind of think Don nickel,Michael Ross and Bernie West for that.
(12:57):
Okay.
I think it's funny looking atthe ages because, okay, so the
roommates were playing people.
They're supposed to be intheir early to mid 20s.
Right?
So, like, Jack's still in school.
You know, they're, they're justgetting out on their own, but
they were all at least 10 yearsquite a bit older than that.
So, John Ritter plays Jack Tripper.
(13:19):
He was 29.
In 1977 when he startedplaying Jack Tripper.
So yeah, a little older than an early 20sand he was only 54 when he died in 2003.
I thought this was really interesting.
I mean, he goes hand inhand with Jack Tripper.
John Ritter does, but Billy Crystalwas considered for the role.
(13:43):
And I guess I can see that, but I'mglad I'm glad we had John Ritter.
I like him as Jack.
Then Joyce DeWitt plays Janet Wood.
She was 28 at the time.
Suzanne Summers plays Chrissy ChristmasSnow, and she was 31, so she was
the oldest of our original cast.
(14:06):
And they're all again, supposed to beplaying in their early to mid twenties.
Now she was in seasons 1 through 5.
We'll get to some of the otherblonde roommates in a second.
And then Larry, Larry is sort of they'relike so he's played by Richard Klein.
And I didn't even know he had alast name in the show, but Larry's
last name is Dallas, I guess.
And Richard Klein was 33 at the time.
(14:28):
And I think he was, I always assumed hewas a little bit older than the others.
Cause he like lived upstairs or,I don't know, he lived in the same
complex, but, and he lived alone, youknow, so he, you know, he was maybe a
little, little further in his careeror whatever he was, but he has this
like used car salesman, like, youknow, slick Rick style about him.
(14:49):
I liked Larry, but man.
If, you know, I thoughthe was so much older.
Again, we talk about thisall the time on these shows.
People just looked older.
I didn't, I don't think they lookedlike they were, I know they were older.
They're all approximately30 instead of 23, but.
They don't look 23 at all.
(15:09):
They look like they're 35 andthen Larry looks like he's 45.
But at any rate, that's wild.
Norman fell.
We talked about him already.
He plays Stanley Roper.
He was 53 at the time and heand Audra Lindley, who plays his
wife, Helen Roper, who was 59.
They, so the Ropers were in the firstthree seasons and then the storyline was.
(15:36):
They got a spinoff show called the Ropers.
I think it only lastedlike like 1 or 2 seasons.
But then Don Knotts comesin to be the new landlord.
Because his brother Bart bought thecomplex and so now Ralph manages it.
So, Ralph Furley, Mr.
Furley, he is the landlordfrom seasons 4 through 8.
(15:57):
The year was 1980 when he came in and hewas 56 at the time again watching this
when I see Norman, stanley Roper or Mr.
Furley.
I think they look likethey're well into their 60s.
But they're not they weren't.
All right.
Well, then we will get into whySuzanne Summers was replaced a little
(16:18):
bit later, but there was a littlebit of musical blonde roommates.
In fact, I think Nick at night evendid a cute little 3 blonde roommates.
Roommates or something like thatinstead of three blind mice.
Yeah.
So cute, but I bet you guys forgotabout the one in the middle.
So everybody remembers Chrissy.
Most people probably rememberTerry who finished the show,
(16:39):
but there was one in between.
And her name is Cindy Snow andshe is supposed to be in TV land.
She's Chrissy's cousin and she'splayed by Jenna Lee Harrison.
I think she is supposedto be a college student.
In the show, because she isyounger and in real life.
So she comes in in 1981and she was only 23.
(17:03):
At the time but even then, yeahshe looked like she was 28.
It's, it's just wild.
So, yeah, so she Jenny LeeHarrison played Cindy snow.
And so she kind of carried on alittle bit of that dumb blonde
bimbo, sort of like, silly.
Ha ha.
Look at me.
I'm just fine.
Similar to Chrissy but so JennyLee Harrison was a former L.
(17:25):
A.
Rams cheerleader and she was well likedby her coworkers but her inexperience
and a big drop in ratings, I guess, ledthem to search for yet another person
to fill the 3rd roommate position andanother famous blonde was Considered
or a finalist supposedly for this role.
(17:47):
Anyone, anyone Heather Locklear, Iguess was considered for Cindy, but.
We ultimately end up withthe role, Terry Alden.
She's a nurse.
That's the, the final blonde roommate.
She comes in for seasons 6 through8 and so she's 29 and 1982.
(18:13):
And she's played by Priscilla Barnes.
Terry is played by Priscilla Barnes.
And this is, I don't like seeing this, butshe said that her years on this show were
the unhappiest in her professional career.
Yikes.
She said she almost quit as soonas she was cast because she did
not like the backstage atmosphere.
(18:34):
So we'll get into that a littlebit more in a second, but yikes.
She's a constant professionalthough, because I loved her.
I.
Spoiler alert, she's my favoriteblonde, blonde roommate.
I loved Terry.
Or maybe it's just those arethe ones I'm more familiar with.
The later years.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Anybody?
Okay.
Who's your favorite blonde roommate?
(18:55):
Then we have one more kind of regular.
She was originally not a regular,but then towards the end she did
become a season regular in season 4.
The character of Lana.
She was supposed to be a little bit older.
I think she also lived in the complexand she was always, she had the hots
for Jack and was always, always kindof trying to get her claws in Jack.
(19:15):
And for whatever reason, I don'tknow if he wasn't interested.
I don't know why.
Cause she was very pretty anyway.
She's played by Anne Wedgeworth.
And so she comes in and season four,1980, she was 46 at the time, which
is interesting because she probablyactually looks a Like a 46 year old.
Yeah.
(19:35):
She, she's probably the only onethat looks her age, but like a
pretty, like a good, like a good 46.
All right.
I've kind of alluded to, so whywas Chrissy Snow, Suzanne Somers,
Replaced well, there's a famous feud.
I'm sure you guys have heard about it.
I'm sure you've heardtons of different stories.
I think there was like a behind the scenesmovie or a mini series about it as well.
(20:01):
But, I mean, I could literally go on foran hour about this, but I won't I will
just quickly try and summarize that.
So there's a big juicy feud behindthe scenes drama that sparked, it
was sparked by apparently SuzanneSomers demand for equal pay, God
forbid, with John Ritter in 1980.
(20:22):
So she becomes the breakout star of theshow, but she was being paid much less.
So she wanted her salary bumped up tomatch Ritter's 150, 000 per episode.
Producers refused that, offeringher just a token raise instead.
In retaliation, she began skippingtapings, showing up late Chrissy was
(20:46):
then sidelined into a brief therewas, like, maybe a season where she
was, like, Either on the phone or justremote scenes or written off those
episodes entirely for a little while.
And so tensions with co stars, especially,I guess, Joyce DeWitt, you know, playing
Janet ran really high and her, soSummer's Exit left a really bitter legacy.
(21:10):
However, she and DeWittdid reconcile decades.
Not years later, decades later, and Iguess the feud wasn't just about money.
It did expose cracks in therelationships between the cast and crew.
Her summer's bold pay demands were seenas a betrayal, particularly by Joyce
(21:31):
DeWitt and John Ritter, who kept theirdistance from her after this fallout.
And producers felt like she was becomingtoo demanding and that her husband.
Alan Hemel, who managed her career was, hewas accused of fueling this conflict, like
kind of pushing her to ask for more andbe more demanding and leaved afterwards.
And so she was ultimatelyfired and new characters.
(21:55):
Rotated into her place and, youknow, there's, you know, this
clash, what's, what's really true.
What's not true.
Lots and lots of stuff.
Suzanne Summers has referred tothe day that she got fired from 3's
company as the day my career endedin interviews, but she did go on, you
know, Thighmaster and what was the show?
(22:15):
Step.
Step by step, but but yeah, Imean, I think she probably would
have had a bigger career had thisnot happened, but That's the juicy
goss on the big 3's company feud.
Not so happy campers behind behindthe scenes, but the show is super
(22:36):
popular and it got a ton of awards.
So, let's see in terms of Emmys.
John Ritter 1 outstanding leadactor in a comedy series in 1984,
and he was also nominated forthat same category in 81 and 78.
the whole show was nominated in 78.
And Jerry Davis was nominatedfor editing in 1978.
(22:56):
Also Golden Globes, Ritter again,won best actor in 1984, nominated
in 80 and 79 Norman fell Mr.
Roper one for supporting in 79.
The show was nominated in 79.
Suzanne Summers was actuallynominated for best actress in 1977.
79 and Audra Lindley was nominatedfor best supporting in 79.
(23:20):
Also people's choice gota favorite comedy in 81.
And then I didn't know this couldhappen, but I guess there was a
tie for people's choice award.
I did not know what year, sorryabout that, but with the love boat.
I didn't know there were tie situations.
That's interesting.
And then I quite like the TV landawards because they're a little,
(23:41):
they're fun little categories.
So Don Knotts was nominated in, in both2003 and five for favorite nosy neighbor.
That was a category.
Oh my God.
The bar, you guys, the bar that theywent to was called the regal beagle.
And it was nominated in 2005 for mosthappen and hangout TV land award.
(24:02):
Norman Fallon, Aja Lindley alsoIn 2005, in 2004 for favorite.
Cantankerous couple.
That was the category.
Richard Klein for hippest fashion in2003 and Don Knotts for favorite fashion.
His ascot in in 2005.
(24:22):
Oh, TV land.
That's fun.
Okay.
So yeah, I did talk about the spinoffs.
So the Ropers, why, where'd they go?
I think they were upset because theyprobably would have rather stayed on
3's company, but at first it seemedlike a great idea to give them.
Their own spinoff show,their dynamic was funny.
But so they were promised by the ABCnetwork that if their show didn't make
(24:43):
it past its 1st season, their spotswere secure for a return to 3's company.
But because there's been offlasted a season and a half.
ABC was not obliged to bring them back.
Do you think they did that on purpose?
So they were permanentlyreplaced by Don knots.
Boy, what a cutthroat business, eh?
(25:04):
Then do you guys rememberthere was a spin off for Jack's
character called Three's a Crowd?
I've seen a few episodes, Ididn't really get into it.
But he Is engaged or married.
Yeah, the final episode of the seriesdidn't air until the beginning of
the 84 85 season when it servedas the lead in to it's been off.
(25:25):
3 is a crowd.
It, it was planned at thestart of the final season.
The producers tried to keep it a secretfrom the rest of the cast, but Joyce
to it accidentally walked in on theauditions for the part of Vicky, the
fiance or the girlfriend or wife ofJack and that caused tension on the
set between Ritter and the rest of thecast who were disappointed that series
would essentially continue without them.
(25:46):
And how Ritter was keeping it from them.
So, God, just lots of lots of perceivedbackstabbing which is, which is kind
of sad because then if, you know,that I don't kind of puts a little
stain on the show, but I just, I tryand just watch it for what it is.
Just light hearted.
Fun.
There's a couple of trivia bits thatare interesting about 3's company.
(26:07):
There were actually 3 differentaddresses given for the
apartment throughout the seasons.
Which is, I don't know why theywouldn't just keep that consistent,
but none of them were real addresses.
We talked about Chrissy'sname being Christmas Snow.
Well, her full name, and I don'tremember where we find this out,
but it's Christmas Noel Snow.
(26:28):
Wow.
In the show's opening, the beginningof the sixth season, there's a toddler.
Oh, I love the open opening sequence.
Like they're walkingthrough different areas.
They're on a sailboat.
They're at the zoo.
A she's feeding a goat.
And that toddler isJason Ritter, John's son.
I didn't know that.
That's fun.
And then the brunette again,same in that opening sequence.
(26:50):
There's a brunettewalking by the beach and.
Jack turns to look at her and falls off.
He's riding a bike and he falls off.
That person is Suzanne Summers in a wig.
Joyce DeWitt refused toever be shown bare legged.
I don't know why.
And always wore pantyhosewhen her legs were visible.
And yes, I remember that she'd wear reallyshorty shorts, but she'd have pantyhose.
(27:13):
I always thought that was weird.
I just maybe thought that was likethe style or I don't know what
people did, but her commitment tohosiery earned her an endorsement
deal with the legs brand pantyhose.
All right.
I did not know this.
I thought that Mrs.
Roper's hair was Mrs.
Roper's hair.
It's not.
Audra Lindley wore a redcurly wig to be Helen Roper.
(27:36):
Her natural hair is blonde and straight.
The exterior shots of the
Roper's apartment was an actual cornerapartment house in Santa Monica.
In a Cafe Mom video segment hostedby Suzanne Summers, Joyce DeWitt
said that John Ritter had affairswith a lot of his female co stars.
(27:58):
Both DeWitt and Summers saidthey were unaware at the time.
I mean, shocking.
If you rewatch it now, a lot ofthe girlfriend characters, you'll
be like, Oh, that's so and so.
Oh, that's so and so.
I remember one time it was, Maggiefrom Maggie Seaver from growing pains.
I'm like, oh, my God.
Yeah.
She was 1 of 1 1 of hisdates in an episode.
(28:18):
I remember.
Yeah, there's a lot of those instances.
I'm not saying that they had an affair.
I don't know.
I'm just saying I rememberedher in the 1979 episode.
The party, it's become iconicbecause when Chrissy danced with Mr.
Roper, sans bra, bouncing aroundand jiggling, she became the symbol
(28:40):
for what is known as jiggle TV,exemplified in shows like Three's
Company, Soap, Charlie's Angels,Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat.
I don't, I don't know if they still,that term, I don't think it's still
used, but I guess it was a whole thing.
Yeah.
Kind of cheap, but whatever.
Whatever.
Big shocker, big shocker.
(29:02):
All right.
Well,
3's company.
I grew up with reruns.
I think that the showfeels like a warm hug.
It's like this blend of humor,misunderstandings, quirky characters
and navigating life together.
And among the blondes, like I said, Terrystood out to me, her charm and wit added
(29:23):
a fresh dynamic to the trio in my opinion.
And we cannot forget about Mr.
Furley.
He's my favorite of the landlords.
His eccentricities and comedic timingprovided a delight, full contrast
to the more traditional Ropermaking every episode feel like a new
adventure in their small apartment.
And the laughter, lightheartedescapades, underlying friendships
(29:46):
remind me of the simple joys of life.
Now, isn't that what it's all about?
I think, again, the, the warm hug,the feeling like that, that apartment,
like I, you know, It's just, it's a,yeah, the show not only entertained,
it created extremely lasting memories,making it a classic in my heart.
And if you have not revisited it in awhile, I do highly recommend diving back
(30:10):
into the antics of Jack, Janet and Chrissyand all of their unforgettable adventures.
And you can do that pretty easily becauseit's very widely available to watch.
It airs on Pluto, IFC, andAntenna TV and then the following.
If you have a subscription,Filo or Filo, Sling and DirecTV,
(30:33):
all right.
Well, shall we get into Grandview USA?
Like I said, it premiered one weekbefore Red Dawn, which is wild
because there are two of the exactsame characters in this movie.
It's rated R.
(30:54):
IMDb is a little lower than, you know,we've been in the mid fives to mid
six lately with, with this, the lastseveral movies that we've been covering.
5.
5 we have for Granby USA.
I bet most of you have not seen this,so Here's a little synopsis with
only 1 week left before he graduateshigh school in the small middle
(31:16):
Western community of grand view.
The 18 year old dreamer Tim Pearsonis it is itching to renounce an
uninspiring scholarship stand upto his despotic father and pursue a
career in oceanography away from home.
However, before long, an unexpectedmeeting with the struggling 27
year old owner of of the town'sdemolition derby track on the
(31:38):
other side of the tracks Michelle.
Mike Cody and the speed drumsKing Ernie slam Webster will bring
Tim one step closer not only tohis aspirations, but also love.
But has anyone ever spread hiswings away from Grandview USA?
That is different, right?
It's definitely a different movie.
(32:01):
I hadn't even heard of it before.
And I just remember, because One of thefirst movies I covered on the show was
Skatetown USA also with Patrick Swayze.
It was his first movie roleand that was from 1979 and
it's just really, I don't know.
I'm like, oh, he had a SkatetownUSA and a Grandview USA.
(32:24):
And they're both strange.
At any rate uh, Randall Kleiser.
Who is the director and he alsodirected really good movies, Greece,
the blue lagoon, flight of thenavigator and white Fang writers.
Actually, it's just the 1 writerhere, Ken Hickson, and he also
(32:46):
wrote inventing the Abbots.
and City by the Sea,but he he directed Mr.
Mom with Michael Keaton.
Love that movie.
All right.
So Jamie Lee Curtis in this, you guys,she's very young and her name is Mike.
I mean, technically her name is Michelle,but she goes by Mike, Mike Cody.
(33:06):
That's Jamie Lee Curtis.
Then we have C.
Thomas Howell as the 18 year old.
Thank God he's 18 as we willget into, Tim Pearson and
Patrick Swayze plays Ernie Slam.
Webster now, those 2 were, like I said,they were in Red Dawn a week later and
also the Outsiders together 3 movies ina really close period of time together,
(33:33):
which is interesting because I don't know.
It's just really interesting.
Anyway, then we have a Jennifer Jason Leein an extremely different role for her.
I, I gotta say, I was really surprisedto see who she played in this.
She plays candy Webster.
And that's so that's Patrick's wife.
(33:55):
Yeah, they're married.
Yeah, but she's cheatingon him the whole time.
And we talked about JenniferJason Lee, you all know her, but
she was in back draft with Kurt.
So candy's cheating and herboyfriend that she's cheating.
I don't know why you wouldcheat on Patrick sleazy, but.
His name's Troy in the movie, andhe's played by Donnie Benton, and
he actually had a small role inthe Godfather part two, and he
(34:17):
was also in Crybaby, Johnny Depp.
And then Bob Cody Mike's uncleis played by William Wyndham.
He played the president.
Well, actually, so he has, he.
He kind of looks familiar, but he,you know, his credits go way far back.
I think you guys would thinkhe was a familiar actor.
(34:38):
He has 257 acting credits.
So he's in a ton of stuff.
Most notably, I would say heplayed the president in Escape
from Planet of the Apes from 1971.
And he was in to kill amockingbird from 1962 playing Mr.
Gilmer can't quite make it up.
I, I have seen that movie,but it's been a minute.
(34:58):
So I don't recall who that is.
And then we have Betty, shehelps run the speedway at 1st.
I thought maybe she was her aunt,but I don't I don't think she is.
Her name, the actress'sname is Carol cook.
She has roles in 16 candlesand American gigolo and.
Emmett Walsh he's literallyin everything and we've talked
(35:18):
about him several times before.
He plays Mr.
Clark, who is Tim's prom date, Bonnie.
He plays her father.
We talked about him in the Best of Timesepisode as well as the Silkwood episode.
So he, everybody, M, M, M.
It's hard to say though, because it'sM, the initial, and then Emmett Walsh.
(35:40):
Mr.
Pearson, Tim's dad, isplayed by Ramon Bieri.
He looks very familiar.
But he's not well known.
Bonnie, the prom date is playedby Elizabeth Gorsy and she
is also in some 80s classics.
She plays Tina in Teen Wolfand Wendy Jo in Footloose.
(36:00):
So that's Elizabeth Gorsy and we haveSo Mike has a mentally challenged
brother named Cowboy in the movieand he is played by John Philbin.
Yes, you all know John Philbin.
He's very young in this and I'mlike, Oh my God, he looks familiar.
And I, I didn't put two andtwo together until afterwards.
(36:22):
But yeah, John Philbin.
He's It's pretty well known, mostnotably playing Amos in Children
of the Corn, Nathaniel in PointBreak, and Tom McLaury in Tombstone.
And then we have both John andJoan Cusack in Little Bit Parts.
I don't even know what characters,I think they play brother and
sister in the movie, but they'rejust some townspeople, I think.
(36:43):
But yeah, the music here.
Is phenomenal.
I mean, I don't the, the,I, let me take that back.
I don't really think I remember.
A lot about the music, but the composer.
Is is very well known.
His name is Thomas Newman, and healso scored the Shawshank Redemption.
(37:09):
I think is the number 1 IMDb movie.
I'm pretty sure the Green Mile,Finding Nemo, Cinderella Man, the
HBO series, 6 Feet Under, which,That music was good also shows
really good and a lot of others.
So he's been nominated for 15 academyawards, but he hasn't won any.
So anyway, that's him.
(37:30):
They spent 5M dollars on this movieand did not quite squeak that back 4.
7 in box office.
So, like I said, I hadn'teven heard of this movie.
I, you have to let me know you guys ifyou've a heard of it and be seen it.
All right.
So, very reminiscent of the time,you know, it's early to mid 80s.
(37:52):
It opens with this allAmerican small town life scene.
Very wholesome.
Just it's, it's quite sweet.
So then we meet Tim Pearson, who isour grand view high school senior.
He actually has aspirationsfor oceanography in Florida.
So, yeah.
Despite, so he is valedictorian.
(38:15):
And so he has a scholarship toISU, so they must be in Illinois.
And he wants to like, turn down hisscholarship and go to Florida instead.
I don't know.
He says he wants to bethe next Jacques Cousteau.
So we see him in the movie scubaing like in his bathtub and in
like the local gross lake and pond.
(38:35):
And it's just like catfish in there.
You know, it's alandlocked Midwestern town.
So he's like, get me out of here.
And then there's some, there's somecute things when we like meet our
characters that are major retro alerts.
So for example, He watches MTV onhis in his room on this teeny tiny
tube TV and it's on a TV cart.
(38:57):
Do you guys remember those?
You don't see that anymore.
We also get these really strange.
There's two or three of them.
They're not dream sequences.
I think they're like Imagination sequencesof him, you know, working out what he's
thinking or feeling in a music video.
And the characters that we knoware and it's, it's different.
(39:19):
It's interesting for sure.
And then his mom, we see herin the living room again.
It's, it's bigger than his room TV, but,you know, back in the day TVs in the
living room were pretty small still.
And she's watching Richard Simmons.
As she aerobic sizes, sovery early to mid 80s.
Love it.
(39:39):
Okay.
So then so it's prom time.
He's a senior.
It's from his, his date's name isBonnie and he borrows his, his dad
has this brand new shiny Cadillac.
And he's, you know.
They make a big deal aboutdon't scratch the car.
Be careful with the car,the car, the car, the car.
So we clearly can see something'sgoing to happen to the car.
(40:00):
Yeah, so a prom they're likeparked in this, like right
by a pond in a muddy area.
And they're making out in theback seat and Oh, it sinks in
the mud and goes into the pond.
What a dipshit.
So that's when we meet Mike, a.
k.
a.
Jamie Lee.
She gets rescued by Mike.
Who's way cooler.
(40:20):
This prom date.
She, she's pretty cool, but she'svery androgynous a little bit.
She just wears jeans and like aflannel and she's got a short.
Unattractive haircut.
But she knows her way about arounda toolbox and the demolition
Derby and he's You know,starting to get the hots for her.
She owns this speed Romespeedway speed Rome.
(40:43):
I don't they call it the speed Romein the movie and I take it that her
family has had this in, you know,in the family for quite some time.
And she's having a hard time keepingup with repairs and stuff like that.
So they keep, you know, Trying to like,all the property around the speed room
has been bought up by this developerand she's the holdout and that kind
(41:05):
of becomes a thing in a little bit.
Well, that okay, sowe're at the speed room.
We meet slam slam the Ram Webster, a.
k.
a.
Patrick Swayze.
So he wins the Derby, like he's a Derbierbecause he has to get his mind off of
the fact that his wife's cheating on him.
He makes a scene, you know,it's like out in the open.
Everybody knows it.
She doesn't even really try and hide it.
(41:25):
You know, he smashes this guy's car.
You know, the guy gets shot in the foot.
It's a whole thing.
Just really quickly.
I always have to go over over my Patrick.
So it's the early 80s, Patrick Swayze.
So his hair situation as always,it kind of deserves its own
credit, but it's the early 80s.
(41:45):
And so it's sort of that not overlydone, but it's a little that early
80s kind of feathered, but short.
Hair that looks good on noone except for Patrick Swayze.
Again we, you know, same with themullet that he'll, he'll bring out
he'll haul that out in a few years.
But right now it's the short hair,the early eighties version of hair.
(42:07):
And I think you guys can picture it.
It's longer, it's short, but it's likelonger than Jamie Lee's in this movie.
She has a really bad haircut.
I don't know.
But anyway, sometimes hepulls it off as he does with
everything because he is Patrick.
And again, okay.
So because he's Patrick and youknow, he, you know, he just,
they don't make a lot of money.
Clearly money is more importantto her than looks because she's
(42:28):
cheating with somebody not nearlyas attractive and her husband's hot.
I don't know why you wouldcheat on him, but she does.
Candy, her, her name says it all.
If your wife's name is Candy.
She's probably cheating on you.
I'm kidding for all ofyou named candy out there.
It's just, you know, you, youget what I'm trying to say.
And then, so we learn that in high school,back in the day, slam and Mike, Jamie Lee.
(42:53):
So Patrick and Jamie Lee liked eachother, but Jamie Lee pretty quickly
got married and she's not married now.
So she's divorced.
And they literally say in the show,or she, one of them, I forget who
it is, She is 27 and she is referredto, I guess, in the early eighties
(43:13):
in mid, in the Midwest at 27, you arean old maid if you're not married.
So she's divorced old maid.
That's what they call her.
She's 27.
This is wild.
So anyway, she needs 10, 000 to fixthe speedway or it's going to get shut
down like I was saying, the developersand it turns out so Tim's dad.
(43:35):
Is the county commissioner.
And he's part of it.
Tim finds this out.
He finds these plans to builda country club with the land.
And so Tim is pissed that his dad ispart of this because now he's developed
this friendship and, and crush on Mike.
And , she's teaching him how to Derby.
So he's, he's upset by this.
(43:56):
He comes to Mike's trailer upset,and, you know, they talk and.
Get something to eat andthey end up having sex.
He's 18.
Gross.
He's a high school kid.
Ew.
Ew.
I don't like this at all.
Plus, plus she has already gotthis like budding romance with
(44:20):
Patrick Swayze's character.
They were supposed to goout to dinner that night.
And she ends up sleeping with thehigh school kid and then you guys
a sweet slam shows up at her trailer inthe morning with a bag of groceries to
make her breakfast and he finds out, Oh,there's a high school kid in bed with her.
(44:44):
Can you imagine this poor man?
What in the actual fuck?
He, he leaned on her and trusted her.
After he's like, Hey my life sucks.
My wife's cheating on me.
And, you know, she's like,oh, well, we're friends.
Like, oh, maybe we could havedinner, blah, blah, blah.
And now you sleep with this teenager.
(45:08):
I, I mean, I don't know.
I don't know you guys.
Yeah, I don't know.
They do.
Okay.
I won't spoil it.
So then now there's like this.
So, so now they're both into.
A, Mike, and B, derbying.
And so there's thishigh stakes competition.
(45:29):
So Tim's in it.
Tim and Slam go head to head at the derby.
Slam gets his revenge.
After the derby I mean, obviously itkind of appears as though he's going
after Tim on purpose, but he's not.
So Mike kind of gets mad.
Slam then goes back to his house wherehe, I mean, he, he just cannot win Slam.
(45:49):
He goes back to his house where hiswife is in bed with her boyfriend.
Literally, he is like eithertied or handcuffed to the bed.
And Slam finally gets his revenge.
He's just continuing to see his wifeflaunt this boyfriend in his face.
He literally bulldozes the house down withthem in it after he smashes her VW bug.
(46:15):
How 80s is that?
So as they're experiencing thisbulldozer come through the house,
they're like, what the hell?
She.
He.
He.
Proceeds to leave in what her little 90or whatever she's wearing and leaves her
boyfriend tied to the bed to be bulldozed.
What a treat this candy is.
(46:36):
Yeah, I just, I was like,oh, he finally you go.
I mean, I'm not like, let'snot do that, but I don't know.
It was finally, like, this poor guy.
I'll you can, you can putyour head on my shoulder.
Slam.
All right.
Well, then.
There's a little bitof a twist at the end.
.So Mike and Tim discover the speedway has been burned down.
(47:03):
So what are we thinking isprobably happening, right?
We're probably thinking, oh shit, like thetowns, you know, the people who wanted to
buy it, you know, something along thoselines, like they're forcing her hand
little nefarious shit going on like that.
But no, no.
It's courtesy of cowboy Mike's mentallychallenged brother and a missing gas cap.
(47:25):
He purposefully didn't putthe gas cap on something.
And it turns out he did that because Mikehas been trying to find all these ways to
raise money to try and save the speedway.
By not selling it.
So she does this cause she hadto sell a bunch of junkyard cars.
But.
Cowboy kind of considered those his carsand she didn't talk to him about it.
(47:48):
So he said he did that becausethey took his cars away.
Oh.
Nothing like a little arson to spice upthis already super strange storyline,
but it's kind of sad so now, so now Mikedecides she is going to sell the speech.
She's like, well, fuck it.
Then I'm going to sellthe speedway to Tim's dad.
So that so now all all of a sudden nomore love triangle, like Tim's cool.
(48:14):
With, you know, now, all of a sudden, Mikeand slam are just going to be together.
And so she decides to sell thespeedway to Tim's dad so that she
can start a life with slam together.
And then we see Tim, he's on a busto Chicago to go to college, you
know, he's, he didn't get his wish.
He has to take God forbid.
(48:34):
He has to take the scholarshipto go to college, but that's
not what he wants to do.
Right?
So that's where his heart is.
And so this was really sweet.
Mike, it's always hard for me tosay her name is Mike and slam.
They somehow get the bus to pull over.
He comes out and they give himthe car that they're driving in.
And the money that she obtained byselling the Speedway so they give it
(49:00):
to Tim for his trip to Florida so thathe can go pursue his dream in Florida
and become the next Jacques Cousteau.
And then Mike and Slam, they can stillbuild a life together in this little town
and, you know, just have a happy, regular.
Small town life together, and sothey're officially a couple there.
(49:20):
There's this parade summertimein in Grandview, USA.
So they're just, you know, off offmarching together into their future while
Tim's left to chase the ocean waves.
It's a very classic small town closure.
So that is Grandview USA.
You guys.
A couple little pieces oftrivia that you guys might find
(49:44):
interesting before we close.
It apparently is the 1st feature film ofproduction company ocelot productions.
1 of only 4 CBS theatrical projectsgreenlit for production in the 1983 year,
and they looked at about 40 differenttowns across the Midwest before
(50:06):
setting on filming the entire picturein the American state of Illinois in
the cities of Pontiac and fairbury.
You know, the song she's like thewind that was in dirty dancing.
Patrick wrote it.
Patrick sang it right.
Well.
That was 1987 that moviewas in this is what is this?
What is this?
(50:26):
1984?
Yeah.
So the song she's like the wind originallywritten by Patrick for Grandview USA.
This is a movie apparent.
I mean, apparently, supposedly asa love thing for the characters
played by him and Jamie Lee Curtis.
But it was scrapped because thecomedic and somewhat raunchy
nature of the film, duh.
The track would later eventuallybe used 3 years later in Swayze's
(50:49):
film Dirty Dancing, 1987.
But, you listeners, if you've been payingattention, do you remember when we talked
about in the Youngblood episode thathe shopped it around for that as well?
Remember, we talked about Rob Lowetalked about him coming to him
trying to use it in that movie too.
(51:09):
Patrick.
I love you.
I love it.
But man, he really shops this around.
I'm glad it was meant for dirty dancing.
Definitely not granted what a wasteit would have been in this movie.
All right.
So, the demolition Derby part ofit, it was a movie set construction,
which actually built and filmedon a baseball field and it costs.
(51:30):
300, 000.
A few casting what ifs.
Tim Pearson played by C.
Thomas Howell.
Which This might be a hot take,but there's nothing wrong.
I don't dislike him, but he's always flat.
He's always a character that I'm like, hecould easily be swapped with someone else.
(51:50):
And I think it's sort of like, hedid a bunch of stuff, maybe not
a bunch, like a handful of thingsin like, 83, 84, 85 and that's it.
And I think that's why, I don't know whythey thought, he, he's not without talent.
It's just, he's so, eh, I don't know.
(52:12):
I, I, I don't think he hasstar power and I, I don't know.
He was given a lot of chances to become1 and just didn't for whatever reason.
Anyway, that's my,that's my hot take on C.
Thomas Howell, but he playedTim Pearson, but Kevin Kostner,
I guess was offered the role.
Which I think would have been better.
(52:34):
I'm not like a huge Costner fan,but like I said, I'm not a big C.
Thomas Howell fan either.
So Jamie Lee Curtis was notwho they originally cast as
Mike Cody, Michelle, Mike Cody.
Apparently Cher was originallythe lead female role.
(52:55):
And according to an articlepublished August 23rd, 1983
issue of the Hollywood Reporter.
There were creative differencesbetween Cher and the producers
over the casting of the two maleleads in the movie Patrick and C.
Thomas Howell.
Now, I'm on your side Cher with the C.
Thomas Howell, but Patrick, I don't knowBut we talked we talked about Cher because
(53:19):
she was in Silkwood with Kurt Yeah, soanyway And then you know how I mentioned
John and Joan Cusack were in this?
Wow.
This is one of about 10 featurefilms that the real life brother and
sister, John and Joan Cusack haveboth appeared in as cast members.
Yeah, that's funny.
(53:40):
All right.
You guys Grandview USAagain, who's seen it.
Who's even heard of it?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Let me know.
Don't forget, you can emailme if you would like to with
comments, questions, et cetera.
RetroMadePodcast at gmail.
com or you can always leavecomments on the YouTube version.
I like that.
(54:00):
This movie was definitely an interestingone, a bit out of left field.
It is time to get off of thisquirky ride and drive ourselves
back into the present day reality.
Until next time, be kind, rewind.
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