The Big Picture · Review · Discussion · Top Five
May 25, 2020/ 65 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda review Netflix's 'The Lovebirds,' then each host ranks a top five all-in-one-day movies.
12 films across 4 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
'The Lovebirds'
Bumped from a Paramount theatrical release to Netflix by COVID-19. Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae have real chemistry, but Michael Showalter's script jams a rom-com, a heist-conspiracy plot, and an Eyes Wide Shut parody into one movie without fully committing to any of them.
What counts as an all-in-one-day movieground rules before the top fives
Disqualified - the multiple-iterations-of-the-same-day structure runs counter to the genre's 'this is it, no do-overs' feeling.
Amanda's Top Five All-in-One-Day Movies
No. 1 - the best day of your life, capped by the parade float lip-sync to 'Twist and Shout.'
No. 2 - Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy fall in love on a train and in one day in Vienna; the purest version of the genre because they never do meet again at that train station.
No. 3 - Edward Norton's last day of freedom before prison, directed by Spike Lee and shadowed by 9/11.
No. 4 - a newspaper deadline and a wedding deadline collide in one frantic, fast-talking day.
No. 5 - a graduation-night party movie with no ambition beyond being exactly that.
Sean's Top Five All-in-One-Day Movies
No. 1 - Martin Scorsese's funniest, hippest movie; Griffin Dunne bounces through one increasingly disastrous New York night.
No. 2 - Sidney Lumet's bank-robbery-gone-wrong, with Al Pacino's Attica-chanting performance as the centerpiece.
No. 3 - Richard Linklater's last day of school, the movie that made stars of half its cast.
No. 4 - Tobe Hooper's low-budget road-trip-into-a-nightmare, narrated by John Larroquette.
No. 5 - Ethan Hawke's first day on the job as an undercover narcotics cop, under Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Cited in the review discussion Long ShotThe Photograph
Michael Showalter's filmography Wet Hot American SummerThe BaxterThey Came TogetherThe Big Sick
Coming to VOD/streaming in June 2020 IrresistibleDa 5 BloodsThe King of Staten IslandArtemis Fowl
David Ayer's and Antoine Fuqua's other films Street KingsSuicide SquadThe EqualizerInfinite
Rodrigo Prieto's filmography (25th Hour's cinematographer) Amores PerrosBrokeback MountainThe Irishman
John Cazale's five films The GodfatherThe Godfather Part IIThe ConversationThe Deer Hunter
Other all-in-one-day contenders discussed SuperbadCollateralDr. StrangeloveFail SafeEscape From New YorkClerksDie HardOne Fine DayGoUnder the Tuscan SunAlien
Hypothetical all-in-one-day pitch Ocean's Twelve
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV InsecureSilicon ValleyThe WireNight CourtThe John Larroquette ShowBeatles AnthologyRussian Doll
Podcasts Boom BustWind of Change