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434. Frame Rate: Adaptation (Feat. Brooks Brown)
🕑 Added 2021-11-08 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
Brooks has returned so this means we’re covering another Charlie Kaufman film, this time around it’s 2002’s Adaptation directed by Spike Jonze! The gang discusses the nuances of the meta narrative, the wild production of the film, and determines for themselves the value of its ending. How does it stack up against Kaufman's other films? How was this film even made?
Features:
Brooks Brown: @quarantine_collective
Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP
Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty
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Comments
Arlo
Tangentially of that, I think in both of these episodes there is something of an underrating of Eternal Sunshine, which, yes, is the most emotionally oriented of his movies, but emotion-as-substance can’t be dismissed, emotion being conveyed through artifice is probably <i>the</i> defining thing about art, and ESotSM is arguably the most complete form/content synthesis of all his movies.
Arlo
Great conversation. Re: the Donald character, I think it’s a sort of non-diagetic Fight Club situation, where we’re not supposed to analyze him in the typical in-movie ways of identifying that kind of character because the movie around him follows similar rules, but he is essentially an abstraction. I also think it’s significant that Donald is written as unfailingly supportive and kind, and Charlie just treats him like shit and is condescending the whole time because he only sees merit in conceptually intellectual contributions.
Scottie Wottie
Such an interesting episode, always like to hear Brooks join y'all for analysis. Adaptation is a very entertaining film, especially "Charlie" getting off on a copy of the Orchid Thief. But boy when he pulls out all the tropes at the end in the hackiest way possible...just 'cause you're doing it mockingly doesn't make it any better than when a hack screenwriter does the same thing. :(
