This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Andrew DeWolf: I've wanted this place for a long time, and now that I've got it, I'm not going to let anyone take it away from me.

[0:06] Jess McAnally: I discovered that the world is full of Cheesy Wheezies, and a lot of those Cheesy Wheezies want what I've got.

[0:12] Liz Esten: So if any of them try to take away what I have, I'm not afraid to go down with the ship and take everybody with me.

[0:19] Andrew DeWolf: But that's just if one of those Cheesy Wheezies shows up, or if someone of this beloved nation of mine is a Cheesy Wheezy.

[0:28] Jess McAnally: What do you say, Andrew DeWolf? Are you not one of those Cheesy Wheezies, are you?

[0:44] Andrew DeWolf: Hello, I'm Jess McAnally.

[0:46] Jess McAnally: And I'm Andrew DeWolf.

[0:48] Liz Esten: And I'm Liz Esten.

[0:49] Andrew DeWolf: And welcome to The Cheese Wheel, a hyperfixation podcast where our topics are gambled.

[0:55] Jess McAnally: How are we doing today, guys?

[0:57] Liz Esten: I am so fucking ready.

[0:59] Andrew DeWolf: I'm ready.

[1:00] Jess McAnally: I have been waiting for this moment for 300 years.

[1:03] Andrew DeWolf: Episodes.

[1:05] Liz Esten: 300 hours, at the very least.

[1:07] Jess McAnally: Yes.

[1:09] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, we're re-piloting.

[1:11] Jess McAnally: We're starting something new here, kids.

[1:13] Liz Esten: And with this, we get to talk about one of the things I think everyone has picked up has been one of our weird shared hyperfixations.

[1:21] Andrew DeWolf: This is the one time the wheel does not get spun, so to say.

[1:25] Jess McAnally: Because, you know, we gotta pilot somewhere.

[1:28] Liz Esten: I guess, is this a film or is this a miniseries?

[1:32] Andrew DeWolf: It is an internet sensation.

[1:36] Jess McAnally: It's technically 90 minutes if you put all the parts together, so it is a film.

[1:41] Liz Esten: In the same way that Frankenstein is a man if you put all the parts together, this is a film.

[1:46] Andrew DeWolf: Yes.

[1:47] Jess McAnally: I'm going to argue that it does not have a six-part structure, it has a three-act structure.

[1:54] Liz Esten: Well, if you listen to the audio commentaries, it was supposed to be three acts, but they wanted to recoup more money, so Mike Michaud definitely suggested making it six, which ruins the structure and makes the final part kind of meaningless.

[2:10] Andrew DeWolf: They hobbited it, they wickeded it, I mean, it's done.

[2:15] Jess McAnally: Well, this week, we are talking about Doug Walker's cinematic starting, uh, Kickassia.

[2:24] Andrew DeWolf: There is a nation called Molossia.

[2:28] Liz Esten: A micronation, actually, just a little over an acre of land.

[2:33] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, it's not very big, but it has technically been declared a nation.

[2:37] Jess McAnally: It's run by some nutball named Kevin Baugh, who's declared himself the proud president of this land.

[2:44] Liz Esten: Now, Molossia may not seem like much, but lord knows I've always wanted to own my own nation, and am willing to do just about anything to get one.

[2:53] Andrew DeWolf: Even, dare I say it, plan a hostile takeover.

[2:58] Jess McAnally: I'm the Nostalgia Critic, and I get a feeling that none of you are going to have a hard time remembering this.

[3:06] Liz Esten: But it's only an acre of land, what can we do with an acre of land?

[3:09] Andrew DeWolf: What can we do with an acre of land?

[3:12] Jess McAnally: Let's just cut to the chase here. I am going to invade you.

[3:16] Liz Esten: I suggest an attack, a full frontal assault by all of us.

[3:19] Andrew DeWolf: Sometimes the best way to deal with a madman is to send in another madman.

[3:25] Jess McAnally: That was the old order, this is the new order.

[3:29] Liz Esten: This time, there will be no dawn for Molossia.

[3:34] Andrew DeWolf: So Kickassia is a film and or miniseries written by Doug Walker, Mike Michaud, and Rob Walker, directed by Doug Walker, based on the machinations of the Walker brothers' minds, for better and for worse.

[3:47] Jess McAnally: The six-part miniseries was posted on thatguywitheglasses.com May it rest in peace, starting May 17th, 2010, and posting daily until May 22nd, 2010.

[3:57] Liz Esten: This is 14 years old, and I have never felt older in my life.

[4:02] Andrew DeWolf: On IMDb, Kickassia holds a 5.3 star rating out of 10, based on approximately 2,000 reviews.

[4:10] Jess McAnally: It has a better rating than Ghostbusters 2016.

[4:13] Liz Esten: A large portion of its ratings, around 21%, have been one stars, and its poor reception is most likely a result of the style of humor that the film employs, its production quality, and its writing.

[4:25] Andrew DeWolf: That is not me editorializing, that was from the website.

[4:29] Jess McAnally: The film is centered upon the Nostalgia Critic, as played by Doug Walker, and a host of other internet personalities, including the Nostalgia Chick, Lindsay Ellis, Phelous, Phelan Porteous, and the cinema star, Brad Jones, and the rest.

[4:44] Liz Esten: Upon gathering a band of his fellow internet reviewers and personalities, the Nostalgia Critic attempts to conduct a takeover of the one-acre nation of Molossia, and the first step towards total domination over the world.

[4:57] Andrew DeWolf: Alrighty. I guess my first question is, to everyone, did you watch this when it came out? Like, were you excited on the daily releases?

[5:05] Jess McAnally: Oh, fucking you know it, dude. I was waiting, I was refreshing the page, like, when's the next one? I love this shit, and I watched it multiple times, I won't lie.

[5:19] Liz Esten: Oh, no.

[5:21] Andrew DeWolf: Liz, are you in that same category?

[5:24] Liz Esten: Absolutely not. I entered this weird little Channel Awesome world way too late. I entered in, like, 2013.

[5:36] Andrew DeWolf: He was already rebranded at that point!

[5:38] Liz Esten: I know, he rebranded, so I went back and binged his old stuff, and I skipped Kick-Ass-ia, because it looked like more crap than normal, so I just went to Superbantines.

[5:50] Andrew DeWolf: Man. You made the wrong choice, because you skipped the better movie.

[5:55] Liz Esten: Having seen Kick-Ass-ia now, I was a very dumb middle school high schooler. So, you know. Like, I'm very dumb. I'll admit it.

[6:04] Andrew DeWolf: Um, yeah. I get it. Part of me wishes I couldn't be like, oh no, I was not that guy with the glasses pilled like Liz, but I was totally that guy with the glasses pilled like Liz, or like Andrew.

[6:21] Jess McAnally: I was a little disappointed because I just won a Nostalgia Critic Reviews, and I'm like, why are you posting your fucking movie? I'm not what we come here for!

[6:30] Andrew DeWolf: If only he knew that.

[6:33] Liz Esten: This is like proto-demo-real.

[6:36] Jess McAnally: Are we not wrong?

[6:38] Andrew DeWolf: I'm going to disagree, actually. I think that this is something else entirely.

[6:44] Jess McAnally: This is a weird little celebration of an internet culture that is dead.

[6:50] Liz Esten: And will stay dead forever.

[6:53] Andrew DeWolf: What this is, is this is weird internet nerd culture pre-Gamergate.

[7:02] Jess McAnally: Alright, Jess. Can we do a rundown? Who's in this, and what did they do?

[7:08] Liz Esten: Okay, okay, okay. We each have to find someone. Quick, quick.

[7:15] Andrew DeWolf: Linkara, comics.

[7:17] Jess McAnally: Alright, alright. Nostalgia Critic, he did the nostalgic movies.

[7:22] Liz Esten: Lindsay, nostalgia movies for girls.

[7:25] Andrew DeWolf: Rob Walker, dressed in funny costumes.

[7:28] Jess McAnally: Phelous, horror films.

[7:31] Liz Esten: Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shitty horror films, I don't know.

[7:35] Andrew DeWolf: Bennett the Sage, anime.

[7:37] Jess McAnally: Little Miss Gamer cameo. Was on the site for a year, then left. Also did the hand puppet of Blue during the Thanksgiving parade that got Rick Rolled.

[7:46] Liz Esten: Jess, this is a round robin.

[7:48] Andrew DeWolf: Bored James, board games.

[7:51] Liz Esten: I forgot about Bored James.

[7:53] Andrew DeWolf: Who else is in this goddamn movie?

[7:56] Jess McAnally: No Googling, you can't Google!

[7:58] Liz Esten: Mars Girl, anime?

[8:01] Andrew DeWolf: Yes.

[8:03] Jess McAnally: Then we have Angry Joe, video games and movies.

[8:06] Liz Esten: But they're angry.

[8:08] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, uh...

[8:10] Jess McAnally: You're fucked now, aren't you?

[8:12] Liz Esten: Brad Jones, cinema snob.

[8:14] Andrew DeWolf: Pornography.

[8:16] Jess McAnally: That guy who's a picture.

[8:18] Liz Esten: I guess he did movies?

[8:20] Andrew DeWolf: 3D Lee?

[8:22] Jess McAnally: Yeah, that guy.

[8:24] Liz Esten: Mike Michaud.

[8:26] Andrew DeWolf: Destroyed an entire website.

[8:29] Jess McAnally: 8-Bit Mickey and his friend.

[8:32] Liz Esten: Handsome Tom. Video games, I'm pretty sure.

[8:36] Andrew DeWolf: Paul Dugan, musicals.

[8:38] Liz Esten: Jew-Oreo, pass.

[8:44] Andrew DeWolf: And that ends your...

[8:46] Jess McAnally: Get out of the water off camera.

[8:48] Liz Esten: There's still more, but sure.

[8:51] Andrew DeWolf: So we didn't do Spoonie.

[8:53] Liz Esten: Spoonie, pass as well.

[8:56] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, true.

[8:58] Jess McAnally: Don't want to unpack either of those on this comedy podcast.

[9:02] Liz Esten: Oh god.

[9:04] Andrew DeWolf: There's so many more. There's so many people. There's a whole section where they just do cameos from smaller people that couldn't make it to the shoot.

[9:13] Jess McAnally: People that Doug didn't invite, let's be clear. And I'm just like...

[9:17] Liz Esten: I don't know who that person is.

[9:19] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know who that person is.

[9:21] Jess McAnally: I kept waiting, like, when's Brad coming?

[9:24] Liz Esten: My favorite is Mike J. I don't give a shit about this, and I'm British, but they still blow up fucking Film Brain.

[9:32] Andrew DeWolf: But they didn't blow up Mike Javins.

[9:34] Liz Esten: They hate Film Brain, that's my theory.

[9:37] Andrew DeWolf: That's true, they do hate it. Let's pause on that one. Mike Javins has wanted to be in these.

[9:42] Liz Esten: And one of the big reasons why he left was he was not invited to the 10th anniversary of what they were going to do.

[9:49] Andrew DeWolf: Are you fucking kidding me? He actually wanted to be in this garbage, and they were like, nah, you can't.

[9:56] Liz Esten: Everyone wanted to be in this garbage! They didn't know what it was at the time.

[10:00] Andrew DeWolf: And for the time, two days working your ass off, and then also working in different ways that Mike Michaud will steal the money from? Yeah, it seemed like a good idea.

[10:09] Jess McAnally: Okay, did anyone else watch any of the commentaries or the behind-the-scenes stuff, or was it just me?

[10:16] Liz Esten: I watched the behind-the-scenes vlog, and it made me very uncomfortable.

[10:20] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[10:21] Jess McAnally: I watched some of the bloopers, and I watched, I think, a little bit of the behind-the-scenes that you sent, but I did not watch much.

[10:27] Liz Esten: Okay.

[10:31] Andrew DeWolf: Truly, just seems like the worst group of people to spend time with, with respect to them.

[10:36] Jess McAnally: But just like how us in our early 20s were probably the worst kind of group to spend time with, you know?

[10:42] Liz Esten: Oh, absolutely.

[10:43] Andrew DeWolf: 100%.

[10:44] Jess McAnally: Absolutely.

[10:45] Andrew DeWolf: They didn't think this was bigger than it was, you know what I mean?

[10:48] Liz Esten: Oh, absolutely. Like, I think of To Boldly Flee, and they're like, oh, they thought they were making something here. Where here, they know what it is, and they know, you know.

[10:57] Andrew DeWolf: And it's got some production value to it. They, like, went to a location.

[11:01] Jess McAnally: Is it time for me to throw out a hot take?

[11:04] Liz Esten: It's always time for that, baby.

[11:06] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. I kinda like it. Like, I'm just gonna be straight honest. I kinda like what they did here.

[11:15] Jess McAnally: I kinda like the vibes.

[11:17] Andrew DeWolf: I kinda love that it's completely unknown. I don't know who anyone fucking is except for the main cast.

[11:25] Liz Esten: And then there's people in the main cast, and I'm like, what the fuck is he doing here?

[11:33] Andrew DeWolf: I kinda like it. I don't know. It feels to me like the plot and the whole idea of it, it just reflects onto real life really well.

[11:46] Jess McAnally: Because at the time, they had just created this thing that was new. Like, no one had ever done this before.

[11:54] Andrew DeWolf: No one had ever made, like, a coalition of fucking weird nerds that talk about shit, and then, like, make it into a successful thing. And them just taking over a country and running it into the ground, it just kind of feels right as a plot for that.

[12:16] Liz Esten: Whereas the other movies just don't. Like, Suburban Nights to Boldly Flee, those just don't feel like this one does. This one feels raw.

[12:25] Andrew DeWolf: Liz, you got thoughts?

[12:34] Jess McAnally: Sarah, you got a response to that one?

[12:36] Liz Esten: Okay. This is the first time I've seen Kickassia. But I will admit, the minute I started it, I had this weird feeling of weird 2000s nostalgia of terrible internet videos that made me laugh for no frickin' reason.

[12:52] Andrew DeWolf: True fact, after I watched this, I went on the YouTube channel it was uploaded to, and watched a bunch of really old bootleg Doug Walker Nostalgia Critic videos, just because I was feeling the nostalgia.

[13:03] Jess McAnally: For the Nostalgia Critic?

[13:05] Liz Esten: Yes, I was feeling nostalgia for Nostalgia Critic, and I laughed out loud at least once.

[13:10] Andrew DeWolf: Of course.

[13:11] Liz Esten: And I am embarrassed by that fact, frankly. But it brought me back to a place where, like, I watched dumb shit on the internet and I didn't care.

[13:19] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know if I like it, but I had fun watching it. To a degree.

[13:26] Jess McAnally: I think the Lindsay stuff is poorly handled, but everything I did with Lindsay was poorly.

[13:31] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know if I agree or disagree with that. I guess I'm gonna have to unpack that later.

[13:38] Liz Esten: But sadly, I want to be contrary to be like, no, this sucks. This is garbage, but it's garbage. I loved rolling it.

[13:44] Andrew DeWolf: It's trash, but it's earnest trash.

[13:52] Jess McAnally: This is them putting their soul out there, and they never do it again. When they make the other two movies, it is not the same.

[14:01] Liz Esten: They are just doing it to try to do it, I think. Whereas with this one, you can tell that they want to cameo all their friends, and they want to run around in the desert and play fight.

[14:15] Andrew DeWolf: They want to showcase what if they ran their own society, what each of them would be good at doing, and what they would like. It felt like something.

[14:34] Jess McAnally: The earnestness is nice. That being said, I get what Liz is saying about... There are two main women in this cast. Mars Girl, I think, is used well and performs well.

[14:47] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know, because Lindsay really chose everything that she... Maybe it's because I'm coming in with all the information. Lindsay chose to do everything she did on screen, specifically.

[14:55] Liz Esten: So I'm like, well, if that's her choice and that's how she wanted to be represented, that's one thing. But what did you have issues with, Liz?

[15:05] Liz Esten: I don't know. I don't know. It's like everyone got kind of a fleshed out joke. Like, Bennett the Sage is the doctor who says Uzis make you live, because if you're holding an Uzi, you don't die.

[15:19] Andrew DeWolf: Everyone has a joke that's memorable and not weird. Lindsay's joke is she wants to be the president, so she does a Sarah Palin impression to get Doug to back off so she can kill him and become president of Kick-Ass-ia.

[15:36] Jess McAnally: And finally, in the past you've been known as a smart, edgy, young, opinionated woman, but recently you've been labeled an idiotic dumb-ox who's trying to play naive and innocent in order to sneak into the president's seat. What's your opinion on that?

[15:50] Liz Esten: This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people, and they don't maintain the same standard of niceness that I try to maintain.

[15:59] Andrew DeWolf: Am I not nice?

[16:00] Liz Esten: Yes, you are very nice.

[16:02] Andrew DeWolf: So why would they say such a thing?

[16:04] Liz Esten: Probably the idiotic dumb-ox part I just mentioned. I would presume that it's because I'm a woman and prejudice is alive and well in this world.

[16:12] Andrew DeWolf: But Mars got us a woman.

[16:14] Liz Esten: Sure she is, and I'm the tooth fairy.

[16:17] Andrew DeWolf: It feels like an extended Sarah Palin joke.

[16:19] Jess McAnally: A key part of the joke is she is the vice president.

[16:23] Liz Esten: Yes.

[16:24] Andrew DeWolf: And at the time, Sarah Palin was notorious for being the vice presidential pick who took over the campaign and became more talked about than John McCain and ruining everything.

[16:37] Jess McAnally: So she was kind of like a famous vice president to do.

[16:42] Liz Esten: I see your point there, but I also think that at least Mars had the interesting yelling at all the guys and kicking their ass joke.

[16:51] Andrew DeWolf: Her joke is a bad Sarah Palin voice.

[16:54] Liz Esten: I think I sort of see what you're saying, but I think what is the problem is it's the only joke that has aged completely horribly.

[17:04] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, that's another part of it. Most of the jokes are just bad or have aged badly in other ways, whereas this is like a specific reference to a thing from 20...

[17:16] Liz Esten: Not even from 2010. 2008.

[17:19] Andrew DeWolf: From 2008. Yeah.

[17:21] Jess McAnally: So it was old when they made the joke, and it's even older now.

[17:25] Liz Esten: Yeah.

[17:26] Andrew DeWolf: So that's kind of the issue, but I don't think it's like a... I think that there is a problem with there not being any women in this, but that's mostly because there was no fucking women on that guy with the glasses.

[17:35] Jess McAnally: Yeah, that's a problem.

[17:37] Andrew DeWolf: Other than the one that he specifically sought after because he needed a nostalgia chick, which in itself is just kind of weird.

[17:46] Liz Esten: It's inherently gross just as an idea. It's like, I need a lady counterpart to make my website better.

[17:54] Andrew DeWolf: It's like, what the fuck? It's so fucking bizarre.

[17:57] Liz Esten: It's so fucked up, you think about it for 10 seconds.

[18:00] Andrew DeWolf: Have you ever watched... Because I was there when the texts were written for that. I remember when that posted.

[18:09] Jess McAnally: And the winners were down to Mars Girl, that chick with the goggles, and Lindsay, and he made a joke about them having to do mud wrestling for his pleasure to decide who wins.

[18:21] Liz Esten: And so, the winner of the nostalgia chick contest is...

[18:26] Andrew DeWolf: Holy shit! It's a three-way tie between that chick with the goggles, Mars Girl, and Lindsay Ellis! Well done, ladies, well done.

[18:39] Jess McAnally: But unfortunately, there can't be three nostalgia chicks on this site, so there's only one reasonable way to settle this. Cat fight!

[18:48] Andrew DeWolf: The three of you will wrestle each other in the official that-guy-with-the-glasses mud ring, where you will claw and fight at each other repeatedly until the winner rises victoriously to the wet t-shirt ceremony!

[18:58] Liz Esten: Intention does not always mean effectiveness, especially with this.

[19:02] Andrew DeWolf: But I don't know if having this...

[19:05] Jess McAnally: So, when they were writing this, Lindsay's like, so what am I doing in this? And Doug was like, oh, we are either going to have you be trying to kill the president and do that, or we could do, like, a Sarah Palin impression. And she's like, can I do both?

[19:20] Andrew DeWolf: And that was how it ended up being what it is, which is a confused bit, but it's only because, like, you know, I want to do a bowl!

[19:28] Liz Esten: I mean, it doesn't not make, like, it makes some sense. Like, she's pretending to be dumb so no one suspects that she's doing that.

[19:34] Andrew DeWolf: And it sort of works, like, it's not, like...

[19:37] Jess McAnally: And I think there was, like, consensus on the website at the time that Lindsay was kind of the smart one.

[19:42] Liz Esten: Yeah, yeah.

[19:44] Andrew DeWolf: I think she was.

[19:45] Jess McAnally: Just looking long-term, I think she was the smart one.

[19:48] Liz Esten: Yeah, she was the smart one.

[19:52] Andrew DeWolf: Brad's still on the website.

[19:54] Liz Esten: Oh, not Guru Larry?

[19:58] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, I forgot Guru Larry's still on the website.

[20:00] Liz Esten: Guru Larry! Guru Larry does make an appearance.

[20:03] Andrew DeWolf: He's in the cameo section.

[20:04] Liz Esten: Yeah, so is the last angry geek.

[20:06] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Oh, God, you're pulling out names. You're pulling out these names of people that technically...

[20:11] Jess McAnally: Oh, I found a whole list of names, finally. I got everyone's name in a list.

[20:15] Andrew DeWolf: We're not running through the list.

[20:17] Liz Esten: No, we can't do that.

[20:19] Andrew DeWolf: Also, the best part of this list, they list Doug Walker as four separate characters.

[20:22] Liz Esten: I mean, it only gets worse, because he's, like, the villain of To Boldly Flee and the main guy and, like, another guy.

[20:30] Andrew DeWolf: Also, another thing, he plays the spider guy from his Lost in Space review, which is like...

[20:37] Liz Esten: I'm pretty sure that guy shows up in To Boldly Flee as well.

[20:39] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, he shows up in a lot of these things, but he, like, keeps showing up despite only being a Lost in Space joke.

[20:46] Jess McAnally: He just really, really thinks it's funny when he says, Spiders! Spikes!

[20:51] Andrew DeWolf: Um, do we need to talk about Kevin Baugh?

[20:58] Liz Esten: Is it Kevin?

[20:59] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[21:00] Liz Esten: Kevin Baugh.

[21:01] Andrew DeWolf: Yes. The leader of Malasia.

[21:04] Liz Esten: Malasia.

[21:05] Andrew DeWolf: He is technically the best actor in this. He's the only one not hamming it up, and his bit is funny consistently.

[21:14] Jess McAnally: He is a real guy who lists this on his website as a canonical event, even to this day. Fucking weird man.

[21:24] Andrew DeWolf: So, I need to ask, did anyone do any research into Malasia? Is this a real fucking place that is actually a country?

[21:29] Liz Esten: Yes, it is, kind of.

[21:36] Andrew DeWolf: The kind of there is important.

[21:37] Liz Esten: Is it a country, or does he say it's a country, but it's basically not?

[21:41] Andrew DeWolf: There's, like, a technicality of some sort.

[21:44] Liz Esten: It's a self-declared country, you know?

[21:47] Andrew DeWolf: Is that just something anyone can do, or?

[21:50] Liz Esten: I guess.

[21:51] Andrew DeWolf: Can we claim, like, any part of New York? Claim it, uh, the cheese wheel land?

[21:56] Liz Esten: We can't. Doug Walker already did that.

[21:59] Andrew DeWolf: Um, I guess it's time to point out, if you go to the general government information on the official website of the Republic of Malasia, you will have Kevin Baugh, the president of Malasia, in his usual garb, but then we also have his chief of staff, which includes, um, Andrew, why don't you read off these people, describe what they look like for me, please.

[22:23] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, sure. Um, we have, uh, we have Fritz von Baugh, the minister of making things orderly, who does appear in the movie. This is, uh, this is the one that does make an appearance. Great choice, by the way, because it only gets worse.

[22:40] Liz Esten: It's getting worse, y'all.

[22:42] Andrew DeWolf: We have, uh, Paddy Obaugh, the minister of making things disorderly. Um, so, I didn't describe, Fritz von Baugh looks like a, like a German scholar or something like that, like he has a monocle and a big mustache.

[22:56] Liz Esten: Um, Paddy Obaugh looks like he is from a rough-and-tough bar in Scotland or something, or Ireland, I guess.

[23:05] Andrew DeWolf: He looks like a leprechaun.

[23:06] Liz Esten: He looks like a leprechaun. Um, yeah, Ireland. Uh, and he's got, he's got sort of, uh, big sideburns and a bowtie.

[23:12] Andrew DeWolf: Um, and then we get into the real shit. He, he, he, then we take a left turn and, oh, no! We have, uh, Ahmed Al-Ban, the minister of sand, rocks, and dust storms, um, who looks like a, um, a Middle Eastern man.

[23:25] Liz Esten: Um, down to what looks like face makeup of some kind to darken one's skin.

[23:30] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, um, and to clarify, this is all Kevin Baugh in different outfits?

[23:43] Liz Esten: Um, he has, is that called a turban he has on, or what is that?

[23:46] Andrew DeWolf: That's not a turban. I don't know what it's called, but it's not a turban.

[23:50] Liz Esten: I'm not sure what it's called. Definitely racist and, like, what Jeff Dunham would make a terrorist look like.

[24:01] Andrew DeWolf: Um, we go back to somewhat more reasonable with Angus McBaw, who is just the minister of frugality, and, uh, he's just a Scottish. Looks like he's going golfing.

[24:09] Liz Esten: Um, but then we come, we come back, we come back to it. We have, uh, uh, Juan de la Bar, um, the minister of ethnic food, who is a, um, looks to be, uh, wearing a poncho with a want-to-be sombrero, although I don't think you could get a real sombrero.

[24:27] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, I gotta point out, he has changed very little from his Ahmed Al-Baw outfit. He just removed the beard and put on a sombrero.

[24:40] Liz Esten: Okay, I gotta point out, he has changed very little from his Ahmed Al-Baw outfit. He just removed the beard and put on a sombrero.

[24:49] Andrew DeWolf: I get what he's doing, but he probably shouldn't have done the skin darkening treatment. I think that's a bad idea.

[25:01] Liz Esten: That was a bad decision on his part.

[25:03] Andrew DeWolf: Says you and the president of Canada's, uh, PR firm. Also, the saying minister of ethnic food and putting a picture of yourself dressed in a, uh, a Mexican stereotype with your face darkened, um, not a great look. Sorry.

[25:19] Liz Esten: But this has nothing to do with the movie, because, uh, Doug Walker was smart enough to tell him to not include those particular characters.

[25:26] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I don't think we need those ones, but all the rest are good. Like, everything else we got there is fine. The only one who makes an appearance is his, uh, the Fritz, Fritz guy who looks like the German, like, banker or something.

[25:40] Liz Esten: I don't get this guy. This guy makes no sense to me. What's the bit?

[25:46] Andrew DeWolf: Before we continue, I just want to point out one part of the history of Molassia.

[25:52] Liz Esten: Yes, please.

[25:53] Andrew DeWolf: The Dead Dog War of 1999.

[25:55] Liz Esten: Oh, yeah?

[25:57] Andrew DeWolf: Which is unclear to me what it actually is, but there's a statue on the nation of Molassia to commemorate it.

[26:01] Liz Esten: Did he, uh, is this like a tribute to his dead dog, or did he have a Michael Vick situation going on?

[26:09] Andrew DeWolf: I think it's just a tribute to his dead dog, but it's listed as the Dead Dog War.

[26:13] Liz Esten: Oh.

[26:15] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Anyway, continue.

[26:17] Liz Esten: Wait, wait, wait, I gotta read this, now that I, this is wild. Listen to this.

[26:51] Andrew DeWolf: I...

[26:53] Liz Esten: After two weeks of conflict, the siege resulted in the capitalization of the enemies of Molassia. The dead dog, now considerably more decomposed than before the war, was removed. Sometime later, reparations were made to Molassia in the form of wood garbage can holder. Today, the Dead Dog War battlefield and the new grave of the dead dog just over the now-fenced Molassian frontier stand as a mute reminder of the horrors of war in man's inhumanity to man. Fucking what?

[27:21] Andrew DeWolf: This website's nutty. I think this guy is, he's like a serial half-joker. You know, it's a half-joke. He's sort of joking, but also he's really doing it, so is it really a joke, you know? And I commend him for his commitment to the bit. Actually creating your own country is, that's commitment to the bit. Good job, man.

[27:51] Liz Esten: Apparently they're at war with East Germany right now, which, that's impressive. I guess it's like a time travel war. So that's, you know, you can go buy war bonds if you want. I wouldn't recommend it, but you, I think this is his way of e-begging.

[28:01] Andrew DeWolf: If you want a fun time, just go to molassia.org. It's a lot, and it's a lot to look at. You know what? If you're in Reno, go visit Molassia. Fuck it. Maybe we should go visit Molassia.

[28:17] Liz Esten: You know what? Go fund me. We need $20,000 to go visit Molassia.

[28:21] Andrew DeWolf: We need $20,000 every year to keep this YouTube page going, and if you don't give us $20,000 a year, I'm going to threaten you.

[28:31] Liz Esten: Speaking of threats, how about we compare our opinions to those of the real critics over on Letterboxd.com. It's time for Previews, the Letterboxd game. This is a game where Liz and Andrew go head-to-head, and I read real Letterboxd reviews, and they have to guess based on the review alone whether it's a one-star or five-star.

[28:45] Andrew DeWolf: I am ready.

[28:51] Jess McAnally: Okay. I haven't watched this film.

[28:57] Andrew DeWolf: Well, if you haven't seen it, you don't know how bad it is, so I'm going to go with five stars.

[29:01] Jess McAnally: That is incorrect. That was a one. You bet it you lost.

[29:05] Andrew DeWolf: I gave it my best shot.

[29:07] Liz Esten: Yes?

[29:11] Andrew DeWolf: Why does the Nevada desert look like Vegas? Five stars.

[29:15] Jess McAnally: That is correct! She's kicking her ass.

[29:19] Andrew DeWolf: Why would it look like Vegas? What?

[29:21] Liz Esten: Yeah, it's the point. That's where Vegas is.

[29:23] Andrew DeWolf: That's where Vegas is located.

[29:25] Liz Esten: Oh, is it in the movie?

[29:27] Andrew DeWolf: No, that's the Doug Walker meme where he asks why does it look like Vegas to Hercules.

[29:33] Jess McAnally: Nothing about it makes sense. It's sort of like the Mad Libs of Disney films.

[29:37] Andrew DeWolf: The musical accompaniment is going to be gospel.

[29:39] Liz Esten: Okay. The designer of the movie is going to be Scarfade, the guy who did the wall.

[29:43] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[29:45] Liz Esten: The look and tone of the movie is going to be Las Vegas.

[29:49] Andrew DeWolf: What?

[29:51] Liz Esten: This started a record-breaking one-hour standing ovation when it premiered at Cannes.

[29:55] Andrew DeWolf: Five stars.

[29:57] Liz Esten: That is correct!

[30:01] Andrew DeWolf: It's fun.

[30:03] Liz Esten: One star.

[30:05] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct!

[30:07] Liz Esten: You know it smells crazy in that hotel room, big dog.

[30:17] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god, I was thinking that. Have you ever been to a convention where there's a bunch of those dudes? It can stink. And if you get them all in a tight room like that, oh my god. My brother went to a convention once and bumped into Brad Jones and just had lunch with him.

[30:35] Andrew DeWolf: That's a weird thing of those early 2000s days.

[30:39] Liz Esten: Did they watch porn together?

[30:41] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know. Did they watch porn?

[30:43] Liz Esten: He did just get a really up-close face selfie with him and Brad Jones. Like, way too close to each other's faces is what I remember of that selfie.

[30:53] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. For the stinky hotel room, that is getting a... That's going to get a one star, I think.

[31:01] Liz Esten: That's going to get a one. That's a five!

[31:03] Andrew DeWolf: Liz! Damn.

[31:05] Liz Esten: You know, people who shit on this movie just don't get it. Yeah, it's not objectively good if you put it through the meaningless criteria, but hey, I laughed in most spots it wanted me to. Most spots?

[31:17] Andrew DeWolf: They're spittin', they're spittin'.

[31:21] Liz Esten: Yeah, they're spittin'. I feel like you're tricking me, so I'm gonna go with one.

[31:25] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct!

[31:27] Liz Esten: Ooh! Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, never fails.

[31:29] Andrew DeWolf: Liz, you're winning this no matter what, because you have... That's a first.

[31:33] Liz Esten: But here is the last one. Holy shit!

[31:35] Andrew DeWolf: You know?

[31:37] Liz Esten: Five.

[31:39] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct! And that is then the Letterboxd game!

[31:43] Jess McAnally: This makes up for the only game I've ever won recently is being music.

[31:47] Andrew DeWolf: I mean, that one's an easy one.

[31:49] Liz Esten: Yay! This show ain't that different, right? You're halfway through an episode, and you're still laughing and enjoying all the good spots. You're laughing at all the places where you're supposed to.

[32:01] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, exactly where you're supposed to! Much like Cadencia!

[32:05] Jess McAnally: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[32:07] Andrew DeWolf: Let's go into a mid-show, and then let's talk about this some more.

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[32:21] Andrew DeWolf: Hey guys! Sorry to interrupt and email the show, but we've got a show out of you! Today's show is brought to you by the extremely kind donations by our donors over at Patreon!

[32:29] Liz Esten: Andrew, what's Patreon?

[32:31] Andrew DeWolf: Oh man, Patreon is where you can go if you'd like to support us and get some extra content from the show! We still have a lot of our old musicals with cheese stuff up on there, but I'm sure we'll be getting some new content for the new rebrand as well.

[32:43] Liz Esten: And of course, there is new rewards, which I assure you Jess knows more about than I do.

[32:47] Jess McAnally: Yes! Currently, you have already taken part in this rewards because you guys are now a much more active part about what we cover on this show! In fact, your first Patreon request from Toriana Fraser has been selected and voted upon, so our fifth episode-ish, I think around sixth episode, will be on Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 film which I am so excited to talk about and is such a good choice!

[33:13] Andrew DeWolf: I'm grateful to each and every one of you for sticking by us, Liz and I are currently working on ways to make it even more worthwhile to you guys. Maybe watch nights for our big shows and all the things that we're covering would be a really interesting thing to do, and just kind of ways to get you more involved and make that Discord even more fun.

[33:31] Liz Esten: Our current patrons are, and thank you guys for sticking around through the rebrand, I really appreciate it, Jessestampede, Ewan Cassidy, Monika Thoreau, Brent Black, Lathania Stacy Coombe, Mary Lou Choquette, Jon Van Alls, Russ Walker, Musical Hell, Emily Gracie, Jen AC, Scoot and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Nothing is Certain Except Beth, and Taxes, Jon Van Alls, Zvezbian, Chai Teacup, Chris Marcotte, Kiji Marie Anastasio, Trevi Joseph, RJ Noriega, Julia McLennan, Joe, Bjorn Hermans, Toriana Frazier, Sammy, The Adequate Amount, Jacobson, Kaylee Blazier, Villainous Miss, The Omega Geek, Paige Pearson, Maddie Wargill, Elisa Erdman, Anna Loskatova, Evan Ball, Zachary Torres, Mara Moroso, Mara, Lisa L., Possessed Washing Machine, Nick Roten, Puffy Boy, Sidney Hicks, Billy Clifton, Gold Plated Kikimora, Aria Ardy, Emma Carabalda, JRL Studios, and Alexandra Dahm, and BT McBenemy.

[34:51] Andrew DeWolf: They all give us some money that helps us keep the lights on at the show, help keep Liz and Andrew fed and bred, and enjoying our time here. And if you all wouldn't mind, since we are kind of starting from scratch a little bit, please leave us reviews and likes, let your friends know about us. If you're enjoying it so far, let us know. We love Beat Back so much, it makes us so happy to know that some folks are listening. And, hey, even if you don't like the show, leave a review anyways.

[35:29] Liz Esten: How about we get back to it and talk about Doug Walker's impact?

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[35:41] Andrew DeWolf: The world's impression of Doug Walker has changed quite a bit since 2010, 14 years ago when this first premiered. In fact, Doug Walker even used to have hair back then. He has since gone the full Lex Luthor look to really embrace the supervillain vibe he's giving off lately.

[36:01] Liz Esten: So, the thing with the cultural impact of Kickassia, right, is there's a lot to talk about with the cultural impact of Doug Walker and things like that. Although, I think a lot of that impact doesn't come from this movie. It comes from To Boldly Flee, Demo Reel, Pop Shot, Show Game Man, Game Man, Show Hot Man, Cinema Snob, and, of course, the Nostalgia Critic rebrand, which is essentially Demo Reel 2.

[36:35] Andrew DeWolf: So, a lot of that impact is not from Kickassia, but it kind of all starts here. And I feel like the real cultural impact of this movie and what I would want to talk about is less so Doug Walker himself and more that guy with the glasses.

[36:51] Liz Esten: Because the impact of that guy with the glasses, I think, is still being felt. Now, we have had people on our show from that guy with the glasses. We interact with them all the time. There are people that are still popular that appeared in this fucking movie. You know?

[37:09] Andrew DeWolf: What's your thoughts?

[37:15] Liz Esten: Yes, that is valid and important and all these things you're saying, but it all stems... The website was a great cultural breeding ground. Is that the best way? People...

[37:27] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know. One of the best things about that guy with the glasses.com were the forums. Less the people on there and all that.

[37:35] Liz Esten: Not us.

[37:39] Andrew DeWolf: Yes. I don't think I've ever told my that guy with the glasses story about how I was kind of almost on Channel Awesome.

[37:45] Liz Esten: You may have mentioned it, but honestly, you can go ahead and tell it again. There's not going to be a better time.

[37:51] Andrew DeWolf: In 2014, just a few short years after Kick-Ass-ia premiered, they had an open call for new content creators on their platform. I was doing a little known show called XXJest World XX where I covered musical theater content.

[38:11] Liz Esten: What a name.

[38:13] Andrew DeWolf: What a name, man. Where'd you come up with that?

[38:15] Jess McAnally: Explain your thought process.

[38:19] Andrew DeWolf: What do they stand for?

[38:21] I wanted Jess World, but that was already taken, so I was like, how do I get around that? Put a number in it.

[38:27] Liz Esten: No! That wasn't a thing at the time.

[38:31] Andrew DeWolf: I watched your videos in high school, man. It's weird now. Now we're like email buddies.

[38:39] Jess McAnally: Now we're like friends.

[38:43] Andrew DeWolf: Either way, not important. So I was like, you know what? I've got as much of a chance as anyone else. Why don't I put my name into the hat? Thinking nothing of it, truly, because I don't know. I was about to go to college. I felt like, okay, I'm kind of done with this. But then I made it through one round. I was like, oh! I don't know. I think it was Rob Walker. Rob Walker sent out most of the emails in regards to this, and he was on the forums with it as well.

[39:11] Liz Esten: I cringe!

[39:21] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, I found the email. Should I share it?

[39:25] Liz Esten: Oh my god, yes.

[39:27] Andrew DeWolf: It has some PPI in it, so I'm like, oh, do I want to show this?

[39:31] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, so do you want to know the three videos I submitted to Rob Walker to be on That Guy with the Glasses?

[39:39] Liz Esten: I'd like to know.

[39:45] Andrew DeWolf: None of them exist anymore. The first one was Wicked, the second one was Jekyll and Hyde, and the third one was Evita.

[39:51] Liz Esten: Oh no, this is even earlier! Oh no! That's so bad!

[39:55] Andrew DeWolf: Hold on, hold on, hold on! Alright, no. I submitted my last five years review and the 14 most romantic showtunes. That was it. They said, hey, first off, thank you for your submission. Second, thank you for your patience. We received over 1,200 submissions. We took weeks upon weeks to go through. Ultimately, that meant we only had a small percent that could make it through. You were in the maybe folder and made it in the top 20% of everyone.

[40:25] Liz Esten: So I was in the top 20%!

[40:27] Andrew DeWolf: You were in the maybe folder, though. I was, I was. Along with a lot of other people that have been on this show, because at the time we all got the emails about the same time. So, Christy from Musical Hell also was in the maybe folder and got the identical email. But then you got other people who were a little more famous, a little known, that were not in the maybe folder. Like, they were a little too honest about it and didn't think anyone would compare notes.

[40:49] Liz Esten: Mm-hmm.

[40:55] Andrew DeWolf: So I'm like, they wouldn't just have said that if they didn't say that to everyone. So you, you had almost made it. You were that close. What, the question is, would I have walked out without everyone else, or would I have been a Guru Larry? Or would I have even made it on that long?

[41:13] Liz Esten: I think you would have been one of the people that, like, you post for, like, two weeks, realize, oh my god, this is way too much. This is a fucking nightmare. And then you just leave.

[41:21] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I feel like, because apparently Mike Michaud would just kick you off if you didn't post every two weeks.

[41:27] Liz Esten: Oh yeah.

[41:29] Andrew DeWolf: Because they had so many people submitting to get on, because this was, this was the original, like, I'm gonna become an influencer. Like, you get onto that guy with the glasses and you're like, oh my god, I made it. Now I have the dream job where I just make videos yelling at movies all day and never have to work.

[41:51] Liz Esten: That was what the dream was. They were selling the dream, and Kickassia sold that dream to us. That you can, you too can be a weird goober that joins with this group of friends and just, you know, kick back and review movies. And it turns out that behind the scenes that wasn't what it was. But, you know, Kickassia's still here. It's still selling that dream.

[42:15] Andrew DeWolf: What could have been?

[42:25] Liz Esten: Um, should we bring up Mike Michaud? Because...

[42:27] Andrew DeWolf: We already have. We don't need to talk about it. I listened to every commentary for Kickassia that exists. I took the time, I put the effort in, and my god, Mike Michaud, he and Katie Vance are very alike that they are just a charisma black hole. God fucking dammit.

[42:51] Andrew DeWolf: Because Bargov, who plays Mati and a bunch of other things, and him did a commentary, which is like two people that no one cares about doing a commentary on a movie even less people care about.

[43:03] Liz Esten: The Mati thing has always been the strangest part of all of these movies to me. They must really fucking love that gag because doesn't he show up in more than Kickassia? He's in Suburban Knights as well.

[43:15] Andrew DeWolf: And I'm pretty sure he even makes it into Toboldi Flea.

[43:17] Liz Esten: Yes, but Toboldi Flea is a very special case because he had been he left the site at that point in anger so they have someone else doing an impression of him.

[43:27] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god.

[43:31] Liz Esten: Oh my god.

[43:33] Andrew DeWolf: Only used stills of him because it had not ended well.

[43:37] Liz Esten: There is a history of that guy with the glasses, uh, contributors leaving under suspicious circumstances or unwell. Like, in the documentary we see the famous Mike Ellis who I believe sexually assaulted someone and was kicked off the site?

[43:53] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, that's what happened.

[43:55] Liz Esten: Who is Mike Ellis?

[43:57] Andrew DeWolf: He was just the guy that posted things to the site. And then he like started stalking a girl.

[44:01] Liz Esten: Oh, okay, okay.

[44:03] Andrew DeWolf: Also, Kickassia was based on a concept by Mike Michaud. Of course it was! Yeah, that's what it's listed as in the credits. He's actually very important to this film.

[44:13] Liz Esten: But he had nothing to say in the commentary except like, it was really hard getting everyone to Reno and getting all the planes booked.

[44:21] Andrew DeWolf: And, okay, in Doug's commentary, he actually had things to say and was like talking about things. Rob's commentary was like, I fucking hate Doug. He's a hack. I despise him. I hurt myself on this set and I worked through it and he treated me like shit and like, truly, why would you release these publicly to the world?

[44:41] Liz Esten: I...

[44:43] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know. Did you watch any of the commentaries where they treat it as if they made an actual movie?

[44:45] Liz Esten: They did not do... Doug kind of does, but like, you know, in the way that's like, we're kind of goofing. That was more the other two. This one wasn't that yet.

[44:55] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, no. They knew they were just kind of having fun and this is a gift for the fans.

[44:59] Liz Esten: Rob was kind of like, you know, we did our job too well. People cared about the plot when really it should have just been a bunch of goofs and we didn't think anyone would care about the plot.

[45:19] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, but they made the rest so plot heavy.

[45:21] Liz Esten: They do though. You're right. Yeah.

[45:25] Andrew DeWolf: We skipped over some of the stuff that I really love.

[45:27] Jess McAnally: Like?

[45:29] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Let me just throw out, Andrew, can I make a quick correction for you?

[45:33] Liz Esten: Go out your favorite things.

[45:35] Andrew DeWolf: Just a quick correction. Mike Ellis sexually harassed Holly Brown for many years.

[45:43] Liz Esten: That's what happened with Mike Ellis.

[45:45] Andrew DeWolf: To be clear, this was not one of my favorite things. I was going to make a correction about what Mike Ellis did so we don't get sued.

[45:51] Liz Esten: Mike Ellis wouldn't invite him onto my film set.

[45:57] Andrew DeWolf: Tell me your favorite things.

[45:59] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. I love that the pacing of the opening is so good. Act one is beautifully paced where they just...

[46:07] Liz Esten: Okay, I don't know if you remember but I feel like the other two movies it's so fucking slow and they drag everything out because they have to make it like four hours long.

[46:17] Andrew DeWolf: This one, it opens up, they're in Molassia, Doug Walker knocks on his door and says, I'm going to invade you. That's perfect. Perfect. It's actually flawless. I'm not kidding. That is the absolute perfect way to open the movie.

[46:33] Liz Esten: You say that but then we get a really long phone call where they round up everybody.

[46:39] Andrew DeWolf: Absolutely. They ruin it immediately afterwards but that opening is flawless. There is no better way to open the movie unless they fix the white balance ever.

[46:51] Liz Esten: That would be kind of nice. Or get the shots in focus.

[46:57] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, God. I don't mean to bring up the commentary so much but Rob Walker is just spending the entire time shitting on Doug and not even where he's like, oh, I wouldn't have shot it this way. I could tell it was a Doug shot. Well, I like to have something interesting out of the camera and Doug just says just hold it and point it and...

[47:19] Liz Esten: Dude, you said that they hate each other and I can totally fucking see it actually.

[47:25] Andrew DeWolf: Do you think Rob is jealous because he thinks that he's more talented than Doug but Doug gets all the attention?

[47:29] Liz Esten: Yes, but I'm not even sure he's wrong is the problem. He might be like 0.5% more talented than Doug.

[47:39] Andrew DeWolf: Also, it's just like really cruel stuff. They didn't do a commentary together which might have been interesting.

[47:45] Liz Esten: They could do it separately.

[47:47] Andrew DeWolf: They couldn't speak in the same room together after the things he said.

[47:51] Liz Esten: Why did they do that's three different commentaries just from that guy with the glasses people?

[47:55] Andrew DeWolf: Well, then you also have the Linkara Obscurus Lupa Nash and one other Phelous commentary where Lupa and Nash were not in this movie.

[48:05] Liz Esten: Phelous in the movie is such a major character and for some reason I just remember Phelous not be coming onto the scene until a little later but I guess he was on the early one.

[48:15] Andrew DeWolf: Cultural impact we're going to go back to it kind of. That guy with the glasses what the fuck is this? They're playing characters but what is the character? Who is Phelous? What's the gag? He talks weird? Is that the joke?

[48:29] Liz Esten: I don't want to be mean.

[48:31] Andrew DeWolf: I don't want to be mean to these people because honestly I do. You know that's Allison's husband, motherfucker.

[48:39] Liz Esten: I know. I watched all of this shit. I love this shit. It's such a weird thing that this existed. I can't.

[48:49] Andrew DeWolf: We exist.

[48:51] Liz Esten: I can't talk shit because I did it. We were there. I was almost on this.

[49:01] Andrew DeWolf: I can't talk shit but at the same time what the fuck was this website?

[49:41] Liz Esten: During the documentary I had a really mean thought.

[49:43] Andrew DeWolf: What's that?

[49:45] Liz Esten: It's not nice to be mean but it was like oh it's so nice these people all found each other because I don't know if they'd find anyone else.

[49:53] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god.

[49:55] Liz Esten: Okay that is mean. I'm cutting that.

[49:59] Andrew DeWolf: I was literally like oh look at this group of weirdos. Glad they all have each other.

[50:05] Liz Esten: You know what though? Is it mean or is it kind of what the movie's selling to us?

[50:11] Andrew DeWolf: That's the idea. This is like they're the found family of weird dumb cruel nerds that become dictators.

[50:23] Liz Esten: You die here or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

[50:27] Andrew DeWolf: How many of the gags were written by that guy with the glasses team without any consultation to the people? Does this match your character at all?

[50:39] Liz Esten: According to the Not So Awesome document they almost never it seemed like they never watched their stuff and had no idea about their ongoing lore.

[50:51] Andrew DeWolf: Except strangely Linkara's. I didn't really watch their stuff so I don't have anything to say. But I know it was very lore based and there was a lot of story elements and they threw in a lot of references to it and it gets worse by the time we get to Boldly Flee.

[51:07] Liz Esten: Well the strange thing is there isn't any references to it here really.

[51:11] Andrew DeWolf: That's a lie. There is the throwaway like, I'm sad I'm working with Dr. Insano. He's my archenemy. And I'm like, wait.

[51:19] Liz Esten: Yeah but Dr. Insano is like spoony lore. Linkara has a spaceship. You'd think that he would leverage that when trying to take over Molassia.

[51:27] Andrew DeWolf: Well I haven't seen a top to fourth ball of the movie yet so maybe it'll all make sense when we get there.

[51:31] Liz Esten: I'm sorry. I know too much. This is a topic that I can't discuss this way. It's too much. There's too much lore that Andrew has just cranking around in his fucking noggin.

[51:45] Andrew DeWolf: It's in my brain. You know how people say that they have brain rot when you're talking like skibbity riz or whatever? I've got that 2010's brain rot.

[52:01] Liz Esten: I mean I am of coursing big lipped alligator moments all over the place.

[52:07] Andrew DeWolf: I find myself a little embarrassed that I enjoyed this as much as I did when I was younger.

[52:13] Liz Esten: You don't need to be embarrassed, Jess. We are here. We've made it here. We've gotten this far. We only live one time and this is part of our past. Why be embarrassed? What's the point?

[52:27] Andrew DeWolf: The point is I don't know. I worry that in any situation I might be the film brain.

[52:33] Liz Esten: Do you know how offended I would be?

[52:39] Andrew DeWolf: Nothing against Matthew himself who seems lovely, but if any one of my friends wrote me the way that they write him for these movies, I would wonder if I was ever their friend.

[52:53] Liz Esten: Okay, wait, wait. Liz, final segment. We're going to do a final segment, I think.

[53:01] Andrew DeWolf: I am here. I've been here the whole time.

[53:03] Liz Esten: If we were in Kickassia, what would our characters be like? What would we do?

[53:07] Andrew DeWolf: If I was Doug and I was writing you?

[53:13] Liz Esten: We made it onto the site somehow. We were in our early 20s at the time. It happened. I imagine Andrew makes lore videos about Doug Walker's videos just for fun.

[53:21] Andrew DeWolf: Right after they come out.

[53:25] Liz Esten: Did you watch the Gordie review?

[53:29] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god. He is totally on it this week.

[53:33] Liz Esten: Review reviewing was a thing at the time because everyone thought they were so clever to think of that. But none of them ever made it onto the site.

[53:41] Andrew DeWolf: Review reviewing was just bullying.

[53:45] Liz Esten: It's what we're doing right now.

[53:47] Andrew DeWolf: Not to mention reviewer dibs which was a thing at the time. Reviewer dibs need to come back.

[53:53] Liz Esten: That's classic.

[53:55] Andrew DeWolf: Well, then technically Doug is reviewer dibs over us because he already reviewed Kickassia six years ago.

[54:01] Liz Esten: He only did that so no one else would review it.

[54:03] Andrew DeWolf: That's true. That's not real reviewer dibs. Real reviewer dibs is when it's the wrong type of media you're not allowed to touch it.

[54:11] Liz Esten: Back to the question. If I'm writing Kickassia, what type of characters are you?

[54:15] Andrew DeWolf: Jess, you're not the film brain. You are the Ben at the Sage. You have a really solid joke and you always bring it up. You're just always there and you're making good laughs.

[54:25] Liz Esten: His joke is absolutely that he has a vinyl record of some musical.

[54:31] Andrew DeWolf: Some Sondheim shit.

[54:33] Liz Esten: This is the new national anthem of the Kickassia. He puts it on the vinyl and he's like, I can't get it to play but this is really good.

[54:41] Andrew DeWolf: He keeps trying to get people to listen to Passion.

[54:43] Liz Esten: He's like, Jess, shut the fuck up about Passion. That's really good, guys!

[54:47] Andrew DeWolf: That's the joke. He gets it one time and then they cut away from him and never talk about it again.

[54:53] Liz Esten: I think Andrew would probably be the Linkara of the group.

[54:55] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, jeez. That's an insult.

[54:57] Liz Esten: You just figure out how to solve it because everyone's an idiot. You're the smart one of the group.

[55:05] Andrew DeWolf: I'm not, though.

[55:07] Liz Esten: I see where you're leaning, Liz. I think what you're thinking, and I agree with it, is in the writer's sense of, hey, you seem down for most things. Let's just give him all the lines.

[55:15] Andrew DeWolf: I feel like Linkara got done dirty in this one, honestly. They just didn't write his character.

[55:21] Liz Esten: I don't know.

[55:23] Andrew DeWolf: He's a drill sergeant.

[55:25] Liz Esten: Yes, and you'd nail it. Or you'd probably be like, oh, I can't make it that weekend, and you'd be the little misgamer who only appeared via phone call.

[55:33] Andrew DeWolf: I would be the awkward green screen camera and I'd be stuck in a horror movie or something. Like, oh no, I'm stuck in Freddyland or some shit. Oh no!

[55:41] Andrew DeWolf: Alright, can we go, before we wrap up and give our cheese ratings, here's a really test of our cringability. Can we each go around and tell us one thing that made us laugh?

[55:53] Liz Esten: Uh, yeah, I think I can try to think of one. I've got one. Ready. You go first.

[55:57] Andrew DeWolf: And it makes me feel bad that I laughed at it, but I laughed really hard. It was such a throwaway line, but it was when they build up Dr. Insano as this bad thing throughout. And also, Doug told Spoonie to act like a rape victim, and that was the literal direction, and I'm like, ew. Ew. That's disgusting.

[56:21] Andrew DeWolf: I just gotta put these fun facts out there somewhere. But, either way, just Doug turns to him and he's like, Oh, Spoonie, you gave into the darkness. That's nice. I don't know why. That line got me.

[56:33] Liz Esten: laughter

[56:35] Andrew DeWolf: laughter

[56:37] Liz Esten: Oh hey, you gave into the madness. That's awesome.

[56:41] Andrew DeWolf: That is good.

[56:43] Liz Esten: What about you, Andrew?

[56:45] Andrew DeWolf: It's really dumb, but honestly, the gag where they all run full speed at the guy, and then the guy pulls out a gun and they all immediately turn around and run away is really funny. I don't know. I laughed pretty hard at that one. I was just like, that's just the dumbest fucking gag, and they kind of nailed it.

[57:01] Liz Esten: Okay.

[57:03] Andrew DeWolf: laughter

[57:05] Liz Esten: Honestly, none of it made me laugh out loud. That's fair. That's fine. It was all just kind of a low giggle of how stupid this whole fucking movie is. But I also just got home from work and I work really early in the morning, so my brain was probably rotted at the time, so I'm like, hey, this is kind of funny. I don't know why it's funny, but it is. So, yeah.

[57:29] Andrew DeWolf: Fair enough.

[57:31] Liz Esten: Fair enough. I'll give a second one then. I love the general vibe that they're all too stupid to function. And I think the best example is when they're doing the interview and the guy made the flag, I think it was Cinema Snob made the flag, and they couldn't figure out how to take the old flag off the flagpole, so they just have a guy standing on the roof at all times holding it.

[57:49] Andrew DeWolf: Put respect on Handsome Tom's name.

[57:51] Liz Esten: Yeah, that's Handsome Tom. Wait, I thought of something I actually thought was funny when Bennet the Sage became the Surgeon General, because I don't know why that made me laugh. It just made no sense.

[58:01] Andrew DeWolf: There, that's my joke.

[58:03] Liz Esten: I want to give one more.

[58:05] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[58:07] Liz Esten: I giggled when he said, I'll get you a hotel room, but it's only one singular hotel room that they all have to share. I don't know why that bit got me chuckling.

[58:17] Andrew DeWolf: They totally ruined that one, though, by having somebody go like, well, that was expected.

[58:21] Liz Esten: It was Phelous, yeah, it was Phelous. You might as well have the Marvel thing where they're like, well, that just happened. Let's go get some shawarma.

[58:29] Andrew DeWolf: I would probably rather