What Is Making Us Happy

This message comes from NPR sponsor Carvana Carvana believes selling your car should be easy. Get a real offer down to the penny, picked up from your driveway. You may keep waiting for a catch, there isn't one. Sell today at cararvana d. comot pickup fees may apply After three seasons on Disney pllus, Pedro Pascal and Baby Yoda have made the Jetpack assisted leak to the big screen with Star Wars, the Mandalorian and Grogu onic bounty hunter and his just innervatingly cute sidekick are hired by the good guys to do a job for some bad guys. S Griny Weaver shows up briefly and Jeremy Allen White voices a super jacked hut You know what you're gonna get? creatures, droids, Easter eggs, peeww peeww peeww. But will folks go out to the movies to watch something they've gotten to know on their couches? We'll talk about it I'm Glen We Wellldon, joining me today on NPR's pop culture, AppiR is podcaster Jordan Morris. He's the host of Jordan Jessse Go and free with ads. Hey, Jordan. Hi, Glenn. This is the way I tell you I'm glad to be here. I was wondering if it was the way. Also with us is writer and host of the new film spotting podcast movie Death Match coming june first, Chris Klimmick. Hey, Chris, cononggrats on the new gig. Thank you. Gentlemen as Star Wars enters its hutploitation phase. There are no two guys I'd rather chop it up with Here we go If you have been watching the Mandaloran on Disney pllus, you know the basics, but here they are if you have not It's a few years after Return of the Jedi, the evil Galactic Empire is no more, and the new Republic is attempting to assert itself. But there are still imperial bad guys out there who need to be brought to justice. Enter the Mandalorian, a bounty hunter in badass armor and a helmet He's played by Pedro Pascal, but also by Brendan Wayne and Latief Crowder when he's got the helmet on, and he's walking around and doing stunts Mando, as he's called, has taken a young alien named Grogu under his wing. He's cute, he can use the force, he gurgles and coos and whatnot The New Republic Good guys ask Mando and Grogu to rescue the son of Jabba the Hutt, named Rata. He's voiced by Jeremy Allen White. The job proves more complicated than it seems, which leads to lots and lots and lots and lots of The Mandalorian in Grogu was directed by John Favavereau who created the Disney plus series. It is in Theaters now. Jordan, we return to that question, Is this the way? Yeah. so I will say this is kind of the way or at least it was kind of the way for me. I think this movie's biggest pro is also its biggest con in that it feels like a long episode of that TV show The way I like that is that, you know, I think modern Star Wars movies have all felt very burdened, you know, It's like They can't just tell a fun space story. They have to introduce classic characters and sometimes kill them and set up theme park rides and video games and all that stuff can really subtract from fun because you're setting up all this stuff or paying off stuff that happened in the eighties. you're maybe not having as much fun as you can. And I think this movie just kind of dispenses with that and has a lot of fun. It's basically seven or eight action scenes strung together with a little bit of dialogue and a little bit of story. And yeah, and there's part of me that's like, hey, cool, awesome. I don't have to have read a novel and ridden a Disneyland ride to understand this. I just kind of have to know who the Mandalorian is. But also I think there's a sense of like What are we doing here? You know, whyy is this not just three episodes of a TV show? I think all in all I had a fun time in the theater and some of the cool stuff is really cool. The practical stuff really pops in this, but yeah, there's a little bit of a sense of it's kind of just empty calories. Okay, empty calories. What about you, Chris? Yeah, this is sort of the right sizing of Star Wars in a way I feel like you know, fifty years later, this is the dream of George Lucas realized. He just wanted to make his homage to cereals Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon And by pushing out all of the temperamental artists, I feel like George Lucas was certainly that. hisis quality variable certainly, I think had the greatest success when he outsourced the actual screenwriting and directing to others, but definitely an idea guy. And you know, when you get rid of a guy like that and you bring in a John Fabau, Dave Filon, I mean, these are company men you know, these are reliable competent, sort of uninspired guy. And these are all adjectives that apply to this movie too. I did enjoy it, but there's no sense of specialness, there's no sense of struggle And there's a sense that like, here's John Fabreau with unlimited resources, you know, shooting this in a volume in Manhattan Beach, California. Pedro Pascal recording his lines on the way to shoot another movie exxactly. right? Yeah, ye. I mean, I have to feel like Robert Downey Jr. is calling his agents to be like, Hey, do I actually have to like to set to be the star of this movie. Like it's fine. It is fun. I did enjoy it, but I've almost forgotten it already. You know, there's just Star Wars and the blockbusters they beat were once special by virtue of their scarcity or at least them being sort of a seasonal thing This is just kind of, you know, the latest thing coming off the production line and it's fine. But it is a little disappointing that there isn't even one thing about it that I can say is is special. Yeah, okay. I think we're all saying the same thing. I mean, expectations Met. Not exceeded Undershot either I mean, there's a very good reason why we're all saying the same thing here because we have had three seasons to teach us exactly what to expect out of this thing. and they deliver that. And it seems to me they are not interested in delivering anything different. I mean, it looks bigger. To your point, it looks more expensive. And I'm tempted to say, as I often do, nobody was clamoring. I know that's not the case because we saw this in a screening with a bunch of enthusiasts, the kind of enthusiasts that clap Dave Faloney shows up in a cameo. Dave Faloney has written and produced several Star Wars shows. He's now the president. And CCO of Lucas Film. And he's wearing his signature cowboy hat in his cameo too. And he's wearing his signature cowboy hat and they're eating it up. And I looked up the character that Dave Fallodi plays does have a name. I forget exactly what it is, but it's something like Howdy Flyboy. It like somethingiest star name ever And at one point Mendo gets a new ship and it gets a series of lingering glamour shots that people cheered for because they know their kids are going to get that ship for Christmas and they're going to play with it after their kids go to bed My question to both of you though is If this just delivers more of the same Baby Yoda does cute things. Mando says this is the way. And that seems to be, I think we're all agreed that's fully intentional. That is the brief, that is the mission statement here. Is that enough? because aren't these people who are all in on Mando and Grogu, aren't they going to be going to the theater looking for something that merits theatricality, some big, I don't know Lord Dumper character revealer, something that says to them everythingthing you thought you knew was wrong because of what this movie is saying is everything you thought you knew You were precisely correct could on you on that. Yeah. I mean basically all we learn from this movie is the Mandalorian is good at fighting and Baby Yoda is cute. Those are the two big reveals. Although I guess we kind of already knew both those things. Right. Yeah. I mean point. I remember Mandalorian slash Baby Yoda Mania, I was part of it. I not seen all of the show, but I really dug first two seasons I think that's part of why it hit so hard is because it was kind of a no homework show. I think those, you know, Disney Star Wars movies, there's a lot of good stuff in them, but I think for the casual person who just needs to take their eight year old to a movie, it just felt like so much and there's so much stuff that maybe you didn't get. and yeah, think I think this hits so hard because you can just Kind of be familiar with Star Wars and sit down in front of it. and I think that will make this a hit for the basic dads and eight year olds of the world. But yeah, if you are looking for something to chew on, if you are a I'll say it, a giant nerd, like I believe the three of us are. I don't think I'm speaking out of school you do just wish there was something more to chew on there What we get in this movie is a series of action set pieces, and I'll confess A numbing amount of action set pieces so much that they bleed together. this is oops all set pieces. and I'm hard pressed. in any Star Wars film, you can pick out one cool bit. And because there are so many quotequote cool bits,, they're all blending together justust like you said, Chris. Yeah. no, I mean, how many times in the last what twenty seven years have you said, okay, but duel of the fates, But that fight was cool in the Pantom menace Can we talk about casting now? Are you gonna to mention Sagroni Weaver? who shows up here to just deliver cutscene dialogue? The scene where you get the mission in the game and you're pressing X on your controller to get past it? Do we have a deal? I only hunt down imperial war criminals I don't work for gangsters anymore, especially the Hs. That's right, you don't. You work for us. And right now, this is what we need you to do. Look, I mean, you cannot pander to me personally any harder than putting Sigorney Weaver in a science fiction movie. and she looks so bored. I've never seen Sigorney Weaver look more bored than she does even when she puts on the flight suit, which kind of feels like some you know, Dave Fallonian midjourney is like put Ripley in a Star Wars uniform That's hard for me to take. But on the other end of it, we have Jeremy Allen White's prize fighting Rod of the Hutt, who does get to say I'm my own man which made made me chuckle. And then he says that and other like sentiments like entirely too many times, leaving aside the fact that we have Jeremy Allen White with his voice so digitally altered as to be unrecognizable. Absolutely unrecognizable. How you guys feel about a hut speaking one a lot two in English or basic, as Wikipedia tells me it is in the Star Wars universe. Other times we've seen hutts, we get the you know and the subtitles and it's just like watching a hutt speak long paragraphs of English I had a hard time with it. I will say, I understand the choice to make him speak English. You know, modern audiences probably don't want to read a ton of subtitles his vocal performance was so funny. like I would just describe the vibe as Blas hipster. He sounds like not a space gangster, but like the husband of a friend you get stuck talking to at a party. and you're just like listening to him and you're like, Oh, you tweaked your shoulder training for a triathlon. Oh, you're brewing your own beer. Oh, cool. Like he's that guy. It is so funny and weird and out of place. Yeah, I thought the idea of this kind of six pack hut that trying to get out of the shadow of his dad is kind of fun. but the acting is very strange. It is, it is. And you know, it's a CJI Hutts. There's a big scene in a Gadiator arena that just sets up base camp in the Uncanny Valley and starts roasting marshmallows. It is clearly an easter egg, right? That is meant to evoke the three D chess that they play in the millennium fucin in episode four because when you see an overhead shot of the arena, it looks like the chess poard. I get it. It didn't need to take that long. These movies still have a very contemptuous relationship to physics because early on we see they mount a walker vehicle that looks like an ATST from Return of the Jedi, but it's got an open cockpit. so I did look it up in the wiki. Of course it is an ATRT, which is of course this hilariously lumbering unstable thing that he decides Aand gets in and decides he's going to take it straight down this very steep side of a mountain that's covered in Rocks and ice and snow and te just sails effortlessly down this mountain side and your brain looks at that and go, I have tried to walk down a steep driveway. It's not this easy. It can't be done. And you know I will say Grog Gu still a puppet, that's a good thing. The space mechanics we mentioned, the Wiki informs me they're called An Zeans, the folks we've seen before. They're clearly puppets. That feels good, but everything else, hoof, boyf. Yeah, I think the practical stuff just pop so great in this movie. You know, Baby Yoda. he was everybody's favorite thing for several years and that's because It's awesome and the little mechanic guys, they're great and got a ton of laughs in my theater. Yes, I mean, is it the laughs and applause that a brief shot of Dave Faloney and his classic cowboy hat gotten? No important fact ye. But almost as big. And yeah, old nerd guy complaint here, but like can we try and integrate some more practical stuff? And the fact that this is such a hot bas story and we don't have a single practical hut is a real bummer. Job of the Hutt is one of the coolest Mystical puppet characters And yeah, I can know that these hutts have to fight and wrestle and squirm around in a way that a big puppet probably couldn't. But can we mix it up? Can we have it be CGI in some shots and a big oldle cool puppet In other shots? You know, bring it to the premiere, let TikTokers take a picture with it you make your money back. Yeah, more puppets, please. The other big question I think is hanging over this weekend is are folks gonna come out? I'd be fascinated to see because this is going to dictate, I think, a lot for the Disney cororporation You know, what are they going to do? nexte? I mean, if folks do not come out to the theater because they could stay at home and watch Not just essentially this, they could watch this. They could watch a book. They don't even have to read a book. They could watch a book of Bob effect. It's inccredible. All right, well, you heard what we think. We're kind of mid. you may be. You may be one of those folks who cheer for the D Falonies of the world and more power to you. Up next What is making us happy this week This message comes from Whole Foods Market. The ultimate cookout starts with the ultimate ingredients. At Whole Foods Market, no antibiotics ever burgers and kebabs are prepped and ready to throw on the grill. Fire up a juicy ribeye creamy potato salad and savory flatbreads from the prerepared Foods department, and round it all out with three hundred sixty five brand condiments, chips, and dips at everyday low prices Whole Foods Market, makeake your summer sizzle. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Carvana. Carvana makes car buying easy. one hundred percent online, prices down to the penny delivered to your door. Why make car buying hard when it could be easy? Visit cararvana. com today. Terms may apply This message comes from Dell teechnologies. Get long lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Sies three and Telcore. Now from six hundred ninety nine dollars, with exclusive student pricing from five hundred ninety nine dollars. Visit Dell d. com slash deals This message comes from Capital One, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Tiny Desk Contest. The entries for this year's Tiny Dk Cest traverse genres, cities, and unique desk styles. Join NPR Music and the Cest judges as they review entries and see where this year's videos take you at npr dot org slash tiny Desk Contest and travel even further with the Capital One Venture X card, earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. see capapital onene. com for details Now it is time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What is making us happy this week? Jordan, what's making you happy this week? Yeah, I'm going to do what I often do in this segment is recommend a comic book or graphic novel. In this case it's a fan astic new graphic novel. It is called Bury M Alady parenthes. It's Nice down here. Comics on Pgnancy and Parenthood by Julia Wertz. Julia Wertz is a really brilliant cartoonist who mostly does, I think what you would call autobio comics or diary comics. They're comics pulled from her everyday life. Yeah, she is very funny. She likes bodily humor jokes and pop culture references. but it was also like just really Honest about her life. And so this book is about her pregnant and giv birth to her son And yah, you get a lot of the kind of funny gross stuff that accompanies pregnancy storage, and it's all really funny because she's hilarious. But then It gets into some heavy topics. it gets into depression, it gets into loneliness And sometimes when a thing tries to do both of those things, tries to be really funny and silly and also give you the heavy stuff, it can off as sweaty or one thing could work a little bit better than the other one, but oh boy, like both things are just so well done here and they support each other and they add to each other the dramatic stuff is better because you got the light funny stuff and the light funny stuff is a nice palette cleanser for some of the more dramatic stuff Maybe you feel a little silly saying masterpiece. I think this is a masterpiece. I think it's really great. Get this, get this, get this. It's so good. Bury me already. It's nice down here by Julia Woods. That's a great pick. Thank you so much, Jordan. Chris, what is making you happy this week? Glenn, what is making me happy this week is counter prorogramming. Whether or not you go to the theater to see the Mandalorian in Grogu, I impore you to go to the theater that's playing Boots Rilly's new movie, I loveve Boosters This is from the great hip hop artist and maker of the sort of surreal anti capitalism satire Sorry to bother you. This is an even wilder more ambitious funnier, harder to encapsulate fantasia centers on these women who make their living by stealing way marked up designer clothes and then selling them at more affordable prices. That's what a booster is For anyone who saw Sorry to Bother You or his streaming series, this is just a massive upscaling in ambition and execution and everything. This is a movie that I enjoyed very much and that I look forward to arguing with people about for the rest of the year So if you can find Bots Rile's, I love boosters, well worth seeking out. It made me very happy. Thank you very much Chris. Yes, we're gonna to have an episode about that very movie next week What's making me happy? Well We can all agree that algorithms are bad. algorithms don't make you happy. Whenever you get served something on your phone that you've just been talking to somebody about that day, that's creepy. But as the great Stehven Sondheim once said, witches can be right, Giants can be good. And because the algorithm knows me so well earlier this week, it served me up this