The Recasting Couch: Ep. 83 Gattaca

The Recasting Couch Movie Podcast

Gattaca is the movie that we recast this week, and hold on to your butts. This episode has no business being as funny as it is. We don’t know where it came from, and if we recorded this episode 50 times we couldn’t replicate this. It’s a hell of a way to celebrate getting both of us back in the studio.

Now in full disclosure, I thought this was a completely different movie. Turns out, neither of us has seen this movie before. This is the kind of quality, in depth, research and preparation that you all have come to expect from this very professional podcast.

Gattaca stars Ethan Hawke, and honestly, it’s kinda annoying to hear Mike go on and on about how much of a fan he is. It gets a little weird. He starts profusely thanking me for showing him an Ethan Hawke movie that he had never seen before. Frankly, I wasn’t prepared for his reaction. Uma Thurman fulfills all of the requirements for this role, but doesn’t really sell as “human” and imperfect as the character is supposed to be. We get interesting performances by Gore Vidal (yes, THAT Gore Vidal), Elias Koteas, and Xander Berkeley, who apparently I appreciated much more than Mike. Xander crushes this, and I will not hear arguments to the contrary. Although, some of the only real heart in this movie comes from the incomparable Ernest Borgnine, who nails his turn as the janitor boss who recognizes Hawke’s character’s fraud, but knows that he was a genetically deficient guy who has beat all of the odds and keeps his freaking trap shut when he realizes Hawke has infiltrated his employer to get on the launch crew for the trip to Titan. This is way more fun than it has any business period.

If you enjoy this podcast, spread the word! Tell 3 friends about the show this week. Go ahead. We’ll wait….

Once you return, leave us 5 star ratings on whatever podcast app you use, and if you are even a fraction as opinionated as we are, go on twitter and yell at us @recastingpod, or send us an email at [e-mail]. You all are the fucking best. We’ve been having so much fun talking movie bullshit and debating your picks. Please give us more to distract us from our day jobs. Love you. Bye.

• Chris