Special guest Nathan Rabin of The Dissolve grabs his golden ticket, jumps through the movie screen, and joins us to talk 1993’s meta-action flick Last Action Hero! In this ballsy, flawed, filmed-by-committee action-comedy, precocious movie buff Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) gets Houdini’s magic ticket and jumps into the movie world of clichéd 80s action movie cop Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Though the film’s ambitions are high, Last Action Hero is definitely not without its flaws, including its tenuous grasp of exactly what it’s parodying and other such issues discuss in detail in the podcast. Take a listen, and be sure to check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules below!
(Nathan Rabin’s written about Last Action Hero before in his book My Year in Flops, which you can get here!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The Frisky Whiskers
Inspired both by Benedict’s glass eye and Danny Devito’s cartoon detective cat character, the Frisky Whiskers is a strong, dry cocktail with all the sloppy wit and brawn of Jack Slater. At the same time, the hard-living Slater whiskey base is leavened out with Danny’s sugary sweetness from the demerara syrup, and the raw cranberry juice provides the bitterness that sometimes rises within you when you watch this film.
3 parts whiskey
1 part raw cranberry juice
1 tsp demerara syrup
2 parts apricot nectar
splash, velvet falernum
1) To make demerara syrup, combine equal parts demerara sugar (you can substitute brown sugar) and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2) Combine all except falernum in shaker with ice; stir to combine.
3) Strain into martini glass; splash velvet falernum on top.
4) Plop a fake eye in there if’n you want.
DRINKING RULES FOR LAST ACTION HERO:
- Whenever Danny Madigan points out something that happens in movies
- Any time you actually see a new female character in the film
- Every time you see an explosion
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Jack Slater quips, “No sequel for you.”
Join us next week as we watch some dingos eat some babies with the Meryl Streep/Sam Neill drama A Cry in the Dark!
I agree, this movie is flawed but it is still a lot of fun and is actually better the more times I have seen it. Glad Vern from @videovanguard pointed me in your direction. Good stuff.