Summary
Overview
Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael are joined by Owen Burke to dissect the 1997 action spectacle Double Team, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, and Mickey Rourke. The hosts are baffled by the film's bizarre plot involving a retired spy, a secret island colony, a tiger fight in the Colosseum, and extensive ADR dubbing. They explore the movie's nonsensical storyline, the inexplicable casting of Van Damme as 'Jack Quinn,' Dennis Rodman's shoehorned role as arms dealer 'Yaz,' and mind-boggling sequences including a mysterious colony for retired spies that feels like a Mediterranean retirement community.
The Confounding Cold Open and Character Names
The hosts immediately struggle with the film's opening sequence, which appears to be tacked on as a James Bond-style action scene. They're particularly confounded by Jean-Claude Van Damme playing a character named 'Jack Quinn' despite his thick accent, and note that almost all dialogue appears to be ADR (additional dialogue recording). The opening involves stealing a truck of plutonium in the most reckless way possible, driving it off cliffs and through walls.
- Van Damme plays 'Jack Quinn,' an implausibly American name for his thick European accent
- The entire opening sequence appears to be dubbed with ADR, with no dialogue matching lip movements
- Van Damme recklessly drives a plutonium truck through walls and off cliffs
- The movie opens with his 'last mission' but then introduces another 'last mission' 30 minutes later
" In what world is Van Damme's name Jack Quinn? In what universe is that his name? "
" I couldn't figure out the cold open even remotely. I was like, it's minute two, and I'm already confounded. "
The Retired Life and Dennis Rodman's Introduction
Three years after the opening, Van Damme lives in an absurdly exposed cliffside house in the South of France with trains constantly passing by. He's convinced to come back for one more mission, which leads to meeting Dennis Rodman's character Yaz, an arms dealer with extreme style. Their introduction is marked by painfully awkward pauses and a homophobic joke about Rodman's appearance. The hosts discuss how Rodman seems completely shoehorned into the script.
- Van Damme's 'remote' house is the most exposed location in Europe with trains passing right behind it
- Dennis Rodman's character introduction features painfully long pauses between dialogue
- Van Damme meets Rodman to get weapons for a government mission, which makes no sense
- Rodman is introduced getting a belly button piercing with colorful hair and tattoos
" Maybe because you're in the most exposed house in Europe. "
" Who does your hair? Siegfried or Roy? The last guy that made fun of my hair, he's still trying to put his hair out of his ass. "
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