Summary
Overview
Jason Mantzoukas and Paul Scheer join Aisling Bea and Starlee Kine at Largo in Los Angeles to dissect the 2006 romantic time-travel film The Lake House. The hosts explore the baffling logic of a mailbox that allows Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves to communicate across a two-year time gap, questioning why these characters would choose letter-writing over simply meeting in person. The conversation covers everything from the infamous final kiss to the magical dog that may be orchestrating everything, with the panel ultimately concluding that the film prioritizes neither its romance nor its time-travel premise effectively.
Opening and Initial Reactions to the Film
The hosts kick off at Largo, immediately addressing their mixed feelings about the movie. While they admit to crying multiple times during the film, they're disturbed by the kissing scenes and the overall logic. Jason reveals he cried at least twice and loves love, while Paul admits to crying but being grossed out by the end kiss. The panel establishes that despite the emotional manipulation, the film's fundamental problems are impossible to overlook.
- Paul admits to crying multiple times during the movie but being grossed out by the final kiss
- Jason also cried twice but didn't mind it because he loves love
- The hosts agree the chemistry between the leads is good, making the bad kissing even more upsetting
" It's like he was trying to get something out of her that he'd forgotten about. It's like watching two people with different sized mouths. "
The Kissing Problem
The panel dedicates significant time to analyzing the disturbingly awkward kissing between Bullock and Reeves. They compare it to seventh-grade spin-the-bottle kissing and note the irony that they kissed well in Speed. The hosts are baffled by how two actors with proven chemistry could produce such uncomfortable romantic moments, describing it as "horsing it into someone" and comparing the final kiss to aggressive face-eating.
- The kiss is described as uncomfortable, like two people who've never kissed before trying to figure it out
- The hosts forgot Bullock and Reeves were in Speed together, where they had good chemistry
- Multiple descriptions of the kiss as aggressive, uncomfortable, and logistically nightmarish
" In Ireland we call that horsing it into someone. "
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