 Hello, and welcome to Release Date Rewind. My name is Marc J. Parker, and I am a film lover, filmmaker, film celebrator. And normally, this is an audio podcast, wherever you get your podcasts on your favorite apps. But thanks to Portland Media Center, you are about to watch the video component of this show, where I celebrate movie anniversaries with my friends. Each month, I usually talk about two different movies that I love with different friends, and we talk about the making of the movies, trivia, any fun memories associated with them. So I hope you enjoy, because now it's time to Rewind. Whenever you watch any of these movies, but for some reason, especially with this one, I just kept thinking to myself, what would you do if you were Bridget Fonda? Like I know. Like I said, this was my first time re-watching it in a while, and I kind of forgot the reveal when she is walking down the steps at the salon, which I don't know. How many staircases are there in random salons in New York? But okay, cool. We'll go with it. Make sure. We'll go with it. Yeah. But you know, I was surprised at actually, it was a pretty fast reveal. Like they go in to this salon, and Bridget's just there, and I love how she's getting a haircut, yet her hair looks the exact same, right? Absolutely. Like the guys taking off the smock, and I'm like, I see nothing. And she's in the mirror doing this whole thing. Yeah. It's like, well, you're not... Nothing happened. Right? I'm like, okay, sure. Sure, Jan. And then all of a sudden, you just see the feet. And that was the other thing that I was like, how does she know right away that that's Heddy's feet? But okay. But I was just shocked. That big scene, because it is so memorable, and I love it so much, and it is terrifying. But it's really pretty short. I feel like a movie nowadays would draw that out. They would have drawn it out. Yes. Yes. There'd be slow motion steps. There'd be like, lots of cuts back and forth, right? Someone who borrows. I've got a surprise for you. You've got to be kidding. I love myself like this. It was like looking at myself. It was scary. Of course, by then, some weird shit has already happened. I totally forgot about the dog. The dog dying. Wow. That is dark. That is dark. You know, and the script, you know, of course, make fun of it all you want, right? Because there are definitely some cheesy moments. But the script, I think, is pretty great. How like, you know, the boyfriend. What is his name? I forget. Steve. Sam. Sam. So Sam is like working on these sort of like Balcony, I don't even know what you would call that. The greats or the fencing? The greats. Yeah. Exactly. Yep. And so he's working on that. It's, there's a section that's coming right off that like, you know, a dog could fall right through. And man, Hedy does not miss a beat. She is so aware. She brings home this dog, which I'm like, and Greg goes, you best be taking that back right now. Exactly. Just brings home a dog to our brand new roommate. She's only been in this apartment for maybe a few days, right? Nope. And oh, you know, they were giving him away and then she brings him home only to kill him a few days later. Oh my gosh, that is dark because that's when, because I forgot also that Sam and Ally Bridget Fonda are very like back and forth on again off again, right? Because of course they break up within the first five minutes, but then he wins her back, you know, and that's when Hedy starts to really start doing some shit, you know, she's my other thing also. It's like, maybe because it happened so quickly, the breakup happened so quickly when she took him back, I'm like, girl, like, no, like, what are you doing? You know, that that's a minute for me to, I hear you. Yeah, it does feel kind of like, oh, wow. Okay. That was very fast. Like, do we want to like get to know you on your own for a little bit longer? Right. We're going to have Steven Webber come back a little later, like a good few scenes later just to build up this relationship between roommates a little bit more, right? Right. But yeah, when they're, they've gone out to lunch or whatever and Hedy's already kind of gotten the cold shoulder from them, right? And then when they are coming around the corner and also how fun Upper West Side, not very far from where you and I worked, which is a little triggering, but like West 75th, you know, and they're walking right by that fairway. I remember that fairway very well also because I've been to that fairway, right? You probably have too. And they come around that corner and hear that person scream and the dog is on the ground and, oh, that is dark. And then how Hedy even tries to blame it on Sam, you know, didn't even fix it properly. I'm like, oh, girl. I thought it was fixed. Yeah. Yep. Well, can we even just back up just a minute when I think it was one of the first times that Hedy met Sam, Sam was over at the apartment, maybe not the first time, but there was a point early on where Sam was over at the apartment. I think, I don't know if he and Bridget Fonda had just finished having sex, but they were in the bedroom. Hedy comes to the door, like in her robe that was like open and I'm like, inappropriate, like, oh, yeah, like clothes, definitely. And also, on the same coin, I am so shocked at how brazen Sam is after just having sex. He's just lying there in the bed naked, just kind of like chatting with her. I'm like, are you kidding me? Hello, everyone. Yeah. Shut the door. I'll see you in five minutes. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. If I was Ali, I'd also come out of the bathroom and be like, what the hell is going on? You both are barely covered. Yeah. So there's some good. I have like good tension there that I like that she can never fully trust him. And Hedy has a point. Hedy tells her multiple times he's going to do it to you again. He's not going to change later on. Later on before that epic death with the stiletto. She even says to Ali, he's going to cheat on you again. I promise you. And that's when you're like, oh, what does that mean? And then off she goes wearing that shiny jacket. That scene freaked me out when she's in the dark. He's sleeping. Also, I'm like, he did not lock his door. I mean, what? Right? She just walks right in. Actually, unless maybe she, oh, you know what? Nevermind. I'm dumb. I'm remembering now. I think he sent Ali a key to his apartment that Hedy had in her box of secrets. Right. Where she didn't give to Ali. Yes. Yes. Okay. Okay. So, okay. She had a key, but I guess I just needed like an insert shot, like a close-up of like her, you know, with the key in her hand or something. Agreed. Agreed. You know? Of course, he just happens to be lying there sleeping naked. And then how she, you know, that's not Ali. Although, apparently, fun fact, when there's a shot of her taking off the jacket, and I guess we see her butt, that is Bridget Fonda. I don't know if this is true, but I guess, I guess because Jennifer Jason Lee was getting her makeup done and they wanted to shoot it right away, Bridget Fonda happened to be there. So they did sort of say, all right, let's like play with the audience. And you, and so the shot from behind is Bridget, but then the front is. So I don't know if that's true, but, you know, crazy. But yeah. And then of course, that really crazy sex scene where she's going down on him. It's, it's again, he's kind of bearing all and she is going down on him. And he notices that it's not Ali. She says, no, not Ali. And then he still is able to finish up. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. I mean, yeah. And I couldn't like, I remember that scene happening, but I didn't remember like exactly how it played out. So when he realized that it wasn't Ali, it's like you want it to end. Like you want him to like push her away, but then I guess I'm like, you can't really like, I don't know what you can do with that situation. But then because I guess she's just so wonderful and living up to her name, Hedy, she gets him to finish. Seconds later. Yeah. Second. Very fast. He was ready to go and, and now she has that power. Like she was able to actually get him to cheat on Ali. I mean. Yes. Oh my gosh. Twisted. Someone who steals. Hey, sleepy guy. Ali? No, not Ali. Like I said, remembering that scene, but then watching it again was like, oh, like just seeing the time between him knowing that it was her and him like pushing her away. Like that was just. And still, still he's just lying there, you know, after they've done it and she's getting her jacket back on. And he's sort of stunned, which I believe. But I mean, I think I'd also maybe like quickly run to the bathroom and like barricade the door or something. You know, it wasn't really, but I, but I know, I guess that was also maybe the, the creatives trying to tell us that like he is a little slimy. We know that he really honestly isn't a great guy. So he's not really going to do what the normal, you know, honest, loyal person would do. So yeah. Yeah. And it's funny because rewatching this, I was like, the way Bridget Fonda finds out in the beginning that he's cheating on her would never really happen nowadays because that was back in the day, right? When voicemail was always like on speakerphone, randomly. I almost feel like that was like a trope in movies because it's like, that wasn't how it was in our house. But you know what I mean? Like now it would have to be like an email or a text. It would have to be written out, you know. Yes. So true. So yeah, I just thought that was funny. Like, oh wow, the way she found out wouldn't even exist. That hasn't existed in a long time. Yeah. She wouldn't have known. Exactly. And she completely forgot about Graham, the gay friend, neighbor upstairs, you know. What do you think about him? I, I mean the fact, right along with Graham, just the fact that you can so clearly hear what's happening in the apartment upstairs through the vents, it's like. And then also how he awkwardly tells her later in the movie before he gets attacked by Hedy, which is fun as well. I have to say that attack is a great use of that, that lock stick that some apartments have. Well, that's what I was going to mention. That was the thing that I want to talk about also. Yeah. Like everything, not everything, but there are several, like all the big things that are used to hurt or kill someone in this movie are referenced earlier on. Like we see that stick thing earlier on in the movie when somebody first first opening the door. The screwdriver at the end is used when she first moves into the apartment building. The stiletto. We see the stiletto early on when she first. So like everything that ends up getting used, we've already seen it referenced. Like, which is like, I don't know, it's not always fun. Like we've seen that. We've seen. Oh yeah. They're setting it all up for you. Like they're displaying everything for you. Oh yeah. Oh, I like that. It gets used later. Yeah. I didn't even, good, good eye. I didn't even notice it really about the, the lock and the screwdriver. I definitely noticed it with the, with the stiletto when they're like out shopping and there's been like a, Oh, I wanted those. Oh, I did too. Oh, you get them. That's fine. You know, like that little foreshadowing. Yeah. Yeah. So when heading first moves into the apartment, she's, Allie is showing Heady, you know, she shows to the basement and she's like, yeah, sometimes you have to use the screwdriver because the elevator gets stuck. So they like make a whole moment out of that. So yeah. It's like everything is like kind of, which is kind of cool. You know. Oh, I think it's great. It's like, it's a good classic like mystery in that way where things are going to come full circle. Right. I'll just drop this for you. Yeah. Yeah. But I liked Graham. Like I'm, I, I, I always laugh at these movies where the person has been like so badly injured in some way and they're like half dead. But then all of a sudden they like, Yeah, I know he's in the bathtub with his cat just resting on his shoulder. Right. Like, wow. And then he's just like, is this every gay man's nightmare to die alone in a tub with your cat on your shoulder? With your cat. Right. And then you're a dark ass apartment. Right. Another dark ass apartment. I know. No one, no one in this fancy building turned on lights. But yeah, I, I thought that was kind of funny too. And I feel like that was very much a thing of this time when you think someone died, right, because she beats him a few times with the, with the lock stick, which that whole scene is good. I, I kind of forgot that that creeped me out where like he Yeah, that's good. He thinks it's the cat and then she's not like trying to hide or trying to attack him. She's just like walking to the door. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. It's interesting because I feel like with the guys, I don't know, do you think she meant to kill them or she just was in the heat of the moment, you know, and killed them because with both of them, she was sort of there to do something else. You know, with, with Sam, she just wants to get him naked and, and prove that he will cheat. I don't know if she wanted to kill him, you know, with Graham. But she actually is then trying to get out, you know, right. True. But then you think about the fact that she's so easily killed, was they Mitchell, the boss guy, the, like, she, so she had no problem shooting him multiple times. Totally. So it's like, which is, I have to say that whole, that whole twist, I think is brilliant. Like how you were saying like, why are we spending so much time with this client? You know, is it, is it sort of like a bigger thing of talking about how like a woman, a young woman is treated by men in this business, which that's interesting. But like, what's the big deal, right? And then how she's like molested by him, attacked by him. But then we don't fully, I feel like grieve with her enough. So I'm like, what's going on? But then how it comes back with her random, weird, amazing software that like, if he, if he hasn't paid her, then the, the stuff she created for them just starts deleting, which is so brilliant and probably not realistic at all. But I love it so much. Right. Right. Well also not realistic is just like, I just laughed at how like almost convoluted it was for him to get to Graham's apartment. Like he had Halley's number, but there was that one time she apparently called him from Graham. So she, so he knew that apartment number. Yes. Is this very weird? Okay. I told, I totally hear you. That to me was a little weird. I didn't even realize we were in Graham's apartment. I guess I was looking up Bridget Fonda and I missed that. Oh, okay. We are now upstairs. I don't know why that was necessary. I guess it was just to get all the bodies in one place. And I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. That was a little, I feel like maybe, yeah, maybe a slightly better script or something done today might have him go to her apartment. He's knocking and maybe finds out some other way. Maybe a neighbor says, oh, she might be visiting Graham upstairs. Right. He's directly above her. Yeah. Like something. Because yeah, Graham is written on the card on the business card. I'm like, what? Yeah. You're right. That was a little, you know, but oh my God, they're twisted. Just him having to, I mean, also it's so, what's kind of great is it's so dark and twisted that this guy wants to hurt her again so badly, right? Over this software, you know, issue that goes to her apartment, which already is terrifying. There's like multiple terrifying layers here, right? Yes. And that he, you know, is in the elevator with Hedy, which is crazy, two people that want to hurt Ali. And then, yeah, that great, brilliant twist where he actually is the shitty guy that's going to save her. Right. Although then you think like, would he really save her? Like, he's going to, I love that shot when she looks right into camera when he rips the tape off him. I love it. Right? It's so good. Be careful. She's crazy. For, he even notices then Hedy's right there and yes, she has, she takes the pillow. She hits him. She takes the pillow and she knows exactly what to do to get him out. Exactly. And also, again, how dark and twisted. She shoots him right next to Ali on the floor. Yes. That is so, oh, so dark. And then she's ruthless. Like, she, when she, after she thinks she has strangled Ali, she brings her down and she was going to put her in the fire pit. Oh my God. In the furnace. Oh my God. Like, girl. And it's so funny because just a few minutes ago, she was making Ali, I don't know why she couldn't just do it, but she's making Ali type on her, what we were talking about earlier, that beautiful old laptop and, and I love seeing the old Mac, like 90s, CompuServe, you know, and how I thought only Scream did this because there's a scene in Scream where Nef Campbell's typing to 911. I'm like, when did that ever exist? I love it. When was that ever an option? But then Ali is doing that when, when Hedy like leaves the room. She's like, this is not a joke. I'm like, oh my God, I love it. I love this. I'm like, girl, just send, press send. Just, yeah, SOS, SOS in the address. And then Hedy's on to her. She turns around and she knows. But yeah, I like how just minutes before she's about to burn Ali, she has Ali like getting them like plane tickets to go away together. I'm like, too, I guess it's going to be better in LA. Yeah, well, we'll get a different similar haircut, you know, and it was so funny speaking of the haircut, because right in the beginning, Greg's like, that is a very unique, like severe haircut. I'm like, oh, you don't even know what's coming because it can't just be like a blonde. You know, it's got to be a unique haircut. That's what makes that reveal. Yeah, such a thing. Right. I love that he said that, because yeah, yeah, it's you're like, so I mentioned this earlier. This is one of the like, I kept coming back since whole idea, what would you do? Like this girl moves in or this boy in our case, whatever in our case moves into our apartment. We are creeping through their closet and we see that they have purchased the same outfits that we have purchased. Oh, my God, the same outfits. Yeah, they have the same haircut that we like, what would you do? Like, what do you even begin to do in a situation like this? Like, I was starting to get like anxious because I'm like, like, oh, I know. It's a really good problem because yeah, like you almost need time with it. You can't just like react quickly, you know? So I get it that like some time passes. It's not something you can immediately like act on, you know? God, what would I do to wreak if I saw that haircut? Well, I think to a fault, I'm too honest. So I think if I saw some guy coming down with my hair down the stairs, I'd be like, wait, this is not this is not going to work. What are you doing? You know, and then I probably would just get killed right there in the salon, you know? So I wouldn't I wouldn't really fake it. I'd be like, no, this is weird because what? I'm like, that's me. Right? What would you do? We're not leaving up right away. No, I don't know. Like she just became heady, just became so like, like where have you been? There was one scene where she was like, where the hell have you been? Like just like, you know, so it's like, how do you respond to that? I don't. Yeah, I don't know. Totally. I'm glad you brought that up because I feel like that's when Allie starts realizing heady is not always so cool because I think that's when the dog is still there and it's like their first late night or like all nighter with Sam. Allie's, you know, back together with Sam and that's when it's like, whoa, heady is a little overbearing, right? Yes. Yes. Someone who would kill to be her. Possible bloodstains. Yeah, I do appreciate that they took their time with laying out all the red flags. It didn't jump from zero to 60. Right. You know, it was it was intense from the first one, but it progresses nicely, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree. Can you imagine then going into the room, which I also forgot and I kind of love that Allie is sort of asking for trouble. I know that's probably not the best way to say it. So sorry, everybody, but early on in the film, you know, once heady's her roommate, Allie just kind of goes snooping in the room and like playing with those earrings that we know mean something. And she puts on her perfume. Yes. And I'm like, put her stuff down. Yeah, that's never a good idea ever. Even with a roommate you've you've loved for six months. You want to like ask first, right? So that is sort of, you know, but then when Allie goes back in there later and sees that shoebox of those secrets, right? And after heady talks about being like an only child or whatever, right? And and then like you see the picture of those creepy twin girls. Oh, my God, they start the movie too creepy. Yeah. So then you see the letter that Sam had sent her with the keys. And it's like, yeah, you know that she kept those like the whole thing that to me would really be so terrifying. I wouldn't be able to speak right there. I think I will. I guess I guess I would go to the cops then, right? Right. And you know, I'm just remembering because the weird twin girls in the very beginning, which I do like how it starts that way because you're not really sure like unless you, you know, I'm sure in the trailer it's obvious. But if you just were coming into this movie blind, you're kind of like, OK, which character? Yeah, who is this? You're not really sure. But how these twin girls like then kiss each other on the lips, which is also strange. But then that comes into play later on. And I also another moment I really remembered very well is the knife digging into Ali's neck in the chair. Yes, the mark and like that extreme close up. Like, wow, that's a really interesting, really well done scene. But then how Ali even like kisses Hedy, which I'm not really sure why. Why do you think she does that? I don't know. And that's I I I wondered the same thing. And I'm trying to think if it was like a reverting back to childhood, like she would kiss her sister, you know, like in a loving way. I don't know. I don't know. Like that's that's the way I kind of took it. Well, do you do you interpret is it because I don't really honestly, I don't know if I see it this way. But I think some people do. Is Hedy gay? Is she a lesbian? Or do you think? I didn't think that. That doesn't right. Yeah, I didn't either. That's interesting. I didn't think about that before because some people do. And I know there's like an article. I haven't read it yet. I should have. But saying it's a little bit problematic and a little bit lesbian phobic. But I didn't really get that from my repeated viewings of this movie. I don't really get any. I mean, now that you mention it, I can see it. Like that's not something that I thought about as I was watching it. But I can I can see that being a thing. Like it's almost like, you know, she's in love with this woman. She's in love with this roommate. You know, so if you if you play it that way, it's a completely different thing, you know. Yeah, I guess I just I don't know. I never really got it that she was in. I mean, maybe yet in love, but not romantically or sexually in love. I got the vibe that Hedy has sex with men and does or has sex with anyone and does whatever she wants with them. But I just got the vibe that Hedy just really missed her sister. And I think even in the end, the ending, you know, once Hedy is killed, which I mean, that ending we'll talk about in a second. I mean, explosive ending. I love that whole basement stuff. Wow. So. But the very, very end when it's very fast, it's apparently you might have seen this too. I guess there was a different ending and it tested very negatively. I saw that. I'm curious what it was. Yeah. Yeah. Someone online posted a picture where they were in the elevator where it goes back to the choking, you know, bit before, you know, when basically Hedy thinks she's made Ali unconscious and the whole basement bit. I guess in the elevator, there is an image online of Bridget Fonda on top of Jennifer Jason Lee with a knife. So I wonder if it was actually going to end there. Just in the elevator, I'm not even going to get all the basement stuff, right, which would be really tragic because I love it. Yeah, because there was so much stuff. Yeah. So much good stuff. Right. But yeah, I just feel like the button on the end is very fast, where it's showing, I believe, Ali is moving out, basically. And then we see the final image of the of the creepy, you know, side by side that, I guess, right. Hedy must have, you know, made, which I would have loved to actually have seen Hedy just a shot of Hedy cutting some photos earlier. I think that would have really sold that ending even more. We didn't need to see what she was cutting, but she was just kind of putting pictures of family on the wall or something or magazines, right? Final shot. Yeah, agreed. But I think I think Bridget Fonda's voice over says something like Hedy just really, you know, took it too hard or something that she thinks she killed her sister when I the sister died in the drowning, right? Years ago. Right. That would happen. Right. Yeah. So I think something just snapped in her brain and she just feels guilty. So I always just kind of viewed it as that, like, here's a girl that's definitely having trouble grieving and feels guilty for the death of her sister. So once another sister, so badly, I didn't really take it as, you know, a lesbian, a gay thing. Yeah, no, same. Yeah, same. Yeah, it's funny because you can look at it a whole different way if that is in your mindset, like if the whole lesbian thing is is something that you're thinking about, then, yeah, you see the whole interaction in a completely different way. You know, totally. Well, now we'll rewatch it again and come back to you another episode. Exactly. Bridget Fonda. I know you weren't yourself when you did this thing. Jennifer Jason Lee. I know I was you. Single white female. It's so much fun. It's a it's a. Now, do you think I know we were talking about this with the hand that rocks the cradle? Do you think this movie ever should ever could be remade? Or do you feel like leave this one alone? You know, it's pretty perfect. That's a good question. Well, it already was remade. It was like a black version, right? It was like single black female or something. Oh, I had seen it. Yeah, I'm pretty sure there was a movie called like single black female. I haven't. I don't know the full details of it. So funny. Oh, my God. We have to do some research on that. Oh, my God. Because I know I would be into like an updated version. Yes, which there was like a directive video. Yeah, no one saw in 2005. Single white female to colon the psycho. I'm like, guys, are you trying to turn everyone away from this? And then apparently NBC, like five years ago, back in 2016. So six years ago was working on a TV adaptation. I saw that, which I don't. Oh, did you see that too? Yeah, I don't know if it would live on as a series, maybe a limited series. Right. Yeah. But I feel like it's got to have an end like Netflix, you know, six episodes, eight episodes, six episodes. There was a little piece of trivia that said that Bridget found the I don't know if she auditioned for either role or she could have picked either role like she could have been Allie or she could have done the Jennifer Jason Lee. I did see that. Yeah, which I think like I think she chose wisely. I don't know I don't know if I could see her in that. It's funny because I think in that same bit of trivia, she said she chose Allie because she thought that role was harder, which I definitely don't think that role is easy, but I don't know. I don't think that role is crazy, right? Right. Yeah. Yeah. So it opened at number two, never made it at number one. It opened after Unforgiven, that movie we talked about that was such a big deal. It went on to make eighty four million worldwide. So it was definitely a success, you know, that's why we're still talking about it to this day, you know, on the awards side. Funny that Bridget Fonda didn't choose the heady role because Jennifer Jason Lee did get some wins and nom. So she was nominated for Best Actress by the Chicago Film Critics Association. And I always think it's funny to talk about the MTV Movie Awards. She won Best Villain the following year at the MTV Awards. So, you know, yeah, I mean, sure. I totally make sense to me. She's a pretty iconic female villain when you think about all of them, you know? So, yeah. Oh, I hear a voice. I think it's time. Thanks so much for watching. Next time there's going to be a new movie that we'll talk about. So stay tuned and please follow Release Date Rewind on Instagram for updates.