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This week, Sex Lives of College Girls writer and tinned fish mogul Caroline Goldfarb joins Louis to discuss the Mayhem Ball, The Naked Gun, funny women, Rod Stewart, and the VMA nominations. They also chat with Jenny Slate about her Emmy-nominated performance in Hulu’s Dying for Sex.

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TRANSCRIPT

Ira Madison III [AD]

 

Louis Virtel And we’re back with an all new episode of Keep It. I’m Louis Virtel, the last standing host of Keep it for now. As you know, we’re gonna be trying out guest hosts the next few weeks, months, however long it takes. I’m honestly in no rush. I love meeting new people. I don’t know about you people. It feels very pop cultural to me. But today we have a fabulous producer, writer, and I have to say, there’s no other way to put it, Instagram countess. What you bring to Instagram is so special and fabulous. We have Caroline Goldfarb with us.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Louis, thank you. What an intro.

 

Louis Virtel If you know official Sean Penn, she runs that account, but also she was a producer on Sex Lies of College Girls, one of the great shows of the past few years, with some of the good performances of the last few years.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Some of the great performances, some of the okay performances, no, I’m just kidding, everyone on that show was fabulous. You know, Sex Sized with College Girls, it brought us Renee Rapp. It brought us Pauline Chalamet. Brought us the comedic stylings of some of my favorite, ooh, Rob Hubel? We love Rob Hubal. It was such a fun show to work on. I’m sad it’s gone to a better place. It’s in HBO Max heaven.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, which by the way is still available on HBO Max.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You can still see it.

 

Louis Virtel It’s nice that we have a heaven you can just go to.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, you know, I was hoping the show would go for about 15 years. I wanted to see the girls go to grad school, post-grad, postdoc.

 

Louis Virtel Fellowships. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah! Visiting professors. TFA. Oh my god, visiting professors should be the name of a sexy series.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, I love that the sex lives of visiting professors, that sounds interesting.

 

Louis Virtel And also you are writing another movie that we can’t identify by name yet.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Louis, here’s the thing, I am, this sounds like a joke, but I’m writing a big animated studio movie and I can’t legally say what it is, I’m not allowed to say. Let’s just say the main character, go with me, he’s green.

 

Louis Virtel Okay.

 

Caroline Goldfarb That’s all I can say.

 

Louis Virtel If it’s Alphaba, that’s such a weird way to refer to Alphabah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m writing the animated.

 

Louis Virtel The male Alphaba story.

 

Caroline Goldfarb The animated gender-flipped reboot of Wicked. You heard it here first.

 

Louis Virtel Imagine having your problem with Wicked is just like, what are the men thinking?

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, I wanna see Wicked, but from Fiero’s perspective.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Actually, I wouldn’t hate that, to be honest.

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, that actually sounds really good. Is Jonathan Bailey the best actor of our generation? Real question, I think he might be.

 

Louis Virtel My thing about him is not only is he good, he also has just palpable sexuality in a way that I feel like a lot of people are used to calling actors hot or, you know, they look good in an Instagram photo, but the actual energy coming off of him, I find to be kind of nefarious and nasty.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Nasty fuckable

 

Louis Virtel YET NASTY! Hot!

 

Caroline Goldfarb To all genders, women, men, it’s pansexual universal horny energy.

 

Louis Virtel And it’s also very guileless. It doesn’t feel, like he’s just putting it out there. It doesn’ feel contrived in any way, too.

 

Caroline Goldfarb He’s like, I’m not trying, you’re the horny one.

 

Louis Virtel Right.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I love him best part of Jurassic reboot world or whatever it was called

 

Louis Virtel Did you think there was the best part of that? Because I actually am lining up all those people for.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Mass murder? Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, no, like, judgment at Nuremberg, kind of like, yeah, I’m upset, yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You liked it, Louis! No, when you said you liked it! Not that Billy was good!

 

Louis Virtel Jonathan Bailey and Jurassic World are not the same thing.

 

Caroline Goldfarb The fact that it worked though, he brought something to it. He was sexy, he was horny, he’s cute, he has little fuck me glasses on. To me, I’m sorry. I love Scar Jo, she’s one of our best Jews. And I hate to hate on a Jew ass, but she was kind of the weak link in that cast for me.

 

Louis Virtel She has such an interesting career for me because to me she is somebody who should I mean like I want her to be successful and make Successful movies, but she has such indie actress energy

 

Caroline Goldfarb Exactly. She is just, she can fall so flat in a big studio movie. I don’t want to see her near a fucking blue screen. You know, I just just want to see her in like a small indie opposite. You know. I don’t t know. I guess an Adam Driver or a Bill Murray, you know, it’s just not, I don t know dinosaurs for her.

 

Louis Virtel Not that I would call her deadpan, but that kind of delivery she gives is very hard for exposition type material. And by the way, literally, deadpan is an energy I vibe with. I just think it’s very hard to set up the stakes of a movie with it.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You’re so right, you know, Louis you are an intellectual you’re an luminary you you I love your mind

 

Louis Virtel Oh, I’m doing my best over here. You know, I feel very mindless. I was just in New York over the weekend. And as I pimped to the listeners last week, I saw Josh Sharpe’s show which is fantastic, much recommended.

 

Caroline Goldfarb The ads are over, Lewis.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. I support queer, very weird people and he is one of them. Now, speaking of absorbing culture, you just got back from the mayhem. I can’t just call it a ball. I mean, it’s so explosive and so like nine-inch nails level intense the entire time.

 

Caroline Goldfarb The Mayhem Gothic Opera Ball at the Kia Forum in beautiful Inglewood, California. Yes, that’s where I live.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, that’s where I lived when I first moved to LA, right off La Cienega.

 

Caroline Goldfarb How amazing is that?

 

Louis Virtel Mm-hmm. I wanted to be close to the airport. I can’t explain it

 

Caroline Goldfarb Sure, as many people do. Anyway, the Gaga mayhem ball. I’m coming down from it. Here’s my thing. Are you a Gaga fan? Quite. Gaga is a once in a lifetime legacy generational artist that we’re watching become that in real time. I am such a Gaga head, such a stan. But what’s so interesting, I think the show was so well conceived. The creative direction was completely on point. There was some kind of story being told. I couldn’t tell you what that story was. It was a little convoluted, something about her having sexual fights with her twin inside of a gothic opera house.

 

Speaker 4 Right

 

Caroline Goldfarb But the the the college yeah been there done that but it was so so esthetically on point and had such a nice a clear beautiful through line it felt very cohesive and gaga seeing gaga live have you seen her live

 

Louis Virtel Yes, a couple of times.

 

Caroline Goldfarb She’s one of those artists where it’s almost weird to see her live, because obviously we know Gaga sings live, but her voice in person not only sounds exactly like the record, sounds, I would say, better than the recording. So you’re almost so tripped out, because you’re like, I know this artist isn’t lip syncing, but it sounds so fucking perfect that I’m always like, is she lip synching? It’s like trippy to see in her live. There’s no difference in a way, like she may as well not sing. I know, I’m like, you could have just lip synced, because you sound exactly the same as the recording, it’s truly mind blowing. But there’s so much To do and ephemera and the gothic and the wig changes, there’s so much happening during the mayhem ball that the moments I liked the most were ironically, even the most stripped down moments when she’s sitting at a piano front of stage, singing Die with a Smile, when she, the very best part of the show, it’s at the, I don’t know if you’ve seen a clip of it, where it’s after the encore, it’s the very end of the the show. The credits have run. Big mega screen comes on and Gaga is backstage. She’s taken all her makeup off, she’s wearing just a wig cap and she’s in sweats. She is literally in a hoodie. And she starts singing How Bad Do You Want Me from backstage with the makeup off. And sort of like a host walking backstage at SNL, she sort of walks through the bowels of the Kia Forum and her dancers are all there and they’ve changed out of their clothes, they’re wearing their mayhem Merch. And she’s singing the song and interacting with her backstage people and all of the employees on the tour and then she comes out on stage and finishes the song in bows. It’s the stripped down moments for me that I enjoyed the show the most.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Well, it’s almost like she has to have that moment to counterbalance the rest of the show because it’s such a production. But it’s also it’s like it’s something she can do because she has the chops so on tap. You know what I mean? Like she could walk into this room right now and just bellow perfectly. Like I can’t think of her even she’s like a Karen Carpenter person It’s like I can’t picture a bum note, really

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, there’s no bum notes to be had. But the best part of seeing mayhem, and this is just a little personal anecdote, I went with, believe it or not, my dad. That’s right. My 60-

 

Speaker 5 Is he a fan?

 

Caroline Goldfarb My dad is such a Gaga fan. He’s so down bad for Lady Gaga in a way that I love for my 65-year-old straight dad. And he very proudly talks about that Lady Gaga as his hall pass, which I find to be a very annoying aspect of straight culture, straight people talking about who their hall pass would be. It’s like, I’m very-

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, it does, like, it sends a shiver down my spine, I have to say.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I totally agree with you, and I think it’s this really annoying, sanitized, like, appropriate way for heterosexual people to embrace or, like dabble in non-monogamy, but it’s like not actually real. It’s under the guise of something that could actually never happen. I find it to be a really annoying aspect of straight culture. I totally with you. But I love that my, again, 60-something-year-old father’s hall pass is Lady Gaga. To me, like most straight guys’ hall pass, I feel like it’s, like oh, it’s Sidney You know, it’s like some

 

Louis Virtel and what a week she had.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, I know. But she does have great genes and I do mean that in the racist way. I’m just kidding. It’s so insane. I can’t fucking deal with Cindy Sweeney. She annoys me so much. But my dad always talks about it and he told pretty much anyone that would listen to him at the forum. He was like telling the people that were showing us where to sit. He’s like, Lady Gaga’s my hall pass. But he has this appreciation for Gaga that I think reflects really well on him as a straight man. And he brought out a printed set list, double-sided, and refer to it constantly throughout the show. So he would always know exactly where we were, what song was happening, and he was just enjoying it so much. And the printed out set list brought me a lot of joy. I have videos of it that I’ll send to you against your will later.

 

Louis Virtel Thank you. I mean, something I love about her is she has this operatic quality when she sings. And I love when she can still find a way to bring humor into that because a problem I had with Lady Gaga around 2011 when Born This Way came out was she was the most un-serious, un-self-series superstar and then kind of became the most self-serie superstar and felt like in a way she had been given like this helm to be, you know, just like, she was important to LGBTQ people. And she said, I’m gonna own that in a way where it’s gonna become a bit professorial. And I felt like she lost a little bit of the fame daffiness, the funniness.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Went didactic with it. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, yes, yes. And I feel like now mayhem is sort of a really good combination of those two worlds where she can be like your queer X-Men-like heroine who feels a bit didactic, but at the same time it’s so goofy and monstrous. You have to laugh a little bit too.

 

Caroline Goldfarb There’s a humor, there’s this inherent silliness to it, but it’s all built on this foundation of incredible pop music, incredible vocals, amazing artistry. It does feel like everything’s kind of cohesively come together. I don’t like to think about the Joanne period. I have appreciation for art pop, but I do think she was going through a public psychosis breakdown at the time. Right.

 

Louis Virtel Right, which I believe she has simply just said also.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, so yeah, you know, I don’t want to of course speak for her, but I mayhem has been such a return to form and such a beautiful moment for us Gaga fans. It feels very full circle and Yeah, it was it was fucking awesome

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, I say I I saw her Coachella set which is most of what you see at the forum show, but I wish I had seen it in person

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, you know, it was kind of having seen the Coachella show, the Mayhem Balls, basically the same thing. It’s the same. But it, it’s still rocked. She’s so awesome. And I love that it was a arena show, not a stadium show. I feel like I’ve seen so many arena shows in the past couple of years, like Cowboy Carter and Renaissance. And, I am a really short person. And I can never see anything at an arena show. Like I went to Cowboy Carter and I remember I was on the floor and I was like looking in the direction that I thought Beyonce was and my friends would have to be like, Caroline, no, she’s like turned your body literally 180 degrees, like she’s over there.

 

Louis Virtel I feel like I want to get perspectives of people of different heights at every concert because I feel like it does come down to height. I agree. Like it does come down to height, I agree.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I saw about, I saw 15% of Cowboy Carter. And it cost, yeah, and it was not a good ROI for me. But in a stadium show, it’s so much more intimate. That’s right, I call the stadium show intimate.

 

Louis Virtel I mean, she’s somebody who speaks and then it turns into a belt. So I feel like that is intimate for her.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It is intimate, I really liked it. And I love the Forum, it’s one of my favorite venues in LA. So yeah, that’s my take on the mayhem ball.

 

Louis Virtel Well, speaking of epic, we have one of our favorite guests returning to Keep It today. The fabulous Jenny Slate, who is on the show Dying for Sex. She’s nominated for an Emmy for supporting actress in a limited series, stacked category by the way. The adolescents ladies are in that too. And Ruth Negga for the Keep It fans at home is nominated for Presumed Innocent, among others. We’re going to talk to her about that show. If you don’t know Dying For Sex, it’s about Michelle Williams learns she has a fatal prognosis, cancer diagnosis, and then she has this sexual awakening that happens and it’s interspersed with a lot of dramatic material and their friendship, Michelle’s friendship with Jenny Slate on the show is very central to the show and is so sweet and gets so much more believable as it goes on. It’s so nice to believe a friendship when you’re watching a show. I mean, like truly like, I mean I’m just saying like, when you are watching TV shows, how many like friendships don’t just feel like casting put two people together?

 

Caroline Goldfarb I hate performative friendship. Performative female friendship is one of my triggers, I’ll say it. The fakeness of it all, but the friendship that I see on screen in Dying for Sex, it totally feels real. Dying For Sex is crazy. It’s so funny. It’s truly dramatic and moving and so goddamn horny. Yeah, quite. It is one the horniest, sexiest… Like I worked on a show with sex in the title and it had… So I think way too little sex. If your show has sex in the title, I gotta see sex scenes in every episode. I wanna see side boob. I wanna under me. I wanna back. I wanna spine. I wanna you getting it on.

 

Louis Virtel You had specific organs in mind when you were talking. You were like, here’s the ranking of what kind of sexual things.

 

Caroline Goldfarb A paper list. Like my dad, I have a printed out list of the organs I want to see on a sex show. No, I loved it. It was great and Jenny’s so awesome in it.

 

Louis Virtel On the less dramatic front. We’re also gonna talk about the new Naked Gun this week, which is allegedly here to save comedy. Looking at the box office returns, it’s kind of on its way. I would say it’s modestly strolling its way there, but we both saw that this weekend, so we’ll get into that.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yes.

 

Louis Virtel And because it’s also technically my birthday episode, I wanted to pick a topic that would just be fun to talk about, and we’re gonna talk about funny women of the present and the past. Just put them into categories and pick our favorites. You down for that?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Because on this show, men aren’t funny. Women are, except for you. You are the only funny man I know.

 

Louis Virtel I don’t identify with the other girls, men as it were.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You’re the only funny man I know, seriously.

 

Louis Virtel Maybe the only man. We’ll be right back with more Keep It.

 

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Louis Virtel I just learned that she has her own picture as her background on her phone. And I think that’s cool, women being inspired by themselves, a la Frida Kahlo. She always had her picture on her.

 

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Louis Virtel Yeah, she’s like, I’m in this bus accident. Let me look at my picture of myself. They cut that from the movie?

 

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Louis Virtel The spoof comedy seems to have gone the way of the dodo, but the new naked gun is trying its dumbest to bring it back. Critics and fans alike are raving about the film, but has it done enough to bring comedy back to the big screen? Obviously, that’s for me and Caroline to decide, and arguably nobody else. So Caroline, what were your first thoughts immediately after leaving the theater?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Liam Neeson is fucking hot. Always has been. And always will be. My first thoughts leaving the theater were holy fucking shit. That is the funniest movie I have seen in such a long time. It had, it was so densely packed with jokes, not just on the page. It was every scene was jokes on the stage, visual jokes, performance jokes, physical comedy. It was so density layer that I need to go watch that again. I only caught 25% of that. It was such a joyful experience.

 

Louis Virtel I also think that is the most rewatchable genre of movie like a joke dense movie because you are absolutely positive You missed some of the jokes like I left that theater Like I remember hearing like kind of ambient laughter during times where I missed something literally, you know

 

Caroline Goldfarb You know what it reminded me of? It sort of reminded me of my first time seeing Austin Powers. It was so goofy and big and unabashed and unashamed to be the dumbest, biggest, silliest, craziest thing. And it felt very genre redefining.

 

Louis Virtel Uh, you haven’t seen it yet. Liam Neeson plays the new Frank Drebben. Frank D-Drebben was the Leslie Nielsen character in the original Naked Gone movies, which were a jump-off point from the TV show Police Squad, which then became the Naked Gun movies. But those movies were really all about kind of mocking the, uh, deadpan nature of TV crime capers, and actually crime cap- there’s like a whole scene parodying like The Untouchables where like a baby carriage goes down the stairs and like there’s a out and it’s really silly. So it’s interesting that we’re kind of revamping that now with this movie because I feel like police procedurals on TV are pretty Normcore now like you know what I mean like you don’t really get like the gritty Sam Spade vibe from these shows anymore But what’s nice about it is what Liam Neeson is doing is not really the same type of parody acting that Leslie Nielsen is doing Leslie Nielson was again being sort of like a hard-boiled detective whereas I felt like Liam Neeson was sort of parodying a Harrison Ford character. Like somebody who’s like, kind of like a little bit grizzled at all times, and then like suddenly waking up and jolting to life. You know, like realizing he’s driving a plane.

 

Caroline Goldfarb A little tired.

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah a little bit sleepy. I don’t know it’s so funny that you, I guess like today’s police procedurals or shows like that, are they norm core? Because I think of shows like 911.

 

Louis Virtel So that has Ryan Murphy involved. That’s a little different. Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Thank you for clocking me. Yes. Appreciate that. The movie, I think, Naked Gun completely hinges on Liam Neeson’s performance. Yes. The movie would not work without that foundation of what I think is one of the funniest and best comedic performances I’ve seen on screen in a long time. He is so dry. Every line reading was bone dry, so committed, and so… Fucking funny, like that movie could have gone so many different ways. Imagine it with like, John Ham.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Who did the Fletch movie, and by the way, was pretty good. No shade to Jon Hamm.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I mean, I don’t know who else would have been in that movie, but it just felt like truly inspired casting. And, you know, as someone who works in the studio system, I, it’s so hard to create something that’s so purely one vision and is fully realized and is the creative baby of someone. And that movie felt so singular to me. And I really appreciated that. You know, it wasn’t studio noted to the bone. Was just so preciously funny and I, oh my God, there’s so many other things I want to say about it, so good.

 

Louis Virtel I don’t actually think there’s much reason to compare it to the original like it stands on its own and like you don’t need to know anything going into the movie that would make you understand it. I will say something if I had to compare them in the original one I think the verbal comedy and the physical comedy are the same level of excellent whereas in this one I found the verbal comedy to be funnier.

 

Speaker 5 Oh! Bye!

 

Louis Virtel Like in in this like he’ll suddenly like drop a crazy reference to there’s a lot of 2000s culture in this movie

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s very millennial coded. I actually was wondering what it would be like to be a Gen Z person. I don’t like Gen Z, but being a Gen-Z person watching that movie, there was a lot of TiVo references, really extended runs on the Black Eyed Peas. It was a very firmly ensconced in millennial culture.

 

Louis Virtel Right, and also, which is funny because obviously Liam Neeson is like 70 years old. So for him, for like the Janet Jackson Super Bowl to be a reference, he drops angrily.

 

Speaker 5 Yeah

 

Louis Virtel Is a funny comedic choice, but I do also think the 2000s are this chasm of content that just Gen Z Largely doesn’t know about sure. I’m sure they know the Janet Jackson Super Bowl, but it is interesting I do wonder how that played with much younger people that said I feel like a parody of old cop Stuff is not really for Gen Z period

 

Caroline Goldfarb Sure, sure. But aggressive, silly. To me, Naked Gun isn’t about the genre, it’s parodying. It’s a tornado of silliness and stupidity. And that’s played very straight. And that is a comedy recipe that anyone can enjoy. In my book. Here’s what I think. I think, and I don’t want to give spoilers for those that haven’t seen it yet, but I also don’t care. It’s funny you say the verbal comedy was your favorite part because I think My favorite part of the movie was the montage.

 

Louis Virtel With the vacation montage where he’s with Pamela Anderson, whom we’ll talk about in a second. Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, yes. Oh my God. And it’s an homage. I guess there’s like a romance montage in the original Naked Gun. I don’t really remember. Also, is Priscilla Presley the love interest? Correct.

 

Louis Virtel Correct, yes, uh-huh.

 

Caroline Goldfarb That’s fucking crazy. Like we’ll circle back to that, truly insane. But that montage, specifically the snowman sequence, I think it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in a movie. Okay.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, well, here’s what I’m going to say about that. So in this sequence, they have this romantic rendezvous and they’re often like a chalet somewhere and they are just hanging out doing activities and in the montage they do, they build a snowman and then the next thing they’re doing is spells together like a Ouija board which is already very funny and then, the snowman because of the spells comes to life and a violent sequence emerges where the snow man turns on them. Anyway, it’s very silly.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s a very extended, long joke that’s taken far past its logical ending to a completely insane place. And I know, I know that they had to fight for that. Like the scene bears no importance on the rest of the movie. It never comes back. It’s complete silliness for silliness sake. And it’s so effing funny.

 

Louis Virtel Here’s what I have to say. I think the humor of that scene peaks when they’re doing the spells. And then once you see the green spell vapor drift into the snowman, you know what’s going to happen. You know the snow man’s going be possessed. They’re going to have some daffy chasing with it. I felt like it telegraphed too early what it was going to be. And it was too obviously the silliest moment in the movie.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, I adored it. I adorned it. I thought it was funny and I thought it was taken a little further than where I thought it was going to go. I mean, it’s.

 

Louis Virtel I think it could have gone further. I think should have been scarily violent. I think that it should have felt like screams suddenly took over.

 

Caroline Goldfarb To me, I love that montage thriller snowman sequence that involves someone’s albuterol inhaler. Like, I can’t predict that personally, but I hear you, I hear, and I’m here for your hot takes and I want them, but, I think you’re absolutely fucking insane. I want your hot takes, but you’re crazy.

 

Louis Virtel But also, he plays it really well, too. Because he’s never too, I don’t know, it’s a crazy scene in the movie, but the way it registers on his face, which again, is always like half blank and half too aware. Yeah. It’s a funny place to live in for him.

 

Caroline Goldfarb God, God, he’s good and Pam and beautiful Pam.

 

Louis Virtel Here’s, here’s my feeling about Pam in the movie.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, be, tread carefully. All right, well. She’s beloved. She’s been through a lot, Louis.

 

Louis Virtel I felt like the last showgirl, she was okay. And I feel like in this, she understood the assignment. I just don’t know that she was up for the assignment because it’s like, was she really funny? Like they gave her like silly things to do. And they also gave her, I think, one of the lesser bits of the movie where at the beginning she comes in and she’s very like a 40s Chinatown style femme fatale, entering the detective’s office. She says something about taking a seat and then literally walks out with the seat. I’m so sorry. That’s something that could be on a Disney Channel show.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I didn’t love that part either, I didn’t But here’s the thing, I think Pam was serviceable

 

Louis Virtel She had one scene where she’s like scat singing in a club as a decoy.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Which I think was inspired. That’s very challenging.

 

Louis Virtel Good.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Lewis, you are a tough critic.

 

Louis Virtel I just think it was good.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Who would you have liked to see in the movie? Sidney Sweeney, Addison Rae?

 

Louis Virtel That’s right, that’s right. I want I want a child in the movie. I wanna child in the movie

 

Caroline Goldfarb In all seriousness though, I think Pam was great, and I think her and Liam had the same

 

Louis Virtel You keep saying she’s great but then you just said she was only good.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I don’t know. She’s been through so much. I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. I’m, I’m getting her a little boost in my review. In my review.

 

Louis Virtel I’m seeing fear in your eyes. I’m seein’ fear in you eyes. Um, yeah, I- But would you-

 

Caroline Goldfarb would like to see, please.

 

Louis Virtel No, here’s the thing. I also love that she’s more age-appropriate than who you would normally put in the movie, totally.

 

Caroline Goldfarb That’s what I’m saying, watching an age-appropriate love interest and watching Pam have this comedic triumphant moment of performance and knowing that they were just bumping uglies the whole time during the filming of the movie, it all coalesced to me into an enjoyable performance.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, I have to say the real-life romance angle of it a lot. Yes, Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are being very

 

Caroline Goldfarb I don’t think allegedly you know they’re doing it!

 

Louis Virtel Well, I’m just saying if we find out later that it was just for this time and it’s over. Well, are you gonna get sued? Whatever.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You know they’re fucking- Come on, Louis! They’re having straight sex! Say it!

 

Louis Virtel I, who’s to say, but I am charmed by it. I have to say it’s gotten me involved in the junket process for like, I just like enjoy watching them together and sort of studying. Cause here’s the thing about Pam. Yeah. She has a fascinating romantic life that by the way, several of her romantic partners are underrated. Like that she dated John Peters, the guy who inspired the movie Shampoo. Oh. And then they had a thing and then that was over. Like you didn’t know what happened. And then I met without even getting into the Kid Rock or the Tommy Lee or whatever. Just like who she and like remember the fucking Julian Assange chapter with her.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, she was like bringing him snacks in the Ecuadorian embassy or something. They were just friends.

 

Louis Virtel She was like, I have handy snacks for you, and that was their vibe.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I, man, she’s really one of a kind, Pamela Anderson, Pamella Anderson-Lee, as I incorrectly refer to her.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, she really is just Pamela Anderson, correct? Because right now she’s also in a Tennessee Williams Camino Real, which is one of his strangest plays. Wait, what? She is performing in Camino real right now. She’s obsessed with plays, especially Tennessee Williams.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Wait, the Pamela Anderson documentary, uh-oh, Having an Acid Flashback, doesn’t it end in her rehearsals for Chicago or something like that? Am I making that up? Am I making that up?

 

Louis Virtel I forgot. No, but of course she was in Chicago. Of course.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Who wasn’t? Yes. No, literally, who wasn’t. If you are a woman, if you are famous woman over 35 and you haven’t been in Chicago, there’s something deeply wrong.

 

Louis Virtel I think we’ve gone through every one of the bangles. Yes, like sincerely.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Be real housewise, we had Wendy Williams in there. I mean, really, really what a role that anyone can do apparently.

 

Louis Virtel You know what else I think really works to this movie? It does not waste a single second. This movie, I think is 85 minutes long. And I think people-

 

Caroline Goldfarb Less than 90. Oh my God, a movie, a major studio release under an hour and a half. Thank you.

 

Louis Virtel The only kind of problem I see with that potentially is like, we’re so used to like a half hour of previews that after that, getting an 85 minute movie can feel a bit slight. That said, honestly, and I’m so sorry to bring up this name, this is what Woody Allen did right. The reason people liked Annie Hall that much is because there was not a second wasted. You know, it’s like these are 90 minutes or sometimes 80 minute movies.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m loving this tape.

 

Louis Virtel You know, but I’m just saying I don’t think I think people underestimate that a 100 minute movie can be too long

 

Caroline Goldfarb Mmm, 85 is good. I did feel a bit short-changed. I’m not going to lie.

 

Louis Virtel I wonder if they cut a lot out. They must have.

 

Caroline Goldfarb This is my next thing. I think that a lot was cut out. I can’t wait to see the director’s cut I hope it’s re-released in theaters. Like I’m on board for a lifetime of Naked Gun content. I’m locked in I can wait for 50 sequels I want them all. Here’s my one my big criticism of the movie. I Think Paul Walter Hauser is One of our best one of our nation’s best

 

Louis Virtel I truly love him as an actor.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I truly love him as an actor and he’s this… Did you read his New Yorker profile?

 

Louis Virtel Yes, uh-huh.

 

Caroline Goldfarb He’s he’s a comedy freak. He’s a comity stan He has a tattoo on his arm of the names of his favorite comedic performances You know like those shirts that are like ringo and paul. Yeah, he has one that’s farley short Oh I can’t remember the other two, but he loves comedy and he I they must have cut a lot of his scenes because I felt like he was a little underused in the movie And I bet there’s some really good pwh stuff on the cutter room

 

Louis Virtel That is almost certainly true.

 

Caroline Goldfarb So that’s what I, I felt a little short-changed. I wanted, I wanted more P.

 

Louis Virtel Do you know what? I think the original naked gun hand that I did want a little bit more of in this too is dramatic actors used in a very silly way. Like George Kennedy, who won an Oscar for Cool Hand Luke, is in the naked gun movies. And to see him putting up with the farcical nature of what is happening, first of all, but also just the performance of Leslie Nielsen. There’s something that’s very…

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m gonna have to completely disagree with you.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, really?

 

Caroline Goldfarb What is the name of the actor who plays the bad guy? Danny Houston?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, yes, as in half brother to Angelica, yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Actually, yeah

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Iconic. He’s a very serious actor who delivers, I think, a tour de force, comedically serious performance in this movie. He had one of the funniest moments in the movie when he gets punched in the stomach and goes on a long run about how he got it hurts and he’s nauseous and he got punched in the soft part of his stomach.

 

Louis Virtel That actually, that scene is one of the few that kind of took its time in a way that was really, really good. Cause it’s like, you could almost say the movie feels rushed in certain, but like that, they took every possible moment out of it and yet didn’t go on too long either, which I did feel they did with the snowman thing.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Um, how does this make you feel? I read an interview with Akiva where he said that originally that the snowman was supposed to come back in that very scene, the scene near the fountain, the snow man was maybe going to come in an earlier version of the script.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, but they milked it. I mean, like, even I think fans of that scene would say they milk that so well, that one scene. You don’t need another beat of him. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I also read an amazing interview with Akiva where he talked about how they got Paramount to green light the movie. Did you hear the story? No. I think this is a really cool story. So Akiva, who’s a legendary accomplished comedy director, I don’t think he’s made one bad movie and obviously he’s, you know, Lonely Island, digital shorts, like he’s a legend. He pitched this reboot to Paramount and they, their stock price, you know, in the gutter, but they’re so stupid. They’re like, I dunno, we can’t really see this. Can you make basically a sizzle reel or like a proof of concept basically? So Akiva just got a bunch of people together for the day, got Liam in, and filmed essentially what became that confession scene, you know, where he like coerces a confession out of one of the henchmen. And he’s, you now has Liam there and Liam’s doing exactly the Liam thing and it’s great. And the end of it ends with Liam looking in the camera and addressing the Paramount executives, basically calling them pussies and being like, what’s wrong with you pussys? Why don’t you get there’s like some reference to like get your cocaine and diapers out because this movie is gonna be so funny You’ll be like shitting your pants I don’t really know but it ends with Liam Neeson looking down the barrel of the camera and insulting tear them out intimidating and insulting them and That’s it. The movie was greenlit and now look at us. We’re talking about on keep it

 

Louis Virtel You know what actually his performance reminds me of? This is a very weird parallel. Jane Lynch on the weakest link, where I don’t know if you watched the original game show.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m sorry, I’m having a stroke.

 

Louis Virtel Good, you should. Anne Robinson, the British woman who did the original Weakest Lincoln would be the wisecracking, mean-spirited, imperious host.

 

Speaker 5 Mm-hmm

 

Louis Virtel You kind of thought, well, it can only be her. She’s this one of a kind person. But with even just like casting that kind of feels obvious, like, oh, like Liam Neeson, of course he could do this.

 

Speaker 5 Mm-mm.

 

Louis Virtel You can still recreate it. You can do something that works, and maybe it’s not as inspired as the original, but it’s good enough, and especially it’s enough for a very silly, stupid comedy.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m not taking your take. Your take has been untaken by me. The Naked Gun is innovative. It is incredible. It is so funny. Do not listen to, don’t listen to Lewis. I know you’re listening to his podcast because you love him and you think he’s like a genius.

 

Louis Virtel I don’t know about innovative, I think it’s an awesome throwback.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, it’s an awesome throwback. I think there are some innovative moments, but okay, agree to disagree.

 

Louis Virtel And also, by the way, it is a pile of jokes. And again, we have so few of those.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, look at you comedy writer, like dissing on the jokes. We gotta embrace it.

 

Louis Virtel The jokes. We gotta embrace it. I keep pimping that show adults, which has like joke after joke after joke after

 

Caroline Goldfarb Adults is funny. I’m a little bitter because I had a staffing meeting on it. I absolutely knew you did. But had a weird Zoom staffing meeting for that show and didn’t get it. But that’s OK. I am happy for them.

 

Louis Virtel I just want to say there’s an amazing Zoom scene interview on that show that is about somebody getting humiliated and it better not have been inspired by you.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, God. Okay, I haven’t made it to that episode yet.

 

Louis Virtel You’re going to watch it. All right.

 

Caroline Goldfarb But anyway, I loved The Naked Gun, I can’t wait to see it again and also-

 

Louis Virtel Three star movie for me, three stars.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Don’t listen to him, it’s four stars. But the credits, last thing I’ll say.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, lots going on, yes, with Pam and the freeze frame and stuff.

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, the credits that roll even after that, I think they invent at least like 300 completely invented positions in people, like they’ll go through like the rigging department and then the credits keep going and then they’re like, they invent like a whole department called like, assistant rigging assistance or something like

 

Louis Virtel I don’t have to sit through that, I don’t have to

 

Caroline Goldfarb And it’s all plays. Oh, it’s very funny. And it all plays over an original song sung by Liam Neeson that is very, very funny

 

Louis Virtel Okay, well, the song I will seek out. All right, so that’s our take on that. But if you want other takes from the Crooked Network, guess what? I have a podcast for you. If you love messy power players and hate the men who actually have the power, this fucking guy is for you! It’s a YouTube series from hysteria hosts Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonico, where they deep dive into the worst people in politics, business, and beyond. Think of it like a true crime series, but the crime is having way too much power and being the absolute worst. A new episode just dropped and it’s all about Peter Thiel. Oof Tech billionaire, secret political puppet master, and maybe an actual vampire. Watch this fucking guy on YouTube or listen on Spotify. All right, when we’re back, we’re joined by Jenny Slate.

 

Ira Madison III [AD]

 

Louis Virtel This week’s guest is one of the raddest there ever was. You know her from, of course, Obvious Child, but also Parks and Recreation, Marcel Deschel with Shoes On, and numerous books and stand-up specials. This year, she earned her first ever Emmy nomination for her role in FX’s Dying for Sex, which we’ll dive into today. What a fabulous series. Please welcome back to Keep It, Jenny Slate.

 

Jenny Slate Hey, thanks for that intro, that was really nice.

 

Louis Virtel Oh of course, of course. Okay, first of all, let’s talk about the awardsiness. And by the way, your participation in awards culture in general, you’re up for supporting actress in a limited series this year. You were of course in the best picture winning everything everywhere all at once. And then also Marcel Deschel was shoes on, was nominated for best animated feature. These are such high profile, fabulous competitions. Do you like award season and being a, shall we say, combatant in it?

 

Jenny Slate Yeah, I feel like maybe it’ll never happen again. It feels very, very outside of me or what I can control and like, so I just try to enjoy it if I’m ever there. And it does always feel rather, maybe I’m just like a person that’s really aware of what my childhood self would have thought about the way that I am or live now and because I always wanted to be an actor, but… Yeah, it just feels fancy. I try to enjoy it, try not to stress too hard about getting my picture taken or something. Those are the things that can make me feel scared.

 

Louis Virtel Do you have a favorite award show moment that you’ve gotten to participate, or just award show you’ve got to go to?

 

Jenny Slate Oh, they’re all I think they’re they’re really fun. I think I didn’t like the carpets are always the hardest, you know, that’s always like really weird because you’re like, how do I look? How do I what am I doing? How do I like and I’m not one of those people that like practices. You know, I just cannot make myself do that. So it’s really a fucking free for all, I guess you would say. But I guess. My favorite so far was the SAG Awards, because it is a really kind of like theater camp vibe. And the SAGs is cool because it’s like, I just don’t know a lot of actors who haven’t always wanted to be one. There are some people who kind of randomly stumbled into it, but it’s just like you’re just in a room of people who all love something so much, but it, and have this like dedication to something, but it not, it’s not religious, but its spiritual. And it’s like so like in each everyone’s heart and you can drink and it’s fun and I think the last time I was at the SAG awards I got to present with James Marsden and like I just think he’s so talented and perfect and wonderful and handsome and then when I saw him on Jury Duty I was just like oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me this guy’s like a god like he’s that show I love that show so much and I thought he was so wonderful and anyway yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb James Marsden is amazing. And I’m happy that we’re talking about James Marsden. And I could talk about James Marsden all day. But Jenny, on the topic of award shows and being fabulous and looking fabulous, your looks and what you’ve been wearing on talk shows, promoting Dying for Sex and everything you wear on the red carpet, your looks are amazing. And I want to know a little bit about your relationship with fashion and how you land on what you’re going to wear because I just am always blown away. By your dresses and you’ve just got such a sense of taste.

 

Jenny Slate Wow. That’s so nice. Thank you. That means a lot to me. It’s worth it, but certainly can feel sort of high stakes to present yourself in a fancy ensemble. I’m not quite sure why. There are a lot of other things that are actually much more high stakes in life. But first of all, I have a really nice, wonderful stylist named Jordan Johnson, and I feel like I can be really honest with her about what I want to look like. I love clothes. I love shopping. I tend to change my outfit multiple times a day, which is something that for better or worse, I’ve passed on to my daughter. But the sort of undertone of that is like, this is about feelings, or it’s about weather. It’s about like costuming yourself for your emotional moment. And that’s how I kind of look at it. And yeah, I just think it’s so much fun. To see what the discussion is, like how are people costuming themselves? And that’s how I tend to look at the like dressing for awards shows. I think it’s just that. Like, and I’ve started to really understand also how to like look like myself. I think took a long time for me to get that, but I feel like I’m really, really there. And I’ve worked with some wonderful people, Monty Jackson and now Jordan Johnson and what she dressed me in for the Gotham Awards, which was like a beautiful Tom Brown T-length gown. Oh with a petticoat, a really, really tight corset and bodice, but then I had this little white cape. I just was like, I’m satisfying everyone right now. I’m satisfied myself. I am satisfying my mom, who really doesn’t want to see me in a transparent gown. She’s just like, what was that about, you know? But, like, I feel like, ugh, it’s such an honor to wear Tom Brown rules. It’s just like always like a tuxedo that like is in its best moment, whether it’s a tixito or a gown, it’s like a magic tuxito that turns into like different stuff. And anyway, I just, I really, really try to figure out how I can be my most true self while wearing a costume. That’s how that all feels.

 

Louis Virtel Now, to get into Dying for Sex, a show that, when this show starts out, like you’re kind of familiar, okay, this is gonna be a tough show that has some comedy moments in. And then as it goes on, it gets so much more intense and also so much funnier too. Like everything balloons in such a beautiful way. And I was wondering if you had a favorite moment on the show, and we’ll talk about Michelle and the other actors who were all great, of combining hard laughs with very hard drama on the show.

 

Jenny Slate There really were so many moments. I mean, in reading, getting the script, I just was like, oh man, I’ve been waiting for something just like this, something where I can apply all my intensity, but not be myself, but everything that I’ve tried hard to develop as a performer. I think for me, the scene where Michelle’s character, Molly, reads the story of the… Moment when she’s sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend and she’s written it down. She’s trying to do what Sonya is suggesting that she does, played beautifully by Esco Jule. And she reads it and it just swallows everything. It swallows the life in the room. It just is so brutal. And it’s brutal as a performer also because you know it’s real. Because Molly was a real person and Nikki is a real person and they had to go through this and countless people go through things like this. They should never, but they do. And it is, it’s not even, it, it it’s like. It murders your heart in that moment. It is so fucking hard and I found it to be so hard. And then at the end of that is a straight up fart joke.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Yes. Mmmhmm

 

Jenny Slate I just, you know, you can’t serve the first part of the story, which is like this terrible moment, this, the reveal of what the specifics were moment by moment and written so in such a bare way. And then, um, and then, you, know, Molly’s, she has like chemo farts, you know, and she farts and that also, there’s the realness of her past, which is haunting her and, and limiting the way she works in the world but then there’s this moment where her body’s out of control but that these two women are so alive and they’re so bonded and intimate that Nikki can say did you just fart and my job in that moment is to be in tears listening to this story and really let the story come in and not protect myself as an actor or as that character at all letting it all come in, and then have to really naturally play that question and not let it ruin the scene and make it be that there’s a fart joke there because ultimately we feel that the audience can’t handle the gravity and the repulsion and the fear and the terror and the just like rage that comes with hearing the first part of that. And I just thought, I thought I was so bold of Liz Merriweather and Kim Rosenstock to write it like that because it’s not an easy out. It’s actually a doubling down on the realness and the complexity of what this. Life and moment is for these two women. And I just like, I just valued that scene so much and I loved doing it, but it, it was very hard.

 

Louis Virtel Well, also additionally complex thing about that scene is that your character is aware of this story already. So you’re kind of hearing her just tell it because you’re, you just want her to. It’s like a kind of a therapeutic moment for her. So you having to both listen and yet you also already know the story. So what’s going on in your head there in that moment where you’re getting new information but it’s actually not new information.

 

Jenny Slate I guess what I feel about that is actually there are some things in that scene where Nikki says to her, Molly’s like, yeah, but you already heard this. And Nikki says something like, but I haven’t heard it all together, like all one thing. And I think there are somethings that she has not heard before. And that’s how I went into it, is like the story is shocking to me every time I read it in the script. The story is shocking to me every time I think about it. Let there be something really new. Like let maybe like one take like, oh, you didn’t know that he hid her clothes. Like think about that. It’s so horrifying.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Jenny, I just have to say your performance in the show is so amazing. You’re such an amazing dramatic actress and you’re so, of course, so incredibly funny. One of my favorite things about you is your gift for physical comedy and you do some of the finest big bag physical comedy on the show that I’ve seen. There’s something really satisfying and funny about a woman struggling with a giant bag. Sort of an important part of the history of physical comedy, I find. And you do some incredible big bag work. Um, and I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about that, or at the very least just take in that compliment for me, that you fumbling with your big bag and dropping all your things on the floor, it really made me laugh.

 

Jenny Slate Oh, thank you. I can take it in. Yeah, I was a person with a big bag in my 20s. I now am not, and that’s like a big achievement for me. And generally, I’m not a lot like Nikki, but that big bag, it just was like, ugh, like I almost kind of hated to see it because I really. It is a visceral feeling for me to, like, be that person who had the big bag and everything. And I was like, why is there this bag here, you know? And like, like first I was, like oh, fuck this bag. It’s just like, oh, that, and it was really heavy. And I’m was like really guys, there’s a trophy in here? Like would someone really have a trophy? And Kim Rosenstock was like she’s so sweet. She was like, the reason why there is a trophy in the bag. This is based off of my bag, and it turned out I just looked in my bag and there was a trophy. Wow. I think it was probably one of her daughter’s trophies. The realness of that bag, it is funny how many people mention it to me. It’s visceral. And maybe there was something deep in my body that really, really understood what That bag.

 

Caroline Goldfarb There’s one moment where you somehow pull up an accordion of post-it notes as you’re fumbling with many things and it was such a fine, small moment that I just don’t want anyone to miss because it really brought me so much joy and made me laugh. So, thank you.

 

Jenny Slate Oh, my pleasure, yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Did you have any unexpected moments acting with Michelle Williams, where she brought, she maybe changed the vibe of a scene by making choices that you didn’t expect, or what adjustments did you have to make as working with her as she is the central character in the show?

 

Jenny Slate Both ends of the comedy and drama apply there, I guess. Like, there’s that scene where, for no reason, she says that her vagina is a wee bit dry, but she does, like, an accent. It was so funny. I feel like I’ve talked about this before, but, like… I think I’m, like a very professional person. I never go to set unprepared. I’m grateful for every moment I can work. And I… I sometimes feel bad if I ruin a take by laughing. I just couldn’t get my shit together. I mean, it was like she was making me laugh so hard and she was laughing and every time she would kind of gear up to like say even like, we like it just it was just like ruined. And I remember first being scared that I was laughing so much because I didn’t want to be unprofessional ever. But I also certainly like what what we were both doing, I think, was like a pretty vulnerable thing. And we had to trust each other so much that I felt hyper sensitive to ever seeming like I was like falling apart or falling away. But I just was so surprised by how it sounded every time she said it that I like couldn’t keep it together. And I was surprised that we, my memory of filming that scene is completely different also than like what I saw in the show. Like I was so freaked out that I couldn’t do the take because I was laughing so hard. It’s a good thing. But then, and then also There’s a scene where. Um, you know, they’ve been in the hospital for a while. It’s towards the end and it’s right before she does that beautiful dance. And she’s like, I’m going to meet this guy, you know, who has a dojo and he wants a hand job. And I found up until that point, not any real walls between Molly and Nikki. And yeah, Michelle is a really powerful performer. And I was surprised by how scary it was, like her rejection of my character in that scene. I felt it really strongly. And I mean, there’s also like being an actor, you know it’s not, I mean not, I guess if you’re a method, I don’t know how it goes. But like for me, it’s like, there is the safe. You know, like the guide in me that’s like, this is not real. This is not really, you’re cool. Like whatever’s happening to you, it’s not real and you can always stop if you need to. I think that’s important for me as a person, but like there was that moment where I just was like, oh God, like she’s being, she’s like really, really rejecting me right now. And I was surprised by how strong it felt and I was, then I was like really hungry to use it in the scene. I felt it in my body, like myself kind of like curling in and suddenly feeling so bare and stupid in that party dress. And I think there are a million trillion reasons for why an actor hopes to work with an actor like Michelle Williams. And that is one of them. It’s like to be two things at once, yourself and to be the like weird organism that is reacting to the other’s performance. And I just was like, oh yeah. This is exactly why I am in love with this whole thing. And it’s a really good memory, but it’s really alive. It’s like…yeah.

 

Louis Virtel I also love that scene because when she’s rejecting you in that moment, it’s almost like part of her awakening during this period of her life is like, she also wants to be able to like impetuously go and do something stupid. Like go and hook up with this guy and like to see your character cope with that, be like, oh, I set up this moment to hang out with her, but she’s going to go do this other thing. Like you could see why that would be both painful and why you would get it. That was such a brilliantly deduced screenwriting moment.

 

Jenny Slate Totally, because it’s like, well, what does Nikki want? Is she allowed to have one thing that is the primary thing? Is she allow to say, okay, well actually the thing we’re doing is Molly’s, Molly’s thing. Molly’s sort of like, her liberation, that’s what we’re going. But also, we’re, we doing that via our, our relationship that we have a clock on in terms of both of us being alive in it. And Nikki in that moment, has to, you know, she’s told, like, you’re not dying. And she has to weirdly pair them equally in the way that she makes their relationship, I think, like, as important as Molly’s journey is by kind of standing down and, like allowing herself to feel hurt and feel uncertain and alone, because eventually, like she will be without Molly.

 

Louis Virtel Before I let you go, I have to ask, I’m so interested in how you are kind of hot and cold on standup, like you will put out a special and be like, I’m thrilled to do this, then be like actually I’m over it now. Where do you stand on stand up right now in this moment?

 

Jenny Slate Well, I’ve always loved it. I just like, it’s very hard for me. It like really chars my nervous system. Right now, I am not doing it. And I feel comfortable being like, maybe this is a break. And maybe I won’t ever do it again, but maybe I will. But I’m not currently performing any standup. And I think, especially because my family is about to move. Back to New York for good, that it will be very hard for me to be there and not do standup. But it’s just, I just find it to be really scary. Like always worthwhile, but it’s never gotten, it’s not like at this point that I feel like I’m not legit or like imposter stuff. It’s like somebody who walked a tightrope for so long and like one time they looked down and they realized how high it was and now they can’t get it out of their head. And I don’t even know what I’m so afraid of. It’s just all in my body. And it’s like, it really messes me up. So I’m just not willing to like go through that right now because I feel pretty good. So I just like can’t afford to fuck with that, you know? Like sometimes you really, maybe that’s also a function of being like 43 and not 27, but it’s just like, hey man, everything’s really already pretty scary. Like let’s not, no need for me to. Waste an entire day feeling like I’m living a nightmare, but I can’t figure out why. And just like so much anxiety that my throat is basically just like a closed book that can’t open. It’s just like, let’s not. Let’s not go there, stay feeling good. And I kind of have this feeling that the next time I do a special, it will just be all about my husband. Like I actually think that almost seven years in, I’m like. Why does he still feel like my new boyfriend? Like what? When am I gonna feel, I don’t know, there’s something there. I think it’s gonna be a one hour special about how I feel, again, yet again.

 

Louis Virtel Okay.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m seated.

 

Louis Virtel Let’s go, let’s go. Jenny Slate, thank you so much for being here. You’re such a fabulous interviewee, as I stated earlier. And Dying for Sex is so good. We’ll be rooting for you at the Emmys this year.

 

Jenny Slate Thank you. Well, you’re great question askers. You’re great interviewers, as they say, otherwise known as question askers.

 

Louis Virtel That’s right in the in the business that we do. Yeah, that’s right

 

Jenny Slate So nice to see and talk to you both, thank you so much.

 

Louis Virtel Thank you to Jenny Slate. Dying for Sex is streaming now on Hulu. When we’re back, it’s more keep it.

 

Ira Madison III [AD]

 

Louis Virtel Since this is my birthday episode, technically, I wanted to dedicate a segment to the one gift that keeps on giving, hilarious women. I just wanna say there are two other topics that they would not let me do. One, game show panelists of the 50s. Can’t imagine why they rejected it. Or, being a gay man and how you can dress like Chun-Li from Street Fighter for Halloween and have it not be offensive. I guess there’s no answer. Anyway, I can think of no one better to discuss this with than the uproarious woman in front of me. So Caroline and I are going to go through some categories of comical women. And by the way, past and present, nominate our picks. Uh… Then fight to the death over who was the most correct which by the way we love doing we’ve been doing it already

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know. I’m ready to take your ass down, okay? And I was that homophobic, I’m not sure, but either way, I am ready.

 

Louis Virtel I’m going to HR. Okay, so I’m just gonna pick from a random category here. Let’s talk about physical.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Wait, sorry, before we get started, can we get some ground rules? Yes. Are we doing our top picks, like just the answer or is it our underrated dark horse?

 

Louis Virtel Both can play, both can play.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, I’m ready to play both, let’s go.

 

Louis Virtel Alright, let’s talk about physical comedians the best physical comic someone who can make you laugh without even talking now This is gonna seem almost kind of like a dated choice because or maybe even obvious But I don’t think we have been topped since this person

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know who you’re going to say. Melissa McCarthy. Oh, that is not who I thought you were going to. Who you thought? Sorry, the greatest all-time female physical comedian is Lucille Ball.

 

Louis Virtel Well, okay, well, I

 

Caroline Goldfarb Point blank period!

 

Louis Virtel You know what? I’m gonna actually put up some ground rules. When people are like, oh, Lucille Ball’s my favorite comic, it makes me think like-

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, I’m not saying that.

 

Louis Virtel You’re saying that’s the only woman you’ve ever enjoyed.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yes, I’m saying that my, I only get Nick at night at home and I’ve never seen anything besides that. No, come on. Physical comedian.

 

Louis Virtel Quite. Do you know who Lori Kilmartin is the comic? She writes with me at Kimmel.

 

Caroline Goldfarb She’s amazing.

 

Louis Virtel And she talks about how her number one pet peeve in life is when people say their favorite stand-up comic is Lucille Ball.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, that’s such a Gen X take. Whatever, Lori. And I do love Lori. You know what she means.

 

Louis Virtel But you know what she means like it’s something it’s something that if you’re talking about

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s basic. I know. I get it. It’s a little chuggy, but we’re, first of all, we’re narrowing it down. We’re in categories. I think she is one of the funniest physical comedians of all time. And I did have Melissa McCarthy written down for me, by the way.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, no, I mean, well, let’s talk about Lucille Ball for a split second. Sure. I mean the combination of she would literally be like pummeled with bread coming out of an oven and then also remember to get the glance to the audience just at the right moment that time perfectly with the laugh. It’s like the musicality of what she did was so amazing.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Well, she was a dancer, you know, like, to be a great physical comedian, you have to have such an awareness and a presence in your body. And it’s no surprise to me that she was like a Follies girl, because she, like you said, there’s a timing to it. There’s a musicality, there’s rhythm, and there’s winkingness that she did. And she’s stuffing chocolates in her mouth and stomping grapes and all that stuff. Those are these timeless comedy moments for a reason, because they are so revolutionary and they are still funny. I’m sorry like Go watch an episode of The Honeymooners. It’s not gonna hold up the same way that an episode I Love Lucy does. And on top of it, she was writing that shit. She was like keeping Desi’s cheating on the low. She was producing Star Trek. I mean, the woman could do it all. And for that, we speak her name.

 

Louis Virtel Well, also, it’s just crazy that Hollywood basically didn’t know what to do with her for the longest time. She was in dramatic movies. She’s in this movie called Lorde from the 40s with George Sanders. It’s a noir-ish movie, but you see her, and she is good in it, but it’s like it’s before she ascends to this like untouchable strata of basically inventing television comedy.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Hollywood didn’t know what to do with her. So she chose to do, with herself, what Hollywood couldn’t do. I didn’t have that sentence in my mind before I started saying, and I lost it.

 

Louis Virtel You say, you said do 11 times. And I want to say about Melissa McCarthy. She, first of all, she, like Kristen Wiig, if we sentenced them to life of just dramatic roles, I would also be thrilled with that. They are amazing, dramatic actresses in addition to being a comic. But she has achieved that specific thing of. Being in a movie that was not good except for one scene that is one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen and it’s life of the party where she’s delivering a monolog to a classroom and falling apart. I think that is the funniest physical comedy of the past 15 years.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, I haven’t seen that, but it’s good to know that that scene’s in there.

 

Louis Virtel It’s very on a plane. If you happen to run into it, find the one scene.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, I’ll keep that in mind for my next Southwest flight. But I think that, man, Melissa McCarthy is truly that bitch. She is so fucking funny. To me, the two, the one moment that really comes to mind, my Melissa McCarthy all-time greatest physical comedy moment was, was it SNL 50? I don’t remember, or sorry, it was the last time she hosted, during the 50th season. Her breast.

 

Louis Virtel The breasts on that windshield or whatever it was.

 

Caroline Goldfarb In an American flag t-shirt onto a windshield wiping milkshake up. It was so funny, so fearless, and it has really burned a place in my mind.

 

Louis Virtel Do you know the name Lulu Diamonds when she plays an old Hollywood starlet who is like a Mae West send up?

 

Caroline Goldfarb I don’t and I will soon.

 

Louis Virtel Her catchphrase is, why don’t you come up and see me up there sometime? It’s like a lame rip on Mae West and she keeps falling down the steps that she’s being positioned on. They ask for her to make that funny like seven times and she does it every single time. I mean, it’s a pleasure not only to see, but you’re like, thank God for this. Like people can just be this silly, you know what I mean?

 

Caroline Goldfarb She’s so physically strong. She throws her body places. She’s fearless. It’s like, you know, I’m not a sporty person, but you know in high school, like during the presidential fitness test, you have to run through the finish line. Like you don’t stop at the finish line. You run through it. That’s Melissa McCarthy. She barrels through with the sheer force of nature and it just, God, there’s nothing like watching someone do it at the of their game. Also shout out to Spy, I think.

 

Louis Virtel Fabulous movie

 

Caroline Goldfarb truly one of the funniest movies of the last, I don’t know when it came out.

 

Louis Virtel Can you guess which part of the presidential fitness test I was amazing at? There’s only one.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Cynreach.

 

Louis Virtel You got it.

 

Caroline Goldfarb How did I know? You give me sit and reach energy.

 

Louis Virtel I had no I have that live Sid Sharif’s body, you know what I mean? Like when I was in the second grade, right, right

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, and not everyone does, you should be proud of that.

 

Louis Virtel There should be a Ziegfeld Follies-like movie with Lucille Ball called Loose Hamstrings.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Uh, Hollywood? Are you listening, crooked media? Get on that.

 

Louis Virtel We’re in the business of making movies now.

 

Caroline Goldfarb There’s no one in this room.

 

Louis Virtel Um, who is your favorite either guest actress on like a sitcom or a sitcom supporting actress? I have an answer, uh, who’s new and I want to see more from her. Okay. Do you know who Jen Lyon is who was on the show The English Teacher this year?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Um, God.

 

Louis Virtel This one, she has like one scene. She plays like a southern mom who like is talking with the teachers. I don’t know what it is about this performance. She, it’s like meeting a character in a whodunit where you’re like trying to figure out what their deal is, except her deal is she’s constantly shockingly hilarious. And it’s not just the lines, which are great. Her choices are so daffy and yet played straightforward. I am really intrigued with this actress. I hope we get a lot from her.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay. That’s a big plug for Jenna Lyon. Jenna Lyons, the former CEO of J. Crew and her comedic turn on the English teacher. God, she’s good. For me, when I think, God, there’s so much to pick from here. This was a really tough category for me, but one name came to mind and it is, of course, the indomitable Casey Wilson.

 

Louis Virtel I love her and everything, and I love trying happy endings.

 

Caroline Goldfarb To me, Casey Wilson and Happy Endings is one of the all-time greatest sitcom performances. Happy Ending is so, is it underrated? I guess it’s rated.

 

Louis Virtel Well, it’s one of those things where if you’re a fan of it, you’re a huge fan of that.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, and Casey in that show is pitch perfect, scene stealing, every line is funnier than the last.

 

Louis Virtel So verbose.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s so, it is, she is so about- But it’s so impressively. She’s so deft with the most like complex, long psychotic lines. And she is a joy to watch. And I just always want more Casey Wilson on my screen.

 

Louis Virtel And I want to say also on that show Eliza Coop playing just the

 

Caroline Goldfarb Sure.

 

Louis Virtel The most competitive woman I’ve ever seen on a TV show and boy do I relate to competitive women

 

Caroline Goldfarb Sure.

 

Louis Virtel Like women playing volleyball with a high pony, just in general, and then just like the energy of like, don’t fuck with me, fellas, kind of like…

 

Caroline Goldfarb That’s why I’m so scared of you.

 

Louis Virtel A little Julie Bowen kind of energy.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Sure, I’m realizing why I’m so scared of you is because you remind me of some of the women I played club volleyball against.

 

Louis Virtel You know, I get that all the time.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, you’ve got scary volleyball energy.

 

Louis Virtel In terms of sitcom presences, I think my favorite sitcom supporting actors performance of all time is Jackee Harry on 227, who then was the mother on Sister Sister.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Can you give me a history lesson? I’m embarrassed to ask. What is 227?

 

Louis Virtel So 227 starred Marla Gibbs, who played Florence on the Jeffersons. And these are women who lived in an apartment in Washington DC. And Jack Hay played this woman, Sandra, who would just like, everything was like vivacious. And then Marla Gibbs was a bit more deadpan.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Mmmhhmm.

 

Louis Virtel So, but like all of her line readings were so electric, so funny, and she became the first black woman to win the Best Supporting Actress Emmy.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Wow.

 

Louis Virtel And Bruce Willis said her name wrong when he announced it. And the way the injustice sits with me and on me, even now.

 

Caroline Goldfarb He adulterseemed her?

 

Louis Virtel Yes. He said Jackie, as opposed to Jackée. And now she goes by Jackée Harry.

 

Caroline Goldfarb The disrespect. I don’t want to speak too ill of the man because he isn’t doing well, but that’s nasty. That’s nasty and he…

 

Louis Virtel You hope that’s the last thing he hears, is that what you said?

 

Caroline Goldfarb I just I want to tread lightly here, but that makes me upset anyway.

 

Louis Virtel Um, if you haven’t seen that performance recently, just look up literally a montage of clips from 227 and it is, it honestly, it is it is Lucy level. It is just.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Wow!

 

Louis Virtel The delirium she brings while also keeping it within the frame of a sitcom is so good.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Can I ask you a question about your childhood?

 

Louis Virtel Yup, please.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Were you, this is what I imagine from your childhood. You were locked in a basement, chained to the radiator with a TV.

 

Louis Virtel The season one of Breaking Bad, yeah, like stuck in the basement, yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb With a TV, it was like Black Snake Mone, but you, instead of being like sexually captive, you were just captive and only had access to sitcoms of the late 80s and early 90s. Is that about right?

 

Louis Virtel Well, I think what you mean is I was a middle child and that’s it. So what I would like absorb

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s like you say Marla Gibbs, like it’s a thing that everyone knows.

 

Louis Virtel As they should. I- I’m so- I don’t know who the f-

 

Caroline Goldfarb I don’t know who the fuck you’re talking about and I know a lot of stuff and you are like Marla Gibbs, of course. I’m like, no, I of course, who know what?

 

Louis Virtel You’ve seen the Jeffersons.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, I made on the Jeffersons who’s like that’s a load of shit George now. I feel bad. Yeah monster Okay, right turned around on me, and I’m a monster right. I’m just saying you have a scary encyclopedic I feel the same way of television of television specifically maybe everything

 

Louis Virtel I have to say it’s everything.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Okay, noted.

 

Louis Virtel You can hear the titters in this room. They’re like, what’s wrong with him?

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know and here I thought you just knew about one skin and helix mattresses.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Oh, no, those are my hobbies.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I didn’t know this is my profession. Anyway, sorry back to the game. I’m a little scared of you but back to

 

Louis Virtel Well, we’ve set the word deadpanel off this episode. Do you have a favorite dry comic?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Do I have a favorite dry comic? My choice for this is unassailable. If you disagree or have a different one, I will, I’m not kidding, climb over this table and probably slap you across the face.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, we’re going to brawl onto the table, please.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Of under, over, legs, arms, whatever it takes. The funniest all time, regardless of gender, there can only be one, be Arthur.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, no, I love and first of all, I loved Maude in addition to the Golden Girls.

 

Caroline Goldfarb But Bea Arthur is the queen of dry. There is not one Bea Arthur delivery that isn’t so like desiccatingly bone dry and nasty in the workplace.

 

Louis Virtel Nasty is also the word because sometimes I come off a joke from her as being like

 

Caroline Goldfarb She’s less dry and she’s nasty, she’s mean. I mean, look, she was obviously a cruel woman. You can’t be that dry and nasty without having hurt a lot of people in your life. But man, is there someone, I’m curious as to who your take is.

 

Louis Virtel Well, honestly, my feeling about the Golden Girls is, doesn’t it feel crazy to you that it has not been revived in some kind of way?

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, it doesn’t feel crazy to me. I think they’ve tried to revive it many times, but it’s A, first of all, there are no women that look old anymore.

 

Louis Virtel It does feel like you kind of can’t do it. Yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Julianne Moore and Lake Charo?

 

Louis Virtel No, but at least Charo would be like, Charo’s like 80 or something. Julianne Moore is actually the age of the people on that show. You’re right, that doesn’t exist anymore. That kind of.

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, it would be it’s so hard to imagine a like finding for women that look their age and also it’s it was an it’s a chemistry that can’t be replicated and do we have like who are our funniest women in their 50s and 60s like I don’t know these women that are performing at that level of funny are so few and far in between I feel

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. I mean, like, maybe you could stick someone like Lori Metcalf in there, like somebody she’ll at least turn out the multicam faces and the lines, et cetera. And she’s so hard to do a multicam, too. I think it has to be a veteran. A veteran’s a multicamp. It’s who I would pick.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, I suppose so. But anyway, we’ll sidebar on our reboot of the Golden Girls and how we’re going to put that together.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, but I’m trying to think of my favorite deadpan con. Well, I’ll say this Somebody who I think has gone underrated in the past few years and she has one famous dramatic performance. That is awesome But Sandra Bernhard, there was something genuinely very risky about her all the time she’s somebody who I feel like didn’t do comedy unless she was going to perturb half the audience and not just like what she was talking about was like too queer or too radical or whatever. She literally just picked a tone in her voice where she said, you’re either dialing in my fucking thing or you’re not. And like when she was nasty in a deadpan way, you remembered it.

 

Caroline Goldfarb She’s combative.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, combative is right. I really support the people who have a kind of combative energy, which reminds me, we saw this week on social media that Cheri O’Terry went to France recently and did a add on a bicycle for like a stool softener.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, I did have her saved for one of the other categories.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, she’s not deadpan, but I mean, there’s something about her that she will always be my favorite Saturday Night Live cast member because it was combative in a way. She wasn’t drawing you in like, please like me or I’m going to break or anything like that. She just said, I’m out on a limb. I’m an electrocuted animal and I’m screaming and I am going to keep it at that sustained pitch and if you dial into it, to me, she remains immaculately funny.

 

Caroline Goldfarb To me, that’s why she is a full whackadoo.

 

Louis Virtel She yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Wacky. She’s a crazy person, and I mean that in the best way. She is unhinged, she’s misunderstood, and she’s batshit insane. And it, I don’t know what she’s like in her as a person, but her characters are bananas. And yes, I really recommend the audience go to Sherri O’Terry’s Instagram and check out some of the videos from her trip to France because they are some of them, they’re not produced. Yeah. There’s no like- TikTok team working with her. This is like, she handed her friend the camera and was like, film me on a bike for 50 seconds. I’m about to motherfucking blow your mind. And do a fake ad for a store softener. And it’s off the dome. The woman’s insane. She’s so funny. And when I see Sherri O’Tary doing a guest role on a sitcom in this day and age, when she came on into episode three of And Just Like That, season three, oh, I’m surprised the show got canceled. Like she was so. Funny and she elevates the material and she’s on a different planet and I love it.

 

Louis Virtel You know who’s like a comedy cousin of hers is Debra Wilson from Mad TV who played Whitney Houston most famously

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, yeah. But like, they’re

 

Louis Virtel But like there there’s a quality about her where it’s like she was stricken with something the entire time. She was on and that tenseness So funny that Matt TV also had a tendency to be very mean to the people it was lampooning But she was so good the talent level and I think she’s done a lot of voice acting since too

 

Caroline Goldfarb I think you’re right.

 

Louis Virtel I feel like that’s the domain of a lot of these people, where they end up going.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You know what? And that’s a good place to go. Yeah. As far as…

 

Louis Virtel Show up to work in sweats and be Babs Bunny.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Talking to the mic, kind of like what we’re doing now, but get paid a thousand more times. Right. Ding ding. Alright. So I wanted to shout out someone that I think steals every scene she’s in when she’s on the screen. It’s electrifying. My eye goes to her and I leave the theater or turn off my TV only thinking about her and it’s Miss Wanda Sykes.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, of course. First of all, the stand-up alone before you even get to the act.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, I know. I was so torn whether to really dive into her stand-up or her acting, but to me, one of my favorite movies of the 2000s is Monster in Law.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, well you-

 

Caroline Goldfarb Comedic tour de force from everyone involved including J.Lo.

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb But Wanda Sykes in Monster in Law is one of the greatest performances in cinema history. Yeah, I said it.

 

Louis Virtel Wow. And there’s a lot of comedy going on in that movie, so.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, but yet…

 

Louis Virtel And Jane’s hair in the 2000s. Wow.

 

Caroline Goldfarb God, it looked like it was hard. There’s a lot of body and a lot of defying gravity, move aside, Wicked. Jane Fonda’s hair and Monster in Law. I love Wanda Sykes. Sometimes she like guests, doesn’t she guest host Kimmel sometimes?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, she hasn’t done it in like a year, she’s one of my favorite guest hosts and amazing to work with.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I love the woman and I just want more Wanda Sykes all the time.

 

Louis Virtel So I worked on a pilot for a TV show, and it was her production company, but I didn’t know that. So I walked in and I’m working in an office, and it’s the 2016 election time. And it’s right around, do you remember when Hillary Clinton was getting into a van and seemed to pass out?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, that was a tough time for all of us.

 

Louis Virtel So I’m sitting in the office writing my jokes for this pilot, and I hear in the office next to me someone go, can she not faint? And it was Wanda Sykes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You know, we were all thinking it, but only one of the Sykes was brave enough in that moment in her production office to say it.

 

Louis Virtel Oh my god, I’ll laugh at that forever. So funny.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, did she need to faint?

 

Louis Virtel And also, she’s on that show, The Upshaws, which is really underrated. Good show.

 

Caroline Goldfarb See, there we go. I have a bunch more names written down, but we can move on. It was really fun just to talk about Funny Women.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, please, anytime. Maybe this should be the whole podcast, honestly.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Honestly, I’d love that.

 

Louis Virtel All right, we’ll be back with my favorite segment of the show, Keep It. And we’re back with a special segment of the episode. It’s Keep It, also the name of the podcast, if you’re paying attention. Caroline, what is your Keep It this week? Wait, I thought it was on Pod Save America. I know, that’s too bad.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh, shit. Okay. I have a really hot take about David Plouffe and I okay. I’ll think of something else

 

Louis Virtel You’ll have to save it. Caroline, what is your keep-it this week?

 

Caroline Goldfarb My keep it this week is to Rod Stewart and his creative team for their disgusting abhorrent AI generated dead celebrity video that plays during his concerts. Do you know about this? I do.

 

Louis Virtel I do not. I can’t believe I don’t know about this.

 

Caroline Goldfarb So I guess Rod Stewart is still playing shows, God bless the man, you know, do you think I’m sexy? I do honestly think he’s a little sexy. Oh, great. And wherever he’s playing during the show, I think during Forever Young, on the big screen, they play a video of dead celebrities. But it’s not just like AI generated dead celebrities, it’s, and they must have made it within the last week because it’s Ozzy Osbourne, AI generated Ozzy, Osbourne holding a selfie stick. And posing with a gaggle of dead celebrities one after the other.

 

Louis Virtel We’re in hell.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I’m going to say it again. Ozzy Osbourne, holding a selfie stick in the year of our Lord 2025, posing with dead celebrities. And okay, using AI to conjure up dead celebrities, it’s so vile. It’s so like, it’s an affront to God. I’m not even a religious person, but it feels like an affrent to God, let them rest. They didn’t consent to this. Ozzy, Osbourne he’s warm in the grave for God’s sakes and you’re using his image and pairing him with The celebrities that he takes selfies with are XXXTENTACION,

 

Louis Virtel What. The. Fuck.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Kurt Cobain.

 

Louis Virtel Who would have loved this?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Oh yeah, Prince also, like, Prince didn’t want to perform a show with the lights on. You think he likes having his dead image projected on screen at the fucking like arena in the Venetian or whatever with a selfie stick?

 

Louis Virtel Print right now is in a vault within a vault within a ball.

 

Caroline Goldfarb I know, in Michigan, or Minnesota, or whatever. They’re all the same. I’m a bad person. To me, I mean, sorry, I’m from a coast. Kurt Cobain, Tupac, and there’s a million more. It’s so, it’s an affront, it is hideous, it abhorrent, it makes me absolutely sick, and I need to get tickets and see this live immediately, but I also want him to keep it. Does that make sense? Oh

 

Louis Virtel Well, I’ll say this. I remember being affronted by the idea of Coachella using holograms of Tupac. But at least with that, there was some artistic intention. Somebody actually made it and used footage of him and stuff. But this AI universe of just stealing… It’s so thoughtless. It’s so callous. And going for the opposite, wanting to convey real care for these people, when it’s just a random assortment of people who are no longer alive.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Me it’s the selfie stick that really grinds my goat. I’m gonna be honest, selfie sticks are not a thing anymore.

 

Louis Virtel No, they aren’t we don’t

 

Caroline Goldfarb We don’t use them, we’ve moved past them as society, and to desecrate a dead person’s image is again the greatest disrespect you could do as a human being, but to give them outdated technology in your desecrated image is, it’s like conjuring an AI video of Ozzy using a palm pilot.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s disrespectful.

 

Louis Virtel Right and has nothing to do with him either. Why is he holding a selfie stick? Holding a selfie stick.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Why is he the emcee of heaven all of a sudden? He just got to heaven. Give him a minute to get comfortable, get his bearings, but he’s already up there with the selfie stick taking pictures of the prince. I don’t like it. I want him to keep it. Did I do it right?

 

Louis Virtel Yes, I believe you did. Yes. And maybe in the next week, Lonnie Anderson will be the one holding the selfie stick. May she rest.

 

Caroline Goldfarb May she rest, I know, poor thing.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, lovely woman by all people I know who know her, by the way.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, but you know what?

 

Louis Virtel WKRP in Cincinnati, not sure it holds up, but she was great.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Fair enough, fair enough. God, sorry. Have you seen W-R-K-RP in Cincinnati?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, quite. I mean, I used to grow up with shows like that, yeah. I’m also secretly one thousand.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Truly, I don’t know one person, even in their 50s or 60s, that’s seen one episode.

 

Louis Virtel Is that C1 episode of? Oh, come on. Yeah, yeah.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Stop mentioning, stop doing this to me. Stop mentioning specific supporting characters on 80s.

 

Louis Virtel Marla Gibbs and I are giving you the same side eye which she was her special characteristic.

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, I do feel bad about the Marla Gibbs thing. She’s a legend. She was on the Jeffersons. I feel bad about that, but you do mention a lot of really obscure names.

 

Louis Virtel No, I know. You could feel worse, don’t worry. It’s a superpower. Okay. My keep it this week is actually a familiar one because I’ve railed against this topic before on this show. But this just in, literally a producer running in like Joan Cusack in broadcast news with this update. The VMAs nominations have been announced and this is good news. Lady Gaga has the most nominations. I actually don’t know who else would even be really in contention. Bruno Mars has 11 total nominations.

 

Caroline Goldfarb He didn’t even release a new album this year!

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, no. This must be all die with a smile oriented.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Appata? APT? How many times can that get nominated? They always say one word in that song.

 

Louis Virtel Well, that’s the thing. My keep it is to the sheer amount of fucking nominations at the VMAs. As I’ve always said, you need in literally any award category, it should always be five. That gives you the sense that anybody can win, that listeners or viewers will watch everything, have a chance to, you know, there’s not going to be like, if you have like 10 nominations in a category, there is a huge chance people won’t have experienced three of them, four of them.

 

Caroline Goldfarb But the stakes are lower. It feels sloppy. It’s like participation, metal culture, like, oh, we’re giving nominations to everything. Like, oh why don’t we fucking nominate, you know, Hot Cross Buns or whatever. I want structure. Still the only song about Hot Cross buns. They killed it so bad. That should have been nominated for a VMA actually. Yeah. You know, what? Hot Cross Buns. Get into it.

 

Louis Virtel That’s me referencing a joke by my friend, Chris Schleicher, by the way. But Video of the Year has seven nominations. You got Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, Rosé and Bruno Mars. There we go. That’s the other one.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Bruno Mars got two nominations in the same category.

 

Louis Virtel Sabrina Carpenter and The Weeknd with Playboy Cardi. But then there’s categories like Artist of the Year that have seven nominations, Song of the year. And I just want to be clear, this is a video ceremony. Song of The Year makes no sense. And music videos still are popular, so they shouldn’t have to dip into Song of THE Year category.

 

Caroline Goldfarb No, they’re stretching.

 

Louis Virtel Ten nominations, best pop artist, what the fuck is that, as opposed to best new artist, MTV push performance of the year, like who can-

 

Caroline Goldfarb I hate the MTV push performance of the year first of all. I don’t like appropriating women’s birth

 

Louis Virtel Oh, you think pushing is about a gift?

 

Caroline Goldfarb Pushing is about birth.

 

Louis Virtel It’s also about salt and pepper.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s also about salt and pepper and it’s not for you to use for your fake little ceremony. My culture is not your category name.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, as we’re always saying in the civil rights battle.

 

Caroline Goldfarb As we’re always saying, they can keep that. I, the VMAs, oh. It’s just, it’s painful because I remember.

 

Louis Virtel The most fun award show and also I think sincerely quite competitive, you know? Sure. And now it’s just like here’s everybody who ostensibly will show up to it, yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb It’s become the People’s Choice Awards, you know, it’s like, who paid, who do we know will show up, who can we give a little pat on the back to as a little thank you, you know, at least Taylor Swift isn’t nominated for anything, and that’s a win.

 

Louis Virtel We are united on that front.

 

Caroline Goldfarb And to me, that’s a win.

 

Louis Virtel Unfortunately when Trump came after her this week, I’m like damn it. I’m back on her team.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Now you’re MAGA Sorry, I hate to break it to you.

 

Louis Virtel Never mind. Sorry. I’m radicalized Republican now. Yes.

 

Caroline Goldfarb You’re MAGA now.

 

Louis Virtel Thank you so much. Caroline, thank you so much for being here.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Louis, thank you for having me.

 

Louis Virtel It can’t be another nine years until I see you again, like the last time.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Well, it might be, but that’s okay too.

 

Louis Virtel Well, you have a lot of Jeffersons to watch, I have to say.

 

Caroline Goldfarb Yeah, let me catch up on about a few thousand TV shows of the 80s and the next time I see you we’ll have something to talk about

 

Louis Virtel Ding, ding, ding. That’s our show. Thank you to the Luminous Jenny Slate for being with us yet again on Keep It. We’ll be back next week. See you then.

 

Ira Madison III Don’t forget to follow Crooked Media on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to Keep It on YouTube for access to full episodes and other exclusive content. And if you’re as opinionated as we are, consider dropping us a review.

 

Louis Virtel Keep It is a Crooked Media Production. Our producer is Bill McGrath, our associate producer is Kennedy Hill, and our executive producers are Ira Madison III, Louis Virtel, and Kendra James.

 

Ira Madison III Our digital team is Delon Villanueva, Claudia Sheng, and Rachel Gajewski. This episode was recorded and mixed by Jarek Centeno. Thank you to David Toles, Kyle Seglin, and Charlotte Landes for production support.

 

Louis Virtel Our head of production is Matt DeGroot, and our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

 

Ira Madison III And as always, Keep It is filmed in front of a live studio audience.