In the fourth and final part of our web-excuslive conversation between Robert Downey Sr. and Paul Thomas Anderson, the pair discuss the cult classic PUTNEY SWOPE. Available now on DVD: www.criterion.c...
No, I say he is just relaxing with a friend. This whole thing would be PTA's idea. This guy is his hero, and Putney Swope is one of his favourite film oddities. Even the character Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) in Boogie Nights was named after the movie. And Robert Downey Sr. is even in Boogie Nights, as the guy who owns the record recording studio, the one who does "mp" and yp" scene, "my problem" "your problem" scene.
It seems fitting that PTA would love this film as a man who went on to become a master filmmaker. He didn't know what was possible and this film, albeit amateurish on purpose, showed some of that.
Even five years ago I didn't think it was over - slowing perhaps. Eleven more have come out since, including some very good ones, and we'll see what the future brings.
The first time I heard about Putney Swope was when I was working at a book store while completing my first degree at WVU. A college girl came in and wanted to know if I could order it for her. She talked about her love for the film for a good while. This was right before the internet became a thing, so it wasn't easy to see an out-of-print film like Putney Swope. I watched it a while back on the Criterion Channel. It's okay, but I think it's a classic due to how subversive it would have been at the time.
Is P.T.A. unhappy to be there, or is that just how he always acts? I mean this fourth part he doesn't seem so bad, but in some of the earlier ones, it's like he wasn't keen on all this.
All my hipster friends made me watch this movie once and it really sucks. The jokes are college improv level, the acting is average to poor, and the voice dubbing of the main character is just annoying. It may have been funnier in its time, but it doesn't hold up to the extent that it is worthy of preserving.
Sorry, I need to edit my previous comment. All my hipster friends made me watch this SATIRE once and it really sucks. Also, some douche bag online thinks that it being a satire somehow mitigates how unfunny and amateurish it is. The jokes are college improv level, the acting is average to poor, and the voice dubbing of the main character is just annoying. It may have been funnier in its time, but it doesn't hold up to the extent that it is worthy of preserving.
