JK Simmons is such a humble journeymen actor. Two days after winning the Oscar for this he was back in the recording booth being the voice of the Yellow m&m, the longest running role of his career.
@@funnylilgalreactsBilly West tells a great story. His wife had been watching Oz on HBO, which is an extremely violent prison drama that JK Simmons had a starring role on as a white supremacist sex offender & murderer. Billy’s wife asked him if he’d watched it, and Billy said he hadn’t. “Oh, you have to watch it. You know, I think one of the actors is an actual killer. He is tapping into something very dark and evil.” So they watch an episode together, and Billy’s wife goes, “That’s him! That’s the guy!” Billy laughs, and his wife asks him why he’s laughing. “I know that guy!” “You **know** him?!?” “Yeah, he’s the Yellow M&M!”
JK Simmons is such a great actor. He makes you hate him and he makes you love him. His character in The Accountant was incredible. That tissue flick and the cat screeching was hilarious, btw.
for me personally, this movie really displays how striving for a profession can brutally destroy you and turn something you love into more work, with no fun. I feel like he sacrificed fun doing something he loved. I would much rather play music and enjoy the experience like I did in high school jazz band
Even though I wasn't a big fan of this movie there are a couple of things that I liked about it. The ending, but also, I like that the solo that Miles Teller's character plays at the end of the movie is the same one he's been working on/practicing since the beginning of the movie. The director of the movie said that Miles Teller did 90% of the drum playing himself. By the way the Charlie Parker becoming "Bird" story isn't exactly accurate. Yes, he did have a solo that he screwed up, but Jones did not throw a cymbal at his head. The cymbal landed at Parker’s feet. It startled him more than it threatened any bodily harm. Witnesses described it as more of a playful gesture than a malicious one; a way of telling Parker that Jones disapproved of his performance, and it was time to stop.
I just wanna say thank you for destroying my eardrums. For some reason you were on my suggested videos and while I was scrolling down, the mouse happened to stop on top of the thumbnail and my volume was at 70%. The screeching "hey guys" almost killed me.
As a drummer who has been in bands, i would've been turned off by a director who acted like that towards anybody in the band. I wouldn't play for them. I understand being pushed, but not in that way. That being said, i like this movie :)
It’s a horrible situation when the protagonist winning means the antagonist wins too. A masterful study of the pursuit of greatness and its steep cost. Every time I watch this movie I feel sick during the bar talk scene. I keep wanting Andrew to succeed ‘in spite of’, not ‘because of’.
In a way he did win in spite of Fletcher. Fletcher's Hail Mary plan was to challenge his best student expecting him to return next year like Charlie Parker (hinted throughout the movie). To his surprise Andrew didn't stop playing like a wind up Monkey and began to play after receiving the last Whiplash. Yet in a way Fletcher won still he finally pushed his best student to greatness better than he expected. I have a love and hate relationship with this movie
First time i watched that my fight or flight senses kicked in. I was just looking for some way he tried to mess with him and thee way he did it gave me so much anxiety.
The director has said that Andrew did in fact end up like Charlie Parker, the great Jazz musician Fletcher keeps alluding to: a great musician, dead in a gutter at 30 with heroin in his veins. Which makes his dad's look of horror at the end even more haunting--even if he doesn't know it exactly, he can fully see his son's future laid out in front of him.
@@applejayz1987 probably one of the greatest* there are a lot of incredible drummers out there in jazz, rock, metal… there really isn't a "best" drummer. It's too subjective
And to be more accurate, he doesn’t say that he factually ends up like Charlie Parker, he says that he has a idea of him ending up like Charlie Parker, among a couple of other things that he says he probably would’ve/could’ve put in the last moments of the movie. He never sets in stone the actual ending of Andrew, just floats around on possibilities, which is good, because not all masters dedicated to their crafts end up exactly like Charlie Parker, so to insinuate that they all do would’ve been a little…ugh yk? Leaves the ending much more open to interpretation, and ultimately makes the movie better.
"I need a break! I'm gonna take a break." I feel you, that movie is emotionally exhausting and devastating. And at the end of the movie you don't even know how to feel.
this movie asks: what is the price of artistic greatness? and its answer: abuse, obsession, self harm, and addiction. the ending is tragic and bleak: andrew will forever be chasing the high of fletcher's approval.
Except that: That is a complete lie, at best: an amoral, misconstrued fabrication of what "makes" or "construes" "artistic greatness." The flawed instructor, with his inherent, overarching power, will, ALWAYS, create: damaged, inept, undeserving, reimaginations of him-or herself. The damage is passed down, not in, simply, the brutality upon others, but on the ideological beliefs & practices which are demonstrated as "the necessary" traits, beliefs, practices (although: this is entirely inept, delusional and incorrect.). Because: the possession of power corrupts ...and those who are corrupt and who are easily corruptible, are attracted to power (nay: LUST, unremittingly, for it!). ...in fact: there is little-to-nothing about "drive" or "passion" or "perfectionism" in this film (or the constructs in it); the facts are: abstruse self-importance, inability to accept: any challenge to one's-own "superiority" or delusional self-importance; utter egotism are the central themes (and characters) of this missive.
It amazes me how many people don't get the ending of this movie. Fletcher won. Everything Fletcher did was justified. All the abuse was worth it because it made Andrew great. That's a tragedy, not a triumph.
I've been rewatching House MD recently and, although Hugh Laurie is irreplaceable, this movie made me think "What if JK Simmons had played Dr House...?"
I played drums for over 10 years as a kid in high school/college. The blisters, suffering and frustration are the most accurate part of this movie, I still have scars on my hands as a 29 year old. Big ups to El Estepario Siberiano for bringing back my passion. Rock on dudes 🤘
I can confirm. Never played in a big-band or jazz in general, only in some rock and punk bands, but I had my fair share of blood and blisters - and the frustration when you just can't nail THAT part. But I guess the style doesn't matter that much.
Really enjoyed your reaction. J.K.Simmons pulled no punches and that oscar was deserved. One of those few performances that can be quite challenging to forget.
JK Simmons really knew how to draw out the tension in this movie. I love his works where he plays over-the-top angry for comical effect, but he plays the nuances of emotion like a skilled instrumentalist.
Guess I know what I am watching tonight when I get home from work.... I know how much Angela loves JK Simmons, I hope this did not hurt her heart too much seeing him be this mean in live action... I will find out tonight.
@@masansr Yeah..😂 I guess because his role didn't hinge so much on the conducting part, he probably didn't learn as much as Miles Teller had to about the drums
@@masansr uh, his mom was a music teacher and his father was a director of the School of Music of University of Montana. J.K. Simmons himself graduated with a BA in music. He led pit bands and was a classical conductor, composer and singer. He didn't have any experience with jazz bands but he had plenty of relevant experience...
I believe J.K. Simmons studied music in college and was thinking of being a conductor. So the director was gonna have a double to do the movements of the conductor at first for J.K. Simmons until he found that out about him.
Excellent choice, Xander! Angela, hope you've recovered from watching this. Thank you for enduring the rollercoaster this movie puts you on for our entertainment.
25:55 no, he actually has something to pursue. I can relate to him, and I've learnt it the hard way that what he did actually is the right thing to do, which is being blunt and direct if you want that someone to move on and for HIM to move on and focus.
All of Damien Chazelle’s movies (including Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, if it’s available somewhere) are very much worth reacting to. Just an incredible director.
This is how middle school band felt for me. My instructor was only kind of a dick, but my extreme anxiety and lack of practice made it suck. Watching this movie made me feel twelve years old again in a bad way. By the time I realized I didn’t want to play trumpet, my father had already bought it, and we were poor. I felt rather trapped. One day I messed up playing solo in front of the whole band, cried, and transferred out to a drawing class.
A professional jazz drummer made a great point, he said this story was like how a teenager would relate a story of a relationship breakup. The plot more or less tracks but the emotions get amped up to ridiculous melodrama levels. Being in an elite music academy as a student can *feel* like what happens with Andrew in the story even if that's not actually what happens.
Hello! First time in your channel, nice reaction. If you want to watch another movie “like” (intense) Whiplash, I would recommend you to react to “The Hurt Locker”
I just wanted to say, I absolutely love your compassionate and empathetic soul. It's a big reason I love your reactions, because you really feel the emotions of what you're watching. Thanks for being so genuine!
Somebody should have gotten him those pictures of Spiderman. Such a great movie. Never a musician but this movie gives me such anxiety and just pulls you right into every beat.
There can be no achievement without adversity, there can be no greatness without suffering. We all know the hardest diamonds are shaped with the greatest pressure. I think deep down we all know Fletcher and Andrew are correct. People, talented people, settle all the time. They accept "good enough" and never achieve anything worthy of being remembered. I think the world owes a debt of thanks to the Andrews of the world that bleed for greatness and the Fletchers thats drive them. There is a reason every college basketball fan remembers Bobby Knight and no one gives a shit about the guys who came after.
The first time I saw this I was just flipping through channels. Caught it about 10 or 15 minutes in. I planned on using it as background noise as I worked on my computer because I heard jazz music. Before long, I found myself not working on my computer at all with my eyes glued to the tv. Magnificent movie and great reaction to it.
My d1 head coach was the sweetest, most personable and friendly person you'd ever meet during recruitment. He kept up that act for over a year. I went in as a freshman on a full scholarship and one of their top recruits, so I thought I was sitting pretty. Our first conditioning session in the fall, he ran us until even the vets and upperclassmen were throwing up. I got to a point where I felt like I was going to pass out, it was bad. I went over to coach and told him I didn't feel good, was very dizzy. He didn't take his eyes off the line. He just said "you can go back in line and keep running, or you can go the fuck home and never come back". That sudden shift in demeanor was eye opening, to say the least. He was my Fletcher, but worse. A diabolical sociopath with a hair trigger for a temper. As much as he tried to kill us physically (didn't mind that part), it was the psychological warfare that was truly twisted. Most people in the program quit, but I didn't come that far to let that prick take it from me. This was 25 years ago. He's still coaching today. I doubt he still gets away with all the shit he did to us then, but I'm sure he still has his ways. So yeah, this movie brings back a lot of memories lol.
"Is it worth it?!?!?" - FLG. Boy, you just nailed this WHOLE movie at 16:55 into it. That's the question. And I HATE the fact that I can't decide. Because I really can and do respect someone who will do anything to become the very best at their craft, but this level of abuse is... so wrong.
"Spit valves are gross." Girl im a trombonist. How could you say such hurtful things?😭 also it's true😂😂😂 but it's more condensation than saliva built up in our slides.
I’ll be the odd one out here and say it. I never liked this movie, found it boring and never touched anything in me. As a creative, I don’t understand what people find so “amazing” about this film, some decent but slightly overacted portions people always laud as the best scenes are just people yelling and noise, nothing really that makes me feel or think. Like get on with the story and make it good. Total snoozefest except the loud parts kept waking me up.
My brother and I are both jazz musicians, though he took it much more seriously than I did and went to Julliard for two years. He came out an outstanding guitarist but HATED the experience because he met a lot of teachers like Fletcher and a lot of students completely willing to throw anyone and everyone under the bus to appease teachers like that.
You can kind of also see Fletchers effects one the other students also. It would be horrible to think that these students might also end up adopting his teaching methods, should they become teachers 😥😮
I think a good analogy for this movie is listening to athletes who have reached that all time great status. When I hear Tom Brady or Michael Jordan talk about how they push themselves to a limit that would break every other person, or how they need motivation through any type of adversity I can understand why reaching that fame and level is worth it for some people. Even in the movie with Andrew breaking up with his girlfriend and giving her that reason makes sense to me. You see those athletes say how its impossible to balance it, if you want to get to that level then you cant let anything interfere.
There are some movies that are so good, but also so harrowing that I'm like, "I'm very glad I watched that, but never again." Requiem for a Dream is the first one I remember, but this one quickly went on that list for me.
As a musician this movie lots of times tries to be dramatic but is honestly hilarious, waaaaaaaaaay too overt the top and exaggerated! A couple of nice scenes and great acting though.
Yeah, this one has an ending that you're not supposed to feel great about. Just sit and think about whether "greatness" is worth it. And I don't know that there's a good answer.
You should watch Adam Neely's video about this movie. The issue with it, it's that it's not a Jazz movie, it's a sports movie where the sport has been replaced with jazz drumming. Though jazz bands can be intense, there is no way a teacher like Fletcher would ever be allowed to teach, especially when you then see how terrible of a piano player he is in his little jazz night scene. The movie is fantastic, but absolutely doesn't represent what Jazz is about
Most NFL coaches aren't nearly as intense. Hell, at when you enlist in the military, you expect the drill sargaent to be a hardass. Fletcher was a textbook example of what an abusive relationship is like.
Yeah Fletcher isn't a star teacher, he's a manipulative abuser in a position of power, and that's made very clear when he acts chill and friendly towards Andrew to get him to open up, then throws it all back at him. He needs his victims comfortable so that he can hit them where it hurts the most. Saying "this doesn't represent what Jazz is about" is important, because just like in many fields, there are stories about the greats being unstable or obsessed or whatever, but that's the thing: there's a difference between being dedicated and being obsessed. What Andrew does in this movie is obsession, and it's always unhealthy
Love this film. I had a step father who was like Fletcher. His whole justification for the abuse was that he was "disciplining me", which I generally agree with, but not the way he did it. Finally got away from him after about 5 or 6 years, and life isn't all that bad. Got a decent career and have maintained an intense level of dedication to weight lifting ;)
Have you ever seen 2007's "Across The Universe". It's a jukebox musical. All Beatles songs; interpreted by the cast. A love story between an British guy and an American girl, set in the late '60s / early '70s. With the Vietnam war in the background. Starring Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood & Joe Anderson. Directed by Julie Taymor. My favorite movie of all time. I would LOVE to see your reaction.
See, in my opinion, Fletcher didn't have a fake personality to bully his students. The way I see it, him being nice and vulnerable is who he genuinely was, and him doing the cruel things he did is, in his mind, what he had to do to bring out the full potential of his students. That doesn't excuse what he did, but I think it is important to understand that he thought he was doing the right thing.
As a fellow drummer, I rarely hear about tuning the drums to a certain note (it is possible). I mostly hear high, medium, low tuning. In the end, both characters achieved what they wanted.
My assertion for J.K. Simmons at his absolute best, is in the, unfairly, nearly-ignored Sci-Fi series: Counterpart. [also starring the brilliant: Olivia Colman.] ...if you haven't seen it, you owe it to the actors, writers and creative team of this gem, AND: to YOURSELF! 🤘🤘
Now you have to watch "The Legend of Whiplash" Tenzin Fletcher. Mixes the audio of Whiplash with LoK scenes. They are really short, you can watch them your own but hilariously perfect.
The only other movie that left me feeling like that (the same way you felt at the end of this one) was Joker. This movie succeeded in actually making me doubt myself regarding Fletcher’s methods being justified (end justifies the means). Magic of cinema I guess, that it can get you to second guess yourself, even regarding things you considered wrong your entire life. Would I do what Fletcher did to get someone to reach their full potential?, f*ck no. Did it work in this case?… it did. So where is the middle ground?…that’s the question this movie left me with. I still haven’t found the answer.
As someone that went UNLV for a short while as a music major and playing Henderson Symphony out there … I can guarantee that this is not how David Loeb or Nathan Tanouye teach the jazz program..
A brilliant movie about obsession and abuse (and some truly great music). I didn't really like Miles Teller before this, but his performance won me over here. And you simply cannot go wrong with The Great J.K. Simmons, that dude has All The Skills. Love Paul Reiser too..."Splink, splink...Guava".🍹 30:52 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I full-on snort-laughed at this bit. Well played, M'Lady. 👍😻🥃
He became one of the greats. The GOATs. And because someone pushed him miles behind the comfort point. If you dont think that bryant, or bird, or tyson, or ali, or brady, or roethlisberger, or rodgers didnt go through something like this, then we dont see the world the same way. The greats need the awful push to become great.
@@funnylilgalreacts oh, it's very difficult! I'm learning piano and it would take TONS of practice to sing and play at the same time! My wife can play guitar and sing and idk how it comes so easy to her!
It's not 100% realistic, Fletcher would have been kicked from the job earlier (for example from Juilliard, which this fictional school is based on) And the mood in top music school isn't that suffocating. Creativity isn't encouraged by a scary atmosphere. But the competitiviness and hard work of playing jazz is real. Top jazz musicians work harder than surgeons
Drum tuning is basically the same in nature as a trampoline There are lugs holding the drum head and tightning it You have to tighten the lugs evenly, so that the head streaches the same all the way around The tighter you screw the higher pitched it's gonna be It all comes down to personal preference. If you are me you tune very tight so that the snare has a nice "pop", with little sustain. Quick in and out Also like a trampoline: Two people land on a trampoline simultaneously and they both stop The same applies to a drum. So instead of hitting both sticks simultaneously You use a "flam", where one stick hits the drum juuuust before the other Giving ekstra noise, just like getting a boost on a trampoline
Oh thank goodness. Fictional character. Exaggerated story. I don't doubt this was real for someone somewhere, somehow. This is the type of pressure many people fall under. I know it a bit myself. I hate the way memories of it still bite at me. I guess this kind of stuff gets in deep. Talking about the events after the movie ends, Director Damien Chazelle explains how he envisions a future where the events leading up to the end left Andrew a sad, empty shell of a person, eventually dying in his 30s of a drug overdose. Dec 27, 2022 Although Chazelle has said much of the inspiration for the film came from his very real high-school experiences, elements of the film were heightened for dramatic purposes. “My teacher was a little less of a monster,” he said at the film's East Coast premiere. Oct 17, 2014 Early on, Chazelle gave J. K. Simmons direction that "I want you to take it past what you think the normal limit would be," telling him: "I don't want to see a human being on-screen any more. I want to see a monster, a gargoyle, an animal." Many of the band members were real musicians or music students, and Chazelle tried to capture their expressions of fear and anxiety when Simmons pressed them. Chazelle said that, in between takes, Simmons was "as sweet as can be", which he credits for keeping "the shoot from being nightmarish". Another reason to love J.K. Simmons. Great actor, great person.
Amazing how JK Simmons can play a psychopathic superhero who literally murders untold numbers of people and beats his son nearly to death And a band director And the latter is almost as terrifying.
Love this film. Fletcher is one of the best movie villains in film history and what’s unique about this villain is no matter what he wins. Yes, we are all happy that Andrew stands up to Fletcher at the end, but now Fletcher has his Charlie Parker, but if Andrew does not stand up to him Fletcher also wins because now Andrew is not his Charlie Parker and he keeps going after his goal of finding the next Charlie Parker. Fletcher is right in some ways where the most harmful words in the English language are good job, but needs to be with constructive criticism and not abuse because nobody is perfect. Like Adam Sandler says in his NBA Sports drama, Hustle, “Obsession is going to beat talent every time. You got all the talent in the world, but are you obsessed?” To make it professional in anything sports, entertainment, and musical industries you have to have that obsession, but Fletcher is pulling that obsession out of Andrew in the wrong way.
This one was too soft and full of melancholia i must say. So what that he bleed and heard couple of good F U in the beginning. At the end of day he did REAL GOOD JOB and he is going to sleep like a self-confident baby from now on knowing that his pridefull jealous daddy, uncle, cousins will finally go into mute so he can have his garabage popcorn again in peace. What is there to cry about?
Some people excel being pushed, some excel with affirmation and support. Unfortunately most band directors think they need to act like an angry savant to inspire. This movie was exaggerated, but the same feelings of anxiety persists in most bands with this type of director. Like when a band director is chewing out one player in the band, its so anxiety inducing that the rest of the band thinks, "glad that aint me!". No remorse, just glad it ain't them. That's true terror.
Great vid, Angela! Thank you so much. May I just say, I lvoe how you look! That was awkard, I know, sorry. Fantastic reaction, as per usual, awesome pick, and I hope all is well!
Good Job... nah Great Job! Loved the reaction ❤ there are some funny toxic one liners but I think my favorite is to the jock brother: "Four words you will never hear from the NFL."😊
