When I saw this flick with my son (and enjoyed it), I couldn't stop thinking "Tom Brady of Mars"- more than a passing resemblance.

"My brain is rotting while I’m sitting here."  I bet this is applicable to 90% of the commenters at this very moment.

Jesse Thorn, terrific interview, nice research beforehand, and you sound like a pretty good straight man yourself.  If the whole pop journalism thing doesn't work out, hope you have something like accounting to fall back on.  Really fascinating interview.

I always come to AV Club for the impeccably erudite comments.

". . . covers dramatic ground so well-trod, it might as well be paved."  Great line!

Scott's AV Club review appears to be perfectly consistent with the aggregated reviews at Metacritic - the other critics complain that Tim Allen's histrionic narration kills the movie.

If I remember my college English Lit correctly, I thought that was the way Mann wrote the main character - full of self-loathing.

Seven American Nights

This was an -  umm - interesting interview.

I went for "Peg" because I'd like to see any freaking band try to play those chord changes.  And I offered up "any song by Shakira" to be covered, e.g., how about Ted Leo doing "These Hips Don't Lie"?

"Don't touch me - you're a dirty hippie - you don't get punk at all!"  As an ex-resident of Austin - where the hippies & punks seem to get along OK - this made me laugh, even if it didn't necessarily ring true.

I think that "The Man Who Folded Himself" by David Gerrold was an admirable attempt at that scenario - of course you'd want to use it repeatedly.

didn't know J.H.C. was such a funny guy

That gag had me rollin'

I love the opening scene in Matador of an incredibly hot Spanish chick cowboy-screwing some dude (then offfing him with a stiletto).  The end of that movie fizzled out in silly fashion, but that initial image has remained indelibly etched in my psyche ever since I first saw it.

C'mon AV Club - moderate HDBag's story already - I'm on pins & needles

She is the most gifted comedic actress working. . . .

Creepiest song ever to be a hit - Benny Maradones' "Into the Night" (essentially an older dude wants to kidnap a girl and do whatever):

I think many people just tend to disengage their intellect when watching a movie and soak up the experience.  That's what happened to me when I watched the Criterion version of this a couple of years ago, totally and intensely rooting for the Hoffman character to prevail, and feeling jubilant when he did. Then I read…

Similar dynamic - I thought this was going to be lame-o before I had watched an episode.  But I've enjoyed it more than anything else on TV lately (and I love Louie).  Wood has been great, and Gann always has me rolling on the floor.