Ep. 152 – Al Pacino (feat. Mitchell Beaupre)

The B-Side: A Film Stage Podcast

Happy Holidays from The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss the incomparable Al Pacino with the returning Mitchell Beaupre! Our B-Sides today include Bobby Deerfield, Revolution, Frankie & Johnny, and Danny Collins. We discuss Pacino’s legacy (is he our greatest living actor?), his Oscar win for Scent of a Woman (what a silly plot that movie has!), and his deeply earnest autobiography Sonny Boy. We dish on what doesn’t work about Bobby Deerfield (for one, it’s too quiet), what does work about Revolution (hint: it’s the production design), how Michelle Pfeiffer was unfairly criticized for Frankie & Johnny, and why Danny Collins is much better than you think. Conor asks: Is Adam Sandler the new Pacino? Mitchell asks: Was Pacino’s smallness in Bobby Deerfield and its failure a primary reason he stayed big for so long? Dan asks: Hey Baby Doll, what’s going on? There’s a reflection on Dan’s problematic review of Jack & Jill from over thirteen years ago (yikes!), a tacit comparison between Pacino and Kenneth Branagh (whose recent King Lear production has been criticized, though we thoroughly enjoyed it), and a recollection of Jerry Weintraub helping Ellen Barkin with Ocean’s Thirteen. Be sure to give us a follow on social at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.