Mr. 3000

As J Mo rapidly approaches (or has perhaps already passed?) 3000 films watched all-time on Letterboxd, it felt fitting to kick off a new year with the story of another man who thought he'd hit the 3000 plateau only for it to be taken away from him on a technicality, as we try to whip ourselves back in to game-shape for 2025 by watching a sports comedy that's a little too light on laughs. It's 2004's Mr. 3000, directed by Charles Stone III, and starring Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Michael Rispoli, Dondré Whitfield, Paul Sorvino, Chris Noth, Keegan-Michael Key, Dane Cook and Tom Arnold. While the movie never really finds its groove comedically, it's still a charming sports twist on the cocky-hothead-gets-humbled archetype that does a great job of using existing teams, leagues and sports TV shows to make the whole thing feel somewhat real. This is to say nothing of Bernie Mac, who has more than enough charisma to carry this even when the script isn't entirely where it needs to be. Plus: we take a good half-hour off the top of the first show of the new year to countdown our duelling lists of the Top Ten Films of 2024. If you'd like to watch the movie before listening to our discussion, Mr. 3000 is currently free to stream in Canada on Hoopla. Other works discussed in this episode include The Substance, Juror No. 2, Twisters, Will & Harper, Civil War, Longlegs, Hit Man, I Saw The TV Glow, The Wild Robot, The Fall Guy, Conclave, Love Lies Bleeding, La Chimera, Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Challengers, Woman of the Hour, Carry-On, Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro, Cuckoo, Red One, Ladder 49 and National Treasure, among countless others. We'll be back next week with a little ADHD-VHS, as Hayley puts her newly-acquired VCR to work watching a movie on tape that is new to her: 1993's The Fugitive, with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, that is currently streaming north of the border on Starz. And later in the month, we'll be circling back to our man Bernie Mac as January's canon consideration is 2001's Ocean's Eleven! Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!