GTPTU’s Season 18 Déjà View doubles down on its Off-the-Marks with Episode 4’s coverage of the Monahan-penned, Wyatt-directed, Marky Mark-starring THE GAMBLER (2014).
Originally offered to Scorsese, then to Todd Phillips, the roulette ball of the remake came to rest on director Rupert Wyatt after his successful relaunching of the Planet of the Apes franchise. In the same year the multi-tabling Mark Wahlberg would buddy up to a semi-truck robot refugee leader in Transformers: Age of Extinction, the Bostonian also stepped into (and maybe onto) the shoes of one of his idols James Caan in playing an updated version of the latter’s Axel Freed. Renamed Jim Bennett and relocated from NYC to LA, the titular Gambler maintains the original’s occupation (literature professor), background (scion with estranged father), and driving force and resolution (gambling debt owed to bookie and using a student athlete to fix a college basketball game) and still somehow goes bust.
For audiophiles and other eagle-eared listeners, host and episode editor Ken this week replaces former cohosts Jack and Squeaky Chair with the detracting sounds of paper notes; for stylists and trichophiliacs, host Thomas bags on Wahlberg’s hair; and for diagnosticians, host Ryan’s unresolved on whether his recent illness was from COVID or a Wahlberg allergy. And for those of you who like perfume ads and criminal variety, boy howdy do the TGTPTU boys have a perfect gambling den for you.
As these first two re-Marks have seemingly taken a toll on Ryan’s health, TGTPTU will take a break next week from Wahlberg remakes to cover a horror movie and its remake. What, a classic horror movie has had a remake? Indeed! Surely such a clue shall narrow the field.
THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I .
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Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias
