The Rewatchables
‘Best in Show’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Joanna Robinson
Tue, 11 Mar 2025
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Joanna Robinson love soup, the outdoors, snow peas, and Christopher Guest’s 2000 comedy classic ‘Best in Show,’ with Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, and Michael Hitchcock. Subscribe to our Ringer Movies YouTube channel! Producer: Craig Horlbeck Video Producer: Chia Hao Tat, Jon Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the premise of 'Best in Show'?
Hi, everyone. It's Amy Poehler, and I'm launching a new podcast called Good Hang. In preparation for that, I asked some of my friends to send in some videos and give me some advice.
Just be yourself, and the guests will come. Don't be the celebrity that this is their, like, sixth thing they're doing.
I love true crime and cooking podcasts. Is there any way you could combine the two? Well, everyone has an opinion and a podcast. So, join me for Good Hang. It's rough out there. We're just trying to lighten it up a little.
Aww.
Cool.
We talked about... I had a whole stunt penis conversation last time. That was just a delight.
I'm having the time of my life. I dreamt of the hand gestures that Valerie made during the last podcast.
Well, Joanne is here. She's in L.A. for a few weeks, which means we can sue her for the rewatchables every once in a while.
Who had the over-under at 45-second mark for Bill mentioning that Jo is in L.A.?
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Chapter 2: How do the characters reflect pet culture?
Well, because we're doing White Lotus together, we might as well do Best in Show, which has a couple White Lotus stars in it. And a 25-year anniversary, right?
Is that this year?
The movie came out in 2000.
Look at that.
Great point.
Wonderful stuff. It's coming up next.
That goal is that best-in-show ribbon call.
Actually, poodle means puddle in German. You want your busy bee? Come get your busy bee!
God damn it! She doesn't get a door! She's gonna flip out!
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Chapter 3: What are the best scenes featuring dogs?
So then it became, like,
the way that people were making the things that became the monoculture when they did the office like they had a 16 page outline for this movie and then they just kind of went nuts with it like they didn't they don't do tv shows like that my favorite thing that i learned from that the great uh ringer oral history that came out in 2020 a year that i do remember despite having the vaccine i don't remember
Was I in L.A. that year? I don't remember. What happened?
This was like two things I want to say. One is that this was probably Fred Willard's last interview he ever gave before he died. And so there's like a lot of tribute to Fred Willard inside of that oral history. That's really because he had like just passed away when it was published. But also, yeah.
The process that you learn about how Christopher Guest does this, that they shot it in 25 days and then he edits it for a year. 60 hours, right? That's amazing. That's incredible.
Even beyond how they write down every single scene and every single bit and they put it all structurally and then they just start chipping away at it like it's a jigsaw puzzle. Yeah. It's really interesting.
Yeah.
And they know they're going to have to lose a lot of good stuff.
Yeah. Yeah.
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Chapter 4: What comedic techniques are used in the film?
The one with Paul Walker is good. Is it Snow Dogs? One of those.
I've not seen that. Is it worth checking out?
It's weird that Netflix's algorithm hasn't discovered this yet that people just like dogs.
I'm sure somebody is being served a dog's homework bar.
Eight Below is the Paul Walker. But Snow Dogs is Cuba Gooding. That one's good too.
A lot of good dog movies. You can definitely do a month on the rewatchables even though you're doing best in show right now. Look at that. Great news.
This is your favorite one of all the Chris guests?
Not even close. This is my favorite comedy, period. This is one of my five favorite movies of all time.
What is your single favorite thing about it?
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Chapter 5: How does 'Best in Show' compare to other mockumentaries?
Yeah.
She was very popular back then. She had dozens of boyfriends. Hundreds. Hundreds. Yeah, hundreds. I did not know that. Hundreds. Well, not that I didn't have a reputation myself, because, you know, I was considered, you know, by some to be quite the Casanova myself back at Ponce de Leon.
Hundreds. It's the pan down to the two left feet.
No, but wait. I was considered to be quite the Casanova myself when they cut to, like, the ugliest picture possible.
With him, like, with the eyes crossed. Oh, my God. He looks like Austin Powers in that picture.
Two left feet. They used to call him Loopy. I don't know how you come up with two left feet. I don't know how much... How stoned do you need to be? Like, what...
That's a great, that is actually a great one to drill down on in terms of their creative process, how much is structured and known in advance and how much is improv. Because you want to believe they know that because they're working toward Jerry's going to have to be the handler.
And he's going to have to do that little loop to turn Winky around at the end. But still. They said that they wrote complex backstories for all of them. So even though they're improving this movie, they have like the full backstory.
They knew exactly what it was like when Cookie and Bulge fucked on the roller coaster. They knew all of that. Bulge was the roller coaster.
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Chapter 6: What makes Fred Willard's performance stand out?
and the poor woman who's playing that scene is where I think Adam was like just kidding it's like a little oh boy
The pre-show party also has Harlan murdering the swans when he's just telling some long, boring Harlan story. And then Hamilton asks about his jacket.
But it was great Parker Posey preview for White Lotus.
I thought the same thing. Totally. And then the you must be very proud Mary joke. Then we get to the show. Fred Willard wants to know why they don't dress up the dog like Sherlock Holmes. It's that whole thing. Not quite a rewatchable, but a little anything. All right. This is hard to do the end part, but there's a whole...
Jane Lynch part where she won't wear makeup and they talk about that and then she tries to psych out Harlan she's like oh look at this dog she's intimidated she's scared and then it goes right into Fred talking about the shih tzu And stewardess, can I take a shih tzu out of my carry-on? And that's when Trevor's starting to get frustrated.
I think that also on the Christy Cummings, Jane Lynch front, Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins, their reaction watching it on TV, not even before the kiss. Just sort of like... Mocking her outfit. Oil rig.
She looks like a cocktail witch inside an oil rig.
Incredible stuff.
Some of Fred's stuff. He trained to be a priest. Oh. He shouldn't find out what went wrong there, but that's a whole other show. He's just ad-libbing all this stuff. He went on that run with terriers.
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Chapter 7: What themes are explored through the characters' relationships?
I only get ones for sports auctions. It'd be like, new Lou Gehrig jersey collection.
No.
Not recently.
Have you ordered something from a catalog? Not recently.
Back in the day. My mom, like the Swans, used to have a catalog.
And you give the number of the item you want? Yeah, exactly.
What's aged the best? Mockumentary movies.
No question. Just as an art form. As a genre, yeah.
Craig, what the hell is wrong with your generation? Why aren't there more mockumentary movies?
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Chapter 8: Why is 'Best in Show' considered a timeless classic?
Okay, let's hear it.
Well, actually, two. I had the Harlan's ventriloquist act as one. Okay. This is so minor. I was really grasping for something here. But we have a couple interstitials with the Mayflower Brass, the aforementioned Mr. Milbank III. Graham Chisholm. Even though it's only a few total scenes, I don't want any time going to those characters. Yeah, that's fair. I think more time with the Fab Five.
The curtain moment.
The curtain raising and all that. That's kind of it, though. I would rather... The Taft Hotel stuff is all great. So I think there is value. You know, all of our time with with with hotel manager Schaefer is wonderful. I think there's value in being with somebody other than the dog handlers and owners. But like maybe give us the judge, give us a judge as a character.
You know, what does Everett Bainbridge actually think? That's kind of it, though. It's really hard to think of too many other things here.
Did you? I could have spent more time at the at the party with the melting ice thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Party was great. I'm sure they're whatever at Bainbridge who you mentioned is played by the legend Don Davis and I'm sure there's stuff with him that they cut because why else do you cast him to just be in the distance for a part of the movie?
Ruffalo Hannah Rubinick Partridge overacting award. I think Hamilton cruises to the win here for I think he dials it up the most. You go get Busy B!
You go get him! Run! Hitchcock is not my favorite in this.
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