Nerdrotic and The Critical Drinker Talk Snow White, Politics, and Gay James Bond on Piers Morgan

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Once again, the Critical Drinker and Gary from Nerdrotic appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored to discuss Hollywood, and once again, it was a fun time, both for the discussion and watching some guys from the geeky corner of YouTube make mainstream inroads. They were joined by commentator Esther Krakue, who’s very funny on these segments, and comedian James Barr, who appears to be one of those “voice of the opposition” guests who shows up to create some drama by calling everyone a racist or whatever, like Ernest Owens was the last couple of times. (He rolls his eyes before the discussion even begins, just to make sure you know how much fun he is at parties.) You can watch the latest appearance of Nerdrotic and the Critical Drinker on Piers Morgan Uncensored below:

The first topic was Snow White, Disney’s live-action remake of the animated film that built their movie business, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Specifically, they discussed the removal of the dwarf replacements with CGI dwarfs. Those effects look pretty bad, and the like-to-dislike ratio on the trailer – which Morgan points out is historically bad – suggests many feel the same. Drinker’s point about the uncanny valley is accurate; they don’t look right next to a human actress. This is the pitfall of remaking animation as live-action: what works in one medium doesn’t necessarily work in the other. The dwarfs would’ve been fine if actual dwarfs were cast, but the phony outrage from Peter Dinklage ensured that couldn’t happen, and the alternate idea looked like a school play directed by a whacked-out hippie teacher. Now, Disney’s stuck with what is surely expensive CGI that doesn’t look right, either, which was Gary’s point. I’m not sure what Barr’s point is, aside from whatever Disney does is right, and his argument about Rings of Power is bizarre because nobody likes that, either. Of course, he also thinks the original was sexist and anti-dwarf or whatever.

Next, they talked about whether James Bond should be gay. If you haven’t seen this story, Daniel Craig, who is currently playing a gay man in a movie, was asked at a press conference whether James Bond, whom he played in five movies (nominally, at least), should be gay. Craig rolled his eyes, like a normal person would, and the director of the film said to the press, “Guys, let’s be adults in the room for a second.” Of course, everyone halfway normal on the panel agrees that James Bond is simply not gay, and a homosexual James Bond wouldn’t work. (Although I think Gary’s encouragement of EON to make a gay James Bond movie is hilarious because they probably aren’t going to make a good one in the near future, so they may as well take their modernization to the end of the line and see what happens.) Barr is offended because he seems to be permanently offended, but his arguments seem facetious (“Bond Girl names are drag names;” whatever you say, pal); even he seems to know it’s a dumb idea. And Drinker makes the exact right argument, one I think is true of virtually every “modernization”: once you start changing fundamental aspects of a character, it’s no longer that character. Barr continues to be obnoxious, but I love how Gary and Drinker reach a point where they’ve clearly just had enough of him. (“‘It’s dangerous to want to shag women and smoke cigars.’ What are you talking about?”)

Then, they discussed George Clooney inserting himself into politics, specifically his shifting opinion on Joe Biden’s ability to run for or act as President of the United States, which he was asked about by a reporter at the Venice Film Festival. Clooney called Biden’s decision to drop out of the election “the most selfless thing that anyone’s done since George Washington.” Now, I don’t want to get into the specific politics of this or the merits of Clooney’s statement. (You can probably make an educated guess about what I think.) But, if I can defend him for a moment, I don’t think it was right to ask him about politics at the Venice Film Festival. This is why I stopped watching the Oscars; politics has encroached on the entertainment industry to such a degree that these events are no longer allowed to be about cinema, which they should be. And Clooney seemed a bit peeved that he was asked that question, which I don’t blame him for. The panel did get into the politics of it, and they brought up the point of celebrity political endorsements and lecturing and the like. I think Esther Krakue is right that people shouldn’t value the political opinions of actors any more than they do department store clerks (perhaps less so, as the clerk’s perspective is likely closer to yours than George Clooney’s based on their lifestyle). Surprisingly, Barr is somewhat more measured this time and agrees that celebrities are out of touch with the average person, although, of course, he gets his Trump hits in. And that’s fair, considering Piers was hitting Biden.

The final comment was about the band Oasis getting back together, which I don’t care about and have no opinion on, as I couldn’t name a song of theirs if you paid me to remember. James Barr took the opportunity to accuse Gary of hating women because he doesn’t like modern music, though. How does an uptight hall monitor like this break into comedy? What’s his act like? It’s hard to tell a joke when you think “What’s the deal with airline food?” is offensive to people who don’t have taste buds.

Let us know what you think of Gary and the Drinker’s latest Piers Morgan Uncensored appearance in the comments!

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