WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Think about the last time you saw a sign that 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:05.320 promised something for free. Oh, yeah. Like, 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:08.060 whether it was a free trial or a, you know, a 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:10.199 complimentary sample of the grocery store, there 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:12.640 was always that split second of instinctual hesitation. 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:14.220 Right, because you just know there's a catch. 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:17.679 Exactly. You probably squinted at the sign, actively 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:19.760 looking for the fine print, because we all have 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.239 this built -in radar telling us that someone, 00:00:22.579 --> 00:00:25.379 somewhere, is picking up the tab. It's the invisible 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:28.120 fine print of life, really. And what usually 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:31.579 happens is the harder you try to secure that 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:34.719 elusive free lunch, the more expensive the hidden 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.179 costs become. Oh, for sure. Whether that cost 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.359 is paid in like time or dignity or your actual 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:42.780 relationships. Well, welcome to today's deep 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:45.740 dive. Today, we're exploring the true cost of 00:00:45.740 --> 00:00:48.119 free and we're doing it through the lens of this 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:52.619 bizarre, somewhat forgotten 2008 indie film called 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:55.159 Five Dollars a Day. Yeah, such an interesting 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.219 movie. It really is. So looking at our source 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:02.039 material, which maps out the plot, the turbulent 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:04.840 production history, and the deeper themes, our 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.319 mission today is to unpack a story about a father 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:10.879 and son on a cross -country road trip. And not 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.879 just any road trip. No, a road trip fueled entirely 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.299 by extreme penny -pinching, elaborate scams, 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:20.879 like exploiting corporate loopholes, and playing 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:24.260 this deeply dysfunctional duo. Christopher Walken, 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.260 and Alessandra Nivola. It is a fascinating premise. 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:29.400 But, you know, before we even look at the narrative, 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.799 the physical look of the film tells you a lot 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:33.859 about what you're in for. Oh, right, the actual 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:36.700 film stock. Yeah. $5 a day, which is sometimes 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:38.480 styled with the actual dollar sign, by the way, 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:40.939 as a 98 -minute feature. And it premiered at 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:43.599 the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:46.659 But it was shot on 16 -millimeter film. Which 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:48.359 is pretty unusual for a feature film, right? 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:51.260 It is. That is a very specific technical choice 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:53.459 that immediately sets a mood. I always hear 16 00:01:53.459 --> 00:01:55.840 millimeter described as gritty, but what does 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:57.540 that actually mean for you as a viewer? Like, 00:01:57.540 --> 00:01:59.719 why not just shoot it on standard 35 millimeter 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.280 or digital? Well, it comes down to the physical 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.920 size of the film strip itself. Because a 16 millimeter 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.819 frame is smaller than a standard 35 millimeter 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:13.159 frame, you have to enlarge the image much more 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.639 to project it onto a big movie screen. Oh, I 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.509 see. And when you blow up a smaller image like 00:02:18.509 --> 00:02:21.009 that, the actual physical grain of the film becomes 00:02:21.009 --> 00:02:23.860 highly visible. So it looks rougher. Exactly. 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.740 Historically, 16mm was used for, like, newsreels, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.219 combat footage, low -budget documentaries. Right, 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.599 stuff on the ground. Yeah. So, when a director 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.900 chooses to shoot a fictional comedy on it, they 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.139 are subconsciously telling the audience, hey, 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:39.639 this isn't a glossy, polished Hollywood road 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:42.120 trip. It's not a shiny vacation. No, the visible 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:45.219 grain gives the image this raw, grimy texture 00:02:45.219 --> 00:02:48.680 that perfectly grounds the cheap, transient reality 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.530 of these characters' lifestyle. Beneath all the 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:53.969 jokes about free IHOP meals, there's this really 00:02:53.969 --> 00:02:56.930 complex web of family betrayal. Okay, let's unpack 00:02:56.930 --> 00:02:59.409 this, because cheap and transient is kind of 00:02:59.409 --> 00:03:01.270 an understatement here. Uh -huh, yeah, it really 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:04.210 is. Before we get into the heavy emotional baggage 00:03:04.210 --> 00:03:07.449 of this father -son dynamic, we really need to 00:03:07.449 --> 00:03:10.250 examine the literal mechanics of the title. How 00:03:10.250 --> 00:03:12.710 does someone actually survive on five dollars 00:03:12.710 --> 00:03:16.090 a day? It's intense. Because reading about the 00:03:16.090 --> 00:03:19.930 character of Nat Parker Walken's character, it 00:03:19.930 --> 00:03:23.289 sounds utterly exhausting. It requires a fundamental 00:03:23.289 --> 00:03:25.909 rewiring of how you interact with the world. 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:28.729 Nat's entire existence revolves around going 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:31.689 to extreme lengths to maintain this lifestyle. 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:34.780 But the key to understanding Nat is realizing 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.419 it's not about frugal living. He's not like saving 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:41.139 pennies for a rainy day. No, not at all. It's 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:44.159 about actively gaming the system at every waking 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:46.620 moment. Let's look at the radio contest as an 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:49.300 example. Nat isn't just a lucky caller who happens 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:51.840 to win. No, he works at it. He is constantly 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.159 calling various local radio stations using a 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.659 whole roster of different aliases just to win 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:58.219 concert tickets. And he doesn't even want to 00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:00.460 go to the concerts. Exactly. He has zero interest 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.759 in the music. He just turns around and scalps 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:05.259 the tickets for cash to fund his $5 a day limit. 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:07.419 What's fascinating here is how this connects 00:04:07.419 --> 00:04:10.379 to a psychological concept known as effort justification. 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:14.039 Oh, how so? Well, for a grifter like Matt... 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:17.399 The value of the concert ticket, the free meal, 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.800 is secondary to the dopamine hit of finding the 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.439 loophole itself. The thrill of the steal. Yeah. 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.560 When you expend an enormous amount of effort 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.420 to cheat a system, your brain justifies that 00:04:29.420 --> 00:04:32.019 effort by making the win feel incredibly rewarding. 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:35.100 It establishes him as someone who views life 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:38.040 entirely as a system of loopholes to be exploited. 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.110 That perfectly explains the IHOP scam. So Nat 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:43.509 figured out that IHOP gives you a free meal on 00:04:43.509 --> 00:04:45.970 your birthday. Right, a classic promo. So what 00:04:45.970 --> 00:04:48.329 does he do? He carries around a fake driver's 00:04:48.329 --> 00:04:50.529 license just to convince the restaurant staff 00:04:50.529 --> 00:04:53.230 that it's his special day. So much effort. He 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:56.550 pulls this exact same scam at various IHOPs along 00:04:56.550 --> 00:04:59.089 their entire road trip route. I mean, have you 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:00.509 ever found yourself doing something like that? 00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:02.790 Oh, man. Like spending an hour hunting for a 00:05:02.790 --> 00:05:05.250 promo code just to save $2 on shipping. We've 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:08.310 all been there. Multiply that urge by 1 ,000, 00:05:08.529 --> 00:05:11.009 and you have Nat Parker. And it escalates, right? 00:05:11.110 --> 00:05:13.889 It goes from taking advantage of promotions to 00:05:13.889 --> 00:05:17.509 outright theft. Oh yeah, the room service. Exactly. 00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:20.110 If they aren't eating fake birthday pancakes, 00:05:20.310 --> 00:05:22.430 they're walking down motel hallways stealing 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:24.589 room service trays that other guests have left 00:05:24.589 --> 00:05:26.850 outside their doors. But the lodging scam takes 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:30.610 the cake. To avoid paying for a hotel entirely, 00:05:31.069 --> 00:05:33.389 Nat scopes out vacant houses that are actively 00:05:33.389 --> 00:05:35.589 on the real estate market. This part is just 00:05:35.589 --> 00:05:38.579 wild. They break in, sleep there, and then have 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:40.720 to scramble into closets the next morning to 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.139 narrowly avoid being discovered by a realtor 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.399 who's showing the home to prospective buyers. 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:47.899 Just think about the sheer logistics of that. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.420 The scouting, the breaking and entering, the 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:52.519 constant hypervigilance of waking up at dawn 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:54.660 to avoid getting arrested. That's exactly what 00:05:54.660 --> 00:05:56.980 I'm struggling with. Nat's approach to life is 00:05:56.980 --> 00:05:59.379 like trying to heat your house by only lighting 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:01.740 matches. That's a good way to put it. Sure. The 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:03.889 matches are free from the local diner. but you 00:06:03.889 --> 00:06:06.790 have to strike them non -stop 24 -7 just to keep 00:06:06.790 --> 00:06:08.410 from freezing to death. Right, it never ends. 00:06:08.829 --> 00:06:11.709 The free solution is infinitely more exhausting 00:06:11.709 --> 00:06:14.819 than just paying the utility bill. It practically 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.139 is a full -time job. It's like extreme life hacking 00:06:18.139 --> 00:06:21.899 or extreme couponing, but with a decidedly criminal 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:25.040 twist. And that matchstick analogy applies perfectly 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.959 to their transportation, too. Oh, the car. Yes. 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:30.519 They are driving across the country in a vehicle 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:32.899 completely wrapped in sweet and low promotional 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:36.649 branding. A giant pink car. Yeah. It is entirely 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:39.490 free of charge for them to use, but the corporate 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:41.730 string attached is that they are strictly required 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:44.230 to only purchase their gas at Chevron stations. 00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:46.889 So his entire cross -country route is dictated 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.889 by a corporate sponsorship. Precisely. What we're 00:06:49.889 --> 00:06:53.490 looking at is a man who views society not as 00:06:53.490 --> 00:06:56.069 a community to participate in, but as a matrix 00:06:56.069 --> 00:06:58.829 of vulnerabilities. Wow. He doesn't see people, 00:06:59.029 --> 00:07:01.029 he sees marks, he doesn't see rules, he sees 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:04.310 challenges. But wait, is it just a loophole mentality, 00:07:04.610 --> 00:07:07.050 or is it an actual addiction? Because if he's 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:09.350 scalping tickets just to afford Chevron gas for 00:07:09.350 --> 00:07:12.050 a promotional car, he's actually working incredibly 00:07:12.050 --> 00:07:14.970 hard. He is. It sounds less like a clever grift 00:07:14.970 --> 00:07:16.870 and more like a deeply ingrained compulsion. 00:07:17.209 --> 00:07:19.790 I think compulsion is the right word. And that 00:07:19.790 --> 00:07:22.430 compulsion is what sets up the massive lie that 00:07:22.430 --> 00:07:24.629 kicks off the whole plot. The reason for the 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:26.829 trip. Right. Nat wants to go on this road trip 00:07:26.829 --> 00:07:29.490 to New Mexico. But he knows his son, Richie, 00:07:29.509 --> 00:07:32.149 wants absolutely nothing to do with him. Understandably. 00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:36.129 So Nat does what a con man does best. He exploits 00:07:36.129 --> 00:07:39.399 a vulnerability. He tells Richie he has a terminal 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.199 brain tumor. Just makes it up entirely. Completely 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.220 fabricating his own impending death. He even 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:47.959 produces a fake x -ray of a skull just to trick 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:50.420 his son into driving him. Here's where it gets 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:53.879 really interesting because we have to transition 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:57.019 from the quirky, almost impressive mechanics 00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:01.420 of Nat's griffs into the highly destructive reality 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.579 of them. Yeah, the fallout. What happens when 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.279 you apply that loophole mentality to your own 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.959 family? Because for Richie, played by Alessandro 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:12.000 Avola, this free road trip has a massive emotional 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:13.980 price tag. It really does. Richie is already 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:15.660 at a breaking point when the film starts. He's 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:17.980 not doing great. No. He's living in Los Angeles. 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:20.120 He's just been dumped by his girlfriend Maggie, 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:22.459 played by Amanda Pied, and he's just lost his 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:24.899 job as a health inspector. So he's at rock bottom. 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.399 He is incredibly vulnerable, making him the perfect 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:30.439 mark for his father. And the reason he lost his 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:33.799 job is the true gut punch. As they're sitting 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:37.169 there on the road, the truth comes out. Oh, this 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.710 scene is brutal. Nat actually called Richie's 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:42.789 boss and casually mentioned Richie's past jail 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:46.529 sentence. Unbelievable. His own father intentionally 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:49.129 sabotaged his career just to leave him with no 00:08:49.129 --> 00:08:51.830 other options but to get in the car. I mean, 00:08:51.870 --> 00:08:53.649 if you've ever had a family member who constantly 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:55.570 requires you to bail them out or clean up their 00:08:55.570 --> 00:08:58.330 messes, you'll recognize the exact trap Richie 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:00.769 is in here. And the layers of betrayal deepen 00:09:00.769 --> 00:09:03.330 when we learn why Richie has a criminal record 00:09:03.330 --> 00:09:06.340 in the first place. Oh, right. the darkest secret. 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:08.720 Richie only went to jail because he took the 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.299 fall for one of Nat's previous crimes. Which 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:13.100 almost makes him abandon the trip right there. 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.259 Yeah. He sacrificed his own freedom to keep his 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:19.019 father out of prison, and this is how Nat repays 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.419 him. I have to push back on the genre conventions 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:24.259 here, honestly. The source material labels this 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:27.299 a comedy drama, but how is an audience supposed 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:29.820 to balance the light -hearted, wacky road trip 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.919 tone with this staggering level of toxicity? 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:36.600 Tough balance. Nat isn't just an eccentric dad. 00:09:37.059 --> 00:09:40.259 He is relentlessly destructive. He lets his son 00:09:40.259 --> 00:09:42.960 go to prison for him and then repays that loyalty 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:46.159 by getting him fired. It's a miracle Richie doesn't 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.090 just leave him on the side of the highway. If 00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:51.529 we connect this to the bigger picture, the friction 00:09:51.529 --> 00:09:54.309 you're feeling is exactly why the road trip format 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:57.190 is used here. Oh, as a narrative device. Exactly. 00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:59.850 A road trip in film or literature operates as 00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.370 a narrative pressure cooker. It's a mechanical 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:04.950 device designed to force physical proximity between 00:10:04.950 --> 00:10:07.090 two people who fundamentally misunderstand each 00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:09.110 other. They're trapped. They cannot escape the 00:10:09.110 --> 00:10:11.529 confines of the sweet and low car, and the physical 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:13.789 journey they're taking is constantly interrupted 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:17.899 by the emotional wreckage of Nat's past. is constantly 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.379 sabotaging Richie's present. The bizarre pit 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:22.340 stops definitely reflect that wreckage. Like, 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:24.279 they aren't stopping at the Grand Canyon to take 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.440 photos. No, no tourist traps. They crash an open 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:29.480 house for a retirement village just to have a 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.460 free place to sleep. And then they detour to 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:35.139 Amarillo, Texas to meet a woman named Dolores 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:38.490 Jones. played by Sharon Stone. Right. And Delaris 00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:40.789 is a fascinating inclusion. She really is. She 00:10:40.789 --> 00:10:42.549 was actually Richie's babysitter when he was 00:10:42.549 --> 00:10:45.110 a child. Which is weird enough. But now, years 00:10:45.110 --> 00:10:48.490 later, she is a professional model. And Nat harbors 00:10:48.490 --> 00:10:51.769 a major romantic infatuation with her. Talk about 00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:55.169 blurred boundaries. His son's former babysitter 00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:58.490 is now his romantic interest. It's just another 00:10:58.490 --> 00:11:01.870 layer of Nat's past, intruding on Richie's present 00:11:01.870 --> 00:11:05.070 in a deeply uncomfortable, inappropriate way. 00:11:05.289 --> 00:11:08.149 And all of these bizarre detours and manipulations 00:11:08.149 --> 00:11:10.269 are meticulously building toward their final 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:12.230 destination in New Mexico. Right, the end of 00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:14.990 the road. Which is where the true, much darker 00:11:14.990 --> 00:11:17.610 purpose of this entire journey is finally revealed. 00:11:17.950 --> 00:11:20.549 Because, surprise surprise, they aren't going 00:11:20.549 --> 00:11:23.570 to New Mexico for some experimental medical treatment 00:11:23.570 --> 00:11:26.370 for Nat's brain tumor. No, the tumor was a lie. 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:29.720 They are hunting down a man named Burt Krueger 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:33.019 played by Peter Coyote. Yes, and Krueger represents 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:36.580 everything that is not Krueger is a hugely successful 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:39.639 owner of a chain of car dealerships a well -established 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.039 pillar of the community with a wife and family 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:44.820 a real respectable guy and most importantly He 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:47.700 is currently running for mayor But Krueger's 00:11:47.700 --> 00:11:51.620 success is built on a very messy foundation Years 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:54.580 ago, it was actually Nat who loaned Kruger the 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.279 seed money to start that very first used car 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.000 dealership. Yep. And to add insult to injury, 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.159 Richie's mother eventually ran off with Kruger 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:04.600 when Richie was young. Which brings us to the 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:07.580 ultimate twist of the film's second act. The 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:10.419 entire trip, the brain tumor, the fake x -ray, 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:12.919 it was all an elaborate setup to extort what 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.500 Nat calls quiet money from Kruger. Hush money. 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.440 Exactly. And the leverage Nat is using to extort 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:21.539 him is the biggest bombshell of all. Kruger is 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:23.940 actually Richie's biological father. It's just 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:26.399 wow. If a massive paternity scandal were to break 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.679 right in the middle of a Type Me oral race, it 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:31.440 would completely ruin Kruger's campaign. Nat 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.899 didn't bring Richie along for bonding. No. He 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.179 brought him along as living, breathing blackmail 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:38.700 material. Put yourself in Richie's shoes for 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:41.259 a moment. The man who raised you, the man you 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:43.620 went to prison for, has just revealed he isn't 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:46.100 your biological father. That would break you. 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:49.259 And he is using your very existence as a prop. 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:53.159 to shake down a politician. It's sickening. And 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:56.100 Ritchie's reaction is understandably explosive. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:59.799 But what he does next is actually brilliant in 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.720 its irony. He turns the tables. He does. He grabs 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.759 the hush money that Kruger just handed to Nat 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:07.679 and he runs off. He sneaks right into Kruger's 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.580 mayoral campaign kickoff party. Right in front 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.039 of everyone. When Kruger tries to quietly blow 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.250 him off. Richie rushes the main stage, grabs 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:17.870 the microphone, and announces the paternity secret 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:20.350 to the entire crowd. He completely detonates 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:22.570 the bomb that was threatening to use. He destroys 00:13:22.570 --> 00:13:25.409 the leverage entirely. And then, he fakes out 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:27.950 the security by pretending to return the hush 00:13:27.950 --> 00:13:30.190 money, but actually escapes the rally with the 00:13:30.190 --> 00:13:33.710 cash. So what does this all mean? Ritchie has 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:36.230 spent his whole life being victimized by a con 00:13:36.230 --> 00:13:39.009 man, but his ultimate act of rebellion, his way 00:13:39.009 --> 00:13:42.610 of finally taking control, is to pull off a spectacular, 00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:45.830 highly public con of his very own at the rally. 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:48.370 This raises an important question. It's a fantastic 00:13:48.370 --> 00:13:51.389 thematic climax because it forces you, the listener, 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:54.309 to ask a very difficult question about identity. 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.340 Who is the real father in this scenario? It's 00:13:57.340 --> 00:13:59.679 a terrible choice either way. It really is. Is 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.179 the true father, Burt Krueger, the biological 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.700 dad who abandoned his son, built a wealthy empire, 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:06.799 and is willing to just hand over a briefcase 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.480 of cash to keep his child a secret? Or is it 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:11.620 Nat, the con man who actually stayed and raised 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:14.759 him, but did so in a toxic web of lies, scams, 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:17.120 and extortion? Neither is great. The film suggests 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.820 that biology doesn't automatically confer fatherhood, 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:22.259 but it also doesn't let Nat off the hook for 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:25.860 his abuse. to reconcile with the fact that Nat, 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.700 for all his horrific flaws, is the only father 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:36.539 figure he really has. And honestly, reading the 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:38.200 source material, it's fascinating to see how 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:40.899 the bumpy, unpredictable journey of these characters 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:43.960 mirrors the brutal, behind -the -scenes reality 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.379 of getting this movie made. Oh, the production 00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:48.279 journey was a story of endurance. That could 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:50.399 forever. This project dates all the way back 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:53.480 to 2003. Originally, Nick Cassavetes was signed 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:55.460 on to direct it. But he didn't end up making 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:58.340 it. What causes a movie to just stall out like 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:00.519 that for five years? Well, in the independent 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.100 film landscape of the mid -2000s, financing was 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:05.820 incredibly fragile. A director like Cassaveti 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:08.419 signs on with a specific vision, but if the funding 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:10.700 falls through or an actor's schedule shifts by 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:13.220 even a month, the whole house of cards collapses. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:17.120 Oh. So a year later, in 2004, John Curran stepped 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.580 in to direct. Okay, progress. But again, the 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:22.029 project stalled. It took another three entire 00:15:22.029 --> 00:15:24.830 years before Nigel Cole finally sat in the director's 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:26.669 chair to get the film shot and ready for its 00:15:26.669 --> 00:15:31.009 2008 premiere. A five -year multi -director struggle 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:33.909 to reach the screen. That actually explains so 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:37.169 much about the film's tone. When a script changes 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:40.129 hands that many times over half a decade, it 00:15:40.129 --> 00:15:42.070 makes perfect sense that the final product feels 00:15:42.070 --> 00:15:44.350 like it's fighting itself whiplashing between 00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:47.490 wacky comedy and devastating family drama. It 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:51.149 is a fractured tone for a fractured... But that 00:15:51.149 --> 00:15:53.830 tonal whiplash serves the final destination of 00:15:53.830 --> 00:15:56.330 the plot well, because the narrative has won 00:15:56.330 --> 00:15:59.350 a last massive double twist waiting for us. Right. 00:15:59.629 --> 00:16:01.909 So after Ritty pulls off his stunt at the mayoral 00:16:01.909 --> 00:16:04.350 rally and escapes with the money, he eventually 00:16:04.350 --> 00:16:06.570 goes back to the hotel and reunites with Nat. 00:16:06.570 --> 00:16:09.049 Right. They're having a discussion, trying to 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:12.129 process the fallout, and suddenly, out of nowhere, 00:16:12.409 --> 00:16:14.750 Matt collapses. They rush him to the hospital, 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:18.269 and the doctors confirm a grim reality. Matt 00:16:18.269 --> 00:16:20.909 is actually genuinely terminally ill. This is 00:16:20.909 --> 00:16:23.570 just crazy. The initial story about the specific 00:16:23.570 --> 00:16:26.429 brain tumor, the fake x -ray he used to get Richie 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:29.029 in the car, that was all a lie. But the underlying 00:16:29.029 --> 00:16:31.809 reality of his failing health is entirely true. 00:16:31.889 --> 00:16:34.110 It's the ultimate boy who cried wolf scenario. 00:16:34.629 --> 00:16:37.220 But the wolf is finally at the door. So Richie 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:39.220 calls his ex -girlfriend Maggie to break the 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:41.860 news, and despite everything, she flies out to 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.620 New Mexico to meet them. Which leads to an incredibly 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:48.100 surreal, bittersweet sequence. Richie and Maggie 00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:51.179 realize Nat is dying in a sterile hospital room, 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.740 which is the exact opposite of how he lived his 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:55.659 life. Who would hate that? So they sneak him 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:58.379 out. They take him to a beached boathouse near 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:01.120 the shore of a desert lake, and Richie and Nat 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:04.279 go skinny dipping together. It's such a striking 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.420 image for a guy who spent his whole life exhaustingly 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:10.619 trying to live free by exploiting loopholes, 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:12.900 stripping down and floating in a desert lake 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:16.920 is perhaps his only moment of actual unburdened 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.339 freedom. And that quiet moment brings us to the 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:22.140 final scene of the film. Time has passed, Nat 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:24.700 has died, and we see Richie and Maggie sitting 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:27.089 together in a rowboat out on the lake. They are 00:17:27.089 --> 00:17:29.289 there to scatter Nat's ashes. And the urn they're 00:17:29.289 --> 00:17:31.890 using to hold those ashes is just, it's perfect. 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:35.809 So good. It's not brass or ceramic. It is a giant 00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:38.390 plastic Pepsi cup. The exact same promotional 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:40.509 cup that Nat got for free with a five dollar 00:17:40.509 --> 00:17:42.750 gas purchase earlier in the trip. It is the ultimate 00:17:42.750 --> 00:17:45.250 monument to Nat Parker. I just marvel at the 00:17:45.250 --> 00:17:48.519 perfect poetry of that. Even in death. Nat manages 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.339 to score a promotional deal. He lived his entire 00:17:51.339 --> 00:17:54.160 life hunting for the loophole, fighting the system 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.920 for every last drop of value, and he goes out 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:00.920 in a free soda cup. But the scene adds one final 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.140 crucial layer. As they are tipping the Pepsi 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:06.920 cup and scattering the ashes, the rowboat they 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.720 were sitting in begins to leak. Oh, right. It 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:12.900 is actively sinking. And instead of panicking 00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:15.759 or trying to bail the water out, Richie and Maggie 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.720 just look at each other and start laughing. They 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:20.740 just surrender to it. They do. Because that sinking 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:23.980 robot perfectly encapsulates the experience of 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:26.579 loving someone like Nat. It is deeply flawed. 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.140 It is structurally unsound. You are quite literally 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:31.920 being pulled under by their mess. Yeah. But eventually 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.279 the anger burns out, the exhaustion fades, and 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:36.640 you just have to laugh at the sheer inescapable 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:39.140 absurdity of the circumstance. So, to bring this 00:18:39.140 --> 00:18:41.400 all together for you, we traveled a very strange 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.279 road today. We started with the hilarious, frustrating 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:47.940 extremes of surviving on $5 a day. Faking birthdays 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:50.839 for pancakes. Driving pink, sweet, and low cars. 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:55.460 But beneath that 16mm grit, we uncovered the 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:58.980 profound, messy realities of family bonds and 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:03.299 identity. We saw how a trip built on a con unraveled 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:05.940 into a confrontation with true identity, and 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:08.380 how a son had to learn to accept the beautifully 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:10.440 flawed reality of the man who actually raised 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:13.059 him rather than the biological father who bought 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:16.029 his way out. While the source material dresses 00:19:16.029 --> 00:19:18.390 this up as an eccentric independent comedy at 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:21.390 its core, it leaves us with a very grounded truth 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:23.529 about the human condition. Which is? You can 00:19:23.529 --> 00:19:25.890 game the system all you want. You can find every 00:19:25.890 --> 00:19:28.470 loophole, win every radio contest, and dodge 00:19:28.470 --> 00:19:31.829 every hotel bill with fake aliases. But you cannot 00:19:31.829 --> 00:19:34.470 con your way out of your own mortality. And more 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:36.950 importantly, you cannot con your way out of the 00:19:36.950 --> 00:19:39.029 consequences of your relationships. Which brings 00:19:39.029 --> 00:19:41.289 us to a final thought for you to mull over. We 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:43.269 talked earlier about the hidden cause of getting 00:19:43.269 --> 00:19:45.380 something for nothing. Think about the free things 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:47.359 in your own life, the perks, the favors, the 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:49.279 shortcuts. When you get something for nothing, 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:51.519 what is the hidden cost you might actually be 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:52.400 paying down the line?