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Welcome back to our VIP video series "Off the Beaten Path," featuring my friend Christian Toto of Hollywood in Toto! Christian and I start off our week by discussing stories and ideas that may fly under our radar, in culture, politics, sports, and more. Plus, Christian previews his latest podcast at HiT.
Does Taylor Swift's guest list send a signal to the Girl Power Brigades? Christian and Ed notice a familiar face in the Kansas City Chiefs' skybox on Sunday. Should we take this as significant, or just as a girls' day out at the NFL?
We then move closer to the beaten path with Matthew McConaughey's latest project: independent voting. Both Christian and Ed credit the megastar with having his heart in the right place, but it fails to land with either of us. Ed considers it more of a virtue-signaling pose, while Christian notices that it's mainly substance-free. It's more about taste than policy, we agree, but still recognize that it's far better intended than most of the political messaging coming out of Hollywood.
Two documentaries grab our attention this week, which took very different paths at the box office. Musk bombed after suffering the worst possible timing, thanks to Elon's flying-car debut. However, the Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything scored a smash $15 million in its opening weekend despite its lengthy runtime. Why would there be so much interest in the Theranos (not Thanos, Ed!) fraudstress? Neither of us have seen it – yet – but apparently it adds more to the story, especially about Holmes' husband.
We also return to Shane Gillis-gate, which has now reached across the pond to the UK's version of Saturday Night Live. The steam seems to have escaped from this, but that doesn't make Lorne Michaels any less of a coward, Christian argues.
We also discuss the strange case of Timothy Busfield, the passing of Richard Riehle, and why we both think Christopher Lloyd has been underrated for decades. And we also make the same observation about Woody Harrelson while recommending Edge of Seventeen to anyone who'll listen.
Watch it all and join us in the comments!
