It’s time for our traditional, post-”Designing Women” season special episode! We’re definitely planning to discuss season 7 after the holidays, but to tide you over, we’re heading to Beverly Hills—Troop Beverly Hills, to be exact.
If you haven’t seen this 1989 gem starring Shelly Long in her peak, feathered-hair glory, you’re in for a treat. This isn’t just a movie—it’s an adventure in over-the-top Scout uniforms, cookie sales drama, and a showdown with wilderness survival that’s as hilarious as it is heartwarming. For us, it was a no-brainer: Carlene’s Scout leader stint, our “Extra Sugar” on Girl Scouts, and our deep dive into Shelly Long’s Cheers fame all screamed Troop Beverly Hills.
So, if you’re feeling nostalgic—or just need a good laugh between turkey leftovers and New Year’s resolutions—join us. Grab some popcorn, snuggle up, and maybe consider bedazzling your own Scout sash. You know, for the vibes.
We’ll be back Designing Women-style after the New Year. Until then, happy holidays—and happy watching!
Here are a couple references we used to compile this episode:
The battle between Visa and American Express wasn’t just limited to cookie sales, according to this Chicago Tribune article
A “banana republic” isn’t just a high-end staple of shopping malls, it’s also a poly sci term; Pic’n’Save is a now, nearly-defunct shopping experience; Greystone Mansion is probably tied to the “garish Suroc mansion” Phyllis referenced; Valley of the Dolls sounds like a really sad time; Jodhpurs are those very oompa-loompa-y pants Phyllis wore at the camporee, if Wikipedia is to be believed
A “guy Friday” is NOT a male Wednesday Adams (here’s the definition from the Collins Dictionary.) (Apparently, this strange term is a throwback to the 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe.)
And, Nikki’s most victorious reference she needed to look up - that’s right, the same crew behind the animated opening credits sequence of Troop Beverly Hills has a huge overlap with that of Don’t Tell Mom…the Babysitter’s Dead.
Come on y’all, let’s get into it!
Or listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music.
Transcript
Special Episode: Troop Beverly Hills – Khaki Wishes and Cookie Dreams
Hey, Nikki.
Hey, Salina.
I prepared a little something for you.
Oh, no.
Yeah. We're the girls from Beverly Hills. 1, 2, 3, 4. Shopping is our greatest skill. 5, 6, 7, 8. We will fight and try real hard 1, 2, 3, 4. Leave behind our credit card. 5, 6, 7,8. Beverly Hills. Come on. What a thrill.
What a thrill. I was gonna say you are great. the rhyming scheme threw me off.
I'll do it again.
Beverly Hills, what a thrill. I almost said you are great again.
You're doing wonderful. I can't help sound off. 1, 2, 3, break it on down. 4, 5, 6. 1, 2, 3, 4. Beverly Hills. I don't know. That last part I just kind of made up.
That was brilliant. I wish I had applause. over here to get to give you Salina. Why would you be doing a chant about Beverly Hills?
I love it, but just Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills. I do.
It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that we're doing a special episode today?
Oh, right. Well, probably that too.
Probably more of that.
Maybe I've never been to Beverly Hills, so,
Fair enough. Fair enough. Delightful.
So Salina is doing that because we've wrapped up season six of Designing Women. We're gearing up for our coverage of season seven, which I'll admit is going more slowly on my end than I expected it to, but it's kind of because we're taking this inter. What do you call it? Interlope. Interlude.
It, yeah, interlude, I think.
Whatever. but we're gonna go into season seven, finish it. Finish the drill, as I like to say. So in the meantime, we have to get through the holiday. I mean, we have to enjoy the holiday season. Part of that includes getting through it.
Enjoy our families.
Enjoy. Enjoy our families.
Survive our families.
But we didn't want to leave this family hanging going into the holidays. So we thought it was time for special episode. We've done this before. we find a movie that's come up either like a tangential conversation while we're talking about Designing Women. Maybe directly related. Really indirectly related. Just something I desperately wanted you to watch. So we've done Keep Me Honest. We've done Pretty Woman, First Wives Club.
Captain Ron, One of these things is.
Not like the other Howard the Duck.
That's the one I was forgetting. We've done Harry and Meghan documentary on Netflix. We've done Soap Dish and we've done Howard the Duck.
We did a lot of stuff. And still Magnolias. That was like a mid season special episode. So it was a little different.
Yeah, but the same.
And, we did the crown.
Oh, yeah, we did. We did. Dang.
No wonder we're tired, man.
I'm telling you. What? Well, this time we're gonna do the 1989 comedy adventure troop Beverly Hills, and that's why Salina was doing that chant. I'm just putting all the pieces together.
I'm trying not to do it again.
So true. Beverly Hills came up a couple times this season. We had Carleen, so I'm just gonna barrel through so that you don't do it again. we had Carlene's whole plotline about being a scout leader that led to our extra sugar on Girl Scouts. we also briefly talked about it during your extra sugar on, casting changes, when you mentioned Shelley Long and Cheers. And then, of course, Pam Norris, who was the executive producer this season of Designing Women. she was a co writer on Troop Beverly Hills. So lots of tie ins, lots of opportunity to talk about it.
So before we get into some of the movie basics, I thought I would just mention, for what it's worth, it's, like, super widely available. Salina and I chatted a little bit about how we each got it. I just bought the DVD on Amazon for $8, which is wild, but it was cheaper than the digital version. I could have rented it for three, but when you rent it, you only get, like, 24 hours. Although that may be a little more generous than I thought it was. but just bought the dvd. It's fine.
Yeah, yeah, good purchase. I got mine on prime video for a $23.
I just did not shop.
Well, I had credits, so.
Oh, right, right, right. That's what it was. Okay, well, there we go. Do you want to lead us through some of the movie basics?
Why? Yes. Yes. What if you said no?
I don't have any of that.
No, no, no. This isn't my day job where the no's come easily in my head, and then I say, yes, I would be happy to help with that.
Maybe I could do even more.
Yes. What else could I do? Can it be over Thanksgiving? Okay. All right. This is serious.
This is a very serious business.
The year was 1989. This is the year the Berlin Wall fell. The year of Tiananmen Square, the Exxon Valdez oil spill. I just said that. Weird. Don't worry about it. I was only four. Give me a break, Daddy. George Bush became president and. Just say it. Nikki, who was born in 1989.
Taylor Allison Swift.
I didn't tell her any of this.
Beforehand, Musician of our time.
I knew what she'd be thinking. But earlier that year, on March 24, something maybe even more, more important happen. Do you like this? NPR Voice.
This is fantastic.
Thank you so much. Troop Beverly Hills premiered. So here's the plot summary. That's right, the classic film about a soon to be divorced Beverly Hills socialite who is determined to prove to her husband and most importantly to herself, that she can finish what she starts out to do by becoming a den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills Girl Scouts.
Do it. Shelley Long.
Yeah. Troop was directed by Jeff Canoe and of course written by our very own Pam Norris. As you already talked about, Nikki, as well as Ava Ostern Fries and Margaret Oberman. It starred Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson and Betty Thomas. Though there are a lot of cameos and familiar looking faces. We'll get there. While it is a beloved cult classic today and arguably an anthem of sorts, for Millennium Women, it was most Millennium Women, it was far from a box office hit. So according to BO Mojo, it ranked as the seventh highest grossing film the weekend it debuted, bringing in roughly $2.3 million. It went on to make about 8.5 million over its full run. 4 context and Kohler. That same weekend, the top three spots went to Fletch Lives. That's a sequel, a re release of Disney's the Rescuers and Rain man, which I'm pretty sure had been in the top three spots for like three months. So I'd like to also touch just a smidge before we move on on critical reception.
Now it's your turn to say no if you'd like to. Is that okay?
I'll allow it.
Okay, thank you.
That was me thinking.
Yes. I could have, I could have put some color on that. Sorry. Nikki was thinking, so Roger Ebert gave it a two out of four stars at the time. We'll link to his review. I mean, it's not wrong. He saw it as a satirical missed opportunity. One line really made me laugh. He said, if you want to see a movie in which a spoiled rich woman becomes through her experience as a scoutmaster, here's your chance. Rita Kempley's I'm going to say vicious Washington Post review was similar in that vein, that maybe it's a weird choice to make rich Beverly Hills Girls the underdog, we'll also link to that annihilation for you. while I am in no way claiming troupe should be in the pantheon of great films, I did run across this interesting Collider article that posited perhaps critics missed the point. It wasn't meant to be a poignant look at class and wealth divide in America. It was meant to be a campy PG movie for families.
What really caught my attention, though, and something I thought that you might find of interest, Nikki, and maybe longtime listeners who have heard us talk about this before, is, the, gender bias of critics, especially for, oh, I don't know, women led movies and TV shows. So the article's author links to a 2022 study finding that out of the total number of critics in the U.S. 65% were men. That's in 2022. The study also shows that men are to rate women led movies poorly. She also wrote what I was thinking, which was basically, if, like, that's. Now how good do you think that was going in 1989?
Right.
I would say, see the Designing Women reviews for Every Man. That was like, do we really need two shows with all female cast? we can link to both that article and study in the show notes. do you have any thoughts on that?
I do. And, you know, I had looked at a couple of, things about it. Cause it's spoiler alert. I hadn't seen this before, which blew Salina's socks off. so this was a real joy for me. but one of the things I read was an old review that was basically saying, it's like Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn, except Shelley Long is not as good as Goldie Hawn. And I was like, well, that's mean. There's no need to put those two together. And I actually don't think they're very much alike. I don't think the two movies are very much alike at all. Except Goldie Hawn was like the comedian of the late 80s, so.
Right. America's Sweetheart.
Exactly. I guess. But it was a, it was a weird juxtaposition. And then that was my first thought when I read that was like, can't they just be two women who are in comedy? Like, why do they have to be in opposition to one another?
Exactly. Why are we always pitting women against one another?
why do we just keep having this conversation over and over again? It just keeps coming up all the time. It's. It's not necessary. But, I did think the reviews were, ah, a little harsh. Again, I didn't read. I don't think as many as you did, but I read a couple, and I did think they were pretty harsh. And I agree with that. what you said about them. Missing the point. It definitely was not about like, boo hoo, these poor rich girls. So I think that was, an unfortunate oversight by the critics at the time.
Right. And I also, and I did specifically want to bring in, the, the female critic. And not only because, I thought that what she had to say was interesting to think about, but because it wasn't just men tearing it apart. Yeah. so I think that's an important balance. That's right. Well, patriarchy affects us all, I'm told. That's what they said. Yep. Whatever. are you ready for the harshest pivot? Yes. So far today.
so we know that we don't like gender bias in, our critique, but we also know we like some things about this movie. What did you like on your first watch, Nikki?
Okay, I'm going to be all over the place. I have a pretty long list of likes. but I'm going to start with just my big Picture review. My big Picture review of this film hinges on really two thoughts.
Okay.
Every few years we get a movie that reminds us there's nothing wrong with being girly. That women aren't flat and can contain multitudes. And I really love that. This movie, Watching this movie now in a post Barbie world. There are a lot of parallels here where, you can just continue to write these stories that are compelling because the world thinks women are either this or that. And I thought this was a really nice reminder that you can fall in the middle of those two things. You can want to be outdoorsy to an extent, but also like glamping because camping is a little harsh and I just really love that. I also will never tire of a fish out of water situation, which is 1000% what this is. M loved it to death.
I have to say that when you said that women aren't just flat, I was like, how dare you?
Well, some women are and that's okay too.
How dare you bring my chest size into this.
To be fair, I didn't. Salina did.
okay, so I also had to do a little categorizing because otherwise it would just be like this litany.
And that's all mine is. It's just 17 bullets of likes.
It's always. That's good though. That's good, that's manageable.
So my first category here is the camp of it all. Pun. Everything that we see, everything Phyllis does is like at an 11. From the way she dresses to her catered troop meetings with caviar trunks and trunks of Louis Vuitton. Luggage for one night, Camping trips, Fondue over the camping fire.
Don't worry, girls. I saved the fondue.
She's so magical in this role. carrying it in her mouth. and it does seem like you could say, like, that's not realistic. I will tell you that I have carried stuff the dumbest ways every day of my life.
So, I mean, you do what you have to do. It's called resourcefulness. Any Girl Scout knows that.
I love that. or not Girl Scout. So where do they head when it rains? The Beverly Hills Hotel. They're telling ghost stories. Like any troop. They're just about scary perms and creeping past their maid's room. Normal stuff.
Normal stuff.
We also have Velda Plinder, who is also operating at an 11, but just like villainous 11, you know, she got.
Her own category in my likes.
Anytime that you are saying dossier, that might be the way that everyone our age learned what a dossier is. all her spy gear and everything on Annie. the badge earning montage was pretty delightful. This is including the spa trips, the Freddy moves. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. That was something I'd really forgotten about. That kind of off putting, but funny. CPR training with Officer mcaty, giving the Penthouse magazine to the guy in the old folks home for their community service. And then, the patches. You have the diamond appraisal patch, the divorce court patch. And I'm really upset that I didn't have an idea sooner for us to come up with patches for each other.
Oh, that would have been cute.
Yeah, Like, I could do, like, for you, like the keep us on track patch, But I want to come up with something better than that.
Yeah, I think that's yours, actually. Keep us way more on, track.
Not in an episode. Not in the episode.
I bring us back. Well, I liked when she personalized the patches. So she gave that little girl Lily the international affairs patch for teaching us how to launder money and crush a revolution. Yeah, and I really liked Velda skunk hat after she said it was. It, was gonna pay for helping Phyllis's team win. And then they cut, and she comes back and she's wearing the skunk hat.
It was very nice and very well tailored.
It was very quick.
Almost as if one had bought that.
You know, I've said before, I don't love montages. Sometimes they come across really cheesy. This was a film of excellently done montages.
It needed it.
The way the montage worked at the Beginning as we're meeting Phyllis and you get to see her against her Wilderness Girl application. So age, not applicable. Marital status, shaky. Prides herself on being thrifty. So we see her negotiating the price of a $5,600 dress. Loves, animals. So she's kissing a diamond encrusted frog brooch. I thought that was brilliantly done. What a nice way to introduce that character.
And then we got to meet the girls in a similar way.
And you just bringing you around the montages.
It was just. It was a really economical way to introduce a lot of information. We had to meet eight girls in about as many minutes.
I'm still struggling to keep them separated in my head, to be honest. Especially when names are involved.
Yeah, no, the names are too hard. Although I will say Jasmine, ingrained in my brain because she's the one that introduced her dad, the boxer. I loved that little bit. I thought that was so cute.
Very feisty.
My next, like, bucket of likes is just the simplicity of it. I think that sort of falls into what you're talking about with, like, the economy piece. So there's no dilly. Dilly a dallying. Sure. From M. That very, very first scene. I feel like they tell you exactly what this is. It's just fun. It's not serious. You got a hero, you got a villain. Your hero will win, your villain will lose.
You sound like a villain.
Oh, my goodness. Of course, her and Freddie are gonna get back together. Of course Velda is gonna sell cookies at the end. The movie is just a reminder that it takes all kinds. So I kind.
Like you said the ending was super predictable. You knew what was gonna happen. but you just. It was this game of how long it was gonna take Phyllis and Freddie to realize that they belong together. And I really liked the way Hannah explained it at the end. She said, I'm glad you two finally grew up. Like, through the whole movie, this young child could see what we had seen all along. they were being super immature. Ah. I had high hopes for Freddie because early in the movie he said, you'll be a lot less neurotic with Happily Divorced par married. That gave me hope, because that's emotional enlightenment. He seemed like a very enlightened man, and I just felt like. And he also described Phyllis early on as the other woman. And he. All the traits he described about her were not like, you were beautiful. You were so young. They were like, you were so creative and thoughtful and this, that, and the other. So I felt like he Was kind of a good guy.
It's also. And I know you don't have this experience, but like to have watched this movie being young, like before he was on Parenthood.
Oh yeah.
And after, it's like big shifts, you know, like now. Like he's always gonna have a place in my heart from that show. And it's hard for me to watch that and not think of his character as like Grandpa Braverman, you know.
So I watched what was the show he did in the 90s?
Coach.
Yes. That's what I know him from.
And then when he showed up on Parent, that's. That was my touchstone to him on Parenthood. So in my mind he was always Coach.
Yeah. Yeah.
Because I hadn't seen this movie.
He's also like a real. A hole in devil's advocate. I don't know if you're a devil's advocate girly or not. Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Al Pacino. Taste but don't touch, Touch but don't.
You know, I've definitely seen that where he's the devil.
that's next. I mentioned it. I've seen it like 57 times. It's not important. I'm sure that's a normal thing for a 12 year old to watch over and over again.
My next like was the quotes, so I thought I'd share a couple of those that just really to the top for me. Velda shows up the next morning and says, is this what you call roughing it? And Phyllis responds, one bathroom for nine people. Yes. Yes. Phyllis asks where she can buy the badges, and Velda's daughter tells her, you have to earn them. She responds, oh yeah, like jewelry. sure, it's very nice to live in the forest and eat bark, but I'm going to show you how to live in the wilds of Beverly Hills and then never go to Reno. Girls. The California property laws can't be beat.
So the one that I liked was, in the wilderness of life, we can never be too prepared. That's what she says as they're getting ready to go on their camp out. And then I liked when she left that message to Velda after. Will you tell her that troop leader Neffler called and her recommendation on a campsite was totally unsuitable. There were no outlets and there were dirt and bugs and it rains there.
It rains. There was a great line. Oh my goodness. What other likes do you have, Nikki?
I really liked the courtroom face off between Phyllis and Freddie because I liked the way Phyllis Appealed to the judge. It reminded me of that viral Paris Hilton moment where she testifies in front of Congress. Do you know what I'm talking about? And she starts. So Paris Hilton's. This is recent. Within the last year or so. She starts by addressing this congressperson, a congresswoman, and she's like, oh, I love your pink suit. In, like, the trademark Paris Hilton, like, baby voice. And then once they finish their, like, moment together, she turns on her big girl voice and does her testimony. And the most important thing for you to know about child abuse or whatever it was, it was like some very serious topic. And that reminded me like, Phyllis and the judge had this very girly, sweet moment, and then it went straight to business. And I just loved it. I thought it was great.
Well, and when they come in and they're like, daddy, daddy. Because their dads were the lawyer and the defender. Yes, yes, honey, honey.
and then the other thing that I had. I think you've touched on almost every single one that I had. But two, I really enjoyed Hannah's description of Freddie's realtor versus Phyllis's description. So dark. Ha. Big boobs, stringy hair, skinny legs, silicone boobs. But, yeah, I really liked that interaction. And then Phyllis's commitment to the Kumbaya, like, she would not let Kumbaya go. You know, like when she's standing there holding her, fondue in the rain and they have to sing it. And the reason I think I appreciated that so much is I gotta shout out to the music director on this movie. I don't know if you heard it, but they had instrumentals of Kumbaya going in the background in different parts of the movie. And there was also an instrumental of Camp song happening because Kyle walked down the stairs while I was watching it, and he was like, oh, that's a nice instrumental. It was a lot of continuity. And they like, even did, like, the, I think they had an instrumental version of the hip hop song that they were singing at their cookie rally. So it's a nice little continuity. Usually an unusual thing to like about a movie, but I appreciated it.
I. I don't think that's unusual. It might be unusual to notice. It was, well, maybe much appreciated to notice.
If it's done really well, you probably shouldn't notice, but I had to notice it because I felt like that's, quality filmmaking. They're not getting the credit for it, but it's quality filmmaking. That's how you do it.
There you go. I had one last, like, which was really just Shelley Long. So, a couple of little tasters there, from what I thought, just really set her apart in this role. When the scene. I don't mean to make that sound serious, and you'll know why when I go into these examples, but when the scene opens on a Jane Fonda workout tape, you hear Phyllis groaning in the background shot widens and reveals she's struggling to open a mayonnai jar. It's a thing, a huge sub sandwich. I just really appreciated that. I thought her tailored Wilderness Girl uniforms were inspired. Like, who pulls off khaki like that? The green trim, the whole thing was just brilliant. She's genuinely a good person, you know, and so for everything that they're saying and those, critiques of the movie, I mean, she's treating Annie Herman so much better than Velda. She's so good to the girls. Whether it's Emily not being able to afford patches or chica whose parents forgot her birthday or whatever the case is, like, she's stepping in and she's playing an important role in these girls lives. And I think, I think that matters for something.
I think so. As a troop leader, I think it counts.
I know we had. We have a resident expert right here with us. Troop Swannie.
Yeah.
Can't wait to hear your Swanny chant.
Yeah. I don't do it nearly as well as Shelley Long does it, but to be fair, she focuses a lot more time on it than I do.
Well, that's her. What? That's her one job.
That and shopping. And she put a lot of the shopping on.
Sounds nice, though.
Yeah, it does.
What about dislikes?
I had two I wanted to mention. So we were talking about this earlier about this whole, like, criticism, about the movie was designed to make you feel sorry for girls in Beverly Hills. And you do get that one girl whose dad is the struggling actor and they're having money problems. And I appreciated that scene having the message that, not having money is not the most important thing. But they sure did gloss over, like, a lot. The fact that this, this poor girl was, it seemed like essentially living in poverty in Beverly Hills.
Was it really the. And also, the amount, because they were like 750 for patches. And I was like $750.
And I couldn't decide if it was 750 or 7.50.
It was $7 and 50 cents because I think she comes out there with a 10 and, you know, that makes sense. I just, I felt like all. How was she affording to do all the other things. So there might have been, like, a bit of a plot hole there.
Yeah.
but again, Nikki, this movie is not about plots that make sense. It is about love and accepting one.
Another, which I think is what leads to my second dislike. and it's a light dislike. There's just a lot going on in this movie. M. Like. Like, we were just talking about economical and having to go to them. M. You said, like. I was like, they did several montages. And you said, well, they have had to. Yeah, they did. Because there was so much going on. Like, we had to be introduced to Shelley Long and eight girls in her troupe. You had to understand the relationship dynamic happening for Shelley Long. And then you get the troupe coming together, the cookie situation and then the Camporee, and it was just a lot of ground to cover. And I think that the montages, were an excellent choice to disguise some of that. But when I was thinking, like, I had watched it the first time and was trying to, like, bucket out my thoughts a little bit, I was like, holy moly. There was just so much going on. Like, trying to go back and re. Watch certain parts was challenging because there were parts I had forgotten happened because it was just so much. So it just felt, at times, like, a little bit chaotic and a little hard to keep track of all the plot lines we were supposed to be managing.
Right. But you know what? You came out on the other side.
I did. I survived.
And here we are.
Cause I persevered on a good Girl Scout perseveres.
Like your own jamboree. I did, you know, a jamboree of movie plots.
It was a marathon, let me tell you.
So I know that this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but the Cookie Time song was a little tough for you, girl.
I think It's a late 80s. I had to put it in the bucket of. If I had watched this at, like, eight years old, maybe it would have been better.
Yes. I just. Just. That was hard, that's all. not that Jasmine didn't do a good job.
She's great.
It just. It wasn't for me.
Only as good as the material you're working with.
That's right. good wig, though.
Nikki, did it bother you that Troop Beverly Hills didn't get the trophy? Come on, be honest.
You know, I did think about that.
Did it bother me? The competitive part in me, you know, is like, yeah, like, that's really unfair.
Wait, you're competitive.
Brand new information. So, yeah, I think a little bit but you know what? They had already won. They didn't need the trophy. That's what my troop leader, Shelley Long, taught me.
That is true. But the Nikki made me a trophy. Yeah, I'm gonna need you to, get Cleo.
Fee, can't you make a duplicate?
Yeah, that has always been a pain point for me.
Yeah, yeah.
I think it's because it bumps up against a value for me, which is that Cleo should have been held accountable. Yes, for theory.
Yeah, I give you that. I'll allow it.
I'm gonna say these are not even dislikes, but I wasn't sure where else to put these. Only to say, if they made this today, I think some choices hit the cutting room floor. Shelley. Long wearing the American Indian headdress for sure. A very long time. And then I'm not sure they would make Lily's parents a comp for a southeast Eastern Asian dictator today. Probably going to go a different direction.
There was a, like, a, There must have been a newsworthy reference around the time or like some.
Oh, girl, I got you.
Geopolitical. Okay, good. Yeah, some geopolitical thing that I was just like, what's happening?
Did I not tell you I have an extra sugar plan all about geopolitics? No, I'm just kidding. I mean, it does sound like something I would do, but I'm all set. This is supposed to be fun today.
Look how much fun we're having.
This is supposed to be fun. I, ah, will say, though, for what it's worth, that for a 1989 movie, it actually is. It really doesn't have a lot of problematic things.
Yeah, it held up really well.
And, you know, friends, you'll go back and watch an episode now we're talking about something from 2000, and that's a long, long, long, long time ago now. But, like, you'll go back and be like, oh, my God, why is Monica in a fat suit for 27 minutes? You know what I'm saying?
Like, there even was diversity in the troupe. Like, reasonable diversity. I mean, what you're talking about with the dictatorship is a little problematic, but I felt like there was a fair amount of diversity in the troupe. There was one thing that happened, and I meant to rewatch it, because I think I missed it the first time. And then the second time I was like, you know, doing the quick scroll through, just trying to grab lines and stuff. There was one part during the cookie sales bit where they're outside a gym and there's Like a noticeable body type that walks past the cookies and is like, no, no, no, no, can't do it. And then there's a noticeable body type that stops to get the cookies. And I felt like that was probably a scene that would look different today.
that's a good call. That's a good call. That was all my dislikes, though.
Okay, Can I do some references?
Yes.
Let's just keep asking for.
We're so coy.
I have a litany of references because this is a very 80s movie. This movie is very much of its time. I think the backdrop of Beverly Hills almost requires that of it. It has to be trendy and it has to be, on the cutting edge. So I just wanted to mention a couple of things that caught me that I was like, I'm not sure I fully know what this means. So in the cookie selling bits, when they're at that fancy restaurant and the girls are walking around saying, cigars, cigarettes, cookies, there was this, do you take American Express? We prefer Visa. And I was like, what's happening there? There's something happening there. So I thought I would just dig into it and see if there was anything worth reporting. And there is. It's brief, though. there's a lot more to it. But the brief part is like, I vaguely remember Amex being a pain in the butt to use. Like, only certain places take it or took it. I think it's a little less relevant now, maybe depending on who you. But in the late 80s, early 90s, it was actually a war between Visa and Amex. So Visa was accepted, at a lot more businesses at the time, in part because they charged lower fees to merchants compared to Amex. but Visa also spent a lot of advertising and marketing money, including their everywhere you want to be campaign to specifically set themselves apart from Amex and to kind of push Amex down on the preferred credit, card list. So I found this Chicago Tribune article that I'm going to link to. it explored their very public and very current battle. So they said Visa started aggressive anti amex ads in 1985. So just a few years before this movie came out, it said, quote, visa engaged in sponsorship deals with the 1987 Super bowl, the Olympics, and the US Open tennis tournament that precluded the events from accepting other credit cards for tickets. And Visa trumpeted the lockout of American Express in national advertising. So by the time this movie was made, the Visa and Amex battle was pretty public. And it's still going on today. Visa and AMEX still snipe at each other in ads. Isn't that crazy?
Yeah, I mean, so I'll say that I still find American Express to be not a sponsor, like, a little. And they won't be now. I mean, I have one. but, like, I find it still a little tough. Some people don't take it. and it's because the credit, the fees are still so high. So, it's especially, hard to use internationally. and when you were talking about that, do you remember that episode of Saved by the Bell where Lisa has the shopping addiction and instead of the Visa, it's the Lisa? Do you think Visa was behind that?
Probably. it sounds like Big Visa is behind a lot of things.
Big Visa.
Isn't that crazy?
That is crazy. Also, we love amex and Visa, should that ever become relevant. Yeah.
For the record, Diners Club, I'm fine with either. I'm simply reporting facts here.
just the news from 1989.
The second. Well, this Chicago Tribune article is from 2022, I think, so it was talking about their current battle. So I think you have some cameos you're gonna mention later. I hope I'm not stepping on your toes.
Step on em.
I wanna mention, did you notice the actor at the Czech presentation ceremony who was dancing with Annie? He talked about being on the Love Boat. Did you notice who that was?
I did, but do you want to tell the people it was Ted McGinley.
Who played Jefferson Darcy on Married With Children.
Dude, are casting changes. extra sugar was really fire in here.
So tied up in this. In that world, it's either that we're so good or that Hollywood is such a small world and that we're focusing.
On a very specific time period.
Yes.
We are the ultimate 80s hype gals for sure.
We just keep coming back to it. I missed him the first time I watched it, and then the second time and I wrote down guy from Love Boat. And when I went to look into it, I was like, oh, my God, that's who it was.
And I told very young looking.
I told Kyle and Kyle was like, he was in everything at that point.
It's true.
Yeah. I had no idea.
Yeah.
Did you have other 80s? I have a few more references I had to look up. that, like, I couldn't even place in the 80s.
Okay. So I definitely have some more 80s things. And I have a couple of things that fall into that category of, like, technically are probably things that we had to look up or that we've looked up in the past because of Designing Women.
One thing I wasn't sure how to categorize, but it felt fair enough to put it here, is that I think Phyllis and Suzanne Sugarbaker have a lot in common.
Oh.
And might have wound up being friends given the chance. Like, I feel like she, Phyllis handled some things similarly to the way Suzanne, Wood. And what I mean by that is like kind of like this really, endearing ignorance. Oh, the furs, the pinoire sets, the shopping.
The general lack of awareness with a heart of gold. Like, I think, I think all those things. And so given that Pam Norris was thinking about Suzanne, since I think she would have been working on both right around the same time.
Like, I looked up, I think when she would have been working on this script, she was just starting to work on Designing Women because she comes in in the third season anyway, so it feels like there's some connective, tissue there. So I could see that it's a Designing Women reference.
I couldn't see Suzanne as a troop leader, but I can see some of the elements in there.
I don't know. But like, she also. But like, then you think about the, the episode where she almost adopted a daughter. And I'm not so sure. You know, sometimes she was a little tricky like that.
Yeah.
okay, some other quick. I'll just run through the cartoon style opening credits. So 80s. Those always put me in the mind of like, Christmas vacation.
well, hold on, because I have a. When I have unanswered questions, one of the ones I jotted down to myself was did the Don't Tell mom the Babysitter's Dead opening credits designer create this intro? It's like if that movie and Clueless had a baby. Those were my actual words I wrote down when I was watching it. I have an answer to it. I was right. The same teams were behind both Don't Tell mom the Babysitter's Dead opening scene. And also this one.
That's so funny. Good job.
the guys were involved in the Ren and Stimpy show Animaniacs.
Okay, I saw that.
the Simpsons and Eric Stefani. I'm pretty sure that's Gwen Stefani's brother, from the Simpsons design, crew. He was, he was part of the team that developed it. Both of them. I didn't look up Christmas, vacation, but that's a good call.
Somewhere on our list of lists needs to go. Don't tell Mom.
Oh, it's such a good movie. That is such a good movie.
That movie. It just really lives in my heart.
It's really good.
other things. I mean, it gets kind of silly at some point, but there was just a couple of 80s things that really popped out at me. That typically mauve carpet. That's just everywhere. You could not escape it. They had a lawn jockey in Beverly Hills. Dated. But also just that the fact that that was in Beverly Hills seemed even. I think it just shows the pervasiveness of things.
I started looking. I started that one on my list and then took it off, because I'm pretty sure we talked about it at some point in time on the show. but I like your point about it being pretty pervasive.
Yeah. I think that's just something that it's important to keep in mind. the smoking. Just so much smoking. Smoking, yeah.
So much smoking.
Right. Smokey the Bear so much that we got a Smokey the Bear reference. And then Pee Wee Herman. Huge one. And that's somebody we've talked about before. Jane Fonda Workout. Also someone we've talked about before. Love you, Jane. Just, you know, whenever you want, come on the show, let's be your kid. Whatever you want. Spago opened in 1982, and that is, headed up by Wolfgang Puck, which. Which I'm not sure how I didn't put all that together. I know I. Like, I was familiar with Spago, and, like, even. I'm not saying it's not still a big deal, but, like, this was its heyday, you know, it's like French Laundry of 1989. And even now, French Laundry is probably a dated reference, but, is Spago.
The restaurant they were eating at? I mean, that they were selling cookies at?
I think so.
Okay.
and I think Spago might have also made a turn in Beverly Hills Cop. I'm trying to remember.
So a couple things. I told you I'd come back to the geopolitics. So Lily's parents are supposed to be Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos or a comp for them. Now, I only knew because someone asked the mom how many shoes. Yep. Okay.
That makes sense. Well, we talked about that on the podcast.
Yep. We had to look it up. We're like, what? Okay, so I love the smell of cookies in the morning. Is a reference to Apocalypse now. And. Except it's, Napalm M. Apocalypse Now. And I. I thought this was. I thought this was. I thought this when I watched it, but I had to look it up to confirm, so I'm counting it here in this category anyway. And then we don't need no stinking badges. Originated from a novel which was then turned into the Treasure of Sierra Madre of the same name. I think they're likely referencing Blazing Saddles, though, just based on the rest of the movie. I'm not sure that the Treasure of the Sierra, Madre was titled Top of Mind for them, but maybe. How do you feel about a little trivia?
Oh, hold on. I have a couple more references.
Oh, I'm sorry.
My list goes on for days.
Wonderful. Oh, that's right. Excuse me.
One of the ones I heard them say early on is, they've had more leaders than a banana Republic. That's how they described true Beverly Hills. so it's not a reference to the rich cousin of the loft from shopping malls, but as Wikipedia puts it in political science, like, so let's stay in that vein. The term banana republic describes a politically and economically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. So it was developed by o. Henry in 1904 to describe Guatemala and Honduras. That was interesting. oh, have your fun now, Phyllis, because after the divorce is final, you're going to be shopping at Pick and Save. I thought that was maybe a Southern reference. It just shows you my bias. It just sounds Southern. Actually, no. It's a closeout retail chain based in Culver City, California. they mostly closed down by the early 2000s, but they have now revived at least two stores.
Oh, wonderful.
at one point, Phyllis says, you're the Gal Friday to our fearless leader, Nespa. That's, a reference to the term Guy Friday. it refers to a man, or for Gal Friday, a woman who acts as a general assistant in a business office. it comes from the book Robinson Crusoe. when he meets some character in the book, he calls him a. He calls him Friday. And Friday becomes, like, Robinson Crusoe's assistants. Assistant. So they termed the term Guy Friday. Did you know Robinson Crusoe was written in the 1700s?
I'm learning so much. It's funny because now I know. I recently told a friend of mine, I was like, I'll be your girl Friday. And now I realize that I accidentally like it embedded in my brain.
It's like in your brain. Now, this, should probably, should have gone in 80s, but I had to look this up. The Laura Ashley doll. so Hannah, she's Phyllis says to Hannah, oh, you're taking your Laura Ashley doll to your dad's house. So I Had to look this up because of course I remember Laura Ashley being like a print from the 80s and early 90s. Like a, fabric. Fabric print. I didn't really remember the dolls and they're really hard to find information on. But, this description I found said the dolls typically embody the timeless floral pattern and lace trimmed aesthetic associated with the Laura Ashley brand. They were really popular in the 1980s and were often sought after as gifts, decorative items, or nostalgic keepsakes.
Is it Hannah, 14?
I thought that too. I. I don't know. I can't remember her exact age, but I did think a doll. Really?
Yeah.
And a Laura Ashley doll was just interesting.
I mean, do you. But also.
Sure.
Just want to say that she's 14.
Yeah. Freddie says he wants to take Hannah to 31 flavors. I think that's a reference to Baskin Robbins. 31 flavors.
Now I'm hungry. Thanks for that. Go on.
You're welcome.
You mentioned a couple of the dances. the Frug, is one of the dances that they do. And I was going to briefly mention it. and then I learned that it made an appearance as an entire plotline of the Andy Griffith Show.
Oh.
Because, the school. The principal. The school principal was against the kids doing the frug in, like a school dance or whatever because he thought it was just like, you know, that thing of like, oh, youth today are so, What's the word? So frugal. They're so like, you know.
Morally loose.
Exactly. It's too much. It's too much. And then the principal came to the realization that it's very similar to a dance like the Jitterbug or something. Yeah, But I thought that was so crazy that it was like the inspiration of an Andy Griffith plotline. And then the Freddy. The thing about the Freddy that's interesting, other than that's a weird dance to do, is that it's shown up in other places. This movie is like one of the big places that it's referenced. But it also was in an episode of the Addams family, like the 1960s TV show.
Is that when it was a craze?
I think so.
Okay.
it's also mentioned in a song called the Fruge by the band Rilo Kiley. so the. Both.
That's why she named it that.
Exactly. So Jenny Lewis is the band's guitarist. She was in this movie, as a child. And so she named the song after that dance.
Oh, funny. Now, are you gonna do the frug? Which you know, I was thinking, now it does sound dirty.
I was thinking about it last night, trying to remember how it's done. And, like, reading the description of it is. It's really funny how people describe dance moves. They're like, it's as if you're doing jumping jacks but lifting to one side. It was just a very scientific, logistical description of it.
Okay. Okay.
wanted to mention Hobo Stew. it's also referred to as Campfire Stew and Girl Scout Camp Stewart. This is a real thing.
Okay.
So, like, you show up at camp, and you, It's actually considered a communal dish where everybody contributes whatever they have. So you show up with your can of whatever, and everybody dumps it into the stew.
Okay. I thought that might be a real thing. Probably not a name we would call it as much today.
Probably not.
Yeah.
I'm gonna stick to Girl Scout Camp Stew.
Okay.
That feels safe. and then I think just one more that I'll mention. when she's describing where the Czech presentation ceremony is going to be, she gives this address, and she says, across the street from that garish Sorok mansion. When I searched Sorok Mansion, it came back Greystone Mansion. Those two words never show up together unless it's, like, this movie. But Greystone mansion comes up, and I think it's probably for this reason. It's a Tudor revival mansion in Beverly Hills, California. it was designed by Gordon Kaufman and constructed in the early 1920s. The, important part for you to know Salina is that one. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. And it is also used oftentimes in Hollywood movies. So it was used in, like, music videos. It was used in Mariah Carey's We Belong Together music video. It was in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Batman and Robin, Cabin boy Death, becomes her. It was Chilton in Gilmore Girls. and it was in, like, all the spider Men.
Okay.
So I think it was a real reference to a gigantic mansion in Beverly Hills.
Something. Something for the Beverly Hills folks.
Exactly.
Okay, that makes sense.
So those were all the ones that, Yeah. That I wanted to mention that I had to look up.
And then I have. Can I ask you two unanswered questions?
I think you do whatever you want to do. This podcast asked.
I'm gonna ask maybe more than two questions. How did Phyllis never know her daughter's troop was in so much trouble? They seem like they're very close, but she acts so surprised that this troop is having so much like, she's like, where are your uniforms?
I got the sense that from some of these reviews that, like, the idea was, like, she kind of had checked out a little bit in her mom duties. And, like, her breakup with Freddie was, like, sort of brought her back online.
Maybe.
but it's a fair question.
What was the deal with the maid Rosa going back to Mexico? Phyllis said her grandmother died and her daughter said again. And then Phyllis has this weird look on her face.
I think that means that she didn't catch on to the fact that she had excuses. She's taking a day off.
Okay. So she's kind of ditzy and.
Yeah. And she's not, really paying attention. Right.
So, okay, what was the deal with all the Evian she was drinking when she thought she was Hannah. You think it was product placement? I was wondering if it's, like, a health conscious thing. And then I was like, but that doesn't explain all the cigarettes.
Right. Well, we were confused.
Yeah.
and then my last question was, those Oompa Loompa style pants that Phyllis was wearing at the Camporee, does this ring a bell for you?
Are they like gauchos?
That's not how I would describe them. They kind of go out into triangles at the thigh.
Yes.
Well, again, I answered this one myself by Googling it. They're very similar to the imperial uniforms in Star wars, which is the answer I found on Reddit.
Uh-huh.
They're riding pants. So it seems like the extra fabric is helpful when you're on the saddle. The extra fabric in your thigh. The style is called a jodhpur, and it was based off an old fashioned Indian trouser. At the time, India was a colony of Great Britain.
You know what? They're not helpful for girls with thick thighs.
I know one. So that's what I was thinking. Like, Shelley Long is so slim, and that's the only reason she could pull that off, because they look like Oompa Loompa pants. I can only imagine if I put those on.
Yes, I think I did. Like, I think I did have some sort of passing thought.
Like, okay, like, so it's a throwback to a very specific military style. That's why they're designed that way, is to give you a feeling of, like, the Germans wore them in World War II.
She's giving her fashion story.
Exactly.
Okay, that's all right. That's a good. That's a nice deep cut.
I feel confident we've answered. We've satisfactorily answered my unanswered Questions. I'm ready to move on to trivia, you know?
Okay. All right. Well, thank you. I wish sometimes y'all could catch our hand gestures. They're kind, so accommodating.
Well, so here's how I thought I'd handle this. I'm just going to run through these, as you would say, for funsies, and then you stop me if there's any that you're like, hold up. We need to talk about that. Yeah. Or you can be like, shut up and move on. But talk.
Okay.
Okay. So can confirm Shelley Long was definitely wearing a wig. Confirmed by her. So was Thomas, who plays Velda, who had red hair at the time. So they put her in a blonde wig. They just don't like leads to have the same color hair.
They don't. They don't.
It's a real thing.
I wonder why they chose red for Phyllis.
Oh, I have an answer. Okay, I'll skip to that then.
Tell me more.
Bette Midler was initially supposed to be cast. Cast as Phyllis, and they wanted her hair to be red.
Oh.
Seems like a weird. Like, why is that necessary?
Yeah. also would be an interesting casting choice.
I would also like to see that movie, for the record.
Yeah.
So I like me some bet, you know, but it would have been a really different tone. Maybe, like, I'm seeing, like, the Beaches character.
Don't forget she was in Hocus Pocus, too, though.
I'm not forgetting.
She's very comical.
yes, she is. And, But I feel like in Beaches, she has, like, sort of that same body, like, personality that she has in Hocus Pocus, but she has a softened side, and I think we would have seen both. We don't get to see that softened side because Hocus Pocus. Hocus Pocus is like the ultimate camp, you know?
Yeah.
and the film was inspired by producer Ava Osterm Fries's experience running her daughter's Girl Scout troop. So it does have some basis in reality. For those who didn't think it did. questions about whether or not their troop was in Beverly Hills. But I'm gonna tell you, I got lazy and I didn't look.
Sure.
So if anybody knows were around. Kelly Martin, who played Emily, the out of work actors kid. you might also know her as Kelly Martin, depending on your age. But anyways, she auditioned several times for the daughter Hannah's role, who you told us already, like, went to Jenny Lewis, and, sounds like maybe there were some feelings there. So we'll link to a People article where you can read where she talks about what that experience was like for her. And she and Tori Spelling maybe like, like two years ago also for the first time that I could found really talked about the clickiness of the cast. So both between the two different troops. But then even among like Troop Beverly Hills, there were like the cool girls and not. What do you know, those dynamics are just always there. There was talk of a sequel back in 2019. It would star all new girls, but include some cameos Thomas would supposedly direct. I have a feeling this dream was squashed by the pandemic.
Here's one you missed out on, nikki. For the 30th anniversary in 2019, the Beverly Hills Hotel was offering a Troop Beverly Hills inspired stay. This included a.
No, that sounds so fun.
well, hold your horses there.
Oh.
So Garden Suite 100, breakfast credit, two 60 minute massages, a Troop Beverly Hills themed welcome amenity, pink sleep masks and robes, and s'mores to eat while watching the movie. All for a starting price. Price of 2,550 per night.
Worth it.
I love to hear you say it.
Mark my words. Remember when you thrifty.
Remember when you didn't want to spend $8 on a DVD? Isn't it amazing how we, like, make like, concessions for certain things?
That's called inexperience. Reasonable financial decisions. And I prefer experiences over things.
I, You know what? That's beautiful. That's beautiful. So Kim Kardashian is purportedly a massive fan of the movie. In fact, she had a Troop Beverly Hills themed baby shower, complete with indoor teepees and Girl Scout cookies. She also apparently tried to have Shelly Long come to her birthday party one year as well. But there was some sort of scheduling miscommunication in the. In the interview.
Figure out what the tents were for at a baby shower birthday party.
Cute. You know how they put little teepees in rooms and stuff? Little kids rooms?
That's what I mean. Like for her daughter's birthday party, that makes sense. But for a baby shower, that doesn't make good sense.
Should we call her?
We should. You know what, Kimmy, come on the show with me.
Let's talk about.
She was sad about the scheduling issue.
Yeah, well, it was. Shelly Long was like, I really wish that I could have been there for her. And she, like, seemed like she really meant it. I was like, like, were you gonna do this for free?
Anyways, Shelley Long and Betty Thomas, AKA just a reminder, this is Velda. They would team up again in 1995 to make one of your favorite movies, The Brady Bunch movie.
Oh, Velda was in the Brady Bunch movie she directed. Oh. See, it tracks. It's all coming together now. You can put it on the list now I can't. Now I can't.
Sure. I enjoyed it that one time in 1995, and I thought I had closed the door on that chapter, but I can open it again.
I can bring. I can scratch that wound.
Thank you.
Bring you around.
Thank you. This was Thomas's last acting role, except for, like, one random episode of a TV show that she also directed. in that, for whatever it's worth, she is also a Second City alum. And because we probably weren't watching a lot of Hill Street Blues, speak for yourself. That's what she's known for. And she was nominated for seven, Globes and have one win for that show as well. So Govelda.
Meanwhile, Tori Spelling also shows up as a red feather, and it's her first movie role. So one person's last. Another person's first Mary life. It is a circle of something. Mary Gross, who played Annie Herman, starred on SNL from M81 to 85, meaning that her and Pam Norris would have been there at the same time. Norris wrote from 1980-84. you already mentioned Jenny Lewis as Rylo Kyler.
Are you going to gloss over the fact that Mary Gross was in Sabrina the Teenage Witch?
definitely not gonna gloss over that. Was she, like, an aunt? No, she definitely wasn't an ant. What character?
She,
Yeah, I know the ants. I know the ants.
No, she was one of Sabrina's favorite teachers, Ms. Quick, I think.
Okay.
Yeah, she was a teacher.
Okay. I did used to watch that as part of my TGIF routine.
But it's a cute show.
It is very cute. I just was really blown away that Jenny Lewis wound up being part of Rylo Kylie. Like, really enjoy them. They were actually the last song in Casey and My wedding. Arms outstretched. Yes. It was all part. That was a very curated music list. I spent many months on that music list. Anyways, and I have to also say that for me, Hannah or Jenny Lewis is always going to be from Big Girls Don't Cry. They Get Even. She's like the mean stepsister. Oh, do you remember this movie?
I think that's one I haven't seen.
Oh, my God, it's so good. in order to improve her chances of getting her part, this is Chica, played by Carla Gugino. She lied about her age, claiming to be 14. When she was actually 16. After three weeks into this, shoot, she divulged her real age. The director, by then, it was too late to replace her. She's a very familiar face. So when I saw her, I was like, she seems like. I wouldn't have thought that she would have been young enough to have been in a troupe. In 89.
She was in Son in Law.
She has been.
And we are right at my Thanksgiving annual rewatch of Son in Law. So I've watched that twice in the last week.
It's a big time for you, isn't it?
I was thrilled when I saw her because we're recording this, like, two days before Thanksgiving. So it was just falling in that window of time. I saw her face and I was like, Carla. But she's been in a lot.
Wonderful. Yes. She is like. Like, I, mean, she has a very long filmography.
Then my last bit of trivia is about cameos. I just want to see how many you caught. So this also goes back to some of our. Some of this will cross over our casting change. Extra sugar.
Okay.
Okay. So Audra Lindley as Francis Temple. This is the head of the Wilderness Girls. kind of like the feisty older lady that put Velda in her place. Okay. Do you know who she is?
No.
Okay. She is best known for playing Mrs. Roper in Three's Company. Oh, that was someone we talked about there then. So Joe Marie Payton as the salesperson that helped Phyllis and the girls when they, wanted to get their uniforms. Peyton is Harriet Winslow from Family Matters. Or as I like to refer to her as TGIF Royalty.
Right up there with Annie.
Right. Right up there.
Whoever played Annie.
Yep.
I'm forgetting Mary Gross.
There you go. It's a lot of names. This is a big cast.
So much.
Very sprawly Officer Bill who teaches the girls cpr, and I guess makes out with Phyllis in front of all the girls. That's fine. Anywho, he played a police officer just a few years earlier who arrests Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. Making this a cinematic crossover.
Is that what it makes it?
Of sorts.
Of sorts.
Okay, Then we get Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Kyle noticed that.
Okay.
When he walked down the stairs.
Yeah, I actually noticed it. Can you believe it?
I didn't put together that those were famous people until he mentioned it. I was like, oh, that makes a whole lot of sense. I thought they were just random, not so great actors. How dare you? I, know. I'm sorry.
I think he's just playing himself.
I was gonna say, to be fair, he wasn't an actor.
Yeah. Although he does have a couple of different cameos and things. But as soon as that height, he's so young looking there, though. Yeah. at the fashion show, then we get a whole slew of them. Most of these have been referenced on Designing Women. So we get Robin Leach from Lifestyles of Rich and Famous. Then there's, Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. They appear as two random joggers. Funicello gets a mention in the very first Designing Women's Sleepover episode, all the way back in season one. Both known for those like, Beach Bingo movies.
That makes a whole lot of sense. I also thought that I should have just assumed any time they had someone coming in in the background, it was a cameo. Because I also thought that feels like.
That's weird. Right?
It just felt like some. A joke, an inside joke I was missing.
Right. Dr. Joyce Brothers, she was also at the fashion show. I gotta say, that's one that I wasn't really familiar with. I guess I'm a Dr. Ruth Gurley myself, if I was gonna go with my 80s TV psychologist. but she was an advice columnist, a TV personality, and she was known as the mother of TV psychologist. And she was just really everywhere at this time. And then at the post cookie party, Annie Herman meets two suitors. One you already mentioned, which is Ted McGinley, aka Jefferson from Married With Children. And then we get a 70s and 80s icon, Cheech Marin. I mean, icon for all times, but certainly for. Then I've got three. So a couple of you mentioned one already. Shelly Morrison is Rosa. Sorry, these are technically not cameos, but they're people who have like, a very recognizable face. So Rosa is actually Rosario from Will and Grace.
Oh.
I like to think that she's the Consuelo we never saw saw. She passed in 2019 at age 83. so, the same year actually that Troop Beverly Hills turned 30. So RIP Heather Hopper as Tessa de Blasio. So for me is always going to be. Well, we'll just call her my first Nikki From Good morning, Ms. Bliss.
This is the early iteration of what will become Saved by the Bell.
Okay.
Jesse Spano becomes like her computer. And later on in the series, then Stanley from Sex and the City shows up as the director dad's assistant for like two seconds when they're dropping Tessa off. So.
Oh, okay.
And now I've literally told you about everyone in the movie, so I feel.
Good Are you done with trivia?
Well, I was gonna ask if you felt like I missed anything.
Well, I have a by the numbers.
Oh, wonderful.
Can you guess how many times Phyllis said the word fabulous in this movie?
I don't want to guess too high because I feel like that's annoying when people do that, you know? 7 billion. Right? Exactly.
That would be annoying.
32.
So close. 23.
Okay.
It was a lot. can you guess how many times she changed outfits?
27.
So close. 20. A conservative estimate puts us at 29. I think I missed one or two. at one hour in, we were already at two dozen. And that's when I really started to peter off in my counting. I started losing my attention span.
It's either a couple of dozen or 500.
And how many near reunions do you think we had between Phyllis and Freddie over the course of the movie?
Oh, five.
Close. I counted four. So in their first fight, when he reveals she's the other woman, at the pool house, he opens a jar for her, and they exchange. This moment, at the troupe meeting about cookie sales, and then again, sort of similarly, at the Czech presentation ceremony, they have this very, like, inside, jokey sort of look at each other. And then again when he drops Hannah off just before the camporee. So maybe my by the numbers wasn't that compelling, since you nearly guessed them all.
I thought it was very compelling. Why can't I win sometimes?
That's true. Oh, right, right. Just be good. Sorry. Let me straighten your crown for a second.
Sorry.
My competitive hat. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
I like that you're sorry. You got very Canadian there for a second. Sorry.
Well, I can't say I'm sorry in, like, my regular voice because I can't admit that I'm sorry.
Only the Canadian version of you.
It's masking. It's a problem I have.
So you don't feel like I missed any trivia, then?
No, I don't think so.
Okay, you're all set. Sorry. I think you did an excellent job. Sorry.
I'm the worst.
I'm gonna start. I'm gonna start using that. So when you see me saying sorry at work, just know it's your fault.
Okay.
I did have one more thing I wanted to run by you. Okay, so sometimes we'll do this thing where we get into the third hour of our movie reviews when we're really pushing it, and we talk a little bit about how we might update the movie. And I just wanted to know, was it worth throwing out There how some of the parents jobs might have changed. Do you have any off the cuff thoughts about what might be different?
Oh gosh. I have to think back on what all the parents did. So we had an actor, a filmmaker, the romance novelist. she'd probably be less of that sort of romance novelist. Although maybe not. And more of the. What's that lady's name who does all the beach reads. Oh, she just retired. But maybe someone like that or like.
Maybe like a Stephanie Myers or something like. Yeah, somebody that made like Twilight money.
And then you said you've already mentioned the date dictator. Probably wouldn't make sense.
Well, I've got one for that. I think. I think instead we do like a, Bezos comp. Like some kind of like billionaire. Yeah. yeah.
Ah, I get that.
I think we get a podcast host.
I think the wondery host.
I. Well, I think we could even get like a Dax Shepard comp. Because he's like in Hollywood, but also like a podcast host. So he's got like all of those things sewn up. I think we get a parent child influencer team. And they are. There's like lots of sponsor jokes littered throughout. And then we get a Real Housewife.
Oh, that would be brilliant. Yeah.
I also had some thoughts on the updating of the cast. Not a lot because it's too many people for the kids. That's a whole eight. I also don't know children actors, to be honest. Yeah. Because. And why would I? I have no kids and I'm 39 years old. I actually think it's a great comfort. Yeah, I think it's a great comfort. No, actually I said, I don't know, like the Disney show pipeline. Is that still a thing?
Sabrina Carpenter's too old now.
Are they still doing that? I don't know. but I thought Phyllis, like, I thought Kristen Bell might be a good updated Phyllis.
Okay.
And I was thinking like Maya Rudolph for Velda.
Oh, yes, she'd be good.
She plays like a fun villain.
Melissa McCarthy could also be a really good.
Any of them. Velda A Velda a Phyllis. The girls.
Trying to think of a good Phyllis. The girls. She could just do the whole cast.
I would watch that every day of the week.
A few years ago, Kristen Wiig might have been a really good Phyllis. She's a little.
I also thought of her.
Sorry, Kristen. Love you. A little less relevant now than she was there for a minute. Like she was just in everything for a minute. Like a. And I see it as kind of A bridesmaid.
okay. Thanks for ruining our chances of Kristen Wiig coming on the show.
She's taking a pause.
She's had a mental health break this summer.
Oh, that's true.
but, yeah, I think she's a.
Little irrelevant in my old, like, rerun rewatches of things.
Thanks.
I'm now only watching old movies unless they're new. Stupid Netflix Christmas movies.
It's a really challenging TV landscape.
I don't really have anyone for Annie, though. And that feels like a really important role. And I got. I don't know. I was sitting on. Sitting on Baltic with crap.
I'd have to research that one a little bit more. Surely there's someone from SNL that could play that character from that SNL universe.
It's gotta be. It's gotta be. I'm definitely not up on the SNL cast these days. Or ever.
Oh, man. I can see her face in my head. I feel like there are a few SNL'ers who would be good at that.
You know what? I think she'd be perfect. I don't know who she is. I bet you she's perfect. I can just tell she's great. I just know it. Wonderful.
For whatever reason, I keep thinking of Kenneth from 30 Rock, but I need, like, the female version of that. Or maybe he's just in there. There.
Yeah. Because men can be cheap leaders.
Absolutely. So why not? I think he would be so good. Like. But he needs to play Kenneth as the new Annie Arnold.
Trying to remember who Kenneth is.
He's the page boy who's. They're not sure how old he is. He's. They're like. He's either 20 or 45.
I think he's exactly who I'm thinking of. And I think that's an excellent. Yeah, that's brilliant. Jack McBrayer. That's brilliant. He's doing a show right now called, It's like America's Weirdest House or something. And he's, just so charming.
He. When.
So we went to Southern.
I think he is. Yeah. So he's from. I think he might be from Atlanta when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were. And maybe they're still doing it. I don't think they are, though. But they were doing their show. We went to see them at the Fox, and, they brought him out on stage as, like, their special guest.
From Macon. Remember the name of the show he's doing right now? It's really cute. Like, I wish I could remember. Just let me scroll Quick enough.
Then they can really know what it's like to hang out with us.
it's right. You know what? Hold on.
Googling.
This is my brain. I just like down 15 rabbit holes in the span of like four minutes.
We ask for some, some grace at Thanksgiving week.
Thanksgiving, man.
We paused our lives to talk about Troop Beverly Hills.
The really important stuff, the hard hitting coverage.
It's so good. Anyways, that's all I got, so.
Yeah, well, I think, I think it's enough. I think we did it justice.
I'm spent.
I'm exhausted.
so for our next episode, we're gonna talk about season seven of Designing Women. that'll probably be after of the year, right, Salina?
That will definitely be after the first of the year. I've seen two episodes of season seven, so.
Okay, perfect. Excellent. Right on track. So in the meantime, we'd love everyone to follow along with us and engage. Instagram and Facebook. Weetntv. We're on TikTok. Sweettvpod. We're on YouTube. You can just search Sweet Tea TV. Our email address is sweettvpodmail.com and our website is www.sweettv.com. lots of ways you can support the show. You can tell your family or friends about us. You can make us a. A topic of conversation at Thanksgiving dinner with your family so that you don't have to talk about other things.
Hey, there you go.
I guess by the time they hear this, it'll be Christmas dinner. So at Christmas dinner you can choose to talk about this instead of other things. You can rate and review the podcast wherever you listen. And then you can visit the website for, other options for supporting us. And with that, my brain officially broke.
Well, you know what that means.
What does it mean, Salina?
Beverly Hills, what a thrill. Beverly Hills, what a thrill. All right, cut me me. Bye y'all. Bye.
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