Episode #782: Identity (2003)
Added 2025-02-04 05:00:04 +0000 UTC“If this movie was made today… it would absolutely be a direct-to-VOD situation!” - Steve
On this week’s episode, we kick off our dumbest theme month yet, Wait-WHUT-uary, with a long-time-coming episode on the psychological thriller, Identity! How hard does the twist ending destroy this movie? Can we all agree to let John Cusack be great in worthwhile stuff once again? Is this whole judicial situation above board in this movie? And how hilarious are some of these deaths? PLUS: Coming this summer, John Cusack stars in Limousine Cop!
Identity stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, John C. McGinley, William Lee Scott, Jake Busey, Rebecca De Mornay, Carmen Argenziano, Marshall Bell, Leila Kenzle, Frederick Coffin, Holmes Osborne, and Pruitt Taylor Vince as Malcolm Rivers; directed by James Mangold.
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Comments
Steve mentions Rebecca D not having a bigger career; checked if Harvey Weinstein was involved. Nope, it was self correcting - she is a total normal lady and Kevin Spacey apologist.
Matthew Kennedy
2025-02-08 22:26:57 +0000 UTCJohn Hawkes Kramer'd his way into a job 😂
Matthew L Adams-Tucker
2025-02-07 02:08:26 +0000 UTCIf you’re a disgusting motel owner a hooker Amanda Peet working your place is the best news you could get. People would come from miles around.
John Carpenter's Patreon Commentator
2025-02-06 14:42:10 +0000 UTCWell, I identify with Eric’s joyful nihilism. Chris possesses the vast film knowledge I wish I had. The same with Steve’s comic book knowledge. And, well, to paraphrase Homer, “Andrew is their leader”.
Derek Baxter
2025-02-06 13:28:42 +0000 UTCThe Happening 2
Craig
2025-02-06 10:06:34 +0000 UTCWhich parts of your personality do Andrew, Steve, Chris and Eric represent?
Craig
2025-02-06 10:05:16 +0000 UTC"Don't even worry about it" became a part of my vocabulary so gradually I didn't even notice
JK
2025-02-06 00:08:22 +0000 UTCWeird that at the beginning Eric asks listeners what day is their birthday and this episode dropped… on my birthday?! Is this all in my head?
Derek Baxter
2025-02-05 18:23:49 +0000 UTC"Who in the audience cares that it's the little kid vs. Ray Liotta?" I DO, SIR. As a devoted fan of DSB-related comedy, I deeply care, because that little montage was the dumbest and funniest thing I've seen in a WHILE.
Rose Esposito
2025-02-05 15:24:25 +0000 UTCFor a while I used to say "you know what, better movie"
DMAC
2025-02-05 14:00:37 +0000 UTCOh I've been saying RIPD for years and people still look at my funny lol.
FiddlersGreenDay
2025-02-05 11:36:17 +0000 UTCThat's definitely someone's nemesis in pro wrestling
Tim O'Connor
2025-02-05 02:24:58 +0000 UTC"Mr. Cabin, the court doesn't appreciate your insistence on blaming a so-called disgusting shit boy for the crimes"
Tim O'Connor
2025-02-04 23:42:41 +0000 UTCChris Cabin you are hereby sentenced to hang until dead, including but not limited to all of your alternate personalities.
jribs
2025-02-04 22:37:12 +0000 UTCUPDATE: Serial killer Chris Cabin was executed today. Mr. Cabin's last ditch attempt to plead "I didn't do it, it was a little boy" was denied by the judge at 12:01 am.
Ray
2025-02-04 20:43:21 +0000 UTCUnfortunately I am one of the only people who liked the Village. But Lady in the Water is def where he went overboard. That being said, if you watch the rest of his films with the expectation they’re gonna be goofy AF you might actually have a fun time, like with the Happening or Trap or even Old.
Lar
2025-02-04 20:37:16 +0000 UTCJake Busey: Teethal Weapon
Hard To Gwil
2025-02-04 20:24:00 +0000 UTCI think the main reason I own this is because Columbia DVDs from the period tended to have a nice batch of trailers on the disc. I also miss these types of mid-budget films with solid casts. This isn't one of the better ones (though before the twist its fine) but it does scratch a very particular itch.
Ed Harris
2025-02-04 20:18:01 +0000 UTCPostlethwaite isn't in brown face in The Usual Suspects.
Wilson
2025-02-04 19:03:42 +0000 UTCKorncast part 2 when??
Lar
2025-02-04 18:41:21 +0000 UTCTheir recurring slogans have invaded my vocabulary to the point others will be like “why did you say it like that” but I’m not worried about it.
Lar
2025-02-04 18:40:42 +0000 UTCHaven’t seen this in a few years but I remember thinking it was visually kinda cool. But I’m a sucker for those late 90s/early 2000s horror aesthetic, which is way too edgy. It’s nostalgia 10000%. Idk if this counts as “horror though”.
Lar
2025-02-04 18:39:34 +0000 UTCDisney should adapt this into Inside Out 3.
Mark Ibarra
2025-02-04 18:29:53 +0000 UTCOne for Limousine Cop please. Also, best line from the movie, "Whores don't get a second chance!"
Daryl Williams
2025-02-04 17:29:32 +0000 UTCFor some reason as a kid when I saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it was a movie about rain killing people. After listening to you guys describe what actually happened, starting to think the rain thing would be better lol
stephen sammartino
2025-02-04 17:21:31 +0000 UTCHere's how you fix it. You keep Peete and the kid alive past the shootout, maybe you keep Cusack alive bleeding out so you can still have him in the twist scene. Then after he dies Peete is like 'ok I'm gonna raise this kid' and they drive off to Florida. THEN you have the twist, then cut to Florida, then Peete realizes it's the kid, the kid realizes that she realizes it. Then you got Amanda Peete trying to kill a kid baby!
Kyle Godown
2025-02-04 17:11:26 +0000 UTCThat shot of the kid walking away from the exploding car at the end, I was HOWLING
JK
2025-02-04 17:01:55 +0000 UTCLove a slick flick
jribs
2025-02-04 16:39:47 +0000 UTCAfter finishing it, I’d say this is an episode where it really helps to have seen the movie and you’re probably fine with one viewing.
jribs
2025-02-04 16:39:07 +0000 UTCAlso, the “what.” that Cusack gives when the twist happens might be his best acting ever. That’s a guy that just heard the dumbest thing he’s ever heard said with absolute gravity.
Gone
2025-02-04 16:28:31 +0000 UTCI have a real suspicion that rain is discouraged by studios because of how taxing it is on streaming video.
Mark Ibarra
2025-02-04 16:13:06 +0000 UTCI think the problem with John Cusack is that he has a reputation of being an asshole. I remember hearing that somewhere.
Dennis C
2025-02-04 16:03:21 +0000 UTCRegular Degular
DMAC
2025-02-04 16:01:01 +0000 UTCAll of these personalities are just hanging out at The Gettin' Place Where drinks are 3 for a dollar, cheese puffs at the bar, and Eddie Vedder
DMAC
2025-02-04 16:00:38 +0000 UTCWait...........................................what?!
FiddlersGreenDay
2025-02-04 15:25:16 +0000 UTCI remember watching this in the theater and ten minutes in thinking, "It's all in his head."
Damon LeCornu
2025-02-04 15:15:52 +0000 UTCThe poem he says at the beginning and end is an old one called “Antigonish.”
Gone
2025-02-04 14:20:17 +0000 UTCYesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, I wish, I wish he'd go away! It's part of 100+ years old poem about a ghost.
ediblegenius
2025-02-04 14:11:58 +0000 UTCCoffin Szyszka has a real nice ring to it ⚰️
TDB
2025-02-04 14:05:29 +0000 UTCTrap was pretty good
Comrade Trash Panda
2025-02-04 13:30:32 +0000 UTC20 year old me LOVED this movie. 20 year old me was also a moron with terrible taste. Y'know what other movie I loved? Clink-clink-clink-clink
Comrade Trash Panda
2025-02-04 13:29:37 +0000 UTCA-Korn-Pella
Michael Daniels
2025-02-04 13:14:28 +0000 UTCJames Mangold is the best evidence of why keeping your head down and working consistently pays off. Dude isn't a stylish director by any means, but with the current crop of uninspired direction in movies, he stands out now.
Michael Daniels
2025-02-04 13:11:49 +0000 UTCSteve, as a born-and-raised Texan myself, I hereby bequeath you with permission to wear a two-toned "Texas dress coat" on the streets of NYC! Follow in the fashion footsteps of our native son, Joe Buck and go with God! 🤠❤️🎬
Molly
2025-02-04 12:29:45 +0000 UTCI think this podcast gig is up for Eric, Andrew, and Steve. It's now time: Korn. Acapella. Cover. Band. Kornapella. Whip up a Kornapella does XXX-Mas album and those Pentatonix fools won't own MSG in December anymore, you can take that to the bank.
Jason
2025-02-04 12:29:03 +0000 UTCHonestly, I love how wet it is. We need to bring rain back to the movies.
Eren Keskin
2025-02-04 11:16:34 +0000 UTCJesus what a cast wasted. And oh man did I get angry at the ending. It somehow does ruin the rest of it, and that's saying something.
Knut Farstad
2025-02-04 08:55:20 +0000 UTCI'm on the same boat as Andrew but I'm a few years younger so of course I thought the movie was amazing back then. I still kinda love it in all its flawed, stupid glory. It's the kind of movie I'd have to immediately show my mom and she'd also love it (for Identity specifically, I did and she did). I think the highlight of the episode is every time Steve getting frustrated at how the twist makes 95% of the movie not matter at all. Might be a classic ep, definitely one I've wanted to hear for a long time.
Busiris
2025-02-04 07:49:44 +0000 UTCWent into the beginning expecting a sound bite of Steve and Eric doing the “Wait…WHAT” impression and was quite pleased haha
Exambolor
2025-02-04 07:47:23 +0000 UTCWtf did I just watch. Also that guy who got killed by a baseball bat is phenomenal. I only wish it actually happened. I've never felt more deflated by a twist.
Ray
2025-02-04 07:39:40 +0000 UTCI think ‘Signs’ is M. Night Shyamalan’s last really good movie—everything after that feels like diminishing returns. The film has a great cast and showcases what I’d consider Mel Gibson’s last standout performance. And to those asking, ‘Why would aliens invade a planet that’s 90% water if they’re vulnerable to it?’ I’d counter with, why are humans eager to colonize Mars, a planet with no oxygen or life? Same idea.
Paul
2025-02-04 05:24:37 +0000 UTCThis was a HBO special in the mid 2000s. I remember it being ok with a twist
Papa Taylor
2025-02-04 05:21:57 +0000 UTCTrying to decide if it’s worth rewatching or just letting the WHM ep bring it all back to me. I do recall it being total dumb fun.
Kyle Mares
2025-02-04 05:03:13 +0000 UTCLiterally finishing it for the first time right now. Entertaining enough but holy god this cast is STACKED
jribs
2025-02-04 05:01:52 +0000 UTC
