We debate the sweatiest movie of all time
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Whether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. They sweat in sexy movies and in drama. They sweat all over the place. But what movie has had people sweat the very most? There can only be one champion, and with another summer underway, we thought it was a great time to revisit our debate on that very important question. I'm Stephen Thompson. And I'm Linda Holmes. And today in this encore episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're debating what is the sweatiest movie of all time?
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What is the debate about the 'sweatiest movie' and who are the hosts introducing it?
Big news stories don't always break on your schedule, but with the NPR app, news, culture, and podcasts are ready when you want them in your pocket. Download the NPR app today. Joining us today are our co-hosts, Aisha Harris. Hello, Aisha. Here and sweaty to serve, Linda. And Glenn Weldon. Hello, Glenn. Cool hand, Glenn, they call me. Hey, Linda. So the sweatiest movie of all time is a question that, believe it or not, has come up in the culture from time to time. In fact, the very first episode of Cheers, the gang debates this very thing.
What movie did people sweat the most in?
That's easy.
Rocky II.
No, no, not even close. Body Heat. Sweat City. Ben-Hur.
The boys in that galley sweat like pigs. No, no, Alien. That's right. Alien!
Buckets.
That was more than 40 years ago, and a lot of sweating was yet to be filmed. So we have each brought a nominee for the sweatiest movie ever. Just so you know, we will be talking about sweat of all kinds, so we will be talking about sex for a few of these movies. Stephen Thompson, my sweaty friend, what did you bring for your pick for sweatiest movie? Well, I brought a sweaty movie. I brought a sexy movie. I brought a movie full of awkward rutting and what could be sweatier than that. I picked the 2001 Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien, which helped make massive stars of basically everyone involved. Alfonso Cuarón, the director and co-writer, went on to win several awards. Oscars for directing Gravity and Roma, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Maribel Verdu, all very, very, very successful actors.
If you have not seen Y Tu Mamá También, one, I highly recommend it, and two, just to give you a quick plot description, it is a sort of coming-of-age road movie in in which two very horny and inept young men recruit an older woman, played by Maribel Verdue, to go on a road trip to a sort of mythical beach spot during kind of everyone's summer break. Along the way, you get a lot of sex and talk about sex and sweating and smoking in cars. And I've rarely seen a movie that I could so consistently feel like I could smell.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:08
2
What is the debate about the 'sweatiest movie' and who are the hosts introducing it?
2:08–12:07
3
Which movies are named in the opening pop-culture sweat debate and why does it matter?
12:07–13:45
4
Why is Y tu mamá también Stephen Thompson's pick for the sweatiest movie?
13:45–24:30