My Brother, My Brother And Me: MBMBaM 400: The Escape to Margaritaville Red Carpet Extravaganza
April 2, 2018 8:31 AM - Subscribe
There are two human skills that fall completely outside our area of expertise: Having normal social interactions with celebrities, and having normal social interactions with literally anyone, ever, on the Earth. Please keep this fact in mind as you listen to this episode, wherein we were invited to record an episode of our podcast from the red carpet event at the Broadway debut of Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville. It's not only our quadracentennial episode, it's also the start of the MaxFunDrive! As you listen to us get our asses totally roasted by famous folks who effortlessly pick apart our whole operation, please consider healing our wounds by pledging your support of our bold, journalistic endeavor.
I haven't even listened to this yet, and the responses to that tweet are magical.
posted by gladly at 10:15 AM on April 2, 2018
posted by gladly at 10:15 AM on April 2, 2018
By 27 minutes in, my secondhand social anxiety is so thick I don't think I can get any farther. This is quite a thing.
posted by tchemgrrl at 11:02 AM on April 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by tchemgrrl at 11:02 AM on April 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
the absolute ROASTING by Al Roker. I had no idea he had it in him.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:59 AM on April 2, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:59 AM on April 2, 2018 [7 favorites]
Oh my God they're so endearingly awkward.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:20 PM on April 2, 2018
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:20 PM on April 2, 2018
Matt Doyle?
posted by DigDoug at 12:40 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DigDoug at 12:40 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
"spread the word that we're regular, normal people!"
posted by vogon_poet at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by vogon_poet at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Who was the first person they rope in? I couldn't hear her name anywhere. Ms. Hughes?
posted by Navelgazer at 2:10 PM on April 2, 2018
posted by Navelgazer at 2:10 PM on April 2, 2018
Who was the first person they rope in? I couldn't hear her name anywhere. Ms. Hughes?
That was Paten Hughes. And apparently, Matt Doyle didn't actually walk the press line, but this is him.
Also, this photo taken during the Roker Roast is amazing.
posted by kmz at 3:46 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
That was Paten Hughes. And apparently, Matt Doyle didn't actually walk the press line, but this is him.
Also, this photo taken during the Roker Roast is amazing.
posted by kmz at 3:46 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
How is it that their microphones were so weird? What is the microphone situation at one of these things normally like?
posted by meese at 6:16 PM on April 2, 2018
posted by meese at 6:16 PM on April 2, 2018
The second-hand anxiety on this sounds so bad I think I should listen to this on my way from work instead of to.
posted by bleep at 6:34 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 6:34 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is what the MBMBAM TV show should have been: The three of them approaching major celebrities in public spaces to perform ad-hoc live camera interviews. I would watch a half hour of that every week, no question.
posted by ardgedee at 7:14 PM on April 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 7:14 PM on April 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well they did try! It's not their fault they couldn't complete the call to the Ellen show or Reginald VelJohnson's agent.
posted by bleep at 7:29 PM on April 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by bleep at 7:29 PM on April 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
This was a hilarious, cringe-y episode (but never so cringey that I had to stop as I sometimes do with my intense empathy for social awkwardness) but man, that Al Roker ending was just.... *chef kiss*
One of the many things I love about our good good goof boys is how humble they are, and Roker's absolute roasting of them showcased that so well. They're not overly self-effacing in that way that's actual fishing for attention and they're definitely not arrogant, but they know when they're out of their depth and they are so, so willing to laugh at themselves when someone else can tell and mocks them for it. It's a fucking inspiration, I wish everyone took themselves with such a big grain of salt.
posted by WidgetAlley at 7:35 PM on April 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
One of the many things I love about our good good goof boys is how humble they are, and Roker's absolute roasting of them showcased that so well. They're not overly self-effacing in that way that's actual fishing for attention and they're definitely not arrogant, but they know when they're out of their depth and they are so, so willing to laugh at themselves when someone else can tell and mocks them for it. It's a fucking inspiration, I wish everyone took themselves with such a big grain of salt.
posted by WidgetAlley at 7:35 PM on April 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
When nobody was talking to them at first, part of me was very excited for the possibility of this jazz-like experimental wonder of just this random high anxiety podcast that happened on the red carpet premiere of Jimmy Buffet's musical that nobody even noticed.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:49 PM on April 2, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 7:49 PM on April 2, 2018 [6 favorites]
I think that's what hooked me. I really hate cringe humor but the brothers were living in the moment and focused on trying to do an actual job rather than pull off a stunt. Although I can't help but wonder whether Roker heard Griffin's fretting about meeting somebody he'd once made fun of.
posted by ardgedee at 3:57 AM on April 3, 2018
posted by ardgedee at 3:57 AM on April 3, 2018
The whole Matt Doyle thing is my favorite, and Lin getting the clip is the perfect ending to it. "A coupla Matt Doyles coming up the carpet here . . ."
posted by gladly at 5:53 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gladly at 5:53 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
This was so funny, way funnier than I expected. I liked how Lin told them not to give them a big long introduction and they did it every time. They really did their thing though and their thing is just so funny. “I want to know fears. I want to see into people’s souls.”
posted by bleep at 10:17 AM on April 3, 2018
posted by bleep at 10:17 AM on April 3, 2018
Me before this episode: The McElroy Brothers do great live shows, but there's one thing they should tweak and it'd be perfect.
Me after this episode: I'm so proud that these boys can leave the house and interact with other humans. I would never ask any more of them than that.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:59 AM on April 3, 2018 [12 favorites]
Me after this episode: I'm so proud that these boys can leave the house and interact with other humans. I would never ask any more of them than that.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:59 AM on April 3, 2018 [12 favorites]
yeah holy shit I have never felt closer to these boys than in this episode where they triggered every side of my own social anxiety in a more sustained and intense fashion than I have experienced in years. I was on my commute home but ended up just wandering in circles in a dizzy mix of hysterical laughter and genuine jaw-clenching fear
seriously I related hard to the ways in which each of them attempted to handle the situation
- Justin freaking out, failing to read or speak full sentences, laughing and yelling pretty much nonstop
- Griffin mocking his brothers' fuck-ups as a way to mask his own sheer terror
- Travis trying to overcome his fear by just sort of stumbling forward into it
also: I never knew I loved Al Roker until today
posted by Kybard at 1:55 PM on April 3, 2018 [7 favorites]
seriously I related hard to the ways in which each of them attempted to handle the situation
- Justin freaking out, failing to read or speak full sentences, laughing and yelling pretty much nonstop
- Griffin mocking his brothers' fuck-ups as a way to mask his own sheer terror
- Travis trying to overcome his fear by just sort of stumbling forward into it
also: I never knew I loved Al Roker until today
posted by Kybard at 1:55 PM on April 3, 2018 [7 favorites]
Have any of the celebrities they spoke to had anything to say on Twitter or the like? I mean, I doubt there interaction was notable to them, but I'm guessing their Twitter feed is blowing up since the episode got released.
posted by meese at 3:44 PM on April 3, 2018
posted by meese at 3:44 PM on April 3, 2018
It’s mostly Lin thanking his friends for being nice to them. And Marilu Henner being excited about Twitter-meeting Lin.
posted by bleep at 4:00 PM on April 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 4:00 PM on April 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
I also tried to do this while driving in to work and had to turn it off very early on, but I'm still going to attempt it again later, I hope. I'm so proud of them, though. They're so good and brave.
I had a dream once that I accidentally made friends with Lin, and now I'm like: I can never, ever be friends with anybody even peripherally in show business just in case somehow I *accidentally* have to be within ten miles of someone famous.
posted by Sequence at 7:03 PM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I had a dream once that I accidentally made friends with Lin, and now I'm like: I can never, ever be friends with anybody even peripherally in show business just in case somehow I *accidentally* have to be within ten miles of someone famous.
posted by Sequence at 7:03 PM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I’m listening to it a second time and it’s amazingly hysterical. “You get more flies with honey than with making them think I stink like vinegar”. I love the way they talk to each other, it’s so frank and yet trusting. Like when Griffin kept roasting Justin. “The most high stakes game of Guess Who”. Everything they think of and try to do is super relatable, especially Travis’s discomfort with not knowing the rules. I also loved the debrief at the end, it’s exactly how my family used to debrief on the way home from larger family events.
posted by bleep at 7:29 PM on April 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by bleep at 7:29 PM on April 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
There's a full list here--I think the multiverse guy was Ethan Suplee.
I actually got through the thing, even though I needed to pause it every few minutes to breathe and remember that they chose to share this with everyone and so must have been okay with it in the end. I love that they seem to be able to create this friendly energy around themselves. They have so much practice "yes and"-ing that they deemed every answer "very good," no matter if it was boring or weird. The enthusiasm makes everyone sound cool and friendly. The little brotherly roles they all fell into was also cracking me up; Griffin's panic translating as dunking hard on the other two, Justin's panic translating as trying to study for the big test, too late, Travis talking himself into and out of jumping in, all in the same breath. It was all too relatable. I am sort of amazed that people with extensive theater and journalism experience were so out of their depth.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:13 AM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
I actually got through the thing, even though I needed to pause it every few minutes to breathe and remember that they chose to share this with everyone and so must have been okay with it in the end. I love that they seem to be able to create this friendly energy around themselves. They have so much practice "yes and"-ing that they deemed every answer "very good," no matter if it was boring or weird. The enthusiasm makes everyone sound cool and friendly. The little brotherly roles they all fell into was also cracking me up; Griffin's panic translating as dunking hard on the other two, Justin's panic translating as trying to study for the big test, too late, Travis talking himself into and out of jumping in, all in the same breath. It was all too relatable. I am sort of amazed that people with extensive theater and journalism experience were so out of their depth.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:13 AM on April 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
This was one of the best and worst episodes on MBMBAM. My vicarious social anxiety was something else, but they were such good, good brothers. I loved how after every sleb, they talked about "so professional" and it wasn't clear if they were talking about the person, or their own reaction.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:16 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 9:16 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
There's a pretty great video on Lin's feed of Matt Doyle saying he was sorry he missed them and roasting them a bit.
posted by graventy at 9:54 AM on April 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by graventy at 9:54 AM on April 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by tchemgrrl at 9:51 AM on April 2, 2018 [4 favorites]