Siskel & Ebert (TV Series)

Air Force One/Good Burger/Cafe Society/In the Company of Men/Box of Moonlight (1997)

Gene Siskel: Self - Host

Quotes 

• Gene Siskel - Host : There isn't too much to say about "Good Burger", other than it isn't very funny. I don't see why one of the kids couldn't be smart. That would set up a whole 'nother set of jokes, I think. As written, however, I strongly recommend skipping "Good Burger".

  Roger Ebert - Host : Well I don't recommend the movie either, Gene, but I think these are two pretty bright kids. I don't know why you think they're dumb. They figure out the entire situation, they save Good Burger, they outsmart the competition, they get everything they want, who could be smarter than that?

  Gene Siskel - Host : They play- do you think that Ed is a smart character, or do you think...

  Roger Ebert - Host : He's very smart in the way that he goofs on people with his wordplay, yes.

  Gene Siskel - Host : In other words, you believe that Ed is TOTALLY an act, he is not saying what he really thinks when he speaks?

  Roger Ebert - Host : Uh, I believe that to a degree, yes. He's absolutely performing.

  Gene Siskel - Host : Then we completely disagree.

  Roger Ebert - Host : As Ed, yes.

  Gene Siskel - Host : We completely disagree.

  Roger Ebert - Host : And even so, he's not dumb. Even if he isn't an act, he's not that dumb.

  Gene Siskel - Host : I think that every...

  Roger Ebert - Host : He's effective. He's effective in dealing effectively with...

  Gene Siskel - Host : Roger, these are the heroes of the picture! Of course they're gonna make things turn out happy! You think the burger store's gonna close up? Come on.

  Roger Ebert - Host : Another problem I have with your review is I think, basically, this movie is made for eight-year-old kids who watch Nickelodeon. I think...

  Gene Siskel - Host : [sarcastic]  I had no idea.

  Roger Ebert - Host : And they'll probably like it too.

  Gene Siskel - Host : I thought it was made for their college professor fathers and mothers.

  Roger Ebert - Host : No, you reviewed it as if it was.

  Gene Siskel - Host : So you- you're giving it a positive review?

  Roger Ebert - Host : Not for MYSELF, but I'm trying to give a fair assessment of the movie and its intended audience.

  Gene Siskel - Host : I thought you're a guy who always says- you review, what you think, and not try and predict what the audience is gonna think.

  Roger Ebert - Host : Well, if I've been useful to our viewers, I'm very grateful.

• Gene Siskel - Host : [reviewing "In the Company of Men"]  This is not some cheap thrills, "Sleeping with the Enemy", Hollywood movie. No, THIS film managed to actually make you feel the pain of another human being in a very fresh way. In "In the Company of Men", we see the emotional blood really flow, and it stops you short. How dare ANYONE be so cruel to any other human being at any time? Is this a feminist movie? Is this a "hate men" movie? Maybe. But it's so much more than that. Writer/director Neil LaBute has created a film that cries out against humanity, regardless of the sex of the perpetrator or victim. It's an audacious, brave picture, beautifully conceived and performed.

  Roger Ebert - Host : Well, I think it's a great picture, too. And uh... the, the lead guy in this movie is probably the most evil...

  Gene Siskel - Host : Yes.

  Roger Ebert - Host : ...Person I've ever seen in a movie. And I'm gonna tell you something else.

  Gene Siskel - Host : Yes, I felt the same way.

  Roger Ebert - Host : Many, many, many people watching this movie will be able to say they've done things almost as bad as what he does. That kind of behavior: Lying to somebody in an emotional relationship and leading them down the garden path and then dismissing them is VERY, very common. And all this movie really does is dramatize it in a very compact way.

  Gene Siskel - Host : When you say "dramatizes", let me just say that that word isn't worthy of what he's done here. Because it's so credible, that's what's stunning to me. I think the behavior is MORE outrageous than you think, that's immaterial. But what I, what I'm convinced of is, I said, "Are they REALLY gonna do THIS?"

  Roger Ebert - Host : You don't think, you don't think guys don't talk like this about girls?

  Gene Siskel - Host : Uh...

  Roger Ebert - Host : Of course they do.

  Gene Siskel - Host : No no, I think what we're talking about...

  Roger Ebert - Host : They talk JUST as cynically. Do they lie to girls?

  Gene Siskel - Host : Not the ones I know.

  Roger Ebert - Host : They don't?

  Gene Siskel - Host : Not the ones that I know.

  Roger Ebert - Host : You've never seen this behavior?

  Gene Siskel - Host : I have never seen it.

  Roger Ebert - Host : You never have? Well, you've lived a very fortunate life.

  Gene Siskel - Host : Thank you.