Greatest On-Screen Bromance Ever? Therapist Reacts to RRR

Jono: The amount of fist pumping... that I did watching this. Alan: Yeah. Here's the magic trick. It is a silly, over-the-top crazy, action superhero Indian historical drama. Jono: Musical. Alan: Musical that also features literally a blueprint for healthy friendships. Jono: It is all about virility, and strength, and courage, and power, and rescuing people, and just being a badass. But it's also about being sensitive towards children, kind and respectful towards women, loving your country, and

being tender hearted. It is unabashedly old fashioned macho in many respects, but in the healthiest way possible. Alan: Hey, remember how I said subtlety in filmmaking is good? It isn't. [Beep] that noise. This is good. This is what's good. Welcome to Bromance Therapy. I'm Alan Seawright, professional filmmaker who needs therapy. This is... Jono: I'm licensed therapist Jonathan Decker, and I need some lovin'. Apparently. Alan: You just need a good bromance. Jono: I need guy love between two guys

. ♬♬ It's guy love ♬♬ ♬♬ between two guys ♬♬ Alan: We're watching RRR. Jono: Arrrrrrr! Alan: Arrrrrr. The pirattiest movie that features no pirates. Jono: A masterpiece. Alan: Listen, it is a revelation. It is... It... Like, I felt after watching this the same way I felt after watching The Matrix. Jono: Really? Alan: It was a complete shift in my consciousness. It was like dropping acid. Jono: Would you know? Alan: No. Jono: Okay. [laughs] [trippy laughs] This movie was part... You got served pa

rt Braveheart, part Fast and the Furious. Alan: It was 90% Fast and the Furious. Jono: Part Passion of the Christ for one scene. Alan: A little bit. Yeah. Jono: And then, all of a sudden, like, Singing in the Rain. Alan: Yeah. And, listen, none of that should work, and it certainly shouldn't work together. And yet... It is a masterpiece. It might be the best movie that came out last year. "It is one of the best films ever made". "Certainly the best film of this year". Jono: "Yeah". Alan: "Not ev

en close". Jono: So, let's do this thing. Alan: Okay. Jono: There's a child in danger. Alan: Yep. What are we going to do? Jono: They've never met. And they're just communicating through eye contact and body language. Like, this plan. Like, this instant connection. Alan: Oh, okay. I should definitely tie this rope around myself Now what? Alan: Oh, yeah. Totally. Got it, bro. Here we go. Just... Listen... Listen... It's so silly and it's so perfect. Jono: There may have been more efficient ways

to save that child, but none of them were as awesome. And he grabbed... Yes! Alan: The revolutionary flag, baby. Alan: Pose. Jono: Yes! Alan: Pose. Come on! Jono: This movie is, like, 97 on Rotten Tomatoes. Alan: And that's not high enough. It should be 112. Like, what's he doing? Why is he dipping it there? Why did he grab a flag? Oh, because there's going to be... ...a railcar exploding. We know this. Jono: That's so amazing! Here's the thing. If it didn't go as hard and all-in as it did on ev

ery possible way. Alan: It wouldn't work. Jono: No, it wouldn't work. It would actually... It would actually crap... Be crap. It went from, like... ...good to crap to the most amazing thing ever because it just kept going. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Yeeees! Alan: There he is! Alan: Not a CG flag. Alan: And now we get the opening credits. 40 minutes in, we get the opening title. Jono: Yeah. Alan: This is 40 minutes into the movie. And listen... Listen. Not only was that a kick ass action sequence. It was

the greatest meet cute in cinema history. It was also the the manliest, like... Jono: Yeah. Alan: ...arm grab in cinema history. Like, it was simultaneously so many superlatives. Jono: Oh, man... Alan: It's hard to describe. And that's one scene 40 minutes in. We've already had 12 scenes before this that are just the most... Jono: Yeah, yeah. Well, and here's what I love about this film. It is unabashedly old fashioned macho in many respects. But in the healthiest way possible. Alan: Yeah. Okay.

Talk to me about this because it is so drenched in testosterone. Jono: Oh, so hard. So hardcore. Alan: But yeah, you get to the end of it. And it's not, like, this movie hates women. Jono: Or this movie is teaching us, like, bad things about what being a man is. Like, it is all about virility, and strength, and courage, and power, and rescuing people, and just being a badass. Alan: And bringing a tiger to a gunfight. Jono: But it's also about being sensitive towards children, and kind and respe

ctful towards women, and loving your country, and being tender hearted. And I will say, this is something that this film has in common with Lord of the Rings, and, like, our Aragorn versus Toxic Masculinity. Aragorn is a complete badass. Alan: Yeah, totally. Jono: But he's a warrior poet and he's a tender hearted... good hearted soul with a lot of integrity. And so are these guys. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Also in Lord of the Rings, you have something very rare, which is open, really strong affection be

tween straight men. Alan: Yes. Jono: Without shame. Alan: It is great to finally get some representation in cinema. Jono: What do you mean? Alan: It's not gay that I put my arm around you when we're excited. Jono: And... And that you and I could have, like, a horse versus motorcycle... Not a race. Just enjoying the countryside. Alan: Sure. Jono: Frolic Alan: A frolic. Jono: It's a frolic. Alan: We do need to frolic more. Jonathan, would you say that friendships fail from infrequent frolicking? T

hey certainly falter. Alan: Okay. This is... ...one of the greatest, like... ...dating montages ever. Alan: But it's... it's just two men. Jono: But they are not dating. Alan: It's a bro montage. Jono: Yes. Alan: A bro-tage. Jono: And that's the thing. Like, I don't want to discount or discredit how important it is to have gay representation and to have these types of... But this is not a gay story. And that's partially why it's so important is because this is a meet cute followed by, like... Al

an: A romance. Jono: A romance... Alan: But it's a bromance. Jono: ...montage. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Where they just love each other. They just appreciate each other. Jono: And some of you will say, No, they want to hook up, but the society of their time wouldn't let them. And maybe, you know... That's an accurate read. That's as valid as anything. Alan: You can take that read. Sure. That's not the read I get on it or that the writer and director... I mean, they've they've been asked Jono: Because t

hey're... There... Alan: Come on! Jono: This is Rocky and Apollo! Alan: This is Rocky and Apollo. And this is the greatest workout move of all time, right here. Jono: Oh, my gosh. Alan: And he's just like, Good job, buddy. Come on! Jono: This is... This is actually, since Rocky and Apollo frolicked in the ocean... Like, we haven't seen this since 1983. Alan: What? No, I would argue. Shirtless volleyball in 1985. Jono: Oh, okay. Yeah. Alan: And, just last year, shirtless dogfight football. And he

re's another thing. Who would have thought in a year where... ...we had a throwback movie that just whipped ass. Top Gun Maverick. Jono: Yeah. Alan: That it would get out whipped. Jono: Right. By... Alan: Like, I saw that movie and I was like, Oh, this is fun. Alan: Like, it's sort of an 80s macho fest. Jono: Yeah. Alan: This is great. It's fun to see this on camera. And then RRR was like, Hold my beer. Jono: Uh huh, very true. But what I'm seeing here, like, as far as therapeutic principles, is

the importance of just doing things that you enjoy with your bros. Alan: Yeah, totally. Jono: Right? Jono: And yes, for some people that will lead to sexual experimentation and for other people it won't. It's just like, No, we're... you know, just... ♬♬ Two bros chilling in the hot tub ♬♬ ♬♬ five feet apart because they're not gay ♬♬ Jono: But again, like, you can be a macho man who likes women, and also straddle your friend's neck while he does squats, you know, because he's got to get those g

ains. Alan: Frankly, you should be. You're helping out your bro. He needs those... ...cut quads. You know what I'm saying? Jono: Let's keep going. Alan: Bulging. And look, this is not just, like, bros need to bro. Right? Like, ladies need to bro out, too. Jono: Or sis out. Alan: Or si-- Whatever it is. Spending time with friends in friendship activities... is, I mean, it's, like, vital for human connection, right? We live in a society. Jono: Yeah. We need.... We need that connection. And especia

lly for people who are aromantic or asexual. Alan: Oh, for sure. Yeah. Jono: You know that a lot of times... Alan: Friendship connection is, like, the bulk of your connection. Jono: That is the love connection. Yeah, absolutely. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Oh, the greatest wingman scene. He knows that his buddy likes this woman. Alan: "Pull over here". Jono: They just... Alan: How do you know she's gonna stop here? Jono: I want to see more of this actress. Alan: She was great. Jono: And she's lovely. I me

an, you know, physical appearance, but she's got a light in her eyes. Alan: She really has a... Jono: She's got this... Alan: A really sort of fresh faced glow to her. Jono: This wholesomeness. Yeah. Alan: Delightful. Jono: Dude! He is... These are sexy men. Like, let's just get that out of the way. And I love watching the head bobbing just as, like... ...a cultural thing. Just about.... Alan: No. Jono: This is... This is one of the greatest... I mean, I wouldn't advocate popping a woman's tires

, but it works for a movie. Alan: Oh, yeah. It's great for a movie. Jono: Don't do this in real life, but it works for a movie. Like he's helping his buddy out. Jono: Bros help bros have meet cutes. Alan: Absolutely. Jono: You know, they create those opportunities, especially because... the one who likes her is shy and isn't sure how to pull this off himself. That last shot was a Mentos commercial. ♬♬ Fresh goes better ♬♬ ♬♬ Mentos freshness ♬♬ Alan: That is just one handsome ass man. Jono: I li

ke both of those men. And I'm like, I really got to hit the gym. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Stop eating so much carbs. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Speaking of which, we got amazing popcorn. Alan: We sure do. And it's full of carbs. Jono: And even though I should stop eating it, I'm not going to. I've got Saint Patrick's Day. Alan: I've got... Alan: Hot chocolate. Jono: Yep. Alan: This is our brand, Internet Dads' Popcorn. It's Corny. Jono: Yeah. Get it at our store below. Alan: Yum. Jono: It's not just about being

a wingman in a romantic situation. Alan: Sure. Jono: It's about supporting your friend in their dream. Like, whatever their dream is or whatever they're trying to accomplish. Alan: Yes. Jono: It... Whoa! Jono: Not just saying, Hey, good luck with that, but, I'm here for you. How can I support you? How can I help make this happen? Alan: Yeah. Jono: Which you've done for me on numerous, numerous occasions. Alan: And you've done for me. Jono: But definitely in college I can see us... Not popping t

ires, but like... Alan: Everything but. Jono: Yeah. Alan: That pose. Come on! Jono: And the stare down. Jono: I have to say... After I watched this movie... I haven't had time to revisit the whole movie. I have YouTubed this scene... Alan: Any number of times. Jono: At least a dozen times. Alan: It is stunning. The athleticism. And, um, Corridor Crew actually did a VFX thing on this, because if you look at... how in sync they are. They actually VFX-ed this dance to, like, sync them up perfectly.

Jono: Really? Alan: Yeah. Because they are synced up perfectly. The athleticism in this dance sequence which they shot for three weeks, Dude, the production on this movie... They shot for two years on this movie. Jono: I love the slow mo of the women just being, like... Alan: Oh wow. Jono: These are real men. Well, you totally... Alan: And to be fair, they're right. Jono: They are. No, I'm watching... Alan: They weren't filming actors acting. They were filming women just reacting to an actual t

hing happening in front of them. Jono: Well, I watched this and I'm like, These guys sing, They dance. They do badass fight choreography. They look amazing. They dress amazing. They're well groomed. Alan: What can they not do? Jono: They're tough. They're, like... Alan: They're the perfect men. Jono: So this is great. So he's... He knows he could probably beat his friend or at least go toe to toe with him. But he sees how badly she wants his buddy to win. So.... And that's... And that's real fri

endship. Like... Some friendships are all about winning in the competition. But in this case, Okay... This matters to you more than it matters to me. Alan: Right. Jono: He wants to win the dance off, but he wants more for his buddy... Alan: To... Jono: To impress this girl. Alan: Impress this girl. Yeah. Jono: Yeah. Jono: There is negotiation in friendship, whether it's verbal or not. And there is a non-verbal... something that just happened there where he took that fall. And also... ...suspende

rs. Have you ever been involved in the staging of a song or dance number? I know you've done music videos. Alan: I've done music videos. I haven't done anything this big. It's really fun. It's a difficult challenge because you want to use the camera and move the camera to really amp up the energy, especially if it's a high energy dance number. Like this, right? But you also want to highlight the dancers and let them just show their athleticism. One thing that they do in this scene a lot of is th

ey actually use a faster shutter. Jono: Yeah. Alan: So what that means is the shutter angle closes down, so it's only open for a shorter period of time so you get less motion blur, and it makes the movements look a little choppier. And what that does is it amps up the energy, even though it's it's not actually changing the energy of the scene. This movie does not shy away from, like, what is a cool shot. Jono: Right. Alan: But in this it's kind of like, Hey, you know what's cool? These guys. Jon

o: Yeah. Alan: Sit on them. Jono: You see that with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire where the camera... All it does is just follow them around and they are the special effect. And Jackie Chan does that a lot in his fight choreography, where he's not hiding things with a lot of edits. It's just all there on frame. Here's something curious about this. The action's way over the top, it's too over the top to be realistic. People singing and dancing out of nowhere is not realistic, which is fine. I mean,

it's musical. I don't... Like, I don't need that. But the point is, there's so many things that contribute to... And then the drama is not subtle. Alan: It is melodrama. Jono: Yeah, it is heavy melodrama. And there's something about everything be dialed... being dialed up to 11 that it works when it shouldn't. Alan: So... Jono: Why is that? Alan: I bang on constantly on this show about subtlety in filmmaking. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Right? Subtlety in storytelling. Subtlety is better than not. This i

s not subtle. Jono: No. Alan: There's like a continuum of, like... Bad unsubtle filmmaking, subtle filmmaking, and then this. Jono: Yeah. Alan: And it's... It is heightened. It's like insane melodrama. And it works. And, frankly, I don't know how. Jono: Well, it reminds me of the better entries in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Alan: Absolutely, yep. Jono: Except for... Alan: It cranked up even more. Jono: Cranked up even more. And somehow better. Alan: Somehow better. Yeah. Jono: Yeah. A

lan: It is a magic trick. And I don't know how you do it, man. Like, teach me. Jono: Berayal. Jono: Oof! Alan: And, look, let's just lean fully into these guys are superheroes. Jono: Well, so here's a principle of friendship that is as true for our friendship as anything else. Friends fight. Alan: Sure. Alan: You know, they don't always... Jono: We've never done this. Alan: Single handedly just destroy fountains. Jono: But... Jono: Oof! I remember you doing that to me, though. Alan: Yeah. Jono:

It got heated. Alan: You did break my nose one time. Jono: That is true. You shouldn't have sassed me. Alan: We were rehearsing a fight scene. It was a complete accident, Jono felt terrible. Jono: I did feel terrible. Alan: But you, being a filmmaker... Like, a blossoming filmmaker, you're like, This is a great story for the film. Alan: This is a... This is Type 2 fun. It's not fun now, but it'll make a great story later. Alan: He just punched a guy 25ft. Jono: So for those wondering what's goin

g on, well, they're on opposite sides of the... The colonial... The colonizer versus the revolutionary conflict. Alan: Yeah. Alan: Well, and the colonizers have... have kidnaped Bheem's... ...sister or, like, tribe member? Jono: No, tribe member. Bheem is, like, the tribe protector. Alan: Yeah. Jono: And... And she's been kidnaped just to be basically like a pet in a British household. Like, a cute little Indian girl as a pet. Oh, that's some Jet Lee [beep] right there. Alan: Absolutely. Alan: O

h, and remember how we spent 40 minutes setting up that one of them's fire and one of them's water? Jono: Yeah. Alan: Do you remember that? Jono: I do. Alan: Well, here, the movie's going to remind you. Do you remember how I said subtlety in filmmaking is good? It isn't. [Beep] that noise. This is good. This is what's good. Freaking fire, man. Jono: The amount of fist pumping... that I did watching this. Alan: I... This... I so regret that I didn't get to see this in a movie theater with just a

bunch of people losing their damn minds. Jono: So I'm making this commitment right here, right now. If you and I are ever in a place where there's like a screening... Alan: Oh, we're going! Jono: And we're doing a fan event, like, come meet us. Alan: Hell, yes! Jono: Come meet us for RRR. Alan: Hey, if you want to see me freak out even more about this amazing movie, there's an extended director's cut on our Patreon. Go to Patreon.com/CinemaTherapy. Jono: Do it. Do it. Alan: Please. Jono: How do

you film something like this? There's a lot of wires involved. Alan: Look, there's a ton of wire work. I don't know how long they spent on that fight scene. They shot this movie for, like, two years. I mean, they had some COVID shutdowns and stuff, but they were shooting for almost 300 days. Jono: Wow. Alan: Because this is the biggest movie... Jono: Yeah. Alan: ...that has ever movied. Jono: It might be the most movie I've ever seen. Alan: It might be the most. Yeah. "But this is the most movie

ever in a movie". Tons of on-set pyrotechnics, tons of on-set special effects with water and all the other stuff, and then a huge amount of visual effects work. How do you get brothers to hate each other? Like, this is an awesome, awesome fight scene. And the whole time I was like, No, don't hurt each other. Jono: Well, it comes down to something you brought up in another one of our episodes, which is in great storytelling... Great storytelling reflects real life, and in real life it's usually

not... ...ultimate good person vs ultimate evil person duking it out. Alan: Sure. Jono: It's usually two people with competing interests, or competing backgrounds, or competing goals, or competing perspectives. And they believe in these things so hard or are so invested in these things, that their love for each other clashes with... Now there's a disparity. Alan: Yeah. Jono: And it feels like one of us needs to come out on top. And in this case, it's really high stakes. It's the freedom of the c

ountry and people being oppressed, but it's also a little more than that. Alan: So Raju is trying to capture him because it'll get him a promotion, and we don't know why he needs this promotion, but there's a good reason. Jono: There is a good reason. Alan: And... Jono: And Bheem wants to save a little girl. Alan: Yeah, but... And we've just spent literally 15 minutes with these guys being, like, building the greatest bromance that's ever been put on film, so that this hits even harder. Jono: Is

it? I thought it was more than 15 minutes. Alan: It might have been more. I don't know. Jono: Yeah. Alan: It's... Time makes no difference in this movie. Like, time ceased. It could have taken three years to watch this movie. I don't know. I just loved all of it. Jono: I would watch a four hour cut of this movie. Alan: Yeah. Jono: I absolutely would. Alan: Yep. Jono: Reconciling with friends is being able to see, which they ultimately do, where the other one's coming from, and that this isn't o

ne of us was right and one of us was wrong. This is, Okay, I see why you were doing what you were doing. I may not agree with how you were doing it or the fact that you, you know, mercilessly attacked me. Alan: Sure. Jono: Like we may not agree with how people... In our... In real life, it's less physical. Often it's more verbal. Or the behavior that we disagree with that or we can acknowledge that was hurtful, while still saying, The motivation... I see the human motivation and I understand it

and it's valid to me, and that can help with reconciliation. Alan: So building off of what you just said, that you have to take each other's perspectives. They actually do. Jono: Yeah. Alan: We have to go through a lot of plot machinations to get there and they're all fun. Like... Jono: And the type of torture and physical injury that only is recoverable in action movies. Alan: Oh, yeah. No, these guys are super heroes. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Just straight up, like, it's Captain India and... ...also

Captain India. I mean, these are super soldiers. So they go through all of that and are reconciled to each other. And we get to one of the ultimate fight scenes ever. That, again, is silly and should not work. Jono: Okay. Are his legs broken? Alan: No. It's, like, his back or legs or something. I don't know. He was damaged. Jono: Yeah. He can't run for himself right now. Alan: Yeah. But that's okay because... Alan: Bheem's been doing his bro squats. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Look at that pose. Look at t

hat pose! Come on! Jono: Screw you, physics. It doesn't matter. Alan: I'm Ram Charan Teja! Bowling! Alan: They have bowling pin sounds when that happens. Jono: Do they? Alan: Yeah. It's so great. I mean, it's subtle, but it's in there. And it just... It goes on and on. Jono: Yeah. No, it's a bloodbath. This is a very bloody movie. Alan: They end up at one point... ...like, as a human Jenga tower, they climb an actual tower, and, like, do some gymnastics, and, like, fight a guy, and then jump off

of the tower, and, like, catch onto a light pole, and flip, and then land. It's not possible! And I want more of it! I want the four-hour cut. Jono: Oh, my gosh... Alan: Release the Rajamouli cut! Jono: Reconciliation ritual would be what did we used to enjoy doing together? Like, we fought, we separated. The friendship was in peril. We did some perspective taking. We took some humble accountability. We asked for forgiveness. We were there for each other. We're reconciled. But, you know, it's s

till pretty raw. So how do we cement the bond? Well, what do we enjoy doing together? Alan: You know what we enjoy doing? Overthrowing a global empire. Jono: There you go. Overthrowing a global empire. Alan: Remember when we used to do that? Jono: I was referring... Alan: That was fun, buddy. Jono: I was referring more to neck straddling squats and fighting. And they combine the two... Alan: With overthrowing a global empire. Jono: And now their friendship is rock solid. Alan: Just, mmmm! Yeah.

Jono: All right, let's see what we've got. Alan: Just... Just going full... Jono: Indian Rambo Jesus is what comes to mind. Like, I just... Jono: But I'm pretty sure how he's dressed at the end is like how he's depicted in the art and everything. This film is designed to make you have, like, a big dopey grin on your face. Alan: It is. And guess what? It worked. I love this movie. Big, dopey grin for hours Jono: So if you haven't seen RRR, you need to watch RRR. Jono: Or Arrrrr as we like to call

it. Alan: Arrrrrr! Jono: There are principles of friendship to help your friendship not only last, but weather difficult storms, betrayals... or presumed betrayals that weren't actually intended betrayals, stuff like that. Alan: Here's the magic trick of this movie. It is a silly, over-the-top, crazy action superhero... ...Indian historical drama. Jono: Musical Alan: Musical. That also features literally a blueprint for healthy friendships. Jono: It does. It does. Like everyone's, like, okay, w

ell, women, gay or straight, can be very affectionate with with their female friends. Men, gay men can obviously be very physically affectionate with other men. But there's, like, this stigma that straight men, we can't do this, we can't be physically affectionate, we can't be very emotionally vulnerable because we sacrifice our masculinity and our our macho-ness and RRR says... Alan: Bheem and Raju are coming for you, and they're going to hug that [beep] right out of you. Jono: They're going to

punch it and hug it and sing and dance it. Alan: And man squat it. Jono: And man squat it. Oh, man squatting... I don't... Alan: Jenga squat. And they're going to Jenga squat it right out of you. Jono: So until next time... InteRRRnet Dads: Arrrrr! Alan: Alan! Jono: Jono! InteRRRnet Dads: And... watch movies! Jono: That was the best ever. Jono: We want to thank our patrons for supporting us over at our Patreon, including... Alan: Casey KittySnores, Dave Adamoski, Lacey Ramirez, Daniel Quasar, a

nd Janina. Or Ja-- Janina? Jono: Janina... I've heard it both ways, Alan: Janina. Jono: But thank you for supporting us. We love you. Bye.