Not Playing With Lex And Dan

In the first installment of Keanu Reeves duology, mad bomber Lex Friedman forces SWAT officer Dan Moren to watch 1994’s Speed, or risk being blown up. Hot topics include other actors floated for Reeves’s role, Dennis Hopper taking it to 11, and whether or not a bus really could jump a 50-foot freeway gap. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Rounding out our Harrison Ford trilogy, former CIA analyst Lex Friedman is beset by vengeful Irish terrorist Dan Moren as they watch 1992’s Patriot Games. Hot topics include dense plotting, similarities with other Ford characters, and the complexities of the Ryanverse. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

We’re flying the friendly skies once again this week, as President Dan Moren’s plane is hijacked by Russian terrorist Lex Friedman, who forces him to watch 1997’s Air Force One. Hot topics include the evolution of the Die Hard genre, casual deaths of innocents, and Harrison Ford’s vetting processes. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

We’re going Dutch this week—Pennsylvania Dutch, that is, as Philadelphia cop Lex Friedman and Amish kid Dan Moren watch 1985’s Witness. Hot topics include Harrison Ford’s star power, Amish representation, and a lot of fake blood. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

Is it nature or nurture? We attempt to find out this week when a couple of old rich white guys swaps the lives of successful executive Dan Moren and down-on-his-luck Lex Friedman in 1983’s Trading Places. (As a note: please be aware that the movie itself contains more than a few extremely problematic and offensive moments.) Hot topics include the excellent comedic talents of the leads, a surprising season’s theme with female characters, and the racism, oh god, the racism. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

There’s nothing we can’t handle this week, as cocky military lawyer Lex Friedman and his assistant (with no responsibilities whatsoever) Dan Moren go to court with 1992’s A Few Good Men. Hot topics include Sorkinisms, the conflict over the military, verisimilitude, and a murderer’s row of talented actors. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Come fly the not so friendly skies with Lieutenant Dan “Gambit” Moren and his wingman Lieutenant Lex “Snuggie” Friedman as they watch 1986’s seminal fighter jet treatise, Top Gun. Hot topics include surprising comedy, solidly workmanlike craft, and whether or not Tom Cruise will ever sing on film again. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’re back for season seven, and a whole host of popular movies that one or both of us haven’t seen. To kick things off, innocent teens Lex Friedman and Dan Moren are left home alone, and naturally start a burgeoning-if-illicit enterprise while watching 1983’s Risky Business. Hot topics include Tom Cruise’s star power, the lack of any moral discussion, and a surprising amount of tact for an ’80s sex comedy. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’ve reached the Super Bowl of Football Season, but can we win it all? Heavenly administrator Lex Friedman takes reincarnated quarterback Dan Moren under his wing (eh? ehh?) as they watch 1978’s Heaven Can Wait. Hot topics include Warren Beatty’s storied career, whether this is really a football movie, and some existential questions about the ending. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

In our penultimate Football Season movie, unconventional coach Lex Friedman partners up with devastated assistant coach Dan Moren to revitalize a college football program as they watch 2006’s We Are Marshall. Hot topics include the tricky balancing act of a movie about a tragedy and a movie about football, a hot take on Matthew McConaughey, and the sidelining of female characters. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

As we continue our Football Season, forceful parent Lex Friedman embraces adopted son Dan Moren as they watch the 2009 film, The Blind Side. Hot topics include the shift in culture, truth being stranger than fiction, and whose viewpoint we’re really seeing the story from. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Do we want your life? That’s what second-string high school quarterback Dan Moren is trying to figure out with the help of his buddy, offensive linebacker Lex Friedman in 1999’s Varsity Blues. Hot topics include muddled plot lines, more mustache-twirling than you can twirl a mustache at, and when a “comedy drama” ends up being neither. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

It’s play by the rules, lose by the rules as straight arrow coach Lex Friedman tries to teach mid-thirties freshman quarterback Dan Moren while they watch 1991’s Necessary Roughness. Hot topics include a surprisingly respectful shower scene, comedy whiplash, and the inevitable tropes of sports movies. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

They say anything can happen, and that’s what strident coach Lex Friedman tries to drill into brash young quarterback Dan Moren as they watch the 1999 film Any Given Sunday. Hot topics include making a capital ‘m’ Movie, how combining four scripts into one film doesn’t necessarily go well, and just generally why Oliver Stone is a lot. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

They said he was too small to ever make it, but Dan Moren gets encouragement from kindly old janitor Lex Friedman as they sit down to watch 1993’s Rudy. Hot topics include why Rudy would make a good superhero, young appearances by two well-known actors, and a football movie that’s only sort of about football. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Get your mojo on with tough but fair coach Lex Friedman as he encourages serious quarterback Dan Moren to watch the 2004 film Friday Night Lights, but not the following TV show of the same name. Hot topics include the heavy weight of Texas high school football, why winning isn’t everything, and why that one dad should not be forgiven. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

It’s a brand new season of Not Playing: Football Season. Join veteran Lex Friedman as he clears the way for rookie Dan Moren while they watch 2006’s Invincible, which is merely coincidentally about Lex’s favorite football team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Hot topics include the uplifting nature of sports movies, what a 1976 football player gets paid, and the legend of Johnny Two-Hands. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

It all comes down to this. We return with a special bonus episode that sees the embodiment of all Jedi, Dan Moren, and the collection of all Sith, Lex Friedman, cover 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, thus wrapping up their coverage of the storied franchise. Hot topics include the surprisingly brilliant deployment of Threepio humor, the camaraderie of our main characters, a Kylo Ren-demption, and building an entire story around cast-off Leia scenes. Thanks for tuning in, and keep your eyes peeled for season 6 of Not Playing, coming this summer! Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Two tough guys who don’t always see eye-to-eye team up this week, which also happens to be the plot of the final (to date) installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, 2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Hot topics include the evolution of the franchise’s female characters (and often lack thereof), wasted villains, charisma up to your eyeballs, and how the heck the Rock fits in a tiny car. Plus, stay tuned for an exclusive sneak peek at season six of Not Playing, coming to you sometime next year. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Family never gives up on you, and neither do Lex and Dan as they embark upon the final main sequence film of The Fast and the Furious franchise, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. Hot topics include exactly how you program your military base’s gates to act in case of an emergency, bringing up baby, and why you should always avoid swarms of hacked cars on your commute. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!