It’s SF Sketchfest time! I may have a schedule full of shows, but I am still here to give you this review/guide to Doug Loves Movies (DLM), comedian Doug Benson’s podcast that has been making us laugh since 2006. On the show he has celebrity guests (usually comedians or actors) and along with fun banter, tests their knowledge of movies with a variety of trivia games. For this episode (available here or on your favorite podcast streaming platform) his guests were Amy Schneider a writer of Jeopardy! fame; Geoff Tate: comedian and DLM regular: Chad Opitz: another comedian and regular; Anna Roisman: comedian, host, writer, actress; and Ardin Myrin: actress, comedian, and podcaster.
I’ve been listening to/watching Doug Loves Movies (DLM) since 2007 for sure, maybe 2006, and over the years, it has changed a bit, but also not at all. I haven’t been to a live DLM since c. 2013, and I haven’t listened to the podcast nearly as often for a few years. Honestly, I was a little nervous about it. Will I not know how to behave anymore? Do I bring a nametag? Are there things I should know to scream out? Are the games unrecognizable? Luckily, it was still a recognizable version of DLM that was not too far off of the one I know from pre-pandemic times, and I am here to give you all the info you need if you are also considering going for the first time or jumping back in after a long absence.
First off, the big question: nametags? Yes! They are still a part of it. There are some changes, such as the nametag selection is now during commercial breaks, so listening at home you miss that part. Also, the guests no longer come out into the audience to pick their nametag; it is all done from the stage. The way selection worked at this show, Doug brought up the house lights and asked each person who brought a nametag to hold them up, then had them take turns describing their nametag. At first, I was sad I didn’t bring one, but once Doug started talking to people I was soooo glad I didn’t bring a nametag. That would have given me so many opportunities to embarrass myself. I realize this sounds paranoid, but they did make fun of one of the nametags. I mean, it was pretty funny, so I give it a pass, but damn! My brain would have been so mean to me for a while if it was me. If picked, you are the “lifeline” for the guest who selected you in the games portion, so another reason to only nametag if you’re ready to participate! Some of the lifelines were also teased for not having an answer. You do still win a bag of swag that I can only assume Doug wanted out of his house. This time, the bag was “feel free to give to an unhoused person” themed, with a pillow, blanket, laundry bag, and a couple of other items I can’t remember. All the items were movie/show/television branded, of course!
As far as things you should know to scream during the show… YES! There are things to yell! But it is still pretty similar to what it’s been for a long time, so I was able to do 70% of it. Phew! I do think a new thing to scream might be added after this episode. Or expanded? I want to tell you what it is, but I think it will be better if you listen… since I tried writing it and it sounds so stupid now. But maybe I’m just hoping something from this DLM will catch on and get done for a while. San Francisco is a place of innovation! In fact, one of the previous DLM live recordings in SF (At Cobb’s) was the beginning of at least a year of throwing donuts at the audience (thanks, Graham Elwood, and whoever’s nametag was donuts that the venue didn’t want to let you bring in). So yeah, fingers crossed for more things to yell at the stage.
Then there are the games! The first game was Purple Rain Man, one I recognized in structure, but didn’t remember the name for it. The idea is, after getting clues about actors in the movie, you have to guess what two movies, whose names fit together cleverly, those actors were in. This game is such a pain to explain, and even Doug struggled a little with it, which makes me feel better. Geoff Tate really killed it, getting the answer right away and receiving a strong “Tate! Tate! Tate!” chant from the audience. The next one was a game where guests had to guess movies that were on a list called “The Best Films Set in San Francisco.” There were 20 films on the list, and guests got points based on how high the film they guessed ranked. There was a lot of fun criticizing the choices of the list author, which Doug randomly picked because it was the newest he found. You can see the list here on Yardbarker and judge for yourself. It does seem a little odd to me, but I would have put “Princess Diaries” on my list, so maybe you don’t want my opinion! Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider won that game by a landslide, of course! She got the second and third-place movies in the first two rounds, basically shutting everyone else out. Impressive! Especially considering the list. Then the final game, winner take all, was Last Man Stanton, where an actor is chosen, and guests list movies that actor is in with no repeats until only one person can still think of movies, and they win. Doug picked Goldie Hawn and it seemed pretty tough for some! They went for quite a while though, and Chad Opitz ended up with the win in that game.
The guests were all excellent, and some were a nice surprise for me. I knew Geoff Tate, long-time podcast regular, of course, and Ardin Myrin, who is a DLM and SF Sketchfest regular. The other three I hadn’t seen before, though I had heard Chad Opitz on the podcast before. Amy Schneider was fun and charming, and of course, very good at the dames with her trivia background, until she got stumped by Goldie Hawn. Anna Roisman was also quite funny.
Mostly, this podcast recording made me sad that I didn’t plan on watching the Movie Interruption of Fast X because Doug said he hasn’t seen it yet!!! I assumed wrong when making my SF Sketchfest choices! But that is SF Sketchfest for you, there is always almost too much going on, and you can never choose the perfect schedule. You just gotta dive in and know it’s always a fun time here. Now I’m even more excited for the five more shows (so far) I’m seeing this year! Get on that SF Sketchfest schedule already and take a chance. I’ve never regretted it.
