Peter Rosenberg used to live across the street from Eric and me. And then he moved twenty blocks away. Many years have passed, he has a baby now, we all live in different apartments but he recently moved across the street from us again. And so we could’ve had this conversation in person, but instead we got on the phone to talk about The Exorcist, What About Bob? and other movies while he circled the block and looked for a parking space.
Also, if you haven’t seen, here’s Styles and Eric guesting on Rosenberg’s new, independent daily show he does with Ebro and Laura Stylez!
What’s a movie you love?
I love Dumb & Dumber. It always gets funnier to me — and I didn’t even love it the first time I saw it. When I saw it in the theatre, I thought it was okay but a little stupid. As time went on, I’ve found there’s never a stage in my life when I don’t find it funny.
In the 90s, Jim Carrey goes on a run: Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb & Dumber...Do you find those as rewatchable?
I’m honestly not the world’s biggest Ace Ventura guy. Ace Ventura, I find silly now, not as enjoyable. Dumb & Dumber somehow went from feeling completely stupid to just so brilliantly acted by the two of them that I view it on a different level.
I agree with you — in how much I love Dumb & Dumber. Ace Ventura, I have a soft spot for, because I saw it at the perfect time and place in my life.
It’s funny, when people ask me my favorite movies, Dumb & Dumber’s always right up there near the top and I always think people must think I’m really dumb when I say that. But I just think, if you really know this movie, you know how nuanced the comedy is.
When people ask you your favorite movies, do you balance it out with, like, The Godfather? Are you like, “Oh, I need people to think I’m serious as well?”
I know. You do feel sorta obligated when you talk about your favorite movies to talk about something more serious. I love Rocky (the original). I loved — and still sorta do, but it’s harder to swallow given what we now know, but I love American Beauty. I love Boomerang and I love The Exorcist. And Back to the Future. That collection of movies is probably the tippy-top for me.
What’s a movie character you think you really understand?
Hm. You know, again, to bring up the really unfortunate —
Oh no. Is it Woody Allen?
I know, right? Close! I would say I really do understand Kevin Spacey’s character in American Beauty.
[long pause] Dark. Right?
Just like, “Shit. Life has passed me by. And I don’t want life to pass me by, I want to take life by the moment and truly enjoy it.” Obviously in the case of his character, that comes with — the second he starts to figure it out — he has a tragic outcome. But I really do identify with that part of the movie, where he’s finding himself, he’s smoking weed out back with Ricky, he’s working out again and gets a job at a fast food place.
He’s like, “Oh shit, there’s all these things that make life cool when you just don’t know what’s gonna happen.” I identify with that idea, and I find one of the hardest things about getting older is…it’s easy to get depressed when you know everything that’s happening. Even when the things happening are good, there is something sad about knowing what’s behind every door. When that character starts to think, “I don’t know what’s going on every day, there’s something inherently exciting about that” — I identify with that.
That’s a nice spin on it.
I think so! I’d rather mention that than the fact that he falls in love with a girl in high school.
Well, that’s my big takeaway from the movie!
(laughs) But he — to be fair to the film, and not just like, do the obvious 2026 of looking at the problematic part and saying “that’s why the movie’s gross!” he has that moment where he’s looking at the teenage girl, and he has that realization of “That’s…just a girl, what am I doing? This isn’t what I want, either.” Still a bit weird, I get it, given the context of our times, but yea, not exactly the part of the character I’d hope we’d focus on.
That’s on me — I’m glad we talked it out further, though. Would’ve hated to cancel you in our newsletter.
What’s a good date movie?
That makes me go rom-com. But it doesn’t have to, right?
No, the more I’ve talked to people — Taylor Rooks, Phonte, etc. — they go for non-conventional date movies.
But you could go the other way, and just want a girl to hold your hand and snuggle up with you, which sends you to horror. I don’t want to go to The Exorcist, because I love that for different reasons and the vomit at the end is grotesque. Let’s go with the original Halloween.
It’s fun enough without actually being terrified.
You’re scared but there’s no real gore. And I do like gore: I didn’t include The Devil’s Rejects in my top 5, but I am a big Rob Zombie guy. That’s too much for a first date.
What’s a popular movie you’ve never seen?
Oh god. There’s too many. Old stuff, I haven’t seen. I’ve barely seen any classics — I mean, real classics.
Singin’ in the Rain.
No.
Casablanca.
0 for 2.
West Side Story…
Yes, that I’ve seen. I saw On the Waterfront with my grandparents when I was like, 5. But most of those movies I haven't seen and I’m guessing they’d be a struggle for me. I want to like them, but the truth is — when I do — I have no interest. I can’t even force myself through 15 minutes. I can do 80s, 90s, even some 70s. But pre-70s? That feels too old and I’m uninterested. I probably sound stupid.
I don’t necessarily think so. Filmmaking changes so much in the early 70s: The Godfather I and II, Spielberg, George Lucas, Brian De Palma. I think it’s the best decade for film and it makes everything before it feel prehistoric.
Yea, right? It does markedly change. Some of the classic stuff just feels so hokey and I don’t think it really holds up. It’s practically like playing early 80s hip-hop for kids of today and being like “Isn’t this dope? Isn’t Kurtis Blow awesome?” They can’t even understand — it sounds simple and completely unlike what they love. That’s how I feel about early films.
What’s a movie that you quote a lot?
Dumb & Dumber, obviously. Happy Gilmore. You know, the essentials. Menace II Society.
What do you quote from Menace II Society?
(takes a beat, laughs) My favorite part of Menace II Society is when the gross white guy who hires guys in the hood to steal cars shows up to the house to see Chauncey, to get him to steal a car for him. Chauncey answers the door and goes, “Ayo, man. Why you always come through this motherfucker so early all the time?” And the guy goes, “You said 1 o’clock.” And Chauncey goes — one of the greatest quotes in life, in my opinion — he goes, “I don’t give a fuck what I said, motherfucker!”
[Peter and I then discussed whether he should take the spot two blocks from his apartment or circle around and hope for a spot one block closer. Against my strong urging, he opted to chance it. He then quoted from What About Bob?]
If you were to be on 2J3BD, what movie would you bring to the table?
That is a great, great thing to think about. What About Bob? is right there, because I do consider it to be one of the great, underrated comedies of all time.
A great pick.
I do have a lot of strong feelings about Menace. I could see The Exorcist — especially if no one’s seen it before — that being a great conversation. I don’t know if any of The LOX have ever seen it. I could see that being a very satisfying time.
Sheek is super into horror. He’s definitely seen it. I think all of us have, but I bet Jada would hate the experience because he generally hates horror. Don’t know if he’d hate the movie, though: we’d be talking about religion vs. faith but also vomit and —
And that’s why I love The Exorcist. Aside from the horror, which, yes, it is scary and dope and done so well. It’s minimalist scary in the way Halloween is minimalist scary. What I love about The Exorcist is the faith of the priest. To me, that’s the coolest part of it — as someone who’s pretty agnostic — I love the idea that you can be a person of faith where your religion makes you strong and brave to the point of walking into this terrifying situation and not be scared of it.
What’s a movie that has a great ending?
[Peter goes into how much he loves the ending to What About Bob?, acts out some of it and then stops everything because he found a parking spot. He then starts singing a song to himself and I guess me about how he found the parking spot, which is very George Costanza-coded.]
It’s still two blocks away, by the way. Same street, different spot but better location. Oh, but back to the question. But let’s not play reindeer games, let’s go right to the truth: Back to the Future is the greatest movie ever made and part of it is the fact that the ending’s fantastic. Not only does it end wonderfully and you get the moment of seeing the note revealed, but at the very end — you get the reveal that we’re getting Back to the Future II??? It’s fucking perfect.
[Peter then got recognized outside his apartment, which is also outside my apartment, which wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t kept driving. “Please include that in the article! This never happens. And today I got recognized twice up here. It was two separate people!”]
How’s that as a great ending to this conversation? Okay! Well, today we’ve got Styles’ pick: Superfly. Make sure to check that out, on YouTube or wherever you take our showcast in. Have a good week!
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