Elle

**Elle** is episode 150 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the Podship Casters miniseries covering the Hollywood years of Paul Verhoeven. Posted March 4, 2018.

## Summary

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> In the final installment of our ‘Paul Verhoeven in Hollywood’ mini series, Emily Yoshida (Night Call Podcast) returns for a special bonus episode on 2016’s pitch black French dramedy, Elle. But what other actresses were considered for the lead role even though Isabelle Huppert is clearly the perfect casting choice? Is this a successful satire of French erotic thrillers according to Griffin’s Mom? Can the video game being designed in the movie be at all entertaining? Together they discuss a connection to 90’s sitcom Friends, the goofy male characters, French sighing and present their Verhoeven filmography rankings.
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The Mother of Blankies, Emily Yoshida, returns to the Audioboom Studios with Griffin and David to talk about 2016's *Elle*. The first time a foreign-language film has been covered on the show! Past and future guest, long-time Frenchwoman Mani Lazic very much appreciated hearing all the attempts at French and French accents... she must have been charmed by #TheTwoFriends' repeated apologies directly to her during the episode.

Alright, true to Verhoeven's themes over many of his movies, this is a tough one. So final warning, here we go...

Rape.

This movie, with its story of how a woman attempts to regain personal agency and mental control over her rape and her rapist via unusual methods, provoked a lot of conversation among critics upon release. Do you have to know Verhoeven well in order to appreciate this movie, and avoid condemning it straightaway? Does Isabelle Huppert, mistress of the icy stare, give a Best Actress worthy performance as Michele? What is going on with the videogame she's working on at her job? Are all the male characters intentionally kind of doofy, and what does that mean in context of what Michele's son does in the end? Is this movie... funny? In a TWISTED way? Is the character of Michele the closest analogue to Verhoeven himself that he's ever put on the screen?

### Milestones and Ephemera

* This is the 150th episode of the show - let's celebrate! Rate, Review, and Subscribe on iTunes - Griffin wants to see 500 reviews and 1000 five-star ratings, and put Blank Check at the top of the charts! #BlankCheckBump
* Emily makes a go at the Ben nicknames, as she announces her new AudioBoom podcast Night Call with Ben as the producer!
* Shoutout to Richard Lawson's *Trolls*.
* Isabelle Huppert was nominated by Griffin for Best Actress at The Second Annual Blank Check Awards.
* Box-Office Game: Weekend of November 11, 2016

## Quotes

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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Elle. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 21, 2022.