How To Build A Better Boy

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Hey, this is Wells Adams with By Order of the Faithfuls podcast alongside my fellow faithfuls and co-hosts, Tamara Judge and Dolores Catania. The three of us have been watching this season of The Traitors, and we've been inside that castle, so we have insight unlike many others. This season of The Traitors may be the best we've ever seen. Listen to By Order of the Faithfuls on America's number one podcast network, iHeart, follow By Order of the Faithfuls, and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today. This Women's History Month, the podcast, Keep It Positive, Sweetie, celebrates the power of women choosing healing, purpose, and faith, even when life gets messy. Love is not a destination. You have to work on it every day. Keep It Positive, Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self-worth, love, growth, and navigating life with grace and grit, led by women who uplift, inspire, and tell the truth out loud. I have several conversations with God, and I know why it took 20 years. To hear this and more, listen to Keep It Positive, Sweetie on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the new me. And it's the old them. This Woman's History Month, the podcast If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. My like tunnel vision of like, I gotta achieve this was off the strength of like, I wanna make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it. Unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back B. John Robinson. When I'm on the field and feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes me feel great before I run the play. Just like B. John, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at loveyourmindplaybook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the Ad Council. I'm sorry. I was going to start with something very clever, and now I'm checking off the second cookie pastry debate. No, we're not. We're moving forward. You said you're right. We're moving forward. Well, I think the best way to move forward is with incredible modern technology. Oh, did you see the transition that I just did? Yes. Do you own a robot? Do you have a robot butler? No. You don't have a fully functional robot butler that takes care of everything? No, robots kind of scare me. Like, I feel like I would, I mean, I think it's probably just like the devastation of, like, Smart House. Like, it's like you just, you never know what it's going to be too smart and outsmart you. So those generic things that would make your life easy, yes. It's like the simple fact that the generation now has no idea how to use a Thomas Guide. No. Or a rotary phone or any of this other stuff. Right. Or even just have the ability to go, okay, I'm going to make a right on this street, a left on this street, and then a right on this street. Most of them can't remember that kind of stuff because it's so much easier to look down at your phone and get you there. So I'm kind of not really somebody who's ready to jump in to having something like that, like a robot butler or a nanny in your house. Are you one of these crazy people, though, that knows north, south, east, and west? Like, I hit the road, I go north, and then once you get to that road, go south. Do you do that? I can't do that. Okay, good. I'm not either. For, like, freeways. Like, my route that I do often, like, let's be honest, I've got, like, a 10-mile diameter. Right. Yeah, exactly. I don't go much farther than that. But, like, so I know the freeways that I go on. I know how to get myself to L.A. All of those, those are memorized. Sure. And when I get off the freeway, I do know at that point if I'm going south or north. Oh, God. So you're already ahead of me. Like, I do know that. But that's just from going the same place over and over again. I'm like, do I take a left or a right at the Chick-fil-A? Don't tell me go north. I don't know what that means. I don't, yes. And it's such an older generation. My dad will be like, oh, yeah, you go north at this. I'm like, Dad, that's not helpful. I need a left or a right. My dad does that. He also does it with ridiculous, like, location finder things. So he'll be like, okay, on the left, there's a dented sign. At that, you're going to want to go north. I'm like, okay. Yeah. Or like a bus stop. Oh, yeah, Dad. I recognize bus stops. Like, what? Yeah, I know. It's crazy. Like, no doubt. I know. Well, you're missing out on a robot butler. I've got one, and he's in the room. Oh, how is that? Does it keep all your books and things that are behind you as organized as they always are? Is everything organized? All my pops over here are organized, and I'm not scared at all that one day his eyes are going to turn red, and he's going to kill me in my sleep. Okay. Because of the three robotic laws. Everybody knows that. Sprayna. Anyway, welcome back to Magical Rewind, the show that makes you want to grab your friends, your PJs, and your popcorn and go back to a time when all the houses were smart, the wave tsunamis, and the high school's musical. I'm Will Friedle. And I'm Sabrina Bryan. Ooh, fire up the computer and update your X-17 software. We're programming love for the 2014 sci-fi romantic comedy How to Build a Better Boy. It debuted on Disney Channel August 15, 2014, first announced earlier in the summer during the premiere of another T-Com, Zap It. That's why I'm saying it from now on. It is zapped. It's zapped. I know the E.D. This one was shot in. Flip the coin. Yes, you guessed it, people. Toronto, Canada. Mostly at the North Toronto Collegiate Institute for just over a month of shoot days, which the place looked gorgeous. The debut drew in a very impressive 4.6 million viewers and included the other debut of Ariana Grande, who everybody knows is the biggest Grande you can get, the biggest Ariana out there. the music video for Break Free during a commercial break. Do you know Break Free? I don't, but it surprises me because Ariana's the Nickelodeon kid, so what's she doing premiering something here on the channel? I don't know. Very weird. She's on your own channel, Ariana Vente. Come on. It's just surprising to me because she was... Wait, Ariana Grande was on Nickelodeon? Yes. Like a huge show on Nickelodeon. This is when her music career was like breaking out, but she came from the Nickelodeon channel, so that's what's surprising is that's not, you know, Disney kind of keeps their allegiance right with their own kids. She was on a show called Victorious. Jeez, I was on Nickelodeon. I've never even heard of these things. Of course, I was on real Nickelodeon. It was the 80s. It's because Radio Disney really played a lot of her music. Okay, thank you. Okay, all right. That makes sense. I always assume Radio Disney is just the emergency channel for Disney where it's like, oh, this is not a drill. Everybody, under your desk. Like, stuff like that. Like, that's always what I thought where Radio Disney was, but apparently it is actually. No, it was like a full-blown radio station. They brought in all of, like, the up-and-coming artists, for sure. It's sad that it's not around as much anymore. Well, you know what? We'll start it over. Now, listeners of my generation will recognize this movie as a soft gender-swapped kids version of the 1985 John Hughes comedy Weird Science, starring Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, and Bill Paxton, a movie that, well, a lot of people will say with 2026 goggles might be a little problematic, but I don't give a f***. I don't want to hear it. It's an amazing movie. Come at me, and I will start swinging. It was a big enough movie at the time to spin into a TV sitcom. Have you ever seen Weird Science? I have. I actually really liked that movie when I was younger. It was so cool. And again, like just all the technology that was in like those kids' like bedrooms. That's like so cool. I loved it. But I do get now. Of course. Even I swear this weekend when I was like, what movie are we watching this week? And then it was How to Build a Better Boy. I went, wow, when was this filmed? Because just the title alone goes so opposite than where we're at in 2026. And it makes sense because they never would have made How to Build a Better Girl. Yeah. No. In the same year. They never would have done it. The fact that they're doing How to Build a Better Boy now is just as like, what? I know. Everything's problematic when you look back at it 20 years ago. I mean, there's stuff we're doing right now today that seems totally fine that 20 years from now, your kids are going to be like, I can't believe you ever did that, Mom. For sure. Okay. So don't come at me. It's a staple of my childhood. I loved Weird Science. Watch it for what it was, for God's sake. Yes. Yes, absolutely. It was a funny, great movie. It was. It was out of this world. It was such. Anthony Michael Hall at his, like, right near his prime. The 16 Candles, Anthony Michael Hall, another movie that's amazing and, of course, problematic. Watch it for what it is, people. Yes. And everyone, I know there's a bunch of people screaming at their radios right now going, that's what we're telling you to do with DCOMs, Will. Watch it for what it is. Watch it for what it is. Hey, touche, I hear you. I'm still not going to change what I say. And as far as DCOMs, I'm also quite confident that while developing this movie, Pixel Perfect probably came up a few times, since the gist of both of these movies are very similar. So we can admit that this one isn't necessarily original, but frankly, it knows that. So with your history of weird science, I want to know, before the invention of Magical Rewind, had you heard about how to build a better boyfriend? I hadn't, and I have to be honest, too. Even the star characters in this movie were brand new to me. And I'm sorry if we've actually seen them before in another movie that we've watched, but I wasn't even really aware of either one of the main two-girl characters as far as what show they came from. Sabrina, wait a minute. She was in Descendants 2 and all the movies since. Who? Chyna Ann McClain. Gabby. No. Yeah. She's Uma. Oh, she looks so much older and mature. Oh, my gosh. I knew her right away. Even I knew her right away. I was like, oh, my God, she's great. Yeah. Now you're putting it together. You loved her. You loved her. I did. Wow. But, see, I'm thinking this is a show I've never seen. I'm thinking they're pulling from the channel. Oh, she's so great. She's amazing. Yeah, we love her. She's amazing. But I kept going, I don't even know either one of these girls. Like, and I, again, I don't read any of the things that we get. I just watch it fresh. Right. And, ooh, I love it now. Oh, my gosh. Wow. Oh, that's funny. Okay. Knock, knock, who's there? Never heard of this movie. So, it is a joyous day here on Magical Rewind because this movie is directed by the man himself. Oh, yeah. Da-na-na-na-na. He's bad to the ho. Oh, and yes. The DECOM daddy, the one, the only, Paul Hohen. It's been a minute, but we're thrilled to welcome his name back to the pod. And what perfect timing. Zombies 5 just got announced. It's in the works. We've got so many people back. We've got new faces. It has been a glorious week. Yeah, it's going to be. It's a good DECOM week. It is. Yeah, so we're thrilled to have his name back in the pod. He's one of the indisputable architects of the DECOM who currently leads the way on the highly successful Zombies franchise, as we were talking about. Zombies 5, this time it's personal again. but in the past directed Cheetah Girls 2, Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off, The Luck of the Irish, Jump In, Let It Shine, and True Confessions, that's just to name a few. It would be difficult to chisel the DCOM Mount Rushmore without needing to study the face of one Paul Hohen. That is absolutely correct. And now if you want to build a better boyfriend, you can. It's available to stream right now on Disney+, so we suggest watching it with a big bucket of popcorn or a family-sized bag of candy or a humongous jar of pickles or a burlap sack filled with baby carrots or a lunchbox packed with pomegranate seeds. It's really up to you, but we know you're hungry, so treat yourself and stay healthy. Now jump into your Humvee and fry the motherboard. Let's hear the synopsis. Two tech-savvy best friends, May and Gabby, use military software to create Albert, a robotic boyfriend to fulfill May's wildest dreams, only to discover he's a super soldier and now they must deal with the authorities to retrieve him. Sabrina, early thoughts on this movie. Early thoughts. I'm going to be honest. it felt like it was going fast for the first like you know I loved the energy right in the front like and I love a movie that's going to give me kind of what I'm looking for towards the end and then jump ahead I love the start of a movie like that like sure we get where we're going and what the the drama ends uh like builds to and then we jump ahead on how we get there then from like minutes five six to a good chunk of 15 minutes i went it was just going really slow i mean we didn't even meet our villains i think until 30 minutes in we didn't even really villains and they weren't really villains so it was it was a little slow towards the end i was like all right i'm hooked like i i once it got rolling for me i was hooked um i thought it was like you said like i of course it gave me all the, like, nostalgia for me of weird science, you know, so I was kind of like, I like this spin on it. I liked it better than Pixel Perfect, and I was kind of starting to, like, somewhat compare it to the things that we've seen so far. But at the beginning, it got, it was like, oh, yes, and then it, like, and it slowed down for me for a little bit, and then it finally picked up speed. Okay. I kind of agree. I thought it was okay. I think this movie was a decent concept that needed a massive rewrite. Oh, really? Yeah, a lot of the story made no sense. A lot of the character arcs made no sense. The villains were absolutely pointless. Even the military turned out to be pointless. Like, a lot of it, we'll get into it, but it was strange for me. It wasn't bad. I thought all the acting was good. It looked great. It looked like a $50 million budget. I mean, they did a lot that I thought was really good, but I think it needed a rewrite. The story was... There was a couple of things, and it got to me... Obviously, we'll get there. We say it so much. But like when we got to the football game, I was like, wait, now there's like a football, a big football game on the line. Like it started to get a little bit like where what's the end result of where we're going? Yeah, no, there's a lot like that. But yeah, the movie stars China and McLean as Gabby. China's career began at a very young age, appearing in Adam Sandler's grownups movies. Then she turned into a Disney Channel favorite in shows like Jonas, Wizards of Waverly Place, Doc McStuffins and Ant Farm, which she was the star of. Better Boys was her first DCOM, but since then, she went on to play Uma in Descendants 2, unbeknownst to Sabrina. And all the resulting movies did. What an absolute myth. Outside of the channel, she also played Jasmine Payne on almost 200 episodes of House of Payne and Jennifer Pierce in Black Lightning. And then Kelly Berglund plays her best friend, May. Berglund began her career alongside the aughts version of Barney, Hip Hop Harry. Have you heard of Hip Hop Harry? No. Me neither, but now I've got to watch it. Berglund is an impressive dancer who would later be cast as Brie Davenport on the Disney XD show Lab Rats and appeared on the Goldbergs and the wrestling drama Heels. Marshall Williams is Albert, the boyfriend of Tomorrow. The Canadian local has been in a ton of Christmas movies. It looks like he was built for Christmas movies. That's the guy who's the hometown guy that the girl always goes back to, leaves big city guy for, including the, I love these titles, the Jingle Bell Jubilee, a sprinkle of Christmas, and the upcoming Cowgirl for Christmas. Matt Shively plays Bart. Matt was a star over on the other kids' channel we were just talking about, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, Nickelodeon. That was what it was when I was on it. On the show, True Jackson VP. But you may also recognize him from Jesse, Paranormal Activity 4, Santa Clarita Diet, or most recently he played Quentin on the sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, and he was very funny. And Ashley Argoda is Nevaeh. Which is heaven backwards. Ashley is a vet in the kids' TV genre, appearing in so many classics, including iCarly, Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures, Austin and Allie, and Girl Meets World. But you may know her as one of Matt Shively's co-stars on True Jackson VP, or from her time with Kelly Berglund in Lab Rats, so they all knew each other. And before his recent glow-up, we get Noah Centineo as Jaden. We now all know Noah as Peter in the hit movie franchise to all the boys I've loved before. You have no idea what that is, but it's so good. Oh, my God. But he was also in the Bad Charlie's Angels 2019 reboot, the TV show The Fosters, and the kids' program Jesse. Now, his career has a ton of buzz, and he's in like a dozen movies coming out, including some very incredible projects like Gundam with Sidney Sweeney, Street Fighter, where he's going to be playing Ken, yes, and oh, my childhood heart, He'll be John Rambo in the upcoming Rambo prequel. Rambo like, is it? Like Stallone. Like Stallone? Yeah, when I started Rambo. Ooh, wow. Good for him. Now we're doing a prequel about when I was a kid. So if they're building a better boy, why not build a better movie? And we all know if you're looking for perfection on screen, it is 90 minutes. No more, no less. So what is this DCOM clocking at? I'm going to guess it's real close because it's our boy Paul. He knows. He does, and it's 89 minutes. One off the target, but as always, you can depend on the great Mr. Hoenn himself, Daddy Paul, for speedy storytelling. So we appreciate being below and not above 90, and we're going to forget the one minute and move on without any judgment. As for the script, it was written by Jason Maland. Jason was a writer and producer of the reality competition show Wipeout, as well as the Jeff Dunham Show and Disney Junior's Eureka. This was actually his only movie. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk tomorrow. Yeah. On the Cino Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic, and without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search the Sino Show, and listen now. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe, grabbing dinner with another and praying your karmic Ken or Barbie appears before your shelf life runs out. Trust me, I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition. I jumped in hoping to find love the right way and instead I found chaos, cringe and comedy. And now I'm looking for healing. Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn of the arranged marriage carousel. The meet awkward, the near misses, the heartbreak, and let's not forget all the jokes. Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can accomplish a lot in a decade. You could earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree back to back. You could compete in two separate consecutive Olympic Games. Well, we made my favorite murder. It's been 10 years of true crime, 10 years of conversation, and 100 years of swearing. Here's the thing. F*** everyone. F*** politeness. Go f*** yourself. It's like what I say when someone sneezes from now on. We have something for everyone. Advice, support, and a safe space for your feelings. This is terrible. Triflers need not apply. Stay out of the forest. You're in a cult. Call your dad. Don't worry. It gets worse. Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. I said, Dad, what the hell? What are we going to do? And he goes, what the hell? I don't know. We're going to sally forth. We're going to sally forth. You guys stay sexy. Don't get murdered. Elvis, do you want a cookie? A cookie? Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodbye. Usually on This Podcast Will Kill You, we talk about the diseases, infections, and biological threats that can make us really sick. But right now, we're doing something a little different. We're stepping back and looking at what the human body needs to keep going. When you consider what we know about sleep in humans, there's one rule that comes out. We are predictably unpredictable sleepers. We're talking about why sleep works the way it does, why our bodies don't follow neat rules, and why modern life makes rest so hard to come by. The second half of our series takes us to the digestive system with a multi-part series on what happens after we eat. Okay, I just have to say that all of my favorite words apparently are digestive words. Sphincter, peristalsis, duodenum. It's fascinating, it's funny, and it matters so much more than you think. Episodes of our new series run from January 20th through February 17th, with new episodes every Tuesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You as part of the Exactly Right Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, from The Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts women right in the centre of their own stories. I'm back with more one-off interviews with some truly kick-ass women on The Girlfriends Spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia. I'm going to climb it. And then there's Vaisaka. Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives. Layla dare to ask the question Is badness hereditary? And finally we'll meet Rosamund If it wasn't for the year where Ella lived she wouldn't have died on that fatal night You'll even get to meet my mum in that one who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground I'm not too intimidated by her What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts I got you. exit an SUV. He announces that the fugitives are on site. Even the president is interested in what's going on because they've lost track of a $3 billion weapon. They're ready to get the world's most dangerous criminals, but the doctor, who's related to one of these heartless criminals, is hoping to talk them out of it. The general is hell-bent on doing whatever it takes to get them into custody, and then these heartless thugs reveal themselves. They are two teenage girls, and the doctor is one of their dads. They surrender with their hands up, and that's how we start How to Build a Better Boy. Exciting. I thought it was. Yeah, you get the budget. It was exactly one of the things, yes, that I was going to say in the beginning, too. This is probably the most adults we've, like, almost ever seen in a DCOM, and it all happens within the first half of seconds. Two seconds, exactly. You're, like, in and you're just like, holy cow, there's so many adults happening right now. Yep, and they killed it. Normally it's kid-friendly. It's, like, all kid-loaded. And it's like, whoa. But I did. It was like a lot of energy. We really haven't seen much of this kind of like. It was a good way to start the movie. Yes, they're scaling from walls. They're jumping over fences. I was like, oh, hell yeah, this is cool. I like this. It was. It was. It started very well. And then we get something we've never seen in a DCOM. We get quick shots of the main character's bedrooms during the credits. I'm kidding. It's something we see all the time. It lets us know who they are. And this time the shots tell us that the girls that we just saw, Gabby and May, are bestie FF. What does that mean? BFFs. Besties forever. Okay, but it's not besties FF. Didn't just Jensen make that up? That's not a thing, right? Yeah. Okay, thank you. It's like besties for the resties is what Monroe says with her bestie. Oh, my God. Or BFF. Or pray before anyone. Until a boy comes between them. Yeah, that's what it really should be. Okay, so they're besties forever. It is now two days earlier. We have a little bit of a flashback. They are at school. Gabby and May have finished their senior calculus test in just nine minutes, and since they're just sophomores, this frustrates and concerns the teacher, but the girls are very confident they nailed it. They're geniuses, and the other students bully them for ruining the curve. They call them nerds. The Brainiac overachievers don't seem to care and have places to go anyway. And this is when I was like, oh, bullsh**. These are two gorgeous kids who just happen to be wearing glasses. No, not only that, who have the eye. This is one of my sprituses. I think this is going to be something that I'm going to be saying, sprinkling my sobrenessies throughout. Their wardrobe is so cute. The two of them look far more put together than anyone else in the school. Everyone else's costume meet, including the other characters, is pretty basic and boring. These two girls have the cutest style. And like their glasses aren even like nerdy They like cool glasses Like I was like I should get some glasses like that I need a new pair of glasses And I was like I like her little blue with the little cat eye Really smart, really pretty, funny girls who are dressed hip are the nerds of the school that nobody likes. I know. The wardrobe ladies was like so good in like a certain aspect but did not pull off the like. I need to see more like if they're wanting to, if they're supposed to be kind of the boring not seeing girls, I needed them to be wearing neutrals, browns, black, you know, just muted, muted, muted colors. Yeah, they looked like they stepped right out of Clueless. They looked like Clueless. The cool girls. And it was like, these are the girls. Like, way to go, nerd. I'm like, she's a 10 on any scale. What the hell are you talking about? I'm turning around. They should have been so sassy back to him. Like, okay, loser. Yeah, I mean, this is what I was like, really? Now we're not even trying to go for the, at least in like, not 10 things I hate about you, but she's the man or any of these kind. It was like, at least they put Rachel Lee Cook and they tried to dress her down. She's in like overalls and her hair's a mess. This time they went, we're not even going to try. We're going to get the two cutest, hippest girls we can, put glasses on them, but someone's going to call them nerds. Wow, you're not even attempting to hide this anymore. Yeah. It was ridiculous. And at the same time, the only thing that did work later on is the storyline, which was actually kind of a cool swing on the nerd of the school. So I did like that. Okay, yeah, this didn't work for me at all. But anyway, the Brainiac over-tubers don't seem to care because they're the coolest people in school and have places to go anyway. May is tutoring, and Gabby is working on healthier choices in the cafeteria. Now in the library, May tutors the star, Hug QB, Jaden, and she's obviously smitten with him. She successfully relates football to difficult math, while being flirty, and he mentions homecoming. She pretends she hasn't been thinking about it when he asks if she's going to the dance. She says her and Gabby will make a last-minute decision. Jaden encourages her to go because she never knows what she'll miss. Later at lunch, Mae tells Gabby she can't believe it, but Jaden may actually like her, and yeah, he kind of made it a little obvious that he likes the really, really pretty hip girl who's very smart. Weird. Then, like a real hater, Gabby says he's only using her for her math help. But Mae isn't sold. They had a moment, and it felt like he was going to ask her to the dance. Gabby, on the other hand, has accepted they are never going to be popular. But, okay, the really cute girl looks at the other really cute girl and goes, Ah, no one's going to like us. But have the brains that will make them important later in life, and boys are just a distraction. Now in the halls before their next class, popular girl Nevaeh, which is just heaven backwards, is campaigning for a homecoming queen while Gabby returns the principal's laptop. She fixed it for him just in time for his online tango lessons. And then the unthinkable happens. Jaden texted May, unprovoked. He wrote with mostly misspelled words, which I didn't understand if at the end he turns out to be a genius. Okay. To meet him after practice, he has an important question. May is thrilled, but Nevaeh overhears the whole situation and appears furious. On the football field, Jaden is in the middle of drills. When the girls arrive, he waves to May. And, yeah, this is probably not the best time to bring your best friend with you. Like, Gabby probably shouldn't have been there. Real cramping third wheel style. But anyway. Neither of them understood that when the guy obviously likes her and says he wants to meet her later, that he liked her and wanted to meet her later. Right. And that's what I just I'm sorry. I know I harp on stuff like this, but it takes me out of it because it's such an easy fix to dress them down and then have her progress as the progress as if she needs to change. but quote-unquote progress as the move to become more confident, to become wearing better clothes. Instead, they start her as this cool, incredible girl who's shocked that anyone likes her. I mean, they even make it where she doesn't have any friends, except for May and Gabby are like, they're all we have. And it's like, are you kidding me with these two incredibly hip, good-looking girls? It infuriates me when they don't take the extra step of just dress her down, put her hair in a bun. you know make it to where they're such nerds that they keep destroying like the second they walk into class the whole class goes oh god no you're gonna destroy the curve like build into it but they don't they just want us to assume because someone says nerd that they're nerds that's it yeah i do think though the part of like the outfits is more so that they're like funky they're different because that's not a normal cool and hip and that stuff yes but like they're funky and like not everyone's into that like everyone being very basic like i'm telling you right now if that outfit was worn at the high school that i coach at they would get weird eyes because they wouldn't be kids that i really like to blend they do they don't as much as it's standing out there's a super pretty girl that stands out most of them like to blend they don't really wear like it's it's kind of a a teenage thing so the fact that these two girls have these like kind of quirky style that totally works and is super cute when you have the maturity to be able to see it that way versus like what are you doing wearing like so much color when like everyone else such clueless vibes and they were like the cool kids and cool so so cool but nobody dresses like clueless either like that out of this world super i mean not not right now in 20 and 2000 and like the late 90s and 2000s for sure so that's coming back a little bit this could have been cool in 2014. I think it's still kind of too much for, like, the high school kids that like to blend. It didn't play for me, but anyway. But before anything could escalate, here comes Nevaeh again and her gang of mean girls. She pretends to be surprised running into Gabby and May and quickly deflates her Jaden balloon. As the whole school has now circled around them, like you do, Nevaeh points out that Jaden is in a totally different social radar and she's going with him, her boyfriend, for 17 whole days to the dance. Everyone seems to know this fact, but the school geniuses who don't know that. Then, just in time, Jaden runs over in a rather ballsy move. Nevaeh makes sure he's asking her to the dance, and though hesitant, he agrees. She rubs it in Mae's face, and Jaden explains his question for her was about quadratic functions. This is embarrassing, and Gabby turned out to be right all along. But as the bully's walking away, Mae finds the confidence to stand up for herself. She claims she already has a boyfriend anyway. He's a total hot burger, and his name is Albert. He's varsity in five sports, a genius, and works with endangered orphan animals. When Nevaeh asks when they can meet this Albert, May explains he lives in Alaska, and everyone quickly catches on. This dude clearly doesn't exist. Nevaeh laughs it off and walks away. With the school day over, classmates continue to ridicule May about her new boyfriend. She has no idea why she lied. And then May's goofy brother, Bart, who was very funny, arrives in his new unmarked taxi to drive them home. This is my favorite line of the whole thing. She's like, hey, my uncle had a car like this. Really? When? when he drove a taxi. Now at home, May knows her days are cooked. Gabby wonders how they'll pull this off and assumes she'll just have to come clean and be taunted for all of eternity. She thought Jaden was different, but Gabby says he's just like all the rest of the boys. But she has an idea. What if they invent a better boy? An interactive virtual one. Gabby spent the summer learning how to code and May's dad creates the coolest video game characters in the world, so his software must be off the Jane. So they're going to hack into his network and get data for a high-death boyfriend. They know it's insane, but it's better than letting Nevaeh win. So they agree to keep it a secret from Mae's dad and have a sleepover to work on it. Sabrina, is this the most far-fetched DCOM plot we've seen at this point? At this point, it's almost as far-fetched as the dad map. Like, where are we going with this? What's happening? Because this is the thing. What I needed was just a little bit more information. Okay, so you're going to create an online somehow persona. To what end? To do what? Right. To do what? Like to be able to, like, respond. Is he going to be able to call her on the phone? Right. Somehow do, like, a FaceTiming thing. Like, I just needed more of, like, what is the plan besides you're just creating something? Yeah. I agree 100%. Like, for what purpose are you doing this? Because it wasn't like what we end up seeing. It wasn't like, oh, he's going to, like, what is he going to do? You're going to create him to do what? Right. To do what? Right. That was the only thing. Like, I kind of got stuck here going, okay, I'm not sure what the plan is. Again, you go back to something like weird science, which I know is problematic. But the two boys, the two teenage boys in the 80s essentially created the most beautiful woman to have sex with her. That was kind of the plot. And then the joke and the whole point was when they then had the opportunity, they couldn't. They chickened out. They couldn't do it. Obviously, they can't do that with this story. Right. However, why are you creating the fake boyfriend? Is it so, oh, well, that's the thing is we get to then flood the school's website with emails that have leaked from him about how much he loves me or we can fake pictures of the two of us together. Like, what are what's the point? Right. And how. Yes, exactly. What's the point? And because also, like she goes in on while we're doing this, this like big kiss that she wants to do. But it doesn't seem like they're actually trying to actually like weird science. You knew they were trying to create a robot human person. This was like you're going to create, like, an Instagram profile page? Right. I didn't really understand. Did you need a summer of coding to make a catfish page? Yeah, that's what it was kind of like. I wasn't sure because it didn't actually say in detail that they're going to go to the extreme to actually try to laboratory make something. Well, right, because they didn't know they were doing it. They didn't know that was possible. They didn't even know they had the – yes. So it kind of got a little muffled for me here when I went, okay, wait. And this is the part, too, that was starting to get long for me because I'm like, I'm not getting any answers. I'm not quite understanding. I think it's coming soon. But, yeah, this is a little bit of a slower part of the movie for me. 100%. Either way, Gabby assures her friend, it's not like this is a Department of Defense issue. And then we get a beautiful Pod Meets World, Boy Meets World optical flip to the Department of Defense speeding to a quote-unquote secret laboratory, which is the Superior Gaming Building. The general from earlier has arrived and quickly meets up with the doctor from the standoff, who's May's dad. The angry general wants to see what the government has been paying him for, and so we find ourselves in a complex lab with robots and smoking machines. It's the future birthplace of X-17, the first ever covert robotic operative. If Mae's dad gets the go-ahead from the president, he will make history. And so with that, he gets the thumbs up, and the project has truly begun. Back in Mae's room, Gabby is finding it difficult to hack into her dad's computer. Everything is protective, but Gabby is still very optimistic about their plans. Albert will not only be 3D, but he'll be 3D delicious. So he'll be 3D on the computer, I guess. That's what I'm thinking. Okay. Not 3D in person. They never make it seem like he's actually going to be at school with her. It's like the picture that pops up at the end where she gets zapped. They think maybe they can interact with the guy. Somehow, yeah. So it would have been nice. 2014 stuff, like, I don't think FaceTime and stuff like that existed. So it did in 2014? You could FaceTime in 2014? Yes. Really? Yeah. You could FaceTime 12 years ago? Yes. Oh, God, I didn't know that. FaceTime was like its own app. I think it was at least on the computer or on an iPad of some sort. It wasn't necessarily for your phone just yet, I don't think. Okay. Then they should have explained that what we can do is we can use him to, he can call you and people can see him, but they didn't do any of that stuff. They didn't have that, so I was confused, and then I started to go, oh, gosh. Yeah. I don't understand what's going on. I don't know how to keep up. It's the rules, people. The rules. The rules, I need them so terribly now. Thank you. I'm glad that I've infected you, and you need the rules now all the time. It makes me so happy that I've ruined movies for you. And just like that, though, a few clicks here, a few taps there, and they are now into their dad's mainframe. They connect to Superior Gaming and load everything up for a prototype creation, which I guess is just a coincidence because that's also what Mae's dad is working on for the government. This is incredible luck, but hey. Incredible luck. It happens. So as the girls dig into this makeup of Albert, we see the Superior Gaming Lab is also hard at work. This boyfriend will be an American high schooler with a studly athletic build. He'll be tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, and he won't even know how cute he is. He'll also be so polite, he'll almost be Canadian. Sensitive, brave, honest, and intuitive. The perfect homecoming date for the perfect homecoming kiss. As they input all this data, the dream boy wants a stark white AI robot. now starts to be built in real life. And with that, the face of Albert appears on Gabby's screen. And he is a honk-o-matic. I just made that up, but that's what he is. He's a good-looking chap. He says hello to Mae and reaches out to hold her hand through the screen. As she reciprocates, an actual spark flies from the laptop, throwing her to the ground. And at the Superior Lab, it's time for the final fabrication sequence. So, dude's being built. The girls notice that all the electronics in the house have been blown out, and when Gabby goes to see what happened, she runs into Bart. He knows they've trespassed into his dad's office and says he'll keep their little escapade secret if she goes with him to homecoming. And this is now the second time we've noticed that he's got quite a thing. Yes, he does. It's cute. It's cute. They are a cute couple. She literally says no, calls dances a front for the corsage industry, which was great. But just then, Mae's dad pulls up, and Gabby must make an instant decision. She says yes to Bart as fast as she can and then runs back into the office. Back at Superior Gaming, the build process is complete, and we get the famous shot, which I knew was coming of the hand, coming out of the water. You knew that was going to happen. And the once plastic AI robot has turned into something that looks exactly like a real human being. The prototype sprints out of the lab and right out of the building. At the same time, May's dad walks into the house and is greeted by his son, Bart, who's distracting him from the office. Since his mom is out of town, he wants to chillaxify and vegetize with some hot tea. While his dad is distracted by smooth jazz and a little water fountain, he dozes off and falls asleep in his recliner. This finally gives Bart some time to see what's going on in the office, which does not look good. This finally gives Bart some time to see what's going on in the office, which does not look good. Gabby explains what they've done, and Bart knows it's bad news, but he'll keep his word and help fix the burnt motherboard. So the next day, when May's dad wakes up from whatever he put in his tea, Bart has stayed up all night working, and the girls are just leaving for school. But before the doctor can notice anything is wrong, he gets an emergency call from the military general. There's been an incident at the lab, and he has to get there ASAP. And at school, Nevaeh, which is, Sabrina? Evan Backward. Although, is it really spelt like this? No, it's not. It's N-E-V-E-A. Okay, I just want to make sure that that wasn't like him, that he was being stupid. at that white light coin. So it's backwards. Nevaeh still thinks it's a fake profile and dares them to prove her wrong, and just then, an orange Lamborghini pulls up, and the hottest dude ever, Robot Albert, in a teal leather jacket, has arrived. He tosses his keys, and Jaden catches them, like some sort of valet. May announces it's him, and neither Gabby or Nevaeh believe what they're seeing. Okay. A, where did he get the car? did he just go steal a $290,000 Lamborghini? That's my question. That's one. Two, they're like, wow, that's him. Shocking. It was like, don't you think there should have been something bigger for this guy they created on their computer showing up at school in a Lamborghini? Like, to me, it was just kind of like, wow, how did this happen? I don't know. It just seemed like there should have been something bigger when he shows up. Yes, yes. I mean, because, again, although there's confusion of what they were expecting this Albert to be, I certainly did not think that they were honestly thinking they were going to get a real live form of Albert. Right. So that's where it would be the shock and awe of, like, touching him. Like, you're like a real, like, I can touch him. Yes. what's going on right now neither of the girls should have spoken at all they should have sat their mouth agape he should have walked up and done all the talking yes and been like I know you're so surprised I'm here I told you I was coming from Alaska I know I told you I was coming tomorrow he should have been so perfect that he literally knew how to handle what's going on and then pulls her into a hug and whispers play along or something like that which he does at some point when he talks about love and all that And then the, what is it, the one, you know, he does do some of that, but I think they could have leaned into it a little bit more. And they missed a huge chance of comedy of just the two of them staring at him, mouth agape, not being able to speak, and him, like, taking over for, hey, I know I freaked you out. Like, so many ways to have done it, but this, I just didn't think it was a big enough. I mean, the guy they invented on their computer just showed up at their house or their school with a $300,000 automobile. and it's like nobody to say and they're like wow it's him so yeah it was and also by the way this question and i'm going to get it into sabrina sees like how old are these two girls supposed to be they said sophomore so 15 and he's supposed to be 17 which is why they called it the x-17 okay i'm convinced that's why it was the x-17 so he's supposed to be 17 they're supposed to be 15 That's my guess anyway, is what I thought. Because they said sophomores, and I think sophomores are 15. So I figured he's supposed to be a senior, quote, unquote, and they're supposed to be sophomores. Yeah. That didn't play off to me as much. What, did you think they were younger and he was older? Oh, okay, gotcha. Yeah. Gotcha. That was like the fact that he had that car. Now, you go to like a private school, that is very well. Like, I'm sure in some areas that's what I – but like, I don't know. $300,000 Lamborghini in high school? No way. Not a $300,000. Do you think that car really would have been like, well, yeah, because it was a Lamborghini. It was a Lamborghini, yeah. But there are some schools are like, these kids are driving crazy. It's not. I don't think it's right. No, I don't either. It's not my business. Oh, I'll make it my business. It's very scary. It's wrong. It's wrong. To have someone driving that fast of a car, right? It's not just that, but it's also you got to, if something's just given to you, it's not the same as earning it. No. But also, you always, like, at least get in a fender bender with your first car. Like, your first, like, couple years. Did you crash your first car? Did you get into a fender bender? Did you? My first car within, like, months of it. Did you? Really? Oh, Sabrina. But it wasn't like I was driving fast. I was in the line, and I was on a hill. We were in the line going to the busy street, going to my school, my high school. and I sneezed and my foot went off the brake and I legitimately rolled into the car in front of me. You had a sneezing accident? Yes, and it was like a 4Runner and it had one of those like bulb things, those like hitch trailer things. And I had a Mustang and it went just right out. The airbags went on. Oh, my God. Your first car was a Mustang? Yes. We've talked about this. I know, but I still have it here. I know. I know. I was so lucky. I loved that first car. I still have my first car. I rigged it. Oh, God. Within months. Within months. Within months. Yes. No, I still have my first car. So my kids are not getting a brand new car. No, my 86 Celica. Still have it. Anyway. That's pretty cool. Yes. So they can't believe what they're seeing. Albert walks right up to May and says hi. He says his dad got transferred from Washington, D.C. and calls Nevaeh friend number 82. He has a very immature mechanical quality to him and says he's not dating May. It's more than dating. She's the one. It's like being alive for the first time. With that, the entire female student body is enamored with him and wants to take him to the registrar's office to check in. Sabrina, I ask you this all the time. Is this the guy that would have been on your wall? you've now met jordan and definitely jordan looks a lot more like this guy then and like yeah yeah okay yeah this is i can i can get even i was like oh dreamy like dreamy yes dreamy he definitely looked older had more of an older he looked like he was 40 yeah he did he looked like he was like probably early 20s like he had a different bill he had a gorgeous smile his eyes were incredible. I mean, like this kid, there was nothing wrong with him. He looked like baby Jordan to me. He did. I was like, ah, I get it, girls. I get it. I couldn't resist it either. Wow. I love that. Yeah, he did. He did. But that's not who I dated in high school, though. You more dated the quarterback, like Jordan? Yeah. Okay. Between the two girls, I think the ones I dated in high school were more like none of them because I didn't Dayton High School because no one liked me. Which is true. With that, by the way, the entire female student body is enamored with him. They wanted to take him to the registrar's office to check in. Now alone, May and Gabby don't know what to do because, yeah, they created someone. Over at Superior Gaming, May's dad has arrived and has no idea who broke in. The general explains this wasn't a break-in. It was an escape. Someone hacked into the servers and assembled the first ever X-17. As scary as that sounds, May's dad is actually thrilled. It worked. He officially made an Android. But the prototype is now at large, and this is a national emergency. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk tomorrow. Yeah. On the Senior Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic, and without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search the Sino Show, and listen now. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe, grabbing dinner with another and praying your karmic Ken or Barbie appears before your shelf life runs out. Trust me, I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition. I jumped in hoping to find love the right way and instead I found chaos, cringe and comedy. And now I'm looking for healing. Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn of the arranged marriage carousel. The meet awkward, the near misses, the heartbreak, and let's not forget all the jokes. Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Usually on This Podcast Will Kill You, we talk about the diseases, infections, and biological threats that can make us really sick. But right now, we're doing something a little different. We're stepping back and looking at what the human body needs to keep going. When you consider what we know about sleep in humans, there's one rule that comes out. We are predictably unpredictable sleepers. We're talking about why sleep works the way it does, why our bodies don't follow neat rules, and why modern life makes rest so hard to come by. The second half of our series takes us to the digestive system with a multi-part series on what happens after we eat. Okay, I just have to say that all of my favorite words apparently are digestive. words. Sphincter, peristalsis, duodenum. It's fascinating. It's funny and it matters so much more than you think. Episodes of our new series run from January 20th through February 17th with new episodes every Tuesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You as part of the Exactly Right Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. You can accomplish a lot in a decade. You could earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree back-to-back you could compete in two separate consecutive olympic games well we made my favorite murder and spent 10 years of true crime 10 years of conversation and 100 years of swearing here's the thing everyone politeness good yourself when someone sneezes from now on we have something for everyone advice support and a safe space for your feelings this is terrible triflers need not apply stay out of the forest you're in a cult Call your dad. Don't worry. It gets worse. Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. I said, Dad, what the hell? What are we going to do? And he goes, what the hell? I don't know. We're going to sally forth. We're going to sally forth. You guys stay sexy. Don't get murdered. Elvis, do you want a cookie? A cookie? Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodbye. Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, from The Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts women right in the center of their own stories. I'm back with more one-off interviews with some truly kick-ass women on The Girlfriends Spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia. I'm going to climb it. And then there's Vaisaka. Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives. Layla dared to ask the question is badness hereditary and finally we'll meet Rosamund if it wasn't for the year where Ella lived she wouldn't have died on that fatal night you'll even get to meet my mum in that one who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground I not too intimidated by her what are you talking about listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts At school, of course, Albert is a hit. Students cling to him as he poetically talks about snowboarding and takes off his jacket to expose his muscles. All the girls are very impressed with how he evolved and boy boy he is. Gabby is very concerned, but Mae is just excited to be escorted to class by her new boyfriend. And as far as the investigation, even though the general is no closer to finding the X-17, it may be designed a little bit too well. An assistant to the general, Jenks, says a woman walking her dog caught a glimpse and said he was super cute, candy-sugary in the eye holes, and the honorary mayor of Hunky Town. Of course. And with that, we get a montage to some pop rap. It's Albert's first day at school. He saves a frog from dissection. By the way, okay, did you dissect frogs? That's so gross. But did you dissect frogs in high school? I did. Did they give you live frogs that you had to kill? No. Of course not. No, they were dead frogs that smelt of whatever stuff. Formaldehyde. Formaldehyde that you have to keep in. They were so gross. I felt like I stunk for days after it. So just even seeing this and like. I loved it. Oh, my gosh. But the idea that they're in this school, they hand you a live frog and you first have to kill it. Oh, my. It's the most ridiculous thing ever. It's so ridiculous. Oh. The frogs are dead, people. They're not going to hand you a live frog and make you murder it. Even still, you know I'm not into reptiles. Not even a little bit, right? Like, not even a little bit. You won't cuddle a little snake? Oh, shut up. No, the snake's back. Ah! No. But then he goes and, like, lets it go and then gets up and grabs her hand. Now, I don't care what this guy looks like. If he is the dream machine, I am not touching his hand after he was just hanging out holding a frog. No. Nope. Get your hand away from me. Go wash your hands. No, thank you, sir. You're probably not going to want to touch a whole lot of boys' hands then. Oh, God, no. No. Anyway, he stopped them from murdering the frog in class, which never happens. He then holds May's hand with his nasty frog hand, which Sabrina wouldn't like, at lunch. In a romantic picnic on the football field with a violinist, he paints a beautiful portrait of her in art class and reads Pride and Prejudice in seconds. And then in the library, Gabby, she now has it all figured out. She thinks Albert is a viral marketing campaign from Superior Gaming. He's just an actor made up to look like she made... He's just an actor made up to look like what she made online, which, again, not the worst theory. Right. But he stands strong. He's Albert from Alaska, and he will do anything to make May happy. But Gabby thinks he's too perfect, and when he leaves May, he will be crushed, and she will be left to pick up the pieces. He swears he's not an actor, and he won't leave until his mission is complete. They will have the perfect kiss at homecoming during the Moonlight Dance. And that's when Bart calls. He tells Gabby the computer is wrecked, and he's seen this perfect new boy at school on May's photo feed. He's freaked out and says it will tear the fabric of space and time. He needs to fix the computer to figure this all out, and Gabby helps him with some ideas of how to make that happen. On the football field, however, Albert is breaking all of Jaden's push-up records. The coach is very impressed with this perfect 200-yard spiral and immediately recruits him to the football team. Gabby and May notice from afar, of course, and though May is impressed, Gabby calls the whole thing un-possible. Albert notices May and runs off the field to see her, and while Nevaeh, Sabrina, which is heaven backwards, which is like... Now it's spelled right. Is becoming suspicious, and Jaden is getting jealous. At the end of the school day, May runs off to Albert's orange sports car, but is intercepted by Jaden wondering if they have tutoring today. But she's spaced. She promised Albert she'd show him around. As the new couple speeds off, we also notice that his personalized license plate is meowser. which A is too many letters and also what the fuck I don't understand it at all I rewound this I rewound this is that like a is that like a cool like meowser like he's so cute but why would he put that on his own license plate how did he get his own license plate you're still confused on my guess is there's some very rich cat lady somewhere who was robbed and possibly beaten for her automobile Another sidebar story? Oh, my God, I can't take it. No, we've got to keep moving. They don't understand what's happening. So, meowsers, because he's catlicious. I don't know. Because he's catlicious. I don't know. Now at the park, Albert and Mae walk around a fountain with Gabby trailing very close behind, sneezing from pollen. Again, she's there. She wasn't in the car, but she's there. It's a two-seater. Albert has an important question. So, Mae finally asks for a moment alone. Thank you, Gabby. Maybe step back a bit. Now, without Gabby, he asks Mae to homecoming. But surprisingly, she says no. He can ask anyone at school and no one really sees her like this. So why would anyone? Because she's insanely cute, smart and funny. So no one looks at her. So sure. May runs over to Gabby, who's still sneezing and concerned this is all going too fast. Gabby quickly gets hit with an EpiPen. I'm kidding. She just seemed to be sneezing a lot. The girls are supposed to be a team. They're supposed to study, graduate early, go to Harvard, become millionaires with Nobel prizes and then get elected president and vice president. This boy is going to change everything. But May calls Albert the best thing that's ever happened to her. And then he starts playing the ukulele and singing her a love song. Fine. Get it. He's supposed to be perfect. He has perfect pitch like a hot Jason Mraz with out the stupid hat and everyone loves it. And then May joins in on the song and knows all the words and they're perfectly singing together. And this is where I got up and walked away for a little while. I was like, please don't turn into a musical. Please don't turn into a musical. The crowd has gathered for the duet, apparently. And she finally says yes to the proposal. What did you think about? I get him breaking the song. He's supposed to be the perfect girlfriend. It's supposed to be like the prom mask. Totally understand. Picks up a ukulele. He's a great singer. I get that. Sold. Not a problem. Yes. She joins him and now it's a duet. The song was very, like it was an actual, I'm trying to look at my notes right here, because it was a song that everyone knows. Oh, I know, but even I know the song. Yeah, even I know the song. I love you like a love song baby. Yeah, I know that song. It wasn't like she couldn't have joined in, like, because she wouldn't know it. Why, for your own ask? You're going to join in for him asking? It would have been better to have some of the other, like, patrons that are there, too, in the park. Great idea. And do, like, a kind of. Flash mobs. Flash mobs, yes. But something like that would have been a little bit more of something easier to grasp. Yeah, because that was not good. May's phone rings, and it's Bart again, who has grown very paranoid. He fixed the computer, but now he knows too much. He tells her to get to their house ASAP. And over at Superior Games, Jenks reports the situation has escalated. Black Sigma, a very dangerous international arms dealer, is after X-17, and that's when the doctor figures it out. there is another copy of the software at his house. And then we see 40 minutes into the movie or 35 minutes into the movie. 50. We're 50. I made a note of it. Okay. Now there's a new kind of thug twist where, okay, we see Black Sigma hiding a cleaning van outside of Superior Games. They've been planning on stealing the X-17 for months, but someone has beat them to it, so they're forced to find him on the outside. Gabby finally makes it to Bard, who's in full panic mode. He realizes his dad isn't a video game designer. He's actually working with the Pentagon. Gabby also figures out the truth about Albert. He's a highly mobile robot soldier, and she set him up with her best friend. This is terrible. But things get even worse when Black Sigma arrives, kicking in the office door. It was very fast. They're quite the force, apparently. Yes. They waited for this many months to steal the robot, but then were able to get to the house. Sorry, this is me thinking. Apologies. The thugs jump on the computer and learn all about Albert and his mission titled Homecoming. Now, with the info they need, they steal the files and destroy the motherboard again, just before the military Humvees arrive and walk into the pulverized results. The doctor is scared his kids were home during the attack, but instead he finds his son and Gabby just studying in the living room. They explain, and I like how they both had headphones on, so it's like, wow, we didn't hear anything. At least that made sense. It's like, let's figure out a way to make it seem like we didn't know what was going on. They explain that Mae is out with a totally real boy and swear they didn't notice any break-in. Bart's dad continues to pretend he's just a normal video game designer, while Bart lays it on thick about how much he hates lying, which this is my favorite part of the favorite scene of him, just like kind of yelling at his dad about, because no one likes liars and stuff like that. It was very funny. Also, hilariously, the Black Sigma cleaning van is still parked outside May's house, something that should be easily detected by the U.S. military, but is completely missed. As a result, the bad guys spot Gabby and Bart leaving the taxi and decide to follow them to the high school pre-party pep rally. Ooh, say that three times fast. School's pre-party pep rally, pre-party pep rally, pre-party pep rally, where Albert and May just arrived. Give me one. See if you can do it. Pre-party pep rally. Nice. We're good. We should do this for a living. We're good. Now the girls at school want Gabby to find them perfect boyfriends, too. Again, taken straight from Weird Science, where Robert Downey Jr. and his friend want them to have a girl built for them as well. But they are a much bigger fish to fry. Albert has spotted Black Sigma and knows they're after him. He sneaks behind one of the henchmen, takes the bottle out of his hand, smashes it, and uses the broken glass to slit his throat. Terminator 2 style. I'm kidding. Is everyone still with me? I'm joking. He fights them Terminator style and punches them through the wall. And while her boyfriend is off dually, Gabby confronts May about Albert being a military super soldier without actually telling her what she needs to know. So if you watch the scene again, she's like, saying all these things that aren't actually saying, we built him on the computer, he's a fake robot. Like, that's all you need to say. Yeah. Doesn't actually, she kind of beats her out of the bush. Your dad is not a, like, say it faster. Come on, Gabby. Get it out. We got to help your friend here. You're supposed to be a genius. Exactly. But May isn't hearing it. She's in love and believes Albert feels the same way about her. But Gabby explains it's impossible for a robot to feel love. And she doesn't say robot. She just says it's impossible for him to feel love, forcing the best friends into an argument. Gabby begs May to trust her and end things with Albert by just looking him in his eyes and saying, initiate self-destruct. But it ain't going to happen. She's head over heels. So Mae walks away with her friendship hanging in the balance. Now it's the night of the big football game because the big football game. All of a sudden there's a football game. No one's talked about it except for we've seen one practice. Yeah, we knew about homecoming, but they don't talk about the homecoming game. The game, right. Right. Then I'm like, literally, it pulled me out of my, oh, my gosh, we care about a game. I had no idea. There was something, there's nothing really on the line except for winning the homecoming game either. And it doesn't really matter because they talk about the fact that they haven't really beat this team. So it's not like this is an important game for the season. They make it seem like it's just nothing. Right. And the only time you even get what kind of team this is is from that very quick clip with the coach. That the coach doesn't even seem like he really knows how to coach. And the kids don't seem like they know what they're really doing either. Nope. Yeah. Nope. And it happened so fast and you're going. It was weird. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, the cheerleaders are in full cheer mode, led by Nevaeh, backwards for heaven, who is still politicking for homecoming queen. The home team Eagles are currently down by 25 points when the Black Sigma guys arrive, remember them? To find their one defeated teammate who reveals that X-17 can sense their presence. They know they'll need an electropulse device to shut down X-17 himself, and that's when they'll grab him. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him Hi dad And just when I said that My mom comes out of the kitchen And she says I have some cookies and milk This is a badass convict Just finished five years I'm going to have cookies and milk Yeah On the Sino Show podcast Each episode invites you into a raw unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trejo to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic, and without this program, I'm going to die. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search the Sino Show and listen now. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe, grabbing dinner with another and praying your karmic ken or barbie appears before your shelf life runs out trust me I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition I jumped in hoping to find love the right way and instead I found chaos, cringe and comedy and now I'm looking for healing Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn of the arranged marriage carousel the meet awkward, the near misses the heartbreak and let's not forget all the jokes Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Usually on This Podcast Will Kill You, we talk about the diseases, infections, and biological threats that can make us really sick. But right now, we're doing something a little different. We're stepping back and looking at what the human body needs to keep going. When you consider what we know about sleep in humans, there's one rule that comes out. We are predictably unpredictable sleepers. We're talking about why sleep works the way it does, why our bodies don't follow neat rules, and why modern life makes rest so hard to come by. The second half of our series takes us to the digestive system with a multi-part series on what happens after we eat. Okay, I just have to say that all of my favorite words apparently are digestive words. Sphincter, pericelsis, duodenum. It's fascinating, it's funny, and it matters so much more than you think. Episodes of our new series run from January 20th through February 17th, with new episodes every Tuesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You as part of the Exactly Right Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can accomplish a lot in a decade. You could earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree back-to-back. You could compete in two separate consecutive Olympic Games. Well, we made my favorite murder. I spent 10 years of true crime, 10 years of conversation, and 100 years of swearing. Here's the thing. F*** everyone. F*** politeness. Go f*** yourself. It's like what I say when someone's sneezing from now on. We have something for everyone. Advice, support, and a safe space for your feelings. This is terrible. Triflers need not apply. Stay out of the forest. You're in a cult. Call your dad. Don't worry. It gets worse. Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. I said, Dad, what the hell? What are we going to do? And he goes, what the hell? I don't know. We're going to sally forth. Sally Forth. We're going to Sally Forth. You guys stay sexy. Don't get murdered. Elvis, you want a cookie? A cookie? Ah! Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodbye. Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, from The Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts women right in the center of their own stories. I'm back with more one-off interviews with some truly kick-ass women on the Girlfriends spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia. I'm going to climb it. And then there's Vaisaka. Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives. Leila dared to ask the question. Is badness hereditary? And finally, we'll meet Rosamund. If it wasn't for the year where Ella lived, she wouldn't have died on that fatal night. You'll even get to meet my mum in that one, who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground. I'm not too intimidated by her. What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. At the game, Gabby and May have fully split up, sitting nowhere near each other. Meanwhile, one of the players is injured. They need a second string running back, and that's when the coach spots Alaska in the stands and tells him to suit up, like you do. Guy's never taken a snap, never been in practice, never knows what's going on, but hey, he can throw. Just looks big and bulky. He also threw the ball once, so of course we're going to make him a running back. What? Albert takes off his shirt in the stands, like you do. By the way, if I look like this dude, I'd never wear a shirt. And the girls love what they see. One classmate even faints. Again, this was, remember how I felt about this in Cowbells? I felt the same way. Like, when you would never get a girl to, like, drop down into a bikini and the guy sit there and, like, just got her, right? Like, never, never, never. But why is that okay with him? He takes off his shirt and the girls are literally this close to him, like. Yep, just staring at his man nipples. And it's like, geez. Yeah, exactly. Gabby knows this is a problem and rushes into the huddle to try to stop Albert. May joins in, too, eventually followed by Neva. Neva? Neva? By Heaven. I'm just going to keep saying Heaven, and then if we could just reverse the audio, that'd be great. She just wants this homecoming game to go off without a hitch so she can be the queen. The referee calls a delay of game, and the girls return to the sideline as the audience throws empty cups at them. And then another montage. You know I love a montage. Albert is a superhuman football player, scoring touchdown after touchdown like some sort of mechanical NFL cyborg. The crowd loves it, but back at May's house, the military and police are trying to figure out who broke in. But the local police are very preoccupied with the score of the local high school game. They can't believe the Eagles are coming back. They check their phones for video and spot the new student, a bona fide beast, and that's when the doctor figures it out. This new football star is the X-17 in full assault mode, and he also notices this robot is dating his daughter. Uh-oh. Back at the game, there are five seconds left, and the Eagles have the ball down by just five. They could win this thing. Jaden and Albert are ready to take the field when the coach has an idea. Just give the ball to Albert. Nevaeh tries to still get the crowd to chant for Jaden, but everyone knows this is Albert's night. As the team leaves their huddle, Black Sigma is also prepared for the next move with the blocker. Jaden yells hike, and Albert absolutely crushes any defender in his path while on his way to a touchdown. He then, in some very bad CGI, carries four opposing players along with him across the end zone, scoring at the buzzer. I didn't think it was that bad. It was bad. I didn't think it was that bad. It was bad. And winning the game. But just as he celebrates, Sigma initiates their machine and short circuits the star player, exploding the stadium lights. The Humvees speed in as high school students run off in every direction, and we recognize this from the beginning of the movie. While fleeing, Gabby explains to May who her dad really is and that Albert is a deadly weapon. Hey, maybe tell me that before the game. Everyone is after him. It's all their fault. Unfortunately, Nevaeh, who was once again within earshot, heard the conversation, these girls need to learn how to whisper. And at the same time, Black Sigma are finally surrounded by the military and handcuffed. They're caught. Leave me to wonder, why are they in this movie? Why? What did they do in this movie? Who? Oh, the... Black Sigma. Black Sigma was just caught and handcuffed. Why are they here? What was the point of this entire storyline? All they did was make him glitch, but they didn't even need to make him glitch because the military came in right as that happened anyway. If you cut out this entire storyline, the movie would not have changed at all. Right. They literally did nothing. Yeah. So it's like, what the hell were they there for? They were there for 20 minutes and then arrested. Except for they like, what, upped the ante on the fact that the military had lost this thing because now... Yeah. I mean, I think the only thing that would have made sense a little bit is if maybe the brother and Gabby got kidnapped from them. They came home. It's obvious that they also now have taken his children and another friend. Something like that. But yeah, no. They really didn't need... They didn't cause much chaos except for ruining the motherboard at the house. They showed... They used the scene to show how good a fighter he was. Yes. And then to short-circuit him, which didn't even short-circuit him. So none of it made any sense whatsoever. Literally, completely and totally pointless storyline in this film. Right. And now Gabby and May are hiding, taking their spots in the first few minutes of How to Build a Better Boy. The general and May's dad arrive to demand they forfeit, and so the girls give themselves up. We saw this at the beginning. Now in custody, they're taken to Superior Games and lectured about their incredibly careless actions, but the general knows their intentions were romantic. They're not in need of a high-tech war machine, and so they were free to go. The X-17 is no longer their concern. Since he's been rebooted, his mission is back on track. Now, this is the same day, and yet in that day, he's helping freedom fighters, he's building schools, and leading a team of mind-sniffing dolphins. All in one day. He's the property of the U.S. Army now, and in exchange for her freedom, May is never to speak about any of this to anyone. She must now abandon her love and return to her regular, lonely, desperate, nerdy life, where she's an awful human being like the dirt under everybody's shoe. You can tell just by looking at this gorgeous girl. All's fair in love and war. Two things Jenks admits she's never seen action in. Gabby thinks it's all over, but Mae isn't convinced. She knows Albert will come to his senses and remember her. She's going to homecoming in case he shows up. He's more than microchips and wires. He's magic. Okay. Gabby says there's an equation for everything and no such thing as magic. and May doesn't care. And so now it's homecoming day and Albert is still missing. May is driven to the Paris-themed dance by her dad. Now, at first I thought it was odd that it was daytime outside, which seems like wrong for the school dance. And then I was like, well, wait, maybe it's closer to the summer. And then I'm like, wait, it's homecoming, which is usually done right around the holiday. So it should have been dark. Yeah, it definitely should have. Because I think homecoming is like right around Thanksgiving. Although, yeah, it's in October usually. October, November, right? Yeah, so it'd be dark. Yeah. Yeah. But they did set it like they do meet outside. Like they did, because I was thinking the same thing. Like this doesn't make sense time-wise during the day. But they did, you could see kids in the background like getting there early to take pictures like that, which is a common thing to do. You go somewhere, a park or a person's house to take pictures. Like it seemed like that's what they were doing before they entered the dance. She's dating a robot they built on her computer, so I'm going to let it slide that it should have made it. I think out of all the details that are a little far-fetched, this might be the least amount. I agree. The easiest. I agree. May is clearly disappointed to be there alone, but her dad swears a girl as brilliant and beautiful as she is will still have a special night with or without X-17. And so she takes her spot on the steps, waiting for her date, watching as Nevaeh and Jaden pull up. And just as she's about to quit, a limo arrives and out steps Albert. He made it after all. May's dad can't believe what he's seeing. Albert apologizes for being late, and the couple walk into the dance, but unfortunately, the Humvees are also ready to party. The general knew his mission would lead him to homecoming, but couldn't let May know, or she would have warned Albert. And now they're ready to take out the X-17. May's dad steps in. They can't do this. If the military attacks Albert, he'll fight back with full force. This will be a world war with his daughter right in the middle of the action. He promises if they let Albert finish his mission, he will retreat peacefully. So let the robot kiss his daughter. If they ruin... Yep. I'm going to say it again. So let the robot kiss his daughter. If they ruin May's night, the doctor will quit and never deliver a robot to the U.S. ever again, even the X-36. Which sounds just like a guy who doesn't want to get off his couch. I remember me at 36. I'm like, I'm not going to save the world. The general says the army will make sure the kiss happens and instructs the battalion to follow Operation Pucker Up. Inside the dance, Nevaeh is already furious at all the attention May and Albert are getting. Jaden tries to stand up for May, but Nevaeh is dead set on ruining the night for her rival. Gabby is also very mad at Albert. He had to show up, didn't he? But Albert tells her, you can't know everything that's going to happen. Meanwhile, all of Nevaeh's popular meeting girl pals have switched sides. They're now minions of May, calling themselves May Flowers and wearing polka dot dresses just like hers. May is as popular as she always dreamt of, but nothing feels right. Operation Pucker Up is in full swing, with Janks pretending to be a student. Nevaeh is ready to accept her homecoming crown and expose Albert, but Jaden has seen enough of her evil ways and dumps her right there on the spot. Good for you, Jaden. Finally. Then when the principal takes the mic to announce that he's giving out free ballroom lessons, but it's also time to announce the queen. The winner is Mae Hartley. Nevaeh is devastated, Bart is shocked, and Mae's dad is emotional, but then he learns the army actually stuffed the ballot box. As Mae accepts, Nevaeh rushes the stage. She calls the results unacceptable and reveals Albert is a machine. For a few seconds, everyone is confused until Jaden steps up like a good bro and praises Albert's work on the football field. Yeah, dude, you're a machine! And the crowd loves it. Nevaeh tries to clarify herself by calling him dangerous, but everyone just returns to dancing. Of course, not everyone is happy. Jaden knows he messed up with May. She's special, and that's why Albert asked her to the dance. He tells Gabby that he wanted to ask May to the dance, but didn't have the guts. And then Gabby realizes she was wrong about Jaden. He did like May the whole time. on stage May sees herself in the crown and knows her dream and the moonlight dance is closer than ever although she never ever once dreamed of being the homecoming queen never mentioned the entire movie didn't care about that even slightly but instead of running to Albert she retreats to the corner of a gym Gabby and May reunite because something is clearly bothering the newly crowned queen Gabby apologizes for all of her actions I didn't understand why Gabby was apologizing okay I get that she says she held her back and she shouldn't have said that Jaden didn't like her and boys got in the way but also the second this dude entered her life may ditched her friend and wouldn listen to her and he a killer and it like i going with him I never knew you She was clearly jealous and holding back her best friend She never should have said Jaden was out of her league True. They were an unstoppable team, but May is also great on her own. Also true. Maybe a school dance or a boyfriend isn't Gabby's thing. But if that makes May happy, then that's what she wants for her. They hug just as the moonlight dance starts. And May didn't apologize back at all. A slow jam begins and May makes her way into the romantic gym. all orchestrated by the U.S. military, Queen May and Albert make their way to the dance floor and embrace. She buries her head into his chest, and even the General and Jenks are mesmerized by the love, so much so that Jenks is distracted and starts to emit too much wind from the fans. This forces Gabby to realize the army is at the dance and ready to grab Albert. Instead of jumping in to save the day, though, Gabby decides to let May take care of herself. You're still laughing about Prince Albert, aren't you? Okay. I knew you were. I can tell by the red. Mae scans the gym, and just as she's about to kiss Albert, she pulls away. She can't. The army doesn't know what to do. Mae says the whole thing just feels off. She invented him because a boy didn't like her. And she wasn't brave enough to know that if a boy doesn't like her for being herself, then it's not her fault. She wants her first kiss to be real. Albert calls her incredible, noting that she's doing something he can never do, change. He points out the soldiers, and she realizes he knew they were coming all along, and he came to dance anyway. His mission was to make sure it was her best night ever, and now his mission is complete. Then on command, she looks into his eyes and says, Initiate self-destruct. He says goodbye and becomes an electrical ball. A storm hits inside the gym, and Nevaeh continues to blame the government, which technically is not conspiracy theory because it's true. The students run off in all directions as Albert bursts through the ceiling and speeds off into space. Now in total silence, the students are confused. Bart jumps in asking for a round of applause for the school principal and his awesome special effects. Everyone goes with it and returns to dancing, which doesn't make any sense at all. Jaden then tells May that the line of smoke Albert left behind is a perfect logarithmic curve, exposing that he's actually pretty good at math, so then he faked spelling things wrong? Just because he's good at math doesn't mean he's a good speller, I guess. Really? He knows what a perfect logarithmic curve is, but he can't spell what was like here or something? They're like basic words. They were, yeah. With a Q. He was just pretending to need help because he liked his tutor. He asked her to dance, and she surprisingly says, go for yourself. Actually, she says, maybe later. When Gabby arrives, May lets her know no boy is more important than their friendship. And then Gabby breaks some real news. What if her new boyfriend is related to her best friend? We see Bart having the time of his life, and Gabby admits that even though boys are a distraction, they're a pretty good one. The girls go back to dancing, admitting you can meet a boy and change the world at the same time. And then we get our end credits with some improv lives from Bart, also known as actor Matt Shively, who is very funny, dancing alongside Gabby. And that's our movie. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. Hi, Dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished. I'm going to have cookies and milk at mom. On the Senior Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search the Sino Show. And listen now. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe, grabbing dinner with another and praying your karmic Ken or Barbie appears before your shelf life runs out. Trust me, I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition. I jumped in hoping to find love the right way and instead I found chaos, cringe and comedy. And now I'm looking for healing. Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn of the arranged marriage carousel. The meet awkward, the near misses, the heartbreak, and let's not forget all the jokes. Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can accomplish a lot in a decade. You could earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree back-to-back. You could compete in two separate consecutive Olympic Games. Well, we made My Favorite Murder. I spent 10 years of true crime, 10 years of conversation, and 100 years of swearing. Here's the thing. F*** everyone. F*** politeness. Go f*** yourself. Go f*** yourself when someone sneezes from now on. We have something for everyone. Advice, support, and a safe space for your feelings. This is terrible. Triflers need not apply. Stay out of the forest. You're in a cult. Call your dad. Don't worry. It gets worse. Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. I said, Dad, what the hell? What are we going to do? And he goes, what the hell? I don't know. We're going to sally forth. We're going to sally forth. You guys stay sexy. Don't get murdered. Elvis, you want a cookie? A cookie? Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodbye. Usually on This Podcast Will Kill You, we talk about the diseases, infections, and biological threats that can make us really sick. But right now, we're doing something a little different. We're stepping back and looking at what the human body needs to keep going. When you consider what we know about sleep in humans, there's one rule that comes out. We are predictably unpredictable sleepers. We're talking about why sleep works the way it does, why our bodies don't follow neat rules, and why modern life makes rest so hard to come by. The second half of our series takes us to the digestive system with a multi-part series on what happens after we eat. Okay, I just have to say that all of my favorite words apparently are digestive words. Sphincter, peristalsis, duodenum. It's fascinating, it's funny, and it matters so much more than you think. Episodes of our new series run from January 20th through February 17th, with new episodes every Tuesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to This Podcast Will Kill You as part of the Exactly Right Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, it's me, Anna Sinfield, from The Girlfriends, the number one hit true crime show that puts women right in the centre of their own stories. I'm back with more one-off interviews with some truly kick-ass women on The Girlfriends Spotlight. I want to introduce you to Sylvia. I'm going to climb it. And then there's Vaisaka. Let's see how we can stop killing and save lives. Layla dare to ask the question Is badness hereditary? And finally we'll meet Rosamund If it wasn't for the year where Ella lived she wouldn't have died on that fatal night You'll even get to meet my mum in that one who I can always count on to keep my feet on the ground I'm not too intimidated by her What are you talking about? Listen to the Girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts I got you, I got you. Sabrina, let's do some real reviews. All right. Oh, my gosh. You got five-star. I've got a five-star from Rosanna Bodasco. Your five-star says, I like to watch tech geniuses unwittingly using military software to program a robotic boyfriend. That is very specific. Yes. Very specific. Do you see that often? No, apparently not. All right. I have the one-star review, and it's from Silent Guardian 1. I whispered it because that's being silent. I guarantee if the title was How to Build a Better Girl, there would be an outrage. As a guy, I find the very title and concept of this movie offensive. There are a lot of guys who try our best to make the women in our life happy who actually care. A movie basically outlining an ideology of how men, quote, should, unquote, be able to make them, quote, better, unquote, could really hurt the self-esteem of young men who are trying their best. Wouldn't recommend this movie to anybody. One star. Okay. Wow. There's a lot going on there that Silent Guardian might need to work out. I don't disagree with the fact that Disney would never make How to Make a Better Girl. No. Not nowadays. But, hey, they made those in the 80s. Maybe it's time that the ladies get to make a better guy movie. I wasn't offended, and I'm a guy. Here's our feature program of the game, our game, our feature of the week. That's Sabrina's favorite part. Who are we playing with today, by the way? You got Michaela. Oh, right. Michaela, my good luck charm. Yeah, we're going to lose. Take me to your leader is what it's called. To celebrate the presence of Prince Albert, because I got to say it again, a robot disguised as a hot human schooler, we thought we could reference some other famous human bots from pop culture that were also penis piercings. I'm kidding. That will list as an... So we're going to list an actor and a movie, and you have to guess from a multiple choice list, what's the robot's name? Okay. We already know Marshall Williams from How to Build a Better Boy was an X-17 or Albert. So three out of five wins. So here we go. Number one, Haley Joel Osment in AI. A. Ricky. Oh, I should probably say what they are. Is it A. Ricky, B. Stephen, C. David, or D. Timmy? I don't know any of these. Do you? I'm going to go with B. Stephen. A. Ricky. It is C. David. David. Number two, Alicia Vikander, or Vikander, or Vikander, in Ex Machina. Never seen that either. Is it A, Ava, B, Susan, C, Kitra, or D, Rochelle? I'm going to go A, Ava. I'm going to, too. A, Ava, Ava. Correct. Yay, we got one. Oh, oh, what I'm going to know. Number three, Sean Young in Blade Runner. Finally, is it A, Dina, B, Rachel, C, Sonia, or D, Erica? uh d erica uh it's b rachel i think yes you're correct all right b rachel number four yule brenner in westworld is it a the cowboy b the gunslinger c the sheriff or d derrick i don't know this one either i'm gonna go with d derrick i'm gonna say c the sheriff Four is B. Ooh, the gunslinger. Okay. I need this last one to win because I need three, right? I've already done, yeah. All right, here we go. Five. Oh, and I know it. This is weirdly one of my favorite movies. People hate it, and for some reason I liked it. Number five, Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man. Is it A, Phil Grant, B, Dan Garrett, C, Jeff Hamilton, or D, Andrew Martin? B, Dan Garrett. It was D, Andrew Martin. Damn. Will is correct. It's D. I actually won. I don't know if possible. Oh, boy. Can we do a Sabrina Seas? Sabrina Seas. We can. Now, I've given quite a bit. Again, the age of this movie, I think, because of what? And maybe just because it, I feel like, and I thought about it, we've set it a little bit around the other ones, too. I think because it comes with, like, the robot aspect, you really, it gets far-fetched kind of fast. So you kind of have to be able to, like, let go of a lot of, like, what? That's, like, just not normal or whatever. So I kept going, like, what's the age demo of this movie? I'm trying to think of who they're targeting. So that kind of was something that just, it's throughout many times of my Sabrina sees as I'm watching. um i also something about and now and i when you mentioned the um the location of this it was in toronto and it was at like a college of some sort this every aspect of that we saw within the school didn't that was another thing it didn't look like a high school to me it looked like a college yeah Agreed. Like, even so much as, like, the hallways of it looked, like, okay, and then you jump out to, like, the track. The track had three little steps onto it, like, where the scene happens with her and Nevaeh calling out, and Albert is the first time we're talking about this made-up person. That didn't look like a high school track to me at all. It looked very much like a college. Like USC's college track kind of looks like that. Then when we go to the football game, the end zone was like in the middle. Yeah. Well, you know why? I'm assuming because it wasn't out like a real high school. No, because that's Canadian football. They shot this in Canada, and the actual field goal is at a different spot in a Canadian football field. If you're making up all of this on the spot, I'm going to be so angry with you. Watch. Wait. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Currently, field goal posts on a Canadian football league or Canadian football are on the goal line at the front of the end zone. Okay. Okay. I swear, not making it up. Okay. All right. It's Canadian. I swear to God, it's different with Canadian football. They obviously shot it on a Canadian football field. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Well, then that answers that question because I'm kind of like this school just doesn't add up to being like a high school for me, Which, again, was, like, already in the things of, like, both of the girls, to me, seemed aged down pretty, like, or not, I guess, aged up then. Because the actress themselves played a little bit or seemed a lot younger than what they were supposed to be playing. Especially, again, it came up again when she just jumps into this, like, car. Didn't have to call her dad. Didn't have to seem like she had permission. but, like, after school just, like, gets in this kid's, like, Lamborghini and, like, drives off. All that stuff just didn't, like, you'd have to be, like, in, like, your senior year, I would think, you know, like, for that to all be kind of normal. Anyway, moving on. Let me see. I have quite a bit of them that I'm going to move past. The ukulele part was just so funny to me. I know you can't. I was, like, cracking up, like, oh, my God. him in this ukulele. I don't love ukuleles for some reason. I wish he would have picked up a regular size guitar. Yeah, out of something. Or just sang. Yes. Yeah, just singing. Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Another thing, you didn't even mention how weird and random was it when the girls joined the boys in the huddle on the football field? I know. It was a comedy thing. I know what they were going for. Yeah, it didn't really work. Okay. The next thing, there was a couple of funny, like, quotes that happened. It was, all's fair in love and war, and then I wouldn't know, sir, I've never seen action in either. Poor thing. Poor thing. And she was another beautiful woman, by the way. Another beautiful woman. Yeah, she was a gorgeous woman. Her character was a funny little addition. She was. Like, she just brought in, like, and then her, like, love story. I loved this character. I forget what her name was. Jenks. Jenks. Jenks was a funny character to me. They gave her just enough to be like, oh, you know, like just kind of fun. You know, then her having like this like random little chemistry moment with the principal at the end. I liked her a lot with that. And then Max with the girl was also another offsetting like little. And it was the general that says it. Yeah. Max with the girl. He's going to get that right. Macking on her. That was big in the 90s, too. was from the general saying that. Yep. The whole idea, we went through it kind of funny, but the dad... I wasn't even going to get into it. Yeah, because it just... It's weird where the army is trying to get this robot to make out with this girl. So much that I said at some point during the movie, and, you know, it's not a big harp that we need to make on it, but at some point, if you stop and think, This army has a whole bunch of cameras set up waiting for this kiss, and it was just seeming kind of crazy. And then this is my favorite one. This is the last one. I don't give two shakes of a blind dog's tail. I was laughing out loud. This is towards the end of the movie, and he goes, I don't give two shakes of a blind donkey's tail what Mae wants. Yeah. Yeah. Good line. I thought that was two shakes of a blind donkey's tail. I thought that was a good one. I like it. And that's it. All right. Well, now we come to the portion of our program where we're going to rate the film we just saw. One to ten? One to ten, and I believe you're first this time. Am I? Well, let's make ten the biggest. Okay. And here are our options this week. One out of ten third wheel Gabby's, hot burgers, one out of ten off the chain software, polite Canadians, chillaxified and vegetized hot tea, hunky towns, one out of ten meowsers, mind sniffing dolphins, or one out of ten daytime school dances. I think I picked, don't I, this week? Yes. Okay. You get to pick and you get to go first. Okay, I'm going to do one out of ten meowsers because I still don't understand what the f*** that was. So that's what we're going to do. Okay. I get what they were going for. This movie, it's like I said, the two girls who starred in it, great. The wardrobe made no sense. The fact that they were two really intelligent, gorgeous girls who were still nerds and nobody got, nobody looked at, no sense whatsoever. This is like almost the most extreme version of like these girls really have no friends and nobody wants to talk to them. Are you kidding me? So that bothered me. I get it's a trope and I get I'm supposed to let it go. But I can't just throw on a pair of glasses and Clark Kent everybody all the time. I'm sorry. I just can't do it. Dress them down. Dress them weird. Make them goth. Do something that's so different and out there that it's crazy pants. And this didn't do it for me. it also needed a rewrite the whole thing about the black the villains coming the black saber or whatever they were called literally pointless to the entire movie looked great again acting was good parts of it were funny Matt Shively was very funny I thought the dad was very funny some of the janks was very funny I love the military guy yeah I had no problem with any of that stuff Characters were good. Characters were good. Needed a big rewrite. Because of that, I am going with, and I think this is fair. I really do. I am going with 6.5 meowsers for this movie. Okay. What do you got, Sabrina? So for me, again, we talked about, I've already mentioned, like, my first thoughts were just, like, it grabbed my attention right from the start. again we had not seen something like this and then it just like quickly mellowed out and started to drag in the front end of it once i i had to kind of stop and go okay and i remember this with pixel perfect and i remember like when it starts to get a little bit more techie you kind of have to let yourself lean in a little bit more once i got in a better mind frame and that but that wasn't until almost 20 minutes in that I finally let things go and I kind of let it happen. I saw that the girls, I got over the, I loved their wardrobe. I thought they were so cute. I was like enamored with their wardrobe for sure. And then the button of the girls picking up and wanting to emulate their wardrobe made all of that later on okay for me. Like I kind of was like, okay, so I see it. Like, they were just kind of quirky and different and, you know, more brainiacs or whatever. I kind of eventually let that go. Then I lost it a little bit at the end when no one cared that this, like, unbelievably, after this, you know, the whole school has just thought this guy was just the epic, unbelievable godsend boy who is good looking who drives the car who now saves the day at the homecoming game like all that now he's prince like and then he just like burst out of the ceiling and they just were like oh thanks principle for like the like that's when i went oh yeah so that like it bumped it up a lot and then it kind of fizzled down it kind of settled on a seven like a solid seven meowsers for me. I think for this movie in particular it did demo down in the target age range a little bit more than a lot of the movies that we watch. It kind of slumped down into a younger one, which isn't always the ones that end up being my favorite. I agree. Well, there you go. Thank you everybody for joining us for this meowsertastic film. Our next movie is one that I don't think either of us were familiar with, but I frankly can't remember. at the time. It was a little while ago, but we are very excited. The next film we're doing is the 1998 classic Principal Pakes Holiday. It is available on the YouTube, so go check that out before you listen to our amazing recap, and it was. It was probably the best recap we've ever done. I honestly don't remember how good a recap it was, but it was probably a 6.2, 6.8 recap. But yes, we're very excited, so please go and check that out. But first, we are going to stay in the Better Boy universe because we're going to be sitting down with Ashley Argoda, who played, ready, Sabrina? Nevaeh or? Heaven Backwards. That's right. In the movie, we have quite a history with the other stars. We talked about her career and her time on the DCOM that we just recapped. So let's get a small snippet of what's to come. I actually had an opportunity when I was still on True Jackson to audition for Lemonade mouth when I was still on Nickelodeon. And it was such a like, I was like, oh, man, but it's a D-com. Like, do I stay on my show? Do I go audition for a D-com? Ultimately, obviously, I stayed on True Jackson VP. But it was truly like, I really had to think about that one because I grew up watching D-coms. I grew up watching Nickelodeon, too. But like D-coms were such a huge part of my life. And like, I loved them so much. So like, yeah, I totally watched it while I was still on Nickelodeon. She was such a sport and so much fun to talk to. So make sure to check that out and subscribe to our Magical Rewind feed wherever you get your podcasts, because then you'll get all of our interviews when they're released. And for more information, you can follow us at Magical Rewind Pod on the Instagram machine. Thanks, everybody. Meowsers. Meowsers. Hey, this is Wells Adams with By Order of the Faithfuls podcast alongside my fellow faithfuls and co-hosts Tamara Judge and Dolores Catania. The three of us have been watching this season of the traders and we've been inside that castle. So we have insight unlike many others. This season of the traders may be the best we've ever seen. Listen to By Order of the Faithfuls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. 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