This single frame in Spider-Man 2 is actually so important!

[@NerdSyncProductions]

👉 Visit brilliant.org/NerdSync to try everything Brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days. You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription!

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Apparently Tobey Maguire is vegan so there's a chance they really did switch out the hot dog for either an empty bun or a vegan dog. I had no idea but that's wild that my joke might have some truth to it lol

[@ErikaAllAlong]

@@NerdSyncProductions You noted that his hand holding the 'dog dropped out of frame briefly. My guess is that he simply let the 'dog drop out of the bun at that point. Then he brings it up sideways so the camera doesn't see that it's empty. I think we've spent almost as much time analyzing this frame as the one you made the video about!

[@kheph777]

I came here to say this! Once you pointed out the missing hotdog, I went on a whim to see if Toby is vegetarian. Turns out he's vegan. So he likely dipped the hotdog down out of frame so he could flick the dog out of the bun before biting it. There is a similar funny story concerning Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. :)

[@randomDisinformation13]

​@@ErikaAllAlong They probably switched out the bun. Many of the vegans I know won't eat anything that has been contaminated by meat, so even touch the hot dog would keep them from eating the bun, as they can't eat or ingest anything dealing with meat.

[@rabbitcorp.103]

The Weiner is not the hot dog it's not called a hot dog it's called a Weiner not a hot dog

[@ErikaAllAlong]

@@rabbitcorp.103 It isn't really wiener unless it's from the Wien province of Austria.

[@ErikaAllAlong]

This is pure brilliance. I never thought that Spider-Man 2 would make me want to rewatch a '60s Western.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Me neither but here we are lol

[@AdamBlack]

@@NerdSyncProductions I think you might have overlooked the most Obvious cultural vidual languagenfrom the time in that Freeze=Frame: Commercials! The Freeze frame reduces the scense to wrigleys or mentos commcerial. There had been around 10 years of these "Freshmaker" commercials., with obnoxious sweet smile and freezeframe. But they were common n mint and gum commercials.

[@MarcSadowski]

“Less cultured than most yogurts” That’s a great line, I’m stealing it 😂

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Please do!

[@nadeen3157]

​@NerdSyncProductions careful, if this goes viral you might have to do a video in a few years correcting it (you do, in fact, have way more bacterial cells than a serving of yogurt and at least a thousand more species, but the number of cells per gram depends on the type of yogurt from my quick research) (I'm sorry but i need to use my microbiology degree somehow)

[@themoosehoof]

5:44 also Sam said he didn’t even pick the song himself in that very clip so it’s still entirely possible the guy who actually picked it did have this in mind

[@Ebbagull]

Very good point!

[@Swenglish]

This was my thought as well. Just because the director didn't think of it doesn't mean it wasn't intentional. Chances are it probably was, in which case...that's someone being good at their job and knowing their stuff.

[@mdstevens0612]

Unironically, there aren't enough essays on the niche details of Raimi's Spiderman 2

[@krank23]

I suddenly realized it's a song about raindrops. In a movie about a spider... man. Down came the rain and washed the spider out?

[@amesstarline5482]

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.. This "break" from Spiderman did not last long. It was a sequence with sunshine all over. Then the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.. He is back to hero-ing.

[@Bugsyjr]

@@amesstarline5482 the pOWER OF THE SUN!? IN THE PALM OF MY HAND?!

[@demonteprice5870]

@krank23 When you're a spider the rain washes you out, when you're just a man, the rain feels good.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

I’m realizing that HiTop hasn’t made a comment about the Raindrops scene. Considering that he simps for Sam Rami so hard.

[@alex3448]

This might be the most surface level thing, but something I thought about when the freeze frame was shown is 80s/90s-ish movies, especially like the ones set in school, where the movie might end on a freeze frame while a song plays, denoting a sort of happily-ever-after ending. In Peter's case, if this were a different kind of movie, if it were telling a different kind of story, if Peter were a different kind of person, this could be where the story leaves off. Peter could have his happily-ever-after. But because Peter Parker can never catch a break, ever, it *will not* end there. It can't.

[@Kalmakka]

Yeah, I think it is very much intended to be a "fake ending". But instead of the freeze frame ending the movie, it was more akin to Zach in Saved By the Bell calling a time-out. A brief respite, but really just the beginning of their problems.

[@nugget3687]

"Ooo a spiderman video essay!" "... i need to watch Billy and the Sundance kid"

[@MrSimpleton]

I paused this video during the plot recap of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, just to go and actually watch that movie. I would highly recommend watching it, very fun!

[@monsterguyx]

"Nothing's worryin' me" is the false bravado of someone who is deeply worried, blaming his red eyes on the rain because, as he lies, "cryin's not for me."

[@robertt9342]

I agree, I guess it’s the person attempting to deceive themselves that things will be fine.

[@simonstevens1936]

Actually, I think you're on to something with the Texas Switch because Tobey is a vegetarian (or at was least before/during the Spidey films).

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I released this early for my Patrons and they said the same thing! I genuinely had no idea!

[@SolaireIntensifies]

Ah dammit, you beat me to it, I thought I was gonna be the clever one to post about it

[@simonstevens1936]

@@SolaireIntensifies Haha 8 minute upload squad!

[@4rtie]

It's also a common technique in film to just "bread out" foods so it looks like they're eating on camera, but the actor isn't getting as full by eating the full foodstuff

[@TheGentleCreepers]

R.I.P., B.J. Thomas. This song means a lot to me.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

He crushed it with this song's performance

[@alicobosboi]

The Raindrops montage will always be my favorite movie scene of all time. Thank you for analyzing it!

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I'm glad someone else cares deeply about it!

[@StudioInkblot]

I would kill for your average MCU movie to have the same level of sincerity as Spider-Man 2

[@TheGentleCreepers]

One of the best parts of Spiderman 2!!! Whenever I get to walk outside with the sun hitting me with the right warmth that's just comforting, I play this song in my earbuds and pretend to be Tobey like in the film while walking. It just makes my day every time! 🥰

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I've been humming it all month as I edited this video lol

[@LuxBellator92]

I love this! I've always done the same thing too since I was a kid 😂

[@Toy-Wave]

5 minutes in i knew there was no way a modern NerdSync video wouldn't somehow swerve back to Scooby Doo, keep winning Scott, keep fucking winning.

[@danielduff]

My favourite thing about the Spider-Man 2 freeze frame is that it's right when Peter starts moving again, so he ends up getting motion blurred in that frame, and it might even be slightly out of focus too, adding to the goofiness of the whole sequence

[@teyrns]

i won't believe a word you say in this video until you get art commissioned of butch and sundance smooching it up

[@NerdSyncProductions]

hmmmmm this is a good idea

[@Marcibee05]

You have done so many Scooby-Doo videos that I forgot that you were a comic book channel and was shocked to see you do a video about a comic book movie.

[@CapnAlces]

Scott, this is the kind of artistic appreciation that makes the internet worthwhile. That was the most moving reaction I've ever seen to what is basically a 2-second meta joke. And your yogurt culture gag actually made me laugh out loud. Please don't ever change. And as a kid who grew up on lots of old movies, I'm so glad to see Butch and Sundance getting highlighted. It's a classic for a reason.

[@KhanaHatake]

"After Uncle Ben tripped and died, or whatever..." 😂

[@d-brothers3112]

The writer of Butch and Sundance was William Goldman (better known as the guy who wrote Princess Bride) and a whole quarter of his autobiography Adventures in the Screen Trade is devoted to that little Western, even going over what he felt were the weaknesses of his screenplay. It’s a very interesting read.

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Well I guess I have to watch Butch and Sundance if it was by the author of the best movie of all time

[@xdecatron2985]

Excellent video! I’ve always seen the Raindrops montage in Spider-Man 2 and the Bully Maguire montage in Spider-Man 3 as parallels. They’re both showing scenes of Peter taking the life he thinks he wants after eliminating what he thought was the source of his problems, only to later find that he has to give up that life in order to be the hero once more.

[@dibsdibs3495]

To add to the hot dog conspiracy: Tobey Maguire is a vegan. Perhaps he didn’t want to eat the dog if he was a vegan back then.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I released this early for my Patrons and they said the same thing! I genuinely had no idea!

[@morganspeers2242]

Butch Cassidy and spiderman 2 are my two favourite genre films and them having this connective tissue makes me so gd happy

[@GolemMayCry]

This is so genius too because Peter walks off to the LEFT in that final scene of the montage, representing that despite being happy, he’s only walking backwards and delaying the inevitable, that in the end he’ll have to walk back to that superhero life, back to SPIDER-MAN, before he can truly walk forward.

[@baystated]

8:56. Not just a cut. Not just a mid-sentence cut. Not just a mid-word cut. But, a mid-syllable cut. So nice, I watched it thrice.

[@Jmcinally94]

Came here to see if anyone else was shouting out this perfect edit!

[@dooplets._.5776]

I'm pretty hyped, i always get excited when i see a video from this channel

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Thanks! hope you enjoy it!

[@eduardogonzalez4832]

As someone who saw Butch Cassidy for the first time a week ago, adored it, and my favorite film is Spider-Man 2... This analysis HIT. You perfectly describe why both stories are special pieces, not just of filmmaking, but of art in general. Great stuff

[@joelhicks5468]

the yogurt line KILLED me, and I am now actually dead

[@jade_._net]

your videos are always so beautifully made and put together 😭😭 and YES it’s very interesting

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Oh thank goodness! And thank you so much!

[@AbrielMcPierce]

So here's a fun fact, copyright striking companies, I now will have no idea what songs were going to be compared, and will also now subsequently not seek them out on spotify to listen to. Great job costing yourself money. Smart.

[@CaptainGCN]

To comment on your half a second text bit... ...I'm *pretty sure* there's nothing particularly problematic about Robert Redford, unless you include that time he did away with term limits and got elected five times in Watchmen. Seriously, though, he was generally considered one of the more lefty Hollywood performers, and I'm not *aware* of any sex scandals. And he created the Sundance film festival! The *Sundance* film festival. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was an important movie.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I spent way too long working on this video about a niche subject that I hope is as interesting to you as it was to me lol. Let me know! Also, if you share it on twitter or instagram, tag me and I'll repost! 💜

[@BigCheese77]

Oh no, I tagged in the Nerdsync account on Xitter, not the Scott one! But I did it right on BlueSky

[@JDPlaysMoth]

Sam Raimi is exactly the kind of guy to do this. Anyone who knows his detailed work on the Evil Dead films can attest to his love of details and themes. Heck, even Multiverse Of Madness is a good example of his dedication to details, the entire movie is a love letter to his career, and how all consuming the nature of studio filmmaking is. And of course, it's very much in his nature to sometimes forget to notice the themes he's putting in, as he just, generally tries to do what the thinks he'll enjoy most in the film.

[@stevelandmartin-khan2430]

1:18 he put it in his pocket for later

[@mirrankei]

One time I told my mom I had watched The Sting recently and was in the mood for another movie like that I meant something kinda fun and silly She decided we should watch Butch Cassidy and good god that was not a fun and silly ending

[@qrowing]

I was _just_ thinking about this scene last night. That's crazy.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

I've been thinking about it for like a month as I work on this lol

[@MixMeMcGee]

This one is really visually striking! Love it :)

[@brandonhurst9547]

I don’t comment often, but this might be the best, most thoughtful video essays/videos in general that I’ve ever seen.

[@fobwatchful]

_Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ was one of the last of the westerns for awhile. _True Grit_ had opened a few months earlier. This is also just about when television had it's 'rural purge'. Hollywood stopped needing horses as much. _The Godfather_ opened two and a half years later, being a big movie with no horses. (Well, part of one, but that was probably just a model of a part of one.)

[@everettparrott6872]

Scott this is one of your best videos. Please keep it up

[@AngelZaragosa]

Two other films from the same period (all three released between 1967 and 1969) are "Bonnie And Clyde" with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway along with "The Wild Bunch" with William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. The music and the character relationships get you to root for the bad guys. The song 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' functions as an old timey toe-tapper. I'm normally not into westerns and gangster flicks, but this trilogy stands together as a break from the Hollywood format by the late 1960s. All three movies have a similar arc which ends the same way. If you enjoyed "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" I'd recommend a quick follow through with these other two.

[@chujiwu68]

Exactly. I need to see the Wild Bunch. I'd say that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is western for people who aren't big fans of westerns. Like myself.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

How ironic that raindrops keep falling on my head because it's leaking from my ceiling.

[@ChrisJamesTV]

now I must watch butch cassidy and the sundance kid

[@HurricaneDDragon]

I’ve always loved that montage in Spider-Man 2. I never laughed at the freeze frame, it just always made me feel… nice. It’s a beautifully wholesome and quirky moment, and the song is just perfection.

[@madamminalost]

To paraphrase Patrick Wilhems talk about movie making "All things in a film have someone's approval" and while Raimi didn't pick out the song, the person who DID may have understood the connection.

[@MrSimpleton]

I paused this video during the plot recap of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, just to go and actually watch that movie. I would highly recommend watching it, very fun!

[@otter.mayhem]

For a hot minute i thought I was about to watch 20 minutes of Spiderman 2 hotdog bun lore, and I was along for the ride tbh 😂

[@CyrissSmith-w9t]

Marvel movies were at peek between 1998-2006. Spiderman trilogy, Blade trilogy, Hulk, Punisher, and the X-Men trilogy. I will shout out 80s Punisher too.

[@JakeWeddle]

Just subbed ❤

[@AspelShuyin]

I actually kinda want to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid now.

[@QueenMegaera]

Yes, do!

[@VideoGameStoryTime]

This is my favourite of your kinds of content, possibly my favourite of any kind of content on KZbin. Your production value, editing, and storytelling is so engaging and clever and well-thought-out, I'm in awe and it makes me want to be a better KZbinr myself. Beyond that, your analysis is so insightful, especially when it comes to issues of politics and mental health. As a long-time fan of Spider-Man 2 and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this video was a real treat from start to finish. I know this kind of content is tremendously time-consuming to make and that you struggle with perfectionism, and I know that the KZbin algorithm never cares about actual effort so it's hard to get rewarded for this kind of video, but I just want you to know how much I enjoyed it and how much I appreciate your work. Chances are high you'll never see this comment, but I'm leaving it anyway even so, just in case of the tiny, slim chance that I can cut through enough to let you know how much I admire you and your work ❤

[@asherdasher1996]

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Spider-Man 2 but this one is such a huge part of my childhood. I feel like it is my favorite of the live action Spider-Man movies

[@aimeerose27]

This video is so good!! I also really want Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid now lol

[@Conberesford]

finally, a video essay on a random scene in spider-man 2 i have been obsessed with ever since i watched it as a kid. incredible

[@ImLOG4N]

This thumbnail made me think this was a guitar lesson

[@bjam89]

i was kinda half sure Scott would play gossip train rather then the real song

[@NerdSyncProductions]

oh god imagine lol

[@Kolbatsu]

I like to think Peter dropped his hot dog and just ate the bun

[@thedukeofchutney468]

Is it sad that I knew exactly what the frame was before I even saw the movie?

[@NerdSyncProductions]

nah it's iconic! lol

[@JoylessPumpkin]

Spider-Man 2 is so damn good. And NerdSync, I think *you're* a gem. Thanks for all the lovely videos.

[@jimgillespie6109]

Scott, let me introduce you to another rabbit hole: Butch Cassidy just MAY have survived! For many years now, there have been tales of Butch returning to the US to live out his remaining days. Personal anecdotes and (if memory serves) perhaps even a photo or two of him after his purported death. The rabbit hole beckons, Scott. You know you have to look into this.

[@richardnixon846]

only scott could make an entire video on one of my adhd fixations, thank you

[@tobesxd]

scott the woz I do not have much coinage to spare but I sincerely think you are one of the best. I’ve been watching since 2015 when I was 11 years old and my appreciation of you has only grown. you having Mr Sunday Movies on the podcast also introduced me to the weekly planet and I’ve since met both of the hosts 😎… you’re next scott

[@BobbyMoore2-mp8wb]

Spider-Man 2 is the greatest Spider-Man movie of all time

[@RustyPancake53]

Spider-Man, Matt Hoffman, Western gunfire, filmography, and CATS!? This video has everything!

[@zizzix08]

I've never seen Butch Cassidy. I feel like I need to now. Also I need to watch Spider-Man 2 for the billionth time.

[@Noiiizeeey]

11:30 "he cheeses"

[@mosey708]

I opened my KZbin app just in time to read this comment *as* he said it.

[@Tuaron]

I hadn't expected to watch a video so focused on a classic western on this channel, but that's why I love NerdSync - it takes me places I wouldn't expect, with very interesting ideas delivered with such impassioned thoughtfulness. I'll be honest about the moment that spun off this video: the last time I saw this in Spider-Man 2 (having not intently watched it in some time), I just thought it was a video glitch from my streaming service, since it did (and may still, I don't have it anymore) have those from time to time. Some classic cutaways and jokes in this video, glad I was finally able to check it out. Will have to watch it on Patreon for the full experience, just can't login to that right now.

[@AffKayStudios]

thank you Scott. I've spent the last 20 years just thinking about this one scene. Glad there's such a good video about it

[@dearformer-self]

Beautiful video, Scott! I've never seen butch cassidy and the sundance kid, but was really interesting hearing about the movie from your perspective. I'm a huge fan of Supernatural. In the later seasons, they often make callbacks to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but I didn't fully understand why the reference was treated with so much weight in the show until watching this video. I think it's really cool how it's implied that they go out in a blaze of glory, but the camera freezes, so as to shield us, the viewer, from their unfortunate fate. Almost as if the camera is attempting to preserve their legacy from being tainted. It's really got me thinking about legacy. What IS a legacy, other than a story. Even if you only use real events to tell someone's legacy, you will inevitably miss so many details, and thus, shift how they will be remembered. No one's legacy is perfectly intact, and how we are remembered is a subjective experience for every person who knew us or heard our story being told later. This video has given me a lot to think about. Thank you for sharing. :)

[@DarekWeber]

LOVED this video Scott, I’m grateful that you made it and put it out for us.

[@minedantaken1684]

YOU'RE BACK! I'VE BEEN WATCHING SO MUCH OF YOUR OLD STUFF RECENTLY, BECAUSE I JUST NEEDED TO HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT ANYTHING! GLAD TO SEE YOU!

[@misteraskman3668]

The amount of work in this video (editing, cuts, audio, lighting, script, etc), like wow. I am in awe at how much you do.

[@gabekennis9610]

It is super awesome to see Scott getting some sponsorship beyond Nebula and Groundnews. I feel like I haven't seen that on this channel in a while and I hope that's a good sign that its able to support him and his partner a bit more as a creator. I know that may be stupid and I don't know his finances, but I'm happy to see that.

[@flannelogue]

so glad you're opening up people's minds and encouraging people to catch classic films they mighta previously ignored. I remember watching this about 20 or 25 years ago and being blown away at that ending.

[@michel0dy]

A new Nerdsync video about one of my favourite movies of all time? I'm eating good today

[@VideoGameStoryTime]

You keep thinking, Scott, that's what you're good at 😉

[@TheIronWaffle]

Watched this on Nebula, where I quite enjoyed your take. It’s not dissimilar to mine but I do want to add… about the audience laughter… that’s something I’ve always associated with that sort of freeze frame being a staple of tv during Raimi’s and Gen X’s (yeah, I’m old) formative media diet. So it’s a bit kitsch along with your observations. I wouldn’t be surprised if the kitsch quality was as conscious as the other reasons may have been either subconscious or additional layers considered during that stage of post-production. Either way, attentive audiences reap the rewards.

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Ooh! That's a good observation!

[@dragon1130]

"Yo! Babe the Wonderful Nerd just dropped a new nerdsync video" "Jinkies, lets watch it right away!"

[@Doomsword0]

I never would have expected these two movies to be compared but it works so well. Also dang Scott those Seinfeld bits were so good

[@sidhawker]

You do the coolest niche investations, Scott, and present them in such a funny and polished way. ❤

[@dadsb105]

When I clicked on the video about the goofy Spidey 2 sequence, I did not expect to get an engaging and thorough analysis of not only Spider-man 2, but the lyrics and score of the funny song from the sequence, and one of my dad’s favorite westerns. Awesome job dude, your videos are always a blast

[@FancyGeeks]

I have associated this song with the westerns my dad watched when I was a kid but never knew which one it was from. Thanks for making me feel old, Scott! 😂

[@amazingpsm]

1:17 hot dog gate

[@jamespopcornfrfr]

i think he’s probably spider man

[@gadgez_]

When I was a kid I always thought my disc was scratched. Took me quite some time to realise it wasn't skipping but that the freeze frame was deliberate.

[@Jmcinally94]

Maybe it wasnt Raimi's intention, but I wonder if the editor who put the montage together and did the freeze frame include the track in the first dradt and they kept their suggestion in? Feels like too many coincidences to not be a deliberate homage somewhere down the line.

[@beckyginger3432]

Youe editing is incredible

[@NerdSyncProductions]

Thanks! I spent way too long on it for something this niche lol

[@mastermarkus5307]

I always thought that the song, especially in the context of both movies, had the vibe of characters trying to convince themselves that everything was going to be alright. I think that they are genuinely happy in these good moments, but they still have to actively distracted themselves from the problems in their lives.

[@kristopherperoni7587]

0:18 I wish you didnt point this out because Ive never noticed and now I will never unsee it

[@Kevintendo]

GREAT intro 🙌 I usually don’t stick around past 20-40 second intros but you’re a master at your craft

[@77redrum77]

Peter dropping the hot dog out of the bun before he had a chance to take a bite is such a Parker's Luck(TM) moment

[@Ricochet5095]

Be rootin, be tootin, and by god be shootin, but most importantly, be kind.

[@aetherstrings]

oh, I can explain the hot dog issue- toby maguire is a vegetarian (at the time, he has since gone vegan)

[@VectorParallax]

This video messed up a childhood memory of mine. When I was a kid I had a porcelain squirrel (it kind of looked like a figure made from a Beatrix Potter drawing). When it was wound up it would play "Rain drops keep falling on my head." I never thought much about it but now it feels really creepy. I think it's still at my parent's house somewhere.

[@SpeakingJargon]

That freeze frame makes me laugh too, but it's a joyful laugh.

[@w.a.o.a.w]

My favorite trilogy, these movies were not just good superhero movies but stand on their own so well. They were campy but very heartfelt, the part you mentioned briefly where Peter becomes a hero I think is part of it. He got powers and the first thing he did as “spider-man” was wrestle for money to impress MJ with a car. He wasn’t really a hero in the making until he’s forced to realize that his inaction causes Uncle Ben to get killed, the one guy getting mugged in Spider-Man 2 he shrugs off and walks away, etc.

[@acgeewhiz]

Your analysis is better, “Spider-Man 2” also kicks so much ass!

[@StarTracker78]

Another great video! Love the deep dives, as usual!!

[@HollowPhntm]

I was just listening to this song(and thinking on this scene) a few weeks ago ‘cause I’m finally taking the steps to get into trade school(after deliberating long on whether a 4yr was what I wanted). There’s a certain sense of liberation and relief just from rewatching the scene/listening to the tune; it’s the closest thing to feeling like I’m starting a “new life”, especially after facing my own personal struggles. It’s a nice thing really and I’m glad we can all connect to it uniquely(Plus, I didn’t know it came from a far earlier era; I definitely gotta check out more westerns now lol).

[@PixelLitKevin]

Beautiful work Scott! Loved this one.