Name: Charles Grodin Is A Whiner | David Letterman
Uploaded: 2025-05-14T15:00:03.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Charles Grodin Is A Whiner | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-05-14. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Charles Grodin Is A Whiner | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-05-14. Transcript available.

I certainly like the movies that my next guest makes, so I have every reason to
believe that his latest, which is called The Last Resort, is okay.
Please say hello to the witty and charming Mr. Charles Grodin.
My, what a...
My, what an introduction that was. Nice to see you, Charles. Come on over.
How you doing?
Does the phrase, citizen's arrest, mean anything to you?
Yeah, I'm familiar with that one.
That, uh, that blowing your nose joke.
Oh, that was just a joke.
I've been authorized to make a citizen's arrest here for that one.
I know it's a joke. We all say it's just a joke.
Kind of shocked about it.
Certain things, uh...
Yeah, you probably never do anything quite that way, would you?
No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I would do a lot of things, but I wouldn't do that.
You're more drawing room, more dry, more reserved.
I had been. I had been up until this latest picture.
But even in this latest picture...
The Last Resort?
We don't, uh, would you stop mentioning that name?
I'm sorry.
What you refer to as OK?
Well, that's what it says here.
OK. Thanks a lot, Dave.
The Last Resort is OK.
OK. That's a... OK!
How's it doing, by the way? Is it a big hit?
It's the biggest grossing movie in the country.
Is that right?
Yes, it is.
That's very impressive.
It's grossing. Wherever it's playing, it's playing in a couple of cities.
Right now, it's outgrossing every single movie in the country.
Do you know why?
No, no, wait a minute. It's playing in a couple of cities?
Yeah.
But it's playing against every movie that's in release right now.
But it's only in two cities.
So what?
I mean, when you...
So what? If you're the best in two cities, don't you have a reason to believe
you'd be the best wherever you go?
Was this film made exclusively for those two cities?
No, it's going to open in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Denver on May 9th.
Oh, well, that's...
Detroit May 16th.
So it opens regionally and then later opens...
Yeah, but it beat every movie in release.
Where is it?
It's in Seattle, which is quite a big city.
It's a big market, yeah.
And another city.
What's the other city?
I'm not at liberty to divulge it.
No, it can't be secret.
I mean, people in that city know where it's going.
It's a very, very big city.
A very big city, but it's playing against every movie in America, and it
seriously outgrossed every picture in America.
You know why?
Well, because you're in it, and it's fine comedy.
But let's get back to this other city.
Because it's sexy, really.
It's sexy?
Yes.
All right.
What is the other city it's playing in?
It's playing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Which has a...
See?
And now when it's done playing in either Seattle or Grand Rapids, somebody
picks up the film and drives it to...
No, it actually is going to continue to play in Seattle and Grand Rapids.
And then it opens...
And then it opens next Friday night in Los Angeles in 80 theaters, one of them
the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard,
which is 1,300 seats.
See, I don't know anything about film, so I'm...
Yeah, obviously you don't.
Referring to it as okay.
Well, it's just right here.
May I ask you a question?
I'm sure.
It says, I have every reason to believe that Last Resort is okay.
I think it's a little better than okay.
Well, I'm sure it is.
I mean, it's in two cities after all.
You know, it's going to...
So you must be doing something right.
No, it's quite a funny movie.
And not necessarily your cup of tea.
No.
Given what I see, you think is funny tonight.
No.
Other than that, you know...
Now, that was...
I must say, that was a departure.
We just did it because it was so stupid.
We thought, well, let's just throw it in there.
Well, there's nothing wrong with stupid, is there?
No, there certainly isn't.
No, you've built your whole career on that, in a way.
Well, I...
No, wait a minute.
No, wait a minute.
Let me explain that.
They called this new movie, Last Resort, stupid, too.
Yeah.
They've called it silly.
They've called it slight.
Nothing wrong with being silly.
And that's low comedy.
There's nothing wrong with it.
Absolutely.
In fact, stupid Petricks are supposed to be stupid, right?
Aren't they?
So no one can say stupid Petricks are stupid, right?
They'd be foolish.
They'd be stupid to say that.
Yeah.
Well, that's my point.
Yeah.
All right.
Now, what were we talking about?
We were talking about The Last Resort.
Oh, The Last Resort, yeah.
But actually, if we could change the subject just for a second.
Please do.
Anything you want to do.
About two months ago, and I tried not to do this.
I really did, you know, because I try to control myself, but sometimes I can't.
Uh-huh.
And my friend said, don't do this, don't do this.
But two months ago, I was up late, and I happened to be watching your show.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And Mary Lou Henner was on.
Yeah.
And I had just done this production of Grown Ups with her in Canada.
And she said that she worked with Martin Balsam, Gene Stapleton, and Charles Grown.
And you said, what's it like to work with Charles Grown?
That's right.
I hope you remember some of this.
No, I don't.
And she said some very, very nice things.
And then you said, really?
I always had the impression he was a whiner.
Now, I would like to know, was that one of your stupid jokes?
No, I think that the persona you project on television programs is somebody who
might find...
I don't think so.
I really don't.
You know, I am a lot of things, but I don't think that you could call me a whiner.
I tend to get a little aggressive sometimes, but that's the whiner I would not
say, you know.
And then I asked my wife about it.
She said, you are a little bit of a whiner.
Well, there you go.
Well, see, I thought that was unfair, though, because you gave credibility to
the people
who had already been attacking me, and I resented it.
Yeah, but...
But that was a joke.
Yeah, it was a joke, pretty much.
Well, just like the bow in your nose thing.
Well, that was just...
Another joke.
That was pointless behavior.
But I...
We did that for...
But, you know, you do...
I like you.
I have a lot of respect for you and your work.
Yeah, and I have a lot of respect for you as well.
Okay, we have to do a commercial, and then we'll be back here with Charles Grodin.
Back here with Charles Grodin.
You know, it occurred to me the other day, and I mentioned this to you once a
long time ago.
You've really worked with some wonderfully talented and beautiful actresses in
your career, haven't you?
Yes, I have.
You mentioned Mary Lou Henner, of course.
Yes.
Sybil Shepard.
Yeah.
Goldie Hawn.
Yeah.
The list goes on and on and on.
The list goes on and on and on.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You enjoy that?
Well, that's a stupid question.
Of course you enjoy that.
I enjoy it, yeah.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um...
What are your plans for the weekend?
I don't know.
I thought maybe I'd throw that up in the air and you'd find something that you
liked.
Are you a homosexual, Dan?
No.
No.
No.
I've mounted a horse, but I'm not gay.
I just, I don't quite understand the question.
What did you mean?
The question was, uh, uh, uh, just what was it like exactly to work with these
wonderful
women?
What could it be like?
It was wonderful.
I enjoyed it.
But did you find them temperamental?
No.
No, they're very attractive and I enjoy it.
What's the question?
Do I enjoy playing love scenes?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it.
That's the question.
Yeah.
Yeah, I like to play love scenes.
Does it bother me that all the crew is watching when we do a love scene?
Is that the next question?
There you go.
There you go.
No, it doesn't bother me.
I like the crew to watch.
You like them to watch.
Yeah.
Why?
Why do I like the crew to watch?
Yeah.
Yeah, because of the time you, you make a movie, it's about a year before it
comes out and you
could say, uh, the crew will tell everyone that he was kissing, uh, Farrah Fawcett
or
somebody, you know.
Good word of mouth.
Otherwise, no one would believe it.
What was the, what was the movie with Farrah Fawcett?
It was called Sunburn.
Sunburn.
That's right.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
And what was that about?
It's about Sunburn.
Okay.
Uh, Mr. Grodin's movie, uh, Last Resort is playing right now.
Studio 28 in Grand Rapids, also Showcase Cinemas in Grand Rapids.
Factoria Cinema in Seattle and also the SRO Grand Cinema in Seattle.
It's opening in hundreds of theaters May 9th.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Uh, nice to see you again.
Really?
Thank you for being here.
Yeah.
We'll be right back, folks.
Thank you.