(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LINDA HOLMES, HOST:
In honor of the upcoming clash between same-day releases of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," we asked our listeners to weigh in on some of pop culture's most contentious matchups. And, boy, did you deliver.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, HOST:
We've got NSYNC versus the Backstreet Boys. We've got Superman versus Batman. And who is the best Chris? I'm Stephen Thompson.
HOLMES: And I'm Linda Holmes. And in this episode of NPR's POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR, we're competing to find out who knows our listeners best. Here with me and Stephen today are our fellow POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR hosts, Glen Weldon. Hi, Glen.
GLEN WELDON, HOST:
Hey, friend.
HOLMES: And also here, of course, is Aisha Harris. Hey, Aisha.
AISHA HARRIS, HOST:
Hey, Linda.
HOLMES: We should start by saying that we will be covering both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." This is not our coverage of those two movies. But, like a lot of other people, we've been highly amused by the idea that they are mortal enemies - the pink fashion icon versus one of the most important scientists of all time, the Greta Gerwig confection versus the Christopher Nolan epic. So we asked you, our listeners, to cast your votes on some of pop culture's really, truly important historic standoffs. And in the manner of, say, "Family Feud" or "Card Sharks," we're going to play a game where our objective is to guess what you said when we asked you.
So each of us, your four hosts, will try to guess your responses to each of these matchups, and we will get the right answers from our sharp-witted producers, and we will see who got the most right. I love it. So we are going to start with NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys. Now, this is, of course, your boy-band matchup between the Justin Timberlake of it all and the not Justin Timberlake of it all. I will say, off the top, I have only seen one of these bands live.
HARRIS: I think I can guess which one.
WELDON: I bet I can guess which one, too.
THOMPSON: I know which one.
HOLMES: And I will reveal that at a later time. But I am going to go directly to Stephen, our music guy, to kick us off with NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys. Now, remember, this is not, who do you prefer?
THOMPSON: Right.
HOLMES: This is, who do you think our listeners prefer in the battle of NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys?
THOMPSON: Well, at the risk of doing a "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"-style filibuster, we can talk through some of the factors in play here. I think at the time - and, again, many people will - are screaming at their podcasting devices right now that I'm wrong, wrong, wrong. But I feel like for a long time, NSYNC was considered the better of the two, in part due to the Justin Timberlake of it all. Because Justin Timberlake had such a fruitful solo career, I think a lot of people are probably going to lean NSYNC. Now, countering that is, I feel like - first of all, there's been a little bit of a curdling of the public's relationship with Justin Timberlake in recent years.
HARRIS: But JC has become the ultimate NSYNC in his place, I feel.
WELDON: You're right. If we had asked this question before the Timberlake decay, before "Man Of The Woods," for example, I think we might have gotten a different answer.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMPSON: Before "Man Of The Woods" changed everything.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMPSON: I do want to say, like, the - one thing the Backstreet Boys have going for them is that the Backstreet Boys have really stayed together as a group, and they're kind of enjoying a certain omnipresence, where they're popping up in commercials. The Backstreet Boys will kind of say yes to anything. They're putting out Christmas albums as recently as within the last few years, whereas NSYNC is kind of like, that's Justin Timberlake's old thing, right?
HARRIS: Yeah, yeah.
THOMPSON: So I do think the Backstreet Boys are gaining.
HOLMES: OK.
THOMPSON: But I'm going to say NSYNC, 58 to 42 percentage-wise
WELDON: Oh, my God.
HOLMES: All right.
WELDON: Oh, I didn't know we were doing that. Oh, ah, that's...
HARRIS: Yeah. I didn't either.
HOLMES: We're not. Only Stephen is. All right. I'm going to go to you next, Aisha. What do you think - Backstreet Boys versus NSYNC?
HARRIS: Well, yeah, Stephen makes a good point that I hadn't actually really considered, which is, yes, Backstreet Boys are definitely still there, still around, and they are drawing in lots of crowds. So I think I lean toward Backstreet Boys, maybe. Especially, we have to consider our listeners, right? So I don't know the exact demographic breakdown of our listeners, but I feel like a lot of them might lean more to the nostalgia and the very down-the-middleness of "I Want It That Way" versus, like, you know, "Pop" or "Girlfriend." But I'm going to say Backstreet Boys is just, like, slightly ahead.
HOLMES: All right, Glen, what do you think?
WELDON: I'm single. Because, you know, as a single gay man, every bar and club had "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" video on a loop, and I fell for it. And between that and its kind of cultural cachet, the "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" "I Want It That Way," I think this is advantage Backstreet.
HOLMES: Yeah. I - as I mentioned, I have only seen one of these bands. I was, at the time, seeing a music critic who took me to a Backstreet Boys show that he was reviewing.
THOMPSON: Let the record show, for the shippers out there, this music critic was not me.
HOLMES: (Laughter) That's accurate.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: And I was shocked and amazed and impressed. Now, this was, like, 2005, I think. I was amazed and impressed by the strength of the continuing Backstreet Boys fandom and people who were still absolutely obsessed with the Backstreet Boys. So my inclination is Backstreet Boys. We got three Backstreet, and we got one NSYNC. I am now going to open the envelope from our producer.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: And the answer is - oh, NSYNC.
HARRIS: What?
HOLMES: NSYNC. What?
WELDON: Oh, oh.
HARRIS: OK, well...
HOLMES: Not quite as much as Stephen thought, and it was close - 52.5% NSYNC, 47.5% Backstreet Boys.
WELDON: Oh, man.
HARRIS: You know what? For the record, our listeners are right as to which is better.
WELDON: No. They're wrong. They're wrong. I had a whole "Backstreet's Back" thing lined up, but nope. Guess I can't do it now.
THOMPSON: The important thing is that I got it right and y'all...
WELDON: Yeah.
THOMPSON: ...Got it wrong.
HOLMES: That is what's really important. All right, our second one, we are staying in the realm of music. We have Britney Spears versus Christina Aguilera. Aisha, I'm going to go to you first. Britney versus Christina - what do you think?
HARRIS: I think that maybe this was an unfair matchup. No shade to Christina, but I think that Britney's lore and her legend has very much only been, you know, burnished in the last, I don't know, five, 10 years. There's a lot of good will toward her. And also, I think that our listeners are willing to acknowledge that, like, Britney has the stronger - I guess, pun intended - she has a stronger catalog that has lasted longer, I think. There are, you know, a handful of Christina's and I can see the pitchforks coming out now with people who are Christina fans. But I don't know. What do you think? I'm going Britney. I'm going Britney.
WELDON: I think this is a very difficult question 'cause it can and has divided households. It has divided mine. You know, it's Britney b****, as far as I'm concerned. But my husband is Xtina all day. I wasn't really so much a "Hit Me Baby" guy for her because I found that video very creepy. It wasn't aimed at me. But in terms of all-time outstanding scene partners - people talk of MC Skat Kat, but for me, the chair...
(LAUGHTER)
WELDON: ...In the video for "Stronger"...
HARRIS: Yes.
WELDON: ...Deserves its due. I think in terms of iconic chairs, you've got Archie and Edith's, you've got Chairry, then you've got the chair from the "Stronger" video. And I also think the end of the conservatorship has gotten a lot of more folks in her corner. I think Britney all the way.
HOLMES: Yes. All right, Stephen, what do you think?
THOMPSON: I mean, I do think if we're talking strictly about vocal talents, you know, I think that's where Christina Aguilera pulls significantly ahead. As somebody who wrote condescendingly about both artists in their time, I am going to say that this is Britney in a landslide.
HOLMES: All right. My trick with this one is I think people are not all answering the same question. Some people are going to be answering who are you fonder of, some people are going to be answering who has better songs and some people are going to be answering who is more talented. In the end, because the fondness and the better songs, to me, probably will favor Britney - although I agree that on sheer vocal talent, a lot of people might go Christina Aguilera, although I think Britney Spears is a good singer and a very good performer...
THOMPSON: Yes.
HOLMES: ...But I'm not sure that her vocals are as virtuoso-ish.
WELDON: Melismatic.
HARRIS: I mean, many have argued that Christina does too much of that.
THOMPSON: Yes, they have.
HOLMES: Well, exactly. They're both very talented. They're both very good at what they do.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOLMES: I'm going to go Britney. And now I will open the envelope.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: Oh, it is indeed Britney, b****, and pretty powerfully so. We have Britney Spears at 70%...
HARRIS: Oh, wow.
WELDON: OK.
HOLMES: ...And Christina Aguilera at 30%.
THOMPSON: Yeah.
HOLMES: So our folks - they, I'm sure, support and adore both artists, but Britney walked away with that one.
HARRIS: Well, I think the other thing we haven't even factored in is that Britney's music, I think, has lived on in lots of movies and TV shows. It's constantly popping up.
THOMPSON: There's also a lot to be said for having one, like, really, really towering highlight that people think of when they think of you. And "Toxic" is such a...
HARRIS: Yeah.
THOMPSON: ...Complete banger that I think...
HARRIS: (Imitating electric guitar).
THOMPSON: ...If you're kind of comparing highlights, I think that works in Britney's favor, as well.
HOLMES: Listen, I was just riding the Peloton to "Toxic" the other day, so I completely will go along with that. All right. Next up, we have Superman versus Batman. Now, I am going to go to you first, Glen, with the caveat that I'm going to limit you to 30 seconds...
WELDON: Oh, God.
HOLMES: ...Because I know all of your Superman and Batman thoughts. I know that you are a Superman guy in your heart, even though you have, you know, written about both. So hit me. What do you think our listeners did? Go.
WELDON: OK. They chose Batman. The unexamined take is that Superman is not relatable - he's a Boy Scout, he's, boring - and that Batman is human. He's one of us. Both of those takes fall apart because Batman is a rich jerk who started out his career defending his rich friends from jewel thieves and whatnot. And Superman started out as purely idealistic, which maybe makes him unrealistic, but that says more about you than it does about the character. He was someone born to privilege who chooses to use his amazing power to be of use, to help others - not to punish crime or to seek his own version of justice, but to help others. So his roots were always as a progressive icon, champion of the press. But it's clear that Batman has penetrated the zeitgeist more effectively. There are reasons for that, which you could read a book about. A lot of people think they could be Batman in the same way that they think even if they're struggling to make ends meet that they can someday be a billionaire because America is magic and capitalism favors effort. So...
HOLMES: Crypto bro.
WELDON: ...I'm going to say it's definitely - they went Batman.
HOLMES: All right. Very good. Thank you, Glen, and thank you for being a good sport. Stephen Thompson, what do you think?
THOMPSON: I mean, I think Glen just laid out a really clear and cogent case. I assumed when you called on Glen, you said, OK, Glen, you have 12 minutes.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMPSON: It's interesting. I think I would have said Batman pretty easily a few years ago. I think that maybe our listenership's patience for rich jerks who think they can save the world, that patience may have waned. So I think it's close. I'm going to say Batman, 53-47.
WELDON: Oh, God.
HOLMES: All right, Aisha, what do you think?
HARRIS: (Singing) Batman. That's all I got.
WELDON: (Laughter) That's enough.
HOLMES: I am going to break with the crowd and go with Superman. I think Superman is more fun, brighter and shinier. And there's a difference between do you like the recent "Superman" movies better or the recent "Batman" movies better than Batman versus Superman. So I'm going to go with Superman - much cooler. Hit me with the answer, Jessica Reedy.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: Oh, I got creamed.
HARRIS: Yeah.
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
HOLMES: Batman - 72.5%.
THOMPSON: Wow.
HOLMES: Even better than Britney. Superman - 27.5%. This is what is wrong with the world.
WELDON: Exactly. Exactly.
THOMPSON: Wow.
HARRIS: Well, maybe they just need to make better "Superman" movies.
WELDON: There is that.
HOLMES: Not the rich jerk. Listen, I love our listeners, but I also love Superman.
THOMPSON: I love our listeners, but rich jerks will not save us.
HOLMES: True. We are going to go now to a favorite of television viewers of my approximate vintage - Aunt Viv 1 versus Aunt Viv 2. Now, this, of course, is "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air." Janet Hubert played Vivian Banks in the first three seasons. Daphne Maxwell Reid played Aunt Viv in the fourth through sixth season. As we learned over the last few years, Hubert reportedly had a feud with Will Smith. She left the show. They kind of reconciled during a reunion special that happened recently. Aisha, I know that you have strong feelings about this you were communicating earlier. Kick us off with Aunt Viv 1 versus Aunt Viv 2.
HARRIS: OK. Was this a fair fight? No.
WELDON: No.
HARRIS: But I thought it would be fun to sort of see. And I think it's kind of one of those eternal questions that never really needed an answer, but it's just fun to bat around about. And I think it's very obvious that it's Aunt Viv 1. And, yes, we can point to, of course, the classic moment where she's dancing in that pastel pink leotard. I think that is, of course, a brilliant moment. But there's just something that shifted with the - in between Season 3 and then the - like, the first three seasons and the last three seasons when they switched over. And it's not Daphne Maxwell Reid's fault, but the energy shifted. I think maybe the writers are to blame 'cause the show just kind of went downhill. This is not surprising. I think it's Aunt Viv in a landslide. I'm going to even bet that it's Aunt Viv even higher than Batman (laughter).
WELDON: Yeah. Agree.
THOMPSON: Agree.
HARRIS: So yeah, yeah.
HOLMES: I will give away, I agree. I think it's also going to be Aunt Viv 1. Glen, do you want to say Aunt Viv 1, Aunt Viv 2?
WELDON: Yeah, of course. Just in the wake of the reunion, the "Fresh Prince" reunion, where she makes her case with such dignity and without bitterness, but she does not let him off the hook.
HARRIS: Takes him to task.
WELDON: You got to go with Aunt Viv 1.
HOLMES: Yeah. Stephen?
THOMPSON: Yeah. I have so much sympathy for both of these actors, neither of whom deserve to be compared in such a way, but the show kind of put them into that kind of no-win position. I think, in light of the reunion, it's a complete landslide. I totally agree with Aisha that it's going to be a higher margin than Batman. I'm going to go 80-20, Aunt Viv 1.
HOLMES: So what we should have asked is Aunt Viv 1 versus Batman.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMPSON: I think a similar landslide would have transpired.
HOLMES: Yeah. All right. Go ahead, Jessica.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: Holy moly. Seventy-nine percent - Aunt Viv 1.
HARRIS: I'm surprised 19% went with Aunt Viv 2.
HOLMES: Twenty-one - 21% Aunt Viv 2.
HARRIS: (Laughter).
HOLMES: We are going to move on to an off-camera story close to all of our hearts - Bennifer 1.0 versus Bennifer 2.0. Now, what we are comparing here is Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck first started dating in 2002 after meeting on the set of the hit, Oscar-winning movie "Gigli." They got engaged later that year, and they confirmed their breakup in 2004. Time goes on. Ben Affleck marries Jennifer Garner. Jennifer Lopez marries Marc Anthony. They have kids. They both eventually get divorced. They reunite as a couple 17 years later in 2021 and got married last year. Now, we asked our listeners to think about, are you a bigger fan of, like, the young, fresh off of "Gigli" Bennifer, or are you a bigger fan of the later, world-weary...
HARRIS: Seasoned.
HOLMES: ...Seasoned...
WELDON: Yes.
HOLMES: ...More seasoned Bennifer? Glen, I know this is the most important thing to you.
WELDON: Yeah. Don't care. But, look, I think this is going to be another landslide, right?
HARRIS: Yeah.
WELDON: It's got to be 2.0 because people coming together again, having weathered the world, having scars that give them character and wisdom and this notion of knowing one another but also being able to experience the person that the other person has grown into for the very first time - obviously, it's Bennifer 2.0.
HOLMES: Yeah. All right. Aisha, what do you think?
HARRIS: I mean, to counter that, I think there are a lot of people who are very Marie Kondo about everything, and they're like, I love mess. And the mess of Bennifer 1.0 is something that a lot of people do look kind of fondly on and with nostalgia, you know? I remember living through that time period, and they were inescapable - basically, the Liz Taylor and Richard Burton or the Olivier and Vivien Leigh. But I do think Glen is probably right. People do love a love story, especially one that finds people returning to each other after many years and many other loves. So I think our listeners probably lean toward 2.0 but maybe not as much of a landslide.
HOLMES: Interesting. Interesting. Stephen, what do you think?
THOMPSON: It's really hard to separate what I think listeners will pick from my own strong prejudice in this race as somebody who's in his early 50s and really likes to think that I'm doing better at life in my early 50s than I was when I was kind of going around making a lot of "Gigli" in...
(LAUGHTER)
WELDON: Your own private "Gigli."
THOMPSON: I love a long and tormented path to where you're supposed to be. I'm going to say Bennifer 2.0. I strongly feel that way myself. And I'm going to say that the audience feels the same way to the tune of 61% to 39%.
HOLMES: Here's my thought. When these people got together as young people, when they were younger and so was I, you know, at that time, I heard they got together, and I was like, eh. When they got back together 20 years later, I went, aw. They were richer. They were more famous. There was more reason than ever to go, eh. And yet I went, aw...
THOMPSON: You knuckleheads.
HOLMES: ...For exactly the reason that we've been talking about - you knuckleheads. And I had a warm response to it. I'm going to guess our listeners did, too. I think it's going to be an even bigger landslide than Stephen's predicting. I'm going to say closer to the 70-30.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: Nope, nope, nope. Stephen was right. Sixty-two-point-nine percent...
THOMPSON: Oh, my gosh.
HOLMES: ...Bennifer 2.0.
THOMPSON: Woo-hoo.
HARRIS: But we all got it.
HOLMES: ...Thirty-seven-point-one percent Bennifer 1.0. I am doing a terrible job in this game, I just want to say. I am the clear loser. But, yes, we were right about Bennifer 2.0. I think it's sweeter for all of the reasons we've talked about. Aw. We are going to move now on to a song faceoff, between two songs that Dolly Parton says she wrote on the same day in 1972 - "Jolene" versus "I Will Always Love You."
THOMPSON: Oh, this is a tough one.
HOLMES: All right, Aisha, I'm very curious. I know that you know your Dolly Parton. What are you thinking about this standoff here?
HARRIS: Well, look, I think that "I Will Always Love You" is one of those songs that everyone knows. And that is, in part, because - not of Dolly, who - of course, she wrote it - but, of course, because of Whitney Houston. And Dolly herself has said at various points, like, oh, once Whitney sang it, it was no longer my song. So I do think that maybe people - listeners might be sort of judging this poll on the strength of that performance by Whitney Houston.
HOLMES: Of the records rather than the songs.
HARRIS: Yeah. But then "Jolene" has had definite resurgence in the last five-ish years, 10 years maybe - like, having Miley Cyrus perform it. And, you know, I think that people can just really relate to that song in many ways about someone trying to take their man or thinking - being jealous of someone who they think is trying to take their man. I feel like our listeners probably lean more towards "Jolene" also because no one's really been able to take that song from Dolly.
WELDON: Exactly.
HOLMES: All right. That makes sense to me. Stephen, what do you think?
THOMPSON: Yeah. I agree with Aisha. I just think - this is a totally arbitrary metric, but I feel like "Jolene" is just cooler.
HARRIS: Oh, yeah, definitely.
WELDON: Oh, yeah.
THOMPSON: I feel like "Jolene" is just, like, a really kind of infinitely cool song. And I do think it's relatable. I think it's more TikTokable (ph). I'm going to say "Jolene," but 55-45.
HARRIS: And our listeners are known for being really cool. Yeah (laughter).
THOMPSON: Yes, yes. They bend like a willow when the winds of fashion change.
WELDON: (Laughter).
HOLMES: They're incredibly cool. They're incredibly cool. All right, Glen, what do you think?
WELDON: I don't think there's a contest here. I mean, it's "Jolene." The precision of the guitar in "Jolene" - Stephen, help me out here. Just - you can almost feel like she's clicking it off with her nails. Like, it's just - it's so perfect. And, you know, Dolly's version of "I Will Always Love You" is the one I actually prefer because I think she's performing the story of the song, the meaning of the song, whereas Whitney is performing the emotion of the song.
THOMPSON: And you don't particularly care for emotions.
HARRIS: Glen's dead inside.
WELDON: No, just the emotion of the song - when you deliver the emotion of the song so purely, you reflect - you become the song, right? Anyway, I think listeners are going to go with "Jolene."
HOLMES: All right. I think they will, too. Even though I want to recognize the iconic status of the Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You" recording, which is a tremendous vocal, I would go with "Jolene" also. It is, to me, the more relistenable (ph) song. It is the song - partly just because it's a - it got a little bit less of the heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy exposure that "I Will Always Love You" did. But "Jolene" is the one I would easily go back to more to listen to. So all right. Hit me with the answer.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: "Jolene" - 65.1%, "I Will Always Love You" - 34.9%. So we're in that firm preference kind of place that our listeners have been landing in, which is, like, that 65, 70. You know, we're starting to kind of learn how they think a little bit. All right. So we have only one more left, which is - now, look, we decided to stage a battle of the Chrises. Who constitutes a Chris is a complicated question. This idea of the Chrises originally arose in the realm of the sort of summer blockbuster Chrises, I would say. So it was Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine. Those became sort of the who's-the-best-Chris Chrises. There are, we should point out, other Chrises.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOLMES: I have learned through this process that it is the position of our editor Jessica Reedy, that the best Chris is Chris Messina. But Chris Messina was not included as an option because, as she put it, he is undoubtedly the best Chris, but he is not a core Chris. It would not have been a fair fight if we included Chris Messina.
HARRIS: And yet we did Aunt Viv 1 versus Aunt Viv 2. I'm just saying (laughter).
HOLMES: Well, there are even other other Chrises that we could have included, right? Christopher Walken, you know?
HARRIS: Yes. I had a few listeners complain about him not being included here.
HOLMES: But the point is we stuck with the kind of - the original group of four, as there are a core four of us.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOLMES: These are the core four summertime Chrises. So in terms of who our listeners chose, Aisha, I'm going to go to you first. Who do you think our listeners chose?
HARRIS: My thinking is that if I had to rank it how I think our listeners would choose this, I would say, first place, Chris Evans. He has, as far as I know, not really done anything that's annoyed people.
WELDON: (Laughter).
HARRIS: Forgive me if I'm wrong.
WELDON: That is our bar.
HARRIS: There might be something I'm forgetting, but, like, I'm basing this purely - well, mostly off of their, you know, presence outside of the franchises they are in because I think that is partially what is driving the fact that we are even having this conversation. So Chris Evans, I'd say, is one, but I'm going to say Hemsworth is second just because I feel like there's a lot of love for the "Thor" movies and the Thor character. Third - Chris Pine. And then Chris Pratt - well, we know he's annoyed a lot of people. So - and I think a lot of our listeners would lean toward finding Chris Pratt - his outside persona - as not the greatest. Yeah. Evans, Hemsworth, Pine, Pratt. That's my vote.
HOLMES: All right, Stephen, what do you think?
THOMPSON: I'm very close to the exact same as Aisha. I have Evans first, in part because of the goodwill around, you know, "Captain America" and "Knives Out"...
HARRIS: And "Not Another Teen Movie," which is a great movie.
THOMPSON: Yeah, I think his film roles are going to click with people, and I think his outside persona clicks with people. So I think Evans is one, but I have Pine at two, and maybe that is my own pro-"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" bias in play. But I feel like Pine - there's some goodwill toward Pine. So I have Hemsworth at three, but those are - two and three are the ones I'm really stuck on. And then I have Pratt bringing up a very distant fourth.
HOLMES: All right. Glen, what do you think?
WELDON: I'm going to go in reverse order. The era of Pratt is over, and Pratt is a prat as the English would say. He's No. 4. Hemsworth's take on "Thor" and "Ragnarok" felt fresh. It no longer feels fresh. And when you see him in other roles, he kind of is a cipher. He kind of fades into the background.
HOLMES: Well, "Ghostbusters" - wasn't he kind of the breakout in that? I don't know.
WELDON: Yeah, he was funny in "Ghostbusters" but in kind of the same way. I would personally go Evans then Pine, but I don't think listeners will. I mean, Evans seems like a good guy, but Pine, for me, has it all. Like, he's making fun of himself. He's got great pipes. He's got musical theater kid energy. I don't think listeners are going to feel that way. So it's - for me, it's No. 4, Pratt, Hemsworth, three, Pine, two, and Evans one.
HARRIS: For what it's worth, I would also put Pine - my personal list, as...
WELDON: Yeah.
HOLMES: Yeah.
HARRIS: ...Well is No. 1.
THOMPSON: Yeah, Pine is my favorite, but it sounds like, Glen, you and I have the exact same rankings.
HOLMES: All right. I feel like Chris Pine has really come on in the last couple of years as he has adopted this long-haired, light linen suit, naked-ankled persona of sort of the California-residing philosophy professor.
WELDON: Sure.
HARRIS: OK.
THOMPSON: And Harry Styles spit receptacle.
WELDON: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
HOLMES: But hot and sort of, like, weirdly chill about everything. Like, the meme of him at the press conference just kind of, like, zoned out.
WELDON: Surfer philosopher vibe, yeah.
HARRIS: That's true. Yeah.
HOLMES: Surfer philosopher but aging well. So I feel like people have really taken to that, but I'm not sure whether that's just a me thing and, like, a my-little-bubble thing, but I'm going to risk it all and I'm going to go with Pine first, Evans second, Hemsworth third and Pratt, whose past work - everybody knows I was a huge Chris Pratt guy.
WELDON: Exactly.
HOLMES: On "Parks And Rec," in "The Lego Movie," in the first "Guardians Of The Galaxy" - since then, he has kind of left me cold. I want to wish him well and all that stuff, but despite my past fondness for him, I am going to put him fourth. OK. Now we're going to get the rankings from the judges.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)
HOLMES: What? Guess who got it right, baby (laughter).
WELDON: Oh, my God.
HARRIS: Oh, wow.
WELDON: Awesome.
HOLMES: Chris Pine, 43.2%.
HARRIS: OK.
HOLMES: Chris Evans, 31.4%.
WELDON: Ugh.
HOLMES: Chris Hemsworth, 17.8%. Chris Pratt, 7.6%.
HARRIS: Well, we did not have not have enough faith in our listeners, I guess.
WELDON: I know. I should have trusted my guts.
HOLMES: That - I'm telling you, that sexy linen-suited philosophy professor vibe has been working on people, and it's been working on me, too. He's flexing those acting muscles, playing your creepy guy in "Don't Worry Darling." And all kinds of other stuff. And, oh, I'm so proud of myself. Gosh, I'm happy to finish on a high note 'cause before this I was really tanking it.
THOMPSON: But we would still agree scoring-wise that I won.
HARRIS: You don't get extra points for throwing in actual percentages.
THOMPSON: My selections have been 100% correct up until we got to...
WELDON: Yeah.
THOMPSON: ...Evans and Pine.
HOLMES: Stephen, you and I are in a tie.
THOMPSON: Wow.
WELDON: Oh, man. You weren't tanking it at all.
HOLMES: You and I have tied. I was sure that I had tanked it since I was the only person who got Superman wrong. But I think that - given that Stephen made a couple of very, very accurate guesses about percentage-wise...
WELDON: Sure.
HOLMES: ...Kind of stuff and went out on that limb and volunteered...
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
HOLMES: ...To say more than he needed to say in his great tradition.
HARRIS: What a suck-up.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I am going to agree to grant the edge to Stephen Thompson, winner of the listener opinion game.
THOMPSON: You can visit the trophy anytime you want, buddy.
HOLMES: You may have the trophy that does not exist, and I will visit it at your home, and I will bring portraits of all four Chrises in the correct order.
THOMPSON: In the proper order.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Which, by the way, just - I know what it is, the proper order, you know, of Chrises.
HARRIS: Yeah.
WELDON: No, we got that. No.
HOLMES: Well, we want to know what you think about all of these things. How was our analysis? How do you think your fellow listeners did answering these questions? What really surprised you? What went in a different way than you expected? Find us at facebook.com/pchh. That brings us to the end of our show. Glen Weldon, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, thank you so much for being here to compete successfully in this game of listener predictions.
WELDON: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
HOLMES: We want to take a moment to thank our POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR+ subscribers. We appreciate you so much for showing your support of NPR. If you haven't signed up yet, you want to show your support, and you'd like to listen to this show without any sponsor breaks, head over to plus.npr.org/happyhour or visit the link in our show notes.
This episode, which required quite a bit of producer heavy lifting, was produced by Hafsa Fathima and Mike Katzif, and edited and, of course, score-kept by our great Jessica Reedy. Hello Come In provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR from NPR. I'm Linda Holmes, and we'll see you all tomorrow.
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