‘Hot Dog… The Movie’ with Mike Rogge & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.11)

Blister Cinematic is back, and we’re coming in hot — hot as in, Hot Dog…The Movie. Joining Jonathan to talk about this 40-year-old cult favorite is Mountain Gazette owner, Mike Rogge, and they dive in to discuss how well it holds up; its impact on ski films; water beds; ski ballet; what’s aged the best; what’s aged the worst; and more.
Hot Dog ... The Movie

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Blister Cinematic is back, and we’re coming in hot — hot as in, Hot Dog…The Movie. Joining me to talk about this just-turned-40-years-old cult favorite is Mountain Gazette owner, Mike Rogge, and we dive in to discuss how this ski comedy holds up; its impact on subsequent ski films; heart-shaped water beds; ski ballet; what’s aged the best; what’s aged the worst; and more.

Also definitely worth checking out: Blister member Pete Brantley’s incredible Hot Dog PowerPoint presentation

RELATED LINKS:
Bag Balm: 20% Off w/ Code: BLISTER
Boone Mountain Sports
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

TOPICS & TIMES:
Hot Dog in 1984 (5:48)
Hot Dog & G.N.A.R. (15:07)
“Glare & Stare” (18:39)
JE’s Plot Synopsis (23:17)
Sonny and Harkin (25:25)
Most Rewatchable Scenes (27:18)
Kendo (31:05)
Squirrel (32:30)
Chinese Downhill (35:48)
Best Lines (39:20)
Blister member Pete’s PowerPoint (43:44)
Softcore? (46:19)
Heart-Shaped Water Beds (49:31)
Who Needed BLISTER+ the Most? (54:22)
What’s Aged the Best & Worst (56:04)
Gimme More Award (57:41)
Trying Too Hard Award (1:02:28)
Hottest Take Award (1:06:41)
How Well Does it Hold Up? (1:13:04)
Should this Film Get Remade Today? (1:16:55)
Who Won the Movie? (1:23:18)
Our Final Grades (1:24:45)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS (click each to learn more):

‘Hot Dog… The Movie’ with Mike Rogge & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.11)
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‘Hot Dog… The Movie’ with Mike Rogge & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.11)
Off The Couch
‘Hot Dog… The Movie’ with Mike Rogge & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.11)
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10 comments on “‘Hot Dog… The Movie’ with Mike Rogge & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.11)”

  1. Jonathan, why are you so mad? Haha!

    Thank You for including me in the discussion, and sharing my version of the Hot Dog, Blister Cinematic Review… Yes, I would have been better than Mike. He is 38 years old. haha.

    There are a few things you are just wrong about:
    This movie is about what a 15 yr old boy dreams being a pro skier would be like.

    The Chinese Downhill = Equals so many movies where everything comes down to 1 last battle where the underdog / hero finally figures out how to defeat his evil rival. You name a teenage boy movie with some kind of competition, and this theme is in all of them. Top Gun / Fast and Furious / Mighty Ducks etc.

    When you visit Palisades / Squaw make sure to get to Broken Arrow. Btw, the run Harkin is doing the side hits on at the end of the opening scene is actually a run called “Sunnyside”.

    I will trade you Look Pivot Bindings for Nordica Tridents for geeking out on. As I mentioned to you in the email. The equipment was what 15 year me dreamed about. Well not the Dynastar Skis. But my parents won parents of the year Christmas 1984. When I opened the big box with Nordica Tridents in them and then topped off with Smith SL goggles.

    15 to 55 year old me LOVES the Ski Scenes. and it is the reason I own and have watched the movie for 40 yrs.

    Pete

    • Once again, Pete, thanks for that Powerpoint. I can tell you that Luke Koppa was also very impressed with the job you did on that.

      “This movie is about what a 15 yr old boy dreams being a pro skier would be like.”

      I think this is a really good take. I *don’t* think it’s the angle that the creators of the film were actually going for … I think they were more like, ‘This *is* what ski life really is – and should be – about.’ So I like your take better.

      And Broken Arrow is now very much on my list. (If I do manage to sneak into town without getting beat up first.)

  2. Yeah, so Jonathan’s take was about what I expected. Like I said in my comment on the last Blister Episode, the “plot” (and “acting”) hasn’t aged well. I think that the take of “Porkie’s On Snow” is about right, with one remark: Porkie’s didn’t have anything like the skiing in Hot Dog to redeem it.

    I think that the Rudy character is playing off of a stereotype of humorless Austrian ski racers that had some currency in that 80s but is now so thoroughly obsolete that it doesn’t “connect”. The archetype is probably Karl Schranz (who created a dispute at the 1968 Olympics that would have still been remembered in 1984) with maybe some Franz Klammer (who famously dissed Bill Johnson as a “snot nosed kid”) thrown in.

    • BTW you’d be surprised at how many God-level skiers have a deep respect for and test themselves with ballet. I’ve seen both Plake (at Mammoth) and Mosely (at Palisades) doing ballet moves while freeskiing multiple times each, and I think I saw Rahlves do that once at Sugar Bowl before he switched mountains, though I didn’t approach him and am not 100% sure it was him.

  3. My request for ski movies, I would love to see are:
    * 1999
    * Walls of Freedom
    * Drop Everything
    (Bonus live discussion with Cody and Elyse for Drop Everything / and or Scott Gaffney on all 3. This should be aligned with Jonathan’s first trip to Palisades Tahoe at the Chamois or the Rocker).

  4. Great podcast all around…listened on a long drive today, and gave me great laughs for 90 minutes…can’t ask for more than that.

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