Last Looks: The Big Hit

In this episode of How Did This Get Made?'s Last Looks segment, host Paul Scheer and the team dive deep into the chaotic, absurd, and gloriously bad 1998 action-comedy The Big Hit. Listeners submit a barrage of corrections and omissions, ranging from the implausible kitchen fire scene involving a flaming chicken to the bizarre subplot of Antonio Sabato Jr.'s character moonlighting as a drag queen—revealed in deleted DVD scenes. The crew debates the movie’s logic, including the existence of a full locker room for freelance hitmen, the over-the-top finger grip strengthener worn by Bokeem Woodbine’s character, and the strange casting of Lou Diamond Phillips as a character named Sisko, echoing Avery Brooks’ Star Trek role. A standout moment comes when a listener connects The Big Hit’s theme of a people-pleasing hitman to a 1987 episode of Murder, She Wrote, earning the submitter a prize of hand lotion from the film. The episode also features a lively Just Chat segment with Jason Mantzoukas, who gushes over the new Apple TV+ horror-comedy Widow’s Bay, praising its improvisational humor and unique tone. Jason also recommends the UK comedy series Last One Laughing, the new season of Taskmaster, and the animated Star Wars series Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, while Paul shares his love for the joke-dense comedy The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. The episode closes with the announcement of next week’s movie: the 1994 skydiving action film Drop Zone.