How Did This Get Made?

Toys w/ Drew McWeeny (HDTGM Matinee)

December 9, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The 1992 film *Toys*, directed by Barry Levinson, was a long-gestating passion project that took 10 years to write and was considered one of the best unproduced screenplays before its bizarre execution. 
  • The movie is characterized by a confusing tonal shift, blending highly stylized, beautiful, Magritte-inspired visuals with inappropriate adult themes, including multiple sex scenes and creepy predatory behavior from Robin Williams' character. 
  • Key bizarre plot points discussed include LL Cool J's character interrogating Robin Wright about 'duplication,' Joan Cusack's character obsession with mayonnaise sandwiches, and the climactic 40-minute war sequence featuring weaponized toys. 
  • The reveal that Joan Cusack's character is a robot who has seemingly remained the same age for years, despite eating sandwiches, was a major point of confusion and absurdity for the hosts. 
  • The climactic war scene involving the toys is described as ultra-violent but emotionally hollow, culminating in the bizarre appearance and targeting behavior of a sea monster. 
  • Despite the hosts' overwhelmingly negative reaction, some listeners defend the film *Toys* as whimsical and ingenious, leading to a discussion about childhood nostalgia influencing adult film appreciation. 

Segments

Introduction and Guest Welcome
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(00:02:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Film critic Drew McWeeny joins Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas to discuss the 1992 surreal comedy Toys.
  • Summary: Drew McWeeny, known for his work at HitFix, is introduced as the guest who specifically requested the film Toys. The hosts acknowledge the film’s confusing nature, with Paul recalling being excited as a child but leaving the theater confused. The episode is part of the How Did This Get Made? series, specifically the HDTGM Matinee format.
Levinson’s Long Development History
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(00:03:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Barry Levinson spent 10 years writing Toys, and the script was highly regarded on unproduced screenplay lists before Diner became his debut film.
  • Summary: The script for Toys circulated for 15 years and was intended to be Levinson’s first film before Diner was made instead. The hosts suggest that if Toys had been his debut, Levinson’s career might have ended prematurely. The film’s lengthy development contrasts sharply with its chaotic final product.
Basic Premise and Casting Oddities
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(00:05:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The plot centers on a conflict between two brothers running a toy factory: one (Donald O’Connor) is loving, and the other (Michael Gambon) is a resentful British general who starts making war toys.
  • Summary: The factory owner’s brother, played by Michael Gambon, is an American general with a resentful British accent, a casting choice the hosts question. LL Cool J is cast as the general’s son, whose mother was supposedly a Vietnamese spy who looked like Jane Fonda. The core conflict is the peaceful toy maker dying and the general taking over to produce weapons.
Visual Style and Musical Numbers
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(00:06:55)
  • Key Takeaway: The film features beautiful, fantastical visuals heavily influenced by René Magritte’s artwork, but the hosts feel this aesthetic is poorly appropriated.
  • Summary: The world of Toys is highly fantastical, with pop-up book houses, and the visual design is compared to Magritte, though the guest suggests Magritte would disapprove. The film opens with a sugary Christmas ballad sung by Wendy from Wendy and Lisa, with music also composed by Thomas Dolby, who wrote the Howard the Duck song.
Inappropriate Adult Content
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(00:08:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite its bright, toy-centric aesthetic suggesting a children’s film, Toys contains multiple sex scenes, including the highly uncomfortable depiction of Robin Williams’ character losing his virginity.
  • Summary: The movie is described as a comedy imagined as a drama, with long stretches containing no jokes. Robin Williams’ character, initially innocent, quickly engages in sex with Robin Wright’s character, which the father (Donald O’Connor) apparently orchestrated. The scene where Williams loses his virginity is cited as one of the creepiest moments in the film.
Unnecessary and Unpaid-Off Subplots
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(00:14:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Many scenes, such as Joan Cusack’s character ordering an applesauce sandwich that is never delivered, and the repeated demonstration of the ‘Woozy helmet,’ serve no narrative purpose and do not pay off.
  • Summary: The dialogue, like the applesauce sandwich exchange, seems to be dialogue that took 10 years to write but has no payoff. The hosts note that numerous props and concepts, like the Woozy helmet or the smoke jacket, are introduced but never utilized in the film’s climax. The film’s structure feels aimless, with the main plot complication only emerging long after the setup.
The Bizarre LL Cool J Interrogation
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(00:17:05)
  • Key Takeaway: LL Cool J’s character conducts a bizarre, nonsensical interrogation of Robin Wright’s character regarding ‘duplicating’ in a room that is never referenced again.
  • Summary: The interrogation scene is highlighted for its strange focus on the word ‘duplication,’ which has no bearing on the rest of the plot or the final conflict. The security guards watching the feed are easily fooled by a simple planted MTV logo, suggesting a massive failure in security protocol. The scene ends with the guards passing around a taped security feed, effectively creating a viral video within the movie’s universe.
The Final War Sequence and Speeches
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(00:40:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The film devolves into a 40-minute war between the good toys and the bad toys, culminating in Robin Williams delivering a bizarre, Patton-esque rallying speech to inanimate objects.
  • Summary: The final battle features ultra-violent toy casualties, such as a baby carriage bottle turning into a six-shooter, which Joan Cusack’s character notes is a ‘bad baby.’ Robin Williams’ speech to the toys, referencing his father and the factory’s conception, is delivered as if the toys have agency, which the hosts note was never established. The war sequence is described as Saving Private Ryan without any emotional stakes.
Toy Battle Decimation
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(00:49:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The toy battle sequence features graphic destruction comparable to Saving Private Ryan but without emotional stakes.
  • Summary: Robin Williams delivers a rallying speech to inanimate toys that are subsequently decimated in battle, with heads being blown off like small football men. The violence is described as ultra-violent, yet the stakes are minimal because the toys are inanimate objects being destroyed. This sequence is likened to Saving Private Ryan but entirely devoid of emotional weight.
Joan Cusack Robot Reveal
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(00:50:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Joan Cusack’s character is revealed to be a robot created by her father after her mother died, a fact known to other characters but not the audience.
  • Summary: The revelation that Joan Cusack’s character is a robot, previously perceived as a sheltered oddball who ate sandwiches, shocked the listeners. Her previous comment about vitamins easily passing through her system now makes sense in light of her robotic nature. The fact that LL Cool J’s character knew she was a robot, and that she has seemingly never aged, adds to the creepiness of the plot point.
Sea Monster and Gambon Fate
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(00:53:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Gambon’s character is targeted by a robot-like sea monster after Joan Cusack’s character is incapacitated, only for both characters to be immediately resurrected.
  • Summary: After Joan Cusack’s head comes off, Michael Gambon flees and is targeted by a sea monster, which the hosts struggle to define, possibly a Z-slug defense mechanism. The monster appears to kill Gambon after he quotes The Day the Earth Stood Still, but the movie immediately reverses this by showing him alive in a military hospital bed next to his father. This immediate reversal negates any dramatic tension established by the apparent deaths.
Audience Defense of Toys
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(00:57:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Positive listener reviews describe Toys as whimsical, ingenious, and visually beautiful, contrasting sharply with the hosts’ negative assessment.
  • Summary: One listener described the film as whimsical, suggesting it appeals to those without a need for narrative sense, awarding it five stars. Another review called it one of the most ingenious films of all time, lamenting its lack of a DVD release compared to Adam Sandler’s films. A third review praised the war scenes as heartbreakingly realistic and noted LL Cool J’s performance was a highlight.
Budget and Critical Reception
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(01:03:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Toys had a substantial $43 million budget in 1992 but only grossed $23 million worldwide, despite receiving an Oscar nomination for Art Direction.
  • Summary: The film’s budget was $43 million in 1992, a significant amount, yet it only managed to earn $23 million worldwide. This failure occurred while Robin Williams was at a career peak between Aladdin and Mrs. Doubtfire. Despite its commercial failure and a Razzie nomination for Barry Levinson, the movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction, acknowledging its visual beauty.