148: Mommy & Daddy & Biff Wiff
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And we are back, Gareth. Back. So this is a special Thursday. This is a repeat. This is a new intro, but we are repeating episode 64 because the great Biff Whiff has passed away. He passed away last week, and we just wanted to replay his episode and give him a little bit of a shout-out.

Yeah, he was definitely our most honest guest as far as what he thought of the premise of the show, which we enjoyed. He's so funny. He was great. He really was such a... I don't know much about him, but...

It seemed like people really got to know him towards the end of his career. Yeah, you know, he started, so I'll give a little bit of backstory on him from what I know, which is also, you know, I just met him when I was doing my movie Self Reliance, but he was on Moonlighting in 87. He was on Night Court, the original, back in 89. He was on the original Roseanne. He moved to San Diego to get into theater and then did the L.A. jump. So he had been in the game for a very long time.

Yeah. But I think it was, you know, I thought it was Tim Robinson's I Think You Should Leave. Yeah. That's when he really popped with the Shirt Brothers and the Santa bit. I mean, he's so funny in that, and that show is so funny, but he's excellent.

Yeah, and I think like, you know, look, you know him better than I do, but I mean, seeing him in your movie, like there was just a lot more going on for him, even his social media following. But, you know, he was also in shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fresh Off the Boat. The guy was a true character actor in a way that I think is unfortunately going away. Yes. And these great characters that, you know, people, Gareth, like you and I grew up

were a huge part of our business and had a lot of value. They just seem to have less value nowadays. Yeah, remember like the that guy stuff where you'd be like, oh, that guy. And then you'd like learn a little bit more. And sometimes the that guy would hit later on. Yes. I remember when I first moved to LA, like there was a lot of that where I'd be like at Baja Fresh, I'd be like, oh shit, second. Well, no.

The goal to move out to LA was to be that guy. That was, that was, that felt like a huge plot point in your life out here. And so when I was doing my movie, there was a part of James who was a homeless guy who becomes friends with my character. And I really believed it was the true romance of the movie. And it was, I felt like the whole movie kind of hinged on his performance and I

When we went through the financing and the producer calls with Ally Bell and we were talking about casting, the truth was I had no idea who could play the part. And they were mentioning people like Nick Nolte. And I thought like, Nick Nolte's cool. And they showed his headshot. And I just thought like, I don't know, like there's got to be a lot of heart to the character because you've got to justify. I mean, the bad writing is I meet a guy and

And then almost immediately we have one night hanging out together and then we're like, want to be best friends and then do a whole becoming best friends montage. And as we were doing auditions for it, I had that terrible stomach ache of like, my premise doesn't work. These guys are like, you know, they were playing it so heavy or so dramatic or so overly comedic. Like it was this, and I'm like,

And then fucking Biff Whiff's video audition starts. And right from minute one, I was like, oh my God, I love this guy. He always wore suspenders. He had that like little taxi driver cap on. He could take his teeth in or out however he kind of wanted. You want an actor who can do that for most parts. And he was so funny. Even when watching the movie, it's like that, when that kicks in, you're like, ah.

this is good stuff. Yes. Like you're excited to see that portion of the film. And then I did a little bit of research on him. I contacted Tim, I believe too, who had nothing but the warmest things to say about him. And,

And then we auditioned, we met, and right away, he was the first person I tried to get cleared for the financiers. So it was a really funny thing. Like, mostly you lay out, like, your must-haves. Yeah. But my first email to, like, MRC was like, okay, his name is Biff Whiff. Oh.

Who's the love interest? Biff with. We got to lock in Biff and then we're going to go to Anna Kendrick. Once we got Biff, then we had the big chip on the table. Then we got a goddamn movie. But all bits aside, and it was funny for me to go through that, but it really was true. He was my kind of favorite scene partner. There's a scene he and I do where we're in kind of like a junkyard. It's a late night scene. Biff had to act.

He had to carry an emotional scene. And I had no idea if he was more of a guy who could say like a funny thing on a cameo or a lot of these people, you'll, you'll almost use certain actors. They'll have like one gimmick and you're like, just use that thing. And it's really funny, but they don't have levels to them. And it's fine. You're like, the one thing is so great.

But the catch with Biff is he had real levels to him. Like, there was so much about him as an actor that didn't come out. And I'm like, we'd be doing scenes and everyone in the crew after would go like...

that guy is really special. I'm like, there's something that's like every day you would learn more about him. He was so kind, so fun to be around. Obviously, Edelstein loved him. Obviously. Well, Edelstein might be him. But I think the thing is, it's like this business is really, like anything, but this business is particularly, it's peaks and valleys. It's really kind of difficult and it's,

He had a moment. Yeah, he did. And I'm really glad he did in his life. And I think, like, you know, look, I mean, obviously you never want someone to go. You never want to go. But he did get to experience that moment for a minute. And that's something. And I think it's also clear he knew that his audience loved him. Loved him. And I think he knew that. And I think it was so funny for me to meet him because –

I was a fan and immediately was like, oh, wow, this guy is like, he's been through the business for a long time, is enjoying it, but also has that acerbic element that sort of comes with gritting it out for so long. I mean, he literally at one point on our show was just like, why do I care? Yeah, I re-listened to it when I was just kind of feeling sad about his passing and

And it was the funniest moment for me of potentially, you know, when we're all done with this and looking back,

It was a guy calling, and you'll hear the show, but he goes, I don't care. And, you know, once you pull the rug out from our premise. It's an important, I mean, that's big. That's a big thing to keep. That's a big ball to keep in the air. But that was even, like Biff as an actor, we do a scene with me, him. So there was a scene in the movie with me and Anna Kendrick, and it's like we're in a bar, and we're starting to court. And he was supposed to,

come in and then sit at a table away from us so we could just be in a two-shot and have like, you know, our cross-covered romantic scene. And...

He was just so good in the movie, and everyone, myself included, liked him so much that the DP, Adam Silver, and I were talking and we're like, should we just have Biff's character sit right behind my character so we can frame a really tight single where we don't see him if we don't want him? But when we get a little wider, it probably wouldn't hurt to have him in the background. And we were like, okay, let's just see what happens. And then my note to Biff always was,

Don't worry about the lines. Just be totally natural. And if something comes out, then just be in the scene. Whatever your instincts are, are always right. And he just started eating chips.

And would comment on the scenes, but he was never pushing to be funny. He was not looking for attention. He was not looking... Like, sometimes you'll have somebody and they're funny, but they really want to steal the scene. And you're like, just be in the scene. And we do this whole thing where...

The end of it is I'm trying to get her to come along on the journey, and it's a tough premise buy. We just meet, and then she says yes. Even the writing of it, whenever I'd get notes, everyone's like, why does she say yes? And my response is, well, you know. We're shooting in two weeks. That's why. That's why, because she has to. She has to. You'll see. No, like it makes sense. I don't think you get it. I don't think you get it. But Biff goes, we just start going, and I couldn't understand what he was saying.

but he wouldn't break. And once you're in a scene, it was real life with him. Yeah. And you were like, we also do another scene where, so he kills it. We use all his stuff. We had to, when we were editing it, we just, we wouldn't even look at coverage where he wasn't in it. Cause we're like, he's the guy. Then we're doing a scene where my character is going through an intervention and

And it was supposed to be a real low point. Yes. You know, you're sitting next to each other and we're in a two shot, obviously. Oh, if you're with Biff, keep it a two shot. Yep. And it's really low where the family's like, we're worried about you. And there's a pause and he offers me the chips he's eating. And just as an instinct, I'm like, you're the best.

If somebody had written that, I would pass. But like your instincts, I was like, I honestly would leave the days and I would go, if I did a movie with Biff Leff all the time, I would never complain about acting. I would love it. He's just, he was the best scene partner. It was obvious when he came in, you know, he's having health issues and that sort of stuff. And so, and you, you know, I mean, you'd even alluded to it before he came in, but Biff

Look, I mean, you could tell even online. People were talking about it, and everybody will miss Biff Whiff even if they only experience him through our show. What I recommend is if you just hear about him through this thing, go on a little ride. Yeah. I mean, go watch him on I Think You Should Leave. I mean, he is hysterical. Also, watch his cameos online.

Just Google him. Like he's, he just have a late night where you take a hit of weed or you have a drink or whatever you do to relax. Have a biff spliff. Have a biff and just enjoy a little biff whiff in what he brought. I was really sad because my whole press plan before he got sick, he actually got, he got cancer while we were doing the reshoots. We had found out. So our last day of shooting was,

He went and got a haircut and a shave with our hair and makeup because he was like, well, it's all going to go anyway. So we do a reshoot where he and I are walking down the street together towards the end of the movie. And the day after that, he started treatment. But I'd really imagine doing the whole press tour with me and him together.

And him somewhat in character. So like doing Kimmel and then just having Biff Whiff next to me reacting in the moments and just be like eating chips. I was like, and when he got sick, I was so sad for him.

I was like, ah, it would have been so fun for him and for me. And I was like, just the guy had, the sickness came at really bad timing because I really think he had about a 10-year window ahead of him where he was just going to do really special, fun stuff. But I love you, Biff. I'm so glad I met you. I'm so glad you did the movie and the podcast. And I'm sorry for Taylor and for his friends and family and

And please enjoy this episode that we recorded, I think, about a year ago. Is that right, Garrett? Something like that? Yeah. Yeah, it's probably right around there. And that's it. Yeah. RIP Biff. RIP Biffy.

Hello? Hello. Hey, can you hear me? Yeah, can we get your name, please? Yes, my real name, I assume? Whatever you want. You want a real one or a fake one? I'll do a fake one. I'll be Jimmy. Jimmy? So, Jimmy, you got a special one today.

You got me in the garf. Hello. But then you've got... Well, I guess I'd have to say, and I've said it to him, maybe my favorite actor in this weird Hollywood game, a fucking prince among fucking rats. A king of the game. A guy that you just put a fucking camera on and his instincts are incredible. A guy who...

I wrote a movie. I starred in it. I directed. I produced it. And this fucking guy steals it from me. It was easy pickings. Come on. A guy from Tim Robinson's I Think You Should Leave who crushes that. My shirt brother. A shirt brother. Santa in that. Mr. Biff.

with George the Pod. Howdy, howdy, howdy. It's great to be here. As good as it gets, and you were so good in the movie, and you know how I feel about you. I know how you feel about me. I feel the same way about you. And this fucking dude was on the original Night Court. Isn't that right? Yes, I was on the original and the current Night Court. Oh, you were on both? Yeah. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Hey, Jimmy, where are you calling from, pal?

I am calling from Atlanta, Georgia. Okay. ATL. And how old are you? I'm in my thirties. Okay. That's fair. Very general, Jimmy. Beginning or the end of them? Beginning. I'm 31. Young guy, young guy. All right, Jimmy, what can we do for you? All right. So, um,

Me and my partner have been married for three years. I have known her for eight years. Okay. And I love her, but the one thing that I can't get over is... I love her, but is a great story. She still calls her mom and dad, mommy and daddy. Yuck. Jesus Christ. I'm with you, Jimmy. Yeah. It's not that. I don't know. It just rubs me the wrong way, you know? So I need you guys' help to figure out...

I just don't know how to get it to stop. By the way, this isn't a bit. I'm with you. Oh, I'm with you. I don't care. As long as the stakes are high for you, Beth. I don't care. I don't care. Let her call whenever she wants. What's your problem?

So you don't want it to do mommy and daddy. And the question is, is how do we get out of this? Biff, unfortunately is the voice of reality and who gives a shit that the problem with that Biff is that we don't have a show.

We have to give a shit. Oh, we have to? Imagine if you gave a shit. I'd give a shit. He is an actor. Biff, I'm going to get you in the headspace for what the show is because I am with you. The reality is, Jim, who gives a shit, right?

But the point of this one is, imagine Jimmy's our very good friend. Okay. The three of us are in our bar. We maybe smoked a little bit of weed. A lot. We had a couple of drinks. And our friend goes, guys, what do I do? My wife is calling her parents mommy and daddy, and it's driving me nuts. Okay. So as a good friend, we can't say who cares. Having a few drinks and some weed makes it a lot easier to care. Yes.

I care now. Poor Jimmy. There we go. Good. See, Jimmy? We got him where we need him. Okay, Jimmy. So keep walking us through it. So the mommy and daddy stuff, what else? So it's more about we've had conversations with her about, hey, can we change to mom and dad? Can we do mother and father? Can we just, you know? Oh, you have brought it up. I feel like mommy and daddy is a very – I brought it up to her. Okay. So where the issue lies is –

her parents seem to be offended when we try to make the change. So on family trips, you know, we've been like, okay, let's start to make the change. Let's, you know, let's try mom and dad and see what happens. And they are the ones. Hey, Ben, what are you thinking? You got, you got shit kicking in between those years. What are you thinking? I'm, I'm wondering why Jimmy cares about this so much is what my thing is. Yeah.

So you care because it's annoying to you, right? Right.

And I'm trying to get this picture of Jimmy as a friend of mine. Okay, so Jimmy, what do you do for work, kind of? We're trying to get Biff on your team. We have a new problem, which is we've got to make Biff like you. Hold on. Yeah, that's a good idea. It's a lot easier if you like the guy. Yeah, so Jimmy, what do you do? What are some traits about you so we can get Biff with you? Let's see. So some traits are I work.

I work in real estate. What do you think of that, Biff? Easy, Jimmy. I'm a huge college football fan. Oh, who's your team? My team is Clemson. Okay. Clemson, is that his team? That's mine. Okay, all right. Jimmy, wrong direction. This is going sideways. Jimmy, what do you do for fun? Do you ever go out and have a few pops? Do you drink?

Oh, yeah, yeah. What's your drink of choice? Oh, yeah. My drink of choice is going to be any kind of light beer. Usually Coors Light. That's kind of my go-to. Jimmy, you're letting your head down now. What's that? Hold on, Jimmy. We got the great Biff Whiff's about to say something. What are you thinking of that, Biff?

I'm thinking Coors Light isn't even beer, is it? Boy, I'll tell you, when he was answering, I was like, Jimmy, I don't know if you know how much is hinging on this answer. Jimmy, do you smoke weed? All right, if I'm letting my hair down, I'm going whiskey on the rocks. That's what I'm going to drink. Okay, there you go. What kind of whiskey?

I have Angel's Envy at home. That's what I kind of drink for the most part. Okay. I'm trying to get you, Jimmy. I'm trying to get you with Biff a little bit here. Do you smoke any weed? Yes. Oh. Okay. Okay. Now, how often are you a weed man? Oh, man. Like in the last hour? Every day. Every day. Oh, every day. Every day. There you go. Now, Jimmy, what kind of music do you like to listen to when you smoke a little bit of weed? Oh, man.

I like the Grateful Dead. I'm a jam band kind of guy. Deadhead. Okay. All right. Okay. Now we're getting on the same page. Yes. Okay. And Jimmy, you've probably taken a little acid at some point if you're a big deadhead guy, right? At some point you've taken a maybe little bit? No, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit of acid. A little bit. Okay. So now, hold on for a second. Now, Biff, I'm going to go to you here, sir. Yeah.

Our buddy Jimmy, the deadhead guy, smokes a little weed, likes a whiskey on the rocks. Regular salt of the earth. Kind of fun guy. He's at the table with him. We like him. We love him, but we like him. Okay. His wife calls fucking her parents mommy and daddy. It's killing. It's killing Jimmy.

What can we say to Jimmy? I know you don't care, but it's grossing out our guy when he's jamming out to trucking and hitting a one hitter. It's ruining his vibe, man. He can't be wavy gravy with his mommy and daddy shit. Because I'll tell you what it doesn't do is it doesn't get the juices going downstairs when his hot wife is going, mommy, daddy.

You saying that while they're doing it? No. If that helps you, then yeah. But Biff, you got anything in your head just to start us off, how this guy can get his wife to stop saying mommy and daddy? Mommy and daddy's okay with you, Jimmy? Yeah, what about her parents?

Yeah. I mean, her parents, they like me. I mean, if that's, yeah, they definitely like me. We all get along. And when you brought it up to them and you said, what if we went mom and dad, what'd they say?

They were just like, why do you need to do that? What's wrong with it? I'm like, well, I don't know. Just the connotation as a grown-up. I got a pitch. Here's my pitch. Around them, you refer to her as a bunkie.

and you make her call you, like, Pumpkin Man or something. So you're doing pet names around Mommy and Daddy until they get a little bit off-put, right? So in front of her dad, if your wife is calling you, like, you know...

Some sort of pet name. What did you think, Biff? What were you about to yell? Bunny. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Yes. I thought you wanted Bunky. Bunky. Bunky's worse. But if she's Bunky and you're Pumpkin. Bunny and Bunky. And all of a sudden it's happening. Every sentence ends with that. Overdo it. You could overdo it to the point of then her parents get uncomfortable and you say, I have an idea.

What if we cut all these, you're mom and dad, and I'm Jimmy and she's Jane, and you make an agreement as a group to stop with the names? Do you think something like that could work, Jimmy? I think so, because when we first started dating, we used babe and baby a lot, and they hated that. Okay, good. So if they hate babe and baby, what are nicknames that could work for you and your partner that's not silly but really gross? Oh, God.

What's the grossest stuff you guys could do that you know is in your wheelhouse? Man, I don't know. Something like slobber puss. I don't know. Slobber puss is as gross as it gets. You almost made Caitlin, our social media director, barf. Jimmy, I got to tell you. In my head, I'm like, he's not going to grab the ball and dunk it on this. But then you came up with that. So if you called her...

If you called her slobberpuss. I think you can search that on Pornhub and have over a thousand results. That's awful. If you called her slobberpuss. I still can't. In fact, I may have. Slobberpuss. Yeah, I remember her. Jimmy's wife. Oh, no. So what could she call you? Uh.

Oh, that's good. I only had one. I only had one. So how crazy is this, Jimmy? And only if you're going to really do it. But what if what if you called her slobber pussy? She called you slobber dick. Oh, my God. You cannot. But hold on, Jimmy.

If you're looking to end an awkward mommy and daddy situation, and you in a baby voice called her slobberpuss, and she said yes, slobber dick, it ends it. That's the bomb. The parents are going to hear slobberpuss and make eye contact. Like, that was weird. And then when she comes back with like, here's the mashed potatoes, slobber dick, they're going to be like, get the car.

I don't know what's happening here. Very quickly, the vibe is going to change. Oh, yeah. But you could say, I'm really sorry. These are just names we call ourselves when you guys aren't around. And then you go, if it's uncool, sorry, sorry. And then you go, should we cool it with the names and just go to first names? What's in a name? Right. Yeah. Is that insane, Jimmy? Or are we near a zone you might go? I can answer.

Yeah. I think we're down the right track. You do. Jimmy, all right. Hold on. All I'm doing is talking real talk. Jimmy, you're telling me there's a world where mom and dad are over, and you call your wife slobber puss, and she's straight-faced in front of mommy and daddy, calls you slobber dick, and this is in the realm of possibility? If it is, I'm very excited. There is a possibility for me to do slobber puss, absolutely, because I'm kind of the joker.

I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jokes are the family. I say stuff that people are sometimes like, oh, you can't say that in front of her parents. Okay. But I don't know if I could get her to say slobber dick. Okay, good. What could you get her to say? Sleepy man. I don't know. Sleepy man? I don't know why that. But sleepy man, it's gross. It's in the zone of mommy and daddy. I'll say that.

If you're sleepy, man, if I'm a fucking if my daughters called their husband sleepy man in front of me, I would hate it. I got an idea. Just what if she starts calling you daddy? There you go. You know, I thought about that. If she's calling you daddy, it at least brings up. Oh, well, I started calling her slobber puss. And I like I wanted her to start calling me daddy. Oh, I mean, it's a confusing. You might be onto something.

the zone of you guys calling each other mommy and daddy in front of them because never in a bedroom would a man and a woman having sex call each other mom and dad no it's never like oh dad oh dad I request no it isn't I always request papa but the idea of saying like mommy could

be hot in some circles mom is not no i like grandpa i asked for that yes during sex so what do you think about leaning into you guys say she goes daddy yeah you and him at the same time go yeah oh which one are you talking oh that would gross him out it creates it creates a confrontation which is not a bad thing and then your daughter then your wife has to say like i'm sorry dad i was actually talking to jimmy

Sorry, Dad. This is good. Sorry, Dad. I was actually talking to Jimmy. Mm-hmm. Jimmy, where are you at? We might have fucking nailed this one.

I think that would work because even if she is just calling them mommy and daddy, we don't even have to have a plan. I'm just going to start answering. That's it. That's great. Jimmy, you know what? You got to run through fire on this one to get to the other side. But whenever she says daddy, if you respond, it's going to kill her dad. And then the dad's going to say, hold on, I'm dad. And you're going, okay, sir, but I am daddy. All right. Yeah.

What do you think, Jimmy? I mean, it feels like it was a group mind, but do you feel good about that? Yeah. No, I can do that. Will you please follow up with us after you do this? Can I even request a crazier thing? Film it? Just put your phone on record so we can overhear it. Well, it's hard because she's got to say, Daddy, then he's got to get the phone out.

No, you just lay it down. I record hours of stand-up just on audio files. It's creepy. I can plan. If you could plan this, and if you could record this, oh, you are a fucking king. It would just be a lovely follow-up. Yeah. So, Daddy, please try to pull that off. I mean, I'm telling you, just hearing Jake say it, it turns you. On? No. Jimmy, we got to go. Jake has some stuff. If you can pull that off, it would be a massive win for you and the show, buddy.

I think I can. All right. So let us know what happens. Jimmy, we look forward to it. And Mr. Biff Whiff. Good talking with you, Jimmy. I hope this works out for you. There you go. What a sweet ending. Yeah, it really was. You ran this guy through hell. And in the end, you ended with a cherry on top of the sundae. You kicked the hell out of him. But now you're friends. Biff is the architect of the new term slobber dick, which is... Yes, that's right.

Mr. Slobberdick. Mr. Slobberdick. Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Daddy.

We're Here to Help is hosted by Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds. If you'd like to be on the show, please email us your question at helpfulpod at gmail.com. And if you want to watch video episodes of We're Here to Help, you can go to our Patreon at patreon.com slash heretohelppod to see our entire catalog.

We're Here to Help is produced by Rabbit Grimm Productions, executive producers Rob Hollis, Jeff Porter, and Natalie Hollis, associate producer Jesse Thurston, editing, mix, and master by Chris Fowler. Theme song by Oliver Raleigh. The cover artwork is by James Fostyke. Animations by Andrew Strzelecki. And if you'd like to see Gareth do stand-up on the road, go to garethreynolds.com. Remember, all of the advice given on We're Here to Help is for entertainment purposes only, and all listeners should be adults and make their own decisions. We're Here to Help is produced by Rabbit Grimm Productions, executive producers Rob Hollis, Jeff Porter, and Natalie Hollis.

All video episodes of season one are available now on Patreon and season two video episodes will be available every Monday starting January 20th. Go to patreon.com forward slash here to help pod.