Overview of The Devil’s Advocate LIVE! w/ Julie Klausner (Re-Release)
This live episode of How Did This Get Made? features Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas, and guest Julie Klausner dissecting the 1997 legal-thriller-devil movie The Devil’s Advocate. The conversation centers on how wildly horny, bizarre, and overstuffed the film is—mixing courtroom drama, Satanic symbolism, “90s New York” excess, and a completely unhinged Al Pacino performance as John Milton.
Main Takeaways
Why the movie stands out
- The hosts call it one of the sexiest, grossest, and most absurd films they’ve covered.
- They’re fascinated by how the movie tries to be a prestige legal thriller while constantly veering into demon sexuality, melodrama, and spectacle.
- Al Pacino’s performance is treated as both terrible and iconic, with the group agreeing it’s peak late-period Pacino chaos.
Plot points they focused on
- Keanu Reeves’ character, Kevin Lomax, wins a disturbing pedophilia case in Florida and is recruited to New York by Pacino’s law firm.
- They spend a lot of time mocking:
- the film’s overly elaborate courtroom scenes
- the weirdly sexualized dialogue
- the bizarre supporting cases, including the voodoo-goat trial
- Charlize Theron’s character is singled out for:
- being treated like she has “bad style” despite being gorgeous
- the infamous painting scene
- the film’s surreal escalation into possession, madness, and horror
- The “reveal” that Pacino is the devil is treated as comically unnecessary, since the movie openly telegraphs it from the start.
Things they found especially insane
- Demon tits: the sex scene and nightmare imagery are repeatedly referenced as the movie’s most shocking visual gag.
- Pacino’s monologues and bizarre body language, including the flamenco-ish dancing and his nonstop sexual boasts.
- The film’s odd use of real political figures and celebrity cameos like Don King and Alfonse D’Amato.
- The apartment/penthouse design, especially the impossible devil lair with the outdoor-ish space and pools.
- The movie’s strange racial coding and how often Black characters are framed as scary, mysterious, or devil-adjacent.
Recurring Bits and Commentary
Running jokes from the panel
- Jason and Julie repeatedly escalate Pacino’s dialogue into even more absurd profanity and devilish one-liners.
- The group riffs on:
- “jogging district” New York real estate
- the absurdity of free-will vs. devil manipulation
- the film’s endless dirty monologues
- They keep returning to the idea that the movie feels like it was written by men who hang out in cigar shops and think “power” looks like devil parties and cigar smoke.
Themes they kept circling
- Male fantasy and power
- Sex as corruption
- The devil as a metaphor for ambition
- New York in the late ’90s as a fever dream
- The film’s near-total disregard for restraint, subtlety, or realism
Audience Q&A Highlights
During the live Q&A, audience members pushed the discussion toward:
- Pacino’s character name, John Milton (Paradise Lost reference)
- The confusing subway / underground / hell symbolism
- The role of Jeffrey Jones’ character and why his death matters
- The film’s twist ending, which the panel treats as intentionally convoluted and maybe even circular
The most entertaining interpretation offered was that the whole film may function like a testing loop—the devil keeps reappearing to tempt Keanu into the same trap over and over.
Final Thoughts
The panel ultimately lands on a shared conclusion: The Devil’s Advocate is a messy, ridiculous, strangely watchable cult object. It’s not good in any conventional sense, but it’s packed with enough insanity, quotable nonsense, and Pacino excess to make it enduringly fun.
Closing Notes
- Julie Klausner praises the movie as a fun rewatch, despite its obvious flaws.
- The hosts all agree it works best as a “How Did This Get Made?” style disaster masterpiece rather than a serious drama.
- The episode ends on the usual warm live-show note, with thanks to the audience and a plug for Julie’s podcast How Was Your Week.