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When I was a kid we had a VHS recording of Sneakers, with the beginning of an episode of Letterman at the end. I remember my mom liking it. Fond memories. I nee

When I was a kid we had a VHS recording of Sneakers, with the beginning of an episode of Letterman at the end. I remember my mom liking it. Fond memories. I need to watch it again. A couple of scenes: Carl: We've got customers. Martin: Shoes? Carl: Expensive. Martin: *fixes tie* Look busy, guys. And another: *after apparently inconveniencing Liz, the group is walking out* Cosmo: We'll call you a cab. Liz: "Thank you. This is my last computer date." *Cosmo stops walking, falling behind* Cosmo: "Wait." *the group stops and turns* Cosmo: "A computer matched her with him? I don't think so." *Liz's face falls as Cosmo's henchman start slowly walking up behind her.* *dramatic music as we cut and zoom in to Cosmo's face* Cosmo: "Marty." *Cosmo turns and runs toward his office*

sbarre 1y ago
I saw Sneakers when it first came out in theatres and at the time I was in high school and working part-time in a shoe store.. I had learned from the store owner that you can tell so much from someone's shoes, often more than from their clothes. Combined with that line in this very formative movie (for me), I still to this day can't help but check someone's shoes when I first meet them.
- Ntrails 1y ago
  > you can tell so much from someone's shoes You can make educated guesses based on apparel of all sorts - but you are always guessing.
  - AStonesThrow 1y ago
    Yes but many times, these can be quite valuable inferences. Shoes are indeed a valuable source of information about a person. I knew at least one BH case manager who really paid attention to them. Shoes are expensive, very durable, and typically one of those items that people have only a few pairs of. So while someone can easily change their outfit to match a situation, place, or mood for the day, they may be less likely to change their shoes to match more than a basic purpose. And shoes tend to accumulate evidence of where someone's been. Are they muddy, dusty, spit-polished? Personally, I own about five pair of shoes. I have a pair of Oxford dress shoes, a very nice pair of white New Balance with hook-and-loop, some hiking boots I picked up at JC Penney, and a few others. My clothing, on the other hand, is mostly Adidas and Columbia and some tee shirts, but I don't own any Adidas or Columbia shoes. So you can tell a lot about me, no matter what I'm wearing, by studying my shoes for a while. I met another BH professional who said he owned 52 pairs of Crocs. He said that he'd kicked an addiction habit, but it seems he traded something unhealthy for perhaps a less-detrimental dependence on collecting shoes. To each his own, I suppose, and surely a lot of information could be gleaned about this fellow if you paid attention to which pair of Crocs he'd selected for the day.
    - piker 1y ago
      BH professional?
      - lsaferite 1y ago
        My best guess is Behavioral Health
    - dylan604 1y ago
      > Shoes are expensive, very durable, and typically one of those items that people have only a few pairs of. Maybe that used to be true, but modern shoes while expensive are not very durable, and most people have several pairs today.
      - rbanffy 1y ago
        Expensive shoes are still a good indicator of social status.
      - 542354234235 1y ago
        Modern shoes can be very cheap, which is also not durable at all. Beyond that, price and durability are two different metrics, and can tell you about a person. Some people buy expensive shoes specifically for the durability, which could tell you things about what they value, that they are willing to do research. Some people buy expensive shoes for wrongly perceived durability, which could tell you that they want to be perceived as rugged or refined. Some people buy expensive shoes for their lack of durability, which could tell you that they want people perceive their status (conspicuous consumption). Someone wearing pristine white Jordans, Red Wings boots, or bottom tier Cole Hann dress shoes can all say things about a person.
      - Cyphase 1y ago
        I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes?
        dylan604 1y ago
  - gopher_space 1y ago
    Other way around. The clothes you wear are a method of communication you're actively engaging in whether you're aware of it or not. This is a really useful thing to be aware of, since it lets you craft narratives in other people's heads.
heyflyguy 1y ago
I still remember that goofy looking run, haha
sgt 1y ago
Dude, your mom just wanted to see Robert Redford. The guy was a chick magnet.
DamnInteresting 1y ago
> "A computer matched her with him? I don't think so." When I first watched this movie, I felt like this was a weak moment in the film. "Computer dating" at the time was laughably bad, so seeing a character regard it as infallible ruined the immersion. With age and experience, I now see that some people just throw themselves behind certain technologies, and fail to find flaw. So maybe this character was just a misguided computer dating evangelist, blind to the technology's failings.
- KennyBlanken 1y ago
  Keep in mind the script was from a top-shelf writer who worked on it for ages. It's established earlier in the film that the crew think it's completely plausible a computer dating service would set the two of them up. "...Fellas. Fellas, look at this man's trash. He's not looking for "buff." The man who folded this tube of Crest...is looking for someone...meticulous. Refined. Anal. ...What?" I think Cosmo's comment - note he's extremely vain, how he dresses, his office is practically a modern art gallery, he's got the organization's Cray sitting on display, etc - just further shows how vain he is, thinking someone as attractive as Liz couldn't possibly be a good match for a nerd like Werner, when it's established that they're actually quite alike/compatible. One could imagine that Liz also obeys all speed limits and comes to complete stops at every stop sign...
  - ddingus 1y ago
    I agree, and would add: Cosmo has been in prison for a long time. His perception of dating service implications are unlikely to be contemporary.
- cestith 1y ago
  He knew he had something Martin wanted. He knew what Martin and his partners did for a living. There was already the suspected breach, and finding Werner’s card in his office settled that briefly. When the mere mention of a computer came up in this scenario, Cosmo reconsidered how likely it was to be a simple misunderstanding versus his former close friend being involved.
Karellen 1y ago
Marty: Organised crime? Cosmo: Trust me, it ain't that organised!
cwe 1y ago
I’ve always hated the thing about computer dating. Why would that have been so unreasonable?
- Cyphase 1y ago
  A couple of potential answers: * It's not about computers and them (Liz and Werner). It's about Cosmo. * Computer dating is about algorithms and pattern matching. Cosmo didn't have any suspicion of Liz and Werner going on a date; even if he saw a type-mismatch, humans are complex and multi-faceted. But when he learned a computer program ostensibly made the match, his alarm bells went off.
  - cestith 1y ago
    Beyond that, there was already the suspected breach of the site which he knew Bish was interested in breaching. The mere mention of a computer being involved would have made him far more likely to suspect his involvement.

sbarre 1y ago

I saw Sneakers when it first came out in theatres and at the time I was in high school and working part-time in a shoe store.. I had learned from the store owner that you can tell so much from someone's shoes, often more than from their clothes. Combined with that line in this very formative movie (for me), I still to this day can't help but check someone's shoes when I first meet them.

Ntrails 1y ago
> you can tell so much from someone's shoes You can make educated guesses based on apparel of all sorts - but you are always guessing.
- AStonesThrow 1y ago
  Yes but many times, these can be quite valuable inferences. Shoes are indeed a valuable source of information about a person. I knew at least one BH case manager who really paid attention to them. Shoes are expensive, very durable, and typically one of those items that people have only a few pairs of. So while someone can easily change their outfit to match a situation, place, or mood for the day, they may be less likely to change their shoes to match more than a basic purpose. And shoes tend to accumulate evidence of where someone's been. Are they muddy, dusty, spit-polished? Personally, I own about five pair of shoes. I have a pair of Oxford dress shoes, a very nice pair of white New Balance with hook-and-loop, some hiking boots I picked up at JC Penney, and a few others. My clothing, on the other hand, is mostly Adidas and Columbia and some tee shirts, but I don't own any Adidas or Columbia shoes. So you can tell a lot about me, no matter what I'm wearing, by studying my shoes for a while. I met another BH professional who said he owned 52 pairs of Crocs. He said that he'd kicked an addiction habit, but it seems he traded something unhealthy for perhaps a less-detrimental dependence on collecting shoes. To each his own, I suppose, and surely a lot of information could be gleaned about this fellow if you paid attention to which pair of Crocs he'd selected for the day.
  - piker 1y ago
    BH professional?
    - lsaferite 1y ago
      My best guess is Behavioral Health
  - dylan604 1y ago
    > Shoes are expensive, very durable, and typically one of those items that people have only a few pairs of. Maybe that used to be true, but modern shoes while expensive are not very durable, and most people have several pairs today.
    - rbanffy 1y ago
      Expensive shoes are still a good indicator of social status.
    - 542354234235 1y ago
      Modern shoes can be very cheap, which is also not durable at all. Beyond that, price and durability are two different metrics, and can tell you about a person. Some people buy expensive shoes specifically for the durability, which could tell you things about what they value, that they are willing to do research. Some people buy expensive shoes for wrongly perceived durability, which could tell you that they want to be perceived as rugged or refined. Some people buy expensive shoes for their lack of durability, which could tell you that they want people perceive their status (conspicuous consumption). Someone wearing pristine white Jordans, Red Wings boots, or bottom tier Cole Hann dress shoes can all say things about a person.
    - Cyphase 1y ago
      I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes?
      - dylan604 1y ago
- gopher_space 1y ago
  Other way around. The clothes you wear are a method of communication you're actively engaging in whether you're aware of it or not. This is a really useful thing to be aware of, since it lets you craft narratives in other people's heads.

heyflyguy 1y ago

I still remember that goofy looking run, haha

sgt 1y ago

Dude, your mom just wanted to see Robert Redford. The guy was a chick magnet.

DamnInteresting 1y ago

> "A computer matched her with him? I don't think so." When I first watched this movie, I felt like this was a weak moment in the film. "Computer dating" at the time was laughably bad, so seeing a character regard it as infallible ruined the immersion. With age and experience, I now see that some people just throw themselves behind certain technologies, and fail to find flaw. So maybe this character was just a misguided computer dating evangelist, blind to the technology's failings.

KennyBlanken 1y ago
Keep in mind the script was from a top-shelf writer who worked on it for ages. It's established earlier in the film that the crew think it's completely plausible a computer dating service would set the two of them up. "...Fellas. Fellas, look at this man's trash. He's not looking for "buff." The man who folded this tube of Crest...is looking for someone...meticulous. Refined. Anal. ...What?" I think Cosmo's comment - note he's extremely vain, how he dresses, his office is practically a modern art gallery, he's got the organization's Cray sitting on display, etc - just further shows how vain he is, thinking someone as attractive as Liz couldn't possibly be a good match for a nerd like Werner, when it's established that they're actually quite alike/compatible. One could imagine that Liz also obeys all speed limits and comes to complete stops at every stop sign...
- ddingus 1y ago
  I agree, and would add: Cosmo has been in prison for a long time. His perception of dating service implications are unlikely to be contemporary.
cestith 1y ago
He knew he had something Martin wanted. He knew what Martin and his partners did for a living. There was already the suspected breach, and finding Werner’s card in his office settled that briefly. When the mere mention of a computer came up in this scenario, Cosmo reconsidered how likely it was to be a simple misunderstanding versus his former close friend being involved.

Karellen 1y ago

Marty: Organised crime? Cosmo: Trust me, it ain't that organised!

cwe 1y ago

I’ve always hated the thing about computer dating. Why would that have been so unreasonable?

Cyphase 1y ago
A couple of potential answers: * It's not about computers and them (Liz and Werner). It's about Cosmo. * Computer dating is about algorithms and pattern matching. Cosmo didn't have any suspicion of Liz and Werner going on a date; even if he saw a type-mismatch, humans are complex and multi-faceted. But when he learned a computer program ostensibly made the match, his alarm bells went off.
- cestith 1y ago
  Beyond that, there was already the suspected breach of the site which he knew Bish was interested in breaching. The mere mention of a computer being involved would have made him far more likely to suspect his involvement.