The strange detail about the vice presidential candidate that I had to solve.

In August, The New York Times published a profile of Gwen Walz, the wife of Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, that contained a tidbit that I've had to think about ever since. They watched the film on the couple's first date, which took place when the two were teachers at a high school in Nebraska Falling downwhich the Times described as “the 1993 Michael Douglas film about a damaged white man who suffers a nervous breakdown in Los Angeles.”

I love a good first date detail, something that gives more structure to the origin story of a future power couple. The Obamas were known to watch the film Do the right thing on their first date together, a fitting, perhaps even fateful, decision for the historic couple they had become. (In fact, they're probably only one of a handful of people on the planet who can brag that their first movie date inspired their own movie.) Other political couples may have gotten off to a less promising start. listeners of Slow burn Season 8 may remind you that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took his future wife Ginni to see “1986.” Short circuita comedy about a robot that comes to life during one of their early dates.

And then there are the rollers and… Falling down? How did Tim Walz, a football coach with a heart of gold who was fired to America, choose this film as a romantic mood-setter, if we are correct in assuming that he planned the date? I confess that I was not familiar with the film before it was mentioned in the Times, although I consider myself a fan and perhaps even an apologist of the work of its director Joel Schumacher – which is why it is important to me St. Elmo's Fireimportant to many because of his appealingly crazy work on a few Batman Movies. Even the Times' brief description is crude: an “injured white man” in, of all places, Los Angeles? How come we're in a timeline where JD Vance expressed his admiration? Garden State but Tim Walz came by Falling down on his first date with his wife? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

If you had to pick a 1993 film that epitomized the Walzes, there's one obvious choice, and this isn't it Falling down: It is Rudythe one about a college football player from the Midwest who reliably makes grown men cry. Oh, Rudy was released in October of the same year and the love of the Walzes apparently couldn't wait. Falling down was a February release. At least at the end of February – a Falling down The date of Valentine's Day would have been even more outrageous.

I learned that the film is about a former defense worker (Douglas) who gets stuck in traffic and abandons his car to walk across Los Angeles to see his estranged wife and daughter, albeit against his wife an injunction exists against him. He acquires some weapons and goes on a small violent spree. Robert Duvall is the almost retired police officer on the chase. It contains a very famous scene where Douglas pulls out a gun at a fast food restaurant because he is angry that they no longer serve breakfast. (This used to be considered satire.) I don't want to criticize Tim Walz's playing or anything, but come on, man, I'm not sure that was the way to a woman's heart. And actually, consider another detail mentioned in the Times article: “Ms. Walz said she rejected a kiss afterward, to which Mr. Walz replied, “That's fine, but you should know that I'm going to marry you.” “Of course it worked out well for her, but yeah.

Thanks to some research from colleagues at Slate, I think I've at least solved the mystery Why They would see this movie if they did. Other films that were shown in cinemas at the time were probably more contemporary Groundhog Day, On the way home: The incredible journey, AladdinAnd The wine gamebut in reality they probably didn't have much choice. Online newspaper archives suggest that the Alliance Theater in Alliance, Nebraska, where they taught, likely made the decision for them: the theater apparently only had two auditoriums, so depending on exactly which weekend they were scheduled to attend, it was probably one of the two Falling down or Army of DarknessThe evil Dead Consequence. I suspect that Michael Douglas waving a gun is a bit more romantic, at least for some people.

People still talk about the politics of Falling down til today; Recent anniversaries have led to reflections on whether this is a proto-MAGA film or a misunderstood masterpiece. All that was left for me to do was watch it. I finally did it and I'm here to tell you…not bad! When the movies had weird politics in 1993, it wasn't like when the movies have bad politics now Sound of freedomwhere every scene is a thinly veiled allegory based on far-right conspiracies. Back in the day, there could still be something strange in a film, but overall it was a fun way to spend an evening. I'm sure that's exactly what Tim and Gwen are judging Falling down ended with the landing: They probably had a very thoughtful, polite discussion. In a way, it reinforces Walz's reputation as a new generation of sensitive guys. You have to give it to him – seeing this movie on a first date and then coming back would require some seriousness Rizz.