Opening Weekend

3 men. 100 episodes. 247 movies.  Innumerable hand-farts.   IN A WORLD…where movie theaters closed their doors during a worldwide pandemic, three best friends decided to hop into their mental DeLoreans, go back in time to talk about movies & opening weekends from the last 40 years, and bask in the buttery glow of nostalgia.   Three and half years later they arrive at their 100th and final trip...

If adventure has a name, it must be…Opening Weekend! For their penultimate outing, the boys head back to one of their favorite movie eras ever, Summer ‘84, for a supersized episode wherein they wax on, wax off with THE KARATE KID, hit the jungles of India seeking fortune and glory with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, beam down to the Genesis planet in STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, and...

“If it bleeds we can kill it.”  Listen, Arnie, you may be able to take down the Predator, but you CAN’T take down Gene Shalit! That ‘stache don’t bleed! Yes, it’s been a loooong wait, but the boys are back to warm up your fall pumpkin lattes with…hot summer movies!  This week the guys hop back to Summer 1987 to revisit Jack Nicholson and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, Paul Verhoeven’s satirical sci-fi g...

“E.T. phone Zmed!” It’s the summer of ‘82 and Jason, Dan, & Fred are lining up outside the movie theater to see the most anticipated movie of the year…GREASE 2!  Also, there was apparently a movie about an alien called E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL that people liked, too.  Jason is getting sued for Smurf copyright-infringement; Olivia Newton John is helping Dan get Physical…with himself; and Fred...

Up from the depths, 30 stories high,  breathing fire, his head in the sky…GENE SHALIT?!? No, it’s just the three big openers from May 22, 1998: Terry Gilliam’s fever dream adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, the Warren Beatty political satire BULWORTH, and the Roland Emmerich disaster….movie…?….GODZILLA! It’s the spring of ‘98, and while Fred is playing on subway pla...

“There was an idea, to bring together a group of three mildly remarkable nerds to see if they could become something more. So when we needed another movie podcast, they could hand-fart the Superhero songs that we never could.” Opening Weekend fans…ASSEMBLE! It’s a Summer Superhero Smorgasbord as the boys head back to 2012 to revisit Andrew Garfield’s take on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Christopher Nol...

If you’re looking for something soft, round, succulent, and covered with just the right amount of fuzz, you’ve come to the right place! No, this isn’t the new Grindr podcast, it’s EPISODE 94 of OPENING WEEKEND! This week the boys head back to April 12, 1996 to revisit the David O. Russell/Ben Stiller black comedy FLIRTING WITH DISASTER and the animated film version of the Roald Dahl classic, JAMES...

“You’re killing me, Smalls!” Spring has sprung, the bases are loaded, and Robert Redford is paying Demi Moore a million dollars to take him out to the Ball game…HEY OH!!! It’s April 7th, 1993 and the boys are slidin’ into home at THE SANDLOT and heading out to Vegas to make an INDECENT PROPOSAL.  As Shakespeare once wrote, “Exit pursued by Rip Taylor and a Hippo.”  We’ll pay you a million dollars...

“Children of the Corn? I don’t remember eating Children of the Corn?” It’s March 9, 1984 and while Ms. Channing picks through her poop searching for bits of Malachai, the boys will be checking in to THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE, getting fishy with SPLASH, and walkin’ behind the rows with, yes, Stephen King’s CHILDREN OF THE CORN. Don’t hold it in anymore, Fred, ‘cus Jason and Dan are rollin’ like Fonda...

And we can build this dream together, standing strong together, nothing’s gonna stop Opening Weekend now! It’s been a while, but the boys are back and revisiting February 13, 1987 to go OVER THE TOP with Sly Stallone and come alive like a MANNEQUIN making love to Andrew McCarthy. And they’ll talk about some movies, too! As Kenny Loggins once said, “Meet me halfway, across this guy….” with a Gabe K...

 This week the boys dive into May-December romances, High School regrets, and eating dog food with Nick Nolte. And then they start talking about movies!  In January ‘86, Robin Williams and Kurt Russell were reminiscing about THE BEST OF TIMES, Sally Field and James Garner were engaging in MURPHY’S ROMANCE, and our good pals Nick Nolte and Richard Dreyfuss were getting DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS...

LET IT RAIN, STILLERPALOOZA!  That’s right, it’s 2004 and it’s all Stiller all the time! This week the boys head back to January 2004 to revisit that month’s Big Ben Opener (Hey oh!), ALONG CAME POLLY, as well as two other Stiller-led movies from that same year: STARSKY & HUTCH and DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY.  Just like Patches O’Houlihan always said, “If you can dodge a wrench you can d...

¡Feliz Na’vi-dad and Happy I-See-You Year!  To ring in 2023 Jason, Dan, and Fred are heading back to December 2009 and the release of James Cameron’s epic screen-saver of a blockbuster, AVATAR! And then moving from “blue” material to “material” that blew, the boys throw on their tuxes and multi-colored bow-ties for the THIRD ANNUAL GOLDEN SHEILA AWARDS! Wake up, Jake Sully, it’s Episode 88 of OPEN...

Blow me down, it’s a new disgustipatin’ episode of Opening Weekend!  It’s December 12, 1980 and the boys are putting down their Hoth play-sets and Rubik’s Cubes to go STIR CRAZY with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. And then Dave Itzkoff (NY Times, “Robin”) joins the boys for a deep dive into the Robin Williams/Robert Altman musical oddity POPEYE! “I’m strong to their finich ‘cus I eat my spinach, I...

F*** The Golden Globe nominations! It’s time for the Golden Sheila Nominations! That’s right folks; it’s time to go back and bone up on the last 20 episodes from 2022 and vote for your favorite moments! Favorite Episode  Favorite Childhood Story Best Shalit Review Best Celebrity Guest Phone Call Favorite Arthropod Squad Member And any other category you want to make up, because, let’s face it: wax...

“Well, double dumb-ass on you!” This week the boys are lacing up their roller skates, heading up the Coast and slingshotting around the Sun to revisit November 26, 1986 and STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME, THE MOSQUITO COAST, and SOLARBABIES.  Power up those Dilithium crystals, ‘cus it’s time to beam up Episode 86 of OPENING WEEKEND! 

“Drink your juice, Shelby.” Mermaids, Magnolias, and Murphy; that’s what November 19th, 1989 was offering up at the multiplex. This week the boys take a deep dive under the sea with Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID, hit the hair salon for STEEL MAGNOLIAS, and roll the dice with HARLEM NIGHTS. Grab your dinglehopper and get ready for Episode 85 of Opening Weekend!

“I like simple pleasures, like butter in my ass, a lollipop in my mouth, and the Opening Weekend podcast.”  This week the boys are going back to October 31, 1997 to give you a full 13 inches of hot podcast pleasure with Paul Thomas Anderson’s mega-cast porn-epic, BOOGIE NIGHTS, as well as counting down their favorite ensemble movies of all time.  Jack Horner presents, Dirk Diggler and Amber Waves...

Put That Podcast DOWN. Podcasts are for closers.  And this week the boys are closing on the big releases of October 2, 1992: the film adaptation of David Mamet’s GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, Disney’s ice-hockey feel-goodie THE MIGHTY DUCKS, and the Dustin Hoffman/Geena Davis satire, HERO.  First prize is an El Dorado Cadillac. Second prize is Episode 83 of Opening Weekend!

Opening Weekend will NOT be ignored, Dan! This week the boys head back to September 18th, 1987 to revisit the (rabbit-in-a) pot-boiler of an erotic thriller, FATAL ATTRACTION and the gross-out S&M horror of Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER. Take a CenoBITE out of Episode 82 of Opening Weekend! September 1987: It’s a Land of Confusion for Jason, Dan, and Fred as they navigate both the ups and downs of...

Little kids dancing with guns and elected officials attacking the entertainment industry. No, this isn’t a Texans For Trump rally, they’re just the plots of the two big openers of September 17, 1976: BUGSY MALONE and THE FRONT.  Fill up your splurge gun with fresh whipped cream and get ready to answer the big question: Are you or have you ever been a member of Episode 81 of Opening Weekend?! Septe...

Nobody puts Opening Weekend in the corner! This week the boys mambo back to August  22, 1987 and the release of the sleeper-hit summer classic, DIRTY DANCING.  Plus, find out their Top 5 favorite movie soundtracks of all time.  You’ll have the time of your life on Episode 80 of Opening Weekend! It’s the Summer of ’87! Fred is hangin’ in Hollywood (Florida, that is) with Red (Buttons? Skelton? Foxx...

Great Scott!  The boys are jumping into their mental DeLoreans and going Back In Time to the summer of ’85, the fall of ’89 and spring of ’90 for a Biff Tannen-sized deep dive into the  BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY.  It’s the 1.21 Gigawatt-fueled Episode 79 of OPENING WEEKEND! It’s the summer of 1985 and the boys are hitting the road with Doc Brown and Marty McFly to revisit one of the most popular...

Holy nipples, Batman! It’s June 20th, 1997 and the boys are breaking up MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING and putting BATMAN AND ROBIN on ice. Come on, Julia Robert’s, say a little prayer for Episode 78 of OPENING WEEKEND! June 1997: Julia Roberts is busting up weddings and Joel Schumacher is busting up movie franchises! As Fred is attempting to “suit the action to the word” while prepping to play Hamlet,...

“They’re heeeere.” Who’s here? “KAAAAAAHN!” It’s June 4th, 1982 and the boys are taking on the suburban spooker, POLTERGEIST, the Shatner shout-fest, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KAHN, and the Gene Wilder/Gilda Radner shit-show, HANKY PANKY. “Warp speed, Mr. Shalit, to Episode 77 of Opening Weekend!” Handfarts, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the USS Matisa.   Way back in June of ‘82, y...