the Mildly Frumpy Protagonist

Can you imagine living in a world where millions of people are glued to their screens 24/7, watching the life of an ordinary person unfold while being bombarded with advertisements that are disguised as part of the entertainment? Of course you can! It’s 2024, and we’re already there. But back in 1998, the premise of THE TRUMAN SHOW was still a pretty radical idea, giving moviegoers a glimpse of th...

Following the breakout success of the Backstreet Boys in the mid-to-late 90s, a wave of warbling wannabes took to the airwaves, all vying for coveted poster space on the walls of teenagers across the globe. For many 90s kids, the latter half of the decade is best remembered as a hunky blur of chiseled abs, soulful harmonies, and frosted tips. But only one band had what it took to be a true rival t...

Are they original? Not a bit. Are they the only one? Certainly not. Are they sexual? Well, that’s up for debate! The When We Were Young podcast dives into all these questions and more as we discuss the Backstreet Boys, pioneers in the bubblegum pop craze that was larger than life in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Boy bands were all the rage around the turn of the millennium, starting with t...

New Year, new you? Who better to turn to for inspiration than a good-looking, well-educated, wealthy New York City investment banker with a razor sharp wit and killer taste in music?  Patrick Bateman has a flawless skin care routine, does one thousand crunches per day, stays up to date on the latest in fashion and food, can share insightful music criticism at the drop of a hat, and always ret...

Bright lights, joyful music, expensive baubles, and white powder everywhere! Could it be Christmastime again? Or is it perhaps a sweltering, sweaty drug war in Miami, circa 1983? Actually, it’s both, as When We Were Young celebrates the holidays the only way we know how – with narcotics, chainsaws, and expletives galore, all courtesy of Brian De Palma’s ultraviolent crime classic SCARFACE. A...

Death comes to us all – unless you’re Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. These two actresses have found the secret to living forever: being immortalized in one of the most beloved horror comedies of cult cinema, DEATH BECOMES HER (1992). Robert Zemeckis broke new ground with the movie’s mind-bending Oscar-winning (and neck-twisting) special effects, and the film was a hit at the box o...

Put on your yarmulke, it’s time to celebrate ADAM SANDLER! In the third and final installment of our series Saturday Night Leavers – Celluloid Man-Children Of 90s Cinema , we revisit Adam Sandler’s most memorable Saturday Night Live sketches, from Canteen Boy to Opera Man. Then we dive into his big-screen adventures in BILLY MADISON, HAPPY GILMORE, and THE WEDDING SINGER, where Sandler plays...

Saturday Night Live is not just a TV comedy institution but also an incubator for some of the brightest comedy stars of the silver screen. In our three-part miniseries Saturday Night Leavers – Celluloid Man-Children Of 90s Cinema , we are surveying the careers of three men who left the show in 1995, and who took their SNL fame to new heights by becoming movie stars. In Part Two of the minise...

Here’s a bonus mini-sode where we discuss Mike Myers’ SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER (1993) as well as our own childhood pop cultural touchstones. Join us for the rest of Mike Myers’ epic journey from schwing! to swinger in Part One (Episode 124) of our Saturday Night Leavers – Celluloid Man-Children Of 90s Cinema mini-series! Follow When We Were Young on  Twitter  and&#1...

Many of the big screen’s most successful comedians got their start on the small screen, and no TV series has launched more comedy all-stars than Saturday Night Live. In 1995, the long-running weekend staple experienced a major shakeup with the exit of many of its most popular cast members, including Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and Mike Myers – all of whom followed up their successful stints...

We hope you like the color pink, because that’s all you’re getting in this episode! In the second part of our Toys of Summer series, we look back at the most popular toys from our youth that were targeted at little girls – the gentle equines of MY LITTLE PONY, the disturbing, dead-eyed CABBAGE PATCH KIDS, the complicated backstory of JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS, and of course the ubiqu...

In this “Boys’ Toys” episode of our two-part TOYS OF SUMMER podcast, we revisit icons ranging from Zack the Lego Maniac to Sergeant Slaughter in remembrance of the toys we played with in the 80s and 90s that were marketed primarily to boys. As it turns out, some of our favorite cartoons from childhood were more than meets the eye – they were advertisements in disguise, crea...

After thoroughly raiding the lost ark in their previous outing, Chris, Becky, and Seth found themselves on shockingly shaky ground with Indiana Jones superfans. Can the three opinionated podcasters escape the wrath of Indy’s admirers this time around? When We Were Young excavates the further adventures of cinema’s favorite tomb-raiding hunk, digging into Steven Spielberg’s wildly different sequels...

Why did it have to be podcasters? After seven years of fan requests, When We Were Young is finally getting around to the beloved Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. franchise – better known to moviegoers by his canine-inspired nickname, Indiana Jones. With Harrison Ford stepping back into the role after a long hiatus for this summer’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, it’s the perfect time to l...

In a special interview episode, When We Were Young talks to author & speaker Chris Clews about the life lessons ‘80s movies can teach us - drawing important insight from movies as wide-ranging as THE KARATE KID, COCKTAIL, THE OUTSIDERS, and ROAD HOUSE.

We revisit 1984's THE KARATE KID, discussing how this movie kicked off a franchise and set the formula for nearly every mentor-protege story that would follow.

Chris, Becky, and Seth conclude our Muppetacular with a holiday episode discussing youthful memories of MUPPET BABIES, and revisiting THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL on its 30th anniversary.

In our most Muppetational episode yet, we look back at Jim Henson's worldwide phenomenon THE MUPPET SHOW (1976) and Kermit & company’s big screen debut in 1979’s THE MUPPET MOVIE. Do we still feel a rainbow connection to these early Muppets outings?

In Part 2 of When We Were Young's Hanksgiving episodes we revisit 1994's FORREST GUMP, the blockbuster dramedy from Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks that won as many Oscars as it had catchphrases.

Happy Hanksgiving everyone! Tom Hanks is one of Hollywood's most endearing and reliable stars, and in part 1 of 2 episodes honoring him we'll see if the actor's breakthrough performance in the hit 1988 comedy BIG still captures our heart and soul.

Becky, Chris and Seth wanted to pull out the big scares this Halloween season, and what’s scarier than being adored? Join us as we take a look back at MISERY (1990), director Rob Reiner’s first (and only) foray into horror. This film gave us Kathy Bates — and gave Kathy Bates an Oscar — and introduced the term “hobbling” to millions of horrified moviegoers. In this episode,...

In this dazzling, toothsome, scaly finale to When We Were Young’s ‘90s Creature Feature extravaganza, Chris and Seth revisit 3 more hit movies from the monstrous tail end of the genre’s heyday: 1997's ANACONDA, and 1999's LAKE PLACID and DEEP BLUE SEA.

Pour yourself a green drop drink and pack up that sesame cake, because we’re hunting down and rounding up the very finest big screen animal attacks of the 90s! Part 1 of our Creature Sexa-Feature revisits TREMORS, ARACHNOPHOBIA, and CONGO.

We see if Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final two Ivan Reitman collaborations KINDERGARTEN COP and JUNIOR still deliver in the final term of "Schwarzepreggers!" Do these comedies fill our bellies with laughter? Grab some forceps and let's find out!

In the late 80s & early 90s, action star Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed with Ivan Reitman for three family-friendly comedies about birth and child-rearing. Part One in our “Schwarzepreggers” lineup looks back at 1988’s TWINS. Are we still laughing for two?