American Scene

Happy Valentine's Day! Actor and producer Hayley Palmaer returns to the show to discuss the Oscar-nominated 1967 comedy " Divorce, American Style ," written by Norman Lear and starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. What is an American-style divorce? We'll get into the movie's portrayal versus reality and what's changed (and what's stayed the same) socially and le...

Schedule the installation of that in-ground pool because your Christmas bonus has finally arrived! Friend of the pod and feature film producer Lorenzo Nardini has worked on over 20 Christmas movies, and he joins us to talk about his work at MPCA , the "NCU" (Netflix Christmas Universe), what he has coming up in 2024, and his own thoughts on All American Christmas Carol . References: The...

At long last! Run, don't walk to see American Fiction in theaters now! This is a spoiler-free episode gushing about how much I loved Cord Jefferson's new movie. But first, a recap of a handful of other movies I loved and that I thought were a lot of in 2023 and what I'm looking forward to doing on this show in 2024. References: THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES - Official Trailer...

Ho ho holy moly, is it Christmas already? On this episode, Ben talks about why there hasn't been a certified classic holiday movie since "Elf" and "Love Actually" came out TWENTY YEARS AGO, and then he provides a recap of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" before diving into two (of four!) American Christmas stories. " American Christmas " and &quo...

Box office juggernaut Oppenheimer is expected to dominate awards season this year, but while the US government had the Manhattan Project team hard at work at Los Alamos, it was also incarcerating over 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps from eastern California to Arkansas. Desmond Nakano's American Pastime takes place at the Topaz camp and centers on a family and community coming together to f...

Happy Halloween, horror fans! Spooky season is upon us, and it's the perfect time to talk about 1988's American Gothic with local Pacific Northwest filmmaker and Executive Director for endHaven Productions, Jason Wilkinson! Jason has written and directed several award winning horror films like Killing Time, She Picked Me, and the short film Tabitha, which is part of the feature film Sinpho...

Wow! Three more movies that came out since 2020, and they're all about crime. Ben discusses how one bad decision can snowball into all sorts of obstacles to attaining the American Dream , how powerful forces corrupt the purity of art in American Night , and how toxic masculinity results in loneliness and isolation in American Badger . References: Leslie Jones Has a Message for Men: "Go to...

Ben is back with three more movies that have been released since 2020! First he chats about American Sicario's apparent rebuke of American male privilege and ego. Then he finds an extended metaphor for attitudes and challenges faced by those seeking shelter in the US in American Refugee. And finally, he feels the urgency to reach out and understand each other in American Insurrection. Referenc...

It's an American Reunion! No, not that one, the one where Ben reunites with the podcast he and Allen started three years ago. While Allen is busy being a new dad, Ben is dipping his toe back into red, white, and blue waters. On this episode, he discusses the first three of nine movies with American in the title released since 2020, examining the convoluted machinations of government programs i...

It's almost Halloween, and we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of John Landis's "An American Werewolf in London" for its seamless blend of comedy and horror, Rick Baker's Oscar-winning makeup, and strong, grounded performances from the whole cast. We discuss dealing with mental illness and processing trauma, and we touch on generational differences and the urban-rural divide. And stick around f...

It's our first minisode for Phase 2 of the pod! We discuss the first episode of "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" and share a couple camp stories from our youth. Then we name some of our favorite stageplay-to-film adaptations and recast the roles of Don and Teach from "American Buffalo" with actors from other "American" movies we covered so far. And finally we rank our top five tracks fro...

Buckle up for a trip down memory lane in the Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed 1973 film American Graffiti directed by George Lucas. We discuss coming of age in a peaceful moment just before the world is turned upside down, the myths we hold onto (and those we must confront), and our cultural obsession with nostalgia as comfort food. And as always, the most American moments from the film! R...

Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman and Emmy winner Dennis Franz star in American Buffalo, the 1996 adaptation of the 1975 David Mamet play set in a seedy second-hand junk shop about a couple streetwise losers who plot the robbery of a valuable coin. Very much a contemporary inner city riff on Waiting for Godot, we discuss the toxic traits of the central characters that keep them stuck in a cycle of failu...

Return with us to Camp Firewood for the 20th anniversary of the cult classic directed by David Wain and starring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Marguerite Moreau, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Ian Black, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper. We discuss the history of summer camps in America, the universality of summer camp experi...

American Gigolo takes place in late 1970's Los Angeles almost exclusively in upscale locales and centers on a white heterosexual cisgender male escort played by Richard Gere. Journey Out's Director of Communications Mary David joins us to address what it is really like in Los Angeles for victims and survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. She discusses how individu...

Before we dive into a new crop of American movies, we remind you of the 19 films we've covered so far and hand out awards for Best Supporting Actor & Actress, Best Lead Actor & Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture. We shout out a plethora of honorable mentions and engage in lighthearted debate as we discuss our choices for the winners. These are the American Scene Awards: Phase 1.

Sometimes there's so much Beauty in the podcast... we feel like we can't fit it all in one episode. So we recorded a special minisode just for American Beauty! We add to our previous conversation on the theme of maintaining appearances, discuss some interesting alternate casting ideas, and redo the 1999 Best Supporting Actor & Actress categories. We also touch on the script's origi...

While we're on a break for the summer, enjoy this minisode where we discuss the varied career of American Outlaws star Colin Farrell and why did Kathy Bates end up in that movie. We touch on the relevant timing of our American Violet episode and take a look at the still blossoming career of star Nicole Beharie. Finally, Allen goes gaga for Goggins, and, as promised, Ben analyzes the deeper the...

It's our last full episode before a summer hiatus, and it's time for the big kahuna of American movies. American Beauty made over $350 million worldwide and won FIVE Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director for Sam Mendes, and Best Original Screenplay for Alan Ball. We discuss the suburban soap as a unique sub-genre, how appearances and sex are central to each character's story, an...

Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart re-teamed six years after Adventureland for this well-acted and mostly entertaining stoner action movie also starring Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, and Bill Pullman. We discuss the stoner movie sub-genre, obedience versus free will, and American ultra-violence. And as always, we pick out the film's American moments. (recorded May 13, 2021)

Looking back at American Heart, American Dreamz, and The Last Days of American Crime, we discuss the great Jeff Bridges, some of our favorite scumbag performances, whether Dennis Quaid (or anyone in Dreamz) would do this movie in 2021, and some other absolutely nonsensical elements of Last Days. Also: shout-out to " Fired Up! ", one of the best comedies of the 2000's! (recorded April...

2008's American Violet centers on a young mother (Nicole Beharie) fighting for justice in a small Texas town after she is falsely accused and arrested for selling drugs. In this special episode, we discuss the relevance and effectiveness of the story, and then Ben speaks with The Marshall Project's Keri Blakinger about several issues addressed in the film, including police raids, the use o...

Colin Farrell is Jesse James and Scott Caan is Cole Younger in this 2001 western that pits the James-Younger gang against the greedy railroad tycoon Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin) as he attempts to steal their town's land with the help of the dogged Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton). We discuss classic Western genre tropes and the conflict of the little guy battling corporate America. PLUS, ment...

Olivier Megaton directed this 2020 Netflix film based on the 2009 graphic novel of the same name by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini that stands out with an incredible 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.5 hour runtime. Édgar Ramírez, Anna Brewster, Michael Pitt, and Sharlto Copley star in a film about an American dystopia in which a nationwide signal will inhibit all citizens from committing illegal act...

" Call Me " from American Gigolo inspired us to riff on our favorite original songs, which you can check out in a special American Scene playlist on Spotify. We also discuss some interesting casting in the new American Gigolo series coming to Showtime. We share some personal tales from the mall (one involves singing!) and name some of our favorite mall movie scenes. Finally, Ben goes on...