Old Roommates

Pa rum pum pum ho hum? Truth be told, 1968's The Little Drummer Boy isn't the most popular of holiday tv specials. Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, sure, but "Aaron the drummer boy"? Not sure much. Similarly, 1974's Twas the Night Before Christmas also lacked fictional star power but had a built-in lyrical familiarity. Now, decades later, were we just too hard on these misunderstood Rankin Bass produc...

Near...far...wherever we are, we believed that we'd one day be re-watching the 1997 box office beast, Titanic. Yes, the James Cameron epic busted its budget and broke apart numerous Academy Award records. But now, 25 years later, does the film ride a wave of nostalgia or are our cynical hearts unable to go on and on? Is this Kate Winslet's finest (three) hour(s)? Was Leonardo DiCaprio robbed of an...

NSYNC's "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" and Carnie and Wendy Wilson's "Hey Santa" were two original tunes by two well-known musical acts. Each song was accompanied by a music video designed to dazzle audiences with the holiday spirit. Now, decades later, were these videos tree-topping stars or lumps of Christmas coal? And how did Gary Coleman get mixed up in this? Will the Old Roommates "Hold On...

Glenn Close got an Oscar nomination for 1983's "The Big Chill" playing Sarah, a woman grieving over the suicide of an old college chum. But Sarah is just one of the characters shaken by his death. Yes, the Lawrence Kasdan film was sort of a Breakfast Club of shared secrets and dashed dreams for the thirtysomething set. Now, nearly 40 years later, is this all just a lot of talk? Why is everybody do...

Glinda the Good Witch? Oh, really? Re-watching 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" through a middle-aged lens is quite an experience. How many times must a dog bite someone before notifying the authorities? Is giving your sister's murderer an hour to live too generous? The Tin Man has a heart, but what about a penis? The Old Roommates follow the yellow brick road to get the answers to these questions raised...

Goldie Hawn replaced Farrah Fawcett as Gloria Mundy, a divorced librarian caught up in murder mystery. And Hawn, Chevy Chase, and Dudley Moore provided a lot of laughs in between all the attempts on Gloria's life. Yes, 1978's Foul Play mixed multiple genres, killed at the box office, and scored several Golden Globe nominations. But, looking back over 40 years later, did the movie take on more than...

Was Biff the most underrated of 80's movie villains? Was George McFly kinda hot? And, why did Doc Brown risk his dog's life the first time he tested time travel? These are some of the questions we had upon re-watch of 1985's iconic Back to the Future. The $388M megahit DeLorean'ed Michael J. Fox's career, and became an instant classic. Now, over 35 years later, with our middle-aged thinking caps f...

How do ya like these 25-year old apples? Yes, back in 1997, Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting" yielded a bumper crop of praise, awards, and box office bucks. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck quickly became Hollywood's golden boys and Robin Williams got his Oscar. But now, decades later, when everyone's got their own trauma to unlock and a Boston-accent impression to share, is Good Will Hunting still goo...

"I'm Chucky. Wanna play?" The resounding answer in 1988 was "yes." Audiences couldn't get enough of the possessed Good Guy. The $9M movie scared up $44M at the box office and went on to have a nice long life on video, not to mention several sequels, comic books, a 2019 reboot, and a 2021 TV show. Looking back on the doll that started it all ... was Chucky really that much of a threat to begin with...

What do Attica and Christina have in common? Not much, but it's Christina's birthday episode. As is tradition, Christina is making Brian watch a movie he's never seen before. Her choice? Sidney Lumet's classic, Dog Day Afternoon. Decades ago, the 1975 bank-robbing caper snatched the hearts of audiences and critics alike. Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon got Oscar nominations for their portrayals as lo...

Dr. Kimberly Shaw returned from the dead (aka: her mom's house) and turned this Aaron Spelling soap upside down. Back in the mid-90's, "Melrose Place" was the hottest show on television. Now, decades later, has our love cooled down? Is Jake as deliciously cute? Is Syd as delightfully troublesome? Is Billy as ... dumb? The Old Roommates revisit the heyday (the end of Season 3, specifically) of the...

Kokomo...or no? Yes, 1988's Tom Cruise vehicle, Cocktail, was a divisive work of art. Featuring both a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and over $170M take at the box office, it seems cinema history is both shaken and stirred by this Roger Donaldson-directed movie. Now, decades later, has our buzz worn off enough to take a long hard look at the saga of Cruise's "Brian Flanagan"? Why were audiences dru...

Tatum O'Neal earned a hefty $1.9M for her supporting role as Amanda in the 1970's sports comedy, The Bad News Bears. The PG-rated romp gave us snot-nosed underdogs, politically incorrect dialogue, and one of the most satisfying bad endings in film history. Now, decades later, in a world where "everyone gets a ribbon," is bad sportsmanship any laughing matter? The Old Roommates take swings at all t...

It's a...nice day for a...revisit of music videos of Mr. Billy Idol. "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself" both featured post-apocalyptic settings, a sleeveless and snarling Billy, and infectious mixes of pop and punk. Now, 40 years later, are the vids still worth singing about? Is Billy just a pretty boy in punk clothing? And is this really punk at all? The Old Roommates slip on their barbed...

And tiiime goes byyyy so slowly ... but did it make our hearts grow fonder? Yes, 1990's Ghost tried to be many things within its 2-hour runtime: a love story, a comedy, a mystery, and a supernatural thriller. Judging by its box office of $500 million, it succeeded. But now, over thirty years later, did the film just have a sheet pulled over our eyes? Did an Oscar-winning performance from Whoopi Go...

Season Premiere! The jock. The princess. The podcast. Oh yes, the Old Roommates are back and taking an oh-so-shallow dive into the iconic 1985 John Hughes classic, The Breakfast Club. Along with special guest and super fan, Naomi B., they'll discuss if the film makes the grade through their middle-aged lenses. Would Molly Ringwald have made a better Allison? Would all of them have really gotten hi...

Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis? They've been revisiting for three full years? No one is more surprised than Brian and Christina. Join them as they take a look back, answer listener questions, and more. Then, stick around for the 2nd Annual "Roomie" Awards where they honor and dishonor the last twelve months of revisits. What will win the coveted "Most Nostalgic" prize? Who will walk away with "Unfun...

Would Steve Martin in any other nose smell as sweet? Back in 1987, Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac romanced audiences with its comedic take on an oft-told tale, with Daryl Hannah as the titular astronomist. Now, 35 years later, does the 80s take on an 1897 story feel ... a little dated? Can Rick Rossovich still impress when he's not hitting a Top Gun volleyball around? And how big...

Cute animals + death = a family classic? Yes, the 1973 Debbie Reynolds-led cast of Charlotte's Web had us smiling and singing as innocent barnyard animals contemplated their own mortality. Perhaps our senses were muddied while we witnessed this tale of piglet survival. So, fifty years later, we revisited the wonder and the worry (so much worry, Wilbur) of this Hanna-Barbera classic. Is Charlotte t...

Stacked stones. Stick people. Blue...stuff. The mysteries of 1999's The Blair Witch Project were plentiful. The film's budget was not. Yes, this little indie put "found-footage horror" on the map. And speaking of maps, why did Mike toss theirs in the water? Why was there a tongue in a bundle of sticks? And why does Heather scream for 82% of this movie? The Old Roommates walk in circles and rewatch...

Bernie Lomax is dead. But hey, why should that stop the hilarity? Yes, 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s was an odd comedy. Critics hated it. Audiences made it a hit on cable. Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy were certainly game for the grim plot, and even jumped back in for a sequel. Now though, over 30 years later, has comedic rigor mortis set in? Or were the laughs really dead on arrival even ba...

Scary. Sporty. Baby. Posh. Ginger. Adjectives. Singers. Icons. Yes, in the mid-1990s, the Spice Girls were everywhere and everything to millions around the world with their playful anarchy, inspiring individuality, and pop-dream songs. But now, decades later, do their music videos feel more like...old Spice? For our special Pride episode, we revisit 2 of the music videos of this quirky quintet. Th...

The love story that spawned an oh-so-talky trilogy, Before Sunrise was a critical darling when it debuted back in 1995. Richard Linklater's Viennese waltz between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy had audiences longing for more once it landed on VHS. Now, decades later, are the ramblings of twentysomethings a little too rambly? What are the chances of meeting an actor, a palm reader, a dancer and a poet...

Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason really put the pedal to the metal in 1977's blockbuster, Smokey and the Bandit. The little $4M movie made an engine-revving $300M at the box office, launched a sequel, and kicked off a 5-year love affair between Reynolds and co-star Sally Field. Now, 45 years later, are we as eager to be along for the ride? Is Sheriff Buford T. Justice too rude to laugh at through...

No, really, who (else) you gonna call at this point? The epic original that launched a franchise, Ghostbusters, is 38 years old today. The Ivan Reitman film starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson as the titular quartet trying to save NYC. Endless reboots, sequels and cartoon series later, how does the source material hold up? Are the circa-1984 SFX spooky or unintentionall...