Old Roommates

Part road trip. Part family drama. Part autistic character study. Yes, 80's Best Picture Oscar winner, Rain Man, was all of these things and more. That rare combination of crowd pleaser and critical darling, the Dustin Hoffman - Tom Cruise flick charmed all. Decades later though, with a deeper collective understanding of autism, is this a road trip worth taking twice? Is Cruise's "Charlie" now too...

Bygones, Billy, and a dancing baby were among the mainstays in the world of Ally McBeal. In 1997, the David E. Kelley show was an instant hit. It was also instantly divisive. Was Ally an offbeat stuttering smarty looking for true love...or an offensive anti-feminist whiner in a minskirt? Or was she a little of both? Clearly, Calista Flockhart and company need a rewatch. The Old Roommates are searc...

Chuck. Blockhead. Charles. Will the real Charlie Brown please stand up...for himself? Charlie's lack of backbone created the central drama in the 1973 Emmy winner, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Brian and Christina both viewed it as a tradition growing up, but what about now that they're grown up? Where's Lucy? What's Peppermint Patty's deal? And why is cartoon toast so mesmerizing? The Old Roommat...

Mary Tyler Moore gave us all a jolt back in 1980 with her performance as a cold, distant mom in Robert Redford's Oscar-winning film Ordinary People. She went from turning the world on with her smile, to cramming French toast down the drain. Over forty years of mental health awareness later, should we all be Beth Jared apologists? Does the movie still pack a wallop or is it just rich white-people p...

"My little buttercup has the sweetest smiiiiiiiiiile." Neither critics nor audiences were smiling at the 1986 comedy-western, Three Amigos. Featuring a top-notch trio of comedic talent - Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short - the movie should've been a laugh-a-minute masterpiece, and wasn't. But, 35 years later, is Mark Twain right, that "humor is tragedy plus time" or is a dud still a dud? Cha...

Trucks, barns, and a cow were all victims of one of the many tornadoes in the blockbuster, Twister. The 1996 Jan de Bont film was a rip-roaring crowd pleaser 25 years ago, but what about now? Do the special effects still hold up? Does Helen Hunt weigh more than an 18-wheeler? Does Bill Paxton weigh more than barn? And why is Dr. Melissa Reeves slumming it with Billy? The answers may be blowin' in...

Gregory Peck came out of semi-retirement to take the role of Robert Thorne, a man who may (or may not) have made a deal with the devil. The Omen scared the bejeezus out of the box office back in 1976, becoming the sixth highest grossing film of that year. But now that the "child from hell" schtick is far more common, will The Omen still scare? How much of Satan's dirty work did Damien actually do?...

Christina's Birthday Spectacular! Christina has chosen "French Kiss" as the movie she forced Brian to see for her birthday. (Ain't friendship great?) The 1995 intercontinental romcom stars Meg Ryan as Kate, a woman scorned and promptly seated next to the very French Luc (Kevin Kline). Will Kate win her ex-fiance back? Will Luc fulfill his life-long vineyard dreams? Will Christina still be madly in...

"You Give Love a Bad Name" and "I'll Be There for You" were two big 80's hits for Bon Jovi. The mid-80's hair band blended rock, pop, and catchy choruses into iconic sing-along anthems. Each song was matched by music videos designed to make us feel like we were there. Decades later, do we still wish we were? Do the band's decidedly storyless videos feel timeless? And what kind of skin cream were J...

Well, okay, then. Nicolas Cage was just a 22-year actor when he gave audiences H.I. (“Hi”) McDunnough, a convenience-store robber with a heart of gold in the 1987’s caper, “Raising Arizona”. The Coen Brothers comedy was made for just $5M, but became a big hit, a cult classic, and helped place Holly Hunter (her 4th film) onto the A-List of actresses. Now decades later, is any of this a laughing mat...

Two minutes. That’s all the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks get to share in the 1993 movie, “Sleepless in Seattle.” Yes, the Nora Ephron film put its audiences through some very non-rom-com experiments, including a rather morbid beginning (“Mommy got sick...”), a sorta-selfish leading lady, and a soundtrack filled with old-people music. And yet, it worked. The box office blockbuster remains in the hearts o...

Staying gold is hard enough for the average person, but for the crime-entwined characters of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 “The Outsiders,” it seems near impossible. Featuring a cast of young hotties, the movie was a springboard into total movie stardom for many. Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Tom Cruise are just some of the notable “Greasers” featured in this beloved, based-on-a-book drama. Now,...

Damn, damn, damn. The shocking death of James Evans’ on Good Times gave an entire generation pop-culture PTSD. A strong, beloved character is suddenly never seen again – and his demise is communicated in a telegram. From post-funeral dance parties to broken punch bowls, the sitcom’s handling of the John Amos character’s death was a whirlwind of emotion back in the 1970’s. Decades later, have we al...

"The blonde leading the blonde," hailed the movie poster for 1997's "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." The ditz-driven comedy features the enduring friendship of its titular characters. And, though the R-rating may've kept some away, the buddy comedy's life on VHS/DVD gained it a ton of new fans, birthed a top-selling soundtrack, and inspired many Halloween costumes. Decades later, is the r...

Arnold Schwarzenegger bared all, killed all, and uttered an iconic line ("I'll be back.") in the original "The Terminator." Yes, James Cameron's 1984 thriller was a little $6M movie with one huge star in the making. But, 37 years later, does the movie still shine as bright? Now that Ahhhnold's an icon, does he still scare? Now that CGI is the norm, do the SFX still thrill? And, is Linda Hamilton's...

Tess McGill was a trailblazer, a go-getter and a ... baby-voiced fraud? Audiences and critics swooned over 1987’s Working Girl. Featuring a top-notch cast and a smart script, the movie had a head for business, a plot of sins, and a heart of gold. Decades later, is the big business rom- com a bit too breezy? Is Jack Trainer a nice guy, or just a two-timing flirt with a small bed? And, is $6,000 too...

That cast! Malkovich. Close. Pfeiffer. And, um, Keanu? Yes, the 1988 film had quite the troupe of actors and a seriously snarky script. Based on a book written in 1782, the movie Dangerous Liaisons featured bored, horny characters hellbent on revenge, sex games, and ruining reputations – which worked nicely in the me-first 1980s. Now, decades later, are we bored? Is the sex sexy? And how long shou...

“Do I hear singing in here?” Moviegoers definitely got their share of songs in the 1982 movie musical, “Annie”... but critics didn’t sing its praises. But now, 40 years later, was the film as misunderstood as Miss Hannigan? The movie boasted a world-class director (John Huston), a dazzling cast (Carol Burnett, Albert Finney), and a beloved lead character with a built-in fan base. Upon rewatch, doe...

Plus: Our first-ever “Roomie Awards,” where we honor the last year of revisits in a variety of categories. Who’ll win Worst Movie Driver? Best Accent? Most Nostalgic Revisit? Tune in to find out. But first, we dig into our email bag and answer listeners’ questions and reflect on the last year of Old Roommates. What did we learn? What made us laugh? What stressed us out? Join Brian and Christina as...

“I see dead people.” The quote that put M. Night Shyamalan on the movie map. “The Sixth Sense” became a box off smash, a critics’ darling, and a multi-Oscar nominee (including nods for Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette) in 1999. It got everyone ‘not’ talking about it in fear of spoiling the film’s surprises. But, now that all the cats are out of the blockbuster’s bag, does the film still spook?...

Would she go down on him in a theater? Is irony like rain on your wedding day? Does she speak eloquently? Yes, Alanis Morissette asked a lot of hard-hitting questions back in the mid-1990s. Decades later, we still don’t seem to have clear cut answers. What is ironic? Why obscure a new pop star’s face in her big debut? And what’s with that blue shirt in the suitcase? Get ready to take a couple of s...

Tony and Tia: Precocious alien youngsters or cold-blooded juvenile witches? Back in 1975, kids and critics were charmed (and probably a bit scared) by Walt Disney’s sci-fi adventure, “Escape to Witch Mountain.” The fantasy film features children in jeopardy, devious bald men and one orphanage-based bully who doesn’t know when to quit. Now, over 45 years later, does the franchise-starting original...

What do Demi Moore and Bobcat Goldthwait have in common? If you guessed the 1986 comedy “One Crazy Summer” ...then we should’ve made that question more challenging. But then again, the John Cusack film raises so many questions. Is throwing a bunch of money into the air the only way to escape a biker gang? Is this movie just a low-stakes version of “Better Off Dead”? And, how many lobsters were hur...

Towanda! People everywhere lined up for tickets to the 1991 film, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” A tale of friendship, memory and inner strength, “Tomatoes” delivered tears and laughter, and brought in over $100 million at the box office. The film was also one of the few to ever focus on a potentially lesbian love story. Or was it just ... friendship? Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary Louise Parker had the...

PG? “Jaws” is PG. How was “Jaws” PG? The little $9M Steven Spielberg behemoth featured side boob, severed legs, and a disemboweled sea captain. But decades later, would its maritime massacres only justify a PG-13 rating? Could the fake shark stay afloat against today’s CGI terror? And, what is Robert Shaw even doing in this thing? The Old Roommates pop open some Narragansetts and dive in for a rew...