Shat the Movies: 80's & 90's Best Film Review

Do you love adventure films? Sexy guys and gals on camelback your thing? Do you pine for the golden age of Brendan Fraser's film career? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, listener Ryan G commissioned just the movie for you- 1999's "The Mummy." In this episode, Big D walks us through how to avoid death by quicksand. Gene swoons over Anck-Su-Namun's golden painted body. And Ashley pine...

Sequels can be hit or miss but return commissioner Adam decided to take the chance on the 1989 sequel to a classic Chevy Chase film, "Fletch Lives." A critical failure but box office success, "Fletch Lives" revives the role of the costume-wearing reporter as he goes to Louisiana to claim a surprise inheritance. The movie harkens back to a time of journalism past where reporters made actual money,...

In 1999, the world stood on the brink of massive change: a new millennium, a new reality, the future of our dreams sitting right on our doorstep. Big D had just joined the Army. Roger readied himself for deployment to sleep away camp, and Mister C was just a boy. On the horizon, launching movies into a new era, was "The Phantom Menace." Star Wars' first film after 16 years frozen in carbonite was...

We all know the "Adventures in Babysitting" cover art, but do you really know what this 1987 comedy is all about? It's Elizabeth Shue at her feel-good-movie best. It's also the major motion picture version of an afterschool special about the dangers of the city. It might even be an attempt to lampoon the fears of '80s suburbanites. Putting Christopher Columbus' box office debut under the Shat micr...

These dark times call for dark movies, and '80s comedies didn't get any darker than "Heathers." The Winona Ryder and Christian Slater box office flop found a way to laugh at teenage suicide, bulimia, date rape, homosexuality, religion, hypocrisy, cynicism, sex, and murder in a way that made Big D blush. Gene Lyons and Ash Duke join Shat The Movies to relive their high school years, forced emotiona...

Can a movie based on commercial relationships be so bad, it's excellent? That was the question posed by Jim B & family when he commissioned the 1988 rip-off of ET, #MacAndMe. Big D uses a sick day, so Rog invites his cohosts of @TheFloridaMen, Benny & Mister C to review the film that Paul Rudd turned into a cult classic through his numerous appearances on the Conan O'Brien Show. Benny admires the...

Could the best adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" be the version that explores the lifestyles of over-privileged rich teenagers living in Beverly Hills during the mid-90s? That was the question raised by listener Sarah L when she commissioned the 1995 hit comedy, #Clueless. Ash joins Rog & Big D to break down the film that defined fashion trends throughout the decade. Ash fawns over Amy Heckerling...

If we sealed 90's pop culture in a time capsule and opened it up 30 years later, the result would be a VHS tape of the 1992 film, #WaynesWorld. As a birthday present to himself, listener Steve W commissioned the that inspired numerous comedies throughout the decade. Classic features like "It's Pat" and "Stuart Saves His Family"…..NOT! Rog & Big D record from their Mom's basement studio while reacq...

Teenage coming-of-age films saturated the 80's box office, but only one combined an oversexed virgin, wrestling singlets, and Madonna: #VisionQuest. Long time Shat the Movies listener Nelson commissioned the 1985 film that some have described as "Rocky w/ Nosebleeds." AEW Wrestling Superstar, QT Marshall (aka Mike Cuellari), accompanies Rog & Big D to breakdown Louden's journey. QT explains the in...

We all agree that these are pretty turbulent times. Appropriately, it was with great anticipation that we circled our calendar for the 1994 Oscar-winning juggernaut, #ForrestGump. Commissioned by listener Joshua R, the film that solidified Tom Hanks as an American Icon was a welcomed respite from the cynical nature of today's movies. Kevin Bracket of Reel Spoilers joins Rog & Big D on a nostalgia...

When it comes to cult musicals, we typically think of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, & This Is Spinal Tap. However, a little film about the T-Birds, Pink Ladies, and overt references to sexual intercourse has quietly become a new generational cult movie. No...not that Grease, we're talking about Grease 2! Listener Mike from Norfolk is part of that new Rydell High School crew th...

When you want a hitman, you hire the best. When you want a review of your favorite 90's film, you hire Shat the Movies(?). That's the conclusion Mike from Quincy reached when he commissioned the 1994 English-language French action thriller, #TheProfessional. Shat on TV's Rookie of the Year, Ashley Schlafly joins Roger & Big D in Little Italy to follow a reserved Jean Reno, a sadistic Gary Oldman,...

Listener Scott O was disappointed to see #RepoMan (1984) excluded from the Pantheon of Shat. As a result, he mailed in an envelope of money initially earmarked for his son's graduation to hear the Shat Crew review the coming-of-age film for suburban white punks. Rog and Big D steal a 1964 Chevy Malibu and cruise the streets of Los Angeles, searching for hidden messages of a movie that's best known...

With previous reviews of The Big Lebowski and Dumb & Dumber, STM listener Jake V felt the timing was right to commission the 1996 Farrelly Brothers' gutterball, Kingpin. Rog and Big D embark on a road trip through a memory montage that transports the duo to a simpler time when the local bowling lanes were as greasy as the snack bar pizza. Big D reminisces on his time spent in junior bowling league...

What would be worse? Getting attacked by a 16-foot crocodile...or enduring a cross country road trip while listening to the entire back catalog of Shat The Movies? This question was raised by a Canadian couple, Andrew & Sarah C., as part of their commission review of the 1986 hit, Crocodile Dundee. Roger, Big D, & Ashley embark upon an adventure into the rugged outback of the Northern Territory to...

We're heading down to Arkansas for some french fried potaters and off-color street jokes as the Original Shat Trio review Billy Bob Thornton's magnus opus, Sling Blade. The 1996 Academy Award Winner is the 3rd commission from long-time listener, Greg R. Gene reminisces about small-town living, Big D questions the pacing early on, and Rog petitions Hollywood to send him the stylist responsible for...

Can you fly, sucka? It's time to load up our 1980's era Japanese pick-up truck with vault poles and fishing dynamite as we head to the desert town of Perfection, Nevada for the scariest game of "hot lava" with giant landshar—um—graboids. As a birthday present to himself, listener Mac E commissioned the 1990 cult horror-comedy film, Tremors, that spawned SIX(!) direct-to-video sequels as well as a...

Get ready because the Shat crew is going international for the first time. Listener Lisa sent in a very persuasive email that convinced us to take on the 1995 French science fantasy film, The City of Lost Children, our inaugural foreign language review. In this episode, Ashley defends the decision to let her children watch this movie, even if it makes them weird. Gene pines for an alternate life i...

Before James Cameron set sail for Hollywood history with Titanic, he almost sank Kathryn Bigelow's directing career with the giant iceberg of a box office failure, Strange Days. Listener, Mike S, commissioned the Shat crew to finally answer the question: "How could a movie that accurately predicted America's collapse into social inequality, police brutality, and obsession with living other people'...

When we recorded this episode, the Coronavirus pandemic had just begun. Four weeks later, listener Jeremy's commission gives us the timely 1981 post-apocalyptic Mad Max: Road Warrior. In this episode, Gene points out the worst choice of vehicle in a gas shortage. Big D talks driving on the wrong side of the road, and Roger talks Mad Max tinfoil. Additionally, we discover the science of boomerangs...

You'd be hard-pressed to find a movie critic or cinema-goer that doesn't love or at least respect Saving Private Ryan. From its iconic opening depiction of D-Day, this is unlike any war movie we've covered. Listener JE Urseth commissioned this 1998 WWII classic to honor all servicemen and women and as a special tribute to his grandfather who served in the Pacific. From the start, Big D and Gene ta...

Out of all the board games we played as kids, who would have thought Clue would be the one to produce a movie with a two-hour run time. But this ensemble comedy stands as an example of a film where a group of comedians find a way to share the spotlight equally. This 80's classic is so beloved that not one, but two listeners donated their hard-earned dollars to hear us take on the 1985 flick, John...

We all love Dick Ebert, but giving him what he wants isn't always the best idea. Big D is a man of strange appetites who suffered through a childhood that left him wishing he could travel time to make friends. And his obsession with "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" was bound to end in disaster. Listener Shawn Green generously commissioned this review of the 1982 sci-fi cult classic as a gi...

 A lot of love went into this "Shat The Movies" episode. And a lot of love was lost. Listener Danny Jr.'s wife lovingly commissioned "Spies Like Us" as a ninth anniversary gift. And Danny Jr. lovingly dedicated it to his late father, a double-VCR-owning pioneer. And we love the love they share. But love can be a fickle thing, especially when it comes to Chevy Chase. Roger adored him in "Christmas...

That screaming eagle of freedom you just heard is Big D's patriotism soaring through the wild blue yonder alongside the biggest, baddest, ass-kickingest presidential conveyance of all time: "Air Force One." Listener Jim Hamilton got drunk and commissioned this 1997 Harrison Ford cheesefest that pits love of nation against love of family. It's a movie that freedom flexes in the face of reality and...