Star Vehicle

"While You Were Sleeping" is a fun holiday (Christmas) movie that exists in a universe where sleep is the preferred medical term for coma.  Sandra Bullock stars as Chicago's top token taker who rescues Peter Gallagher after he plummeted 3ft, max, and settled into a long Christmas sleep.  Important to note that if this film was recut with different music, it would be a psychological thriller.  Even...

"Nights in Rodanthe" and/or "On the Front Lines" is a movie where Diane Lane has to put her life on the line to look after Viola Davis' beachfront inn during a hurricane.  Richard Gere is also there auditioning for "Beauty and the Beast" while Diane runs around closing shutter after shutter.  The only thing missing was Tabatha Coffey to take the keys and take over.  Think of this as "Under the Tus...

"Hope Floats" is a movie about radical honesty and taxidermy.  Sandra Bullock stars as a down on her luck beauty queen who just needs a long weekend at the spa.  Instead, the ambiguous Texas town of her ancestors refuses to take their collective foot off her neck and let her relax for one minute.  Sandra Bullock and Gena Rowlands both deserve Academy Awards.  In current events, Shanelle reminds ev...

It's back-to-school season, which means it's time for season 3! In our season 3 premiere, we have a new subject - star (television) Jennifer Aniston. It's Paris in the 1920s and you just watched "Picture Perfect", light a chic cig and listen to us dive into a movie with a real point of view. What exactly are gateway flowers? Should women have husbands? Would you stay at a job for $150 more a week?...

“Hot Pursuit”, or “In Pursuit of Being Hot”, is a movie where Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara spend the better part of 24 hours together in a car. The movie is only 80ish minutes and yet.. feels like a lifetime. Luckily in those sweet 80 minutes, Reese is able to learn how to be hot and Sofia learns how easy it is to be charged with obstruction of justice.  Cheers to two actresses on the road!

Up-and-coming Mother's Day classic "The Mother" employs JLo as a marine (and/or FBI agent) who has never met a fur-lined hood she didn't like.  Luckily for all mothers across the world, "The Mother" is more violent than "Saw" and experiences colder temps than "Winter's Bone".  Oscar nomination for Jennifer Lopez is imminent.

"Under The Tuscan Sun" is the greatest movie of all time.  Not up for debate.  Diane Lane stuns in this timeless movie and deserves a retroactive Oscar.  This movie is for any fan of House Hunters International, TLC programming, haunted houses, sensible linen clothing, and purple grapes.  We also discuss improvements McDonalds has made with their mobile app.  Ciao!

"View From The Top" is the title of a movie where Gwyneth Paltrow plays a flight attendant (stewardess) AND the title of the eventual tv movie about her ski trial.  As an original goop-head and Gwyneth Paltrow FAN, Stephen has been dying to talk about his favorite movie star.  And just as we prefer our interactions with flight attendants to go, this movie has NO conflict. Although its a Gwyneth ve...

Join us in the pool as we discuss this DIY wedding film, which also has guns.  And grenades. While Jennifer Coolidge keeps the drama in the pool to a shout, JLo lights up an ambiguous island with her charm and explosive devices.  Is "Shotgun Wedding" eligible for an Academy Award next year?  Which A-lister will create a viral campaign to secure her nomination next year? Gwyneth?   Finally, we addr...

It's 2009 and war is on the nation's brain.  Thanks to TLC's burgeoning wedding content, the public is also enraptured with all things wedding.   There was no better time for June Diane Raphael and Casey Rose Wilson to pen "Bride Wars".   An 89-minute romp that could have used more Brides and more War.  However, Kristen Johnson deserved an Oscar nomination (at least) for her work in this film.  We...

Wow, do we have a real treat for you! One of us (Stephen) drained the research fund and went to Bali to scope the scene! He's here to report that the movie appears like it takes place in Bali. In this ep we explore a movie with seemingly no conflict but lots of zingers and answer the age-old question, Bali: do you have that trip in you? 

Did we ever think Jamie Lee Curtis would be our most studied "star" on Star Vehicle, no we did not. And neither would Jamie Lee Curtis if you ask her. But we're not mad about it! We contemplate what genre this movie belongs to. Holiday? Horror? Magical-realism? Crime? Family drama? Like Jamie Lee Curtis herself, this film can't be tied down to one genre.  Also, Tim Allen is in the movie too.  As p...

In this episode, we begin at the birthplace of Airbnb, the Kate and Cameron house-swapping holiday romp where Nancy Meyers has us asking the big questions! Would you let a stranger in your house? Does Kate picking up that old man constitute elder abuse? And finally, can someone please put us in contact with The Killers (serious responses only)?    

In this episode, we skip ahead 37 days to bring you some Christmas cheer! Confused? You shouldn't be-- nothing could be clearer.  The only person with a right to be confused is Lindsay.  I mean would YOU miss an opportunity to cover Lindsay's "Citizen Kane," a month early? Don’t forget to scream “thanks for staying at the North Star!” to every family member this holiday season!  

For our season two premiere, we tackle Halloween Ends, the movie that closes out our Jame Lee Curtis obsession (for now!).  This movie has everything from trauma, kills, and many days that aren't Halloween! For the thinking listeners, Stephen peddles a working theory that Michael Myers is a T-Rex equivalent. 

In the season finale of The Star Vehicle Podcast, we tackle Tom Cruise and his need for speed! Stephen tells a plane anecdote of his own and we chit-chat our way through the ambiguous enemy plaguing the boys of Top Gun Academy! Is this a movie for the guys or the gals? We're not sure that it's even up to us to decide! 

Hate to break it to you, Georgie Rule does not in fact take place in Georgia. But fortunately for us, that's where the disappointment ends! Lindsay Lohan does Long Island in Idaho and Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman do Lee Strasberg in the living room. Strap in, Star Vehicle is getting serious this week as we unpack the drama surrounding life under Georgia's Rule.

"Freaky Friday" is Shanelle's favorite movie. She knows every line and she won't let you forget it!  Shockingly, this is our first encounter with Lindsay Lohan and our umpteenth with Jamie Lee Curtis.   This week we travel to ambiguous California in 2003 to explore the body-swapping romp that is "Freaky Friday".  Let's be honest, Jamie Lee Curtis should have snagged an Oscar nom for this role.  Li...

We begin with a presentation of our very own Academy Awards (name tbd) based on the films we have covered so far.  To our winners, congrats.  To our losers, even if you miss you are still among the stars! Then we try and tame the hoofed beast that is "Runaway Bride".  A two hour movie about how men get to write mean mean articles about women in the press.  And then get away with it!  Also Detectiv...

After recapping a recent trip to Italy, we travel from NYC to Chicago to watch big-haired food critic Julia Roberts disrupt a wedding because she loves her best friend. Not only does Julia play a disrupter, she also plays a criminal guilty of mail fraud and grand theft auto (at a minimum).     Also, it's a shame if you think, even for a minute, that Julia Roberts and that guy are BFFs.  The film's...

 In this episode, Shanelle and Stephen tackle the hard-hitting topic of getting up early, and wonder if "The 355," was the correct choice for a morning watch.  We're asking all of the questions that keep you up at night... For example, could you spill a drink on an evil henchman and make it look natural? How many takes would you need? How would you react if you had some hot hot coffee spilled on y...

Regrettably, we have never had the opportunity to say "Bring It On" to another human being earnestly.  If you have, wow we love that for you.  If you haven't, don't worry we don't think they even say it in this movie either.   This week the Star Vehicle heads to nationals to enjoy another classic high school romp, "Bring It On".  True to form there are no adults or adult supervision to be found. ...

The "Marry Me" era is upon us.  This week we raced to see "Marry Me" starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson and we are pleased to report that we loved!  We knew it would be entertaining, of course, but what we didn't expect was how informational it would be. Finally, JLo shows us her line of work after exploring so many other careers in her past romps. JLo taught us how to sell Vitamix blenders,...

Say it with us: "It's turkey time.  Gobble gobble." "Gigli" is a movie starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.  "Gigli" is NOT the worst movie of all time.  "Gigli" is also not a masterpiece. This week the Star Vehicle takes a kidnapping themed road trip as we finally watch "Gigli".  The good news is that we found a way to, significantly, rewrite the film to make it work for us.  

This week the Star Vehicle tours "The Wedding Planner" starring Jennifer Lopez.  Please note the title is NOT "A Wedding Planner" starring JLo. Along the way we share our respect for Fran and Massimo, wonder why Judy Greer didn't bring this energy to "Halloween Kills", and question if all wedding planners work at elaborate firms. Additionally, we question what this film is suggesting about Scrabbl...