The Flop House

Back in the 80s and 90s, movies LOVED to end with a rap song that went over the plot to the movie you just saw. On this mini, Dan quizzes Stu and Elliott about some examples of wrap-up raps, followed by discussion questions to really dig into this particular cinematic-musical form. See The Flop House LIVE IN CHICAGO this November! And, if you prefer to watch us from the comfort of your own home: T...

Elliott had to dip out for an episode, so... how do you replace a troublemaking little scamp? How about: with the comforting, easy presence of Linda Holmes? We deserve a vacation too, y'know? And in this episode, we make good on a promise from Linda's last appearance -- to have her back to discuss that hearty slice of Christmas "content," Red One . Back then, Linda sounded surprisingly fond of it....

We all know movies where "it's like the city is another character," and we understand what that means when a location has a big personality like New York, Tokyo, or Paris... but what about the more unknown cities out there? Elliott helps us brainstorm some filmic personalities for less-heralded locations Tickets for Flop TV Season 3 are ON SALE STARTING TODAY ! Watch our once a month (Sept-Feb) vi...

It's a testament to how generally good (or at least passable) the MCU films have been, that there have been 36 of them released, but this is only the second one we've covered. What makes Captain America: Brave New World so (anti-) special? You'll have to listen to find out! Wikipedia page for  Captain America: Brave New World Recommended in this episode: Dan:  Jaws (1975)  Stu:  Hider in the House...

On this mini Stuart tricked us into watching some kind of Warhammer 40k bullshit and made us talk about it. Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets ! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

No, it's not a biopic about Jim Poolman, former insurance commissioner of North Dakota. It's a comic sunshine noir about an actual pool-maintaining Poolman , played (and written/directed) by fave Chris (Pine), who finds himself tangled in a criminal conspiracy... or maybe he's just whacked-out and paranoid? We're joined in this pool party by one of our most beloved returning guests, Mr. Josh Gonde...

Dan confuses Elliott by combining his beloved comic books with his hated fruit pies, in a discussion of Hostess's superhero-based comics ads. Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets ! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

Ah, here he comes, that son of a gun, that cat, that Garfield, that gigantic thing -- except... There's something different about him. It's weird. He just doesn't seem very... Garfield-y? Anyway, in honor of the birthday of one of our great Americans, Garfield the cat, and also maybe one other guy, we take on 2024's The Garfield Movie . Wikipedia page for The Garfield Movie Recommended in this epi...

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming to theaters soon, listener Andrew asked the question "Galactus and The Silver Surfer -- what's their deal, man?" and Elliott gladly stepped up to answer. Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets ! Aura has a great deal for Father’s Day. For a limited time, listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $30 off on their best-s...

Love DOES hurt. For instance, we love and only want the best for Everything Everywhere All at Once comeback king Ke Huy Quan, but then we have to witness him struggle through a movie like Love Hurts . Fortunately he comes off all right. The movie itself? Not so much. But hey, looks like he's got Zootopia 2 and a movie from the guy who made Rare Exports coming up. Maybe those will be good! Wikipedi...

There have been a lot of animals in movies, but which are the BEST animals? Stuart Wellington leads a highly-scientific investigation. Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets ! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

The Flop House is headed to Summer Camp ! A few weeks of sun, swimming, hiking, crafts -- we're gonna make each other SO MANY FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS that our circulation is gonna cut off! We're gonna have so much fu-- what? It's just a movie? But... it stars Diane Keaton, Alfre Woodard, and Kathy Bates, so with those actors it's gotta be at least a little fun, righ-- it's not? Oh, poop. Wikipedia pa...

Hallie joins the Flop House gang once more, to discuss random topics selected by YOU, the listeners! Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets ! Go to  factormeals.com/flop50off and use code flop50off to get 50% off, plus FREE shipping on your first box.  Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

Robbie Williams is a chimp. That's not an insult, just an accurate description of Better Man , from the director of past Flop House subject, The Greatest Showman . This one's the rare FH movie that was a critical success while being a financial flop -- will we agree with the critics? Oh, and we buried the lede: HALLIE 'S BACK! Wikipedia page for Better Man Recommended in this episode: Dan:  Ninja...

We're joined by longtime friend of the show (but first time on mic!) Alejandro Arbona , a 20-year veteran of comics editing and a comics writer himself, to discuss everyone's favorite extravagantly-perverse Italian thriller genre -- GIALLO. We discuss what defines a giallo and differentiates it from other sub-genres (and the slasher films it helped inspire), and then Alejandro runs us through a li...

We flashback to discuss a movie that was much-requested when it was first released, but just didn't fit into our schedule -- Jerry Seinfeld's baffling paean to the Pop Tart, Unfrosted , a film that throws an astounding cavalcade of comedy talent at ideas that seem (apologies) a bit undercooked. Also, we were blessed by the rare in-studio presence of our beloved producer, Alex Smith, who hadn't act...

While we were all fortunate enough to record in-person, Stuart filled Dan and Elliott with booze and forced them to do celebrity "impressions." It's either our most fun episode or our most embarrassing! Or both! Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets !” Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

What's the deal with Netflix's The Electric State ? Well, for one thing we know that IT'S ELECTRIC... boogie woogie woogie. But also, it's a movie arguing for the primacy of real-life connection that feels utterly algorithmically designed, what with its Chris Pratts and Millies Bobby Brown and cute robot pals, and it cost... $320 million?? That can't be right. There must be a smudge on these accou...

Elliott puts on his greasy overalls to look under the filmic hood, as we figure out what makes a good "robot movie," ask why Heartbeeps was a bad one, and see if we can pull out the robot defibrillator to restore its cinematic heartbeep. Subscribe to our  NEWSLETTER, “Flop Secrets !” Go to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to  www.squarespace.com/FLOP  to save 1...

We tie a bow around Max Fun Drive 2025 and our “Movies Without Spider-Man” series with (?) Paul Schrader's (?) magnum opus, Heartbeeps . It's the classic tale of a guy robot and a girl robot in love and also there's a bad stand-up comic robot and a mean cop robot and a baby robot and Andy Kaufman does one of the world's most irritating voices and what the fuck is this thing? Wikipedia page for Hea...

“Movies Without Spider-Man” Max Fun drive continues (please consider  supporting our show !) with the thrilling (?) conclusion (??) of the Venom saga -- Venom: The Last Dance, the touching story of a boy and the black sentient goo he wears on his body that sometimes eats people's heads. There's one more week of Max Fun Drive —  check out our event calendar ! Wikipedia page for Venom: The Last Danc...

Dan reveals a WEIRD and possibly EXTREMELY COMPLEX FOR HIM TO PUT TOGETHER stretch goal for this year's Max Fun Drive! Become a supporting member of Maximum Fun and help keep our show going and independent by visiting maximumfun.org/join today! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinflop

Here's a little taste of what's awaiting Max Fun members in the member bonus feed -- an all-new roleplaying adventure from gamemaster Stuart! In this edition, Dan, Elliott, and fan favorite guest Zhubin Parang play beachfront restaurant staff, on the first night of summer, trying to make it through a busy shift... but CHAOS is on the menu! If you'd like to listen to this, a whole heck of a lot of...

It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!! Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea Clark, Alonso Duralde, Dan McCoy, Jordan Morris,...

We start out our special "Films Without Spider-Man" theme month (in honor of Max Fun Drive -- please consider supporting our show !) with one of the more ostentatiously-Spider-Man-free films of last year: Kraven the Hunter . C'mon, Kraven, we KNOW you guys know one another--remember that last hunt? Just swallow your pride and phone Spidey to drop by! We're cravin' it! We're doing a ton of extra st...