The Gen X Files

Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the first movie that the Pythons wrote to be an actual movie and is an absolute classic. Written by Eric Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, with direction from the Terrys. Also, we do deep dives into the life and histories of John Cleese and Graham Chapman, who wrote together for decades.

Welcome to Monty Python May! First up is the one that started it all: Monty Python's Flying Circus. From the genius minds of John Cleese, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam. The show was insanely groundbreaking and inspired an amazing amount of sketch comedy shows that followed.

In this episode, we wrap up our McNerdy tribute to the early films of Patrick Dempsey, along with discussing a couple of movies, TV shows, and how it's a great time for the Gen Xer to get back into gaming!

For our third entry into McNerdy month, Patrick Dempsey must go on the run when he accidentally kills a mob boss's son. It's a thrill ride that made the director quit the movie business! Co-starring Kelly Preston.

For our second entry into McNerdy month, we bring you Loverboy, quite possibly the worst movie we've covered on the show. It's a weird, vapid mess. Starring Patrick Dempsey, Carrie Fisher, and Kirstie Alley.

We'll give you all we've got to give because we don't care too much for money, cuz money Can't Buy Me Love. It's the beginning of McNerdy month, as we dive into the early films of Patrick Dempsey, Dr. McDreamy (or McSteamy, or whatever he was called). First up is Can't Buy Me Love, co-starring the amazing Amanda Peterson and underutilized Courtney Gains. It's a high sch...

Join your ol' stepdads as we discuss Steve's Hot Carl, have a spirited debate about a movie we both watched (channeling the spirits of Siskel & Ebert), how replaying video games can be better than playing new games, and Jim's love of a show that NO ONE saw coming.

For our last foray into Steve's Hot Carl, we're presenting perhaps the best of the bunch: All of Me. Directed by Carl Reiner, written by Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek, and starring Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Richard Libertini, and Victoria Tennant. It's the last time that Martin and Reiner worked together, but is just possibly their best effot.

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner team up again for the third time in their spoof of classic sci-fi movies. Starring Martin, Kathleen Turner (in only her second feature film!), and David Warner (with an uncredited cameo from Sissy Spacek). It's everything you want from Steve's Hot Carl.

Take 1 Steve Martin, 1 Carl Reiner, add in a ton of old film noir stars in clips from some of their most famous movies, blend it up, and what do you get? Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, a fun experiment of a film from Martin and Reiner to see if they could come up with a new story by inserting Martin into old clips. It not only works, it's funny as hell. Co-starring Rachel Ward, Reni Santoni, a...

Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss one of our greatest heroes, John Candy, what we've been watching and what we've been playing over the course of a short February month.

We finish out our Sweet Candy month with one of the best, most down-to-earth romantic comedies: Only the Lonely, written and directed by Chris Columbus. Starring John Candy, Maureen O'Hara as his overbearing mother, and Ally Sheedy as Candy's love interest, Only the Lonely shows just how good John Candy could be and what his amazing acting career could've been, if he hadn't been ro...

It's time to take a trip to The Great Outdoors! Written by John Hughes, directed by Howard Deutch, starring John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, and Bart the Bear. It's a fun, down-to-earth comedy about dealing with family.

We kick off February in style, with the start of our Sweet Candy month, focusing on the softer, more down-to-earth side of the late, great John Candy. First up is Summer Rental, directed by Carl Reiner. It's a fun movie pitting Candy against a wonderfully mean Richard Crenna. There's boats and beaches and it's a fun summer!

Pull up a stool and listen to your ol' Stepdads ramble on about the crazy adventures they've been on, the movies and TV shows they've been watching, and what video games they've been playing.

It's time to open your mind and let your imagination run wild, as we cover The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the near-perfect film from Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Winston Dennis, Charles McKeown, Jack Purvis, Jonathan Pryce, Uma Thurman, and the incredible Oliver Reed! (Oh, and a rather weird cameo from Robin Williams.)

Adventure month continues as we delve into the mundane world of babysitting... unless you're Elizabeth Shue and have a crazy friend Brenda who tries to unsuccessfully run away from home. That's right, it's Adventures in Babysitting, the feature film debut of Chris Columbus, co-starring Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Maia Brewton, Ron Canada, George Newbern, and Vincent D'Onofrio.

Orion Pictures wanted a 'red, white, and blue-collar Bond' in Remo Williams, but budget cuts didn't allow the movie to truly bloom. It's still a rollicking good time, even if you don't think it's as good as it was when you first saw it. Starring Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley, J. A. Preston, and Kate Mulgrew.

Welcome to Adventure month! First up the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! Written by Earl Mac Rauch, directed by W. D. Richter, and starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Lewis Smith, Christopher Lloyd, Clancy Brown, Vincent Schiavelli, Dan Hedaya, Robert Ito, Pepe Serna, and Carl Lumbly. It's a weird movie that deserved to be seen...

Pull up a piece of carpet and take a secret sip of beer with your ol' stepdads as we discuss the Christmas movies we've covered this month, along with new TV, movies, and video games we've been playing.

While this is definitely a Christmas movie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York should not have been made. It's a remake of Home Alone that came out 2 years before, but with worse pacing and less stakes. Written by John Hughes, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker, and Catherine O'Hara.

Well, look at that, it's our 200th episode! We're celebrating by having a Christmas Vacation, courtesy of National Lampoon, John Hughes, and Chevy Chase! Also starring Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis, Brian Doyle-Murray, Randy Quaid, William Hickey, Mae Questal, Miriam Flynn, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, and Doris Roberts!

Is it a Christmas movie? Not in the conventional sense, but yes, it takes place over Christmas and culminates with a bunch of New Yorkers singing on New Year's Eve: it's the return of the Ghostbusters in the underrated Ghostbusters II! Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and Peter MacNicol.

These four epic comedies range from the most amazing comedy ever made (It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) to a fantastic British historical comedy (Those Fantastic Men in their Flying Machines) to a waste of talent (Scavenger Hunt) to the best modern epic comedy, which is saying a lot, since it came out 43 years ago (The Cannonball Run). We'll also discuss movies and tv and video games!

We close out our epic comedies month with the most successful epic comedy (after the perfection of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, of course): The Cannonball Run. Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Adrienne Barbeau, Mel Tillis, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Elam, Jackie Chan, and Jamie Farr having a ton of fun on screen. Written by Brock Yates, who creat...