the Mildly Frumpy Protagonist

DANTE’S PEAK and VOLCANO (1997) Don’t look back. The pressure is building. This thing’s gonna blow, and it’s hotter than hell! No, this is not When We Were Young’s episode on the best porn of the 90s — it’s the pyroclastic flow of natural disaster flicks unleashed by Twister’s sweeping success in the summer of ‘96. To blatantly rip off our first episode, Episode 33 surmounts Dante’s Peak and...

COMING TO AMERICA (1988) Eddie Murphy was already a huge star when “COMING TO AMERICA” was released in 1988, and he went on to make a few more hits (and, let’s be honest, a few clunkers). But the story of Prince Akeem’s trip to Queens, NY to find his true love is one of the most beloved (and quoted) films of Murphy’s whole career. On this week’s episode of WHEN...

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER (1964), A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965), HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) In our first holiday episode, When We Were Young looks back on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions from childhood, debates the pros and cons of believing in Santa Claus, and shares favorite festive pop culture (or mourns the dearth of good Hanukkah music). Then, we check in on the annual ani...

TITANIC (1997) It’s been 20 years, and we can still smell the fresh paint… the sheets had never been slept in… and we’d never heard Celine Dion belt her heart out over James Horner’s pennywhistle. To mark the 20th anniversary of a film as gargantuan and ambitious as the ocean liner itself, When We Were Young once more opens the door on James Cameron’s 1997 disaster-romance. Are you ready to go bac...

THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1991) & ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (1993) To mirth! To merriment! To manslaughter! Thanksgiving isn’t known for inspiring many movies, but the mysterious and spooky Addams clan should make you feel better about your own family’s freakishness this holiday season. In this episode we spend some quality time with Morticia, Fester, Wednesday, Thing, Cousin Itt and the rest of the gang...

THE SIMPSONS (1989-1999 Seasons) Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie and the seemingly unlimited citizens of Springfield have been up to their TV hijinks for nearly thirty years. But chances are every episode you love from THE SIMPSONS likely aired in just the first decade of the show’s run. The Simpsons’ Golden Years (1989-1999) are referred to fondly as producing some of the best TV...

STAND BY ME (1986) & STEPHEN KING’S IT (1990) Stranger things have happened than what happened on Stranger Things — thanks in large part to one of horror’s most prolific names. In honor of the Netflix nostalgia-fest’s second season, When We Were Young takes a look at the 1980s oeuvre of its biggest influence, Stephen King. Following two true blue horror masterpieces, Carrie and The Shini...

THE BIRDCAGE (1996), ELLEN: “THE PUPPY EPISODE” (1997), IN & OUT (1997) Come one, come all, and COME OUT ALREADY for When We Were Young’s most same-sex-loving episode yet! In honor of Coming Out Day, Episode 26 takes a furtive glance back at the gay 90s, which marked a sea change in pop culture’s depictions of people who are — yep! — gay. First, our hosts coop up in The Birdcage, Mike Ni...

BLADE RUNNER (1982) Do androids dream of electric sheep? Do replicants dream of unicorns? Does Sean Young dream of being in a movie where she isn’t manhandled by a major movie star? In Episode 25 of When We Were Young, the lines between man and machine are blurred as we discuss Ridley Scott’s sci-fi thriller Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Daryl Hannah, in advance of the Ry...

THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR (1990-1996) This is a story all about how Will Smith’s life got twist-turned upside down when he seamlessly transitioned from rap star to sitcom star with his hit NBC series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which ran from 1990 to 1996. It’s almost easy to forget Smith’s TV days, since he’s spent most of the last two decades as one of th...

Sorry we’re not home right now, we’re walking into 1995 to discuss No Doubt’s breakthrough album TRAGIC KINGDOM in our latest episode! We’ve already repeatedly mentioned Tragic Kingdom on the podcast, and there’s good reason for that – all three When We Were Young hosts count this album as the first or one of the first CDs they ever purchased, as well as one of the most inf...

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992) Did a baseball diamond used to be your playground? If so, you’re probably one of the fans who made the Rockford Peaches stars of the most successful baseball movie of all time. Penny Marshall’s World War II-era dramedy is a who’s who of major league 90s names, from Geena Davis to Rosie O’Donnell to Tom Hanks to Madonna. (And Marla Hooch!) There’s no denying that the fi...

Somebody stop us! In Episode 21, the When We Were Young podcast says “alrighty, then!” to a trip back to 1994, when Jim Carrey soared to superstar status in three back-to-back blockbusters: DUMB & DUMBER, THE MASK, and ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE. We’re not just talking out of our asses here. Clearly, Carrey was one of the most bankable stars of our youth… but how do his rubber-faced hiji...

Turn back, Sarah – we’re headed into the imaginative mind of Jim Henson on this week’s episode, and anything could happen! Though many think of The Muppets or Sesame Street when they think of Jim Henson, if you were coming of age in the mid-80s and into fairy tales, myths, and gender-bending pop, LABYRINTH (1986) was surely more your bag. With the help of our guest “Labyrin...

Dearly beloved, we gather today to celebrate the union of a pretty woman, Ms. Julia Roberts, and a talented filmmaker, Mr. PJ Hogan. If anyone can show just cause why they should not be joined — well, that’s too bad! It happened twenty years ago this month. In honor of wedding season, the hosts of WHEN WE WERE YOUNG share their childhood visions of holy matrimony before revisiting two nuptia...

The WHEN WE WERE YOUNG podcast isn’t even supposed to be here today! But in this episode, we took a fresh look at Kevin Smith’s influential 90’s romantic comedy CHASING AMY, and touched on CLERKS, DOGMA and the rest of the “View Askewniverse.” Does this quirky and queer comedy starring Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck hold up? Join in as we take a fresh look back wit...

Encounter the xenomorph in WHEN WE WERE YOUNG’s ickiest episode yet! First, the gang discusses their personal experiences with body horror, including bruised ears and splinters in places there should not be wood. Then, it’s time to get all face-huggy and chest-bursty with Sigourney Weaver in the ALIEN franchise, beginning with Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror classic and moving...

Bring your friends and your anti-depressants to the 16th episode of the WHEN WE WERE YOUNG podcast, when we revisit Nirvana – the band that later became known as the entire musical genre called “grunge.” In this episode we listen to the two most popular albums of the definitive Seattle rock band: 1991’s worldwide smash Nevermind and 1993’s In Utero. We also touch on t...

Is that an earthquake? In honor of the 20th anniversary of their 10 year reunion, we join the Madonna twins and a big giant girl who smokes and says “shit” a lot to revisit 1987 and 1997 in ROMY & MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. Watch out, Tucson! Chris and Seth have a special place in their hearts for this teen comedy made specifically for the C-Group (and anyone else who eve...

Robert Zemeckis’ WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988) effortlessly blended live action and animation in a cinematic experience never seen before (and rarely since). It was also a colossal hit for Touchstone Pictures (aka the Mouse House, Disney!) and managed to delight children, adults, classic cartoon fans and noir thriller aficionados — no small feat! Your beloved WHEN WE WERE YOUNG podcas...

Heya, Barbie! Wanna go for a ride? How about all the way back to 1998, when boy bands were just starting to be a “thing” (again), we listened to music on compact discs, and the blonde brothers Hanson seemed like they might have long-lasting relevance in the pop music sphere? (Okay, that last part was never true.) In our latest episode, When We Were Young revisits NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC VOL....

In every generation, there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the podcasts. She is the slayer. In When We Were Young’s 12th episode, Chris shares his teenage infatuation with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. (The TV show, not the movie. Obviously.) He also brings WWWY’s very first guest host, Kevin Murray, Buffy fan extraordinaire, to help him slay the...

In the latest episode of WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, we discuss what made us laugh the most growing up. If you thought THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE (1995) and A VERY BRADY SEQUEL (1996) were the funniest (and most quotable) movies ever made, you’re in good company! Twenty years later, do either of these satirical TV adaptations stand the test of time and still make us laugh? Or are they as stale and unfunn...

Why are you so petrified of silence? See if you can handle this as the When We Were Young podcast revisits Alanis Morissette’s 1995 monolithic album JAGGED LITTLE PILL. One of the best-selling albums of all time, and with about half its songs chart-topping singles, this album is and has always been pigeonholed as “angry chick rock.” Join our hosts as we contemplate our musical ou...

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG travels back to the mid 1990s, when Hollywood was inundated with an exciting new class of independent filmmakers who would change the movie business as we knew it. People – yes, even us youngsters – were paying attention to films with low budgets and unique visions. But only one of those films featured a dead baby crawling on a ceiling. TRAINSPOTTING (1996) is one of...