We Love the Love

We're kicking off the new year with our fifteenth look at the films of DreamWorks Animation, this time discussing the 2006 comic strip adaptation Over the Hedge , about animals who mostly go through one.  Join in as we discuss turtle shells, bangs, "unrated" versions of movies, our experiences with the funny pages.  Plus: Why can't you see Verne's tail when his shell is off? Is this Bruc...

We're finishing off the year with a movie that has one sequence set at New Year's and zero that involve mermaids: the 1990 60s-set coming-of-age movie Mermaids , starring Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci - none of whom, and we cannot stress this enough, plays a mermaid.  Join in as we discuss Catholic fandom, child performances, abortive attempts to get the movie going with Lasse Halls...

We're finishing up this year's Christmas romances with a look at the one that started it all: 1945's Christmas in Connecticut , starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan.  Join in as we discuss our ideal frauds, Stanwyck's politics and careers, Mary's incomprehensible plot, and saying goodnight to cows.  Plus: What is Jones being fed at the hospital? Why does Elizabeth agree to marry J...

We continue our look at this year's holiday romances with Netflix's Single All the Way , starring Michael Urie and Philemon Chambers - and, more importantly, Kathy Najimy and Jennifer Coolidge.  Join in as we discuss sexy holiday characters, the inevitable commercialization of Juneteenth, and our ideas for the tenth Fast and Furious movie.  Plus: Did Netflix steal this idea from Will and...

We're beginning our holiday season with Candy Coated Christmas , the first ever scripted movie from the Food Network, which was advertised as though it starred "Pioneer Woman" Ree Drummond, despite the fact that she barely appears.  Join in as we discuss the stunningly dumb lead characters, a terrible and violent meet-cute, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and the movie's astonishing lack of can...

We're tackling another listener request as we look at the mostly offscreen romance of George Cukor's 1939 adaptation of The Women , starring Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Crawford.  Join in as we discuss the wild life of playwright Clare Booth Luce, the technicolor fashion show, Nevada divorce ranches, and, of course, Nicole Kidman's AMC video.  Plus: What happened to the all...

Start spreading the news, because - as Will and Marc were somehow surprised to learn - the iconic song "Theme from New York, New York " actually comes from this week's movie, the 1977 musical New York, New York , directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Liza Minelli and Robert De Niro.  Join in as we discuss this homage to Golden Age movie musicals, our own backgrounds with Scorsese, the movi...

We're traveling in time to 2004 for a look at the romance between Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo in the age up/time travel movie 13 Going on 30 .  Join in as we discuss the teen films of 2004, the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, Judy Greer's doppelganger, Garner's physical performance, and realism in rom coms.  Plus: Has Matty ever hung out with anyone but Jenna? Should the government be regu...

Take out your phones and hit record, because we're looking at one of the earliest feature films shot on an iPhone: Sean Baker's 2015 Christmas(?) movie about trans sex workers in Los Angeles, Tangerine .  Join in as we discuss the performances by Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, the process of shooting on an iPhone 5S, the worst movie theaters in the DC area, and that time Bella Thorne l...

We're headed to an explicitly undefined time period for a look at Otto Bathurst's 2018 Robin Hood , starring Taron Egerton and a host of other hotties in a movie so dreadful it circles around again to being a delight.  Join in as we discuss automatic bows, sequel teases, a bizarre conspiracy theory, and the youth vote.  Plus: Is Jamie Foxx doing an accent? Is Bathurst in a cult? What exa...

We're finishing up our spookiest month with a look at the 2000 horror parody film Scary Movie .  Join in as we discuss iconic taglines, the parody films of the 2000s, many unfortunate jokes, and the crucial difference between comedy and reference.  Plus: Where did Scary Movie fit into the 2000 box office? How is it connected to those other parodies? What would a Gladiator sequel be about...

We're dipping out toes into the slasher genre for a look at the many doomed romances of the 1980 camp classic Friday the 13th .  Join in as we discuss camp counselors, our experience with slasher movies, Betsy Palmer's performance, and the rules of strip monopoly.  Plus: Why has this movie entered the queer cinema canon? Why did screenwriter Victor Miller disavow the sequels? And was Cam...

We're headed back into movie theaters for a look at Stephen Chbosky's would-be Oscar contender Dear Evan Hansen , starring twenty-eight year-old Ben Platt in the teenage role that won him a Tony Award several years ago.  Join in as we discuss school assemblies, the film's strengths and weaknesses as an adaptation, the story's clumsy handling of mental illness, and our star songwriters Pasek a...

We're kicking off October with a movie that starts out funny and then turns into a harrowing thriller: Jonathan Demme's 1986 road movie Something Wild , starring Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, and one of the first appearances of Ray Liotta.  Join in as we discuss the best state flags, 80s New York on film, and the career of director Jonathan Demme.  Plus: What exactly is the Christmas C...

In their latest foray into made-for-TV movies, Will and Marc join the #POstables to look at the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries US Postal Service mystery/romance The Road Less Traveled , the tenth(?) movie in the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series.  Join in as they discuss inappropriate workplace relationships, the career of series creator Martha Williamson, the Dove Awards, and hereditary uncool...

We take a number of historical tangents as we're transported to ancien regime France in Stephen Frears's 1988 adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons , starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer.  Join in as we discuss Close's unstoppable 1980s, a delightful Peter Capaldi, Flavor of Love , and Barbra Streisand's secret mall.  Plus: Are these the worst people we've ever talked a...

For our 200th episode, we're taking a look at a supersized love story in the 2009 DreamWorks Animation genre parody Monsters vs. Aliens , starring Reese Witherspoon and a host of other famous people.  Join in as we discuss Seth Rogen's standout performance, the movie's late-Bush-era comedy, some surprise Wegtent, and the return of some long-lost segments.  Plus: Why does Derek move so weirdly? Cou...

We return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time in 191 episodes for a look at Kenneth Branagh's 2011 franchise starter Thor !  Join in as we discuss the arrival of Chris Hemsworth, the Odinsleep, the secret history of Donald Blake, and the franchise-dominated 2011 box office.  Plus: Why did Anthony Hopkins take the role of Odin? How long has Jane had Dr. Blake's old shirt? What's the...

The summer's ending, so we're taking a look at the unbelievable romance of the 1995 back to school comedy Billy Madison , starring Adam Sandler in his first lead role.  Join in as we discuss Sandler's departure from SNL, the movie's long life on VHS, its lazy handling of queer people, and, of course, our favorite literary commentaries on industrialization.  Plus: Has Sandler ever been dr...

This week we're taking a look at the romance between two parents in John Berry's 1974 rom-dram-edy Claudine , starring Diahann Carroll in an Oscar-nominated performance alongside James Earl Jones.  Join in as we discuss Third World Cinema, the movie's portrayal of the welfare system, our favorite bus sequences, and the tragic circumstances that led to Carroll's casting.  Plus: What are the rules o...

It's time for vaudeville shenanigans as we look at the second Marx Brothers film, 1930's Animal Crackers .  Join in as we discuss iconic jokes, Groucho's facial hair, Harpo's antics, Top Gun , and the dry performance of Margaret Dumont.  Plus: Does anyone really know how to play bridge? Why does Mrs. Rittenhouse own so many knives? How did a college activist group save this movie? And wh...

In honor of her impending nuptials, we welcome all-star guest #FiFiFierce back to the podcast to talk about the surprisingly limited romance of Charles Shyer's 1991 remake of Father of the Bride .  Join in as we discuss the respective careers of Shyer and his then-wife Nancy Meyers, middle-aged Diane Keaton, architecture school, dumb traditions, and animals at weddings.  Plus: Does Georg...

We're looking at one of Clint Eastwood's many roles about being just too old (or maybe just old enough) to get the job done in the 2012 father-daughter baseball movie Trouble with the Curve , starring Eastwood alongside Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake as an afterthought romantic pair.  Join in as we discuss this movie's position as the anti- Moneyball , a major plagiarism lawsuit, clogging, and De...

We're headed back to the turn of the twentieth century to talk about the implausible romance of Michael Curtiz's 1942 musical biopic Yankee Doodle Dandy , starring James Cagney in an Oscar-winning performance as Broadway legend George M. Cohan.  Join in as we discuss the US flag code, an accidentally hilarious proposal, a very silly framing device, and the movie's absolute aversion to conflic...

We're headed into the serververse (and not, as the title would suggest, to space) for a look at the scant romance of the newly-released Space Jam: A New Legacy - now in theaters and on HBO Max.  Join in as we discuss the year in film so far, LeBron vs Jordan, the failed attempts to make a Space Jam sequel in the past, and the one joke we both liked.  Plus: Why did Will's audience applaud...