We Love the Love

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...

We're talking big business and bigger hair as we look at the romance of Mike Nichols's 1988 hit Working Girl , starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith (in that order, according to the credits).  Join in as we discuss Valium, the Bob's Burgers musical of this movie, the Oscar-winning score by Carly Simon, Alec Baldwin's breakout year, and, of course, CBS's Blue Bloods ....

This Independence Day, we're finally cracking open the book as we look at two rekindled romances in the 2007 Disney sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets .  Join in as we discuss Mount Vernon kidnappings, Samuel Mudd, the saga of the still-unproduced National Treasure 3 , and Christian youth basketball.  Plus: When did Patrick and Emily split up? Should Abigail be fired? Should the r...

We're diving into a decade of discourse as we attempt to untangle the relative culpability of Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel's characters in the failure of their relationship in 2009's (500) Days of Summer .  Join in as we discuss the movie's tangled legacy, director Marc Webb's filmography, the cultural dominance of the Wii, and the cultural non-dominance of the Microsoft Zune.&nbs...

Marc gets it: Bong Joon-ho's debut feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite , is about someone who murders dogs to get them to shut up.  Join in as he and Will discuss dog deaths, basement people, Jupiter Ascending , and artistic filmmaking on a shoestring budget.  Plus: Which Disney animals are sentient? Do dog birthdays matter? Should Independence Day be considered of a piece with the Garry Ma...

Of all this movie's possible titles, the tabloid-sounding one they chose was clearly the best - it's what got us to watch Rene Clair's 1942 Veronica Lake vehicle I Married a Witch !  Join in as we discuss hereditary curses, Lake's short but iconic career (including her unbelievable final film), great visual effects, and, once again, the madness that is Never Been Kissed .  Plus: Do witch...

We're back to musicals as we look at Bill Condon's 2006 adaptation of Dreamgirls - the movie that won Jennifer Hudson an Oscar and asked us to believe Beyoncé was a bad singer.  Join in as we discuss the cultural imprint of American Idol , the film's use of non-diagetic music, the Master Cleanse, and Jamie Foxx's game show Beat Shazam .  Plus: Why did David Geffen block so many attempts...

We return to the work of director Robert Zemeckis this week as we look at the 1984 comedy-adventure-romance, Romancing the Stone !  Join in as we talk about Kathleen Turner's fight for the role of Joan Wilder, the tragically short career of writer Diane Thomas, avoiding the damsel cliché, the film's incredibly weird trailer, and the short-lived reality show Fire Me Please .  Plus: What e...

It's time for another modernized monster as we look at Dracula 2000 , a movie that is cool in a way that was only possible between The Matrix and 9/11.  Join in as we discuss Judas Iscariot, bicycle face, leech flicking, and a lot of questions about vampire sex.  Plus: Why was this movie released at Christmas? Is Dracula Untold part of the Dark Universe? Is Dracula trying to adopt Mary o...

We've seen a lot of bad teachers in movies, but the predatory and/or neglectful ones in Raja Gosnell's 1999 rom com Never Been Kissed clearly take the cake.  Join in as we discuss our own first kisses, being the new kid, Drew Barrymore's tumultuous 90s, and wearing a skirt as a top.  Plus: Does this movie explain the death of print media? Are there multiple undercover reporters at this s...

The release date for this movie's sequel is less predictable than the title character's malicious glee, so we've thrown up our hands and decided to put out an episode on Will Gluck's 2018 adaptation of Peter Rabbit whenever we feel like it.  Join in as we discuss our experience seeing this movie in a theater, the Sony hack, James Corden, and Gluck's 2014 "cool Annie ."  Plus: Why is this...

We're kicking off the summer movie season like it's 1999 with the first big release of that May - Stephen Sommers's take on The Mummy , starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.  Join in as we discuss the hottest movie monsters, alternate plans for this movie, Medjai incompetence, and, naturally, Atlantis: The Lost Empire .  Plus: Is the xenomorph sexy? Where was the frog plague? Should...

At long last, we're digging into the surprisingly robust teen terminal illness romance genre with a look at 2017's The Space Between Us , about a boy born on Mars who's in love with an Earth girl.  Join in as we discuss standout examples of the genre, bad future computer designs, gravity acting, and the movie's calamitous box office.  Plus: How did Gardner's mom allow herself to become p...

The Oscars are finally here, which means it's time for Will and Marc's annual evaluation of the romantic believability of this year's Best Picture slate!  Join in as we discuss our love of Minari star Alan Kim, typecasting in The Father , "poor Sara," and a typically disappointing Best Original Song category.  Plus: How many cats are there in Soul ? Who is the lead of Judas and the Black...