We Love the Love

We're pretty confused as we look at one of the best-known screwball comedies, because nobody told Will and Marc that Howard Hawks's Bringing Up Baby is not about a human infant.  Join in as we discuss misleading titles, "box office poison," the history of the brontosaurus, and this movie's use of the word gay.  Plus: Has Marc actually seen Mystic River ? Did Baby really need bringing up?...

We're back in the pre-code era this week for a look at Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley's hit musical Gold Diggers of 1933 .  Join in as we discuss our favorite Berkeley parodies, the Gold Diggers franchise, connections to 42nd Street , the Blazing Saddles TV show, and the making of a movie about the Great Depression while the United States was still in its throes.  Plus: How old is Lawre...

It's homecoming season (or it would be if there weren't a pandemic), so we're taking a look at Spike Lee's college-set sophomore feature, School Daze .  Join in as we discuss ineffectual administrators, hot Larry Fishburne, natural hair, and the raft of young Black actors featured in the movie. Plus: What is this movie's connection to A Different World ? What did the Hogwarts Board of Governors do...

It's our 150th episode, and we're taking the investigation abroad as we look at Sebastian Lelio's Oscar-winning 2017 film, A Fantastic Woman .  Join in as we discuss the odd experience of watching foreign films, our favorite trophies, Leilo's use of light, and the mysteries of Jack in the Box.  Plus: How was this movie received in Chile? When exactly did Marina and Orlando's relationship...

We're looking at long-distance relationships this week in the 2011 Sundance darling Like Crazy , the semi-autobiographical film directed by Drake Doremus and starring a young Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin.  Join in as we discuss hair as a marker of time's passing, a baffling visa decision, awkward first dates, and the career of Jennifer Lawrence. Plus: Who is casual friends with their lawy...

We're taking on a listener suggestion of Titanic (that's a pun) proportions as we look at the star-studded 1970s disaster film The Towering Inferno .  Join in as Will and Marc discuss basic fire prevention, cycloramas, explosive helicopters, and Paul Newman's sex den.  Plus: How is this movie based on two separate novels? Does Susan take the promotion? How is Bigelow so bad at his job? A...

We're finishing up our look at the Best Picture nominees of 1967 with the winner, Norman Jewison's detective potboiler In the Heat of the Night , starring Sidney Poitier as a brilliant detective and Rod Steiger as the racist police chief who needs his help.  Join in as we look at our favorite movie desserts, this movie's strange marketing, Haskell Wexler's revolutionary cinematography, Quincy...

We're fulfilling a joke from six months ago - unfortunately, it led us to the worst movie we've ever covered: Steve Pink's 2015 garbage fire, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 .  Join in as we discuss our favorite time travel stories, Dora the Explorer's drug trip, Choozy Doozy, and our favorite experiences at the movies.  Plus: What's the worst scene in this movie? Has Gillian Jacobs ever been mar...

Hopefully your phone doesn't self-destruct in ten seconds, because you'll need more time than that to listen as we discuss the Tom Cruise / Michelle Monaghan romance at the center of Mission: Impossible III .  Join in as we discuss the difference between James Bond and Ethan Hunt, Scientology, J.J. Abrams's directorial debut, middle school band repertoire, an unfortunate string of fridgings,...

We're returning to the iconic rom com performances of Julia Roberts with a look at P.J. Hogan's 1997 smash hit, My Best Friend's Wedding .  Join in as we discuss the virtues of Sport magazine, Julia Roberts's career highs and lows, karaoke etiquette, the movie's bizarre original ending, and the joys of a surprise Giamatti.  Plus: Is Goofus a role model? Is this the best version of the ga...

It's a family full of romances across multiple generations as we return to the works of Ang Lee to discuss the only film he directed set in his native Taiwan: 1994's Eat Drink Man Woman .  Join in as we discuss movies we watched in school, swapping lunches, Chinese naming  conventions, and a seemingly chaotic boys school.  Plus: How does this fit into Taiwan's cultural and political...

We're finishing our look at the 2D films of DreamWorks Animation with a flop that almost bankrupted the studio: 2003's Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas , starring Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a story that is much more Greek than it is Arabian.  Join in as we discuss our favorite McGuffins, the official Avatar Twitter account, this movie's wildly different early drafts, Sinbad's butt,...

It's not a democracy - it's a pod-ocracy! This week we're looking at Peyton Reed's directorial debut, the iconic 2000 cheerleading movie Bring It On .  Join in as we take a look at underappreciated sports, the mixed career of screenwriter Jessica Bendinger, advanced chemistry, and disappointingly homophobic language.  Plus: Why won't anyone let Peyton Reed make a musical? Why isn't this...

We're stopping in and stepping up to the can to talk about the romance of the Coen brothers' 2000 journey through the Depression-era South, O Brother, Where Art Thou?   Join in as we take a look at transposing mythology to the United States, racial representation, a dreadful conflict resolution strategy, and the film's award-winning soundtrack.  Plus: Has either Coen actually read The Od...

We've passed the halfway point in this bizarre, tumultuous year, so it's time to check in on 2020 in film so far by focusing on a new release - Palm Springs, now available on Hulu !  Join in as we discuss our favorite movies of the year so far, the televised murder of Cristin Milioti, the immediate value of J.K. Simmons, and this movie's new resonance during self-quarantine.  Plus: Does...

We're looking at three men, one baby, and a minimal level of romance in the biggest hit of 1987, but Leonard Nimoy's Three Men and a Baby still gives us a lot to talk about!  Join in as we discuss the 1987 box office, Michael Eisner in Paris, a possible ghost sighting, and the many personalities of Snoopy.  Plus: Why is Tom Selleck's shirt wet on the poster? Why are movie birthday partie...

We're talking the worst movies we've ever seen this week as Will, Marc, and their guest Colin discuss James Nguyen's 2010 disasterpiece Birdemic: Shock and Terror .  Join in as we discuss fake crewmember names, Kid Pix graphics, the billing of Movie 43 , and a deep textual analysis of the song "Hangin' out with My Family."  Plus: Do celebrities use Venmo? Why is Tippi Hedron third billed...

We're hatching some schemes this week as we return to the work of Alfred Hitchcock to discuss the romance of his 1954 movie Dial M for Murder .  Join in as we discuss the perfect crime, giant hands, class privilege, and 3D filmmaking in the 1950s.  Plus: How much has inflation hit the UK since the 1950s? What was Mark's plan? Is spaghetti the sexiest food? And why is this inspector's law...

We're headed back to Bollywood for the movie that was once the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time: the 2009 college musical comedy 3 Idiots .  Join in as we discuss educational films, contract disputes, conservative chain emails, the career of Omi " Big in Bollywood " Vaidya, and some deeply troubling jokes from which English-language viewers are spared.  Plus: Why was this movie su...

We return to the world of high school romance for a movie that launched a dizzying array of young careers: Gil Junger's 1999 Shakespeare adaptation, 10 Things I Hate About You .  Join in as we discuss Clueless parallels, half-baked sidekicks, our own high school poems, and David Krumholtz's nascent rapping career.  Plus: Are these the worst teachers we've ever seen? Is the titular poem b...

We're taking on our strangest listener suggestion yet with a look at whatever romance we can find in Wes Craven's 2005 airplane thriller Red Eye .  Join in as we talk about our most memorable flights, the extended cut of the movie, stars Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy's breakout years, 2005 fashion, and an absurdly complicated terrorist plot.  Plus: How is this flight a red eye? Is it obnoxious...

It's the fourth 1967 Best Picture nominee we've covered, and mostly we're just wondering how this made the cut in the first place. We're talking the original Doctor Dolittle , starring Rex Harrison, Anthony Newly, Samantha Eggar, and some kid who should be in school.  Join in as we discuss talking to animals, cannibalistic rats, Harrison's many demands, a severed African tree, and one parrot...

We're taking to the skies and dancing with ghosts as we look at a curious movie: 1989's Always , Steven Spielberg's only romantic drama.  Join in as we discuss visual storytelling, firefighting pilots, the final appearance of Audrey Hepburn, Pokemon physiology, a hideous dress, and A Guy Called Joe , the 1943 movie from which Always was adapted.  lus: What exactly is the nature of Pete a...

We're looking at a murderous rivalry in which love is a prize as we examine Robert Zemeckis's 1992 cult favorite, Death Becomes Her .  Join in as we discuss the movie's pioneering special effects, its place in Zemeckis's filmography, Hollywood beauty culture, and some fantastic outfits for stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.  Plus: Is this movie set in the Roger Rabbit universe? What hap...

This week we're looking at the experiences of a multigenerational cohort of Louisiana women in 1989's Steel Magnolias , adapted by Robert Harling from the play he wrote based on his family's own history.  Join in as we discuss great actresses of the 80s, the most Southern names possible, animal cakes, this movie's weird TV sequel, and innovative bird prevention strategies.  Plus: Why isn't there a...