Why This Movie?

In our SERIES FINALE, we'll look at 1988's Scrooged and how the Christmas season contains an inherent darkness.

Listen to my conversation with Tiffany Stafford about the role holiday movies play in grounding us and setting annual markers in our lives, and the hidden nuances within the story of Buddy the Elf.

Happy Christmas! Here is a re-gifted episode, a look at White Christmas, snow, Vermont, and the age-old adage that "the show must go on."

In this conversation, we take a look at Frank Darabont's The Green Mile and the burden of compassion.

Inspirational, based on a true story, and with a performance from Denzel Washington that keeps the sentimentality under control, Remember the Titans (2000) goes under post-game analysis in this episode of Why This Movie?

It's the spookiest time of year, and the perfect time to dive deep into the best scary movie ever made. Hear about the calculation and intelligence that went into the making of Psycho, and how its every move has been working like crazy for 65 years.

In honor of spooky season, we're releasing this conversation with filmmaker Stefan MacDonald-Labelle about Scanners (1981), his film Head Like a Hole, and the power of horror to illuminate social issues.

It's a movie first, and a musical second. Or is it the other way around? Join us this week for a look at Steven Spielberg's 2021 West Side Story, starring Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose. "Things are all right in America / When you're all white in America..."

We're back! In our Season 2 premiere, I'm taking a deep dive into the spiritual and meditative nature of Cast Away (2000) starring Tom Hanks.

How do we stay optimistic when it seems like civilization is collapsing around us? The environment presented to us in The American President - of a Washington, DC in which smart people argue with each other in order to solve the country's problems - may hold the key. My guest Jonathan Paula talks with me about his love for this movie and why he is "a hopeless optimist."

Comic and television personality Abbi Crutchfield joins me to talk about the zany, deadly, and hilarious So I Married an Axe Murderer! You can find Abbi at @curlycomedy on Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Beloved television character Lizzie McGuire finds herself in Rome, and we are all going along for the ride! In this conversation, hear what Lizzie has to teach us about relatability, self-expression, and what dreams are made of (Hey Now, Hey Now).

A Christmas movie in June?! What the actual frost...? Don't worry, we haven't completely lost our minds - Elf is the movie my guest (Tiffany Stafford) wanted to talk about, and guests rule the roost in the Why This Movie? Podcast Studio. Listen to our conversation about the role holiday movies play in grounding us and setting annual markers in our lives, and the hidden nuances within the story of...

In this conversation about Forrest Gump, Trent Ashcraft and I mourn the loss of the monoculture and the time when a character-driven movie could become a cultural phenomenon without being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"The Dude abides..." What does that mean? And how do we - throughout life's hurdles (even when our rugs are micturated upon) - continue to abide? The Big Lebowski presents a philosophy of relaxed indifference and a focus on life's little pleasures that we may do well to embrace. In this conversation with Matthew Rand, we uncover the Dude's outlook and what we can glean from it as we trudge through...

In this episode of Why This Movie?, listen to my conversation with my ex-wife about Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese's epic from 1990 about the reality of life in the mob.

What is it about the horror genre that lends itself to deeper meaning and morality tales? Join filmmaker Stefan MacDonald-LaBelle and me for this conversation on the 1981 horror classic Scanners and how film is sometimes the best messenger for complex social issues.

Is there a hidden philosophy to Steve Martin's first movie? Or is it simply foolishness? See where Joe Reeves and I land in this conversation about his favorite film, 1979's The Jerk.

"His whole life was a million to one shot..." In this episode of WTM?, I'm speaking with my old pal and standup comedian Luke Thayer about his favorite movie - Rocky . We tackle talent, luck, and what it means to go the distance.

FIlmmaker and actor Nicole Matarese joins Why This Movie? to talk about her favorite movie, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - a comedy from 1992 that you've probably never heard of. Listen to our conversation about Adrienne Shelly, underrated sequels, and why this movie reaches "a new high in low comedy."

After a brief hiatus, Why This Movie? is back! We welcome our first return guest, Candice Fanning, here to talk about 1959's Some Like It Hot. In this conversation, we cover VHS, Tony Curtis's Mid-Atlantic (or is it British?) accent, and how Marilyn Monroe remains one of the great misunderstood figures in popular culture.

In 1985, Universal released a time travel comedy called Back to the Future. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film sees Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) accidentally wind up in his hometown thirty years in the past. Before helping his friend Dr. Emmett Brown with an experiment that sends him back in time, Marty lives a life that isn’t exactly inspired. Beside...

Carpe diem.

On the occasion of Valentine's Day, we dive into 2017's romantic, devastating, and unforgettable Call Me By Your Name. We talk about Italy, the 1980s, the chemistry between Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, and how sad movies are a safe place to process one's feelings.

It's been less than two years since Paul Reubens passed away, taking the indelible character of Pee-Wee Herman with him. In this conversation, we talk about the last movie Reubens made as Pee-Wee Herman and how this character has something to say about being oneself in a sometimes scary world.