Honey, You Should Watch This.

Ernest Goes to Camp - 50th Episode Awards

It's our 50th episode, and Greg has been threatening this movie since episode one:  1987's "Ernest Goes to Camp."  

For this first half of the episode, Susan and Greg talk about the first Ernest movie starring Jim Varney, John Vernon, and Iron Eyes Cody.  Greg and Susan discuss Varney's early career and how the advertising career he pursued after quitting acting jettisoned him into the stoplight with the creation of Ernest.

In the second half of the episode,  Greg and Susan reminisce over the first 50 episodes and discuss which movies delivered, which were lacking,
and so much more.  

Saved!

After some "backsliding," we use to rededicate ourselves to our podcast by discussing Susan's pick: 2004s "Saved!" starring Jenna Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Eva Amurri, Patrick Fugit, and Mary Louise Parker.  

"Saved!" tells the story of Mary Cummings (Malone), a senior at a fundamental Christian school who learns her boyfriend is gay.  Believing that Jesus will restore her purity, Mary has sex with him in an attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The plan doesn't work. Mary's boyfriend gets sent to a Christain rehabilitation center, and Mary ends up pregnant. Mary must deal with her shaken faith and hide her pregnancy to stay in school and avoid being bullied by her ex-friend, the uber pious Hillary-Faye (Moore.)

Susan and Greg discuss the teen satire's themes of religion, faith, hypocrisy, and questioning of one's deeply held beliefs. They also disucss the performances of the cast and the much darker ending written initially for the film. As usual, Susan and Greg also talk about the one plot that took them out of the movie in "I Have Questions" and share their top three favorite scenes.

Who's Harry Crumb?

For this episode, Greg selected a gem of an 80s film. Well, it might be closer to a Diamonique of a movie with a gem of an actor.   Anyway, Susan and Greg watched "Who's Harry Crumb?" starring John Candy, Annie Potts, Jeffery Jones, and Shawnee Smith.  

Being a John Candy fan, Susan wanted to love it but found it to be unsuccessfully derivative of bigger 80s hits such as "Ruthless People," "Naked Gun: Two and Half," and "Fletch."  Greg just enjoyed "Who's Harry Crumb" for what it was:  a silly 1980s film.  

The two discuss Candy, Potts, and Jones' performances. They also walk through some of the film's comedic scenes and rate "funny or not funny."  As always, "have questions" about the things that took them out of the film.

Jennifer's Body

Susan has Greg watch the beautiful disaster that is 2009s "Jennifer's Body." The two examine the once-maligned comedy/horror film starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and written by Diablo Cody that is now enjoying a cult revival. The couple discusses how "Jennifer's Body" is prime example of how studio marketing can derail the creators' vision. They also explore how the studio did a disservice for the film's star, Cody, and its director, Karen Kuzyama. 

 

Resources referenced:

Jennifer's Body Reunion: Megan Fox and Diablo Cody Get Candid About Hollywood (Exclusive), ET Live, September 19, 2019 https://youtu.be/u2JLRtWlq0o

 

Framing Megan Fox: Feminist Theory Part 3 | The Whole Plate: Episode 7, Lindsey Ellis, September 23, 2017 https://youtu.be/tKyrUMUervU

 

Everything Wrong With Jennifer's Body In 18 Minutes Or Less, Cinema Sins, October 1, 2020 https://youtu.be/bNHjgJy8FfkJennifer's Body

Cast Away

After an unplanned hiatus, Greg and Susan are back!  We did not 'cast away" our podcast. Nor did we break in our recording schedule to get into castaway shape.  COVID hit our household.  We're back and raring to jump into Greg's pick for Susan: 2000's "Cast Away" starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt.

Susan and Greg "splashdown" into the movie about FedEx Systems Executive Chuck Noland. Chuck must attend to pressing business in Malaysia on Christmas Eve.  He leaves his soon-to-be fiance, Kelly, behind, promising he'll be back soon.  The FedEx plane he's traveling in goes down over the Pacific, and, as the only survivor, Chuck must learn how to keep himself alive.  Chuck hatches a plan to escape the island, leaving with his volleyball companion, Wilson.  Once he's rescues, Chuck must switch from surviving to living, especially when those who mourned him have moved on with their lives.

Your hosts discuss the unique way the movie was made, the themes of the film, the characters and their relatability and flaws. Greg does a reality check on how the crash was portrayed and, as always, we discuss trivia and other goodies,

Resources referenced in this episode:

CAST AWAY BEHIND THE SCENES [VHS] 2001 - https://youtu.be/0lBAiCut9JoCast Away

North by Northwest

Susan and Greg look towards "a Northwesterly direction" as they discuss Susan's pick, Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest." The film, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Martin Landeau, is considered one of the greatest films of all time. Do your hosts feel the same way? Listen and find out!

 

The Ultimate Fashion History. (2017, January 11). FAVE FILM FASHION: “North by Northwest” (1959). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

 

Turner Classic Movies. (2020, April 16). Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau Discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwIZoD7r8H8

 

Cary Grant Calls Jamie Lee Curtis. North by Northwest Meets Halloween. 

https://youtu.be/HiCHeZNxMxwNorth by North West

Dave Made a Maze

Along with their friends Barb and Jacob, Greg and Susan get lost in the fantasy, horror craziness that is the film "Dave Made a Maze."

 

The movie stars Nick Thune as Dave, an artist that can't seem to finish what he starts, and Meera Rohit Kumbhani as Dave's long-suffering girlfriend, who must put her and their friends' lives in peril to rescue Dave from his latest creation.

 

Dave Made a Maze was written and directed by Bill Watterson (the actor, not the cartoonist) and featured a gallery of wonderfully imaginative and artistic set pieces. The group discusses the cast, the script, and the movie's meaning in a "no holds barred" conversation.

 

Resources referenced in this episode:

 

Bill Watterson and cast talk "Dave Made A Maze" at Sundance 2017, BeyondCinemaMagazine, YouTube, https://youtu.be/ItXFogIbSwo

 

Dave Made a Maze Is a Wacky Fairy Tale About the Folly of Trying to Make Something Perfect, Evan Narcisse, August 18, 2017, Gizmodo https://io9.gizmodo.com/dave-made-a-maze-is-a-wacky-fairy-tale-about-the-folly-1797990367

 

DAVE MADE A MAZE; Or, the Artist Matures, Words: C.H. Newell, September 18, 2017, Fathers of Holy Gore, https://fathersonholygore.com/2017/09/18/dave-made-a-maze-or-the-artist-matures/

 

Dave Made A Maze - preproduction behind-the-scenes, Dave Made a Maze, April 30, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpNb4-k-RSU

 

No Country for Old Men

In this episode, Susan and Greg discuss another Coen Brother's film and  Greg's pick 2007's "No Country for Old Men."  The 2008 Academy-Award Best Picture winner stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin with a featured performance by Woody Harrelson.

Greg and Susan discuss the movie's themes, the nuanced and award-winning performance by Bardem, and dive into parts of the film that stuck with them.  They also discuss the choices the Coens made to translate the story from book to film.

As always, trivia about the movie is shared along with Greg and Susan's top three scenes.

 

The Philosophy of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Wisecrack ...

YouTube · Wisecrack, 

Nov 23, 2019

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12:19

No Country for Old Men — Don't Underestimate the Audience

YouTube · Lessons from the Screenplay, Aug 24, 2018

 

 

 

Fargo

Do Susan and Greg continue with 90s movies in this episode? Oh ya, you betcha! Susan selected 1996's "Fargo" starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, and Harve Presnell and written and directed by the Coen brothers.

 

In this episode, the couple discusses the Academy Award-nominated film's key themes, the original casting decisions by the Coen Brothers, and other trivia about the film.

 

Resources referenced in this episode:

 

 Cobb, K. (2020, December 28). Is the Coen Brothers’ Movie “Fargo” a True Story? Decider. https://decider.com/2020/12/28/is-fargo-movie-based-on-a-true-story/

 

VanDerWerff, E. (2016, March 8). Fargo turns 20 today. Its fans are still arguing about this scene. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/3/8/11177872/fargo-movie-mike-yanagita-anniversary

 

 

 

Bad Boys

Whatcha' going. Whatcha' going to do? Well, Greg wanted Susan to watch 1995's "Bad Boys." And that's what she did! The blockbuster action-comedy stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in their first leading film roles. It is the first feature film directed by Michael Bay.  "Bady Boys" also stars Téa Leoni and Tchéky Karyo.

As usual, Greg and Susan discuss their impressions of the film, discuss trivia about it, and share their top three moments. Bad Boys