'80s All Over

It's not often one gets to talk to their heroes, and in this episode, Scott Weinberg gets to have a conversation with the film critic who helped him realize that's a thing he could be, too. Carrie Rickey joins Scott and Drew to discuss her history in Philadelphia media, her favorite movies, and her experiences surviving the '80s.

Man, this is where you start to feel like you're lost in a dark forest, and the right path appears not anywhere... Ninjas and frightmares and terrorists, oh, my! Rip Torn, Deathstalkers, and Koyaanisqatsi? That's not enough for you? You want more? How about two movies called the exact same goddamn thing? I'll even throw in Eddie, some Cruisers, and a Brainstorm. And that's still not even half of what we're covering in September of 1983.

One of the most prolific directors in film history had a pretty busy 1980s, and Drew and Scott dive into his history and that filmography—ignoble (yet fascinating!)—as it may be, touching on his most mediocre-est of hits! Or misses. Mostly misses, really.

The dog days of summer were particularly cruel this year. I mean, sure, there's a pretty good dog film in the form of Cujo, but that's only one small part of a very rocky landscape. Can the Pink Panther series get even worse? Yep. Can the Smokey and the Bandit series get even worse than that? We're almost done with 3D, thank god, but it's got a few more scars to leave. Sword and sorcery junk, post-apocalyptic dreck, and a teen sex comedy that's a real... well, you know. There are highlights. George Lucas throws a buddy a bone and we get an animated gem as a result. Peter Hyams does some moralizing. Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi get it on. Rodney Dangerfield has to stop getting it on if he wants to get rich. And Bob and Doug MacKenzie head to Elsinore Brewery for some Strange Brew. All this plus the Citizen Kane of teen comedies and Berlin Alexanderplatz? It must be August of 1983.

This bonus pairing of podcasts, this extra-special mashup of two movie-talking-tastes that taste very wry together isn't as jubilantly off the rails as Junkfood All Over was, but that's because Eric D. Snider and Jeff Bayer of Movie BS with Bayer and Snider is a more restrained, yet somehow still rambunctious listening experience, and when they take over this bonus episode, things do - no doubt - derail spectacularly, but with just a touch of class, too. Or as much class as can be mustered one one is championing the "classic" comedy Hunk.

Do you know what a glaive is? If so, you're already one step ahead for the generally rotten July 1983. We've got science-fiction junk, horror junk, sequel junk, and comedy junk. Sure, John Hughes basically hit the ground running this month, but that does not make up for the silly 3D shark sequel set at Sea World. Let's be honest. Nothing does.

The decade began with The Blues Brothers getting released to theaters, and was swiftly followed up by Popeye coming ashore on the big screen; you've gotta know that with an opening that strong, the '80s were going to be a decade that delivered some amazing musicals, and Drew and Scott come together to discuss their very favorites, including some of the usual singing and dancing suspects, and some you might not expect to get their share of the spotlight!

We're still hungover from May, and it's June already?! Ahhhh, yes, here's the month where 1983 really gets its stink on. How about a Porky's sequel? No? How about a terrible James Bond film? No, wait, I know, let's cast Richard Pryor in a Superman sequel! How could that be anything BUT awesome? There are some great films this month, but not many. We had to look overseas and then uncover a few gems in unexpected places. Ingmar Bergman saves the summer! When's the last time anyone said that? If last month's Bill Cosby, Himself was controversial, that's nothing compared to the superstar anthology film that still haunts us from this month, and we're going to get into it. Strap on your safety helmets. June 1983 is a full-contact sport.

Scott flies solo on this bonus that is pulled entirely from his very active Twitter feed: He poses a question to the listeners, the listeners react, and then Scott reacts back. It's an extended act of react-ception, really. Not sure if that's the right word for it, though. It's not a word anyway, so it probably doesn't matter. Anyway, enjoy this half-hour of intimate alone time with Scott and his Twitter.

Ewoks, man. Ewoks.There are other movies, too.

While the main show is solely for qualitatively cherished entertainments of the '80s, this bonus episode not only allowed Scott and Drew a chance to dig into Steven Spielberg's brand-spankin-new adaptation of a book that could have only been written because of the '80s, Ready Player One, but those insights are fleshed out via an interview with that film's writer, Zak Penn, who talks at length about his own intense '80s experiences, and the films that inspired him to become a filmmaker.

Ahhh, April. It's not summer yet, but the holidays are done, and in 1983, studios didn't know what the hell to do with themselves. Fassbinder's final feature film, some more teen sex comedies, a horror film that's barely a horror film, another horror film that is mainly a great poster in search of a movie, OJ Simpson and a dog, and possibly one of the best Italian knock-off post-apocalyptic films ever made... and that's just the start. Do you like Chuck Norris? Why? Even if you don't, though, holy cow, you have got to see Lone Wolf McQuade. That's really the big theme of the month... movies you've got to see for yourself. Sexy vampires, even sexier aliens, and the sexiest goddamn steel worker of all time. James Toback slimes it up, young Nic Cage charms the shit out of us, and something wicked heads in our general direction. All that plus the debut of one Samuel Muthaforkin' Raimi? It's a gift of a month, really. You'll see.

Not so much a guest spot or a bonus episode as it was a wholly satisfying podcast mash-up combining two great movie-loving tastes that cannot stay on-topic if everyone's lives depended on it. Brian Salisbury and C. Robert Cargill of Junkfood Cinema come roaring into this bonus episode of '80s All Over and even attempting to describe the movie-flavored madness that's indulged would do the episode a disservice. You gotta listen!

Before we even get into how surprisingly good this month is, let's just say there's a movie here that could be considered one of the most influential movies almost no one has seen, and without telling you what it is, I'll just say that we'll cover a lot of hip-hop films this decade, and it all starts here. Did we mention it's March of 1983already? And that it's a better month than we expected? I mean, we can make the case for at least two all-timers this month, and maybe three, and that's not counting the really solid triples that are also packed in there. John Sayles? Sure. Neil Simon? If we must. Young Sean Penn versus Young Esai Morales? Bring it on. Chuck Bronson makes it sleazy, THE BEYOND makes it weird, and Tom Selleck desperately tries to make up for the worst decision of his career. Stay gold, Pony Boy. It's time for a new '80s ALL OVER.

Scott goes solo on this very special episode with the star of flat-out classics like Re-Animator and From Beyond, Barbara Crampton, who shares a lot of very interesting behind-the-scenes stories on getting those indelible roles, and what it's like to keep a career healthy through four decades of Hollywood changes.

Okay, you know what? 1983 is already getting really interesting. Think about what we get to talk about this week. Bukowski. Wim Wenders. The Year Of Living Dangerously. Pinter. Hal Ashby. The Rolling Stones. Gilbert & Sullivan. Linda Ronstadt. And at least three genuinely all-time great films that I haven't even hinted at? I see you, 1983, and I like where you're going. Let's do this.

One-third of maybe the most popular movie podcast in podcast history (All 12 or so real years of it) sees fit to grace Scott and Drew with his presence. Granted, there's some technical difficulties with his mic, but look: If you can get Paul Scheer of How Did This Get Made and The Disaster Artist and The League and The Good Place on your podcast to talk about underrated, unsung, and plain weird faves from the '80s, you do it, and the boys absolutely dug into some stuff you're definitely going to wanna seek out once this show is done.

Here we go: We've talked some trash about 1983 as we've been ramping up to it, but let us assure you... we are going into this just as excited as we are about any month of any year of this project. This is where it starts to feel like we're really doing this. 1981 was fun. 1982 was easy. But 1983 is our fourth season of the show, and it's the moment when the multiplex started to explode across America. More screens meant more films, and more films meant more variety, both in subject matter and quality, and we hope to make sense of the onslaught. We're already feeling it, too, because there are approximately 745 films every month. Like what?Don't make me say Wacko, damn you. Don't make me do it.

Some of cinema's most sneeringest, preeningest, smarmiest, most-punchable-in-the-biggus-dickusest villains came straight out of the '80s, and Drew and Scott came together to champion the actors who brought them to life, and to revel in just how lovably hatable these characters are.

This is our third wrap-up show, and now the format's starting to feel familiar. 1982 is considered one of the seminal years of the decade in terms of movies, so what did we pick as the best of the best? It's a surprising list on both counts, and one you're sure to have strong feelings about, especially if you're a regular listener! Dig in!