'80s All Over

Have we really already finished two out of the ten years of this project? Yes. Yes, we have. And as a reward, it's time for 1982, one of the biggest, weirdest, and most eclectic years of the decade. We've got a fistful of horror films to kick things off, including the return of the Dainty Ape himself in VENOM, and we've got a couple of early documentaries from Nick Broomfield and Errol Morris, two of the best-known documentarians of all time. We've also got one of the best films ever made about divorce, an odd little Jack Nicholson thriller, and we are pleased to finally get a chance to talk about VICE SQUAD. Neon slime! Ramrod, baby! Let's do this thing as we kick the year off right!

An absolute legend passes, and two of his biggest fans spend an entire bonus episode speaking on the man's drive, his genius, his talent, his work, and the way that work affected not just them, but multiple generations of filmgoers, and filmmakers.

Wow! We've made it to the end of our second year of the ten-year project, and we're celebrating with another best of episode. While Scott and Drew ended up agreeing completely on their number one film, they surprise each other throughout with their choices, and the results highlight just what a diverse and strange year of movies 1981 was. There's little doubt we'll be talking about Indiana Jones, but we'll also be talking about Albert Brooks, two werewolf movies, throwbacks to film noir and movie musicals, as well as commies and gamblers and time-traveling little people, oh my! Help us wrap up 1981 so we can finally kick off the year many of you have been waiting for, as '80S ALL OVER continues!

You got questions? '80s All Over has answers. The first in a series of episodes where the big ol' mailbag gets dumped over onto Scott and Drew's desks, and they try to answer what they can, as well as they can, before time is up. And the while the questions might not be all that out there, the places this episode winds up are... very interesting, to say the least.

What?! We finished another year?! That's amazing! And what a line-up to feature in our final month of 1981. Jane Fonda and Kris Kristofferson flirt and try to keep the entire world economy from going belly-up, Richard Dreyfuss argues for his right to die, and Chevy Chase gets supernatural powers from magic cocaine. Wait, that can't be right, can it? You want to see why Andy Kaufman didn't have much of a film career? You want to see another Jane Fonda film? Wait: what is it with you and Jane Fonda? Should we be worried? We've got Fred Astaire in his weirdest role ever, and we've got Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in probably the most depressing duet of their long collaboration. But, hey, we've also got Warren Beatty's REDS, so it's all good. Let's do this thing, kids! Bye, 1981! See you soon, 1982!

There have been storytellers as special guests on '80s All Over before, but there are storytellers and then there's writer/director Steven E. De Souza, who hits the ground running in this conversation with Drew and Scott, and literally never stops, starting from day -1 of his career and continuing through some jaw-dropping anecdotes starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, Walter Hill, John McTiernan, and more. Pull up a seat and be regaled by true tales from a key architect of some of the '80s most influential action classics.

As the year winds down, we hit a strange lull. There are definitely some highlights like Terry Gilliam's amazing TIME BANDITS, but we've got some weird jailbait fantasies by filmmakers who should know better, a not-really-based-on-a-true-story love-on-the-run comedy with some chaaaaaaaaaarming actors, a compilation of great animation surrounded by some decidedly not great animation, a heartbroken work by a director in decline, and an amazing thriller gem from Down Under. Only two more two go after this, and we'll be done with two of the ten years of this project! That's insane! What more incentive do you need? Hurry up and listen, because it's November of 1981!

October of 1981 may be one of the most jam-packed months we've ever done, and the types of movies we're discussing are all over the place. We've got a fistful of grimy little horror films like Just Before Dawn, The Pit, and Galaxy of Terror, as well as high-end art-house releases like My Dinner With Andre and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Did you know there was a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Well, we're going to discuss it! We'll discuss the two different Burt Reynolds personas, and we're going to make some sure-to-be-controversial comments about Halloween II. Peter Falk and women wrestlers, Bruce Dern needling Maude Adams, and the final film of the legendary George Cukor... all that and more!

The elements of the show start to lock into place, albeit in forms still not quite ironed out all the way—and wouldn't be until around the fourth or fifth episode of the show proper. But you can already tell that '80s All Over was well on its way, despite the way overlong intro and the not-so-quality sound quality. It certainly helped that August of 1979 provided Scott and Drew with a ton of great topics to touch on, including Apocalypse Now, The Amityville Horror, and the comic majesty of one Biggus Dickus.

We've got socially conscious comedies that are just barely conscious, like SO FINE and CARBON COPY, as well as a slew of wacko horror films like HOME SWEET HOME and DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, and we've got Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro as brothers tangled up in the Black Dahlia case in '40s Los Angeles. Walter Hill, young Rachel Ward, a tame John Belushi, a trio of very different movie mothers, and one of the best scores of the '80s. All of this, and we get to determine if Mel Gibson did or didn't in TIM? It must be September 1981.

The last Patreon exclusive was recorded shortly after one of the show's biggest decisions was made: To call the show '80s All Over as opposed to the original title... "Klytus, I'm Bored." An amazingly delivered line, but maybe not the most appealing or informative name for the podcast. But the proper tribute was shortly paid, as Drew and Scott convened for this commentary focused fully one of their most favorite films of the entire decade.

Not one, but two comedies about the homeless or the mentally ill this week, because in Reagan's America, who didn't find an unbalanced street person delightful? Scott and Drew try to figure out how films like CHU CHU AND THE PHILLY FLASH and HONKY TONK FREEWAY got made, they talk about the lack of charisma that is Chuck Norris, they discuss the weird and often upsetting sexual mores of early '80s comedies, and they debate the relative merits of STUDENT BODIES. We've got early films from Australian icons John Duigan and Peter Weir, we've got Kathleen Turner's movie debut, we've got conservatives and liberals debating on the Supreme Court, and we've got one of the biggest animation experiments of the decade. Stick to the roads and stay off the moors, lads... it's August of 1981.

You can't just start a podcast fully-formed with your very first episode. Rather, I'm sure you can, it just won't stay that way very long, and it probably won't sound all that great. Usually you gotta put some training wheels on the bike and take a couple laps around the block before you show off to your friends. Before the "official" launch, Scott and Drew had to figure out their rhythm and get used to transforming their conversations into a show, and that meant practicing on the month of December, 1979, with films including Spielberg's infamous 1941, Peter Sellers' award-winning performance in Being There, and more.

After the extreme high of June 1981, brace yourself for the very strange month that followed. You want Albert Finney fighting semi-werewolves? You want drunk Dudley Moore? You want to see Mary Poppins with her boobs out? You want to see Bo Derek have sex with an orangutan? Why? What's wrong with you? Brooke Shields, ground zero for the '80s 3D craze, Darby Crash, Carrie Fisher and a bunch of little people, and Pele versus WWII... all part of the insane landscape that made up July 1981.

Of all the films Drew and Scott have championed on the show, none are as thoroughly beloved as this: Robert Altman's bizarre, unique, touching, and authentic adaptation of the classic comic strip, giving star Robin Williams one of his earliest opportunities to show he was more than just Mork; and casting Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl - which is still the single most perfect piece of comic movie casting in film history.

Put simply, this is the biggest episode we've released so far. When we talk about big months, you can't get much more packed than this. CLASH OF THE TITANS. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. STRIPES. DRAGONSLAYER. HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1. That would be a lot, right? But that's not it. DEMONOID also came... wait, what the hell is DEMONOID? SUPERMAN II. THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER. THE CANNONBALL RUN. And a dude named Indiana Jones. You are not ready. We were not ready. This is why we do this podcast.

One of the decade's most versatile and interesting "That guys" was actually this woman, who scared the hell out of people in Nightmare on Elm Street, but also counts among her contributions to '80s cinema roles in Better Off Dead, Silverado, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Oh, my god, there were roughly 11,000 movies released in May of 1981, and we managed to discuss every single one of them. You want John Waters? We've got John Waters. You want Hal Ashby? We've got Hal Ashby. We've got Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin together. We've got a terrible Lone Ranger movie. We've got Stewart Rafill at his Stewart Rafillest. Sean Connery's in outer space! And Richard Pryor shows up in a really terrible comedy featuring kids and the Klan! All that plus five -- yes FIVE -- slasher films. What are you waiting for?!

On a chilling, cold, and super-spooky (checks notes) ... Sunday morning in broad daylight, Scott and Drew convened, triumphed over technological shortcomings, and delivered their appreciations, admirations, and thoughts on the John Carpenter classic, The Fog.

Get ready to listen to the only podcast you will ever hear that manages to transition from Tony Danza in GOIN' APE to Federico Fellini's CITY OF WOMEN. That's right, it's April 1981, and that means it's one seriously weird line-up. There are some classics, like EXCALIBUR and NIGHTHAWKS, and there are some no-so-classics like CAVEMAN and BLOODY BIRTHDAY. We found a delightful and largely forgotten Western with Burt Lancaster, and you'll get to hear a story about how Drew was a total creep to Susan Sarandon. What are you waiting for? Press play now!