Episode 147 - MEN IN BLACK

As a genre hybrid, Men in Black is a masterclass: a buddy cop comedy cloaked in the trappings of a science fiction thriller. They go together like a dark suit and a pair of Ray-Bans, or a grumpy veteran agent and his upstart wiseass partner. From its hilarious deadpan humor to its impressive makeup effects, MIB is beguilingly simple in concept, but remarkably clever in execution.

We had a blast Neuranalyzing this highly influential summer blockbuster. Come and join the conspiracy; no need to don your shades. We are nostalgia defenders, and we will let you remember.

Men in Black (1997)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Laurie McDonald and Walter F. Parkes
Written by Ed Solomon
Based on the comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shaloub, Tim Blaney, and Rip Torn

Episode 70 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES

Addams Family Values abandons all pretense to the relatively tame spookiness and ookiness associated with the macabre clan's previous iterations. It's a surprisingly dark and nihilistic free-for-all, filled with violence, mayhem, and sick burns (both fiery and verbal).

No taboo remains unbroken as Blythe Rudloff makes her long-awaited return to the podcast to salute this abnormally superior sequel and its stinging humor, and to explicate one of the laziest movie themes of all time. Whoomp! Here it is.

Addams Family Values (1993)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Scott Rudin
Written by Paul Rudnick
Based on the characters created by Charles Addams
Starring Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Peter MacNichol, Christine Baranski, David Krumholtz, Carol Kane, Carel Struycken, Christopher Hart, and Joan Cusack

Episode 52 - WILD WILD WEST

In this episode we go way, way back--not just back to an alternate-history version of the American West, but also back to the retrograde masculinity and offensive sophomoric humor of pop culture in...well, in almost any time, sadly.

An unholy alliance of ego-stroking and trend-chasing can explain much of Wild Wild West, the film that finally gave Jon Peters the giant spider he always wanted. But is the movie the right kind of dumb juvenile fun?

We peel back the layers of Wild Wild West's steampunk aesthetic and latent homoeroticism in a scintillating debate, including a bonus discussion of the music video for Will Smith's iconic contribution to the film's soundtrack. So swallow your pride, don't let your lip react, and enjoy this wild, wild What Were We Watching!

Wild Wild West (1999)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Jon Peters and Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock and Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Based on "The Wild Wild West" created by Michael Garrison
Starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh, Bai Ling, and Ted Levine