Episode 188 - THE WEDDING SINGER

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to revisit the Summer of Sandler! This time, our celebration has a decidedly romantic bent, as we untangle the mysteries of life, love, and local entertainers through the lessons of The Wedding Singer. It's an ouroboros of nostalgia that entangles our affection for '90s icons like Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with a valentine to the omnipresent pop culture of the '80s.

Lindsay Mead keeps the party going in our ongoing tribute to the Sandman - and to the co-stars that shine just as bright in this feel-good retro romp. It's another WWWW love-fest...WHOOP-A-DEE-DOO!

The Wedding Singer (1998)
Directed by Frank Coraci
Written by Tim Herlihy
Starring Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave, Angela Featherstone, Ellen Dow, and Billy Idol

Episode 121 - THE SECRET GARDEN

A beloved children's story approaches something mystical in the 1993 film adaptation of The Secret Garden. The practice of horticulture heals a sickly boy, comforts a melancholy widower, and introduces a quarrelsome girl to the love of friends and family. Stunted emotions and somber realities slowly bloom into a lush, blissful statement on the powers of intuition.

Special guest Lindsay Marie Mead brings her green thumb and uncanny insights to this totally "wick" episode, which has blossomed just in time for the movie's 25th anniversary!

The Secret Garden (1993)
Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Produced by Fred Fuchs, Tom Luddy, Fred Roos, and Francis Ford Coppola
Written by Caroline Thompson
Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Starring Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Laura Crossley, John Lynch, Walter Sparrow, Irene Jacob, and Maggie Smith

Episode 82 - 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

To an American high school student, few writers seem as imposingly archaic as William Shakespeare. Yet ol' Billy Shakes understood, perhaps better than anyone else, the romantic warfare that is a quintessential part of the teenage experience. That feisty, melodramatic spirit animates the backbiting and bon mots of 10 Things I Hate About You, a memorable part of the Bard's cinematic renaissance in the 1990s.

Guest host Lindsay Marie Mead is our prom date for this lighthearted story of accidental infatuation adapted from The Taming of the Shrew, which updates the timeless tale with prescient casting, wacky interpretations of high school clichés, and a healthy dose of rock 'n roll girl power.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Directed by Gil Junger
Produced by Andrew Lazar and Jody Hedien
Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith
Based on The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
Starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Gabrielle Union, Susan May Pratt, Allison Janney, Daryl Mitchell, and Larry Miller

Episode 30 - D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS

Disney's Mighty Ducks franchise re-invented the moribund "ragtag youth sports" genre for the 1990s, sanding off the edges of the protean and profane Bad News Bears and kid-ifying the wild wooliness of adult entertainments like Slap Shot and Bull Durham.

But of the many lessons children learned from the most lovable peewee hockey team in Minnesota - believing in yourself, working hard, and being true to who you are - none of them could boast the incredible stakes introduced in the second film, which doused the series' inspirational fire with a can of jingoistic kerosene.

Just in time for the 4th of July, special guest Lindsay Marie Mead joins us to look back at how D2: The Mighty Ducks and Team USA imprinted our minds with formative images of national pride, ethnic and regional stereotypes, and amazing female goaltenders who only get to play for 30 seconds of an entire tournament.

D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
Directed by Sam Weisman
Produced by Jon Avnet and Jordan Kerner
Written by Steven Brill
Starring Emilio Estevez, Kathryn Erbe, Carsten Norgaard, Joshua Jackson, and Kenan Thompson