Episode 113 - SPACEBALLS

To celebrate May the Fourth (as well as the impending debut of a film about the solo adventures of a certain space rogue) your intrepid podcast hosts are proud to present Not Quite Star Wars Month! We get things rolling with Spaceballs, Mel Brooks's quotable spoof of sci-fi sagas. Kristal Bailey and Kevin Taylor drop by to share their thoughts on our favorite Rick Moranis performances, Lone Starr's "glow up," and the conspicuous amount of profanity in this PG-rated film.

Prepare your earbuds for ludicrous speed, and may the Force...er, may the Schwartz be with you!

Spaceballs (1987)
Directed and produced by Mel Brooks
Written by Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, and Ronny Graham
Starring Rick Moranis, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, George Wyner, Dick Van Patten, and Mel Brooks

Episode 61 - HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS

It's not too much of a stretch to look at Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and see a sly portrait of the American nuclear family in crisis, fractured by the stresses of work, technology, and the pursuit of a mythical suburban ideal. In this light, the concept of a fantastical shrinking ray is a clever way to illustrate how the movie's young protagonists gain a different perspective on the importance of accepting others and getting along--a lesson in maturity that's earned without ever leaving the backyard.

We welcome Screen Invasion editor-in-chief Kristal Bailey to help us discuss how the film's micro-adventures inspired our own imaginations, as well as a couple of beloved theme park attractions. Plus: sympathy for aging dads, insect phobias, and a sidebar on paternity issues in Ghostbusters II. It's all part of this big episode about tiny people!

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
Directed by Joe Johnston
Produced by Penney Finkelman Cox
Written by Ed Naha and Tom Schulman
Starring Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland, Amy O'Neill, Robert Oliveri, Thomas Wilson Brown, and Jared Rushton

Episode 35 - THE FLINTSTONES

Flintstones/Meet the Flintstones;
They're a famous pre-sold property.

From the/Mind of Spielberg;
And the Hanna-Barbera legacy.

Let's ride/With some wacky set design;
Bedrock/How you pictured in your mind.

I guess there's/Still a movie;
It's an ok time,
A convoluted time,
A nostalgic cash-in time!

The Flintstones (1994)
Directed by Brian Levant
Produced by Bruce Cohen
Written by Tom S. Parker & Jim Jennewein and Steven E. de Souza
Based on the cartoon created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Starring John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O'Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Halle Berry, and Elizabeth Taylor

Episode 6 - LITTLE GIANTS

How prescient is Little Giants?  It's a movie about a ragtag peewee football team that eerily touches on several hot-button topics in the college and pro game: scurrilous recruiting, the glorification of hostile masculinity, and the spread offense.  It's no wonder it would essentially be remade six years later, with adults, as The Replacements.

How dated is Little Giants?  It's got concussion jokes.  It mercilessly makes fun of the fat kid.  Every camcorder in the film is only slightly smaller than a ghettoblaster.  It assumes the audience still recognizes John Madden as an actual football coach.

All this, plus the complexities of Icebox as a ‘90s feminist icon, in this week’s episode.


Little Giants (1994)
Directed by Duwayne Dunham
Produced by Arne Schmidt
Written by James Ferguson & Robert Shallcross and Tommy Swerdlow & Michael Goldberg
Starring Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, Shawna Waldron, and Devon Sawa