Episode 27 - CAMP NOWHERE

Camp Nowhere is a product of every kid's dream about that one perfect summer - that if we just had the time and resources, we could turn those three school-free months into something worth remembering forever.

In this case, it means taking over a former hippie commune and turning it into a playpen of Super Soakers, Jetskis, and electric guitar solos, all in the name of non-specific, PG-rated '90s rebellion.  Christopher Lloyd adds to the film's far-out vibe by re-imagining his iconic Taxi burnout Reverend Jim as a former flower child who doubles as a kind of camp counselor/enabler of unsupervised minors.

Also, Brian Rudloff returns to the show to share his own memories of cinematic summertime bliss, and to help us decide if Camp Nowhere is more than a typical wish fulfillment fantasy.

Camp Nowhere (1994)
Directed by Jonathan Prince
Produced by Michael Peyser
Written by Andrew Kurtzman and Eliot Wald
Starring Jonathan Jackson, Andrew Keegan, Marnette Patterson, Melody Kay, Wendy Makkena, M. Emmet Walsh, and Christopher Lloyd

Episode 26 - STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH

In many ways, the legacy of the Star Wars prequels is embedded within Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.  Is it the awesomely dark conclusion that many lauded in 2005 for bestowing a kind of amnesty upon its poorly-received predecessors?  Is it the crucial narrative piece that casts the entire Star Wars saga in a new light, vis à vis the Skywalker clan?  Or is it just more haphazardly-realized Bantha poodoo?

Prequels pundit Eric Wheeler and podcast songsmith Daren Sprawls join the show to help us answer these and many more questions as WWWW's Star Wars series continues apace.  Be sure to stay tuned until the end for a special musical treat!

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Written and directed by George Lucas
Produced by Rick McCallum
Starring Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, and Ian McDiarmid

Check out the rest of our series on the Star Wars saga:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Episode 25 - GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE

If God were to create a man in the image of a Saturday morning cartoon, it's highly likely that he would look like Brendan Fraser: a hulking, manically expressive dervish with a megawatt grin.  There are many ways a live-action remake of Jay Ward's George of the Jungle could fail; the only way it works, however, is with someone as committed and sincere as Fraser at the center of it all.

George of the Jungle pulls out all the stops in an effort to elicit laughs, rapidly transitioning from broad slapstick to broad fish-out-of-water comedy to broad meta-jokes (courtesy of the wry narrator that was a hallmark of all Ward's cartoons).  And keeping everything afloat is Fraser, whose own performance is a stunt on par with the various tricks, both animal and human, that fill in the gaps between each of the movie's shameless yet lovingly rendered gags.

George of the Jungle (1997)

Directed by Sam Weisman

Produced by David Hoberman, Jordan Kerner, and Jon Avnet

Written by Dana Olsen and Audrey Wells

Based on George of the Jungle by Jay Ward and Bill Scott

Starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Richard Roundtree, Holland Taylor, and John Cleese

Correction: In this episode we refer to Jungle 2 Jungle's release date being in July 1997.  It was actually released in theaters in March 1997.  Turns out we were the only ones obsessed with "Jungle Month" tie-ins.

Episode 24 - JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE

If it had been released in a different era, Jungle 2 Jungle - a movie about a rich white man trying to prevent a kid raised in a remote Amazonian village from attempting to kill and consume every animal he sees in the big city - would have triggered a thinkpiece avalanche.

But this was 1997.  Nobody was going to question Tim Allen, a bona fide box office king thanks to his smart-alecky schtick and shit-eating grin.  The sitcom stalwart and Disney company man stars alongside a debuting Sam Huntington, who is asked to spend way more time in a loincloth than any 13-year-old should.

As desperate in its broadly telegraphed comedy as it is prescient about films with subplots about pushy reality TV crews, Jungle 2 Jungle is a prime example of one of our favorite genres: the dad-venture.  So please, put down your satellite phone and try to refrain from talking about the commodities market long enough to stop disappointing your estranged son.

Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)

Directed by John Pasquin

Produced by Richard Baker and Brad Krevoy

Written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon

Based on the film Un indien dans la ville

Starring Tim Allen, Martin Short, JoBeth Williams, Lolita Davidovich, David Ogden Stiers, and Sam Huntington

Episode 23 - STREET FIGHTER

April Fool!  It's the perfect time to debut our special "anti-podcast" feature, What Weren't We Watching, and record our thoughts on a film that somehow slipped through the cracks of our childhoods: the 1994 video game adaptation Street Fighter.

You can practically see the seams in this notoriously troubled production, which nonetheless stands as an appropriately colorful and wacky interpretation of a plot-thin game featuring a masked toreador-turned-cage fighter with metal claws and a green mutant that electrocutes people.  The movie only compounds the madness with an "American" military officer played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, numerous sartorial in-jokes, and a tone that veers between madcap and murderous.

Street Fighter (1994)

Written and directed by Steven E. de Souza

Produced by Edward R. Pressman and Kenzo Tsujimoto

Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raúl Juliá, Ming-Na Wen, Damian Chapa, Byron Mann, Kylie Minogue, and Wes Studi

Episode 22 - GLADIATOR

Gladiator's place in our cultural canon is almost entirely due to its violence: just thinking about the title conjures up images of severed limbs, overflowing viscera, and a beefy Russell Crowe asking a crowd whether or not that day's murders have amused them sufficiently.  What's most interesting about this violence, however, is how little of it (relatively speaking) is actually shown.

In a way it makes perfect sense that Ridley Scott's film ruled the first Oscar ceremony held in the 21st century.  It is a very old-school drama in a throwback genre, clean and simple, and its lack of metatextual meddling makes it almost like cinematic comfort food.  Aside from a few grisly moments, Gladiator is most disturbing in our imaginations.

Gladiator (2000)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Produced by Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, and Branko Lustig
Written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson
Starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Dijmon Hounsou, and Richard Harris

Episode 21 - SPACE JAM

"The customer is always right. The. Customer. Is. Always. Right... ALWAYS." This is the philosophy advocated by antagonist Mr. Swackhammer, as he mugs for the camera, within the first few minutes of Space Jam. His evil plan will consist of exploiting both the Looney Tunes and basketball legend Michael Jordan to be made attractions for his intergalactic amusement park, Moron Mountain. Are the filmmakers openly acknowledging the fact that Space Jam is ultimately an extended plug for Bugs Bunny, "His Airness," and its own merchandise? Were we the morons back in 1996?

Daren Sprawls, creator of our infectious theme song, finally joins us on the podcast to answer that question, dissecting our conflicting feelings of alienation from such a blatant commercial maneuver and unabashed nostalgia for the very things the movie advertised, namely that stellar soundtrack. Speaking of which, Daren tops it all off by treating us to a slam-dunk cover of R. Kelly's classic hit, "I Believe I Can Fly."

Welcome to the Jam. 

Space Jam (1996)

Directed by Joe Pytka

Produced by Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck, Daniel Goldberg

Written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod

Starring Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Bill Murray, Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, Bob Bergen, Bill Farmer, Maurice LaMarche, June Foray, Kath Soucie, and Danny DeVito