Jason and Todd Talk Through Lousy Films: Recent Episodes
Jason Rohrer and Todd Anderson
Los Angeles critic Jason Rohrer and actor Todd Robert Anderson talk incessantly through cult films. It would be annoying if you were trying to watch the movie, but this is a podcast...so it's just delightful!
I Am Sam is a movie starring Sean Penn as a special needs person, as supported by special needs people also playing special needs people. Jason and Todd talk about why this movie remained a punchline in other movies for years after its release, what exactly the "it factor" is, and how to be a narc in a professional entertainment industry situation. Also, they have to keep telling the cat to stop nibbling on all the damn wires.
Hobo with a Shotgun is a violently silly movie with Rutger Hauer. Jason isn't as into as Todd, which naturally leads them down a path to discuss cats, Shia LaBeouf's art installation, and whatever the name is of the guy who directed that thing that was pretty good.
Flight from Ashiya is an old movie about a rescue team led by a racist guy who hates Yul Brenner for being Japanese, which of course he is not. Jason and Todd talk about the aesthetic of model work versus cartoons, the movie Civil War which is somewhat dumb, and how weed makes it impossible to remember anything that happens in the Clint Eastwood movie called Firefox.
Fear City is an Abel Ferrara movie with Tom Berenger and a bunch of really famous actresses being exploited for cheap thrills. Jason thinks it's gross, and Todd does do, but they are watching this thing anyway. Stuff other than Fear City being discussed: Shoot to Kill starring Tom Berenger, Switchback starring Dennis Quaid which is not to be confused with Shoot to Kill, and even the dramatic implications of certain types of men's jackets.
The Reflecting Skin is a kinda vampire movie directed by the same guy who did The Passion of Darkly Noon. His titles are weird. And there's always that Viggo. But that doesn't matter, because Jason and Todd are talking about funerals, tricks for remembering names, and the trouble with greasers.
The Passion of Darkly Noon is a movie that is exactly the movie its title suggests. Jason and Todd talk about future tragedies a couple cast members would face, the fact that golden hour is not at noon, and the how important it is not to take in stray men stumbling through the forest behind your house. It's a lot to digest, but so is The Passion of Darkly Noon. So, hop on the shoe boat with us, won't you?
Life of the Party is a Melissa McCarthy movie that made $65 million at the box office. It's a kind of riff on Back to School. Jason hates it. Todd loves Melissa McCarthy no matter what. They also talk a lot about losers and what should be done with them. Spoiler alert: at the end they feel terrible.
No Safe Haven is a revenge thriller with one Wings Hauser, easily the most favored actor of this podcast. Jason's backside is bothering him and Todd is facing a professional existential crisis, so they mostly ignore Wings in order to talk about what is wrong with society and how much they would like to fix it except they have no money. Oh, and Doctor Zhivago.
Possession is a horror movie with Sam Neil that feels like you are watching scene work from an acting class. Jason and Todd sometimes get mesmerized by the acting in this movie enough to actually talk about the movie itself, but they also talk about children's television, anal surgery, and what kinds of guns they like to shoot. Also, they breakdown the Oscar movies they've seen. Which isn't all of them. Or even that many. Jason likes Dream Scenario more than The Zone of Interest, even though the former was nominated for nothing.
Dogs is a Jaws rip-off with delightful domesticated dogs instead of a shark. It's got that guy who played Fletch's ex-wife's lawyer in those Chevy Chase movies. Anyway, Jason and Todd mostly talk about two William Friedkin films of varying quality, that guy who directed that Oscar thing that directed other movies they might have liked, and also fantasize out loud about cosmetic surgeries they wish they could afford. They do acknowledge the movie they are watching, mostly because even the attack dogs are adorably friendly and just want hugs - which they get a lot of, properly.
Dangerous Men is a DIY passion project by a guy named John Rad about a woman getting revenge on men for being total douche canoes. Its running time is an hour and twenty minutes, but this podcast lasts for more than two hours because Jason and Todd have to talk about the horrors of aging, the ups and downs of mushroom trips, and the third season of True Detective.
The Postman is a three hour Waterworld without water. Jason and Todd talk through the whole thing, mostly about our weight insecurities, the gift of Tom Petty, and the power of The Church over filmmaking. After this, they'll see you in the New Year, which is an election year. Oh yeah, they also talk about suicide.
Silverado is an 80s western that Jason hates so much he wanted to do a two and a half hour podcast about it. Of course, Jason and Todd barely talk about the movie at all, instead talking about Theresa Russell, the importance of the audition process, and then get in a debate about Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Julianna Margulies. Also they talk about crying.
Tough Guys Don't Dance is a neo-noir picture from Norman Mailer, in which homophobic misogynists do horrible things to each other in Provincetown, MA. Jason and Todd talk about what this movie meant in their childhoods, discuss Jason's troubles operating an iPad, and Todd reminds Jason that he was once Albert Maysles' house boy for a weekend.
Airport is a movie about an airport run by incompetents. Jason and Todd talk about why they love disaster movies even though that's ghoulish, Jason discusses how various health troubles make sex uninviting, and Todd remembers his favorite shot from Airport '77. It's all right here, folks!
Blades is an 80s movie about a killer lawnmower terrorizing a golf course. Jason and Todd mostly talk about Todd's son, the homeless crisis, and how this movie is way better than any Marvel film. The effects are better.
Like Normal People is a TV movie where Shaun Cassidy plays a guy constantly referred to as a word that nobody dares use anymore. Jason thinks Shaun Cassidy is Andrew McCarthy and then spends much of the podcast fumbling around the word nobody uses anymore while Todd freely admits to getting choked up in the first act before losing interest somewhere in the second act and then not finding an actual third act.
The Great Outdoors is a movie from the John Hughes/John Candy team up era of comedy movies. Jason doesn't like family comedies, but Todd is okay with them if they have raccoons and teen romance, and each character gets their own specific scoring. Mostly Jason and Todd talk about current event issues like homelessness and also television monologues. The movie is only 90 minutes, but this conversation runs longer. Which is what you have come to expect from this podcast.
Lost Horizon is a movie about a plane filled with rich white trash crash landing into a musical. Jason and Todd don't like musicals to begin with, but this thing really brings a new meaning to the concept of lousy films. Also, George Kennedy had hard water, and nobody ever told him about filtration systems. Doesn't matter, Jason and Todd talk about loads of other stuff, including weight loss and the inherent problems with immortality and as always - Godzilla. Jason says the c-word a lot in reference to the Dalai Lama.
House Party is another movie called House Party made for this year, 2023. Jason doesn't like it and talks about his anal fissure. Todd reminisces about his youth when it seemed like he had a really good shot at lucrative acting gigs. He doesn't like the new House Party, either, but he loves the old ones. He saw House Party 3 in the theater! No matter, because this podcast has made a list! Here's the list: 30 Best Cult Movie Podcasts You Must Follow in 2023 (feedspot.com)
Trackdown is a movie that has Eric Estrada in it. One time, Todd saw Eric Estrada's personal locker at a cigar store in Studio City. But that's not at all what Jason and Todd talk about while watching this movie that has Anne Archer in it, they've got to talk about people with the last name Sidaris and socio-political issues they clearly don't fully understand while still finding reasons to ALMOST yell at each other about. But they don't quite yell. That's probably a disappointment, isn't it?
Stewardess School is an 80s comedy about exactly what it sounds like. This is the kind of movie that Jason thinks is a detriment to society, and the kind of absolute garbage Todd delights in. This of course leads to discussion about impenetrable loneliness and feeling abandoned by society. Whatever, they don't watch sports, so this is all they got.
A Ghost Story is a movie about Casey Affleck standing around in a bedsheet. In other news, Jason got a colonoscopy and Todd saw a movie called Plane. As if that's not enough, there's a complete breakdown of Oscar contenders regardless of how few of them were actually seen by the two self-described idiots who talk a good twenty minutes after the movie is over. This is entertainment!
Dead for a Dollar is a Walter Hill western that came out in 2022. Seems fitting for the last movie Jason and Todd talk through for the year. In addition to complaining about not enough gun fire, Jason dives deep into his family history, and Todd talks about the (also 2022) movie Troll. This one made Jason real mad and now he has vowed revenge.