Episode 151 - LITTLE NICKY

The lesson of Little Nicky: even the Sandman has limits. This big budget, high-concept comedy busted Adam Sandler's streak of box office success, and the legacy of this daring and wildly unsuccessful risk helped define the boundaries of a comfort zone he's inhabited in the years since (with a few notable exceptions).

The Summer of Sandler takes a detour on the highway to hell as we find the good, the bad, and the butt-ugly in this bewildering story of a bashful Beezlebub. We deserve this!

 

Little Nicky (2000)

Directed by Steven Brill

Produced by Jack Giarraputo and Robert Simonds

Written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, and Steven Brill

Starring Adam Sandler, Harvey Keitel, Patricia Arquette, Reese Witherspoon, Rhys Ifans, Thomas "Tiny" Lister Jr., Robert Smigel, Kevin Nealon, Allen Covert, Peter Dante, Jonathan Loughran, and Rodney Dangerfield

Episode 150 - THE LION KING

From the day we arrived on this podcast, we've done our best to honor the spirit of the pop culture we enjoyed as kids. Even after five years and 150 episodes of heroic overthinking and nostalgia-fueled biases, we're still realizing there is more to see than could ever be seen through our younger eyes, and The Lion King is certainly no exception. It is arguably the alpha of contemporary Disney animation: an artistic and technological landmark that audiences continue to find in its lofty place along the unwinding path of cinema history.

It's the perfect subject for this milestone episode, which includes a look back at some of the other topics that moved us through despair and hope, while you--our wonderful listeners--sustained us with your faith and love. We're psyched to keep digging into the past, often ending up back where we started in a journey that's often wistful and joyous and bittersweet, almost as if we were traversing some kind of life-giving sphere. Remember who you are, and soak in our anniversary celebration!

The Lion King (1994)
Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
Produced by Don Hahn
Written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton
Starring Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Moira Kelly, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Madge Sinclair, and James Earl Jones

Episode 149 - THE PATRIOT

Some nations have oral histories that tell the story of their ancient origins. Others have sprawling cosmologies that explain how each part of their culture was forged. In the United States of America, we frame our founding myth as a three-hour Hollywood war epic directed by a German and starring two Australians.

On this special crossover episode, the hosts of the Lieography podcast--John Parton, Ace Cordova, and Joanna Phillips--join us to take a comprehensive look at the historical basis of The Patriot. With the help of their meticulous and illuminating research, we grade the movie's factual accuracy (or lack thereof) and celebrate our freedom as Americans to fudge the details. Happy 4th of July!

The Patriot (2000)
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Produced by Dean Devlin, Mark Gordon, and Gary Levinsohn
Written by Robert Rodat
Starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs, Joely Richardson, Chris Cooper, Tchéky Karyo, René Auberjonois, Lisa Brenner, Donal Logue, Leon Rippy, Adam Baldwin, and Tom Wilkinson