It’s the Paid in Puke 2023 Oscars Special! We were lucky enough to get Denise Rodriguez back to round out the panel. Between the 4 of us, we’ve seen almost everything (except The Whale, for reasons we GET. IN. TO.) We go full At the Movies, with wildly different opinions on MANY of the films. The hot takes are flying. But we all agree that the Everything Everywhere leads and Angela Bassett deserve Legacy awards and that Colin Farrell is a lovely man.
On series 8, episode 7 of Paid in Puke, we’re thrilled to bring you this deep cut gem from 1987: “Making Mr. Right”. Susan Seidelman’s retro-futurism genre bender stars the incomparable Ann Magnuson, as well as Glenne Headly, and Laurie Melcalf. We were lucky enough to snag Ann for an interview!
We discuss pop culture’s timeless obsession with A.I.. This movie presents so many themes that were later explored in more serious properties like “Her”, “Ex Machina”, and “Westworld”. It also depicts a rare character in cinema (especially in 1987): a nuanced working woman who isn’t driven by her need to find and keep a man. The film is also stylish, hilarious, and truly unique!
Throughout our discussion, we include clips from our interview with Ann, who discusses working in Miami, bringing her prodigious London and NYC underground experience to a Hollywood rom com, and why the time is right for a film that celebrates good will and charm.
Listen to the entire interview in our bonus episode and buy the special edition blu-ray of Making Mr. Right – out now, including commentary from Seidelman and Magnuson!
Ann Magnuson’s website/store (including SIGNED Making Mr. Right blu-rays)!
Clips from Ann’s incredible interpretation of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” peppered throughout
We’re taking a break from our regularly-scheduled series 7 to talk about the Oscars! The 94th annual Academy Awards will be recorded live on Sunday, May 27th and broadcast on ABC.
Special guest Denise Rodriguez joins us to talk about Jane Campion’s epic self-sabotage, the ill-conceived idea of axing eight below-the-line awards in favor of a ratings-grab, actors being exhausting about their craft, and plenty of SNUBS! It’s a big, fat, spoiler-ific Hollywood chat, Paid in Puke style!
Paid in Puke is available on your favorite podcast app or download our episode here!
On the series 6 finale, we’re hate-watching Bradley Cooper’s 2018 abuse-masquerading-as-romance remake, “A Star is Born”, starring Lady Gaga and no other women. It’s a tough hang in every sense of the phrase, but hopefully you’ll enjoy hanging with us and making fun of it. Who does the best Jackson Maine as Sling Blade impression? Which is the worst song? What’s the best part of the brownie? What happened to the Bradley Cooper who was in Wet Hot American Summer? All this and more will be revealed!
Paid in Puke podcast is available on your favorite podcast app or download the episode here!
On today’s episode, we’re carrying a watermelon for Emile Ardolino’s 1987 romantic drama, “Dirty Dancing”, starring Jennifer Grey, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jane Brucker. It’s a slumber party classic for women of a certain age. We reminisce about how much of the plot we understood when it first came out, Johnny’s chaotic energy, and the short-shrifting of Lisa Houseman.
On the Lunchtime Poll, we discuss memorable moments from our youth that resulted in our radicalization.
On today’s episode, we get existential AF with Alex Garland’s 2018 surreal sci-fi film, “Annihilation”, starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Tuva Novotny.
This is a heady one, but it’s a lot of fun if you can stomach some pretty intense body horror and a trippy synth score. It’s basically John Carpenter’s The Thing on acid but with WOMEN.
Paid in Puke is available on your favorite podcast app, or listen to the episode by downloading here!
On today’s episode, we’re talking about a film that won’t be ignored: Adrienne Lynne’s 1987 problematic as-HELL thriller, “Fatal Attraction”. This film was a box office smash that starred Glenn Close, Anne Archer, and we guess a little bit Michael Douglas. It tells the story of woman named Alex, a 34-year-old NYC book editor who becomes impregnated after sleeping with a married man she meets through work. When she expresses an interest in having a relationship with him, he becomes violent and irrational, eventually coercing his wife into murdering her.
What a piece of work is man!
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Baxter’s in her dream place talking about David Lynch’s 2001 surreal Hollywood Noir, Mulholland Dr, starring Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring. We do our best to explain what it all means, and marvel at Naomi Watt’s myriad acting talents.
On the Lunchtime Poll, we tell of dreams that bled into our waking lives.
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PS: This seems as good as time as any to mention that Baxter and Annie have a Twin Peaks podcast called Really Weird Stuff, available on our website and wherever you get your podcasts!
When Today Ends
Michael Leoni wrote and directed When Today Ends, a docu-style drama presented as found footage from four teens who turned to social media to combat their depression. As we follow them through their days, we start to see darkness under their smiley internet personas and rehearsed affirmations. The meaning behind the title begins to take shape. These are the faces of suicidal kids who won’t make it through the day. Leoni’s narrative feature debut is a powerful missive on a far-too-invisible mental health crisis. It’s the sort of film that should be shown in schools, if only the schools weren’t part of the problem.
The one thing I wish Leoni had done was include a kid who really did seem to have everything but was still struggling internally. Suicidal depression can manifest even in kids who aren’t being beaten every day or berated at home. But the kids we do meet are fully formed, unique souls with fears, wants, and voices all their own. There’s Jenna (Jacqui Veni), a smart and kind college student whose persona of perfection is also her biggest stressor. There’s James (Derek Breezee), a hockey champ who doesn’t understand why the rest of his team has it in for him. Nicole (Gavin Leatherwood) is a trans girl trapped in a dangerously conservative community who must hide her true self from peers and family alike for her own safety. Megan (Angel Guadalupe) is a high school student who feels invisible until she takes drastic steps to be seen.
Leoni uses a “curated media” motif to legitimize a story shot entirely on cell phone. And it mostly works. Despite the low-budget feel of the production, the performances are all outstanding. The actors understand their characters in a very holistic way. They are fully-formed people who really feel like they’re only a comment away from interacting with you. Sometimes it gets so real that it’s almost voyeuristic but you’re so invested in their well-being that you are compelled to stick around. The bad news is that the kids aren’t alright. Not by a longshot.
It’s about time we as a society started showing some goddamned empathy for teenagers. Even without the pressures the kids face in When Today Ends, there just isn’t a teen out there truly having a good time. The high school curriculum is challenging. They’re tired all the time because they’re hormonal and their bodies are still growing. Teens are basically expected to work a full-time job with extracurriculars and then do homework, all while deciding whether or not they want to go to college, and if so, where, and what will they study and can they even afford it? If they have crushes or best friend drama or bullies or siblings, that just adds to the pile. They’re so busy and under insane amounts of pressure and then grownups get mad at them for being sleepy. That’s the BEST base scenario for being a teenager. What if your parents are in the midst of a messy divorce or a close family member is sick, or your family can’t always afford food, or you’re being bullied and you don’t even understand why, or you’re trans and your parents are scary Christians? Suicide is never the answer, but you can start to see why it might seem appealing to many kids. Especially when their parents or teachers blame them for their problems or worse, ARE the problem.
On a personal note, this movie made me realize how awful a punishment it is to take a teen’s phone away. Grounding them is one thing. But isolating them from their peers, when they already feel so painfully alone most of the time is a next level cruel. I like that When Today Ends doesn’t paint social media as the problem but rather as a tool to combat the problem. Yes, it can be misused but is mostly very positive and even a reason that some teens have lasted this long.
When Today Ends is currently streaming on multiple platforms.
On this episode, we’re on an emotional rollercoaster with Janicza Bravo’s 2021 crime drama/comedy, “Zola”, based on the viral Twitter thread by Detroit waitress A’Ziah “Zola” King in October 2015. It stars Taylour Paige as the titular protagonist, and Riley Keough as the shady lady who roped Zola into a nightmarish weekend in Florida. It’s possibly our shortest Hot Probs segment to date, as Bravo knocks this one out of the park.
This discussion inspires a new t-shirt (it’s always a good idea to MIND THE VIBES) and several P.S.A.’s.
You won’t wanna miss this Lunchtime Poll, as we tell stories of times we got in over our heads with some sketchy people.
PS: Forget that Rolling Stone article. Allison P. Davis has the real scoop at Vulture.
Paid in Puke is available on all major podcast platforms or you can download this episode directly by clicking here!
Effed by the Wind 