Cannonball with Wesley Morris – "This Summer's Movies Sucked. Let’s Go Back to 1990."

The New York Times | Released: August 28, 2025

Episode Overview

Film critic Wesley Morris and writer Sam Anderson take a nostalgic deep dive into the summer movies of 1990, lamenting the lackluster offerings of 2025 and contrasting them with the vibrant, risky, and star-driven landscape of their youth. With candor and humor, they discuss how formative films like Total Recall and Ghost shaped their identities, moviegoing experiences, and worldview, weaving in personal anecdotes, cultural critique, and reflections on the evolution of the summer blockbuster.

Main Discussion Themes

1. The Lost Art of the Summer Movie (00:43–04:40)

• Wesley Morris opens with a personal reflection on his teenage years as an avid moviegoer, devouring Premiere magazine’s summer movie preview, and reminisces about how summer movies were once a major American event.
• He notes the shift in 2025 summers, dominated by remakes and brand-driven films (Lilo and Stitch, yet another Jurassic World), calling the current fare "brands like Kraft or Hellman's or Sara Lee in Jurassic World. Rebirth" (03:17).
• Sets up the conceit: revisiting 1990 by discussing the films that defined their adolescence, with each host picking a movie that helped tell them "who we are." (04:25)

2. The Top 10 Summer Movies of 1990: Context and Reactions (04:41–07:50)

• Wesley runs down the 1990 summer top ten, including titles like Pretty Woman, Back to the Future Part III, Dick Tracy, Die Hard 2, Total Recall, and Ghost.
• Both hosts share their surprise and appreciation at the cultural impact and range of genres present in that lineup.

Sam Anderson [06:51]: “Hardest I’ve ever laughed... my father, who’s a very straight-laced Lutheran man... turned to us and said, ‘yippee ki yay, mother, father.’ My mind was blown.”

3. Sam’s Pick: Total Recall and Adolescent Awe (07:51–33:00)

Why Total Recall? (07:51–12:03)

• Sam is adamant this is his movie, describing it as "the American masterpiece" for his adolescent experience.
• The plot is summarized for listeners: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Douglas Quaid is a bored construction worker who becomes embroiled in a mind-bending Martian conspiracy after pursuing a memory-implantation vacation.

Moviegoing in 1990 (12:03–15:07)

• Both recall the culture of the multiplex—Sam with a group of friends in California, Wesley solo in Philadelphia—highlighting how movies were omnipresent summer destinations.
• Sam reflects fondly on the communal thrill: “It’s like asking, why did you choose for the sun to rise... you don’t.” (12:26)

Peak American Action Cinema (13:19–21:28)

• Both agree that the late ‘80s and early ‘90s were the "peak of the American action movie," with Sam declaring that Total Recall delivered a perfect blend of cutting-edge effects, violence, humor, and sci-fi intrigue.
• Sam delights in the spectacle—“their eyes bugging out... so much body horror… Paul Verhoeven just like meat chaos. Kill ‘em all.”—and the adolescent fantasy of “the too muchness” of it.

Iconic Scenes, Lines, and Sexual Politics (16:50–25:47)

• The famous scene where Quaid removes a tracking device through his nose is recounted in vivid, gleeful detail.
• They revel in the film’s over-the-top one-liners:

  Wesley [20:53]: “Consider dat a divorce.”
  Sam [20:53]: “He says [it] cool as a cucumber.”

• Sam and Wesley open up about the movie’s sexual dynamics—the Sharon Stone vs. Rachel Ticotin love triangle, and especially the infamous three-breasted woman:

  Sam [23:28]: “As a 12-year-old boy, [that] was the absolute limit of the human imagination…”
  Discussing embarrassment over adolescent arousal and the film’s unapologetic male gaze: Wesley [24:39]: “It’s an erotic fantasy of being able to choose between two women…”

Changing Views on Violence (25:58–32:27)

• Sam singles out the “human shield” escalator scene as burned into his adolescent brain, but upon rewatching, is horrified by its casual brutality:

  Sam [29:39]: “Public machine gun fire means something very different in 2025 than it did in 1990... the notion that you’d just grab a guy... a real human made irrelevant because he’s tactically useful... pretty disgusting morally.”

• Wesley links this to a consistent Hollywood indifference to “irrelevant” collateral victims in action movies, highlighting broader implications of individualism over community in American storytelling.

How Action Movies Shape Worldview (31:26–32:27)

Sam [31:26]: “For me, as a 12-year-old, I was mainlining American culture and mythology... the action movie is kind of the apotheosis of that worldview..."

4. Wesley’s Pick: Ghost, Whoopi Goldberg, and the Joy of Audience (35:05–54:11)

Why Ghost?: Personal Resonance (35:05–39:43)

• Wesley shares that, surprisingly, Ghost—which he saw three times—was his touchstone, largely due to Whoopi Goldberg’s performance, not the central love story.

  Wesley [38:11]: “It was Whoopi Goldberg. I’m like, what is this? What is my favorite actor doing?”

Scene Breakdown: Whoopi’s Entrance (41:24–46:45)

• They play and react to the scene of Whoopi as Oda Mae Brown, a psychic scam artist discovering her powers—a pivotal, hilarious, and tonally transformative moment.
• Wesley explains why this resonated, particularly as a Black moviegoer:

  Wesley [46:44]: “I was so fascinated that this white man had gone into this Black woman’s universe and was interested in communicating with her, realized he could. I don’t know... the being seen part really spoke to me.”

Race, Audience, and Movie Magic (46:45–50:44)

• They discuss the racial dynamics at the core of Ghost—how Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) relies on Oda Mae (Whoopi) to solve his murder and reengage with the world.
• Wesley describes the unique joy of watching the film in a packed theater, noting "the sound of a packed house... cracking up legit, like with Whoopi Goldberg" (49:44).
• Wesley admits to watching the audience as much as the film:

  Wesley [49:56]: "I still turn around and watch people watch the movie.”

Whoopi’s Oscar and Underestimated Impact (50:44–53:02)

• They affirm that Whoopi is the film’s “engine,” noting her historic Oscar win for the role against notably tough competition (51:04).
• Wesley delights in Ghost’s underdog status, recalling that it wasn’t even forecast as a top summer movie by Premiere magazine—“they didn’t even call it” (52:37).

5. Changing Culture and the Summer Movie’s Evolution (53:02–57:28)

• Sam and Wesley reflect on the evolution—and alleged decline—of the summer movie, connecting Jaws (1975) as the original template and highlighting how each generation laments change.
• Sam shares a recent joyous theater-going experience watching the Minecraft movie, insisting star-driven entertainment and communal viewing still matter:

  Sam [55:23]: “Jack Black is incredible in that film... It’s a big, raucous, fun summer movie experience.”

• Wesley worries that modern blockbusters have become recursive, self-referential "closed loops"—franchises built on brands and nostalgia rather than originality:

  Wesley [56:28]: "It’s not what we’re getting now, which is like a closed loop."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wesley [03:28]: “A brand like Kraft or Hellman’s or Sara Lee in Jurassic World. Rebirth. …Just. That’s the class of movie that it is.”
• Sam [08:14]: “Your homing signal went right to Total Recall... That’s the film. That’s the American masterpiece.”
• Wesley [17:19]: “I think this is his best performance. Really, I do.” (on Schwarzenegger in Total Recall)
• Wesley [20:53]: “Consider dat a divorce.”
• Wesley [46:44]: “The being seen part really spoke to me...” (on Ghost and Whoopi Goldberg)
• Sam [29:39]: “...public machine gun fire means something very different in 2025 than it did in 1990... that notion that you’d just grab a guy... pretty disgusting morally.”
• Wesley [49:44]: “I just loved hearing people love her [Whoopi]. I would turn around and just look at the house laughing.”

Key Timestamps

• Top 10 Recap/90s Nostalgia: 04:41–07:50
• Sam’s Total Recall Experience: 12:03–33:00
• Discussion of Sexual & Moral Politics in Total Recall: 21:28–32:27
• Wesley’s Ghost Experience: 35:05–54:11
• Racial & Generational Reflection: 46:44–50:44
• Modern Blockbusters/Evolution of the Summer Movie: 53:02–57:28

Tone, Style & Takeaways

Wesley and Sam mix personal storytelling, lively cultural criticism, and good-natured teasing with sharp insights about race, spectacle, nostalgia, and the shifting tides of Hollywood. Their memories of 1990’s multiplex culture are affectionate but clear-eyed, contrasting their innocent excitement with a critical view of today's formulaic, brand-driven blockbusters. Central to their discussion is how movies—and auditorium audiences—shaped their sense of self and of America, and how the movies of one’s youth might never stop haunting you.

Ideal for listeners who wish to revisit the magic—and flaws—of a formative movie era, unpack complicated feelings about nostalgia and culture, or simply enjoy the chemistry of two thoughtful, funny critics reflecting on the power (and powerlessness) of Hollywood’s summertime dreams.