Pop Culture Happy Hour – "Bugonia And What’s Making Us Happy" (October 31, 2025)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film, Bugonia, a remake of the Korean cult film Save the Green Planet, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. The panel discusses the movie's distinctive style, thematic ambitions, and the divisive reactions it stirs up—with plenty of Lanthimos' trademark bleakness and weirdness. The episode closes with the group’s regular “What’s Making Us Happy” segment, packed with pop culture recommendations across film and music.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing "Bugonia" and Its Lanthimos Signature

• Premise: Emma Stone plays Michelle, a pharmaceutical CEO who is kidnapped by Teddy (Jesse Plemons), a conspiracy-obsessed loner who believes she is an alien.
• Weirdness quotient: “As you might expect, things get weird.” (Stephen Thompson, 00:22)
• The film builds tension and grows increasingly dark and surreal, true to Lanthimos’ style.

2. Glen Weldon’s Take: A "Mid-Tier" Lanthimos

• Weldon, the self-styled Lanthimos correspondent, admits his fandom but sees Bugonia as “mid-tier Lanthimos.” He differentiates between films Lanthimos writes himself (which feel “characteristically stilted” and “bleak”) and those where he only directs:
  • “This doesn’t seem to me to be … an expression of this guy, his vibe, his sensibility… It’s just not as definably him.” (Glen Weldon, 02:17)
• Weldon misses Lanthimos' signature of “hilariously stilted, delivered with a flat affect, almost a monotone.”
• The coldness that works in “The Lobster” or “Dogtooth” creates distance in Bugonia: “There’s a coldness here that belongs in a film like The Lobster, and here it kind of interposes itself between us and the story.” (03:24)

3. Nuance, Metaphors, and Missed Opportunities

• Bhadatri D. Chaudhary criticizes the lack of nuance:
  • “This film is so un-nuanced, like capitalism bad but then also incel behavior is bad, but it becomes us versus them, good versus bad.” (04:38)
• She notes the datedness of some motifs—like tinfoil hats—that feel less impactful in 2025 than in the 2003 original.
• She mourns the absence of Lanthimos’ usual “complicated, nuanced storytelling.”

4. Enduring the Bleakness: Aisha Harris’ Perspective

• Harris describes herself as “a small-c Lanthimos correspondent,” admitting she’s reaching her limits with his penchant for putting Emma Stone through onscreen torment:
  • “How much more torture is he gonna put this woman through on screen? Like, she almost seems to enjoy it.” (Aisha Harris, 05:52)
• She finds the film hard to place on first viewing, but credits the acting:
  • “Emma Stone is fantastic. Jesse Plemons… friggin terrifying. So good. He’s just so convincing as that guy…” (Aisha Harris, 08:07)

5. The Artifice of Dialogue and Cinematic Choices

• Weldon notices the film rarely shows Stone and Plemons reacting to one another, choosing tight solo shots:
  • “We go tight on them while they are talking, but he does not show us a lot of them reacting to what the other person’s saying… After a while you start to realize unconsciously that you’re wanting to see how Stone would react…” (Glen Weldon, 09:18)
• This supports the “battle of wills,” but feels stifling.

6. Thematic Questions and Contemporary Resonance

• Harris and Chaudhary discuss the challenge of transcending real-world satire: “It’s really hard right now to not look at the news and… feel as though everything has just become a satire in real life.” (Aisha Harris, 07:24)
• Critical of logic holes: “If you really hate this person so much and you know someone who’s here to manipulate you… why are you believing her?” (Bhadatri D. Chaudhary, 12:24)
• On misogyny: concern that Lanthimos’ recent films tend to focus on suffering women, though Aisha Harris insists he’s “just interested in misery, bleakness.” (14:11)

7. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Audience reaction: “Someone at the screening I attended shouting, ‘The F was that at the end?’ Which is what I want from this guy.” (Glen Weldon, 03:24)
• On the lack of warmth: “This is not a heartwarming movie. My heart not warms.” (Stephen Thompson, 14:42)
• Meta-moment: “Steven, tell us what to think.” (Aisha Harris, 08:30)

8. Closing Thoughts: Mixed Feelings All Around

• Stephen Thompson summarizes: “There is a sense really from the jump… like, oh, I’m in good hands... I found the ending enormously unsatisfying.” (08:33–09:17)
• Weldon: “If Bleak isn’t your bag, I’d sit this one out. But I’m glad we have filmmakers who are clearly given a fair bit of free rein… I worry that we’re starting to get diminishing returns.” (16:00)
• The last word: “Opinions are mixed.” (Stephen Thompson, 15:57)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:22 – Introduction to Bugonia
• 02:17 – Glen Weldon's "mid-tier" Lanthimos review
• 04:38 – Critique of lack of nuance and metaphoric misfires
• 05:52–08:07 – Aisha Harris on the movie’s performances and ambiguity
• 09:18–10:57 – Analysis of the film’s visual style, dialogue, and acting choices
• 12:24–13:42 – Misdirected logic and concerns about misogyny
• 14:42–16:00 – Mixed reactions and final thoughts

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Lanthimos as an auteur:
  • “I enjoyed it because of course I did. I’m someone who’s famously in the tank for this filmmaker.” (Glen Weldon, 02:17)
• On lack of nuance:
  • “I just think this film is so un-nuanced… It becomes like this us versus them, good versus bad.” (Bhadatri D. Chaudhary, 04:38)
• On performances:
  • “Emma Stone is fantastic. Jesse Plemons… friggin terrifying. So good.” (Aisha Harris, 08:07)
• On directorial decisions:
  • “We go tight on them while they are talking… He does not show us a lot of them reacting to what the other person’s saying.” (Glen Weldon, 09:18)
• On ending:
  • “I found the ending enormously unsatisfying.” (Stephen Thompson, 09:17)
• On overall feel:
  • “If Bleak isn’t your bag, I’d sit this one out.” (Stephen Thompson, 16:00)

“What’s Making Us Happy” — Recommendations (18:34 onward)

1. Bhadatri D. Chaudhary:

• Renata Reinsve in Sentimental Value
  • “I’m just happy to be sharing this world with her.” (18:42)

2. Aisha Harris:

• Kelly Reichardt's heist movie, The Mastermind
  • “A beautiful period movie… something really special about this movie. Slow, deliberate heist.” (20:12–21:41)

3. Glen Weldon:

• Daddy Superior (short film by Benjamin Partridge)
  • “Very funny… Thank me later.” (21:45)

4. Stephen Thompson:

• Rosalía’s new single “Berghain”
  • “I just love it when… artists are given free reign to make wild art.” (23:18)

Takeaways for New Listeners

• Bugonia is provocative, polarizing, and very much in the spirit of Lanthimos—though by the panel’s consensus, not his finest. Audiences should expect discomfort, committed performances, and some head-scratching.
• The hosts bounce candidly between loving, loathing, and being confused by the film, giving listeners permission to do the same.
• The pop culture recommendations at the end help balance out the episode’s cinematic gloom with enthusiasm for diverse art across film and music.

For further details, links, and recommendations, check the episode description and NPR’s Pop Culture Newsletter.