We Rewatch The Movies We Loved As Teens

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: We Rewatch The Movies We Loved As Teens

Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour with Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris

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Introduction: Celebrating 15 Years of Pop Culture Happy Hour

As Pop Culture Happy Hour celebrates its 15th anniversary, the hosts reflect on the movies that held a special place in their hearts during their teenage years. This episode delves into nostalgic favorites, exploring how these films resonated with them at age 15 and how their perceptions have evolved over time.

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Linda Holmes on The Breakfast Club

Timestamp: [02:58] – [07:46]

Linda Holmes opens the discussion with the quintessential 1985 film, The Breakfast Club. She emphasizes selecting movies that were beloved specifically because of her age at the time, rather than merely personal favorites.

• Plot Overview: Five high school students from different cliques are forced to spend a Saturday in detention, where they confront their stereotypes and personal struggles.

• Critical Analysis: Linda points out the problematic gender politics of the film, particularly the romantic pairings that feel inappropriate in hindsight. She reflects on the actors' ages during filming, highlighting how Judd Nelson's portrayal of Bender becomes unsettling when considering his actual age relative to his character’s.

  Linda Holmes [03:42]: "The gender politics of this movie are legitimately appalling."

• Enduring Themes: Despite its flaws, Linda appreciates the film's core message that everyone harbors their own unhappiness, a revelation that resonates beyond high school years.

  Linda Holmes [07:13]: "The underlying thesis is that everyone is miserable. You think in high school that everyone is happy except you."

• Personal Impact: She admits that she hasn't rewatched The Breakfast Club since her teenage years but acknowledges its lasting influence on her understanding of adolescent struggles.

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Aisha Harris on Chicago

Timestamp: [08:01] – [13:58]

Aisha Harris shares her passion for the musical Chicago, tracing her obsession back to her teenage years and her involvement in theater.

• Personal Connection: Aisha discusses how watching the 2002 film adaptation ignited her love for musicals, particularly the works of Bob Fosse. She recounts her experiences relearning choreography at a summer dance camp, highlighting the joy it brought her.

  Aisha Harris [08:39]: "I was obsessed with Fosse. When it was announced that they were making Chicago into a movie musical, I was very, very excited."

• Film Analysis: She praises the film's ensemble cast, including Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and its integration of classic songs like "Cell Block Tango."

  Aisha Harris [10:54]: "These characters are loosely inspired by real-life women who were accused of murder."

• Critique: Aisha notes the heavy editing of choreographed sequences, a common critique of director Rob Marshall’s approach, which she feels detracts from the dance performances she treasures.

  Aisha Harris [12:39]: "The numbers are what you come here for."

• Linda’s Perspective: Linda admits she hasn’t seen the film, explaining her indifference toward Fosse’s style, which doesn’t resonate with her personal taste in musicals.

  Linda Holmes [12:55]: "Fosse and Fosse adjacent stuff... has never been what lights me up particularly."

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Stephen Thompson on Back to the Future

Timestamp: [14:29] – [18:26]

Stephen Thompson reminisces about Back to the Future, a film that epitomized 1980s nostalgia and time-travel adventures.

• Personal Nostalgia: Stephen reflects on the film's multi-layered nostalgia, appreciating how it captures both the 1980s and the 1950s through its storytelling.

  Stephen Thompson [14:30]: "It's very hard to untangle the nesting doll of nostalgia that is this movie."

• Character Appreciations: He praises Michael J. Fox’s portrayal of Marty McFly and Crispin Glover’s eccentric George McFly, noting their iconic performances.

  Stephen Thompson [16:33]: "Michael J. Fox on that skateboard as the epitome of cool circa 1985."

• Cinematic Elements: The memorable music, including Huey Lewis’s cameo and the "Johnny B. Goode" performance, are highlighted as standout moments that have kept the film entertaining over decades.

  Stephen Thompson [16:31]: "The music is so good. Like Kander and Ebb."

• Legacy and Sequels: Despite the success of Back to the Future, Stephen admits he never pursued the sequels, content with the original film’s closure.

  Stephen Thompson [15:43]: "This film was just perfect as it was."

• Cultural Impact: Aisha mentions the film’s longevity on television and its influence on pop culture, though she humorously confesses not remembering the sequels clearly.

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Glen Weldon on The Hunger

Timestamp: [18:53] – [24:23]

Glen Weldon diverges from the other hosts by choosing The Hunger, a 1983 film directed by Tony Scott, as his teenage favorite.

• Film Overview: Glen describes The Hunger as a stylish vampire film featuring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, focusing on themes of love and immortality.

  Glen Weldon [19:00]: "Catherine Deneuve plays a sexy vampire. Very heavily mouced 1940s hair and big 1980s shoulder pads."

• Personal Reflection: He candidly shares his teenage motives for watching the film—to appear sophisticated and mature among his peers, despite not genuinely enjoying it at the time.

  Glen Weldon [20:59]: "I so desperately wanted to seem sophisticated, adult worldly."

• Critique and Reassessment: Upon rewatching decades later, Glen criticizes the film’s overemphasis on style over substance, noting the pervasive use of smoke and clichéd Gothic aesthetics that detract from its appeal.

  Glen Weldon [22:23]: "The sex scenes between Sarandon and Deneuve are just pure male gaze."

• Cultural Commentary: He discusses the film’s lack of genuine queer sensibility despite featuring lesbian vampires, attributing it to the execution rather than the premise.

  Glen Weldon [22:25]: "There's nothing going on, Stephen. You'll get me here."

• Final Thoughts: Glen concludes that The Hunger represents a misguided attempt at sophistication, ultimately finding it more tedious than captivating.

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Conclusion: Reflecting on Teenage Favorites

The episode wraps up with the hosts acknowledging the diverse tastes and experiences that shaped their teenage movie choices. They celebrate the enduring impact of these films and how revisiting them offers fresh perspectives on personal growth and cultural shifts.

Linda Holmes [24:52]: "Happy 15."

Production Credits:
Produced by Liz Metzger and Hafsa Fathoma, edited by Jessica Reedy and Mike Katzeff.

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the content discussions, omitting advertisements, introductions, and outros as per the request.

Transcript

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[Stephen Thompson]

This summer marks pop culture Happy Hour's 15th birthday. So we've been thinking a lot about the movies we loved.

[Linda Holmes]

When we were 15, we we decided to rewatch those movies with fresh eyes. And of course some of them have aged better than others. I'm Linda Holmes.

[Stephen Thompson]

And I'm Stephen Thompson. Today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're revisiting the movies we loved when we were teenagers.

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This message comes from Apple Pay. No matter where you're going this summer, odds are you'll need to pay for a few things like a ride, share a souvenir or dinner at that spot on your bucket list. Instead of digging for your wallet every time, just use Apple Pay. It's accepted anywhere you see the contactless symbol and all it takes is a tap with iPhone or Apple Watch. The best part is you'll still earn the card rewards, points and cash back. You love easy setup now, easier travels later with Apple Pay Terms apply. This message comes from Amazon. Have you ever gotten sick on a very expensive, very non refundable family trip? Amazon One Medical has 247 virtual care so you can get help no matter where you are. And with Amazon Pharmacy, your meds can get delivered right to your hotel fast. It's kind of like the room service of medical care. Thanks to Amazon, Healthcare just got less painful.

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[Linda Holmes]

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[Stephen Thompson]

Joining us today are our co hosts, Aisha Harris. Hey, Aisha.

[Aisha Harris]

Hello. And prepare to be on Brand today.

[Stephen Thompson]

And Glenn Weldon. Hey, Glen.

[Glenn Weldon]

Hey. Yes, in various ways we are ruthlessly predictable.

[Stephen Thompson]

We are nothing if not ourselves. So the only problem with this assignment is that y' all listening are gonna figure out pretty quickly how old we all are. But here goes. Linda Holme Give us a movie you loved when you were 15.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, Steven and friends, I made a decision that my interpretation of this would be not just to pick something that I loved when I was 15, but that I loved because I was 15. That I think at other times it would not have worked as well. So I chose the 1985 film the Breakfast Club. If you are not familiar with this movie, it involves five high school students who are assigned all day detention on Andrew the jock played by Emilio Estevez. There's Claire, the sort of popular girl played by Molly Ringwald. There is Allison, played by Ally Sheedy, who is sort of the odd duck girl with the hair in her face and the dark makeup and stuff.

[Aisha Harris]

The dandruff. Indeed.

[Linda Holmes]

Anthony Michael hall plays Brian, who is the nerd. And Judd Nelson plays Bender, who is the bad boy, I guess is the theory. Also well known for the performance by the great Paul G.L. vernon, the vice principal who is in charge of them during that day. The gender politics of this movie are legitimately appalling. It ends with four of these students paired off in romantic pairings. Bender and Claire and Andrew and Allison. You know, Andrew and Allison get together after she gets a makeover and Claire and Bender get together despite the fact that he relentlessly sexually harass from the minute that they met, essentially. The other interesting thing I will say to the side about that relationship is that this came out the year that Molly Ringwald turned 17 and Judd Nelson turned 26. And when you watch it, they look it. And so it, particularly in retrospect, watching it now, it's amazing how much he looks like a menacing creep who is a genuine threat to this high school student. And the fact that they then turn into a thing where they kiss at the end. Oh, does not work at all. I have to ask first, were any of you ever, at any point in your life, breakfast club people?

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, very much so. I was a Breakfast Club person. I was a Stand By Me person. I was definitely a like coming of age gaggle of kids in the 80s movie person. So, yeah, I loved this film when I saw it. I have not watched it since.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, I would never consider myself a Breakfast Club person, but it was always on tv.

[Glenn Weldon]

Exactly.

[Aisha Harris]

That is how I watch. I don't even know if I've actually seen it from beginning to end, but I feel like I've seen most of it and I've definitely seen the ending many, many times.

[Glenn Weldon]

So, yes, same. I've never seen this film. But you run past it when you were switching channels on basic cable back in the day. But, you know, I knew myself well enough even then that, you know, teenagers having feelings in high school. Three strikes and I'm out. You know, I mean, and I never understood. Lydia, you said something fascinating to me. I loved this because I was 15. I had never understood that phenomenon of people in high school watching films about high. Thank you. I'm fine.

[Aisha Harris]

Mean Girls came out when I was in high school. Loved it. I think there's exceptions. Like there are movies that speak to a very particular moment in your life. And I can see how Breakfast Club would be that movie for a certain generation.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, despite the fact that it does not age well, despite the fact that there is a lot of serious overacting in this movie, is one thing that I will say if you go back and watch it, the core of it that I think got me at that time. It maybe even didn't get me at that time. But the thing I like best about it now is that the underlying thesis is that everyone is miserable. And you think in high school that everyone is happy except you. And everyone else's life is easier and everyone else doesn't feel all the screwed up things that you feel. And what they learn over this day of this movie is that they all are miserable about something. And does that extend well to, like, everyone is equally unhappy in high school? No, everyone has an equal number of problems. Of course not.

[Aisha Harris]

Right.

[Linda Holmes]

However, I do think there's something to be said for the idea that many people, when they're older, look back at high school and realize that the people they thought were having a really easy time were. Not necessarily. If you could do a version of this movie without all of the sexual harassment and the makeover and the odd homophobic slur, then maybe as it is, it is something that, like I said, I think I loved because I was 15.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, sure, yeah, yeah. I don't know how 15 year olds now feel about it. It was also, I remember my classmates when I was around that age loved this movie. So it's like, it's enduring in a way that is both bewildering, but I also kind of get it.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, youthful disaffection is universal.

[Aisha Harris]

This is true.

[Glenn Weldon]

Timeless and universal.

[Stephen Thompson]

So that is the Breakfast Club. Great pick, Holmesy. Aisha Harris, you were not a child in 1987.

[Aisha Harris]

No, I was not. I also wasn't yet born, but that's besides the point.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, Aisha, come on, man.

[Glenn Weldon]

That was implied. You didn't have to say it out loud.

[Aisha Harris]

Sorry. Anyway, I have Six words. I will start with.

[Glenn Weldon]

I know them. I know what they are.

[Aisha Harris]

Pop.

[Glenn Weldon]

Six.

[Aisha Harris]

Squish. Uh.

[Linda Holmes]

Lip Shits.

[Aisha Harris]

Ah, yes, yes, of course. My pick. As I said I was gonna be on Brand. I was a theater kid and Chicago, when that came out, I was obsessed. Of course. This is the 2002 musical which won best Picture. Directed by Rob Marshall, written by Bill Condon and. And at some point in early high school, I became obsessed with Fosse. And I became obsessed with the Broadway musical Fosse, which I did not get to see, but there was like a recording of it that was made and I watched that and that's where I discovered Chicago and I became obsessed. So when it was announced that they were making Chicago into a movie musical, I was very, very excited. I was obsessed with the 1996 revival Broadway recording, which starred Bebe Neuwirth as Velma Kelly and Ann Reinking as roxie har. The 1975 Broadway version was the original version. Kander and Ebb with the Choreo. And the book was co written by Bob Bossi. And it's set during the jazz age. Jazz, jazz, jazz. And it's playing off of Chicago's notoriety for, you know, sensational murders committed by women in that era. These characters are loosely inspired by real life women who were accused of murder. This is the show that has such classic songs as Cell Block Tangle, which you just heard, which features six merry murderesses describing murders they may or may not have committed and why. And it kept on screaming, you've been screwing the milkman. And then he ran into my knife. He ran into my knife 10 times. And the cast in this movie is so fricking stacked. You have Renee Zellweger playing Roxie Hart, Catherine Zeta Jones playing Velma Kelly. And they're basically these two women who are both like vaudeville. Roxy's kind of a wannabe. It's also got a little bit of All About Eve going on in here because Rox is obsessed with Velma and wants to be just like her. They both wind up in prison for murder and are trying to get off. Richard Gere plays Billy Flynn. He is smarmy. He is the lawyer who's like gonna say whatever it is to get these women off and not get hanged. Queen Latifah is matron Mama Morton. She is the woman who is overseeing the prison. Glenn, you're nodding your head here. I know you've seen this.

[Glenn Weldon]

I love it. I love it. Now I will be obnoxious. And both Steven and Linda have not Seen this film. So guys, take five. Cause I'm gonn to my gal Ayesha here for a bit. I saw Bebe Neuwirth and Anne ranking on Broadway.

[Linda Holmes]

See, Aisha, there's advantages to being old.

[Glenn Weldon]

Exactly. Sell. Black Tango is the thing that emerges from this piece. It is timeless. It plays in every gay bar I've ever been in. There's a couple gay versions. One of them features Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt, and Leslie Odom Jr. Oh, yes.

[Aisha Harris]

I remember that one.

[Glenn Weldon]

That's a great one. And you know, Faust and I are now middle aged gay men. We live in the country, eggs are expensive, and Faust has broached the idea of raising chick. And I have no interest in that. But I've told them the only way I will agree to this is if I can call them the Chickies in my pen and if we name them Pop six, Squish, uh, Cicero and Lipchitz. That's my, that's. Those are my terms.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, I love it. Yes. It's funny cause like, I probably. I saw this movie two or three times in theaters, which was like a rarity, especially when I was 15, and like, movie tickets were expensive when you didn't have a job. And then I got it on DVD and I probably watched. I don't know how many times I've seen this movie. But I will say, having rewatched it now for the first time in over a decade, which is crazy to think about, I realized that this movie is like, edited to the high heavens by Martin Walsh, who won the Oscar for this. But when you think about like choreography and Fosse and adapting Fosse, it's like you want to see that choreography. And there's so much editing happening in a lot of these numbers. That would be like my one critique of this film, which is a pretty big one, because the numbers are. That's what you come here for.

[Stephen Thompson]

I feel like that's a recurring critique of Rob Marshall's direction.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, very much so. Even when there's so much cutting, I just, I love. The music is so good. Like Kander and Ebb.

[Glenn Weldon]

Music's so good.

[Aisha Harris]

They were. They were in it.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. It's probably surprising to at least some people that I have never actually sat down and watched this.

[Glenn Weldon]

That was my next topic. Linda, fix it.

[Linda Holmes]

I am a musicals person. I am a movie musicals person. But in my head, I always sort musicals into roughly city musicals, country musicals, and tragedy musicals. And there is a stripe within the city musical that is the Fosse stripe. And that has Never been my particular thing. And it's not a. I don't like or admire him or the people that he worked with, but the Fosse stuff has just never been what lights me up particularly. And so some of the holes in my movie musical watching history are Fosse and Fosse adjacent stuff.

[Aisha Harris]

That's fair. Last thing I will say is that this was the same year that I went to a musical theater summer dance camp.

[Glenn Weldon]

Okay.

[Stephen Thompson]

Talk about on brand.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. And relearned the choreography to sell Black Tangle in this movie. It was amazing. It was so fun, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

[Stephen Thompson]

I love that for you. I love that for young Aisha.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right, so that is Chicago. I'm going to go next. And to back up slightly. My parents got cable in 1983 when I was 11 years old. Not just basic cable, but premium channels. HBO, Showtime, Cinemax. And I decided to go with a movie that came out shortly before my 13th birthday, but that I watched on HBO approximately 1 million times when I was 15. Back to the Future.

[Linda Holmes]

Heard of it?

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Now, watching this movie today, it is very hard to untangle the nesting doll of nostalgia that is this movie. Because in 2025, I'm feeling nostalgia for 1985 and for 1985's interpretation of 1955, and kind of get lost in the endless nostalgia loops that this film is dealing with, but then miss how just completely delightful it is. It's hard to overstate how much it imprinted on me, you know, Michael J. Fox on that skateboard as the epitome ofcool circa 1985. Lea Thompson, kind of an underwritten character, but certainly an early pop culture crush. Crispin Glover getting to be his weird self in the most mainstream project imaginable.

[Aisha Harris]

What?

[Stephen Thompson]

You're George McFly? Yeah. Who are you? And a view of Time travel that actually took paradoxes seriously. I loved this film so much in 1985. And even though, like, weirdly enough, I never sought out the sequels, I've never seen Back to the Future two or three.

[Aisha Harris]

Wait, really?

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, interesting.

[Stephen Thompson]

To me, this felt like a perfect, complete story as it was. I loved the fact that there's this kind of coda that's promising sequels. I'm perfectly happy that the sequels exist, but I know I never went back and sought them out. To me, this film was just perfect as it was. Are there elements of it that have not aged perfectly? I mean, it is 1985, first of all. It is guaranteed just by virtue of being made in 1985, that elements of it, I mean, like, Huey Lewis is kind of the face of cool, though, honestly, that Huey Lewis cameo where he's like, you're just too darn loud is really funny. Even if you don't know it's Huey Lewis. You have, of course, that ridiculous scene where Marty McFly plays Johnny B. Goode. All right, guys, listen the blues riffin B. Watch me for the changes and try and keep up, okay?

[Aisha Harris]

Invents rock and roll.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

But by that point, honestly, it's a victory lap. Like that whole scene where he's playing Johnny B. Goode doesn't really make any sense. It's just satisfying. It's coming on the heels of Crispin Glover getting the best of Biff Tannen and you're cheering in the theater. Anyway, to me, little bits and pieces of it haven't aged perfectly, obviously, but it is such an. An airtight, enormously entertaining, really well thought out film. And, you know, news flash. Great in 1985, still great in 2025. That's back to the Future.

[Aisha Harris]

This was another one that was always on tv. And I gotta agree, it's a fun movie. I've also seen the sequels, but I could not tell you what happened. One of them, I think they go into the West. It's a Western.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, There's a Wild west component.

[Linda Holmes]

And I think Two is the one that's all about.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, okay. Yeah. That's why I don't remember it.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, I don't have a strong opinion about this film. I rented it with the family, felt like we watched it, and then I kind of forgot about it. I remember thinking, though, that we were following the wrong person. I thought Doc Brown was a lot more interesting than Marty McFly.

[Linda Holmes]

Shocked? I'm shocked.

[Glenn Weldon]

But you are right.

[Stephen Thompson]

Christopher Lloyd as Doc is phenomenal.

[Linda Holmes]

The entire narrative thrust of this movie is extraordinarily strange. Both because he is potentially dating his mother and his mother is hot for him in 1955. That's a very odd story. And then I can't remember who it is. I think it's John Mulaney, who has a bit about how his best friend is this old scientist and everyone seems to think that's very normal.

[Stephen Thompson]

The movie explains that he's like an apprentice.

[Aisha Harris]

Uh huh, uh huh.

[Linda Holmes]

But if you can get past those things, it is a really entertaining movie. It is a great star moment for Michael J. Fox. So I listen. I have nothing but warm feelings about this movie, despite its oddity.

[Aisha Harris]

Also, fun ride at the Universal Studios back in the day. Curiously, the mom plotline was not part of that ride. But.

[Glenn Weldon]

I mean, how would they do that? Exactly. Let's not spend any time to think about that.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right, that is Back to the Future. My pick for a favorite movie when I was 15, Glenn Weldon. Somehow I am guessing that you did not pick Back to the Future.

[Glenn Weldon]

Didn't? No, I picked the Hunger, a film about sexy lesbian vampires. Because of course I did. I mean I was at 15. Contain your shock. Insufferable. I was a self styled cineast. I was mainlining Siskel and Ebert. I was reading Pauline Kael and a New Yorker. I went to the Ritz 5 in Philly pretty much every weekend to see whatever they recommended. I was desperate to not see films I could see at the local Eric Twin. I needed to get into the city. I needed to Eric Twin. Now I like some of those movies at the Ritz 5 and I didn't like others. But here's the thing. I pretended to love them all because that was about, I don't know, proving something to my friends and family, to myself. But the one I was most curious to visit was the Hunger. That was directed by Tony Scott. It was his first film. Tony Scott, of course, went on to direct pretty much every dad movie you can think of. Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide. In this film, Catherine Deneuve plays a sexy vampire. Very heavily moussed 1940s hair and big 1980s shoulder pads. David Bowie plays her lover who she turned a few hundred years back but now is suddenly aging rapidly. So he goes to see a gerontologist. And that's the kind of pulse pounding excitement you can expect from this film. The gerontologist is played by Susan Sarandon. And David Bowie soon enough starts getting Mrs. Rochester, right? He gets locked away in the attic while downstairs in Deneuve's incredible like 1980s townhouse, she and Sarandon are getting together, right? The sisters are doing it for themselves. So there was a period of time when I would make movies my identity and I would go around telling everybody about the performances and the cinematography. And with this one, I probably mentioned to a lot of people how much I really enjoyed the lesbian sex scenes in it. Because that's something that straight heterosexual boys like, right? Lesbian sex scenes.

[Aisha Harris]

So I've heard.

[Glenn Weldon]

Look, I lived in suburban Philly. I pretended to like classic rock and the Eagles. This is one more thing I could pretend to like.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

The point is, I so desperately wanted to seem sophisticated, adult worldly, right? Anything to be anything but this middle class, suburban teenage dweeb that I was. And I thought this film would get me there. I thought adults like sophisticated adult things. Watched this film again this weekend for the first time in 42 years and came away with the realization that if I'd had earlier in life, it would have saved me a lot of grief, which is this. When people say sophisticated, what they mean is boring. So unforgivably, so serious, given the subject matter, right? And I remembered it being incredibly stylish and artfully shot with all these shafts of light, you know, and cutting people into these, you know, film noir shadows through this haze. And I went back and watched and there is a lot of smoke. But that's not a design choice. It's just a byproduct of the fact that everyone smokes in every scene of this movie. The only design element this thing has is that every floor to ceiling window of Catherine Deneuve's townhouse is always open. And every window has these gauzy white curtains that are always blowing into the house day and night because vampires don't care about energy efficiency. And everything is shot through these gauzy white curtains. And so I sat there watching it and, like, is this camp? And I think, no, I think the sensibility would have to be a lot queerer for it to be camp. Like.

[Aisha Harris]

But there's lesbian vampires.

[Glenn Weldon]

Well, you'd think. But I think the reason it doesn't feel queer at all is because the sex scenes between Sarandon and Deneuve are just pure male gaze. G, A, Z, E, not male gaze, G, A, Y, S. Because there's no male gaze anywhere near this film. Everything that happens happens above the waist. And when Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve kiss, it's like they're shaking hands at a regional sales meeting. You know what I mean? There's nothing going on, Steven. You'll get me here. The only thing the film that holds up is the opening credits because they are interspersed with scenes of Deneuve and Bowie picking up another couple in a nightclub. One of them is Anne Magnussen. The reason it holds up is that the band playing in this club is Bauhaus. And so a lot of the opening credits is just the great Peter Murphy staring down the barrel of the camera and singing, Bela Lagos is dead. The rats have left the bell tower. The victims have been bled. Red velvet lines of black box.

[Aisha Harris]

I want to see this movie.

[Stephen Thompson]

I was gonna say, you're making this movie sound good.

[Glenn Weldon]

See the opening credits and then zip through it. You know, this was an interesting exercise for me because unlike y', all, this film has not permeated the consciousness in any way. It's just a thing that I liked when I was a kid. And. And it doesn't say flattering things about me, actually, that I imprinted on this.

[Linda Holmes]

I'm fascinated to hear you say how boring it is specifically because of what you said about Tony Scott, which is, you know, went on to direct, you know, as you said, Top Gun and Days of Thunder. And, you know, movies that good or bad are supposed to be thrilling.

[Stephen Thompson]

And Top Gun contains one of the gayest scenes in movie history.

[Glenn Weldon]

That's true.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Glenn Weldon]

That's certainly true.

[Aisha Harris]

It sounds like somehow he made vampires. That takes a lot of work to do.

[Stephen Thompson]

Takes some doing.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, it takes some doing.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right, well, that is the hunger. 15 year old Glenn pursing his lips, chin and hands.

[Glenn Weldon]

Exactly how hot, Right, guys? Right, guys? Hot, right? Ooh, mama.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right, well, we want to know, what movies did you love when you were 15? Tell us how much younger you are than we are. Find [e-mail] PCHH that brings us to the end of our show. Linda Holmes, Glenn Weldon, Aisha Harris, thanks so much for being here.

[Glenn Weldon]

Thank you.

[Linda Holmes]

Thank you. Bye.

[Aisha Harris]

Thank you. And happy anniversary, y'. All.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, right.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

Happy 15.

[Stephen Thompson]

Happy anniversary. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and Hafsa Fathoma and edited by Jessica Reedy and Mike Katzeff. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy hour from npr. I'm Stephen Thompson and we will see you all next time.

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