← The Bobby Bones Show
The Bobby Bones Show
MOVIE MIKE: The Simpsons in the 90’s and Famous Movie Parodies + Movie Review: The Electric State (Netflix) + Trailer Park: The Woman In The Yard
00:50:24
Loading summary
Transcript155 lines
- [00:00]
Mike
Like your must watch list, our network is all over the place because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big.
- [00:06]
Alan Siegel
Cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network. Switch now.
- [00:10]
Mike
Keep your phone and T Mobile will.
- [00:11]
Jenny Garth
Pay it off up to $800 per.
- [00:12]
Alan Siegel
Line via prepaid card.
- [00:14]
Mike
Visit your local T Mobile location or.
- [00:16]
Jenny Garth
Learn more@t mobile.com keepandswitch up to 4.
- [00:20]
Mike
Lines via virtual prepaid card will have.
- [00:21]
Jenny Garth
15 days qualified unlock device, credit service port in 90 days device and eligible.
- [00:23]
Mike
Carrier and timely redemption required Card is.
- [00:25]
Alan Siegel
No cash access and expires in six months.
- [00:32]
Mike
Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they always have their seatbelt on.
- [00:39]
Jenny Garth
All right, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.
- [00:42]
Mike
Or ring the bell on their bike.
- [00:44]
Jenny Garth
Okay, kid, give it a try.
- [00:46]
Mike
Nice. Or remember their elbow pads.
- [00:50]
Jenny Garth
Knees too. Okay. Yep, there you go.
- [00:53]
Mike
New Instagram Teen Accounts Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.
- [01:01]
Jenny Garth
Bring spring to your door with Target Circle360. Get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360 from Easter Basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required Same day delivery is subject to terms applies to orders over $35. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending. With real time notifications, kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely. And parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com iheart@amica insurance.
- [02:04]
Mike
We know it's more than a life policy. It's about the promise and the responsibility that comes with being a new parent, being there day and night and building a plan for tomorrow today for the ones you'll always look out for. Trust Amica Life Insurance. Amica Empathy is our best policy.
- [02:31]
Alan Siegel
Hello and welcome back to Movie Mike's Movie Podcast. I am your host, Movie Mike. Today we're covering one of my favorite topics of all time, the Simpsons in the 90s. I have on writer Alan Seagull, who wrote A book about the Simpsons coming out this summer. We'll talk about the golden age of the Simpsons, which is my favorite. And we'll also talk about how movie classics had an impact on the show in the 90s. In the movie review, I am defending a movie on Netflix called the Electric State, directed by the Russo brothers, starring Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown. This movie was being dragged through the mud and I'm here to say it is not as bad as everybody is saying it is in the trailer park. We'll talk about a new horror movie coming out this week called the Woman in the Yard. Am I going to hate it or am I going to love it? Thank you for being here. Thank you for being subscribed. And now let's talk movies from the Nashville podcast network.
- [03:18]
Mike
This is Movie Mike's movie podcast.
- [03:22]
Alan Siegel
Alan Siegel is a fantastic writer. He lives in Los Angeles and covers a mix of movies, music, TV shows, sports, a general nostalgia for the ringer. You can check out his work@theringer.com he has a book coming out on June 10th called Stupid TV. Be more funny about the golden age of the Simpsons in the 90s. If you know me from listening to this podcast, I am a massive Simpsons fan. Even though this isn't a TV podcast, I always find ways to incorporate the Simpsons in my reviews because when you look at the show's golden age, so much of it was influenced by famous iconic movies. So I want to talk to Allan about that. I want to get to know him through movies. You can find a link to pre order his book in the episode notes. But right now, let's talk to Alan Siegel. Alan, how are you doing?
- [04:04]
Mike
I'm good. Thanks for having me.
- [04:05]
Alan Siegel
It is so rare that I get to find somebody who is as nerdy about the Simpsons as I am. Somebody who is now dedicated so much of their life to write a Simpsons book. So I'm excited to get to talking about the book. But first, since it's a movie podcast, I want to get to know you through movies. Is that cool?
- [04:22]
Mike
Absolutely.
- [04:23]
Alan Siegel
We're going to do what I call the first four movie questions. Question number one. What was the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?
- [04:31]
Mike
I think it was Oliver and company.
- [04:33]
Alan Siegel
Oh, so good.
- [04:35]
Mike
1987. So as a Disney cartoon, pre Disney renaissance with the songs of Billy Joel.
- [04:42]
Alan Siegel
Yeah, that is a great Disney movie. I tell people that is one of the most underrated Disney movies because it was kind of in that bunk era that what they call the Xerox era, where the animation was like just not very good. They said the ideas at that time were just unimaginative. But I love that movie. What do you remember about seeing that in theaters?
- [05:01]
Mike
I just remember the songs and kind of not being that impressed with it. I was really young. I was probably four, so I enjoyed it, but I didn't really know what was coming. And actually there is a good Simpsons tie in, which is the animators that I talked to, talked about sort of at that time. That was, like, the peak of what you could do as an animator. There really wasn't. There wasn't this ambitious stuff that came later, for sure.
- [05:25]
Alan Siegel
All right, next up, if you're on a desert island, you can only bring one movie. What movie is that going to be?
- [05:30]
Mike
Terminator 2. I would say absolutely. I think I can rewatch that anytime, anywhere.
- [05:35]
Alan Siegel
Is that the movie you've seen the most?
- [05:37]
Mike
I don't think I've seen it the most. I think the most. The movie I've seen the most probably is Major League, which my grandparents gave us on VHS in around 1991, I think, because there was, like, a baseball on the COVID They had no idea how profane it was, for sure.
- [05:52]
Alan Siegel
Literally, one of the most vulgar baseball movies you could give to a kid. All right, first four, number three. What is your favorite animated movie?
- [06:00]
Mike
That is a very good question. I think the original Toy story, I was 12 at the time. So it really. It kind of showed me that there could be animated movies that weren't just sort of kitty and. Yeah, it was for kids, but it was just, like, a little more evolved than some of the stuff that we had gotten at the time.
- [06:16]
Alan Siegel
And final, in the first four, what movie character are you most like in real life?
- [06:22]
Mike
Man, I have to think about that one for a second.
- [06:24]
Alan Siegel
See, because for me, like, outside of doing something like this, I would say Silent Bob. Because if I'm not talking about movies, if I'm not talking about the Simpsons, I don't have a whole lot to say. So in, like, normal, everyday conversations, I'll say the least. But every now and then, I'll get in that one liner. And I was like, everybody's like, oh, that guy can talk. But that is kind of mine. Like, I identify a lot with Silent Bob.
- [06:43]
Mike
I would say some combination of the three main characters in Superbad. So McLovin and Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. I just think Christopher Mintz Plasse, his real name is not McLovin, but I would say, like, that combo of, you know, awkwardness and sweetness. I hope maybe I don't really know if I was that way as a teenager, maybe I sort of aspired to have the sense of humor that Jonah Hill's character did.
- [07:07]
Alan Siegel
But yeah, I think that's a combination of, like, everybody in high school is all those three characters. Like, you want to be cool, but you're also kind of a jerk and you're also kind of a nerd. And we also probably love Simpsons.
- [07:18]
Mike
Yeah, the insecurities would come out and sort of dickishness, for sure.
- [07:23]
Alan Siegel
So let's talk about the book Stupid TV. Be more funny. All about 90s Simpsons. And before we get into that, I want to do something fun where we. We draft our favorite Simpsons episodes from the 90s. So we're building a Mount Rushmore of Simpsons episodes. And the rules are that we'll each pick one episode, and once one is off the board, no one else can pick it. So we're going to go four episodes here. Since you're the guest, kick us off with your first pick in the Mount Rushmore of 90s Simpsons episodes.
- [07:52]
Mike
So it's a little bit of a I don't out there pick, but I'm going to go first with Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie because I think it was sort of their best meta episode commentary about the fans and sort of about what the show became and how difficult it was to maintain its peak. And I think in a perfect world, that almost would have been the finale of the show. I just think it really encapsulated the challenges that they had to, again, continue making the show the funniest thing on television. And really, it showed how damn impossible it was and how you just couldn't please everyone. And it was sort of around the time where Internet fans were becoming a thing. And as you can imagine, Simpsons fans are pretty eggheaded and nerdy. And I was one of them. And they were early Internet adopters, and they were saying that the show was going in the early 90s, which is insane.
- [08:42]
Alan Siegel
I never thought about it like that, that they didn't have to really take all that criticism that shows now get with social media because you had the people hating on it. But they didn't really see it as instantly as you do now.
- [08:54]
Mike
Yeah, some of the writers, again, they were at the time just sort of as. As nerdy and eggheaded as the fans.
- [08:59]
Alan Siegel
So they.
- [09:00]
Mike
They too would get would. They had to early dial up Internet connections, and they. They kind of loved seeing what the fans said. But like anything with the Internet, it sort of devolves into this Piling on. And eventually they sort of got annoyed with that, too.
- [09:13]
Alan Siegel
All right, so we're going with Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie as your number one pick. For number one, I'm going to go with Bart Gets Famous. I think for me, working in show business, doing radio and podcasts now, as a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Like, to see somebody working in show business and you're like, oh, you must have the coolest life. And once I actually got into working in it, and I'll say I still love it. But there's also that side that people don't often see behind the scenes of how much of a grind it is. My favorite quote from that is, I wish I was dead.
- [09:43]
Jenny Garth
Wow.
- [09:44]
Alan Siegel
Being in show business is like a dream. We're really lucky, aren't we?
- [09:49]
Mike
I wish I was dead. It's funny because I. I had interviewed Conan O'Brien about March versus the monorail, and he talked about people asking him all the time about creative work and what he's worked on. And he said it was always sort of disappointing to them because as much as he loved it, like these magic moments he said basically were just eating fried food, writing longhand on a notepad, driving his four Taurus into the Fox lot in a weekend. You know, the magic came later, after the thing was created, creating it itself. It was rarely romantic.
- [10:22]
Alan Siegel
Yeah. I mean, even if you look at where they would write in the show, it's like this crappy, like, hotel looking place where there's. There's nothing going on there.
- [10:31]
Mike
Exactly.
- [10:32]
Alan Siegel
All right, what's your next pick?
- [10:33]
Mike
I'm going to go with Mr. Plow. I think it's a great combo of silly, emotional, ridiculous, and sort of. It was right when the show started to scratch the surface of what it could do beyond family drama.
- [10:46]
Alan Siegel
I love that episode. Call Mr. Plow. That's my name. That name again is Mr. Plow. I feel that that is just one of those defining Homer moments out of the entire series, I think I just love the rivalry between him and Barney in that episode because Barney, for the most part, is this unambitious, just character the entire time. And then out of nowhere, he's like, I'm going to be the best guy in Springfield.
- [11:11]
Mike
It's definitely like he, you know, breaks character to film a commercial with Linda Ronstadt.
- [11:17]
Alan Siegel
That is a great.
- [11:18]
Mike
You just don't, like, get that kind of thing later with Barney.
- [11:21]
Alan Siegel
That's a great pick. I think with number two, I'm going to go with 22 short films about Springfield. I think it's just such an ambitious episode that they haven't replicated since. I just love how every single story intertwines. And I think as a kid, that is the episode that blew my mind the most, just because how complex it is.
- [11:39]
Mike
Yeah. Bill Oakley, who sort of shepherded that episode, talked about how he did not expect the idea to fly, and he was the showrunner. So I think he basically was like, all right, we're going to do it, and pushed it through. And I think they all sort of drew ideas out of or drew characters out of a hat to pick how they would write the episode.
- [11:57]
Alan Siegel
I would. You got. For your next pick, I'm going to.
- [11:59]
Mike
Go with Last Exit to Springfield.
- [12:02]
Alan Siegel
Oh, that's a good one. That was on my list. Yeah.
- [12:04]
Mike
It's sort of. It's a cliche now, but people love that episode.
- [12:08]
Alan Siegel
Dental plan. Lisa needs braces. Dental plan, Lisa Needs braces has a.
- [12:14]
Mike
Bunch of good jokes. It's like a lot of social commentary in it with talk about unions and all the dental stuff is very, very funny.
- [12:22]
Alan Siegel
If we give up our dental plan, I'll have to pay for Lisa's braces. That's an episode that gets referenced the most. I feel like that's a classic episode. That's a good pick for number three. For number three, I'm going to go with an episode that has been my longest favorite episode. I think it would be number one for probably the majority of my life, but it's Homie the Clown. And I think it's because of the story of how there was always going to be at one point a reveal that Krusty the Clown was Homer Simpson. And this whole time that Bart is kind of idolizing this character, that it's actually his dad the whole time in makeup. Like, I wish they would have made that happen at some point. I get that Krusty becoming a big, bigger figure probably would have made that a little bit more confusing. But I think it was that whole idea of Bart idolizing somebody that easily could have been his dad and then just hilarious, like, physical comedy in that episode.
- [13:14]
Mike
The first maybe five minutes where Homer is being wooed to go to clown college is definitely like a top five sequence in the show's history.
- [13:23]
Alan Siegel
Yeah, that whole sequence, like him seeing the billboard and then playing with his mashed potatoes, and that's it. I'm going to clown college. One of the most out of pocket things he's ever said in the series. Yes, Homie, that's it. You People have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college. I don't think any of us expected him to say that.
- [13:45]
Mike
It's definitely the. An early, like, oh, Homer is getting more stupid and more out there, and his family is starting to notice, which. It was always there, but it wasn't quite as pronounced until then.
- [13:57]
Alan Siegel
I think. I love that evolution of Homer where they. He went from just being the dad to be. I guess everybody watching kind of expected him to get dumber and dumber as the show went along. And maybe that was a little bit of a detriment to the show later in seasons, like getting into late 90s and early 2000s where he got a little bit too dumb. Did you think Homer get. Got too dumb in the 90s?
- [14:18]
Mike
I would say the 90s was the peak of his stupidity. And it really worked. I mean, it. It was sort of fun, I think, for the writers to take Homer again, make him stupider, and place him in these crazy situations where he should be smart, but he's not, like, going to space, you know, that was controversial at the time, but ended up being very funny.
- [14:38]
Alan Siegel
Are your final pick in your Mount Rushmore Simpsons episodes from the 90s.
- [14:42]
Mike
I'm going to go with Lisa's substitute. It's a season two episode with Dustin Hoffman as the guest star. I think it was maybe the earliest, true, incredible classic of the show. Mr. Bergstrom, I'm gonna miss you. Well, I'll tell you what. Whenever you feel like you're alone and there's nobody you can rely on, this.
- [15:06]
Alan Siegel
Is all you need to know.
- [15:09]
Mike
Thank you, Mr. Bergstrom.
- [15:11]
Alan Siegel
Yeah. The heartwarming Lisa episodes in the 90s were some of the best because she gave balance to the show in ways that the other Simpsons family members really couldn't. Because you have Homer, like, we're talking about being complete idiot. Bart was like the rock star of the show in the early 90s, and then she kind of brought everything down to a human level. What do you love the most about Lisa Simpson?
- [15:33]
Mike
I mean, she's the show's moral center, and I think people kind of unfairly, like, view her as a killjoy. But she. She is the closest thing to the audience, I would say, in terms of. Of character, especially, like, hardcore Simpsons fans, you know, like, again, kind of nerdy, eggheaded, sweet, but also likes to lord her intelligence over. Over other people. She's definitely one of the more vulnerable characters, and that can lead to some really, really good episodes. Anything with Lisa and Homer together contrasted is always really Good.
- [16:04]
Alan Siegel
For my final pick, I think I'm going to go with Marge Be not proud. That is an episode that I watch every single year. I think it's. Obviously, the Bonestorm reference is one of my favorites of all time, but I think that one has the most heartwarming message to me of, like, Bart getting older, him being so just distraught, of not just making his parents mad, but, you know, them being disappointed in him. And I think that's, like, one of his most defining moments. Of, like, oh, Bart actually has some sensibilities here that aren't just, like, him doing dumb, radical things.
- [16:37]
Mike
Yeah, he's very guilty about stealing the video. And. And it's funny that they. Or maybe not funny, but it's interesting that they. So when he steals it, like, it's like he steals it, and he realizes he can't enjoy this thing that he stole. It's just kind of miserable to him after that. Dealing.
- [16:53]
Alan Siegel
How could you? We live in a society of laws. Why do you think I took in all those Police Academy movies for fun? Well, I didn't hear anybody laughing, did you? Except that. That guy who made sound effects.
- [17:11]
Mike
Where was I?
- [17:12]
Alan Siegel
Oh, yeah. Stay out of my boots. All right. So those are our Mount Rushmore picks. The book is called Stupid TV Be more Funny, which is a quote from an episode where Homer bangs on the tv, trying to get the comedian on. On the screen to be more funny because he doesn't get the jokes. Maybe it's the tv. With tv, be more funny. Was this always the phrase that you wanted to pick for the name of the book?
- [17:36]
Mike
You know, it took me a little while to settle on that. I like it because, first of all, he was watching Garrison Keiller, which is really funny. That's what Homer was. Was mad at. I don't think he understood Garrison Keiller at the time. Prairie Home Companion was a little advanced for him at that moment. I just thought it sort of summed up what the Simpsons was about, which was elevating TV in a way. This was sort of before prestige TV was a phrase, and it was, I think, you know, unequivocally smarter than anything else on, you know, at the time. There were. There were funny sitcoms for sure, but the Simpsons was just on a different.
- [18:10]
Alan Siegel
Level from that phrase. That quote. What are some other quotes that have kind of become a part of your everyday vocabulary because of the Simpsons? Because I have so many of these.
- [18:19]
Mike
I think it. It shifts. But lately it's been Dr. Nick saying, you know, the most rewarding part was when he gave me my money.
- [18:26]
Alan Siegel
The most rewarding part was when he gave me my money.
- [18:30]
Mike
And that's, you know, any kind of. It applies to any sort of cynical, either money grab or just, like, on a work setting, when you're sort of down about something, it kind of reminds me of the, you know, Don Draper. Like that that's what the money's for.
- [18:44]
Alan Siegel
One that has kind of creeped into my vocabulary recently that I realize I've been saying it for so long is. And how whenever Homer, he's talking about, whenever he learns a new piece of information, he forgets an old piece of information. Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine.
- [19:02]
Mike
Making course and I forgot how to drive?
- [19:04]
Alan Siegel
That's because you were drunk. And how I've said and how so many times that I kind of forget that it's a phrase that nobody uses anymore. And then it's a phrase from, like, the 1920s. Slang.
- [19:16]
Mike
Yeah. That show was so good at taking these, like, little inconsequential phrases and kind of shoving them into the lexicon. Like, doe was originally written to the script as, like, annoyed grunt, and Dan Castellanetta just made it his own. And the word meh, you know, three words. I don't think the Simpsons came up with that, but they used it all the time. And I guarantee, you know, I'm 41 people, 10 years younger, 10 years older, like, in that range. That's where they got the use of that word for sure.
- [19:45]
Alan Siegel
So in your research for this book, how much of the Simpsons did you had to dive into, and at what point did you get sick of them?
- [19:52]
Mike
I rewatched a bunch of classic episodes. But the thing is, that was sort of in my media diet already, so I. I definitely didn't get sick of it. I. I would say towards the end of the research process, I was like, I just can't watch anymore. I don't want to get sick of it. Like, this is my favorite thing in the world. I don't want to be susceptible to losing the love. And it never really happened. I. You know, since I've put the finishing touches in the book, I've definitely gone back and watched more.
- [20:15]
Alan Siegel
So a theory I kind of have is when I rewatch some episodes in preparation for this, and I realize how much they would reference things that were so niche and so obscure at a time when I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know they were referencing old TV shows, old songs. And it Seemed like the writers at that time were just these hardcore Harvard nerds who would really dive into these really just deep things that nobody else was going to get. But now it's the people who grew up with the show, like you and I, who are a part of the writing staff now, who are a part of it, who they're almost referencing the episodes they grew up with, more than referencing those other things. Do you find that that is kind of what is happening not only with the Simpsons, but even other media franchises like Star Wars? It's that kind of evolution of the fan now becoming a part of the driving force?
- [21:06]
Mike
Yeah, I think that's definitely the trend. I think that can be good and bad. I mean, I. I think again, like in mid century directors, all these, these guys and it was mostly men, you know, they fought in wars, they, they had lives. And you know, then you look at like Quentin Tarantino, who grew up on movies and all his movies reference other movies, which is great. I just think it sort of creates a different kind of cinema or tv. But yeah, like no one, no one who worked in the early Simpsons, like obviously grew up on the Simpsons. Like I think Oakley and Weinstein, who are the showrunners in season seven and eight, were the first sort of Simpsons fans who really worked on the show, like hardcore Simpsons fans who ran the show. And they did a really good job, I think, of thinking outside the box.
- [21:51]
Alan Siegel
Focusing now on some film based questions here about the Simpsons. What is your favorite movie that the Simpsons have done a parody of?
- [21:58]
Mike
It's kind of a normie pick, but the Shining, I think is my favorite movie that they've parodied just because they, they really do a full parody of it. It's not just a scene or one sequence.
- [22:10]
Alan Siegel
No TV and no beer make Homer something, something. Go crazy. Don't mind if I do. Yeah, they really nail every single reference from the Shining. From Homer busting down the door to the blood getting off on the wrong floor.
- [22:32]
Mike
Give me the bat, Marge. Give me the bat. Yeah, it's very true to the movie, which is pretty incredible.
- [22:40]
Alan Siegel
Was there ever a episode that you watched that you didn't realize at the time they were parodying a movie? And later you're like, oh, that was actually a movie and I gotta go check that movie out now.
- [22:49]
Mike
So there were a bunch of those. I think one of my favorites is something that I realized was a reference maybe three or four years ago, and that was in Mr. Plow. There is a scene with Homer's truck that's on A bridge. And it is a shot for shot remake from Sorcerer, which is from 1977. William Friedkin's sorcerer, which is a remake of Wages of Fear. And there's even a, like, faux Tangerine Dream score in the episode of the Simpsons. And I didn't know what the hell that was. I thought, you know, I was young. I was like, oh, is this a reference to Cliffhanger? I don't really know. And then I saw Sorcerer here in LA three or four years ago, and, like, something clicked in my head, and it was almost embarrassing because that's sort of the breadth of their references. Like that movie in the early 90s, sorcerer. I think it came out right around Star wars, got buried by Star Wars. So it was not a movie that was in the zeitgeist at all. But they parodied it anyway. And it was sort of like Rich Moore, as an animation director, called it, like a 1 percenter. There was like, 1% of the audience that might understand that, but they did it anyway just because that's their sensibility and that's the beauty of the show.
- [23:59]
Alan Siegel
Isn't that crazy when you watch some of these episodes of how down to the minimal detail that they get right when. When parodying something, they.
- [24:08]
Mike
Again, this is something I really wanted to hammer home, which is. This was before Google searches. Like, you could not find stills from movies easily. You know, you. You couldn't just collect them on the Internet. So they would have interns and PAs run to the archives of various studios to find stills of movies, whatever they were parodying, whether it was Psycho or the Shining or Chinatown or the Godfather. And that's how they did it. And it was so time consuming.
- [24:37]
Alan Siegel
Yeah. I think one for me that I didn't realize at the time was a movie was whenever Lisa is trying to do this experiment with Bart in her hamster, and he goes to grab the pancakes. I did not. Or the cupcakes. And I didn't realize that was a Clockwork Orange reference. And then seeing a still of that later, I'm like, oh, I had no idea that that's totally, like, a Not safe for work reference.
- [24:59]
Mike
Yeah, the show definitely educated us, I think, in ways that we didn't realize at the time. And I think, like, Kubrick and Hitchcock are two directors, that their stuff always comes up on the Simpsons.
- [25:10]
Alan Siegel
Aside from the Simpsons teaching us about movies, what is the biggest thing the Simpsons has taught you about life?
- [25:17]
Mike
I think to have healthy cynicism or skepticism, but also that you got to live, you know, you have to sort of throw yourself into the world. I think it's sort of a mistake that people. Sometimes people talk about how, like, bleak the show is or their. Their attitude towards politics, basically, that it doesn't work. But I really think it is. You know, it does point out these ness of American life in some ways. But there's no giving up on the show. And rather the characters don't give up, and it's kind of like they have to live on. And that, I think, is what I took from the show, for sure.
- [25:49]
Alan Siegel
I got that a lot, too. I think, oddly, the thing I've learned a lot from this show was about marriage. I think how good of a husband that Homer is, even though he has a lot of flaws. Like, growing up, my dad didn't really talk to me a whole lot about, like, girls and what to do in these situations. And I went to the Simpsons a lot for some of that advice of, like, what happens in this marital situation that you have no idea about? Well, what did Homer Simpson do? Have you ever used Homer as any kind of, like, moral compass for you?
- [26:18]
Mike
I think usually with Homer, it was sort of like what not to do. And then in the. In the end, it was, well, he. He still loves Marge and, you know, he'd really do any. You know, he'd do anything for his family. That. That's something that the writer John Swartzwelder basically said. Like, he tried to write Homer like a big dog, like, you know, lazy, kind of not that smart. But he would, like, kill for his family. And I think there's something to admire about that.
- [26:44]
Alan Siegel
Stupid tv. Be more funny. Everybody go pre order the book. I'm going to put the link in the episode. Note to this podcast. What do you hope people take away from the book?
- [26:54]
Mike
So when I wrote it, I kind of struggled initially because I was sort of like, this is this giant titan of pop culture, and I'm afraid, you know, I'm not going to get to everything I want to. And I basically was trying to make it definitive without being completist. And I think what I'm hoping is people can really gather how the show influenced America and how the. The Simpsons and America were intertwined in the 90s. Like, I. I don't think you can really tell the story of one without the other.
- [27:21]
Alan Siegel
What was the first step you took in just sitting down and writing it? Because it is a massive amount to look for. It is so many episodes, so many voice actors, so many things that you could include. What was that first step you took of like, this is me starting the book.
- [27:36]
Mike
So I made a list of things I wanted to hit on, like the, you know, the merchandise craze in the 90s. Because I remembered, you know, when I was a kid, it was absolutely insane. I think they sold 15 million Simpsons shirts in the first year of the show alone. I wanted to hit on George H.W. bush taking a shot at the show from the campaign stump. And I do that. And I wanted to kind of get the flavor of the writers room and how these guys, and it was all guys, for better and worse, really made this thing.
- [28:03]
Alan Siegel
All right, final question. I am planning on getting a Simpsons tattoo. You are the Simpsons expert. What do you think I should get that represents the Simpsons in the 90s best?
- [28:13]
Mike
I think you gotta go Homer. And I think you just like, a simple woohoo is a perfect Simpsons tattoo. I could get into, like, more intricate things. You know, I don't know if I would get Milhouse or, you know, early Bart, but I think actually, you know, for me it'd probably be a Lisa tattoo. I think that would be the most meaningful. But I think you gotta. You gotta do Homer.
- [28:33]
Alan Siegel
I was feeling Lisa for you. Like, if you got a Simpsons tattoo, from what you talked about, I think you're going Lisa.
- [28:37]
Mike
I agree. I think my tattoo days are over.
- [28:40]
Alan Siegel
Yeah, the one I was thinking of, of just getting the line I call the big one Bitey. So we're kind of right there on the Homer reference.
- [28:47]
Mike
Mindy has a motorcycle. I love the Homer, like, declarative statements.
- [28:51]
Alan Siegel
Well, this has been awesome. I hope everybody pre orders the book because why is that so important? I hear that all the time. Let the listeners know why pre ordering. Something is so important for artists and creators.
- [29:01]
Mike
Because pre ordering is the best way to try to get on bestseller lists. And pre orders count towards your first week of sales. And that's extremely important.
- [29:11]
Alan Siegel
So the book comes out in June, but go pre order it right now. Alan, thank you so much for the time.
- [29:15]
Mike
Thanks for having me, man. Introducing Instagram teen accounts. A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like, making sure they always have their seatbelt on.
- [29:28]
Jenny Garth
Alright, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.
- [29:31]
Mike
Or ring the bell on their bike.
- [29:33]
Jenny Garth
Okay, kid, give it a try. Nice.
- [29:36]
Mike
Or remember their elbow pads.
- [29:39]
Jenny Garth
Knees too. Okay? Yep, There you go.
- [29:42]
Mike
New Instagram teen accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.
- [29:50]
Jenny Garth
Bring spring to your door with target circle 360. Get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited Same day Delivery through Target Circle360. From Easter Basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door. With unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35. You know, when the world gets a little crazy and everything is moving too fast, don't you just wish you could get away from all of it for a while? Well, that's exactly what the all new 2025 Nissan Murano can do for you. And to be clear, you don't even have to go anywhere. The Murano is the getaway. It was designed from the ground up to be a refuge from the daily grind. I mean, it has a Bose premium sound system which can play your favorite, most relaxing music. And there's nothing like a world class audio system to just transport you to a better headspace. Then there's the Murano's massaging leather appointed seats. Yeah, massaging seats. Talk about melting away your stress. So could getting stuck in traffic become your happy place? I don't know. It sounds like it could in the all new Murano. You should probably check one out for yourself. You gotta drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today. Bows and massaging leather appointed seats are optional features.
- [31:14]
Mike
At Ameca Insurance, we know it's more than a life policy. It's about the promise and the responsibility that comes with being a new parent, being there day and night and building a plan for tomorrow, tomorrow, today for the ones you'll always look out for. Trust Amica Life Insurance Ameca Empathy is our best policy.
- [31:44]
Jenny Garth
Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health. But what about our sexual health? I've been there, feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi. And let me tell you, I have seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. Addi is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in sex, have more satisfying sex, and lower the stress from low libido. Addi has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit a d d y I.com to learn more about Addie, the little pink pill. Individual results may vary. Addy or Flibanserin is for premenopausal Women with Acquired Generalized Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder HSDD who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past who have had low sexual desire. No matter the type of sexual activity, the situation, or the sexual partner, this low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in the relationship, or medicine or other drug use. ADDI is not for use in children, men, or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks close in time. Addie Dose Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking ADDI at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC or herbal medications, or have liver problems and can happen when you take ADDI without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you're allergic to any of addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur. Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and dry mouth. See full PI and medication guide including boxed warning@ addy.com P I addy visit a d d y I e dot com to learn more about Addie.
- [33:28]
Alan Siegel
Let's get into it now. A spoiler Free Movie review of the Electric State Starring Millie Bobby Brown Chris Pratt Directed by the Russo Brothers Russo Brothers have directed great movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Infinity War, End Game. Since then they've done Cherry the Gray man, which was also a Netflix movie with Ryan Gosling. I thought that was a fun action movie, but if you looked at all the reviews and all the talk about the Electric State, you'd think this movie had kicked a dog. And I'll say, is it the best movie ever? No, by no means. But does it deserve all the hate it has been getting? I don't think so. And maybe it's because of all the negativity that I went into this movie a little bit differently. But it's hard to avoid the Rotten Tomatoes number and I never let that affect me or influence my review. But this one was staggering. A critic score of 14, but the audience score is 76%. So even myself, once I saw the poster for this movie alone, I thought this looks bad. When I saw the trailer, I thought this looks kind of bad. I wasn't a fan of the costume design. The hair in particular. Chris Pratt's hair looked awful. I wasn't buying either him or Millie Bobby Brown in a role like this. What the movie is about it takes place in a retro futuristic 1990s. Millie Bobby Brown has a really smart brother and he dies. At least she thinks that he dies. But then he comes back as this robot trying to get her attention, trying to get her to save him and in turn save the world. So she has to go navigate this robotic state where humans and robots have been at war. She's living with Jason Alexander as her foster parent, which I thought was kind of a nice touch. But she has to go and team up with Chris Pratt's character to journey to this part of the world where robots have kind of been banished to. You have Stanley Tucci kind of playing the bad guy. He's the person responsible for this technology where you can put on this helmet. And in order to defeat the robots, they started to develop their own robots where they could take over. They put on this helmet and they are essentially able to power these drones remotely. My biggest problem with this movie is it felt like I'd already watched it before. In this movie, the robots get tired of doing the jobs that they were assigned to, so they become a little bit smarter, a little bit more self aware, and they start fighting back against the humans. And the humans find a way to defeat the robots and banish them. So the robots become the bad guys. But now that her brother is a robot, she has to save him. Aside from creating a semi interesting world, there wasn't anything that felt unique to this movie. Just kind of felt like generic futuristic robot movie. And I think it's also because I have a lower standard when it comes to Netflix original movies, despite them throwing every single actor in this movie from not only Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, but Kihui Kwan, Jason Alexander. Like I mentioned, Woody Harrelson is the voice of the robotic Mr. Peanut, which at first I thought it was Matthew McConaughey. They do sound very similar, so who knows, they might be brothers. Anthony Mackie is the robot best friend to Chris Pratt. You have Brian Cox, Jenny Slate all doing voices. Giancarlo Esposito pretty much doing the same thing he's been doing in every movie, playing the bad guy. He does it so well. It just felt like they took every big actor, threw it in this movie, put them as voices, and nothing really stood out because of that. When it comes to our two leads, let's look at the positives and the negatives. I like Millie Bobby Brown. I think her name alone is reason enough for me to watch a movie. It's the reason I continue to dip into these Netflix movies, because I Want her to succeed post Stranger Things, which I think is really hard for any child actor. And I think she and her people did a really good job of distinguishing her from the other cast of Stranger Things and making it very much her separate Millie Bobby Brown, who is a part of Stranger Things. But she wants to go on and do other movies like Damsel, Enola Holmes, and adding more movies like this to her resume. I just think when it comes to her acting ability, it's just not quite there. And it could, because a lot of this movie is a lot of blue screen, which the Russo brothers do a lot of work in. And it just feels like at times her acting is a little bit empty, and sometimes she oversells the emotional scenes, which I found just a little bit distracting. There are moments that do require a little bit more emotion, but I just didn't really feel it in her performance. And I'm not sure she showed me that outside of Stranger Things, and maybe it works in that Stranger Things world, but I just haven't seen seen that next level of acting from her outside of Stranger Things. And then we get to Chris Pratt, which I think is another major reason why people are ripping this movie to shreds. There is Chris Pratt fatigue that no matter what he comes out in now, people are going to not want to watch it because we've had so much of him. I'm still not quite there all the time. The only movie that I was upset he got cast in was whenever he was the voice of Super Mario. It just felt like the same Chris Pratt voice. And I wanted something a little bit more unique. There he is, kind of like the industry standard. Hey, we need a straight white male in a role who can bring money at the box office or get eyeballs on a streaming movie. Let's get Chris Pratt. I'm not fully in the. I dislike Chris Pratt and everything he does now because he did do a lot of great things. I mean, just a couple years ago, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, I don't think anybody felt that there is just everything outside in the action world. Whenever he is in a movie, I feel like people just automatically don't want to be a part of it. His acting in this movie was also a little bit flat. And I think when you put him next to Millie Bobby Brown, there's not really one person leading the charge here. But I honestly think what it comes down to is it's a blue screen nightmare. This entire movie is probably a victim of that. And that's what you get when you don't build a whole lot of sets and you focus a lot on CGI robots and backgrounds. But you have to do that in order to build a world like this. And they did spend a lot of money on making this movie. So while they did do, I thought, a decent job at creating this world, about 40 minutes in, I felt that that went by pretty quickly. I think that was the sign of an entertaining movie. Again, it's not the most stimulating. It's unfortunately a movie that you could have on in the background and just kind of enjoy and still kind of go along with. It kind of reminds me of when you would just throw on a movie on cable that was interesting enough. Like I could see the commercial breaks inside of this movie. It was that level of entertainment. And that doesn't make it bad to me. That is kind of the streaming standard now. So I found it entertaining enough through the end. Even though the movie felt kind of like painting by numbers. I kind of knew what was going to happen, what was going to come. All the emotional ups and downs were already in my head happening, and I thought it was entertaining enough. I enjoyed living in this world. I think it's also probably catered to a younger viewer, so all the people ripping it to shreds online, or probably people around my age, older than me, who think this movie is an abomination. I also think this movie probably isn't for you. It's for the fan of Stranger Things, the younger fan who is more of the Gen Z audience and going to resonate more with Millie Bobby Brown. Of course, you're probably not going to get it. And those people watching this movie and enjoying it haven't seen all those movies from the 80s that you think it's reminiscent of. Haven't seen all those movies from the 90s because those movies are ancient to them. So the Electric State does probably feel more fresh and new to them and it could be their next favorite movie. And I don't want to keep some kid from enjoying that. I'm also not going to die on the Hill by any means. That this is a great movie that people are completely missing. It is pretty average by today's standards. But when I look at other Netflix original movies, which is always how I compare every single movie to you, like what is around it in this genre? I think of Rebel Moon, which was a complete disaster. The first one was all style, no substance. The second one was much of the same. So bad that I couldn't even finish that one. This movie actually has some substance with a little Bit of style. So it's like right in the middle on both those. But the thing was, I kept watching till the very end. Unlike those other Netflix original movies that I dipped out, there are movies on Netflix that I started, maybe got 20, 30 minutes of and I was like, I don't care where this is going, I'm out. The Electric State, I watched it all the way through. And that is the big thing with Netflix. They want people to start, and not only start them, but complete their movies. That is the sign of success here. That is why this movie is going to be at number one on Netflix. Because even though people are hating it, people are clicking on it and people are watching it, I don't love that. Because if all you're caring about is completion rate, I mean, Netflix makes movies now that they're like, okay, we gotta overstate things. Because some people just have this on in the background. Some people are watching on their phone or their iPad, they have characters sometimes announcing things that they are doing. For the people who are distracted doing other things while they are watching Netflix, I don't like that for filming, they might get to a point where they install or encourage you to install these little cameras or they use your phones or any on your TVs so they can look at your eyes. And when you're looking at the screen and not looking at the screen and using that for data on how they make movies, I don't like that aspect of filmmaking, but I think that's just the state of the world and them deciding on what they want to invest in and how they want to make movies. That's a whole other streaming world that'll probably be different here in five years if they continue to lose money on movies like this, this. And I don't even think they're necessarily losing money on the Electric State, but it's not doing them any favors by all the negative reviews that they are getting. So maybe it's also me fighting a little bit for this movie because I don't think it's as bad as people are saying. Because I think for the most part, if you like sci fi movies and you click on the Electric State, just looking for a popcorn movie that you could sit down and watch with your family on like a Friday night. I think this is actually perfect for that. It has a little something for everybody. It doesn't really excel at anything that it does, but it's a very crowd pleasing movie in my opinion. And some people are freaking out because they don't want this to be the last project leading into the Russo brothers taking on the next Avengers movies. I think to me this still proves that they can deal with a lot of actors, can deal with a lot of action, which is going to be up to an incredible level in the next Avengers movies. I heard that. I think Disney or Marvel gave the Russo brothers a deck of cards with every single person cast in the Avengers movie. As far as how many movies they have left in their contract, how much they are paying each of these people, and how much they have left to pay these people because it's so hard to keep track of. I think that's why you hire these guys, because they can deal with this amount of talent. There's two of them, they know how to make a movie set for the big screen, and I think they still prove that in the Electric State. It's just kind of a mix of probably all the movies that they grew up with and loved. So normally I probably would have given this movie a 2.5 out of 5. But to combat all the negativity and the fact that I watched it and finished it all in one sitting and didn't feel the need to click off of it for that reason, I Give this movie 3 out of 5 robots, which is right there at that D level. I think it's probably a week three, but a really strong 2.5. But for all that hate, I'm gonna bump it up to a three because I think that score is right there at that. I still think it's worth a stream. It's not going to change your life. It's not going to be one of your favorite movies of the year. I think if it would have made two more wrong decisions, it probably would have been in the bad category for me. But for right now, three out of five robots for the Electric State.
- [45:22]
Jenny Garth
Introducing Instagram Teen accounts A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow.
- [45:27]
Mike
Like making sure they've got the right gear for writing. Knee pads, shack and helmet.
- [45:31]
Alan Siegel
Done. See you dad.
- [45:32]
Mike
New Instagram teen accounts Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the.
- [45:36]
Jenny Garth
Content they can see. Bring spring to your door with Target Circle360. Get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day delivery through Through Target Circle 360. From Easter basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door. With unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35. You know, when the world gets a little crazy and everything is moving too fast, don't you just wish you could get away from all of it for a while? Well, that's exactly what the all new 2025 Nissan Murano can do for you. And to be clear, you don't even have to go anywhere. The Murano is the getaway. It was designed from the ground up to be a refuge from the daily grind. I mean, it has a Bose premium sound system which can play your favorite, most relaxing music. And there's nothing like a world class audio system to just transport you to a better headspace. Then there's the Murano's massaging leather appointed seats. Yeah, massaging seats. Talk about melting away your stress. So could getting stuck in traffic become your happy place? I don't know. It sounds like it could in the all new Murano. You should probably check one out for yourself. You gotta drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today. Bows and massaging leather appointed seats are optional features at Ameca.
- [47:03]
Mike
Insurance we know it's more than a life policy. It's about the promise and the responsibility that comes with being a new parent, being there day and night and building a plan for tomorrow today for the ones you'll always look out for. Trust Amica life insurance Amica Empathy is our best policy.
- [47:32]
Jenny Garth
Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health. But what about our sexual health? I've been there, feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi. And let me tell you, I have seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. ADDI is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in sex, have more satisfying sex, and lower the stress from low libido. ADDI has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit add d-y.com to learn more about Addy, the little pink Pill. Individual results may vary. Addy or Flibanserin is for premenopausal women with Acquired Generalized Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, hsdd, who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past, who have had low sexual desire. No matter the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner, this low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in or medicine or other drug use. Addi is not for use in children, men, or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks. Close in time to your Addi dose. Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking Addi at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC or herbal medications, or have liver problems and can happen when you take ADDI without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you are allergic to any of Addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur. Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and dry mouth. See full PI and medication guide including box morning at addy.com PI addy visit a-d d y I.com to learn more.
- [49:15]
Mike
About Addy it's time to head down to Movie Mike's Trailer Park.
- [49:21]
Alan Siegel
You know me, I love me a good horror movie and I can't decide if I'm going to love or hate this one. So by the end of this trailer park that is the decision we are going to make here as part of the movie crew. It is called the Woman in the Yard is about a mysterious woman who keeps repeatedly appearing across in a family's front yard, keeps delivering this chilling warning, saying all these weird things, unsettling messages, leaving them to question their identity, motives and a potential danger that she might possess. Now what it looks like is you have a mom or two kids. Apparently the dad died somehow, probably in a car wreck because in this trailer you see this car up here that's all smashed up. This trailer has a lot of cliches but some good pieces of it. It is coming to us from the director of Black Adam, Carry On An Orphan, which is a pretty vast different just selection of movies there. If you told me the same guy who directed Carry on last year, which was the movie that was like Die Hard in an airport, which Die Hard 2 is also die Hard at an airport. But that's the best way to describe that movie that came in on Netflix and was like their biggest movie of the year for him to follow that up with this one. It just almost doesn't quite fit here because Carry on was a bigger budget movie. Black Adam was a really big budget movie. Orphan is like still in that horror space. But to see somebody go from that to this, which feels like a really bare bones horror movie. It's coming to us from Blumhouse who is notorious for doing this. I think they're one of the most profitable horror studios because they make movies for 8 to 10 million dollars and then really try to cash in on their investment by the marketing. And there are some red flags going on in this trailer. Before I give all of my ideas away, here's just a little bit of the woman in the yard trailer. And, mom, it's a woman in the yard. Hello. Can I help you? My husband will be back very soon. We both know your husband's not coming home. I don't come unless I'm called. Today's the day. Why is your face covered? How did she get here, Mama? I think she's closer. So today is the day. The question is, where did this woman come from? What does she want? When and will she ever leave? Who's going to die? Well, only the woman in the yard knows. So before I get into my red flags, let's talk about my green flags here. I do like the overall idea of a woman showing up in the yard. And that being the horror element, there is a cool thing that she does to actually mess with the people inside the house and is able to manipulate things and move things. She uses the power of the sun to create shadows. And through that, she can move the lights. She invades the house. They even in this trailer, kind of start to figure that out. But I think that is interesting because how do you make a movie that's an hour and a half interesting of a woman just sitting there, covered entirely in black, just saying things, weirdly, making things appear. This movie kind of feels like those episodes of TV shows they refer to as bottle episodes, where they can't really go anywhere else. They try to limit the different sets so they don't have to spend a lot of money. This is what this movie is. It takes place pretty much primarily from what we see in this trailer in one location. Which I do like when movies do that because you have to be really inventive on how to move this story along and how to bring elements in, in this case, from the supernatural that are gonna make it entertaining for those 90 minutes. So I think it's kind of a green flag, but also kind of a red flag, because sometimes I've been burned by these Blumhouse movies that are 90 minutes long that give you this trailer which pretty much tells you everything that is going to happen. I really get a glimpse of the entire plot through this trailer. But they're trying to entice you in with showing you all those scary parts And I fear that there's not going to be anything else scarier in the actual movie. So in it, having a small budget, I feel like there's going to be moments that are really, really stretched out to fill that time. It was almost like they said, we need to make this movie 90 minutes long. If you've ever written a paper that needed to be a certain page length and you start writing sentences in way you would never say them in your real life, adding all these extra words and filler words to beef up that paper to give it some girth, and you're increasing the font to like 12.5 in a way that doesn't make it look completely obvious that you don't have a whole lot to say in your paper. That is also the vibes I'm getting from the woman in the yard so far. So I do like some of the horror aspects. I like the family dynamic at the beginning where it's just them chilling, having a good time. Everything is normal. They make some eggs, the son makes them with Doritos. So hopefully there's a bit of a bonding moment there with the family. And there's the whole mystery of what happened to the dad. I gotta know, is he gonna pop up? Is the woman in the yard gonna make him a zombie and freak out all the kids? That could be cool. But there are a lot of cliches. So we'll get to the red flags now. They say the name of the movie in the trailer. I like it when they save that for the actual movie. It just feels like a really weird delivery, like, there's a woman in the yard. And that's the entire movie. All right, that's it. Just close up the windows. We don't have to pay attention to her end of movie. But really the biggest red flag of this entire trailer, it does the big cliche, the cliche I hate in horror movie trailers that you know is coming. Whenever there's some kind of a ghost, there's some kind of a demon, there's always this part where the family or the main character gets into a situation where they're waiting for the monster to appear. It gets really quiet and dark, and you're just waiting for that moment, for the jump scare where they give you a glimpse of the monster. You get a big sound effect. They appear. Boom in the trailer. Whenever a movie does that, I just know that there's nothing else that's gonna happen. There's no other moment to wait for to go see that movie. They've already given it to you in the trailer, that's a shot. I'm not going to be anticipating that moment anymore because I already know it's coming. I experienced that in the first Smile movie. They showed you the, oh, the, the best part of the movie that would have been a great jump scare in theaters. That was in the trailer. Blumhouse has done that with imaginary. They show you the best part of the movie in the trailer. So then there's nothing to look forward to. It's the same way when you make comment, you put your best joke in the trailer. You're not going to really laugh at it again when you go see it in theaters. So out of everything, that is the biggest red flag for me. And I'll give you a warning now because I do want to play it just so I can explain to you how infuriating this is to me. But be aware that there is a jump scare coming. So if you're listening in your car or in the gym, just know that there is a moment where it's gonna get really loud. So here's that moment and then boom. End of trailer. They also use like the uplifting music method where it's like, here's a really nice cheerful song over some dark imagery that every horror movie does. Now, they don't really incorporate it too much, but the other cliche that I see and hear a lot is that weird creepy violin sound that almost sounds if you took rubber bands and put them on a box and we're just like twisting them over the box. Like if you had a thing to take out, you know, sometimes you put a rubber band over it kind of sounds like this. Like anytime a trailer has that and it's doing all these crazy cuts in between weird imagery, like a close up on an eye, a single blood drop, a doll in the attic with its head ripped off. And you hear this sound, you just know it's gonna be the horror movie of the year. The scariest movie in theaters ever. So the real reason I think this movie has potential is because of the director to go from Black Adam and Carry on and Orphan, which was a pretty good horror movie back in the day, at least the concept of it, it gives me a little bit more confidence that there's going to be more to this story to actually make it worth seeing in theaters. That it's not just going to be one of those fast fashion horror movies that you go see and you're like, man, I've already seen this time and time again. I feel scammed by this and I Don't say this to try to sound snobby. I don't try to say this to sound like a overly critical person. It's just I know who this movie appeals to. Like my mother in law saw this trailer and asked if I was gonna go see it. And I think it is those people that I want to have a great experience when they go watch a movie in theaters because they're investing their time, they're investing their money. And if you go for the first time in a while and you see this and you're like, man, that sucked. Everything is terrible. Now that is where I draw the line. Because there are great horror movies out there. You have to look for them sometimes. And I know sometimes the movies that get to the most people aren't the best ones. So I just hope for the sake of my mother in law who's gonna go see this movie that they don't let her down and they don't make her waste her time and waste your money. So I'm always looking out for you in that sense. That's why I'm so critical about these movies sometimes. But again, the Woman in the Yard coming out in theaters this Friday, March 28th.
- [59:13]
Mike
And that was this week's edition of Movie Minds Trailer Park.
- [59:18]
Alan Siegel
And that is gonna do it for another episode here of the podcast. But before I go, I gotta give my listener shout out of the week. This week I'm going over to X. I posted a clip from last week's episode talking about my top 10 baseball movies. What I felt was the saddest moment in any sports movie was from Angels in the Outfield. This week's listener shout out is a reply to that video from Aaron at so Dakjack Mama on X who said just introduce my 7 and 9 year old to this movie. They are hooked. This and Little Giants is going on repeat at our house. That just warms my heart because I've been talking about how these movies that we grew up with in the 90s that don't really get made anymore, it is very rare that you find a film that comes out with an all kid cast and just has that nostalgic feeling of reminding us what it's like to be kids. So even though we don't have them coming out as frequently as we do now, I do love that Aaron and hopefully other parents are showing their 7 and 9 year olds the movies that we grew up with and the fact that they are actually enjoying them and don't think they are relics and boring things that their parents show them is awesome. So I'm glad that people are now watching Angels in the Outfield more that it's available on Disney plus that it's not just buried in the Disney vault. And Little Giants is another great one. So thank you Aaron for sharing that. Thank you for listening and thank you for commenting on socials. That means a lot to me. If you want to follow me there, you can always find the links to all my social media in the episode notes. That's where I pick my listener shout outs. Or you can email me movie mike dmail.com and until next time, go out and watch good movies and I will talk to you later.
- [60:58]
Mike
The Unshakables podcast is kicking off season two with an episode you won't want to miss. Join host Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business as he welcomes a very special Guest, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon. Hear about the challenges facing small businesses and some of the oh moments Jamie has overcome. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. J.P. morgan Chase Bank NA members FDIC Copyright 2025 J.P. morgan Chase & Co.
- [61:35]
Jenny Garth
Okay, so we all need to get away from the world sometimes. Well, in the all new 2025 Nissan Murano, you don't even have to go anywhere. The Murano is the getaway. Just picture it. The Bose Premium sound system plays your favorite music as the Murano's massaging leather appointed seats melt away your stress. Yeah, that's a real getaway. Drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today. Bows and massaging leather appointed seats are optional. Features this Valentine's Day celebrate every love story with Pandora. Whether it's romantic, platonic, familial or a gesture of self love, Pandora's versatile designs let you express your unique connections in meaningful ways. Each piece tells a story of love or friendship that transcends materialism, turning every gift into a heartfelt message that connects hearts from best friends to significant others. Pandora helps you honor the bonds that make life richer and more meaningful. Make the feeling last from first sight to forever on Valentine's Day and every day. B Love Shop Pandora Jewelry today in store or online@pandora.net have you ever felt that uneasy anxiety when the 4pm hour strikes the creeping meal related distress that happens when you don't quite feel prepared. You know, dinner dread. Let's get rid of that unpleasant feeling forever with one Stouffer's. No matter what happens, you'll have a dinner plan that everyone loves with Stouffer's some chicken enchiladas or a cheesy chicken and broccoli. Pasta. Bake is always welcome, whether it's Plan A or Plan Delicious. When the clock strikes dinner, think Stouffer's. Shop now for family favorites. This is Serena Pitt from Bachelor Happy Hour at David's.
- [63:16]
Mike
Bridal Love is in every stitch, from the initial sketch to the final details.
- [63:20]
Jenny Garth
Each style is designed with exquisite craftsmanship. Now you can turn all your wedding dreams into reality with Pearl by Davids. It's all things wedding planning in one place. Create vision boards, set up a wedding.
- [63:34]
Mike
Registry, connect with wedding vendors, and plan your entire big day with Pearl's free planning tools. Sign up for diamond loyalty to save.
- [63:42]
Jenny Garth
15% on your first purchase. Earn points towards special rewards and more@davidsbridal.com.