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The Adventures of Pete & Pete Jul 18, 2014

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The HDYR gang packs up the station wagon and heads back to Wellsville to discuss three of their favorite episodes of The Adventures of Pete & Pete - "What We Did On Our Summer Vacation", "King of the Road", and "Hard Day's Pete". After sharing their memories of the series, they offer their own explanations for why it struck such a nerve back when it debuted and why it continues to resonate so strongly with them now. Chris realizes it probably informed his sense of humor to a greater degree than he was even aware of, Donna recalls being won over by the open-ended nature of the storytelling, and Carlos laments the current state of children's programming. Pete & Pete may have had an offbeat tone, but it was also filled with very genuine musings about growing up - so there's a lot of talk here about the fleeting nature of childhood, that awkward pre-teen phase where you're just imitating older people's behavior without understanding it, the way we suppress the things that we love in favor of fitting in, and the value of the sort of nostalgia we're celebrating here vs. being inspired to create something new.

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What About Bob? Jul 04, 2014

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Donna and Carlos were both too stressed out by Bob's behavior to enjoy this 1991 comedy when they were children. They were on Dr. Marvin's side 100% and couldn't understand what was so hard about just following simple rules and respecting people's boundaries. We'll call this "The Problem Child Phenomenon". Chris was already a teenager by the time he saw the movie so he didn't have that problem (and suspects he wouldn't have as a kid either). Donna and Carlos eventually grew to love it as well, but the one thing we were most surprised by as adults was just how unabashedly awful the character of Dr. Marvin is. Chris remembered it as more of an Odd Couple situation where you sympathize with both of them at different points in the story. Nope. Not even a little. Leo's the worst. For Carlos this raises an important question - who are we really rooting for here? And why? Chris thinks that the screenwriter believed Leo was the protagonist, the director believed it was Bob, and that both of them were wrong. The movie is still hilarious and we all laughed out loud A LOT, but the bungled relationship between the two leads drastically changed our feelings on the actual story - especially once it reached its bizarre and totally unearned conclusion.

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Labyrinth Jun 20, 2014

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Goblins and faeries and bulges oh my! It's The Wizard of Oz by way of Jim Henson in the 1986 cult-classic Labyrinth. Donna didn't discover this one until college, Carlos had hazy memories of it that were all mixed up with scenes from The Neverending Story, and Chris saw it when he was too young to retain most of it and didn't watch it again until he was in his early 20s. It's often imperative to be introduced to movies like this at the right age or else you run the risk of not getting what all the fuss is about. Despite the fact that none of us had a particularly deep connection with this film as children, that wasn't an issue here. We all loved Labyrinth and still do. Topics include: the filmmakers disinterest in the real world segments which result in a clunky first 10 min and a cloudy overall message, earlier versions of the script that depicted Jareth as a more menacing opponent, how the film's initial failure effected Henson, our mixed feelings about the songs David Bowie wrote for the film and how they're used, our attempt at making sense of the "one always tells the truth and the other always lies" sequence, and much more!

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Honey, I Shrunk The Kids Jun 06, 2014

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It had been a really long time since Chris, Donna, and Carlos had seen this movie. As kids, they all watched the first sequel a lot more despite the fact that they liked it a lot less. So there wound up being a ton of fun surprises with this viewing. Chris remembers going to see this after he had finally recovered from Johnny 5's horrific beating in Short Circuit 2 and finding no reason why he shouldn't get attached to the character of Anty, Donna recalls her attempts to recreate this movie with her friends, and Carlos laments a childhood that didn't include a trip to the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids playground at Disney World. Other topics include: the lack of explanation and payoff surrounding the troubled Szalinski marriage (I mean... is it even troubled?), the otherwise perfect first act, several ways this whole shrinking the kids problem could have been solved in about ten minutes, Carlos' issues with some of the calculations these characters are running, a few super weird tangents about a lusty soccer mom, the way the film expertly handles the special effects, and much more! Bottom line - we had a blast with this movie and we were all really excited to talk about it!

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Ghostbusters II May 23, 2014

Show notes

When Chris and Carlos discovered that Donna thought Ghostbusters II was better than the original, they knew it was time to revisit the film and investigate this controversial stance. They learn that she saw this one before its predecessor and Chris suspects that may have gone a long way in covering up some of the movie's more glaring issues. Donna stands firm though and a spirited discussion about which entry is superior ensues. Topics include: the problematic conceit of the opening scenes, Vigo the Carpathian vs Gozer the Destructor, why it took half a decade for this follow-up to come together, how the success of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon influenced the tone of this film, what exactly Egon did with that slime, our love of Winston and our frustration with how this series treats him, why "disappointing" isn't the same thing as "bad", and much much more!

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Curly Sue May 09, 2014

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Well this one isn't exactly the way Chris, Donna, and Carlos remembered it. It's a problematic premise to begin with, but we were positive that a film written and directed by the legendary John Hughes would confidently tackle those complications head-on. Sadly, this is not one of his finer efforts. Chris thinks the lack of any real conflict between the main characters makes the film a little boring, Carlos can't make any sense of the illogical legal subplot, and Donna's not sure who she's supposed to be rooting for here. Topics include: The film's inconsistent characterization of Grey, the numerous problems with Bill's revelation about his relationship to Curly Sue, a debate about Alisan Porter's performance (the boys are quite fond of her), the mixed messages in this story, the moments we still enjoy, and quite a few tangents - including a look back at one of Chris' traumatizing day camp experiences and the various points at which Donna has hit rock bottom.

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A League of Their Own Apr 25, 2014

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After a run of some less than stellar films, the HDYR gang decided to try and lift their spirits by revisiting A League of Their Own - a movie they all loved as kids and have continued to adore as adults. For Donna, it was the spark that ignited a feminist flame. For Carlos, it was a sports movie with the perfect blend of heart and laughs. And for Chris, it was the inspiration to try and start his own baseball league (with predictably disastrous results). Topics include: Madonna's tie-in song that took over the world, the disappointing A League of Their Own TV show, some disagreements about the effectiveness of the film's final moments, Chris' problem with the fact that the focus is on Dottie when Kitt really should be the protagonist, deleted scenes that change some of the core character dynamics, and much much more!

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Last Action Hero Apr 11, 2014

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Donna had never seen Last Action Hero. Chris & Carlos convinced her to watch it by describing it as one of the first mainstream movies to flirt with this sort of cheeky self-awareness. They remembered it as a misunderstood gem that was too ahead of its time in the pre-"meta" cinematic landscape of 1993. Then they all watched it and realized that was a bunch of hot air. Chris comes to terms with the fact that his memories of this film always lie to him, the bloated running time prevents Donna from being able to really engage with it, and Carlos still enjoys most of it but recognizes that several sequences could probably be axed. Other topics include: the effect this film had on Schwarzenegger's career and tentpole movies in general, the differences between the original spec script and the finished product, the loosely defined logic of the magic ticket and how these different worlds operate, a climax that commits the cardinal sin of making a promise it doesn't keep, and much more! But don't worry - it's not 90 min of complaining. There's still an awful lot to love about this movie.

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Mannequin Mar 28, 2014

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None of us had seen the 1987 comedy Mannequin in a really long time and we were all pretty stunned to discover that this movie doesn't offer any explanations for what's happening. That pre-credits scene in Egypt? Irrelevant. The circumstances that led to Emmy becoming a mannequin? Never touched on. The reason that Jonathan's the only one that can see her? Doesn't matter. Chris has fond memories of watching this as a kid and still enjoys the film despite the glaring problems. Donna didn't pay much attention to it when she was younger and Carlos was more interested in swooning over Kristy Swanson in the sequel. In addition to the story's complete lack of logic, they also discuss the character of Hollywood and how the filmmakers might have been trying to send the right message in the wrong way, what Roxy's fashion choices tell us about a woman's role in the workforce during the late 80s, the one important aspect of this concept that the much-maligned Mannequin Too actually handles better, the super-awkward chapter of his life that Chris will always associate with this movie, and much much more!

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Varsity Blues Mar 14, 2014

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We thought it might be fun to revisit a movie that came out when we were in high school so Carlos suggested Varsity Blues. This coming-of-age story was his first introduction to these up-and-coming stars and to the legendary Jon Voight. Donna wasn't interested in it when it was originally released, but eventually discovered it on cable and has grown to love it over the years (though mostly ironically). Chris had never seen it before and was a little nervous that this was probably just not for him. After taking a look at what was going on in the world in 1999, they discuss how the film sort of sidesteps what should be the real conflicts in the story, Voight's pretty spectacular performance of an underwritten character, the bizarre sexual politics at work here that allow Tweeter to be treated like a hero while Darcy's just a sad slut, the various ways this connects to Friday Night Lights, and much more.

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