Hey, Do You Remember...?

Everyone was incredibly hazy on the details of Flight of the Navigator's plot, but Donna did remember that even as a kid she wished the scope of the story were a bit bigger. Carlos thought that it was and realized that he had invented a completely fictional version of this film in his mind. Chris knew that the main character was transported 8 years into the future and that a spaceship was involved, but couldn't recall how those story threads connected. And now that they know? Well, you could probably make a strong argument that there are two really great premises here that are sort of awkwardly squashed together. Topics include: how long it takes David to get on board the spaceship and why Chris actually liked all of that build up, the lack of any real "bad guys" and a debate about how well that approach works here, the abrupt shift in tone once the robot A.I. turns into Pee-Wee Herman, how brief David's time on the ship really is and how little he does with it, and much much more! iTunes / Stitcher / RSS 

The Blair Witch Project was revered and reviled in equal measures upon its release in the summer of 1999. Regardless of which camp you fell into, one thing remains clear - this is one of the most influential horror movies of all-time. Not only did it single-handedly bring the found footage format into the mainstream, it was also one of the first films to utilize the internet for its complex and groundbreaking marketing campaign. Chris knew a little too much about how it was made to get fully on board with it, but was (and still is) really impressed with the logistics of this production. Kristen and Carlos, on the other hand, bought in completely and were deeply affected by what they essentially thought was a snuff film. Topics include: how the filmmakers were able to convince such a large portion of the audience that this was real footage and the lengths they went to in order to sell that idea, the supplemental promotional items that delved further into the Blair Witch mythos, the purpose of the two cameras

Carlos has never been a huge fan of David Lynch, but Chris and Donna were fairly certain he'd still find a lot to like about Twin Peaks - a series they couldn't believe he'd never seen a single episode of. Chris remembers being entranced by the glimpses he caught of it as a kid and recalls that he later tried to get into it when he was in college without much success. He and Donna both learned to appreciate it several years ago, but they tend to disagree about the ratio of good episodes to bad ones. And we get into ALL of it - the impressive and hypnotizing first season, the less-focused and more frustrating second season, the much-maligned feature film, and our thoughts on the show's upcoming resurrection. iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

Now that the original Scream is as old as the late 70s/early 80s slashers it was satirizing, it seemed like a good time to revisit it and see how well it works today. The film was a breath of fresh air for the horror genre back in 1996, but the onslaught of imitators it inspired might make it difficult to remember just how groundbreaking and controversial it was. Chris grew up on horror films and appreciated all of Scream's references and the statements it was making on the genre. Carlos wasn't a big fan of these types of movies, but still understood that this was more than just a standard slasher and loved it for that reason. Donna hated being scared and avoided the film until she was forced to watch it for this episode. Topics include: the resurgence of slashers in the late 90s and how quickly that trend ran its course, Carlos' only issue with the otherwise incredible opening scene, why the film is still disturbing despite the fact that there's more gore on network TV these days, how much Donna dislikes R

Before Spike, Angel, and the Scooby Gang... there was the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. Chris loved the show, but not the film. Donna and Carlos have never seen the series, so for them this 1992 comedy IS Buffy. Topics include: how Joss Whedon's original vision for the film was compromised by the director, what changes were made and what elements survived, how unfair it is to compare Kristy Swanson's performance to Sarah Michelle Gellar's, how disinterested Donald Sutherland seems to be in all of this, the fact that nobody has much of a reaction to all of these terrible events, some confusion over why vampires haven't taken over the planet yet, and much much more! iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

When Chris finally got around to seeing this one on home video, the whole Preston/Amanda love-letter situation hit a little too close to home for him to be able to fully enjoy it. Carlos was always a fan and Donna remembered liking it as well (but not as much as the overzealous friend who sort of tainted her initial theatrical viewing by insisting there was more going on with this film than was probably fair). These days, Can't Hardly Wait is no longer the "salt in the wound" situation it used to be for Chris and he found plenty to enjoy. Everyone seemed to agree that it doesn't quite reach the John Hughes-esque heights its aspiring to, but that the movie still works as a relatively harmless good time. Topics include: unexpected consequences of Chris' obsession with Jennifer Love Hewitt back in high school, the story behind his real-life Preston moment, the film's struggle to secure a PG-13 rating and which characters & subplots were removed as a result, a debate about the character of Denise, some que

There was nothing we were more excited about in the spring of '91 than the release of the next live-action Turtles movie. As kids, the consensus seemed to be that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was the best entry in the series - something that Carlos and Donna can definitely attest to. Chris always preferred the first one, but still had a great time with the sequel. After rewatching it, the gang realized that the movie is pretty much exactly how they remembered it. No surprises there. What did change - and predictably so - was how they responded to it. Carlos still found it to be superior to the original, Donna thought it was a mixed bag, and Chris was a little disappointed to discover that this one just doesn't hold up for him at all. Topics include: the goofier tone and how the reactionary approach to violence actually sends a more disturbing message in some ways, the confusion over how much time has passed since the end of the first movie, how little Keno ultimately adds to the

It's been a sad few weeks since the death of Robin Williams - a man who was synonymous with so many of our childhoods. At the top of the show we take a minute to talk about him and some of the things we've been thinking about since this news hit. It was difficult to pick just one of his films to revisit for this week's episode, but ultimately we decided to go with Mrs. Doubtfire. It's a role that allows Williams to showcase his comedic and dramatic chops - and it's also probably one of the better examples of a movie that lets Robin Williams be Robin Williams in fairly organic way. It's also an entry in his filmography that we think even he would be able to poke fun at. Don't get us wrong - all of the performances are pretty stellar, but there are more than a few genuine "wtf?!" moments in this story and Chris remains convinced that if you take Williams out of the equation this is one of the creepiest premises of all-time. Topics include: a debate about whether the slightly-awkward first act would be better

Chris wasn't shocked to find out that Carlos and Donna were not huge fans of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. You could argue that certain aspects of it seem silly in hindsight, but the truth is a lot of these choices were pretty bizarre even back in 1991. What did surprise him a little bit was that they didn't like it when they were kids either. It's interesting how divided our generation remains on this one. It's either a beloved holdover from a more innocent age or a five-word-punchline to a joke about early 90s excess. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, it's interesting to note that the film does a great job of illustrating how much summer blockbusters have changed over the years - and how much they've stayed the same. Topics include: the additional footage in the Extended Edition and whether or not the theatrical cut was already too long, Chris' argument that Alan Rickman's much-lauded performance doesn't actually fit the tone of the rest of the movie, the bizarre and ultimately unnecessary w

In this episode, it's all about YOU - our amazing and supportive listeners. We put out the call for your questions & suggestions and we received a ton of great responses! So get ready to find out how the three of us met, what the origin story of the podcast is, what our favorite episodes are, what our not-so-favorite episodes are, an embarrassingly long list of "lost episodes" and what happened to them, a new twist on Chris' Fashion Corner, and so much more! Thanks again to everyone who got in touch with us. We can't thank you enough and we can't wait to do this again! iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

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

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 m

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 th

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 mo

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! iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

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. iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / I

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! iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show

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'

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 ch

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. iTunes / Stitcher / RSS / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram About The Show