Best Friend and Criterion Collection supporter Steffan Sitka joins me to watch two very different movies. He shows me Brand on the Brain and I get a lot of stuff wrong. We talk about Film Noir, stereotypes of the 50s and a Clockwork Orange. I'm enthralled in the love triangle and keep trying to expand it.

Then I show him Almost Famous. We talk about New York Actor's gangs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and tour bus drivers. We laugh, we cry, we talk.

I learned a lot and I had a great time!

Best Friend and perpetual optimist Marcelina Chavira sits miles away from me on a computer to share one of her favorite movies - Harold and Maude. It is weird and both not enough and too much. We talk about ageism, the agency of a woman and how talented Margot Robbie is.

Then I show her Tommy Boy and it is very different. We talk about little boy humor and it's very real place in the world, and I talk about loving David Spade in this era. We laugh, we cry we talk about life. I learned a lot and had a great time. 

BYE FOREVER

Best Friend and dog actor enthusiast Stephanie Streisand comes on the show to show me a classic - S.O.B. She teaches me a lot about the movie industry, I talk a lot about how dogs break into the biz. She talks intelligently about the background of the movie and how it came to be and I keep nodding, forgetting I'm audio only.

Then I show her Empire Records and she does an amazingly accurate job of predicting the movie. We talk about Can't Hardly Wait and 90's tropes and how surprisingly empowered women are in this movie. I try to talk about rock and roll but you can tell I'm an imposter. We laugh, we cry, we learn a lot and have a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best Friend and fellow podcaster Myke Thompson joins me on my podcast to revisit an old favorite. He makes me watch True Lies while I try not to fall in love with young Arnold Schwarzenegger. We talk about spies, Jamie Lee Curtis and how I always picture Tom Arnold driving. We laugh a lot and get a lot of stuff wrong.

Then I make him watch (500) Days of Summer, while I nervously wait to see his reaction. We talk about gender roles, who the villain in the relationship is and what if Charlie Kauffman had directed the film. We laugh a lot and worry about Ikea's business model.

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

Best friend and brother-in-law Marshall Cox "zoom calls" me to talk about some of our favorite SNL scenes. He explains his amazement at the MacGruber sketch becoming a full fledged pop culture icon. We laugh and talk about Pepsi and his wife.

Then I show him Enemy at the Gates. I fawn over Joseph Fiennes and Jude Law and Rachel Weiss. We cry and talk about Russia and war.

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best friend and painter extraordinaire Hooks shows me one of their favorite nostalgic movies. We watch State and Main and I swoon over romantic lead Philip Seymour Hoffman. We talk about Los Angeles as two transplants and basically decide it's all avocados.

Then I show them Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse and confess my love for Nic Cage and Rubick's cubes. I call the movie "Art" way too many times.

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best friend and political aficionado Emma Lieberman joins me for two great polar opposites. First, she shows me The American President. We laugh about 40 year olds flirting, we talk West Wing and Aron Sorkin and we love Michael J Fox. I get distracted by a much more suspenseful plot.

Then I show her Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It's nearly impossible not to tell her every line so we laugh over Mel Brooks-isms, that Dave Chappelle is in the movie (what a catch!) and we hope for a career like Cary Elwes'.

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best friend and first time interviewee Kiki Andersen joins me to discuss some classic movies.  First she shows me Sleepy Hollow where I laugh and am grossed out by Johnny Depp all at the same time. We discuss how Tim Burton it all is, how Harry Potter actors will always be Harry Potter actors to me, and solving crimes as a woman. 

Then I show her Die Hard. I am woefully unprepared and I miss out on all the best parts. She still manages to get excited about a great movie and we talk about climbing flights of stairs. Someone please make Kiki watch Die Hard. 

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER

Best friend and jazz enthusiast Allison Lyons joins me via Zoom to discuss two incredibly different movies. First she shows me Who Framed Roger Rabbit and I marvel at toons in real life. We laugh about fake hammers and living taxis and Steve Buschemi as a weasel.

Then, I show her Reservoir Dogs and we talk about the great part of heist movies, the difference between watching a movie and someone explaining it to you and Steve Buschemi as a weasel. I admit loudly that I do not like this movie. 

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best friend and movie-review-article writer John Flynn "zooms" me to watch six minutes of a movie. He regales me with stories of a coyote and I insist we watch There will be Blood. I confuse it with No Country for Old Men and we talk a lot about "how it was back then" - though neither of us lived through it.

Then I show him six minutes of Ghostbusters and John discovers he's thought Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis were the same person his whole life. We talk about whether it's crazy to wear pajamas and how John never combs his hair. We laugh, we cry, we get disconnected a few times.

I learned a lot and I had a great time.

BYE FOREVER.

Best Friend and whatever-is-in-your-pantry-chef extraordinaire Marc "The Nucch" Ranucci sits down miles away from me to chat about scary movies. He shows my The Conjuring and tells me that a full world with rules exists inside the Horror movie realm. He teaches me about The Warrens (real people) and Easter Eggs in the movies connecting them. I mostly giggle nervously, knowing I won't sleep for weeks. We laugh, we cry, we troubleshoot zoom.

Then I show him Silence of the Lambs and we invariably talk about Mind Hunter. We both love Serial Killers and I can't believe he's never seen such a classic. I convince him to watch it with depictions of the creepy scenes, and how great Jodie Foster is.

I had a great time and I learned a lot. 

BYE FOREVER.