Fairs & Islands

Sugar, Cheer, and Corporate Trauma – Elf (2003)This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we crack open a modern Christmas classic and ask the hard questions: how much maple syrup is too much maple syrup, and is Christmas cheer a viable alternative energy source?Our main feature is Elf (dir. Jon Favreau), the 2003 festive juggernaut that turned Will Ferrell into a full-blown Christmas institution. Ferrell plays Buddy, a human accidentally raised as an elf at the North Pole, who travels to New York to find his real father – a joyless publishing exec played with peak deadpan misery by James Caan.We get into:Why Elf works when so many studio Christmas comedies don’tFerrell’s perfectly calibrated performance: total sincerity, zero cynicismThe fish-out-of-water chaos of Buddy vs New York (elevators, taxis, raccoons)Corporate burnout, absent fathers, and why this is secretly a film about emotional illiteracyZooey Deschanel’s Jovie as the anti-manic-pixie manic pixiePeter Dinklage’s Miles Finch: tiny man, nuclear rageForced perspective, stop-motion throwbacks, and Bob Newhart quietly holding the whole thing togetherWe also talk Elf on the Shelf fatigue, Christmas parenting arms races, and why forgetting to move a plastic elf at 6am is more stressful than most full-time jobs.Yes, the ending leans hard into mass sing-along cheer-powered magic. Yes, it’s shameless. But Elf earns it by committing fully to warmth, kindness, and the radical idea that being nice to people might actually matter.A rare Christmas movie that works for kids, parents, and deeply cynical adults who swear they “hate festive films” but somehow still quote this one every December.Strong recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Fairs, Fixed Games, and Failed Backhands – Islands (2024)This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we’re off to the fair and then straight to the Canaries for a slow-burn midlife crisis with added camel corpse.We kick off with our Top 5 Fairs – everything from sinister funfairs and pleasure islands that definitely aren’t safeguarding-approved, to world expos, tunnel-of-love metaphors, and the sheer horror of Simply Red – Fairground lodging itself in your brain for days. Along the way there’s a rollercoaster quiz nobody asked for, Orson Welles on a Ferris wheel treating people like ants, and the usual detours into Bruce Springsteen, Brighton Rock, and Tom Hanks getting magically statutory in Big.Our main feature is Islands (dir. Jan-Ole Gerster), starring Sam Riley as a washed-up ex-tennis pro coasting through life as a resort coach in Fuerteventura. His days are a loop of hangovers, half-arsed lessons and meaningless flings… until a young British family arrive, bringing:A talented 7-year-old with a suspiciously decent backhandA magnetic, possibly femme-fatale mother who may or may not be telling the whole truthA lad-mag husband who promptly disappears after a night outWe dig into:Riley’s quietly brilliant, physically lived-in performance as a man sleepwalking through his own lifeThe film’s sun-drenched, slightly haunted resort vibe – all sand dunes, empty courts and bad decisionsClass, envy and the gap between “living the dream” and being totally stuckThat unforgettable helicopter-lifted dead camel shot, and what it says about escape, failure and being in too deepIf you like your films low-voltage but tense, your characters deeply flawed, and your movie chat filthy, tangential and only loosely under control, this is a strong entry point into the pod.Hit play, take a swing, and see if you make it off Trash Island for grown-ups.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Isle of Dogs (2018) – Trash Island, pandemics, and very good boysIn this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, we head to Wes Anderson’s stop-motion Japan for Isle of Dogs, a film where man’s best friend is dumped on a toxic wasteland by a fascist cat-loving dynasty, and the only person who gives a toss is a 12-year-old boy in a stolen plane. We follow Atari and his pack of exiled hounds – Chief, Rex, King, Duke and Boss – as they trek across Trash Island in search of Spots, the missing bodyguard dog who may or may not have become the stuff of cannibal legend. Along the way we get robot attack dogs, poison sushi, hacked kill-switches, and a haiku that brings a dictator to heel.We talk about Wes Anderson’s unmistakable style even in animation: the hyper-detailed sets, deadpan framing, fight scenes rendered as swirling dust clouds, and dogs whose fur moves like living sculptures. We dig into the cast (Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson), the film’s pandemic politics, propaganda and AI war-dogs, and the criticisms about cultural appropriation versus what feels like a pretty sincere love letter to Japanese cinema and design. There’s also time for the Bad Dads to confess their real-life dog feelings (ranging from “not a pet person” to “my dog is a tiny menace”), marvel at the sheer effort behind every two-second shot, and argue that Anderson’s animated films might be the best entry point for people who bounce off his live-action work.If you’re into:Stop-motion that’s so detailed it makes your eyes hurtDystopian politics smuggled into a story about lost dogsPacks of flawed, funny, loyal mutts trying to do the right thing…this episode is a strong recommend and a good place to jump into the pod.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

The Duellists (1977) & Top 5 Jewels – honour, obsession, and very stupid men with swordsIn this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, we kick things off with our Top 5 Jewels – a glittering mix of cursed stones, crime magnets and wildly impractical accessories. From the Pink Panther diamond and Uncut Gems’ black opal to Titanic’s Heart of the Ocean, Baz Luhrmann’s blinged-out Great Gatsby, Moana’s glowing heart of Te Fiti, and even that doomed chandelier in Only Fools and Horses, we rummage through cinema’s treasure box to see which jewels genuinely sparkle and which belong in Claire’s Accessories.Then it’s back to 1977 for Ridley Scott’s stunning directorial debut, The Duellists. Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine play two French officers locked into a 15–year feud that starts over a petty slight and escalates into a lifelong obsession. We get into:Honour as addiction – why one of them simply cannot let it go, everHow the film turns duelling into a ritual of pride, stubbornness and self-destructionThe way the weapons, stakes and scars escalate with each encounterRidley Scott’s eye for light, landscape and costume on a tiny budgetWhy the ending works so well, and what it says about victory, defeat and identityThere’s also the usual Bad Dads nonsense: road-trip chat, Christmas hats in December, grumbling about “live-action everything” culture, and a detour into glass onions, murder mysteries and moving house back pain.If you like:Period dramas with gorgeous visuals and nasty steel-on-steel showdownsCharacter studies about pride, masculinity and grudges that outlive their purposeMovie list chaos that jumps from Disney to French noir to jewellery-based heists…then this is a perfect episode to jump into the pod.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

A nameless truck, an everyday salesman, and 90 minutes of pure escalation: this episode is all about Steven Spielberg’s debut feature, Duel (1971).We talk through how a simple setup – Dennis Weaver’s mild-mannered David Mann driving to a routine meeting – turns into a relentless nightmare when he’s targeted by a grimy tanker truck that seems less like a vehicle and more like a stalking predator. From suburban driveways to dusty California highways, we track every swerve, near–miss, and increasingly desperate decision as a casual overtake turns into a life-or-death duel on the road.Along the way we get into:Road rage and paranoia – why Mann feels like a “cuck vs truck” case study, and how the film weaponises every tiny driving irritation into something sinister.The truck as a character – the battered Peterbilt, its collection of license plates, its “face” in the grill and headlights, and the choice never to fully show the driver.Minimal cast, maximum tension – how Spielberg keeps it gripping with basically one man, one truck, a diner, a school bus and a handful of side characters.Set-pieces that still work – the diner sequence and “which guy is it?”, the stalled school bus, the railway crossing shove, the Snake-O-Rama phone box attack, and that final hillside showdown.Spielberg’s emerging style – low-mounted cameras to fake speed, clever blocking, the way he maps the whole journey out on paper, and the stunts he only had one chance to get right.Production trivia – its origins as a TV movie, the brutal shooting schedule, why the truck doesn’t explode, and how its death roar later turns up in other Spielberg classics.If you like tight, stripped-back thrillers, if you’ve ever shouted at another driver, or if you’re curious to hear three dads pick apart early Spielberg craft as much as they laugh about it, this is a good place to jump into the podcast.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Frankenstein (2025) – Tech bros, trauma, and a super-horny monster movie on NetflixMary Shelley by way of Guillermo del Toro feels almost too perfect, and Frankenstein (2025) absolutely leans into that match-up: lush Gothic sets, grotesque body horror, tender fairytale beats, and a very modern anxiety about people who build things they can’t control.In this episode, the Bad Dads dig into Netflix’s lavish new take on the classic, framed in the icy Arctic as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his Creature retell their shared nightmare from two sides. Along the way we get abusive fathers, creepy power dynamics, “18th-century tech bro” energy, and more limb-sawing than is probably healthy for a school night.We also talk about how weird it is that this $120m movie technically “bombed” at the box office but only because it was dumped into cinemas for a week to qualify for Oscars, and what that says about modern streaming, awards campaigning and how success is measured now.In the episode we cover:Netflix’s blink-and-you-miss-it theatrical release strategy and why the film only made $144k in cinemasOscar Isaac’s monstrous turn as an abusive, glory-hungry surgeon vs the Creature’s unexpected gentlenessMia Goth, Christoph Waltz with gold shoes, Charles Dance as the worst dad alive, and why this is a strangely “horny” FrankensteinThat brutal opening on the ice: shattered legs, ship-tipping strength and a monster that just won’t dieGenerational trauma, perfectionism and how Victor immediately becomes the same kind of father he hatesThe forest/fairytale stretch: mice, a blind old man, found family, and the heartbreaking deer sceneAll the grisly stuff: hanging bodies, severed limbs, skinned wolves and why the practical sets and make-up look incredibleFrankenstein as an AI / tech parable – creating something powerful, sentient and uncontrollable, then trying to kill itThe big split on the pod: is 2.5 hours richly earned or just too long for a story we already know?Mary Shelley’s original novella, written at 18 on a dare, and how its ideas still infect modern thrillers, conspiracy stories and sci-fiIf you like your horror Gothic, your monsters tragic, and your movie chat equal parts thoughtful and filthy, this is a good jumping-on point. Hit play, hear us argue about runtime, thirst over Oscar Isaac, side-eye Mia Goth, and decide for yourself whether this Frankenstein is a modern classic or just an overbuilt monster.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a yellow jumpsuit, a murderous game show, and more terrible puns than should be legal – this week we’re diving into The Running Man (1987).Set in the far-flung future of… 2017, the film drops Arnie into a fascist police state where the government keeps the masses quiet with a wildly popular TV bloodsport. Framed as the “Butcher of Bakersfield,” helicopter pilot Ben Richards is forced onto The Running Man, a gladiatorial game show hosted by the gloriously slimy Damon Killian. Contestants are hunted by cartoonishly lethal “Stalkers” – Subzero, Buzzsaw, Dynamo, Fireball and Captain Freedom – while the state-run network lies, edits, and fakes everything to keep the ratings high.We break down:The dystopia that arrived on time: State propaganda, rigged media, and how close this feels to modern reality TV and news spin.Arnie at full one-liner power: From exploding collars to chainsaw crotch kills, we go through the kills, the quips, and which puns are genuinely elite and which are plain zero.The Stalkers as 80s boss fights: Subzero’s razor-wire demise, Buzzsaw’s split decision, Dynamo’s opera-singing sex pest energy, and Fireball’s jet-pack nonsense.Killian and the cult of TV personalities: Why Richard Dawson nails the smarmy game-show host, and how the film weaponises studio audiences and phone-in contests.From Stephen King to Saturday-night carnage: How this loose adaptation trashes the bleak Richard Bachman novel, leans into gaudy satire, and still manages to feel weirdly ahead of its time with doctored footage and media manipulation.If you grew up on 80s action, misremember this as a Verhoeven movie, or just want to hear three dads argue over whether this is genius satire or glorious trash, this one’s for you.Hit play to hear us revisit exploding neck collars, terrible future fashion, and why, for all its flaws, The Running Man is still an easy strong recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburne, and Abel Ferrara’s moral abyss of a movie. This week, the dads descend into King of New York, the neon-slick crime drama that turns Manhattan into a fever dream of violence, power, and warped justice.Walken plays Frank White, a freshly released drug lord who wants to “give back” — but only by murdering every rival and funding a hospital with blood money. His crew? Mostly Black. His moral compass? Bent beyond repair. His dance moves? Still pure Walken.What we coverCrime and capitalism: Frank’s twisted logic — kill the competition, save the city.The Walken mystique: Dead eyes, slick hair, spontaneous robot dances.Larry Fishburne’s “Jimmy Jump”: One of the great chaotic sidekicks — all swagger, coke, and AK-47s.Cops vs crooks: Caruso and Snipes as furious detectives who decide to skip due process and go full vigilante.Ferrara’s vision: A New York that’s nihilistic, sweaty, and corrupt from top to bottom.The politics of power: Race, class, loyalty, and the delusion of doing “good” through evil.The ending: Blood, subways, and one of Walken’s best death scenes — calm, eerie, inevitable.Why listen?Because it’s peak Bad Dads territory: a film that’s stylish, sleazy, and morally bankrupt, yet impossible to look away from. We argue about whether Frank’s warped Robin Hood act has any truth to it, trade notes on 1990s cop-movie chaos, and try to work out how this didn’t end every actor’s career.🎧 Press play for a deep dive into Ferrara’s urban hellscape — all pulse, no conscience — and stick around for the laughs, tangents, and the lads’ own King of Jersey ambitions.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Terrence Malick’s debut gets the Bad Dads treatment. We dive into the cool, clinical menace of Martin Sheen’s James-Dean-by-way-of-the-Midwest and Sissy Spacek’s fairytale-flat voiceover that makes murder sound like homework.What the episode coversThe real-world shadow: The Starkweather–Fugate killings that inspired Badlands, Springsteen’s Nebraska, and the film’s uneasy “romance.”Vibes and visuals: Malick’s painterly Midwest, perfect framing, big blue skies, dust-trail car chases, and double-denim iconography.That score you’ve “heard before”: The Carl Orff/“Gassenhauer” motif lineage and why True Romance echoes it.Kit & Holly, de-romanticised: Dog killing. Patricide. Tree-house hideout. Calm compliance instead of panic. What that says about complicity and control.Malick’s tone game: Spacek’s naïf narration vs. the on-screen violence; why the fairy-tale cadence makes it creepier.American Dream, skewered: Celebrity criminality, the cops’ weird reverence at arrest, and that chilling last beat.Law tangent, modern lens: How felony-murder doctrine reframes Holly’s “innocence” and where age, coercion, and responsibility collide.Should you listen?Yes. If you like films that look beautiful while making you feel morally grubby, this one’s prime. We keep it sharp: craft, context, and a few savage laughs at the myth of outlaw romance.🎧 Hit play for a tight, provocative chat that’ll have you rewatching Badlands with fresh eyes—and side-eyeing anyone who calls it a love story.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Starship Troopers (1997): Would you like to know more?We’re suiting up for Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously un-subtle space satire—where propaganda pops like bubblegum, the bugs aren’t the dumb ones, and “service guarantees citizenship.” We talk giant arachnids, bigger egos, and why so many people somehow missed the joke.What we coverThe Federal Network effect: recruitment ads, newsreels, and how the film weaponises UI/UX to sell fascism with a smile.Rico’s journey: classroom ideology → boot-camp brutality → battlefield meat grinder (medic!… too late).Co-ed everything: showers, squads, and the film’s on-purpose glossy, soap-opera casting.Verhoeven’s satire dialled to 11: why it’s meant to be pretty and brain-dead—and why that still stings today.Effects that hold up: Tippett’s creature work + 1997 CGI that still rips (and rips people in half).The brain bug finale: “It’s afraid.” Why that triumphant cheer is the darkest punchline.Book vs film: Heinlein’s straight-faced militarism vs Verhoeven’s neon-lit mockery.Why this episode?Because it’s a perfect “did you get it?” movie—one that works as a pulpy bug-hunt and as a razor-sharp critique. We go deep but keep it rowdy: football flips, knife tricks, Ironside growls, and the most cursed workplace shower chat in cinema.“If you mistake the recruitment ad for the message… congratulations, trooper—you’re already enlisted.”🎧 New to Bad Dads? This is a great entry point: big laughs, big ideas, zero homework. Hit play, do your part, and join Rico’s Roughnecks (temporarily).You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads