Copies & Copycat

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!This week the dads take a look at Copycat (1995), a mid-90s thriller that wants to be Silence of the Lambs but often ends up more made-for-TV movie. Sigourney Weaver stars as an agoraphobic psychologist dragged into a game of cat-and-mouse with a serial killer imitating history’s most infamous murderers. Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulroney round out the cast, while Harry Connick Jr. chews the scenery as a crooning creep.In true Bad Dads style, we pull the film apart and ask:Does Copycat earn its place alongside the great psychological thrillers of the era, or is it just derivative drivel?Why are the cops so bad at protecting Weaver’s supposedly “safe” apartment?How many times can a killer break in before you stop suspending disbelief?And was Sigourney right to say this was the performance she was most proud of?Alongside the movie, our Top 5 “copies” takes us everywhere from cloned astronauts and plagiarised authors to forged paintings, photocopied genitals, and questionable cover versions. We even put the lads through a brand-new quiz: Copy or Floppy (hint: it’s exactly as puerile as it sounds).🎧 Expect laughs, rants, and at least one digression into printing presses.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

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!This week the dads step into glamorous 1960s Europe with Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963) — the first outing for Peter Sellers’ bumbling Inspector Clouseau.For many of us, this was like watching it for the first time. Sure, we’d caught bits on Sunday TV over the years, but sitting down start-to-finish was a new experience — and a surprising one. Despite being branded a Clouseau movie, Sellers actually takes a back seat to David Niven’s dashing jewel thief Sir Charles Lytton and Robert Wagner’s playboy nephew George.We dig into:The film’s mix of heist caper and sixties sex comedy — sometimes charming, sometimes painfully long.Sellers’ scene-stealing slapstick: globes, violins, and his endless (and fruitless) attempts to seduce his wife.David Niven’s unlikely role as a 50-something ladies’ man — suave or just icky in hindsight?The technicolour glamour of Cortina ski resorts, high society parties, and that unforgettable animated title sequence.Whether The Pink Panther works better as a star vehicle for Niven/Wagner or as a platform for Sellers’ Clouseau — and why the sequels got the balance right.It’s long, it’s dated, it’s occasionally hilarious — and it launched one of cinema’s most iconic comedy characters.🎧 Listen in as we argue over whether this debut outing is a strong recommend or a charmless misfire, and why sometimes the best thing in a Pink Panther movie is the zebra gag.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

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!South Korea. 1979. Forty days to an assassination. We dive into Woo Min-ho’s icy political thriller The Man Standing Next — a gripping, true-events drama about KCIA director Kim Gyu-pyeong (played by Squid Game’s Front Man, Lee Byung-hun) as he weighs loyalty, country, and a bullet.What the film’s aboutAfter years in President Park Chung-hee’s inner circle, Kim watches the regime harden: political purges, wiretaps, street crackdowns, and a rival enforcer (Chief Kwak) pushing for blood. When a former KCIA boss defects to the U.S. and threatens to publish a tell-all, the fuse is lit. The film tracks the 40 tense days that culminate in one of South Korea’s most consequential nights.What we get into on the podPower, paranoia, and proximity: what it costs to be “the man standing next” to a dictator.The Washington angle: congressional testimony, ambassadors pulling strings, and how U.S. pressure shapes the endgame.That dinner sequence: whisky, insults, and a single decision that changes a nation.History vs. thriller: how the movie compresses real events without losing the knot-in-the-stomach tension.Performances & craft: Lee Byung-hun’s controlled implosion, swaggering Kwak, crisp night photography (you can actually see it!), and the score’s slow dread.The big themes: loyalty vs. survival, “order” vs. democracy, and why authoritarian systems eventually eat their own.Plus, our usual chaosA delightfully deranged Top 5 mash-up: Cowboys and Waiting Rooms (yes, really).A lightning-round quiz: “Korea or Career?” (parasites, broadcasters, pig-based corporate malfeasance — you had to be there).Should you watch the film first?We do reveal key plot points (including the ending), so if you want the full cinematic punch, watch first. If you’re here for big ideas, sharp takes, and a few belly laughs, jump straight in.Why hit playIf you loved Parasite, A Taxi Driver, or political thrillers with teeth (Z, Zero Dark Thirty), this episode is squarely in your lane — part history lesson, part moral knot, all energy.🎧 Listen now and decide for yourself: patriot, traitor, or the only adult in the room?Heads up: Strong language, stronger opinions.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

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!This week the dads take on Mad to Be Normal (2017), a little-seen British drama starring David Tennant as the controversial Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing.Set in 1960s London, the film follows Laing’s radical experiment at Kingsley Hall, where doctors and patients lived side by side without medication, shock therapy, or the heavy hand of institutional psychiatry. Instead, Laing championed empathy, conversation, and even LSD as pathways to healing — ideas that put him at odds with the medical establishment, but also made him a counter-cultural cult figure.The cast is strong: Tennant leads with manic charm, Elizabeth Moss plays Angie, a student who becomes both lover and anchor, Gabriel Byrne appears as troubled patient Jim, and Michael Gambon delivers a heart-breaking turn in one of the film’s darkest storylines.We dive into:How Laing’s philosophy blurred the line between therapy and chaos.Whether his commune was compassionate innovation or dangerous neglect.The tension between his devotion to patients and his neglect of family.A few jaw-dropping scenes that left us wondering how much was truth and how much was “dramatic licence.”It’s a grim, sometimes ugly film — not a Friday-night crowd-pleaser — but it opens up fascinating questions about how mental health has been treated and misdiagnosed. The dads split on whether it’s a strong recommend or just an interesting curio, but there’s no denying Tennant’s performance is electric.If you’re curious about alternative psychiatry, or just want to see David Tennant playing a very different kind of doctor, give this one a look.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

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!This week’s episode is positively huge (and Hugh-filled).👼 Heretic We dive into Heretic (2024), the claustrophobic new thriller from A24 in which two young missionaries find themselves trapped in the home of Hugh Grant — who’s swapped his floppy-haired rom-com persona for a sinister host obsessed with theology, control, and blueberry pie. It’s equal parts scripture, serial killer, and Monopoly rules lawyer.We get into:Hugh Grant’s unnervingly charming turn as a religious sadist.The film’s suffocating tension and clever (if slightly sixth-form) theological debates.Why A24 keeps winning at horror, even when it’s just three characters in one creepy house.Whether this is Grant’s best role since Paddington 2 — or just his darkest.🎤 Top 5 Hughs From Hefner to Laurie, Jackman to Bonneville, and even a Star Trek Borg called Hugh, we compile our definitive Top 5 Hughs. Expect:Dodgy impressions of House and Wolverine.Arguments over whether Howard Hughes counts as cinema’s most fascinating recluse.A quiz so daft it involves shouting “Hugh or Spew!” at each other.Hugh Grant’s career arc — from Four Weddings to tabloid scandal to national treasure.As always, there’s plenty of digression — from bread-based Heimlich manoeuvres to Joaquin Phoenix’s dick — but that’s the Bad Dads way.👉 Listen now to find out why this week might just be our most Hugh-morous episode yet.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

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!This week, the Dads dust off their morning suits and dive into Richard Curtis’ runaway hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. Mike Newell’s rom-com was the film that turned Hugh Grant into floppy-haired royalty, introduced us to Andie MacDowell’s enigmatic Carrie, and made swearing at alarm clocks a national pastime.We talk through all four weddings (and, yes, the funeral), unpacking:Hugh Grant’s career-defining “stammering English gent” routine.Andie MacDowell’s aloof American elegance — and the film’s messy romance plot.Simon Callow’s scene-stealing turn and the surprisingly poignant funeral sequence.Rowan Atkinson’s gloriously bungled first wedding gig as Father Gerald.Whether Richard Curtis’ world of posh English eccentrics really reflects Britain… or just what Americans want us to be.We also get into how the film became the highest-grossing British movie of its day, launched Hugh Grant’s tabloid-fuelled celebrity arc, and why it still works (even if “Love Actually” does not).Expect swearing, and the usual Bad Dads blend of dodgy impressions, film geekery, and questionable life lessons.👉 Join us as we relive the weddings, mourn the funeral, and ask the only real question that matters: is Four Weddings still worth an RSVP?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

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!This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we double up on trouble (and laughs) with our Top 5 Twins before diving headfirst into Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar juggernaut Barbie.👯 Double Vision From Arnold and Danny in Twins to the terrifying Grady girls from The Shining, via Tintin’s bumbling detectives and even a detour into real-life Hollywood doppelgängers, we explore the weird, wonderful, and occasionally creepy world of twins on screen. Expect heated debate, dodgy impressions, and at least one unexpected Cessna reference.💖 Welcome to Barbie Land Then it’s time to swap our twin talk for Dream Houses, Mojo Dojo Casa Houses, and one of the most talked-about films in years. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie isn’t just pink fluff — it’s a meta-musical comedy that takes aim at patriarchy, gender politics, and existential dread, all while giving us Ryan Gosling’s unforgettable “I’m Just Ken.” We discuss:Barbie Land’s pastel-perfect world and its very real cracks.Margot Robbie’s pitch-perfect performance as “Stereotypical Barbie.”Why Ryan Gosling steals the show as a lovesick himbo.The film’s surprisingly sharp take on feminism, identity, and growing up.As always, there’s plenty of swearing, wild tangents, and the kind of cinematic analysis you won’t find in Sight & Sound (for good reason).👉 Tune in for existential crises, Ken’s horses, and the shocking revelation that some of us still haven’t seen Oppenheimer.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

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!How do you film the unfilmable? That’s the challenge at the heart of Michael Winterbottom’s Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, a delightfully meta take on Laurence Sterne’s famously chaotic 18th-century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.In this week’s episode, the Dads dive into a film that blurs every boundary — between adaptation and behind-the-scenes drama, between actor and character, and between self-awareness and outright parody. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play heightened versions of themselves, bickering over screen time, wardrobe choices, and (of course) who does the better impressions. Meanwhile, the “film within a film” takes us through absurd historical reenactments, disastrous prop work, and even a giant model womb.We talk about:Why Sterne’s novel was considered “unfilmable” and how the movie leans into that chaos.The deliciously petty dynamic between Coogan and Brydon, and how it later set the stage for The Trip.Cameos from British comedy royalty — Stephen Fry, Dylan Moran, Mark Williams, David Walliams, and more.How the movie juggles philosophical musings, slapstick humour, and industry satire — sometimes all in the same scene.Whether the film is more fun to watch or to talk about.It’s part literary experiment, part farce, and part therapy session for Steve Coogan’s fragile ego. And while Tristram Shandy might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there’s plenty to chew on — from postmodern storytelling to the sheer joy of watching talented comedians spark off each other.If you’ve ever enjoyed The Trip, love films about filmmaking, or just want to hear us wrestle with a movie that refuses to play by the rules, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.👉 Listen now and join the debate — is it genius, indulgence, or just a brilliant cock and bull story?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

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!Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review! This week we’re crunching numbers, making shady deals, and talking shop with our Top 5 Businesses in film and TV before heading to the Costa del Crime for our main feature — The Business (2005), a slick, sun-drenched British crime drama from Nick Love.📈 Top 5 Businesses in Film & TV1. Acme Corporation – Looney Tunes Purveyors of rocket skates, exploding tennis balls, and portable holes — all with questionable safety standards. Wile E. Coyote’s go-to supplier, but with a shockingly poor success rate.2. Monsters, Inc. – Monsters, Inc. (2001) An industrial-scale scare factory harvesting children’s screams for energy — until a radical rethink changes their business model to laughter. Disruption done right.3. Dunder Mifflin – The Office (US) A struggling paper company with an oddball workforce, proving that people are the real product… especially when your regional manager is Michael Scott.4. Los Pollos Hermanos – Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul On the surface, a respectable fried chicken chain. Underneath, a ruthless meth empire. A lesson in diversification — and the dangers of mixing business with crime.5. Wayne Enterprises – Batman franchise A multinational juggernaut funding philanthropic causes by day and Bat-gadgets by night. Possibly the most expensive R&D department in history.🎬 Main Feature: The Business (2005)Directed by Nick Love, The Business is a neon-soaked ode to 80s excess, set against the backdrop of the Costa del Crime in southern Spain. It stars Danny Dyer as Frankie, a South London lad who flees the UK to escape trouble, only to find himself caught up in the lucrative — and dangerous — world of drug smuggling.Frankie quickly becomes the protégé of charismatic but volatile gangster Charlie (Tamer Hassan), enjoying the spoils of their cocaine empire: sun, yachts, champagne, and shoulder pads that could stop a small car. But as the money rolls in, greed, paranoia, and power struggles inevitably set in, pushing Frankie toward a brutal lesson in loyalty and survival.💡 Why It Stands Out80s Nostalgia Overload – From the synth-heavy soundtrack to the pastel suits and Ray-Bans, the film fully commits to its retro aesthetic.Danny Dyer in Peak Geezer Mode – Before he became Albert Square’s landlord, Dyer carved a niche as the mouthy but oddly likeable criminal.Moral Decay Behind the Glamour – While the lifestyle looks intoxicating, The Business doesn’t shy away from showing how fast it can all come crashing down.It’s brash, stylish, and unashamedly shallow in all the right ways. Nick Love’s film is more about vibe than substance, but it nails its vibe with confidence. Definitely not one for the kids, but a great watch for fans of British crime dramas who like their grit served with a fluorescent cocktail umbrella.This week’s double-bill of capitalism — one legit, one… less so — reminds us that in both business and crime, the golden rule is the same: don’t get high on your own suWe 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

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!Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review! This week we’re donning our Ray-Bans, sliding across the living room floor, and revisiting the film that launched Tom Cruise into superstardom — Risky Business (1983). Equal parts coming-of-age comedy, satire, and cautionary tale, it’s a movie that defined a certain brand of 80s cool while slyly critiquing the era’s obsession with wealth and success.Directed by Paul Brickman, Risky Business follows Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise), a high-achieving Chicago high school student left home alone while his parents are away. Initially envisioning a week of harmless fun, things spiral after a night with call girl Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) leads Joel into a world of escalating consequences, entrepreneurial schemes, and moral compromises.What begins as a teenage fantasy of freedom and rebellion becomes a sharply observed journey into adulthood — and a satire of the “make it big” mentality that fuelled the 80s.While it has that glossy 80s comedy appeal, Risky Business is far smarter and more cynical than it first appears. It’s one of those films that teenage audiences might take at face value as a tale of freedom and rebellion, but adults will recognise as a sharp social critique. That said, it’s very much an R-rated outing — so maybe not one for family movie night.In the end, Risky Business is more than just a star-making turn for Tom Cruise. It’s a stylish, clever, and surprisingly subversive look at ambition, temptation, and the thin line between opportunity and exploitation.🎹🚗💼👓🍿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